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Chapter 167: Was There a Problem With How You Fought This One?
🕑 Added 2025-09-23 13:46:33 +0000 UTCChapter 167: Was There a Problem With How You Fought This One?
The cold metal walls enclosed the office in a tight cage. Only the faint blue glow of the data-slate illuminated the faces of the crowd, the shadows cast by their furrowed brows. Aglaia unconsciously gripped the edge of her data-slate, her knuckles turning white from the excessive force.
In the quiet office, besides the rustling of paper as the Invictarus Suzerains exchanged documents, there was only the sound of bubbles popping in a heated restorative drink. Even her own deliberately suppressed breathing was clearly audible.
Lord Romulus's current mood... is dangerously suffocating.
She looked nervously at Romulus's eyes. His dangerous gaze was fixed on the list, like a sharp blade tracing over the names on the paper.
Or rather, ever since they had received a series of "good" news, besides Lord Karna, who still had to maintain a sunny image for the public, and Lord Ramesses, who had never cared much for "worldly things," the other two lords had been in a rather tense state.
The result was that when Aglaia, because Lord Arthur was busy with other matters, had to come to the Dawnlight herself to report, she had been thoroughly frightened by Lord Romulus's demeanor.
Query: a high-speed computing device, upon discovering a piece of scrap-code that is significantly hindering its operations, will do what?
This determination, this conclusion reached after a logical deduction that a certain individual had lost all positive value and must be eliminated, was truly terrifying.
Aglaia felt this pressure, and in that instant, she felt that her own hatred for those vermin had faded considerably.
[Facing the counter-attack of the Fire Caste's last operational forces led by Farsight, two Krieg regiments were annihilated, and four squads of Astartes were killed in action. If not for the timely arrival of the Rogue Trader Alliance's fleet, which had found a new route—]
Romulus carefully scanned the unredacted combat report, which had been investigated by the Officio Assassinorum.
[Including the Iron Fists Titan Legion, its salient of two hundred million Astra Militarum, and the five hundred Astartes concentrated from the various Chapters, all would have been annihilated.]
And if not for the timely arrival of the crusade fleet, which had successfully intercepted their escape route, they would have let Farsight and his Fire Caste army get away.
Is this something a human can do?
And your fleet? Your fifteen battleships?
Romulus shifted his gaze and looked at another document.
The punitive fleet, upon entering the sector, had immediately undergone a tactical split. They had fanned out like hounds and had begun to implement a so-called "deterrence operation" in the rebellious sector.
—In reality, it was a military coercion against the Sector Governor.
The massive ships, painted with the Inquisitorial rosette, had blockaded the main trade routes, their main guns' targeting reticles sweeping over the capital cities of the various planets. The fleet commanders, through encrypted channels, had issued an ultimatum to the local governors, demanding they immediately switch their political allegiance.
Behind these actions, the shadow of two Rogue Trader dynasties, secretly manipulating events, could be vaguely seen...
In the nearly thirty years since their first contact with the T'au Empire, the Sector Governor, through trade in T'au goods, had liberated a large number of jobs and a great deal of productivity, which had been converted into more charter fleets that were not equipped with Warp engines, to ensure the security of the trade within the star system.
As for why they didn't absorb the goods of other sectors... the goods of other sectors were not as conscientious as the T'au Empire's.
This move had greatly offended the two Rogue Trader dynasties in the surrounding sector. Unfortunately, trading with xenos was something that most sectors tacitly approved of. If this matter were to be brought to the table, the ones who would be silenced would definitely be them.
This Sector Governor's thinking was not bad. At least under his governance, the productivity level of the entire sector had risen at a visible rate.
Unfortunately, he had not calculated that the T'au Empire would be willing to provide better conditions for a human world, which had led to the rebellion of the planets under his command. After the incident, before he had had time to react, the Rogue Traders who had been eyeing this place for a long time had seized the initiative.
