It's just that even if it is pacified, the universe is still very, very vast. Moreover, the universe is full of all kinds of nasty races and rogues who will continue to fight and resist their control no matter what. Even though the empire is large enough and military power to overshadow any other power, sabotage and subversion will always be at odds.

Emperor Gavin IV was a good man, and there is no doubt that his great-grandfather was the first human to wear a crown. He and Cain are about the same age and have a close relationship. Govin had confided in his friend privately that he did not like to see the Empire's policies forced to become more and more restrictive in recent years. The empire is seen as a single stone, unshakable and supreme. And for many, especially the Outsiders, the vanquished, the Paladins, and the notorious criminal bandits of the Syndicate, for them, the Empire is an overbearing, oppressive existence, and unrepaired.

This impression made Jiawen very sad. He wore the crown with a heart full of progressive ideas and hopes. And now, he is forced to enforce increasingly strict edicts.

"I always thought," Cain told him, "that it is far more difficult to hold this society than to overcome it." War is simple. Peace is even more challenging. ”

"It hurts my heart, Siddha," Garvin responded. "No one seems to respect the great work we are doing, and the future we represent. There will always be people who will hide from us. Disobedience. ”

"It's like having a cat."

"Cats?"

The memory made Cain smile. "Cat, my emperor. It's just an animal species. Notoriously difficult to raise. ”

Of course, the problem lies in the Ao Neng. Like liquid gold, this substance is a huge, almost magical source of energy. As long as you succeed in controlling the arcane energy, you have great influence, which also means that the empire must control the source, distribution and use of the arcane energy. It is a serious offense to use Acanon for biohacking techniques, which are used by those hateful paladins. Such behaviour is not only dangerous, but also a challenge to sovereignty. Controlling marginal behavior and maintaining order is a never-ending struggle. Keeping the Ao Neng in the rightful grip of the Empire is also an endless battle.

Cain had many solutions to this problem, and like the other cardinal generals, they were the most extraordinary of the Emperor's subordinates—all of whom did their best for Gavin.

Jiawen had retreated. Cain's proposal is both ruthless and realistic. Tough repression, severe punishment, and military annexation of the rebellious planet. Cain knew that the empire he had organized according to his ideas would be more tyrannical, more impersonal, and more distant from Gavin's ideas. But his duty required him to make these proposals, and his duty was to offer the Emperor an alternative. He was a cardinal general, Cain reminded himself. That's what a cardinal should do.

He was not surprised when the Emperor flinched, or even almost reproached Cain, for his murderous plans. It was this difference that made Gavin emperor and Cain a cardinal general. Cain is a war dog that Gavin leashes. He will only be let go hunting when he has no other choice.

And Gavin likes to test his war dogs, to test his loyalty and his aggressiveness.

Ai Onan...... Edge Planet ......

Kaiin wondered what his old comrade-in-arms Nagiuri had found there.

He felt a shiver from the deck. Their battleship, the massive Shattered Scissors, changed course. It appears that Captain Wisher has ordered the Flying Engine to reshape the singularity sphere around the outer perimeter of the hull, and to shift its course to Ionan.

Strips of light outside the portholes change hue. Ao Neng drove the ship's flying engines, creating a space-distorting sphere around the hull, allowing it to glide through the near-surface of subspace at a gap speed, like a stone cutting across the surface of a lake without being hindered by the current and surface tension of the water. The images of the astrolabe show that there is still six hours to go.

Cain heard a burst of laughter behind him. A giggle.

He looked back, vaguely feeling that it was Kira's surprise attack. But did not hear "Surprise! yelling.

Not a single one.

"What armaments do you need?" Kira asked. When he returned, he found his master staring at the open arsenal.

Cain shrugged. He'd practiced every weapon here a hundred times. These weapons bore him. There were only a few that he felt right in his hands...... But even these weapons have their own limitations.

"Judgment," he replied.

"What?"

"Commander Nagiuri suggested that the judgment be reviewed," Kaiin said.

"That's why we got out of the velocity and stopped on the periphery of the target planet?"

"Yes. I'll go down on my own. Tell the captain to prepare a small boat for me and anchor here. ”

"But the landing team has already assembled," Kira said. "Fifty experienced flying soldiers. I also polished my favorite tomahawk. ”

"I'll go by myself," Cain said. "I'll call you if you need to."

He chose a chrome pistol and a sleek ornamental spear—two weapons he was familiar with. Then he paused and looked back at Kira.

"Did you say anything?"

"Me?" The battle mech replied. "Nope."

"Another time I thought I heard you laughing."

"Nope. Not me. ”

With a rapid flash of thruster fire, Cain's ship left the hangar above the hull of the Shattered Scissors. He flew the DEMAX-3 Superior, a small interceptor that could be used as a deterrent and versatile interceptor. The cardinal's car should have been more imposing, memorable to the locals, ceremonial in weight, and spacious enough for squads of soldiers and combat vehicles.

However, Cain prefers the speed and firepower of the DEMAX-3. His preference dates back to his days as a deputy commander in the fringe fleet.

He accelerated around the relatively stationary main ship with unnecessary propulsion. The vents of the engines rotated flexibly, and the arrow-shaped ship rolled through a curtain of asteroids, dragging a faint trail of powder mist down to the planet's surface.

The stars in the distance twinkled like lights and fireflies. The tracking navigation shows Ionan in front of him.

Kai Yin rejected the autopilot helmet and manually controlled the ship to land, gently brushing through the ice vapor atmosphere and following Nagiuri's beacon. The beacon's signal and all voyage data are fed directly into his interactive panel—a steady stream of information projected directly onto his retina. Najuri's main ship is the Warm Reminder, a suppressive cruiser half the size of the Shattered Scissors. It is moored in far-Earth orbit on the other side of the edge planet, floating like a ghost on Cain's remote probe.