"Eliminate Xenos Army" series of tasks completed.
"Task 1: Explore the Xenos Tomb."
"Xenos Tomb exploration completed. Task reward: 400 experience points, 200 mission points."
"Task 2: Clear Xenos within the Ruins."
"Xenos within the Xenos Tomb cleared. Task reward: 600 experience points, 1000 mission points."
"Task 3: Destroy the current Xenos Ruins (Optional)."
"Part of the Xenos Tomb destroyed. Task not completed. Task reward: 100 experience points."
"Task 4: Prevent Xenos from invading the city."
"Xenos army annihilated. Task reward: 1000 experience points, 2000 mission points."
Alex had a satisfied expression on his face as he looked at the long string of task completion notifications that popped up before him.
Although he received one less task reward for 'Destroying the Xenos Tomb Rebirth Protocol' compared to Gutierrez, overall, the harvest this time was still very satisfying.
Especially after all the tasks were submitted, he received an additional reward.
"The Emperor is very pleased with your performance and bestows upon you a gift: Warhound Titan STC Template."
(Warhound Titan, the smallest reconnaissance Titan, similar in size to a Knight Titan.)
"Warhound? I remember that's a variant of the Warhound, right? Why is your task reward an STC?" Gutierrez heard about Alex's task reward, and besides intense envy, he was more curious as to why Huang Lao Han gave them this.
"The Warhound is more powerful than a regular Warhound, but this type of Titan makes space for larger weapons by removing some Void Shield, so the Warhound can be equipped with a Volcano Cannon." Alex was quite familiar with this type of Titan; he even had a set of small-scale Warhound miniatures modeled after the Warhound.
Gutierrez nodded knowingly. For them, who frequently played the game, this was not unfamiliar.
"But what use is this to us? We do have Forges and Mechanical Sages. Theoretically, with an STC, we can build a Titan, but this thing requires Adeptus Mechanicus production approval, right? I remember all Titans must belong to the Titan Legions? Even the pilots must be from the Divine Engine families." Gutierrez was clearly skeptical about how to use this: "Or does Huang Lao Han mean for us to use this to exchange for rewards with a Forge World?"
"Exchanging for rewards is one use, but doing so would be somewhat wasteful." Alex first nodded in agreement with Gutierrez, then explained his idea: "A complete and usable Titan STC Template is something that could drive the Adeptus Mechanicus mad. Although it's only the lowest-tier Warhound, this thing is still very valuable, so if possible, I don't plan to hand it over."
"Not hand it over? Aren't you afraid of the Adeptus Mechanicus's punitive fleet bringing a Titan Legion to your doorstep!" Gutierrez looked at Alex with a strange expression, as if thinking, 'Are you crazy?'
Alex merely smiled confidently and then explained, "The time we are in is 970.M41. In thirty years, Cadia will explode, and the Great Rift will open. Do you think the Adeptus Mechanicus will still have time and inclination to bother with us?
Not to mention that after Primarch Guilliman's return to Terra, Mars released production licenses for a lot of good stuff. We can still keep this."
"But who will produce it? Those two Mechanical Sages, don't tell me you trust them enough to hand over such an important item to them." Gutierrez was swayed by Alex's words. For them, if worst came to worst, they could just put the STC in the 3k era. He didn't believe those Tech-Priests could climb through the military box to the 3k era.
But this was, after all, a Titan STC. Leaving it as a display piece was the worst option. It would be best to make it useful, to produce Titans and form a Titan Legion.
Even if it was just a Warhound without a Void Shield, it was still a Warhound Titan, and one equipped with a Volcano Cannon at that. In a real fight, it could take down a Reaver, or even a Warlord.
"Dude, I'm also at Level III Authority now!" Alex patted Gutierrez's shoulder and said with a smile, "I used to worry about this issue because we really couldn't produce a Mechanical Sage, and even if we found brothers from the group to play Tech-Priests, someone still needed to do it.
But now that I've unlocked Level III Authority, I can use Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Knight, and Space Marine miniatures. Although some larger units are still unusable, fielding a Mechanical Sage myself is no longer a problem."
"So, we can have our own Mechanical Sage now?" Gutierrez's face immediately lit up with surprise upon hearing this news.
"Yes, whether we find group members or I field miniatures myself, this problem can be solved." Alex nodded affirmatively, then said, "So our biggest problem now is how to produce it. Don't forget that Volcano Cannons have quotas, and we may not be able to get the quota to produce them."
"That's a minor issue. If I remember correctly, besides the Volcano Cannon, the Warhound can also use an armor-busting Neutron Laser, which is easier to obtain than the Volcano Cannon." Gutierrez didn't find this problem difficult, and after glancing at his exchange list, he added, "And we can use a giant laser cannon to replace the Volcano Cannon. At worst, we can just make it ourselves."
The exchange list provided by Huang Lao Han was incredibly rich in items, including various coveted equipment and vehicles, as well as enhancement options like Space Marine gene-seed, and various types of STCs that could also be exchanged.
Perhaps contrary to many people's perceptions, the Imperium's strongest scientist was, in a sense, the Emperor himself.
The Astartes and Primarchs were personally crafted by the Emperor, proving his unparalleled skill and achievements in the field of bio-engineering.
As for Titan blueprints and such, Huang Lao Han could even design one himself.
Not to mention that during the Great Crusade, these things were not rare, and all Titan Legions could manufacture them, and STC Templates were not unique.
"In that case, our upcoming mineral development on the surrounding planets will need to be intensified, at least to gather enough raw materials to produce Titans." Alex calculated and felt that he needed to add more to the already planned development.
Gutierrez also nodded in agreement, stating, "I don't object to that, but we're short-handed right now. How about we find a few more group members? I think 32 would definitely like mining."
"So, the Archon should drive a mining ship and act as a pack mule, right? Alright, how about we talk to her later?" Alex was not against recruiting new group members.
"Alright then. She's just returned from XZ, so let's find a time to meet up for a meal and chat." Gutierrez nodded when Alex agreed.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
If you guys wanna check it out.