Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor

Chapter 259 - 260: The Pilgrimage Ship to Holy Terra?

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Eden flipped through the email.

According to the traces discovered along the route by Shahim's fleet, the Tyranid hive fleet originated from outside the galaxy.

It advanced in a straight path, devouring numerous planets along the way.

Among them were several worlds belonging to the Govindi family, a Rogue Trader house of the Imperium. The Govindi family found themselves unable to resist the Tyranid swarm.

They abandoned their holdings and fled back to the Imperial territory of the Goliath Star Cluster.

But the most terrifying part was that after consuming those planets, the Tyranid hive fleet continued its course.

And ahead of it lay the Goliath Star Cluster.

To make matters worse, Urth was directly in the path of the hive fleet.

If it continued forward, it would inevitably reach Urth, consuming it completely.

It would leave nothing behind but a barren, lifeless rock stripped of all organic matter!

However, for some unknown reason, the Tyranid hive fleet suddenly changed course and veered toward another region.

According to the Biologis scholars' assessment,

it was likely due to the appearance of the Great Rift.

The surging tides of Warp energy repelled the hive fleet, forcing it to alter its trajectory slightly.

So, in a way, was the Great Rift the reason Urth was saved?

"Hah... Urth really is stubbornly resilient..." Eden muttered upon reading this.

If not for the emergence of the Great Rift, Urth might have already been devoured by the Tyranids long before Eden arrived in this world.

In fact, Urth had already faced two separate Tyranid invasions.

Aside from that, it had suffered corruption from the four Chaos Gods and the looming threat of an Ork WAAAGH!

At this rate, Urth was practically a second Vigilus.

But unlike Vigilus, Urth had the good fortune of meeting someone from the 2K era—himself.

Under the light of the Great Savior, all these crises had been resolved, turning disaster into stability and allowing for development.

As for Vigilus, it remained engulfed in utter chaos.

That world, with its population of over 167 billion, along with its entire system, had become one of the most brutal war zones in the galaxy.

Imperial forces, Chaos Legions, Daemons, Genestealer Cults, and Orks—every faction imaginable had converged, turning the Vigilus system into a boiling cauldron of war.

And more enemies were on the way, including Necrons and Aeldari.

It was a gathering of the galaxy's deadliest warriors.

Even more noteworthy was that beneath Vigilus lay vast deposits of Blackstone, deeply embedded within the control of the Stygies VIII Forge World.

They had entrenched themselves there, mining the Blackstone deposits.

This was also why Vigilus had not been completely consumed by the Great Rift—Blackstone had the ability to suppress or even expand Warp energy.

Every faction sought to seize this valuable resource.

Among them, the one most determined to take Vigilus was none other than the Despoiler himself, Abaddon.

The colossal, prolonged battle for Vigilus would undoubtedly influence the balance of power across the galaxy.

Truth be told, Eden also coveted Vigilus.

The Blackstone deposits there were priceless.

His domain had already begun research on Blackstone-based technology.

But at the moment, his territory had only just stabilized, with new developments flourishing.

It was not the right time to stir up a war.

Moreover, the high-intensity warfare in the Vigilus system was something his forces might not be able to endure yet.

Better to let them fight it out first—this war would not reach a conclusion anytime soon.

He would bide his time, wait for the opportune moment, and then reassess the situation.

Eden pushed these thoughts aside and refocused on the email.

Though the Tyranids had departed from the region, he still sent a message to the Departmento Munitorum, instructing the reconnaissance division to closely monitor the Tyranids' movements.

However, the Tyranids were not the main point of the email.

The email was, in fact, good news.

Over the years, his domain had undertaken multiple large-scale projects, especially the Forge World, which consumed an endless supply of minerals like a bottomless pit.

Eden had been deeply troubled by this.

In fact, the shortage of mineral resources had become a major limiting factor in his domain's development.

Currently, all available mining equipment was operating at full capacity, running day and night, yet the mineral deposits in the star cluster remained insufficient.

There simply were not enough resources to meet demand.

The mining department was pulling its hair out over the ever-growing deficit.

They had dispatched hundreds of reconnaissance teams across the galaxy in search of unclaimed mineral-rich planets.

Unfortunately, progress had been slow.

The mining department had repeatedly petitioned the Administratum, requesting the rapid establishment of a Rogue Trader division to facilitate trade with external factions.

Such a proposal was undeniably reasonable.

Within the vast expanse of the Imperium, millions of civilized worlds existed.

