PFC Chapter 698: The Space Marine who does not want to be the Regent of the Empire is not a militant lea
Chapter 698: The Space Marine who does not want to be the Regent of the Empire is not a militant lea
Chapter 698: The Space Marine who does not want to be the Regent of the Empire is not a militant leader
There is a meteorite belt dozens of light years away from the solar system. It is pitch black because it is far away from the sunlight of the star system. It is filled with deathly silence and desolation, just like most of the blank and uninhabited areas in the universe, dark, cold and silent.
Suddenly, the meteorite belt lit up with tiny firefly-like lights, breaking the eternal darkness and silence. It was the ion flames bursting out of the warship engine nozzles. Hundreds of warships raised their bows and rushed out of the meteorite cover. The real space in front was pulled and torn apart like a curtain. The warships shot into the boiling malicious abyss like arrows.
Battleship HMS Rectification, captain's room.
Vera Nora sat at her desk.
"Battle Moon also sent diplomatic envoys?"
Fu Qinghai raised his head and looked at the female judge.
"Yes, three orcs landed on Terra on a small merchant ship, along with a captured Imperial merchant. Wangorich brought them to the parliament hall. The orc ambassador demanded the unconditional surrender of the High Lords Council. The entire meeting scene..."
Vera paused here:
"It can be said to be extremely ugly."
"Have they agreed?"
This was the first issue that Fu Qinghai focused on.
"No, the offer of surrender was firmly rejected."
Vera said, shaking her head.
"Have the orcs started landing or bombing?"
Fu Qinghai asked again.
"Not yet, but..."
Vera frowned slightly when she said this.
"But what?"
"It has been three days since the orc envoys visited Terra. Some members of the parliament have indeed discussed the possibility of surrendering to the orcs in private. The Inquisition is paying close attention to this."
Vera said with a hint of worry.
"Oh?"
Fu Qinghai raised his eyebrows when he heard this.
"The arrival of the orc ambassadors not only humiliated the Imperial Parliament, but also showed a new possibility and brought some new thinking, that is... orcs are not animals or beasts. The Orks are also a civilized society, just a civilization that is different from ours. It may not be shameful for one civilization to surrender to another... Under the heavy pressure of life and death, people tend to have some outrageous ideas."
Vera expressed her personal speculation.
“Not far off the mark.”
Fu Qinghai raised the corner of his mouth and shook his head:
"The lower class took to the streets, and the upper class jumped ship. Since ancient times, the vested interest groups that control a large amount of means of production have been the most likely to change sides easily and simply. It's just that now the orcs are proposing unconditional surrender, so they firmly oppose it. This kind of surrender cannot preserve their current wealth and status. If the diplomatic wisdom of these greenskins had evolved a little more advanced and proposed a conditional surrender that could retain the Imperial Senate and the High Lords' Council system, do you believe that there would be many more people seriously considering surrendering than now?"
Vera was slightly startled when she heard this.
"In other words, what you're saying is that Terra hasn't fallen yet only because the orcs aren't smart enough?"
The female judge frowned and asked back.
"Yes, that's true. The orcs finally have diplomacy now, which is good news, but it's clear that they haven't mastered the finer arts of diplomacy, otherwise this war would be even more difficult. After all, they are just a bunch of muscle heads."
Fu Qinghai smiled calmly.
The Tau Empire all know that they need to develop the Tau Army, but the Orcs don't know how to train traitors. The difference in political level between the two is obvious. In summary: there have been major breakthroughs in the wisdom of the greenskins, but not much.
Vera looked thoughtful.
The cheap daughter is still too young.
Fu Qinghai thought to himself.
What is civilized or not is not the point at all.
Because the definition of civilization is already very low.
Putting aside the military, in terms of technology, culture, system, etc., wasn't the Song Dynasty a more advanced civilization than the Mongols? Wasn't the Ming Dynasty a more advanced civilization than the Qing Dynasty? The Qing Dynasty conquered most of China almost entirely with the surrender of Ming Dynasty nobles. As long as the Qing Dynasty civilization was not barbaric enough to eat raw meat and drink blood like animals, there would be no psychological burden to surrender.
