"Hats off, my lord, you still look healthy: it's a pleasure."

[Thank you for your kindness, Cassia: Is there anything you can do?] 】

"Yes, my lord: I mean, as I led my way among the stars, I did encounter some things that bothered me, and they might deserve your attention."

As Conrad had said, after he had left the throne room of the genoplasm with a tune-out tune, the next guest arrived quickly: the time was accurate enough for Virgo to set up a new tea table and set up a staggered platter of delicate pastries.

The Progenogens needed these things, but not for food, but for hospitality: instead of staying on her throne as she used to, the Spider Empress sat down at the table behind the throne to greet the guest with the etiquette of a friend.

After all, she was indeed a friend of the Primordial.

[Of course I will pay attention, after all, something that confuses you: the fact that such words can be said by you means that the situation must be very serious, Miss Cassia.] 】

The genogen picked up the teacup and admired the beauty in front of her, and next to her, Virgo poured another cup of hot tea and delivered it to the guest with her own hands.

"Ah...... Thank you ......."

Cassia took the tea and nodded a little rustily, she seemed quite uncomfortable to greet outsiders: but then, the pair of scarlet pupils began to involuntarily stare at the Virgo who had retreated to the side, and this gaze was so dazzling that it almost immediately attracted the attention of the genoplasm.

[What's wrong?] 】

"Ah, nothing...... Just ......"

Cassia blinked.

"I'm a little curious, your maid seems to have been serving you for some time: I've seen her a few Terra standards years ago, but her appearance doesn't seem to have any ...... compared to that time. Variation? ”

【……】

"She's really...... A maid? ”

【……】

“……”

“…… Sorry, I guess...... I seem to have said the wrong thing again. ”

"I'm sorry, my lord."

[No, it doesn't matter. 】

The Spider Empress waved her hand casually, and even the Virgo on the side looked light-hearted: it was clear that they were accustomed to the situation in front of them.

[My maid is in a special situation, but she is absolutely safe and secure, and there is no need to worry: the reason why I have not disclosed her situation is that I am worried that her abnormality may cause unnecessary panic. 】

"I think you can understand me. 】

"Ah, of course I understand."

"The inferior servants are also afraid of my presence: when I pass by them, they bow their heads and dare not look at me, because they are afraid of my eyes."

"And I dare not look at them: for I fear their filthy souls, the servants who are different from you and your children, whose color is mottled in pitch black, and who are senseless destroyers on the canvas."

[That's why you don't like to leave the Navigator area?] 】

"It's one of them, and the family admonition that we shouldn't have been out of the navigator area for too long, that is a dereliction of duty, and a place where our precious genes are at risk: if the Lord Regent knew that I had made such a mistake, he would reprimand me, and his soul would erupt with a dark brown rage."

Cassia laughed: the chief navigator of the Aurora, the rising star of the Othello family, and a rare friend of the Genoplasm on the warship, always likes to sparkle his eyes, like a child still exploring the outer world.

And given her actual situation, this analogy may not be an exaggeration: Cassia never left the palace where she was born before coming to the Aurora, and like most of the Navigator's children, she was carefully stored as an expensive and inexpensive consumable.

Morgan thought so, and she casually threw the little biscuits into her mouth, and looked at Cassia's long snow-white hair, scarlet pupils, the navigator's eyes obscured by sky-blue gems, and the shocking veins under her eyebrows, and the sharp fingers that were indistinguishable from eagle talons: when these scenes were shrouded in a dull purple robe, the horrible images of the navigators to the eyes of mortals no longer seemed to be an ethereal prejudice.

Cassia is certainly a beautiful individual compared to the brutal Eugenlin or Leterin ape-men, but she is more of a monster than a real mortal: not to mention that her future appearance may be even more terrifying due to the combined influence of the navigator gene and her long-term exposure to subspace.

You know, a considerable part of the Navigator family is a bunch of monsters that are so deformed and bloated that they can only be imprisoned in prisons, and those who can stand on battleships and banquet halls are a few lucky ones: but even these lucky ones, at the end of their lives, are very likely to become hideous monsters.

Compared to most of her kind, Miss Cassia is already an extreme beauty: this is also the main reason why the Genogen chose her as the flagship navigator, after all, the Dawnbreaker Legion does not have too many rigid requirements in this regard, and in the Dawnbreaker dormitory of the [Dawning Goddess] alone, there are at least five hundred preparatory plans that can temporarily replace the navigator.

