"I understand," the Stone Sentinel agreed, conceding to let the army face the demons directly.
It could invoke the computational power of its colossal control array to simulate potential futures or even passively observe events and rewind to alter outcomes. Yet, even without such measures, the Stone Sentinel knew that allowing Carlos to curry Tzeentch's favor would lead to unimaginable ruin.
"The Celestial Engine will not interfere in the ground battle; the Talon Navy will provide orbital support to ground forces," Qin Mo said, preparing to leave Kreed's office. But before departing, he arranged a few more matters.
Raising his hand, Qin Mo imprinted a vision directly into Kreed's mind.
The imminent appearance of psykers, the chain of command of the Talon Army, the Blackstone obelisks on Cadia, the specialized Talon anti-psyker Thirteenth Regiment, and the soulless guardian named Yorn—all this, coupled with the looming psykers who would soon manifest on the plains of Toyoko, unleashing demons upon Cadia.
The crux of the matter was that the Celestial Engine had returned to the past every time events spiraled beyond repair, perpetuating this cycle more than a dozen times.
Through the images, Kreed gleaned every detail of each loop. He now understood that the metal planet floating in space was not only a terrifying war machine but also capable of rewinding time.
Kreed, however, found himself only faintly surprised. From his wayward arrival in the Talon system to the present, he had witnessed one bewildering marvel of arcane technology after another, until such wonders felt almost mundane.
He took only a minute to process the flood of information, then set about preparing for the impending battle.
He ordered the conventional forces on the Toyoko Plains to withdraw to the edges, then mobilized the Titan Legion and the Mechanicus's Hundred-Engine Battalion stationed nearby.
After issuing a stream of orders, Kreed looked up at Qin Mo, his lips parted to ask questions—though he found himself at a loss for what to inquire.
A multitude of questions swirled within Kreed's mind: Why would psykers emerge on Cadia in an hour? How could they unleash demons, and what precisely were these demons?
Yet, Kreed ultimately suppressed his inquiries, realizing that knowledge was secondary to the task at hand—battle.
"Protect yourself," Qin Mo cautioned before vanishing from Kreed's sight.
Qin Mo bent the coordinates around himself, transporting to a location beneath the Blackstone obelisk array.
This hidden chamber served as a control room, unknown even to the Cadians. It was Belisarius Cawl who should have come here first, but due to the deviations caused by the Thirteenth Black Crusade, it fell upon Qin Mo to study these dark artifacts himself.
This wasn't a sudden decision. Even before arriving on Cadia, Qin Mo had intended to study Blackstone. While Cadia endured Chaos fleet bombardments, he had ordered the main intelligence system to manufacture logistics machinery to gather data.
Once the Celestial Engine reached the Cadia system, these machines deployed autonomously, and a hundred of them landed near Blackstone obelisks to gather data.
To this day, they had yet to collect enough information; a little more time was needed.
"You could ask the Void Dragon on Mars about using Blackstone. Shall I bring Ms. Vanessa to your location?" inquired the Stone Sentinel within the Celestial Engine.
The Stone Sentinel's question was prompted by its limited knowledge of Blackstone, which indicated that the Void Dragon had developed the technology, and that a fragment of it lay imprisoned on Mars.
If Qin Mo wished for rapid understanding, the simplest solution was to ask on Mars directly. But first, he would need to gain permission from someone influential in the Empire's upper echelons—someone like Vanessa.
"Not feasible," Qin Mo dismissed.
In his view, the Void Dragon, defeated and bound on Mars by the Emperor, likely didn't even remember its own nature.
**[Data collection progress: 90%]**
One of the logistics machines sent an update.
The machines could quantify their progress because they were gathering foundational information: the elemental makeup of Blackstone obelisks, the physical properties of Blackstone—not its practical usage.
While waiting, Qin Mo reviewed the gathered data.
Blackstone undoubtedly belonged to the material universe; it was a mineral, tangible and real. Yet what perplexed him was his inability to directly perceive or manipulate Blackstone.
Metals like iron or copper—he could sense, analyze, and control them with ease, forging orbital docks with his own hands in the Underhive. But Blackstone felt vague and veiled to him.
No matter—so long as Blackstone wasn't of the warp, it could be harnessed. It would just require an additional step of research.
**[Data collection complete.]**
**[Generating Blackstone composition list… Generating energy response list…]**
A stream of information flooded Qin Mo's mind, and he immediately began studying how to utilize Blackstone.
As Blackstone's secrets gradually revealed themselves, he anticipated needing less than three hours to formulate its application.
...
**Northern Toyoko Plains.**
The Astral Army had established a defensive line.
Twenty regiments of Cadia's Assault Corps and five regiments of Mordian Iron Guard manned this line. They needn't construct fortifications themselves, as scores of logistical machines—transported by Talon warships to Cadia—had reached the battlefield and were assembling fortresses in ways that astonished the soldiers.
The plains between the northern Toyoko and the Mirac Fortress remained open fields without topographical advantages. Thus, the logistical machines printed fortresses, each accommodating five thousand soldiers, at one-kilometer intervals.
The gaps between the fortresses were filled with dense pillbox clusters, and the defenses were lined with mines and barbed wire.
On each flank of the Toyoko Plains, the defenses were arranged similarly, though the rugged terrain in the south received additional support from the Titan Legion.
The Talon Army, with its teleportation advantage, was not stationed directly on any defensive line. Kreed considered their ideal usage to be rapid support rather than static defense.
Joining the defense were approaching forces of Battle Sisters and Space Marines, reinforcements previously transported to Cadia by Talon freighters.
Only 20% of the total forces were expected to engage on the plains.
Kreed refrained from deploying all troops on the plains for a simple reason: the psykers who summoned demons could emerge anywhere, not just on the plains. If the first wave started on the plains, what prevented it from emerging near Mirac Fortress or even the heart of Cadia?
Still, he opted to fortify the Toyoko Plains instead of dispersing his forces into the fortresses.
In the vision Qin Mo had shown Kreed before departing, each cycle saw more psykers attempting to flood the Toyoko Plains.
Surely, there had to be a reason for that.