Before stepping into the palace, Howard took a deep breath. The earlier scene and Roslov's words still echoed in his mind, as did the memory of the young man named Bukayo.
Nareth's image in his heart had become increasingly mysterious and powerful. From Rosicky, the tech-priest of the Czech family long allied with his own and loyal to the Omnissiah, Howard had received confirmation: no tech-priest-made cyborg could possibly possess such a powerful physique and combat ability.
"Could he really be a god of the Old Night's Past reborn?"
Looking at Nareth's back, Howard respectfully spoke:
"My lord, I have reached an agreement with Magos Kaminsky. Please review it."
Narethame came back to his senses from the sword duel deduction in his mind, and he turned to walk towards Howard.
"My lord, the Magos has agreed to support you in becoming King of Tizca. He is willing to bestow the Omnissiah's blessing upon you."
"He requests that their current interests be preserved, and in addition, he asks that you resolve the xeno threat plaguing Oceanus, The Symphony of the Sea."
Nareth, hearing Howard's report, accepted the data slate and scrolled rapidly through it as he asked:
"The Symphony of the Sea?"
"Yes, my lord," Howard replied.
"The Symphony of the Sea, true to its name, is a maritime nation—a beautiful world dotted with pearl-like islands."
As he sincerely praised the place, Nareth had already finished reading the 1,503-page report. With his superhuman mind, he distilled the key points, which aligned exactly with Howard's summary. Nareth looked at the blond noble with appreciation.
"The seafood and limited agricultural goods produced by Symphony of the Sea are critical to Vostroya."
"Recently, due to the appearance of xeno raiders, food supplies have been disrupted, and stockpiles are rapidly depleting."
"If this continues, Vostroya will fall into crisis in less than three months."
Howard's voice was filled with concern—he could already sense the coming danger.
"What kind of xeno incursion is it?"
"My lord, there are currently no biological reports on the xenos."
"What's notable is that their ships are extremely advanced. They can fire a pulse beam that bypasses the Mechanicum void shields and directly corrodes ship hulls."
Howard's face turned grim. He had always believed the Mechanicum represented the peak of technology, but Rosicky's words made him realize there were even more advanced technologies out there.
"Even worse, after being hit, the Mechanicum ships' shields instantly overload, and the enemy warships can immediately follow up with a barrage of light spears."
Nareth fell silent in thought. He immediately connected this with the Night Shards from the potion formula and the Vraksian.
"The characteristics of these xeno weapons sound a lot like the Vraksian's aether cannons."
"I accept the Mechanicums' conditions."
Even if it had nothing to do with the potion materials, Nareth would not tolerate xeno raids—Vostroya was his domain.
"However, I have a demand. The xeno firepower is strong; I'll need to board their ships to destroy them."
"So, I require weapons and armor suited to my physique and capable of unleashing my full strength."
Nareth still lacked two ingredients for the Sequence 9 potion "Savant." Low-sequence superhumans didn't have the technical expertise of Martian tech-priests. Since they wanted him to repel the xenos, it was the perfect chance to ask for gear.
"That request is reasonable and aligns with Omnissiah doctrine."
Howard replied after a moment's thought, based on his understanding of Sage Kaminsky.
Then, a firm look appeared in his sapphire eyes.
"My lord, my family possesses a sacred copy of a Standard Template Construct, discovered and duplicated by one of our ancestors."
Nareth knew that an STC, Standard Template Construct, was essentially a complex analysis and processing system.
Humanity's technology was preserved in STC systems. Along with warp drives and the Navigator mutants, STCs were one of the key pillars that allowed humanity to expand beyond the solar system and conquer new worlds.
STCs allowed human colonists to maintain a standard level of technology, enabling them to construct shelters, power generators, and transportation from local materials, even without prior knowledge.
A simple question on how to build a house or a drill would prompt the STC to provide all necessary blueprints.
The future human empire would rely on STCs. Tech-priests often launched expeditions to recover sacred templates.
"Although the template inherited by my ancestor is incomplete, it includes technologies such as bio-scanners, automata, and refractor fields—all signs of the Fender family's favor from the Omnissiah."
"Besides the Boleslaw family, the Fenderl family is the only one that has endured from Tizca's founding and remained within the hive spires."
"Now, I present to you a copy of that sacred template—the very foundation of the Fender family."
Nareth knew that STCs came in many forms—paper forms, data files, entire facilities, computer databases, among others. The lucky few who discovered them usually found damaged or incomplete fragments. These were duplicated for preservation.
Howard was now offering one such backup copy—a fragment so valuable it could be worth tens of billions in Martian coin.
Finishing his words, Howard pressed the golden lightning crest on the right side of his chestplate.
A compartment on his powered armor popped open. He reached in and pulled out a mithril box. Through its transparent cover, one could see a finely crafted rectangular chip lined with intricate metallic circuits and tiny electronic components.
He offered it up to Nareth with both hands, then stepped back respectfully.
"You will be responsible for coordinating with the Mechanicum and those noble houses willing to submit. Confirm the ritual's time."
"Also, work with your men to identify the families that just attacked the spire and those loyalist followers of Boleslaw. I want a full list within one standard hour."
"As you command, my lord."
Howard exited the palace, a little disappointed that he hadn't received a blessing. But he quickly pulled himself together.
"I've only served my lord for less than one work cycle. Even revealing the family secret, there must be a period of evaluation."
"From now on, I must complete every mission flawlessly—and earn his favor as soon as possible."
At the same time, Nareth activated his communicator and switched to Bukayo's channel.
"Bukayo, what's the situation in the hive capital?"
"My lord, all commercial district shops are closed. Factories are shut down. Every sector is on high alert, but no large-scale conflict has erupted."
"Based on my assessment, the noble families are being cautious. They're sending scouts to identify which force took the Boleslaws down, and—most importantly—they're watching how the Mechanicum reacts."
"Only a few fools who think they see an opportunity, or those loyal to the Boleslaws, have attacked us."
Nareth found this consistent with his and Howard's expectations. He issued a new order to Bukayo.
"End your reconnaissance. Go to the Ajudicatum. I want you to bring back all ceremonial gavels—labeled with the names and titles of their original owners."
"As you command, my lord."
Bukayo didn't understand why Nareth wanted the gavels—but knew better than to question the will of the divine.