The player is playing like a god, and has already advanced to Space Marine level at the start.

The Empire Blade, at the edge of the Milky Way's central ring.

Lu Xiao and his team were formulating plans to advance into the inner ring of the Milky Way when a red alert suddenly sounded.

Holographic star maps crisscross in mid-air.

Lu Xiao stared at the reddened planet, Darwin Star in the southern part of the Milky Way.

"Commander, the rebel leader on Darwin Star has sent an ultimatum."

Lu Xiao didn't turn around, her voice hoarse:

"read."

The communications officer swallowed hard, his voice trembling:

"They say the Empire is a vampire, and the tithes they collect every year are overwhelming Darwin."

"They want independence, they want to build what they call a 'better world'."

Lu Xiao sneered and turned around.

"A Wonderful World?"

"Where are the tax collectors, and the mortal governors there?"

The rebellion broke out before the governor there could even be replaced by Astartes.

The communications officer lowered his head even further:

"He was executed, right there in the central square of Darwin, using the most primitive form of hanging."

Lu Xiao strode toward the communications officer, his combat boots clattering on the deck.

He snatched the data panel and exerted force with all five fingers.

Click.

The military-grade data board was crushed into scrap metal in his palm, sparks flew, and plastic fragments embedded themselves in the deck.

"Mongrel."

"I lead my men in fighting to the death at the front, and they're just playing the independence card for me in the rear?"

"War General, the Governor of Darwin Star has even openly declared that you are the butcher of the Empire."

The communications officer added, trembling.

Lu Xiao decisively waved his hand, and a fierce wind swept up from his scarlet cloak.

"Butcher?"

"He will soon learn how a real butcher works."

Lu Xiao looked at the navigator on the bridge.

"Order the entire army to turn around."

"Target: Darwin Star."

The navigator paused for a moment:

"Commander, the advance team in the inner ring has already set off. If we withdraw now, all our plans over the past three months will be wasted."

Lu Xiao leaned down, his cold gaze fixed on the navigator.

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

The navigator turned pale with fright and shook his head frantically:

"No, I wouldn't dare! I'll take care of it right away!"

"Hurry up. If I don't see the Great Worm Bridge open within ten minutes, you'll be going to the reactor as fuel."

Lu Xiao's words revealed no emotion.

The flagship turned, and thousands of warships drew huge arcs in the vacuum.

The deep blue exhaust flames from the engine merged into a sea of ​​fire.

Inside the strategic room, Lei Zhan, carrying a helmet, strode in.

"Commander, I object."

Lei Zhan stood in front of Lu Xiao, his back ramrod straight.

Lu Xiao was wiping his power sword, the blade reflecting his murderous eyes.

"explain."

"Darwin is just an agricultural planet, it doesn't even have a decent orbital cannon."

Lei Zhan pointed to the star map.

"I can easily take down these minor characters with just one platoon."

"If you personally go into battle, those aliens in the inner ring will think we're chickening out and that our rear is unstable."

Lu Xiao stopped what she was doing and looked up at Lei Zhan.

"Lei Zhan, do you think this is a tactical issue?"

Lei Zhan stuck out his neck:

"Isn't that right? Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Lu Xiao sheathed his sword with a backhand motion, the crisp sound of metal clashing echoing in the empty hall.

"This is about saving face."

"That's the rule."

He walked up to Lei Zhan.

"If I send a company there today, ten planets will start causing trouble tomorrow."

"They'll think that as long as the commotion isn't big enough, I, Lu Xiao, won't personally come down, and if this isn't handled properly, it will be an indelible stain on my resume."

"I'm going there in person to tell the entire galaxy that anyone who dares to touch the Empire will be wiped out."

Lei Zhan remained silent for a moment, then performed the Eagle Salute.

"Understood, I will go and prepare the troops immediately."

"No rush, let's see what these bastards are up to first."

Lu Xiao sat back in the main seat.

"Have the scouts returned?"

"Just got back, he's right outside the door."

A reconnaissance captain walked in, clutching a holographic chip in his hand.

His hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold anything.

"General, you should take a look at this."

The chip was inserted, and the holographic projection unfolded in the center of the hall.

The image was chaotic and violently shaking.

That was the square on Darwin Star, packed with people.

They were wearing white robes and holding strange signs.

All beings are equal, and all species coexist harmoniously.

Humans are not the only ones in the universe.

Lu Xiao stared at the screen, her eyes icy cold:

"These idiots, have they been brainwashed?"

