A Way to Solve the Problem

The Lion King observed Alvin's entire performance and waited for Zabriel to finish speaking before nodding in tacit approval.

He said, "This matter is very complicated. You need to be careful not to make a big fuss."

After saying this, the Lion King unfastened the Lion Sword from his waist and handed it to him. "Take this; it can save your life if necessary."

This is equivalent to the Lion King's promise.

No matter what happens after he enters the Hive City, the Lion King guarantees that nothing will happen to him.

"Thank you, Lion King."

Alvin didn't stand on ceremony and took the Lion Sword. The rather heavy blade forced him to use all his strength just to keep it from falling to the ground.

The sword was a perfect fit for the Lion King's height and reach, but for Alvin, it was practically a "giant sword".

Then, in front of the Lion King, he put the "Lion Sword" into his Personal Space and turned to Zabriel: "You will come with me on this visit to the Hive City."

As Rogue Trader, it's only natural that he would bring along a space warrior, right?

"Yes, sir."

Zabriel readily agreed.

Alvin then arrived at the designated location with Zabirel, who had changed into new armor, and met the team sent by Governor Hal to greet them.

It's roughly a whole company of Astra Militarum, at least on the surface; there are probably more hidden ones as well.

"Viscount Alvin, we are here to greet you on the orders of Governor Hal."

The leading Astra Militarum watched warily at the Space Marine in Power Armor beside him.

Of course, they weren't too worried.

After all, there's an entire Astra Militarum here; a single interstellar soldier can't possibly turn the tide.

"Viscount Alvin, please hand over your weapons to us," the Astra Militarum said obediently.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Alvin wasn't annoyed. He unfastened the sword and gun from his waist and handed them to the other man. "As promised, these are my weapons."

Zabriel also took off his Chainsword, Bolter, grenades and other weapons and handed them over to the other party to prove that he was not a threat.

The Astra Militarum's expression improved considerably, and he smiled, "Thank you for your cooperation, sir."

However, when they were brought to the Hive City, they were not taken directly to see Governor Hal, but were instead placed in Upper-hive, a luxurious mansion not far from the Governor's Mansion.

"Viscount Alvin, due to the invasion of the Chaos Fiends these past few days, Governor Hal needs to command the battle. Please wait a few more days. The Hive City rife with the presence of Chaos Fiends; please refrain from wandering around to avoid any danger." The Astra Militarum finished speaking and waved his hand, "Take good care of His Lord Alvin."

After saying that, he left without paying any attention to Alvin.

At this moment, Zabriel noticed that an entire Astra Militarum was stationed around their mansion, clearly there to monitor them!

In other words, they were placed under house arrest!

Alvin didn't seem to care much, his demeanor casual, as if he had completely forgotten the mission he carried.

But Zabriel was getting a little anxious.

"Sir, are we just going to wait like this?" His tone was more anxious.

Although he didn't care about the lives of the Dark Angels on the Stone Fortress, he did care about the Stone Fortress itself, as it was the last surviving "home"!

It is known that the Black Crusade of Chaos, led by Warmaster Abaddon, is approaching the Stone Fortress, and they are still sitting here. How can Zabriel tolerate this?

"So what are you going to do?"

Alvin picked up his teacup, blew on it, and asked calmly and gently.

"Just charge in!"

Zabriel's face hardened with malice. "I've already assessed the situation. The guards here aren't strong enough to stop us. We'll storm the governor's palace, take her hostage, and then explain the situation to her!"

"Good idea."

Alvin didn't even lift an eyelid, and said calmly, "If you really do that, even if we haven't sided with Chaos, you've forced us into becoming Chaos ourselves. Do you really think the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus in space orbit are fools? Or do you think this Governor Hal is an idiot?"

Zabriel: "You mean—she's deliberately testing us?"

"Although we haven't had much contact, this Governor Hal has managed to obtain supreme command in the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus."

The fact that she could contend with the Chaos Fleet is enough to prove that she's not an idiot; otherwise, she couldn't have done it.

At this point, Alvin put down his teacup and looked at Zabriel: "Moreover, don't forget, our purpose in coming to Governor Hal is ostensibly to allow the fleet to rest and recuperate, but our real objective is to recruit troops for the Lion King and consolidate the power of Avalon, not to stir up internal strife or carry out the Scouring."

"So we're just going to wait like this?"

Zabriel felt somewhat wronged.

"I don't deny that you are an excellent soldier, but—" Alvin shook his head and sighed, "You never know how low humanity's bottom line can go—and that's politics."

To put it bluntly, they lack the necessary "violent shock tweezers".

It would be difficult for the Lion King alone, without verifying his identity, to intimidate the planetary lord and the Imperium governor, the powerful regional official of the Imperium.

Reality is not a movie, much less a novel.

It's not something that can be accomplished by simply saying a few words and exuding an aura of dominance, enough to make planetary lords and Imperium governors willingly kneel and surrender their armies and power.

If the Lion King can kill ten thousand people, can he kill a hundred thousand?

Moreover, Avalon is resisting Chaos, and at least in terms of their positions, they are united. Internal strife will only allow Chaos to succeed, which is also an outcome that Alvin and the Lion King do not want to see. Therefore, this matter must be resolved in a gentle manner.

Their expedition to the Stone Fortress would require a large fleet, something Alvin couldn't accomplish on his own. He could conscript millions of troops from other worlds, but he couldn't acquire "warships."

Don't assume that these seemingly old and outdated ships are of low quality. If they were really that easy to build, Alvin would have already possessed an entire expeditionary fleet with the resources of the five worlds!

The Devourer Imperium's warships are powerful enough, aren't they?

However, if they were to collide head-on with the Imperial Navy, they would be riddled with holes by Light Lance and Macrocannon in no time.

The reason is actually quite simple: the Devourer Imperium's warships need to follow the "laws of physics," but the Imperium's warships—sorry, they don't need to follow the laws of physics; they're all about being a complete idiot!

Data on paper is data on paper, and combat capability is combat capability; these are two different things.

Therefore, the only people capable of assembling a large fleet are Governor Hal and the Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus forces stationed there.

But how can we get them to agree?

The methods Alvin used on Alert Star, which involved rampaging and killing, are clearly not applicable here.

Even a legendary figure like the Commander of the Calgar Chapter Master, when dealing with the complex political situation on Alert Star, first concealed his identity and, after ascertaining the facts, relied on his personal guard to achieve a complete wipeout.

In other words...

The Lion King's identity and value can be a trump card in negotiations, or the last straw that breaks the camel's back, but it should never be played as the first card!

To put it simply, you threw out your trump card at the start, thinking it would intimidate your opponent.

Little did you know that once you've lost your biggest trump card, you've lost the initiative, and the inevitable outcome is defeat.

This is exactly what Alvin said: Zabriel may be a competent and excellent soldier, but he is by no means a competent politician.

The Lion King understood this, which is why he was chosen to act as a safety net for the returning Primarch and the three factions of Avalon.

He himself, as the last trump card, can ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that the struggle and power grab between Alvin and Avalon will not escalate into internal strife.

To resolve this predicament peacefully, we must consolidate Avalon's resources, seize these fleets, and resolve the conflict without diminishing our own strength.

It's both difficult and easy to achieve this.

Alvin had a general idea in mind. All he needed to do was wait a day for an opportunity and figure out who was a friend and who was a foe in the complex situation in Avalon.

"I hope you won't blame me for my methods being too 'radical' when the time comes."