199: Chapter 200 Surrender Ceremony

Mobius Prime, the Hive City capital.

Today, this steel world, usually shrouded in thick industrial smog and toxic acid rain, had miraculously cleared up.

However, for the Hive City laborers living at the bottom, clear skies were not a cause for celebration; they meant even crueler high-pressure exploitation and doubled workloads.

Because, according to the deeply ingrained, brainwashing doctrines of the Ecclesiarchy:

The light of the sun represented the omnipresent gaze of the Divine Emperor.

Under the gaze of the God-Emperor, any ant at the bottom who dared to slack off even a little would usually be seen as a grave disrespect to the God-Emperor and an act of absolute disloyalty to the Empire!

Minor offenses resulted in the deprivation of rations, while major ones led to being sent directly to the Servitor conversion factory.

At this moment, on the massive open-air starport platform at the highest level of the Governors Mansion, the most powerful group of big shots in the Yuanwang Star System were gathering.

The starport's tarmac was strictly divided into two camps.

On the left were the Ecclesiarchy clergy, led by Archbishop Anthony.

Archbishop Anthony wore ornate gold-threaded robes, holding a scepter, his eyes sinister.

Behind him, a squad of heavily armed Seraphim followed closely as his personal security detail.

On the right were the officials of the Imperial Department of Justice, led by Marshal Miller.

The accompanying heavily armed riot assault team, holding riot shields and shotguns, maintained the tense order at the perimeter with expressionless faces.

Marshal Miller was chewing on a half-unlit cigar.

He glanced sideways at the grim-faced Archbishop Anthony on the left, a mocking sneer appearing involuntarily at the corner of his mouth.

The reason Miller was willing to secretly provide that galactic intelligence network to Lin Li and tacitly allow the Spark Alliance to take over Mobius was one very important factor: he had long understood, through various channels, the Spark Alliance's political policy of stripping away noble privileges and cracking down on the oppressors who benefited from the status quo.

Miller knew very well that the deeper the oppression in a place, the more willing the Spark Alliance's army was to tear apart those privileges like mad dogs!

And in the entire Mobius system, who was the greatest privileged class at the moment?

Without a doubt, it was not Governor Cromwell, but that hypocritical old fox—Archbishop Anthony!

Under centuries of tax-exemption policies, nearly one-third of the prime assets and underground mineral veins on Mobius Prime had already fallen into the private pockets of the Ecclesiarchy.

Moreover, the church where Archbishop Anthony resided often relied on its divine power to bypass the legal trial procedures of the Adeptus Arbites, publicly burning so-called heretics in the square.

Of course, anyone with eyes knew that most of those poor wretches burned to ashes were just unlucky souls who blocked the church's financial path in business competition, or low-level wealthy merchants unwilling to pay the exorbitant tithes.

Archbishop Anthony naturally noticed Marshal Miller's hostile sneer.

But he just snorted coldly, turned his head expressionlessly, and ignored him.

Just then, a huge uproar suddenly erupted from the crowd below the starport.

Subsequently, the dense Defense Force voluntarily cleared a wide path on both sides.

Elena appeared, wearing the rough linen clothes only worn by low-level laborers, walking side-by-side at the front of the procession with that Catachan bodyguard, Cork.

Behind the two, several other gang leaders and labor representatives who participated in the slum rebellion followed closely.

And walking at the very back of the procession was the former Governor Cromwell, who had been completely stripped of all power, along with his dejected-looking old butler.

As soon as Elena appeared, the dense crowds watching from the plaza below the starport immediately erupted into a tsunami-like welcome!

The composition of this fanatical cheering was very complex.

Although Elena had been publicly announced as removed from the family genealogy by her brother, Governor Cromwell, everyone believed that it was just a political show.

Now, as the leader of the rebel army, she had become the new de facto ruler of this Hive City.

Naturally, she represented a brand-new House Rofis!

And as a rebel leader born from a top noble family, in the eyes of those fickle old nobles, Elena would definitely continue to speak from the standpoint of noble and capital interests to maintain her rule.

Therefore, the nobles were cheering for her.

Other, more fanatical cheers came from the low-level laborers who had fought their way out of the sewers alongside Elena.

They truly believed that after Elena became the new governor, she would fulfill her promise and bring them a better life with enough food and clothing.

Behind Governor Cromwell, dozens of semi-mechanical Servitors were struggling to carry a magnificently ornate golden pedestal.

