The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Although a considerable number of troops had gathered in the K'shan Sept World, all the Ethereals knew that this was merely for self-reassurance. Having lost control of the void, unless the enemy intended to completely occupy the world intact, numbers were of little significance.

Some Ethereals also placed their hopes on reinforcements from the Central Sept.

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“When will the reinforcements from the Supreme Council arrive? And what about reinforcements from the O'tal Sept World?”

“It's not even certain if the message has reached the Supreme Council yet. The war has developed too quickly. A month ago, we sent out an expeditionary force, but now the enemy has reached our doorstep. The envoy for help was only sent out three days ago. Waiting for reinforcements is almost a luxury.”

An'xun scanned the star chart, noting that while K'shan was one of the closer Septs to the T'au'va, the distance now seemed like an insurmountable chasm. As for the O'tal Sept, it was even less reliable, a 'retirement world' known for its beautiful environment and abundant exotic fruits, designated by the Supreme Ethereal Council as an official place of rest. Only the most venerable heroes of the T'au Empire could retire here. The T'au people greatly valued protecting these valiant elders, so the orbital space of this world was filled with many defense platforms, but it lacked a strong naval force.

After a round of discussion, all the Ethereals shook their heads slightly, displaying worried expressions that only they could recognize.

“Then, I think there's no other way to respond except to wait for them to negotiate.”

An'xun stated the current situation very decisively and bluntly. An'ke pursed his lips tightly, staring at the red blob on the star chart without saying a word. An'xun glanced at him several times without any reaction. Clearly, he hoped to hear some opinions from this Ethereal, known for his wisdom and thought, rather than just sitting there.

“We don't even know the situation of those expeditionary force warriors.”

A female Ethereal rubbed her hands, her words filled with sorrow. She was the Ethereal in charge of civil administration and one of the few who opposed rashly launching this war.

“So many children, fathers, and mothers—how many of them can return home? Perhaps we should actively contact them, at least to ensure the safety of the expeditionary force personnel.”

“In negotiations, the proactive party will easily fall into a disadvantage. If we do this, we will likely fall into their trap. They will use the captured personnel as leverage, forcing us to accept many unreasonable conditions. What we should do is delay, preferably until reinforcements arrive.”

The speaking Ethereal had long braids, a moderate amount of lace on his robe collar, and a badge ring on a thick finger.

He was the Ethereal responsible for supervising the Water Caste embassy and managing the vassal races within the Sept World, and his words carried considerable weight in the Ethereal Council.

An'lu hummed softly, seemingly in agreement, and then asked:

“How long do you estimate we can delay?”

“That's hard to say. We have almost no understanding of this race. However, what we can be sure of is that they and the residents of that planet belong to different groups of the same race, perhaps similar to the difference between city residents and rural residents. I said long ago that the attacks on the colony may not have been carried out by those native residents. The classification of this race is very complex, and it's very risky to act rashly before we understand the situation.”

His words only elicited a series of soft groans from those around him, because he was the one who supported launching the war. He also knew that his words were a bit of hindsight, so he shrugged.

“But what I thought at the time was that perhaps we could let them join the Greater Good through reasonable communication, and then slowly understand each other and resolve conflicts. I admit that I did make a mistake in judgment on this point.”

“It's useless to say these things now. The main point is how to hold off the opponent and wait for reinforcements to arrive.”

An'lu stood up, grabbed a pointer, and pointed it at the star chart across the table, slowly drawing on the star chart along the directional symbols, imitating the movement trajectory of a fleet departing from T'au'va.

“According to this route, at the maximum cruising speed of the T'au'va defense fleet.”

Saying that, he paused.

“We only need to hold on for one to two weeks, and reinforcements will definitely arrive.”

Subsequently, murmurs and low discussions rang out in the conference room.

“The enemy won't give us that much time. Their cannons are already pointed at our heads.”

“Perhaps we can feign peace with them? Accept all their conditions”

An'de had not spoken for a long time since his last remark. He looked at An'ke, knowing that he was the most adamant opponent at the time, sighed softly, and then said:

“An'ke, what are your thoughts?”

As soon as he spoke, all the Ethereals turned their attention to this Ethereal.

An'ke was a very special one among them. In the last war against the Tyranids, he gambled everything in the Dael'mara system, using the main fleet to lure the Tyranid fleet into the asteroid belt, and destroyed this enemy that posed the greatest threat to the Sept World at the cost of sacrificing the flagship. He also strongly demanded the implementation of some scorched earth tactics, which slowed down the Tyranids' advance, but he did not like to be with the Fire Caste. Most of the time, he lived in seclusion, and despite his outstanding military achievements, he often dissuaded war.

But without a doubt, many people in the K'shan Sept regarded him as a true wise man and leader, and his prestige among the people was extremely high.

Under the gaze of the Ethereals, An'ke was silent for a moment, and then said slowly:

“Weapons are ominous instruments, war is a dangerous affair, the size and strength can change in an instant”

After saying that, he sighed softly, and some of the surrounding Ethereals could not help but sigh, because An'ke had said this sentence once when voting on whether to launch military operations, but it failed to change the result.

An'ke then said:

“They are stopping there, not waiting for us to negotiate, nor threatening us.”

An'lu immediately asked:

“Then what are they doing?”

“Let us resist.”

“What?”

“He gives us time, allows us to continue to summon reinforcements, summon surrounding troops, he gives us time to organize resistance.”

An'ke spoke in a slow and unhurried tone, saying words that made the surrounding Ethereals palpitate.

“Don't you understand? Whether it's reinforcements from T'au'va, or reinforcements from the O'tal Sept World, or any reinforcements, he doesn't care. In their eyes, we are just primitives. This is a posture. No matter how many come, they will accept them all. They want to completely defeat us, completely crush us from the material to the psychological level, let us recognize the gap between us. From the beginning, the other party did not regard us as opponents. They are a giant looking down on ants.”