Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 725

Chapter 723, Requesting a Quick Death

The Dark Eldar, or rather the Eldar, are a unique race of aliens throughout the universe.

Truthfully, they are the only group in the universe that resembles humans in appearance.

They have two arms and legs, walk upright, and possess a torso. Their features are also quite similar to humans, unlike the green-faced, fang-like green-skinned Orks. From a human perspective, the Eldar’s appearance is somewhat peculiar, but also handsome.

The Human Empire has a long history of encountering them.

Humanity first encountered the Eldar during the founding wars of the Human Empire ten thousand years ago.

However, to this day, the Eldar remain a relatively mysterious race.

Unlike many other localized aliens encountered, the Eldar seem to lack a clear “base,” a homeland, or a realm of their own.

In this sense, they resemble the Greenskins and the Void Zerg, which appear throughout the universe.

Yet, their numbers are extremely small, and they are clearly capable of communication. Unlike the more common xenomorphs, who are essentially completely hostile to humanity, the Eldar

are different; they are both “enemies and friends.”

Humanity, of course, has always upheld a policy of purging all tainted xenomorphs, and the Eldar are certainly part of that xenomorph community. Therefore, the Imperium’s overall attitude toward the Eldar is indeed hostile.

But there are also differences.

How can the Imperium currently possess the capacity for large-scale external expansion and expeditions? Ever since the sixty-year Solar Crusade, which exhausted countless resources and created a new cosmic realm, the Solaria Sphere, it has become a shambles, a source of endless bleeding, rife with conflicting factions. Those who went to Solaria to become sphere president initially thought it was an opportunity; stabilizing that sphere would be a significant achievement, not only reaping substantial local benefits but also a valuable political credential, useful for advancement upon returning to the Imperial center.

But now, it seems they were overthinking it.

While the Empire may seem to be constantly at war, with battles raging everywhere, a closer look reveals that it’s not really about attacking anyone, but rather being attacked!

Whether it’s invasions by Greenskins, Zergs, or Chaos;

or internal strife, conflicts between Imperial factions, or rebellions for various reasons…

In such circumstances, what’s the point of considering the Eldar as a hostile force? Is it reasonable to proactively attack them?

Furthermore, they can appear in various locations throughout the universe, with lairs or perhaps even none, making it impossible to proactively attack them.

Furthermore, the Eldar aren’t like those truly hostile races, constantly attacking humanity.

On the contrary, they sometimes suddenly appear on the battlefield when humanity is fighting other enemies, cooperating with human forces and striking them together.

Of course, they also sometimes attack humanity.

Their actions are characterized by a certain unpredictability. This adjective is apt for their movements, goals, and motivations.

This is the overall impression of the Eldar.

However, there are also differences within the Eldar. They generally come in two skin tones: gray-black and pink-white.

The pink-white ones are the more normal Eldar.

The gray-black ones are called the Dark Eldar.

These creatures are far more annoying.

Like ordinary Eldar, their movements and objectives are erratic, but their motive is clear: plunder.

Whether it’s resources, goods, industrial products, ships, people… they plunder everything.

Their elusive nature makes these Dark Elves incredibly annoying.

Sometimes, they even raid planets directly.

Direct combat, large-scale firefights, or positional assaults… are all nonexistent. Driving combat airships and hoverbikes, the Dark Eldars launch raids at lightning speed, killing, looting, and then fleeing.

They gather only a small force for each operation and rarely seek out powerful opponents head-on, preferring instead quick raids and plundering strategies.

Now, is this another Dark Eldar victim?

But more importantly, where have these dark-skinned creatures gone? Can we find a way to eliminate them?

Wang Jiarong put considerable pressure on the navy.

According to her, her caravan still had many trade missions ahead. If these Dark Eldar couldn’t be dealt with, who knows how much trouble would ensue.

…

If there was any faction within the human empire that was relatively knowledgeable about the Dark Eldar, it would be the Order of the Exorcists.

This faction of Inquisitors, dedicated to combating xenomorphic enemies and dealing with the corruption caused by them, possessed internal information on various xenomorph races.

The Eldar were mysterious, but at least they knew more about them than most other Imperial forces.

Furthermore, over the years, the Dark Eldar had become increasingly active throughout the empire. While not lethal, they were like countless flies and mosquitoes, flitting across the vast empire, a real nuisance.

One of the hardest hit areas was the Infinite Star Region, the capital of the Eastern Realm, south of the Alliance.

Furthermore, the Transcendent Realm, where the Alliance was to conduct business, was also a region of frequent Dark Eldar activity.

Therefore, the Anti-Xenophobia Adeptus also launched several special operations against the Dark Eldar, accumulating more data.

Now, it was all put to use.

Meneke Martini hadn’t expected this group of people to be put to use so soon.

The Alliance Plan, besides taxation, also addressed numerous political issues. The Alliance did have full autonomy, but theoretically, the Empire could also send observation teams to permanently station on Alliance territory to monitor the Alliance.

Of course, most people knew this was just a cosmetic measure,

a measure to reassure the rulers of Holy Terra.

What could the thousand or eight hundred Terran emissaries really reveal? Even if the Alliance intended to rebel, it was questionable whether they could detect it in advance; and even if they could, they wouldn’t be able to stop it. Even if they simply tried to pass news back to Holy Terra, there was no chance; they would easily be dealt with by the Alliance.

Of course, that wasn’t happening yet.

While the Alliance Plan hadn’t been officially signed yet, and Governor Gu was still en route to Holy Terra, some things had already been done.

