The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2784, Archbishop Ronis

"Your priests can detect psionic links? What else have you discovered?" Severance Tann asked.

Adela replied, “All the swarms are commanded by a unified psionic force. In other words, our previous assessment was correct; Jedi Knights are commanding the swarms. In this way, we should be able to locate the Jedi Knights commanding these swarms.”

“Then find it!” Severance Tann said decisively.

“I’m not good at psychic tracking, so I’m afraid I can’t do anything about it. However, I’ve already reported the situation here to the Pope and received instructions. Archbishop Ronis has already led reinforcements out, and he’s brought the Holy Prayer Choir. They will reveal the mastermind behind this,” Adela said.

Even during meetings, Adela maintained a posture of prayer with her hands clasped together, beautiful, holy, and dignified, though somewhat out of place with the atmosphere of the meeting. However, after this period of contact with the Holy Advent Church, Severance Tann had grown accustomed to her demeanor.

“Right now, the Kilik swarm is relentlessly converging on Fitz, and our current forces are insufficient to break through. I have already requested assistance from Dawn and hope to receive support from the Titan warship Divine Messenger, but Dawn is unlikely to grant this request,” Severance Tann said. “Therefore, we should currently focus on reducing the swarm's numbers as much as possible.”

She looked at Adela and continued, "Bishop Adela, I hope you will still command the fleet and continue the attack on Fitz Planet. Eliminate those insects as quickly as possible through direct combat and reduce their numbers. Then, bring the fleet back safely if possible."

Adela nodded and said, "Guided by the Path of Unity, our priests can complete hyperspace navigation more quickly, and they will try their best to retreat before the swarm surrounds them."

Severance Tann then said to the Protoss High Templar Rasdian, "In previous studies, the Kilik swarm did not possess the ability to jump through space. Therefore, we hope that the Protoss observers can find the answer to how the swarm arrived at Fitz."

Rasdian nodded, his powerful voice resonating in everyone's minds, "I will have the observers continue to investigate, and all the movements of the Kilik swarm will be exposed! In addition, the Twilight Council has passed a vote to approve the plan to send reinforcements. An Archon fleet has set sail and is expected to arrive here within three days."

“If that’s the case, our chances of winning will increase significantly.” Severance Tann now seemed much more restrained than before, when she was arrogant and looked down on everyone. At least in this meeting, she was well-mannered and spoke gently.

Of course, it's also because none of the people present today, whether Protoss or the Holy Advent Order, are exactly the kind of people one would want to mess with.

Oh, there's another ruthless character...

Severance Tann turned to look at a holographic projection on the other side and asked, "Abathur, how far along is the Torgate swarm's breeding? Or rather, how much swarm support can we get if we want to launch a full-scale offensive?"

"The Torgate swarm has exhausted its biomass, producing 580 million individuals. However, its evolutionary essence is insufficient, impacting its combat effectiveness. It needs more evolutionary essence and more Kilik swarm corpses." Abathur's voice was flat and emotionless.

“I need to remind you, General Tann,” Rasdian suddenly said, “that your cultivation of the Kilik swarm will not be permitted once the Archon fleet arrives here.”

Severance Tann shook her head and said, "The Kilik swarm on Fitz alone numbers over a hundred million. And we still haven't found the core nest of the Kilik swarm. How many swarms are there there? It's probably impossible to calculate. We need to gather all our strength to fight them now."

“You’d better be able to persuade that consul, otherwise, I fear the situation will become unmanageable.” After saying this, Rasdian nodded to Tann, turned and left the meeting room.

"The breeding of the Zerg swarm was ordered by the Supreme Command of Dawn Planet. If the Protoss have any other opinions, I suggest reporting them directly to Dawn Planet, rather than bringing this issue to the front lines." A somewhat languid voice came from behind Rasdian.

It was Sheen Morabito, the governor of the Kingdom of Chis.

He still appeared as casual as ever, but his words hit the nail on the head.

Rasdian stopped in his tracks, and then his voice echoed only in Sheen Morabito's mind, "Sometimes, the Protoss aren't so easy to talk to, Governor. This is just my personal advice."

The high command meeting in the territory of Chis ended in a somewhat awkward atmosphere, but Severance Tann's operational plans were still carried out.

The Holy Advent Church dispatched almost all of its forces to participate in this operation, likely because they considered it a crucial opportunity to expand their influence in the Qis Territory and their standing in the eyes of King Tang Xiao of Dawn. Therefore, they attached great importance to it.

Cardinal Adela graduated from the Dawn Planet Naval Academy. After the Kingdom of Chiss merged into the Kingdom of Dawn, she entered the Chiss Military Academy, where she excelled academically. It was during this time that she came into contact with the Holy Advent Church and quickly became a devout believer.

With her outstanding abilities and appearance, she quickly became a cardinal of the Holy Advent Church, in charge of military command.

In this military operation to wipe out the Kilik swarm, Adela led a massive fleet, including 200 Faithful Frigates, 50 Enlightenment Frigates, 100 Guardian Destroyers, 20 Sky Drone Motherships, and 10 Icon Guardian Cruisers.

The Holy Advent Church names its warships differently from the Dawn Kingdom. They pray and worship when building their warships. According to the doctrine of the One Way, warships have souls and are also members of the One Way.

Therefore, for example, within the Holy Advent Church, a Faithful Frigate is simply called a Faithful Frigate, an Enlightenment Frigate is simply called an Enlightenment Frigate, and a Guardian Destroyer is simply called a Guardian Destroyer. It's just that when they were incorporated into the Dawn Kingdom's military command system, for ease of management, suffixes based on the Dawn Kingdom's naval warship classifications were added.

