"Your Majesty, do you not intend to invite them to dine with you?"
In the afternoon light of Schonbrunn Palace’s inner court, the towering figure of Sebas, with his thick beard and lush mane, stood by the terrace railings. His crimson eyes glowed faintly with hints of gold.
His silver-white mutton chops connected seamlessly to his hair, giving him the imposing presence of a majestic lion. The sunlight filtering through the clouds cast fleeting shadows across his stern face, making him appear even more formidable and enigmatic.
Sebas’ features carried an innate severity, and even when he smiled, there was no trace of warmth—only an aura of unwavering authority.
The gusting wind blew wildly, making the banners surrounding the pavilion flutter noisily in the breeze.
"You must have considered it, haven’t you?"
At the center of the expansive garden, Selene leaned back in her chair, setting aside the reports she had been reviewing. She quietly gazed at the endless skies and the scenic grandeur of the sunset, seemingly watching Kiana and her companions departing from Schonbrunn Palace.
"...Better not to force them."
After a brief pause, she shook her head.
"In the palace, with around, their nerves are always wound too tight. While they aren’t stiff to the point of complete discomfort, dining here would be too formal, too awkward... too restrained. What’s the point?"
"Let’s wait until they get used to things... though—" Selene’s voice trailed off into a self-deprecating chuckle.
Familiarity? Genuine understanding? How could that ever happen?
Their personalities and worldviews were far too different. True harmony was impossible; at best, they could tolerate each other for now.
"I’m really looking forward to it," Selene mused, her scarlet eyes narrowing. "When you finally witness the true law of the jungle... will you still hesitate to exterminate other races for humanity’s survival?"
"I can’t wait to see how your perspectives will change."
At noon in the Great Outer Hall, Selene had spoken plainly and with unmistakable clarity to Kiana and the others.
Her promises would be fulfilled.
Once the reorganization of the Valkyrie Corps and their affiliated auxiliary regints was complete, they would officially beco military officers leading their respective units in imperial conquest campaigns.
For now, they were rely recruits under Esdeath’s command, but it was only a matter of ti before they beca full-fledged officers.
And once they did, despite the relatively small size of the Valkyrie Corps compared to the vast Astartes Legions—or even to Alyssa’s Sisters of Silence Corps—they would beco the apex predators in the imperial hierarchy of conquered worlds.
To the colonial worlds under the Empire’s dominion and the war-torn battlefronts, they would be the "carnivores."
This was nothing like their missions with Schicksal.
Facing ruthless alien species, opposing human factions, and intense high-casualty battlefields...
"Power... ah, power..." Selene whispered, her voice carrying a weighty expectation. "Will the burden of responsibility that cos with wielding power crush you?"
Power allowed a person to make decisions, but it also demanded accountability.
If things went wrong, the one who gave the orders would bear the bla in the end.
One command could an turning enemies into dust, transforming the commander into a rciless executioner; or it could an leading their comrades to death, turning them into mourned losses.
Parents losing their children, children losing their parents, lovers torn apart by war—departed to different realms, or dying together...
And in the end, they would all beco the faceless bureaucrats of the Empire, signing off on death with the stroke of a pen.
Everything has two sides—power is no exception. Whether it leads to glory or downfall, Selene believed it would be enough to trouble Kiana and the others for a long ti.
It was evident that by granting them authority, Selene was pushing them, forcing them to make choices and unlock their potential.
Power was an elusive thing. It could turn soone with pigeon-toed legs into a high-ranking official walking with an air of authority. It could transform the son of a farr into a lord who trampled over his fellow farrs. It could even determine the life and death of countless individuals.
At the sa ti, in everyday life, many people possessed power to so extent—college advisors held the authority to decide student awards, e-comrce platform moderators had the power to manage online stores, and even security guards at banks or factory gatekeepers had control over who could enter or leave.
Of course, these were all minor work-related authorities, far from true power.
What Selene bestowed upon Kiana and the others was a power that could take lives.
