Chapter 158: Squig Beast

Before Ninglu headed to board the gunship, he returned to the "Kingdom of Disorder" and put on the Power Fist of the "Arbiter" pathway.

The time required to establish a connection with the Silver Gauntlet far exceeded that of the Prophecy Dice, which matched Ninglu's prior assessment; its Tier was clearly higher than the latter.

Although he did not know how much longer it would take, Ninglu had already established an incomplete connection with the Silver Gauntlet, and he clearly perceived that he could selectively use extraordinary abilities of Sequence 5 and below.

While the gunship was in flight, the Primarch's consciousness spread toward the Groningen.

Immediately, the Primarch "saw" a red giant beast; it was only slightly shorter than a Knight Mech, and its body was cluttered with a chaotic pile of cannons and firearms.

Its entire body was wrapped in a mess of armor, as if garbage were swaddled around its frame.

The Primarch frowned, his consciousness spreading to the surroundings, and he then saw over a dozen red, spherical creatures with spikes growing on their bodies nearby.

Squigs.

The giant beast was a Squig beast.

The Primarch's brain operated rapidly, analyzing the reason behind this in an instant.

【The gift the Faceless sent me must have been Squigs.

For some reason, they broke free from their cages and devoured the human crew, turning into this state.】

Ninglu knew that Squigs were the lowest existence in the Ork ecological chain, and the Orks vividly referred to these bouncy, little red things as "jumpers."

Most jumpers were edible, and their fate was to serve as food for the Orks.

But like other Orks in the Ork ecosystem, jumpers could develop special variants; they could become Squig beasts as large as a Limansitan tank, or even become Gargants comparable to small Titans.

【Hmm, Squigs are Potion Materials for the "Hunter" follow-up Sequence 8 "Provocateur."

But like other Orks, they decompose rapidly after death.

If one wants to use them to concoct a Potion, one cannot kill them.】

As Ninglu pondered, his gaze swept over the gauntlet, and he immediately found a method.

The Primarch reined in his thoughts, and the gunship landed slowly on the Geluningen.

After stepping off the landing deck, he strode forward, following the location of the locked-on Squig beast.

Arsena followed behind him to the side, mobilizing telekinesis to quicken his pace, only just managing to keep up with the Primarch's stride.

The entire transport ship had been smashed to pieces by the Squig beast, with broken parts scattered everywhere and exposed cables flickering with blinding light.

The pitted deck did not slow the Primarch's speed in the slightest; he kept walking without pause toward the depths of the transport ship.

Passing through the cargo deck, he saw the broken cages and figured those Squigs must have been kept inside them.

Ninglu did not stop his pace, walking toward the depths of the transport ship; those Squigs had eaten everything on the upper decks and had run to the bottom deck to feed.

A moment later, he and Arsena, accompanied by the Honor Guard, arrived at the bottom deck.

Ninglu immediately saw a large cauldron in the center of the deck, a soup pot that had been simmering for decades, emitting a strange fragrance.

The Squig beast stood before the cauldron, its large head poked into the pot, licking up the broth.

At the edge of the cauldron, hundreds of jumpers scrambled with one another, fighting for the scraps on the rim.

The jumpers were the first to discover the arrival of the black-armored warriors, and they charged over while shrieking.

The Squig beast then turned around, pressing forward like a high-speed tank.

Ninglu remained calm; he raised his left arm, and only when the Squig beast stepped within a ten-meter range did he infuse Spirituality into the Silver Gauntlet.

He recited the Dunn Secret Word, which Arsena Dunn and Thomas had researched together and named to commend the Primarch Attendant's outstanding contributions.

"Imprisonment!"

The "Judge" pathway Sequence 6 "Judge" requires the use of language possessing mysterious power to pronounce a sentence, establishing rules or verdicts.

"Imprisonment" is a type of verdict.

The Silver Gauntlet pushed forward, and golden light bloomed, covering the Squig beast and the dozens of jumpers nearby.

The massive Squig beast and the dozens of jumpers were enveloped by flowing, extremely viscous transparent liquid, as if a giant piece of amber had been created in an instant, or like layer upon layer of transparent walls, freezing them in place.

The remaining jumpers turned and fled, and Arsena raised the staff in his hand, asking the Primarch.

"Capture alive?"

"No! Destroy them completely!"

Ninglu rejected the Primarch Attendant's suggestion and released...

