T'au Empire?
Realizing the place Adam wanted to go next, Sybilla was somewhat puzzled and frowned.
However, quickly, with the professional acumen of an Inquisitor, she rapidly recalled specific information regarding that race.
After thinking for a moment, Sybilla's brow relaxed.
Yes, this was indeed a very convenient target to strike.
Regarding the numerous enemies of humanity in this galaxy, most of them wander aimlessly and appear in most corners of the Imperium. Even though the Morning Wood was currently equipped with advanced inertialess drives from the Necrons, it would still take a certain amount of time to find a suitable battlefield.
However, for xenos like the T'au, because of their race's unique Etheric Leap (Gravitic Drive), the principle was basically similar to skipping stones on the Warp; therefore, the sailing speed of most T'au Empire ships could be described as sluggish.
And it is worth mentioning that because the T'au have no Psykers, they naturally lack the ability to send Warp Astropathic messages. Their method of communication between different planets can basically be understood as throwing superluminal drift bottles to one another.
This weakness puts the T'au at a great disadvantage when facing other races. Sometimes, even the Imperial Navy—sluggish as it is—can use this characteristic to catch them off guard.
But it was precisely because of this point that the T'au Empire's territory formed a whole, rather than being scattered into piece after piece of enclaves across the entire galaxy, making them very easy for Adam to find.
"A man may go, but his ties remain" , as the saying goes.
As for the reports in the Inquisition stating that those blue-skinned xenos have weak souls and their Warp projections are nearly non-existent?
This small problem was not worth worrying about.
Even if those T'au and their auxiliary legions from various races (including humans) had an innate deficiency in soul quantity, wasn't there a Tyranid Hive Fleet about to invade?
To facilitate the command of their massive swarms, the synapse creatures of the Tyranids are all possessors of extremely powerful psychic energy; from any perspective, they were more than suitable.
Thus, the decision was made.
Next, Adam asked for the opinions of the others, including Leonardo, who had become the captain of the "Red Right Hand" Mobile Task Force, and Archmagos Sutton, who was standing to the side.
Leonardo: "Your will is the direction in which our blades advance."
Sutton: "—You say the enemy civilization we are to deal with next has achievements in technology? Very well, then I have no objection." Translation : "Let's see what those blue goat-monkeys call 'technology' "
Having received unanimous confirmation from everyone and finding no other opposing views, the matter was settled.
According to the detailed star charts provided by the Inquisition and the Eyes of the Emperor, within the vastness of space, the Morning Wood—its entire surface a pure white—began to slowly adjust its direction with an agility that belied its massive size.
"Morning Wood, full thrust ahead!"
Along with Adam's command, the Machine Spirit, strengthened by reality-warping abilities, cheered joyfully, and the inertialess drives installed on the starship immediately activated.
In the blink of an eye, the Morning Wood completely disappeared from its original position. it sped through the wide expanse of cosmic space, its speed continuing to soar upward exponentially, soon surpassing the speed of light.
Moreover, this was not the limit of Necron technology—the pinnacle of materialistic cosmic science.
As if breaking the laws of physics, the Morning Wood's speed continued to climb, instantly leaving the Valos system. In the following seconds, it easily crossed void regions that could only be recorded in light-years, galloping toward their target.
And at this moment, their prey remained completely ignorant of the destruction that was about to arrive.
---
Ultima Segmentum.
T'au Empire, K'shan Sept World.
Within the System.
A Custodian-class battleship was currently floating quietly in cosmic space.
As one of the few precious warships in the T'au fleet that could correspond to the level of a human battleship, its form was extremely elegant. Its exaggerated wingspan seemed to speak of how much staggering firepower it could use to destroy everything before it.
Inside this T'au battleship, gentle light from the blue corridor ceilings spilled down, illuminating everything within the space brightly.
A large number of blue-skinned T'au were moving back and forth carrying items, while drones shuttled to and fro with the help of anti-gravity levitation devices.
Suddenly, the originally busy scene seemed to have the pause button pressed.
All the T'au put down the work in their hands, faces showing joy, and turned their heads to look at the other end of the corridor.
