Nareth watched as squad after squad from the Third Regiment carried an array of items before him.
With just a glance, he spotted a Lung Spider, and even the auxiliary materials for the Sequence 9 "Monster", the Ice Crystal Butterfly…
Bukayo gestured at the items and spoke earnestly.
"My Lord, you have no interest in gold or such things, but you seem fascinated by unique creatures and rare objects, just like when you once tasked me to find the largest lung-spider, the Black Widow."
"I've gathered some especially for you."
"Some I encountered in the underhive, others I found in the false king's treasury. I do not know which might catch your eye, so I've kept every rare specimen for your personal selection."
Hearing this, Nareth couldn't help but admire Bukayo's cleverness. He was the only one who thought to cater to his preferences by collecting such things.
'This is a perfect opportunity to establish my persona! As it becomes increasingly difficult for me to personally gather potion materials, cultivating a reputation for coveting rare "oddities" will make things much easier. Moreover, as the saying goes, "When the superior has a preference, the subordinates will naturally cater to it." With more followers and soon gene-sons offering tributes, the variety and quantity of potion materials I obtain will grow exponentially.'
With that in mind, Nareth decided to show his joy quite openly.
He strode up to a crystal cage, reached in, and grabbed a butterfly whose body shimmered like ice crystals. Laughing heartily, he exclaimed:
"Splendid! Very Splendid! I am most pleased!"
Seeing Nareth's joy, Bukayo silently resolved to gather even more peculiar treasures for the god he served.
In the following standard months, commanders of other regiments also learned of Nareth's only personal preference.
They all began to follow suit, and Nareth's collection of potion materials saw a surge in variety and quantity.
In particular, Lung Spiders, common in every Lower Hive, became targets of large-scale group hunts by the various regiments.
Nareth continued modifying the second-layer Real Space of the "Kingdom of Disorder." Relying on his superhuman memory, he recreated environments like sewage pits and pipelines, completing the initial transformation of a one-square-kilometer area.
He then released centipede serpents and juvenile lung-spiders into it, along with other non-potion creatures to serve as their prey.
Nareth spared no effort and began crafting potions, cultivating those who passed evaluations into Beyonders.
Howard's recommended candidate, Yasin, became an "Arbiter."
Thierry's nominees, Buuka and Gul'gul, followed in his footsteps as "Warriors."
After becoming Beyondesy, all of them saw their abilities greatly enhanced.
Three "Assassins," including Maria, infiltrated various Hive Cities, assassinating commanders and sowing chaos.
Nareth led each regiment in turn to conquer Hive Cities. Before winter arrived in Vostroya, all thirty-three Hive Cities were under his control.
Vostroya was originally a frigid planet, its year divided between a long winter and a brief spring.
But colonization, and especially the arrival of the Cult Mechanicum, accelerated industrialization and slowly warmed the planet's climate.
Over millennia of change, the combined duration of spring, summer, and autumn had surpassed that of winter.
In the past century, Vostonia's average climate cycle was:
Spring: 104 work cycles
Summer: 85 work cycles
Autumn: 139 work cycles
Winter: 217 work cycles
On the first work cycle of winter, in the grand hall of the Tizca Hive City, a ceremony was held to officially crown Nareth as the undisputed Ruler of Vostroya.
The Primarch sat upon his throne. Behind him stood thirty-three black spears, each impaling a golden crown, each once worn by a Hive City king. Nareth had personally slain twenty-three of their previous owners.
Abandoning Vostroya's traditional red ceremonial gown, the newly appointed Chancellor, Yelena Kournikova, presided over the ceremony in a black royal robe, the king's personal preference.
Her gaze swept over the noble representatives from all thirty-three hives on her right. Then, flicked to the delegation from the Cult Mechanicum, Magos Kaminski, and various Tech-Priest representatives from the altars.
Finally, her gaze returned to the front. She knew that Howard and the other regiment commanders were Nareth's true inner circle.
Yelena began to speak. Her voice was solemn, imbued with an air of undeniable authority:
"Esteemed lords and ladies, honored guests of the Cult Mechanicum. We gather here today to witness a historic moment for Vostroya, the dawn of a new era."
"For millennia, false kings abused their power, treating Hive Cities as personal fiefdoms. Vostroya stagnated, and countless citizens suffered in despair."
"The xenos invasion severed our food supplies, and heretic uprisings brought the hives to the brink. Vostroya once teetered on the edge of annihilation."
Then her tone shifted—fiery with conviction:
"And in our darkest hour, King Nareth descended from the heavens!"
"He slew the false kings, drove out the xenos, crushed the heretics, and unified the fractured land of Vostroya."
"He restored order, brought hope, he is Vostroya's savior! He is Vostroya's monarch!"
Yelena turned sideways, facing Nareth and the nobles to her right. Her voice echoed through the great hall:
"All present, offer your loyalty to the new king!"
She turned to face Nareth directly. Following Vostonia's most ancient customs, she knelt on one knee, placed her right hand on her chest, and declared with firm reverence:
"I, Yelena Kournikova, pledge my loyalty to King Nareth! Whatever my king commands, I shall obey; whatever he desires, I shall fulfill. This vow shall never be broken—even unto death!"
The nobles and Howard's faction followed, kneeling on one knee:
"We pledge our loyalty to King Nareth! Whatever our king commands, we shall obey; whatever he desires, we shall fulfill. This vow shall never be broken—even unto death!"
Their voices surged like a tidal wave, reverberating throughout the hall.
Then the sound receded, and a brief silence fell.
"I accept your oaths!"
Nareth's voice exploded like thunder, imposing and full of absolute authority.
His words struck each heart like a hammer. His piercing gaze swept across the rising crowd, finally resting on the delegation from the Mechanicum.
Kaminski, emerging from his recollection of Nareth crowning himself, took a measured step forward.
His mechanically modulated voice carried a cold solemnity:
"King Nareth,"
Kaminski's voice clicked like precise clockwork:
"May the wisdom of the Omnissiah guide your path. May the glory of the Machine God bless your reign. Your will shall drive Vostroya like sacred gears; your authority shall endure, eternal as the undying machine."
He bowed slightly, the red light in his cybernetic eye flickering.
Behind him, the Cult Mechanicum members spoke in unison—perfectly synchronized, like mechanical resonance:
"May the Omnissiah bless you! May the light of the Machine God forever shine upon Vostroya!"
As the ceremony proceeded, in the Hive-City of Mikhailovsk, all surviving twenty-nine Magos of Vostroya, except Kaminski, gathered at the First Altar.