Rhodes nodded and said, "That won't be a problem. Then, let's wait for a month and a half. After that, we'll travel through the webway to Holy Terra."
"Then we won't disturb you any longer! Lord Loki, we'll see you again in a month and a half." The Rogue Trader, Kania, and the Imperial Inquisitor, Damz, bid farewell to Rhodes and left the scene.
After watching the two depart, Lelith sat down beside Rhodes and spoke:
"Lord Loki, I know you are very confident and value integrity in business, but I still need to remind you.
The Imperium of Man is extremely cunning. You must impose some restrictions on them.
If you don't set any limits, I can guarantee that they will default on their promises. Especially with the way payments are handled in a war like this.
The Imperium has countless excuses to delay payments—mobilizing troops, gathering strategic resources, or even making you cover the military expenses.
They even promised you three planets, but they could easily find ways to renege on that as well."
Lord Loki was supremely confident in his ability to repair humanity's Golden Throne, but he must not underestimate human greed.
"Hahaha! Oh, I am well aware of that.
When I repair the Golden Throne, I will leave certain contingencies in place—for example, requiring periodic replacement of new components and routine maintenance.
Many of the mechanical parts on the Golden Throne are already severely deteriorated. Long-term maintenance and upkeep will be essential." Rhodes chuckled as he spoke.
As if I wouldn't prepare some safeguards? Repairing the Golden Throne means replacing its components, and those replacements will never be as good as the originals.
After a while, they'll break down. And when they do, they'll need new parts, which means they'll have to come back to me.
If they dare to default on payments, I'll make sure the Golden Throne breaks down even faster. Besides, I have a backup plan!
Rhodes had no worries about the Imperium trying to cheat him.
This time, he had them completely under his control.
Hearing this, Balt sitting nearby smirked. To be honest, he was quite interested in studying the corpse sitting atop the throne.
He wondered—if he used certain kaiju-based technologies, such as the Ultra-Beast technology of the Yapool, extradimensional energy manipulation, or his own biochemical expertise—could he restore that dried husk to some degree?
If a restoration was possible, then future monster nutrient fluids and various other follow-up services would also have to be paid for by the Imperium.
But these were matters to be determined only after seeing the actual body. As a Baltan, he never made grand claims without certainty. He didn't mention this plan to his master yet—if it failed, he didn't want to risk angering him.
"Hahaha! Lord Loki, I underestimated you. If that's the case, then you truly have nothing to fear from the Imperium defaulting on payments—because they wouldn't dare!" Lelith laughed so hard she bent over.
The Imperium's very lifeline was essentially being held hostage by Lord Loki. And even better—it was the Imperium that had willingly placed itself in his grasp.
No wonder she admired this man. Perhaps he did have the potential to restore the ancient Aeldari Empire.
What a pity! He didn't seem particularly interested in her. Otherwise, she wouldn't mind throwing herself at him.
She had been dropping hints like crazy these past few days, but he hadn't responded at all—his mind was still fixated on that Yraine!
What's so great about those young little girls? They don't even know how to properly serve a man!
Even though she was nearly twenty thousand years old, her appearance wasn't all that different from those younger Aeldari women.
"Lelith, let's go! We'll retrieve the goods, and then I need to return to my ship." Rhodes spoke up.
Next, he had to send these Space Marines and Battle Sisters back to where they belonged. He still didn't know exactly where these warriors had been taken from before they ended up in Commorragh.
"No problem, Lord Loki. Please, follow me."
Lelith nodded and led Rhodes to her underground prison. Inside, twenty Space Marines—stripped of their power armor and dressed only in rough, simple garments—were locked in cells.
In the adjacent cells, a group of fierce-looking women were relentlessly hurling curses at the nearby Dark Eldar guards.
"Vile xenos! One day, the Emperor's wrath will descend upon you!"
"When we die, our souls will return to the Golden Throne, while you will be devoured by daemons!"
"Come on! We do not fear death!"
"The Emperor protects!"
Compared to the Battle Sisters, who were shouting furiously, the Space Marines were much quieter. The twenty massive warriors simply sat in their cells, not saying a word.
"Their mouths are rather foul. Should I have my people sew them shut?" Lelith asked with a playful smile.
"Haha! No need. The crude language of these crazy Sisters doesn't affect me." Rhodes said aloud.
