Emperor's Bane

Chapter 542 You are mistaken, Ivan is next door
"One hundred percent: This is the conclusion we came to after observing and summarizing, mother."

"If we want to use gentle means to change the current situation in [Perfect City] according to your plan, then we must invest 100% of the strength of the entire Dawnbreaker Legion and even the entire Far Eastern Frontier: but even so, the possibility of success remains Very little."

Under the rule of Avalon, Morgan's subordinate, a branch of the Far Eastern Frontier Internal Intelligence Service, directly responsible to the Primarch, enjoying the highest operational priority and information privileges: shouldering so much identity, power and privilege, has made the former Shadow Champion Ezio, who is now the deputy director of the General Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Avalon and a high-ranking administrator, has developed the habit of straightening his chest and spreading his shoulders when standing.

This uncomfortable and tight posture has two functions at the same time. It is not only to boost his inner self-confidence, but also to remind him of the weight of the burden on his shoulders: As the Lord of Avalon, he looks to the right among the stars. Eyes, Ezio knew that he must always maintain his caution and prudence, and he could not live up to the expectations given to him by the original body.

Similarly, he must also be completely realistic. If something is beyond his ability, even if it is humiliating to admit his own powerlessness, he must be honest in front of the original body to avoid betraying the entire world. The Far Eastern Frontier would inflict more damage: moreover, it would bring shame to the Primarch.

But this fearless mentality in the face of failure is based on a major premise, which is the open-mindedness and open-mindedness of the Lord of Avalon itself: Morgan's eyes are sharp enough to judge whether her descendants are within their capabilities, and she His mind is open enough to accommodate those regrets after putting all his efforts into it.

Therefore, when faced with such a failure, the original body often has only one answer.

【Then forget it. 】

Morgan flipped through the more than 100-page summary document in front of her line by line. Before she was halfway through, the original body had already given the answer to her confidants, but after that, Morgan still calmed down and carefully I read the last page of the document carefully.

After all, these words, which have lost most of their function, are the result of the entire Avalon Investigation Bureau working at full capacity for several years, traveling back and forth to the east and west ends of the galaxy more than a dozen times, before they were finally presented to the original body.

The fruits of hard work of such subordinates must be respected enough no matter what: even if their work results may not be as useful as imagined, even if it is for their hard work and the motivation to work hard, the necessary respect is still not enough Less.

Morgan has always adhered to this management philosophy.

Then she laughed.

[However, then again, my Ministry of Internal Affairs is actually unable to do anything about a distant feudal world. It does not even have feasible means to initiate peaceful evolution or even violent change within them. This is the first time: I don’t follow Let me tell you, have you encountered any difficulties? 】

"Your words are not accurate. Mother."

Ezio lowered his head.

"First of all, not the entire Ministry of Internal Affairs, but only the General Investigation Directorate to which I belong was involved in the operation against Perfect City, because we are the only ones responsible for extraterritorial intelligence affairs: the General Directorate of Security, the General Directorate of Border Defense, and the General Directorate of Internal Affairs were not involved in the operation of Perfect City. action."

"Especially the General Administration of Border Defense: If we can transfer a few teams from the General Administration of Border Defense, even on the other side of the galaxy, we are confident of launching a successful beheading operation and making waves in the Perfect City."

[Ah, yes: it's my fault. 】

The Primarch waved his hand.

[There’s been a lot going on lately, and I’ve even forgotten the tasks I gave you. 】

[The General Administration of Internal Affairs should have just completed the special operation related to the Triple Fal system. The main force of the General Security Administration should still be working with the Midnight Lords to clear away signs of corruption in the worlds in northern Avalon and conduct inspections on the management departments of each world. Carry out regular assessments. 】

The original body plucked his fingers, counting all the treasures in his family.

[As for the General Administration of Border Defense, well, their mission is too important. It is better not to use these people until necessary: ​​especially the two departments responsible for the Maelstrom and the Ghoul Stars. The missions they have to shoulder are already It's difficult enough. 】

"Indeed, Mother."

