Right then, inside a massive warehouse at the docks, the pirates of the Void Concordat also received the news.
Mad, that Rogue Trader is completely insane, what on earth is he trying to do?
Raid Collins, the Void Concordat's director at the landing port, said furiously.
"Boss, do you think they're just passing through?"
"Did you smoke too much of that trashy chemical? This is fucking coming straight for us!"
"Maybe they just want to make a show of force? Because we previously rejected his retaliation?"
"Let's hope so... They don't know our real stronghold, so it doesn't matter if they let us vent by destroying the surface one. Also, tell the brothers to get all their gear out. If they really found this place, we can't just sit here and wait to die. He's just a Rogue Trader, and the Concordat hasn't never clashed with them before. We even dare to fight the Imperial Navy, let alone him!
Besides, this guy just went through a Warp storm, and who knows how many of his crew survived. The capital world is in civil war too, so no one is coming to help him! Once he realizes he can't do anything to us, he'll find a way to negotiate with us!"
"But... that's a Rogue Trader. Are we really going to have a direct clash with him?"
"Are you a fucking piece of trash? A Glock Beast has more courage than you. How can you be a pirate with guts so small? Watch it or I'll hand you over to those Dark Eldar perverts."
"I won't dare again, Boss."
The pirate was clearly cowed, for he knew his boss was entirely capable of doing just that.
At Raid's command, shipping crates were opened one by one. Laspistols and automatic weapons were taken out and distributed to the various pirates, among which were some Star Mark Weapons from the Eldar, and even crystal grenades named Igariia. When these alien artifacts detonated, they released exceptionally sharp crystal fragments outward, packing far more destructive power than normal grenades.
The pirates even took a large number of suits of Carapace Armour out of the crates. Things that even the Astra Militarum could not issue universally were owned by these pirates in substantial quantities, showing just how terrifyingly profitable the Cold Trade was.
Inside the warehouse, there were also more than ten alien soldiers.
Kroots. These humanoid extraterrestrials possessed the ability to consume opponents to acquire their DNA traits and pass them down to the next generation, making them one of the few alien mercenaries that could be hired.
These dozen-plus Kroots came from the Blood Eagle Clan and were elites whose genetics had been improved over multiple generations. They possessed intelligence, excelled at hunting, and could use human weapons and equipment while boasting strength and speed far exceeding ordinary humans.
Some Kroots could even rely on genetic inheritance to briefly enter the Warp with their physical bodies and return unscathed to the reality.
Kroots, fully equipped combat servitors, and nearly five hundred armed-to-the-teeth pirates—one could see just how heavily the Void Concordat had invested in its stronghold at the landing port.
Prompted by Jie Yi, Gao Yi's team was also heading toward the Void Concordat's stronghold.
Gao Yi hadn't expected Jie Yi to have people embedded within the Void Concordat's stronghold, and she had even revealed their personnel and firepower configurations to him.
Jie Yi kindly reminded Gao Yi that bringing these two hundred men might not be enough and asked if he needed reinforcements, even offering to have her own gang members join the battle, but Gao Yi flatly refused all of it.
Are you kidding me? This was supposed to be an operation to showcase merchandise, and yet he'd need other combat personnel to help? What kind of look would that be?
The stronger the opponent, the higher he could drive up his prices next!
He could take down Warp demons and psykers, yet he was going to be afraid of a bunch of pirates? If so, then his reinforced technology from the stars would be far too trashy.
The brazen and unmasked procession immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Various factions had also dispatched representatives to watch the excitement, and even Tantos had no intention of sending out guards to stop or mediate the conflict.
Gao Yi used his psionic senses to perceive the surroundings, where countless eyes were secretly observing them right now.
Ecclesiarchy Priest? These implants... Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest, Imperial Navy... this rank... a general? Oh? The Adeptus Arbites sent people to watch too? Tsk tsk tsk. The Rosette hidden at the waist—an Inquisitor in person. It seems a lot of people are very curious about me. Well, the audience is all here; it's time to begin.
