Warhammer: Striving to Be a Grinding Man

Chapter 72 Complex

Liu En didn't care about any of that. He only cared about two things: the autonomous status of Garros and the amendment of the conscription terms.

Vera Nazari did not hold the title of third-level trainee technical priest for long.

On the very day the promotion document arrived, she completed the internal procedures through her father's connections. From a second-tier technical craftsman to a third-tier apprentice technical priest, she crossed the threshold of "from craftsman to clergy." This promotion normally requires more than ten years of experience and temple examinations, but with the Nazari family's connections and Liu En's fifth-tier sage recommendation letter, it was approved in just one week.

She then formally applied to transfer to Cohen Severo's team.

Within the Mechanical Order's system, high-ranking sages have the right to form their own technical teams—sending out artisans, technical priests, and support staff—all of whom are included in the sage's private staff and do not occupy official positions in the Forging World. Liu En did not previously have this power. Now, as a fifth-ranking sage, although he lacks voting rights and administrative authority, he still has a considerable number of private staff positions.

Vera's transfer application only took half a day to process at the Temple's personnel department. Her new identity is: a third-tier trainee technical priest under Sage Cohen Severus, on a field assignment, stationed in the Garros system.

The first task Liu En assigned her was to take over the Lunar-class cruiser.

The Black Pearl's reception room was bustling with activity today, brightly lit as day.

It wasn't the usual dim lighting with only a few lamps on; every chandelier in the dome was lit. The cauldron at the foot of the imperial statue burned brightly, and the smoke from frankincense rose slowly in the lamplight. There weren't enough long tables, so the crew brought folding chairs from next door and arranged them in rows along the wall. The mid-ranking officers of the Black Pearl—department heads, duty officers, and senior petty officers—sat against the wall. Marcus sat to the left of the head of the long table, Phyllis to the right, and Kara next to Phyllis.

At the other end of the table sat representatives from other ships.

Captain Hawke of the HMS Resolute sat at the front, his dark gray uniform revealing an old scar that ran diagonally from his forehead to his chin, appearing even deeper under the lights. Behind him were the Resolute's first mate and chief engineer. The ten captains of the transport ships sat on either side, some in the dark blue uniforms of merchant fleets, some in modified work clothes, and some with retired naval medals pinned to their chests. Each ship's first mate sat behind their respective captain, some holding data boards, others leaning back in their chairs with their arms crossed.

Vera sat to Liu En's left, next to her adjutant whom she had brought from the Truth Seeker. Several junior officers who couldn't get in were still standing in the corridor, peering through the half-open door.

When Liu En stood up, everyone fell silent.

He didn't take the data board or flip through his notes. The only sounds in the reception room were the white noise of the ventilation system and the faint crackling of the frankincense burning in the incense burner.

"Gallos. An industrial world under development." His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in every row could hear him. "Gallos is now a self-governing territory."

He scanned the area.

"You—everyone here—will be among the first to be relocated to Garros. This is not a temporary garrison, but a permanent settlement. Your families will accompany you, and all housing, employment, and children's education will be arranged in Garros. The crew of the Black Pearl and the garrison, as well as the crews of other ships, will all enjoy the same treatment."

There was a moment of silence in the reception room. Not just silence, but the kind of vacuum that occurs when hundreds of people hold their breath simultaneously.

“Gallos has domes, sunshine, clean water, and clean air,” Liu En continued. “A city is being built under the domes. The greenhouses in the agricultural zone have already planted the first crops. The industrial system is operational. When you go there, it won't just be for yourselves, but for your families.”

He paused for a moment.

"I will keep my promises."

Marcus was the first to stand up. His chair leg scraped against the terrazzo floor with a short, sharp screech as he rose. He didn't applaud, but simply turned to Liu En and bowed slightly.

"Captain. All crew members of the Black Pearl are at your command."

He sat down.

Phyllis didn't stand up. She placed the data panel on the table and looked up at Liu En.

"I'm already preparing the logistics. The supplies list, transportation plan, and family registration are all underway. We can start as soon as the order comes in."

Kara crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "The garrison is ready, and all members have no objections."

Liu En nodded.

The atmosphere in the reception room eased somewhat. Some began to speak in hushed tones, while others leaned back in their chairs and let out a long sigh. The captain of a transport ship—with gray hair and a mechanical left arm—raised his hand and stood up.