Of course, Cassia is not a simple vase: another reason why she was able to stand out among the fifty candidates offered by the regent of the Othello family, and was favored by the genetic prototype, was because of her extraordinary talent, infinite future, and pure personality that was relatively easy to grasp.

Influencing and even controlling the entire Othello clan through this simple little guy is also a step for the Spider Empress: this ancient family of navigators has been working for the emperor since the early days of the Terra Unification War, and their cooperation with the Legion of the Daybreaker can even be traced back to the years when the Great Expedition began.

Unlike other Navigator families, the Othello family has always been known for their prosperity, and they always have no shortage of qualified navigators and successors, not only do they not have to worry about the inheritance of their families like their kinds, but they can continue to branch out and expand the size of their family at a speed that is visible to the naked eye.

Among those who are full of envy and jealousy of their kind, the Othello family even has a very historical and cultural nickname: Habsburg.

Although the Othello family gradually declined and even fell to an all-time low in the following decades with the sluggish attitude of the Dawnbreaker Legion, the family's regent and elders gritted their teeth and firmly fulfilled their contract with the Legion: this great loyalty was given the most generous gift almost immediately after the return of the original gene, and the Othello family was even given a small planet in the Avalon system to build their family palace. And in the blink of an eye, more networks of interests spread to most of the Far Eastern frontier.

Compared to her blood relatives, the Spider Queen is very adept at and willing to use these mortal powers, and the Othello family's Jedi rally is just the simplest example, but more examples come from the Rogue Traders flying the banner of Avalon, the merchant fleet, and even the private colonial fleet: these mortals are the force that continues to expand the Far Eastern Frontier compared to the understaffed Dawnbreaker Legion, and their greed and fearlessness are the favorite qualities of the Genotype.

In the twenty standard years since she returned to the Terra, Morgan has personally issued countless Rogue Trader Permits, as well as similar promises, even more than Horus and Killiman: it was thanks to these people that the Avalonian Federation was able to take the Salamas sector without any major fight, and to include the wider outer part of the galaxy into its sphere of influence.

This kingdom within a country ruled by Morgan now stretches from Olympia in the west, to the ghoul stars in the north, hidden in the mysterious Damocles Bay in the south, and across Salamas on the eastern border, advancing towards the extraterritorial darkness at the edge of the galaxy: thanks to the crazy trochanters and colonists, Avalon is now even more magnificent than Otlama if you look at the [land area] alone.

Of course, the inner side of Avalon is still far from being comparable to the rich Five Hundred Worlds: but since the land has been completely encircled, it is only a matter of time before further construction is made, and the potential of the Far Eastern Frontier may not be comparable to that of the Five Hundred Worlds.

Morgan even fantasized that if the fully developed Far Eastern Frontier and the union of the Five Hundred Worlds were regarded as the [East Pole], and then the core part of the solar star field headed by Divine Terra and Mars would be regarded as the [West Pole], then as long as heavy troops were sent to suppress the large vortex area in the middle of the [two poles] and form a double-headed eagle that echoed each other from afar, then the Human Empire would obtain a relatively stable [core area] and could focus on the barrenness of the south and north: according to this view, It is not impossible to rule the entire galaxy in peace.

It's just that......

The genogen glanced at Cassia who was enjoying hot tea and cookies in front of her.

Ideas like those just now will inevitably require the omnipotent [network] in the mouth of her genetic father as a connection, and once a new mode of transportation like the network is officially put into use, won't a mutant group like Cassia, which is not accepted by mortals, usher in a bloody purge?

After all, if it weren't for the Navigator family's monopoly on the necessities of subspace navigation and thus the only way to navigate safely during these crazy years, they would have been systematically wiped out: by analogy, the protogens would have known why her father was secretly carrying out his network engineering.

I also know that once the existence and function of the network channel is leaked in advance, it is impossible for all the navigators to be on the side of the emperor, and their rebellion will cause the entire human empire to disintegrate in an instant: this is even more deadly than all the Astarte legions rebelling together, after all, although the emperor can kill all Astarte, he cannot personally guide every ship.

Thinking of this, the Spider Empress couldn't help but squint her eyes: although she had already decided to adopt a [turn a blind eye, listen but not hear] attitude towards all things in the network, but deep down, she was still a little bit of a little ninety-nine.

