'What a bunch of worry-makers these adults are!
'The men from the Sixth Legion still thought I would become one of Russ's gene-sons, an Astartes just like them!
'Bro, you guys are mistaken. My future is with the Custodes!'
Leman Russ looked at Axis with some amusement.
'This kid actually knows how to avoid trouble now!
'But didn't you tell me you were born a warrior race? In that case, I'll make sure you get to fight to your heart's content in the future.'
The Space Marines of the Sixth Legion nodded and, following the Wolf King's orders, helped carry Axis's small spaceship into a transport ship.
Soon, other tribal warriors boarded the shuttles sent by the Emperor, one after another.
Accompanying them, several Tech-priests from Mars began a large-scale landing on Fenris.
They were here to carry out modernization and mechanized construction.
Their main task was to build a massive Space Marine monastery here.
In the future, this would become the Sixth Legion's base, equipped with facilities to independently modify new Space Marines.
Before long, the shuttles soared into Fenris's sky and gradually left the planet, heading for space.
After mastering the Bukūjutsu (Sky Dance Technique), Axis had often flown by himself, but being so young, he could only reach altitudes of a few thousand meters.
He'd never flown so high as to leave the atmosphere.
As the shuttle rose, what greeted Axis's eyes was a snow-white planet!
Fenris really was a beautiful world.
After a dozen minutes or so, the transport docked in orbit above Fenris at the Imperator Somnium, the flagship of the Great Crusade, personally commanded by the Master of Mankind.
It was a massive golden command carrier, its size comparable to the massive orbital plates.
Surrounding it were numerous battle barges, destroyers, cruisers, and escort ships.
After the Fenrisian heavy warriors boarded the Imperator Somnium, they were led away by Tech-priests for physical examinations. All these people were to be transformed into Space Marines by implanting Russ's gene-seed.
These native tribal warriors, once inside a starship, all turned into curious babies, looking around in wonder.
"Stop gawking! Come with me, you're about to receive the Astartes surgical modifications. If you pass the screening, it'll take five or six years to complete your transformation." A Tech-priest spoke up.
To them, Fenris was nothing but a savage world, its human civilization was at best medieval, maybe even less advanced.
"Warriors of the tribes, don't let them look down on you! Go and receive your modifications. I hope every one of you will become my children." Russ nodded to the crowd as he spoke.
"HOWL!! For the Wolf King! We will definitely succeed and become your children!" The tribal warriors thumped their chests, following the Tech-priests away.
This time, most of the warriors Russ had brought were under 20 years old; some had only just entered adolescence.
The success rate for their Astartes transformations would be much higher.
As for the ten fully grown adults who each had a 100% chance of successful Astartes surgery, Russ hadn't used those opportunities just yet.
"Please come with us. The Emperor is waiting for you." A Space Marine from the Sixth Legion gestured politely.
Russ nodded and led Axis, following behind the Space Marines of the Sixth Legion. Before long, they arrived at a grand hall in the center of the ship.
The Master of Mankind, the Emperor, was seated high upon the throne.
Beside him stood a group of imposing warriors, each about 3.2 meters tall, clad in golden armor and wielding power halberds.
These were the Emperor's Custodian Guard. Wherever the Emperor appeared, they would follow.
Curious, Axis raised his scouter and scanned these golden warriors, wanting to see just how high their power levels were.
A series of beeps sounded. It was relatively quiet, but still enough to catch the attention of all the Custodians present.
However, since it was just a child, and brought here by the Wolf King, the Custodians didn't say anything.
After all, the Emperor had previously said that a new recruit would be selected for the Custodes here, and it was probably this kid.
Power level 1123. Power level 1168. Power level 1112. Power level 1113. Axis scanned four Custodians in succession.
Their power levels were all above a thousand.
Each of them possessed physical strength at least a dozen times that of a regular Space Marine.
The Custodes were indeed a cut above.
Standing next to the Emperor was a man about four meters tall, clad in pure white power armor, with a stern, bald face.
"You're finally here, Leman Russ!
"Let me introduce you. This is your brother, the Primarch of the XVI Legion, the Luna Wolves. He's also the first Primarch I recovered: Horus." The Emperor smiled and nodded to Russ, introducing the son at his side.
This was the Emperor's proudest son, the one he had always groomed as his heir. Horus, whether in raw strength or military talent, made the Emperor very satisfied.
Axis was also quite curious, glancing at this towering man.
So this was the "filial son" of the Emperor, the very one who would one day become the biggest cause for the Emperor ending up on the Golden Throne.
"Hahaha! Greetings, brother!" Russ greeted Horus with great enthusiasm.
What he got in return, though, was an eye roll.
Truth be told, Horus found his brother's barbarian getup a bit hard to look at, was this savage supposed to his brother?
And with Russ's return, Horus was no longer the Emperor's only son.
To be honest, that made Horus a bit uneasy.
But outwardly, Horus still put on a smile and nodded to Russ.
"Greetings, brother," Horus replied with a smile.
The Emperor noticed Horus's subtle change.
His first recovered son, the one he doted on most, might feel a little uncomfortable now that he had a brother by his side.
Still, the Emperor believed that Horus would soon get along well with his new brother, this child had never disappointed him.
"Russ, before your return, all the Astartes Legions had only number prefixes.
"Now that you Primarchs are coming back, you may rename your own Legions.
"For example, Horus's Legion is now called the Luna Wolves. What name would you like for yours?" the Emperor asked.
"Hmm! Father, let's call my Legion the Space Wolves, to keep the wolf theme," Russ replied.