After determining Carol's operational strategy, Emrys led a Elite Kill Team and his secretary, Elsa, aboard a Valkyrie Transport.
The Valkyrie Transport skillfully bypassed the combat zone and directly entered the atmosphere of the Vigilus. Intense airflow friction with the ship caused slight tremors as they officially arrived at the Vigilus!
They entered the spaceport and passed verification.
As the hatch opened, Emrys stepped out, and what greeted his eyes were the dense, cloud-piercing hive city spires, like a jungle of steel.
Industrial zones, spreading wildly like plants, formed the unique landscape of the Vigilus. Massive hive city districts composed a steel continent, standing on the barren surface of the Vigilus.
Their first stop upon arriving at the Vigilus was the hive city continent ruled by the Agamemnus family.
"Welcome, Mr. Merlin Emrys ." At this moment, the Astra Militarum Commander guarding the spaceport quickly approached him and bowed respectfully: "On behalf of the Vigilus, I express our deepest gratitude to you and the great Emrys Trader Dynasty for defending the Imperium of Man against the damnable heretic invasion."
The spaceport was very deserted. Besides a dozen Astra Militarum soldiers lined up for a simple welcoming ceremony, not a single Agamemnus noble was present!
This was undoubtedly the greatest 'insult' in aristocratic social etiquette. They had arrived at the central hive city controlled by Agamemnus, only to be met with a cold shoulder!
They hadn't even prepared a welcoming ceremony!
This was the most basic 'noble etiquette.' From this alone, one could see the arrogant and conceited face of Agamemnus. So much so that Elsa, beside Emrys, upon seeing this scene, immediately turned ashen with anger, her eyes seemingly brewing a chilling malice!
"Heh…"
Looking at the clearly desolate spaceport, Emrys remained impassive, but a cold sneer formed in his heart as he said meaningfully: "Is that so? But I somehow feel… the Vigilus doesn't seem to welcome me much."
The Astra Militarum Commander looked embarrassed, wanting to speak but ultimately lowering his head in shame: "I apologize, Mr.… please forgive me."
"It's alright, don't mind it."
Emrys patted him on the shoulder, smiling indifferently, completely unconcerned: "I understand your situation."
Sure enough, just as he had expected.
As soon as he arrived, he was given a 'show of force'!
Why say that?
The reason was simple: even if his identity was currently only that of an 'heir,' behind him stood the Emrys Merchant Dynasty!
However, from Agamemnus' actions, it was clear that the other party didn't care about his identity as an heir at all.
In fact, he wasn't unable to understand Agamemnus' thoughts. After all, even though their power had been greatly diluted and weakened by the Ecclesiarchy, they were still considered immensely powerful within the vast Imperium of Man, their eyes long since blinded by arrogance.
To Agamemnus, the current Emrys was merely the heir of a declining Rogue Trader.
To put it in simple terms: a stinking beggar has come to our Vigilus?
But Elsa couldn't swallow this insult.
She didn't deliberately control her voice, saying coldly: "Lord, since Agamemnus doesn't welcome us, we can go directly. I believe the Mechanicus should at least know… how to write the words 'politeness'!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the Astra Militarum Commander's brow furrowed bitterly. He was caught in the middle. If they really left in a fit of pique, then it would be them who suffered!
But he couldn't say anything.
Who was to blame for this mess but those greedy, foolish Agamemnus nobles? The Astra Militarum Commander cursed inwardly. The situation on the Vigilus was already chaotic enough, and these nobles weren't thinking about how to control and quell the unrest. A much-needed reinforcement with some weight finally arrived, and they left him hanging at the spaceport. Isn't that just pure brain damage?
Unfortunately, no matter what the Astra Militarum Commander thought, he couldn't influence the decisions of that group of nobles.
Under the Commander's apologetic gaze, Emrys chuckled and waved his hand, easing the tense atmosphere: "It's alright, Elsa. No matter what, we are fighting for the Emperor. As for the Agamemnus family… hehe, don't take it to heart."
"Lord Emrys…"
Despite knowing that matters decided by her lord were difficult to change, Elsa still couldn't swallow this insult.
If Master Arthur were still here, even with Agamemnus' vast power, he would never dare to disregard, or even insult, the great Merlin in such a way!
He had already mentally prepared himself before coming to the Vigilus.
The reason he chose this as his first stop was not just to meet with the Agamemnus family, but more importantly… he had to prevent something that was about to happen!
This matter concerned the future of the Vigilus and also involved… extending Arthur's life!
In fact, besides the Mechanicus and Agamemnus, Emrys had not told Carol that his biggest goal for this trip was—the Craftworld Eldar of the Sam-Hann Craftworld!
As a qualified Rogue Trader, under 'necessary' circumstances, hooking up with a few alien factions should probably be considered a reasonable act, right?
Establishing good relations with the Eldar, as the creations of the Old Ones and former rulers of the Milky Way Galaxy, was an extremely important matter for future development, as well as for Arthur, and even for himself!
