Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde

"Great Master, you have arrived! My laboratory is a bit messy, I apologize!" Balt immediately put down his work, bowed, and spoke upon seeing Rhodes.

"Hmm! It's alright, continue with your work. I'm here to check on your progress," Rhodes said as he walked into the laboratory.

Balt had indeed worked hard. It had only been a little over a day since he had been summoned, yet he had already managed to set up the laboratory.

"Great Master, I was just about to report some findings to you! After completing the construction of the laboratory, I immediately conducted physical examinations on these soldiers.

I extracted and analyzed their artificial organs, and I have now gained a preliminary understanding of their bodies. I have figured out how they were modified," Balt explained.

"Is that so? It looks like you're making good progress. What do you think of this space marine modification procedure?" Rhodes asked.

"If I were to give an honest assessment, this procedure is absolute garbage. I see nothing impressive about it at all.

Some newly spacefaring civilizations might use this kind of modification surgery on prisoners to enhance them, but any civilization that has truly entered the technological age would never use such procedures—not even for civilian applications.

The mortality rate for this modification is extremely high. Out of every dozen surgeries, only one might be successful. Most subjects fail—some die, while others are left permanently disabled.

And it's not like this surgery couldn't be improved. A few minor modifications could greatly reduce casualties—it's such a simple thing.

Yet, they stubbornly stick to rigid, mechanical procedures without any flexibility.

This modification method has a lot of flaws, though there is one aspect worth noting—the gen-seed is quite fascinating," Balt said.

After a long critique, the only thing that had caught Balt's interest was the gene-seed—though only slightly.

While examining these space marines, he also inquired in detail about the 19-step organ modification procedure.

He learned about the gene-seed—this tumor-like structure—which appeared to be the foundation of the entire modification process.

Without this so-called gene-seed, the human body would be completely incapable of withstanding the extreme modifications.

However, what puzzled Balt was why these enhanced genetic organs—these gene-seeds—were not causing any rejection reactions within the super soldiers' bodies.

Logically, forcibly implanting foreign genes into a body should trigger rejection.

Yet, these space marines showed no such response.

It seemed that the genetic seed was perfectly compatible with the human species.

Balt reported all these findings to Rhodes in full detail.

"The gene-seed is a special organ extracted from the Primarchs and cultivated for implantation. Primarchs are a highly advanced form of enhanced human life.

Once implanted, the gene-seed does not cause rejection; instead, it strengthens their bodies," Rhodes explained.

"Lord Rhodes, there's one more thing I must tell you.

I have discovered a problem with these gene-seeds. While they are derived from human genes, they contain some unusual substances.

There are even some unsafe elements—serious hidden risks—that could cause these warriors to develop genetic disorders or even mutations," Balt said.

"These are the hereditary diseases of some space marines, originating from the Primarchs' genetic material.

Do you think you can remove these flaws?" Rhodes nodded and asked.

The gene-seeds of space marines were indeed prone to issues. Unfortunately, this was due to their inherited traits from the Primarchs.

Moreover, space marines often carried out operations in dangerous environments, making them susceptible to corruption. Some corrupted gene-seeds had likely been used as well.

"Lord Rhodes, I can remove these genetic defects, but I require the original gene sequence.

The gene-seeds within these space marines are already impure.

Only the gene-seed of the one called Roboute Guilliman remains relatively stable—others have varying degrees of issues," Balt explained.

Among these Deathwatch members, nearly 70% carried Guilliman's genetic lineage—about 20 of them were Guilliman's gene-sons.

It was inevitable—after all, Roboute Guilliman's gene-seed was known for being relatively safe and stable.

"For now, there's no need to replace the gene-seeds. Just use what they already have.

Do you have any improvement plans for the space marines modification procedure?" Rhodes asked.

For now, there was no need to alter the gene-seeds. In the future, Rhodes planned to use his own gene-seed instead.

Right now, he wanted to know what improvements Balt could make to the existing space marines surgery.

"Then, Lord Rhodes, please allow me to explain. First, I can enhance their strength by implanting some bio-muscles that I have cultivated.

