I Am Honkai

"An assignment, Your Majesty?"

After being helped to her feet by Selene's powers, Esdeath looked over the hovering stack of mission files before her. Without delay, she took them and began reading.

The very first line she read stated, "Report from the Ninth Legion, Legion Commander Sanguinius…"

Hmm… unfamiliar names. It seems the Empire's military has changed considerably in these few years I've been asleep. Before, there were only about two or three Astartes Legions, and now they've expanded all the way to the Ninth.

She wondered idly how Her Majesty might have organized the Empire's Assassination Division, the Beasts, and the elite Jaeger unit. Esdeath's mind couldn't help but drift back to her former subordinates whom she had led before.

"Looks like things are going to get very busy..." Esdeath murmured to herself.

Due to the sleep caused by her Herrscher of Ice transformation, Esdeath's awareness was significantly out of sync with the Empire's rapid developments, her information severely outdated.

From the moment Selene summoned her to the Great Imperial Palace upon her awakening, Esdeath had barely had a moment to familiarize herself with anything. If nothing else, just this vast and far more luxurious Imperial Palace was a source of amazement for Esdeath.

If it weren't for the servants leading her way, even with her ability to sense her connection to Selene and pinpoint her location, she doubted she'd be able to reach it in a short time without flying or cutting through walls in a straight line.

With sprawling, interconnected halls, magnificent palatial corridors lined with opulent decor, and the constant movement of attendants, Astartes warriors, and guards, it felt like traversing a grand, bustling "maze"… the only difference being that, although there were a great many people, an unusual silence permeated the place.

Somewhere deep down, Esdeath lightly ridiculed Selene's aesthetic sensibilities and tastes.

Of course, if Esdeath had been born in modern times, she might have casually described it with phrases like, "A specialist in overkill phobia," "a connoisseur of collectible figures," "a designer of the grandest and flashiest weapons," and "a titan of construction."

After all, Selene always dressed in attire so resplendent it was almost intimidating—whether her regal attire or battle armor—constructed a palace of unprecedented scale, equipped her elite Imperial Guard in golden armor so splendid it bordered on overwhelming, and outfitted her armies to resemble celestial beings, each soldier towering at heights no less than 2.7 meters, often even over 3 meters.

Esdeath quickly shook her head to clear her mind of these stray thoughts and refocused on the document at hand.

The Ninth Astartes Legion, the Blood Angels, reported along with the Sisters of Battle that they had discovered a new inhabited world.

Hmm, and what are these "Sisters of Battle"? A new unit? Battle… Sisters… women… Could this be Her Majesty's newest unit prepared especially for me?

Curious and filled with a slight sense of anticipation, Esdeath continued reading.

"A predominantly oceanic world with massive lifeforms and human civilizations. Initial observation suggests a marine-based society, with most ships along its bustling trade routes being sail-powered… Preliminary assumption: low overall technological level."

At the mention of massive lifeforms, Esdeath's hunting instincts immediately flared. She nearly chose this mission then and there but restrained herself long enough to read further.

Flipping the page, she read, "Report from Roboute, Commander of the Thirteenth Astartes Legion…"

"The Thirteenth?" Her brow raised slightly. "Has the Empire's military already grown to such a scale?"

Quickly, the mention of "Spacequakes" and the large scar the Euro-Asian Sky Disaster had left on the Eurasian continent drew her attention.

In a flash, her mind had made its decision. Lifting her head, Esdeath said firmly, "Your Majesty, I choose to work with the Thirteenth Legion."

"Very well, take this…" Selene replied, stepping down from the platform to approach her. She extended her palm, and with a tearing sound, a portal glowing with a violet light opened.

From it, a standard six-faced cube fell, spinning slowly in mid-air and emitting a faint purple-red glow.

Esdeath took the cube in both hands and examined it closely. Made of silvery-gray metal, its six sides were covered in intersecting cracks, dividing the cube into an array of irregular sections. The purple-red light shone from within these cracks, creating a strange but harmonious effect, without any awkwardness to its design.

