"You plan to relocate all residents of Terra?!"
Guilliman's eyes widened when he heard Alex's plan.
"Not all residents. The Custodes don't need to move; they have to stay on the surface and continue protecting the Imperial Palace."
Alex showed Guilliman the future development map and plan.
He planned to construct enough mega-structures in the void, such as star rings, void Hive City, and space farms, to solve the housing and food problems for Terra's residents.
Related technologies had been transferred to Raski, the Lord of Mars.
Currently, he was mobilizing personnel and materials, preparing to build the first giant space city and gradually relocate Terra's residents.
Once all residents were moved to space, Terra would be rebuilt to restore its former ecology.
Alex also planned for Terra to become an important grain resource exporting star system in the future, reducing its over-reliance on surrounding star systems for supplies.
"Saint, is it really necessary?"
Guilliman looked at Alex's plan with a skeptical expression.
"Currently, the Empire is besieged on all sides, fraught with crises, and could crumble and be destroyed at any moment if we're not careful."
"At this time, to spend so much manpower and resources to rebuild Terra… With all due respect, Saint, such an action is meaningless!!"
"What are we fighting for?" Alex did not directly answer Guilliman but instead asked him a question.
"For the survival of humanity, for the beautiful vision my father once promised humanity."
Guilliman's tone was calm on the Macragge's Honour.
His gaze was fixed on the Saint in the projection.
"Then can you tell me, where is the beautiful vision the Emperor promised?" Alex continued to ask.
"Look at Terra now. Do you think this is the beautiful vision the Emperor once promised?"
"This…" Guilliman was speechless.
The current Terra was the source of the Empire's decay.
Before he arrived, Terra had fallen into stagnation, like a corpse slowly rotting away, maintaining the appearance of life only by inertia from the past.
Terra's Hive City were bloated, with populations hundreds or even thousands of times larger than other Hive Worlds.
It was unable to sustain itself, heavily reliant on other worlds for food and water.
Once supply lines were cut, food and water would run out, and Terra would face riots.
If the current state of Terra was said to be the Emperor's great vision, Guilliman feared he would see his old father standing before him in his dreams, raising his hand to give him two slaps.
"Everything has reached a point where it needs to change. There are many messy wars to fight in the galaxy, but we cannot always leave unfinished work aside and then say we had to do so for a greater cause."
Alex's tone was calm and well-reasoned.
"Before we appeared, the residents of a world were suffering. After we appeared, the residents of that world were still suffering. What right do we have to say we saved them?"
"We cannot tell them that if they just endure the pain for a little longer, we can create a beautiful future for them."
"Redemption cannot be done halfway. What is right in one place should be right everywhere, at all times. Only then can more people wholeheartedly embrace such a future."
"Don't think so much about the future. At least let the people of today live better. Wars will not cease; there will always be stronger enemies."
"As communication networks improve, information exchange will become more convenient. Regent, do you want the Empire's citizens to see Terra as it is now?"
"If we cannot even redeem Terra, how will others believe we can redeem them?"
"Rebuilding Terra is also a crucial battle. We must use a beautiful Terra to tell everyone that humanity's hope still exists."
Alex paused before continuing.
"Moreover, if it were Roboute Guilliman from ten thousand years ago, he would not have said that rebuilding Terra was a meaningless act."
Guilliman was stunned for a moment, opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't, and the thousands of words in his heart finally turned into a heavy sigh.
Yes, Roboute Guilliman from ten thousand years ago would never have denied the positive significance of rebuilding Terra.
When did he become this cold, ruthless person who only pursued practicality and efficiency?
Was it when Lorgar launched the Battle of Calth, backstabbing the Ultramarines, and waging a bloody war in Ultramar?
Or was it when he brought reinforcements to Terra, only to find that the siege had ended, and upon arriving at the Imperial Palace, he only saw his severely wounded father and the disfigured Sanguinius?
Or was it during the battle of Iydris, when Fulgrim stabbed him in the neck?
"Thank you for your reminder, Saint."
"I only now realize that I am becoming like my father. Always rushing, only to end up with a mess."
"Rebuilding Terra is indeed a good way to rally human morale, but this project will likely not be so simple."
"Building space cities, persuading people to leave Terra—these are all problems."
Guilliman sincerely thanked Alex; his words made the Primarch realize his own change.
Alex opened the projection, displaying a future vision of numerous space cities surrounding Terra.
"I will find a way to solve all the problems we encounter. No matter what difficulties we face, I will put in my utmost effort to make this happen."
"Since you are so confident, then go ahead and do it." Guilliman nodded. "I support all your decisions."
