Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 175: Borrowing the Haemonculus's Resources to Lay His Own Eggs

Kalrusion's fleet sped through the Webway. As the Mournful Memory passed through a hidden Webway gate, they finally arrived at the Dark City, Commorragh.

Kalrusion looked at the vast, boundless Webway city before him. No matter how many times he came, it was still a breathtaking sight. Before the fall of the Eldar Empire, this place was a major hub of the Aeldari. Its history was so ancient it could not be traced. It was anchored in this region by an unknown, incredibly advanced technology. Its very location could not be defined by space or dimension.

But it housed countless Dark Eldar. At every moment, countless lives were consumed here, and resources from all over the galaxy constantly flowed into this city, feeding it. Countless shimmering Webway portals were scattered throughout Commorragh. From one end of the galaxy to the other might only be a few steps in the Dark City. If the Emperor had occupied Commorragh back then, he wouldn't have even needed to start his own Webway project; he could have just taken the ready-made one here.

But the Dark Eldar, who were descended from the nobles of the Aeldari Empire, had also mastered much of the technology from that era. No one knew how large Commorragh truly was. Some even said that if you were to fall from the top, you might die of old age before ever reaching the bottom.

The Imperium had successfully invaded and raided Commorragh a few times, but they had always left immediately after completing their tactical objectives. The Salamanders Chapter was once one of them. That operation was humanity's largest invasion of Commorragh. Although it had caused considerable casualties to the city's rulers, the incident itself was just another of the Dark Eldar's treacherous schemes to eliminate rivals and climb the ladder of power. The current ruler of Commorragh, Asdrubael Vect, master of the Kabal of the Black Heart, had deliberately let them in. Otherwise, just entering would have been an extremely difficult task.

Tens of thousands of warships with spiked, bone-like sails entered and left Commorragh. And above the city, multiple dying and decaying suns constantly released light and energy, providing Commorragh with illumination and endless power. Stars should not exist in the Webway; these had been directly moved into Commorragh from realspace by the Dark Eldar. When one of the suns above them died out, the fleets of Commorragh would once again abduct a star from a star system, and all the life in that system would perish with the loss of their sun.

Kalrusion looked at the scene before him with yearning, especially at the spires of Commorragh. How he wished he could have a place there.

"This is the taste of freedom... to constantly suppress one's desires... what is the point of life!"

The Mournful Memory began to lower its altitude, heading for the trade port of Commorragh. Various anti-gravity facilities kept this massive port afloat in the void.

Kalrusion, with his spoils of war, disembarked from his warship and arrived at the port. The slaves were being herded off the ship, and the plundered supplies were also being unloaded.

As Kalrusion had expected... the SCV did not attract any attention from the merchants here.

"Such a backward piece of monkey technology, and you still want to trade it for resources? Kalrusion, you're a regular here. Are you trying to fool me with this thing now? Those things called combat suits have some value, but most of them are damaged. They're useless!"

Kalrusion knew the other party was obviously lowballing him!

"I still have plenty of slaves! These monkey soldiers are very strong! They're worth a lot of money. If you send them to the fighting pits, I'm sure the audience will love them!"

The slave trader walked over to the surviving humans. He looked at the heavily wounded Burns. Burns had lost the ability to move due to his severe injuries, but with the deliberate treatment of Kalrusion's pirates, his life had been saved. The slave trader saw the hatred in Burns's eyes, which made him very satisfied.

"Very good, Kalrusion. You've brought some decent goods this time. These monkeys aren't even scared to death. You know, normal monkeys don't even dare to resist when they come to the great city of Commorragh. But the emotion in this monkey's eyes is the desire to kill me! Not bad. They might really fetch a good price at the arena. The soul-force harvested from torturing such an emotionally rich species is quite substantial! A pity... these monkeys are a bit too seriously injured..." the slave trader said mockingly.

"Stop trying to lower my price! You know they just need a little treatment!"

"Alright, alright. I'll take these slaves this time."

Kalrusion quickly reached an agreement with the slave trader. Also sold as a package deal were a large quantity of supplies and that SCV.

Kalrusion then took the Zerg eggs alone and headed for the lower levels of Commorragh.

The near-infinite lifespan of the Haemonculi made them more patient than other Dark Eldar. And these masters of flesh had a very different concept of wealth than ordinary Dark Eldar. Although common slaves were also necessary alchemical ingredients for them, it was the rare specimens that were their true treasures. It wasn't necessarily that the original owner of the flesh sample had to be powerful; the more uncommon and rarer it was, the more precious it was in the eyes of these Haemonculi.

Therefore, many in Commorragh knew that these masters of flesh had standing bounties. Any rare material could be exchanged for a precious enhancement opportunity or a favor from them—something that could save your life. And the Zerg eggs, something that had never before appeared in this world, clearly met the Haemonculi's requirements.

At this time, in the Opera House of Flesh, the Master-Chirurgeon Tevantias was studying the Zerg eggs before him. When he obtained the genetic sequence of the eggs, he found that it was of the same origin as the Zerg corpses the Harlequins had provided him! This immediately caught his attention.

"Such a vast and diverse genetic sequence contained within a small egg. Interesting..."

The physical body always had a limit to the genes it could bear; enhancement was not endless. But these eggs seemed to have broken that limit.

Tevantias looked at the few Zerg he had modified in the cages. He had captured Tyranids before, but the ones he had cloned using his biotechnology were still difficult to tame. They could serve as beasts in the arena, but they could not become his soldiers. But these Zerg could obey his commands.

However, Tevantias did not know of the existence of the System. He did not know that the Zerg obeying his commands was merely Kerrigan's will.

As Tevantias was studying the eggs, Kerrigan also sensed his actions.

"Father, he is trying to hatch the eggs!"

When Lucan saw the other party's appearance through Kerrigan's senses, he hadn't expected it to be the same Haemonculus he had blown up in the Rogue Trader game.

Suddenly, Lucan had a special idea.

"Kerrigan, hatch the eggs."

"Huh? Father, why? Drones have no way to resist. Once they hatch, they can be easily killed. I can't just send an egg directly through the hive mind."

"Trust me, Kerrigan! Perhaps we don't need to hide and grow the Swarm according to the original plan. Since he already thinks he can control the Zerg with his own technology, then let's just show him the power of the Zerg. We don't need to hatch Nydus Worms or Leviathans with jump capabilities. Just hatch combat Zerg. Let him see the power of the Zerg as a biological weapon and its ability to expand.

"Given the nature of these Haemonculi, they dared to touch the Tyranids, so they will do the same with the Zerg. If they think they can control a new race that combines both combat and resource-gathering, will they not take the initiative to provide the Zerg with the resources they need?"

Kerrigan immediately understood Lucan's idea. The Haemonculus might even take the initiative to perform biological modifications on the Zerg to make them even more powerful. Once the Swarm was large enough, Kerrigan could directly control the Zerg and have them turn on their masters on the spot!

Lucan did not believe that the Haemonculus could see the highest authority that the System had granted to him and Kerrigan!

Lucan planned to borrow the Haemonculus's resources to lay his own eggs!

☆☆☆

-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE

-> FOR EVERY 400 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER

☆☆☆

-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!

-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper

(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)

If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you