Malena's Request

After King Nimrod ordered Szczesny to reorganize the 4th Regiment, he avoided the eyes of the crowd and returned to the Kingdom of Disorder.

He confirmed once again that the ink sac of the Rodent Octopus was not among the potion materials already unlocked on the Blasphemy Slate.

The potion formulas for Sequence 9 and Sequence 8 were fully unlocked, but for Sequence 7, only the formulas for the Briber and its adjacent pathway, the Inquisitor, were viewable.

After placing the ink sac alone in a palace within the first layer of the real space, King Nimrod fell into deep thought, based on his knowledge of potion materials.

[Most higher-level potion materials contain greater spirituality and are also more difficult to collect.

The Night Fragments of the Flao are clearly harder to obtain than the lung sacs of a Lung Spider.

The ink sac of the Rodent Octopus contains more spirituality and is also harder to obtain; it should be a mid-sequence potion material, and it is the first mid-sequence material I have obtained.]

Beyonders of Sequence 9, Sequence 8, and Sequence 7 belong to the low sequences, while Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 are mid-sequences.

King Nimrod stared at the ink sac, analyzing it further.

[The materials required for potion formulas seem to contain a certain internal logic.

The Barbarian requires the arm of an Ogryn, which is most obvious; the gavel required by the Arbites is also related to this; the Siren Stone required by the Sailor is also related to water.

Those that are not obvious are merely implicit internal logics I have yet to discover. As for the source of the spirituality within the potion materials, its origin cannot yet be determined.]

He turned and walked out of the palace: [Based on this inference, since the ink sac comes from the ocean, it should be a potion material for the Tyrant pathway, where the Sailor resides.]

After returning to the real world, King Nimrod gathered everyone to hear a briefing.

"My King, a total of one hundred and seventeen veterans have died, along with twenty-seven new recruits."

Szczesny was the first to report, feeling depressed; his regiment had suffered heavy losses due to a single sea monster, leaving him so frustrated he wanted to tear it into pieces, yet he had been stopped by that female shaman.

Just then, Malena stepped forward.

"I have a suggestion that can win you the loyalty of the Sicilians in a short period of time."

"Oh?" King Nimrod became interested upon hearing this. "Speak."

"Zhangya has caused countless deaths among the Sicilians. If you send Trinio to carry a part of its limbs to the various tribes to proclaim your battle achievements, you will win their loyalty."

"In the Coral Sea, there is no second Rodent Octopus with such a massive body."

"In that case, we shall proceed according to your suggestion."

King Nimrod accepted Malena's advice; to him, the loss was nothing more than a lack of meat.

"My Lord, I request to execute this myself."

Upon hearing this, Szczesny immediately made his request, and his slight annoyance toward the female shaman vanished along with it.

"Leave it to you."

After King Nimrod granted Szczesny's request, he immediately went to the seaside to dismember Zhangya.

The tentacles were cut off one by one, and the head was also divided into seven different parts.

Malena's suggestion was effective. After the 4th Regiment killed the Flao invading the various islands, when the Trinio brought out the limbs of Zhangya and told the story of King Nimrod descending from the sky to slay the overlord of the Coral Sea, the various Sicilian tribes gladly joined.

The Sea Guards one after another requested to join King Nimrod's command, and the 4th Regiment continued to execute the selection standards previously set by Szczesny.

Two stellar days later, the 4th Regiment was back to full strength.

After Szczesny reported to King Nimrod, he received orders to continue recruiting Sea Guards with no upper limit.

Just as the conquest of the Cradle of the Sea was advancing rapidly, King Nimrod received a communication from Rosicky.

"King Nimrod, a riot has broken out in Vostonia. Mutants from over thirteen hive cities have launched attacks on the hive cities."

"Lukpo and Tezwork, which you control, have also erupted in riots."

King Nimrod frowned slightly. There had been no signs of mutant riots when he left, and he intuitively felt that some force was pushing this from behind.

"What is the scale of the riots?"

"Unfortunately, there is no detailed intelligence at the moment. I suggest you return to Vostonia immediately."

King Nimrod fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

[The Flao in the Cradle of the Sea have mostly been cleared out; the few remaining aliens are enough for the warriors led by Szczesny to handle.]

His black eyes shone; he realized this was an opportunity.

[The mutant riots are also a good opportunity for me to conquer Vostonia.]

