Set Sail for the Black Zone

Known as the Imperium's Demon Witness, the most extreme xenophobic Inquisitor, and the Necron who views humans as ants and at best experimental subjects, the two should be at each other's throats upon meeting, but at this moment they are like old friends who haven't seen each other for years.

Even more astonishingly, Alvin had never seen Inquisitor Aldrich's stern and cold face display such a rich array of expressions, so warm and lively—it was simply unbelievable!

Seeing him enter, Aldrich toned down a bit, but remained as unrestrained as ever, holding up a bottle of Amasec and yelling at him, "Hurry up, you're the only one left! Let's drink until we drop!"

"By the Emperor, this is truly a ghost story!" Alvin's lips twitched. What on earth had happened while he was away?!

So, do Necron drink alcohol?

A series of questions left Alvin's mind reeling for a few seconds before Winnie provided an explanation.

It turns out that when Aldrich first boarded the ship, upon discovering that there were Eldar and Necron, he almost drew his Bolter and killed the two heretics.

It was Winnie who managed to stop the nearly berserk Inquisitor, but even so, Aldrich was still furious and demanded an explanation from her.

Unable to appease the Inquisitor, Winnie handed him over to "Penny".

About five minutes later, Aldrich emerged from the room with a complicated expression on his face, ultimately choosing to forget about it.

Then, Alvin appeared, witnessing the miraculous scene that unfolded as soon as he entered the prayer hall.

"Thank Emperor, Your Majesty! Praise be to Your Emperor!"

After hearing this, Alvin made the famous Eagle Salute with both hands in front of his chest. Luckily, Penny was there, otherwise his own warship would have been blown up by the time he returned.

But this is for the best.

At least, Alvin no longer has to worry about being caught red-handed by the Inquisitor and sent to the stake the next day for repeated executions with white phosphorus.

The following day, Alvin led his fleet, officially setting sail from Nomad Port and heading towards Mandeville Point on the road to the Black Zone.

This was also his first voyage.

As Rogue Trader, embodying humanity's last vestige of ambition, they venture beyond the reach of the Emperor's Astronomican, navigating the chaotic and perilous sea of stars to discover lost civilizations, much like explorers of the Age of Exploration, to forge their own glorious chapters!

"Close the deck!"

"Activate the Gellar Field!"

"Warp Engine fully charged!"

"Navigator ready!"

As the captain, Alvin sat on the bridge in the command center, issuing orders methodically.

With a heart full of excitement, I turned my gaze to that unknown territory.

The cruiser Sword of Redemption and the frigate Blaze sent by the Vought were instantly swallowed by the boundless void due to the surrounding spacetime distortion, disappearing completely from the star map of Nomad Port.

At this moment, the elegantly dressed Lillian gazed intently in the direction they had departed, her eyes filled with reluctance. "May the light of the Emperor illuminate your path of return, Mr. Alvin."

Every year, hundreds and thousands of fleets sail from Nomad Port to that dark universe without the light of Astronomican, but—very few of them ever return!

Beyond the unknown territories of human civilization, the dangers they face extend far beyond the Warp.

More dangers come from those strange planets, lost civilizations, and even phenomena that are completely incomprehensible!

And among them, the most important is the star chart!

A Rogue Trader possesses a star map is like someone who can precisely locate the coordinates of their way back in the Black Zone where the Astronomican has faded, and this is the real reason why many Rogue Trader eventually disappear.

Without a star map and without the guidance of Astronomican, if one encounters Warp Storm, one is very likely to be thrown into a completely unfamiliar region and eventually become completely lost.

Even with a "star map," it's difficult to guarantee a safe return from every voyage.

Now that the two warships have entered Warp, several navigators from the Star Whisperer family have begun to perform their duties, ensuring that the ships do not stray from their course under the gradually dimming Astronomican.

After entering Warp, there would be a long period of material preparation. During this time, Alvin began to study the situation carefully.

The "star map" that was retrieved from the Fernando Family, belonging to the Valshius Family.

This thing is extremely important. Alvin originally thought that its only purpose was to record the coordinates of the Valshius Family's exploration of the Black Zone over the past ten thousand years.

But the Grand Sage Carroll said that this "Crimson Yellow Latitude Longitude Navigation Chart" was not so simple.

If "it" were merely a star map, it would never have garnered such attention from the Fernando Family, much less have prompted his grandfather, Horn, to make the decision to reclaim it at any cost.

"Spray-" However, Alvin had been fiddling with it for several days, trying all sorts of methods, but still couldn't find the secret of this thing.

He even tried the blood oath ceremony.

But it's obvious that this isn't a fantasy story, and his blood oath is completely ineffective.

Holding the object, which resembled Crystal Ball and contained countless shimmering stars, Alvin fell into deep thought. Had he gone astray?

"What's on your mind?"

Winnie walked in and noticed his worried expression, staring at the thing from left to right. She couldn't help but ask him what was wrong.

"Sage Carroll said there's a secret hidden here." Alvin frowned, only able to voice his thoughts. "But I've searched for days and still haven't found it. What secret does this thing hold?"

"Oh."

Winnie seemed to understand, staring at the "Crimson Yellow Latitude Longitude Navigation Chart" for a few seconds, her eyes seemingly burning with golden flames. After a moment, she spoke, "Found it."

"Um?!"

Alvin was dumbfounded. The secret he had been studying for days without being able to crack had been seen through by Winnie in a single glance?

"Don't be surprised," Winnie said calmly. "The Emperor granted me the ability to see through falsehood and delusion."

Your Emperor Lord, you're being a bit biased!

Alvin was a little jealous; why didn't he have such amazing abilities?

Just then, Winnie took the "Crimson Yellow Latitude Longitude Navigation Chart" from his hand and threw it away.

Snap!

The "Crimson Yellow Latitude Longitude Navigation Chart," which is a relatively fragile crystalline structure, crashed solidly into the deck and was immediately shattered!

Seeing this, Alvin was completely stunned. "You—this is the method you were talking about?!"

The Crimson Gold Navigational Chart was a crucial tool for their voyage, and now it was completely destroyed. What should they do next?

"Watch."

Winnie rolled her eyes at him, pursed her lips, and seemed somewhat dissatisfied. "You don't believe me?"

"Well—I believe it." Since things had come to this point, Alvin didn't want to be too demanding and could only patiently wait to see what would happen next.

Hidden within the shattered Crimson Gold Navigational Chart was a tiny information storage terminal, like one of the countless stars in Crystal Ball. If Winnie hadn't smashed it, it would probably have remained undiscovered!

No wonder neither the Fernando Family nor Alvin himself could find the secret of this "Crimson Gold Navigational Chart"!

The reason is simple: they couldn't have imagined, no matter how hard they racked their brains, that the real secret was hidden so simply and brutally—all they had to do was destroy it to get the secret!

Alvin walked over, squatted down, picked up the information terminal, and took a deep breath. "Thanks to you, otherwise even if I thought about it for another ten years, I probably still wouldn't have been able to find it."

"Snort."

Winnie gave a soft snort, turned her head away, deliberately avoiding looking at Alvin, and looked rather haughty.

"Alright, now let me see what secrets are hidden here!" Alvin handed over the information terminal.

It was connected to the main control unit of the Sword of Redemption.

Then, a figure was projected.

The man gave off an extremely unsettling feeling; beneath his seemingly calm face lay a storm of emotions, even a somewhat Stormfront temperament.