The Orks do consider humans as one of their food reserve options. To them, humans are edible but not particularly delicious. Cannibalism is indeed very uncivilized. However, compared to the Shang Dynasty and Maya who loved human sacrifices, the Orks' consumption of other intelligent races is based on more pragmatic needs - they are too busy fighting to have time for a mushroom feast.
"Don't worry, what you worry about will not happen."
Fu Qinghai looked at Vera and said comfortingly:
"You also heard what the Eldar woman said. They have quelled the unrest in the Warp. The Imperial Fists fleet is speeding on its way. There is no time for these insects to consider surrendering or not. Once the Imperial Fists arrive, I will launch an attack."
That Eldar woman...
Vera rolled her eyes secretly.
Although you say it so politely, I see that you and that Eldar woman are quite familiar with each other. Fortunately, I am a reincarnation. If you were seen by other judges in the Tribunal, you would be convicted of the serious crime of having an affair with an alien.
"By the way, you just said that the high lords behaved in a disgraceful manner in front of the orc ambassadors. Did you see it with your own eyes at the meeting?"
Fu Qinghai suddenly thought of another question.
"No, I am not qualified to attend the meeting."
Vera shook her head and said:
"But I bribed a low-level councillor. He was a recorder and one of his eyes was replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis so that he could record videos. Through his perspective, I watched the entire negotiation process after the three orc envoys arrived at the council hall."
"So you have this video now?"
Fu Qinghai suddenly had an idea and tried.
"Why, what do you want to use this video for?"
Vera asked with some doubt:
"Shake the authority of the Imperial Parliament and the High Lords? But this will not help maintain stability. With the threat of beasts in the present, now is not the time to overthrow them."
"It might work... I'm not sure."
Fu Qinghai thought for a moment and then said:
"Give me the video first."
Vera Nora was straightforward. She didn't drag her feet or take the opportunity to bargain. She just took out a data storage module from her clothes and handed it to Fu Qinghai.
"You finally have some effect."
Fu Qinghai took the data storage module and said with relief.
"What do you mean? I'm useless?"
Vera was so angry when she heard this that her brows raised:
"Didn't I tell you all this information, Terra? Wouldn't it take you some time to figure it out on your own? Besides, my personal strength is not weak, okay? I'm an Ipsilon-class psychic!"
An Ipsilon-class psyker?
Fu Qinghai was too lazy to continue attacking Vera.
In my chapter, psykers with Ipsilon-level psychic talents are not even eligible to be selected into the first-phase think tank troops.
"Go back quickly."
Fu Qinghai waved his hand and urged Vera to leave:
"Terra, let me know if anything happens."
After saying that, he used the portal gun to open a circle of light.
Vera turned angrily and walked into the circle of light.
……
After crossing the blue light circle, Vera instantly returned from the captain's room of the Rectification to the abandoned area of the hive city. The female judge grabbed the tattered robe on the stone steps next to her, unfolded it and skillfully wrapped it around herself, tightened the hood tie, and hurriedly left here.
The blue halo behind him shrank and disappeared.
Revealing smooth and flat walls.
Vera blended into the crowd and walked up the stairs in twists and turns until she came to a helicopter elevator guarded by the hive city's bailiffs. After showing the Inquisitor's rose knot, she was allowed to enter. The elevator car rose all the way to the parking platform at the top of the hive city, and a Skyhawk-class shuttle was quietly parked in the middle of the platform.
Vera sat in the cockpit of the shuttle, untied the hooded robe and threw it aside, and skillfully started this Warhammer 40K version of the luxury air car. The red shuttle rose from the apron, turned around and roared towards the south.
The howling wind and sparse clouds passed quickly by the glass cockpit, but Vera had no intention of appreciating the scenery around her. She was thinking about what Qingshan said all the way. Although she didn't want to admit it on the surface, she realized in her heart that the man, the commander of an Astartes regiment, saw things differently from her.