He would not bring living jumpers to the "Kingdom of Disorder"; these noisy, red, spherical monsters would not stay obediently in the areas partitioned on the second level.

Bringing the jumpers' corpses back was even less feasible; they were different from other creatures.

After jumpers die, their bodies decompose and turn into spores to reproduce.

Ninglu did not want the entire level of space to turn into a foul-smelling jumper nest.

Although he guessed that certain spaces in the "Kingdom of Disorder" could restrict the spore reproduction of Orks, it was not worth the risk for jumpers that could be easily found.

Using "Imprisonment" to bind a portion of the jumpers was enough to concoct the "Provocateur" Potion.

When it was time to cultivate the next batch of "Provocateurs," he would just find more then.

The Primarch Attendant nodded, and telekinesis swept out, detonating among the hundreds of jumpers.

Ninglu keenly felt the invisible Veil between the physical universe and the Warp being torn open, and colorful Warp energy surged and leaped.

Hundreds of jumpers let out terrifying screams, were then torn apart by the "Huihuowoliu," and were erased from the reality.

"Search the surroundings and confirm that no red spherical creatures—Squigs—are alive on the ship; the Orks also call them jumpers."

While the others were searching the surroundings, Ninglu sent the Squig beast and the jumpers, which seemed to be encased in amber, back to the "Kingdom of Disorder."

After returning to the reality, he issued an order to completely destroy the transport ship to prevent any remaining Ork spores on the ship from spreading elsewhere.

On the Shadow of Sovereignty, Ninglu, having just ordered the destruction of the Second Legion transport ship Groningen, looked through the observation window at the approaching Vostonia satellite.

Arsena stood by his side; the Primarch Attendant believed it was time to report on the development status of the shipyard, so he spoke.

"My Lord, the Wosituoniya Chuanchang now has the capability to repair Capital Ships and perform partial refits, as well as the ability to build standard Frigates, Destroyers, and Transport Ships."

"Repairing ships for the expedition fleet has improved the skills of the technical workers."

"Every expedition fleet, especially the Legion ships, has carried out a certain degree of modification to their vessels. Following your instructions, we have collected and recorded the relevant data; the Legion currently has five Techmarines dedicated to research in this area."

Ninglu nodded slightly and spoke.

"Accelerate the installation of Ether cannons on Legion ships, and the construction of the shipyards at Sepra Mundi must also be accelerated."

"As you command, my lord. According to the report I last received from Sepra Mundi, the first phase of the shipyard project is complete, and the Artisan technicians have already moved into the shipyards."

"Immediately install Ether cannons on the Shadow of Sovereignty."

Under Ninglu's orders, the Shadow of Sovereignty docked at the shipyards of the Vostonia satellite to begin modifications, while he boarded a transport ship to return to the Legion's homeworld.

En route, Arsena selected important matters worthy of the Primarch's attention from among the many items and reported them to Ninglu.

"The Sages of Mars have moved into Vostonia. The 152 military factories you possessed before returning to the Imperium and the 143 selected armories have fully transitioned to being responsible for manufacturing equipment for the Astartes Legion."

"As of now, 149 of these armories are capable of manufacturing weapons such as bolters, Chainswords, and Power Swords for Astartes use, which can meet the Legion's needs."

"There are also 27 armories capable of manufacturing Mark II power armor to meet the equipment needs of new recruits."

After reporting on the armories manufacturing weapons and armor, the Primarch Attendant continued to report on vehicles.

"Currently, 74 armories have the capability to produce small vehicles such as motorcycles and speeders."

"33 armories can produce Macharius Heavy Tanks as well as supply vehicles, transport vehicles, and other such craft, and there are 12 armories capable of producing flying vehicles such as Gunships."

Ninglu nodded, and he asked.

"Are there any important matters scheduled?"

The "Deduction Scholar" did not speak immediately; he thought for a moment before speaking.

"My lord, Lewis Von Valancius, following your orders, departed from Vostonia and sailed all the way toward the Crystal Illusion."

"Along the way, he discovered five star systems, connecting Vostonia with the Crystal Illusion."

"He has just returned to Vostonia and is awaiting your summons."

Ninglu did not decide immediately, and he asked.

"Has anyone else completed their mission?"

"As of now, no."

Arsena sighed: "My lord truly has eyes like torches; only Lewis, whom you chose, completed the mission."

"I will see him tomorrow," the Primarch paused, "prepare the ceremony for conferring the title of Rogue Trader."

(End of chapter)