These bio-muscles are byproducts I extracted when modifying Zetton.

I'll weaken them slightly so that their bodies can endure the enhancement.

Additionally, I will use a drug that increases their bone density, significantly improving their physical resilience.

This bone-strengthening technique comes from the experimental notes of the Yaloo people.

As for new organ implants, these are the only two.

Beyond that, I can also enhance their existing artificial organs.

I will strengthen all their current artificial organs and refine their surgical procedures.

This will drastically increase the success rate of the surgery—probably to around 99%!

The modifications aren't too drastic, but they should at least increase their combat effectiveness by three to five times!" Balt said.

To be honest, he looked down on such low-grade enhancement surgeries.

However, since Rhodes had ordered it, he would reluctantly make the modifications.

For now, adding Zetton's weakened bio-muscles and the Yaloo people's bone-enhancement drugs should be sufficient.

Any more, and their fragile bodies would not be able to withstand it.

Otherwise, he would have liked to add Zetton's monster hide, some of its energy beam abilities, space survival adaptations, and other monstrous powers.

Unfortunately, there simply wasn't enough room for such enhancements.

As for the 19 artificial organs, aside from the genetic seed, they could all be fortified to increase their effectiveness.

This would comprehensively enhance the combat power of these space marines.

For Balt, this wasn't particularly challenging.

Hopefully, Rhodes wouldn't be too disappointed.

"Sounds good. Let's proceed with your plan.

After the modifications, will their physiques become larger?" Rhodes asked.

In the original Warhammer 40K lore, Belisarius Cawl's Primaris Space Marines had only three additional modifications—using a purer gene-seed.

However, Balt had modified all 19 procedures, enhanced every artificial superhuman organ, and added two new superhuman organs.

These included Zetton's bio-muscles and the Yaloo people's bone-enhancement drugs.

This version of the space marines shouldn't be weaker than the Primaris Marines, right?

"Lord Rhodes, their height and body size will remain unchanged.

This is organ enhancement surgery, not biological gene modification.

However, if you wish for them to grow taller, I can certainly make that happen.

How tall would you like them to be?" Balt asked.

Increasing their height by two or three meters was no problem.

But if Rhodes wanted them to reach 40 or 50 meters tall, that would be a monumental project requiring thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of years.

Not to mention, Balt couldn't do it alone—this would be akin to evolving an entirely new species.

The Baltians themselves had undergone such a transformation, evolving from a species with an average height of 2 meters to a 48-meter-tall race after tens of thousands of years of genetic refinement.

In the Ultraman universe, normal lifeforms had limited lifespans and capabilities.

Only by evolving their entire species into giant lifeforms—gaining lifespans of hundreds of thousands of years—could they truly become a top-tier cosmic race.

"Increase their height to around three meters. Nothing else needs to change," Rhodes said.

The height of the Primaris Space Marines was already quite impressive—three meters was just right.

"If it's just increasing their height to three meters, that's easy.

I just need to modify their growth hormones," Balt said.

He had thought Rhodes wanted them to become giants, but it turned out to be just a slight height adjustment—this was trivial.

Moreover, a larger physique meant more room for bio-muscles, enhancing their strength.

Larger modification organs could also be cultivated for better results.

"OK. How soon can the surgeries begin? And how long will it take to fully modify this batch of space marines?" Rhodes asked.

He was eager to see the results of the upgraded space marines.

"Lord Rhodes, I first need to extract Zetton's genetic sequence to cultivate the weakened bio-muscles.

Then, I will integrate them with their genetic seeds to prevent rejection.

Next, I will prepare the bone-density enhancement drugs and cultivate the enhanced superhuman organs.

The entire process will take about two to three months.

Most of the time will be spent cultivating the organs and bio-muscles.

The surgeries themselves will take only a few hours, and they will need about 72 hours of induced sleep to adapt to their new physiques," Balt explained.

Unfortunately, the current experimental equipment was rather basic.

He had modified medical pods into makeshift incubation chambers, so the process would take some time.