Ezio cherished his words like gold. Even in front of his original body, the former shadow champion had no idea of ​​showing off his outstanding abilities. He suppressed the Astartes' fanatical mentality towards the original body deeply: This indifferent and mature psychology is also one of the reasons why the Spider Queen promoted him exceptionally.

If nothing goes wrong, Deputy Director Ezio will take off the word "Deputy" in front of him within twenty years and become one of the four giants of the Avalon Internal Affairs Department: but this is also the end of his official career. .

After all, the position of minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Avalon has always been held by the Lord of Avalon himself. The four general directorates are directly responsible to the Primarch himself: In addition, the Primarch also oversees a special response team. The troops were the essence of the shadow of the former Second Legion.

Ezio didn't know much about these things. In fact, since the original body reorganized the shadow power of the entire Dawnbreaker Legion forty years ago, the four general offices have lacked private contact with each other. . There’s just that sense of camaraderie at work.

An obvious example is: As the veteran and top executive of the General Bureau of Investigation, Ezio cannot even be completely sure of the specific names of the other three directors of the General Bureau, and he only has acquaintances with them.

Ezio only knew that his best friend, Edward, had been in the General Bureau of Border Defense. It was the one with the heaviest tasks and the most elite personnel among the four general bureaus, but it also had the fastest turnover rate.

As its name suggests, the General Administration of Border Protection is responsible for intelligence and infiltration work in various areas around Avalon: from the Five Hundred Worlds to the Maelstrom to the Ghoul Stars, they are active in the most chaotic and dangerous corners of the galaxy, ensuring that Protecting the security of Morgan's border areas.

In his brief encounter with Ezio, Edward always mentioned the safest tasks among the tasks he was involved in: including but not limited to infiltrating the Imperial world outside the Avalon Frontier, non-Imperial world, and the Three-Way Zone. , and space pirate clusters, and while hiding themselves in these different worlds, they develop intelligence networks and are always alert to the potential threats to Avalon in these areas.

In Edward's words, these jobs are always accompanied by danger: even in those imperial worlds, firefights are necessary, not to mention guarding against agents from the 20th Legion and the Terran government. Although they He won't kill him, but he never stops using insidious tricks or stumbling blocks behind his back.

Ezio was not sure how much of his best friend's words were just smoke and mirrors thrown out for insurance purposes, but he was convinced of the high sacrifice rate of the General Administration of Border Protection: although the General Bureau of Investigation where he worked was the Ministry of Internal Affairs The actual [External Department] in China.

[Actually, if you think back to that year, when I was reorganizing the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I had already considered this issue: If only your General Bureau of Investigation is responsible for the work of the external department, will it cause too much pressure on your work? 】

Putting the last page of the document in her hand on the table, the original body relaxed her center of gravity and leaned back. She made a gesture, and the Virgo seat next to her moved a chair for Ezio, but the Deputy Director of the General Investigation Bureau The posture when sitting on it is still full of restraint.

"Please rest assured, mother, that the General Bureau of Investigation is capable of our work. We have fulfilled the promise of this Bureau for forty years and have never tarnished it: it's just that your temporary mission this time is really a bit..."

【Irregular. 】

The primarch smiled.

【I understand. 】

[After all, your General Bureau of Investigation is the real external department: the General Bureau of Security only needs to be responsible for the internal affairs of Avalon, and their main work is anti-infiltration and anti-corruption; although the work of the General Bureau of Border Defense is high, they will not be too far away from Avalon. Far away, the scope of activities is basically limited to the Far Eastern Star Territory east of the Maelstrom. 】

[As for the General Administration of Internal Affairs, although I occasionally let them go on business trips, their main job is to complete the various exclusive tasks I have assigned to them: for example, in this case of the Sanzhong Farr incident, they were responsible for contacting the Sanzhong Thule's loyal power, and to collect the numerous incriminating evidence of Triple Farr. 】

