Additional Investment

Even after Mai Mai had successfully persuaded them to invest, the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Master had only agreed to sponsor some inconsequential Astra Militarum equipment and dispatch a Goliath-class Forge Ship to Rostov II for a temporary posting. It would leave once the Necron tomb had been excavated.

As for the Adeptus Ministorum? Sorry, the Adeptus Ministorum forces of Mariupol Forge World were not large to begin with, and they all had assignments at present. None could be spared anytime soon.

As for the Knight Houses, the Forge Master had not agreed to mobilize the Knight Houses loyal to the Adeptus Mechanicus in the name of the Forge World. He had merely said that Mai Mai could contact any Knight Houses willing to deploy, and the Adeptus Mechanicus would not obstruct them.

Sage Donya had helped contact several Knight Houses, but there were not many Knights able to come. Most Houses had only one or two Knights willing to answer the call, and Mai Mai would need to send ships to pick them up.

Mai Mai could not say he found this result unacceptable, but it was still rather underwhelming.

According to the plan he and Chen Xi had originally discussed, they should have been able to borrow at least one macroclade of Adeptus Ministorum troops from the Adeptus Mechanicus, or secure an entire Knight House.

This handful of troops was not entirely useless, but it would not be of much use either.

It might be enough for tomb exploration, but it would be hard-pressed to support even a small campaign.

"How am I supposed to persuade those Tech-priests... I can't seriously tell them there's a great tomb, can I?" Mai Mai scratched his head.

Although he had already secured the support of the Sector Governor and the Ecclesiarchy, meaning this trip had achieved its expected gains, winning over the Adeptus Mechanicus would undoubtedly have been even better.

As someone who liked to collect everything and achieve the perfect ending even when playing games after being criticized, Mai Mai still hoped to do everything as well as possible—at the very least, to unlock the Adeptus Mechanicus aid route.

But just as he was considering how to win the Adeptus Mechanicus's support, a servitor suddenly reported that an Ecclesiarchy priest and a Sister of Battle were waiting outside to visit him.

Mai Mai was somewhat surprised. Cooperation with the Ecclesiarchy had already been settled. As for the Order of the Sisters of Battle, the Sisters of Battle in the Mariupol Sector mainly belonged to the Order of the Ebon Chalice, a different faction from the Order of the Sacred Rose used by Chen Xi, so Mai Mai had not had much contact with them.

Now that both sides had come together, had something happened?

Regardless, Mai Mai received them with due seriousness and welcomed both the Ecclesiarchy priest and the Sister of Battle inside.

"Lord Malin, may I ask whether grapes are being cultivated on Rostov II and made into wine? Does this wine possess the ability to purge heretics?" The Ecclesiarchy priest did not exchange pleasantries with Mai Mai, instead getting straight to the question that concerned him most.

"Huh?" Mai Mai was completely bewildered and had no idea what the priest was talking about.

Before Mai Mai could react, the Sister of Battle from the Order of the Ebon Chalice beside him also asked, "If sisters of the Order of Sisters were to cultivate them personally, could they achieve the same effect as the Blessed Grapes on Rostov II? Or have you mastered some special technique, or perhaps these grapes have received the God-Emperor's blessing?"

"What are you two talking about? Could you tell me exactly what happened?" Mai Mai felt as though his head was full of question marks and wanted to understand what was going on.

He knew Chen Xi had planted grapes on Rostov II, but what did purging heretics have to do with it? And what were Blessed Grapes?

Mai Mai felt as though he knew nothing at all.

Hearing Mai Mai say this, and seeing that he truly seemed to know nothing, the priest and the Sister of Battle exchanged glances before explaining the full story to him.

"You're saying that the grapes grown on Rostov II received the Emperor's blessing, and that after being made into wine, anyone who drank it could identify heretics? The fallen nobles on Rostov II were burned to death on the spot?" Mai Mai finally understood what had happened, but he genuinely knew nothing about it.

The Mariupol Sector's capital was separated from Rostov II by over a hundred light-years. In the 3K Era, humanity would not merely have been unable to communicate in real time—it could not even observe things in real time.

Even in the 40K Era, Astropathic Communication was not something just anyone could afford to use.

Although the Rogue Trader's voidship was equipped with an Astropathic Choir and could conduct Astropathic Communication at any time, the process was actually similar to sending a telegram in the 2K Era. The contents first had to be encrypted, then transmitted through psychic power.

One had to understand that the sending and receiving of astropathic messages both relied on the power of the Warp, and only trained, sufficiently powerful Psykers could accurately send an Astropathic Communication to a designated target.

Ordinary Astropaths, on the other hand, were more like people shouting in a public channel, broadcasting to the entire galaxy.

Thus, in order to prevent important information from being intercepted by enemies, encryption became the highest priority.

And where there was encryption, there was naturally decryption. Decryption simply took time. Under normal circumstances, unless an astropathic message was urgent, Astropaths merely passively received the broadcast messages.

That was precisely why, unless something truly important had occurred, the Astropaths aboard the voidship would not contact Mai Mai to tell him what news they had recently received.

Still, though it was not the latest firsthand information, Mai Mai keenly sensed the enormous amount of information and opportunity contained within it.

Thus, he said, "I truly do not know much about this matter. When I left Rostov II, Inquisitor Chen Xi was attempting to cultivate grapes on that planet. Judging by the timing, the grapes now being harvested should be the first batch, and the wine being brewed should likewise be the first batch.

"According to Inquisitor Chen Xi's arrangements, these grapes were tended by novice sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose, and every subsequent step of the winemaking process should also have been completed by their own hands."

Upon hearing Mai Mai's words, the Sister of Battle from the Order of the Ebon Chalice's eyes immediately lit up. She hurriedly wrote down this information.

From the look of it, she seemed to be considering reproducing the process.

"Since the grapes were tended by sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose, they sang hymns while they worked. These grapes may have acquired their special properties through the influence of those hymns." Mai Mai did not pay attention to what the sister from the Order of the Ebon Chalice had recorded. He merely added an explanation.

After recording everything Mai Mai had said, the Sister of Battle looked toward the priest, signaling for him to continue.

The priest nodded, then continued, "Lord Malin, the Ecclesiarchy places great importance on the matter of the Blessed Wine. If possible, we will dispatch a delegation to Rostov II to verify whether this is genuine.

"Once it has been verified as genuine, Rostov II will undoubtedly become an important holy site of the Ecclesiarchy. The development and construction projects you previously discussed with us will all need to be adjusted. The Ecclesiarchy does not wish for any accidents to occur at a holy site."