Having arrived at his domain, Nareth decided to meet with the local governor.
He ordered Arsena Dunn and Arkhan Land to proceed first to the periphery of the Vhulian Swirl, establish a temporary base, and conduct preliminary reconnaissance.
Then, Nareth boarded a black Aquila Lander, heading towards the primary hive.
Through the viewport, Nareth saw layers upon layers of magnificent hive cities, each larger than the Paradigm City of Vostroya.
Among the hive cities he had seen, only those on Terra, Necromunda, and Gardinal were larger.
'Vigilus already shows signs of its future. Before the Great Rift opened, this world's population reached 167 billion.'
'The last census on Vigilus recorded 85.2 billion. Though Vostroya has surpassed the 1 billion peak from my memory, now at 3.4 billion, the difference is still vast.'
'Unfortunately, Vigilus is not only on a Warp route but also a future chokepoint towards the Eye of Terror, making concealment impossible.'
Nareth knew Vigilus's importance would increase further after the Heresy.
Imperial forces heading towards the Eye of Terror would mostly assemble here for final resupply before proceeding to the warzone.
After the Great Rift opened, Abaddon would set his strategic sights here to claim the power of the Voidclaw in a bid to reshape the Nachmund Gauntlet, completely isolating the Imperium Nihilus from the rest of the Imperium.
Contemplating this, the black Aquila Lander folded its wings, gently landing on the landing pad atop the hive spire.
The hive spire of House Agamemnus had a diameter larger than a dome in the mid-hive. The spacious landing pad could accommodate over a hundred aircraft.
The Planetary Governor in ornate robes waited in the reception area, with dozens of noble representatives behind him.
Gripping a ruby scepter, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, stepped forward with a broad smile towards the Primarch.
"Boero Agamemnus, on behalf of all houses and people of Vigilus, welcomes Lord Nareth."
"Boero, I am satisfied with your achievements in the Vigilus system."
Receiving the Primarch's acknowledgment, Boero felt strength surge within him.
It was like returning to his youth, injecting stimulants to win the Arbitrator Lord's trust and secure the Planetary Governorship.
"Lord, I have prepared a banquet in your honor."
"Lead the way." Nareth glanced at the gathered nobles, nodding slightly to them.
Sixteen servo-skulls orbited overhead, streamers fluttered, flowers scattered, and stirring synthetic music from sonic arrays played.
"Rejoice! The Protector of Vigilus, the Conqueror of Xenos, the Primarch of the Eleventh Legion, the Monarch of Vostroya... walks among you."
For the people of Vigilus, among the Primarch's many titles, Conqueror of Xenos was most commonly used, the victory over the Saim-Hann craftworld etched in their memory.
Within the opulent palace, the banquet commenced.
Nobles who dictated the direction of hive cities and guild representatives whose whims decided the fates of hundreds of thousands in their domes watched Nareth's every move carefully, seeking opportunities to approach.
The Primarch leaned back on the black iron throne specially crafted for him, even replicating the thirty-three swords from his own. Clearly, Boero had invested considerable effort in researching his preferences.
He was relatively satisfied with the Agamemnus and had no intention of lingering. Accepting the banquet invitation was merely to show support for the Planetary Governor.
Wishing to depart for Woli'an soon, Nareth asked.
"Boero, what is Vigilus's current development status? Any difficulties?"
The prepared Planetary Governor immediately set down his glass, answering calmly.
"Lord, Vigilus develops well. This year's production capacity will increase by 1.2 percent. Output of personal energy shield components for the Legion will rise by 23 percent, reaching fourteen hundred sets..."
"The population will see new growth, projected to reach 86 billion..."
"Good." Nareth nodded with satisfaction.
Boero scanned the hall, his gaze sweeping over nobles listening intently. It lingered meaningfully on several ambitious houses, moving on as they offered uneasy smiles.
"Lord, I've heard you are fond of unusual artifacts. I possess some stone slates from ancient times that might interest you."
"Oh?" Nareth said with interest. "I am quite interested."
"I will have them brought up immediately." Boero pressed his comm-bead, issuing orders.
Minutes later, over a hundred servitors carried in three massive stone slates, five meters wide and two meters tall.
Nareth rose, walking before the slates, examining each.
The patterns on the slates were fragmented, images and text scattered sporadically.
Nareth's gaze lingered on the final slate. At the bottom row, countless tiny black figures worshipped something above.
A figure shrouded in mist and shadow, the image incomplete, impossible to discern.
Even without spiritual radiance, he was still intrigued.
"Where were they discovered?"
Seeing Lord Nareth's interest, Boero quickly replied.
"Lord, mining teams discovered them while excavating underground mines, ancient ruins."
"Within a collapsed stone temple of antiquity, there were many fragmented images."
"Research indicates the temple belonged to a lost ancient civilization. Their language is completely different from current tongues."
Various possibilities flashed through Nareth's mind, but clues were too few for confirmation. He returned to the throne.
"Transport them to the starport. My Librarians will receive them."
"I am satisfied with your gift. Send me the coordinates of the ruins."
"Your will be done." Boero scanned the banquet hall again. "Lord, though Vigilus develops smoothly, one problem remains unresolved."
"Since its founding as a colony, Vigilus has always lacked water resources."
"The Arbiter Lord has decreed that lower-class civilians must no longer drink the extremely filthy groundwater, replaced with recycled water. Ordinary citizens drink chemically treated water."
"As the population grows, the water issue worsens, especially the glacier water consumed by nobles and guilds, which recently faces threats."
Nareth nodded. He knew Vigilus lacked water resources.
In the future, the Ecclesiarchy gained massive popular support here by adding purified holy water to chemically treated water, providing it to some believers.
"What is the issue?"
"Glaciers are inhabited by mantis-shaped monstrosities. They possess sharp claws and fangs; our soldiers cannot withstand them."
"Their every appearance brings calamity, causing severe drinking water crises. Thus, we call them Calamity Mantises."
Suddenly, Nareth's eyes lit up. He knew mantises lived in Vigilus's glaciers, even causing trouble for Stygies VIII's Skitarii, but didn't know they were called Calamity.
This immediately made him think of Calamity Mantis, the main ingredient for the Sequence 7 "Lucky One" and subsequent Sequence 6 "Calamity Priest" of the "Wheel of Fortune Pathway".
Nareth spoke immediately. "I will dispatch warriors to resolve the calamity."
He then recalled Stygies VIII solution: constructing a space elevator to draw water from the asteroid belt.
"I will order the construction of a space elevator to collect water from the asteroid belt. The surplus allocated to the Megaborealis will be provided to you."
Hearing this, Boero said gratefully, "Praise the Lord!"
"Praise the Lord!" Nobles raised their glasses, extolling the Protector of Vigilus.
Nareth picked up his glass, draining it in one go.
"I have pressing matters to attend to."
The Primarch departed amidst the nobles' enthusiastic farewells.
.....
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