136 Familiar Faces
Two months later,
After William and others return to Terranovis, Chapter Master personally dispatched spies and Imperial Guardsmen scouts to gather information about the final dragon mask. Because of its importance, William even submitted an official request to the adventurers guild to find any piece of intelligence regarding the Dragon Cult or the location of the red dragon mask for a hefty price of five thousand gold pieces.
From William's request, many of the veteran adventurers ventured out to find any clues related to Dragon Cult. on the other hand, some of the known scholars and wizards went into deep research to find any ancient text related to the last dragon mask and its last known location. Their goal wasn't the reward money from the new kingdom but also the pursuit of advanced knowledge from the Mechanicus and Magos Valadus Callias.
While William and his forces were busy declaring war against the 20th Legion and vampires, Magos Valadus Callias and his fellow tech priests were conducting various research from materials from the new world to STC data files. Due to the importance of their research into ultimate knowledge and STC itself, Magos Callias and his tech priests didn't participate in a military campaign unless it is related to repairs of the machine sprites. For this reason, by the end of the two months, many of the machines were repaired and ready for duty the moment William decides.
Meanwhile, Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed and his guardsmen went back into training and preparation for the next military campaign as their nature demands it. Thanks to William's ability, Lord Creed received additional reinforcement as more regiments were summoned including,
[Death Korps of Krieg 111th Infantry Regiment: An expert frontline unit with multiple experiences and long military history related to the harshest war environment known to Imperium. This unit comes with three thousand infantrymen and women of Krieg, various vehicles, and a small unit of special Krieg horse riders.]
[Vostroyan Firstborn 30th Regiment: A regiment coming from the Hive World of Vostroya located in Halo Stars. As their name states, their military men are made out of firstborns from citizens and believed to absolve themselves from the shame that their ancestors failed the Emperor during Horus Hersey. Vostroyan Firstborns are equipped with red uniforms, golden armor, and signature fur hat instead of standard military green helmets. Vostroyan Firstborns comes with a total of two thousand men and standard military equipment.]
[Tallarn Desert Raiders: Expert desert guerrilla style soldiers with a long history of worshipping Emperor. Desert Raiders are the opposite of the Valhallan Ice Warriors to the point that they have a natural rivalry. Similar to Catachan Jungle Fighters, utilize guerrilla warfare and lighting fast style of hit and run to weaken the enemy before delivering the killing blow. In total, one thousand Tallarn Desert Raiders with fast-moving Sentinel walkers, and Chimera APC.]
The massive number of new reinforcements made Lord Creed and his officers kept them busy as new people need help readjustment to the New World. It is safe to say, if William wanted to, he can conquer the New World in the name of the Emperor and no mortal can stand up against his military might.
While Lord Creed is busy with new regiments and discipline, Lord Commissar Cain and his trusty aide Jurgen were busy running Cain's Finest as a business boom. This is because of Terranovis's economy and business trade William managed to secure with various leaders from different countries. With more trade, more people came to visit and this meant more business for the first-class inn/bar that welcomed all races including none human.
The welcoming atmosphere and diversity of the inn's commendation spread much faster to the point many of the merchants decide to expand their business outside of the capital wall. Cain saw this coming miles away long ago and after completion of his inn, Cain purchased more land around the outside wall, making him the biggest land owner surrounding his inn.
Aside from booming business and expanding his inn into a growing community, Lord Commissar Cain spends his free time with his new lady friend who is staying with him inside the capital city. With her bearing a child of the Hero of the Imperium and a lady of a noble line, Cain did his best to spend considerable time to comfort the future mother of his child. Ultimately, Cain invest a large amount of time for himself and the people around him which he didn't get to have during his service to the Golden Throne.
Two months of peace and recovery also meant a time off for tired warriors and this includes Living Saint Rana Beckett. After multiple military campaigns, she decided to visit her family back home and bring her army back home. Before going back, William made sure Rana take half a dozen carts full of treasures with her so her family can pay the wounded men for their retirement and reimburse the family who lost their father or son. Without their sacrifice, William knows he wouldn't be where he is as Rana's men did what must be done to secure the Terranovis and save Rana during the battle against Night Lords.
