"Lord Li Feng, if you wage war against our Tau Empire, you will pay the price! Our Tau warriors will not let you have your way!"
Everyone looked at the Tau ambassador. Commissar Cain also had a playful smile on his face as he picked up a glass of champagne from the table and drank it. Just then, the lights suddenly went out...
Li Feng felt a bad premonition and kicked the Shasui in front of him to the ground.
Suddenly! The huge explosion of a Bolter Pistol echoed through the ballroom. Then the lights came on...
Cain's reaction was faster than his reason; he quickly dove behind a crowded sofa for cover. While this might not make him a paragon of morality, Cain had always trusted his survival instincts, which had saved him from many crises.
More than half of the guests fled in all directions, while the rest foolishly stood frozen in place. Wine glasses shattered across the floor, their fragments glinting, and daggers and other various self-defense weapons miraculously appeared in the guests' hands.
"Treacherous bastard!"
A Tau screamed, pulling some kind of pistol from his robe and nervously pointing it around. His action immediately caused Winters, Spears, and a group of other officers to draw their pistols and aim them at him.
Li Feng was kneeling beside the Shasui, who lay on the ground, sticky purple blood splattering everywhere. Because of Li Feng's kick, the Bolter round had directly hit the Shasui's shoulder, taking his entire arm with it.
Li Feng judged that he could still be saved. Tau blood was slightly darker than human blood, perhaps related to their blue skin. Li Feng immediately called Yang Wen-li, who had come to the dinner party with him, to administer first aid.
Seeing the Shasui in this state, Yang Wen-li was stunned. He knew how to save people, but he really didn't understand Tau! There was no choice but to treat a dead horse as if it were alive. He quickly took a medical kit from someone nearby, praying that the Tau's body would be similar to a human's.
Cain activated the communicator in his ear: "Kastin! Where are you?"
"By the stage."
Cain looked up and scanned the room, finding Kastin crawling forward, while Amberly stared at the chaotic crowd as if mesmerized.
"Did you see who fired the shot?"
Kastin hesitated before answering: "No, I was a bit distracted just now. I apologize, Political Commissar."
"No need to apologize," Cain comforted.
"No one could have predicted this place would turn into a battlefield."
The situation in the room quickly spiraled out of control, with almost everyone gripping their self-defense weapons. Cain knew that identifying the assassin at this moment would be almost impossible.
Fides and the Battle Sisters had already formed a protective circle around him, while Reinhard and Siegfried had drawn their pistols and were guarding the surroundings.
Reinhard, meanwhile, knelt beside the Shasui like a detective, analyzing the bullet trajectory... Fides called for reinforcements: "Rustis, and Yugen, come pick us up now. Be aware that you might encounter resistance."
"Understood."
Yugen's voice remained calm, while Sergeant Rustis, guarding outside, suppressed the urge to ask questions and waited for instructions. Suddenly, Cain's voice came through their ears, answering the Soldiers' questions outside... "The Tau Empire ambassador has just been assassinated."
Cain immediately realized his foolishness, having forgotten to switch to an encrypted channel. This message might have already been intercepted by Imperial and Tau listening posts.
But at this moment, he had no time to worry; his primary goal was to get Li Feng out alive.
However, unfortunately, they had to pass through the Tau Empire's diplomatic delegation, which was currently attracting all the attention and firepower of the Imperials.
Cain stood up, his hands placed away from his weapons. The room was still in chaos, and the clamor of shouts made Cain realize that if anyone dared to pull a trigger, the consequences would be horrific.
Someone among the Tau representatives questioned Gryce with dissatisfaction, while Gryce stammered, trying to explain himself incoherently.
"Betrayal does not align with the greater good."
Cain spoke, repeating Krute's words, attracting the attention of the Tau.
The Tau froze, unable to hide their surprise. Human and Tau expressions differed greatly, but Cain had gradually learned to distinguish them and used this opportunity to calm their emotions. Kastin finally pushed through the crowd and stood beside Cain.
"These humans are all familiar with you?" the Tau asked, stunned.
"It seems I still have some prestige among them," Cain replied calmly.
"It is well known that Commissar Cain is an upright man." Aurelius, surrounded by bodyguards, pushed through the crowd, signaling his subordinates to put away their weapons. Immediately after, Donnally also expressed his trust in Cain.
Il Solas, a Tau, stepped forward and shook Cain's hand, expressing a degree of trust. Cain used this to raise questions, causing the Tau present to begin thinking calmly. The emotional Tau, Il Has'ui, also began to hesitate.
"Of course, we understand how—how shall I put it?—meaningful the Empire's assurances are?" Il Solas responded with a sarcastic tone, but still stated that he would personally investigate the matter.
Finally, as Il Has'ui lowered his weapon, the atmosphere in the room eased. The Tau were prepared to accept the Empire's investigation, avoiding further conflict.
However, out of the corner of his eye, Cain saw the handsome blond young man, Reinhard, say something into Li Feng's ear, and then... Li Feng directly pulled out his revolver and aimed it this way...
The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again, and everyone once again picked up their weapons. Cain, at this moment, had a look of utter confusion, thinking, "Brother, what are you doing? I just calmed the atmosphere..."
"Political Commissar, take our Tau friends out of the line of fire..."
Li Feng's words instantly made Cain realize that Li Feng's gaze was not on the Tau, but on... Governor-General Greys behind the Tau!
And in an instant, the Battle Sisters formed a combat formation, immediately aiming their Bolters at Governor-General Greys. As the Battle Sisters shifted their aim, the Soldiers' gunlines also pointed at the Governor-General.
A PUMA infantry fighting vehicle immediately crashed through the door from outside, crushing the floor. The autocannon on the vehicle's turret instantly aimed at the Governor-General.
In an instant, Governor-General Greys was targeted by dozens of guns and an armored vehicle. Li Feng put away his pistol; it seemed it wouldn't be needed anymore...
Li Feng pushed aside the Nuns blocking his way and walked out.
"Governor-General Greys, do you have anything to say?"
Gryce was sweating profusely and stammered: "Lord Li Feng! I! I didn't do anything!"
"Is that your last word?"
"Eh?"
The next second, Li Feng snapped his fingers, and countless Las-fire and live rounds shot towards the Governor-General. Instantly, Governor-General Greys turned into a puddle of blood mist.
However, the torn fragments of Governor-General Greys' body arced gracefully through the air, and at the same time, everyone saw... among the Governor-General's body fragments, there were four arms...
In an instant, everyone present understood! This Governor-General was a Genestealer! He wanted to exploit the conflict between the Empire and the Tau to instigate war, and at the same time, take advantage of the two sides fighting each other to reap the benefits.
Li Feng picked up a radio and said:
"This is Li Feng. The Governor-General is a Gretchin. All units are now to enter Level One combat readiness and conduct a 'search and destroy' mission."
That's right, Gretchin are like cockroaches in a house; when you find one, it means there's definitely a swarm of Gretchin in the house. Going to war with the Tau is inevitable, but at least for now... let's deal with the Gretchin problem first.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"