Another planet had fallen.
The local Imperial forces withdrew without much resistance.
Following past practice, the Tau Empire fleet dispatched Water Caste diplomats to the surface, attempting to persuade the Imperial administrators with words to join the Greater Good.
In the past, this work was very difficult.
Fanatical cultists would never allow the God-Emperor's land to be encroached upon by xenos.
For this reason, many times, Fire Warriors had to be deployed to crush the remaining resistance before control could be established.
However, this time, the Imperial bureaucrats of the fallen planet were very cooperative.
"Why are you so submissive?"
Commander Farsight looked at the Planetary Governor before him and questioned him.
In the past, they always had to waste a lot of time, and even resort to force, to persuade these guys, but now, it was so simple.
They proposed that the Tau Empire rule this planet, and those human nobles immediately agreed.
Think about what that means.
This confused Commander Farsight.
"Isn't this what you want?" the Planetary Governor said calmly.
"You always dream of acquiring more planets and having more beings believe in your Greater Good."
"Now that you have it, you are full of doubts and dare not believe it."
"But your behavior is too strange." Commander Farsight's tone was somewhat uneasy, "This isn't normal, You should resist like before."
"Then we suppress the resistance, repeat this a few times, and then you yield."
Hearing this, the Planetary Governor almost laughed.
"You Tau are truly humorous, If you want resistance, we can try to organize and put on a show for you."
Commander Farsight:
"..."
What do you mean, 'a show'?
Are you that perfunctory?
Where is your loyalty to the God-Emperor?
Where is your spirit of not yielding an inch??
"You weren't like this before." Commander Farsight said with a hint of resentment, "Now you're really not yourselves at all."
"Because what we do has no bearing on the final outcome." the Planetary Governor said calmly.
"The final decisive battle has already begun, and the fate of the material and immaterial realms is about to be decided."
"What do you mean?" Commander Farsight asked, "What is the final decisive battle?"
"You will understand in time." the Planetary Governor said, "Regardless, you now have dominion over this planet."
"As long as you don't do anything too excessive, we will obey your commands."
"Alright, then as a representative of the Tau Empire, I declare this entire planet officially part of the Tau Empire's territory." Commander Farsight completed the conquest process, after confirming that the Planetary Governor would not instigate resistance, he took his team back to the warship in orbit.
He informed Shadowsun and the other Commanders about everything that had happened on the surface.
"What exactly are these humans up to?"
"They're not fighting, they're not fanatical, It feels very unfamiliar to me."
Many high-ranking Tau Empire officials felt unaccustomed to the sudden change in human attitudes.
In the past, when occupying human planets, they would always hear humans curse them as alien invaders, xenos, and curse the Auxiliaries as traitors.
Then they would resist desperately, defy them, and then be suppressed by Fire Caste warriors, eventually realizing they were wrong and joining the embrace of the Tau Empire, Now, the other side is acting completely resigned, which makes them very uncomfortable, at least resist a little; they're acting like dead fish.
"The Imperium of Man is engaged in a great war we know nothing about."
"This war has led them to conscript all Imperial forces and resources, so much so that many insignificant worlds have been abandoned."
Shadowsun, the Commander, made his judgment.
He speculated that the Imperium of Man, as in previous instances, chose to ignore the Tau Empire because of other battlefields.
"It seems like it truly is the Greater Good's protection, We can take advantage of this opportunity to expand greatly, When the Imperium of Man finishes its current affairs and turns its attention to the Tau Empire, they will definitely be greatly surprised."
"We have achieved unprecedented victories, and the Imperium of Man is crumbling, Whatever they are doing, this war is beneficial to Terra."
An-Shi looked at the data projection in front of him, his face showing excitement, and he spoke to encourage the many Commanders, as an Aether, his primary role was to boost the morale of the expeditionary force;
fighting and the like were secondary.
"Since the rulers of this planet are willing to submit, then let the Earth Caste scientists proceed with the transformation."
Shadowsun made his plans.
"We will continue our voyage, bypassing the Imperium's core fortress worlds, Those worlds stockpile large numbers of troops, and a forced attack would incur heavy losses and slow Terra down."