“My sage, I’ve spent most of my life on ships and met many masters. To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like your qualifications. I’ve never been to Garros, but I trust you. Not because I know you, but because of my eyes, my intuition.” He glanced at Marcus, then at Kara, and finally fixed his gaze on Hawke. “And also because these people follow you and speak on your behalf. My ship will follow.”

He sat down.

The other transport ship captains exchanged glances. Some nodded, some looked down at their data panels, and some took a sip of water before putting it down.

No one raised any objections.

Hawke remained silent. He sat there, his back ramrod straight, his old scars gleaming like frozen lightning under the lamplight. The first mate of the Resolute, sitting next to him, turned his head and whispered something, to which Hawke shook his head slightly.

After the meeting, people filed out of the meeting room. The corridor was packed with people; some were discussing quietly, some were flipping through data panels on Garros, and some were standing by the portholes, gazing blankly at the starry sky outside the berth.

Hawke was the last to walk. As he reached the door, Liu En called out to him.

"Captain Hawke."

Hawke turned around and stood in the doorway.

Liu En walked over and stood in front of him. The two were about the same height, but there was something different in Hawke's eyes—not awe, but the composure of an old sailor facing a storm.

“I was on the USS Resolute in Armageddon that year,” Liu En said, his tone flat, as if he were talking about the cafeteria food for the day. “Back then, I went to Lucis and did some temporary work in the engine room. I remember you very well.”

Hawke's eyes narrowed slightly. The old scar twisted for a moment as his brow bone twitched. He stared at Liu En for a few seconds.

"So it's you. You were a skilled craftsman back then." Hawke's voice lowered. It wasn't a question, but a statement. "Your technical ability and talent are truly awe-inspiring."

Liu En did not respond.

Hawke was silent for a moment. His mechanical right hand hung at his side, his fingers trembling slightly.

"My lord, the Steadfast will follow you. My men will follow you too. No need to mobilize them, I'll just go back and tell them. They trust me, and I trust you."

Liu En nodded.

Hawke turned and walked out of the drawing room. The light in the hallway cast a long shadow of him, and he walked slowly, but each step was steady.

When the news reached the Resolute, Hawke summoned the entire crew to the cargo hold and said only one sentence: "Gallos, the autonomous domain of the Sage of Cohen. Those who wish to go, bring their families. Those who do not wish to go, stay in Lucis; I will not force them."

No one chose to stay.

Those people had followed him for half their lives and knew how clumsy he was with words. The fact that he could say "Come with me" was already the greatest guarantee he could give.

Vera's situation is a bit more complicated.

The original crew of the Truth Seeker were unfamiliar with Liu En. They only knew that there was such a fifth-tier sage who owned his own cruiser, but they were following Vera and her family, not directly under the sage Cohen. It was a bit complicated, but things still progressed smoothly.

The real undertaking was assembling the families.

The news spread from the crew's circle. In the residential area of ​​Middle Nest, many families turned on their lights simultaneously for the first time. Most of these people were not proletarians from Lower Nest; they owned property—not much, but certainly some. They had stable jobs in Lucis, their own homes, and their children attended local schools. They hadn't left out of desperation; it was a calculated move.

Very few people actually set foot in the nest. The nobles and wealthy merchants living in the upper echelons wouldn't give up generations of accumulated wealth and status for an immigration plan for a frontier industrial world. There were a few exceptions, namely old relatives of the Nazari family—a branch of a branch that wasn't doing too well on the fringes of the family and, hearing that Garros was short of manpower, wanted to try their luck elsewhere.

Very few people went down to the hive. It wasn't that Garros didn't want them, but rather that this transfer was for crew members' families, not for recruiting refugees. Those who could serve as crew members, sailors, or even combatants in interstellar travel usually had some small assets, though not much, enough to generally provide a home in the hive. Most of those going down to the hive were newcomers, inexperienced, and whose families hadn't yet enjoyed the benefits of this system.

The vast majority of the families came from Zhongchao. They were the workers toiling day after day on the industrial assembly lines, the clerks organizing documents in a small office in the middle of the city, and the technicians disassembling and assembling parts in the repair workshop. They had seen too many lies from the Empire, but this time, they chose to believe.

