Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 879 Takeover
"Does the Cogwork Orthodox Church know about this?"

When these words were thrown out, it was like a thin needle slowly piercing into Alex's spine.

She didn't answer immediately.

After two full seconds of silence, he finally uttered:
"We and the Soul Sucker Empire did... encounter an Orthodox Church patrol team outside the ruins."

"They are an investigation team sent by the 'Ministry of Truth' of the Cogwheel Orthodox Church's Martian sect."

"At that time, we and the Soul Sucker Empire... all made the same choice."

Having said this, she paused.

The tone ended so calmly that it left a terrifyingly clear void in those few words.

Xia Xiu did not urge him, nor did he ask any further questions.

He just lowered his head and adjusted the buckles of his gloves, as if he was killing time casually.

But everyone knew that he had understood.

“Same choice.”

He repeated it softly, his tone slightly raised, as if he was expressing emotion, and as if he was chewing on the hint of irony.

——The Soul Sucker Empire and Valraven.

The two beings that were destined to be hostile made the same decision without hesitation when faced with a third party entering the "forbidden zone".

What else could it be?
There is only one option:

"Silence."

Xia Xiu glanced at Alex.

The other person's expression did not change and he stood straight.

But her silence is a kind of tacit consent.

They don't want too many people to know about the ruins.

Especially, he didn’t want his believers to know.

Those are the remains of the Broken God.

If the Cogwheel Orthodox Church knew about it, it would no longer be a secret grave digging, but would trigger a religious earthquake at the level of faith direction.

So, they teamed up with the brain-sucking bugs.

Xia Xiu smiled, not an angry laugh, nor a sarcastic one, just a mild, low sneer.

"good."

“This is very capital—there are no permanent enemies, nor permanent friends.”

Alex lowered her eyes and spoke in a lower voice.

"We just made the 'most reasonable' choice at the time."

She didn't explain further.

Because she knew that the sword-bearing man from heaven would not be moved by reasons.

But she still had to say it—if only to keep the conversation going.

Xia Xiu gently turned the silver staff in his hand and his gaze fell back on the tall figure of [Morning Star Eärendil].

After two seconds of silence, he suddenly spoke:
"So."

"What are you going to do with this 3.5 generation machine?"

This time, his voice had the obvious tone of an authority. He was not here to listen to the conditions, but was waiting for a report.

Alex paused for a moment, then raised his head slightly:
"We...are willing to deliver the entire machine to the yard."

"Including the power core, neural seal array, main spinal nerve compartment, and all the original components of the altar area."

"We will not do anything to block it or put up any barriers to technical licensing."

Xia Xiu didn't move his eyebrows, but just said "hmm" lightly, as if he agreed.

But Alex changed the subject:
"but."

"We also have a reasonable request."

"I hope... after taking over this machine, the courtyard can make a copy of the technical structure and external module drawings and return them to the company's internal archives department in the form of engineering feedback."

She added:
"We will not make it public in the astral world, nor will we copy or recreate it. We will just keep it as original data."

Xia Xiu's eyes moved slightly, but he didn't respond, as if he was weighing the options.

Alex didn't wait for him to express his opinion, but showed another chip:
"besides--"

"We will hand over all the coordinate data of the T-12 ruins area to the courtyard."

"Including the action log of that year, the space field fluctuation pulse, the cabin records during the period of loss of contact, some clips of the firefight between the spirit absorbers, and..."

"A map of the unexplored neural pedestals."

Will it not be copied or reproduced, but just kept as original material?

This is just talk. Xia Xiu certainly doesn't believe that [Valraven] wants the drawings in order to keep them for display.

This is just talk.

Of course he didn't believe it.

but……

The Lord of the Courtyard doesn't care.

Xia Xiu really didn't care. At this moment, he already had a bigger chess game in his mind.

The remains of the Broken God, the neural colonies of the Soul Sucker Empire, the infiltration of the Cogwheel Orthodox Church, and the rapidly forming Astra Militarum Legion...

He saw a brand new starting point on this star chessboard.

So, he just nodded slightly and said:

"can."

"You will get a copy of the rubbing."

"But we will take over the repair, reconstruction and final debugging of the phone body."

"All body functions will be open to the public and the overall control will be implanted within the courtyard structure."

He paused, then casually said:
"In exchange, I want you to deliver 50,000 trained Astra Militarum troops within five astral months, which is five standard Terran days."

