Finally, the two reached an agreement.
Emrys agreed to Aldrich joining the Merlin exploration fleet.
But at the same time, Aldrich also needed to keep the secret, swearing an oath to the Golden Throne in the name of his family and himself.
There was also some God damn news: although Aldrich joined the fleet, he would not be boarding the Excalibur.
The Inquisition would send a brand new Falchion-class frigate in a month, as a guarantee for the Inquisitor's journey to the black Zone.
Inside the Falchion-class frigate, a large number of Mechanicus members, maintenance personnel, and combat personnel were equipped.
According to Aldrich, he specifically transferred his bodyguard team, which even included three Deathwatch kill teams dispatched by the alien Inquisition to assist with the mission.
To some extent, Emrys' fleet power expanded further.
Now under him, there were the somewhat clandestine 'Dawn Watch', the Dark Angel Chapter of the former First Legion, and an entire Death Company of Blood Angels sent by Dante, Lord of Baal.
There was also the main Chapter of the former Iron Warrior Legion, now known as the Penitent.
After such a long time, the number of Penitent Chapter members was finally at full strength, becoming an indispensable force.
And, the former Night Lord Legion, now the Honor Guard, although small in number, each one was an elite among elites.
The Ultramarines successor Chapter, the Silver Templars, a fully staffed Chapter, a gift of friendship from the Ultramarines Chapter master, Krast.
Counting them, Emrys suddenly realized that he had gathered the gene-seeds of five Legions under him, and as a Rogue Trader, this kind of behavior might be unique to him in the entire Imperium.
If you also counted the mixed personnel of the "Deathwatch", it was very likely to occupy "Half the country"!
But... something seemed not quite right?
Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Ultramarines, Iron Warriors, Night Lords... How did it feel like the Second Imperium's orthodoxy was here?!
Emrys was startled and quickly deleted this thought from his mind.
Aldrich still needed about half a month to complete the implantation of mechanical prosthetics and internal organs to resume normal walking.
Moreover, the frigate sent by the Inquisition would also take a month to arrive.
Just in time, Emrys had the family flagship undergo repairs at Roaming Port and replenish a wave of resources.
After all, once they left Roaming Port, they would enter an area of human exploration where no Astronomican light shone, and it was very possible that they would not find any supplies for months or even years, so they had to be fully prepared.
Secondly, he needed to resolve Lillian's matter before leaving.
The Fernando family head's mansion, after the ran, had been completely sealed off, with only Lillian able to enter and exit freely.
These two days, Lillian had been staying here, trying to retrieve the Emrys family's star map from the Eternity Furnace.
"Ugh, it's better to deal with it quickly…" Just thinking of Winnie made Emrys feel a chill down his spine.
However, he didn't expect that even a Living Saint would get 'jealous'.
Thinking of Winnie's pouting look, he couldn't help but want to laugh.
Cute!
As he pondered, Emrys walked into the mansion.
Lillian seemed to have known he was coming and was waiting for him in the garden.
"Lord Emrys, welcome back."
Lillian was wearing a light white long dress, her long hair falling to her waist.
Her simple and plain attire could not conceal her beauty.
"No need to be so polite." Emrys glanced at her twice, then withdrew his gaze.
"You are now the family head of Fernando.
In terms of status, we are equals."
"Are you... despising me?"
Unexpectedly, this sentence seemed to hit Lillian's sore spot, and her emerald green eyes filled with water.
"Why do you say that?" Emrys felt a headache.
He knew that Lillian's expression was most likely an act, but her pitiful eyes made him unable to do anything.
"According to the agreement, you helped me destroy the Fernando family head, and now I am yours."
Lillian looked at him pitifully, on the verge of tears.
"Now, I am a person without a home.
Could it be... that even you don't want me anymore, Lord Emrys!"
No wonder there's a saying that women are born actresses.
"Stop acting in front of me…" Emrys sighed and said, "Don't worry.
Just based on your ability to control the 'Eternity Furnace', for the sake of the artifact, I won't abandon you."
Lillian, who had just a second ago looked like a discarded white rabbit, immediately put on a gentle smile.
"Then I'm relieved.
Yesterday, seeing that person... seemed not very happy, I was afraid you would give up on me, which is why I asked."
"You don't seem to care at all that I only care about the Eternity Furnace."
Her reaction surprised Emrys a little.
"Not at all." Lillian smiled.
"To be used by you proves my value.
To be a useful tool in your hands, I am already very satisfied, Lord Emrys."
This woman is too smart... Emrys sighed silently in his heart, leaving him almost no reason.
"The star map you wanted, I have successfully retrieved it."
Lillian looked at the silent Emrys, and her intelligence immediately made her guess something, so she decisively changed the subject.
"Good, let's go."
Emrys' purpose for coming this time was precisely for this star map.
After such a long detour, he could finally see this star map, drawn by generations of Emrys family Heads during their black Zone explorations!
They arrived at the Fernando family head's Eternity Sanctuary, which resembled a massive mechanical foundry.
"Lord Emrys, this is the 'Eternity Furnace'."
Lillian lit up the Sanctuary, revealing a colossal creation with a diameter of over ten meters, resembling a metal heart, entangled by countless dense chains, suspended in mid-air in the center of the Sanctuary!
That 'heart'-shaped creation was entirely made of unknown metal, and even 'blood vessels' could be seen inside.
Emrys went up and tried to touch this 'heart'.
"Item detected: Eternity Furnace (Artifact - Incomplete)"
"An artifact forged by the Old Ones before the War in Heaven, capable of free navigation within the Warp, evading psychic storms, and locating target positions.
If the remaining two parts are collected, it can be combined into a complete artifact—the Eternity Star Map."
"Energy provided: ????"
God damn, so this thing was just a part of a complete creation?!
Emrys glanced at the system's description, and his heart immediately churned with shock.
Just an incomplete part could navigate freely in the Warp.
If all the complete parts were gathered, what power would the 'Eternity Star Map' possess?!
"Here, this is the star map you wanted."
Just as he was stunned, Lillian held a crystal ball and handed it over very solemnly.
"Lord Emrys, this is the 'Star Map' that the Emrys family entrusted to the Fernando family head for safekeeping."
Emrys took a deep breath and took the "Star Map" from her hand.
"Item detected: Red-Yellow Coordinate Navigational Chart"
"A navigational chart of an unknown star system at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, using the equator and ecliptic of Holy Terra as its coordinate system."
"Energy provided: None"