274: Chapter 275 Black Harbor

The two sat down again.

Lin Li picked up the teapot, poured a cup of black tea for Marshal Miller, and observed his expression calmly.

Marshal Miller picked up the teacup and took a sip, his smile deepening:

"I traveled a long way today, actually, to bring you some huge good news!"

"Oh?"

Marshal Miller set down the cup, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously:

"Just yesterday, in the official Departmento Munitorum database, the entire Yuanwang Star System—every planet, Hive City, and population—was officially declared completely consumed and extinct by the swarm, and removed from the Imperial records entirely!"

Hearing this news, Lin Li's expression remained very calm.

This was something he had expected.

A few days ago, the Death Specter had sent him a message saying they would help cover for the Spark Alliance and erase their files.

Now it seemed these big guys were quite efficient.

"Oh, Marshal Miller, according to what you're saying, you, your ten thousand-plus Adeptus Arbites officers, and the hundreds of millions of civilians still alive on these worlds... are you all legally dead in the eyes of the Empire now?"

Listening to Lin Li's offhand teasing, Marshal Miller gave a helpless, bitter smile.

Having dealt with this young leader for a long time, he had become somewhat immune to it.

"Lord Dawn, please don't make fun of me."

Marshal Miller sighed, his expression becoming complicated.

"But for us, this is indeed the best news."

"The Imperial tithe these days is so heavy it's like a mountain crushing everyone to death."

Marshal Miller shook his head, self-deprecatingly:

"Now it's good. We are nominally extinct. Without the exploitation of the tithe, the Imperial citizens here can finally close their doors and take a relaxed breath. Isn't this a blessing from the God-Emperor?"

Lin Li didn't speak, just listened quietly.

He knew.

Although Marshal Miller was a loyal Imperial official, he was also a flesh-and-blood human.

After seeing through the corruption and incompetence of the high-ups on Terra, this special treatment of being struck from the records was actually the best protection for the common people, provided no aliens came to cause trouble.

"You traveled all this way, surely you didn't just come to share this with me, right?"

Marshal Miller looked into Lin Li's deep eyes.

Seeing that this young leader didn't show even a hint of surprise after hearing about the galaxy being struck from the records, Marshal Miller understood instantly.

This leader had likely already learned this news in advance through some secret channel unknown to him.

Marshal Miller felt secretly alarmed and couldn't help but raise his estimation of the Spark Alliance by several notches.

He put away his smile, leaned forward slightly, and his expression became serious and solemn:

"Alright, Lord Dawn, let me be direct. I've brought an urgent military intelligence report this time."

"In the north, the main defensive line of the Malfatus Sector has completely fallen!"

Marshal Miller's words were heavy.

"The main forces of the Astra Militarum and the Imperial Navy in the north were routed not long ago. Currently, all surviving defenders have retreated to the last fortress world—Black Port!"

"Once the Chaos forces in the north capture Black Port, the entire southern part of the Ghoul Stars, and even our Yuanwang Star System, will be completely exposed to the direct attack range of the Chaos warbands! When that happens, no one will be able to live in peace!"

Lin Li frowned slightly upon hearing this.

This news perfectly matched his previous intelligence.

"I'm a bit puzzled," Lin Li remarked.

"The northern Astra Militarum and the defense fleet are, after all, dozens of regular regiments. How could they be defeated so easily while guarding the defense line?"

Marshal Miller explained:

"The defense line could have barely held, but the real turning point happened a few months ago. The northern front suddenly saw a large number of traitorous Adeptus Mechanicus appearing without warning. They brought countless Daemon Engines!"

"In the final assault on the fortress, the enemy even had a Chaos Greater Daemon capable of directly distorting reality dimensions personally take action, shattering the Void Shield core of the defense line with a single slap!"

Saying this, Marshal Miller turned his head and stared at Lin Li:

"Lord Dawn, you should not be unfamiliar with this Greater Daemon who took action. He is the one who, a few months ago outside Coastal City, tried to tear open the Warp, only to have one of his arms forcibly severed by your golden miracle..."

"Vashtorr?!"

Lin Li's pupils constricted violently.

He certainly could not forget that guy!

Back then, outside Coastal City, several Chaos Daemon commanders forcibly opened a Warp rift to summon daemons.

And Vashtorr seemed to have seen through the veil of reality, spotting some core secret on Lin Li—or rather, inside the Shelter system—that was crucial to him.

At that time, this demigod didn't hesitate to overcome the repulsive force of dimensions, forcibly extending a giant claw to try and abduct Lin Li directly.

"This guy is actually still in this area."

A strong sense of vigilance rose in Lin Li's heart.

It was causing havoc on the northern front, attacking Black Port.

Perhaps its ultimate goal wasn't any Imperial territory at all; it was coming for him, for the core beneath the Shelter!

Watching Lin Li lost in thought, Marshal Miller spoke tentatively:

"I am here in my personal capacity, on behalf of this jurisdiction, to request you... to request that the Spark Alliance dispatch an elite military force to support the Black Port defense line to the north!"

Lin Li came back to his senses.

He leaned back in his chair, looking at Marshal Miller, his eyes regaining their usual calmness.

"Supporting Black Port is strategically sound. Purely for our own safety, we must block Vashtorr firmly in the north."

"But don't forget, in the Imperial records, our Yuanwang Star System is currently a graveyard."