The Holy Advent Church has grown rapidly in recent years. Previously, in response to the vast number of planets controlled by the Griskians, the Church forcibly brainwashed those under their control, incorporating them into their own faith. However, this approach cannot be replicated. After the Griskians controlling those planets were killed, those under their control fell into a state of aimless confusion. The Holy Advent Church simply replaced the Griskians' place in their minds with its own faith.

Essentially, the Griskians painstakingly controlled so many planets and people, only to have them all taken over by the Holy Advent Church.

If they wanted to expand again later, they could only do so by preaching. Tang Xiao would not agree to their endless and crazy expansion, so the Grisk people taking control of the planet would only happen once.

Even if it's just this once, it's enough. It's equivalent to the Holy Advent Church quickly possessing hundreds of planets, a population of tens of billions, and considerable industrial capabilities.

What's even more impressive is that the Holy Advent Church has its own unique understanding of psychic cultivation, and the psychics they train can directly navigate through hyperspace!

The hyperspace routes in the unknown star system are varied and complex, making navigation impossible under normal circumstances. Therefore, civilizations capable of hyperspace jumps here all possess unique methods. For example, the Qis people raise Force-sensitive girls from a young age, using special training methods to awaken their "third eye," enabling them to navigate through hyperspace. These girls are then transported by "Skywalkers" (not the same Skywalker as Anakin Skywalker; that's just a surname).

However, that method causes great damage to the Skywalkers' bodies. They usually lose their navigation ability after the age of 13, and some of the weaker ones do not live for long.

The Holy Advent Church's navigation method is similar to that of the Chis, but its effectiveness far surpasses that of the Chis. Holy Advent Church psionicists guide warships through hyperspace jumps via meditation and hyperspace resonance, achieving precision and stability with minimal physical strain. They can sustain navigation missions for extended periods with virtually no impact on lifespan or health.

This is also an important factor in the widespread expansion of the Holy Advent sect among the Qis people.

With this foundation, the Holy Advent Church possessed a very strong human and industrial base. Furthermore, Pope Anita received support from Tang Xiao regarding the mothership database, enabling them to transform the industries in their religious areas into production lines capable of manufacturing their unique warships.

The spaceships built by the Holy Advent Order are unique in this galaxy. Psionic energy plays a crucial role in everything they do, from control and attack to detection and navigation.

In other words, if you let a group of ordinary people operate the Holy Advent Church's warships, even if these people are the best engineers and you tell them all the principles of the warships, they still won't be able to operate them.

But if you send a group of Adventists, you'll see them praying and singing hymns, and then they start the spaceship.

The fleet that Cardinal Adela sent this time was produced in the last few years. Such a production speed is actually quite astonishing, so much so that when this fleet appeared before Severance Tann, it startled Tann.

This situation also made Severance Tann put away her pride and sharpness. She began to realize that although Tang Xiao only sent her with a squadron, he actually took the sudden rise of the Kilik swarm more seriously than anyone else!
Two days later, the second wave of reinforcements from the Holy Advent Church arrived. Surprisingly, this fleet even included a heavy cruiser!
The heavy cruiser had a very smooth design, measuring 860 meters in length, but it was angled forward, resembling a high-heeled shoe. Like other warships of the Holy Advent Order, this heavy cruiser was also perfectly rounded, appearing as a single, unified piece.

Cardinal Adela approached Severance Tann and said to her, "This is the Apocalypse, the flagship of Archbishop Ronis."

"The Apocalypse Heavy Cruiser, huh?" Severance Tann thought to herself, then nodded to Adela and said, "Let's go to the spaceport together to welcome it."

They arrived at the spaceport together, and Adela, accompanied by her followers, knelt on one knee on either side to welcome Archbishop Ronis.

The Apocalypse slowly entered the berth and docked with the docking module of the spaceport. Soon, a group of people walked over through the docking module.

All that could be seen was a high-ranking priest wearing a black robe. His face was thin under the hood, but his eyes were piercing, as if they could see into one's soul.

Adela and her retinue immediately began to sing a melodious song, but Severance Tann could not understand the lyrics.

Ronis smiled, raised his hand, and a psionic wind swept past everyone, refreshing them as if bathed in a spring breeze. Then, he walked over with steady steps, his gaze sweeping over everyone, before nodding to Severance Tann and saying, "General Tann, by the Pope's word, I have come to assist you in eradicating the Kylik swarm."

“Your Excellency, we are unable to locate the mastermind behind the Kilik swarm. I’ve heard you have the ability to do so, and that would be of great help to me.” Severance Tann nodded.

Ronis smiled slightly and said, "This is the guidance of the One Path, and I will surely reveal the truth behind it to you. I will make preparations in advance. Tomorrow, I will lead the Holy Prayer Choir to pray in the Church of Apocalypse to find the mastermind behind the Kylik swarm."

Adela then led Ronis to the church district of Tang Airport to rest—that's right, ever since the Holy Advent Church intervened in this battle, an area has been added to the Dawn Kingdom's military base specifically for use as a church for believers.

In fact, this Dawn Kingdom military base on the planet Jobri is a hodgepodge, containing all sorts of things.

In addition to the traditional military bases and ports of warships such as Hellsangel and Beast, there are also the chapel districts of the Holy Advent Church, as well as residential areas prepared for the Protoss. And on several moons around the planet Jobri that were once occupied by the Kilik swarm, they have now become the nests of the Torgate swarm.

The next day, Archbishop Ronis came over to say goodbye to Severance Tann before returning to his Apocalypse Heavy Cruiser. The cruiser soon set sail from the spaceport, heading towards its star.

Cardinal Adela then went to the command center and had her followers connect a special device to the holographic star map. (End of Chapter)