Warhammer: Empire Reboot

The streets and alleys of Terra were abuzz with discussion.

Ordinary people just watched the spectacle, but the nobles saw much more.

In the upper districts of Terra, from the private clubs of the ancient nobility to the lounges of the Executive Yuan and the officers' mess of the Ministry of Military Affairs, everyone was talking about this.

Inside the club, a young nobleman was still shaking his head and exclaiming, "Tsk tsk tsk, you guys weren't there. The scene was too shocking. Two high lords were just gone in an instant. My father sent a lot of gifts last year to try to get an audience, but he still hasn't been able to get a number this year. Now the gifts have been wasted!"

The Marquis took a sip of wine and said with a half-smile, "It's fortunate that you weren't on the list, otherwise your family would very likely be on the investigation list of the High Lord and his cronies."

"Terra is going through a very turbulent time right now!"

The old marquis lowered his voice: "My men saw something interesting this morning near the court headquarters."

"what's up?"

"The Bi'an Warband has arrived at the Inquisition. Then, our powerful Inquisition Lord, Adamara Lassilo, was invited to the Sealholder's Palace to assist in the investigation."

The young nobleman stared wide-eyed.

"what do you mean……"

A baron who had just come in added, “That’s right. One of my cousins ​​works in the court archives, and he said that her legs were so weak when she got on the flying car that she had to be helped up by two guards.”

"Isn't it?"

The young nobleman said incredulously, "That's Lassilo! The highest lord of the Inquisition! She'd be that afraid?"

The baron spat dismissively.

"Being tough depends on who you're dealing with! She's facing the one who holds the seal! A ruthless character who just hanged two high lords in the square! How can she possibly be tough?"

"Besides, she doesn't even have that..."

He chuckled and moved closer.

“I heard that it wasn’t just Lassillo who was taken away. Several top officials in the Tribunal, responsible for files, internal reviews, and external operations, were also ‘invited’ away. This is probably going to change the landscape of the Tribunal.”

The atmosphere in the room grew even more somber.

If the execution of Danda and Frank was due to irrefutable evidence against them, then taking action against the court was a completely different matter.

The courts are not ordinary institutions; they possess secrets and a great deal of power that cannot be explained to the public.

For ten thousand years, countless of the darkest things in the empire have passed through the hands of the Inquisition.

If Lawson really lets the swarm intelligence and millions of auditors start digging up the court's old records...

I can't even imagine what else the seal holder might dig up.

What exactly is he trying to do?

The Marquis muttered to himself, "Does he intend to replace the entire High Lords Council with his own people?"

"Who knows?"

The Baron sighed: "However, one thing is certain: the winds of change are blowing in Terra. Those deeply entrenched and unshakable unspoken rules of the past will probably no longer hold sway in the face of this new ruler."

These old nobles of Terra are like a pack of wild beasts that have lived for too long in an ancient forest that has never changed.

They knew every path and trap in the forest, how to hunt, and how to avoid stronger predators.

Now that Lawson has arrived, shouldn't he be able to adapt to the rules of the forest?

However, he came to set the mountain on fire.

Everyone nervously wondered who Lawson would target next.

who can that be?

In the Sealholder's Palace, a 3D projection representing Terra's power structure floats before Lawson.

The twelve statues of the High Lords Council slowly rotate around a golden throne.

Lawson tapped the light screen lightly.

The images of Sun Lord Leontus, Commander-in-Chief Valoris, and the elderly marshal representing the highest levels of the Imperial Navy were tinged with gold.

They are our own people, so let's mark them first.

He tapped it twice more.

The images of Danda, the merchant ship representative, and Frank, the Lord of the Star Torch, turned black, representing death, and fell from the council.

Immediately afterwards, the image of Lord Lassilo of the Tribunal was marked in gray, representing "pending".

Lawson's finger continued to slide across the light screen.

He temporarily set aside the images of Raskian, the Forging General of the Mechanicus, and Fadix, the Grand Master of the Assassin's Court.

These two, one representing the empire's most extensive technological system and the other wielding the most deadly shadow power, need to be dealt with last.

Then, the rest is much simpler.

The Premier of the Executive Yuan, the Pope of the State Religion, the Lord of the Star Language Court, the Commander of the Battle Sisters, and the Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice.

Lawson pondered where to begin his next strike.

