"Haa..."
Letting out a soft breath, Selene willed it so and cut off the communication with Liver. The resplendent gold tome floating before her slowly turned transparent and dissipated.
"Liver has been far too leisurely these past few years..."
As a subordinate, he was living more comfortably than she, his superior. Was that reasonable? Absolutely not.
No matter how quickly the worlds he conquered recovered under his governance, no matter how high the average quality of the recruitment worlds, forge worlds, resource worlds, and agricultural worlds under the Astartes Third Legion Black Marlin—
Slacking was slacking. Loafing was loafing.
Originally, as long as the Third Legion maintained such high-quality, high-standard conquests and occupations, even if their efficiency looked a bit unimpressive, Selene truly did not mind.
She considered herself magnanimous, broad-minded, benevolent, considerate, and caring toward her subordinates.
But what exactly was Liver doing being this relaxed?!
Like some retired old man out on a spring stroll.
If only he had at least pretended that the Third Legion was exhausted during campaigns, had taken losses—anything to make it seem less effortless.
Then Selene could have made a token remark and let it pass, conveniently showcasing her generosity and care for her veteran founding commanders.
But instead—damn it—he was not only relaxed, he was flaunting it everywhere, as if afraid no one would notice and file a complaint.
It got to the point that not only other Astartes Legions had opinions, even the Empire's domestic administration and inspection departments were beginning to feel irritated.
People feared comparison the most. So we embrace the blessings of 996 and 007, while you work ten to four?
With your comfortable little life, how are comrades who are either fighting or on the way to fight supposed to feel?
One after another, memorials were submitted requesting that Selene "rectify" that certain purple-armored legion.
Of course, this did not mean the other Astartes Legions or the Imperial central government were dark-hearted or resentful of Liver's success.
How to put it—an example. It was like the dynamic between close dormitory friends who loved to mess with each other, poking at your mentality just to see your reaction.
After all, with Selene presiding above, no matter how conflicts escalated, they would never draw blades against one another. At worst, both sides would select representatives—individual or group—and settle it fairly in a fight.
There had indeed been such cases.
The Seventeenth Legion, the God-Empress Preachers (Word Bearers), once clashed with the Nineteenth Legion Raven Guard.
They removed their Honkai-powered armor in the Imperial Arena and engaged in a bare-handed brawl with equal numbers.
When Selene learned of it, her interest was instantly piqued. She even went in person to watch.
With an empress who enjoyed watching the excitement, the two legions fought even more fiercely.
That day, a nearly ten-thousand-square-meter arena platform was rendered unusable.
Over two-point-seven-meter-tall muscle-bound warriors exchanged blows—boxing, grappling, wrestling—tearing up the arena like demolition work. They fought from dawn to dusk, ending bruised and swollen, neither able to defeat the other. A draw.
Selene did not reprimand them. On the contrary, she praised their method of resolving conflict.
She was particularly satisfied with the Raven Guard. High emotional intelligence.
Others might not see it, but she did. During the duel, the Raven Guard had a slight edge. When it ended, one of them could probably still have forced himself to stand—but for the sake of the brother legion's dignity, he deliberately collapsed to the ground.
Better to guide than to suppress.
They were all hardened veterans of the battlefield. With hot blood and volatile tempers, sometimes all it took was a single wrong "look" to escalate into a fight.
The usual process went like this: "What are you looking at?" "What if I am?" "Say that again!" "Say it again? Fine!"
At that point, dialogue ended. Either one walked out horizontally, or both did.
Since that was the case, instead of letting it grow wild or trying to suppress it, better to regulate it.
Right there in the Imperial Arena, before both Astartes Legions, Selene personally promulgated the "Imperial Conflict Duel Act."
When two parties had a conflict, they could, under third-party supervision of the Imperial government, arrange a duel—individual or organizational.
The act applied to all citizens of the Holy Selene Empire, excluding cases already convicted or involving legal violations.
Once both sides agreed, the duel could last no more than twelve hours. No weapons were permitted. No projection of Honkai energy or any other energy forms. Participants must fight bare-handed. No deaths or permanent disabilities allowed.
Victory would be determined when all participants of one side were down. Those still standing would be the winners. If both sides fell, it would be a draw.
The loser must apologize to the winner. In the event of a draw, no apology was required. For two years after losing, the defeated party could not initiate another duel request against the victor. In the case of a draw, both sides were barred from challenging each other again for one year.
The Empire had its own national conditions.
With such simple and direct measures, Selene regulated conflict resolution among Astartes warriors—and by extension, the entire Empire.
Naturally, this was only the first edition. Any deficiencies in the act would be discovered and amended over time.
The Ministry of Justice would handle implementation. Selene only needed to propose the act and make the final decision on revisions.
Moreover, among the Astartes Legions under her command, each warrior was not cultivated from a Primarch's gene-seed. Instead, all uniformly used Honkai energy originating from Selene herself.
There were no blood-kin legions divided under twenty different gene-fathers. There was no culture of Astartes blood-brotherhood.
The Astartes under Selene pledged loyalty to one and only one being—the Empress, Selene.
Legion Commanders were merely outstanding cadres selected by Selene—"grassroots" military officers acting as her representatives.
They imparted their tactical style, behavior, and ways of thinking to their legions, but there was no deeper biological bond.
...In a sense, that made Selene the Primarch of all Astartes and Royal Guards—effectively their mother?
At that thought, Selene shook her head with a mute laugh.
"Heh... after scolding him, I finally feel better. Mood improved. Time to rest for a bit."
