Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 141: Toying with the Gods?

The Zerg began to multiply in the underhive. Lucan left a portion of his fleet stationed at Port Wander and led the remaining warships and soldiers toward Malfi.

Within the Rogue Trader Alliance, the various Rogue Traders were furious about the Malfi Governor's act of declaring them heretics. Their first reaction was to appeal to the Imperium, but no one expected that Lucan would immediately set course for Malfi, intending to resolve the matter with force.

This wasn't an attack to seize some backwater planet; this was a direct confrontation with the capital of a sub-sector. The Rogue Traders present had survived for years in the Expanse and were certainly bold, but none had ever imagined they would one day do something like this.

Yet, the sight of their assembled, massive fleet gave them courage. Their armies, armed to the teeth, gave them confidence.

The Rogue Traders knew they had not betrayed the God-Emperor, nor had they betrayed the Imperium. At this moment, they were glad they had banded together with the Mongorte Dynasty and the other traders. It was just as Lucan had once told them: when they answered the Imperium's call and returned to Imperial space, they might face harassment from others. They were not the revered Imperial-blooded traders; in the eyes of many within the Imperium, they were little more than pirates. Few could understand their spirit of exploration and adventure. Even fewer would hesitate to use treacherous means to forcibly plunder their wealth.

In their eyes, the Governor of Malfi was simply abusing her power. The members of the alliance did not know that Lucan was being watched by the Four Gods of Chaos. Any single one of their dynasties facing this situation would have been able to do nothing but rage impotently. But now, their alliance had the strength to fight back against such schemes and conspiracies. Wasn't this the very reason the alliance was created? Not to mention, they now had a strong and powerful leader.

Lucan himself hadn't expected the reaction of the alliance members to be so fervent. A shared crisis was truly the fastest way to unite people. The various dynasties began their mobilization. But most important was the matter of profit. If they were truly victorious in a war against Malfi, they would all gain wealth beyond their wildest dreams. This was a sub-sector capital, after all!

On Malfi, Glydus waited with growing anxiety for a report of victory from her servants. But the small group of only a few dozen people continued to hide and wreak havoc throughout the upper hive. The siege laid by tens of thousands of her troops had made no progress whatsoever. She couldn't use weapons of mass destruction; the cost of doing so would be too great.

To achieve her goal faster, Glydus took a drastic step: she opened the elevators connecting the upper and lower hives. Countless Blood-Hunters poured into the upper levels, a place they could never have reached before. Her private soldiers might be stronger, but when it came to tracking prey, these dregs from the bottom of the hive were far more skilled.

And among these Blood-Hunters were many that she had cultivated herself, including several cults she secretly supported. The strange and incomprehensible sorcery of Chaos often produced unexpected results.

However, her actions drew the ire of many of the great nobles. After all, heretical madmen were often uncontrollable, and no one knew what insane acts they might commit. These great nobles even suspected this was one of Glydus's plots; that catching the so-called Rogue Trader's people was a pretense, and her real goal was to use this scum to disrupt, attack, and weaken them.

Glydus offered no explanation. As long as she could capture Damon and his group, her objective would be achieved. Then, she would obtain the secret that even the gods coveted. Perhaps then, she could bring all of Malfi under her complete control, making it operate entirely according to her will.

Under Glydus's authority, the PDF and Enforcers turned a blind eye to the atrocities committed by the Blood-Hunters. They didn't dare enter the palaces of the great nobles, but the residences of the ordinary wealthy were no obstacle for them. They broke down doors and began searching through mansions at will.

"It seems the Governess is really willing to pay any price to catch Lord Damon and the others," one of the Ghosts observed. "But can these people really catch the Night Sentinels?"

"That is not our concern," Norris said. "Remember our mission. Infiltrate the Governess's palace and find an opportunity to eliminate her!"

"Don't worry."

"Two of you split off. Ainan, you and Davi will monitor the Blood-Hunters and provide intelligence to Lord Damon's team. The rest of you, with me to complete the assassination mission."

After placing the Zerg eggs in the underhive, Norris and his group had come up along with the flood of Blood-Hunters. The open passageways had saved them a great deal of effort.

The Governess's palace wasn't hard to find—it was the most magnificent structure in the entire hive. The difficult part was getting inside, but infiltration was what Ghosts excelled at. And with a large portion of her private army deployed, the palace's defenses were at their weakest.

Using their psychic cloaking, the Ghosts slipped past one checkpoint after another, periodically using their phase-shift ability to pass through terrain and advance quickly.

Glydus had no idea that a team of assassins had already bypassed her heavy defenses and entered her palace.

As her anxiety grew, she became more and more irritable. The whispers of the dark gods echoed incessantly in her mind, driving her toward complete damnation. But her tenacious will allowed her to hold onto one last thread of clarity. It was unimaginable how a person who had made so many deals with Chaos, whose own private army was enhanced by warp-sorcery, could refuse the very boons that other cultists begged for.

"Governess, the power of mortals is ultimately limited. Those people are far stronger than you imagine. Can you really capture them with just your private soldiers? You have seen it yourself; there have been no results so far, and your soldiers have suffered heavy losses," a councilor at Glydus's side whispered, bowing his head to her ear. "Your actions have already been enough for that Imperium you hold so dear to brand you a traitor. Why cling to that last shred of principle? Since you have already opened the passages from the middle and lower hives to the upper hive, you might as well open the gates of the underhive completely. Accept the blessing of the Lord of Change."

"He will grant you endless knowledge. His followers will find those people for you. Then, you can reshape Malfi according to your own vision, and turn it into the world of your dreams."

Glydus remained silent, saying nothing. Her advisor, Frank, was a powerful psyker who had helped her a great deal. Her own rise to power was inseparable from his assistance. She knew he worshipped Chaos, but she had chosen to use him nonetheless.

How can those people last so long without logistics? she thought furiously. My soldiers saw with their own eyes that their strange combat suits were breached in several battles, but a short time later, when they were found again, the armor was as good as new.

Glydus refused to believe they could hold out forever!

"This is my world, I don't need you to tell me what to do, Frank!" she snapped. "Their Inquisitor is also a powerful psyker. His divination spells have been constantly predicting my soldiers' movements. Use your psychic powers to counter him! I know you also have the gift of prophecy. Predict their movements for me!"

But at Glydus's words, Frank remained motionless.

Seeing him standing there silently, Glydus suddenly rose. A power not of a human manifested in her body, allowing her to seize the Tzeentchian sorcerer, Frank, by the throat.

"Cough, cough... The power of the Prince of Pleasure, is it?" Frank choked out. "You have no idea what you're doing, Glydus. Do you think the great power of the gods is something a mortal can play with? Do you think you can receive the power of the gods simultaneously, without cost? You are, in the end, only a mortal vessel! You cannot please all the gods at once, and if you anger any one of them, they can devour your soul at any time."

"But, since you require it, I can help you. However, I must remind you, my Governess, this little drama on Malfi is like a children's play in their eyes."

"I don't need you to teach me. This is just a transaction, Frank," Glydus snarled. "Do your job properly. Otherwise, I can kill you right now!"

At Glydus's threat, her family guards all moved in, aiming their weapons at Frank.

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