Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 782 08.781: "Gothic-Vortex Charter Route"

The tall and fat man stood in front of Horatio, forced himself to cheer up, straightened his slightly hunched back, and diligently performed a standard and solemn Imperial Sky Eagle salute to Horatio, striving for precision in every movement.

"Thank you very much for your timely assistance. Otherwise, we would have failed the great expectations of His Majesty the Divine Emperor and his special envoys."

Behind him, the attendants who were also wearing crew uniforms seemed to have received silent instructions. They all bowed and stood in awe, paying their deepest respects to Horatio and the naval elites behind him.

As a colonel of the Imperial Navy, Horatio naturally did not need to return the favor to these ordinary civilians of the Empire.

All he had to do was to put his hands wearing power gauntlets behind his back, raise his chin slightly, hold his head high and chest out, and calmly accept their respect with an impeccable and dignified posture that belonged to an Imperial soldier.

Captain Kudo slowly raised his head, and when his eyes fell clearly on the young senior naval officer in front of him, who was wearing a void blue cloak embroidered with gilded cloud patterns and had two full rows of medals symbolizing his glorious military exploits hanging on his chest, a trace of disbelief and suspicion flashed in his eyes involuntarily.

It is natural for people to have an instinctive suspicion of someone who has achieved such dazzling achievements and status at such a young age.

"You..." The captain named Kudo's voice trembled slightly. He looked carefully, even a little rudely, at Horatio's face, which was young but full of determination and calmness.

Horatio met his gaze calmly and allowed him to examine him, without any ripples in his deep eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, the tall and fat man's face was instantly filled with a complex emotion of shock, ecstasy and disbelief. He almost screamed:

"Are you... the Colonel Horatio Cochrane, who is famous throughout the entire star region? I have seen you in the official war report of the Imperial News Department!"

His voice became a little higher and even cracked due to excessive excitement.

He suddenly turned sideways, gesticulating almost with joy to the equally stunned entourage behind him, the muscles on his face twitching slightly with ecstasy, and in every gesture, the excitement and admiration from his heart could no longer be suppressed:

"Do you know, sir? During those long and boring fixed routes, we lonely crew members relied on watching the wonderful videos of you and your brave and fearless First Attack Squadron fighting bloody battles on the front line over and over again to pass those boring times!
The performance of you and your squadron on the battlefield is even more exciting than the top gladiatorial contests in the star zone!
I never thought that we, the little people who make a living among the stars, would one day be able to see you in person in this boundless universe!"

The crew members following Captain Kudo all showed expressions of shock and astonishment after hearing their captain's excited and incoherent words.

At this moment, their eyes were filled with a mixture of almost fanatical reverence, unrealistic surprise, and awe of seeing a legendary hero.

They held their breath and looked at Horatio with eyes as if they were looking up to a god, as if a popular singer with a high reputation in the empire, or a respected archbishop of the state religion, had suddenly descended among them, ordinary people.

"You are much appreciated, Captain. I am only faithfully performing my duties as an Imperial soldier."

Horatio's voice was calm and steady, as firm as a rock, just enough to interrupt the other party's somewhat out-of-control excitement.

"Now, please report the current status of the Snow Wind Thunder and the maximum speed you can maintain."

"Yes! As you command, Colonel!"

Upon hearing this, Captain Kudo immediately suppressed his overly excited emotions, took a deep breath, and quickly replied with the respectful attitude that a professional soldier should have: "Report, sir, the power supply line of one of our main engines was damaged in the previous battle, causing the maximum speed to drop by about two standard space knots. But if we sail at normal cruising speed, there will be no significant impact."

"Very good." Horatio nodded slightly in approval. "Captain, immediately use the encrypted channel to inform all other merchant ships in the escort fleet that the current situation is still under control and there is no need to panic.

At the same time, order all ships to immediately gather around my flagship, the Swift Eagle, and form a standard escort defense formation."

"Understood! I'll do it right away!" The tall and fat captain immediately straightened up and responded loudly.

He quickly turned around and gave a deep command to a thin man beside him with a scarlet electronic light flashing in his right eye socket: "Second mate, you will go to the bridge communication station immediately and be responsible for contacting other ships in person. Make sure to convey the colonel's order accurately."

"Yes, Captain!" The man called the second mate saluted skillfully, then took a step forward and quickly disappeared around the corner of the passage leading to the bridge at a quick trot.

Horatio's eyes slowly swept across the astonishingly spacious space inside the ship, where the ceiling height was enough to accommodate several Leman Russ tanks parked side by side.

He casually asked Captain Kudo beside him, "Large transport ships of this size are not common in the Empire. What important cargo is your fleet transporting?"

"Reporting to the Captain," Captain Kudo bowed slightly and explained with a hint of pride in his tone, "The Snow Wind Thunder is currently sailing on a chartered route officially certified by the Empire.

This route was pioneered by the powerful von Valancius merchant dynasty and supported by several smaller merchant roaming families. It is a lucrative but also a special invitation route full of unknowns. "

He cleared his throat and continued to elaborate on the specific direction and business model of this route: "According to the established navigation plan, our charter route will first pass through the 'Abyss Port' space station located on the edge of the current star field.

There, we will unload the first leg of the transport's cargo, and after a short rest and replenishment, we will change course to the west of the vast Milky Way and head towards the western edge of the area called the 'Hazy Star Region'.

On the way, we will pass through the relatively prosperous Coronus Sector and the more tense Caliss Sector. Our ultimate goal is to reach the front line of the Rotor Guard Line battlefield where the flames of war are raging. "

"Specifically, in our first leg of the voyage, which is the current phase, we are responsible for transporting large quantities of food crops and a huge amount of daily necessities, as well as armor and weapons that have just been forged from the boiling furnaces of the Forge World. These are urgently needed by the Abyss Port and the surrounding galaxies.

After completing the unloading operation at Abyss Port, we will reload a large amount of military weapons, ammunition supplies and colonial materials for the development of the New World, and then start our second voyage.

The final destination of this second leg of the voyage is the main base of wandering traders in the Coronus star sector - the 'Port of Departure'.

At the 'port of call', we will unload all kinds of materials ordered by the wandering traders, and load all kinds of rare minerals, exotic specialties and other valuable goods that they have mined, produced or plundered in the territories they control.

Afterwards, we will set off for Sintira, the capital planet of the Calixis Sector.

Finally, the cargo will be unloaded in Sintira, and these valuable materials from all over the galaxy will be distributed to key strongholds and combat units on the battlefield of the Rotor Guard through the Imperial Navy's transportation network. "

(End of this chapter)