Megumi Iruma's storytelling speed wasn't fast.
Yet, it revealed a chilling sensation that made one feel as if they were plunging into a deep abyss.
Daigo turned to look at the people who had been driven away.
He didn't know if doing that was right or wrong.
Driving those people out was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
In this world, can a reason of 'Greater Good' justify ignoring the lives of those people?
What is truly right and wrong in this world?
"I understand," Daigo said softly. "I know what I should do."
"Don't carry too heavy a psychological burden, Daigo," Megumi Iruma's tone held a hint of concern. "For someone with your personality, the path of the Imperium is inherently difficult."
Megumi Iruma wanted to say more, to offer Daigo some guidance.
However, a buzzing sound came at this moment.
A servo-skull flew over from the other end of the corridor.
In its eye sockets, a ruby-like glow shone. The servo-skull flew in front of Megumi Iruma.
After a green light scan confirmed Megumi Iruma's identity, it released a sound-blocking field.
Daigo watched as Megumi Iruma was enveloped by a field of light shaped like a long, tapered horn, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.
It was like some kind of magic.
Captain Iruma's voice and the buzzing of the servo-skull disappeared. The field blocked the transmission of sound waves, creating an isolated space.
Megumi Iruma ordered the servo-skull to play the information it carried.
Masaki Keigo's voice came from the servo-skull's built-in speaker.
"Miss Iruma, please come to the strategy room as soon as possible. There are some important matters that require your consultation and witnessing."
After speaking, the field disappeared. The servo-skull completed its task, turned, and flew away. The light emanating from its eye sockets also changed from red to green.
Megumi Iruma glanced at Daigo, who nodded, indicating that she didn't need to worry about him.
She sighed softly, then turned and left. The strategic meeting room was not far.
When the Imperium built orbital stations, they always constructed them according to military standards.
Strategic meeting rooms were often connected to all systems of the entire orbital defense system, ensuring that the generals leading the war could obtain comprehensive information.
Megumi Iruma walked in, and several Imperial generals with mechanical components embedded in their bodies were already there. They had not participated in the battle at Pluto.
"This is a trial by fire; we need to see what you're made of. Without the blood of the dead staining the battle flag, that army has no soul."
These were the original words of one of the Imperial generals.
In Megumi Iruma's opinion, such a disregard for human life was utterly inhumane.
"Vice-governor," a soldier at the door saluted.
Masaki Keigo had received the highest appointment from the Imperium, becoming a governor of a planet.
Megumi Iruma was the person responsible for assisting him.
Of course, her obtaining this position was more importantly about coordinating and guiding the human Psykers in this universe.
Megumi Iruma possessed the power of Yulian, the Captain of the Ultra Ancient Defense Team.
Megumi Iruma nodded and walked straight in. The strategic meeting room was circular, very spacious, with a diameter of about twenty meters. Through the windows facing space, one could see the brilliant starlight hanging on the black night sky. The dome-shaped ceiling depicted the stories of the Holy Emperor and His divine brothers in conquest.
What Megumi Iruma liked most was the deity wearing golden armor, with pure white wings on his back, holding a long spear. That being possessed a divine aura that mortals could not reach.
Megumi Iruma walked into the room and approached the central marble conference table. The glow of holographic projections intertwined in the air, forming a complete holographic map including all planets and asteroids in the entire solar system. The glow reflected on Megumi Iruma's fair and flawless face.
"Young friend."
Cahulan, the Librarian of the Carcharodons Chapter, who had once enlightened Megumi Iruma, smiled.
He wore power armor bearing the insignias of the Carcharodons Chapter and the Imperial Aquila.
"Lord Cahulan," Megumi Iruma's attitude towards this Librarian was very respectful. To some extent, this Librarian was her mentor.
It was Cahulan's careful guidance that allowed her to skillfully master the power of the Warp.
Currently, Megumi Iruma already possessed abilities such as discerning hearts and precognition. The other captains and the Chapter Master of the Carcharodons Chapter had no reaction to Megumi Iruma's arrival. They focused their entire attention on the strategic map before them.
Megumi Iruma also did not express any dissatisfaction with this.
She had learned from some officials from the Imperial core worlds that the Carcharodons were just like this.
Before the Holy Emperor returned to control the Imperium. These guys, let alone communicating with mortals, even throwing mortals in front of them to take hits without meeting them was considered them being in a good mood that day.
After the Holy Emperor's return, He reformed all the Chapters, and these guys restrained themselves a lot.
"The final battlefield should be chosen here," Tyborus, the Chapter Master of the Carcharodons, pointed to a location on the holographic map, between Mars and Earth.
"The enemy is large in scale, estimated to number several thousand monsters and a large number of warships. An enemy of this scale, once it breaks through the defense line, will pose a huge threat to Earth," said Qiantian Long, who had an East Asian face. "We should focus on defense, first weakening the enemy with firepower, and then launching a counterattack. That strategy is the most stable and can minimize casualties."
"That is your task," Tyborus said. "The Carcharodons will deal with the main enemy force. Your task is to intercept the stragglers."
Qiantian Long and the other local generals exchanged glances, then mustered their courage again and said, "We hope your side can provide more information. We cannot assess your combat power, and therefore cannot formulate a suitable overall strategy."
