Warhammer: I don't want to become a stinky can!

Page 156

Don't take everything!

Hades could no longer imagine what he would face next.

Is that him?

It's him, that adult!

It doesn't look like it.

What do you know? That's called being low-key!

In a side room of the conference hall, a dozen or so mechanical sages, clearly dressed rather casually, were arguing fiercely.

With only a dozen or so people, they were already divided into three groups: Hades is the unwavering god party; Hades may be a god party; there is a god but Hades is not a god party; there is no god so Hades is not a god party; I don't care if he is a god or not, as long as he is strong enough, I will accept the party; and the party that just wants to have fun.

The party members who were watching the fun also started a betting pool on Hades' identity, and the odds are currently evenly distributed.

Two weeks ago, a compressed, intermittent video spread like a virus throughout Grei's entire information network. This video, of unknown origin, with rough quality and a short duration, immediately went viral in Grei. In no time, the figure surrounded by fluorescent green lightning in the video became the topic of conversation in people's spare time.

The headline news that had been dominating gossip in Grei's neighborhood—that No. 3 engine oil had increased in price again—was forced to give way to this video.

Some say this is to force those unwilling to cooperate with the Legion to comply, while others say that the higher-ups don't care about such things, and still others say it's a miracle that has nothing to do with dirty interests.

Regardless, all motor enthusiasts can admit that they sensed a faint "divinity" in this video.

Knowledge flashes by, vanishing in an instant.

Some people have even compiled these different versions of the video and spliced ​​them together to create an invincible enhanced version for sale. These kinds of videos are especially popular among low-level blacksmiths.

But unlike the general public who have many different opinions, Greier's top management had already followed the code path to the publisher 021.

Faced with the harsh words of Foundry 021, the attitudes of Greier's senior management were not consistent.

However, most are willing to cooperate with the Death Guard. Even without mentioning Hades, becoming the primary partner of a major legion offers immense wealth on the scales of profit.

Moreover, based on the observations on board 106, the Grei's sages also recognized the Death Guard's fighting beliefs and methods. The Death Guards, who never retreated on the battlefield, were in line with the ancient Grei's creed.

The reason why the Grei's Forging World was still hesitant before was mainly due to its relatively low administrative efficiency and the prevailing mentality that "we should wait and see, maybe there will be a better cooperative legion."

That video ignited the fervor of some fanatics, and a fleet led by them was assembled at an astonishing speed to meet with the Death Guard. Administratively, it received swift and decisive approval, and the mechanical sages rushed toward the Death Guard at an unparalleled pace.

Their enthusiasm successfully frightened Hades.

Don't come any closer!

Hades screamed inwardly as he dodged the 13th mechanical sage who tried to "accidentally" bump into him.

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Chapter 175 Contract

As the first stars shone, twinkling in the deep universe, massive and beautiful war machines stood quietly in Greier's showroom, displaying their power to visitors.

That was the Morning Star Titan Legion, belonging to the Grei's Forged World.

The Lord of Death gazed with satisfaction at these deep green machines. Once the cooperation between the Death Guard and Grei'er was perfectly achieved, these massive Titans would serve as a heavy striking force for the Death Guard, unleashing their fury upon the alien kingdom.

(Experts familiar with Titan are welcome to share their knowledge and correct any errors. I could only find 40k of information here.)

Originally, the Empire would assign its Titan Legion to each legion, but the allocation of these Titan Legions would change depending on the location of the legion in the star system and the size of the war it experienced. When war broke out in other star systems, these Titans might also be temporarily drawn away.

Aside from the battlefield, the legion commander did not have much power to interfere with the Titan Legion.

However, if the Legion reaches an agreement with the Forged World on its own, then it will be much simpler for the Legion Commander to invoke these Titans.

The mechanical sage's introduction to their Titan legion echoed smoothly through the corridor, and Mortarion listened quietly, gazing at these beautiful behemoths.

A silent wail echoed through the frantic office. Obsolete agreements and contracts piled up on the floor. The machine servant tried to clean up, but overwhelmed by the papers, it could only helplessly cry for help.

No one paid any attention to it.

Aside from leaving essential maintenance personnel in the Legion fleet, almost all of the Death Guard's foundry technicians were mobilized. These people, who should have been repairing machinery amidst the hail of bullets on the battlefield, were now engaged in a heated debate with the sages of Greiel, negotiating down to the smallest decimal point.

