51: Chapter 51 Slaves and Star Charts

An incredibly massive warship in deep space was slowly appearing in the planet's orbit.

"That has to be at least dozens of kilometers long."

The image Katrus saw on the screen wasn't very clear, allowing only for a preliminary judgment, but it was already far larger than the conquest-class cruiser [golden trade] beneath his feet.

Katrus knew perfectly well in his heart that this was an absolute crushing of power.

Katrus could even feel the gun ports on that warship slowly aiming at him.

Should they open fire?

What a joke!

Even if the cruiser beneath him could ignore the enemy's Void Shield, it couldn't possibly pierce their armor. Meanwhile, the enemy would only need a single shot to blow this conquest-class cruiser into fragments on the spot.

The crew on the bridge instantly panicked; they held their breath, waiting for the final sentence.

If this super giant ship chose to attack, they would have no choice but to become dust in the universe.

What? You're saying run away?

Are you kidding me?

The other side's guns are already aimed.

If the golden trade made even the slightest turning maneuver, Katrus could guarantee that the lance strikes from that warship would arrive instantly without hesitation.

It was only a one-minute wait, but in the eyes of Katrus and the crew of the golden trade, this minute felt like years, every second like treading on a blade's edge.

"They are requesting communication!"

The communications officer immediately reported this news to Katrus with lightning speed. There could be no delay; any longer, and the enemy's guns would likely open fire.

Hearing this, Katrus didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately patched into the communication.

Whether they lived or died depended on what the other side had to say.

A cold command came through the channel:

"Immediately shut down your weapon systems. Our fighters will board your warship."

There was no friendly exchange, only icy orders and demands.

But Katrus did not dare to disobey.

It was true that Katrus was a Rogue Trader, but the vast power of a Rogue Trader had always stemmed from their formidable strength.

One must know that a conquest-class cruiser, as long as it didn't cross the lines of the major powers, was basically like a god in front of many small xenos races or weak human governors.

But facing this unknown existence that possessed a larger and stronger warship than his own...

Rogue Trader Katrus went from being an aggressor to a humble intruder in an instant.

A corridor door on the left side of the golden trade slowly opened, and a fighter flew directly into the warship's docking platform.

Katrus didn't dare slight this unknown envoy; he arrived at the landing platform early to wait.

The hatch opened, and only two people walked out.

They were covered head-to-toe in carapace armor, and in their hands, they held Lucius-pattern lasguns.

Seeing this, Katrus thought they were an elite force used by the Imperium for special missions, and he hurried forward to state his identity:

"Greetings. I am the Imperium's Rogue Trader Katrus Ramon, heir to the Ramon Dynasty. I mean no offense."

As Katrus spoke, he performed a standard Aquila Salute across his chest.

The two soldiers looked at Katrus, motionless. After a moment, they finally spoke:

"Where is your Warrant of Trade?"

They hadn't moved just now because they were waiting for instructions from the dream star's captain, Zheng Hai.

Katrus was stunned to hear this. He hadn't expected the Imperial soldiers before him to be so familiar with the documentation required by an Imperial Rogue Trader.

Katrus immediately pulled a Warrant of Trade issued by the Administratum from his inner pocket.

The Warrants of Trade held by Rogue Traders were also divided into tiers of prestige:

For example: the first type, with the highest prestige, was issued by the Emperor himself. Such warrants were few and far between, bearing a drop of the Emperor's own blood, and could even be used as holy relics.

The second type was a warrant issued by a Primarch, which also held extremely high prestige within the Imperium. Of course, you'd better hope it wasn't Horus who issued it to you, or you'd be in trouble.

The third type of warrant was issued by the Senatorum Imperialis of the High Lords of Terra themselves; these people represented the pinnacle of power in the entire Imperium of Man. (This was the one in Katrus's hand.)

The fourth type of warrant was issued to you by a Sector Governor or the High Lord Council; (these had restrictions, such as being limited to a specific sector).

And the fifth type was a Letter of Marque issued by an Inquisitor or similar. (The lowest prestige.)

The two soldiers took the Warrant of Trade. They couldn't understand it at all; they simply transmitted the image to the warship through their optical visors.

The Tech-Priest of the Iron Heart Society on the dream star quickly assessed it and confirmed it was an Imperial Warrant of Trade, with no issues.

Zheng Hai had already sent the news to Xia Xingchen, who was supervising at the construction site.

Hearing this, Xia Xingchen fell into a moment of thought.

How did they get here?

Logically speaking, when their ship first arrived, they had scanned the area. Aside from one unstable Warp Mandenville Point, there were no other stable Mandenville Points nearby, making entry impossible.

