I Am Honkai

"Hah…"

Exhaling softly, Selene focused her thoughts and severed the connection with Leiva, while the exquisite jade-gold book hovering before her gradually became transparent and faded away.

"Leiva has been taking things far too easy these past few years…"

Was it reasonable for her subordinate to be living more comfortably than she, his superior? Absolutely not!

No matter how quickly the worlds conquered by Leiva's Third Astartes Legion, the Black Templars Legion, recovered under his administration, no matter how high the average quality of his recruitment, forge, resource, and agricultural worlds was—slacking off was still slacking off.

Granted, Leiva's Third Legion maintained such high-quality, high-standard governance that, even if their expansion rate was less impressive, Selene might not have minded.

Selene prided herself on being magnanimous, gracious, compassionate, understanding, and caring toward her subordinates.

But what was with Leiva's leisure?

He was strolling around like some retiree on a spring outing.

If he had just shown a little fatigue, like his Third Legion was struggling, taking losses here and there—anything less poised and relaxed—Selene could have passed over it. She would have used it as an opportunity to show her benevolence, as well as her care for her loyal veteran generals.

But this? Not only was he relaxed, but he flaunted it, making a big deal out of his leisurely pace, almost daring others to file complaints about him.

It wasn't just the other Astartes Legions who were noticing either. Even the imperial domestic affairs and inspection departments were getting fed up.

Comparisons are inevitable, after all. The rest of the Empire was pulling long hours, dealing with battles and battles-to-be, while Leiva enjoyed a nine-to-five.

How were his colleagues supposed to feel, especially those constantly embroiled in conflict?

One by one, petitions started piling up, urging Selene to do something about that "black-armored slacker legion."

To clarify, it wasn't that the other Astartes Legions or the imperial central government were malevolent, wishing to tear down Leiva or his legion purely out of spite.

It was more akin to how you might want to poke at your closest friend, just to knock a little sense into them.

Besides, with Selene overseeing it all, even the fiercest rivalries wouldn't devolve into open bloodshed. The competition among them was healthy, with rivals usually working things out by selecting champions to fight on behalf of each side, either one-on-one or in group battles.

And this wasn't an isolated incident. For example, the 17th Legion, the Imperial Heralds, had once brawled with the 19th Legion, the Raven Guard.

They stripped off their Honkai-powered armor in the imperial coliseum and duked it out in a no-holds-barred fistfight.

When Selene heard about it, her interest was instantly piqued, and she even showed up in person to watch.

With the Empress herself in the stands, the legions only fought harder.

That day, the arena's ten-thousand-square-meter coliseum was destroyed.

The towering, over-2.7-meter muscle-bound warriors tore into each other with punches, grappling, and wrestling as if the coliseum were their personal demolition site. From dawn until dusk, they traded blows, both sides bruised and bloodied, yet neither could claim victory. The fight ended in a draw.

Selene didn't reprimand them; on the contrary, she praised the way they resolved their dispute.

In fact, Selene was especially pleased with the Raven Guard's tact. While others may not have noticed, she had seen it clearly. The Raven Guard technically had the advantage, with one fighter barely able to stand. Yet, to save face for their brothers-in-arms, he chose to collapse.

Better to guide than to suppress, especially for hardened warriors accustomed to brutal battles. Tempers flare, and sometimes, all it takes is a single glare to ignite conflict.

It typically went like this: "What are you staring at?" "Looking at you, what of it?" "Try looking again, I dare you." "You think I won't?" And at that point, words ceased, fists began flying, and at least one person was likely to be carried out horizontally.

Given this, rather than allowing unchecked fights or placing restrictions, Selene opted to formalize the dueling process. In front of both legions, she announced the Empire's "Conflict Resolution Duel Act."

According to this act, when a dispute arose, both parties could engage in a regulated duel under imperial supervision, either as individuals or as teams.

