Controlling the 9 Sages of Kiviol

Szczesny took the lead in the briefing at his signal.

"My King, I have conducted a carpet sweep of all decks. The warriors of the 4th Regiment are currently clearing out the remote areas in squad units."

"The 4th Regiment suffered a total of 184 casualties in this battle, with 50 deaths occurring during boarding accidents and 134 killed in combat."

Nimrod was not surprised; the Flao possessed formidable combat power, and had they not scattered in flight, the casualties would have been even higher.

A cornered beast will still fight, but once it loses its commander, it loses all coordination and organization.

"King Nimrod, Magos Kivior-9 has replied. The xenos artillery possesses extremely high research value, and he will arrive once the battle concludes."

"Wojciech and I have inspected the xenos warship. While we cannot decipher all the controllers, we can confirm that the current state of the vessel remains functional."

After hearing the briefing, Nimrod issued his orders.

"Send a message to the ships of House Finde and the Kournikova family, attached with encrypted identification runes. Order them to find a way to control Boleslaw and capture Robert."

"If they require assistance, you are responsible for leading a team to resolve it."

Before the fleet set sail, he had obtained the encrypted runes from Howard and Yelena; once the members of the two families received them, they would execute his commands accordingly.

After everyone withdrew, Nimrod went to the Flao governor's quarters.

He had previously discovered that the governor's grand bed was three and a half meters long, crafted from purple alloy, and just barely large enough for him to curl up and sleep.

Nimrod took a nap, and just as his spiritual energy recovered, the communicator rang.

"King Nimrod, Magos Kivior-9 has arrived. Please proceed to the bridge to discuss the details of the trade."

"Very well."

Nimrod strode back to the bridge and saw Kivior-9, who was clad in red robes.

Like other members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Magos could not suppress his curiosity regarding his physique, though through logical calculation, he quickly realized he lacked the capacity to analyze the mysteries of the giant's body.

"The xenos artillery has development value. I represent the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars to discuss the terms of cooperative development with you."

"Speak. What do you want?"

"In addition to cooperative development and the sharing of research results, I also require the star chart data for all altars in the Vostonia system."

To navigate the vast universe without feeling like a blind man swimming naked, star charts were an essential reference.

Although interference from the Warp and various other factors meant star charts could not be relied upon one hundred percent, having a reference was almost always better than having none.

"Your request is denied. The Vostonia star charts are the crystallization of wisdom gathered by countless servants of the Omnissiah over thousands of years."

"Based on the principle of reciprocal trade, you may only obtain the star charts for the two neighboring systems."

"No," Nimrod rejected him flatly, stating with absolute confidence, "Such a trade is not reciprocal. The xenos artillery is of much higher value."

"It can fire a pulse of energy, and the aetheric field within the beam can ignore a ship's void shields to directly erode its hull. Its side effect can even cause a ship's shields to overload."

"The entire Adeptus Mechanicus lacks such advanced artillery technology. By studying it, the servants of the Omnissiah will achieve theoretical breakthroughs through this new understanding."

Nimrod said this with certainty. He remembered that in the future, the Tech-Priest Hieronymus Tezla would boldly analyze a crashed Flao ship in the Tamar Sector, subsequently proposing his "Aether-Plasma" theory and winning great prestige.

That had been a mere crashed ship, whereas the battlecruiser he had seized had a hull integrity of over 95%, and the Aether Cannon in particular had sustained no damage whatsoever.

Kivior-9 remained silent for nine seconds before speaking.

"This unit requires an initial inspection of the artillery to determine its specific trade value."

"Be my guest."

Nimrod said indifferently. Compared to other races, the greatest advantage of the Flao was their aetheric technology; it was not only something human void shields could not defend against, but even the holofields of the Aeldari could not block it.

Engaging in naval warfare against the Flao was unwise. He remembered that during the "Great Crusade" not long after, Klen Ophion of the Night Lords legion had bravely commanded his ship to engage the Flao while the fleet was retreating.

In the end, his ship, the Whisper of Slaughter, was destroyed, and his captain forged the fragments of the hull into a combat shield known as the Blood Shield, covered in malicious ceramite barbs.

The Blood Shield was both a mark of shame for Ophion's brave mockery and a cruel joke.

The more Kivior-9 studied it, the more he would realize its value.

"Wojciech, draft the trade documents immediately according to what I just said."

"Four copies, two for each party, written in Vostonian Low Gothic and the Lingua-technis respectively."

"As you command, my King."

Wojciech immediately set to work, while Rosicky frowned.

As far as he knew, Nimrod hadn't even gone to the flanks to inspect the situation, yet he was so certain the Magos would accept the trade.

This was even more unbelievable than his judgment before the space battle; at least back then, he had data to use as a reference.

An hour of ship-time later, Nimrod received the contract from Wojciech. Using his "Lawyer" ability to peel back the layers, he identified three loopholes and, to further the negotiations, pointed out one key modification.

"The subject of the trade is only the Aether Cannon, not this ship."

Rosicky and Wojciech were stunned, then immediately realized the implication.

"My King, this cannot be hidden from the Magos. What do you think?"

"It is of no consequence. Execute it exactly as I have instructed."

Wojciech was a technical talent, not one versed in the art of negotiation.

If he had presented all the conditions at the start, the talks would likely have collapsed immediately. However, once the opposing party realized the value of the trade object and became determined to obtain it, they would be willing to pay a higher price.

The agreement was revised ten minutes later. Just as it was ready, Kivior-9 returned with his subordinates.

"I agree to your terms. Now, let us discuss the details."

"I have already prepared the agreement. You may review it; if there are no issues, we shall sign it immediately."

Under Nimrod's signal, Wojciech handed the data-slate to the Magos.

Kivior-9 took it with a mechanical tentacle and scanned through it rapidly.

"This clause requires modification. The trade object must be the entire xenos Battlecruiser."

No artillery piece existed in isolation, especially the Aether Cannon, which involved an entire complex system. Furthermore, the other modules of the xenos ship also held significant research value.

Once Kivior-9 and the Adeptus Mechanicus realized the value within, they became determined to secure the entire vessel.

Rosicky and Wojciech exchanged looks of "as expected." A Logis would never overlook such an obvious logical loophole.

"You may have the entire ship, provided you meet my requirements."

"What is it that you want?"

"I am trading one Battlecruiser for another. It is fair, is it not?"

Rosicky and Wojciech could not help but think simultaneously: A one-for-one trade is certainly fair, the Adeptus Mechanicus might even be profiting, but Nimrod is also demanding the star charts.

Seeing Kivior-9 fall into hesitation, Nimrod smiled and spoke.

"Star charts can be copied. The servants of the Omnissiah lose nothing. Trading a mass-produced ship for a xenos Battlecruiser, while also gaining new technology, is well worth it."

Nimrod's "Extraordinary Eloquence" drew the Magos into a different chain of logic.

After three seconds of silence, he spoke.

"I agree to your terms, but I also have one condition."

"You must eliminate the abandoned xenos raiders of the Oceanic Movement within ten stellar days."

"I accept this condition."