On the pedestal, protected by bulletproof glass, was an ancient parchment [Governor Authorization Edict] issued by the Departmento Munitorum.

Such a formal written edict, which symbolized the legitimacy of absolute rule, was usually only qualified to be held by a planetary governor.

As a family power bond recognized by the Empire, this thing was only allowed to be passed down through the family bloodline from generation to generation.

Of course, in this remote star sector where the Emperor was far away, the Imperial center couldn't control this place at all.

Basically, it belonged to whoever had the biggest fist and who had the army.

As long as the tithes could be handed over to the Imperial Black Ships on time every year, the High Lords of Terra wouldn't bother to care where this edict was snatched from or whose name was written on it.

At this moment, Governor Cromwell had moved this pedestal, which represented the family's highest honor, out.

Naturally, it was just to go through the motions, to legitimately hand over the ruling power to its new master in front of the big shots.

Just as the preparations for the surrender were about to be completed, "Vrrr—!"

Accompanied by a low engine roar, heavy shuttles and assault barges printed with the torch emblem began to pierce through the clouds in the sky, landing steadily on the tarmac reserved at the starport.

"Clang!" The cabin doors opened in unison.

Teams of heavily armed personnel walked out.

Walking at the very front was the Thunder Warriors Carmen.

He led the Central Legion, spearheaded by Ironhead and Pointy Ears, all members were wearing heavy gray Power Armor, holding plasma guns, and walked out of the cabin with uniform steel steps.

Subsequently, like an insurmountable city wall, they quickly stood guard on both sides of the tarmac.

Everyone present, whether they were proud nobles or fanatical civilians, showed undisguised shock the moment they saw this army!

As a Thunder Warriors, Carmen's terrifying stature of 2.5 meters, paired with a custom-made heavy Power Armor in dark gold, exuded an oppressive feeling that, in the eyes of these short-sighted natives, was almost identical to the invincible Space Marine of legend!

And the Central Legion soldiers behind him, with an average height of two meters and bolstered by standardized equipment, were equally intimidating.

Many low-level old nobles were so scared that their legs went weak, and they immediately knelt on the ground, performing the highest-standard Imperial Aquila salute.

Governor Cromwell looked at the disciplined army, whose equipment was outrageously luxurious.

He laughed, completely giving up this time.

He finally knew the despairing gap in strength between the Defense Force under his command, who couldn't even get enough to eat, and the Spark Alliance.

The surrounding civilians, seeing the Central Legion, erupted into even more fanatical exclamations.

They still stubbornly regarded these tall Thunder Warriors as the Angels of Death sent by the God-Emperor himself to save them!

Immediately after, under the protection of the Central Legion, Lin Li finally walked out of the cabin.

He was accompanied by the Commander Ushtan, the Battle Sisters Frannie in black tactical gear, as well as core leaders of the alliance like Kolom, Governor Jia Mei, and Talos.

Following behind them were the Commanders of several major legions like Use Fire Punch, ikun True Fan, Praise Ming Shen, and a group of high-level players watching the plot.

As soon as this group of The Fourth Calamity walked out, the originally solemn surrender scene suddenly turned chaotic.

[Wanna Sleep with Slaanesh] peered around: "Holy cow! What a big scene! There are so many people in this city, it's like a train station during the Spring Festival travel rush!"

[Why Panic When I Have Flash] stretched his neck and pointed forward: "No kidding! Holy crap, brothers, look over there! Isn't that NPC leader woman named Elena? I saw in the data that she's a top-tier rich and beautiful noble! Why is she dressed so shabbily, like a scavenger?"

[Liver Emperor] stroked his chin and analyzed: "You don't get it, right? Maybe there's some hidden political marriage plot we haven't triggered. This is called disguise for the lower classes."

Flame Fist quickly made a shushing gesture and lowered his voice: "Shh! Everyone shut the hell up! The boss is going to read his lines! Don't ruin the atmosphere of the CG animation!"

The players then closed their mouths and found a good spot to start taking screenshots and recording videos.

With the appearance of Lin Li, a melodious piece of music immediately rang out at the starport.

There were formations of carefully dressed young girls throwing petals into the air;

The church's choir and dance troupe played solemn movements;

Dozens of golden-painted audio-visual Servitor skulls floated in mid-air, continuously cycling and proclaiming the great achievements of the Spark Alliance lord in a mechanical voice.