Alex's eyes narrowed.

"I said 'qualified.'

Xia Xiu said slowly, his golden eyes as calm as a mirror:
"Not your average recruit, nor a second-line tactical contractor."

"What I want is a standard unit that can be used for front-line advancement, construct coordination, and fleet advancement operations in the astral tactical formation."

"Equipment, training, command execution, psychic resistance...all meet the courtyard training standards."

Alex stood there in silence.

Her eyes were a little dim, and she was obviously quickly weighing the cost of this "cooperation".

In such a short period of time, 50,000 well-trained Astra Militarum troops are not just a manpower figure, but will also create a strategic gap in the capital armed forces department of the entire company.

And 50,000 well-trained Astra Militarum troops...

This number is just right.

It was just above the capital limit that the Valraven Company could bear. Even if there was an extra thousand, a hole would be broken in their defense network, and the financial and human supplies in the rear would be uncontrollable.

"……I see."

She bowed her head slightly:
"Valravin Company will deliver 50,000 Astra Militarum combat units that meet your courtyard's standards within five astral months."

Xia Xiu nodded and said nothing more.

Just as she finished speaking, she raised her hand and pressed the top of the [Heavenly Lever].

"In that case, we have finished what we need to talk about. We will take over this machine."

"Adam."

He whispered, calling out the Administration and Courtyard Think Tank.

"Call the Sword of Glory."

[Understood, the cruiser is on standby nearby and is expected to jump to the current coordinates in two hours]
********
Two hours later.

Agor Military Starport, Central Orbital Port.

It should have been just a routine cargo handover and mercenary marshaling drill, but the port dispatcher was the first to notice something unusual: above the hub, the barrier on the ship's dome suddenly emitted a slight pulse wave.

The next second, the entire sky was torn apart into a bottomless space cut.

It was like some giant beast opened its bloody mouth from high in the sky. It was a subspace vortex connecting the "high-orbit jump zone" and the "gravity connection layer".

Before anyone could react, a three-kilometer-long giant ship slowly emerged.

It does not have any alarms and does not require any permissions.

Its very existence is a command.

——【Sword of Glory Class Cruiser】.

The hull is dominated by deep gold and dark silver, and its surface is covered with inscriptions, spells, and prayer circuits. With the roar of the power core, it appears and disappears in the starry sky, like a metal Bible turning pages.

The cross buttresses are erected on the middle section of the ship, like a miraculous building that lifts a medieval monastery into space.

There are tall towers on the back of the ship, and thirty-two Gothic temple fortresses are stacked on top of each other.

Even more shocking is:
At the bottom of the ship, four psychic lifting light rails slowly descended, piercing the atmospheric barrier between the orbital layer and the port area, like a long ladder of light connecting heaven and hell.

At this moment, the huge shadow cast by the cruiser covered the entire central manufacturing belt and port commercial area.

The Valraven grassroots sergeants, technicians, and logistics agents who were originally collecting goods, dispatching racks, and maintaining order all stopped and looked up at the sky.

A customer who was walking in the Skyrail corridor in the distance also stopped, holding an unfinished sandwich in his hand, with a dazed look on his face.

Someone murmured in a low voice:

"what is that?"

"…Is it the company's ship?"

"No, that's the 'Sword of Glory' of the courtyard - a ship that can only be seen in Tunaras."

And more people have recognized it:

"This is... a ship of the fourth level that can be dispatched by the Sword Bearer..."

"I heard that it is only used during strategic deployments or personal patrols."

“Did Heaven really send someone?”

"No, he is here."

"Him? His Majesty Abraham!?"

"I heard that the Lord of the Courtyard wants to directly dispatch troops to the port of Valravin?"

"Even Gaizhibao has surrendered. Could it be that... the Courtyard is about to take over the entire Astra Militarum?"

******
While the outside world was discussing this, the outermost high-altitude crane of the port of Agor Military Star Port slowly extended out, making a low sound of gears turning like a whale's roar.

Dozens of courtyard-type reconstructed structural arms were released from the bottom of the hull, like some kind of flipped holy weapon arm bones, stretching out from the belly of the Sword of Glory and firmly locking onto the main platform of the port - the huge figure standing silently.

Araz Trincas, the clerk and court guard wearing a black tactical robe and silver-white epaulettes, was the first to walk out of the ship's elevator.

