The adjutant inexplicably felt that Heidrich, the ice block, had been in an exceptionally, immensely, unbelievably good mood these past few days…
It wasn’t exactly hard to understand.
Heidrich had brilliantly won the Charon Campaign and was soon to travel to the Capital for a commendation, where he would see his sister. No wonder he was so cheerful.
However, the adjutant also noticed that this sis-con seemed to have suddenly gotten clever and even knew how to seek credit from the young Emperor.
After the Charon Campaign ended, the adjutant routinely tallied the results, compiled the battle report, and promptly reported to Nero.
He initially thought that Heidrich’s personality didn’t seem like one to “condescend” to meet the Emperor. But since the Charon Campaign was crucial, delaying the post-battle report might incur the Emperor’s wrath.
As soon as the meeting ended, and just as the adjutant was reluctantly watching the Emperor disappear from the screen, Heidrich pushed open the door.
“Did you already report to him?” Heidrich asked, staring at him with a grim expression.
“Yes, of course!” The adjutant was baffled. “What’s the matter?”
“I thought that major campaigns within the Empire were supposed to be reported by the Chief Commander,” Heidrich squinted, “Or has this rule been abolished without my knowledge?”
“Goddammit!”
The adjutant jumped up from the sofa, pointing at Heidrich’s nose, “If we waited for you to voluntarily meet the Emperor, we’d still be stuck in that backwater corner of Delta Fortress! Who’s been running around putting in good words for you to the Emperor, fighting for your promotion? And now you have the nerve to imply I’m stealing credit? Damn it, so what if you’re good at warfare?!”
Heidrich: “That’s not what I meant.”
But the adjutant’s words were accurate, so Heidrich couldn’t refute them and left in silence.
Subsequently, Heidrich was ordered to garrison the Charon Star System, assisting the Provincial Star Committee in maintaining daily order.
Most of his tasks involved trivial matters, and the construction of houses wasn’t under his jurisdiction; those affairs were reported to Nero by the Provincial Committee, not him.
Apart from waiting for the Capital’s commendation ceremony, Heidrich couldn’t think of another way to contact the Emperor—of course, just to inquire about his sister’s situation, he assured himself.
But frustratingly, the Star Pirates who had been causing trouble for months had also disappeared recently.
Before Heidrich conquered Charon Star System, it was a major target for Star Pirate harassment.
But once Heidrich arrived, the Star Pirates seemed to have gotten wind of it. The border radar ran at full capacity day and night, yet they couldn’t even spot a single ship.
Charon Star System’s governance was flourishing, but the commendation order summoning him to the Capital seemed indefinitely delayed.
As Heidrich sat in the command room, chin in hand, pondering, he suddenly received an alert from the outpost:
“Commander, a Star Pirate fleet has been detected near the Empire’s border!”
“About 1000 light-years from the border, well outside the alert range. Should we pursue? Please advise!”
“1000 light-years… they’re just passing through, aren’t they?”
The adjutant was muttering to himself when the man in the command chair suddenly stood up, startling him.
“Recon unit, move out.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The previously lax garrison had seen over ten thousand members mercilessly weeded out, leaving only those who endured the rigorous training.
However, since all military training was suspended during fleet operations, the Winter Spring fleet now anticipated combat even more than their Commander.
“Commander, it’s a Star Pirate transport fleet, armed only with one escort group. Should we engage?”
“Engage. Annihilate all enemy armed forces but preserve the transport ships.” Heidrich’s blue eyes flickered, “Winter Spring fourth transport fleet, prepare to receive the enemy transport ships.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The adjutant stood by the star map, watching the Star Pirate escort ships being wiped out in minutes while the heavily loaded transport ships were coerced by the massive Winter Spring fleet to turn towards the Empire.
He bit back the urge to mutter “piracy…” under his breath.
“Inventory the enemy transport ships.” Heidrich said coolly, adjusting his tie, “In ten minutes, I will report this major operation to the Emperor.”
Adjutant: “…You call this a major operation? Don’t waste His Majesty’s time…”
Ignoring him, Heidrich strode out of the command room.
…
“Seized thirty million tons of rare metals, eight hundred thousand pounds of energy crystals. A total of four hundred and fifty million tons of U-steel, and 430 captured civilians. The injured have been escorted by the Winter Spring fleet to Charon Star System’s medical center, their condition is stable.”