Thinking of this, he immediately made his decision.

Three stellar hours later, King Nimrod gathered everyone for a meeting. After hearing their reports on progress, he issued his orders.

"Szczesny, you are temporarily in charge of commanding all armed forces in the Cradle of the Sea. Your task is to continue conquering all Sicilian tribes and kill all invading aliens."

"My Lord, I will certainly complete your task."

"Regarding the task I gave you earlier, do you have any talent among your subordinates?"

Szczesny was prepared. "My Lord, those Iron Warriors have had their minds twisted by that Mad King. They are qualified warriors, but not talents who can stand alone."

"Among the new recruits I enlisted locally, Jorginho is a talent. During the conquest, he participated in the battles of five islands and single-handedly persuaded three Sicilian tribes to pledge their loyalty to you."

"In that case, have him follow me back to Vostonia after the meeting."

Nimrod collected potion ingredients during his conquests, including the Siren Stone and rapeseed, which were capable of fostering "Sailors" and "Cultivators."

However, he would not simply pick anyone to become a Beyonder; an assessment was mandatory.

Nimrod already had a preliminary plan for this. It was impossible for him to personally vet every Beyonder, especially once he returned to the Empire.

He decided to establish a recommendation mechanism, where the Beyonders he personally trained would recommend talent to him, after which he would keep these individuals by his side for final observation.

"Vieri, your task is to rebuild Trani and restore its food supply capabilities as soon as possible."

"As you command, my King."

Vieri accepted the order respectfully. Upon learning that Nimrod had slain Zhangya, the slight dissatisfaction he had felt when forced to submit vanished completely, replaced by a heartfelt surrender to the god-like giant.

"Malena..."

Nimrod looked toward the Shaman, but before he could speak, she opened her mouth first.

"I wish to accompany you to Vostonia."

Nimrod had not expected Malena to make such a request, so he asked curiously.

"Why do you make this request?"

Malena's tea-brown pupils shimmered with light, and a look of yearning appeared on her face.

"I have long held the desire to travel to the sea of stars and see the world outside."

"Now that the opportunity has finally arrived, I wish to follow you and serve you."

Nimrod nodded slightly. Malena was a powerful psyker, even stronger than Thierry. Keeping her by his side would provide him with a capable subordinate, and without her—a Shaman of immense prestige—in the Cradle of the Sea, Szczesny would be better able to secure control of this world on his behalf.

Thinking of this, he spoke.

"Very well, you shall leave with me."

After Nimrod returned to the Piszczek with Malena, Jorginho, and his other subordinates, he ordered the ship to set sail. He then returned to his quarters and entered the "Kingdom of Disorder" to concoct the "Know-it-all" potion.

As several legion members have asked when Nimrod will return, I am providing a clarification here.

First, I have not forced the return timeline to align with the launch date, even though it would be better for initial subscriptions.

Second, regarding the plot of the first volume, there are still 12 plot points left to write. Once finished, he will return to the Empire to begin the second volume, the "Great Crusade."

Note: Not every plot point can be completed in a single chapter.

Let me share my thoughts. Nimrod does not possess a golden finger (the potion system and Primarch status) that allows him to obtain everything while lying down; he will establish a small kingdom on the level of a Rogue Trader dynasty before returning to the Empire.

GW does not have a clear definition of a Rogue Trader dynasty, but the Agamemnus Dynasty has most of its assets concentrated on a single ship, yet it is still called a dynasty.

My definition is a force possessing a powerful fleet and a self-sustaining world system.

A self-sustaining world system consists of an administrative planet, an agri-world, an industrial world, and at least one economic world capable of generating massive economic value.

Vostonia is an administrative planet and an industrial world; the Cradle of the Sea is an agri-world; later, he will conduct warp travel to occupy an economic world in another star system.

I do not want to rely on my Primarch sons to accomplish this; that would be too easy and lack personal effort.

Of course, after returning, he will dispatch his legion to conquer a vast number of worlds.

Those who understand the circumstances of the Primarchs' returns should know that no Primarch has achieved this, including Guilliman and Dorn.

Finally, I know most readers hope for a quick return, and I will appropriately accelerate the pace, but I must still finish the necessary plot points listed in my outline.

The first volume is expected to have 70 chapters in total, and the launch will take place after the return.