The Strength of the Empire

Not long after humanity had suppressed the Iron Men rebellion.

A terrifying storm erupted in the Warp.

Faster-than-light routes were severed.

Warp travel became fraught with danger as a result.

Ships that attempted to make jumps all vanished.

Human civilization splintered, and countless colonies fell into isolation.

The Petacanas System was no exception.

It was isolated amid the vast sea of stars, unable to contact any other star system.

Messages sent to other systems vanished without a trace, receiving no response.

The fleets sent out to explore occasionally transmitted news back, but it was all bad news.

The number of Mutants and rogue Psykers increased sharply, causing social unrest.

For the sake of social stability, the local government decided to suppress these destabilizing elements.

But opposition from the public was immense.

When the crackdown began, protest marches erupted in city after city.

All kinds of human rights organizations emerged, demanding that the authorities respect Mutants and rogue Psykers and not condemn them arbitrarily.

Some legislators chose to speak up for Mutants and rogue Psykers in order to win votes.

They claimed that they were human too, fellow countrymen who deserved respect.

And so, the Petacanas System lost its best opportunity to stabilize the situation.

As the Warp Storm grew increasingly violent, people discovered that Mutants and rogue Psykers had difficulty controlling their own powers.

They had even less ability to resist the malevolent fiends lurking within the Warp.

One after another, they became vessels for those dreadful monsters.

Nightmarish phenomena eroded reality like ash from an erupting volcano.

Evil gleams flickered through the night, while foul things crept behind the veil.

Drooling fangs and hateful compound eyes peered into reality.

By the time people realized the terrible threat posed by Mutants and rogue Psykers and urged the government to act, it was already too late.

Terrifying supernatural incidents erupted frequently across the world, and social order nearly collapsed.

During that chaotic period, a man received the blessing of Warp fiends.

He called himself the Progenitor of the Bloodkin. He gained the ability to wield dark blood magic, along with a unique power of transformation.

He could transform ordinary people into Bloodkin with long lifespans and command of dark magic.

This unique transformation tempted many among the upper ranks, and they secretly swore loyalty to him in exchange for the chance to be transformed.

The Bloodkin rose rapidly, becoming Petacanas's most powerful force in a single leap.

The planetary government had once attempted to eradicate the Bloodkin, but traitors betrayed military secrets, causing the operation to fail and inflicting heavy casualties.

From then on, the military could no longer contain the Mutants and rogue Psykers.

Under the pressure of the crisis, the government also appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

When the planetary governor was flayed and displayed before the public, drenched in blood.

The planetary government's authority completely crumbled.

The entire world entered an age of chaos.

In the end, the vast majority of cities became playgrounds for monsters.

The Space Cities in low orbit held out the longest and resisted most fiercely.

But under the assault of the Bloodkin and those monsters, they eventually fell as well.

Most of the residents of the Space Cities were slaughtered.

The warning messages transmitted by the artificial satellites in orbit had been left behind at that time.

To prevent humanity from making a comeback and threatening them again.

The Bloodkin completely suppressed human technology, causing this world's technological level to regress to the medieval era.

Later, the various systems in the Space Cities began to fail one after another.

The Bloodkin did not know how to repair them, so they abandoned the Space Cities and withdrew to the surface.

Lucina revealed everything she knew.

She did not even conceal matters concerning the resistance.

Under the leadership of the Cursed Ones, humanity had continued resisting Bloodkin rule.

The Bloodkin wielded dark blood magic, and only the Cursed Ones were unaffected by it.

Thus, the leaders of the resistance were all Cursed Ones.

Lucina had fallen into the Bloodkin's hands after being betrayed while promoting the resistance.

After learning why this world had become what it was today, the Emperor asked another question.

"The Warp Storm has already subsided. Why does this world still retain such dense aetheric power?"

Lucina shook her head. "I don't know, but I can introduce you to the resistance's sages and leaders. Perhaps they can answer your question."

The Emperor did not reject the proposal.

With her help, the Emperor soon met the so-called leaders and sages of the resistance.

