The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"Damage control, immediately dispatch teams to repair the forward deck. Notify the Unbound Soul and Intangible Dread, change course, and return to the central fleet formation."

As Bakhram arranged for the ships to return, he heard Talos's slightly teasing voice.

"Oh, by the way, aren't you planning to contact those Eldar?"

"Huh?"

Bakhram was taken aback, then frowned, bringing up the surveillance footage of the distant battlefield. Due to the distance, it was a bit blurry, but the Eldar fleet seemed quite strong, with huge beams constantly blasting gaps in the swarming Tyranid fleet.

"These xenos..."

The Tenth Captain hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"I heard that the last time the Chapter Master clashed with the Deathwatch was because of the Eldar?"

"Not entirely, but it was related."

"But now they've suddenly appeared like this, even though they're also fighting the Tyranids, if we take the initiative to contact them, won't we give people something to talk about..."

Just then, the communications officer's voice suddenly rang out in the speaker.

"Commander! It's an encrypted communication from the Inquisition!"

"Tch, just what I feared..."

Bakhram helplessly walked to the communications station and connected to the communication initiated by the Inquisitor. About ten seconds later, he frowned and retorted:

"Why? To extract information from them? But we're still in combat! Investigating some Eternal Court is your business! What do you take us for? Your lackeys? Don't come and tell me this nonsense again!"

He angrily hung up the communication and pointed at the communications officer, saying:

"Cut off all channels from the Inquisition."

"Yes, Commander."

When he returned to his command position, Talos asked with a smile:

"What's wrong?"

"The Inquisition wants us to contact the Eldar, preferably send ships and people over, because they suspect those Eldar are the Eternal Court the Ordo Xenos is investigating... I don't know what they have in their heads. Isn't the focus on the Tyranids right now?"

Seeing Bakhram's helpless expression, Talos nodded slightly.

"That's right, it's best not to touch the Eldar."

"Your Majesty, you're endangering yourself like this, I can't explain it to Her Highness."

Inside the heavily guarded main hall of the War Palace, Lorena, wearing spiritbone armor, was still pleading. Behind the curtain was a staircase with dozens of steps, flanked by armed maids in scale armor and spears. At the end was a throne of green vines, upon which sat Veronica, wearing emerald finery, a coral crown, and holding the Heart of Avalon. Her jade hand gently stroked the head of the lazy Garfield, the royal cat, who was lying on the throne.

"My dear, you worry too much. Besides, the Hunger Dragon is no ordinary opponent. Even if Her Highness were here, she would have to be careful. If I am not here, the morale will be difficult to stabilize, and the Hunger Dragon's mental influence alone is not enough to be completely offset by the Shrine of Asuryan."

"Your Majesty, it is precisely because this enemy is dangerous that you should not—"

"Besides, I can't be a queen who stays in the deep palace for too long, can I? The galaxy is still engulfed in war. Even if Sorshyan is not in the Royal Court, I should have the ability to lead the army. After all, the subjects do not want to see a queen who knows nothing about military affairs. Let's leave it at that. Besides, aren't Duran and the Phoenix Lords here? No need to worry."

Seeing that she could not persuade Veronica, Lorena could only give up and talk about the current situation.

"Then, Your Majesty, do we need to contact the humans?"

"No need. Her Highness said that contact with humans is unnecessary unless absolutely necessary. Let's leave it at that."

"Yes, Alohan, Nystra."

After Lorena finished speaking, she looked at her two daughters, who were guarding outside the curtain, wearing scale armor decorated with vines and leaf-shaped crowns on their heads.

"Remember your duty, defend Her Majesty with your lives."

"Yes, Mother."

"Your Majesty, then I shall take my leave."

Lorena then left the main hall, passed through the gate guarded by the Mahoraga, and entered a vast central garden, where female Aracnids and Oread gardeners could be seen busily walking around.

After passing through a long corridor guarded by the Phoenix Guard, Lorena entered the command tower of the War Palace, which was divided into hundreds of floors, each representing a separate unit. Entering the central teleportation circle, she teleported directly to the strategic room at the top.

In this circular hall, Duran, the leader of the Phoenix Guard, Ivaran, the chief of the Privy Council, Kayliss, the newly appointed Secretary-General of the Navy, Morganna, the Phoenix Grand Duchess, Starcrash, the Sun Lord, and Patricia, the Moon Lord, were all present.

In the center of the hall was a huge virtual image, projected by fifteen floating crystals. Its clarity was so high that it could see the tiny cracks in the chitinous armor of the Tyranid Hive Ship.

"Her Majesty insists on not leaving."

Hearing this, Starcrash just smiled slightly.

"Perhaps it's been too boring to stay in the Garden of Eden all the time. Her Majesty simply wants to go out for a walk."

Patricia then said:

"If that's the case, then our actions must be more conservative... Everything is to ensure Her Majesty's safety first."

Although the tone was very calm, everyone present could feel the anger in Patricia's heart. She was extremely opposed to this action, because this war was not for the benefit of the Royal Court at all, but only for the personal needs of the Phoenix King. As the Moon Lord, Patricia was a relatively radical Queen faction—a faction that was dissatisfied with Doral's complete dominance of the Royal Court's political and diplomatic direction. This used to be a small group, but with the expansion of the Royal Court, this faction was gradually transforming into a larger political group in the Royal Court. Their demands were also very simple: the Privy Council, as the military department of the Royal Court, should not only be responsible to the Phoenix King, but also to the Eternal Queen.

This may seem like no difference, but the subtext is that someone in the Inner Court must hold an important position in the Privy Council, and the agency cannot be completely monopolized by the Outer Court.

At the same time, the power of the Gold Wyverns must also be restricted, and the Queen's emissaries, that is, the Eternal Handmaidens, must also have the power to supervise the Royal Court inside and out.

This group also received support from some Craftworlds, largely due to dissatisfaction with the expansion of the Gold Wyverns' power. The agency had already set up operational departments in some Craftworlds. Because Sorshyan was away from the Royal Court for a long time, Doral, as his representative, basically bore most of the anger at the Royal Court's new policies. On the other hand, it also stemmed from the Phoenix King's long absence from the Royal Court, and many decisions were easily understood as Doral's personal arbitrary actions. Even though the Royal Court had gradually begun to dilute the differences between the Inner and Outer Courts and integrate the two teams into one, this still took a long time.

Although Lorena was an important minister in the Inner Court, because she was Doral's wife, she was also considered part of the "courtier faction" in fact—a title that seemed to encompass a faction led by Doral, including Ivaran, Lorena, and others.