After the sages of Mortalian and Greiel had chosen the general direction of their cooperation, it was time for them to finalize the technical details.

Even though there was a strong interest in Hades within Greiel, there were also many rationalists among the powerful high-ranking officials. At the urging of these rationalists, at least the fanatical believers did not directly concede on matters of interest.

Faith and interests can be separate.

Just like the blacksmith 21 whom Hades first encountered, even though he was so willing to believe that Hades was the "chosen one," he used this belief to benefit himself.

Before these sages skilled in calculation, every number conceals deadly intent. Even if the powerful figures above are all smiles and pleasantries, turbulent undercurrents lurk beneath the veil.

This is another battlefield.

Hades wore a professional fake smile and looked "sincerely" at the sages before him.

They varied in physique and expression, but what they had in common was the roaring logic engine within them. The council of thirteen sages was "examining" Hades.

Compared to the "warm welcome" he had just received, Hades found the atmosphere much colder when he entered the room specifically for technical coordination, and religion was not prominent here.

There were still normal people among them, and for some reason, Hades breathed a sigh of relief.

The Great Sage Chairman stared at Hades in silence, seemingly lost in thought. Hades couldn't help but become more vigilant, hoping that the other party wouldn't make things too difficult for him regarding the details of the contract.

However, what Hades was unaware of was that within the sages' internal communication channels—

[Haha, I won! Time to collect the money!]

【How could that be! You must have secretly watched the video that was sent back from the front】

No, I'm just betting this guy is a normal person. I'm the only one who's betting on this. What do you guys know?

The sages were discussing the bet they had just placed, betting on what Hades, this so-called "agent of the gods," really was.

Well, I didn't expect it to be so ordinary.

Compared to Hades, who was secretly nervous, the sages were not preoccupied. The general framework for the cooperation with the Death Guard was largely the same. They only needed to be very strict with some of the terms and then relax these already lenient treaties when the other side pointed out any problems.

To leave a good impression on the other party.

Even if they cooperate with the Death Guard, it won't have much impact on the sages' research, so the sages are more curious about Hades himself than about cooperating.

Unfortunately, they couldn't study it directly, so the sages could only record Hades' biological behavior patterns as a side note.

But what the sages didn't know was that in the ensuing communication, Hades would earn them the title of the most desirable partner they had ever met, and the title of the most intelligent and rational technical strategist they had ever encountered.

Hades finally finished his rambling and felt like he was about to vomit his own soul before he finally reached an agreement with the sages opposite him.

Debating with thirteen logical thinking engines is incredibly challenging.

Aside from the initial treaty signed between Mortalian and the Grand Sage, subsequent detailed clauses added many supplementary provisions.

Grei'e will provide the Death Guard with military supplies (which the Death Guard can designate) and partial command of the Morning Star Titan Legion. The Death Guard can also order other supplies from Grei'e. Regarding the planets ruled by the Death Guard, the Grei'e Forge World will also provide technical and instrumental support for their construction.

Both sides will establish communication channels in the subspace of their primary planets, provide the highest level of protocol for passage, establish a subspace communication network, and provide information with the highest priority.

In return for Grei's support, the Death Guard would need to send a small squad to Grei's world to demonstrate that the Death Guard would protect Grei's interests, even if it meant resorting to force.

The Greyhounds have the highest level of exploration rights over the various planets conquered by the Death Guard, and any STC discovered by the Death Guards belongs to the Greyhounds, provided that it does not violate the covenant between the Empire and the Mechanicus.

Mining and agricultural planets belonging to the Death Guard will be given top priority in providing resources to the Greiel Forging World (Greiel can specify the type and variety of resources).

To facilitate Grei's future cooperation with the Death Guard, Grei unilaterally agreed to build a forging satellite for the Death Guard's home planet, Barbaros, and dispatch a family of knights to protect it.

In the lounge that Greier had specially prepared, Mortarian was staring at the contract Hades had taken out, deep in thought.

Mortalian glanced at Hades. Was it his imagination? Hades seemed more weathered after talking with the sage.

Forget it, forget about this for now.

"This isn't just what it seems on the surface, is it?"

Mortarian blinked and pointed to the regulations for casting satellites.

Forged satellites provide a greater boost to Deathguard, but on the other hand, a forged satellite orbiting Deathguard's homeworld is both a protection and a silent threat.

Mortarian leaned on his arm, carefully thinking about Greier, whom he had seen in the intelligence reports, and the Imperial regulations concerning these matters.

