Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 338 The crime of having a jade

"Welcome, my master."

When Malcador, who called himself Sir Kadu, and Magnar Dorn, who was disguised as an inexperienced Kroot mercenary (this might not be a disguise), stepped onto the grounds of Wandering Port from the shuttle dock, the local agent who had already received the news, a fat merchant with jewels on all ten fingers, who had a smile that made everyone feel kind and upright, came forward to greet them, and at the same time had his servants shout at and drive away the crowd of dock wanderers who wanted to come up to chat, introduce themselves, sell goods, or see if there was any opportunity.

"Nice to meet you, Bayona." The robed man who looked like an old mortal man, aided by his Kroot mercenaries, met up with their agent, and then headed to their store in Phnom Penh, which had a good location - close to the Atrium of the Dead - under the watchful eyes of countless people both in the open and in the dark.

According to the reports of the Inquisition, the Ecclesiarchy and the Ministry of Justice on this meeting, the old man was described as "an experienced but exhausted steward of an ancient declining family, perhaps serving an old master and an ambitious young master who wanted to revive the family, with a loyal mercenary attendant who had the gait of a natural warrior but looked more polite and elegant than the average alien. He might be a pet attendant alien passed down from generation to generation in the family, which also indirectly shows the antiquity and power of the family..."

Further reports from more capable and cleared agents indicated that they had conducted targeted background checks on the two strange visitors who claimed to be from the Carousini Dynasty before their arrival.

The conclusion is that although this Rogue Merchant Dynasty was still unknown before last year and could not be compared with the famous or well-known local Rogue Merchant Dynasties such as the Harlock, Valancius, Sinos or Aguirre families, all high-level agents' requests for further data access and search privileges to obtain intelligence from this dynasty to Holy Terra or Jupiter were rejected or fell into obscurity. The only definite answer obtained was that the Kalosini was an extremely ancient Rogue Merchant Dynasty, and the dynasty's merchant charter was issued and stained with blood by the Holy Emperor himself.

Word of this undoubtedly did not spread among the common merchants, sailors, or fleets, but whispers and half-hearted plotting began to spread in the shadows of the lower decks and outside the blast doors of the Central Fortress or the Ministry of Justice.

There is no other reason. In this era, any newly emerged Rogue Trader Charter issued by the Holy Emperor, which seems to be not protected by a force strong enough to protect it, is a treasure that can be immediately exchanged for several civilized planets in this border trade port where countless adventurer fleets and worlds are in urgent need of strong authorization and monetization - if the prodigal son is willing to do so happily.

You know, once a charter of this level is confirmed to be authentic, as long as it can be obtained by a person or organization with a well-informed information network and enough ideas and capabilities, it will not be difficult to obtain the protection promised by an Astartes regiment. It is even said that there are precedents where lucky guys can recruit Battle Sisters, Astropaths, Mechanical Priests and even Inquisitors and Astartes to serve them at the same time.

And since the current heir of the Carlosini Dynasty seems to be very hardworking and has no intention of lying down and handing over his precious charter, then considering that so far no one in Wandering Port has seen any large void ship of the Carlosini Dynasty flex its muscles here, and no powerful and charismatic figure has appeared in person here to demonstrate family background or personal ability, it is normal that some people would start to count on their valuable assets in this place where prisoners may be promised a large sum of money to escape to the port of landing or the expansion area outside at any time.

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"So, it is true that someone has set their sights on this place and started harassing our customers and warehouses, but you cannot identify which faction this place belongs to, so you cannot take effective targeted measures. Therefore, you are helpless and turn to the Dynasty for help?"

They passed through the winding corridors of Half Wandering Port, the passages that were built bit by bit over the centuries, the wandering traders and imperial merchants who were conducting large transactions in a low and vigilant voice, the clerks with alert servitors, the patrolling members of the Ministry of Justice, the mysterious people who quietly sold some smuggled or even alien small products to passers-by under their hoods and cloaks, the bars full of mercenaries and waitresses, the ragged ranks of believers and the smoke formed by incense, candles, cheap tobacco, wine and perfume, and now they were sitting in the inner room of their shops, being served fine wine and snacks by Bayona.

