“My Lord, what should we do?
This Child was so impulsive this time.”
Inside the palace room, Malcador paced around in a panic.
“I’ve been putting too much pressure on her lately.
Without intelligence on the enemy, she became a bit too eager for success.”
The Emperor remained calm and composed: “Valdor, station three thousand Custodians at the southernmost tip of the Federation of Indonesia.
Upon receiving my decree, break through immediately to rescue the Eldest Princess.”
Valdor took his orders and withdrew.
The Emperor’s gaze fell upon the situation map; he planned to use Albia as a springboard to first conquer the Moranson Federation, a power that collectively worshipped the Chaos Gods.
The Emperor did not want Morningstar to come into contact with Them too early.
“Oh, by the way, Malcador, you’ve met with him recently, haven’t you?
How did he perform?”
Malcador stopped and let out a long sigh: “Sigh—he is still far from meeting your expectations.”
“Don’t be in a hurry, Malcador.
Give him some time…”
…A squadron of Stormhawks in formation flew through the murky yellow clouds of Terra, and beneath the Stormhawks lay a massive Hive City that blotted out the sky.
The Stormhawk fleet landed at a port within the Hive City.
Morningstar pushed open the hatch and looked around.
Silence, a silence that did not belong in a Hive City.
Morningstar used her Primarch hearing to gather sounds from all directions.
She could hear the roar of machinery or the sound of cargo hitting the ground, but she couldn’t hear a single voice.
Given the scale of a Hive City, which often housed hundreds of millions, this was almost impossible.
The Thunder Warriors beside Morningstar suddenly sensed something and hurried to form a line in front of her, pointing their muzzles forward.
A group—no, a vast swarm of Men of Iron rushed over from ahead.
A rough estimate put their numbers at at least ten thousand, well-equipped, with combat capabilities definitely far exceeding those antiques from the Federation of Indonesia.
The grand procession of Men of Iron suddenly stopped about thirty meters in front of Morningstar’s group.
Then, all the Men of Iron lined up neatly and pulled out…
drums?!
Not just drums, but also trumpets, accordions, and various other instruments, and then they started playing?!
Morningstar didn’t understand what they were playing, and it didn’t sound good either.
But Morningstar felt it was absurd.
The Men of Iron, who had once plunged humanity into the Age of Strife—Nathanduum was actually having them act as an honor guard?
The performance ended, and the Men of Iron split into two groups standing face to face, leaving a wide path in the middle.
Nathanduum stood at the end of the path, his handsome face beaming with a smile.
In a well-tailored suit, he looked almost like a celebrity walking the red carpet.
“They come with ill intent,” Morningstar murmured to herself.
“Your Highness, *we* are the ones who have come,” the Thunder Warrior beside her added in a low voice.
“Princess from the Himalayas, we finally meet.”
Nathanduum strode forward, his azure eyes filled with eagerness.
As he spoke, he grasped Morningstar’s right hand with both of his, completely ignoring her reaction.
“Get away from Her Highness.”
The Thunder Warrior beside Morningstar raised his gun and pointed it at Nathanduum’s head.
Nathanduum chuckled and let go: “Mr.
Iligos, don’t be in such a hurry.
If you blow my head off, all the Men of Iron in the Pan-Pacific Empire will lose control.
Your empire wouldn’t want to face five hundred thousand frenzied Men of Iron, would it?”
As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together and even covered his face to take a deep sniff?!
Morningstar wanted to turn around and leave right then.
No, this was too perverted.
Taking a deep breath and desperately suppressing her urge to leave, she forced a smile: “So, Mr.
Nathanduum, is there something you wanted to see me about?”
“Ah, I almost forgot the main business.
I’ve prepared a banquet.
Let’s—talk while we eat.”
…”Does today’s food not suit Your Highness’s palate?
What a pity.”
From the moment the food was served, Morningstar’s group just watched Nathanduum feast or observed the Men of Iron serving the dishes.
As for the things brought out, Morningstar didn’t even look at them.
“Why is there not a single person here?”
Morningstar could no longer force a smile; she was now questioning him coldly.
“Oh, you mean that.” Nathanduum swallowed his food and looked at Morningstar with a smile: “I didn’t want them making noise and disturbing my meeting with Your Highness, so I told them all to shut up.”