Everyone present, whether noble, civilian, or Defense Force, put down their weapons and saluted or knelt directly the moment they saw Lin Li.

Although this was only a surrender ceremony for the power of the Hive City, the illustrious name of the Spark Alliance defeating the Zerg vanguard fleet in space and saving the entire agricultural world had already spread wildly through various channels to every level of the system in just a few days!

In the face of the absolute righteousness of fighting against aliens, Lin Li's current prestige and popularity on Mobius Prime were absolutely unprecedented and at their peak!

Governor Cromwell, separated by the crowd, finally saw the leader of the alliance who had dealt him a heavy blow and completely ended his rule.

When he saw the young man in dark red Power Armor, surrounded by the crowd, Governor Cromwell couldn't help but be stunned.

"Too young..." Governor Cromwell muttered to himself, "How could such military strength be in the hands of such a young person? Could it be... that he is just a puppet spokesperson pushed to the front stage by some massive hidden power?"

And at this moment, Lin Li, who was at the center of the storm, felt somewhat surprised and speechless looking at the lively scene in front of him.

"Good grief! Isn't it just signing a surrender agreement?"

Lin Li looked at the dense crowd kneeling on the starport, then leaned out to look at the city surface below the starport, which was also packed with laborers.

"Isn't this making too much of a fuss? Did every big shot in the entire Hive City come out to be an extra?"

The scene was truly too grand, which made Lin Li, who was usually used to being a shut-in Commander in Shelter, feel a bit confused, not knowing what the next step of the process should be.

The Archon Kolom on the side immediately saw the embarrassment of his lord.

He immediately stepped forward, leaned into Lin Li's ear, lowered his voice to act as a temporary master of ceremonies, and quickly explained:

"My Lord, a surrender ceremony of this level for a planetary governor represents the complete transfer of the highest power of a world in terms of Imperial jurisprudence."

"This symbolizes that you will legally take over the decree of the God-Emperor to rule this star sector from the former governor! So the ceremony must be made very grand and formal."

Kolom pointed to the golden pedestal in front, "According to the procedure, you, as the victor, should first walk to the pedestal, read a holy word praising the Emperor in public, and openly state that the other party no longer has the power and ability to continue protecting this region for the Emperor and the Empire, and then they will hand over the edict."

After listening, Lin Li turned to look at Kolom, his brows furrowed into a ' river' shape.

"Is it necessary to make it so troublesome when signing a paper is enough?" Lin Li muttered in a low voice.

Kolom smiled awkwardly:

"This is a necessary procedure stipulated in the Imperial Code, my Lord, just go through the motions."

No choice.

To maintain the high-and-mighty lord aura of the Spark Alliance, Lin Li had to clear his throat, force a straight face, and walk out of the crowd of guards.

He came to Elena and Governor Cromwell.

Lin Li began to follow the rhetoric Kolom had just taught him, combined with the charlatan speeches he had seen on TV before, and began a simple and high-sounding explanation.

"...In view of the incompetence and weakness of House Rofis in fighting against aliens, now, in the name of the Spark Alliance, I announce the official takeover of all military and political affairs of the Mobius system!"

After finishing the nutritious-less pledge, Elena and the former Governor Cromwell looked at each other.

Then the two stepped forward at the same time, knelt on one knee, and performed a chest-touching salute indicating absolute submission to Lin Li.

And they expressed their willingness to surrender unconditionally in a loud voice over the citywide broadcast.

Subsequently, guided by Archbishop Anthony's emotionless scriptures, Lin Li walked somewhat stiffly to the golden pedestal.

He knelt on one knee, pretended to start praying, and under the gaze of everyone, read out the old-fashioned oath of loyalty to the Empire.

After this process was completed, just as Lin Li breathed a sigh of relief and was about to stand up to carry out the final document handover with Elena, a sudden change occurred!

"Click!"

On the entire massive starport platform, a series of dense weapon loading sounds suddenly rang out!

It turned out that those Skitarii who were standing on the periphery acting as an honor guard suddenly surged in like a tide from the passages in all directions!

The Battle Sisters covered in heavy armor, as well as those Penitent Engines that had been transformed into crazy killing machines, stood directly at the very front!

And on the high ground in the distance, the Dominion squads holding heavy Bolters and multi-melta weapons had quickly taken their positions, their muzzles locked tightly on the location where Lin Li was!

"Eliminate these blasphemous heretics!"