After discussing the relocation of Terra's local residents, Alex and Guilliman then discussed the current galactic situation.
The current situation remained grim.
The primary goal of the Indomitus Crusade was to control the eight Warp nexus worlds connecting to the Sol System.
Only in this way could the Warp routes from Terra to other regions of the Empire remain open.
However, apart from the closest world to Terra, Volleth, which was still in Imperial hands, the other seven nexus worlds had fallen, occupied by Chaos forces.
The enemy had deployed a large number of Blackstone constructs on those nexus worlds, intending to tear the Great Rift wider, or even throw the entire galaxy into the Warp.
Blackstone, also known as Noctilith, was a very special mineral that could both amplify and suppress the Warp.
The Great Raider Abaddon's thirteen Black Crusades were all aimed at destroying the Blackstone obelisks that suppressed the Warp, to unleash the power of the Chaos Gods.
If Chaos forces were allowed to deploy Blackstone constructs and tear the galaxy apart, humanity's future would be bleak.
The malevolent power of the Gods would create a desperate universe filled with suffering and slaughter, a hell from which mortal life could never escape or resist.
"Once Terra's matters are resolved, I will also set out on the crusade," Alex said. "We will surely win this war."
"Thank you for your hard work, Saint."
Guilliman was not being coy; he truly couldn't handle the mess in the galaxy alone.
It was naturally best if the Saint could lead the expedition.
After a detailed discussion on war deployments for the coming period and the advancement of reform plans, both parties disconnected communications.
Alex became busy again.
After the "Spring of Terra," Terra's political environment had significantly improved.
Under Alex's will, the Terra government resumed operations, continuing to promote reform policies, improving the welfare of the common people, perfecting the education system, reshaping the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy, and eliminating fanatic ideological factions.
At the same time, Alex also began to push for large-scale infrastructure projects, planning to first build thirteen giant cities in the void near Terra to accommodate Terra's population.
When the grand infrastructure plan was submitted to the reformed High Lord council for review, Jack, Roskavler, Ers, and others all felt that such a plan was too crazy, simply a fantasy.
But out of trust in the Saint, they still cast their votes in favor.
The infrastructure work was handled by Mars.
Fabricator-General Raski had no complaints about this and readily accepted the task.
He led a large number of Lord of Myriad Machines followers into the grand construction.
It should be known that Raski used to be a complete hardliner and conservative.
Now, he was completely obedient to the leader of the reformists, the 'Saint,' which made the High Lord who knew him well find it incredible.
But Raski did not reveal the reason to anyone.
He certainly couldn't tell others that he, the esteemed Lord of Mars, almost burst into tears and beat his chest, shouting "I was wrong!" in front of the Saint!
Building space cities required many resources.
Terra was the head of the Empire; logically, it should not lack resources, and whatever it needed, someone would deliver it.
However, currently, the Warp routes were unstable.
The storms of Immaterium were still ongoing, and the transportation of materials was not smooth.
To solve this problem, Alex told the Fabricator-General to simply mine resources from the Sol System nearby.
As a space-faring race, even after tens of thousands of years, humanity had only consumed a tiny fraction of the Sol System's vast resources.
To accelerate Mars's efficiency, Alex shared Dora Workshop's SVC engineering mecha and modular construction technologies with Mars, allowing them to speed up the mining of ore and the construction of space cities.
At the same time, a large number of unemployed wanderers were recruited to work with Mars's Mechanical Priests in building space cities, effectively reducing unemployment and accelerating construction progress.
With the support of Dora Workshop's various innovative technologies, mining teams dispatched by Mars were rapidly extracting resources from the asteroid belt, gas giants, and the Oort Cloud, continuously acquiring ore, gas, and water.
Grand giant engineering arks were moored in the void, and various small vessels, like swarms of bees, moved in and out, transporting raw ore and carrying away finished metal ingots.
These materials were sent to orbital factories on Mars or Terra for secondary processing to obtain finished materials.
Ultimately, these finished materials would be used to build space cities.
Screw-shaped builder machines, operated by Servitors, were exposed in space, using mechanical appendages for welding and assembly.
Vast numbers of builder drones worked diligently like industrious ant colonies.
The basic framework of the space cities was built with sturdy adamantium.
Large plasma reactors were installed beneath the cities to power various city systems, and gravity field devices were also deployed to ensure the space cities had the same gravity field as a planet.
The construction of space cities was divided into different phases.
Once a phase was completed, people and factories would be moved into the finished city area.
