How can I let a friend suffer a loss?
Rosales keenly caught the flicker of pain on Merlin's face, and a few ideas immediately formed in his mind: "Lord Merlin, please rest assured, your losses this time... I will make that bastard Amos compensate you for everything!"
He didn't have much of an inheritance left, but Amos did!
Others might not know what was in Amos' warehouse, but he knew it all too well!
"This... let's not, Lord Rosales." Merlin was dumbfounded, and couldn't help but inwardly praise him, but on the surface, he still feigned concern: "It's too dangerous, I will never allow my friend to take risks because of my losses!"
He spoke those words with such righteous indignation!
Elsa next to him lowered her head, adjusted the thin-rimmed glasses on her nose, and barely managed to suppress the upward curve of her lips.
As a result, his 'refusal' was seen by Rosales as genuine concern between friends.
Merlin. He was simply too touching!
No, this time, Amos must bleed heavily; otherwise, it won't be enough to make up for the guilt in his heart!
"It's alright, please trust me, Lord Merlin."
Rosales sneered a few times, and, adhering to the principle of not letting a friend suffer a loss and completely screwing over Amos, he patted his chest and assured Merlin: "I remember he still has a few sets of Terminator power armor in his warehouse; I'll get them for you when I go back!"
Wait... isn't that a bit too arrogant?
Merlin rarely encountered someone more extreme than him.
This time, Rosales really opened his eyes. He quickly advised Rosales not to be so extreme: "Ahem... Actually, I don't think it's necessary to take such a risk. If you really feel guilty, just get me a few sets of MK10!"
Are you treating Amos' warehouse like your own front door?
Just walk in and 'get' a few Terminators? Don't end up not getting the things and having Amos twist off your head first!
"Hmm, you have a point." Rosales seemed to listen, nodding thoughtfully.
Alright, at least he listened to advice. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally 'sown discord' and planted a nail in the Dark Mechanicus. If it were pulled out so quickly, although there wouldn't be much loss, it would be too fast!
But unfortunately, his relief only lasted two seconds.
Rosales' thinking seemed to be different from ordinary people, only grasping the key point of the last sentence: "You still lack ten sets of Primaris power armor, and Amos' warehouse also has them. I'll just get them for you at the same time!"
He advised for a long time, but didn't listen to a single word!
Merlin seriously suspected that he might have been too persuasive, otherwise, why did it feel like Rosales was... a bit too eager when it came to screwing over Amos!
He could understand Rosales feeling cheated by Amos and wanting revenge, but... wouldn't doing this really get him killed?
Why not just empty the guy's warehouse?
Merlin also completely gave up and just let Rosales do his thing. Anyway, it seemed... even if he tried to persuade him again, it probably wouldn't do any good.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about the main business." Suddenly, Rosales seemed to remember something, putting on a mysterious air: "Lord Merlin, the gene-seeds prepared for you this time were specially hand-picked by me; I guarantee they will satisfy you!"
"Oh?"
Merlin raised an eyebrow, quite curious: "Since you put it that way, I'm a little excited."
Finally, they got to the main topic, and the time wasted earlier wasn't in vain.
He then turned his gaze to the seemingly very heavy metal box beside Rosales, his eyes somewhat fervent, and he couldn't help but lick his lips: "Lord Rosales, this is it."
"Exactly. I wouldn't dare entrust such important things to Eldar of unknown origin."
Rosales then placed the heavy metal box directly on the table. After complex biometric verification, he forcefully opened the box: "Lord Merlin, please see, fifty gene-seeds from the First Founding Legions, all here!"
Inside the metal box, two rows of gene-seed storage gland containers were neatly arranged.
The glass-like material allowed Merlin to clearly see the 'meatball-like' substance immersed within the gene-seed storage gland containers.
This was... the Emperor's greatest biological genetic engineering, the origin of the Space Marines!
Even though Merlin had experienced many worlds, at this moment, witnessing the Warhammer Universe's greatest biological genetic engineering with his own eyes, his heart couldn't help but pound like a high-pressure pump, out of control!
"Lord Merlin, please allow me to introduce them to you."
Rosales took in Merlin's reaction, immediately showing a satisfied expression, then picked up one of the containers holding a gene-gland: "This is one I specially selected for you, a gene-seed from the Iron Warrior Legion!"
"The Iron Warrior Legion excels at defense and siege warfare. As your bodyguards, they couldn't be more suitable!"
Wait, Iron Warrior?
Isn't that Plankton's Legion?
The style of this First Founding Legion was known for its extreme oppression, disregarding casualties on the battlefield, and excelling in trench warfare, sieges, and assaults!
As a bodyguard unit, whether for future assaults or other aspects, it was indeed, as Rosales said, very suitable for him.
But... Plankton was a member of the 'Great Terra Celebration' back then!