If that network project was really miraculously performed by her genetic father: although the probability of such a thing is so small that it is almost imperceptible, if it really happens, then without the necessity of subspace navigation, the psionics are very likely to become a pure negative asset of the human empire, just like the navigator family, and even with the end of the great expedition, the psionics will even have a greatly reduced role in combat.

And at that time, where should she, the [Psionic Primordial], go?

At that time, will the emperor be kind enough to [turn a blind eye and turn a deaf ear] to her?

【……】

Morgan didn't know.

But she can be sure that the emperor's plan for her is much more than a great expedition, and that this plan must contain some kind of exploitation: just as when she was talking and laughing with Cassia, she also had the same intention of indirectly controlling the entire Othello Navigator family through Cassia, and using this as an opportunity to gradually encroach on all the Othello Navigator families.

At this point, they are worthy of being biological father and daughter, and they are a raccoon dog.

The Lord of Avalon smiled self-deprecatingly, a smile that even frightened Cassia across the table: for the navigator whose senses were close to that of mortals, she certainly couldn't imagine how complex and leapy the Genoplasm could think in the seconds she sipped tea and uttered polite words.

The Navigator was oblivious to these thoughts, and after a brief greeting, she took out the tiny projector beside her and began to tell the purpose of her visit.

"Look, sir."

The lights flickered, and the projector radiated a corner of the northern frontier of the Milky Way.

"This is the area where our fleet is located now, and in the official documents published by Holy Terra, it is called the Hazy Star Field, but in reality, we are in a position long beyond the confines of the Hazy Star Field: according to their words, we are actually in the extraterrestrial darkness at the edge of the galaxy."

"Even the light of the star torch on Terra is unusually dim here, and the subspace takes on a deep red and blue color in this place, which is the embodiment of the malice of war and death."

"But even so, there is a color that is more terrible than theirs: I have found this color in the northwest direction of the fleet, it is a terrifying black, it has no fluctuations or turbulence, only a complete dead silence and a very special coldness."

【……】

[Pitch black? 】

Morgan frowned: she knew that Cassia's penchant for using color to symbolize the obscurity of the subspace seemed to be some sort of private hobby of her as a navigator, but in the previous few years of working together, Morgan had never heard the word "pitch black" in Cassia's mouth.

What does it stand for? 】

“……”

The navigator paused.

"Nothing, my lord: it is pure nothingness, it is the coldness of dead silence, the silence that cannot be possible: unless all intelligent life in that real universe has lost its self, and has become a puppet without the slightest sense of autonomy, denying that this color cannot appear in the vast ocean."

"Even in the Most High Heaven, it is a great blasphemy."

Cassia was trembling, her every vein exuding an aura of unease with the shiver in her soul, until the genogen stretched out its palm to soothe her soul and calm the navigator down.

[Maybe it's just an observational error, Cassia?] 】

"No, sir."

The navigator shook his head.

"At first, I thought it was a mistake caused by my inexperience, so I asked every navigator I could find now, but everyone came to the same conclusion: it was a dark spot, a shadow in the subspace, that seemed to be able to swallow up all soul fluctuations, or to obscure them entirely."

"We have unanimously concluded that either the most complete extinction of life has occurred in that star field, or there is some kind of blasphemous existence that obliterates the projection of the Supreme Heaven there, either case is almost impossible."

"There is no such efficient slaughter, and there is no such powerful subspace spell."

【……】

Morgan nodded, narrowing her eyes at the star map projected by the projector, and Cassia thoughtfully marked the location of the shadow: it was northwest of the Dawnbreaker fleet, and the combined fleet of the Dark Angels and Space Wolves was northeast of the Dawnbreaker fleet, and both fleets were about the same distance from the shadows.

In other words, if they set off at the same time, they would probably complete the meeting at the edge of the shadow zone: that being said, isn't the shadow that Cassia marked a little too big?

The original gene frowned, and she roughly estimated the size of the [Dead Star Region] marked by Cassia: the area of this shadow was roughly the same as one sixths of a solar star field, and it was undoubtedly a cross-star level existence, which could contain dozens or even more galaxies with signs of civilization activity.

You know, although this is already the edge of the galaxy, this does not mean that this is a savage region of civilization: in the dark technological age of the past, the race called human beings had enough time to sweep the entire galaxy and establish their civilization in every corner of the galaxy, and the edge of the galaxy is no exception.

