Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Mortal Auxiliary Army

“What are your thoughts on this matter, everyone?”
In a conference room within the Imperial Palace, Wang Ming and the other transmigrators were discussing the expedition to Moers.
“There are too many variables on this planet—titanium, chaos, gene thieves, and the undead. It’s a complete mess,” Wang Xiaofa said as he put down the Moers dossier that had been giving him a splitting headache, sharing his opinion with Wang Ming.
“It won’t be easy. Even if we can go head-to-head with the undead, dealing with titanium, chaos, and gene thieves will still be a major hassle,” Hu Jin added. The transmigrators could indeed fight the space undead directly, but the interference from other enemies would still be significant.
Though the transmigrators could resurrect endlessly, there were still adversaries they found troublesome. After all, their main objective in going to Moers wasn’t just to retrieve the Emperor’s old friend’s belongings.
According to Wang Ming’s plan, Moers could become a base of operations for the transmigrators—a hub from which they could support neighboring worlds, gradually integrating them for large-scale development. This cluster of industrial worlds would, in turn, provide vital support for Guilliman’s Indomitable Crusade.
“By the way, boss, are we not going to do anything about the Valles incident?” Wang Xiaofang suddenly remembered Abaddon’s blockade of the solar system.
“No need. Guilliman already spoke to me about it—he’s handling the matter himself. All we need to do now is finish conscription and head to Moers,” Wang Ming replied.
Earlier, Guilliman had already discussed with Wang Ming the importance of Valles, a critical subspace route connecting the solar system, and assured him that he would take care of it.
It was worth noting that during their conversation, Guilliman had seemed mentally drained, as if he’d just faced off with a Great Old One and was still reeling from the encounter.
“That settles it. Let’s finish recruiting the auxiliary mortal regiment, and I’ll have two new ships prepared for our journey to Moers,” Wang Ming concluded, addressing the transmigrators in the conference room.
After the meeting, the captains of each transmigrator company headed to the mid and upper hives of Terra’s hive cities to begin recruiting for the “Star Transmigrators” mortal auxiliary regiment.

Let’s turn our attention now to a recruitment point in one of the hive city’s middle tiers.
On a plaza within the mid-hive, several transmigrators and a member of the Custodes were working alongside recruitment officers from the Departmento Munitorum, overseeing the enlistment of new soldiers.
Surrounding the recruitment point were enormous posters advertising military service.

On these posters was a soldier from the Astra Militarum, brought in by Wang Ming for a staged photo.
He stood beside a transmigrator, clad in a “Golden Age” Human Federation standard power armor, holding a QBZM21 laser rifle in one hand and the sealed helmet of his armor in the other, smiling. The poster bore the slogan: “For the Emperor—Enlist Now! Fight side by side with the Space Marines!”
“It’s almost been a whole day—why hasn’t anyone signed up yet?” one of the transmigrators at the recruitment point yawned, chatting idly with his companion.
“If you’re asking me, who am I supposed to ask? People have been watching all day, but not a single one has actually registered.”
Over the course of the day, many imperial citizens had gathered to watch, but not a single one had stepped forward to enlist.
“Honored Astartes, I am here to enlist.”
Just as the two transmigrators had grown bored and begun chatting, a voice suddenly sounded behind them.
Startled, they turned their heads quickly, as if afraid the newcomer might bolt at any moment.
“You want to enlist?” one of the transmigrators asked the man before him.
Seeing the two turn to look at him, the man quickly dropped to one knee, giving the Aquila salute with his hand.
“Yes, honored Astartes,” the man said.
The transmigrator, seeing the man kneel, instinctively reached out to help him up.
“Come with me, then.”
Led by the two transmigrators, the man was brought to the recruitment desk.
“Name, age, any particular skills?” A recruitment officer from the Munitorum sat across the table, form in hand, asking the basic questions.
“My name is Jose Indel, age forty-seven, former Major in the 556th Astra Militarum Regiment, Krast,” the man replied, producing his officer’s ID from his service and handing it over.
The officer examined the credentials, verifying they were genuine, and then looked at Jose with a rather curious expression.
“Are you certain you want to reenlist?” he asked, returning the ID.

“I am certain,” Jose replied as he put away his ID, his words filled with resolve.
“But why? Your record shows you served with the Astra Militarum for twenty-eight years. You finally managed to retire—why sign up again?” the officer asked, unable to comprehend Jose’s reasoning.
Jose said nothing, simply fixing the officer with a gaze full of unwavering determination.
“All right,” the officer finally said, quietly filling out the enlistment form.
With Jose taking the first step, the other onlookers began to approach the recruitment point, signing up to join the army.
They had all been watching, but none dared to be the first. Now, with Jose’s lead, the number of recruits grew rapidly.
“In the past few days, we’ve recruited a total of 154,000. Still far from our goal of a million,” Wang Xiaofa reported to Wang Ming in the meeting room aboard the “Imperial Truth.”
“It’s decent. Let’s keep recruiting for another week. If we fall short, we can fill the ranks once we’re on Moers,” Wang Ming replied.
As for equipment and weaponry, Wang Ming had ensured the “Star Transmigrators” mortal auxiliary received only the best: “Golden Age” power armor and QBZM21 laser rifles.
Though still no match for the Space Marines in direct combat, this gear was vastly superior to what the average Astra Militarum regiment received—even a bit better than what the Solar Auxilia had during the Great Crusade.
Of course, these would only be issued after proper training, and Wang Ming had already made training arrangements.
He had drawn instructors from the Palace Guard and units recalled to Terra by the High Lords’ orders to act as trainers for the new recruits.
Notably, many of the units recalled to Terra by High Lords’ orders had, before even arriving, received new instructions from the Imperial Lord Protector to assemble in the palace district and await orders from the “Star Transmigrators” legion.