The cruiser, 'Saint Flame Adjudicator', slowly sailed into the spaceport in a victorious posture.
No one had expected that the war they had fantasized about would end in such a way.
It was too fast.
Neither the leaders of the United Government nor the highest decision-makers of CEC could believe it until the news of defeat arrived.
Humanity's invincible fleet, was it just that easily and simply wiped out in one wave?
Colonies like the Moon and Mars, including hundreds of warships, had more than half of them annihilated in just a little over ten minutes.
General Meyer, the Five-Star General of the Space United Forces, on whom so much hope was placed, actually surrendered?
But no matter how difficult it was for them to accept, the fact remained: when the 'Saint Flame Adjudicator' crossed the United Forces' defense line and reached low Earth orbit, the United Government and the high-ranking officials of CEC finally recognized reality.
Even so, they still tried to use their last strength to tell Meyer, who was in charge of the surrender negotiations, to secure favorable terms as much as possible.
Five-Star General Meyer of the Space United Forces waited at the spaceport with an extremely complex expression for the impending surrender ceremony.
Yes, as the supreme commander and general-in-chief of the United Forces, he needed to surrender on behalf of the forces.
In this era, the spaceport built by humanity was indeed a bit too small for the seven-kilometer-long Saint Flame Adjudicator.
Meyer took a deep breath and removed his military cap.
Then, when he truly witnessed, at close range, the warship that had annihilated half of humanity's fleet with overwhelming force, Meyer couldn't help but be deeply shaken by its exaggerated shape and unique Gothic style!
Only by witnessing it firsthand could one understand what kind of behemoth this truly was!
Its hull resembled a crimson blade, slender and angular, with its main structure composed of layers of stacked armor plates, and exposed rough hydraulic lines and steam valves at the seams, like the strong tendons of a steel beast.
The towering Gothic cathedral on the ship's spine further emphasized a dark and oppressive mysterious aesthetic.
At the front of the soaring keel, longitudinally extending arrays of light lances were embedded in a metal framework carved with gear prayers.
The ends glowed with an ominous dark red energy radiance.
And what was most eye-catching was undoubtedly the massive mechanical gear divine emblem at the bow!
A skull and gears, symbolizing human purity, were interlocked, yet in the depths of three narrow slits in the center, there were three deep, blood-red eyeballs.
Molten orange light seeped from the three eyeballs, appearing from afar like the wrathful gaze of a deity, inspiring terror.
The physical bodies of these three eyeballs were the core of this ship, the Trinity Machine Spirit.
The moment he made eye contact with those three eyes, Meyer felt as if his soul had been pierced.
A bone-deep sense of fear subsequently occupied his mind.
Soon, the giant cruiser completed its docking and connection. A person clad in a rust-red robe, with two mechanical arms on his back, visible gear designs in multiple places, and a mechanical modification resembling a human skull on his back, made the individual look truly unsettling.
This person, clad in the rust-red robe, leaned on a mechanical gear staff and walked slowly, steadily, and powerfully.
"Y-Your, Your Excellency" Meyer looked at the other party nervously, carefully appraising him.
He didn't seem to be a pure biological entity, nor purely mechanical; rather, he appeared to be a human modified with machinery. His face was replaced by a mechanical mask, and even the parts of his body exposed from beneath the red robe as he walked were prosthetic limbs resembling mechanical octopus tentacles, not human feet.
This observation made Meyer even more uncertain. He didn't know if the other party could be considered human, or if communication in human language would be possible.
Fortunately, the other party seemed to sense his confusion and spoke in a hoarse, low voice, like the friction of gears lacking lubrication.
"This unit is a Tech-Priest of the Emrys family. You may address this unit as Priest Galahad.
I am fully responsible for this surrender ceremony. Are you the commander of this force?"
"Yes, that's right, Galahad...
. Priest."
Meyer wiped his sweat, stammering a bit, "I am Richard Meyer, the commander and general-in-chief of the Human Space United Forces."
"Your name holds no value to be remembered."
Galahad' voice was mixed with the hum of mechanical electronic operations, cruel and cold, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
The android eyes on the mechanical mask, gleaming with a crimson light, exuded a chilling coldness that made Meyer feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
"According to the decrees and authority granted to the Rogue Trader by the Imperium, from this moment on, all organic entities, including you, shall become the property of the Emrys family."
"This"
That one sentence from the other party immediately rendered all of Meyer's carefully prepared arguments useless.
His mission was to secure favorable terms for the Human United Government and CEC Company after their defeat, not to agree to such conditions!
To make all of humanity the 'property' of the other party—this wasn't just treason, it was being a human traitor!
"With all due respect, Priest Galahad... your terms are a bit too overbearing, aren't they?" Meyer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and after exchanging glances with his subordinates, he gained a bit more courage.
"Although we have been defeated,
that doesn't mean we have completely lost the power to resist."
Although humanity's fleet had been defeated, they still occupied vast colonies!
This was the confidence of the United Government and CEC: no matter how powerful you are, you only have one warship.
One warship, could it possibly occupy all the colonies?
"Is that your answer?" Galahad stared at him coldly, without a trace of emotion.
Meyer's heart trembled, but thinking of the high-ranking CEC officials and the United Government leadership behind him, he had no choice but to brace himself again, meet the emotionless mechanical android eyes of the other party, and nod.
"Yes, Priest Galahad, we are willing to bear the responsibility for our defeat and pay the corresponding price and compensation, but to treat all of humanity as property, such a condition... please forgive us, we cannot agree."
"Heh, this is the foolishness and baseness of carbon-based lifeforms."
Galahad let out a cold laugh, his icy words like a sharp blade.
"Even under the threat of death, you still refuse to relinquish power. I will faithfully convey your opinions to the great Emrys family head, and I hope you are prepared to bear the consequences."
With that, he completely lost the desire to converse with these fools and turned to leave.
Meyer stared blankly for a few seconds as Priest Galahad turned and left. Was the negotiation over just like that?
But soon, he suddenly noticed the three deep, blood-red eyes on the warship docked in the spaceport. His heart was filled with intense unease, and an inexplicable fear made his hair stand on end.
Was it really that simple?
Would the other party's consistently strong attitude truly be intimidated by their threats?
Cold sweat poured down Meyer.
"W-wait... Priest Galahad!"
However, Galahad' steps did not falter, until he had completely entered the ship and disappeared from Meyer's sight.
"Lord, the revered Overlord, they have rejected our demands."
Galahad knelt before the mechanical throne, bowing his head, a hint of anger in his tone.
"I believe we should immediately unleash the wrath of the Machine God upon them, with the holy judgment of the Light Lance Array, to make them understand reverence!"
"Permission granted to use the Sacred Annihilation Protocol."
Emrys, on the mechanical throne, was expressionless.
"May the flames of the Machine God cleanse this heresy."
They were given too much leeway, did they really think they could get away with it?!