As a Legion Commander, the Primarch doesn't need to get involved in the vast ocean of details, but assessing the overall risks and devising remedial plans are things Mortarion needs to consider.

Mortarion pondered for a moment, and the Primarch carefully reviewed the contract once more.

"I think it's feasible, what do you think?"

Hades nodded.

There's one more, I'll code it later.

Chapter 176 The Demigod Who Controls Machinery

You can always trust steel and gears; they are what have shaped human history.

The pursuit of technology and truth has enabled humankind, as mammals, to embark on expeditions into the vast sea of ​​stars. Although the lower classes of the hive will never understand the perfect products of technology and industry, their lives so far have been built entirely from steel and gears, whether it is the dirty machine spitting out protein blocks in front of them, or at the end of the river of time, when the first steam engine coughed and spewed out steam.

Therefore, machines are perfect; without machines, humanity, this carbon-based life form composed of flesh and blood, would accomplish nothing.

Steel formed the skeleton, gears filled the internal organs. Perturabo looked at the machine in front of him and thought of the figures of those undead warriors.

If they were any stronger individually, they would be the perfect warriors in Peturabo's mind.

Humans, made of flesh and blood, are too fragile.

Even the most powerful tridents will have problems under continuous high-pressure battlefield conditions; they will become unstable, irritable, and vulnerable.

Peturabo needs strong warriors who will not back down or be weak.

The monotonous sound of screwing in screws echoed, but Peturabo found it comforting. It was a rare moment of peace for him, allowing him to temporarily conceal everything in the metallic glint, the Emperor's deliberate neglect, the sneers of his brothers, and the gaze of that great rift.

They were always watching him, but Peturabo knew that only he could see the blasphemous, evil, and absurd rift; his other brothers would only offer empty words of comfort, telling him not to overthink it.

Just like now, it was watching him, which gave Peturabo a constant and unbearable pressure as the spikes slowly and steadily scraped across the glass.

Perturabo threw himself into the research and development. He originally just wanted to construct his warriors according to reasonable engineering and mechanics, but the image of the space necromancer kept appearing in his mind, interfering with his initial ideas.

Peturabo put down the laser and stared at his half-finished product—

He didn't know how to continue.

This is rare, or rather, it shouldn't have happened for Peturabo.

Since his childhood, when he stood alone atop that mountain, gazing at the source of fear, and fear itself stared back at Peturabo, Peturabo lost his "ignorance."

He knows everything; he can learn anything at a glance. Knowledge is like air to him; he breathes, and that's all.

But now, he won't.

Peturabo knew his thoughts had slipped off a dangerous cliff. He knew what he was thinking, of course. The figures of those alien races were still flashing. Although they were not powerful, some quality they possessed still deeply, deeply fascinated Peturabo.

But he couldn't do it. His knowledge was stuck, and the mathematical models he possessed became pale. What Peturabo didn't know was that even he couldn't understand the technology developed by the Necromancer with the help of the Star God.

"Perhaps I need a bit of innovation?"

Innovation—this word struck Peturabo's soul like a thunderclap. It was his opposite, a ghost he could never touch. He, who knew everything, had been stripped of the power to innovate.

Perturabo shuddered. He suddenly realized that he might have regained human emotions, so the Primarch quickly lowered his head, afraid of missing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

However, having never experienced innovation in his previous life, Peturabo's first attempt was bound to end in failure.

It remains to be seen whether Peturabo, driven by his pursuit of success, will attempt a second time after his first failure, as such an act would seem rather insulting to this easily angered Primarch.

But Peturabo was unaware of all this at the moment. He was engrossed in his experiment and, for the first time, managed to ignore everything that displeased him.

So he failed to notice the gaze cast from those eyes of fear.

The gears are still turning.

Steel grows in the wilderness, flames roar in the furnaces, and its war machines have been running ceaselessly for millions of years.

It sits on its throne.

Time is like ore gushing out of a chaotic mining machine, a jumbled mess of stones, mostly useless rocks, but some containing the luster of gold.

It is powerful, but it is not the most powerful.

Vashtor wanted to become a god.

In this cold and cruel world, that means it has to be careful enough.

Vashtor carefully concealed himself, trying his best not to expose himself over time, only revealing himself when necessary—

A fleeting moment caught its attention.

Innovation, machinery, and the tiny black holes it cannot reach.