"Am I naive?"
Vera whispered to herself.
Although Qingshan didn't say it explicitly.
But she knew that was what the guy meant.
She knew the cruelty and horror of the Warhammer 40K universe, but she still decided to take root in this universe for long-term development. The reason was simple. In other reincarnation worlds, there was no powerful Grand Master of the Inquisition like Sid Nora to pave the way for her. But sometimes, she couldn't completely stand in the perspective of a reincarnator's spectator.
The Skyhawk-class shuttle began to slow down and descend.
Snow and wind streaked across the icy cockpit canopy.
Vera arrived at the Inquisition headquarters under the Antarctic ice sheet. The shuttle landed steadily on the tarmac. Vera jumped out of the cabin wrapped in a scarf. As soon as she walked to the entrance of the underground fortress, she noticed something was wrong - there was no blood or signs of firefight, but something was wrong.
She saw something from the guard's expression.
But she was cautious and did not ask rashly. She walked silently all the way to her small office in the Inquisition headquarters. After closing the door, she began to ask her acolyte:
"What happened while I was gone, Jaeger?"
Acolyte Jaeger is a bald middle-aged man.
"There has been a coup at the Inquisition headquarters, Lady Vera."
He bowed nervously and said:
"Grand Master of the Inquisition Veritus joined other Grand Inquisitors to depose Wienand. I heard that she was originally going to be executed, but the Grand Master of the Assassin's Court came forward to save her."
Vera frowned after hearing this.
"Who is the current representative of the Tribunal?"
Vera asked a question that she knew the answer to.
"Lord Veritus himself will take charge."
Acolyte Jaeger replied.
The High Lords Council has a new member.
Vera felt that it was necessary to report this information to Qingshan, although she didn't know what Qingshan's plan was.
So she turned around and walked out of the office again, walking quickly into the dark and narrow steel passage of the underground fortress.
"Lord Veritus, stand at attention and salute!"
A sudden shout came from the front.
Vera had just turned a corner when she ran into an old man in Ignatus-type power armor leading a team of fully armed Stormtroopers.
"Lord Vi...Lord Veritus."
Vera reacted and bowed her head quickly.
The old man turned his head and glanced at Vera. He didn't know the young female judge in front of him, so he just nodded expressionlessly, then turned back and continued walking forward.
Vera looked up at his retreating figure.
Veritus has an extremely old face, but he looks very tall when he puts on the power armor and the red cloak.
"It's unimaginable..."
The female judge narrowed her eyes slightly and muttered to herself.
In the entire Inquisition, or even in the entire Terra, perhaps only Vera knows the true identity of Veritus.
"Veritus" is just a pseudonym.
His real name is Kyle Hindman.
That's right, it was Kyril Hindman, the chief preacher of the Luna Wolves Expedition Fleet 63 during the Great Crusade and one of the founders of the Holy Inquisition.
It is hard to imagine that this person has lived for more than a thousand years. The original novel does not explain why he can cross the timeline of more than a thousand years, jumping directly from the "Horus Heresy" series of novels to the "Beast Wars" series of novels. Life extension surgery can only allow mortals to live a few hundred years longer. Moreover, those dignitaries who have used life extension surgery are almost completely immersed in life support devices in the later stages of their lives. Kyril Hindman can still walk around in a power armor...
Vera suspected he was an immortal.
That's the only way it can be explained.
Kyril Hindman has been constantly changing his identity and using aliases for thousands of years in order to secretly ensure that the Holy Inquisition, the most powerful spy and supervisory agency in the human empire, a special agency he created under the instruction of the Sigillite Malcador, would not deviate from his expected development direction.
Now, he thought Winand had strayed.
So he replaced Wienand with himself.
What Fu Qinghai didn't know was that, in fact, with the political legacy left by Sid Nora and Vera Nora's own personal abilities, she could have made further progress in the Inquisition and obtained a higher status instead of being relegated to being a trainee Inquisitor. But she knew that during the major plot event "The Beast War", the Grand Masters of the Inquisition were replaced one after another, and people with status had to choose sides, while people without status could only sit on the fence and watch. If she was in a high position, she would inevitably be implicated.
