Chapter 89: Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [89]

The fees for the various services provided by the Haemonculus are very high. Even though she has been the undefeated champion queen of the arena for ten thousand years and is considered a wealthy tycoon in Commorragh, she still can't afford to use their services often. This noble from the Empire of the Eldar probably doesn't have the currency of modern Commorragh. If they were to barter instead, those greedy Haemonculus would surely inflate the prices dramatically. As the host, she felt that she needed to contribute some funds herself; otherwise, people might look down on her as the arena queen. "Alright! Once we finish testing the combat strength, we'll go look for the Haemonculus," said Rhodes, nodding in agreement. "No problem. Let the enhanced warriors adapt for a day, and tomorrow we can start the duel matches. I'll go arrange opponents for them in the arena. Lord Loki, you're mainly interested in the Chaos Space Marines, correct?" Lelith asked. The plan was to let these enhanced warriors give an impressive performance in the duels tomorrow, spreading the fame of the monstrous enhancements. This would further boost the reputation of these enhanced monstrosities. "That's right! My main interest is in the Chaos Space Marines. Of course, if you've captured any powerful Chaos Daemons, I'd like to see those as well," Rhodes replied. "Lord Loki, the Chaos Space Marines are no problem—I can figure out a way to source some from other arenas. However, as for Chaos Daemons, Commorragh does not rear such creatures. You understand the reason, I'm sure; we cannot have too much contact with the Warp," Lelith explained. The Dark Eldar's Webway realm is separated from the Warp by only a thin veil, even closer than the material universe. In Commorragh, there is a massive Gate of Khaine that prevents the influence of the Warp. If this gate were to break, countless Chaos Daemons would flood in. Among the four Chaos Gods, the followers of Slaanesh are the ones most eager to hunt down Eldar, whether they are Craftworld Eldar, Exodites, or the Dark Eldar of Commorragh. "That's fine! Just the Chaos Space Marines will do. After all, my family developed these enhanced monstrous warriors with the goal of one day avenging ourselves against our great enemies," Rhodes said. Lelith smiled and nodded, instructing her subordinates to escort Rhodes to a guest room to rest while she left to get to work. She had a lot to do next. She needed to visit other arenas to source the Chaos Space Marines. Her arena held Tyranid creatures and some slaves from other species, but there were no Chaos Space Marines. Therefore, she had to spend money to borrow some from other arenas. After a round of negotiations and a full day of effort, Lellith managed to get over 60 Chaos Space Marines from seven different arenas. While the arena queen was out conducting business, Rhodes took the opportunity to return to his ship. "Lord Rhodes, you've returned!" Sister Elena was the first to notice Rhodes' arrival. "Yes, I'm back," Rhodes replied with a smile, nodding to her. "Lord Rhodes, it's far too dangerous for you to act alone. You should at least have two brothers accompany you for protection," Titus said. "It's easier for me to move around alone—I can better conceal my identity. Bringing too many people would only draw unnecessary attention. Besides, this time, apart from searching for Yvraine, I have a new idea. Commorragh has many human slaves, including some who are Space Marines. I plan to rescue them," Rhodes explained. Now that he had established a partnership with the arena queen, Rhodes could easily justify needing Space Marines for experimentation with the monster-enhancing gene serums. He could use this as a pretext to have the arena queen purchase some human Space Marine prisoners for him, perhaps even some captured Sisters of Battle. As for the civilians, he was sorry—there were simply too many of them for him to save. "Lord, is there any assistance we can provide?" Chaplain Magro asked. To rescue other Space Marines, they would likely need to raid some Dark Eldar arenas, which would involve combat missions. "No need. I'll use another way to rescue these Space Marines. You just need to prepare to receive them," Rhodes said. "Understood, Lord Rhodes. We'll prepare to welcome our new battle-brothers," Titus replied with a nod. Rescuing a group of human Space Marines would undoubtedly be a great achievement. After reassuring his crew, Rhodes headed to a laboratory operated by Balt. There, he reported the results of using the monster-enhancing gene serum. "Master, I must say this species is particularly compatible with the Guigass gene enhancement. The Melba isn't as suitable for this process," Balt remarked. "If you could further enhance the Guigass, the effects of the gene serum would be even better." The Dark Eldar member had surprisingly good luck. They managed to find a monster gene that was relatively compatible with their race—a stroke of great fortune. "Balt, I