After leaving the laboratory of Balt, Rhodes returned to the spaceship's control room and began contemplating how to earn more system coins.
During his days in Commorragh City, the most notable event was today's massacre in the territory of the Kabal Blackheart, which earned him tens of thousands of system coins. According to Rhodes' calculations, each Dark Eldar is worth a few system coins, making them significantly more valuable than the Tyranid swarm. After killing over ten thousand of them, he earned more than 40,000 coins. Adding this to the tens of thousands of coins he had previously saved, Rhodes now possessed a total of 80,000 system coins.
Rhodes decided not to use these 80,000 coins to summon new monsters but instead invested all of them into strengthening Bemstar. He enhanced all of Bemstar's attributes, including its beam abilities and devouring capabilities, to their maximum limits. This turned the Bird Beast into a terrifying giant monster standing nearly 60 meters tall and weighing a staggering 80,000 tons, with all its special abilities maxed out.
Rhodes had two key reasons for fully upgrading Bemstar. The first was to prepare for his second round of monster-body enhancement. After all, he had previously won a free monster enhancement opportunity through a lottery—why waste it? Soon, he would travel to the Imperial capital, Holy Terra, to repair the golden throne for the Emperor. Although the Imperial Inquisitor and High Lord had arranged the connections, the Custodes would not let him pass so easily. After all, Rhodes was currently pretending to be a Haemoculus, so he needed to ensure his safety. Enhancing Bemstar's cosmic survival ability, flight skills, and energy absorption would be crucial for the journey ahead. Rhodes figured his trip to Terra wouldn't be smooth sailing.
"Old Emperor, I'm doing this as a favor to you this time," he thought. "I better charge you a hefty fee for this. Maybe I should demand a few hundred Custodes or a dozen Space Marine chapters as payment? That wouldn't be too unreasonable, right?"
The second reason was to have the cosmic monster Bemstar venture out on its own to farm in the wild. Rhodes' monsters could act independently, and even if they strayed far, he could instantly recall them using the system, making it an excellent retreat option. However, any progress made while out in the field would be lost upon recall, forcing the monster to start its journey over again. By sending Bemstar out to farm, Rhodes could earn coins by having it attack the Tyranids, Orks, or even the Dark Eldar pirate ships. Since Bemstar had been maxed out in strength, it wouldn't have any issues in combat. And with its faster-than-light travel abilities, it could also easily escape if needed. Even if it encountered a life-threatening crisis, Rod could remotely summon it back to safety via the system.
Using the Webway intelligence provided by the Dark Eldar, Rhodes had already identified several Imperial worlds currently under attack by the Tyranids. This was the perfect opportunity for Bemstar to sneak onto the battlefield and cause havoc. In addition to Bemstar, Rhodes also considered sending Ace Robot and the cosmic robot Iron. These kaiju were all capable of interstellar travel. Together, they formed a balanced force—capable of both offense and defense, long-range and melee combat. Unless they ran into hundreds of Tyranid hive ships, Orks' Attack Moon, or a Necron Tomb Fleet, they could handle most situations with ease. If his other monsters had interstellar mobility, Rhodes would have sent them out to farm as well.
Rhodes planned to stay in Commorragh for at least another month, waiting for Zetton to be manufactured before heading to Holy Terra. In the meantime, he would have his monster squad venture out to farm coins. After fully enhancing Bemstar, Rhodes also chose to use the monster enhancement feature on himself, targeting the already-maximized cosmic monster Bemstar.
A terrifying surge of energy began transforming Rhodes' body. He could feel his physique being strengthened. Thanks to the transfer of one ten-thousandth of Bemstar's physical attributes, Rhodes' muscles became more compact, his bones tougher, and his internal organs enhanced to their peak. Even his skin underwent significant changes. His strength more than doubled compared to before. Now, a casual punch could deliver 150 to 200 tons of damage. If he activated Red King's Rampage mode, he could unleash a terrifying force of 400 to 500 tons. The defensive capabilities of Rhodes' skin had also massively improved; he felt confident that he could withstand an attack from a Tyranid Hive Tyrant without breaking a sweat.
In addition to his physical upgrades, Rhodes also acquired Bemstar's unique monster abilities. Unlike the attribute enhancements, these special abilities were not limited to a mere one ten-thousandth transfer.