"If we sail a massive fleet north now, do you think the Imperial defenders at Black Port and those mad dogs from the Inquisition will see us as loyal reinforcements coming to help? Or will they see us as rebels and heretics taking advantage of the chaos to seize territory and open fire immediately?"

"Without a proper name, one's words lack authority. How do you expect us to fight this war?"

Marshal Miller seemed to have anticipated Lin Li's question.

He proudly took a parchment document stamped with the dark gold seal of the Adeptus Arbites from the lining of his trench coat and placed it on the table.

"Regarding this point, I had already paved the way for you before I came."

Marshal Miller pointed to the document and explained:

"I used the channels of the Adeptus Arbites to obtain a legitimate designation for an independent Astra Militarum regiment that had long been vacant from the sector headquarters!"

"Nominally, this unit is in the state of wandering remnants whose organization was completely scattered by the swarm, and whose home world was thoroughly destroyed."

"In other words, in the Imperial system, this is a wandering orphan army without any logistics base and without any direct superior."

Marshal Miller smiled:

"Although the Departmento Munitorum acknowledges your legal status, they will not issue you a single grain of food or a single bullet of supplies. But correspondingly, many Imperial dogmas and rigid control methods cannot reach you at all!"

"You can use this shell to legally assemble and construct fortifications at Black Port. You can even logically accept those scattered remnants and incorporate them into your legion!"

Lin Li looked at the parchment on the table.

He had to admit that the methods of this old-school politician, Marshal Miller, were indeed clever.

In the eyes of players, wasn't this a classic faction-limited hidden identity? As long as this designation was posted on the forum, those players who wanted to cosplay as Astra Militarum and fight daemons on the front lines would be howling with excitement, right?

"This designation is indeed very useful."

Lin Li picked up the parchment and looked at it, suddenly noticing a word in Marshal Miller's previous statement.

"Wait, you just said... you obtained this designation from the Sector Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites?"

Lin Li raised his fingertips:

"You are just a sub-marshal of a remote jurisdiction. The Sector Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites behind you would actually agree to such an absurd request of yours? And even leave a loophole for a wandering Astra Militarum unit for us?"

Marshal Miller sat up straight, his tone tinged with a hint of awe:

"Yes, I report directly to the Sector Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites. He is a... person who is very reasonable in many matters."

"The Adeptus Arbites... reasonable?"

Lin Li couldn't help but roll his eyes hard in his heart.

"That's probably the funniest joke I've ever heard."

In the setting of the Empire, those Adeptus Arbites officers were all cold machines who knew no human sentiment, only clutching the 'Book of Judgment' and throwing civilians into the meat grinder at the drop of a hat to uphold Imperial law.

You actually used the word 'reasonable' to describe their boss?

Lin Li complained in his heart, but he was very reliable on the surface.

He stared at Marshal Miller with sharp eyes:

"So, that Sector Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites... he actually already knows the fact that our region is still alive and possesses a massive armed force?"

"Yes, he knows."

Marshal Miller didn't hide it and admitted frankly,

"Not only does he know, in fact, the deceptive report proposal about the Yuanwang Star System being completely consumed and extinct by the swarm was originally signed and submitted to the Departmento Munitorum by the Marshal himself!"

"Originally, the bureaucrats of the Departmento Munitorum were going to send several inspection teams to cross the sector and verify it on-site. But all the inspection procedures and ships were intercepted halfway by the Marshal using various legal administrative means of the Adeptus Arbites."

After listening to this truth from Marshal Miller, Lin Li gained a brand new and profound understanding of the complex, bloated, and mutually checking absurd political ecology on Holy Terra.

In the chaotic era of the 42nd Millennium, although the Astartes, the Adeptus Arbites, and the Departmento Munitorum were nominally all power institutions of the same level under the jurisdiction of the High Lords of Terra.

But clearly, in the eyes of powerful figures holding real power, the Adeptus Arbites, which possessed violent law enforcement power and the sacred right to interpret the law, and the Astartes Chapters, which held absolute military force, had a say and actual foundation that could often override the paper-pushing bureaucrats of the Departmento Munitorum who only knew how to collect taxes!

As long as the Adeptus Arbites and the local Chapter reached some tacit exchange of interests, they could even openly hide a galaxy right under the Empire's nose!

"Fine."

Lin Li put the document with the dark gold seal into the drawer, leaned back in his chair, and nodded:

"I'll take this job. I will start forming this legion. But the time for formation and marching north for support might be a little late."

Hearing Lin Li agree to send troops, Marshal Miller finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

He stood up and bowed solemnly to Lin Li.

Afterward, Marshal Miller took the initiative to extend his right hand, saying sincerely and firmly:

"Lord Dawn, thank you for making such a great and reliable decision for the Empire and the people here at such a critical moment for humanity!"

Lin Li smiled, stood up as well, and shook his hand firmly:

"You're welcome, Marshal. Don't thank me too early. I'm not sending troops to be free muscle for the Empire. If there are any Golden Age black tech wrecks in the armories or black markets at Black Port, they must be prioritized for us to pick first."

"That goes without saying!" Marshal Miller agreed readily.

The simple deal was thus struck.

Marshal Miller did not stay long in the Shelter.

He put on his dome hat again, put on his trench coat, and under the escort of a group of guards, strode out of the reception room and boarded the return shuttle.