Shipping goods from the game to the World of Warhammer

Chapter 84 The Judge Who Was Expected Finally Arrived

Outside the Bloodaxe Clan camp, several orc lads were patrolling along a muddy path worn into the ground.

The leader was wearing a helmet that he had picked up from somewhere, with two crooked iron horns welded onto it. It looked like a totem ornament from some primitive tribe, but it was actually just used to scare people.

He carried a chipped machete in his hand, glancing towards the Protoss base in the distance as he walked. The orc lads were muttering things like, "Why isn't today a red time period?" and "I want glowing equipment too."

"Um?"

The leading orc suddenly stopped, twitched his nostrils twice, and sniffed at a low rocky hill to the northeast.

There's some noise there.

The three patrolling orcs exchanged a glance, touched their weapons, and approached the low rocky hill.

After going around a wind-eroded rock about half a person's height, they saw a shrimp.

He was small in stature, wearing a dark gray uniform, and stood alone in the shadows on the leeward side of the hill, with his back to them.

The orc leader paused for a moment, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of jagged fangs.

"Hey! What? Want to have a fight? My guys here are itching for a fight today." He was speaking when he suddenly choked up.

Because the shrimp turned around.

His face was pale and stern, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, and his lips pressed into a straight, expressionless line. An old scar ran across the skin exposed by his uniform collar, extending from his jawline down to below his collarbone.

But what truly stumped the orc wasn't the shrimp itself.

Instead, it was several "canned goods" that slowly emerged from the other side of the low hill behind the shrimp.

Even orcs recognize Space Marines' power armor.

The group of canneries were painted pure black, their entire bodies covered in thick terracotta plates, each step they took on the gravel ground producing a dull metallic clang. But unlike the usual Space Marine chapters, one of their shoulder armors was not painted black, retaining its original base coat, and was inlaid with several different insignia.

Although the leading orc hadn't read any Imperial unit manuals, the Bloodaxe Clan had dealt with the Empire for many years, so he had some knowledge of the various paint schemes and color schemes of the Space Marines.

Full-body black armor, but retaining the original chapter paint scheme on one shoulder plate – Deathwatch.

This is not a partner's business!

The orcs finally reacted. The leader had just opened his mouth to shout the alarm when a dark shadow moved in front of him.

The piercing hiss of the chainsaw's gears spinning at high speed drowned out the last syllable the orc couldn't utter.

A knife.

The lead orc's body was cleaved diagonally from shoulder to waist, scalding green blood splattering onto the gravel ground.

The second orc raised his iron shield to try and block, but another black-armored warrior had already pressed his bolter against his head. The moment the gun fired, the iron shield and its owner fell down together.

The third orc turned and ran, sprinting with his back to the sky, throwing away his assembled rifle.

He had barely run ten steps when a precise explosive bullet struck the back of his head. The momentum from his forward run caused his body to slide a few more meters before finally collapsing onto the muddy ground, where he lay motionless.

The man in the gray uniform expressionlessly withdrew his gaze, made a gesture to the black-armored warriors behind him, and then the group silently disappeared into the shadows of the low hill.

However, Rhodes had no idea what was happening on the outer perimeter of this green-skinned planet.

He was sitting in the shuttle seat, watching the planet outside the porthole gradually shrink, feeling more relaxed than ever before.

Aria's communication came in twenty minutes ago: the support fleet responsible for repairing the flagship had finally arrived at the designated rendezvous points.

This means he can finally leave this planet that smells of fungi.

To be honest, although he had gained a lot during his time here, the omnipresent green-skinned aura had permeated every piece of Rhodes' clothes and every strand of his hair.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, his nose would be completely ruined.

The shuttle landed smoothly in the lower hangar of the flagship. The moment the hatch opened, the ship's air, purified by the air filtration system, rushed in. Rhodes took a deep breath, and the clean air finally brought a long-lost sense of freshness to his nasal cavity.

The scene inside the ship was not much different from before Rhodes left, but it was noticeably busier.

The support fleet brought not only repair equipment, but also a group of technicians. Throughout the corridors, mechanical mechanics and technical sergeants in dark blue overalls could be seen pushing hovercarts loaded with spare parts and tools, hurrying between the various compartments.