The scene shifts to a huge stage.

An old man in a white coat was yelling into a microphone, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

"The Empire is lying!"

"Aliens are not enemies; they are evolutionary partners!"

"Look, this is the direction humanity is heading!"

The old man ripped off the black cloth behind him.

The audience held their breath.

Inside the cage, there was a monster.

The thing had a human face, but its body resembled that of a giant chimpanzee, covered in thick black fur.

"This is my masterpiece!"

The scientists burst into laughter.

"I combined human genes with the strongest primitive beasts to create a new species!"

Lu Xiao's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He recalled a line from the game Stellaris:

Admit it, you simply cannot stand those bizarre alien creatures. They are different from us. You cannot tolerate this disrespect for corpses; today it eats your family's bodies, tomorrow it will eat you.

You cannot bear to live surrounded by creatures that are no different from monsters in ancient legends. Our emotions are incompatible, our logic is vastly different. Coexistence? Absolutely impossible. Now is the time for us to rediscover the traditions of our ancestors.

From the moment we first huddled together and stepped off our beautiful blue planet, that word has been lost from our culture for millennia. But I know it will never disappear from our genes. From the moment our race descended from the branches to the ground, our destiny has been inextricably linked to it.

Listen, my fellow countrymen! The call of our ancestors—they called from Kadesh, from Mesopotamia, from Egypt, from Changping, from Chibi, from Verdun, from Normandy—on every land and sea of ​​this planet. In Chinese, in English, in German, in Russian, in every common language…

All human languages ​​converge into that cry: War! War! War! Fellow countrymen! Now is the time! Activate the war treaty, send forth human legions! We will fight, we will fight on planets, we will fight in nebulae, we will fight wherever the universe requires us! We fight for the future of humanity, even if it means burning seas of stars and incinerating galaxies!

"This...this is blasphemy."

Lei Zhan gritted his teeth, his hand already on the bomb gun.

The monster in the video suddenly grabbed the iron cage and opened its mouth towards the camera.

"Why is it that only humans cannot be killed and eaten?"

The monster in the picture has nothing but greed in its eyes.

The scientist was even gesturing wildly beside him:

"Look! What primal desires! This is the law of nature!"

Snapped!

Lu Xiao raised his hand and waved his hand, his spiritual energy blasting the projector into pieces.

Sparks flew wildly through the hall.

"ha"

He suddenly chuckled.

The laughter sent chills down the spines of the surrounding guards.

"Equality? Coexistence?"

Lu Xiao stood up, exuding full power.

The air pressure in the entire strategic room instantly plummeted, and the ordinary crew members collapsed to the ground.

"This is no longer betrayal."

Lu Xiao put on the helmet, and the sound of the airlock closing was crisp and piercing.

"This is heresy, it's against humanity."

He strode toward the cabin door, his cloak fluttering behind him.

"Issue my order: the entire army shall enter a state of combat readiness."

Lu Xiao's voice echoed over the loudspeaker across every warship.

"Leave no survivors on the surface of Darwin."

"I do not accept surrender, I do not accept prisoners."

"Chop them all up."

"The sword will not be sheathed for three days."

"I want to make this planet so that even the earthworms in the ground will have to be split in two vertically."

Lei Zhan roared into the communication channel:

"First, third, and seventh companies, prepare for airdrop!"

"Load all the missiles with incendiary warheads!"

"We're going to turn Darwin into hell!"

The Imperial fleet accelerated wildly.

Lu Xiao stood at the very front of the flagship, holding the hilt of his sword.

"Commander, we are three minutes away from Darwin's orbit."

The adjutant's voice was somewhat excited.

"The orbital defense network is activated; they seem to be trying to resist."

Lu Xiao snorted coldly:

"Resist?"

"With the first salvo, I want to see their orbital station reduced to scrap metal."

"Yes, sir!"

With a deafening roar, the Imperial Blade's main guns began to charge.

A massive beam of energy converged at the cannon's muzzle, illuminating the dark space as if it were daytime.

"Fire!"

Lu Xiao waved his hand heavily.

Thousands of beams of light ripped through the sky and crashed violently into Darwin's defensive layer.

The explosion's flames burst forth like fireworks across the ring of stars.

"Commander, the defense network has collapsed!"

"First wave, launch the airdrop pod!"

Lu Xiao stepped into the private airdrop pod, the deck trembling slightly under the heavy pressure.

"Lei Zhan, come down with me."

"I want to twist that madman's head off with my own hands."