After Heidrich finished his report, both fell silent for a minute, staring at the screen.
Nero: “…Is that all?”
Heidrich: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Nero deliberated his words: “So, this was a… cargo fleet passing 1000 light-years outside the Empire?”
Heidrich: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Nero: “Hmm.”
The silver-haired Emperor on the screen displayed a rare hint of bewilderment, softening his imposing demeanor and revealing a trace of youthful innocence.
Judging by the speed at which Heidrich was granted an audience, Nero had clearly assumed that if Heidrich sought an audience, it must be an urgent military matter.
However, the young Emperor soon regained his usual composure with his ministers.
Leaning lazily against his chair, Nero rested his knuckles against his fair chin, smirking slightly:
“Major General Heidrich, you made quite a name for yourself in the Charon Campaign, didn’t you? Conquering a star system in eighteen hours, even in the illustrious era of Vashir II, that would be record-breaking.”
The upward tilt of his “hmm?” was both arrogant and enticing, inexplicably causing the man’s ears to itch.
But outwardly, Heidrich remained cold and responded, “Just doing my duty.”
Nero didn’t mind his attitude. He suppressed his smile and asked, “You are now the Commander-in-Chief of the Winter Spring Star System and have been ordered to enter Charon. Do you have any insights regarding the establishment of star provinces and the military system of the Empire that you can share with me?”
Heinrich’s eyes slightly stagnated. Before answering the question, he glanced out the window, as if trying to convince someone.
Outside the government building of the star province, the sky over Charon was clear, and a giant artificial planetary ring spanned across it. Numerous new modular houses were floating slowly, trying to settle on the ring.
In the distance, the expansive noble estates were near the completion of their renovations. According to the star province’s plan, it would become Charon Star System’s largest central park and public library.
The park was not yet open, and many people were curiously peeking over the fence, watching the clumsy construction robots carefully place outdoor benches into the ground.
Such a scene would have been impossible in the past.
According to the secret report Heinrich received, during last year’s snowstorm, the Walker Family designated the estate’s exterior as a high-alert zone to prevent refugees from entering to collect firewood. They even called in the garrison troops to patrol, and anyone who trespassed was killed on sight.
Even now, many people were still lingering around the former alert zone, craning their necks towards the estate to see if those peeking over the wall would be shot.
Heinrich withdrew his gaze, and the icy blue of his usually indifferent eyes held a trace of complexity.
After briefly organizing his thoughts, he spoke, “Your Majesty, I believe that the Empire should have begun to gradually abolish the system of star system garrisons one hundred and fifty years ago.
“To this day, the Empire still spends massive amounts of military expenditure to maintain star system garrison troops numbering in the trillions. However, in terms of actual combat effectiveness, they are less than one-tenth of the elite Star Pirates’ forces.
“Moreover, because territorial nobles have the power to appoint garrison troops, as long as they ensure that high-ranking officers come from within their own families, these troops turn into private armies under noble control, undermining the Empire’s police authority and being used unscrupulously to oppress, exploit, and attack commoners in the territories.”
On the screen, Nero remained in the same position, listening quietly.
Seeing that Heinrich had paused and was looking at him, Nero slightly tilted his chin, “Continue.”
“In terms of actual combat, due to different recruitment and training schemes executed by various star systems, the quality of garrison troops is uneven,” Heinrich continued. “During large-scale battles, it is difficult for these troops to coordinate effectively. The most typical example is that whenever the Empire faces a major invasion, the House of Kaises and the Wolf Knights always have to bear the brunt of the main combat duties.
“This is because the garrison troops mobilized by the nobles often find themselves in dire straits on the battlefield: they cannot keep up with the front line’s combat speed, and due to chaotic internal orders, they also struggle to fulfill logistical support and firepower tasks.
“In the end, the role of garrison troops in large-scale warfare is reduced to cleaning up the battlefield and maintaining order in the territories.
“Unless the House of Kaises leads from the front to accumulate political capital like the Old Federation senators, I find it hard to understand the purpose of maintaining such an outdated military system.”
“Be careful, Major General,” Nero warned, “you are talking about my father and brothers, my imperial sister, and the brave and fearless emperors of the House of Kaises, who faced death in war.”
Heinrich slightly bowed his head, expressing an apology for his inappropriate words.