The flagship's main armor belt had been severely damaged in previous battles, and several key structural reinforcements needed to be replaced. The cooling circuit of the Void Shield Generator had also malfunctioned. Although it did not affect basic functions, the full-power operating time would be greatly reduced. Repairing the Geller Field was the top priority.

These repair items were compiled into a long list, which was tucked into a data board handed to Rhodes by a clerk during his journey.

Rhodes glanced at the length of the list, silently handed the data board back to the clerk, and indicated that the subsequent details would be handled by Aliya.

As for Aria, she was already waiting on the flagship's command bridge.

When Rhodes stepped onto the bridge, Aliya was standing in front of the tactical holographic console, her fingertips rapidly swiping across the screen, bringing up star maps and administrative documents, her expression as focused and serious as ever.

Seeing Rhodes enter, she turned slightly to the side, nodded to him, then enlarged a document on the holographic table and pushed it in front of Rhodes.

"I have compiled a summary of the process for formally incorporating a planet into the Vandreich dynasty."

Rhodes leaned over and took a look.

The document is titled "Registration Procedure for Trade Authorization of Merchants and Ronin on Subsidiary Planets," and is filled with various entries below.

"First, we need to submit a planetary survey report to the nearest Imperial administrative department to confirm that the planet is not under the jurisdiction of any existing administrative region, or has been marked as a 'lost world' or 'not included in the territory' by the Imperial administrative system," Aliya said, pointing to the first item.

"Secondly, the traveling merchants must provide a copy of the original trade warrant for record-keeping, proving their right to exercise occupancy rights over undeveloped planets. This step usually goes smoothly, as the warrants of the Vandrick dynasty, though outdated, are still legally valid."

"Third, if there are already human inhabitants on the planet, an additional plan for dealing with the inhabitants is required, explaining how the traveling merchants intend to manage these inhabitants: whether to incorporate them as subjects of their territory, expel them, or deal with them in other ways."

Rhodes was leaning against the edge of the tactical platform, listening to Alia continue explaining the fourth, fifth, and sixth administrative procedures. He was already starting to think about how to tamper with the documents to make the actual situation of this green-skinned planet look a little "cleaner" so that the administrative approvers on the Empire's side wouldn't glance at the information.

After all, the Bloodaxe Clan was a "partner" he had painstakingly cultivated, and the training schedule had just been set up. If they were wiped out by an extermination order from the Empire, all his previous investments would be wasted.

Just as Rhodes was mentally devising various ways to deceive everyone, the side door of the bridge slid open.

The footsteps were light, the rhythm steady and even, and the intervals between each step were so precise that they were almost perfectly consistent.

Rod instinctively turned his head away.

A man walked over.

He was about 1.85 meters tall, of medium build but not thin, and wore a well-tailored dark trench coat. The outline of some kind of light armor could be vaguely seen on the inside of the trench coat, and he wore an intricately designed badge on his chest.

Rhodes recognized the badge.

The red "I" mark features a human skull in the center, symbolizing pure genes.

The emblem of the courtroom.

The man walked up to Rod and stood still, maintaining a perfect distance between them—neither too close to be rude nor too distant to be cowardly.

His face was angular, with high cheekbones and deep-set eyes. His gray-green eyes calmly scrutinized Rhodes, like an eagle scrutinizing him. He seemed casual, but in fact, he didn't miss any detail.

Rhodes inwardly gasped.

The judge who is destined to come will come.

Moreover, judging from the subtlety of the emblem, this person does not belong to the Inquisition of Heretics or the Inquisition of Demons, but to the Inquisition of Aliens.

An imperial secret agency specifically responsible for investigating, tracking, and eliminating threats from all kinds of non-human intelligent races.

"Lord Rhodes, heir to the Vandrick dynasty. I am Marcus Tion, an inquisitor under the Alien Inquisition. I apologize for the intrusion of my presence on board."

The tone was polite, but "I apologize for the intrusion" was merely a polite expression; in reality, the judge never needed the ship owner's permission to board whose ship he wanted. Although the trade warrant granted merchants and ronin great power, in the face of the court, it was merely a useful but not necessarily life-saving talisman.

Rhodes remained calm and gave a slight bow in return.

"Judge Marcus, it's a pleasure to meet you. The Vandreich dynasty always welcomes the Emperor's loyal servants. May I ask what brings you here, Your Excellency?"

