Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 166: Handling the Blood Ravens

"Artanis, welcome to this world!"

Lucan walked up to Artanis.

Looking at the human before him, Artanis knew it was Lucan who had given him his identity.

"The Protoss are willing to serve the Creator."

"Don't call me Creator. Just call me Lord, like everyone else. Artanis, are you accustomed to this body?"

"There is no discomfort or conflict, but I can feel that my psychic energy has not yet returned to its full strength. My Lord, where are my people? I do not sense the presence of any other brethren in the Khala."

"Rest assured, they will come to this world soon. I have some enemies, and I may need you and Kerrigan to cooperate to deal with them."

Artanis looked at Kerrigan, but Kerrigan, unlike Artanis, did not possess all his memories. She didn't understand why Artanis held such great hostility towards her.

Lucan guessed that Artanis would certainly need more soul stones. He had already begun to order the Dynasty and the alliance to start collecting Eldar soul stones. Although the cold trade in the Koronus Expanse was well-developed, soul stones were not that common. Unless they completely annihilated a Craftworld Eldar force in battle, the surviving Eldar would always take the soul stones left by their fallen and place them into the Infinity Circuit of their Craftworld. This was their way of avoiding having their souls devoured by Slaanesh.

However, with enough time, he should still be able to collect a good number. After all, you couldn't eat or drink them. With sufficient payment, Lucan believed that those who possessed them would be willing to sell.

"Artanis, I need to record your combat data."

Artanis once again manifested his psi-blades. The testing ground Lucan was in was perfect for recording Artanis's current combat capabilities. A few tech-priests of the Cult of the Holy Machine accompanied Lucan, excitedly recording the data Artanis was now displaying. The priests were no longer surprised by Artanis's existence; their lord seemed to bring them new surprises every so often. After the appearance of the Zerg, a more humanoid xenos like the Protoss no longer caused much of a stir in their hearts. Instead, they were eager to study the technology contained in Artanis's various pieces of equipment.

All Protoss technology originated from psionics. Although psychic energy was very dangerous here, borrowing from their technology could once again increase the Dynasty's technological foundation.

If the current Kerrigan, though psychically powerful, was more focused on helping the Zerg develop, then Artanis was more like a powerful warrior with immediate combat capability—an individual who possessed both strong command and management skills and formidable fighting strength.

Heavy energy armor protected his body, and a shield driven by both psionics and plasma was currently withstanding damage from bolters, C-14s, plasma weapons, and various other types of weaponry. For the Protoss, every warrior was precious, so their investment in defensive equipment was always high. The performance of Protoss shields far exceeded that of the Imperium's existing plasma shields.

The test results were satisfactory. Although it couldn't withstand continuous fire indefinitely, it could completely block various types of physical and energy damage. And after a brief disengagement from combat, the shield could regenerate again.

The sharpness of the energy blades formed by the psi-focus on Artanis's arms was astonishing. This equipment, which helped the Protoss precisely control their internal psychic energy to form weapons, might not be much for an ordinary person, but for an individual who relied on psionics for combat, it could greatly enhance their fighting ability.

The speed and strength Artanis displayed also surpassed any recorded warrior in the Dynasty. He could completely eliminate a large number of enemies before his shield was broken. And the Artanis of the Warhammer world had inherited not just general memories, but hundreds of years of combat skills.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any extra soul stones on hand right now. Lucan was already eager to try out the other Protoss units and buildings. After all, the various technologies and other combat units of the Protoss were what Lucan coveted more.

In the Warhammer universe, a swarming enemy, with a few rare exceptions, would ultimately be no match for human wave tactics and the enemy's giant warships and heavy artillery. Although the Terran air force in StarCraft could go toe-to-toe with the Protoss, in the lore, the Protoss warships were the strongest of the three races, far more powerful than their ground forces.

The Spear of Adun, the Golden Armada... just thinking about it was a bit exciting. This could compensate for Lucan's shortcomings in large warships.

And the communication from Damon was like a pillow delivered to someone who was sleepy.

"A large number of soul stones in exchange for the Dynasty's technology?"

The Blood Ravens' proposal made Lucan consider it.

For a major power like the Space Wolves, he might have to rely on friendship and their recognition of him after he proved himself to maintain their relationship. After all, the Space Wolves were a wealthy Chapter that lacked neither supplies, recruits, nor warships. Lucan couldn't use benefits to manipulate them right now.

But for a Chapter like the Blood Ravens, it was a different story. The more distinct a Chapter's characteristics were, and the less background they had to support them, the more likely they were to have a great need and disadvantage in some area. And this could become Lucan's leverage.

As professional "equipment acquirers," they might not lack relics and Astartes-grade equipment, but no matter how many relics or how much equipment you had, you couldn't eat it. You couldn't use these relics to conjure gene-seed and qualified recruits out of thin air. After all, not everyone was Guilliman, and not everyone was Belisarius Cawl, able to produce as much gene-seed as they wanted.

Lucan had already figured out how to get more benefits from this Chapter that only took and never gave.

As a Chapter with an extremely large number of Librarians, this was both their strength and their weakness. The unique genes contained in their gene-seed meant that new recruits of the Blood Ravens not only faced the risk of death from the augmentation surgery itself, but also the possibility of psychic overload or even daemonic possession. These failed candidates would be locked away in the Chapter's special prison, the "Omnis Arcanum," for study and to find a solution. And every failed candidate represented a precious gene-seed wasted.

It wasn't just the screening of new recruits; the large number of Librarians in the Chapter constantly touching the warp was also extremely dangerous. Forbidden contact and knowledge could cause even an Astartes Librarian to fall or lose control. And once they lost control, it meant these Chapter members would be honorably executed. After all, this wasn't a game where you could just recruit a new squad after one died. The Blood Ravens' numbers were not inexhaustible. For a Chapter already suffering from reduced numbers, these non-combat losses were an unbearable blow.

Others might not be able to solve this problem, but Lucan had a way.

Ian's example was right before them. After being enhanced by the Divinity Machine, his resistance to the negative effects of psychic energy had increased dramatically. And the Divinity Machine was not just for Lucan's own people; any target could be the recipient of its blessing. Even a small amount of Psy-crystals could achieve very good results.

Lucan was confident that if he offered such a deal, the other party could not possibly not be tempted! This was something that could almost change the entire predicament of the Blood Ravens Chapter and make up for their fatal flaw.

Lucan felt that he might be able to recruit a very powerful fighting force. For Lucan, this was also a long-term business. Your Chapter's numbers would have to recover, and combat would produce losses. You would always have new recruits and new Librarians.

Lucan wasn't worried about the Blood Ravens trying to rob him. If a large-scale conflict were to occur, Lucan was not afraid of this understrength Chapter. And as a loyalist Chapter, his own status as a Living Saint of the Emperor could provide another layer of insurance.

The Divinity Machine could only be deployed and retrieved by Lucan himself, which meant he would have to make a trip to Scintilla. It was a perfect opportunity to pick up those soul stones!

"Tell Damon I will handle the trade with the Blood Ravens myself."

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