Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 922 (08.921): 『Rank 12』

“Of course!” Poniatowski’s voice rose with excitement, and he unconsciously patted his chest, making a deep thud. “No one knows the history of the Władysław family better than my own family!”

Upon hearing this name, the dragoon lieutenant colonel's expression instantly became solemn and excited. He straightened his back abruptly, as if reciting a sacred epic: "The Vadisław family is the supreme royal family of the world of Polaberia knights! An imperial knight family with a long history, full of honor and mission, whose loyalty to the Emperor is as firm as a rock, and who can be called the model for all nobles!"

He paused, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed pride. "And legally speaking, my family, the Hunyati family, has served as the palace ministers of the Vadisław family for generations, and as the High King's messengers!"

"Oh! What a coincidence!"

Horatio feigned surprise, his tone perfectly enthusiastic, "I had the honor of meeting two noble knights, Baron Bayar and his wife Baroness Ambis, during the war on the distant planet Carpathia."

We fought side by side, and afterwards, I was entrusted by them to help them find the whereabouts of the High Princess of the Władysław family—whom they claimed was the only legitimate heir to the Władysław family.

Horatio's gaze sharpened like a scalpel, as if trying to dissect the battalion commander's soul. He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "You seem to know Colonel Yadwig."

I noticed that she seems to have some blood connection to the 'Wadysław' family you mentioned, but why is her surname 'Rana'? Could she be the 'High Princess' the two knights spoke of?"

The air seemed to freeze at that moment. The muffled roar of distant artillery fire seemed to have faded away, leaving only a tense silence between the two men.

The answer to all the secrets seemed to hang between the opening and closing lips of the man before them.

If what this seemingly rough and talkative battalion commander said is true, he is undoubtedly the most likely person to solve this mystery.

“Hmm…” Poniatovsky Hunyati’s brows furrowed into a deep frown. He pursed his lips, his expression shifting between loyalty and reality.

After a long while, he seemed to have finally made up his mind, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth.

Just as Horatio felt he was about to touch the heart of the truth—

"Second Battalion! Assemble!"

A clear and urgent female voice, like a thunderclap, accompanied by the rapid sound of horses' hooves, came from afar and abruptly shattered the momentary tranquility.

The two turned their heads simultaneously and saw Yadwig, the colonel, galloping towards them on horseback. White steam billowed from the nostrils of his mount, and his armor was covered in dust and dark green orc blood.

A fresh, congealed bloodstain appeared on her shoulder, a gruesome mark left by flying shrapnel on her skin, and her eyes were filled with undisguised anxiety.

"What happened? Are you injured?" Horatio stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the wound on her face.

Yadwiga reined in his horse sharply, its hooves carving deep marks in the sand.

Ignoring her own injuries, she pointed to the sand dunes to the west, her voice urgent: "I wanted to find a weak point in the encirclement and take the dragon riders there to scout. That area used to be the stronghold of the Severus rebels and the Dark Eldar, but now... it's full of greenskins!"
They have seized a massive amount of spoils and are gathering, their target the energy hub to the west!

"My companions are still over there!"

Horatio's face darkened. He looked up sharply at the silent array of turrets on the monastery walls and the main Gothic building. "Moreover, we absolutely cannot let the Greenskins destroy the energy center! Without the fire support of these Hydra anti-aircraft guns and macro guns, we cannot survive until reinforcements arrive!"

“But what should we do now?” Poniatovsky Hunyati ruffled his messy hair anxiously, his face full of worry. “The current situation is: the Imperial Navy, the Ministry of Justice, Krieg, the Sintira conservatives and the military reformers… we are a complete mess! There is no unified command system at all! The only general here, Major General Leclerc, has been killed in action, and there is no other senior officer with enough weight and prestige to take charge of the overall situation.”

If we rashly divide our forces and fight independently, I fear... we will ultimately be annihilated!

"Vote." The colonel frowned, her voice firm and resolute. "Summon all officers. We must immediately elect a supreme commander to coordinate all troops!"
-
Inside the dilapidated chapel of the monastery, the few remaining candles flickered in the air currents, their dim light illuminating every tense and hostile face.

“I will never allow you second-class citizens to command our glorious Sintira nobility!” An officer in a magnificent Sintira flintlock regiment uniform slammed his hand on the long table, making the tin goblets on it vibrate loudly.

His contemptuous gaze swept over Yadviga and Poniatovsky. "Look at your troops! A bunch of thugs! hooligans! Beggars! Peasants! It's a disgrace to make us associate with these lowlifes!"

