Chapter 28: A Creation of Humanity from the Golden Age—Time to Go Big

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Rod strapped a suit of Pedan armor to a tree and first tested its strength with the bolter given to him by the Space Marine captain.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rod fired several rounds in succession. When he went over to inspect the armor, he found that it had suffered nothing more than a few white marks. There was not even the slightest sign of damage.

What in the world? That was a bolter! Not one of those ordinary soldiers’ lasguns! It was the standard weapon of the Space Marines, yet it could not penetrate Pedan armor!

In the original story, this armor had performed terribly. Who could have imagined that once it became real, its defensive power would be so absurdly formidable?

But that was exactly what armor forged by an interstellar civilization ought to be like.

And this was merely standard infantry armor. Above it were the lieutenant’s armor and the captain’s armor.

Rod immediately removed the carapace armor he was wearing, put on the captain’s armor, and then donned the Imperial carapace armor over it.

The Pedan armor was exceptionally thin and light. Once worn, it felt almost like a bodysuit. Only the chest was covered by something resembling a layer of armor, yet even that felt soft to the touch. Its defensive power, however, was astonishing.

Worn beneath it, the captain’s armor felt no different from ordinary clothing. The Imperial carapace armor could easily be worn over the top.

Rod then tested the weapons, as well as the teleportation bracelet. Within a radius of ten kilometers, he could teleport freely with the bracelet.

Anywhere within a star system, the bracelet could instantly send him back to his flagship.

The Pedanium ray rifle was devastatingly powerful. A single shot shattered an enormous boulder in the distance and even blasted a deep crater into the ground.

Its power was on an entirely different level from that of a bolter. As for the pistol, it was slightly more powerful than the rifle, had a longer effective range, and was smaller and easier to carry.

They were all treasures.

At that moment, a bold idea took shape in Rod’s mind.

The Red King’s ability to kill the insects had previously been somewhat lacking. The creature could only fight in close quarters. But this King Joe would be an absolute nightmare for the Tyranids.

With its powerful armor and long-range firepower, it could annihilate swarms of insects on a massive scale. King Joe could also fly, making pursuit far easier.

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Rod could farm the insects here. If he encountered another small Tyranid force like this in the future, such an opportunity would be exceedingly rare.

Moreover, once King Joe’s various enhancements were complete—especially after he strengthened the ultimate, asteroid-class Pedanium cannon—Rod would be more than capable of wiping out all the Tyranid hive ships.

When he had first obtained a mechanical monster, he had only wanted to escape from the planet. But King Joe was simply too powerful.

And even if he could not win, he could always retreat aboard a spaceship.

As Rod was contemplating this, footsteps sounded in the distance. The captain of the Polar Warriors, the senior sister, and the Imperial Commissar arrived, led by Elena, the Hospitaller.

The moment they arrived, everyone was captivated by the enormous King Joe before them. Its appearance was overwhelmingly imposing.

“Emperor above! Is—is that a Titan?” the Imperial Commissar exclaimed as he gazed at the enormous golden construct.

It was practically a miracle of the Emperor. Everyone knew that the people of the Imperium revered gold.

When the Emperor once walked among humanity, he wore golden power armor. The power armor of the Adeptus Custodes was golden as well.

Gold was a symbol of the Emperor.

King Joe’s appearance was simply too perfectly suited to the aesthetic tastes of the Imperium. It was not as dazzling as pure gold, but its brass-gold coloring was beautiful in its own right.

“Is this a Titan war machine? It does not appear to have been made by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Its shape is much more in keeping with human aesthetic sensibilities. Could it be...?”

The captain of the Polar Warriors stared at King Joe in admiration. If such a gigantic Titan stood on the battlefield, the encouragement it would provide to ordinary soldiers would be unimaginable. As long as this behemoth remained standing, human soldiers could maintain their fighting spirit and morale.

“That’s right. Just as you suspect, this is a creation from humanity’s Golden Age—a true war machine.

“You should know that all the Titans produced by the Imperium today are merely relics of the Golden Age intended for engineering and construction. They are not true combat platforms.

“But this colossal war machine in my possession was a genuine weapon of war from humanity’s Golden Age. In its time, it held the same status that Titans hold in the Imperium today,” Rod explained.

In the Warhammer universe, technological advancement depended on archaeology. That was no joke, but an accepted fact.

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For various reasons, the Adeptus Mechanicus was not openly permitted to develop new technology. It could only rely on excavating humanity’s relics from the Golden Age.

The enormous ark flagship of the Adeptus Mechanicus had itself been recovered through archaeological excavation. The Imperium of Man could no longer build vessels of such magnitude.

Even Belisarius Cawl, the Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus, was secretly researching artificial intelligence. The largest of the Mechanicus arks did not house a machine spirit at all, but an artificial intelligence.

“How powerful is this war machine’s firepower? Can you operate it alone? Its machine spirit has acknowledged you,” the captain of the Polar Warriors asked as he looked at Rod.

“The mighty machine spirit has recognized me, and I can operate this war machine perfectly. One shot from its main cannon can kill a Tyranid bio-Titan.

“It also possesses a powerful energy shield. Ordinary insects cannot harm it at all.

“Furthermore, this enormous machine can divide into four independent sections and attack separately.” Rod gave the captain a brief introduction to King Joe’s combat capabilities.

He even referred to the machine as “he,” implying that it possessed a machine spirit. In any case, if Rod did not mention it, no one would ever discover the truth.

“Lord Rod, if it divides into four sections and fights independently, can you really control them all by yourself?” the captain of the Polar Warriors asked.

In the Imperium as it currently existed, even the smallest Warhound Titan required dozens of people to operate. Larger classes, such as Warlord and Warbringer Titans, required crews numbering in the hundreds. An Imperator Titan required more than a thousand.

So how could one person possibly control such a gigantic machine after it split into four independent units?

“Imperial Knights can be operated by a single person. And this is a creation from the Golden Age.

“Do not underestimate its technological sophistication. One person can operate it completely. It can even fight in the vacuum of space,” Rod said.

“You—you’re not actually thinking of...?” The captain of the Polar Warriors stared at Rod in astonishment.

He had shown them the combat robot without showing them the spaceship. This boy...!

“That’s right! Sons of Guilliman, how about we do something truly spectacular and annihilate this entire Tyranid force?”