"Attention. Trans-spatial webway navigation is about to conclude. We will soon arrive at our destination—Triumph's Glory."
"Astartes Third Legion Black Marlin, Triumph's Glory Star Gate Transit Authority reminds you: there are countless paths ahead, safety comes first. Please strictly observe docking protocols..."
"Repeat..."
Return fleet. A certain floating fortress. Within the reception chamber allocated by Liver to the Navy Headquarters personnel.
The space was large enough to accommodate over a hundred people. The furnishings were arranged in concentric circles, with a marble round table at the center.
"Yawn~ Finally here. Sailing endlessly through the boundless void—it's kind of unsettling."
Awakened by the broadcast announcement, Kuzan—reclining on a luxurious sofa—sleepily lifted his eye mask. The bright overhead lights stung slightly as he rubbed his eyes.
"How long has it even been? You've been asleep the entire time. What's there to feel unsettled about? You really haven't changed at all—still as lazy as ever."
Across from him, Sakazuki sat upright in his chair, fully absorbed in the documents and books in his hands. He did not even look up as he spoke.
"Ah~ I hear you..."
Kuzan lazily opened his eyes wider, staring for quite some time before properly focusing on Sakazuki. He sighed in admiration.
"You're still as energetic as ever."
Sakazuki resembled a diligent student devouring knowledge. The marble tabletop before him was piled high with books, newspapers, and official reports of every kind.
"Naturally. When it concerns something I'm interested in, I devote myself fully. Moreover, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated. We're about to reach the Imperial Capital. If Navy Headquarters wants better restructuring terms within the Empire, we can't afford not to put in the effort."
"According to the data, our world belongs to the Astartes Ninth Legion—the Blood Angels—designated Conquered World No. 22."
"Ninth Legion?"
Kuzan frowned slightly and glanced around.
"The emblem here is 'Ⅲ.' Shouldn't this be the Third Legion?"
The opulent reception chamber floor was paved with marble. The furniture carried a faint woody fragrance, clearly crafted from expensive materials.
Glazed crystal, brass, emerald, and gold intertwined in elaborate patterns. Most striking of all was the massive golden double-headed aquila.
Beneath its talons, a deep blue divine dragon coiled and roared toward the sky. At its center, encircled by olive branches, was the numeral 'Ⅲ.'
"Mm. It was the Third Legion's Legion Commander Liver who accepted our surrender. But the ownership of our world indeed falls under the Ninth Legion—the Blood..."
Sakazuki was speaking enthusiastically when—
Pop!
A snot bubble burst.
Instantly, the air inside the reception chamber froze.
No explanation was needed. Everyone present knew who it was. Aside from the retired former Fleet Admiral Sengoku—whose personality had flipped entirely after retirement—no one else could be so relaxed in this environment.
That old bastard.
The muscles at the corner of Sakazuki's eyes twitched violently. He forced himself not to erupt, not to unleash magma. This was not Navy Headquarters. Damaging Imperial property would require compensation.
"Yawn~ This boring jump voyage is finally over."
Rubbing his eyes, Sengoku suddenly sprang up from his seat like a mischievous old imp and pounced on the coffee table piled high with pastries and snacks.
"Haa..."
Taking a deep breath, Sakazuki closed the Astartes Legion dossier in his hands and silently reassured himself.
Don't get angry. It's already fortunate that only one live wire followed us. If that old bastard Garp—who never takes anything seriously—had come too, I'd really explode on the spot.
After all, as the "Legendary Marine" and "Hero of the Navy," if Garp insisted on coming, Sakazuki would have had no excuse to refuse him.
Fortunately, before departure, Garp had been shouting about going to find his son, Dragon, and his grandson, Luffy. In a rush, he left the New World Navy Headquarters alone.
As for whether Garp could actually find them, Sakazuki did not care. Even if Garp retired on the spot, so be it. The man was well into his seventies or eighties. As long as he didn't become a pirate, he could do as he pleased.
Though Dragon and Sakazuki had once been colleagues, their ties had long since been severed.
Crunch, crunch...
"Oh my, Sakazuki, working so hard? Being Fleet Admiral is quite interesting, isn't it?"
Grabbing a bag of rice crackers, Sengoku narrowed his eyes mischievously at the stack of books and documents before Sakazuki. He tossed a handful into his mouth and teased through a mouthful of crumbs.