As long as they remained loyal to the Imperial Creed and paid the tithe—a symbol of duty and allegiance—they were granted autonomy in their development.

The planetary governors ruling these worlds were, without exception, cunning and avaricious.

Once they saw the tangible benefits of trade, they would not hesitate to engage in commerce with Eden's domain.

Through this, Eden's territory could sell manufactured goods at favorable prices while acquiring raw materials like minerals.

Given that his domain could produce goods at minimal cost and leverage Warp lanes to reduce transportation expenses, distance was no longer a constraint in reaching more trading partners.

This would create a cycle of profit—purchasing raw materials, manufacturing products, and selling them again.

A snowball effect that would lead to exponential wealth.

Ultimately, the profits from trade, coupled with the influx of mineral resources, would resolve the material shortages limiting his large-scale projects.

It might even allow for the initiation of additional grand ventures.

It was a perfect plan!

Now, the Rogue Trader division was already being established.

As the head of this division, Shahim had traveled to his family's former holdings to retrieve heirlooms that would validate his claim.

After all, Holy Terra had stringent and complex verification processes for Rogue Traders, particularly those of Imperial blood.

According to the original plan, Shahim was supposed to return immediately after retrieving the relics.

Then, he and Eden would journey to Holy Terra.

However, an unexpected surprise emerged during Shahim's expedition.

After consuming a few planets, the Tyranid hive fleet had abruptly left the star system.

Upon scanning the system, Shahim and his team discovered that its mineral-rich planets were untouched.

A star system with such vast mineral wealth—more than a dozen resource-rich planets—was a rarity even within the galaxy!

When the Govindi family first discovered this system, they had abandoned their Imperial holdings and risked everything to settle there.

Unfortunately, before they could fully exploit the system, they were attacked by the Tyranids and suffered a series of calamities that led to their downfall.

Only Shahim and his sister had survived.

Now, all of this was falling into Eden's lap.

According to the email, Shahim's team was currently exploring these rich planets and setting up navigation beacons.

It would take them a little longer to return.

Eden closed the email and took a satisfying sip of his ice-cold soda.

The discovery of this new mineral source was a reason to celebrate.

The resource shortage in his domain was finally easing!

He could already imagine the mining department celebrating like it was a holiday.

Right now, they were likely organizing a mining fleet.

As soon as Shahim and his team finished setting up the navigation beacons, they could begin resource extraction immediately.

Then, more good news arrived.

Not long ago, Inquisitor Lord Deville had organized twenty Storm Group regiments along with nearly three thousand Adeptus Astartes for a campaign called the Great Purge.

These forces would be deployed across the star cluster, conducting a complete sweep of hidden Chaos cults and xenos infestations.

Many heretical organizations and alien abominations had already been rooted out and brought to judgment.

According to Deville's report...

His goal was to purge the entire sector so that the light of the Savior could shine upon everything in sight.

The latest battle report indicated that one of the "Purification Forces" had successfully cleansed and reclaimed an agri-world that had been tainted by Chaos corruption.

At the same time, Tech-Priests from the Agricultural Research Institute were utilizing Green Wave farming ecosystem technology to restore and modify the world's agricultural environment.

Once the modifications were complete, the world's food production rate and overall yield would increase several times over.

This meant that Eden's territory would now have an abundant food supply—enough to export vast amounts without issue!

"I believe it won't be long before those starch-processing techniques become obsolete... or they can be repurposed for making starch-based food products for export."

Eden savored the afternoon tea pastries delivered by his maids.

His domain no longer relied on corpse-starch food.

In the absence of large-scale famine or war, corpses were actually harder to come by than grain.

With food supplies now stable, the highest-tier sanctuaries were exclusively provided with pure grain-based food and meat.

As a special class of territory, these sanctuaries held a unique status.

This was one of the reasons why citizens were so desperate to contribute—to earn the right to work in the sanctuaries.

After all, they had access to the best resources and living conditions in the entire sector.

Other regions received different food allocations based on the citizen tier system.

The lowest-tier food consisted of wheat products mixed with 80% industrial starch and wheat husk.

In the past, back on Urth, such food would have been considered a rare delicacy.

But now, it was the cheapest and lowest-grade sustenance.

Ordinary citizens no longer worried about starvation.

If they were willing to spend some credit points, they could even purchase pure grain-based foods as a luxury.

Items like rice, pure wheat noodles, buttered bread, and Arkenberry pastries were all available.

However, for most, such foods remained an indulgence—one they rarely splurged on.

