100 Give Me 95, You Know My Methods

Hilarious! Mordred is now the Great Commander of the Empire. He's seen it all. If you want to bribe him, you'd have to at least test his weaknesses.

"Give me 95 out of 100. You know my methods. Don't waste the remaining 5. Transfer 4.8 to me in the middle of the night. Don't touch the last 2 mao; I might need it later."

In short, Mordred has a higher standard now. He's not the poor guy he was when he first returned to the Empire. What good are five Savage Worlds if Eldrad gives you two Maiden World right away? That's a rare find.

You have to flatter your boss in a way that pleases them, otherwise, how can you expect to get promoted? Dream on!

Seeing that Mordred wasn't as enthusiastic as she had expected, Forge Lord Udiya was quite puzzled. As Mechanicus was far removed from people, she simply couldn't understand what this meant.

After all, Udiya is no ordinary Mechanicus; at her level, she's at least the Minister of Works of the Empire.

And thinking about it, it makes sense. If Udiya were really like those Vermin in the original High Lords Council, she would have been Great Purge long ago. All of them were promoted by Guilliman High Lord.

Before this, she was just an exiled sage racking her brains to be promoted to the rank of Arch-Magos, completely unaware of the intricacies involved, and inexplicably became the Forge Lord and the leading figure of Mars.

Furthermore, Udiya is not an old wall lamp like Kaul. She looks intimidating, but she is actually less than 1,000 years old and has never experienced the Great Crusade. She belongs to the group that was brainwashed by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

However, it is precisely because Udiya is an outsider that she was chosen by various forces to be the Forge Lord and promoted by Guilliman to be High Lord Councilor. In other words, she is easy to manipulate.

However, being easy to control is only relative. While Udiya's Fealty can be guaranteed, her mindset is still rooted in the stereotypical Adeptus Mechanicus.

In her view, the Primarch is the so-called demigod, the son of the Omnissiah's agent. As the saying goes, the lord of a lord is not my lord. I worship the Omnissiah, the Primal Force. The Primarch is just an Primarch.

So what if they're demigods? The Adeptus Mechanicus and the Empire are equals; they're partners.

This idea clearly narrows the scope of their thinking. Even Udiya knew that being able to give Mordred gifts already made her one of the more resourceful among the Mechanicus. They had never received such treatment before; usually, others would give them gifts, or even steal them.

"Great Commander, is this gift not to your liking?"

"No, it suits my taste perfectly, but what I need is an attitude."

"Attitude!" Udiya exclaimed, puzzled. "I've already delivered the goods to you, and now you're asking for an attitude? Where were you before?"

"That's right, it's all about attitude. Don't even mention five worlds, I wouldn't care about fifty. What I want is an attitude."

Perhaps because she wasn't wearing a vest, trench coat, or flip-flops, but only her Atlas military uniform, Mordred felt a bit lacking in presence, and her voice sounded weak. She quickly made herself appear larger.

As the saying goes, bigger is better and more is better. After Mordred grew from a 3.8-meter-tall to a 5.8-meter-tall giant, he felt much more comfortable. He immediately patted Udiya's metal head, which was filled with sensors, and said, "Even if you brought me two boxes of milk, I wouldn't say anything. Since you know I am the Great Commander of the Empire, you should know my methods."

Who doesn't know that the entire empire, from its capital to its five regions, rests on my shoulders? All the supplies for the legions have to go through me, yet you don't even bother to pay me any respects. What do you mean by that?

"Me? I didn't mean anything by it!"

"So you have a problem with me."

"Let me tell you, although I never received those people, I can remember who didn't come. You're really having a great time as Forge Lord, aren't you? You're even wearing a gear emblem now!"

Udiya finally understood. So, before becoming the Forge Lord, I had to be mindful of others' moods; now that I'm the Forge Lord, does that mean I'm not really the Forge Lord at all?

"And I don't understand." Mordred raised the gemstone bracelet that was already hanging on his wrist. His acting was superb, perfectly portraying the nature of a bully. It was almost unbelievable.

Why did you engrave your name on my things and then use them as gifts to me? You really don't lose out at all!

So you not only have a problem with me, but you also disrespect me. And those who disrespect me are traitors, you are a lackey of Chaos, a spy sent by the Chaos God.

Udiya couldn't bear this heavy accusation and immediately declared her innocence and loyalty.

Whether you are a loyal subject or not is my own judgment, but I can guarantee that it is all subjective conjecture without any objective facts. As for how I will determine it, that will depend on your performance.

There's an old saying in Udiya, Terra: "Those who understand the times are the wise ones."

The Indomitable Expedition is about to be launched in full force, and by then, the intensity of the war will escalate, and the consumption of various resources will be astronomical.

If the Adeptus Mechanicus continues to drag its feet and infighting like before, I wouldn't mind sending Atlas to audit the taxes, Space Wolves to maintain stability, and Dark Angels to settle scores.

