14: Chapter 14 The Giant Stone Guild

"What's going on?"

The ship's radar operator swiftly transmitted the imagery to Xia Xingchen.

Looking at the three bizarrely-shaped warships appearing on the optical screen, they were less like warships and more like a collection of tubular vessels cobbled together from scrap.

Seeing this, Xia Xingchen could almost instantly deduce their origin without much thought.

At that moment, aboard the three warships, a horde of Orks was bellowing loudly: "WAAAGH! WAAAGH!"

The Orks had originally intended to attack the Imperial Mining Guild at a nearby mining outpost, never expecting to encounter a colossal warship mid-journey.

According to Ork combat doctrine, if you're going to fight, pick the strongest opponent.

Without hesitation, the Orks immediately changed course and charged toward Xia Xingchen's warship.

"Batteries, torpedoes, fire! Don't let them get close!"

The batteries on the port side of the hull opened fire rapidly, blasting two of the Ork vessels into oblivion in the void.

This only incited the remaining Ork warship to howl even more maniacally, accelerating its charge toward the dream star.

Hundreds of point-defense guns unleashed a torrent of fire, piercing the warship directly, which then exploded spectacularly in space.

Scattered debris collided with the dream star, but not even its paint was scratched.

In less than ten minutes, Xia Xingchen concluded the engagement.

"Should we recover the Ork technology?"

Nuwa proposed technology recovery to Xia Xingchen.

"Are there any valuable locations nearby?"

Nuwa quickly accessed the ship's radar detection logs:

"A massive asteroid mineral belt is nearby. Numerous life signs are detected, likely mining personnel."

After weighing the options in his mind, Xia Xingchen ultimately chose to proceed toward the mineral belt.

Ork technology, reliant on the power of "I reckon," would take an extremely long time to decipher, and time was precisely what Xia Xingchen lacked the most.

Rather than researching such unorthodox tech, it was better to trade with factions of the Imperium of Man to obtain proper technology.

Xia Xingchen's warship arrived near the mineral belt, the screen displaying a real-time view of the scene.

Upon a giant asteroid stood a Gothic-style space city, its exterior comprised entirely of docking ports designed to berth mining vessels.

Clearly, most humans lived within the asteroid's interior.

Centered around this mining city, mining vessels of various sizes were scattered about, extracting exposed space ore.

Xia Xingchen brought his ship to a halt not far from the space city; the ports simply couldn't accommodate a leviathan-class warship like the dream star.

Soon, the ship received a communication request.

"Commander, we are receiving an unknown communication request," the captain reported immediately.

"Put it through."

The figure of an Imperial noble appeared on the screen.

"Honored friend, praise the Emperor. I am Ante, Guildmaster of the Giant Stone Guild."

Xia Xingchen promptly returned an Imperial military salute, still using his fabricated identity:

"Guildmaster Ante, praise the Emperor. I am Xia Xingchen, a materiel dispatcher from the Segmentum Tempestus, tasked by the Departmento Munitorum to transport supplies to the Ultima Segmentum."

Ante harbored no suspicion; the Imperium often requisitioned civilian vessels for supply transport.

Even if this warship was excessively large, Ante dared not question it, fearing the other party might be the heir of a top-tier noble house.

"What brings you here, Mr. Xia Xingchen?"

"We encountered a Warp storm and were forced to exit the Warp transition prematurely. We did not mean to intrude and will depart shortly."

Only then did Ante feel relieved.

Seeing no usable resources in the vicinity, Xia Xingchen initially intended to leave directly. Before departing, he considered whether the Ork technology could be reverse-engineered.

"Please, wait a moment!" Kaan suddenly called out to Xia Xingchen. "If possible, could you assist us with a matter?"

Xia Xingchen's interest was immediately piqued:

"Speak."

"This entire asteroid mineral belt is our guild's mining zone. However, a band of pirates arrived a week ago and seized the core area of the belt, forcing us to mine only the periphery."

Kaan's expression was fraught with anxiety.

"Mining efficiency has plummeted, and profits have sharply declined. We hope you can help us drive these pirates away."

Xia Xingchen understood immediately: even with mining rights, the Giant Stone Guild had to pay heavy taxes to the Imperium.