"...Mother. Hah. Having children is impossible in this lifetime." She smiled self-mockingly, rose from the luxurious sofa, stretched lazily, and walked toward the multicolored floor-to-ceiling stained-glass window.
The windows arched overhead, carved from pure white marble beams separating the upper stained panels from the clear glass below.
The curved upper edges were inlaid with epic murals of the Empire's conquests.
There were fearless Astartes warriors bathed in blood and battle, and Imperial Auxilia soldiers who, as mortals, achieved feats rivaling demigods.
Yet most depicted blessings offered to Empress Selene by conquered worlds under various Astartes Legions.
"It's only been a few years. Their submission has come far faster than I expected..."
Time was a medicine.
As it passed, the pain brought by the arrival of the Astartes Legions—once symbols of Empress Selene's cold, relentless expansion—had long since vanished.
The scars of war had been covered over. What remained now was the distorted prosperity brought by a war economy.
The endless Great Crusade generated an inexhaustible stream of orders, driving every world at full capacity.
Forge worlds produced everything from bullets to warships. Resource worlds supplied raw materials and processed goods. Agricultural worlds provided all manner of food.
Under the Empire's efficient war machine, there was no end to the market. Goods never lacked buyers.
In people's eyes, the embodiment of destruction and death had transformed into a revered and longed-for God-Empress.
In the murals, the white-haired God-Empress appeared like a winged angel, benevolently bestowing happiness upon the land.
They prayed unceasingly to this beautiful, kind, and merciful sovereign.
Knock knock—
"Enter."
Not long after, the knock at the study door brought Selene back to reality.
"Your Majesty, Governor Lelouch requests an audience."
"Lelouch? Ah, I almost forgot."
...
Led by palace attendants, Lelouch passed through ornate corridors.
"Lloyd, Nina, Rakshata—they were taken away by attendants. Likely reporting to the Imperial Science Bureau... Developing war machines?"
Walking with his head lowered, Lelouch murmured silently.
The magnificent halls dazzled the eye. The extravagance of this immense palace complex made him wonder how many worlds' wealth had been plundered.
"You approach the Lord of the Holy Empire! Maintain your reverence. We, the Royal Guards, are watching!"
A commanding voice rang out.
The golden-armored Royal Guards at the hall entrance raised shields and spears, interlocking them at the command of a captain.
Hearing the voice, Lelouch straightened his collar. Everyone immediately composed themselves.
Creaaak—
Passing through the guarded gates, the view opened suddenly. The space below the study steps was vast, the line of sight nearly unobstructed.
Within the grand chamber, countless attendants bustled about, organizing towering stacks of documents upon the enormous desk for the Emperor's review.
Then came the sight of platinum-white robes and crimson diamond-shaped pupils.
A breeze drifted in from the half-open window. Pure white hair swirled lightly, bathed in sunlight like strands of gold cascading over her shoulders.
In the next instant, not daring to speak or look further, Lelouch pulled his sister down to their knees, pressing his forehead heavily to the ground.
"Executive Governor of Conquered World No. 37 under the Astartes Second Legion Retributors, Lelouch vi Britannia, together with my family member, pays homage to Your Majesty."
"Mm. You are established as a model case. I will be brief. The responsibilities of an Executive Governor—you have your own considerations, I assume."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will immediately organize restoration of production..." After a pause, Lelouch continued in a low voice, "Priority will be given to restoring military industrial capacity..."
...
Astartes Thirteenth Legion Ultramarines Expedition Zone.
Honkai Dimension Trans-Spatial Webway.
Within the dark void, floating fortresses adorned with battlements drifted silently through space.
At the center of the formation stood a flagship fortress over ten kilometers in diameter, atop which rose an enormous palace complex.
Its scale was so vast that the outer ring of the fortress seemed carved directly into the palace structure itself. Gothic spires traced luminous paths across the starlit sky.
Yes—they were the products derived from the Noble Phantasm technology of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, seized by Selene from Assassin of Red, Semiramis.
Because Selene's current space fleet technology remained imperfect, existing vessels could not carry hundreds of thousands of Astartes and millions of Imperial Auxilia and Servitor Army troops.
Drop pods and small fighters, bombers, and transports were relatively mature technologies—but insufficient for massive-scale warfare.
Thus, Selene took a different path, converting floating islands powered by Honkai energy into floating fortresses for the Astartes.
And it worked remarkably well.
Though less agile and highly conspicuous, their defensive and offensive capabilities were formidable.
Equipped with Honkai void shields, fleet docks, numerous gun ports, Honkai particle cannons, lance emitters, space torpedo launchers, and Honkai fission bombs—
Scouring a planet's surface clean was effortless.
Click click—
High heels tapped softly against the floor. Normally negligible, the sound echoed clearly within the vast, silent hall.
"General Esdeath, would you and the Jaegers not like to rest first?" In the deepest hall of the floating fortress palace, a towering blue giant asked with courteous posture.
"No need, Legion Commander Roboute. Her Majesty's intention is swift resolution. After this, the pace of the Great Crusade will temporarily slow."
Standing straight, Esdeath looked up at the Legion Commander—more politician and strategist in temperament than frontline warrior—and nodded.
"All of them?"
"Yes. After this mission, all Astartes Legions—including your Thirteenth Legion Ultramarines—will temporarily slow their advance. A full-scale refit awaits every legion."
"Understood."
Having witnessed Esdeath's decisiveness, Roboute did not delay further. He turned and signaled to a tech-officer behind him.
The officer immediately began tapping commands across the operations console.
"General Esdeath, please observe. This is a sinkhole discovered by our legion in central Eurasia on this world. Its area..."