They were a female Untouchable, stronger-built than a man and resembling a berserker, along with a tall, slender wizard.

Due to the Bloodkin's long-term oppression, the resistance had no structured command system.

The resistance in every region had its own leader.

They fought separately, regarding humanity's liberation as their highest mission. They could be called a very noble group of people.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, outsider. My name is Veronika."

The resistance leader saluted the Emperor and introduced herself.

"I am the ruler of the Human Empire, here to save this world. The rule of those monsters is about to end, and this world's people will welcome a glorious future."

The Emperor introduced himself with humble courtesy.

He then demanded that all resistance warriors, including Veronika, swear loyalty to him.

"We only swear loyalty to a true savior." Veronika said, "Unless you can truly defeat that Progenitor of the Bloodkin, you will not have our loyalty."

"That is no difficult task," the Emperor said.

"Then prove it to us." Veronika said, "When you cut off the Progenitor of the Bloodkin's head and end the Bloodkin's bloody rule, this world will offer you its loyalty."

"I shall," the Emperor said. "Before the war formally begins, can you tell me why this world's aetheric power is so dense?"

Veronika did not know the answer to the Emperor's question.

But the wizard beside her had studied the matter somewhat.

"The reason this world's aetheric power has not dissipated may be the work of that Progenitor of the Bloodkin."

"I was fortunate enough to scout the Progenitor of the Bloodkin's palace with wizards from other resistance groups. That place was filled with dense dark power."

"He must have made an agreement with those dreadful things, offering sacrifices at regular intervals and using the deaths and despair of the offerings to satisfy those evil beings' hunger and maintain his rule."

"Only by killing the Progenitor of the Bloodkin and driving out the Warp fiends that blessed him can this world return to its former peace."

Just as the Emperor was preparing to ask more about the Progenitor of the Bloodkin, a resistance warrior hurried over with an urgent report.

"Viscount White, the Bloodkin ruling this region, is coming with a large number of Bloodkin. They intend to kill all resistance fighters and preserve Bloodkin rule."

The news caused panic.

"We should withdraw first. We have no hope of victory against the Bloodkin army," Veronika said.

"Perhaps you should witness the might of the Empire. Then you will understand how fortunate it is to join the Empire."

Not only was the Emperor unafraid, he warmly invited Veronika and the other senior resistance members to a high vantage point to watch how the Empire achieved victory.

The high ground was excellently positioned, offering a clear view of the entire battlefield.

The Bloodkin army advanced in vast numbers, banners flying and weapons finely equipped.

Some of them beat their wings as they flew through the air.

The moment Veronika and the other resistance leaders saw the Bloodkin army, their faces turned pale with fright.

Just as they were considering whether to turn and flee, the golden warriors following the Emperor entered the battlefield.

The Golden Armored Warriors were so dazzling that everything around them dimmed after a single glance.

This was not a war, but a massacre. A one-sided massacre.

Twenty Golden Armored Warriors swept forward with halberds crackling with electricity.

They slaughtered every Bloodkin soldier in their path as if cutting grass, cleaving them into pieces.

They showed no fatigue, like perpetual-motion machines.

They could leap hundreds of meters at a time and even remain suspended in the air briefly.

The winged Bloodkin fell like rain, soon piling into small hills upon the ground.

Veronika and the others could not count how many Bloodkin had been killed, nor could they clearly see the process of their slaughter.

It was too fast.

When the war ended, the Bloodkin army with its fluttering banners had become heaps of broken corpses.

The pungent stench of blood spread across the entire battlefield.

Tattered Bloodkin banners burned, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

Viscount White's head had been impaled on a spear and erected at the center of the battlefield.

His pale face still bore terror that would not fade.

The Emperor looked at Veronika and the others and smiled.

"This is the strength of the Empire."

Raven added a voice-over from the side.

"Hehehe, mortals, submit."

All right, the update was late. The story I originally planned to finish still had one chapter left to write.

I feel like I wrote a pile of crap. I'm so speechless.

Sad.

Please keep reading.