The pirates' presence meant Kaan's income no longer covered expenses. He likely couldn't meet the tax quota, with dire consequences.

The Imperium didn't care who did the mining, only that taxes were paid.

"What's the compensation?"

"We primarily mine iron and various alloys. The most precious resource is adamantium." Kaan gritted his teeth, making a decision. "If you clear the core area of pirates, we will gift you a substantial quantity of adamantium."

Adamantium was one of the most durable substances in the Warhammer universe.

Xia Xingchen agreed immediately. After cutting the communication, he ordered the warship to proceed deeper into the mineral belt.

Soon, Xia Xingchen detected a large number of pirate vessels, the largest among them being a cruiser.

This ship was not of Imperial standard design. It could have been privately built, smuggled from xenos, or converted from a civilian merchant vessel.

Upon seeing the colossal warship, the pirates immediately issued warnings, not daring to attack rashly.

A warship thirty kilometers long; a few shots from its secondary batteries could annihilate them.

"Enough talk. Open fire!"

Xia Xingchen held no mercy for pirates. In the Warhammer World, it was kill or be killed; there was no room for negotiation.

The bow torpedoes roared to life, their projectiles tracing straight lines through the dark void.

"Turn! Evade, now!"

The pirate captain frantically maneuvered the modified cruiser, executing a 180-degree emergency turn as the torpedoes grazed the hull.

"Should we return fire?"

The pirate captain wanted to curse his subordinate awake. Returning fire was like an egg striking a stone. Their only chance of survival was to flee.

"Full power to the Warp engines! Initiate Warp jump immediately!"

"What about the Adeptus Mechanicus?"

The first officer asked.

They were hired by an unknown faction of the Adeptus Mechanicus to protect its research in exchange for Imperial-standard equipment.

"Staying alive is the priority! We can't worry about them now!"

"Alert! Three torpedoes inbound!"

Three torpedoes struck the void shields. The violent impact shook the ship relentlessly, overloading and collapsing the void shields instantly.

"Launch all torpedoes! Activate the Gellar Field and Warp engines! Force a Warp jump!"

The captain recalled when they were besieged by the Imperium years ago; the previous captain had escaped by forcing a Warp jump. He wanted to replicate that miracle.

But before the thought fully formed, a brilliant beam of light sliced through the darkness, piercing the pirate ship directly and cleaving it in two.

Xia Xingchen had deliberately preserved the hull, aiming only to recover the Warp engine aboard.

"Imperial torpedoes are too weak. Three hits just to breach void shields. Our particle beams are better, penetrating with a single shot."

"Master, these torpedoes have too small a caliber. That's why our particle beams serve as the primary anti-ship weapon."

"Enough. Let's see what the pirates were up to."

The dream star arrived in the debris field. Tugs and engineering vessels began recovering materials while the radar scanned the surroundings.

Soon, Nuwa made a discovery:

"Twenty kilometers out, detecting a large number of unknown life signs."

The screen displayed a giant asteroid. Upon closer inspection, a warship was embedded within it.

This warship's design was completely different from Imperial vessels, exuding a science-fiction aesthetic reminiscent of the Golden Age.

"Assemble the guard detail and fighter escort. We're boarding for investigation."

Xia Xingchen issued the command immediately. This was a must-see; relics from the Golden Age were rare finds not to be missed.

Xia Xingchen and Nuwa boarded a transport, escorted by three fighters in a triangular formation, heading toward the target.

Upon approach, they discovered a breach in the ship's belly. After confirming safety, the transport entered the vessel's interior, landing on a large platform.

The guard detail swiftly disembarked, establishing a defensive perimeter.

Xia Xingchen, accompanied by Nuwa, entered the corridors, finding themselves in a massive chamber.

"Any direction, Nuwa?"

Nuwa immediately initiated full-body scanning and sonic detection, conducting a comprehensive survey of this Golden Age exploration vessel embedded in the asteroid. She quickly detected over a hundred life signatures and transmitted the coordinates to Xia Xingchen's optical visor.

"This should be the ship's power chamber."

Xia Xingchen made a prompt decision and headed toward the power chamber. He was determined to see what these people were doing.