"Shut up! You half-retired idler, close your mouth! Isn't all that food enough to keep you quiet?"
Sakazuki's face darkened as he finally snapped back.
Just as the two were engaged in their "cordial" exchange, a dense and synchronized series of footsteps echoed down the corridor outside the chamber hatch.
A group of Imperial Auxilia officers in iron-gray uniforms approached briskly. Upon seeing Sakazuki, they immediately activated the military data-slate in their hands, seemingly cross-checking information.
"Lord Sakazuki, and members of Navy Headquarters. By order of the Legion Commander, these are your temporary identification credentials. Triumph's Glory Star Gate is about to dock."
After confirming the details, the Auxilia officer gestured. Several Auxilia soldiers behind him stepped forward, placing simple metal briefcases onto the round table.
"Please sign."
Sakazuki nodded, took the military data-slate, and signed his name using the attached stylus.
"Much obliged."
"The Third Legion looks forward to fighting alongside you. Please make preparations. A liaison will guide you shortly."
The Auxilia officer returned the courtesy and departed.
Sakazuki showed no disdain toward these two-meter-tall "ordinary" humans. Only after watching them leave did he instruct Vice Admiral Onigumo to distribute the temporary IDs from the briefcases.
Each was a small card approximately three inches long and one inch wide. The bearer's portrait was engraved upon it. The design was minimalist—aside from the Empire's golden double-headed aquila, there were no additional embellishments.
Before the Navy personnel could examine them for long—
"Members of Navy Headquarters, please follow me."
Following the guiding Auxilia officer out of the chamber and along the corridor leading to the viewing deck—
Vrrr—!
The scenery beyond the viewport shifted abruptly.
The void churned like boiling water, roiling violently. The familiar violet-red expanse they had grown accustomed to was replaced by radiant, multicolored auroras. In the distance, the silhouette of an enormous floating fortress could be faintly discerned.
After the returning fleet passed through the Triumph's Glory Star Gate and entered the skies above the Imperial homeland within the Honkai Dimension, everyone turned toward the viewports in astonishment.
"It's enormous..."
Stretching as far as the eye could see was a colossal spaceport illuminated so brightly by countless lights that it resembled daylight. No matter how high one tilted their head, their line of sight was blocked by the immense dome of the port.
Even Sengoku stopped eating.
The scenery shifted abruptly. Within the spaceport, tens of thousands of warships and fortress-vessels of varying lengths and sizes extended without end. Each vessel was as massive as a mountainous island.
Combined with the standard palace-style bridges atop Imperial warships, it was as though tens of thousands of temples floated in the sky.
On the central bastion of the spaceport—shaped like a gigantic stone stele—crystalline screens displayed flickering numerals.
(Imperial Standard Calendar): 1035 / 02 / 17 / 8:37
"What extravagance... Is this a fortress or a palace?"
Standing beside the slightly stiff Robin, Kuzan spoke thoughtfully.
As one of the twenty-three completed giant spaceports within the Honkai Dimension's Holy Selene Empire, Triumph's Glory Star Gate hovered over a hundred thousand kilometers above the Honkai Supercontinent.
For comparison, the distance between Earth and its moon was approximately 384,000 kilometers.
Its sheer scale was no less than the Empire's other vast metropolitan clusters. It served as the homeland base for the Astartes Third Legion Black Marlin during Great Crusade campaigns.
The overall decoration of Triumph's Glory was extraordinarily lavish. Beyond its iron-gray armored hull, vast sections were painted in dazzling purple-red, inlaid with gold ornamentation.
Around the expansive docking platforms stood countless towering columns. Atop each rested the enormous double-headed aquila with wings spread wide. Purple and gold banners hung downward, embroidered with auspicious beasts in golden thread.
But what truly stood out was the number of troops and warships.
They were fully armed. Soldiers undergoing refitting procedures filled the decks. Supplies were stacked everywhere across the port. Rows of Titan war machines and Knightmare tactical units gleamed, freshly deployed.
It felt as though a grand mobilization order had been issued. Beyond the spaceport, additional warships bearing purple-and-gold livery continued to assemble.
They were preparing for war.
A major war.
Good. We also need military merit to prove the value of Navy Headquarters.
"Soldier, is the continent below the Imperial homeland?"
Putting aside his wandering thoughts and returning to reality, Sakazuki gazed at the nearly boundless land and mountain ranges beneath the spaceport.