And Inquisitor Rost was simply seeking more of a voice in the Ultima Segmentum. He had smelled a power vacuum, and seeing that the Tyranid war in the Ultima Segmentum was going well—he had impatiently used his connections in the Inquisition to brazenly launch this so-called "punitive war."
And now it had come to this.
A dozen or so battleships were busy wiping out the Sector Governor's charter fleets. The Sector Governor's side was not to be trifled with either and had pulled together a group of people to resist. He couldn't even settle the score later. With a wave of his hand, he had started slaughtering the locals, and then had continued to attack the T'au Empire's territory. The human colonies had just been forced to submit by the arrival of the fleet, and in the blink of an eye, they had risen up again under the high-pressure liquidation.
The result was that they had been blocked at Dal'yth by the T'au's subsequent counter-attack and had almost been annihilated. The Rogue Traders, who were still bombarding the governor's palace, had rushed to save him.
Romulus looked again at the invitation in the corner, recalling the self-satisfied tone that was overflowing from the text.
A victory meeting on the ruins of Dal'yth in twenty days.
The Imperium really needs to look at its own problems.
Human lives should absolutely not be squandered like this.
"...I shouldn't be standing here."
A regretful voice sounded in Aglaia's mind. She should have waited outside for the results after handing in the report.
"Regarding the result of this campaign, what are your thoughts?" Romulus asked, his tone still gentle and calm. There was no need to vent his anger on an unrelated person.
Even more terrifying.
Aglaia steeled herself and said, "The High Lords' Council will deal with the personnel involved appropriately. The Officio Assassinorum will exercise its right of free execution." The Imperium could tolerate a high-level official who was bloodthirsty, could allow him to be lecherous, could allow him to be inhuman, could tolerate his countless flaws.
But it absolutely could not tolerate the incompetence of a high-level official.
Rost, including his mentor, being removed from the rolls of the Inquisition was already a certainty.
"We will handle it. Is that acceptable?" Romulus explained, his words not so much directed at Aglaia as at the people behind her. "After all, in the future, when we are campaigning on the frontier, and are involved in such incidents, we cannot always increase the workload of the various High Lords, can we?"
Can we?
This so-called "workload," isn't it real power?
"You can!" Aglaia nodded almost reflexively, the strands of hair at her temples swaying slightly with the movement.
This was a bit too forceful.
In the entire Imperium, only these four lords dared to do this.
"Hmm. The relevant action reports and personnel appointments, I will submit in detail. The various High Lord members should have a relevant template?" Having received the response he wanted, Romulus's words finally carried a questioning tone.
To be honest, he no longer believed in the wisdom of the Imperium.
"They do." Aglaia nodded again. A Callidus Assassin at her back stepped forward and silently placed a thick, gold-edged scroll on the table.
Excellent—
Romulus's expression finally relaxed for a rare moment. At least he didn't have to worry about the High Lords on the surface.
"You have our thanks."
Romulus lowered his head and waved his hand again, indicating they could leave.
"I will take my leave, Lord Romulus."
Aglaia made the sign of the Aquila and then left the high council chamber. As she turned, her gaze shifted. Below the high council chamber was the Administratum Hall, where a large number of Astartes and mortals were dealing with administrative affairs and making decisions. And at their side were not a few apprentices, learning.
This scene existed in her vision for only a moment and then disappeared as she turned completely. Aglaia strode away steadily.
After passing through two checkpoints and arriving at a clean and aesthetically pleasing corridor, she noticed the children who had just finished class passing by with relaxed smiles.
"Haaaah~"
Only then did Aglaia let out a long sigh of relief.
[Template Entry Complete]
[Input Name List]
[Generate Draft]
[Generation Complete]
One templated scroll after another was generated, the saint's blood on them still carrying a faint,腥smell.
The Invictarus Suzerains quickly began to review them.
After all this, Romulus looked at his chrono and began to contact his partners.
The internal communication quickly went through.
"Arthur."
He began.
"There's a mission."
(End of Chapter)
