Luna's face turned extremely pale.
The title of Councilor King means that Leo can exercise most of the power of the family sovereign in the absence of the Supreme King.
This is completely in conflict with her position as " Lord Regent ".
Leo will definitely fight me to the death in the struggle for family power.
The family resources she can utilize have shrunk by at least a third, and some neutral retainers will choose to wait and see.
But she also has Adeptus Mechanicus and...
Those cold machines and creations that obey only logic and data will not change their stance just because Leo is orthodox.
She still has a chance.
As long as I capture Carl II first, I can become the expeditionary marshal.
This will allow them to accumulate sufficient prestige and strength during expeditions.
Sooner or later, Brevis will be hers.
The responsibility of reviving the family still rests in his own hands.
She stopped arguing with Lynn or Leo and chose to compromise.
As she left, she took one last look at Lynn.
His eyes held a mixture of resentment and defiance, as if to say something.
We'll see.
The meeting ended unhappily.
The nobles left in twos and threes, each with a different expression.
Some of the people who had been standing with Luna just moments before now lowered their heads and quickly left.
They are now unsure whether following Luna's decision was the right one.
Lynn also left the conference room with Isolde.
Behind him, Leo was talking quietly with Knight Galil and the others.
The paladins who had pledged allegiance to him gathered in a circle and began to discuss their next steps.
Gus stood in the doorway and nodded to Lynn.
Lynn returned a smile, affirming Gus's actions.
They then left Saint Garus Castle together.
By the time they returned to the governor's mansion, it was already dark.
Lynn sat in his office, took off his heavy Power Armour, and changed into casual clothes.
The Ripper crawled out of his sleeve and landed on Lynn's hand.
The little guy's compound eyes were bright and sparkling as he looked at him.
"What do we do next?" Rena's cool voice echoed in his mind, tinged with urgency.
"You don't even have a proper fleet yet."
"The Gothic-class Cruiser that serves as the main ship is still under repair and will take at least half a month to complete."
Lynn ruffled the Ripper's head, watching it wobble and shake its head as he did so, and smiled happily.
Rena continued:
"My informants at the spaceport have discovered something."
"Of the five cruisers from the Adeptus Mechanicus side, three are ' Tyrant-class ' ships, which are on par with the Gothic-class."
Her voice was filled with worry.
"Moreover, their fleet can set sail immediately."
Lynn listened, but still didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.
Seeing that Lynn wasn't in a hurry, Rena became a little anxious:
"Aren't you worried? Luna's fleet is so much faster than ours; she'll take down the Carl II very soon!"
Lynn felt a sense of pleasure as he looked at Rena, who was becoming more and more like a human.
He gently scratched the Ripper's carapace, and the little creature comfortably squinted its compound eyes.
" Rena," he said, "Why do you think I'm confident of winning?"
The Ripper scratched its head with its forelimbs and shook its head.
Lynn began to explain.
"First," he said, holding up one finger, " Luna will now be held back by Leo."
"Those paladins and retainers who pledged allegiance to Leo are not just for show."
"They will definitely create all sorts of trouble for Luna within the family, in order to make the more legitimate Leo rise to power."
"Troop deployments require approval, and ship departures require reporting; every single thing can drag on for days."
"The efficiency will be significantly slower."
The Ripper nodded thoughtfully.
"Secondly," Lynn raised a second finger, " the Adeptus Mechanicus isn't entirely under her control either."
Lynn leaned back in his chair, his gaze becoming deep; he knew these Tech-priest all too well.
"What they want to do most right now? It's definitely still researching STC."
"That thing is in Saint Garus Castle, right in their hands, and now that Caladogon is no longer restricting them."
"What's the difference between this and a dog seeing warm poop?"
"And think about it, if you were a sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus, would you rather devote all your energy to helping Luna fight, or stay in the castle researching the STC that could change everything?"
Rena thought for a moment, "Research STC."
"Yes." Lynn smiled.
"Therefore, the Adeptus Mechanicus can't fully help her; at most, they can send some troops and ships as a token gesture."
"Those sages and priests who could truly change the course of the war would certainly choose to remain in the castle."
There's one more point Lynn didn't mention: even if the entire Adeptus Mechanicus of Brevis were Tzeentch.
It's impossible for them to completely obey Luna, a mere champion of the Tzeentch.
"Third."
He held up his third finger.
"No matter how fast or powerful Luna's fleet is, it's impossible for them to take down the Carl II in a short time."
The Ripper tilted its head, curiously awaiting what would happen next.
Lynn stood up, walked to the wall, and pulled up the hologram of Carl II.
That space station is currently suspended in the center of the star map.
Its shape is a giant ring, and its surface is neatly covered with various structures.
Docking hatches, turret arrays, solar panels, etc.
"This is the structural diagram of the Carl II."
Then Lynn waved his hand, and the giant ring transformed into an approximately elliptical object.
The surface structure became a mess, with many inexplicable additions.
"Look," Lynn said, pointing to the accessories.
"After the Orks took over Carl II, they kept expanding it with scrap materials. Now it's almost twice the size it used to be."
Rena looked closely.
"Its current size is roughly equivalent to that of an asteroid."
"There are countless compartments and passageways inside; finding Warboss in such a large space station is like finding a needle in a haystack."
The Ripper nodded.
"Besides, even if we find them, they won't be easy to kill."
Lynn looked at Rena.
" Luna probably knows that a decapitation strike is needed against the Orks; after all, it's not exactly a secret, and I've already shown her how."
"Both Mountain Fat Guga and Mechanical Enemy Erko have been slain by me."
"Knowing is one thing, doing is another."
He continued.
"The machinery includes many war machines, as well as sophisticated weapons and ships."
"But they lack elite decapitation units like the Space Marine."
"The only strong single-target units, the Paladins, are currently being held back by Leo, so Luna doesn't have many options left."
"So, even if she manages to find the Warboss, who will kill him? His Servitor and the Skitarii?"
The Ripper shook its head, realizing that it was impossible for ordinary infantry to kill a warboss that was four or five meters tall.
"For them, the best solution is to directly use space-destroying weapons, that is, to issue Exterminatus and blow up the entire Carl II."
The Ripper's eyes widened.
"But this not only contradicts our competitive goals, but also, there are practically no people on this planet capable of issuing Exterminatus."
Lynn for a moment and said:
" Inquisitor Sorine is one, but she's barely one of us now, so she can't help Luna."
"There is also a great sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus who left here hundreds of years ago, but whether he is alive or dead is unknown."
Lynn spread his hands.
"So you see, what's the use of Luna's fleet moving so fast?"