In the next moment, a clicking sound echoed in the silent hall. Esdeath felt a faint pain in her palm, and her keen senses detected a slight metallic tang in the air.

It's absorbing my blood?

"Don't worry," Selene reassured her. "This is merely part of the cube's binding ceremony. It may be a bit old-fashioned, but it's effective. With this, you'll be able to contact Roboute. You can explore its functions yourself—all usage information has been inscribed within it."

Nodding, Selene said thoughtfully, "Esdeath, quite a lot has changed in the Empire during the five or six years you were asleep. Your 'Jaegers' unit can help bring you up to speed on the basics, as they're currently also stationed in the capital for recuperation."

"There will be a servant to guide you. You should take some time to familiarize yourself with the capital… oh, and the Beasts have been deployed to the front lines, so they're not in the capital at the moment."

Finishing her instructions, Selene fell silent, leaning against her desk with her head lowered, and began to trace her fingers across the edge of a glass goblet. Her hand's smooth, white touch on the glass was reminiscent of the delicate texture of jade.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

With a hand pressed to her heart in respect, Esdeath bowed, stepping backward without turning away. Only once she had reached the doorway did she carefully turn around to leave.

As Esdeath's clear, fading footsteps disappeared, and the guards closed the heavy palace doors behind her, Selene raised her head once again.

Instead of returning to her seat, she remained perched on the desk, setting her glass down to glance over at a proposal submitted by Alyssa.

It was a request for Selene to order the Empire's Central Ministry of Internal Affairs to dispatch officials to govern and oversee the two conquered worlds.

One was a primitive beast-filled world, and the other was a slave society from the Bronze and Iron Ages.

What surprised Selene most was Alyssa's decision to apply "Directive Eleven: Scorched Earth" to the world of ghouls.

"Tokyo Ghoul… it seems the world suffered some major devastation…"

The report was detailed, showing that Alyssa's Sisters of Battle had encountered little trouble in combat. Yet, Selene hadn't expected them to act so decisively; when some Northern resistance groups learned that the Empire was an unstoppable alien force, a certain faction had decided to go for mutual destruction.

They'd opted for the philosophy of "better to be shattered jade than unbroken pottery" and launched nuclear strikes across the globe, determined to drag every nation down with them and leave nothing behind for the invaders.

The human spirit's anthem is indeed one of courage—this incident vividly illustrated that. Even in death, they wanted to bloody the Empire's face. But for Alyssa, who didn't share that human viewpoint, it left her unbothered.

"Fortunately, Alyssa was leading in person, so despite several major target cities being ravaged, the invading Imperial forces suffered minimal casualties."

But even so, there was an undeniable sense of being challenged that permeated throughout the Imperial ranks, including Alyssa herself, leaving everyone irritated—how dare these enemies refuse to surrender and even try to retaliate against us?!

Thus, after reentering, the Imperial Army launched extensive retaliatory slaughter.

After this incident, Alyssa became deeply aware of the Sisters of Battle's insufficient manpower. Forced to divide her troops in order to concentrate on multiple attacks, she was unable to use an interdimensional warp jump to simultaneously eliminate all enemy command centers within this alien world. If her numbers had been anywhere near that of an Astartes Legion—even a third of it—the situation would have been completely different.

To remedy this, Alyssa's final proposal was to expand the Sisters of Battle's recruitment range to include the Empire's native population.

This… was a request Selene couldn't outright refuse, but realistically, the chances of success were minuscule.

To get Imperial citizens to voluntarily enlist, even with "Ideological Branding" in place, was practically impossible—unless Selene issued a mandatory military directive.

The amount of influence it would take to have Imperials willingly and genuinely volunteer would not just be a Ideological Branding but rather a complete personality overhaul! They are entirely different concepts.

The Ideological Branding's influence is gradual and subtle, with effects that are usually stronger when the set goal is clear-cut and straightforward. For instance, when the Branding instills loyalty to an individual without altering any of a person's moral perspectives, memories, or fundamental ways of interacting with others.

Selene herself uses the Ideological Branding in exactly this way.

Broadly applied Branding with multiple requirements tend to be much less effective, which is also one of the main reasons why Selene doesn't yet include conquered worlds in Astartes Legion recruitment.

