Chapter 17: Leaving the Warp
"It's over…"
Seeing the 20,000 Psy-crystals credited, Lucan was also surprised. He hadn't expected the harvest from a few Nurglings to be so substantial.
But this was actually because the ritual Scott had been preparing here had already taken several years.
Scott had used his authority to bring those he had killed, either openly or secretly, to this place for sacrifice to accumulate power.
That's why Lucan's harvest was so bountiful.
"Almost 50,000. A pity it's still some way off from a Factory. I estimate even after clearing out all remaining Chaos enemies on the ship, I still won't reach 50,000."
However, Lucan wasn't worried about this. This universe lacked many things, but it certainly didn't lack heretics. Even if he didn't actively seek them out, they would likely come looking for him.
Looking at the surrounding corpses, which were beginning to collapse as the Warp energy sustaining them dissipated, Lucan discovered his physical strength had increased even more than he imagined.
The Marauder combat suit he wore was even starting to feel a bit inadequate for his physical capabilities.
However, he clearly felt his deficiency in combat techniques; his fighting style relied entirely on brute force.
Lucan had already decided that after leaving the Warp, he needed to find someone to properly train his combat skills. He imagined the Dynasty wouldn't be short of powerful warriors.
"Thank you, Lord Lucan. You have once again saved everyone on this voidship."
Looking at the Rogue Trader's corpse, Verre sighed. When he had personally seen the corrupted Ludwig, he knew Lucan had good reason not to let others come.
He knelt and retrieved a ring from Ludwig's body.
It was the ring that represented the status of the Mongorte Dynasty's Rogue Trader.
"Captain! The former Rogue Trader is dead. On this entire voidship, only your bloodline is qualified to inherit the position of Rogue Trader. And what you have done has also given you sufficient prestige to take this seat. I believe no one on this ship will have any objection!"
Verre held the ring in both hands and presented it to Lucan.
"You want me to inherit the Rogue Trader title now? Will there truly be no issues with legality or procedure?"
"Legality and procedure shouldn't be major problems. Weren't you here to participate in the assessment anyway? However, when you return to the Dynasty's capital world, those families coveting this position will undoubtedly question you.
But every Rogue Trader faces such challenges. This position relies not just on bloodline, but more so on means and strength, does it not?"
"Indeed. As long as there are no issues with legality, that's fine. Verre, make the official announcement: Rogue Trader Ludwig Mongorte fulfilled his oath, loyal to the God-Emperor, fighting the great enemy of Chaos until his last breath, shouting the God-Emperor's name!
When he completely crushed this Chaos conspiracy, his own soul returned to the Golden Throne.
Since it's thoroughly resolved, let's execute Scott's remaining accomplices as soon as possible."
After hearing Lucan's words, Verre bowed deeply again.
"I will see to it at once. I will also immediately prepare your inauguration ceremony. Before the ceremony begins, please proceed to the Rogue Trader's personal chambers and rest well! I will send people to clean up everything here later to ensure no hidden dangers remain!"
"Then I'll leave it to you!"
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"Ah… comfortable…"
Lucan lay in the enormous pool in the captain's room, soaking in a hot bath. Since arriving in this world, he had been constantly tense without a moment's relaxation.
Looking at this pool of clean water, many shipwrights couldn't even get drinking water of this quality, yet he could use it freely for bathing.
Beside the pool were exquisite pastries and fresh fruit. It had to be said, the feeling of power was truly good.
Perfectly seared Grox steak and top-quality Amasec were readily available for Lucan to enjoy at his leisure.
Lucan could freely indulge in these delicacies.
He finally had a chance to relax.
The entire captain's suite was a full 500 square meters, adorned with magnificent statues, exquisite ornaments, and even art pieces of xenos origin, any one of which could fetch a hefty price if sold outside.
Here, Lucan enjoyed things he might never have obtained in a lifetime of struggle in his previous life.
However, the only thing that made Lucan uncomfortable was the dozen or so attendants standing by the bath.
"Could you all please step out for a moment? I'm not very fond of people watching me bathe."
"I apologize, Captain, but we are not permitted to leave while you are bathing," an attendant said, slightly fearful. They didn't yet know this new Captain well and didn't know if Lucan would take offense.
"Why?"
"We have been trained since childhood, firstly, to serve you at any moment, and secondly, to prevent any accidents while you are bathing. Who knows if you might accidentally slip, or if someone might genuinely try to sneak in here. While we serve you, we are also protecting you."
"Slip… alright." Seeing the attendants unwilling to leave no matter what, Lucan said no more, merely trying his best to quickly familiarize himself with the life of a Rogue Trader.
Just then, the blast shields on the ship's viewports began to rise. Lucan looked out the window, and the endless starry expanse of realspace once again appeared before everyone.
The veil between realspace and the Warp was torn open once more. Riding the Warp tides, the Golden Ram had finally exited the Warp.
The Warp engines began to power down, and conventional engines started up, propelling the Golden Ram towards its destination.
A knock on the room's door came at the appropriate moment.
"It's Verre, Captain. I have work to report!"
"Come in!"
Seeing Verre walk in, Lucan didn't mind anymore. So many had already seen him; one more didn't make a difference.
"Captain, we have traversed 'The Maw' and successfully reached the Koronus Expanse! The ship has exited the Warp. We are safe!"
News of exiting the Warp was enough to make everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
The Koronus Expanse – this was a region far from the domains of mankind, so distant that even the light of the Astronomican could not reach it.
This was the world of Rogue Traders and explorers; countless uncharted planets were filled with opportunity as well as danger.
You might find lost technology and become rich overnight, or you might encounter attacks from unknown xenos.
Here, profit was paramount. Enemies one second could become allies the next for mutual benefit.
"Where do we need to go next?"
"Under normal circumstances, we should return directly to the capital world. However, our losses this time have been too severe. We still need to make further Warp jumps, and although this route is relatively safe, I still recommend heading to Footfall first to replenish supplies and personnel, and to repair the ship!"
"Footfall… how great were our losses this time?"
"The Golden Ram originally had 112,000 crew members. Currently, only 51,000 uncorrupted crew members survive. The loss of ordinary crew is acceptable, but soldiers and technical personnel are in urgent need of replenishment!
The Vox-Master was assassinated, the Master of Discipline betrayed us, the Astropathic Choir suffered heavy losses, and Lady Eunice needs rest after maintaining the course for so long!"
Hearing "Footfall," Lucan also recalled the information he knew about it.
Footfall was situated at the gateway between the Expanse and Imperial territory.
It was not a planet but a massive void station floating in space.
It was composed of countless asteroids and derelict starships.
All human factions in the Koronus Expanse inevitably came here to trade illicit goods.
Rogue Traders, Navy personnel, pirates, the Inquisition, illegal organizations, heretics, spies – one could say Footfall was a den of thieves and heroes, where anyone could be found.
Besides legitimate trade, illegal transactions were not uncommon here. Xenos artifacts and blasphemous technologies were not as strictly controlled as within Imperial borders. As long as you weren't too blatant, everyone turned a blind eye.
If one were to strictly enforce the law, likely everyone there would qualify for the Inquisition's pyre; you'd be hard-pressed to find an innocent soul.
(End of Chapter)