"We will first conquer the insignificant planets, turn them into our resources, and then use war to sustain war, constantly growing stronger, ultimately defeating the Imperium of Man completely."
"....."
"...."
Shadowsun's influence was significant.
His strategy was successfully implemented, The expeditionary fleet avoided military planets, continuously encroaching upon resource-rich planets, then establishing production systems, allowing the Tau Empire's power to rapidly grow like a snowball.
Victories were constantly reported back to the various Sept worlds, invigorating the entire Tau Empire.
Countless Tau and Auxiliary races cheered and celebrated.
The gloom of the past was swept away, and everyone rejoiced in the victories achieved by the expeditionary force.
Especially the Auxiliaries who had joined the Tau Empire.
The continuous victories further solidified their belief that joining the Empire was a wise choice.
The Imperium of Man was finished, and those foolish fanatics would pay the ultimate price for it.
Just as Shadowsun and An-Shi, along with other high-ranking Tau Empire officials, were ambitious and planning to accelerate expansion, pushing the Tau Empire's influence to an unprecedented height.
Farsight, who had betrayed the Tau Empire and exiled himself, appeared before them with a fleet.
Farsight's appearance shocked them greatly.
In the early days of the Tau Empire's expansion, most of its military victories could be attributed to a Commander named [Puretide].
Puretide was a legendary genius, and his writings on strategy and tactics had a profound impact on the Tau Empire.
Farsight was Puretide's most prized disciple, after completing his studies, he was appointed Fleet Commander.
In his first mission, he used astonishing skill and wisdom to defeat invading Orks.
Thereafter, he achieved many more victories, solidifying his reputation as a genius, after the death of the elderly Puretide, Farsight became the Tau Empire's most relied-upon Fire Caste Commander, and Farsight lived up to expectations, continuously winning victories.
However, being independent-minded, he also repeatedly defied the teachings and commands of the Aethers.
These matters led to a poor relationship between him and the Aethers.
During an Ork war, Farsight betrayed the Tau Empire.
He established the Farsight Enclaves and refused to communicate with the Tau Empire.
Shadowsun, An-Shi, and other high-ranking Tau Empire officials had all tried to find the reasons for Farsight's betrayal, but unfortunately, they never succeeded.
Now, Farsight suddenly appeared before them.
"Are you finally returning?"
When the two sides established contact, Shadowsun's tone was emotional.
Shadowsun and Farsight were fellow disciples.
When Shadowsun learned of Farsight's betrayal, he was incredibly shocked and at one point doubted the news was true.
Only after multiple confirmations did he dare to believe that Farsight had truly betrayed them.
Regardless, as long as Farsight was willing to return, Shadowsun would welcome him and even try his best to intercede for him.
Currently, the rapidly expanding Tau Empire also greatly needed a strategic genius like Farsight.
"No." Farsight calmly denied it.
"If you're not returning to Terra, then what is your purpose in coming here?" An-Shi asked.
"To warn you." Farsight said, "to stop you from self-destruction."
"The Tau Empire is at its strongest period ever; we are rapidly rising, and our territory is expanding at lightning speed." Shadowsun said, "I see no shadow of any crisis."
"I've always had a question I wanted to ask the Aethers, but I never did." Farsight did not answer directly but changed the subject, staring intently at An-Shi.
"What do you want to ask?" An-Shi asked.
"How much do the Aethers truly know about the threat of the Warp?" Farsight asked, an-Shi's expression subtly changed.
In the past, he had not known; it was only after escaping Commoragh that he learned of the Warp's existence from members of the High Council.
"Your question is out of line."
An-Shi did not want to answer, because the truth of that question would trigger a crisis of faith, causing the Greater Good to face a crisis, or even cease to exist.
Without the Greater Good, the Tau Empire would also fall apart.
For this reason, this question could not be answered.
"I understand, You know, but you are unwilling to tell the populace." Farsight sighed softly, "You are merely repeating a practice that humanity has long proven to be wrong."
"What are you two talking about?" Shadowsun didn't understand their riddles.