It wasn't because the evidence was conclusive. The images of the Garros dome might be fictional, the promised housing might just be blueprints, and the sunshine and greenery might just be paint on an Imperial propaganda poster. But they still came. Because what came wasn't just a recruitment notice, but also transport ships ready to depart at their berths. And the Black Pearl—that massive Gothic-class cruiser—was there. And the veterans on board—they didn't need to say a word; their very presence was a guarantee.

Phyllis's logistics team spent nearly two months registering all the families. This included the families of all crew members, garrison members, transport ship crew members, Vera's team, and their families—a total of nearly two hundred thousand people. All of them would be transported to Garros aboard the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl was a Gothic-class cruiser, nearly five kilometers long; with a little tidying up and squeezing, its cargo holds and corridors could easily accommodate hundreds of thousands of people, offering far better conditions than transport ships.

The transport fleet has a different mission. The Resolute and ten transport ships will head to Armageddon to recruit immigrants. Captain Hawke has been appointed commander-in-chief of this transport fleet, with full command authority over the route. The ten transport ships have undergone sardine-style conversions, with cargo hold bulkheads removed and crew living quarters and redundant life support pipelines installed; each ship's target capacity has been pushed to its limit.

On the day of boarding, long queues formed at the gangway of the Black Pearl. Families, carrying large and small bags, filed in one after another, guided by their stewards. The corridors quickly filled with people, but the order was maintained. Veteran crew members voluntarily gave up their cabins to families with children, while they themselves carried sleeping bags and found places in the corridors. Phyllis and her logistics team set up supply distribution points on each deck, providing hot meals, drinking water, and medical kits.

Hawke stood at the gangway of the Resolute, watching the last crew members and their families board their respective ships. The families went aboard the Black Pearl, while his crew remained on the Resolute. An old sailor passed by him, stopped, glanced at him, patted him on the shoulder, said nothing, and walked through the airlock of the Resolute.

Hawke crossed out the last name on the data panel. He glanced up at the starry sky above the berth area, then turned and walked into the bridge.

"All personnel and their families have boarded. The Black Pearl is carrying family members, while the Resolute and the transport fleet are preparing to depart for Amighiddon."

The twelve ships slowly slid out of their berths. The Black Pearl was in the center, flanked by the Resolute and ten transport ships—but their courses differed. The Black Pearl would head directly to Garros, while the transport fleet, led by the Resolute, would proceed to Amegiddon.

Vera stood on the bridge of the Black Pearl, sitting next to the first officer's seat, flipping through a data panel. She had changed into the crimson robes of a Tier 3 trainee technical priest, and the badge on her chest was new.

"Captain Cohen." She looked up, her ponytail swaying behind her head. "The Black Pearl is truly magnificent."

Liu En sat in the commander's seat, looking at the starry sky outside the porthole.

"Your Moon-class ship must be very good too. After you take over the ship, you need to quickly build up your combat capability, as there will be plenty of opportunities to fight later," he said.

Vera smiled, then lowered her head to continue flipping through the data panel. After a few pages, she looked up again, a smile still on her lips. "I know my men are all veterans, just lacking real combat experience, and this time we've had some reinforcements."

"Yes, once we get there, we should familiarize ourselves with the place as soon as possible. The elder is over there, but he's just an avatar. We don't know who his real body is, so be careful."

"I understand, thank you for reminding me." Vera shrugged. "The Empire is a deep place, full of ancient beings who have lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years. But the fact that the elders have taken a liking to us is also an opportunity for us."

"Good that you understand. We're just nobody. Anything else? This time, regarding recruitment, especially for combat-experienced members, I heard your father's involvement was quite successful?"

"Yes. Active duty personnel can become retired." Vera put down her data panel and leaned back in her chair. "It's just that some people are upset, but once they're on that Moon-class cruiser, they won't be so upset anymore."

Liu En nodded.

The Black Pearl passed through Mandeville Point and entered the warp. All the armored porthole covers fell down. Sierra maintained the course in the navigation module, while Hera Voss listened to the interstellar broadcasts in the communications module. The ship moved steadily through the purple chaos, carrying nearly two hundred thousand families, toward Garros.

Meanwhile, the Resolute, leading ten transport ships, headed towards Amegiddon along a different route. Captain Hawke stood on the bridge, watching the navigator lock onto the starlight beams, while the Star Speakers took their positions before the psionic arrays. The ten transport ships followed closely behind the Resolute's contrail, leaving streaks of blue thruster flames in the starry sky. They would recruit immigrants, bringing new population to Garros.