Ding-dong—

Eden was flipping through the battle reports of the "Great Purge" operation when a notification popped up at the bottom of his display screen.

He opened it: An invitation from the Starcourt.

"Perfect. I was planning to check on them anyway..."

After reading the message, Eden got up, left the room, and boarded a hover car bound for the Starcourt District.

...

The Upper Sanctum Starcourt—The Astral Beacon

Stepping out of the hover car, Eden gazed up at a towering psyker-tech spire hundreds of meters high.

That was the Astral Beacon.

As the Mini-Sun continued to grow in size, he realized the vast range of its psychic radiation.

Thus, in imitation of the Emperor, Eden had established the Starcourt and constructed a miniature Astronomican, the Astral Beacon.

The Astral Beacon projected a stable psychic signal through the galaxy and the Warp, guiding ships along safe routes.

It also facilitated long-range communication.

Additionally, it could be deactivated or interrupted when necessary.

Unfortunately, the Astral Beacon had limitations.

As the territory expanded, the psionic demand on its users increased dramatically, leading to severe strain.

This was precisely why the Imperium's Scholastica Psykana constantly deployed Black Ships to capture psykers—they were needed as fuel to sustain the Astronomican.

The Emperor had long recognized the fundamental flaw of the Astronomican and had turned to researching Webway technology to replace it.

However, He had failed.

Thus, the Imperium was forced to continue relying on the Astronomican.

From a technological standpoint, for someone like Eden—who had already mastered the Webway—the Astral Beacon was outdated.

Yet, he had still insisted on constructing a miniature Astral Beacon powered by the Mini-Sun's psychic energy.

"Savior~"

A soft, electrifying voice rang out.

A tall, voluptuous woman with deep blue eyes, draped in a black robe, her high heels clicking against the floor, strode forward.

It was Lilith, the psyker.

Eden looked at Lilith and felt a sense of nostalgia.

This Lilith, now a powerful psychic mentor, was Deville's sister. The first time Eden had met her, she had been a sixteen-year-old golden-haired girl.

Later, Lilith awakened her psychic abilities. Terrified and afraid of burdening her brother, she fled the Upper Hive.

However, she was soon captured and sent to the Inquisition.

Had Eden not intervened, Deville—bound by duty to uphold the authority of the Inquisition—would have been forced to execute his own sister.

Because of this, Eden had issued a new decree:

His territory would no longer hunt down psykers.

Instead, he established the Psyker Academy, providing psykers with shelter, housing, and jobs.

This allowed them to live openly and contribute to society.

"Savior, the Astral Beacon is fully operational and is now projecting a psychic signal..."

Lilith's gaze burned with undisguised fervor as she looked at him.

There was something more in her eyes beyond just devotion.

Eden gave her a gentle nod while tactfully avoiding her predatory gaze.

How time changes people...

The once innocent young girl had transformed into a ravenous predator.

But he wasn't here for personal matters—there was serious business to attend to.

The Starcourt and Astral Beacon weren't created just for psyker employment programs; they had real, tangible purposes.

Even if the Webway made the Astral Beacon obsolete for navigation, and internal communication was already handled by A.I. assistance, there was still one key function left—ultra-long-range communication.

Until his territory developed a more efficient method, the Astral Beacon was the only way to relay messages beyond the sector's boundaries.

However, a new idea had recently come to Eden—

Using the Astral Beacon... to "fish" for ships.

More specifically, to rescue lost Pilgrimage Ships.

After all, the Astral Beacon was already built. It would be a waste to leave it idle.

With the Great Rift temporarily snuffing out many of the Imperial Astronomican signals, countless ships had been cast adrift in the Warp.

Larger fleets might be able to reorient themselves once the Imperial Astronomican reactivated, following its faint guidance.

But smaller ships—especially those traveling within the Imperium's dark zones—could remain lost forever.

The most common type of stranded vessel?

Pilgrimage Ships.

The galaxy was teeming with Imperial pilgrims.

They traveled aboard ancient, often decrepit ships, departing from countless civilized worlds.

Their ultimate goal was to visit sacred sites across the stars, culminating in a final pilgrimage to Holy Terra.

There, they sought to worship the God-Emperor, the Divine, Holy, and Benevolent Ruler of Mankind.

For many, this pilgrimage spanned centuries, if not longer.

Entire generations of pilgrims were born, lived, and died aboard their ships.

Many pilgrims were born among the stars, leading to slight mutations in their bodies.

They were referred to as Voidborn and were heavily discriminated against.