"You don't need to know the truth, Stopping your foolish actions immediately is the wise choice." Farsight said to Shadowsun with a cold voice, "The Imperium of Man is engaged in an unprecedented war, deciding the ultimate dominion over the Warp and the material realm."
"Many powerful races have participated in this human-led war, The Orks, Aeldari, and Necrons you have seen before are all fighting the Warp alongside humanity."
"Your war at this time is undoubtedly a stab in the back, Once the war ends, the entire Tau Empire will be held accountable."
"If it's a war that could decide the fate of the entire galaxy, then why weren't we invited?" Shadowsun questioned.
"Because we are insignificant." Farsight retorted unceremoniously, stating a cruel truth, "The Tau Empire's strength is too weak to participate in a war of that magnitude."
"Insignificant?" Shadowsun found such a statement hard to accept, "Our Greater Good is enough to illuminate the entire galaxy."
"That is just a lie, Science and rationality are not the entirety of this world." Farsight's tone was severe, "You have already seen the god born in the Warp."
"The threat posed by the Warp surpasses all else, Before, we were always puzzled why the Imperium of Man became this way, questioning why such a backward and ignorant race could rule the galaxy."
"But our end will definitely not be better than theirs, perhaps even more desolate, Once the Tau race reaches a certain scale.
it will become prey for the unspeakable entities of the Warp."
"Humanity once had more glorious intelligent technology and civilization than Terra, At their strongest, they could transform a planet's environment within two or three days."
"Now, all we see are a group of desperate people using the heritage of their ancestors to fight against inevitable destruction."
"We will not stop." An-Shi said calmly, "Whether what you say is true or false, this is our best opportunity."
"This is the beginning of the Tau Empire's destruction." Farsight retorted unceremoniously, "You have all witnessed the power of the Imperium of Man; they are merely busy with another war."
"Your actions are suicidal, Once that war ends, we will certainly be held accountable."
Farsight had traveled a great distance, trying hard to persuade the Tau Empire to halt its war efforts.
However, no one was willing to listen to him.
Shadowsun and An-Shi continued to lead the Tau Empire fleet, executing the celestial expansion plan.
However, their joy did not last long before a crisis struck.
They encountered a Chaos warband fleet possessing an Ark of Omen.
To deal with the Imperium of Man, Vashtorr had enhanced all the Arks of Omen, but still failed to gain an advantage against the Imperium of Man.
This caused many Chaos warbands to question their existence for a time.
The fighting was too desperate.
No matter how hard he tried, the Imperium kept him down.
Even the blessings of the Chaos Gods were of no avail; the Imperium still relied on various technologies and Old One creations to suppress them.
Now, the entire Moro battlefield was utterly brutal.
Those slightly weaker were cannon fodder.
Various legends and heroes of the Imperium returned.
Even dead guys like Tavitz and Loken were back.
The various warbands were beaten like grandsons, serving merely as backdrops for the Greater Daemons and Imperial heroes.
One can imagine how brutal the Moro battlefield was; it was essentially another Eternal War, avatars of the Chaos Gods appeared, just to win the Moro War and prevent humanity from continuing to build the Aether Phase Engine.
However, when these warbands faced the Tau Empire, their confidence, shattered by the Imperium of Man, returned.
"We can't beat the Imperium of Man, but can't we beat these little blue-skins?" a Chaos Lord shouted excitedly.
The Tau Empire's warships were also highly developed, but when faced with the utterly unreasonable Warp fleet, they were truly at a loss.
Overwhelming legions of daemons, various terrifying warships defying all logic.
The Air Caste pilots even saw the ship's console come alive, cables attacking them as if they had a life of their own.
The outcome was predictable: the Tau Empire fleet couldn't even withstand the first wave of attack against the Ark of Omen before shattering into fireballs in the void.
Ultimately, it was Farsight, leading his fleet, who unexpectedly intervened, covering their retreat from the battlefield, but the losses were still immense; two-thirds of the warships were destroyed, The Auxiliaries went mad, causing many ship personnel to be injured or even killed.
"What exactly are these things?"
Shadowsun looked at the battle reports coming back from various warships, feeling her entire perception of reality crumbling.