Another person chimed in, "Your so-called 'dragon riders' are nothing but a bunch of lowly commoners! They're only fit to do lowly jobs like collecting grain for us! They're not worthy of stepping onto the sacred battlefield!"

"Look at these farmers, the lowest of the low living in the mud, utterly lacking in military discipline! Do they even deserve to fight alongside us?"

"Yes!!"

"exactly!"

A group of Cintira officers of noble birth chimed in, their jeers and laughter rising and falling. Except for the short girl, the battalion commander of the Leaping Soldiers, who leaned against the dimly lit wall, arms crossed, the brim of her tall military cap pulled low to obscure her face. She remained silent, uninvolved in the verbal exchange, like a marginal figure.

“You have already suffered a crushing defeat!” Colonel Yadwiga retorted, each word deliberate and her fists clenched tightly. “Your poor command abilities have proven that you are utterly incapable of leading a large army in battle!”

“That’s none of your business! You lowly woman!” The conservative officers from Sintira retorted without backing down.

"What the hell did you say to our colonel?!"

Tsk-!
A piercing metallic scraping sound shattered the argument.

Poniatovsky Hunyati flew into a rage, his saber already half-drawn from its sheath, the cold blade reflecting a deadly glint in the candlelight.

Colonel Yadwig's eyes narrowed, and he gestured to his men. Several dragoons quickly grabbed their battalion commander, whose eyes were bloodshot and who looked like an enraged lion.

"Go and find out who my ancestors were!" Battalion Commander Poniatovsky Hunyati, though being held back, still roared furiously, "You bunch of lower-ranking nobles probably don't even have the qualifications to meet an Imperial Knight!"

"..."

Horatio Cochrane remained silent, like a steel statue amidst a farce.

He coldly observed the Sintira officers before him, who were now divided into two factions, relentlessly attacking each other, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

Unsurprisingly, they wasted all their precious pre-battle time on meaningless internal strife. Neither side was willing to yield to the other.

But he knew they were out of time.

A faint static crackled through the miniature communicator in his ear; a Hellsoldier lurking on high ground had sent the latest tactical report: the main Greenskin force had begun advancing towards the Gothic megastructure serving as the energy hub. He simply nodded slightly and hummed in acknowledgment.

After ending the communication, he finally moved.

He noticed a gaze fixed on him.

He followed the gaze.

The short girl, the commander of the Sintira Leaping Battalion, although the brim of her tall military cap obscured her vision, still left herself some space to look through. Through this gaze, she sized up Horatio, observing this rare figure from the Imperial Navy.

The moment their eyes met, she lowered her head, using the brim of her hat to block out all view, thus ending the eye contact and scrutiny.

Horatio stepped forward, approaching the light. The chandelier, swaying with the sound of cannons, cast its swaying light upon him, making him the most conspicuous figure in the room.

“Colonel, citizen,” Horatio said calmly, addressing Yadviga in a manner befitting the local custom. “May I ask, who is the highest-ranking Astronautical officer here?”

“It’s me. I’m the only surviving Astragalus colonel still in combat duty here. But…” The colonel’s voice betrayed a hint of helplessness and hesitation, and her anxiety deepened. “The officers of the Sintira Flintlock Regiment probably won’t take my orders. They refuse to participate in the election, believing that running against commoners would damage the dignity of the nobility.”

"Well then, I have a suggestion."

Horatio's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power, instantly drowning out all the arguments.

He calmly raised his hand, drawing the attention of everyone in the chapel.

"As an Imperial Lord, Honorary Knight of Macragge, and Senior Officer of the Imperial Navy, I am applying for command of all armed forces along the monastery defense line. My rank is twelfth in the official Imperial hierarchy, and I believe that this qualification and status are sufficient to give me the right to speak."

Horatio cleverly used his official rank to subtly and impactfully convey to the Astronautical officers unfamiliar with the naval rank system the lofty status and weight of his power.

His gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on Jadwiga's face.

"And the method, as you suggested, is a vote. I nominate myself as a candidate, and all officers will jointly decide who will take command. This is the fairest and most convincing way."

(This is an Imperial Order of Rank system constructed by clerks after sorting out and supplementing it with the actual administrative system. Note: GW does not have a clear Imperial Order of Rank system. This system is an Imperial Order of Rank system created by the author and other civil servants based on the order of rank of the British Empire during the Victorian era, and is formatted according to the Russian Order of Rank system. It is only used to rationalize and supplement the Warhammer universe in this book.)

(End of this chapter)