Chapter 264: The Elite Clan's Perplexity

The transport craft lowered its altitude, first circling the freshwater lake once, adjusting its attitude, then deploying its landing gear, and finally landing on the apron.

Boom—

The engine's roar gradually ceased.

Seeing the transport craft finish landing, the crowd waiting nearby walked onto the apron and headed toward its tail.

Leading them was John, wearing power armor and with the Spear of Fear attached to his back, flanked by four Warrior Guards.

Also present were Gabriel, still equipped with ceramic-steel armor, the paratrooper second lieutenant wearing the dedicated TPS power armor, and Shirley and Laura, who had just arrived.

Everyone walked toward the tail where the large hatch below was located.

They approached.

Sui Bian and Leon also stepped out of the transport craft and joined John, Shirley, and the others.

"Father." John first spoke respectfully to Sui Bian, then looked at Leon and said, "Long time no see, Leon."

"Just five years, not that long." Leon replied seemingly indifferently, but was actually teasing his brother.

Only this teasing was "somewhat" cold.

Sui Bian, however, chuckled lightly, and after sensing his second son's change via Spiritual Perception, praised John: "It seems you've made considerable progress these past few years; keep it up."

"Yes."

After finishing the brief conversation with his second son, Sui Bian also gave affirmative remarks to Gabriel and the second lieutenant, saying:

"I've reviewed the full battle record; it was precisely because of you and your comrades and brothers, fighting alongside the entire crew of UNSC's Punishment, that we prevented the war from affecting the millions of innocents on Harvest Star."

"You've done well, and I appreciate your hard work. Next, I'll grant you some time to rest and recuperate, especially you, second lieutenant, and your paratrooper battalion."

"Chairman, once our battalion is back to full strength, we want to be moved to the front lines! To be honest, we were worried yesterday that we had no aliens to kill!"

The second lieutenant's impassioned response.

"Fighting for father is only right!" Gabriel likewise was somewhat excited.

Although Gabriel and the other new recruits had few opportunities to speak with Sui Bian at close range, the G Gland ensured that, as they aged, their reverence for "father" was in no way inferior to that of the OriginalBody.

At that moment.

Shirley saw her uncle-generation Sui Bian finish talking with the second lieutenant and Gabriel, then turned her gaze toward her and Laura, and she proactively said:

"Chairman, the engineering team has completed the preliminary excavation; should we now enter the ruins interior?"

"Wait a moment, John, take me to see those prisoners." Sui Bian said.

"Yes, father."

John assented and led everyone away from the apron.

——————

…

The easternmost part of the temporary camp.

There stood a building resembling a warehouse.

Howl… howl!

Inside the building, furious and unwilling howls of the Elite Clan filled the air.

Here, there were only the overhead lighting fixtures, eight crude "cells," and a single "room."

The "drafty" fences surrounding the cells were made of metal posts as thick as a human forearm, each cell able to hold over a hundred adult humans.

At this time, held together were the Elites captured by Gabriel and his brothers, as well as the Jackal People and Gurgle People captured by Harvest Star's ground forces.

The Gurgle People were the most numerous, over five hundred, while the Jackal People numbered fewer than two hundred, and they were concentrated in seven cells.

The last cell was crowded with more than seventy Elites.

These three species of Star Alliance soldiers had their armor forcibly removed; only the Gurgle People still wore masks and gas canisters, breathing an extremely pungent gas to sustain their physiological functions.

There were no Ghostface Beasts, not because they preferred death to surrender, but because Gabriel and his brothers, before reaching the bridge area, employed a kill‑on‑sight approach.

Only after reaching the bridge did they decide to attempt capturing the Star Alliance command hierarchy.

This resulted in the Ghostface Beasts having no chance to be captured or surrender, and they fell victim to Gabriel and his men's slaughter.

The Jackal People were also few in number because they had successfully descended to Harvest Star's surface in escape pods, and they found the ground forces' Krieg easier to deal with than the Astate.

Not only did they not surrender, they even dared to attempt a counterattack.

Thus the Krieg gave the Jackal People a lesson.

Lastly was that very cooperative engineer who made the Astate feel "adorably clumsy."

Owing to its docile nature, it received special human attention; it is now studying the metal posts on its own in a small cell, seemingly trying to understand human alloy technology.

As for the "prison guards" of this warehouse, they are twenty Astate of the Sparta Corps wearing Thor's Hammer V.