Those who moved in would participate in building the space city and operate the factories, generating benefits and reducing the Empire's financial burden.
The migrated residents started from the Imperial Palace and gradually expanded outwards.
Eventually, all residents and administrative departments will be relocated to space.
In addition to the Great Infrastructure Plan, the construction of an instant communication network was also put on the agenda.
With the operation of the Terra government, coupled with the powerful production capacity of Mars, the worlds around the Sol System began to be incorporated into the Empire's communication network.
As communication spread, the Imperial Bank also began to play its role.
The throne it issued became the Empire's only designated currency, and no world was allowed to issue currency privately.
Existing currencies were to be exchanged for throne at a certain ratio.
The throne was divided into different denominations, applicable to different scenarios.
This practice aroused strong opposition from the rulers of many planets.
Printing currency was an important means for them to plunder wealth.
If they lost the right to print currency, their wealth and status would shrink significantly.
For these people, Alex gave two choices:
"Either obey the pushed bill, or be burned to death at the stake."
"The Human Empire lacks everything but servants who want to serve the Emperor."
Such a strong attitude naturally aroused dissatisfaction among many ruling families.
But facing a Saint with terrifying religious appeal, they dared not speak out their anger.
During the Age of Apostasy, Vandire, a mortal, caused so much suffering to many families.
It is imaginable how strong the appeal of the Ecclesiarchy was.
Although later, the Ecclesiarchy was not allowed to possess armed forces, fanatical believers were still a force that could not be ignored.
Now, the Saint controls Terra and possesses a large army.
If they opposed today, the next day, the punitive fleet would arrive above their planet.
On the third day, the family would be removed, and everyone on the planet could attend their funeral feast.
"Reforms must not be so brutal; this is trampling on the dignity of the Empire's loyal subjects."
Guilliman again made a speech, speaking out for those ruling families and powerful figures whose interests were harmed, making them cry with gratitude.
"The Primarch is good, unlike that damned'Saint' who is purely trying to uproot us and take our lives."
"Why don't we let the Primarch preside over Terra!"
"Tens of thousands of people bleed for the Primarch, the Emperor's true son, who should preside over Terra."
"Let that'Saint' get out!"
"It's hateful! If the Primarch wasn't busy saving the Empire and couldn't spare time to govern Terra, how could that guy act so unscrupulously?"
"..."
Unlike the hostility from the aristocratic class, Alex was quite popular among the middle and lower classes.
Because the reform policies he promoted genuinely benefited them.
Various welfare and human rights systems lifted the heavy burden from their shoulders, allowing them to feel true and tangible happiness instead of self-deception and comfort through faith.
...
While the Guide was busy reforming Terra, the Players were not idle either.
They explored everywhere, searching for ancient holy relics, or carrying out missions given by the expeditionary force.
The "Spring of Terra" expansion pack has concluded.
The Warbands that participated in this expansion pack activity can be said to have reaped full rewards and made a fortune.
The Hogwarts Battle Group Players were no exception.
They found many good things and also obtained an astonishing amount of contribution points.
"Now is not the time to relax. We must continue to work hard, save money to build a fleet, grow stronger, and create glory."
"Don't think about anything else, just one thought: make money."
Old Thirteen encouraged the Warband Players, hyping them up.
Soon, they received a mission from the Inquisition to search for an ancient Warp artifact.
So, they set off on a small barge they had just purchased.
However, as soon as the barge exited the Immaterium upon arriving at the star system indicated by the Inquisition's intelligence, they were attacked.
A small Necrons fleet was already waiting for them at the Warp exit.
Before their barge could raise its void shields, it was repeatedly attacked.
The power engine was the first to be destroyed, losing its maneuverability and becoming fish on the enemy's chopping board.
Multiple parts of the weapon system were damaged, making it impossible to even counterattack.
On the Bridge of the barge, piercing alarm sounds rang out one after another.
"Damn it, is this the dog planner targeting us?"
Old Thirteen looked at the scarlet prompt floating on the control panel interface, completely numb.
"Does it have to be this unlucky?!"
"This is a ship I just bought!"
After another urgent alarm, a crew member on the Bridge shouted in despair, "The enemy is boarding!"
"F*ck!" Blind Monk couldn't help but curse, "Engage the enemy, immediately engage the enemy."
The Hogwarts Players reacted quickly.
They immediately assembled and rushed to where the enemy was boarding.
They were all seasoned veterans who had fought many battles.
Old Thirteen also rushed over.
The boarders were Necronss.
These xenos remained silent, holding Gauss Rifles, and fired at the Players.