This act applied to all citizens of the Holy Selene Empire but excluded those already convicted of crimes or who had violated imperial laws.

Both parties had to agree to the duel, which could last up to twelve hours. No weapons or Honkai energy projections could be used, and participants had to fight bare-handed with no deaths or permanent injuries allowed.

Victory was determined by the last fighter still standing. If both sides fell, the duel was declared a draw.

The defeated party was required to apologize to the winner. If a draw occurred, neither side had to apologize, but in the future, defeated parties could not challenge their previous opponent for two years, and those who drew were restricted from challenging each other for one year.

That's how things worked here in the Empire.

Selene thus set forth this straightforward yet effective approach to managing conflicts among her Astartes warriors, with all imperial citizens included for good measure.

Of course, this was only the initial version; any shortcomings in the act would be addressed over time. The Ministry of Justice would handle the details, with Selene merely approving proposals and signing off on final changes.

Moreover, the Astartes under Selene's command were not divided by genetic primarchs but instead shared a single source of Honkai Energy from Selene herself. They weren't segmented into legions by familial ties or "bloodline" brotherhoods.

As a result, the Astartes in Selene's army had a singular allegiance, and that was to the Empress alone.

Each legion's commander was an outstanding leader chosen by Selene, a representative for the Astartes under them, serving as "ground-level" officers rather than "fathers" with any deep-seated bond.

In a way, Selene supposed this made her the genetic forebear of all Astartes and Custodians, akin to a mother(?) to them all.

She chuckled wryly at the thought, shaking her head. "Heh… mother? Not in this lifetime."

Standing up from her luxurious couch, she stretched her arms as she walked over to a vibrant arched stained-glass window.

These windows, shaped in grand arches with clear lower panes, were framed in pure white marble, with scenes of imperial conquests and stories delicately carved into the frame.

In the arched sections, precise engravings captured heroic battles: fearless Astartes warriors waging war, mortal soldiers achieving feats on par with demigods, and great deeds immortalized by the Empire.

And more than anything else, it was the blessings from the worlds conquered by each of the Astartes legions offered to Empress Selene.

"It's only been a few years, yet they've submitted much faster than I anticipated…"

Time is a potent remedy, and as the years passed, the scars left by the relentless, expansionist ambitions of Empress Selene and the Astartes legions faded away. The wounds brought about by their descent had vanished without a trace.

The marks of war had been erased, leaving behind an economy distorted by the benefits of endless conflict.

The continuous, seemingly unending Great Crusade created an overwhelming demand for supplies, pushing every conquered world to operate at full capacity.

Forge worlds churned out military supplies—from ammunition to warships—in a continuous stream. Resource worlds provided essential materials and processed minerals, while agricultural worlds met the demand for food.

Driven by the Empire's highly efficient war machine, the market demand was insatiable, with no need to worry about selling the goods produced.

In the eyes of the people, what had once embodied destruction and death had transformed into something aspirational—the image of a Divine Empress that people now praised.

In the murals, the white-haired Divine Empress resembled an angel with wings, mercifully bestowing happiness and joy upon the land.

They offered up constant blessings for this beautiful, kind, and benevolent Divine Empress.

Knock, knock.

"Come in."

Just as Selene stood gazing out the window, the sound of a knock at the door pulled her back to reality.

"Your Majesty, Governor Lelouch requests an audience."

"Lelouch? Oh, I nearly forgot."

…

Led by the palace attendants, Lelouch walked through the resplendent corridors, admiring the grandeur of the imperial palace.

"Lloyd, Nina, and Rakshata have already been escorted away by attendants, likely to report to the Imperial Science Bureau… Off to develop war machines?"

Muttering to himself, Lelouch moved quietly down the hall.

Along the way, he took in the extravagant decor of the vast palace. The opulence made him wonder just how many worlds' wealth had been plundered to create it.

"Pay respects to the Holy Empress of the Empire! Maintain your reverence; the Imperial Guard is watching!"

