Chapter 36: Boarding the Ship

After Kaminski left, Ninglu waited for Howard.

"My Lord, I have already begun to fully promote the system of the Hantemansi Dome in the Lower Hive; soon, the Lower Hive will take on a brand-new look."

After listening to the briefing, Ninglu said approvingly.

"Well done. You must also take charge of the formation of the Fifth Regiment; your future is not that of an Arbiter."

"As you command, my Lord."

"You must also be vigilant, discover talent within the regiment, and prepare for the next expansion."

Ninglu made the same request to all the Leaders; when he returned to Vostonia again, he would carry out a new round of expansion and completely conquer this world.

"The defense of Teziwoke is also handed over to you; Buksa will assist you in this regard."

Having just subjugated Mazov and Szczecin, the people of Magdan were more artistic and their will to resist was not strong; Ninglu handed these two Hive Cities over to Luoersiliefu and his First Regiment.

"My Lord, I will certainly guard Teziwoke for you and await your return."

After Howard left, Luoxiji brought dozens of servitors and delivered the armor.

The servitors stepped on mechanical supports to help Ninglu put on the black armor.

"King Ninglu, does the armor fit you well?"

Still retaining most of his human features and having only one ocular implant, Luoxiji wisely focused his scanning range on Ninglu's physical data and the armor itself.

Ninglu flickered, appearing at the palace gate, then returned to the spot where he had just been standing; his speed was so fast that Luoxiji's optical scanner only showed a momentary flicker.

"Not bad, it fits."

"My Lord, Sage Kaminski has ordered me to accompany you on the expedition against the Xenos pirates."

"Go and prepare the aircraft; I will depart in one standard hour."

Teziwoke only had aircraft for him to use at low altitudes; it lacked vehicles that supported high-altitude flight.

One Terra hour later, Ninglu, accompanied by Maria and two other assassins, boarded the transport ship he had summoned from the Xinggang under Luoxiji's guidance.

Lukebo Hive City, Upper Hive palace.

Ninglu first summoned Szczesny to hear the briefing.

"My Lord, Thierry is earnestly executing your order to form the Second Regiment."

"He is using his own prestige and appeal, in coordination with Mulafusiji, to stabilize order; I believe he is truly loyal to you."

Ninglu nodded slightly; if Thierry harbored ulterior motives, the time he had been away was his best opportunity.

"How is the formation of your Fourth Regiment coming along?"

"My Lord, the Fourth Regiment has finished forming; I request to join your expedition."

"In that case, you shall immediately lead the Fourth Regiment and board the Piszczek."

Szczesny was overjoyed; after becoming a "Sailor," he had always wanted to serve Ninglu and repay his trust, and now the opportunity had finally arrived.

"As you wish."

He used the grammar he had just learned from a rhetoric book to speak.

After Szczesny left, Ninglu immediately opened his communicator and sent a message to Thierry.

"Come to the palace to see me."

Ninglu walked up to Thierry and opened his palm, revealing a red potion.

Thierry hesitated for three seconds, 【If the Lord wanted to kill me, there would be no need for such trouble.】

He knew he had to drink it, so he gritted his teeth, picked up the potion, and drank it down in one gulp.

Ten minutes later, Thierry's once-fitting Carapace Armor was nearly bursting; after mastering Meditation and Spirit Vision under Ninglu's guidance, he carefully and slowly knelt down.

"My King, thank you for your grace."

"I am about to head to the star sea to strike at the Xenos; I leave the defense of Lukebo to you."

Ninglu having Thierry cultivated into a "Warrior" was to further enhance the strength of his primary combat force.

Unlike the other three remote Hive Cities, Lukebo was surrounded by powerful rivals, and it was hard to guarantee that no one would have designs on it while he was away on an expedition.

Not having obtained the chance to follow Ninglu into battle, Thierry felt a bit dejected, but having been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of guarding the largest and most prosperous of the four Hive Cities, he also felt trusted.

"My King, I will guard Lukebo with my life and will never fail your trust."

The third person Ninglu summoned was Wojciech Belik; hearing the sloshing water in the box carried by the Artisan's subordinates, he already had a guess in his heart.

"It seems you have already achieved results?"

"My King, I have researched a waterproof coating; after brushing it on melee weapons like Chainswords and letting them air-dry for four hours, they can last for four work cycles without rusting."

As he spoke, he opened the lid of one of the boxes and took out a Chainsword.

"Please allow me to demonstrate for you."

"Begin."

The Chainsword started up, water droplets splashed and gathered, and Wojciech chopped off the head of an iron mannequin.

After he put down the Chainsword, he continued.

"For ranged weapons, I have only completed the modification of the Laser guns."

"The most critical part is the Energy Cell; in addition to the waterproof coating, I have also adopted a vacuum-injection method to isolate water infiltration."

"Using this method, the maximum continuous immersion time is one work cycle, after which vacuum-injection needs to be performed again."

Ninglu saw him take the Jiguangchangqiang out of the water tank and, without wiping it, immediately fire, blowing up the head of another mannequin.

"Not bad; take your subordinates and materials and head to the Xinggang to wait."

The last person Ninglu summoned was Mulafusiji.

"My King, I have followed your instructions and distributed the grain that originally belonged to the Piontkowski Family and now belongs to you."

"The Upper Hive has temporarily returned to stability, but this is not a long-term solution; it is estimated to only last for one month."

"I am about to set out against the Xenos pirates; the grain problem will be solved in a short time."

Upon hearing this, Mulafusiji felt the pressure on his shoulders greatly diminish; he believed that the martial Ninglu would surely be able to defeat the Xenos pirates.

"May my King's journey be smooth, and may he crush the Xenos!"

After receiving the reports from Thierry and Woyiqiehe, Ninglu took Maria and the other two to the Hive Tower's landing pad and boarded the transport ship.

The transport ship carried Ninglu as it slowly ascended, and Lukebo grew smaller at a rapid pace.

Vostonia has a total of three Xinggang, all controlled by the servants of the Omnissiah.

Ninglu did not intend to provoke the Mechanicus; when he seized the three starships, it was only after obtaining the access keys.

To him, three starships were already enough for now.

After seizing the Xenos starships, he believed the Mechanicus would certainly be interested in Xenos technologies such as the suspected Ether cannons and other advanced weaponry, agreeing to joint development and building large warships for him.

Although the Emperor had signed the Aolinsipisi Tiaoyue with Mars in 739. M30, the Great Crusade fleet had not yet arrived at Vostonia, and the local Mechanicus would certainly not miss this opportunity.

Since the Dark Age of Technology, the Adeptus Mechanicus and numerous warlords across the galaxy had been using technology without restraint.

Ninglu also knew that the root cause of the future civil war on Mars was the dissatisfaction with the imposed restrictions by factions led by the Forge Master Kaierbo-Ha.

The Mechanicus distributed the starships from the thirty-three Hive Cities equally among the three Xinggang for docking and management.

The Xinggang assigned to the four Hive Cities controlled by Ninglu was Kelakefu Xinggang.

After boarding the ship, Ninglu immediately headed to the Strategy Room on the Bridge.

(End of this chapter)