At Altar One, twenty-nine Magos stood surrounding Kivior-2, was streams of binharic cant surged through the chamber.
The machine language of 0s and 1s contained all known data about Nareth within the Vostroya system, footage from every hive's surveillance systems, fragments of scanned data…
The sheer volume of this datastorm was so vast that even the most advanced tech-priests who hadn't fully mechanized their minds could not keep up with the Magos' logical engines, let alone process or extrapolate it.
After eleven minutes, the datastorms receded, and the Magos reached a consensus:
[Continue supporting Nareth // Report to Mars.]
Kivior-2 pulsed a binharic command to Magos Kivior-15
[You are to immediately board a ship and return to Mars to report.]
By the night shift's start, during the celebration banquet for Nareth's ascension to Monarch of Vostroya, Kivior-15 boarded a starship bound for the Segmentum Solar
When the day shift ended and the banquet concluded, Nareth issued his first decree as monarch:
"Every noble must bear eleven children. Those failing within thirty planetary cycles shall be stripped of titles."
"Henceforth, siring eleven offspring is mandatory for nobility."
Vostroya's population of just under one billion was far too small—drastic growth was necessary.
Nobles had the resources to raise children, so Nareth set the bar higher for them.
Normal reproduction carried no risk of Slaaneshi corruption; only excess and depravity would draw the Dark Prince's gaze.
All nobles were stunned; none had expected the first decree to be… about boosting birth rates.
No one objected. While more children meant a greater financial burden and inheritance complexity, with adjustments to family protocols, it was manageable.
"Guild clans, such as the Aqua, Promethium, and others, must follow the same standard. Those failing to meet it are barred from holding positions within their guilds."
Guild clans, though lower in status than nobles, weren't much poorer, at least not too poor to raise children.
"Each hive household must bear at least three children. The firstborn serves as military reserve, though siblings may volunteer as substitutes."
"Legal practitioners must produce five offspring…"
Nareth crafted profession-specific requirements, with detail extending to most upper-hive jobs.
He based these on the "Firstborn Regiments" system from his memory of Vostroya, but made it more flexible.
Though coercion disguised as "voluntary" was still possible within families, he aimed to prevent situations like Staven's, where a child willingly replaced an older sibling but had to forge an identity.
"For families with more than five children, I'll personally fund the children's living expenses until adulthood. In families with eleven children, everyone except those who serve in the military can work in my factory."
To encourage childbirth among the hive citizens, Nareth offered incentives. Controlling the Symphony of the Sea, he had the means to support it.
"For lower hive residents: with three children, parents can enter my factory to work, and the children are borne by my finances. For five or more children, all (except those in the reserves) may work in my factories."
The requirements for the lower hive were more lenient and better suited to their conditions.
Everyone present was puzzled; this king wasn't trying to enrich himself, but was spending his own money to fund childbirth. How odd.
Yet they all returned to carry out the decree.
Nareth had already arranged tasks for his subordinates. Maria was called to stay and hear her orders:
"Follow the Kournikova family's model, secretly train assassins loyal to me."
"As you wish."
Maria bowed and left.
Nareth returned to the long table, picked up a dataslate, and examined the new hive city blueprint designed by the best architect Yelena had found in Vostroya. He intended to personally supervise the construction of this "model city."
Meanwhile:
Wojciech traveled to Sopot's Mechanicum shipyard to collaborate on the Fra'al battlecruiser.
Rosicky continued building maglev rail systems in each hive while overseeing STC replication and usage in Nareth's factories.
Yelena Kournikova handled administrative affairs, while her husband, Buksa, organized the hive garrison forces.
Rogninho's Sixth Regiment returned to the Symphony of the Sea and, with the Fourth Regiment leader Szczesny, began expansion. Nareth had set the cap at ten regiments.
Other regimental commanders followed Nareth's expansion directive, aiming for a maximum of thirty-four regiments.
Howard, meanwhile, was assigned a unique role: as a "Sheriff," he had to root out heretic cultists hiding in the Sadnchiga hive city.
He had previously shown a tolerant attitude at noble banquets and had refrained from cracking down on any heretical activity, helping lull the cultists into a false sense of security.
Accustomed to napping in his aircraft, Howard opened his eyes, one icy blue.
'My relaxed behavior must have lulled the heretics. With my 'absence' in the hive, even the most cautious of them should act. Time to strike. No chance for them to react.'
He swapped his precision-crafted power armor for a black robe, covered his golden hair with a hood, and donned a black mask branded with a grey scale.
He then used the hive city's secret royal escape elevator.
Five standard minutes later, the elevator reached the substructure of the hive spire. He exited into a black sedan.
His personal Fifth Regiment soldiers were at the wheel, already familiar with every street and alley in Sunchisancha under his prior orders.
"Route Three."
The "Sheriff" selected a route from the optimized hive map they had prepared, one that minimized repetition and maximized stealth.
"Yes, sir."
The vehicle roared to life and wove through the hive city's streets.
Howard's sharp gaze swept outside. During peaceful times, he often inspected factories, slowly turning the hive into his personal jurisdiction.
Thirty-six standard minutes later, his senses tingled.
Roughly 150 meters ahead, a gray aura was wafting from Warehouse I-3 of a nearby factory. A wave of repulsion welled up within him.
The "Sheriff" knew this was the result of his Beyonder ability: Supernatural Intuition, which let him sense unshielded evil, chaos, or madness at close range.
Through trial and error, he had learned that the effective range of each ability grew with his power and familiarity with his territory.
Shielding didn't mean being indoors; it referred to protective measures like wards.
Howard tapped on the holographic map, marking the warehouse, and activated his communicator:
"Second Platoon, move to the marked location. Wait for my signal. Don't let anyone escape."
Howard had been preparing for this for a long time, he wasn't after just one or two groups. He was ready to purge most of the heretics in one sweep.
Four hours later, his tablet marked nineteen sites: factories, noble estates, and guild zones.