So now there was only one possibility: that Mandenville Point had stabilized.

But how could it be such a coincidence?

Xia Xingchen suddenly recalled the rambling words of the Confessor Priest in his final moments: "You shouldn't have come here, shouldn't have..." In other words, we shouldn't have come here, so who was supposed to come?

A suspicion formed in Xia Xingchen's mind: could this Warp node have been the target of the three chaos warships he first encountered on planet Krieg?

If he hadn't transmigrated into the warhammer 40k world, logically, they would have arrived here and turned this place into a Chaos stronghold.

"Lord Archon, are you still there?"

Zheng Hai called out to Xia Xingchen over the communication channel.

By now, Xia Xingchen had changed his title from Commander to Archon, signifying that he ruled the entire star system rather than just serving as the warship's commanding officer.

Xia Xingchen only then snapped back to reality and hurried to respond via the channel:

"Ah, sorry, Zheng Hai. Have them come see me."

"By your command, Archon."

After the communication channel cut off, Xia Xingchen looked toward the construction site in front of him.

A Tech-Priest extended a finger, signaling that the detonation could proceed.

The next second, a massive explosion comparable to a nuclear blast kicked up clouds of yellow sand before Xia Xingchen, flattening all the surrounding mounds and protruding earth.

Xia Xingchen was here preparing to build the foundation for the spaceport and orbital freight elevator.

According to Imperial ritual, a sacred groundbreaking ceremony was needed to clear the terrain and features that did not conform to the plan.

Meanwhile, the foundry supervised by the Blacksmith had already smelted all the adamantium to cast this heavy pedestal, which stood several meters high.

This would be the vital base connecting the space elevator to the ground; only a stable base could ensure the space elevator wouldn't collapse.

Soon, Xia Xingchen looked up to see a transport ship beginning its slow descent from high altitude.

The transport ship landed smoothly on the ground, and the guards brought Katrus before Xia Xingchen.

Looking at the young youth before him, Katrus could hardly believe that the person controlling that super giant ship was actually this individual.

"Katrus, right? I am Xia Xingchen, the Archon of this planet. Of course, you can use more common terms and call me Governor."

Rogue Trader Katrus immediately nodded upon hearing Xia Xingchen speak his name.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Governor."

"I heard you are a Rogue Trader."

Katrus immediately bowed and said:

"Yes, respected Governor, I hail from the Ramon Dynasty."

After Katrus finished speaking, he watched Xia Xingchen's expression, only to see Xia Xingchen nod calmly as if deep in thought.

Just then, the rumbling sound of an explosion came from behind him again.

Katrus's whole body jolted, and he hurriedly looked behind Xia Xingchen.

Xia Xingchen saw Katrus's panicked look but had no intention of explaining. Instead, he spoke bluntly:

"Since you've come, you're naturally here to do business. So, what goods have you brought me?"

Katrus was stunned by these words and hurriedly recalled the goods on his warship, completely failing to notice that he was being led entirely by the nose by Xia Xingchen.

Snapping back to his senses, Katrus blurted out his inventory:

"Uh, I have slaves."

It was only then that he remembered that when he left, aside from stuffing a massive population onto the ship, he hadn't brought any of the remaining goods, such as weapons, energy, or grain for trade.

Katrus groaned inwardly; this trade was likely going to fail.

What Planetary Governor would need slaves?

Except for those high-risk mining and Forge Worlds that used up people like water, necessitating a constant supply of slaves.

But Xia Xingchen's place looked more like a developing Hive City world, which shouldn't need such a large population.

Katrus immediately tried hard to remember if there was anything else on his warship worth trading.

Looking at Xia Xingchen's emotionless face, Katrus felt extremely anxious.

Just then, a thought flashed through Katrus's mind like a bolt of lightning.

Right, how could I have forgotten that thing?

"Lord Governor, I... I have one more thing that you will definitely be interested in."

Xia Xingchen was surprised to hear this. He had been just about to agree to Katrus's trade and use a portion of adamantium to exchange for slaves, since population was what he needed most right now.

However, Katrus's sudden change of topic piqued Xia Xingchen's interest even more.

Xia Xingchen wanted to see what this Rogue Trader could offer him.

Xia Xingchen stood silently in place, looking at Katrus, waiting for his next words.

"I have a star chart, a star chart of the Ultima Segmentum left over from the Dark Age of Technology! If you are interested, we are willing to hand it over to you."

Xia Xingchen's heart jolted violently upon hearing this.

Xia Xingchen knew the value of this item all too well. His fleet had only dared to drift around this unknown star system; without a star chart, wandering aimlessly in the Warp meant they might very likely never return. (Of course, they would also need a Navigator.)