Green beams of light streaked through the corridor, landing on the crew, turning them into dust with the green light.
"Block these iron skeletons."
Old Thirteen directed the battle while seeking help in the Player chat channel.
"Brothers, we need help!"
As soon as this message was sent, the chat channel, which had been mostly empty, was suddenly flooded with old Players.
Warmaster: "Old Thirteen, what's wrong with you?"
Little Alpaca: "I'm guessing you're in the Labyrinth of Pleasure, having so much fun you're out of touch."
Bald Donkey: "Haha, no money to pay, don't dare to pull out."
Tenjiro: "@Bald Donkey, you know so much, do you often do this?"
Old Thirteen: "..."
"How bad must my image be in your minds!"
"Seriously, I was attacked by a Necrons fleet."
"For the Emperor's sake, everyone lend a hand and help a brother out."
Warmaster: "Necronss? Did you dig up their pit?"
Old Thirteen: "No, I just somehow encountered a Necrons fleet. Today is truly unlucky."
"..."
The combat power of the Hogwarts Battle Group Players was not to be underestimated, but the Necronss were also not to be trifled with.
After a period of engagement, Old Thirteen and the other Players were at a disadvantage.
Finally, they were swarmed by the Necrons forces and captured alive.
Only when their weapons were disarmed and they were shackled with anti-magic cuffs did the mastermind appear before them.
It was at this point that the Players realized that the one who ambushed them was the famous galactic collector, Trazyn the Infinite.
Because they were confined in a stasis field, they couldn't communicate in the game, so they could only log off and communicate in the group chat.
"Damn it, they're going to treat us as collectibles!"
"Will we be stuck in prison forever??"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Am I going to spend the rest of my gaming life in that guy's museum?"
"..."
The Hogwarts Players were spitting blood.
Now their characters were trapped in a stasis field, unable to even commit suicide and revive.
Damn it~~
Such a ridiculous thing could happen.
...
Meanwhile, on Terra, Alex was still pushing his reform policies.
The Human Empire had previously been severely hampered by corrupt bureaucrats and the inefficiency in communication and administration, which slowed down its development.
Once these problems were resolved, the development speed of the Sol System was like a rocket.
At the same time, the emergence of various innovative technologies also unleashed productivity, and manufacturing efficiency significantly increased.
Under the efforts of the Fabricator-General, the basic framework of the first space city has been completed.
The first area will be completed in half a month and can accommodate 1.3 million people.
At that time, these people will be transported to their new homes.
Their original residences will be sealed off and no one will be allowed in.
Alex's relocation of those residents was not to make room for others.
If one group moved out and the empty space was immediately occupied by others, when would the immigration ever end?!
Just as Alex was thinking about how to proceed with the next step, Cortana's voice sounded.
"Master."
Alex replied casually, "What's wrong?"
"The Hogwarts Players seem to have encountered trouble."
"It should be nothing, their combat power is not weak."
Alex frowned slightly, but still didn't take it to heart.
With the eleventh batch of closed beta Players entering the battlefield, Alex could no longer look after every Player.
He only needed to set the rules and let the Players do as they pleased within those rules.
He couldn't manage individual Player troubles, and he was too lazy to.
The entire Empire's five star sectors and countless Imperial citizens were on his shoulders!
He had no time to deal with those minor Players who were causing trouble.
Cortana's projection scratched her head, "But the Hogwarts Battle Group was captured by Trazyn the Infinite, who plans to display them as exhibits in his museum."
"Ah! What?! Trazyn came to snatch my people to be exhibits?!"
The nonchalant Alex's eyes widened. "Where are they?"
"They have been captured and are being transported back to the museum," Cortana said. "The Emperor Niuma Battle Group has already rushed over."
"You can always pinpoint the location of those Hogwarts Battle Group Players, right?" Alex looked at Cortana.
Cortana nodded, "Yes, the Necrons technology is like an unguarded backyard to me."
Alex paced back and forth, preparing to counterattack Trazyn.
"He dares to snatch my people; this guy is truly lawless. Does he think there's no one in the galaxy who can trouble him?"
"I must give that guy a taste of his own medicine."
"What should we do?" Cortana asked.
"Tell the Emperor Niuma Battle Group Players to be careful not to expose themselves. Also, immediately assemble an elite Player squad to provide support."
"As long as we find his Museum Planet, there's only one word: steal."
"We must find a way to loot that guy's museum clean."
Alex never suffered a loss.
Trazyn the Infinite had really kicked a steel plate this time.
If he didn't make that guy scream in pain, it wouldn't live up to the name of the Fourth Catastrophe.