Morningstar was about to say something when Nathanduum interrupted: “Your Highness, I know what you want to do.
But I can tell you quite clearly: your father cannot do it.”
“Heh, if even Father can’t do it, who can?
You?”
“Against all odds, yes, me.
I can do it.”
Morningstar laughed, for the first time since they started talking.
“You?
If you can do it, why have you been cooped up in your little corner for so long?”
“Because I have no interest in that.
Your Highness, I know what you know, and I know what you don’t.
I know the secrets of all the enemies on Terra, I know the truth behind the rebellion of the Men of Iron seven thousand years ago, I know the secrets hidden in the Warp, I know your father is a Perpetual, and I even possess the method to kill a Perpetual.”
A storm raged in Morningstar’s heart, but she desperately maintained her outward composure.
“Since you’re so capable, are you interested in joining the Empire?
Father would surely welcome you.”
“No, Your Highness.
What I want, your father cannot give, and your father could never tolerate me.”
“So what are you trying to say?
Why exactly did you call me here?”
“I want to help you, Your Highness.” Saying this, Nathanduum pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a ring.
A strange light flowed over the ring, and it was set with a pure white gemstone.
“This ring is directly linked to all the Men of Iron in the Pan-Pacific Empire.
By wearing it, one can directly control all the Men of Iron.
Your Highness, are you satisfied with this gift?”
“Oh?
So kind-hearted?” Morningstar sneered.
“Your Highness, this isn’t kindness; it’s love.
Your Highness, I love you, which is why I am giving this gift to you.
Is this not enough to prove my love for you?”
Morningstar closed the box containing the ring and held it in her palm: “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be heading back.
No need for Mr.
Nathanduum to see us out.”
“Goodbye, Your Highness.
We will meet again.”
…On the way back, Morningstar didn’t say a word.
The Thunder Warriors also exchanged glances; they all knew—Her Highness was angry.
As soon as she got off the aircraft, Morningstar punched a five-meter-tall boulder beside her in anger.
Under the Primarch’s strike, the boulder shattered into sand-sized pebbles.
A Thunder Warrior nearby spoke softly: “Your Highness, don’t be angry.
We will definitely cut that pervert’s head off and ensure he never dares to be disrespectful to you again.”
“No, Iligos, that’s not what I’m angry about.”
Something had been very wrong from the start.
It was one thing for the opponent to know her name, but how did he know the name of Iligos, who had never revealed his name to anyone else?
His words at the banquet were even more blunt, practically telling Morningstar, ‘I know all your plans.’
This meant he had a complete grasp of everything today.
Yet Morningstar could do nothing about him, because the other side truly had the power to flip the table.
Morningstar couldn’t actually gamble on whether he really had five hundred thousand Men of Iron.
But assuming what he said was true, this was definitely not something the Empire’s current military strength could handle.
Unless they used the superhuman individual power of The Emperor or Malcador to directly annihilate the enemy, but Nathanduum had openly stated he understood the Warp and had a way to kill a Perpetual—challenging them to come if they dared.
Would using heavy firepower weapons work?
No, that wouldn’t work either.
There were an unknown number of civilians in the enemy’s territory.
Even when Morningstar used her Psychic Power to check just now, she couldn’t determine the specific numbers or general distribution.
For the fledgling Empire, population was an extremely important resource.
Otherwise, wouldn’t it be simpler to just have The Emperor wipe out all life on Terra?
She took out the box; Morningstar wanted to deliver it to The Emperor personally.
The only reason she could return safely was definitely because Nathanduum wanted her to bring this box back.
Even though she hadn’t detected anything, Morningstar remained extremely cautious.
“Dad, Dad!
Dad?”
Morningstar tried to contact The Emperor via psychic link as usual, but The Emperor didn’t respond.
“Uncle Malcador, where did my dad go?” Morningstar had to settle for contacting Malcador instead.
“His Majesty is attacking the Moranson Federation.
Is something the matter?”
“I have something to discuss with my dad in person.
I’ve got to go, Uncle Malcador, I’m going straight to find him.”
“Sigh—” Malcador let out a long sigh.
This Child was always so impulsive.
“Did something happen?
Master.”
“None of your business.
Continue your studies, Alpharius.”
“Oh.”