Two Fire Warriors clad in protective gear stepped forward, and being escorted between them was an Ethereal Elder, draped in traditional T'au robes.
He held a smooth ceremonial staff, with an Honor Blade short dagger tucked at his waist. He walked forward calmly, smiling and greeting every T'au along the way.
"—It is Ethereal Elder An'ze!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd. All the T'au stared with wide eyes, excitedly watching the Ethereal walk past the ranks, displaying his benevolence with a highly attractive, approachable posture.
There was even an Air Caste T'au who, due to the fact of seeing the Ethereal in the same space with his own eyes, became so emotional that his legs went weak, nearly collapsing.
Fortunately, he did not actually hit the ground.
An'ze stepped forward with startling reaction speed, supporting the Air Caste member, and asked concernedly:
"Are you alright?"
"I am fine. My apologies, Ethereal Elder, for making you worry."
The Air Caste member looked at the Ethereal Elder so close at hand, somewhat incoherent.
"There is no need to be so agitated; this is not the original intent of the Greater Good."
An'ze the Ethereal spoke in a gentle and light tone. "Between us, there is only a difference in division of labor; in personality, we are equal. And perhaps, your contribution to the Greater Good is no smaller than mine. There is no need to kneel to me, nor to be so agitated."
"Yes, Ethereal Elder!"
A surge of inexplicable courage was injected into the Air Caste member's heart. Because of the physical contact with the Ethereal, he was currently even falling into a lightheaded euphoria. He stood up abruptly and responded loudly.
Ethereal An'ze was quite satisfied with this little interlude. He continued to walk forward, passing through the crowd which had become even more excited because of the incident, with the two guards behind him still following closely.
At this point, the boiling of the crowd had almost reached a peak. Even some Earth Caste members outside the crowd, who were temporarily unable to see the Ethereal's figure due to their shorter height, were actually lifting their hands with all their might, jumping on their tiptoes.
Driven by those Earth Caste members, the other T'au also began to raise their hands, jumping excitedly toward the Ethereal.
This is truly a scene full of vitality, where all things strive to excel.
The Ethereal sighed inwardly with emotion. After enjoying this harmonious atmosphere with his fellow compatriots for a moment, he did not forget his official business.
Continuing forward, the Ethereal soon arrived before a bridge door filled with sci-fi style.
"Welcome, Respected Ethereal."
Accompanied by an electronic voice synthesized by AI, the door automatically opened to both sides, revealing the scene inside.
Above the bridge ceiling, a wide holographic projection unfolded. Amidst this sky full of flowing light and vibrant colors, dense blue screens and various data information flowed rapidly.
And on the command platform in the central position, a robust and powerful Fire Caste Commander, not wearing a battlesuit at the moment, was looking up. His gaze swept through that complex data, while his long fingers occasionally slid through the air, operating the data.
However, when the Ethereal walked into the bridge, the other Air Caste members busy on the bridge immediately fell silent upon seeing him.
This sudden quiet atmosphere made the Fire Caste Commander sense something. He immediately turned around and shouted in surprise:
"Ethereal An'ze, why have you come?"
"Commander Cor'vo Valos, I came to pay a visit before your fleet departs to ask a few things. You wouldn't be unwelcoming, would you?"
Ethereal An'ze spoke softly with a smile.
"How could that be?"
Commander Valos waved his hands hurriedly. "—No T'au would be unwelcoming of an Ethereal's arrival. Your guidance can help us better practice the revelations of the Greater Good."
"No need for more pleasantries, Commander Valos."
Ethereal An'ze stepped forward, slowly walking onto the command platform to stand side-by-side with Valos, his gaze looking toward the distance.
Through the transparent viewport of the Custodian battleship, a magnificent scene entered his sight.
Outside, the dark space was like a vast curtain, dotted with stars. And in front of the mothership was a large number of starships rapidly assembled using the K'shan Sept World as a rallying point, acting as the absolute protagonists of this painting.
—These included one Protector-class cruiser, one Emissary-class light cruiser, two Hero-class cruisers, several Castellan-class escorts, several Warden-class destroyers, plus the Custodian-class battleship beneath their feet.
Such a lineup caused Valos and the Ethereal's confidence to reach a peak.