"They are the threats from the immaterial realm."
"Humanity is fighting against them, trying to win the final victory for the galaxy."
"Your act of war is a betrayal, and a shameful act of taking advantage of others' misfortune."
Farsight spoke, his voice calm.
"We and the Imperium of Man are not allies." Shadowsun tried to argue.
"All races in the material realm are natural allies in the war against the immaterial realm." Farsight looked at Shadowsun calmly, "I have seen those terrifying things, and I know their threat."
"Countless civilizations have been destroyed by them, becoming their playthings, Even their ethereal souls were not spared, suffering immense pain and torment."
"Is that why you betrayed Terra?" Shadowsun looked at Farsight, wanting to know why he had defected.
"Because I realized the deception of the Ethereals." Farsight looked at An-Shi, "You concealed the Warp from Terra."
"When I learned of the Warp's existence, I guessed that the Ethereals were either completely ignorant, deluding themselves to a pathetic degree, or they were intentionally doing so."
"You firmly believe that the Greater Good can make the Tau Empire equal to, or even surpass, the major powers of the galaxy."
"But all of this is a lie, The Tau Empire is merely an insignificant drop in the ocean of the galaxy, The Greater Good woven by the Ethereals is just a despicable lie, and our faith is meaningless."
"But I couldn't expose it, Without it to unite everyone, the entire T'au would face utter destruction."
"The Greater Good is not a lie." Shadowsun said.
"You have already seen those enemies use sorcery to defeat you." Farsight mercilessly pointed out, "You cannot deny this."
"Enough." An-Shi stepped forward to stop the two from arguing further, Then, he looked at Farsight, his gaze heavy, "What should we do now?"
"Join Humanity." Farsight said, "They are the main force against the immaterial realm, Any powerful race in the galaxy has joined them, just to win the final victory."
"If Humanity defeats the immaterial realm, what will become of Terra?" Shadowsun asked, "We have all witnessed the cruelty of the Imperium of Man, They are not a people who can tolerate other races."
"They did not initiate a purge before the official war, which is the best proof that they have learned to tolerate our existence." Farsight said, "The universe is vast enough that no one can truly destroy a race."
"The Imperium of Man has launched countless crusades, but they have never truly eliminated any race, Every race continues to migrate, reproduce, and develop."
"If Humanity becomes the dominant power in the galaxy, we still have a chance to resist, Every civilization will have its day of prosperity, and then decline, But if the immaterial realm controls the galaxy, then we will never see the light of day."
"All races will suffer endlessly, yet never find liberation."
Farsight looked at Shadowsun and An-Shi, his tone heavy, warning them.
"No!" An-Shi shook his head, "We will never accept such a thing."
Shadowsun and An-Shi ultimately rejected Farsight's proposal.
They did not want to become vassals of Humanity, as that would be a heavy blow to all levels of the Tau Empire.
For a long time, the Imperium of Man had been portrayed as a symbol of ignorance in their propaganda.
Now, to suddenly turn to the Imperium of Man, seeking their support and help.
Doing so would surely shatter the faith of the Tau Empire.
"What about you?" Farsight looked at Shadowsun, with a last glimmer of hope.
"No matter what, I will not betray the Ethereals." Shadowsun said calmly, also rejecting Farsight.
"Then take care of yourselves." seeing An-Shi and Shadowsun's stubbornness, Farsight sighed softly, turned, and left.
Farsight left the remaining Tau Empire forces on a safe planet and departed.
"Are we right?" Shadowsun stood on the ground, watching Farsight's fleet leave, a look of confusion in her eyes.
"Farsight may know more than Terra, but I believe with the leadership of the High Council, we will surely win the victory." An-Shi said.
Tau Empire reinforcements soon arrived, taking Shadowsun's remaining forces back to the nearest Sept world.
News of the engagement with Chaos servants quickly reached the Ethereals of the High Council.
They summoned Shadowsun, hoping she could explain the matter clearly at the Elemental Council.
Shadowsun did not suspect anything.
It wasn't until she walked into An-Va's flagship that she realized the problem.
The guards took her and her retinue's weapons and revoked her authority, preventing her from controlling any Tau Empire equipment.
