Chapter 263: Imitating the Wolf King, Establishing the Shadow Guard

Ninglu did not answer immediately; he looked at the Matriarch Violet, recalling the information on the Visher Family.

Although Visher had a long history and wealth rivaling nations, and their palace on Terra was considered one of the best buildings in history, they did not linger on the political struggles of Terra.

They focused on collecting knowledge, especially knowledge concerning the latest celestial data.

The Visher Family stationed their family navigators on ships far from the borders of the Imperium, serving Rogue Trader dynasties and distant explorer fleets.

Thinking of this, Ninglu had already roughly guessed Violet's intent.

"What does Visher want to obtain?"

"The star map of the Eleventh Legion." Violet's eyes shone as she stated the Elders' request.

The rapid expansion of the Eleventh Legion had attracted Visher's attention, and they hoped to acquire this precious knowledge.

Because the navigators serving the fleet were already determined, Visher could not directly arrange for navigators to be on the Eleventh Legion's ships.

At such moments, Visher would usually dispatch agents to infiltrate, mixing into Imperial fleets, Rogue Traders, the Imperial Navy, and explorer ships.

But after trying several times, Visher could not break through the keen-sensing Order Shadow at all, and instead lost over a dozen elite family agents.

The Elders of Visher realized they could not bypass the Order Shadow to obtain the star maps held by the Legion; after deliberation, they decided to dispatch the Matriarch as a representative to negotiate an alliance.

"Visher's foundation is using star maps to judge which areas are profitable, and funding merchant families and expeditions," Ninglu asked.

"My Lord is wise, that is indeed the case." Violet looked at Ninglu in surprise.

The Visher Family acted in secrecy; apart from the navigator clans, they were almost unknown to outsiders. Ninglu actually knew so much about their family.

"I can share the star map with Visher," Ninglu said, "I can also order the Rogue Traders who have received my Warrant of Trade to prioritize your investments."

Introducing the navigators and resources of the Visher Family could also accelerate the development of the Rogue Traders.

As long as the merchant families followed the management and development of the Order Shadow, Ninglu did not mind letting them gain benefits, and he minded even less letting the Visher Family have a share.

"I believe you must have requirements for Visher." Violet asked, lost in thought.

Ninglu nodded slightly: "My requirements are very simple; one is that Visher permanently provides navigators for the 'Order Shadow'."

"The other is that the Visher Family must share all star maps with the Eleventh Legion."

"As allies, every navigator will receive the protection of an Order Shadow."

Horus's conspiratorial layout and the appearance of the Visher Family gave Ninglu new ideas.

He decided to emulate the future alliance between Leman Russ and the navigator family Belisarius, and establish a covenant with Visher.

The navigator Alexander Belisarius provided help to Russ in many campaigns, so on the day of the Legion's founding celebration, the "Space Wolves" and Belisarius signed an eternal diplomatic agreement.

The Belisarius Family permanently provided navigators for the "Space Wolves".

A full squad named "Wolf Blade" of Space Wolves permanently provided protection for the Belisarius Family, thus the "Space Wolves" became the only Astartes with a permanent garrison on Terra.

Although the "Imperial Fists" were given the responsibility of the Praetorian of Terra, they would not permanently garrison on the surface; they mostly stayed on the Phalanx.

Navigator families often erupted into conflict due to commercial interests, and the intervention of the Space Wolves provided huge help to the Belisarius Family.

The Space Wolves acted in multiple roles during this process, not only serving as bodyguards and training the Belisarius Family guard, but also executing various mysterious missions.

Although the Space Wolves viewed serving as "Wolf Blade" as being in exile, in reality, many times, the Wolf Lord would send those Wolves who showed leadership to the Belisarius Family.

The Wolf Blade, at the center of the Human Empire's power operations, would improve their political wisdom and gain a profound understanding of the Imperium's overall mode of operation.

While guarding the navigators, the Wolf Blade inevitably came into contact with dignitaries and officials of various power institutions; these Wolves established connections with Imperial elites, feeding back into the "Space Wolves".

Ninglu believed this was the best embodiment of Russ's politics; perhaps he did not realize the significance of this move at the time, but it indeed benefited the "Space Wolves" for ten thousand years, cultivating many outstanding leaders like Ragnar Blackmane.

