Chapter 501

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

A vellum envelope lay upon the stone altar of the Temple Chamber — the very Trade Charter issued by the Emperor through Guilliman's hand.

The paper was suffused with a faint, dark crimson glow belonging to the Emperor's blood; ancient Gothic script, stroke by stroke, engraved eternal authority.

This document was no ordinary temporary appointment, but a supreme permit of hereditary succession.

It granted Lin En and his descendant bloodline the eternal right to freely navigate, conquer xenos worlds, and conduct cross-star-sea trade beyond Imperial territory.

A single charter, permanently hereditary — enough to sustain a merchant ronin dynasty spanning ten thousand years.

Henceforth, Brevis formally became Lin En's homeworld foundation.

Relying on the legal authority bestowed by the Charter, he was able to organize a massive private armed force entirely under his own command.

Legitimately setting out for the Imperial Dark Side to conduct a "reconquest of territory" expedition in the legal sense.

Beside the Charter lay sealed letters, handwritten by Roboute Guilliman himself, delivered together by First Company Captain Sevastus Agmann of the Ultramarines.

Breaking the seal, the Regent King's pen strokes on the paper were firm and clean, without superfluous polite embellishment.

Guilliman stated plainly that he had already received the Emperor's revelation from the Golden Throne of Terra, perceiving the extraordinary bond and entanglement between Lin En and the Tyranids.

Between the lines one could read the Regent King's complex state of mind: he was relieved that Lin En ultimately chose to stand on humanity's side, while earnestly hoping Lin En would always hold fast to the human standpoint.

The letter promised that the Ultramarines would render him aid to the extent of their ability.

But this support was not without bottom line; the Empire's gaze would long remain on Lin En, monitoring his every choice, absolutely not allowing him to turn toward xenos and Chaos.

This expeditionary fleet that crossed the Warp Storm had a mission far beyond merely completing the investiture ceremony.

Within the vessel's vast cargo holds were already piled the massive supplies urgently needed for post-war reconstruction of Brevis and Dead World-A, along with strategic resources of every kind Lin En would consume on future expeditions.

Batches of scrap recycling and disassembly machinery, standardized Servitors obeying commands, were continuously transported to the planetary surface via Landing Craft.

Complete sets of water purification devices, atmospheric circulation systems would repair the ecology of the Hive City ravaged by the Exterminatus ritual.

Medical supplies piled like mountains, starch nutrient canned food, emergency rations filled one ground Warehouse after another.

Arriving with the fleet were also several Mechanicus Priests from Mars, bearing the heavy responsibility of restarting Brevis's industrial system.

From individual weapon processing assembly lines to plasma reactors, massive generator sets — all blueprints and core components required for heavy industrial production were fully provided.

For Dolido Agricultural World, the aid was equally thorough and complete.

Large quantities of soil improvement compounds, fertilizers, microbial conditioning agents were unloaded from the ships.

Also complete sets of farming implements, screened cold-resistant high-yield crop Seeds, and breeding stock of domesticated livestock such as Glock Beasts.

Massive resources were transported here to repair Dolido Agricultural World's farmland trampled by war, restarting grain production.

Beyond construction materials, the military support belonging to the merchant ronin was also fully delivered.

The Empire transferred one Cruiser, six Escort Ships, plus military supply transports, troop deployment transports, fuel barges and various auxiliary ships totaling twenty vessels.

Deep in the holds, armaments piled like mountains.

Laser Gun Energy Magazines, bolt shells, plasma energy cells, promethium fuel, Tiberium storage tanks, plasma fuel rods — countless munitions and supplies.

Laying a solid foundation for restoring the homeworld and building a fleet capable of embarking on frontier expeditions.

That originally stationed here, tasked with Tithe collection, crippled Tithe Fleet, also relying on the Regent King's warrant brought by Agmann, received transfer orders and temporarily departed the Brevicus Star sector.

Layers of shackles all shed, Lin En could finally settle down to manage his own Territory.

The immediate top priority was to race against time restoring the basic operations of Brevice Hive City and Dolido Agricultural World.

Forge the two planets into a stable, reliable logistical headquarters, preparing personnel, armaments and supplies for future star sea expeditions.

Yet beneath the veneer of victory, an ineradicable regret remained.

Yaduoduo had already sacrificed himself in the previous Descent Ritual, his soul dispersed, never to return.

After much deliberation, Lin En made a personnel arrangement, entrusting Dou Dou to take over command of the Fire Shadow Clan Green Skin forces on Dead World-A.

The leaderless Green Skin tribes needed a leader familiar with Lin En's will to stabilize the situation; Dou Dou was the most suitable choice at present.

As an Ogryn who had risen to Big Boss rank among the Green Skins, his intellect and strength were sufficient to support managing the entire Fire Shadow Clan.

Brevis's reconstruction work unfolded in orderly fashion; roaring mechanical sounds echoed through every District of the Hive City.

Servitors bustled to and fro, Mechanicus Priests calibrated one restarted reactor after another; the calamity-stricken planet gradually shed the horrific scars left by war.

And in the distant Calendar Cage Star System, another planet was enacting a completely different story.

Wade Tower — this planet unfortunately lay within the Menglong Star Domain shrouded by the Imperial Dark Side after the Great Rift tore open; Warp Storms severed all communication links between it and the galactic main domain, utterly reducing it to an isolated island forgotten by the Empire.

The entire planet exuded a post-apocalyptic Wasteland atmosphere; City ruins lay everywhere, rusted hulks of abandoned ships scattered across the vast, boundless giant junkyard.

Qi Diao Zhe struggled on resource-exhausted Land, searching the ruins for anything that could be traded for rations and drinking water.

Qi Diao Zhe "Mei" had already been out wandering for over twelve local hours.

He had searched through two large-scale landfill sites, yet found nothing — not a single item that could fetch a price.

His carried water container was nearly empty; thirst tormented his throat; despair crept bit by bit into his heart.

Just as he was almost planning to turn back to Camp, a wisp of faint scorched smell drifted into his nostrils on the dry, hot wind.

Mei's heart stirred; he trekked following the scent's direction.

In the center of the junkyard, a brand-new impact crater abruptly appeared; soil and Metal Fragments were flung outward in all directions.

At the bottom of the pit lay half a massive chitinous Carapace; within the carapace, a human infant lay peacefully settled.

Already forty years old, fate had not been kind to Mei.

He once had two daughters, but the cruel Wasteland survival environment took both children's lives; the grief of losing offspring lay long buried in his heart.

He hesitated as he descended into the Pit, carefully bending at the Waist, and gathered the little one from the swaddling into his arms.

"Oh, my Emperor, you truly are heavy!"

"Looking at you, clearly just born, I'd say you weigh at least twenty catties."

No sooner had the words fallen than the infant in his arms suddenly lifted his little face, beaming a sweet smile at Mei.

Especially those eyes, clear and bright, like beautiful gems — Purple Eyes that left a deep impression.