Speaking of why the Saim-Hann Craftworld Eldar appeared on the Vigilus, one cannot help but mention this very 'melodramatic' incident.
Their prophet, Anvil Ketok, foresaw the Vigilus's importance to the future of the Eldar and discovered that the claws of the Loki had already secretly infiltrated this world.
The Tzeentch cult, named 'Vannadan's Son,' was hidden deep within the sprawling industrial core of the hive city!
Therefore, to thwart the Tzeentch cult's conspiracy and to protect this world whose fate was closely tied to the Eldar, the Saim-Hann Craftworld dispatched an assault team to assassinate the cult leader, Vanadan fire-Mark, who was giving an inflammatory speech.
But precisely during their withdrawal, they ran into an elite Stormtroopers regiment. The latter rapidly air-dropped with grav-chutes, intercepting the retreating Craftworld Eldar.
Earlier, the Drukhari / Dark Aeldari's widespread plundering of populations had already touched the Imperium of Man's taut nerves, but due to the secret Webway, multiple encirclement campaigns had failed to capture them.
And at this opportune moment, the Craftworld Eldar's public assassination on the street was directly taken as an act of provocation.
The Stormtroopers legion completely ignored the Craftworld Eldar's explanations, disregarding the Soul Seer's intention to negotiate, and directly launched an assault. Relying on their vast numerical superiority, they annihilated the Eldar assault team.
The Eldar's Warlord Rerol was killed in battle, and only a few survivors, led by the Soul Seer Kaelanaris, collected the Spirit Stones of their fallen comrades before retreating from the Vigilus back into the secret Webway.
Kaelanaris, who had originally adhered to 'peaceful negotiation,' after experiencing this tragic loss, swore that they would return to the Vigilus again in the future to make the arrogant Imperium of Man pay the price!
The entire incident was full of coincidences, almost as if it were a meticulously woven web, just waiting for the Craftworld Eldar and humans to fall into it.
Emrys strongly suspected that it was a conspiracy specifically set up by 'Tzeentch,' aimed at provoking conflict between humans and the Craftworld Eldar.
If not, how could one explain why Vanadan fire-Mark, as the cult leader, would openly expose his whereabouts and give a speech on the streets of the hive city?
Furthermore, just a few minutes after the Sam-Hann assault team carried out the decapitation strike, the Stormtroopers of the 47th Antrel Lions Regiment swiftly intercepted the retreating assault team.
In this, if there was no shadow of Tzeentch, Emrys would not believe it even if he died!
From the current situation on Vigilus, Merlin judged that it was most likely in its early stages.
That is, the first phase of the 'beast War,' where major forces have yet to appear, so it can be considered relatively safe.
Although the Orks have invaded, thanks to the fortress-level energy shield, there hasn't been a large-scale collapse of the hive capital areas yet. However, this situation will soon be broken!
Kroldakka, the Orks' Warboss, has established a series of noisy junkyards on the wastelands of Vigilus and is leading his speed freaks to launch a SpeedWeaaagh! on the nearby hive capital areas.
Thinking of this, Merlin turned and asked the Astra Militarum Commander: "I heard that genestealer have appeared on Vigilus?"
"Yes, Merlin," the Commander nodded slightly, but he was completely unconcerned and sneered, "But please rest assured, that Gene Stealer Cult has been completely wiped out by us. Currently, the only remaining Orks, with the fortress-level energy shield in place, will find it very difficult to invade the hive capital!"
...
Looking at the Astra Militarum Commander's confident expression, Merlin felt a bit reluctant to burst his bubble.
In reality, that Gene Stealer Cult they wiped out was merely the tip of the iceberg. The Cult, through two hundred years of silent development, has grown to an astonishing scale. To put it without exaggeration, Vigilus is practically infiltrated like a sieve by 'genestealer'!
Soon, the leader of the Cult, 'Zun,' will announce the early arrival of the Day of Ascension.
As for the reason, it's actually very simple: because the three factions on Vigilus were vying for power and profit, they allowed the Orks' forces to grow, and even the genestealer couldn't stand it anymore!
Thus, to prevent the fruits of generations of effort from being destroyed by those Orks, Zun decided to seize control of Vigilus's government by force, personally defending and protecting Vigilus.
Although it seems a bit outrageous, this is often standard operating procedure for the Imperium.
It's truly a roundabout loyalty, with genestealer guarding the nation!
If he were an Inquisitor, he would definitely give Zun an award. This guy is much more loyal than those parasitic worms.
Just as everyone was about to leave the spaceport, the Commander's expression suddenly turned serious, and he reminded them: "Merlin, there is one rule on Vigilus that you must obey."
With that, he pointed to the steel dome above their heads and said in a deep voice: "Once you leave the spaceport, absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely do not look up at the 'Great Rift.' During the day, you can look for a few seconds, but once it's night, never look directly at the 'Great Rift'!"
Since the Great Rift appeared, it has caused immense trouble for Vigilus.
