143: Chapter 143 Vara X

Edward couldn't explain things clearly to Xia Xingchen over the comms in such a short time.

So, an hour later, Edward returned to the dream star.

Katrus remained on the planet Gularva III.

After returning to the ship, Edward began to tell Xia Xingchen about this thousand-year-old feud.

Vala Family had been providing Navigators to the Empire since the Great Crusade, but when Horus launched his rebellion, Vala Family split into two from that moment on:

One faction remained loyal to the Empire, while the other pledged allegiance to the Warmaster Horus.

The family split into two branches from then on, opposing and killing each other.

The turning point in history came at the end of the war.

That group of Navigators who were loyal to Horus suddenly defected and turned back to the Empire.

The original rebel faction transformed into a loyalist one, and after a series of subsequent twists and turns, the Empire officially split the original Vala Family into two independent Navigator houses.

Unfortunately, the feud between the two houses never subsided, and conflicts remained constant.

The loyalist Vala Family viewed the rebel faction as a disgrace to the family and swore to eradicate them completely.

After listening, Xia Xingchen speculated to himself: "So, the condition set by the loyalists on Planet III is for us to wipe out the rebels on Planet IV?"

Edward pondered for a moment and said to Xia Xingchen: "It doesn't exactly count as wiping them all out."

Edward paused, then explained in more straightforward terms: "Simply put, they want the Vala Family on Planet IV to leave this star system forever and disappear completely from the loyalists' sight. That is the bottom line they can accept."

Xia Xingchen pondered.

A homeless Navigator force's only trouble would be the legal procedures.

Regardless, they were still Navigators registered with the Empire in name; taking them in privately would be legally unjustifiable.

This was exactly what Xia Xingchen was worried about, but to his surprise, Edward immediately produced a guarantee issued by the loyalist faction.

"Archon, the loyalist faction has also said that as long as you can take these rebels away and make them disappear forever, they will handle the explanations to the Empire. They will even issue an official certification for you stating that the rebel faction has been purged."

The implication was that the loyalists would handle all the paperwork, ensuring that Xia Xingchen stood on firm moral and legal ground.

Since the other party had provided such guarantees, Xia Xingchen immediately accepted the task.

After reaching a preliminary consensus, the current head of Vala Family personally boarded Xia Xingchen's warship.

Xia Xingchen looked at the person in front of him, feeling momentarily dazed.

He didn't know how to describe this head of Vala Family. Rather than a leader of a Navigator house holding sway over a region, she looked more like an old person whose lamp had run out of oil.

She was fixed to a wheelchair, her body covered in life-support devices and oxygen tubes.

Xia Xingchen leaned into Edward's ear and asked in a low voice that only the two could hear: "What happened to her?"

Edward lowered his voice and replied: "How should I put it... This entire plan was finalized by this matriarch herself. To put it bluntly, she is the embodiment of the family's hatred, and she has survived until now solely on this obsession."

Edward's words made it clear that this head of Vala Family was a complete extremist.

Subsequently, Edward introduced the person's identity and formal title to Xia Xingchen: "You may address her as Valla X."

Upon hearing this, Xia Xingchen walked up to Valla X and performed a standard Aquila Salute: "It is a pleasure to meet you, Matriarch Valla X. May your every navigation guide the Empire in the right direction."

At this point, Valla X could no longer speak on her own and relied entirely on mechanical devices to transmit her voice.

Even though Navigator houses possessed immense wealth, the Adeptus Mechanicus could only extend her life for a few hundred years, and now her life had reached its end.

Xia Xingchen could tell from Valla X's eyes that she was not clinging to life out of greed, but was merely holding on due to a surge of hatred and an obsession.

Seeing this, Xia Xingchen guessed it was likely: Valla X's greatest wish in this life was probably to see the traitors purged with her own eyes and to wash away the family's disgrace.

Soon, a cold, synthesized mechanical voice came from her life-support device: "Eliminate those traitors, and I will give you everything you want."

Xia Xingchen nodded upon hearing this.

After confirming that Xia Xingchen would help, Valla X seemed to have completed her life's mission and immediately returned to the planet with her clansmen.

A week later, the Vala Family guard fleet and Xia Xingchen's forces assembled into an expeditionary fleet and headed toward the planet Gularva IV.

This fleet looked quite large, but the only ships that could truly be called capital warships were Xia Xingchen's dream star; the rest were basically armed merchant ships converted from freighters.

When Xia Xingchen's fleet approached the planet Gularva IV, a communication was patched directly into the dream star.

After connecting, the communications array operator relayed an unbelievable message to Xia Xingchen: "Archon, the Vala Family on planet Gularva IV has announced their surrender; they are willing to accept any punishment."

Xia Xingchen was stunned upon hearing this, then relayed the news to the entire fleet.

The loyalist Vala Family reminded Xia Xingchen that this was very likely a trick by the rebels.

After all, back at the end of the Great Crusade, they had pulled such fickle stunts before.

Xia Xingchen pondered for a moment and finally decided to meet this so-called rebel Vala Family first to see if they were genuinely surrendering.

If not, it wouldn't be too late to use force.

After all, the cost of handling a Navigator house without authorization was high, and he did not want to take that risk rashly.

At Xia Xingchen's insistence, the punitive fleet docked in the airspace near planet Gularva IV.

And the Vala Family that claimed to be the rebel side soon sent a negotiating representative: Kania Valla.

Xia Xingchen watched the humanoid girl in front of him introduce herself.

She was a young, highly talented Navigator who had just been granted the title of "Pathfinder."

Beneath her skin, which was so pale it was almost transparent, faint, slender blue veins were visible; her disproportionately large eyes were a rust-red color, bearing the weight of genetic memory.

Her limbs were slightly slender, her joints covered in fine scales, and her nails were the color of obsidian.

Her light golden hair was like sun-dried straw, soft but lusterless, and was meticulously coiled at the back of her head.

On both sides of her slender neck were two gill slits that looked like surgical scars; they were tightly closed at the moment, and only the extremely faint rise and fall of her breathing could prove their existence.

While introducing herself to Xia Xingchen, Kania stated that she was a Navigator offered by Vala Family to Xia Xingchen, and she would be responsible for the navigation of Xia Xingchen's fleet in the future.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kania." Xia Xingchen performed an Aquila Salute to Kania.

There was not a hint of emotional fluctuation on Kania's pale, almost transparent face, but she quickly returned an Aquila Salute in response.

"My Lord, please forgive my presumption, but I have brought you the full sincerity of our family."