"Activating: 'Tau Ambition: Millennium Misdirection'"
"Entering the New Millennium..."
"Empty talk of human rights..."
"Bribing diplomats..."
"Cultural infiltration of the Imperium of Man..."
"Putting on airs for the Imperial Prince..."
"Garrisoning human territory..."
"Opponents of a superpower..."
"An Ether Elder waves a 'piece of toilet paper': I bring peace for our generation!"
"Imperial Prince: 'It's time we spoke frankly!'"
...Human Judge: 'Stand still! Xeno! Face judgment for your crimes!'
---
At the parade, the Soldiers' hearts stirred with unease; they keenly sensed that the city's atmosphere was wrong. The empty streets, the strange architectural style, and the faint hostility in the crowd kept him constantly vigilant.
While some of the onlookers along the way cheered enthusiastically, others stared at the marching troops with cold eyes. A banner hanging from a streetlamp read, "Killers Go Home!" as if sarcastically reminding them they were not welcome.
Observing these subtle clues, the Soldiers quietly prepared their rifles and Chainswords, ready to respond to any sudden situation.
At this moment, Cain's unit finally arrived at their station, which was close to Lord Li Feng's command post. The Soldiers began to fall out and disperse, and sentries and laser cannons were set up around the camp to ensure safety. But Cain still couldn't relax; the ominous premonition in his heart lingered.
As Cain patrolled the camp, he observed the surrounding warehouses and found that the architectural style was still peculiar, especially the absence of right angles in the building structures, which put him on alert.
He gradually realized that this planet had been deeply infiltrated by xeno influence, leading him to suspect that it might have already succumbed to some form of Heretics' infiltration.
Yugen drove the jeep and quickly took Cain to the command post. Lord Li Feng's command post had commandeered a luxurious hotel in the local city center. Lord Li Feng had originally intended to pay the owner, but the owner was a staunch patriot.
Upon learning that the Imperial Forces and a friend of the emperor would be using his hotel, the owner even offered it for free, stating, "Imperial Forces! You've finally arrived! Hurry and show those human traitors and xenos what's what!"
Even though the owner offered free use, Lord Li Feng still had Reinhard give the owner 100 gold bars, and this was done on a large platform erected at the main entrance of the city center hotel. Lord Li Feng also performed the idiom of "setting up a pole and keeping one's word," just to tell the local populace that loyalty is rewarded.
And as Cain walked into the hotel entrance, several Astra Militarum Soldiers dragged out several officials from the local Department of Military Affairs and Department of the Interior, and those guys were even crying and begging for mercy:
"Sir! I was wrong! Spare my life! For the Emperor's sake..."
Subsequently, these officials were executed in the street, their bodies hung upside down from streetlights along the road, with a large wooden sign around their necks:
"I am a traitor to humanity"
At this moment, Siegfried walked out and, seeing Cain, immediately greeted him: "Political Commissar, you've finally arrived."
Cain, upon seeing Siegfried, had always had a good impression of the young man, so Cain pointed to the hanging corpses and asked:
"Xiao Qi, what's going on with those guys?"
Siegfried immediately said: "I was just about to tell you about this; Lord Li Feng is furious inside right now."
"Furious?"
"Yes, the Tau have a garrison on this planet, and we only just found out. Lord Li Feng was immediately so angry that he had these Department of Military Affairs officials dragged out and shot, making them hang upside down to atone for their sins."
Upon hearing this, Cain immediately became agitated. The Tau dared to garrison troops on the territory of the Imperium of Man? They've gone too far!
Cain took a deep breath, his brows furrowed, feeling that the situation was far more complex than anticipated. He remained silent for a moment, collected his thoughts, and stepped into the hotel lobby.
Walking through the spacious hall, Cain saw that the decorations along the way had the traditional Gothic style of the Imperium, with artworks conforming to Imperial aesthetics on the walls, and even occasionally statues of saints.
Finally, he reached the door of Lord Li Feng's command room. As soon as he arrived at the door, he heard Lord Li Feng's furious voice from inside... "The Tau have been garrisoned here for over 25 years! The Imperium apparently has no idea what's been happening here! There are no archived documents in the Ultima Segmentum either! The vermin on this planet! Deceiving superiors and subordinates!"
Cain opened the door. Inside Lord Li Feng's command post were all familiar faces. Reinhard was using an Astropath to send a "telegram" to Ultramar in the Ultima Segmentum, while Yang Wen-li was with several staff officers, drawing nearby star charts and maps.
At this time, Winters, as Lord Li Feng's chief of staff, was listening to Lord Li Feng's rant, while Spears was catching up on sleep on a sofa in the room.
All of Lord Li Feng's regimental commanders were present, including Kastin and Brocklaw, and even Colonel Lao Mo. And our Cain, as the Director of the Commissariat for the Regimental Hero Brigade, also served concurrently as the Political Commissar for the 597th Regiment.
Lord Li Feng stood at the map table, spewing profanities, his finger pointing to various Tau garrison markers. The staff officers beside him had solemn expressions, and the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.
Lord Li Feng looked up, saw Cain, and nodded slightly, signaling him to approach, as if he had seen a savior:
"Ah Kai! The latest intelligence: the Tau have not only established garrisons on this planet but have also built defensive fortifications in key areas and bribed some high-ranking local government officials... This is simply blatant humiliation!"
Cain frowned: "This is undoubtedly a challenge to the Imperium's authority. To dare to infiltrate our Imperial territory is simply unforgivable."
Lord Li Feng picked up: "The previous report from the Ultima Segmentum to Terra only mentioned frequent activity in this area, but I didn't expect them to dare to penetrate so deeply into our territory. Those executed officials are probably just the tip of the iceberg; more Heretics and traitors are still hiding in the shadows."
Cain nodded: "I will immediately strengthen ideological education for the local Soldiers. At the same time, I will organize Political Commissars to thoroughly investigate the area to ensure no trace of heretical thought remains."
Lord Li Feng pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Very good, Cain, internal affairs and ideological work are entrusted to you."
Indeed, this was another important reason why Lord Li Feng wanted Cain. Firstly, Cain was Lord Li Feng's old friend; he was "one of us." Secondly, Cain possessed qualities that many Imperial Commissars and officers lacked, namely a clever mind, meaning he wouldn't resort to a one-size-fits-all approach for everything.
At this moment, Reinhard stepped forward and reported in a low voice: "Your Excellency, we have already informed Terra and Ultramar that the Imperium is assembling another fleet, which is now en route to our location and will fight alongside us. The first batch of ships is expected to arrive in the outer systems within five days."
...Cain walked out of the command room and then out of the hotel. He once again saw the upside-down corpses lining the streets, and he now understood why Lord Li Feng had done this.
The situation had reached a point where the Tau were garrisoning this planet, and the Imperium had no knowledge of it at all. This illustrates just how terrifying the Tau's infiltration of the surrounding Star Sector truly was.
This was a warning to traitors, and Cain, as a Political Commissar, his duty was to uphold the Imperium's purity and glory, whether facing external enemies or internal traitors.
Night gradually fell, sentries quietly deployed outside the camp, and laser turrets around emitted faint light in the gloom, as if the Eye of the Imperium was coldly watching everything.
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