He was well aware of how foul-mouthed the Battle Sisters could be. These people didn't even show respect to Space Marines, let alone others.
Rhodes even considered wiping their memories after rescuing them, then casually dropping them off on some human planet to be done with it.
Their combat capabilities were far inferior to those of the Space Marines, and since they were all fanatics, they often weren't suitable for certain special missions.
"A bunch of blind fools! Didn't you see that Lord Loki is already here? Hurry up and get all these people out!" Lelith shouted.
The Dark Eldar guards immediately brought out specialized equipment, activated the switches, and electrified the Battle Sisters and Space Marines inside until they were thoroughly subdued.
Afterward, they placed special handcuffs on all of them and brought them before Rhodes.
"Lord Rhodes, a total of 20 Space Marines and 30 Battle Sisters, all accounted for," Lelith reported.
"No problem. Let's proceed with the handover!" Rhodes nodded, signaling to Balt behind him with a glance.
Lelith nodded in return and immediately ordered her subordinates to begin the transfer process.
The handover of the 20 Space Marines and 30 Battle Sisters, totaling 50 individuals, was quickly completed.
"Lord Loki, don't forget to come back tomorrow evening.
I've managed to secure that little girl you've been thinking about, and I've set up a meeting with Lady Malys, who's backing her.
The girl will come to see you tomorrow. Do you need me to help dress her up for you?" Lelith asked.
"No need! I'll come over tomorrow evening. Thank you for your kindness, Lelith. I'll take my leave now." Rhodes waved at Lelith before activating his teleportation bracelet and returning to his ship with the captured group.
"Tch! What's so great about that white-haired girl?
He's interested in her but not me. If I ever meet her in the arena, I'll stab her to death with one strike." Lelith snorted coldly before leaving her underground prison.
Could it be that her image had always been too fierce? She had already been trying to appear gentler over the past two days.
...
Meanwhile, Rhodes brought the Space Marines and Battle Sisters to the ship's control room.
Titus, Chaplain Magro, and the young Sister Hospitaller Elena were already waiting there.
The captured Space Marines were still a bit stunned. In the blink of an eye, they had been teleported to another area, and as soon as they arrived, they saw a group of Deathwatch members. What was going on here?
"I know you're all surprised, but my battle-brothers, please remain calm. You are now safe.
I am Titus, the Deathwatch Lieutenant. In the name of the Emperor, you are free now." Titus said.
"Sisters of the Battle Order, I—" Elaina began to speak but was immediately interrupted.
"Heretic! Traitor! You Deathwatch scum dare to collaborate with these vile xenos!
The Emperor will bring His wrath upon you!" One of the Battle Sisters immediately began yelling hysterically.
"That's not true! Sisters, Lord Rhodes is the Emperor's chosen one! He saved you from the Xenos!" Elena said helplessly.
As expected, just as she thought, these Battle Sisters were completely unreasonable.
"You dare blaspheme the great Emperor! Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable! I—mmph!" The ranting Battle Sister didn't even have time to react before being electrocuted into unconsciousness.
"First of all, you need to learn respect. You've just committed the sins of pride and wrath."
At this moment, Rhodes' eyes glowed with golden light, and a faint golden figure appeared behind him, activating the Emperor's psychic energy mode.
"You… you… this… this… how is this possible? Impossible! Impossible! The Emperor… the Emperor would never favor a xenos!"
Rhodes snorted coldly and dispelled his disguise, reverting to his human form.
Compared to the hysterical Battle Sisters, the Space Marines on the other side remained silent and calm throughout the ordeal.
"I am the Emperor's chosen one. Believe it or not, it was I who saved you.
But I cannot release you now, so you'll have to stay on this ship and behave yourselves for the time being," Rhodes said.
"By the Emperor… you… you're human! What is going on here?"
"My identity is classified within the Empire. Your rank is too low to inquire further.
For now, all you need to do is obey orders. Follow your fellow Sister from the Hospitaller. She'll take care of your living arrangements," Rhodes said, waving them off. He then instructed Elena to escort the hysterical Battle Sisters away.
After accepting Rhodes' identity, the Battle Sisters were taken away by Elena.
"To be honest, I've never liked cooperating with them in battle. They never follow orders," one of the Space Marines said to Rhodes.
As soon as he said this, the other Space Marines nearby nodded silently in agreement.