40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 84 82. Nine (3k)

Generally speaking, it is quite difficult to open a legal trade route.

It takes a lot of paperwork to do this across most planets, and after that, you have to pray.Pray that the ship bearing the papers and letters it sent is not lost in the Warp.

This whole thing is very cumbersome, and it often takes the lives of two to three generations to go back and forth.

Of course, if you're a rogue trader, that's a different matter.That's why they are usually very popular.

The obedience and assistance of their ancestors during the Unification War and the Great Crusade allowed them to obtain a trading license issued by the Emperor himself, which is permanently valid-if you ask why. Is this a question that needs to be asked?
There is a drop of the emperor's own blood on these trading licenses.

However, the Primarchs can actually hand out publisher licenses, which are just as effective.But it's not like the Emperor's has no border restrictions and can trade freely within the empire.

Generally speaking, this kind of permission is generally only valid in the star sector conquered by the issuer.However, there is a time when everything is different, just like a document that Conrad Koz is signing at this moment.

It will give the holder the right to act and trade between Nostramo and the Ultima space.

Sighing, he was very dissatisfied and signed his name at the bottom of the document in bright red ink with a special quill specially designed for signing such documents.

Conrad Coates.

High Gothic, cursive characters, a series of circles and folds are elegantly stacked together to form a line of words representing power.

"Do you have to go by yourself?" He picked up the file and handed it to another giant standing at the desk, asking at the same time.

"If you insist on asking—yes, Conrad." Khalil smiled slightly, took the surprisingly stiff piece of paper, and nodded. "It's impossible for me not to go."

"But, it's just a trade route."

"A trade route constructed between the home worlds of the two Primarchs," Khalil corrected. "Don't tell me you don't see the point behind it, Conrad. You brought it up, and besides, didn't we all talk about it yesterday?"

"But you didn't say you were going by yourself." Conrad Koz said with a stiff neck.

"In the past, I wouldn't go."

Khalil sighed and said blankly. "If the position of the legion instructor is really only responsible for teaching melee combat, of course I will not go to Macragge to discuss this matter with your brother Robert Guilliman in detail on your behalf."

"Actually, if possible, it would be better for the two of you to have a face-to-face meeting. However, Nostramo needs you now, and Nostramo also needs a trade route to obtain the various items we desperately need. resource."

"And, Conrad, have you forgotten something?"

The Lord of the Eighth Legion turned his head sideways and began to stare at his wall again.

"No." He said nonchalantly. "What's up?"

"In the ninth edition of the update of the responsibilities of the legion instructor, you have added an extension to the authority that you do not know where to find. If necessary, the legion instructor can assume the position of legion commander in an emergency, and treat him as the original body. "

Khalil shook his head expressionlessly. "I even suspect that you made up this one."

"I didn't make it up!" Conrad Koz turned his head sharply. "Three Articles No. 240 on page 70, [-] of the code! You can look it up!"

"Check, there is no need."

Khalil couldn't help laughing. "Like you, I've been reading the Imperial Code of Law these days. In fact, if it weren't for those daily duty update documents, I wouldn't read this book that is so thick that it can be used as a weapon."

"Have you seen it all?"

"I have read every statute of the Code that you have pointed out in your papers."

"But."

"But what?"

"Don't you believe me?" Conrad Coates asked.

Khalil didn't answer the question, he squinted his eyes, and all the emotional fluctuations were hidden, leaving only a deliberate calm.

After a moment, he shook his head.

Under Conrad Koz's disappointed eyes, he spoke slowly.

"I trust you, but I can't trust you too much in this matter. People always break the rules for some things, it's nature. And you have learned how to use it, and even learned it very well, so I have to be cautious .This kind of thing may become a ticking time bomb."

"A time bomb again?" Curz pursed his lips angrily. "Do you want to bring up that countdown again?"

"Do not."

"So, when is this bomb going to go off, Khalil?"

Khalil chuckled, but still didn't answer this sentence after all.

War, boy, war.He turned away with a sigh.You were born to be a conqueror, the biggest cog in a war, not a benevolent king of a planet.
Maybe when the dust settles, you can be who you want to be, but, before that, you have to conquer.