They are all people who know the plot.
Fu Qinghai chose to seek greater benefits.
But Vera can only choose to protect herself.
"Why can't women be Space Marines?"
Vera withdrew her gaze and continued toward the exit.
As I walked, I suddenly became more and more angry:
"This is not fair!"
…………
After the Imperial Fists fleet entered the Solar Sector at the fastest speed, the battleships briefly left the subspace, returned to the real universe to reorganize their formation and then maintained a constant speed, preparing to make a slight adjustment before starting another jump without stopping.
During this period, the Imperial Fists fleet encountered a large number of merchant ships fleeing the solar system. Shipping between the Solar Sector and the Throne World had been completely cut off. Many ships suspended their journey to Terra and lurked around the galaxy to watch how the situation developed.
Through these merchant ships, the Imperial Fists learned more details about Terra: the Battle Moon reached Terra without resistance and destroyed the orbital defense system of the throne world effortlessly. The navy was basically absent. When the Peasant Crusade was called, the few Imperial Navy was hesitant to move forward, and millions of Imperial citizens were massacred. To make matters worse, the Martian warships were anchored in the port, and the army of the Mechanicus was assembled, but no action was taken.
The messages sent by the Imperial Fists fleet to Terra and Mars fell on deaf ears and received no response.
Kurland was extremely angry.
He was venting wildly in the training cage.
"High Lord, High Lord, High Lord..."
Even broke two training axes.
Until a warband servant came over and interrupted him:
"My Lord, I have received a message from the star language."
"Terra's?"
Kurland raised his head and asked.
The Chapter Servant gave an unexpected answer:
"No, from the White Scars Chapter."
……
"We have new reinforcements?"
Kurland made his guess with both anxiety and hope.
Hurrying to the astronomical room of the Abomination.
The Black Templar's Astrologer played a video for him. A bust of a black-haired Space Marine appeared in the camera. What was puzzling was that his black and gold power armor did not belong to the White Scar that Kurland remembered.
These were the first words spoken by the Space Marine.
Kurland almost couldn't hold it back:
"Hello, Commander Kurland."
The Space Marine in the image said with a smile.
Kurland looked somewhat doubtful.
"I know you are surprised now. Time is running out. Let me make it short. My fleet and I will be waiting for you inside the solar system. The coordinates are the Gate of Hades near Pluto."
The Space Marine in the image continued:
"We'll discuss it in detail there."
After he finished speaking, the screen flickered and disappeared.
…………
Solar system, Pluto, the gate to Hades.
This relic from the dark technological age can reach the interior of the galaxy directly through two stargate spacecraft without stopping at Mandeville Point outside the galaxy.
The White Scars' fleet filed out of the huge ancient star gate one after another and formed up outside the star gate. The seven hunting group fleets slowly formed an attack formation.
Battleship Su Zheng, conference room.
"What are you waiting for, Qingshan?"
The Destroyer Chapter Master asked impatiently:
"Speed is of the essence in war, why don't you give the order to attack?"
"We already have experience conquering a battle moon, but for this battle moon over Terra, we will not fight alone. We will wait for the arrival of the combined fleet of the Imperial Fists and its successor chapters, as well as the forces of the Mechanicus."
Fu Qinghai explained to the other chapter leaders.
"Imperial Fist?"
The Berserker Chapter Master asked in confusion:
"Didn't you say they were wiped out?"
"Indeed, they only had one Space Marine left, and were almost wiped out. But this warrior initiated a protocol called 'The Last Wall', calling on all the successor chapters of the Imperial Fists to assemble and march towards Terra together."
Fu Qinghai briefly introduced the situation.
The Chapter Masters looked at each other.
This “final wall” agreement.
Why does it sound so much like...
"Yes, it seems that we, the descendants of the Great Khan, are not the only ones who miss the era of the Legion. The descendants of Rogal Dorn do the same. We don't know whether other founding chapters have similar secret agreements, but we can be sure that the only Space Marines heading to Terra are the Imperial Fists and their successors."