He walked neither fast nor slow, and under his feet was a courtyard carpet with sacrificial patterns that had already been laid.

He did not look back, but just held up the holy emblem in his hand.

"Number E-114."

"The Lord of the Courtyard authorizes that from this moment on, this machine will be a military research asset of the Courtyard."

As soon as he finished speaking——

boom--!
A burst of high-frequency resonant vibrations was heard, and then five columns of instrument convoys carrying high-voltage brackets, plasma frame-stabilized orbiters, and ether levitation magnetic bases drove out from the stern of the ship.

That's the Engineering Corps from the Mole Science Society.

Coordinated personally by the Steel Seal Father Rich Robert, more than 40 semi-mechanical priest engineers dressed in red robes did not waste words, but followed the instructions of the light diagram and began to install transport modules and anchor pivots for the body like a sacred armored choreography.

At that moment, you could hear a pin drop throughout the port area.

In everyone's eyes, there was only the construct of the God of War - being moved, sealed, and extradited by a being like the Son of the Gods.

Soon, the body began to float slowly.

With the cooperation of dozens of floating magnetic frames and plasma orbitals, the aircraft was lifted up and slowly moved towards the open dock door deep in the ship.

And that open dock is not just any ordinary maintenance warehouse.

That was a composite dock anchorage at the deepest part of the bottom layer of the Sword of Glory, and it was also the catapult anchorage for the Holy Machine Prometheus before it took off.

The moment the aircraft completely landed in the anchorage, the magnetic blockade door on the bottom layer of the Sword of Glory slowly closed, making a "boom" sound, as if the dome of a metal cathedral was slowly closing.

The wind pressure on the side platform of the ship is calm.

Xia Xiu stood on the high platform at the stern of the ship. At this moment, the clanging sound of iron boots was heard.

Secretary Araz Trincas stepped up from the ladder below, dressed in full military uniform, with metal chains crisscrossing his chest, and a tactical dagger and data scepter hanging at his waist.

Behind him were two accompanying Sons of the Courtyard, wearing closed heavy holy forged battle armor and carrying integrated communication and rune projection systems.

This outfit no longer has any "student" temperament.

They have become the backbone of the core structure of the courtyard army.

Araz walked to the end of the steps, took off his helmet and saluted before the Lord of the Courtyard.

He pounded his chest with his right fist and saluted in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, the aircraft has been packaged by the Imperial Guards Engineering Team, and the transportation authority has been transferred."

Xia Xiu nodded slightly.

He walked forward slowly, placed one hand on the railing, and looked down into the depths of the ship.

"very good."

His voice was as calm as water, and he turned to look at Araz:

"Next, let the Mole Science Society and Panda Network enter the scene to start preliminary blueprint rubbing and body information reconstruction."

"The restoration work—I'll do it myself."

Arraz bowed his head in response.

"clear."

After a moment, Xia Xiu's eyes moved slightly, his tone remained unchanged, but he changed the subject:
"Notify the Assassin's Court."

"I have a mission for them."

Clerk Araz was slightly startled, but did not ask any further questions.

"I will need a highly concealed team to return to Terra immediately in the near future."

"I need them to go to the Oletin Empire."

"Meet the Cogwork Orthodoxy."

When he said the last sentence, the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

"By the way, tell them that I've been researching ancient relics related to the Broken God recently and have some intentions for cooperation. I'd like to discuss this in person."

After saying this, he suddenly changed the subject and looked at the clerk and said:
"Besides that, there is one more thing you need to do."

"Your Majesty, please give your instructions." The clerk said respectfully.

"You take a team of imperial guards and stay here."

Araz's brows twitched slightly, and a hint of caution and vigilance flashed in his eyes:

"Your Majesty, do you mean...guarding?"

Xia Xiu did not deny it, but instead a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"They said they welcome the cooperation with the courtyard and they also said they respect our takeover, but you and I both know that capital's loyalty is never just words."

He turned around and cast his gaze towards the edge of the ship, at the abnormal enterprise port node floating in the distance. The light and shadow cast a sharp broken line in his golden eyes.

"You stay here, not just to watch."

"Let the imperial guards walk around, train them, and put some pressure on them."

Araz nodded without asking any more questions, but his eyes became sharper.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

Xia Xiu paused and continued:

"By the way, check out Valraven's 50,000 Star Army soldiers and see their quality."

"I want you to pick out a few of them and have them come to see me."