Indeed, a Grey Knights Librarian was stationed on Rostov II. This was a guardian specially dispatched by the Inquisition after Alex successfully brewed sanctus wine, to ensure this precious liquid remained free from Warp contamination.
Since his arrival, this Librarian, clad in silver Power Armor, had maintained a low profile, residing deep within the monastery on Rostov.
During his tenure, aside from Alex's personal request for his assistance in investigating the Blood Oath Society's activities, this Grey Knight had participated in almost no other operations.
This situation stemmed from two important reasons: firstly, as a specialized unit dedicated to combating Demons, the Grey Knights' scope of duty did not include routine eradication of heretics.
Secondly, although Alex held the esteemed position of Lord Inquisitor, he did not possess direct command authority over this Astartes Monk, who belonged to the Grey Knights Chapter.
Specifically, the daily affairs of Rostov II rarely necessitated the deployment of anti-Demon experts of the Grey Knights' caliber; moreover, even in situations where they were needed, Alex had no authority to directly order them into action.
Just like when the Daemon Prince manifestation occurred in the Mariupol Sector Capital previously, the local Inquisition branch and the Ecclesiarchy naturally took on the responsibility of handling it, and the Grey Knight stationed on Rostov did not receive a deployment request.
It was precisely for this reason that when 32 suddenly brought up the Grey Knights' movements, Alex couldn't help but show a look of confusion.
He clearly knew that as a Lord Inquisitor, he could at most request assistance from the Grey Knights through negotiation, and they had every right to decide whether or not to respond based on their own judgment.
This subtle division of authority made the Grey Knights' presence on Rostov more like an independent and special security guarantee, rather than a combat force he could directly deploy.
"There is a Grey Knights Librarian, what's wrong? Is there something that requires the Grey Knights?" Alex frowned slightly, asking 32. He felt a vague worry in his heart, fearing that he had overlooked some important situation that necessitated the Grey Knights' direct intervention.
32 waved her hand, revealing a thoughtful expression: "No, not at all. I just think this Grey Knight is a bit idle. Can we utilize him to help train a few Librarians?"
She paused, then further explained: "I went to see the Ash Knights earlier, and it seems they have a few youngsters with Psyker talent. If properly nurtured, they could be trained to become Librarians."
Upon hearing this, a hint of confusion appeared on Alex's face: "Do we need a Grey Knight to train Librarians? I have Primaris Librarians from the Ash Knights, and Professor A is also here. Training Librarians shouldn't require the Grey Knights, right?"
He shook his head, adding: "Moreover, the Grey Knights' own training strategy differs from that of regular Space Marines. They specialize in combating Demons; in other aspects, they are not much different from regular Astartes."
"No, no, no, Alex, you didn't understand what I meant." 32 waved her hand, a cunning glint in her eyes: "I mean, should we take this opportunity to train a squad of Grey Knights?"
"Train Grey Knights? Are you insane?" Alex's face changed, his tone filled with disbelief, "How do you train something like that?"
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, then explained: "Training Grey Knights requires specialized facilities and rituals. Only then can new recruits be ensured to resist Warp corruption and become warriors who will never fall.
Leaving aside where to get Grey Knights' specialized equipment, the training methods might be solved by throwing in a few more Grey Knights pieces, but where do we find a training ground that allows new recruits to actually slay Demons in combat?"
The Grey Knights' training system is one of the most rigorous selection processes in the Imperium.
Firstly, individuals with sufficient Psyker talent must be screened from across the entire Imperium's territory—these candidates are themselves already one-in-a-million Psyker elites.
However, this is only the beginning of a long ordeal; Psykers who pass the initial screening must then face a series of almost brutal elimination mechanisms: according to Inquisition records, only one in a thousand candidates pass the theoretical tests and Psyker adaptability assessments, and the lucky few finally permitted to participate in new recruit training might be only one in tens of thousands.
The most brutal test is the graduation assessment known as the "Six Hundred Sixty-Six Rites of Abomination."
This ultimate trial, lasting several months, requires candidates to maintain their sanity while completely exposed to Warp contamination and complete various combat missions.
Ultimately, the warriors who manage to don the silver Power Armor and gain official Grey Knights designation might have a selection ratio as high as one in ten million.
In other words, for every ten million Psykers that appear throughout the Imperium, perhaps only one qualified Grey Knight can be born.
It is precisely this despair-inducing attrition rate that ensures, even with the vast size of the Imperium of Man, the Grey Knights can only ever maintain the scale of a single Chapter.
These precious anti-Demon experts must be deployed cautiously, typically only appearing in the most critical Demon invasion events.
Theoretically, the Daemon Prince incident previously encountered in the Mariupol Sector indeed met the criteria for Grey Knights intervention.
But coincidentally, before the situation escalated to the point where Grey Knights had to be summoned, local forces had already successfully defused the crisis.
This also explains why, within the entire Mariupol Sector, the only Grey Knight currently on record is the Librarian stationed on Rostov II.
After all, for this most elite anti-Demon unit of the Imperium, every single one of their members is an invaluable strategic resource, and must be used on the most critical front lines.
Alex was emotionally tempted by 32's suggestion to train Grey Knights himself, but his rationality told him that it was highly inappropriate.
"Although we don't have specialized training grounds, by using the excuse of having the Grey Knights Librarian help train Librarians, we should still be able to get some good stuff out of him, right?" 32's eyes sparkled with shrewdness as she continued to persuade him: "Even if we can only learn some basic exorcism rituals or anti-Demon tactics, that would still be unique knowledge from the Grey Knights.
Compared to the techniques ordinary Librarians master, this value is much, much higher."
Alex crossed his arms, his face full of skepticism: "That's true in principle, but in practice, it's probably not that simple."
He sighed and explained: "Think about it, the Grey Knights even need to silence witnesses to maintain secrecy after dealing with ordinary Demons; now you want them to help train Librarians... The probability of this succeeding is minuscule."
"Oh, come on, how will we know if we don't try?" 32 persisted, unwilling to give up: "Maybe that Librarian will agree if he's in a good mood? Anyway, asking won't cost us anything."
Alex pondered for a moment, then finally relented: "Alright, you have a point."
He rubbed his temples: "Alright, I'll find an opportunity to ask Kaldor Draigo for his opinion later. But don't get your hopes up too high."
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