Capítulo 308: The World of a "Sister Complex" — I Really Don’t Get It
Selene's gaze swept past ranks of imperial soldiers, and in a corner of the fenced-off prisoner-of-war camp, she spotted a large number of Britannian prisoners.
Among them, young men and women dressed in school uniforms, radiating a youthful spirit, immediately caught Selene's attention.
Noticing the Emperor's gaze, Budo, who was three steps behind Selene, followed her line of sight.
"Prisoners.... Are these prisoners special, or is there someone among them who is?" Budo murmured to himself.
"You there, bring me the officer in charge of that prisoner-of-war camp," Budo ordered, picking the closest Astartes soldier and speaking in a low voice.
"Yes!" The Astartes saluted and then sprinted off.
Thud, thud, thud!
Budo turned back to Selene, who was standing there tapping her fingers lightly together, apparently lost in thought.
"...." After a brief hesitation, Budo carefully approached and asked, "Your Majesty, is there something wrong with them... or could it be that there's an issue with our legion's occupation policies?"
"No, your Second Legion's occupation policies are fine. Adapting to the circumstances and flexible adjustments are good. In just four years, you've conquered and integrated 44 worlds, adding hundreds of billions of labor resources to the Empire." (PS: labor resources don't necessarily mean humans.)
As indicated in the personal information registered by the Auxiliary Corps for Milly, Shirley, Lelouch, and others, this world was designated as Conquer the World—37.
Each legion has its own sequence of conquered worlds; the numbering is not universal.
For example, the world of Black Bullet is listed under the command of the First Legion's Dark Angels as Conquer the World—1.
The world of Tokyo Ghoul is listed as Conquer the World—3 under the Sisters of Battle.
When it comes to population size and civilization level, don't let subjective impressions take over. Not all conquered worlds are like Earth, with modern civilization—some are more advanced, some less so.
Some worlds offer labor resources, like the Inhuman tribes, Orc worlds, medieval human worlds, mage civilizations, and so on.
There are also primitive human worlds and wild, untouched wilderness worlds that supply raw materials for the Empire.
The Empire has encountered a variety of worlds and civilizations through its conquests.
The worlds valued most by the legion commanders are those with human technological civilizations, like this Code Geass world, which provides a stable human population.
With developed industry, these worlds can serve as supply sources for the Empire's expeditions with minimal modifications.
High technological levels mean some unique technologies can even help complete the Empire's own tech tree.
Simply put, the Code Geass world is the thirty-seventh world encountered by the Astartes' Second Legion, the Punishers, in their conquests.
So, why hasn't the Punishers' Second Legion completed their occupation of this Code Geass world, despite already conquering 44 worlds?
The reason is simple: it doesn't mean the Punishers are waging war in only one world at a time.
With more than 200,000 Astartes warriors, a vast Auxiliary Corps, and armies of conquered-world recruits, they're advancing on multiple fronts.
The reason the Second Legion feels pressured is that they have to maintain control over the 36 worlds they've already conquered and continue their campaigns in several other inhabited worlds simultaneously.
The only distinction is that this Code Geass world has been prioritized, with a greater force committed to its conquest.
Adding to that is an unspoken plan shared by Selene and Budo: to use the modern Britannian Empire as a training ground.
Rotating in Astartes warriors and Auxiliary Corps troops, they aim to train more rookies in combined land, sea, and air operations to prepare them for the increasingly complex wars ahead.
When they have gained enough combat experience and thoroughly digested the captured technologies, and when Selene's urging order arrives, Budo will mobilize even more forces.
And this is also the reason for Britannia's swift collapse. By relentlessly pitting slave-soldiers against them, exchanging one life for another, Budo could theoretically wipe out Britannia's entire able-bodied population.
"So, Your Majesty, is there an issue with these prisoners?" Budo asked.
Waving to dispel Budo's concerns, Selene turned to him thoughtfully, "Perhaps there's an unexpected opportunity here. I'm considering...."
She gestured at the ground beneath her, arms crossed and finger pointing down, "This is a noble school, so the students here must be from wealthy or powerful families. Recruiting them could make establishing control much more efficient."
This is one of the Empire's methods of governance: central administration, star sectors, colonial governors, semi-colonial administration, military rule, and appointing proxies.
Given the vast size of the Sacred Selene Empire, even the smallest legion—the Astartes' Twentieth Legion, Alpha—controls over a dozen worlds and has ten billion citizens.
Precise population statistics for the entire Empire are simply impossible; the numbers can only be estimated.
On a modern world like Earth, with a population of 7 billion, people are constantly being born and passing away, making the last digits of census data fluctuate by the second.
In an Empire with tens or even hundreds of worlds, a military empire constantly waging war, the scale is mind-boggling.
Even if Selene executed the entire Imperial Statistics Department, they couldn't give her an exact figure.
Therefore, when it's feasible, Selene and her bureaucratic elite don't mind preserving the ruling class of conquered worlds.
As long as they recognize Selene as the supreme ruler, accept imperial governance, and pay taxes, they can remain as they are.
The Sacred Selene Empire only demands your fealty and just a bit of "tax revenue."
Otherwise, fully centralizing everything would drive Selene crazy with the sheer need for competent officials.
Of course, there have been headstrong, suicidal worlds that rebel after surrendering.
Selene remembers a few such worlds. Every one of them either faced the exterminations or received an Annihilation Order.
After all, surrender if you dare, but rebel afterward, and you're done for!
In severe cases, the Annihilation Order doesn't even require Selene's personal intervention; a thousand to eight hundred high-yield Honkai Energy Fission Bombs, courtesy of the Imperial Science Bureau, will plant mushroom clouds across the the entire planet.
