40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 84 82. Nine (1, 3k)

Generally speaking, opening a legal trade route is quite difficult.

Most planets require a lot of paperwork to do this, and after that, you have to pray. Praying that the ship carrying the documents and letters he sent would not be lost in the warp.

This whole thing is very cumbersome and often requires the lives of two or three generations to go back and forth.

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

Their ancestors' surrender and assistance during the Unification War and the Great Crusade allowed them to obtain a trading license issued by the Emperor himself, which is valid forever - if you ask why. Is this question necessary?

These trading licenses bear a drop of the Emperor's own blood.

However, the Primarchs could also issue publisher licenses, which would be equally effective. But it is not like the emperor's, which has no territorial restrictions and can trade freely within the empire.

Generally speaking, this kind of permission is generally only valid within the sector conquered by the issuer. However, everything has a different time, just like the document Conrad Coates is signing at this moment.

It will give the bearer the power to move and trade between Nostramo and the Ultramarine Segmentum.

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

Conrad Coates.

In Gothic, with curly fonts, a series of circles and hooks are elegantly stacked horizontally, forming a line of words that represents power.

"Do you have to go by yourself?" He asked as he picked up the file and handed it to another giant standing in front of the desk.

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

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

"A trade route established between the two Primarchs' home planets," Khalil corrected. "Don't tell me you can't see the meaning behind this, Conrad. You brought this up, and didn't we all agree on it yesterday?"

"But you didn't say you were going to go by yourself at that time." Conrad Coates said with a smile on his face.

"In the past, I wouldn't have gone."

Khalil sighed and said expressionlessly. "If the position of Legion Instructor is really just responsible for teaching close combat, I certainly will not go to Macragge on your behalf to discuss this matter in detail with your brother Robert Guilliman."

"Actually, if possible, it would be better for you two to meet face-to-face on this matter. However, Nostramo needs you now, and Nostramo also needs a trade route to obtain the items we urgently need. resource."

"Besides, Conrad, have you forgotten something?"

The leader of the Eighth Legion turned his head and started staring at his wall again.

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

"In the ninth version of the update of the duties of the legion instructor, you added an expansion that I don't know where to find. If necessary, the legion instructor can assume the position of legion commander in an emergency, treating it as the arrival of the original body. "

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

"I didn't make it up!" Conrad Coates turned his head sharply. "Article 73 of Chapter 1,241 of the Code! You can check it out!"

"Check, that's not necessary."

Khalil couldn't help but laugh. "Like you, I have been flipping through the Imperial Code these days. In fact, if it weren't for those duty update documents that are published once a day, I would not read this book that is thick enough to be used as a weapon."

"Have you seen it all?"

"I have read every code provision you pointed out in the document."

"But."

"But what?"

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

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

After a moment, he shook his head.

In the disappointed eyes of Conrad Coates, he spoke slowly.

"I believe you, but I can't trust you too much on this matter. People will always break the rules for some things. This is nature. And you have learned how to take advantage of it, even very well, so I must be more careful. . This kind of thing may become a time bomb.”

"Another time bomb?" Kurtz pursed his lips in annoyance. "Do you want to bring up that countdown thing again?"

"No."

"So, when is this bomb going to explode, Khalil?"

Khalil chuckled, but still did not answer this sentence after all.

War, child, war. He sighed and turned around. You were born to be a conqueror, the biggest cog in waging war, not a benevolent and kind king on 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're ready or not, it's going to explode.

Just like some natural laws.

He left quietly without saying goodbye. In the room, Conrad Coates took a full minute to recover his emotions, and then began to continue working.

He will not confuse public and private matters.

——

Through the armored glass of the porthole, Van Cleef could see many rocks that were larger than the mountain peaks. They float in the vacuum, existing dotted together, like some kind of huge and discrete monster.

Staring at them, the captain of the Eighth Legion could not help but sigh slightly.

This conquest-class cruiser sailed in vacuum and silence. Six frigates formed a convoy in the front and rear. From Van Cleef's perspective, he could actually vaguely glimpse their style.

He stopped staring and started walking again.

MK2's heavy iron boots stepped on the deck floor, making a dull echo. From the electrical cables hanging from the ceiling in the corridor and the loud noise in the walls, Van Cleef knew that the conquest-class cruiser he was on might not have been maintained for some years.

These ships are actually synonymous with rogue traders to a certain extent. They are one size larger than ordinary cruisers in order to carry more cargo.

But don't think that it has no fighting ability. In fact, there is a reason why it is named Conquest.

After all, this is a big thing with a length of 5.1 kilometers.

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

Or, to put it another way, this ship can be regarded as an unexpected surprise. It takes a long voyage to reach Macragge from the Ghoul Sector, and everyone on this ship knows that the Ghoul Sector is the edge of the Empire's territory.

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

outside civilization

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

A conference room that is not very spacious, but is definitely enough for use.

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

Khalil Lohars stood calmly at the table, unfazed by the lack of chairs that fit his size. Van Cleef knew that, for him, there was no difference between sitting and standing.

After all, their instructors almost never take a break.

"Ah, you're here, Van Cleef." Khalil raised his head and smiled slightly. “How does it feel on the first day of sailing?”

".I should ask you this question, right? This is your first time on such a voyage."

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

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

"So, how are you feeling?"

".Not very good." Van Cleef decided to tell the truth. "It's a little strange to have a bunch of Ultramarines rebuilding Nostramo while we're headed to Macragge."

"It's just five hundred people," Khalil said. "They sent five hundred people over, so we also sent five hundred people over. It's fair, isn't it?"

Van Cleef made no answer.

Khalil smiled.

"The voyage lasts two months," he said. "The thing we are responsible for escorting - or in other words, protecting - is ninety tons of fine gold. How about this number?"

"Amazing," Van Cleef replied.

It was indeed amazing, what else could he say? Ninety tons of fine gold

"The wealth of the nobles is indeed amazing." Khalil shook his head.

"Their treasury contains almost everything, from strange weapons handed down from ancient times, to translations of Terran novels brought by the original colonists and huge amounts of gold that have been mined. However, this matter is complicated. It's a bit ironic. They didn't even have time to trade this batch of goods with the surrounding planets."

"They deserve to die," Van Cleef said quietly. "A bunch of beasts that pretend to be human."

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

"Forty-eight hundred people, exactly."

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

"People cannot understand the thoughts of beasts."

Khalil smiled again.

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

There is one more chapter.