[Only your General Investigation Bureau has been wandering outside since the day it was established. It has the least resources, but the scope of activities is the largest: including the Sun, Storm, Hazy and Peace, except for the Far Eastern Star Territory, the entire four Star Territory, these places are all far away from Avalon's sphere of influence, and there are not many benefits for us. 】

[So, the orders I give you from the General Bureau of Investigation have always been to take root in the local area, develop a network of informants, and only collect the simplest information, or to determine the authenticity of certain major events: in general, it is to set up roots in the western part of the galaxy for me. An eye of my own will not blind me to the rest of the empire. 】

[Looking at it from this perspective: the General Administration of Internal Affairs is my special detachment, the General Security Administration is my discipline department, and the tasks of the General Administration of Border Defense are always too bloody. On the contrary, the General Administration of Investigation is the only real intelligence agency. 】

"But from beginning to end, we never brought you real confidential information."

Ezio was a little ashamed.

As the original body just said, the soldiers of their Investigation Bureau are like rootless duckweeds far away from home in the western part of the galaxy. They can only collect basic information or determine the real situation on the ground.

Most of the time, all the Bureau of Investigation does is rush to specific worlds: major events that interest the Lord of Avalon often occur on these worlds, and they have to rush there to confirm the truth of these major events.

When they do not have these special tasks, Ezio and his men will patrol their respective mission areas, regularly contact the informant network in various worlds, and record those mundane data.

Compared with the General Administration of Internal Affairs, which is always doing big things, and the General Administration of Border Defense, which lives in the shadow of swords and blood all day long, such a life will inevitably lead to self-doubt: as for the General Administration of Security? No one can compete with the newcomers who are following the Night Lords.

[What do you think intelligence work is? my child? 】

Morgan burst out laughing.

【sneak into? Assassination? camouflage? fingerprint? Poison or a pistol with a silencer? Just like those in mortal movies: it's all a lie, Ezio, an artistic exaggeration that makes people laugh. 】

[In intelligence work, there are always only two most important things: latency and data. These are enough. 】

The primarch's fingers crossed the table, encouraging the heir she favored.

[You people from the General Investigation Bureau, go to the other side of the galaxy and record the situation there in as much detail as possible: the social stability of the local world, major rumors, fleet movements, and even the price fluctuations of long-term stored food in the local market. . 】

[When this insignificant information in your eyes flows back to Avalon, my big data will be processed later, and finally a complete chain of events will be found, and the truth of the facts will be constructed based on various clues: this is considered The true meaning of intelligence work, my son. 】

[Not by agents: but by humble spies and countless calculations. 】

[This is intelligence work, my deputy: it's not that exciting. 】【What it really needs is privacy, safety, and leaving no trace, rather than walking a tightrope in various infrared rays or installing fake pupils in your eyes. 】

[This time, your General Bureau of Investigation has done a very good job: considering that I have never cared about the problem of Perfect City before, you can submit such detailed information in just a few years. In fact, It has exceeded my expectations. 】

[As for peaceful evolution there? 】

The original body shook his head bitterly.

[Just think of this as one of my countless whims. 】

[I myself know that it is impossible to transform the perfect city. 】

"……Mother……"

[Compared with these things, I am more interested in another thing. 】

The Lord of Avalon waved his hand, interrupting his son's words, and then accurately pulled out a page from the mess of documents.

[You successfully wooed a street vendor selling hot dogs and quick lunches in Perfect City? And relied on him to complete those most crucial parts of the map painting: the years he recommended his food truck to every corner of the city? 】

"Yes, mother."

Ezio nodded.

"Because there are countless anti-detection mechanisms installed in certain core areas above Perfection, which may be the work of the Word Bearers, we cannot guarantee 100% safe infiltration: when we observe that this vendor will give these core areas When the guards delivered lunch, we decided to reverse it, and it was an easy process."

【Easy? 】

"Yes."

Ezio raised the corners of his mouth, as if he was amused by what he said next.

"Because this vendor's life in the Perfect City is not good, and he is also a loyal customer of the Empire Radio Station, and he has always been yearning for Avalon: when we promised him permanent residence in Avalon, he He joined us without hesitation and worked harder than we originally imagined.”

