The Players' loss of composure was within Alex's expectations.
Anyone entering the Throne Room for the first time would be awestruck by the scene within.
Mountain-like machines were buried deep underground, roaring and making the surface tremble.
Giant pistons cycled endlessly, emitting thunderous sounds.
Towering crystal matrices crackled, with dazzling currents leaping between them.
Twisted, materialized spheres of electric charge writhed violently like living beings within the unique arcane runic flasks.
Thousands of Mechanical Priests in red robes, accompanied by their servitors, maintained these machines.
Occasionally, these machines would burst with a bang, spewing out electrical sparks.
The Mechanical Priests and servitors maintaining them were long accustomed to such occurrences.
They would replace damaged parts, substituting new ones amidst prayers.
In the central area of these machines, a magnificent Golden Platform stood.
It was several kilometers high, entirely crafted from a special golden material, resembling a true giant mountain.
The Golden Platform continuously drew energy from those grand machines.
And surrounding the Golden Platform, a golden gate, currently in a closed state, stood.
At the very top of the platform stood the golden Golden Throne.
Upon it sat the strongest immortal of the Human race,
the supreme ruler of the Human Empire,
the Ancient King bearing the fate of the race,
the man who protected humanity with a benevolent heart.
At the same time, He was also the fifth Chaos God of the Warp,
the Black Sun that struck fear into countless demons,
The Cursed One hated by the pawns of the gods,
the Dark King with the holy number 5.
The golden light was dazzling, and the Emperor, seated on the Throne, was like a sun.
The Players gasped in admiration,
lamenting the grandeur of the Golden Throne and the Emperor's great sacrifice.
But they also knew that the Golden Throne was not a miraculous creation, but merely the remains of humanity's dream.
Magnus's folly forced the Emperor to sit on the Golden Throne, maintaining the Webway's seal.
"Look, there are patches near the Golden Platform."
Old Bird had multiple visual implants, making his eyesight the keenest.
Even from a great distance, he could see that the Golden Platform was covered in patches.
"It must have been Magnus's foolishness that broke the Webway seal, which also caused the machine to malfunction."
"Although emergency repairs were carried out, the Emperor didn't have time to craft a new Throne to replace it, so they could only make do with patching it up."
Tenjiro's words were acknowledged by most Players.
They were all Warhammer fans, naturally familiar with that period of history.
After Horus's rebellion, Magnus used Tzeentch's power to send a message, and a single psychic spell blew up the Webway seal.
Then he charged straight into the Throne Room, almost causing the entire machine to be scrapped.
This was immediately followed by the Webway War, and after the Webway War, Horus attacked Reality.
The technology of the Golden Throne was only mastered by the Emperor.
The Adeptus Mechanicus's Adeptus Mechanicus could not understand the operating principles of the Golden Throne at all and could only patch it up.
If that failed, they would maintain the Golden Throne's operation by replacing parts.
However, most new and repaired parts had far worse functionality than the original Golden Throne parts.
To solve this problem, the Adeptus Mechanicus could only barely achieve the original parts' functionality by adding compensatory devices.
This led to the Golden Throne becoming increasingly bloated and inefficient.
By 999.M41, the overall dysfunction of the Golden Throne became increasingly apparent, and even adding more compensatory devices was unsustainable.
To solve this problem, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Astropathic Choir also did something foolish.
That was trading with the Drukhari / Dark Aeldari of Gomorrah, losing hundreds of billions of people, and almost having the Emperor's genetic sample stolen by the other party.
On both sides of the stairs leading to the highest point stood two rows of Custodes.
They watched the arriving Saints and God Chosen with vigilant eyes, silently gripping their halberds.
If anything seemed amiss, they would decisively act.
No matter the identity of the newcomers, they would directly kill them.
Anyone with an objection could go talk to the Custodes Exemption Clause.
Everything was for the protection of the Emperor.
"Saint, where are your spare parts?" a Adeptus Mechanicus stepped forward to inquire.
"Spare parts? What spare parts?" Alex looked at him.
"Saint, you truly like to joke." Senior General Tura walked to Alex's side; even he was a head shorter than Alex. "Without spare parts, how can the Golden Throne be repaired?"
Alex turned to Senior General Tura, a look of 'are you kidding me?' on his face.
"The Golden Throne is the highest crystallization of the Emperor's wisdom. I don't have the blueprints, so how can I make spare parts?"