In her early years, perhaps out of curiosity, personal interests, ambition, or simply her inherent nature, Selene had been a power hoarder since the beginning of her rule. From military command to local administration and imperial authority, she centralized everything, making all decisions herself, never hesitating to consolidate power under her own hands.
A true ruler... Well, it was all the sa. In Selene’s eyes, power was indispensable, and this belief was ingrained deeply within her. Even now, with an inclination toward delegating responsibilities, the habit of absolute control had beco second nature—etched into her bones.
True, the existence of the Astartes Legions suggested that Selene had started relinquishing so power, but one must rember—their very foundation, and the Empire itself, relied on Honkai energy.
The possibility of losing authority due to political negligence, as seen in history, could never happen to Selene.
Unlike anyone else, for the Empire and the Honkai Dinsion, Selene’s existence was her greatest responsibility.
She tossed the reports in her hand onto the tea table and gently caressed the intricate patterns on the glass cup, murmuring, "And you? When do you plan to train them personally?"
"After Esdeath’s trials are over." Sebas approached, bowing slightly. He lifted a white porcelain teapot and tilted it gently, releasing a stream of hot vapor.
A faint, unique fragrance accompanied the rising steam, filling the air around them.
Selene took a deep breath, relishing the scent before chuckling lightly. She blew on the tea and took a small sip. Tapping the stack of docunts on the table with her free hand, she smiled, "That makes sense."
At that mont, Susanoo, dressed in his chef attire, walked down the corridor. "Your Majesty, the al is ready."
"Good, serve it. Alyssa must be getting impatient," Selene said as she rose from her seat, patting the sulking Alyssa sitting cross-legged on the carpet.
Due to Esdeath’s skillful deflection, Alyssa had naturally turned to Selene for support, only for Selene to employ the sa tactic—redirecting her to Sebas.
Predictably, Sebas not only rejected Alyssa’s request to accompany Kiana and the others but also gave her a stern lecture, insisting she spend more ti with the newly ford Valkyrie Corps.
Sneaking a glance at Sebas, who hadn’t looked her way, Alyssa covered her face and whimpered softly, "Ugh... so unfair."
"..."
Sebas’ expression darkened.
Holding back her laughter, Selene clapped her hands. "If you behave well, I might grant you half a day’s leave."
"Really?!" Alyssa’s eyes sparkled, her sulking forgotten in an instant.
"Of course. Since when have I ever lied to you?"
"Great!" Alyssa cheered, throwing herself into Selene’s arms, wrapping her hands around her waist, and sticking out her tongue at Sebas.
"...," Sebas’s face darkened further.
"Your Majesty, here is today’s nu." At this mont, Susanoo handed over the afternoon tea nu.
"This picture... glowing food?" Selene frowned as she unfolded the nu. The glowing dishes in the images puzzled her. "Is this just a filter effect, or does the food actually glow?"
"Your Majesty, it is the food itself," Susanoo replied respectfully.
"Bring him here, and provide with his file," Selene ordered.
Before long, a man in an exquisitely tailored chef’s uniform pushed a serving cart into the hall.
Everyone’s eyes instantly fixated on him. It was unusual—his chef’s uniform was black.
"Your Majesty," the man kneeled respectfully, his face carrying a humble smile. Yet, there was sothing inherently gloomy about his expression.
His neatly styled black hair had a single striking strand of white, adding to his unique and somber appearance.
"Nakamura..."
anwhile, elsewhere.
This was a bustling yet orderly small-scale transdinsional transport fortress.
For conquered worlds, besides incorporating them into the Empire’s tax system, the next step was constructing small-scale interdinsional gates.
Thanks to the stable Honkai spatial network, authorized squads could travel from the Imperial capital to the One Piece world by noon and return by evening, making such feats entirely possible.
However, deploying entire fleets required large-scale stargates, sothing only the Astartes Legions’ capital worlds were currently equipped to handle.
Each Astartes Legion had different levels of authorization. Without the proper clearance, one could only travel through specific set portals rather than across multiple dinsions freely.
The fortress stood grand and imposing, with massive weapons installations, towering gothic architecture, and stained-glass murals depicting the Imperial Goddess, the Divine Empress, and her Death Angels in vibrant hues.