The defensive forces are more than sufficient; there's no need to worry about jailbreaks or riots.

Inside the cell.

The Gurgle People huddled together, the Jackal People lay face‑down with heads in their hands, and whenever a giant‑like Sparta patrol passed, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Howl!

Only the Elites were dissatisfied, thrusting their arms through the fence gaps to try to scratch passing Sparta troops.

"..."

The patrolling Sparta troops merely turned their heads slightly, as if glancing at this group of Elites, but paid them no further heed and continued toward the next area.

Once the Sparta troops had moved away.

Only then did the Elites become somewhat subdued, yet they continued to converse in the Star Alliance language, quite resentfully.

Taking a closer look at this bunch.

Having removed their armor, they wore some kind of light combat suit; compared to Ghostface Beasts they were indeed slender, but compared to humans they were completely superior.

Their strong pride made the Elites prefer to believe that the Astate's easy victory over them was due to the enhancement from power armor, rather than accept that the Astate themselves were inherently stronger.

The elites scorn the ghost-faced beasts, which far outmatch them in strength, because the beasts rely on their agile forms and speed to prevail, seeing the ghost-faced beasts as nothing but mindless chargers.

However, one elite sitting cross-legged in the center of the cell remained silent from start to finish.

This elite appeared more composed than its peers, and the skin exposed outside its battle armor was covered in ferocious scars, indicating it was a veteran of countless battles.

It is the golden-armored commander who withstood Gabriel's kick and survived, translated by Bai Hou as Muerlinmir.

As the commander of the scout fleet, Muer was not the furious, contemptuous figure he had been before the battle; instead, he pondered why they had lost.

The Prophet declared that heretics (humans) were blasphemous existences, and so it was ordered to go to war.

At first, upon seeing the lone Punisher boldly charge their fleet, Muer secretly praised it as 'a heretic worthy of admiration.'

Now, that compliment seems like a joke.

Muer also lacked the naive thoughts of his peers, believing that Gabriel and the reserves had won by trickery; a loss is a loss, needing no excuse.

After regaining consciousness, Muer began to wonder why the Prophet had directly issued the extermination order.

Because, according to the usual procedure, upon discovering a new species they should first make contact and try to assimilate it into the Star Alliance.

If the other party refused, the Star Alliance would then resort to military means to compel compliance, and extermination orders are extremely rare.

Something is not normal.

Why exactly did they directly label humanity as heretics?

Muer could not figure it out.

Especially after witnessing the combat power demonstrated by the Astartes, he even considered proposing to the Prophet that humanity be given a chance to join the Star Alliance.

But just as that thought arose, Gabriel and his brothers had already fought their way to the bridge, and then he ended up sitting here.

Pull humanity into the Star Alliance?

Heh… heh…

Thinking of this, Muer involuntarily let out a self-mocking laugh.

Thud, thud!

Suddenly, footsteps heavier than Sparta's began to reverberate throughout the warehouse.

?

This moment drew the attention of all the Star Alliance members, who all turned their gazes toward the warehouse entrance.

All that could be seen was Sui Bian and the others entering the warehouse.

They saw a contingent of warriors and guards clad in Terminator armor, and most noticeably, Leon and John flanking Sui Bian on either side...

!

It directly terrified the Gogrul and Jackal peoples so much they dared not breathe, their bodies trembling more intensely, for fear of angering the two four-meter-tall Original Bodies.

!!

Even some hot-headed young elites no longer shouted as before; their faces showed a shock that anyone could understand, and they kept stepping back away from the bars.

"Ah…! Ah!" their four-part mouths kept saying something.

If Bai Hou were to do the translation, the corresponding human term would be 'devil' or 'demon'.

"..."

Seeing Sui Bian and the others stride straight toward them, even the ever-composed Muer rose in surprise.

What kind of species has the Star Alliance managed to provoke!

They approached and halted.

With his hands behind his back, Sui Bian closely observed the elites imprisoned here, and could clearly sense the emotions of this warlike species.

Confusion and bewilderment prevailed absolutely.

At this moment.

Having regained his composure, Muer also deduced from their stance that Sui Bian was the leader of the Original Body, the Astartes.

"Muerlinmir, right? I suppose I haven't got it wrong."

Just then, a resonant-sounding question in human language appeared beside Muer's ear.

Yet it could understand it!

!!!

This shocked Muer greatly, and it instinctively locked eyes with Sui Bian.