So, sooner or later it will explode.Sooner or later, whether the time is right or not, whether you are ready or not, it will explode.

Just like some laws of nature.

He left peacefully without saying goodbye.In the room, Conrad Koz spent a full minute recovering his emotions before continuing to work.

He will not confuse public and private.
-
Through the armored glass of the porthole, Van Cleef could see many rocks larger than the mountains.They float in the vacuum, dotted and scattered, like some kind of huge and discrete monster.

Staring at them, the first company commander of the Eighth Army could not help but sigh slightly.

This Conquest-class cruiser sails silently in a vacuum.Six frigates formed an escort fleet in the front and rear, and from Van Cleef's perspective, he could actually have a glimpse of their elegance.

He stopped staring and started walking again.

MK2's heavy iron boots trampled on the deck floor, making a dull echo.Through the electrical cables hanging from the ceiling in the corridor and the loud noises in the walls, Van Cleef knew that the Conqueror-class cruiser he was on had probably not been maintained for some years.

In a way, these ships are synonymous with Rogue Traders. They are larger than ordinary cruisers in order to carry more cargo.

But don't think it's incapable of fighting because of this. In fact, it is called Conquest for a reason.

Anyway, it's a big 5.1km long guy.

But there was such a ship in the logistics supply fleet, which was beyond his expectation.

Or, to describe it in another way, this ship can be regarded as a surprise.It would take quite a long voyage to reach Macragge from the Ghoul Sector, and everyone on this ship knew that the Ghoul Sector was the edge of the Empire's borders.

——In other words, it is possible to encounter anything when navigating in this star area.

outside civilization
Van Cleef shook his head and said nothing more.His helmet dangled from the armor belt around his waist, colliding with the power armor itself, making a rubbing sound.Twelve minutes later, he finally arrived at his destination.

A meeting room that is not very spacious, but definitely adequate.

The door slid open, and he walked in. A giant had been waiting for a long time in advance.

Khalil Rohars stood calmly beside the table, not distraught that there was no seat of his size.For him, Van Cleef knew, there was no difference between sitting and standing.

After all, their instructors hardly ever rest.

"Ah, here you are, Van Cleef." Khalil raised his head and smiled slightly. "How was your first day sailing?"

"...Should I ask you this question? This is the first time you have made such a voyage."

"I'm just asking." Khalil replied noncommittally. "Besides, I really want to know your emotions. Or, your emotions."

Van Cleef shook his head calmly: "As a member of the Eighth Legion, everyone in the First Great Company will obey the orders of the Primarch."

"So, how are you feeling?"

"... not very good." Van Cleef decided to tell the truth. "It's kind of weird to have a bunch of Ultramarines rebuilding on Nostramo while we're headed to Macragge."

"Only 500 people," Khalil said. "They send 500 people, we send 500 people, it's fair, isn't it?"

Van Cleef did not answer.

Khalil smiled.

"The voyage will last two months," he said. "We are in charge of escorting—or in other words, guarding—ninety tons of fine gold. How about this number?"

"Amazing," replied VanCleef.

It was amazing, what else could he say?Ninety tons of fine gold
"The wealth of the nobles is indeed astonishing." Khalil shook his head.

"They have almost everything in their treasury, from the strange weapons handed down from the ancient times, to the translations of Terra novels brought by the first colonists and the huge amount of adamantine that has been mined. However, this matter is It's a bit ironic. They died before they even had time to trade this batch of goods with the surrounding planets."

"Damn them," said Van Cleef quietly. "A group of beasts pretending to be human."

Khalil raised his eyebrows, and after a short silence, he shook his head: "How many executions have you personally executed, Van Cleef?"

"800 people, all."

"Then I can understand." Khalil sighed. "The more you see, the more you kill. The more you kill, the more angry you become. I guess you still can't understand what they are thinking?"

"Man cannot understand the mind of a beast."

Khalil laughed again.

"Yeah." He agreed softly. "People really can't understand."

　One more chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)