At the fortress’s core, several gates shimred with dazzling energy.
The central gate trembled slightly before emitting a flash of light. A swirl of non-reflective black fabric-like energy spiraled outward, releasing faint traces of crimson Honkai energy.
Kiana and her group followed Esdeath and the elite "Jaegers" unit, stepping into this unfamiliar realm.
"General!" The stationed guards imdiately snapped to attention and saluted.
"Hmm." Esdeath nodded. "Take to the highest-ranking officer of the fortress."
"Yes, ma’am!"
"Uh... Esdeath, where exactly are we?" Kiana looked around curiously.
"The trial ground," Esdeath responded. "You might be living here for one to three months."
"A trial? What kind of trial?"
"You’ll find out soon enough," Esdeath replied with a sly smile.
Seeing the strange expression on Esdeath’s face, Kiana suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
"Keep up."
Passing through several heavy tal doors, Kiana observed the various operational hangars inside the Imperial floating fortress.
"What is that?" Passing beneath the reinforced concrete of the iron-gray do, Fu Hua squinted at the peculiar scene in the night sky and asked curiously.
Above them, the sky held two celestial bodies—one crimson, one erald. They were undeniably beautiful, but Fu Hua felt that their glow carried an ominous aura, as if foretelling misfortune.
"We’re not exactly sure of their origin; we just consider it a unique feature of this world," the escorting soldier replied.
"Those planets are barren and devoid of any survival resources, but their mineral deposits are quite abundant. The Empire has designated them as twin forge worlds and is rapidly developing them."
"Oh." Durandal nodded solemnly. "Thank you for the explanation, sir..."
Just as she spoke, they passed by an enormous coliseum-like structure, and a deafening chorus of shouts, roars, and the clashing of weapons echoed from within. Dust billowed, and the entire area was bustling with intense excitent.
Walking along a high-raised corridor dozens of ters above the ground, Durandal and the others looked down into the arena below. Two massive warriors were locked in fierce combat, surrounded by thousands of spectators who were cheering wildly, their excitent palpable.
Judging by their size, the combatants were Astartes warriors, though they appeared to be recruits—not yet armored, with their secondary developnt still incomplete.
Both wore crude, hastily assembled iron plate armor covering only their torsos. Their heads were bare, revealing thick, muscular arms brimming with raw power.
Their fighting style was brutal and direct, resembling two tanks colliding head-on without yielding an inch.
With each heavy swing—BAM! CLANG!—they traded blows with raw, unrefined strength, their fists slamming into each other’s armor with deafening crashes, sparks flying with every strike.
"Fu Hua, want to give it a try?" Esdeath asked enthusiastically.
"?" Fu Hua waved a hand dismissively. "I’ll pass. The mission takes priority. Maybe another ti."
"How about you?" Esdeath turned to Senti.
"Sure! I’ve been itching for a fight!" Senti grinned excitedly, cracking her knuckles.
"General Esdeath," a voice called. Just then, the fortress commander hurried over and saluted with a firm hand to his chest.
"Captain," Esdeath returned the salute while scrutinizing the unruly-braided Astartes warrior before her. "Leman Russ’ n?"
"Indeed, Astartes Sixth Legion, Space Wolves, 17th Great Company, Captain. Currently on rotation as the overseer of the 5th Trial World, 10th New Recruit Training Camp."
Esdeath nodded thoughtfully and glanced at the chaotic scene in the fortress square below, filled with all sorts of unruly figures. "No wonder it’s so rowdy—it’s expected from your lot!"
"So, General, how do you plan to train these... uh, ladies?" The captain coughed awkwardly, barely restraining himself from using a more derogatory term.
He handed Esdeath a folder.
"They look so delicate... sending them against those little monsters might be interesting. Are you sure?"
"Yes, absolutely."
As Esdeath flipped through the file, the first image that greeted her was a grotesque depiction of a group of ugly, green-skinned creatures.
Standing on tiptoe behind Esdeath, Bronya glanced at the docunt and muttered in surprise, "Is that... goblins?"
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