The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Along the escalator to the main gun deck at the ship's bow, Soshyan's senses were quickly enveloped by various noises, hot vapor, and flickering sparks. Amidst this hustle, he immediately spotted Mikaniz, the leader of the Forge World's Mechanicus, one of the most outstanding engineering masters of the Grand Soresian League, standing on a small stool with a data-slate, discussing matters with the surrounding tech-priests.

Hearing Soshyan's voice, the engineering master, clad in protective gear and a gray trench coat, turned around, revealing an aged but stern face, along with a snow-white beard and hair braided into thin strands.

"Oh, you honor us with your presence, Lord Soshyan."

As he spoke, he didn't forget to take a hard puff from the pipe clenched in his mouth, the smoke twisting into strange and profound shapes as it rose.

"Progress is going smoothly, though of course, it would be better if sales were higher."

Seeming to catch the hidden meaning in the engineering master's words, Soshyan smiled slightly, waving for the surrounding Mechanicus adepts to attend to their duties. The engineering master hopped off the stool and puffed his pipe as he walked to a relatively secluded area.

"Master Engineer Mikaniz, have you encountered any troubles or problems?"

"Well, I wouldn't call them problems, though I had some mental preparation before coming here, I've worked with these tech-priests in the past..."

The old dwarf-like Forge Worlder frowned, a serious smile on his face, as if recalling past events.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not disparaging them. Many of my kin indeed firmly believe they are strange religious fanatics, turning proper science into a jumbled mess of rituals, but I can understand it all. After all, the Imperium of Man exists in a more complex environment, the evil power of the Supreme God is terrifying. Having witnessed things that could drive one mad, I can comprehend their fear. In truth, there's no high or low status in academic thinking. Forge Worlders draw inspiration from existing laws in reality, from the wisdom of our ancestors, while the tech-priests' technical spirit comes from a deeper place within the soul. We are, in fact, of the same origin."

The engineering master then lightly stroked his beard, which concealed his broad chest, beneath the snow-white hair was covered by an ancient rune.

"It's just that their biggest problem is they're not focused enough, unable to devote their attention and effort to the task at hand. When executing a task, they always seem to be calculating other things. At this rate, the current progress will inevitably be delayed."

The other party spoke euphemistically, but Soshyan still understood what the grand engineer was complaining about—

The members of the Uran Huda Mechanicus who were participating in the main gun's manufacturing were always using work time to do other things, most likely probing and stealing Forge World technology.

This was commonplace for the Mechanicus, but for this engineering master, it was a form of negligence and dereliction of duty, disrupting the Forge Worlders' work progress.

Perhaps Bangula had already instructed the adepts to deliberately delay the construction progress, using this construction opportunity to steal as much technical knowledge as possible from the Forge Worlders.

Soshyan pondered for a moment, then responded:

"I will remind Director Bangula, and I am very grateful for your patient supervision of this project. I know it is difficult."

"Haha, this work is interesting for this old beard, and it has been many years since I've overseen such a large project. I still yearn to ignite my creative fire."

"Creative fire?"

"Yes, it exists in our blood, in our bones. The pure need to create things is rooted in the soul of the Forge Worlder. Perhaps for you, it is a heavy task, but it is intrinsic to the life of a Forge Worlder. We use everything at hand—metal, rock, and whatever else—to shape things that others have not seen, and to amaze everyone. Actually, I personally have no prejudice against the Mechanicus. Religious rituals may have their necessity, but... what is rather disappointing is that religious rituals have not brought them a simpler and purer heart like that of believers. In fact, I am often shocked by their appalling utilitarianism and selfishness, as if everything they do is to climb over their fellows, only to fall down for it."

Soshyan was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"I deeply agree, but this is the unfortunate result of the overall environment of the Imperium, as well as the Mechanicus's millennia-old traditions and malpractices."

Afterward, Soshyan inquired about the approximate completion time. Mikaniz told him that the enhanced plasma destroyer cannon would take at least three more years to install according to the ideal schedule, and that was considering that there were no delays in the transportation of core components and no unexpected situations at the construction site.

Fortunately, Soshyan was not in a hurry to use this giant ship and had the patience to wait.

However, after installing this special plasma destroyer cannon, the length of the Abyss-class ship would also change. The original main gun deck would need to be extended, which means its bow would become longer, and the final length of the ship would reach a staggering 31 kilometers!

It should be noted that the longest known warship in the Imperium, the Ultramarines' flagship *Macragge's Honour*, is only about 26 kilometers long, and the *Avesta* was carefully measured after being recovered, with a hull length of only 23 kilometers. This means that this Abyss-class ship is likely the longest warship currently in the Imperium. Of course, this is partly due to its unique hull shape. If calculated by tonnage, it is actually about the same as the *Avesta*, only about 5-7% heavier.

Finally, after wandering around, Soshyan returned to the bridge.

This place was currently only equipped with devices and had no decorations at all. Many places were still under construction, making it look a bit messy, but the area was very large and the design was very unique. It was not the conventional theater-style structure of the Imperium, but a layered tower structure, one hundred meters high, roughly divided into four layers, each layer representing a different functional area. In the middle was a transparent elevator, and the top layer was the captain's command center, where a huge panoramic screen would be built, allowing the captain inside to feel as if he was in space, and various combat data would be gathered here.

However, upon arriving here, Soshyan saw an unexpected person.

"Instructor Sol?"

Sol, clad in silver-gray armor, stood in front of the display, examining the slowly rotating hull structure of the Abyss-class ship, his face showing no particular expression, only a hint of curiosity.

After everyone around had gone to their respective tasks, Soshyan walked over alone, came to Sol's side, and said in a low voice:

"Is it... over?"

Sol raised an eyebrow slightly and replied softly:

"Yes, it's over."

"Then what do you intend to do with him?"

"What if my opinion is somewhat unacceptable to you?"

Soshyan placed his hands on the railing of the display, pondered for a few seconds, and then said slowly:

"Your opinion, I will consider."