This is the bonus chapter for reaching 100 Powerstones.
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Dawn Tower, Private Conference Room No. 1.
Located on the 233rd floor, this conference room was considerably smaller than the public assembly hall below, offering the privacy needed for Crimson Dawn's most sensitive discussions.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the morning sunlight of Planet Dal spilled across the sprawling buildings of Crimson Hope City. In the distance, veins of Kyber Crystal shimmered with a faint purple glow beneath the sunlight.
The mining equipment never stopped working. Even now, enormous machines were extracting precious crystals and loading them onto transportation conveyors.
The conference room itself was elegantly understated. A massive oval table, carved and polished from a single piece of obsidian, occupied most of the room. Thirty-seven high-backed chairs surrounded it.
Every seat was occupied.
Tax Bro, White Scars, Schrödinger Bro, Blood Angel, G Bro, Loyalty, [Paradox Player Not a War Criminal], [Execute Old Man the War Criminal], [Papa Nurgle Loves All Mankind], [Have You Been Loyal Today?]...
Every person seated around that table was among Crimson Dawn's most important founding members.
Their eyes carried the composure and sharpness of warriors who had survived countless bloody battles.
The conference room doors slowly opened.
Paul stepped inside, each footstep of his golden Aquilon-pattern Terminator armor producing a heavy, muffled thud against the floor.
He wasn't wearing his helmet. His dark-golden eyes swept across the assembled players.
Tax Bro was the first to stand. White Scars followed, then Schrödinger Bro, Blood Angel, G Bro...
More than thirty figures rose to their feet.
Paul approached the head of the table and waved a hand.
"Everyone, sit."
The players immediately took their seats, and Paul settled into his chair.
Behind him stood a silent crimson-gold figure.
She was 3.7 meters tall, clad in magnificent Dragonscale Crimsonfire Armor. Two-inch dragon horns protruded from her head, while a crimson-gold dragon tail swayed gently behind her.
Helovia Elnor.
Crimson Dawn's first Primarch.
She stood quietly behind Paul, her molten-gold eyes passing over everyone present before she acknowledged them with a slight nod.
Paul's low, serious voice immediately drew everyone's attention back to him.
"So, that's where things stand right now."
He paused, surveying the faces around the table.
"Horus has completely fallen to Chaos."
"He's already begun making arrangements to divide the Dark Angels Legion's fighting strength. The Blood Angels, Ultramarines, and every other loyalist Legion have received their own assignments."
"Everything is unfolding exactly as it did in the original history."
His expression grew increasingly grave.
"Our people on Prospero haven't been able to get anywhere near Magnus, either."
"The planet has practically become a gathering place for Chaos-aligned players."
"At least ten Chaos Chapters have established themselves there, and those lunatics have done an excellent job of hiding their true intentions."
"They spend every day surrounding Magnus, feeding him all kinds of knowledge they've purchased from the system store."
"Our people can't even approach the Thousand Sons' inner circle. The moment they make the slightest suspicious move, the Chaos players swarm them and kill them."
"And that's not even the worst part."
"A few of those Chaos players have clearly received Tzeentch's blessings."
"They're unbelievably devious. Our people get caught in one scheme after another and end up dead before they can even get close to Magnus."
Tax Bro slammed his fist against the table.
"Fuck!"
"Those goddamn bastards!"
White Scars leaned back in his chair and spoke calmly.
"It's perfectly understandable."
"Prospero is Thousand Sons territory, and Magnus is one of Tzeentch's primary targets."
"Having Chaos-aligned players concentrate their forces there makes sense from a strategic standpoint."
"If we were in their position, we'd also deploy our main forces to the most important locations."
Schrödinger Bro frowned slightly.
He tapped the table twice with his fingers, his eyes gleaming with thought.
"Prospero..."
"Homeworld of the Thousand Sons."
"That colossal idiot Magnus has probably already sensed Horus's corruption. I'll bet he's preparing to warn the Emperor about Horus's betrayal."
"And before long, he'll smash through the psychic barriers protecting the Webway, forcing the Emperor to remain on the Golden Throne."
"Looks like those Chaos bastards are determined to nail the Emperor to his golden toilet and leave him chained to that damn throne."
"And then Leman Russ, who's an even bigger idiot, will charge in with his Space Wolves and burn Magnus's home to the ground."
White Scars responded without changing his expression.
"Space Wolves versus Thousand Sons. A classic."
"Too bad we can't get involved."
Tax Bro looked thoroughly irritated.
"So you're saying there's no hope of doing anything about Magnus?"
Paul nodded.
"None."
"The Thousand Sons are destined to get their asses kicked by the Space Wolves on Prospero."
"Magnus is destined to fall completely under Tzeentch's influence and eventually ascend as a Daemon Prince."
"That's something we can't change."
A brief silence settled over the conference room.
The veteran players exchanged complicated looks.
Prospero. The Thousand Sons. Magnus the Red.
Another Primarch destined to fall.
Another tragedy they were powerless to prevent.
Paul broke the silence.
"We might not be able to stop any of that, but three months from now..."
"There's another famous operation targeting the loyalists."
"The Isstvan III Atrocity."
Paul turned his attention toward Blood Angel.
Blood Angel rose from his seat and walked toward the holographic projection controls at the side of the room.
He swept his fingers across the control panel, and an enormous three-dimensional star map materialized in the center of the conference room.
The Aurelian and Dal Systems were highlighted in gold.
Two stars, twenty planets, and countless orbital installations appeared across the projection.
Blood Angel began speaking in a calm, clear voice.
"First, let me give everyone a quick overview of our current situation."
He swept his fingers across the star map, causing the planetary icons to illuminate one after another.
"After several years of development, Crimson Dawn now has complete control over both the Aurelian and Dal Systems."
"We currently control more than twenty planets, with a combined population of forty-five billion."
"Aurelian IV, our primary world, has undergone a comprehensive urban redevelopment program."
"We now have more than a hundred surface cities and twenty-seven reconstructed industrial hive cities, along with fully developed education, healthcare, agriculture, and industrial systems."
"As for Planet Dal..."
Blood Angel paused, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Thanks to years of reconstruction and Aurelian IV's continuous support, it's finally beginning to resemble a genuinely civilized world."
"Its culture, military, population, and economy have all experienced explosive growth."
"Crimson Hope City has developed into a massive metropolis with a population of three hundred million."
"Planet Dal's permanent population has now exceeded twelve billion. Across the planet, there are more than one hundred thousand factories, schools, hospitals, and research institutions."
He moved his hand across the projection, revealing countless transportation routes connecting their worlds.
"We've also established a stable transportation network between Aurelian IV and Planet Dal."
"More than five hundred transport vessels travel back and forth between the two worlds every day."
"Kyber Crystal production has increased thirty-sevenfold compared to four years ago."
"And our current strategic reserves are sufficient to sustain three years of warfare on a system-wide scale."
Low murmurs spread throughout the room.
The senior players exchanged satisfied smiles. They had spent years working toward these achievements, and the results were finally beginning to show.
Blood Angel raised a hand, signaling everyone to quiet down.
His expression grew serious.
"However, Crimson Dawn isn't the only faction that's been growing stronger these past few years."
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