Of course, this referred to the Marauder Legion's invasion of the Commonwealth's Arm region twenty years ago.
Although the Commonwealth had eventually driven the marauders away, they had still carried off many civilians, soldiers, and riches, and the local garrison had suffered heavy losses.
Captain Liu Qiluo, a fighter pilot, had been one of the many ordinary casualties. If she hadn't had a son named Yu Lian, she would probably have soon been lost to the passage of time.
As for the warlord who had led the marauders' invasion, he was the most brutal Longbeard warlord of the time: the marauder leader known as Grand Duke Noka. During the decade when he was most active, all the nations bordering the Silver Heart had been equally fair game for his raids. His fearsome reputation could keep children across the galaxy from sleeping at night.
Although every one of his ancestors for eight generations had been involved in organized crime, he had insisted on imitating the Empire's rites and institutions. He had built himself a palace and created an entire system of laws and customs, then styled himself "Grand Duke of the Silver Heart" and "Leader of All the Beato." It was obvious he was the sort who couldn't bear to be second to anyone.
The Beato Longbeards of course wouldn't call themselves Longbeards, just as trolls always called themselves Mount Shanda people.
Thinking it over, perhaps Grand Duke Noka had called himself "Leader of All the Beato" because he didn't want to seem inferior to the legitimate "Queen of Ero" next door.
The three marauder races might have formed an alliance, and most of the time they might have deferred to the royal House of Masegetai of Ero, but there had still been plenty of friction between them.
Put simply, that