The Honkai Supercontinent—manually aggregated by Selene from entire star systems—was so vast it defied the imagination of those raised in a water-dominated world.
From a single glance downward, forests, plains, mountain ranges, and clusters of cities filled the view. The blue oceans were actually encircled by land.
Landmass exceeding ocean.
Land enclosing sea.
Aside from the Red Line, most landforms in the Marines' world had been islands—many of them small. The Red Line itself was merely an elongated ring-shaped continent.
True continental features—towering mountain ranges, sweeping grasslands—were sights they had rarely known. For those who had grown up battling the sea from island to island, it was profoundly novel.
"Yes. This is the Imperial homeland. The site of the Imperial Capital. The dwelling of the Divine."
The guiding Auxilia soldier's eyes were filled with yearning.
"Unfortunately, I rose from the Servitor Army of World No. 16. My military merits are insufficient. I'm not yet qualified to settle here."
"Servitor Army of World No. 16?" Fujitora asked gently, having quietly rolled dice to himself until now. "Would you mind explaining?"
"Each world conquered by the Astartes Legions receives a designation. Every Legion has its own numbered sequence. I come from a world under the Third Legion—designation No. 16."
As they walked, the soldier continued.
"There are currently twenty Astartes Legions. This particular conquest campaign was led by the Ninth Legion—the Blood Angels. Black Marlin served in strategic support."
Soon, as their floating fortress docked within the spaceport and connection fields were established, Sakazuki and the others followed the stream of Imperial troops disembarking.
Officials from the Spaceport Military Affairs Department were already waiting.
"Deputy Company Commander, Company Commander Wadell and your full company are stationed at the Legion encampment. Please follow me."
"Major, by order of the 32nd Imperial Auxilia Army Group Command—officers of captain rank and above are to assemble in Hall 1A598 of the spaceport. This way."
"Servitor Army of Conquered World No. 12—commanders overseeing more than one thousand personnel, assemble. The Empire will now announce your rewards."
...
From the overlapping commands of the Military Affairs officers, hierarchy, rank, and privilege were laid bare.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Whenever an Astartes warrior passed, not only did the officials offer respectful salutes, even the fully armed Servitor soldiers lowered their heads and fell silent, daring not to act out of line.
Amid the complexity was strict order.
Most Imperial troops marched in disciplined formations under their commanders' direction. Technical personnel assigned to the port immediately boarded the docked warships with servitors and auxiliary drones to conduct extensive maintenance.
Guides exchanged handoffs once more. Under the direction of Military Affairs officials, Sakazuki and the others were led into a trans-spatial transfer hall.
Each star gate spaceport possessed not only orbital drop corridors but also numerous trans-spatial transfer devices. Because transmission coordinates within the Honkai Dimension were fixed, these systems enabled stable large-scale transport of personnel and supplies.
"By order of Legion Commander Liver, members of Navy Headquarters—you will proceed directly to the Imperial Capital via designated transfer coordinates."
...
Shanglin Garden. Glazed Palace.
The lake was encircled by carved pillars connected by vaulted arches. Brass statues rested upon the columns. Gate towers were framed by white marble walls, all set atop pale blue terrazzo steps.
At the lakeside, the Legion Commanders of various Astartes Legions continued their fishing contest.
Judging by their catches so far, Alex of the First Legion, Roboute of the Thirteenth Legion, and Vulkan of the Eighteenth Legion were leading.
"A crybaby?"
In an instant, the image of a certain pink-haired, tearful mermaid princess appeared in Selene's mind.
"She truly is a great beauty. What made you decide to capture them?"
As Selene gently kneaded Arisa's cheeks, an attendant approached quietly.
"Your Majesty, Legion Commander Liver and Legion Commander Sanguinius have returned victorious... They appear to have brought some alien species with them as well."
"Shall they be received?"
"Let them all come together."
Moments later, dense footsteps echoed.
Excluding Liver and Sanguinius, what drew Selene's attention most was the mermaid.
She was enormous.
She possessed flowing long pink curls, adorned with a taiyaki-shaped hair ornament. Shell-shaped earrings framed her elegant face and ample upper body. Her lower half was a pink fish tail in alternating shades.
A ring of floating bubbles coiled around her tail. Her hands were clasped nervously at her waist. Her watery blue eyes looked timidly at the unfamiliar surroundings.
What a pitifully enchanting mermaid.