"We... assist that group of children?"
Upon hearing Alexia's words, Athena's expression held a hint of surprise. Athena knew the "Grey Knights" in the simulated town were indeed far stronger than her six hundred Greek demigods, but no matter how powerful the Grey Knights appeared, they were, after all, just children.
"That's right," Alexia responded, scrolling through data on the holographic screen as she continued, "This is the boss's wish. Besides, the number of you Adjudicators is too limited. Handling small-scale supernatural events is one thing, but if there were another Mombasa incident like in Universe Zero Eight, you'd be spread too thin.
"All the Grey Knights have been implanted with the boss's gene seed. While only one in every four hundred thousand youths is compatible with this gene, it still allows for mass 'production.'"
With a wave of her hand, Alexia dismissed the holographic screen. She then moved away from the control console, positioned herself beside Athena, and gazed out at the simulated town where the battle had just ended.
"Your Greek demigods number fewer than a thousand, yet they have far more experience than these newly-adulted kids. Therefore, the boss hopes you and your Greek demigods can serve as the Grey Knights' instructors—or rather, their mentors. This way, your Supernatural Phenomena Control Department will realize its greatest value."
The "Grey Knights" mentioned by Alexia and Athena were also part of the Astartes, but distinct from other types like Dark Angels or Ultramarines. The primary difference lay in their gene seed.
As Alexia had explained, the Grey Knights' youth candidates had been implanted with Samuel Young's gene seed, giving them superior physique, strength, and reaction speed compared to ordinary Astartes. Earlier research reports even noted that Drake, one of the Grey Knights, had a base level of strength six times that of a regular Astartes.
Moreover, Grey Knights were not "cousins" to the other Astartes but rather "uncles and nephews," given that their gene seed originated from Samuel Young. Young had created the Grey Knights project with inspiration from Warhammer 40k, where the origin of the Grey Knights' gene seed remains ambiguous. While some speculated the seed came from a loyalist Thousand Sons warrior, others believed it was a modified gene from the Emperor himself. Regardless of origin, no Grey Knight had ever succumbed to the corruption of chaos.
This immunity could be due to the Grey Knights' gene seed or their rigorous and highly classified training. However, Atlas's Grey Knights possessed authentic gene seeds derived directly from Samuel Young.
At the project's inception, Alexia had conducted countless experiments using unviable clones of Samuel Young, analyzing their genetic material. The initial Thunder Warriors were created from this research and became prime test subjects for the first round of gene seeds.
After gathering sufficient data from the Thunder Warriors, Alexia and her core research team began creating gene seeds based on other Primarchs like Guilliman, Sanguinius, and Lion El'Jonson. Now, besides the original trainee groups, new legions had emerged, led by the likes of Fulgrim, Angron, Leman, Mortarion, and Corax.
The original seven trainee legions had undergone extensive modifications. These included "backup heart implantation," "third lung implantation," "carbon fiber skeleton reinforcement," and "enhancement of sensory systems," along with "the 24th chromosome gene encoding" (corrected from the previous error of 23 chromosomes). With these upgrades, the trainees had become true Astartes.
With the exception of the exceptionally tall Salamanders, the average height of an adult Astartes was around 2.5 meters without power armor and about 2.6 or 2.7 meters with it. Salamanders, on the other hand, averaged between 2.7 and 2.8 meters, with some reaching over 3 meters.
In contrast, Grey Knights who carried Samuel Young's gene seed were "only" around 2.7 meters tall, thanks to adjustments made to their psychic abilities. When equipped with heavy armor, like the Sanctified Terminator armor, a Grey Knight like Drake could easily surpass 3 meters.
Even without using their psychic abilities, Grey Knights could overpower regular Astartes in one-on-one or even one-to-many scenarios. With the expanding recruitment, some legions could now recruit directly from local populations in different universes, like Dorn's Fists of Humanity in Terrila, which had grown tenfold with over ten thousand new recruits in its second wave. Guilliman's Ultramarines were even more impressive, with forty thousand new recruits thanks to the ample resources of the Tomorrow's Edge universe.
Horus's Shadow Moon Wolves also surpassed twenty thousand recruits in their second wave, with new forces controlling small zones of zombies to train fresh troops. In comparison, Magnus's Thousand Sons had only a thousand new members due to the extensive qualifications required for psychic potential and mental resilience.
Thus, the seven initial trainee groups had laid the foundation for what would soon be full-fledged legions, totaling over one hundred thousand young Astartes. In two to three years, they would all complete their surgeries and become fully operational legion members.
Meanwhile, the five newly formed legions—Children of Man, War Hounds, Space Wolves, Dawn Raiders, and Raven Guard—numbered only about five thousand.
However, when the Human Empire officially forms next year under Atlas, it will no longer supply free weapons and armor to each legion. From small firearms to plasma cannons, and even Titan armor, each legion's Primarch will need to cover the costs themselves, with rewards in the form of updated equipment and military support based on accomplishments. In terms of economics and politics, however, Atlas, and later the Human Empire, would maintain direct control over each legion and their respective universes, as each Primarch was a direct descendant of the Atlas leader.
For now, though, the Grey Knights remained a pet project of Alexia, created under Samuel Young's guidance. In the early days of the seven-legion formation, Alexia had selected four thousand suitable orphans from various universes, aged fourteen to sixteen, implanting them with an improved version of Samuel's gene seed. These four thousand youth, hidden from the public eye, had never participated in any major unification wars.
As Atlas announced plans to establish a lunar colony, these Grey Knight candidates were moved to a base on the far side of the moon, where they received training from retired ARS response teams and elite investigators. Samuel Young himself had even visited the moon base to teach them psychic techniques. Upon their coming of age, Alexia selected the best among them, Drake, for the final procedures to make him a full Grey Knight.
The Grey Knights' additional implant, the "Nano-Gland," released multi-functional nanobots capable of rapid healing and fighting off infections or parasites, even in situations where conventional treatments failed. Each Nano-Gland was customized to match the Grey Knight's individual genetics, making their production complex and costly.
As Alexia looked back to Athena, she stated, "Over the next five months, my team and I will have all the Grey Knights ready. At that time, you and your Adjudicators will guide them through their duties, serving both the company, humanity, and the boss."
"Understood," Athena nodded, then asked, "Has Boss Young still not returned to the main universe?"
"Why? Is there something urgent you need to discuss face-to-face?"
"Not exactly." Athena shook her head lightly. "It's just that since joining Atlas, I haven't had a chance to discuss the details regarding supernatural spaces with the boss directly."
"He's still in Universe Zero Eight," Alexia replied, glancing away as she returned to the control console. She ordered her team, "Send in technical staff to retrieve the D-class personnel corpses in the simulated town, and have Drake head to the equipment room to remove his Sanctified Terminator armor and undergo a detailed examination."
"Yes, ma'am," the research team responded in unison.
Athena watched as Alexia took command. "Mind if I join you on the way to the equipment room? I'd like to speak with this Knight named Drake."
"Of course." Alexia had no reason to refuse Athena's request. Though Alexia held little regard for "gods," Athena's resistance to the corruption of the chaotic realm earned her respect.
As for Samuel Young, he had already arrived at the Prosperous Star frontline base with Perturabo, Queen Tina, and others through the Ark Teleportation Device.
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