"The Ethereals are guarding against me."
This thought surfaced in Shadowsun's mind.
Perhaps, Farsight was right.
The Elemental Council's hearing chamber was suffocatingly large, a structure that shouldn't exist within a spaceship, but this warship belonged to An-Va, the Supreme Lord, and he had enough prestige to do such a thing.
One side of this massive domed structure extended into a tiered platform, shrouded in shadow, with only the edges of the holographic projections casting a cold light.
Two Ethereal guards treated Shadowsun like a prisoner, pushing her forward with the tips of their halberds at her back.
If she stopped, she would be shoved.
Upon entering the Elemental Hall, Shadowsun noticed that there were more than twice as many guards as usual.
Six Ethereals sat on a high platform, wearing ceremonial crowns.
In the central throne, An-Va's projection appeared, looking down at Shadowsun.
The face of this High Ethereal was wrinkled like blue-grey leather, his solemn black eyes sharp and piercing.
Shadowsun bowed to him.
"You failed." An-Va's tone was calm, "And you met with Farsight."
"Yes, he helped Terra." Shadowsun said, "This war made me realize the true threat of the universe."
"Oh, what is it?" An-Va asked.
"You should know this." Shadowsun said, "Something from the immaterial realm."
"Lies." An-Va said, "You shouldn't believe his lies."
"The immaterial realm only contains chaotic energy, nothing else."
"No, we saw it with our own eyes." Shadowsun insisted, "They are born from the nightmares of sentient beings and can wield sorcery."
"We were utterly defeated; technology was useless, Our rationality, instead, became a shackles binding Terra."
"If Farsight hadn't come to our aid, I fear we wouldn't be standing here at all."
"The enemy merely used a power and technology you didn't understand." An-Va said, "It's not sorcery, Everything in the universe can be analyzed with reason and wisdom."
"No!" Shadowsun shook her head, "We tried, it was useless, Only by relying on faith can we defeat them."
"So you wavered in your faith in the Greater Good." An-Va's eyes were incredibly sharp, fixed on Shadowsun.
"I haven't, I just want more people to know the truth." Shadowsun said, "We must face this problem."
"I suggest not." An-Va said, "We must view these things with reason, If we try to explain them with superstition and idealism, it will only increase our fear and make Terra even more powerless against those enemies."
"You are deceiving Terra." Shadowsun uttered a disrespectful remark.
The next second, this Fire Caste Commander regretted it.
She should have thought more carefully.
The High Ethereal's gaze was like an abyss, unbearable for Shadowsun, who instinctively knelt down, but the next second, as if remembering something, she stood up again.
This surprised An-Va, but then came anger, anger that the Fire Caste Commander before him chose to resist.
"You and Farsight conspired together, attempting to deceive the citizens of the Tau Empire, Your Commander position is revoked, Go and reflect deeply for a while."
An-Va announced Shadowsun's verdict, and she was escorted away by the Fire Caste.
"I don't understand why you would do this?" An-Shi found An-Va after the meeting, questioning his decision.
"Shadowsun is not wrong; she saw those monsters with her own eyes."
"The truth doesn't matter; the outcome is what's most important." An-Va said, "Matters of the immaterial realm must be suppressed, Understanding and acknowledging those monsters will only strengthen their existence."
"Ignoring them is, in fact, the best resistance."
An-Shi wanted to say more, but An-Va stopped him, "Go fulfill your mission; we have more important things to do."
"Don't make me angry, or you'll have to go with Shadowsun and reflect on where you went wrong."
An-Shi's heart was filled with dissatisfaction, but facing the unyielding An-Va, he could only choose to obey.
However, the Chaos Warbands did not heed An-Va's orders.
They launched an attack on the Tau Empire.
Due to the temporal black hole and the Aether Phase Engine, the energy of the entire galaxy was gradually depleting, both Holy Terra and the Warp were drying up.
The Chaos Warbands needed to collect enough souls to compensate for the missing energy and prevent themselves from weakening.
For this, they plundered and massacred various races.
The Tau Empire was also targeted.