A voice boomed as the golden-armored Imperial Guards stationed by the doors crossed their shields and spears at the command of their captain.

Hearing this, Lelouch adjusted his collar, his face serious, as everyone around him straightened up.

Creak.

Passing through the guarded doors, a vast, open space greeted him. At the base of the stairs leading to the throne, the view was unobstructed.

Within the lavish throne room, numerous attendants were busily arranging the towering stacks of documents and various items awaiting the Empress's review.

Then, amidst it all, a luxurious white robe and a pair of scarlet, diamond-shaped eyes came into view.

With the breeze drifting in from the slightly open floor-to-ceiling windows, her pure white hair fluttered, catching the sunlight as it cascaded down her back in waves that seemed almost gilded with strands of gold.

At once, Lelouch dared not speak, nor did he dare to look further. Taking his sister's hand, he knelt on both knees, pressing his forehead to the floor.

"Lelouch vi Britannia, Governor of the 37th Conquered World under the Astartes Second Legion, the Punishers, presents himself alongside his family to pay homage to Your Majesty."

"Hm. I trust you understand the responsibilities of your position as Governor," Selene responded succinctly, making him an example.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I shall immediately organize the restoration of production…" Lelouch paused briefly, bowing his head before continuing, "prioritizing military production capacity…"

...

Astartes 13th Legion, Ultramarines' Deployment Area.

In the interdimensional void of the Honkai Dimension, among the darkness of space, a fleet of opulent, fortress-like floating bastions glided silently.

At the heart of the fleet, a flagship fortress more than ten kilometers in diameter stood. A monumental palace structure crowned its center.

Its size was so immense that it seemed the entire outer circumference of the fortress was carved directly into the palace. Gothic spires and archways cast sharp silhouettes against the stars, etching distinct paths across the starry expanse.

Indeed, these fortresses were adapted from the Aerial Garden of Vanity, a legendary artifact originally created by Semiramis, which Selene had claimed.

Selene's fleet technology was still imperfect, and the Empire's current ships could not accommodate tens of thousands of Astartes warriors alongside hundreds of millions of auxiliary and servant troops.

While the Empire possessed drop pods, small fighters, bombers, and transport craft, these were insufficient for large-scale operations.

Thus, Selene had taken a different approach, converting floating islands powered by Honkai energy into aerial fortresses for the Astartes legions to utilize.

And indeed, the results were impressive: while lacking in agility and subtlety, the fortresses boasted exceptional defense and attack power.

Equipped with Honkai energy shields, docking facilities, and countless armaments—Honkai particle cannons, space torpedo launchers, and Honkai fusion bombs—the floating fortresses were capable of leveling an entire planet's surface with ease. destroyers.

Click, click.

The faint sound of high heels echoed off the polished floors, a sound barely noticeable under normal circumstances but in the vast, quiet hall, it resonated clearly.

"General Esdeath, do you and your 'Jaegers' require any rest?" asked the massive blue-armored figure in the great hall of the floating fortress's inner palace. His posture was refined, with the demeanor of both a strategist and soldier.

"No need, Legion Commander Robert. Her Majesty's orders are clear: swift action. After this, the Great Crusade will temporarily slow down."

Standing at attention, Esdeath tilted her head to look up at the Astartes Legion Commander, who seemed more akin to a statesman than a front-line warrior.

"All of us?"

"Indeed. Once this mission concludes, all Astartes legions will temporarily reduce their crusading pace. Including your XIII Legion, the Ultrawarriors. All Astartes legions will undergo a major equipment overhaul."

"I understand."

Observing Esdeath's decisive nature, Robert did not delay further. He turned to the tech officer behind him and gave a signal.

Immediately, the officer's hands danced across the control panel on the conference table.

"General Esdeath, please take a look. Here is a sinkhole we discovered in the central Asian region of this world's Eurasian continent. Its size…"

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