The Rangers ran swiftly, the combat suits' soles constantly making crisp clinking sounds against the alloy floor below, a sound that felt like a death warrant to the people inside the warehouse.
Nearby civilians also sensibly set aside what they were doing and left the vicinity; they felt they had better stay far away from a conflict between big shots.
Seeing the huge warehouse ahead, Gao Yi knew he had reached the place he was looking for.
Meanwhile, the Void Concordat scouts on the outer perimeter had long since been reporting Gao Yi and his group's movements back in real time.
"He actually found it? Damn it, how is that possible? Is there a traitor?!" Looking out through a hidden window, Raid swept his gaze back toward his subordinates behind him.
"By the Emperor, Boss, don't look at me, I'm not a traitor!!"
Just as Raid was still considering whether Gao Yi would choose to strike directly or negotiate, a spike round told him the answer.
"Madman! This Rogue Trader is a madman!! By the Emperor! Counterattack! Never mind whether he's a Rogue Trader! Take him down for me!!"
The people outside probably thought much the same as Raid; they all assumed Gao Yi would negotiate first, or use his identity as a Rogue Trader to force the Void Concordat to back down and apologize.
Nobody expected Gao Yi to simply start fighting without a single word of agreement.
Gang warfare happened almost constantly in the landing port, and the various major factions wouldn't even bat an eye if a few landing port kings died.
However, having a large-scale direct conflict with a Rogue Trader in the landing port was extremely rare.
Upon witnessing Gao Yi's ruthlessness and directness, the onlookers simultaneously witnessed the immense power of the CMC series power armour.
"Is this power armour? No, absolutely impossible. Even a Rogue Trader can't afford this much power armour, and these weapons have never been seen before. By the Emperor, is the Mongert Family about to get rich? Have they discovered new Lost Technology?!"
Every bystander pondered this in their minds, and even the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus failed to find any information regarding this equipment in their databases.
Lost Technology / Initiate pioneering protocol / Knowledge is truth / Seek Rogue Trader cooperation / Acquire related technology /
The penetration displayed by the C-14 electromagnetic rifle was no less than a laspistol, but its rate of fire was something a laspistol could never hope to match.
The terrifying sustained firepower of the Quad Grenade Launcher carried by the Marauders also left a deep impression on everyone.
This was largely thanks to the ammo feeder behind the CMC-660 combat suit. It was not merely a magazine; this magazine could also continuously manufacture grenades inside the feeder by loading raw manufacturing materials, allowing the Marauder to maintain uninterrupted firepower suppression.
The pirates in the warehouse were completely dazed for a moment, and their struggling counterattacks were blocked by the jump pack shields in the hands of the Rangers.
"Kroots! Do your job since you took the money!! Charge out for me!!!"
One of Raid's arms had already been shattered by a spike round, and the pirates under his command couldn't take more than a few spike rounds even while wearing Carapace Armour. The continuous, uninterrupted grenade bombardment from the opposite side made him think the enemy had deployed armored troops. Was this the firepower output of two hundred men?
The Kroots were also dedicated; even under such circumstances, they did not flee. No matter what, they were qualified and excellent mercenaries.
Clinging like geckos, the Kroots crawled toward the bottom of the warehouse's upper level, then used a speed far exceeding human limits to sprint and leap toward the foremost Marauders.
They threw down bombs, then gripped the metal spears in their hands tightly.
Their weapons appeared to be primitive spears, but the spearheads had long since been replaced with mono-molecular edges. Just as these Kroots prepared to launch a surprise attack and eliminate the Marauders before them with spears that had killed countless enemies, they did not realize that they had already been detected by Gao Yi's psionic perception while climbing.
And the moment they leaped out, the early-warning system inside the combat suits instantly alerted the Rangers within.
Half of the Kroots died before they even hit the ground, and the remaining Kroots, who wished to fight relying on their formidable strength, found themselves disastrously mistaken.
Although the Rangers' speed could not match the Kroots, under the augmentation of the power systems, it was nearly superior even to Kroots who had undergone such multi-generational enhancements.
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