Alex's words almost made Senior General Tura lose his composure.
No!
He hadn't seen the blueprints, had no spare parts, yet dared to say he could repair the Golden Throne?
Although he was His Majesty's Saint, playing tricks on the Custodes repeatedly was a bit too much.
The Custodes just stayed in the Imperial Palace, unwilling to show themselves outside; they weren't emotionless corpses.
Senior General Tura once considered whether the other party was truly a 'Saint,' or perhaps some demon or xenos disguised as a Saint.
But upon careful thought, if the other party's infiltration ability was so strong that they couldn't be recognized standing right in front of them,
then the existence of the Custodes would be unnecessary, and the entire Human Empire would have been infiltrated and overthrown long ago.
Senior General Tura took another deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart.
"Then how do you plan to repair it?"
Several Adeptus Mechanicus also showed skeptical expressions.
They felt they had been tricked.
"Just use the original parts. Why make it so complicated?"
As soon as Alex said this, Senior General Tura and the Adeptus Mechanicus responsible for maintenance were speechless.
If the original parts could be used, would they still be so troubled?
Ignoring the doubts of these people, Alex took out the Infinity Key from his dimensional space.
He and Cortana were highly bound.
Therefore, what he had, Cortana could use.
What Cortana had, he could also use.
Dimensional space ability was Cortana's special ability, and Alex could also use it.
He used the dimensional space as a warehouse, storing some important items and treasures inside.
The current Infinity Key, although Tier 1, could still reverse time within a certain range.
"This is?"
The few Adeptus Mechanicus who had just questioned Alex, upon seeing the Infinity Key appear,
their implanted mechanical eyes instantly lit up, rapidly parsing the Infinity Key's data.
When they realized that this special crystal had a time field around it,
greed appeared on their metal faces, which still had a little flesh remaining.
This unique technological creation clearly contained unimaginable truth knowledge, making their hearts pound.
If they could get their hands on it, they would surely be able to research many brand new technologies.
"Saint."
"Saint."
The Adeptus Mechanicus humbly bowed; their previous anger and contempt had all disappeared.
Who would have thought that the Saint held a top-tier technological artifact that could be used for time?
Senior General Tura, as an Custodes, originally wanted to question the Infinity Key,
but when he saw the mysterious crystal's surface pulsating with the same golden light as the Golden Throne, he wisely fell silent.
This special technological creation had already received the Emperor's blessing.
If he were to question it, he would only make a fool of himself.
"Let's start working now." Alex said to the Adeptus Mechanicus, "Mark the disabled areas for me."
"Saint, this way."
"Watch out for the cables on the ground."
"..."
The Adeptus Mechanicus's attitude had undergone a complete 180-degree change.
Each of them had a fawning expression on their faces,
which even left Senior General Tura speechless. "You are Adeptus Mechanicus, where is your usual aloofness? Why are you all acting like bootlickers now?!"
Anyone who didn't know would think you were mind-controlled by him!!
The Adeptus Mechanicus led Alex towards the Golden Throne.
The Custodes silently made way.
Soon, they reached the first disabled area.
"That's truly ugly."
Alex looked at the patched-up device in front of him, a speechless expression on his face.
The Golden Throne had been operating for tens of thousands of years, and many of its components had significantly degraded in functionality due to their age.
To compensate for the insufficient power of existing components, the Adeptus Mechanicus could only add some devices on top of the original ones, which made the overall appearance look bloated and inefficient.
Alex activated the Infinity Key, guiding the power of time to cover the core components, using its power to reverse the device's time, resetting it to when it was first manufactured.
As the indicator light turned on, the Adeptus Mechanicus's repair device was actively disconnected, and the disabled area was restored, becoming operational.
"It's recovered just like that?"
The Mechanical Priests following behind Alex exclaimed in astonishment, "This is truly the great power of time."
"A divine artifact of time that can be used freely."
"It must be the great power of omnissiah."
"It's as if I've seen the light of wisdom from the Hall of Truth."
"… … … …"
The Adeptus Mechanicus spared no praise.
Senior General Tura was also stunned, "This works?"
"Next one," Alex ignored their emotions and spoke calmly, urging the Adeptus Mechanicus to lead him to the next disabled area.
The Players also followed the Guide and others, observing the Golden Throne up close.
Suddenly, a 'ding' sound rang out.
The Players turned their heads and saw a prompt pop up in the corner of the golden platform; the light changed from green to red.