[This is indeed something I didn’t expect. 】

The original body leaned on the chair and covered her face, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

[Not to mention the issue about my Avalon’s reputation: You said before that in the holy city of Perfect City, the vendor feels that his current life is not good? This is somewhat different from my inherent impression. 】

"We were surprised at first."

Ezio coughed.

“But the reality is, Mother: The Perfect City is never perfect.”

"In the final analysis, it is just a city built by the Word Bearers on Monazia, the capital world of the Kur system: not to mention that this world itself is just a feudal world, and there are sixteen different towns on it. This perfect city itself is a masterpiece built on a deformed system.”

"The Perfect City itself occupies almost a quarter of the continental shelf, but there are at least 6 billion permanent residents inside it, and most of the area in the city has been used to build uninhabitable adhans. Towers and Houses of Worship: The planetary governor there proudly claims that the Perfect City has ten thousand towers, and this is not a lie."

"In addition, the city itself produces almost no agricultural and industrial products, so prices within it have always remained high, and the overall living standard is not good. But because most of its residents are extremely religious and have a strong sense of belonging, So it’s pretty stable.”

"But the street vendor we mentioned before is not an aboriginal of Perfect City, but he moved to this city later, originally for the purpose of seeking wealth: so he does not have a strong sense of belonging to Perfect City. ”

[So: For a better life? 】

"No, to get out of trouble."

Ezio shook his head.

"The vendor lives in an area called the Giro Apartment Building, which is the area with the lowest housing prices in the entire Perfect City. Although his daily income is very good, it is because he has to bear the high income from the priests and businessmen. He had to take out a loan, so the capital turnover was extremely tight: I observed his life for a month with my own eyes. Mom, although he was considered pious, he was not pious enough to ignore his own financial difficulties in real life like other residents of Perfect City. ”

[Well, house prices, loans, and apartment buildings? 】

The primarch considered this carefully.

[These terms are not consistent with the Holy City in my impression. 】

"The Holy City is just a city."

Ezio's voice was deep.

"And according to our observation, this perfect city is not as important and pure as the Word Bearers advertised: if the emperor really wants to destroy the perfect city, then the upper class in the city, that is, the merchants and those who The high-ranking clergy will most likely leave with their belongings, but the lower-level civilians may refuse to leave due to practical reasons or devout beliefs. "

[What about the Word Bearers? How powerful are they in this city? 】

"Absolutely not."

Ezio shook his head.

"The Word Bearers have been away from the Perfect City for at least thirty years. They will only occasionally go back to give sermons. In fact, the new generation of residents who grew up in the Perfect City have never seen the appearance of the Word Bearers at all, because The Seventeenth Legion did not leave any garrison force, not even an honorary guard: this was also the main reason why I had previously speculated that this place was not so crucial to the Word Bearers."

[But even so, if we really want to destroy it according to the emperor's order, it will be enough to unite with the 17th Army to have a blood feud: Do you think it is feasible to destroy this city? 】

"Not low."

A cold light flashed in Dawnbreaker's eyes.

"Although there are a large number of automatic defense systems in the core of this city, its ruling class is weak-willed and cannot stay and be destroyed together: in up to three days, any legion can completely raze the entire perfect city to the ground. It would be easy to use military force to massacre this place.”

[Well... that is to say...]

The original body fell into deep thought again. She huddled in her seat, thinking carefully in Ezio's silence, and took the papers from time to time, as if she was looking for necessary data for her own ideas.

[Using force is more than enough, but the consequences are endless. 】

[But if they want to resolve it gently, they are too stubborn. 】

【Um...so...】

【Ezio. 】

"I'm here, mother."

[Do you think, if we join forces with the Ultramarines Legion to completely evacuate the entire population of Perfect City: How long will it take? 】

"This...first of all, we need to get the people of this city to cooperate."

【That's simple. 】

The primarch laughed.

【I will "persuade" my father. 】

[And he, the old man, will be present "in person". 】

(End of this chapter)