"That's right, it's me."

Sui Bian, maintaining a benevolent smile, did not move his mouth, yet he spoke to Muer again:

"I know you're puzzled as to why you can understand my words despite the language barrier, but the soul does not."

"The soul?! You mean you're speaking directly to my soul?!" Muer was astonished.

"You can understand it that way." Sui Bian did not deny.

At the same time, in the eyes of the Red and White Queens, Shirley and Laura, and a group of elites.

Sui Bian remained silently smiling, while Muer let out 'ah-ah!' cries, as if talking to himself in a fit.

He eased up.

Muer finally managed to steady himself, then nodded slightly and said: "Correct, I am Muerlinmir, Supreme Commander of the Covenant (Star Alliance) Empire; may I ask who you are…?"

"Chairman, you may address me as such; as for my identity… heh, there's too much to say, you just need to know I am human."

Sui Bian responded with a light laugh, then without giving Muer much time to react, continued asking:

"Then, Captain Muerlinmir, I want to know whether your Covenant Empire is led by the so-called Prophet, and whether you intend to lead yourselves to a higher plane of existence…"

"to undertake a pilgrimage, right?"

"Yes." Muer replied without hesitation, directly saying: "Everything we do is to seek the legacy left by the divinities."

"And you humans are deemed heretics by the Prophet, blasphemous existences!"

But…

Mu'er was unable to continue speaking.

However, Sui Bian sensed Mu'er's doubt, released his Spiritual Energy to amplify this doubt, and guided him with words, saying:

"But you don't know the reason, do you?"

"..." Mu'er nodded without speaking.

"Then follow me; I will show you and your compatriots what is heresy and what is divinity."

The echo in Sui Bian's words intensified slightly.

Then, glancing sideways at John with his peripheral vision, he said, "Open the prison door."

"Yes."

John had no hesitation; he immediately gestured, letting a Sparta in charge of guarding the warehouse open the prison door.

?

Watching the prison door slowly open, most of the elites were somewhat dazed.

"Aoo!!"

But a dozen or so elites who once wore brown armor, being high-ranking warriors, seized the opportunity and launched a surprise attack at great speed.

Seeing this, they, unwilling to be captured, intended to use the surprise attack to seize Sui Bian, who lacked powered armor protection, and the seemingly "fragile" White Empress and Red Empress.

But as soon as they took a step…

Boom——!

"Plop! Thud!"

All the elites instantly lost control of their bodies, collapsing one after another; the air felt like a thousand-jin weight, making it impossible to breathe.

There was no room for any resistance.

"Aoo..."

The elites once again let out their clan's unique wail.

"Forgot to remind you, Captain Linmir." Sui Bian still wore a very friendly smile, looking at Mu'er forced to collapse on the ground, and continued:

"Make your subordinates behave; next time, I will indeed not save those who are doomed."

Having said that.

Sui Bian then dispelled his Spiritual Energy oppression, turned and left first, leaving Leon and John to escort this group of elites.

As for Sui Bian's "not saving the doomed"...

Actually, if Sui Bian had not timely applied Spiritual Energy oppression, these elites would have been torn to shreds by the two AIs.

As for Leon, John, the guards, and the warriors, who also possessed Spiritual Perception, they realized from the start that the father wanted the elites to understand that before absolute strength, any scheming is futile.

Otherwise, before the radical elites attempted their surprise attack, their bodies and souls would have been burned to ashes by Sui Bian's Spiritual Energy radiance.

The disappearance of the oppression allowed the elites' breathing to return to normal, and they regained control of their bodies, struggling to rise.

This time, all the elites became unusually obedient, no longer howling "ao ao".

Because the Spiritual Energy oppression was likewise a supernatural phenomenon to them.

Mu'er, who had been secretly guided by Sui Bian, did not dwell on it; he was the first to walk out of the cell, and instructed them in their language:

"Everyone, follow along; do not take rash actions."

"..."

Seeing their commanders choose to cooperate, the elites exchanged glances, but ultimately decided to follow Mu'er, proceeding outward from the warehouse under the supervision of the OriginalBody and the Terminators.

One deputy, approaching Mu'er without changing expression, asked in a low voice: "Captain, can we trust these humans?"

Upon hearing that.

"I don't know." Mu'er gazed at the exit ahead, his tone intensifying: "But my "intuition" tells me that following that mysterious human who calls himself the chairman might lead to answers about my god."

(End of chapter)