He then continued, “The star system garrison system was indeed the optimal choice during the Empire’s expansion period. To carve out human habitable zones in domains filled with void creatures, Star Pirates, and battle robots from alien civilizations, it was necessary for each star system to maintain armed forces, as it was the prerequisite for the Empire’s control over domains spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years.”
“But as the threats within the Empire were eradicated, the last recorded instance of void creatures being over a hundred and seventy years ago, the current needs of the Empire are to counter border harassment from Star Pirates and ensure the interior has sufficiently elite internal troops. These internal troops need to maintain stability across the vast empire during peacetime and fight alongside the Wolf Knights during wartime.
“Hence, the most suitable military system for the current Empire is…”
Nero: “…long-term garrison on the borders and the creation of a highly mobile elite corps within the interior.”
Heinrich was slightly stunned because the second half of the sentence was said in unison by both him and Nero.
Nero looked down at the messy drafts on the table. If the Major General on the other side of the screen could see the scene, he would be even more surprised: the words on the drafts were almost identical to what he had just described.
“Major General, if you want to rely on high-speed mobile patrols to protect the entire Empire in the absence of the garrison system, the number of this elite corps must be at least in the millions, if not tens of millions…”
At this point in the conversation, Nero no longer seemed like an examiner giving a subordinate a question but more like a colleague solving a difficult problem together.
The young Emperor’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly as he thought deeply and slowly spoke.
“Compared to the trillions of star system garrisons, using a mobile corps for internal patrols would certainly reduce military expenditures while enhancing combat effectiveness. However, to cultivate an elite corps at the level of the Wolf Knights would require enormous time and financial resources… The Empire doesn’t have that much time left.”
The young Emperor’s last sentence was so low that the man on the other end of the screen only slightly raised his eyebrows in confusion and did not hear it clearly.
“Your Majesty, perhaps it shouldn’t be limited to just one elite corps, nor should it be modeled solely on the Wolf Knights.”
“Oh? How many more do you want to establish?” Nero raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you just propose to abolish the garrison system due to the complexity of the military?”
Heinrich: “Empire’s great general, Belisarius, once said, ‘A mediocre officer will grind soldiers into uniform screws and embed them in a uniform war machine; the best officer will shape soldiers into various forms and assemble them into a unique warship based on their compatibility, combat awareness, and tactical style.'”
“Just as soldiers can be independently trained and then assembled, so can corps. By developing multiple elite corps with different combat styles and specializations within the interior, each corps doesn’t need to be large.
“In peacetime, they can act as mobile patrol fleets, and when the Empire faces a large-scale battle, these corps can be combined and led by the best commanders. Such a combined force might not be inferior to the Wolf Knights.
“Moreover, this approach addresses Your Majesty’s greatest concern—ensuring combat effectiveness without the enormous investment of time and effort required to cultivate a force like the Wolf Knights.”
After Heinrich finished his explanation, Nero was silent for a long time.
The man looked up to see the young Emperor with his fingers against his lips, staring straight at him. Even though he knew Nero was deeply contemplating the proposal, being gazed at for so long by those stunning red eyes, Heinrich couldn’t help but shift his gaze, unable to bear the intensity.
Half a minute later, Nero suddenly let out a low chuckle.
“I remember your promotion ceremony is at the end of this month?” he suddenly asked.
Heinrich bowed, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Nero: “Good.”
Heinrich saw the boy on the screen lift the corner of his lips, his pair of blazing red eyes like the Empire’s most luxurious top-grade rubies, filled with a brilliance surpassing the sun of Delphi.
This scene, through quantum communication, crossed tens of thousands of light-years of dark void and unexpectedly nailed itself into the depths of the man’s soul.
“Hermann Heinrich.”
The silver-haired Emperor called his full name. Nero proudly lifted his chin and commanded, “Come to my side. This is an imperial order that cannot be defied!”
Heinrich’s eyelashes trembled violently, no longer able to ignore the moment of wild throbbing.
Like a tiny spark landing in his chest full of ashes, whether he wanted it or not, it blazed into a raging fire.
He knelt down and responded in a deep, hoarse voice:
“——At your command, Your Majesty.”
Wowwowo his heart has thoroughly been captured! Even my heart is racing from his words~ Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ
thank you for the chapter !!!! hermann u’ve got a big storm comin’