The Chaos Warbands couldn't defeat the Imperium of Man now, but crushing the Tau Empire's fleet was like a seven-foot giant bullying a small child.
With the help of the Ark of Omen provided by Vashtorr, they swept through the Tau Empire, making the Tau Empire fleet cry out in despair.
Sept worlds fell one after another.
Countless beings were slaughtered, becoming sustenance for Chaos Warriors and Daemons.
The Ethereals tried to organize a resistance, but facing the ferocious and sorcery-wielding Chaos Warbands, they were no match.
However, this was not the greatest crisis facing the Tau Empire.
With the help of the Dark Mechanicum, the Tau Empire's AI awakened.
For the Tau Empire, this was nothing short of an apocalypse.
Most of the Tau Empire's combat power relied on AI, as soon as the AI awakened, it immediately turned its guns on them.
Even more critically, An-Va.
The real An-Va had already died in the Battle of Mu'gulath Bay, assassinated by an Imperial Assassin.
The current An-Va was created using solid-light holographic projection and an AI personality matrix, combined with An-Va's previously uploaded memories and thoughts.
Essentially, he was also an AI.
This meant that the supreme ruler had betrayed the entire Tau Empire.
This led to the early Tau Empire being relentlessly massacred by the AI, while An-Va prevented the Council from taking any action.
It wasn't until An-Shi realized something was wrong and exposed the truth that the Council learned of An-Va's betrayal.
Ultimately, An-Shi destroyed this AI personality and ordered the Tau Empire to suppress the AI rebellion, but the situation remained dire, after they painstakingly defeated the AI, the Chaos Warbands attacked again, already severely weakened and without AI assistance, the outcome was predictable.
They were massacred by the Chaos Warbands, utterly routed, and Sept worlds fell one after another.
Finally, out of desperation, Shadowsun had to be released.
Through the efforts of this brilliant Commander, the situation was barely stabilized, but the situation remained critical; they could only continuously evacuate Tau Empire citizens from their Sept worlds, minimizing losses.
However, the Chaos Warbands continued their relentless advance, eventually reaching the Tau Empire's homeworld, T'au.
Just as many Ethereals and high-ranking Tau Empire officials were about to be wiped out, Farsight appeared once again.
Farsight led his fleet to block the Chaos fleet, buying time for Shadowsun and others to escape, alas, T'au ultimately fell.
Watching his former homeworld turn into a sea of fire, Farsight sighed softly and ordered the survivors to retreat to the enclaves.
The Tau Empire was thus annihilated, but Farsight's Enclaves remained.
The Players who came to do quests were somewhat frustrated; they had originally received news to deal with the Tau Empire's invasion.
These cute little blue-skins were the best targets for boosting KPIs.
Most importantly, they were incredibly good at providing emotional value.
Every time, they would try hard to prove they were right, but when they arrived, the little blue-skins were gone, leaving only a horde of roaring Chaos Warriors and Daemons.
There was no choice but to bite the bullet and boost KPIs.
The Chaos Warbands, who had just won a victory, didn't even have time to celebrate before they were brutally beaten by the Players, routed, and forced to retreat in disarray.
Meanwhile, on the Moro battlefield, the war was intensifying, avatars of the Emperor and Avatars of the Chaos Gods frequently appeared, solely to turn the tide of the war.
Just as both sides were fighting fiercely.
Daniel and his group had left Moro and arrived deep within the Webway.
"Now is the best opportunity." the Laughing God's true form appeared before Daniel, "We are going to steal the last Crone Swords to save Isha, the Goddess of Life."
"You are going to seize Sanguinius' soul, and the souls devoured by the Chaos Gods, Everyone's goal is the same."
"Don't try any tricks." Daniel warned the Laughing God.
He knew this fellow always loved to play with schemes and tricks.
"If I find any problems, I'll have the Void Dragon and the Nightbringer tear you apart when I get back."
Facing Daniel's threat, the Laughing God gave an awkward laugh.
Since they were allies, how could they possibly do such a thing?!
After the Laughing God finished speaking, Arale withdrew her unfriendly gaze.
If this clown dared to betray her master.
She would make him understand why the Warp was so colorful.