Fu Qinghai nodded calmly.
"There's no need for us to wait for them, Aoyama."
Targujin, the resurrected Storm Lords' Chapter Master, leaned forward and said in a low, serious voice:
"We have already proven that we are fully capable of conquering a battle moon on our own. Why should we share this honor with other Space Marines? Besides, there is also the Adeptus Mechanicus. You said it yourself. You said that there might be big problems with Mars' position. Haven't you been suspicious of them for a long time?"
“Take the long view.”
Fu Qinghai knocked on the table and said:
"First of all, if we fight together with the Imperial Fists fleet, we can reduce the casualties that we have to bear when breaking through the gravity weapons of the battle moon to a certain extent. Compared with those ethereal and empty glory and titles, I care more about the lives of my warriors. The fact is that we are the first Space Marines to return to Holy Terra for assistance, and no one can erase this fact."
Fu Qinghai paused and continued:
"Secondly, Mars' position has a big problem. This is not my inference, but an established fact. Everyone has seen that the Mecha-God army is still hesitating at the port! However, it is precisely because Mars has a big problem that we need them to send troops to participate in the battle."
When Mandulatu heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.
"I see. You want to ambush a company and forcefully land on Mars after Mars sends out its main force, forcing the Forge Commander to reaffirm his loyalty to the Empire by force!"
Mandulatu immediately stated his speculation.
However, Fu Qinghai shook his head and said:
"At this point in time, I have no intention of provoking a civil war. This will not benefit humanity in any way. The Forge Lord will have more professional people to handle it. Before he makes any substantive rebellious moves, there is no need for us to dirty our hands. The accusation that the Space Marines are once again starting a civil war is not pleasant to hear. The people of the Throne World are already sensitive enough."
Bao Shulige, the chief storm prophet of the White Scars, narrowed his eyes and stared at Fu Qinghai, thinking about something.
Bao Shulige suddenly realized keenly that Qingshan's way of thinking was completely different from that of other chapter leaders.
He was already thinking about reputation.
He began to take care of his reputation.
He is transforming from a pure soldier to a politician.
What does he want to do?
"I repeat, take a long-term view."
Fu Qinghai looked around at everyone and said seriously:
"Do you think this battle moon over Terra is the final battle? Will everything be over if we destroy it? If we don't completely eliminate the source of this green tide, the endless battle moons and endless Waaagh will continue to appear frequently throughout the Empire. Therefore, we need Mars, we need the army and power of the Mekhanites, and we need to preserve our strength for the final and greatest battle with the Orks!"
"I understand, Aoyama."
Mandulatu nodded solemnly and said:
"We fully support your decision."
"Don't rush to express your opinion."
Fu Qinghai raised his hand to suppress the other captains who were about to raise their hands to second the motion, and added:
"I know those politicians very well. Once the battle is over, the High Lords will be very unhappy with the fact that the Space Marines have united again. I can imagine that they will want to split us up. They will contact each of you privately and give you different orders. Here, I want everyone present to assure me that before I order the disbandment of the Legion, I will still be the first and only representative of the Fifth Legion, and I will be fully responsible for all negotiations and dialogues with Terra."
Fu Qinghai's tone was extremely serious.
"Snapped!"
Targukin placed his helmet on the table.
The Storm Lords captain pointed at Fu Qinghai and laughed:
"You saved my life. Do I need any guarantee for this? You are the commander of the army. Whatever you say is the truth. I am too lazy to deal with those bureaucrats."
After Targukin underwent a head-reattachment surgery, he showed signs of becoming a fanboy of Qingshan Khan. Fu Qinghai ignored him and looked at the other chapter leaders.
The chapter leaders didn't say anything, but the firm and trusting looks they gave Fu Qinghai said it all.
"Okay, very good."
Fu Qinghai also nodded heavily.
He turned and looked at Qing Ming who was standing behind him:
"Contact Terra and formally inform them that we are here."
…………