"That's right! My respected master!" The fat businessman who seemed kind and honest at first glance immediately started to cry out, "You don't know! Our business is so good! We get a lot of orders every day! Some large orders even need to be paid in installments two years later! Someone must be jealous of us! For the sake of the sacred throne! We are such law-abiding citizens of the empire! We even have a record of paying taxes voluntarily! These idiots from the Ministry of Justice!"

The agent's eyes narrowed in anger. "We...we usually give them a lot of tribute! But it's useless at the critical moment!"

"You said you couldn't identify which faction it was, so it's not surprising that the Ministry of Justice has an ambiguous attitude."

"That's right, your Excellency." The agent instantly changed his gnashing teeth into a flattering but not overly fawning smile, "So..."

"Hmm?" After sniffing the glass of Danmarcene, the old man calmly put it back on the table. "What's the problem, Bayonne? I chose you as an agent here to help you rise to a higher level, not just to listen to you flatter me here."

The Kroot mercenary, played by Magna Dorn, turned his head curiously in the direction of the fat agent - his sensors detected that the heart rate and certain hormone indicators of this seemingly harmless human were fluctuating, indicating his great uneasiness.

"Ah, that's right. Actually, these are two different things, my respected master." "Then you can tell me the story in detail."

"First, after my efforts, I have found out that the harassment may be caused by our business being too good, and the hidden reason is the charter issued by you and the adults behind you..."

The former Imperial Regent raised an eyebrow. "This is a charter issued by the High Emperor of Holy Terra, and it is witnessed by noble blood."

"No, no! My Lord! I mean it's true..."

"Oh... Interesting. Although I know that the border areas have always been lawless, we have already shown that we have the resources and some people still dare to take this idea. So - you mean that you want us to send ships here to show the dynasty's military power, right?"

"The throne is above! Praise the wise and brave Master of the Carrosini family and the wise you!"

This is actually a very embarrassing situation.

Malcador thought that although they had no shortage of ships and even possessed the most powerful ships in the galaxy, they had no intention of engaging in open confrontation with the Empire at this time and place. As a former regent, he knew very well after reading the historical records of the past hundred years that, given the current situation and their identities, any means and proposals of peace and appeasement would hardly be included as possible options for the other side.

Even for him, after everyone knew he had died as an Imperial hero, he would not reveal his identity when using those ancient mysterious tricks, but would disguise himself as some long-lost agents or simply use his authority to bypass some restrictions - thank God that after they all thought he was dead, Terra, Mars and Jupiter were in chaos, and there was actually a small part of the line that had not cancelled the identity of "Imperial Regent Malcador".

Even the agent Bayona was recruited here and there by him, instead of summoning an ancient, powerful, but definitely one that would attract a thousand eyes to start digging deep, the Inquisitor, to open a shop for him.

He wondered what other ships in their fleet currently at Carrick might be suitable for sending as a demonstration.

The firepower and appearance of the civilian ships were not enough. Their warships were all large warships registered under the name of the Astartes. He didn't want them to be too high-profile... Hmm...

Just as the former Imperial Regent was lost in thought, Magnar Dorn, in his Kroot guise, looked curiously at the bustling crowd on the street.

Several unusually tall figures attracted his attention.

A spontaneous feeling of intimacy made Magna Dorn keep a close eye on the other party's every move - the Iron Blood's intelligent mobile center often did this on the ship, and no one thought there was anything wrong.

But the people being stared at obviously felt a strong and abnormal gaze. They turned their heads and stared coldly through their red goggles at the alien who was so audacious as to dare to look directly at the God-Emperor warriors with such blasphemous eyes.

Then, the accident happened as expected.

(End of this chapter)