Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 160: The Small Webway Gate

The Night Sentinels were powerful combatants, but they still possessed the physical structure of ordinary humans. If a single vital organ was destroyed, they would still die. Their combat prowess might not be inferior to that of an Astartes, but their survivability, when facing enemies much stronger than themselves, was still limited by their human physiology.

It's not the thief you fear, but the fact that the thief is always thinking about you. Lucan had no desire to constantly be on guard against assassination attempts from these Harlequins. The attack had already caused numerous casualties among his guards. This was a blood debt that had to be repaid.

There were many Harlequin Troupes, each with its own style and purpose. A troupe was usually small, consisting of a few to a dozen members. The number of attackers this time suggested that most of this particular troupe was present. Lucan had to find a way to stop them here.

Malfi, having just gone through a war, was once again placed under lockdown. Soldiers were stationed on every street and alley.

These Harlequins could not have appeared here for no reason. The most likely explanation was that Malfi also concealed a small Webway gate. As for its location, Lucan had no doubt it could be anywhere. After all, even the moon, so close to Terra, had a Webway gate. If the plot demanded it, Lucan wouldn't be surprised if another gate, besides the one the Emperor had carved out, appeared on Terra itself.

Lucan donned his own equipment. Flesh, in the end, could not compare to solid metal. If he had been wearing his armor and had his weapons earlier, he would not have been in such a sorry state. But who wore armor 24/7? Lucan had no desire to become like Tychus, permanently bound within his combat suit. Although the armor had a complete life support system, the idea of eating, drinking, and relieving himself inside it was something Lucan could not accept.

The search for the Harlequins continued for several days, but to no avail. The divination spells of ordinary human psykers were like a child's game before these Eldar.

Kerrigan was furious when she learned that Lucan had been attacked. Since the last incident, her body, like Lucan's, still contained a large amount of undigested psychic energy. Under the influence of this energy, Kerrigan, who had originally looked like she was ten, now appeared to be fourteen or fifteen. The unspent psychic energy allowed her to wield even stronger psychic powers than normal.

During this time, all the residents of the upper hive who could see the sky would occasionally look up. A miniature sphere, constantly emitting a golden light, hovered in the sky. Kerrigan, once again in her Queen of Blades form, was controlling the Swarm.

Watching this incredible scene and the continuous emergence of the Emperor's power, the square with the statue of the Emperor was filled with worshippers. Led by priests, they constantly prayed toward the sphere.

Using this excess psychic energy, Kerrigan temporarily hatched a large number of Overlords.

Within the city, Raiders and Night Sentinels searched. And on the planet's wilderness, a multitude of floating Overlords, acting as nodes for the Zerg network, were weaving a dense and complex surveillance web over Malfi. The Overlords continuously emitted the Zerg's psychic energy, probing every inch of the wilderness, trying to find the whereabouts of the Harlequins. Zerglings were also released onto the plains, searching the canyons, deep pits, forests, and other areas that might evade the Overlords' surveillance.

"Lemire, Shadowseer, do you see the phenomenon in the sky? That is the power of the Corpse-Emperor."

"That is not a human... it is a creature we do not know. Perhaps this is also one of the new performers mentioned by the Great Laughing God," Lemire murmured. The psychic power Kerrigan was displaying made even him feel a trace of fear.

At this moment, the group of Harlequins was slowly moving in vehicles called Voidweavers. The anti-gravity drives made their movement almost silent. A unique stealth technology allowed the few Voidweavers to evade detection.

Lemire looked up at the sky. The sight of the hideous-looking Overlords made him frown. His powerful psychic level allowed him to clearly sense that they were also covered by a special psychic network. Any mistake could lead to their discovery.

In the distance, swarms of Zerglings were heading their way. From time to time, packs of screeching Mutalisks flew over their heads.

Lemire stopped a Harlequin who was about to attack prematurely and had them shut down the Voidweaver's engines. Lemire was confident in their stealth technology; these strange creatures were merely on patrol.

As expected, the Zerglings passed them by without noticing.

"These unknown xenos have some similarities to the Tyranids? Are they some kind of variant?"

"Impossible. The will that devours all would not cooperate with the Corpse-Emperor, let alone serve Him."

"Shadowseer Lemire, what should we do now? Continue to stay here and look for an opportunity to kill that human?"

"Not under these circumstances. Assassination is no longer possible. We need to return to the Webway as soon as possible and unite the forces of the Dark Eldar and the Craftworlds. With their assistance, we will eventually have another chance."

Even the most crazed of the Dark Eldar would listen to his advice.

The Laughing God, it seemed, also followed the philosophy of not putting all his eggs in one basket. While guiding this troupe to kill Lucan, he was still sending other Harlequins to assist humanity in the upcoming actions at Cadia.

The search for the Harlequins continued without any progress.

Just as Lucan was thinking that the Harlequins had already left Malfi, the Overlords spread across the sky finally sensed an unusual psychic reaction.

When a large number of Zerg and Raiders arrived at the location of the psychic reaction in transport ships, they found only a field of Zergling corpses. The Overlords floating in the nearby sky had also been shot down. And in a nearby canyon, a small, now-closed Webway gate.

"Father, they killed the nearby monitoring Zerg before the Swarm could react," Kerrigan reported. "However, it seems they took some of the Zerg corpses with them. If they don't destroy them and try to study them, and if I enter the Webway, I might have a chance to sense the presence of the corpses."

Hearing this, Lucan understood. The Webway was separate from both the warp and the physical universe. At least they had gained something.

But for now, Lucan stood before this Webway gate, helpless. The structure, made of wraithbone, had a distinct Eldar xenos style. The Imperium had discovered many such entrances within its borders. They came in all sizes; large ones floated in the void, large enough for warships to pass through, while small ones, like the one before Lucan, could only accommodate small vehicles. But no matter how much the Imperium studied them, they could not figure out how to open them. Even the Emperor, at great cost, had only managed to carve out a small section within the Webway.

Although the Webway was now home to all sorts of things—daemons, Orks, xenos, and even a certain burly man joyriding with his sons—it was still the most valuable legacy the Eldar had inherited from the Old Ones, and the very foundation of their survival.

"Try to destroy it! If that doesn't work, seal it off completely. Order a planet-wide, grid-by-grid search of all worlds within the Dynasty's territory to prevent any other hidden Webway gates from existing! Send a message to the Expanse and raise the alert level!"

Lucan believed that since the Harlequins had already made a move against him, their actions would not stop here. They might even incite other Eldar to attack the Dynasty's territories. Besides Chaos... he now had another enemy.

For the time being, Lucan had no way to counter the Webway; this was all he could do. However, the defensive network established by the members of his alliance was already complete. Even in a large-scale conflict, Lucan was not worried. What he feared were attacks from the shadows.

"A pity I couldn't stop that Shadowseer. Otherwise, I might have been able to unlock the Protoss!"

Lucan lamented inwardly, but he now had a clear direction for unlocking them.

Lemire and the Harlequins with him had already begun to head in different directions through the Webway. Lemire himself went to Commorragh to meet with the Dark Eldar, while the other members of the troupe traveled to different Craftworlds to carry out their own plans.

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