He had never imagined it. The damned Imperial Fleet, the damned Mathieu, had not even listened to the envoy! His arrogance was without precedent!
His fleet had not paused for a moment, and Mathieu had never even left his flagship.
Whenever a world failed to meet his demands, he refused to hear any explanation and simply ordered his flamer-wielding troops to begin forced requisitions.
His justification was that these planets were not devout enough. Besides, with fewer people, there would be no need to leave so much food and so many resources to feed the surplus population, would there?!
The furious Pex finally lost his patience and tore apart the intelligence report in his hands. The Imperium's arrogance exceeded anything he had imagined. His final effort at peace had failed.
The bishops before him were too frightened to make a sound. Prelate Pex was normally mild-tempered and approachable, but when he lost his temper, no one in the entire church could withstand his fury.
Mathieu's attitude had left Pex no choice. The right to survive was never something bestowed by others, nor could it depend on the Imperium's mercy. It could only be won through struggle.
"Prepare the battle plans and notify our brothers and sisters in the church. The uprising will begin in ten days," Pex ordered calmly, suppressing his anger now that his decision was made.
Pex then concluded the meeting with utmost efficiency, assigning duties to every bishop. Several contingency plans had already been prepared; all that remained was to put them into action.
Although most members of the Four-Armed Emperor Church came from the lower classes and had little education, their organizational structure was still more efficient than that of the bloated Imperium of Man.
After arranging their combat deployments, Pex dismissed almost all the bishops,