But the pilgrims did not care.

They remained devout, firmly believing that one day, either they or their descendants would be fortunate enough to reach Holy Terra.

However, more often than not, these pilgrims perished in the vast expanse of the galaxy or the Warp due to various calamities.

Very few pilgrimage ships ever made it to Holy Terra.

Eden's goal was to use the Astral Beacon to locate lost pilgrimage ships and send them a psychic signal, guiding them to Urth's sanctuary for worship.

Afterward, he would send them on their way again.

This plan would not only generate purer faith energy but also spread the name of Urth's sanctuary and the Savior across the galaxy.

The more believers who learned of his existence, the greater his influence would become.

This would also benefit future trade operations.

After all, planetary governors were unlikely to trade with an unfamiliar entity, no matter which faction it belonged to.

At this stage of development, Eden's domain could no longer remain isolated, operating in secrecy.

It was time to actively engage with the outside world.

Once Shahim ventured outward, he would operate under the banner of an Imperial Rogue Trader while secretly collaborating with the mysterious Urth sanctuary to sell its products.

Regardless of the Imperium's perception of Urth—whether it was hatred, rejection, or suppression—it would not affect the Imperial Rogue Traders.

After all, Rogue Traders possessed authority granted by the Emperor himself, enabling them to trade even with xenos.

A human-controlled territory that worshipped the Emperor and remained loyal to the Imperium could not possibly be considered worse than xenos, right?

As for not paying the Tithe?

There were plenty of regions within the Imperium that didn't pay the Tithe.

Even if Eden wanted to, the Imperium had no way to collect it from him.

Besides, Imperial law was quite flexible, especially toward powerful factions.

Guilliman had once established the Imperium Secundus, and yet he remained a loyal servant of the Imperium.

Who could argue otherwise?

Everyone in the Imperium knew that Stygies VIII was conducting research on xenos technology, teetering on the edge of heresy.

Yet, because it was an important Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus, it faced no penalties.

Even some of the mutated Astartes Chapters, whose members had grown horns and lost all semblance of humanity, were still not declared heretics.

Of course, if one was weak, then there was no recourse.

Such factions could easily be crushed under accusations of "disloyalty", subjected to brutal purges or inquisitorial extermination.

Take Urth, for example.

Even when it suffered under an unjust and extreme tithe, which drained the planet's resources, led to mass death, and pushed the population to the brink of extinction, there was no right to protest or appeal.

But now, Urth—no, the Urth sanctuary—was strong enough to say "No" to the Imperium.

It could now operate openly, recognized as part of the Imperium's human factions.

Ultimately, the Imperium was a loose coalition of various factions, rife with internal contradictions.

At this point, it was struggling to maintain control, unable to extend its reach to the shadowy edges of the galaxy where Urth resided.

It simply did not have the capacity.

Soon, Roboute Guilliman would return to Holy Terra, seize supreme authority, and begin massive purges.

He would then reorganize and redistribute power, in an effort to save the crumbling Imperium.

At that time, the Imperium's entire focus and resources would be poured into the Indomitus Crusade, seeking to reclaim the lost regions of the Imperium.

This process would likely take decades, if not centuries.

For Eden's domain, this was a golden opportunity.

All he had to do was capitalize on this era of chaos and lawlessness and develop as much as possible!

Following Lilith, Eden stepped inside the Astral Beacon, only to be greeted by a familiar sight.

His expression darkened.

"Who designed this?" he asked, his voice sharp.

In front of him was a throne-like chair—its appearance uncannily similar to the Blackstone Throne.

Lilith smiled.

"I designed it specifically for you, Savior~" she said in a teasing tone.

"Lord Kaul said you would definitely like it."

Eden sighed internally. Of course.

He remained silent for a moment.

Lilith tilted her head, confused.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"...Nothing. Let's continue."

Under Lilith's command, the Blackstone Throne-like psyker seat activated, crackling with arcs of psychic energy.

Eden sat down and began operating the Astral Beacon.

This was just a trial run—in the future, Lilith could handle the beacon's operation.

BOOM—

As the Astral Beacon activated, Eden felt his consciousness extend infinitely into the void.

With the beacon's assistance, the Mini-Sun's psychic energy radiated outward in a focused direction.

Though small in scale, the beacon's range was immense when viewed on a galactic level.

After a while...

Eden's mind drifted beyond the stars and found a lone, dilapidated pilgrimage ship.

It had been lost for a long time...

(End of Chapter)

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