"It's difficult to explain; you haven't reached this level yet," Tyborus swept his gaze over the local representatives, including Megumi Iruma, and finally focused on Masaki Keigo.
"This battle is merely to let you understand the cruelty of cosmic warfare, and also to cooperate with your united front work, which is why the Imperium has delayed its action. But you must understand, those enemies are just garbage that can be easily annihilated in the eyes of the Imperium."
Megumi Iruma did not speak.
She had met the Magos of Sigma and conversed with him.
She knew how terrifying the Imperium was. They had deep research into concepts like destiny and truth.
If interpreted from a mortal perspective, the Holy Emperor truly couldn't be considered within the realm of humanity.
It was as simple for the mysterious warriors of the Imperium to defeat an Ultraman as it was to crush an ant. The reason they hadn't directly launched a war of conquest was merely because they wanted to study the Giants of Light, and thus entrusted the task of unifying the humans in this universe to Masaki Keigo.
"This war has exposed many problems," an Imperial general with half his face embedded with metal continued after Tyborus. "The first point is that the Ultramen's military training is far from sufficient, and their cooperation with each other is also very poor. The second point is the inadequacy of logistics and propaganda. Those non-Imperial humans who were driven away outside are an excellent propaganda opportunity. the Imperium is never weak or tolerant. Anyone who wants to receive the Imperium's protection must pledge loyalty and life to the Holy Emperor."
"The third point is that the war mobilization can only be described as a complete failure. Long-term peace has made people lose their sense of crisis. All able-bodied men and women should undergo a certain degree of military training. All societal resources should be subject to emergency legislation. The survival of human civilization is the most important thing. When war comes, all resources should first ensure survival."
The progress of the meeting regarding how to deal with the monster invasion was pathetically short. The Imperium already had a plan for this.
Repelling those monsters was not difficult. The reason they didn't do so was simply because things obtained too easily are often not cherished.
Only after people pay a heavy price will they cherish what they gain.
By the same token, if the Imperium had defeated the enemy outside Pluto,
People would only think the enemy was too weak, unable to even enter the solar system, and would be completely unaware of the Imperium's strength and sacrifice. Those fools would continue to be incited by those with ulterior motives.
Because they didn't know how precious the things they took for granted truly were. They thought peace was something everyone should enjoy from birth. Those colonies would also continue to resist the Imperium, shouting idiotic slogans like preferring to see humanity fragmented rather than be ruled by the Imperium.
Contradictions would accumulate until the Imperium had to resort to military means to conquer them. The monster invasion was a bad thing for the innocent people.
But for the Imperium, it was a good thing.
Simply opening the defense line and retreating to Earth made those colonies that were previously stubborn, preferring death to becoming Imperial citizens, act like fawning dogs wanting to join the Imperium. This is human nature. The meeting ended an hour later.
Megumi Iruma and Masaki Keigo took a shuttle back to the surface, preparing to take over the entire solar system and arrange for supplies and rescue teams to save the survivors of the fallen colonies.
After all, it had only been a few days, and even if those colonial cities fell into the hands of monsters, some people would still survive.
Passing Mars, Grozam saw the blue planet.
He had been to this place before.
But he was defeated by those damned Ultramen and driven away.
Now, he was back. The Ultramen who had defeated and driven him away were either dead or had fled.
Earth would be his. Those damned Ultramen who dared to stop him would all pay the price. The monsters were flying by inertia. They all possessed the ability to fly through the void using the Aetheric Winds.
Aether was also their source of power. This was why they always had to create slaughter and fear, and stir up waves of darkness. The negative emotions of these beings could make them stronger.
Some powerful daemon Gods even wanted to destroy worlds, allowing civilizations to repeatedly develop and then repeatedly be destroyed.
Constantly absorbing the despair and death of those beings to strengthen themselves. The population on Earth had far surpassed that of the colonies.
Exceeding ten billion. The rich life force excited all the monsters.
Grozam's eyes, which flowed with blue light, quickly saw the weapon orbital stations and warships surrounding Earth.
"Soon, you will be enveloped by darkness and death!!"
"Accelerate forward, let us destroy the homes of those humans. Listen to their cries of despair."
Grozam roared on a mental level to the other monsters, inciting their violent nature.
But as he approached Earth, the monsters' unique sense of danger immediately made him realize something was wrong.
At this moment, a light appeared in the void, with a diameter reaching several kilometers. The monsters, dozens or even hundreds of meters tall, were as tiny as ants before that beam of light and were directly vaporized.
With such a fierce sweep through the void, a gap appeared in the huge monster horde. The space alien warships affected, along with the monsters, were wiped out, and the remaining metal debris completely melted, solidifying into a metal lump.
Some that were swept by the residual wave exploded.
Countless metal fragments, like fragments of meteors in the sky, scattered in all directions with long tails of flame.
An unknown number of space aliens died in this attack, their very remains not preserved, directly vaporized.
Just moments ago, Grozam, who was triumphant and thinking about how to destroy humanity, now showed terror in his eyes.
Something seemed wrong with this place!!
How could there be such a terrifying attack?!!