Gu Hang had already invited a group of members of the observation group stationed at the Alliance.

The Inquisition was undoubtedly a top priority, and Gu Hang had invited representatives from all three major tribunals.

The Alliance had even promised to donate money to the Inquisition.

The Ordo Hereticus and the Ordo Malleus remained somewhat reserved, remaining silent, saying they would wait until the discussions on the Alliance Plan were finalized on Holy Terra. However, the Ordo Xenophiliacs were more proactive in aligning themselves with the Alliance. Having

forged a strong relationship with the Alliance during the previous war, they had simply allowed a group of Inquisitors who had been evacuating the Spider Web Domain and returning to Holy Terra to remain there, establishing a branch of the Ordo Xenophiliacs within the Alliance.

After the signing of the Alliance Plan, they will represent the Anti-Foreign Order, joining the Observation Group to monitor the Alliance’s development and ensure compliance with the Plan’s provisions. Prior to the signing, they will serve as a branch of the Anti-Foreign Order, collaborating with the Alliance to combat alien activity in the Empire’s Eastern Frontier.

In a sense, this can even be considered an expansion of the Anti-Foreign Order. They already have two core branches in the Empire’s Eastern Frontier, and it appears they plan to establish a third within the Alliance.

While the Anti-Foreign Order is a major independent force and will undoubtedly disobey the Alliance, a good relationship between the two sides could allow for effective cooperation on many anti-foreign operations.

The Alliance will be a significant boost for the Anti-Foreign Order’s efforts to establish strong support in the Eastern Universe, the Spider Web Universe, and even the surrounding Devouring Star, Grand Artisan, and Magre Universes.

Martini, Gu Hang’s appointed commander, is responsible for liaising with the Anti-Foreign Order’s Inquisitors.

He is himself an Inquisitor, a member of the Shining Tribunal.

The Shimmering Tribunal is a small tribunal originating from the Eastern Cosmic Realm. Martini is considered its Chief Judge and a high-ranking figure.

During the Alliance’s conflict with the Fury of Flame, the Shimmering Tribunal was a force Gu Hang invited from the heart of the Eastern Cosmic Realm to challenge the Silver Tribunal, which was then closely aligned with the Ironclad. Martini represented the Shimmering Tribunal

and has remained ever since, effectively being poached by Gu Hang.

He currently retains his position within the Shimmering Tribunal and has also joined the Alliance’s “Monster Hunter” organization.

The Shimmering Tribunal has no objections

and is even willing to send more personnel—as long as the Alliance maintains its funding.

Before leaving, Gu Hang told Martini to make good use of the members of the Anti-Foreign Order. They wouldn’t be kept for nothing, right?

They could play a role in combating the remaining Zerg and Infested swarms in the Spider Web Cosmic Realm.

But, frankly, combating the remaining disabled Zerg swarms isn’t a significant undertaking. Not using them wouldn’t make much difference.

Martini had previously been trying to figure out how to invite them to the northeastern part of the Dragonhawk Sector.

In the four regions once occupied by the Ironfang Orcs, many Greenskins still survived. While those Greenskins had long since disintegrated, lacking a unified Warboss leader, their threat was relatively low, and they still fought amongst themselves. However, a disorganized Greenskin was generally more difficult to deal with than a disabled Zerg swarm.

He hadn’t expected to find immediate employment in the Spiderweb Sector.

Martini himself had some understanding of the Dark Eldar. Back when he was on the Eastern Sector’s capital, Infinity, a significant portion of his Shining Inquisition’s mission involved combating the Dark Eldar pirates rampaging through the Infinity Sector.

Now, they had returned to their roots.

It was precisely because of this, combined with their fellow Inquisitors from the Anti-Foreign Order, that they were able to quickly capture the Dark Eldar lurking on Sunfeather.

He had then witnessed some of the true power of the Anti-Foreign Order.

The Dark Eldar who were captured alive were subjected to rigorous interrogation.

He had interrogated the Black Bean Sprouts before, but honestly, the results were quite poor.

The Black Bean Sprouts seemed to be quite resistant to interrogation and physical torture.

Whips, electric shocks, branding irons…

teeth breaking, nail pulling, tongue cutting…

all sorts of torture instruments and punishments were used on them, creating a bloody scene. Ordinary people would have collapsed long ago, but the Dark Eldar under torture often seemed to be less impressed.

It wasn’t that they possessed a particularly strong will, but rather… enjoyed the torture?

Martini found this difficult to understand.

However, the members of the Anti-Foreign Order seemed to possess a unique method that truly frightened the Dark Eldar.

They could sever the Dark Eldar’s connection to a place called ‘Comoro’, preventing their souls from returning upon death.

Whenever the members of the Anti-Foreign Order spoke to so many Dark Eldar, Martini could see their faces, usually playful and distorted, turn serious.

Of course, the Black Bean Sprouts usually didn’t believe them.

Then, in front of the other captives, the Anti-Foreign Order would perform a practical demonstration.

They used a special ritual, placing numerous special incense and candles. Several Inquisition psykers, led by the Inquisitor, carved a complex pattern into the ground. Then, they stood at different positions within this sinister formation, chanting incantations.

In a matter of moments, the Dark Eldar’s face began to contort. He screamed uncontrollably, his eyes glowing purple, and his bound body twisted and writhed on the stool.

After just a few seconds, he stopped, motionless.

It was as if his soul had been drained away.

The remaining Dark Eldar’s faces changed drastically, then became docile, willing to confess anything, asking only for a quick death.

(End of Chapter)