When these conquered worlds are transferred to Imperial military administration, new units composed of these foreign inhabitants (cannon fodder, as some call it), what can one say… it's not unheard of for such units to gain recognition through valor in battle and eventually be accepted into the ranks of the Imperial Auxilia. But more often than not, discrimination is everywhere.

To illustrate, let's say we start recruiting directly from the people of the "Black Bullet" world into the candidate pool for the Astartes Legions—do you think those within the Legions will respect them?

On one hand, you have Empire-born individuals, raised entirely under Selene's radiant imperial influence; on the other, you have residents of a conquered alien world.

With the Empire's absolute authoritarian hierarchy, can anyone believe slaves and citizens would coexist peacefully? The inevitable conflicts arise when different classes are mixed.

Then there's the simple fact that becoming an Astartes warrior is the dream of so many in the Imperial Auxilia. Allowing foreigners to cut in line ahead of them—does that seem fair? It's certainly not.

This decision isn't a difficult one for Selene; her inclination is undoubtedly toward her closer subjects.

As to why the people of the Empire display such loyalty and obedience under Selene's rule, the Thought Ideological Branding is only part of it; the Empire's self-regulated structure and the multitude of Selene's measures complete the picture.

The Empire's citizens had no choice. After a millennium under rule, loyalty has become a habit.

For a regime only a few decades old, or if previous rulers had changed over time, perhaps you might recall only this ruler's reign, while the older generation might tell you that others had ruled only a decade or two ago.

Historical records show regimes changing with the regularity of the seasons, with prominent figures rising and falling in each era. Perhaps the thought that "power is not inherited" would cross your mind, making you wonder why next year couldn't be your family's turn?

While the vast majority would never act on such thoughts, simply envisioning themselves on the throne, the seeds of disloyalty inevitably find purchase in the mind. Even in historical documents, the basis for regime change is everywhere. Whenever the central government falls into decadence or shows signs of impending collapse, it is common for "heroes" to rise up and revolt.

But what if the Empire was the original regime? What if, in all the records, from your great-grandfather's great-grandfather's memory on down, the Empire has always ruled?

Selene may never have claimed direct descent from the First Emperor, but she wields the Imperial Teigu - Shikoutazer that only those of royal blood can activate.

To the people of the Empire, Selene has effectively continued this lawful imperial rule. This thousand-year Empire continues to reign, growing ever stronger, surpassing even its former peak!

Selene's overpowering might, surpassing dimensions, ensures her security; everything else merely adds luster.

"For now, reject the proposal. The Sisters of Battle's recruitment range remains confined to the Black Bullet world; once the Empire solidifies its control there, we can consider further expansion."

With this, Selene completed her notes on Alyssa's proposal.

The Sisters of Battle's recruitment will inevitably expand, but the time for that is not yet.

"Now, on the topic of One Piece, the Grand Line… Wouldn't the Blood Angels of Sanguinius's Ninth Legion need more forces for this? Perhaps… send in the Second Legion under Budo as support? No, Budo is spread too thin as it is."

After considering, however, she dismissed the thought. Budo's Second Legion was under heavy strain, conducting a solo campaign in a technologically advanced world.

Although this world's individual combat strength couldn't hope to match the Astartes—they'd be as helpless as chickens before the Astartes in close combat—they did have space-faring warships and mechs.

"Using interdimensional warp tactics, they struck the enemy's fleet base before they could mount a defense and captured an entire intact large-scale fleet. Budo's initial strike was brilliant."

Reflecting on Budo's successful surprise tactics from a year ago, Selene couldn't help but chuckle. After all, when it comes to quick riches, looting beats building every time.

"Almost a year has passed; the Second Legion should be proficient in space-aerial combined operations by now. It's time for me to reap the rewards. This world represents a milestone victory."

"Yes… have Leiva's Third Legion go support Sanguinius; he's earned his 'retirement'…"

...

Meanwhile, in a tech-world universe, the Astartes Second Legion, the Punishers, continued their campaign.

Boom! Boom!

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