"To think that right after leaving Baal, I'd encounter this," Emrys pinched his brow, pondering for a moment before asking, "What exactly is this 'shadow Dome' you're talking about?"
"The Shadow Dome, established in the 41st millennium, was initially a council organization founded in the Roaming Port by five Rogue Trader Dynasties during the most chaotic period of the Kronos Expanse's expansion, primarily responsible for controlling trade."
Carol said unhurriedly, "But later, through internal strife and annexation, only one remained, which is the Fernando Dynasty."
"This council has developed to the point where it's almost universally known. Even the Inquisition is helpless against its existence because they can't find concrete evidence. They simply can't shake the deeply entrenched Fernando family, which has operated in the Roaming Port for many years."
"That powerful?" Hearing this, Emrys couldn't help but once again feel respect for this family.
To be able to render the Inquisition helpless was truly a rarity. From this point alone, one could get a glimpse of just how powerful this Fernando Dynasty was in the Roaming Port!
To call them 'local emperors' would be no exaggeration!
Combining this with the previous information, Emrys speculated that the Imperial Navy generals and local nobles bribed by the Fernando family had probably already formed an intricate web of common interests!
Difficult, too difficult!
"Is there any other information?" Emrys wanted to find a weakness, so he asked, "For example, this shadow Dome Council, what aspects of trade do you mean by 'controlling trade'?"
"Everything!"
Carol's tone was solemn as he said in a deep voice, "In the Roaming Port, the Fernando family controls every trade you can imagine, from daily necessities to warship supplies, weapon resources, and so on—all under the control of the shadow Dome Council. Covertly, the Fernando family is the 'shadow King' of the entire Kronos Expanse!"
"That exaggerated? shadow King!"
Even Emrys was startled.
However, what Carol said next once again made Emrys' heart race.
"The Fernando family not only controls the black market trade but has also secretly funded Orcs, Drukhari pirates, and even—Chaos Lords!"
They not only fund pirates but also reveal the locations of some Rogue Traders, waiting for them to be plundered before buying the spoils from the pirates and reselling them to various forces like the Imperium and Chaos.
Damn it, Emrys was shocked. This wasn't just a local emperor; this was a powerful regional official, a damn cancer on the Imperium!
"No, if he does this, isn't he afraid of being discovered by multiple forces and then jointly besieged?!" Emrys immediately saw that the Fernando family's modus operandi harbored a huge hidden danger.
Such a big appetite, aren't they afraid of being bloated to death?
Do they really think Drukhari, Chaos Lords, and Orc pirates are easy to deal with?
"External rumors say that the Fernando family possesses an ancient alien artifact, and it is this 'artifact' that has allowed the Fernando family to remain firmly seated amidst multiple forces to this day."
Perhaps due to his age, Carol's thinking speed was much slower. After taking a breath, he slowly said, "But I can tell Lord, this is not a rumor. The Fernando family possesses a fragment of an artifact called the 'Eternity Forge'."
"This fragment of the artifact called the 'Eternity Forge' allows the Fernando family's warships to ignore Warp storms, forcibly traverse any threatening areas, and even locate targets in the chaotic Warp without the need for an astropath."
"—Holy crap?!"
Emrys' pupils contracted sharply. How could such a powerful artifact fall into the hands of the Fernando family?!
"Of course, the Inquisition doesn't know about the existence of this artifact. They only suspect that the Fernando family possesses technology that is possibly an Old Ones relic." Carol said with a proud expression, "Besides us, no one else knows about this."
"Ahem, Archmagos Carol, I have a question." Emrys lightly coughed, then turned and stared intently at him, "Isn't your understanding of the Fernando family a bit too detailed?"
It sounded as if Carol knew the Fernando family very well, even details that should be secret, like their rise to power, family motto, human trafficking, and smuggling alien technology. He knew it all in such detail, almost as if he had witnessed it himself.
This wasn't just understanding; it was practically stripping them bare!
Strange, too strange!
Looking at Emrys' suspicious gaze, Carol felt a little awkward, coughed a few times, and turned his head, not daring to meet his eyes. He said somewhat guiltily, "Actually, we also contributed a lot to the Fernando family's rise and their obtaining the Rogue Trader charter issued by the High Lord."
—Well, we found the source!
Emrys was quite speechless, "So, you mean the Fernando family was originally subordinate to us?"
"That's correct, Lord."
Perhaps Carol also found it rather embarrassing. His former 'subordinate' was now lording it over his own family, which was indeed humiliating to admit.
"Initially, we supported the Fernando family primarily for two reasons." Carol revealed this hidden history.
"The Roaming Port in the Kronos Expanse is the only way to the Segementum Obscurus, and at that time, the Imperium couldn't control it. We had to establish a safe and reliable outpost, so we chose the Fernando family."
"Secondly, as Lord knows, the Kronos Expanse is rich in resources and has many alien civilization ruins. We could use the Fernando family's cover to conduct some transactions here to avoid the Inquisition's investigations."
"Understood."
Emrys nodded, having grasped the whole story.
In short, the Fernando family was originally the Emrys family's 'black glove' in the past,
specifically used to handle some unsavory matters, such as reselling alien technology, human trafficking, and so on.
But who would have thought that the previous family head, his cheap father, disappeared after piloting the family's warship deep into the Segementum Obscurus, leading to the decline of the Emrys family, with only Holman struggling to maintain it.
The former 'master' weakened, naturally unable to control this fierce 'guard dog' anymore.
No wonder Carol said that their chances of retrieving the items the previous family head had entrusted to the Fernando family were slim to none.
It would be strange if they were willing to give them back!
With the 'Eternity Forge' and the Merlin Star Chart, it's no wonder the Fernando family could develop from a mere Rogue Trader into a top Trader Dynasty in just a few hundred years, also controlling the Roaming Port on the Imperial frontier!
To snatch food from the mouth of such a behemoth was, for the current Merlin, like lighting a lamp in a latrine—seeking death!
Seeing Emrys looking angry, Carol forced a smile and comforted him, "It's alright, Lord. It's okay if we can't get the Star Chart. With this incomplete map, as long as we can find traces of the previous family head's route,"
"We can still find the missing previous family head!"
"No!"
Emrys' brow furrowed, his stubbornness flaring up. He sneered, "I've always been the one to take advantage; when is it someone else's turn to take advantage of me? What they took from me, I'll make them spit out even their teeth!"