"Lord Rosales, how do I remember that the Iron Warrior Legion seemed to have participated in the Great Heresy?" Merlin's eyelids twitched wildly, feeling as if he was one step closer to the Inquisition: "Is the origin of your gene-seeds legitimate?" "Rest assured, these gene-seeds are all from loyalists!"
Rosales evidently guessed his concerns and immediately assured him: "I swear in the name of the Omnissiah, this batch of gene-seeds from the Iron Warrior Legion has no Chaos corruption whatsoever!"
"...Well, it's not impossible." Merlin pinched his throbbing temples, then looked at the ten gene-seed storage containers individually separated in the metal box: "Then what about these remaining ten gene-seeds"
However, Rosales' face showed a meaningful smile, which immediately made Merlin's heart pound.
"It wouldn't be... Fallen Angel, would it?" Merlin was truly scared; if he got another Fallen Angel, he wouldn't be able to clear his name!
Those four short words almost scared Rosales to death; his heart seemed to stop for a second.
"No, don't say it, absolutely don't say it!" The Archmagos of the Dark Mechanicus had never been so terrified, even when close to death, instinctively looking left and right, afraid that a Dark Angel would suddenly appear from somewhere.
"Lord Merlin, I don't know where you heard about this, but—" he whispered, his heart pounding: "—but next time, absolutely do not mention those four words in any context, otherwise... something big will happen!"
The First Legion has no secrets; this statement is not a jest.
It is a... genuine threat!
No matter who you are, if it involves secrets or Fallen Angels, even if you run to the ends of the earth, you won't escape!
There was once a story about an Alpha who was captured by Dark Eldar and taken to Commorragh deep within the Webway. There, he met another Space Marine who had also been captured, and the two survived several deathmatches.
After more than a hundred years, the Alpha finally dropped his guard and confessed to the Space Marine that he was actually a Fallen Angel.
As a result, the Space Marine suddenly tore off his disguise, revealing the Dark Angel symbol, and roared at the bewildered 'Fallen Angel': "I finally caught you, you damned Fallen Angel!"
Whether the story is true or false doesn't matter, but... the First Legion's persistence is not fake.
This was also why Rosales himself felt fear; he didn't want to be taken to the Caliban dungeons.
Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing some relaxation: "As long as it's not... then it's fine."
Startled into a cold sweat, Rosales also lost interest in being mysterious. Wiping the seeping oil from his forehead, he slowly said: "Lord Merlin, the origins of these gene-seeds are quite complex, but I can assure you, they are also not corrupted by Chaos."
"It wouldn't be Alpha Legion gene-seeds, would it?"
Merlin's mouth twitched slightly, feeling a tension akin to playing a gacha game.
"No, it's not." Rosales shook his head, his emotions re-igniting, his voice filled with excitement and exhilaration: "They come from another legendary First Founding Legion, called the Night Lord!"
The Night Lord Legion was a rather legendary Legion. Their Primarch, Konrad Curze, was also one of the few tragic figures.
In fact, from beginning to end, Konrad Curze was trapped in prophecy, and he was also the only Primarch successfully assassinated by the Officio Assassinorum. Of course, whether this is specifically true is still debated today.
After all, no matter what, Konrad Curze was a Primarch; if he wasn't willing, it would be difficult for him to be assassinated by the Officio Assassinorum.
Moreover, he himself was extremely skilled in assassination, so the entire Night Lord Legion's most proficient combat method was psychological warfare using intimidation, especially stealthy night infiltration, sabotage behind enemy lines, and terror attacks. Their individual combat strength was extremely high!
And thanks to the Night Lord Legion's combat style and Konrad Curze's personality, he was also jokingly referred to by many as the Batman of 40K.
After hearing this, Merlin was immediately a mix of joy and worry.
The joy was that, as Rosales said, the two First Founding Legions he had chosen for himself perfectly aligned with his future plans.
The worry was... Iron Warrior and Night Lord. Weren't these all the main rebellious forces of the Great Celebration?
Damn it, now he really was the leader of a heretical cult!
Iron Warrior, Night Lord, Cyborgs, Eldar... any single one of these would be enough to get him shot ten times over.
Merlin felt as if he was, once again, one step closer to the Inquisition.
So he asked for stable gene-seeds, and Rosales gave him these two with unclear origins?
The Iron Warrior gene-seeds were still manageable; there were several successor chapters in the Imperium now, so he could just get a nominal affiliation. Even if an Inquisitor came, he could barely bluff his way through. But what about the Night Lord Legion?
His impression of the Night Lord Legion wasn't very deep, and he couldn't remember the details clearly; it seemed the entire Legion was rebellious?
Merlin wasn't sure if there were any loyalist successor chapters of the Night Lord Legion within the Imperium.
It seemed he could only wait until everything was over to ask the all-knowing Lord Carol, and then get nominal affiliations for these two Legions.
Otherwise, he always felt a chill down his neck, with the illusion of being watched by the Inquisition.