Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 794 08.793: "Those with narrowed eyes are monsters"

"Welcome Lord Cochrane back to the Gothic Sector Admiralty!"

The floating car landed smoothly on the huge shuttle apron, making a slight sound of hydraulic system unloading.

Before the hatch was fully opened, Horatio heard a neat, enthusiastic, and loud chorus of cheers coming from outside.

The hatch slid open, letting in a stream of filtered air that smelled of metal and disinfectant.

The gangway extended automatically, and Horatio stepped out of the special car, only to see a row of ceremonial guards in dark blue navy uniforms and holding laser rifles standing on both sides of the dock to greet him. Their postures were as straight as pine trees, and their weapons reflected cold and hard light under the lighting on the top of the hangar.

At the front of the guard line stood a man in a bright uniform, dressed meticulously.

He had a perfect and respectable smile on his face, and the carefully groomed white wig on his head was slightly curled into several elegant long curls at the temples, which was exquisite and meticulous.

"It's nice to see you again, Captain Elphinstone." Horatio nodded slightly and greeted in a calm voice.

"I am also heartily glad to hear that you have returned safely from those muddy, shell-scorched trenches of the Carpathians, Lord Cochrane."

There was a hint of relief in Elphinstone's voice, and he took two steps forward, extending his hand for a brief but firm shake with Horatio.

"I have heard from my daughter Lina many interesting stories about your voyage.

Well, before you officially step into this place, I might be able to reveal to you a secret that will soon no longer be a secret. " The man's smile remained, but his eyes had a hint of meaning.

Captain Lord Elphinstone, as the current chief of the Gothic Fleet's intelligence department, holds countless unknown first-hand information.

His mysterious attitude at the moment and his slightly lowered voice all indicated that what he was about to say was by no means an ordinary matter.

"Really? Please tell me." Horatio asked with a look of great interest.

"you……"

Elphinstone paused for a moment, seeming to enjoy the searching look that flashed across Horatio's face, and said, "I have just been awarded the most rare honorary rank that an Imperial Navy officer can aspire to.

Congratulations, from now on, you are one step closer to becoming a general, sir."

When Horatio heard this, the pupils in his deep eyes suddenly shrank, and his breathing seemed to stop for a moment.

He knew exactly what the title meant and what it could only mean.

'Lord Captain', in the context of the Imperial Navy, can also be called 'Lord Colonel', because in Imperial High Gothic, the 'Captain' in the fleet command system and the 'Colonel' in the Astra Militarum and administrative system often have the same origin.

Among the numerous 'Lord Captains', one with the most outstanding military achievements will be selected every year - the total tonnage of enemy ships sunk or captured by him in the past year must be the highest among all, and even exceed the total of the achievements of the second and third ranked captains.

Only those who meet such stringent conditions can be honored as the 'Lord-High Captain'.

Although this is only an honorary title and not a substantive promotion, it ranks first among all honorary titles in the Imperial Navy.

More importantly, the 'High Lord Captain' has the privilege of acting on behalf of the Imperial Navy in the absence of a higher-ranking naval commander (such as a Fleet Admiral or Sector Governor) present.

This power is absolute and almost has the power of life and death.

To put it bluntly, even if someone with such a title ordered the massacre of all the residents of a hive city without any solid basis, he could later explain it by saying "this was the will of the Imperial Navy" without having to bear any substantial punishment.

This medal, which symbolizes the highest honor, can even be inherited by one's direct descendants. Although the descendants who inherit the medal cannot have the same overwhelming power as the first generation recipient, the medal itself is still a very important "golden medal of immunity from death".

After all, in the cold and cruel human empire, the human rights of ordinary individuals are as worthless as grass. Compared with those noble families and their precious bloodlines who have made great military achievements for the empire, they are not worth mentioning at all.

Although they are all imperial currencies, there are differences in face value between them.

Unless his descendants violated the iron laws of "Imperial Law" strictly defined and enforced by the Ministry of Justice, no one would execute the descendant of a hero with outstanding achievements for a group of insignificant mortals.

The reason why Horatio was so impressed by this special military rank was that he accidentally discovered it in the study of his father-in-law, Alexander Hood, the father of Farida Hood, several years ago.

During the days when he was searching for clues about his father and the mystery of his life, he quietly entered the study of his father-in-law, who was then a rear admiral.

There, he accidentally flipped through his father-in-law's personal diary, and from a thick compilation of imperial medals and regulations, he recognized the true meaning of the adamantine medal he had been wearing, which was left by his father. His father, Thomas Cochrane, was a legendary figure among his naval officers who won the honor of "Captain of the Supreme Lord" with his unparalleled combat record.

"But."

Horatio came back to his senses from his brief thoughts, frowned slightly, and said with a hint of confusion: "I have not participated in the annual 'hunting competition' organized by the Navy Department as a colonel this year."

"Oh, really?" Colonel Lord Elphinstone smiled knowingly when he heard this, and raised his hand to straighten the edge of his wig, which was not messy at all.

"It is clearly stated in the election regulations issued by the Navy Department that the selection of this honor is based on the statistics of the highest total tonnage of enemy ships sunk and captured by all active field-level officers in the past standard year."

He took a step forward and lowered his voice: "In other words, Cochrane, in fact, when you served as the captain of the attack ship 'Epic' and participated in the second Damocles Expedition, you had already firmly secured the top position of this honorary rank with your amazing record.

No other captain in the Imperial Navy has achieved more success than you over the past year."

"But shouldn't there be only one person in each term who holds the position of 'Colonel Supreme Lord'?" Horatio was still a little confused.

"To be exact, the relevant review process was finally completed this year. The Misty Star Region Navy Command conducted a long and detailed review and certification of the results you reported, and finally signed to confirm their authenticity and validity.

So, congratulations, Colonel Corcoran."

The smile on Elphinstone's face became more and more obvious. He reached out and patted Horatio's shoulder covered with hard shoulder armor gently, and his action seemed quite friendly.

"Come in quickly. Admiral Samuel Hood is still waiting for you in his office. I don't want to be the first to announce this belated joy on behalf of Admiral Hood by delaying here for too long."

There was a mysterious light flashing in his eyes, which were always slightly narrowed.

"Thank you, Lord Elphinstone. But..."

Horatio's doubts were still not completely resolved, and he spoke again: "I remember that the current 'Captain of the Supreme Lord' should be someone else. Unless he himself has been promoted, or... otherwise this position should not be..."

"Ah."

Lord Elphinstone pretended to be silent, then showed an expression of sudden enlightenment. He gracefully turned sideways and motioned Horatio to go first. "I think I may have been a little careless just now and forgot to tell you a little thing - I was promoted to Commodore not long ago, so the title of the new Supreme Lord Colonel needs to be awarded to the new successor."

? !
The expression on Horatio's face froze instantly. He turned his head in astonishment and stared at the man who had just passed by him and whose demeanor was always calm and elegant. He was unable to react for a moment.

[What? Captain Elphinstone... He, he is actually the 'Colonel of the Supreme Lord' of this term, no, the previous term? ? ?]
[Is there such a top expert who has made great achievements but is so low-key hiding beside me? ? ?]
Looking at Elphinstone's eyes that were almost smiling into slits, and the expression of "everything is under control" on the other's face, Horatio couldn't help but silently complain about the widely circulated classic saying: Guys with squinty eyes are indeed all hidden monsters.

(End of this chapter)