Soon after, several servants pushed a black anti-gravity coffin to the corner where the prompt sound originated.
That corner originally had a black coffin connected to the Golden Throne.
The servants removed the connection cables of the original black coffin and dragged it away.
Then they placed the new coffin there, systematically installing and locking the tubes for nutrient delivery and other purposes.
The indicator light then changed from red back to green.
Inside that coffin lay a bald man.
When the coffin was connected to the Golden Throne, he awoke, his face contorted in pain.
He opened his mouth and let out a scream, but the soundproofing material used in the coffin blocked his screams inside.
Inside the replaced coffin was a charred corpse, black as carbon.
"Are those all the psykers who are going to be burned?"
"Are they being replaced every day??"
"How many are burned in a day now?"
"… … … …"
The Players discussed in low voices.
They clearly knew what this was.
Alex ignored this small interlude and continued to repair the disabled areas with the Adeptus Mechanicus.
After repairing the damaged areas, he also used his special ability to communicate with the machine spirits to find out all the hidden dangers of the Golden Throne one by one and fix them with the Infinity Key.
As the hidden dangers of the Golden Throne were resolved one by one, the symphony of numerous machines once again became perfect.
The consumption of psykers was instantly reduced, and the frequent explosions and electrical sparks also became much less common.
The Golden Throne returned to its original normal operating state.
Unfortunately, this situation could not last too long.
The reversal of the power of time had its limitations; once the power of time was weakened by psychic energy, the components would collapse at an even faster rate.
The Infinity Key could only delay the collapse of the Golden Throne, merely providing a temporary solution.
Ultimately, a way to analyze the operating principles of the Golden Throne was needed to completely solve the problem.
"Done."
Alex put away the Infinity Key.
At this moment, a golden light curtain appeared.
[Task: Use the Infinity Key to maintain the operation of the Golden Throne (Completed)]
[Reward is being issued.]
Following the prompt from the light curtain, the roaring sound of the machines in the Throne Room suddenly became high-pitched, and countless machines sang in unison.
Radiance filled the entire room.
Senior General Tura and the Adeptus Mechanicus stared with wide eyes, their faces full of disbelief.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
Under their shocked gaze, a light hole opened.
Loud holy hymns emanated from within the light hole, ancient and sacred, possessing incredible power that could cleanse souls and dispel evil forces.
Throughout the Sol System, devout believers sensed the Emperor's manifestation, and their prayers grew even louder.
Several pure cherubim, implanted with metal prostheses, flew out from the light hole.
Their appearance had greatly changed from when Alex first saw them on the Imperial Glory.
From extremely terrifying, they became less terrifying, and their skin also had a luster.
If placed in a horror movie, they could no longer be the big boss.
"It seems my previous guess was correct; the appearance of the cherubim is indeed related to the state of the Human Empire and the Emperor."
With his reforms and Guilliman's efforts, science and rationality were slowly returning to the Human Empire.
In due time, the Human Empire would surely become a normal interstellar civilization.
And these cherubim would also change their appearance as the Human Empire improved, becoming true child angels.
The cherubim jointly carried a large box engraved with countless flame runes and a golden two-headed eagle, flying to Alex's front.
"Is this the Emperor's manifestation?"
"Praise omnissiah."
"… … … …"
The Adeptus Mechanicus bowed in cog-wheel salute, and their generators emitted binary canticles praising omnissiah.
The Custodians watched dumbfounded, not daring to move.
Herakles couldn't help but swallow.
He had been a Custodian for hundreds of years, but he had never received enlightenment from the Emperor.
Yet, this Saint before him was once again favored by the Emperor's grace.
A hint of remorse arose in his heart.
His actions of stopping and questioning the Saint just now were utterly foolish.
The Emperor had sat silently on the Golden Throne for ten thousand years, never speaking to them.
No matter who it was, they could only interpret His intentions through tarot cards.
And the Saint was the only being in the Human Empire who could communicate and interact with the Emperor.
He actually went and made things difficult for him!!
Senior General Tura, standing nearby, appeared calm but was actually experiencing a storm of emotions internally.
Another manifestation!!
Last time, he could comfort himself by saying it was because of the Primarch.
Now, the Primarch was not present, and the Emperor still manifested.
Alright, now he had to admit something that saddened all the Custodians:
Their Master only favored the 'Saint'.