Ryan watched Lawson's chess-piece-like movements and turned to Guilliman, saying, "You see, the Seal Master is the one with the guts. These old nobles of Terra are rotten to the core and should be completely destroyed and rebuilt. Why didn't you kill them when you came back?"

Guilliman gave a wry smile: "It's easy for you to say that when you're not in my shoes. If I had those kinds of cleanup methods, I would have killed them long ago."

"Killing is easy; the hard part is cleaning up the mess and stabilizing the situation!"

He sighed: "When I first came back, I saw those idiots in Parliament and wanted to throw them all into the sun on the spot, but all I could do was dismiss them. Even so, I almost caused a huge disaster."

As Lawson listened to their conversation, he couldn't help but laugh.

He knew something about Guilliman's predicament back then.

After the regent returned to Terra, he did indeed carry out a major purge of the Highlord Council.

He swiftly replaced five high-ranking officials, including the former Premier and the Pope of the state religion.

However, these parasites that were removed were not willing to give up their power.

They secretly joined forces with several remaining conservatives and launched a coup known as the "Six-Headed Council," attempting to regain control of Terra while Guilliman was on his expedition.

If it weren't for the Assassin Court's Grand Master Fadix betraying them at a crucial moment, that coup might have brought a devastating civil war to the already crumbling empire.

Guilliman's situation back then was like that of a captain trying to replace rotten planks on a leaky ship.

He had to be very careful when removing each old plank, for fear that the whole boat would fall apart.

I dare not touch this, I dare not touch that.

However, their conversation reminded Lawson of something.

He looked at Guilliman: "Your Excellency, the current Premier Roskaeffler was someone you personally promoted back then, right?"

"Yes."

Guilliman nodded: "She is a pragmatist, very capable, and supports my reforms. She has made great contributions to stabilizing Terra's administrative system."

Lawson said, "Could you talk to her? Ask her to move to a different position, like becoming second-in-command?"

Guilliman raised an eyebrow: "You want to replace her? I thought you would start with the State Church or the Star Language Court first. Roskaeffler is one of our people."

"It's precisely because she's one of yours that it's easier to talk."

"The Executive Yuan is the central hub of the entire empire," Lawson explained. "What I want is a smooth transition."

Guilliman thought for a moment and then agreed.

“I’ll talk to her. But who do you plan to appoint as the new Premier? This position is very important; not just anyone can take it.”

Lawson snapped his fingers, and a static force field activated beside him.

Two tall figures emerged from the portal.

Aoyama and Andrei.

They operate in the shadows of the Empire, managing the administrative and legal systems of hundreds of thousands of planets for Lawson. They are two of Lawson's most relied-upon nodes in the Hive Network.

Let me introduce myself.

Lawson said to Guilliman, "These two are my capable assistants and my old brothers."

He pointed to Aoyama: "This man is Aoyama, and he will become the new Minister of the Executive Yuan."

Pointing at Andrei, he continued, "And this Andrei will take over the Ministry of Justice and become the Chief Inspector of the Court of Justice. What do you think?"

Guilliman raised his eyebrows twice more.

They've even prepared a candidate for the Chief of Police Officer at the Ministry of Justice.

This person in charge of the seal isn't even going to put on an act anymore; it seems he really doesn't intend to give the old forces any chance.

"Since you chose this person, their abilities are undoubtedly excellent, and I have no objections."

Lawson laughed heartily.

"In terms of ability, my people are more than ten thousand times better than those who are just useless in their positions."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Guilliman again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean Roskaeffler was useless."

Guilliman immediately waved his hand, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Alright, alright, no need to explain anymore, I'll go talk to her."

After the Seal Keeper's Palace completed its first round of purges, Lawson convened a full council.

The location remains the Imperial Council Hall.

Even though most of the people who appeared last time had been killed by Lawson, this hall, which could accommodate a million people, was once again filled with dignitaries of all ranks in the empire.

Terra has no shortage of nobles.

This time, however, the atmosphere was completely different from when Lawson entered Terra.

Before the gallows on Terra were even completely dismantled, the Hall of the Seals had already reconvened the council, and no one dared to be late.

Several seats at the chairman's office are vacant.

Those empty seats were more noticeable than the people sitting in them.

Guilliman sat to Lawson's right, and Lane sat to his left.