What's more, because this place is so remote, it is very likely that it has not been affected by the massive catastrophes in the center of the galaxy, except for the regression of civilization, and the kingdom that lives here may even be more comfortable and prosperous, with a terrible legacy unimaginable to the Empire.

In a word, this is no dead wasteland: the original Randan Empire did not touch this area, and there is ample possibility of civilization here.

And now, they have "disappeared": such a vast area has "disappeared".

【……】

The genoplasma took a deep breath.

[Is it possible that this is just a unique local phenomenon: since the Milky Way is so vast, there must be countless unsolved mysteries.] 】

Morgan proposes a hypothesis, and this hypothesis is not groundless: the depth of the galaxy is far beyond the human empire to be excavated in a short period of time, and countless ancient relics and unique phenomena surpass even the most extreme imagination of the archaeocratic minds on Mars.

The Lord of Avalon himself had heard of an example of this: in the early days of the Great Expedition, the Legion of the Emperor's Children discovered hundreds of subspace portals made of unknown materials in a place called the Dartley System, and these magnificent devices were arranged in a ring that stretched for thousands of meters, hidden in nebulae and poisonous gases, and sanitized the planet in the center.

These subspace portals are more accurate than any other navigator in the Empire, and they allow fleets to cross half the galaxy in a short period of time, making them of great strategic importance and research value.

The forces of the Human Empire quickly occupied the system, and the Emperor's Son defeated an army of Xenomorphs pouring out of the subspace portals in the ensuing battle, and a year later, an expeditionary force of Ultramarines followed the portal's guidance and completely wiped out the alien home planet and race: and then, these portals of infinite value ceased to function one after another, for reasons that are not yet known.

But it is highly likely that the Human Empire has killed the maintenance and even construction personnel of these subspace portals without knowing it, and has not even had time to extract enough knowledge and value from them: if this is the case, then this kind of tragedy is truly heartbreaking.

"No, sir."

Cassia shook her head again, her voice more serious than ever, and Morgan could hear that her navigator was struggling to stop the fear in her heart.

"That's exactly what scares us the most: these areas are not in our main observation range, but someone from the Othello family has recorded them in passing during the previous star mapping."

"Less than ten years ago, that area was able to take on a variety of colors in subspace, which means that there are definitely mature civilizations in the region, and they are even enough to emit the scarlet of war, and now, there is only complete silence, complete darkness."

"There's something that has completely changed that starfield: it's still there."

"That's what we've seen in the subspace, and we can't be sure if it's a subspace entity too large to be perceived by a soul, or a dead city created in the real universe: whatever the truth, you and your allies are to be fully prepared for war."

"Pitch black is more terrible than scarlet: I will avoid the scarlet gaze, but I dare not even let my soul get too close to those pitch-black areas, Lord Leslas and Lord Schiller did not follow my advice, they paid the heaviest price, their eyes, souls, and lives, were defiled."

【……】

"I see, Cassia. 】

The Lord of Avalon was silent for a moment: no one knew what she was thinking.

[Thank you for the reminder, and please be careful in the next work: once there is an unknown situation, notify me as soon as possible, and I will personally handle all matters in the next period of time.] 】

"I'm glad you take my reminder so seriously."

Miss Navigator laughed.

"I wish you all the best, Lord Primordial."

——————

“……”

"All the best?"

"Pretty much."

Lana lowered his head, casually responding to inquiries from the other Old Guards.

The Ryoner Legion's Praetorian Guard has three missions on hand: one is the most urgent mission from the Mother of Genes, the most sacred mission that cannot be known to their Primordial Adults, and the other is a mission that requires the Primordial to sign off on it himself, but this mission is not urgent.

"Let me see ......"

Lana muttered to herself.

"Gather these people on the list, according to the orders of your lordship; Then, there is the last meeting before the action; Besides, after this expedition is over, I'll have to figure out a way to train these loosening bastards. ”

“……”

"I hope Cortés and Tarracin can be reliable: I hope that their fame in archaeology is really based on real talent."

The Praetorian Guard gritted his teeth, his wrinkles tightened, and in Lana's mind, he lacked real trust in his fellow archaeologists, especially the always mysterious Sergeant Tarasin, who had too many suspicious points: if it weren't for Sergeant Tarasin's flawless service resume, Rana would have wondered if he was a true Daybreaker.