"Keep up the good work; My Lord is very pleased with your performance," said the cherubim.
"Got it, got it, you can go back now; we're busy here," Alex waved his hand casually, signaling the cherubim to return.
Senior General Tura: "… … … …"
At this moment, he finally understood an ancient saying from Terra:
What is not obtained is always stirring; what is favored is always fearless.
Even receiving a slight guidance from the Emperor through tarot cards would make the Custodians so excited that they could barely control their emotions.
And now, the Emperor's messenger personally delivered a message, but this guy looked impatient.
Heavens!
Earth!!
Emperor!
Why did You choose this guy to be the Saint? Which Custodian isn't more loyal than him??
"Oh, right, there's something I need to mention," Alex stopped the cherubim who were flying towards the light hole, "It's about the Custodians!!"
As soon as these words came out, the Custodians present felt their heartbeats slow down a beat, and they all widened their eyes.
"We're doomed! Is this guy going to complain?"
"We were wrong, we truly know we were wrong, please let us off!!"
Senior General Tura and the other Custodians all broke into a cold sweat.
If the Emperor personally denied the Custodians' contributions, it would be a heavy blow to them.
Perhaps even Senior General Tura's position as Custodian Commander would be replaced.
The cherubim stopped, "Speak; I will convey it to my Master."
Alex glanced at Senior General Tura, then continued.
"The Custodians' combat power and strategy are outstanding, and they should not always be confined to the Imperial Palace. Guilliman and I have reached an agreement to completely liberate the Custodians, allowing them to return to their previous Ten Thousand-Man Regiment structure and once again step onto the galactic battlefield."
"They are the God-Emperor's personal guards, and I feel it is necessary to officially inform Him of this matter."
The cherubim nodded, "I will convey your words, Chosen One."
"I think He will most likely not refuse."
Alex nodded, "Then I'll trouble you."
"Everything we do is dedicated to Him," the cherubim said, "There is no trouble involved."
The cherubim left, and everything returned to calm.
The high-pitched machines quieted down, and the light receded like a tide.
Alex put the box back into his dimensional space, planning to check what kind of equipment it was when he had time.
"Thank you," Senior General Tura walked up to Alex and thanked him sincerely.
Alex looked bewildered, "What are you thanking me for?"
"I thought you would complain to the Emperor about the Custodes' inaction and inflexibility," Senior General Tura said.
Alex showed an exaggerated expression, "You mean, I, as a Saint, am someone who likes to make small reports and stir up trouble?"
"No… not at all," Senior General Tura quickly said, "When the Custodes stopped you before, you threatened them, which is why I thought that, but now I realize you are a person of noble character…."
"You thought wrong," Alex said.
"Yes, we were indeed wrong, you are a noble person," Senior General Tura's tone was sincere.
"No!" Alex interrupted Senior General Tura again, "I mean, you thought wrong, I am not some noble person. I am a despicable and shameless villain who likes to stir up trouble. The reason I didn't say anything is because some things lose their effectiveness once spoken."
"Senior General Tura, as the Captain-General of the Custodes, you wouldn't want the Emperor to know what you all did, right?"
Senior General Tura: "..."
After successfully threatening Senior General Tura and the Custodes, making them behave and stop acting so arrogant, Alex left the Imperial Palace and headed to the helipad.
On the way, he thought that he had now taken care of the Golden Throne and the Custodes.
His next main target should be Mars.
During the Great Crusade, the Emperor signed the Olympian Accord with the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Strictly speaking, Mars is not a subordinate institution of Reality, but an ally.
Therefore, he cannot treat them like other departments.
With his Mechanical God Incarnation and special skills for machine spirits, controlling Mars should not be difficult.
However, to simply appear as a Saint out of nowhere would be somewhat demeaning.
He should let the God Chosen stir up some trouble, and then he would appear to clean up the mess.
This way, he would maintain an air of mystery while subtly displaying his power to Mars.
Alex called over Old Bird and Wu Mou, who had just entered the Imperial Palace.
"Guide."
"Guide."
The two Players walked up to Alex.
"I have a mission for you two. If you complete it well, you might earn an eagle medal."
Alex's words immediately made the two Players' faces light up with joy.
The eagle medal is currently the highest achievement for Players, obtainable only by making contributions that greatly benefit the Human Empire and humanity, or by changing the game's current state.
The Warmaster discovered the Star Gods, leading to their birth.