After Ragnar Blackmane served as a Wolf Blade, he not only gained growth and tempering but also learned worldly wisdom, eventually becoming the youngest Wolf Lord in the ten-thousand-year history of the "Space Wolves".

Ninglu now decided to emulate this move of the Wolf King in advance, and to establish connections with selected noble families more actively, on a larger scale, and more deeply.

Although he had irreconcilable contradictions with the Wolf King regarding the use of psychic powers, he was not averse to learning from the Space Wolves.

Compared to the Belisarius Family, Visher was not keen on the power struggles of Terra; only a few family members remained on Terra, so the political training would be weaker, but they were more skilled in business and intrigue.

Regarding politics, Ninglu would choose other families.

【Expanding political influence on Terra will help solve the trouble of Horus's layout in the short term, and in the long term, it can cultivate a large number of leadership talents who understand other forces of the Imperium for the "Order Shadow".】

"Do you have no other conditions?" Violet frowned slightly; as an excellent diplomat and merchant, she felt puzzled.

The Primarch's demands were fewer than she had expected, yet he offered better treatment.

"None." Ninglu replied crisply.

"Praise your generosity," Violet smiled elegantly, offering praise.

"Please give me some time; I will reply to you as soon as possible."

Ninglu nodded slightly; he knew Violet had to discuss with the Elders of the Visher Family to make a final decision.

"Arsena Dunn will represent me to discuss the subsequent details with you."

After Violet left, Ninglu informed the Primarch Attendant of his thoughts.

The "Reasoning Scholar" pondered for a moment, then praised: "My Lord, this move will benefit the Legion for a long time in the future."

"You contact Barton; I will station a team of Order Shadow with the Drake Family."

"They, and the Order Shadow stationed with the Visher Family, shall all be called the Shadow Guard."

In Ninglu's memory, the future Drake Family was even more powerful than it was now, and it continued until the Great Rift unfolded.

The Drake Family had held high positions in the Astra Militarum for generations; almost every generation had family members serving as Lord Commander of the Astra Militarum.

The Lord Commander was the supreme commander of the Astra Militarum in the five Segmentums of the Imperium; above them were only the Lord Militant.

Sometimes, the leader of the Drake Family would even serve as Lord Militant, ranking as a High Lord.

The fact that the Drakes could hold high positions in the Astra Militarum for a long time stemmed not only from the military quality cultivated by the family's generations of excellent education, but also indicated the unique aspects of the family's cultivation in politics and diplomacy.

The Order Shadow stationed with the Drake Family could not only understand the operating mechanism of the Astra Militarum from the top level, but also communicate more smoothly during coordinated operations.

Being at the center of power on Terra would allow them to gain tempering in politics and leadership.

The next day, Patton Drake, who happened to return to Terra to handle affairs, received the message from the Primarch Attendant; having received such generous treatment, he rushed to the villa that evening to express his gratitude to the Primarch.

"My Lord, the Vostonia warriors you previously dispatched to provide me with protection saved my life in the Magonna campaign not long ago."

"Now you have dispatched the Order Shadow again to protect members of the Drake Family; I am deeply honored by your favor and have no way to repay it."

Barton knelt on one knee, following Vostonia etiquette, with one hand pressed to his chest.

"The Drake Family has been loyal to you for generations, serving you as our master!"

"I accept your allegiance!" After Ninglu finished speaking, he helped the emotional veteran of the Auxilia to his feet.

Three hours later, Barton returned to the mansion and made an announcement to the family members.

"From this day forward, the Drake Family shall serve the Primarch Ninglu as our master, and the Legion emblem of the Order Shadow shall be added to the Family Emblem."

After the Elders of the Visher Family heard Violet's report, they impatiently accepted the Primarch's generous terms.

Three days later, the Primarch Attendant Arsena represented Ninglu and signed a covenant with the Visher Family.

Ninglu selected fifty-four members of the Order Shadow who had demonstrated excellence in leadership from the Honor Guard to become the first batch of Shadow Guard, dispatching them to the Visher and Drake families respectively.

(End of this chapter)