The importance of this document was self-evident, as in the past ten thousand years, since the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, no decree had ever been personally issued and signed by Him.
That was a legend that only existed in the Great Crusade Era, the highest honor that only the outstanding individuals of that era could obtain.
And now, the letter of appointment in Alex's hand became the only document personally signed by the Emperor in ten millennia.
Every letter on this document contained the will of the Emperor; its sanctity far surpassed any Ecclesiarchy holy relic, unless it was something used by the Emperor Himself or other Primarchs.
In a sense, the authority represented by this document even superseded the High Lords of Terra and the Gene-Seed Primarchs—because it directly carried the will of the Lord of Humanity.
When the six Astartes saw the golden glowing signature, all their doubts vanished.
Captain Galadon of the Imperial Fists knelt on one knee, while Captain Tycho of the Blood Angels devoutly made the Aquila sign across his chest.
The existence of this sacred document made executing Alex's orders no longer a choice, but a holy fulfillment of the Emperor's will.
In fact, both the Imperial Fists and the Blood Angels had loopholes and opportunities to exploit when it came to military expansion and conscription.
The Imperial Fists had a unique advantage in this regard—the special existence of the Black Templars.
As one of the most unique Astartes Chapters, the Black Templars were completely unbound by the Codex Astartes' restrictions on troop numbers.
The organizational scale of this Chapter, which was always on Crusade, remained a mystery.
A standard Expeditionary Force of theirs was equivalent to the full complement of a regular Chapter, and how many such Expeditionary Forces existed, only the High Marshal of the Black Templars himself likely knew the full truth.
Therefore, if the Imperial Fists wished to expand their forces, they could cleverly utilize this mechanism.
They only needed to establish a new "Expeditionary Force" under the name of the Black Templars, and then incorporate all newly recruited warriors into it.
This new force could openly be stationed near the Imperial Fists' fortress monastery, receiving training and command from the parent Chapter, yet completely unrestricted by the Codex Astartes' organization.
As long as it was handled properly, the High Lords of Terra would be unable to raise any objections.
After all, this was the "traditional privilege" of the Black Templars.
Of course, the prerequisite for all of this was to maintain discretion—neither expanding too obviously nor openly challenging the authority of the High Lords of Terra.
Moderate low-key behavior and disguise were the long-term strategy.
As for the Blood Angels lineage, they possessed a unique organization that no other Chapter could match—the Death Company.
This force, born of the curse, carried the deepest pain and glory of Sanguinius's sons; warriors who succumbed to the Black Rage would be separately organized into this special unit.
Their crimson power armor was painted a deathly black, for they had forever lost their sanity, and the curse in their Gene-Seed made them irredeemable; their only choice was to die gloriously on the battlefield in the most tragic way.
This unique tradition created a subtle gray area for the Blood Angels lineage Chapters.
According to a ten-thousand-year-old custom, Death Company warriors were usually not counted in the Chapter's total strength; they existed outside the official organization yet indeed fought for the Chapter.
Of course, specific implementation might be open to discussion.
But for the sons flowing with the blood of Sanguinius, the existence of the Death Company indeed cleverly bypassed the Codex Astartes' thousand-man organizational limit, becoming an unmentionable part of the Chapter's strength.
And now, with the widespread use of sanctus wine, the Blood Angels lineage's Death Company was undergoing a revolutionary change—more and more warriors were gradually recovering their sanity, and the light of reason was rekindled beneath their pitch-black armor.
This meant that the true combat strength of the Blood Angels lineage Chapters actually far exceeded their documented numbers; those warriors who should have died could now be re-integrated into regular units.
Of course, this increase was also limited; after all, for a Chapter to maintain a Death Company of one or two hundred men was already quite astonishing, almost equivalent to an additional company of troops.
Except for large exceptions like the Blood Angels Chapter itself, most successor Chapters' Death Companies were ultimately only the size of a company.
After all, the Black Rage was also a secret that could not be made public for the Blood Angels, and those who fell into the Black Rage were not that common, so the number of Death Company members would never be particularly high.
And an additional one or two companies of troops for the entire Chapter was merely a negligible error on the organizational chart, far from warranting special attention from the High Lords of Terra or the Inquisition.
So, theoretically, the Blood Angels could adopt a more aggressive solution—having those battle-hardened veterans collectively don the Death Company's iconic black armor, thereby freeing up slots in the official organization.
But such an approach would be too blatant, violating the honor code that Sanguinius's sons prided themselves on, and also bringing unnecessary political risks to the Chapter.
Neither the venerable Chapter Master Dante nor the astute Alex would truly adopt such a simple and crude method.
In contrast, cleverly utilizing the explicit Codex Astartes rule of "no organizational restrictions during Crusades" was not only more dignified and compliant but also provided greater flexibility in practical operation.
This gray area could both secure substantial troop expansion authority for the Chapter and avoid giving others a handle, making it a perfect solution.
It was precisely for this reason that the representatives of the Blood Angels and the Imperial Fists, after a brief discussion, quickly agreed to Alex's request for troop expansion.
After all, they knew full well that in this turbulent era, stockpiling more elite forces would not only better safeguard the Imperial territory but also provide more room for maneuver when dealing with unexpected crises.
However, just as everyone reached a consensus on troop expansion, Alex suddenly turned his gaze to the silent Cawl, posing a question that made the faces of the six Astartes present change drastically: "Lord Cawl, how many Primaris Astartes do you have available in the Sol System?"
This question, directly touching upon the Empire's most sensitive topic, instantly made the atmosphere in the meeting hall heavy.
Facing Alex's inquiry and the gaze of the six Astartes, Cawl merely thought for a moment before retorting: "Lord Alex, from what position are you asking me this question?"
"The Emperor's Special Envoy, with full plenipotentiary powers. I wonder if that identity is sufficient?" Alex looked directly at Cawl, with no intention of beating around the bush, and spoke frankly: "I need you to provide a portion of troops to the Imperial Fists, to assist the Phalanx when it leaves Holy Terra, and to attempt to rescue a group of veteran Ultramarines from the Great Crusade Era on Cadia."
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