Scalp obtained intelligence on the Calixis Sector rebels and discovered the Star Gate.
The MC Dynasty introduced the gameplay of beast taming and mounts.
The Emperor Niuma Battle Group discovered a toaster that could convert energy into matter.
These things profoundly changed the Human Empire or the game's progression, thus earning them the eagle medal.
Now, the Guide actually said there was a mission that could earn them an eagle medal.
It must be their diligent and hardworking attitude that touched the Guide, prompting him to issue such a mission.
"The East Asia Research Institute will never disappoint you, Guide. Please feel free to command us."
"For the Human Empire, for the people, for the Guide, we will not hesitate to die."
Old Bird and Wu Mou straightened their backs and saluted Alex.
Alex nodded in satisfaction.
These are the Players; as long as the reward is big enough, they'll do anything.
"I want you to go to Mars and search for the Akashic Reader."
"The Akashic Reader?"
Old Bird's eyes widened. As a Warhammer fan, he naturally knew what that was.
That was a device that could be driven and received by psykers, continuously drawing knowledge from the Warp.
"Is there a problem?" Alex asked, "I guess the remains of this thing should still be in Molten Rock City. I need you to go there."
Alex did not hide his voice.
He knew that he was currently being watched by at least a hundred pairs of eyes.
Those agents could perfectly repeat his words from the changes in his lips and the waveforms of his voice.
In other words, the intelligence about sending the God Chosen to find the Akashic Reader would appear on the tables of various forces within seconds.
But this was also intentional on Alex's part.
He wanted to take the opportunity to intervene on Mars, find a chance to show his Mechanical God Incarnation, and gain Mars's support.
The support of the Custodes and Mars, two departments, would be enough for Alex to fearlessly deal with the remaining High Lord, and even calmly eliminate all of them.
"No problem."
Old Bird and Wu Mou saluted in unison, their voices strong and full of confidence.
This trip to Mars would not only allow them to search for the Akashic Reader but also possibly find other technological artifacts.
One must know, Mars had so many good things; if they found one or two that could be used on Reality, wouldn't they make a fortune?
The Warmaster and others, who witnessed this scene, felt a sour taste in their mouths and began to complain in the world chat channel.
Warmaster: "I'm jealous. This Old Bird guy is like the Warhammer version of Ena Zhenren, receiving the Guide's sole favor."
Tenjiro: "Others have to explore everywhere and fight to the death to get an eagle medal, but for Old Bird, it's 'if you do this well, the medal is yours.'"
Warmaster: "It's rigged, absolutely rigged."
The Emperor Niuma Battle Group's complaints immediately made the world chat channel lively.
Little Alpaca: "Amazing! The Guide's little Warmaster is actually complaining that the game is rigged."
Zigman: "The biggest rigging in this game is you. How dare you talk about others. If this game didn't have in-app purchases or fees, and I wasn't playing for free, I wouldn't dare speak loudly, otherwise I would have complained about the operation's favoritism long ago."
"We work ourselves to death trying to gain favor, but yours is instantly full, and you get so many Holy Relics (holy relic) missions that your hands go soft."
Little Fatty: "Zigman spoke my mind. I'm so angry and cold! I'm still grinding Cawl's favor, hoping he'll upgrade my mech with some black technology."
"But this guy is so devious, he puts all those heretical technologies on it, clearly wanting me to take the blame for his heretical tech, damn him."
"@Warmaster, the biggest rigging in the game is you."
The Players of the Emperor Niuma Battle Group's complaints did not receive empathy; instead, they became the targets of complaints.
Seeing the messages in the world chat channel, the Warmaster, Tenjiro, and others were speechless.
Why did it feel like all the firepower was directed at them?!
How did hard work become rigging?
Alex ignored the Players' squabbles. After giving Old Bird and Wu Mou their mission, he boarded the gunboat, whose engines were already running, and had the pilot take him back to his office to check what rewards the Emperor had given him.
Back in his office, after dismissing everyone else and closing the door, Alex took out the box from his dimensional space.
As usual, he placed his hand on the surface of the box.
As a surge of power flowed in, bright light appeared on the patterns on the box's surface.
Then, the box slowly opened, revealing the legendary equipment inside.
"Is the reward a spear this time? It looks quite good."
"Could it be Leman Russ's exclusive equipment—the Spear of Dionysus?"
"Or Constantin Valdor's Spear of the Emperor."