plan to establish a new production line for monster genes! Specifically for producing enhancement potions based on Guigass' monster genes," said Rhodes. These enhancement potions, crafted with the frozen monster Guigass' genes as a blueprint, would need to be mass-produced in the future. Who would've thought? The frozen monster Guigass, whose combat capabilities were rather unimpressive, could become the Father of Genes for the enhancement of Black Eldar monster warriors. Does this mean Guigass has essentially become an alternative form of a gene progenitor? Even though it's for the Black Eldar, who knows if Guigass has any latent psychic potential? If it awakens psychic abilities, its value would increase significantly! The title of Father of Genes for the Black Eldar and the enhancement of frozen monster warriors is certainly well-deserved. Even without body-enhancement, Guigass' combat power is already superior to that of the original gene progenitors. "No problem, Master! I can immediately set up an automated production line for you. Master! This potion can also be upgraded and enhanced using your special monster enhancement ability," Balt said. Balt was well aware of his master's ability to enhance monsters. Rhodes had even asked Balt whether he wanted to use his three enhancement opportunities. But Balt had firmly refused. According to Balt, those three enhancement opportunities were equivalent to three free resurrection chances, and they had to be used wisely. Since he wasn't a combat-focused individual, there were other ways to enhance his abilities in the future. "Oh! So you're suggesting using monster enhancement? That's certainly feasible," Rhodes nodded thoughtfully. Monster enhancement significantly boosts a monster's combat capabilities without affecting its genetic integrity. If the Black Eldar could successfully adapt to Guigass' genes, then enhancing the frozen monster Guigass would indeed make the potion more effective. However, Rhodes didn't want to rush into upgrading the serum just yet. A gradual, long-term approach was better. He planned to produce the current version first and release the enhanced version of the Guigass monster serum later. "Master! Before enhancing it, let's draw some blood first—enough to bring it to the brink of death. That way, we can maximize its value," Balt suggested. Although they could clone some of Guigass' blood in the lab, it would still consume experimental equipment and resources. Resources were scarce, and waste wasn't an option. It was better to directly extract what they needed from this big monster. With its physical resilience, extracting hundreds of tons of blood wouldn't be a problem. With four enhancement opportunities, they could extract one or two thousand tons of blood, which would be incredibly cost-effective for making gene potions. Given the monster's recovery speed, the enhanced Guigass could easily contribute dozens of liters of blood per day without any issues. Rhodes nodded in agreement and summoned the frozen monster Guigass. "Guigass, your big break has come. From now on, you'll be a gene progenitor and have an entire lineage of gene descendants," Rhodes said with a sly smile. "Ow! Wah!" The white-furred gorilla clutched its head in confusion as it looked at its master, feeling a chill down its spine. "So, let's start with drawing some blood!" Balt transformed into a giant figure and pulled out an oversized syringe. "Ahhh! Ow ow!" Guigass protested. Rhodes used all of the white-furred gorilla's enhancement opportunities, spending less than 7,000 gold coins. He enhanced its height once, its weight twice, and the power of its freezing ray. Each enhancement brought Guigass to the brink of death from blood loss. After the enhancements, Guigass' height reached 42 meters, and its weight skyrocketed. These upgrades significantly improved the gorilla's physical strength and close-combat abilities. The enhanced freezing ray also became far more powerful, capable of emitting frost beams at temperatures below -100°C. By this point, Guigass stared in terror at Balt, Rhodes, and the 2,000 tons of blood it had just contributed. "Don't be upset, Guigass. You should be thanking me! In the future, you'll have thousands upon thousands of descendants! As a gene progenitor for the Black Eldar community, you'll receive special treatment. Blood draws will now be part of your daily routine," Rhodes said with a grin. Although the Black Eldar might not have a concept of a gene father, if Guigass awakened a psychic ability, it might even produce the same effect as a human gene father on its descendants. Rhodes thought about taking the white-furred gorilla to the Warp one day to test its abilities. After all, it was his monster, and Chaos corruption wasn't something he needed to worry about. "Ahhh! Wah wah!" Guigass raised its fists in protest. "Protest denied! You're the gene father now, and that's final." This foolish gorilla wasn't even happy about the situation. Being a gene father—even for the Dark Eldar—was a title worth bragging about.