Otherwise, if the abilities of some monsters were weakened to one ten-thousandth of their original strength, even if they were enhanced 10 times, they would still be practically useless—unable to even kill a mosquito.
For example, if Bemstar's absorption ability were weakened by a factor of 10,000, even a strengthened version of Rhodes would likely absorb little to no damage, rendering the skill virtually useless.
The unique abilities of monsters are determined by Rhodes' physical capacity to handle them. If Rhodes' body can reach the level of a monster, it is entirely possible for him to fully acquire the monster's special abilities.
In other cases, the abilities will depend on the condition of Rhodes' body. As his body strengthens in the future, these special powers derived from monsters will also be enhanced. The stronger Rhodes becomes, the more powerful these monster abilities will grow.
Bemstar granted Rhodes four special abilities:
[Yellow Lightning Attack]
Rhodes can emit yellow lightning attacks from his hands (not his head). If he desires, he can use the Emperor's psychic energy to release psychic lightning for long-range attacks. However, since it draws upon the power of the Warp, it is best avoided unless necessary. This ranged skill is highly practical and only consumes Rhodes' stamina. With his current physical fitness, Rhodes can fire over 100 yellow lightning attacks per day without any major issues.
[Survival in Outer Space]
Rhodes can now survive in the vacuum of space. He is immune to the freezing cold of space, can withstand stellar radiation, and can survive in other harsh environments.
[Devouring Beam (Bemstar's Signature Ability)]
Rhodes can extend his hand to create a strange space that connects to the devouring space inside Bemstar. This allows him to transfer the energy he absorbs into Bemstar. Of course, if Rhodes can personally handle the absorbed energy, he can also choose to keep it within himself.
This ability is incredibly terrifying. When used, any long-range energy attack becomes ineffective, as long as it doesn't exceed the combined absorption limits of Bemstar and Rhodes. The only drawback is that this skill requires Rhodes to actively release it.
[Flight Ability]
Rhodes can now fly. In the atmosphere, he can reach a speed of approximately Mach 1. In outer space, he can achieve speeds of up to Mach 100. However, in the vastness of space, such speeds are still relatively slow.
Rhodes doesn't currently plan to rely on his body for interstellar travel. After all, he has a faster-than-light spaceship—why bother flying himself? Only if he someday acquires a Giants of Darkness might he consider flying across space on his own. By then, he could potentially circle the Milky Way in a single day.
After enhancing his body, Rhodes left the Pedan mothership and entered the vacuum of space. He called forth Iron, transforming it into a 200-meter-long cylindrical spaceship.
Ace Robot lay inside the spaceship. As Rhodes' secret weapon against the Tyranid swarm, it was best not to expose Ace Robot prematurely to prevent the Tyranids from fleeing.
Alongside Ace Robot, King Joe and Bemstar flew together. Three mechanical monsters and one cosmic monster departed the Dark Eldar webway world to venture into outer space. Rhodes' first target was an imperial agricultural world currently under siege by a Tyranid fleet.
According to the psychic distress signal received, the agricultural world was under attack by over ten Tyranid hive ships and more than a hundred bio-ships.
Ace Robot: With two waves of its super-metalium beam, it could destroy 4–5 hive ships.
King Joe: Its Pedanium main cannon could take down 2–3 Tyranid hive ships.
Bemstar: By ramming into a hive ship with its immense speed and mass, it could destroy one more. With its tough hide and 80,000-ton body, it could easily endure the impact.
The remaining hive ships could be dealt with by King Joe splitting into four parts to fire its Pedanium main cannon, assisted by Iron, Ace Robot, and Bemstar.
As for the Tyranid bio-ships, Ace Robot's standard metalium beam alone could destroy them all. The long-range strikes of the metalium beam were devastating for the Tyranids—they couldn't block or evade.
With King Joe, Bemstar, and Iron assisting, this battle was essentially guaranteed to succeed.
After sending off the four jungler units, Rhodes returned to his ship. Currently, he was left with only ground-based monsters that could only fight on planetary surfaces. In the future, when he has enough reward points, he plans to summon more cosmic monsters. Since his battles will primarily take place in space, ground-based monsters are at a disadvantage.
For example, if a flying monster like Melba is strengthened in the future, it can be given the ability to survive in space, which is a very worthwhile enhancement.
Rhodes doesn't plan to intervene directly in space battles. Once the four units reach the front lines, he will oversee the battle remotely to ensure victory.