But now, we can only count on this group of unscrupulous guys.

Rana was well aware that due to the urgency of the military situation and the lack of time, the opportunity to return from the flagship of the Dark Angel Legion to [Please] the sacred instrument of the Mother of Genes was actually very short: only the fleets of several legions had just converged, and the short period of time before the war had officially begun, it was possible to carry out covert activities.

In order to ensure the operation, whether it was the few companies that were skilled in archaeological work, the respected consuls of the legion, and even the most secretive Ministry of the Interior, they were all involved one after another: the troops involved in the operation could be said to be carefully selected, although they were not many in number, but they were elite enough to resist a small full-scale firefight.

That's all the Praetorian Guard can do: all he can do next is pray.

Oh, and there are other tasks to perform.

Thinking of this, Rana picked up the list that Morgan had drawn up himself, and read it carefully: the paper made of Avalon's best trees was neatly lined with names of people in black and white, both dawnbreakers and mortals in high positions in the legion system.

The Praetorian Guard had asked about the meaning of the list, and his genetic mother had answered him truthfully: this was Morgan's list of members of his advisory team, and there might be cuts and changes in the future, but in general, these were the people.

Rana did not have the slightest resistance to this matter, and he even secretly rejoiced: in his opinion, the original body should have set up a regular high-level organization of the legion a long time ago, and although the combination of various temporary ones is very convenient, it is not a long-term method after all.

As for whether the current monstrous power of the Praetorian Guard will be affected: he is still the protector of the Mother of Genes anyway, the last line of defense against Morgan, and as long as this duty is not shaken, Rana can be said to be indifferent to other things.

In the face of the mother's safety and trust: what is power?

The Praetorian Guard Governor embraced such a philosophy.

But even so, Rana still had some confusion from the depths of his heart, and this confusion came from the list of people in front of him, and after sending him out in turn, he held the list in his hand and looked at it over and over again.

Among the names on the list: Marshall, Bayar, Cortés, Zosimus, and Lana, the most respected warriors of the Dawnbreakers certainly exist on it, and of course there is no disputing it: Cortez and Josimus have their names followed by the word "interval", and it does not look like they will be standing seats.

And a name like Hecht is a bit reluctant to appear on the list, but it is not impossible: the commander of the 23rd Company is known to the world for his combat effectiveness and exploits, and he has even won the respect of most of the Terra veterans, and with his absolute merit, he has brought his company from the ordinary main company all the way to the top company of the whole legion.

He was the hope of the legion: almost everyone thought so.

But beyond that, there are other names that Rana can't understand: General Erwin, the representative of the Mortal Auxiliaries, Admiral Vincent, the representative of the Naval Fleet, and the representatives of the Council of Avalon and the Forge World Commonwealth, all of which are intermittent, and even Cassia, the navigator of the Aurora: she represents the entire group of Navigators, of course.

In addition to these, there are many [mortal] names on the list, although except for the representatives of the mortal auxiliaries and the naval fleet, the other representatives are [intermittent] and do not have standing seats, but this arrangement still makes Rana feel viscerally confused.

He didn't despise the power of mortals, on the contrary, he respected these mortals who fought alongside the Daybreakers and even watched over them through their own efforts, but that didn't mean he thought that these mortals could make it to the highest echelons of power in the Legion: even though the Mortal Auxiliaries and the Naval Fleet were a fairly central part of the Second Legion's tactics.

“……”

"What the hell is Mother thinking?"

The Janissary pinched the list and whispered to himself: he carried out the orders from the Mother of Genes without any waves, and confusion did not suppress his ability to act.

He was puzzled by the Original's actions, but only by that.

After all, Rana was confident: through these twenty years of silent watching, and the calmest of onlookers, the Praetorian Guard could be sure that his genetic mother was not a scheming person, and that he would never harbor any ill will towards the Dawnbreaker.

Case......

Then everything is according to what she says: Mother must have her own ideas.

And this kind of thinking is not something that Talana can snoop at will, and he does not want to snoop: after all, in essence, he wants nothing more than the safety of the mother of genes.

A few days ago, I went to station B and found a game called Ronin Trader.

Wow, this navigator lady pokes me xp!

Exciting looking for games.

Excitedly turned on the computer.

Excited to find out that my junk office notebook is absolutely impossible to drive......

……

Boom.

I can only write the young lady into the book.

(End of chapter)