And these fission bombs are dirty bombs, so don't expect anyone to absorb or neutralize the Honkai Energy.
"Supporting a proxy? Your Majesty, truly wise—an excellent choice. I have already called for the prisoner-of-war camp commander to see if there are any suitable candidates," Budo said, respectfully bowing with a rather stiff compliment.
Selene only chuckled softly in response, raising a hand in a gentle gesture. Invisible power wrapped in indomitable will lifted Budo to his feet.
Is she wise?
Not really. She's only standing on the shoulders of those who came before her, benefiting from the Empire's growing bureaucracy advising her.
As the Empire grows stronger with time, Selene's own power becomes more unfathomable.
Today, few in the Empire dare to stand upright before Selene. Even Budo, once so rigid, has gradually learned the art of flattery.
Why? Because the closer one is to Selene, the more deeply one is bound to Honkai Energy, the more they feel the terrifying presence of their Empress.
"Your Majesty! Commander, the people you requested are here."
The Astartes soldier approached Selene, his voice filled with both excitement and fear.
"Thank you. Dismissed," she replied, nodding politely—a habit, rather than a show of rank—before turning her gaze to the three figures the Astartes had brought with him.
One of them, an Auxiliary Corps officer, was of little interest, but the other two—a grown man and a young girl—caught her eye. "An unexpected surprise…."
"Soldier, tell me," Selene said gently, gesturing for them to rise. "If they have been brought before me, these two must be someone different, correct?"
"Yes!"
The Auxiliary Corps officer, panting heavily and with veins bulging in his eyes from the overwhelming excitement of being close to his Empress, placed his right fist over his heart.
Worried he might collapse from the excitement, Selene activated her healing aura, enveloping him in its protective glow.
"Your Majesty, due to the urgency, I have not yet confirmed their identities, but according to what he himself claims, he is Lelouch vi Britannia, the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire."
"And his sister, Nunnally vi Britannia, is the 84th Princess."
"A prince and a princess—and the eighty-fourth princess, no less? Peasant, do you realize that lying to your Empress—" Budo raised a brow and was about to interrogate them when Selene stopped him.
"It's alright. Tell me, what is it you want? I don't care if it's true or not. All I want is for this world to resume operation under the Empire's rule, so it can supply more war material for the Grand Expedition."
Click-clack, click-clack—
Selene stepped toward Lelouch, who had dark hair and violet eyes. She continued indifferently, "I don't care if it's true. I only care about what you can offer."
Lelouch and Nunnally.... If not for seeing them now, awakening her memory, Selene might have already forgotten them.
"I...." Lelouch, after glancing into Selene's crimson, diamond-shaped pupils, quickly lowered his gaze.
Though Selene's tone was calm, Lelouch and Nunnally were still so frightened they could hardly breathe, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Especially when Selene stood next to him, Lelouch felt a scream of terror from the depths of his soul, as if every cell in his body cried out in fear.
In the presence of Selene and her towering golden-armored warriors, the shadow of death loomed ever-present, crushing his spirit.
Lelouch's heart wrestled with fear as he took in the sight of the Sacred Selene Empire's Empress. He was stunned.
He had imagined the ruler of such a powerful and aggressive empire to have an imposing, harsh presence—perhaps someone much older, with a stern and ruthless expression.
But the radiant figure before him defied expectations—Selene appeared far too young.
Seeing the awe and fear in the giant soldiers around her, Lelouch instinctively knew that this fascinating female ruler wielded real power, not a mere rubber stamp.
"Hah...." Lelouch took a deep breath, forcibly steadying himself. He knew that if he did not manage this situation well, both he and his sister would perish.
"Your Majesty, I have no conditions, except to ask that my sister Nunnally be protected from any harm. For any order you give, I, Lelouch vi Britannia, swear by my honor and soul to obey!"
Though Selene had invited him to speak freely, Lelouch knew that rulers only cared about usefulness and profit. Any "freedom" to state conditions was empty talk.
Their lives were held entirely at Selene's whim. In no way were they on equal footing, and naming terms would be a fatal mistake.
"Hmm... A wise choice. Here, consider this an advance."
With a flick of her finger, a soft, radiant white light sank into Nunnally's delicate frame.
"Have your sister try opening her eyes—I've healed them."
"What?!" For Lelouch, a deeply devoted brother, nothing was more important than his sister's well-being.
"Brother, I... I can see!"
Seated in her wheelchair, Nunnally hesitated but then opened her eyes, and in an instant... the world blossomed into light.
After years without sight, colors filled her vision, and thanks to the healing power of Honkai Energy, there was no discomfort or sensitivity to light.
"Really? Nunnally, you can see?!" Lelouch knelt in front of her, tears of joy in his eyes.
...
Watching this touching display of sibling affection, Selene had to admit, she didn't quite get it. And if things went as they had before, Nunnally would eventually betray her brother—but Lelouch would forgive her unconditionally. This....
Well, she mused, I really don't understand the world of these "sister-obsessed" types, nor do I care to.
"This is just an advance," Selene added. "I can also heal the paralysis in this girl's legs, but for that, you will need to kill your father...."
She hadn't even finished speaking when, upon hearing that his sister's legs could be restored, Lelouch interrupted excitedly, "Your Majesty, no matter what—"
"Enough!"
Budo's thunderous voice, blazing with a harsh intensity, exploded with a sound that rattled even the soldiers kneeling nearby.
"Budo." Selene cast Budo a calm glance, and, just like that, the sparks in his eyes died.
"I understand a bond between siblings," she said with a faint smile.
"Now, go complete your mission. Follow the Sisters of Silence; they'll give you the opportunity. You'll need to kill your father with your own hands and offer me your pledge of allegiance."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
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