Marcus Said smiled slightly.

"To be honest, we have been tracking the trail of a Sun Clan. Our Inquisition's psychic advisors, through divination using the Emperor's Tarot, have pointed the trail to this region of the planet."

He tilted his head slightly, moved the light away from Rhodes' face, glanced at the star map still lit up on the bridge holographic platform, and then looked away.

"I and a Deathwatch squad have been conducting reconnaissance in this region of the star system for several weeks."

Rhodes' expression remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.

"The results of the investigation are quite interesting." Judge Sain's wording was restrained, but he emphasized the word "interesting."

"The Evil Sun Clan did indeed once occupy that planet, but their power has been replaced by another orc clan, the Blood Axe Clan. Moreover, the Blood Axe Clan's fighting style and equipment have shown extremely unusual variant characteristics."

He took a small data tablet from the inside pocket of his trench coat, tapped the screen twice with his fingertip to bring up several blurry holographic screenshots, and handed them to Rhodes.

The screenshot shows several orc boys wearing equipment that Rhodes recognized very well: fragments of Protoss powered armor that had been modified by greenskins.

One of the orcs was even carrying a psionic light blade weapon bracer that had been modified beyond recognition, with the blade still shimmering with the green light of the waaaaaagh force field.

As Rod looked at the screenshots, the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched involuntarily.

How could he not be familiar with these things?

However, Judge Sion had not finished speaking.

"Besides these mutant orcs—" His voice lowered slightly, his tone becoming more serious, "we also detected the characteristics of an alien life form on that planet that has never been registered in the Imperial database."

He then pulled out another set of screenshots.

This time the footage is even blurrier, as it was taken from an extremely long distance, and only a few faint human silhouettes can be discerned.

Blue-gold armor, slender limbs, and deep blue eyes beneath the mask.

Footage of Protoss warriors on patrol, captured from a distance by Deathwatch scouts.

"Their combat capabilities far surpass those of ordinary orcs, and they wear a type of power armor never seen before, suggesting it may be a product of some highly advanced alien civilization. My technical experts' preliminary analysis suggests that their technological level is at least on par with the Eldar."

Judge Sion tucked the data panel inside his trench coat, his grey-green gaze returning to Rhodes' face.

"Lord Rhodes, based on the intelligence I currently possess, there seems to be some kind of connection between the orc variants on that planet and this unknown alien, and the scale and depth of this connection far exceeds that of ordinary orc internal evolution."

He paused.

"This is enough to set the bar for the Alien Inquisition to launch a full investigation."

Rod maintained a perfectly measured expression of surprise, his brows furrowed slightly and his lips parted slightly—his acting was flawless.

"This—there are actually such dangerous aliens?" His voice was filled with genuine confusion and shock. "To my shame, although the Vandrick Dynasty has some businesses in this star system, our understanding of that planet is extremely limited. I've never heard of such a species—the Sion Inquisitor. What should I do?"

But deep down, Rhodes was already ranting and raving.

Dangerous? Of course it's dangerous! Those Protoss are an elite force he acquired by spending a huge amount of universal energy.

Mutant orcs? Those were just a byproduct of his own training exercises.

To put it bluntly, everything on that planet that gave the Inquisition a headache was all the work of Rhodes alone.

But on the surface, he had to pretend to be innocent, like a kind-hearted wandering merchant who knew nothing about the matter.

Judge Sain did not answer his question immediately, but tilted his head slightly.

Those gray-green eyes suddenly became sharper.

The movement was so small that Rhodes wouldn't have noticed it at all if all his attention hadn't been focused on the other person.

Then Judge Sion spoke.

"My lord, wandering merchant, forgive my bluntness, but you seem to carry the scent of those orcs."

The bridge fell silent instantly.

Rhodes maintained his facial expression, not letting it change in the slightest, but a slight chill ran down his spine.

The smell of green fungus. Although he had showered, washed, and changed his clothes, he could no longer smell it himself.

But to an inquisitor who has long tracked aliens, this smell is probably more noticeable than the label stuck to his face.

Judge Sion did not press further or interrogate him directly; he simply stood there quietly, waiting for Rhodes' response with an air of "I've finished speaking, now it's your turn."

"Could it be that you, the wandering merchant, personally visited that planet and had close contact with those orcs?"