With such a terrifyingly powerful fleet, what else in the galaxy could stop their pace in practicing the Greater Good?
The Fire Caste Commander even felt that if the T'au Empire had possessed such a fleet during the Battle of Damocles Gulf in the Second Sphere Expansion, those "Gue'la" (the T'au term for humans) navies would never have dared to act so arrogantly as they did in history.
"No, this may not be enough."
As if seeing through the commander's arrogance, Ethereal An'ze sighed lightly. "I have an ill omen."
Not long ago, the T'au Empire fringe world of Shadreg—a planet with a surface almost entirely covered by dense forests—had its periodic communication with the K'shan Sept World mysteriously interrupted; signals could not get out.
And all attempts by the K'shan Sept World to contact it were in vain.
Therefore, the alerted T'au immediately organized this fleet of startling strength, preparing to go and investigate.
What exactly caused such an abnormal situation?
Could it be the Aeldari?
Ethereal An'ze thought calmly.
Unlike other T'au Empire planets, the T'au forces of the K'shan Sept World, who were harassed by Drukhari year-round, had cultivated a culture of martial prowess for all citizens and were always extremely exclusionary toward alien races that did not belong to the Greater Good.
Therefore, he thought of this old rival at the first opportunity.
"—It doesn't seem like them."
As a Fire Caste member skilled in combat and command, Valos shook his head.
"If the Aeldari attacked, they would use that psychic technology to forge realistic signals; if it were Orks, they couldn't intercept communications—instead, they would likely send even more provocations and mockery."
Then, what was the identity of the enemy?
However, before the two standing on the command platform could come up with any explanation.
Just then, a warning red light suddenly flashed on the holographic projection of the command platform. Immediately after, an unknown signal source abruptly appeared on the star chart.
"What is this?"
Ethereal An'ze asked.
"Bring up the signal source!"
Valos commanded immediately.
Quickly, that signal source was enlarged. After automatic image comparison, the picture appeared clearly in the bridge's holographic projection.
The two immediately cast their gazes toward it.
This is—a cruiser from the "Gue'la"?
The T'au, having dealt with humans countless times, immediately recognized the faction this warship belonged to.
After all, the physical characteristics of the Imperium of Man's ships were too obvious, to the point of being easily identifiable at a glance.
However, the strange thing was—
Valos narrowed his eyes, leaning in a bit closer, and began to carefully scrutinize the shape of the projected ship.
"What's wrong?"
The Ethereal asked with some confusion.
"Nothing, it's just that I've never seen the shape of this ship before."
Valos said, shaking his head.
He didn't care where this warship had come from.
After all, within the T'au Empire, a relatively open secret was that besides the T'au themselves, both their allies and their enemies seemed to have a way of traversing special dimensions for interstellar travel, appearing everywhere in the universe.
Although this situation would be hidden by the Ethereal Elders to prevent the lower-caste T'au from knowing, a Fire Caste commander who had fought humans still had some understanding of it.
"Is it a threat?"
The Ethereal Elder looked at the Fire Caste commander.
"Rest assured, Ethereal An'ze, this 'Gue'la' ship poses no threat."
Valos gave his judgment without hesitation, his tone objective and calm, without a trace of arrogance—simply making an evaluation based on his learned knowledge.
"They have arrived at an unfortunate time. Now that K'shan has gathered such a massive force, judging solely from the volume of that ship, its class is likely somewhere between a light cruiser and a cruiser. With our current fleet scale, we can easily eliminate it. They have no chance of victory."
It was just as he thought.
Ethereal An'ze nodded.
"Then, for the Greater Good, let us first try to persuade them to surrender. They might become 'Gue'vesa' (the T'au term for human auxiliaries) serving the Greater Good together."
"Yes, Ethereal An'ze."
As a Fire Caste warrior hailing from the K'shan Sept World, Valos was somewhat reluctant, but he still nodded in agreement with the Ethereal's view.
"Very good. For the Greater Good."
The Ethereal looked at the Fire Caste commander.
"For the Greater Good."
Valos also immediately spoke in response.
________________________
Damn a DnD troupe of 7 powerhouses are gonna massacre a whole xeno planet.
Beautiful