Finally, William decided to take his time between personal and search for the final dragon mask. The first few days started with him going after every lead and clue to finding the dragon cult but for some reason, they were nowhere to be found, it was as if the entire cult went underground after securing the black dragon mask. For this reason, William dedicated his time to research a final ritual of summoning the Dragon Queen and how to defeat her since his mission given by the Star Child is to beat the Dragon Queen.
When William isn't researching or spending his time governing the new nation, he enjoys his free time catching up on the history of the Earth. Using the STC archive and the immense amount of data available, William searches through the history of the Earth, starting from his era to near the end of the Dark Age of Technology. He personally didn't understand the advancement of technology throughout the history of mankind but he managed to understand the development of languages, cultures, wars, and political viewpoints as time passed.
William's insight into the 40k also helped him with a few sightings of a certain individual who manipulated the flow of mankind as a certain event causing benefit to some and loss to many others.
'The destruction of certain super corporations. A power change of certain nations and rebellion on the other side of the globe. There are small clues that William managed to find and who might be responsible.
'I see you Big E.' William turns off the monitor and steps out to get some fresh air. Massive information from the history of Earth kept surprising him as some of the events resulted from chain reactions from people he knew during his time such as politicians and people with massive influence.
Sitting outside and relaxing with tea and small snacks as William enjoy the moment of peace. Considering how things turned out after waking up in the forest, William never got a chance to take time for himself and have a moment to go over everything he have done. At least this time he won't be interrupted by some random monster as he is in the most secure location in the world. That was until someone approach him with urgency in his face.
"My lord, I received a message from the front gate that there is a group of adventurers wanting to meet you. They say they have information about the location of the mask." The messenger reported to William and left quickly as possible when he saw William's face. William wasn't happy as his moment of peace gotten interrupted by the sudden arrival of adventurers with the news he was looking for.
This wasn't the first time adventurers came to William with a piece of new information that turned out to be a lie or misinformation. After two months of multiple reports and didn't bear any results, William was about to have one of his men handle the situation until he saw a vox video of the front gate.
"Well, I'll be damned. I know these guys." Said William as he got up and move towards the fortress as he change his mind.
Through the tablet monitor, a small group of veteran adventurers waits as the gate guard finally allows them to enter the fortress. Herman, the leader steps forward and his men follow as adventurers known as Fireblades entered and are guided to the throne room where William waits with a big smile on his face.
-------------------
The meeting between William and Fireblades went as you could be expected. When the adventurers entered the throne room, they saw a giant of a man with full silver armor on the throne made out of solid stone, they went into full panic mode due to sheer nervousness.
On the other hand, William kept his cool head and maintain the role of the Chapter Master and Lord of the fortress as he gave orders to the Firebaldes to kneel and report what they found regarding the location of the Dragon Cult or dragon mask.
As a leader of the party, Herman spoke clearly as he can and provided all the information regarding the location of the massive cult gathering. As of this moment, Herman believes that the cult is still gathering in massive numbers at the ancient mountain to confront something powerful. With a rough estimation of around three thousand strong and various classes including wizard, mage, warlock, etc, the situation could go beyond out of control.
William remains silent until Herman finishes his report. Having his helmet on and seated like a status, William's presence itself trembles, brave warriors, if they dare to stand against it. Finally, William spoke through his helmet, hiding his voice with a vox speaker.
"I commend your courage to bring this dire news to me. I will send my men to verify the report and until then, all of you will remain here as my guest." William said and was about to stand up to leave when Herman spoke unexpectedly.
"My Lord. I'm not sure if you know this but not that long ago, I met a man in a giant status just like yours. His name is William the Giant and last time I heard, he was in the Alderim capital city. Are you his 'Battle Brothers?'" Herman asked with great concern and William can tell others behind are showing similar faces. William guesses that his name and fame stopped spreading after the founding of his Chapter and was no longer an adventurer.
Smiling behind the helmet, William stands up and descends from the throne to approach the Fireblades. Standing a few feet away, William order Fireblades to raise their heads and after they follow his order, he simply removes his helmet, revealing his identity to old friends from his early days in this New World.
"Yes, I indeed found my brothers and much much more," William said to Herman and others with a smile on his face. It took Firebldes a few moments to realize what just happened and when they fully comprehend the situation, they all went into shock as the man they had been searching for since his disappearance reveal himself as the leader of the newly found nation of superpower.
"Suprise?"