Firstly, there is the terrifying 'curse scar,' like a wound in the physical universe, tearing the entire sky apart.
The situation during the day is slightly better, but once night falls...
The enormous curse scar, in the purple-shrouded sky, emits waves of eerie and evil light!
When people look up, they seem to see screaming, deformed, twisted, evil faces emerging from this wound that spans the heavens and tears the physical universe!
Therefore, on Vigilus, it is strictly forbidden to look up at the sky, to avoid being affected by the curse scar.
But even so, this method has had little effect.
The hive capital residents living on Vigilus are plagued by nightmares every night, gradually becoming irritable and prone to anger, which then escalates into violent conflicts.
Especially psykers, if they look directly at the Great Rift at night, they can easily be affected by the 'curse scar.'
Merlin naturally knew the importance of this rule on Vigilus, so he turned and instructed the Slaughter Squad: "Did you hear that? No one is allowed to look directly at the 'Great Rift.'"
"Yes, lord."
The Slaughter Squad, wearing their helmets, immediately shifted their gaze to the ground.
The situation in the hive capital of Vigilus was dozens of times worse than in Roselle. The middle-hive Capital civilians Merlin saw were almost all malnourished, resulting in emaciated, skeletal figures, like walking corpses, huddled along the dirty, foul-smelling, dilapidated streets.
If he hadn't known this was the middle-hive Capital, he might have mistaken it for the lower hive. It was clear that under the exploitation of the three factions on Vigilus, the civilians were already struggling to survive, which explained the rapid growth of the genestealer' forces.
They just wanted to live, was there anything wrong with that?
No, at least in Merlin' eyes, they were not wrong at all. The ones who were wrong should be those greedy, pig-like parasites, it should be the Tech-Priest of Dark Mechanicus!
In the middle-hive Capital of Vigilus, they could see many civilians who had literally died of thirst.
Because on Vigilus, water resources are an extremely important asset.
The orbital elevator built by the Mechanicus could directly draw water resources from the cosmic ice crystal Nebula, but the Tech-Priest would not share those water resources with the lowly, ignorant civilians.
As for the nobles, they enjoyed glacial water resources from the two poles, which required caravans to cross storm-filled wastelands, facing risks from Orks, Drukhari, beasts, and so on, to retrieve. It was even less likely that they would give it to the civilians, whom they regarded as ants.
In the eyes of the civilians in the hive capital of Vigilus, even polluted, radiated wastewater was considered an extremely precious commodity!
In silence, Merlin and his group arrived at the residence arranged by Agamemnus.
Fortunately, Agamemnus wasn't completely shameless; at least, based on basic noble etiquette, he arranged a courtyard for them in the upper hive.
Merlin gave the Slaughter Squad a task: to go to the middle-hive Capital and gather as much information as possible about 'Vannadan's Son.'
Then, he went to the bedroom with Elsa, and just as he was about to rest, Merlin' communication device rang.
He glanced down and couldn't help but smile; it was his dear partner, Lord Rosales.
"I'll go out first, lord Emrys."
Elsa knew very well that her lord had many secrets, so she was very tactful, bowing her head and preparing to leave.
"Wait," Merlin called out to her, and seeing Elsa's slightly surprised expression, he chuckled, "You don't need to go out. I was going to tell you about this sooner or later, so it might as well be now."
A flicker of excitement and joy appeared in Elsa's eyes, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily curved upwards a few degrees: "Yes, lord Emrys."
"Dear Lord Rosales, long time no see."
Rosales, dressed in a rust-red robe, appeared on the palm-sized communication device. Merlin greeted him very warmly.
"I didn't expect you to come to Vigilus as well, Merlin." Although there was some reluctance in Rosales' tone, considering that 'Black water' had earned him a large sum, his attitude was quite sincere: "If it's about the last transaction, your Gene-Seed has already been selected and is on its way. Please wait patiently for a while."
Elsa, who had been smiling just a moment ago, immediately widened her beautiful eyes when she heard the words 'Gene-Seed'!
She hadn't expected her lord to be so bold!
If this were discovered, the Emrys Merchant Dynasty wouldn't be able to withstand it and would be completely struck off in minutes!
"No, no, no, I'm certainly not rushing you, Lord Rosales."
Merlin ignored his little secretary beside him, who was hesitant to speak and looked nervous and fearful, and smiled calmly: "I came to see you this time, of course, about another 'transaction.'"
"What transaction?"
Rosales was a bit puzzled, but he couldn't resist his natural curiosity and cleared his throat twice: "If it's Black water, we don't need too much for now."
"Not Black water, it's... an interesting creation."
Merlin sat on the chair, leaning slightly forward, staring at him with interest: "Lord Rosales, I wonder if you are interested in ancient technological creations from Golden Age of humanity?"
The situation on Vigilus was too chaotic, so... he wanted to drag the Dark Mechanicum into it!
Anyway, Vigilus was already this chaotic, what's one more tech-priest?