"Do your job properly; if you don't do it, someone else will. After all, cleaning the house before inviting guests is an eternal truth."

Although her foundation was still shallow, Udiya, after becoming the Forge Lord, also learned many little secrets, including the Adeptus Mechanicus history of the Great Crusade.

Of all the legions, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Iron Hands have the best relationship; they're practically inseparable. The next best is Atlas, but Atlas is also a rival.

As for how the Adeptus Mechanicus competed with Atlas back then, they did try to find a way. They did, and they even invested heavily in a legion called Moon Wolves.

From the perspective of the current empire, if Mars encounters problems, the other Forge World will definitely take advantage of the situation. It would be a disservice to have been exploited by Mars for so many years if they didn't.

"You can't do this, Your Great Commander! If you do, the Adeptus Mechanicus will erupt into another civil war."

"What else? I came here to save you. As long as you sign this, everything will be fine."

Taking the Dataslate from Mordred, Udiya instantly understood what it was thanks to the high-speed data connection.

This is the Olympia Accords, which was revised a second time to strictly limit the rights of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The two most important ones are: first, the Adeptus Mechanicus's professional title examination requires Imperial certification, a regulation that demotes the Adeptus Mechanicus is on par with the Empire, by half a rank; second, the Adeptus Mechanicus is required to send personnel to each legion to assist, doubling the number of accompanying Mechanicus, which is to create smaller groups.

"This is against the rules."

"My rules are my rules. If Mars cannot be used by the Empire, then Mars has no reason to exist. Just like you said, I don't mind if the Empire breaks out into another Great Heresy."

Furthermore, I can tell you definitively that the Dark Angels and Soul Drinkers are on their way to the Solar System, Holy Terra is guarded by the Imperial Fists, and the Ultramarines are numerous and powerful.

Udiya, you don't want another civil war to break out on Mars while you're in charge of Forge Lord, do you? Even if you don't care about your subordinates, you should think about yourself. Otherwise, you'll be the first one to be eliminated by either side.

And think about it, the Adeptus Mechanicus once fought alongside the Empire in the north and south, sharing honor and technology, has now become like this, with internal strife and factional divisions everywhere.

Don't you feel heartbroken to see Machine Spirit, which should have shone with boundless glory on the battlefield, fall silent and weep, and to see technology after technology lost and decayed under the test of time?

The Adeptus Mechanicus was once so glorious, with everyone pursuing technology and efficiency. But now, as you can see, the Adeptus Mechanicus is no longer pure.

The chance to bring the Adeptus Mechanicus back to its former glory comes only once. Do you want to be an unknown nobody, or a legend?

Meeting Mordred's rather wise eyes, even though the living tissue on Udiya's body wasn't enough to make a stir-fry of pork kidneys, she still felt a strange longing, a guidance from Omnissiah.

In a daze, I even saw a giant silver dragon beating a tall figure covered in flames.

Emerald Lightning flashed, and under the invasion of this Dimensional Lightning originating from the C'tan, the various minor wear and tear on Udiya's body were smoothed out one by one, and various redundant flaws were further optimized.

Although its appearance was still that of a clumsy, large, and rudimentary behemoth unit, Udiya knew that its performance had improved by a full 7.43%, and even the entire logic array felt an indescribable sense of pleasure.

"Omnissiah above, can flesh and blood be so beautiful? This must be Omnissiah's guidance. Ten thousand years later, I am the new Prometheus."

Never mind, I must start praying immediately.

Listening to Udiya's slightly shrill binary prayer, Mordred wondered if he had gone too far. But then again, the charm was indeed effective; no wonder the Yellow Skins liked to skip the plot back then.

However, Mordred is at least more professional than Emperor. Back then, Emperor fooled the Mechanicus by only making Malcador make it rain from the sky, while Mordred's was a genuine knock-off Dimensional Lightning.

"Great Commander, I sign! I want to become a new legend."

"Good, very spirited. As expected of a promising talent selected by Guilliman, you are indeed Ambition. The Empire needs Loyal Officials and Good Generals like you with a strong drive for advancement."

According to the usual procedure, Mordred should have initiated the Walking Arm-in-Arm at this point, but Udiya was a real Mechanicus with a full 14 arms, so he could only grab one at random.

"Now that we've signed this agreement, we're on the same side. I'll immediately unbind the order for the materials that were seized from the Adeptus Mechanicus. As for the pirate force lying in ambush at the Pluto Gate, you don't need to worry about them anymore; they're all my men."

"Oh dear, Your Great Commander, you are truly ruthless!"

"What a joke, how can you Great Commander if you're not ruthless? But then again, I'll rip this arm off for you. The number 14 is unlucky; 13 is more in line with the Empire's national conditions."

"Also, could you do me a small favor and lead me into the Eternal Night Maze? I need to find my adoptive mother and fulfill my filial duty."