The Hall of Honor of the Sagan Main Star Military Affairs Department is a huge and weird space made of steel and gold. Countless flags hang from the dome, stirring the circulating air. The golden thread echoes the sunlight outside the arched observation window. The exquisite baroque murals paint the entire wall, forged with pigments, plaster, and gold foil. You can see more than a dozen other battlefields such as Badabu, Endymion, and Angustorm.
Arnie may have been proud of seeing these things, standing here to appreciate the many victories of the expedition, but now he feels a little heavy.
Because he thought of his soldiers...
Whether excellent or cowardly, they fight until the last moment.
In fact, when the explosive bomb hit his left chest close to his heart, he truly felt the fear of death for the first time, and in the end, the Hunter Armor saved his life.
But his soldiers were not so lucky. He didn't know whether his decision was right or wrong until the final decision, but Suhrab told him that since they had fought to this point, he would stick to the end, so that he would have a greater chance of getting Governor Badab.
"I've never seen such a gathering of ranks,"
Hearing the sound from his friend, Alni, wearing a well-decorated uniform, looked around and saw strange expressions on the faces of others.
Among them, what he cared about was a solid Kadian man, wearing a gray officer uniform, his rank was displayed by a white collar and wrist cover, and his hands were folded on his chest and waiting. He had heard of the man's name, Cried from the Second Kadian Regiment, who was also a defender of the Moon of Destruction. He was said to have been tenacious and intelligent, defending the position with low casualties, and was an excellent commander.
Fortunately, he is not a native of the Great Vortex, otherwise he would have been the one who might have obtained the position of Governor Badab.
Seeing that Alny was looking at him, Creed just nodded politely at him.
"Space Marines are here too."
There were not only senior officers of the Astral Army in the entire hall. Alni also saw the state clergy in exquisitely dressed nobles, surrounded by little angels splashing incense, and also the officials and political commissars, as well as a group of hunched and robed mechanical priests moving with insect-like limbs, but the most conspicuous one was undoubtedly the interstellar warriors wearing various armor and even the Terminator, as if they were standing out in the flock.
Moreover, they are not ordinary space warriors, at least at the level of company commanders, and there are many battle commanders among them.
It seems that every force serving in the Great Vortex Expedition sent representatives here.
Alni could still feel that there is not only victory and fighting spirit around him now, but also...
Puzzled
Soon, a trumpet was blown at the end of the hall, and everyone in the hall paid attention to the source of the sound, and Arni did the same thing with them.
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, Soshyan Alexey, the commander of the expeditionary army's supreme lord, was escorted to the podium by two guards dressed in gorgeous Terminator. No one made any sound, and the heavy footsteps were like a beating heart.
Soshyan wore a custom ornate ceremony armor, wearing a crown of laurels, and a golden band hung on his chest, a proof of glory and faith, and a guard behind him held a high expedition flag from Terra.
"Loyal souls."
After standing still, Soshiyang's voice came through the crowd clearly.
"Since the launch of the Great Vortex Expedition, there have been seven standards for Terra."
He looked at the crowd, and there were thousands of people on the scene.
"The Great Vortex was once a place of glory, glory, wealth, and the place of incomparable peace and prosperity, and was one of the most powerful blood-providing hearts of the Empire until its former guardian betrayed it, Ruft Huron, a traitor who should have been thrown into the fire, attempting to take this realm for himself."
Whispers, curses and prayers came from the crowd.
"He corrupted his unknowing comrades, he stole everything he had sworn to the emperor, and handed them over to heretics and their masters. He claimed that he had guarded the place, so he should have it, what a stupid logic! Just as the dragon slayer thought he should have the power of the evil dragon!"
Everyone in the hall stared at Soshyan, waiting for him to issue the order to send them to completely destroy Huron, who longed for the order, which could be seen in their unblinking eyes.
"He failed under the empire's siege, which is inevitable. However, after the failure, he dedicated everything to the darkness, gained the opportunity to survive and revive, and tried to get into the vortex again! This is the root of this expedition, cutting off the greedy head of this traitor, cutting off his fallen head, and reclaiming the world polluted by him, which will require great sacrifice and blood!"
Then, Soshiyan looked at the carved and painted walls.
"It was like destroying the indestructible heresy fortress in Badab, like smashing the heresy fleet in Angustorm, like surviving the fire of Endymion."
Soshiyan's eyes looked at them again, but this time his gaze became even colder.
"We have won, the Empire has won, and Huron hid back into his lair with bruises and remembered the lesson this time. If he had the courage to stretch his claws out of his cave, there would be another legend waiting to be written and smashed, and the honor of this legend may be for anyone present."
Alni's heart suddenly realized that this was not just a ceremony of awarding, but also a speech of victory.
This whirlpool expedition is indeed over.
Soshiyang then drew his sword and raised it over his head.
"For the vortex!"
He cheered loudly, letting everyone hear it, and then everyone performed a Sky Eagle Tribute in an orderly manner.
"For the Emperor!!!"
Then there was the award ceremony. Various camera instruments operated by the mechanical priests turned to the ceremonial table, and the officers and outstanding soldiers waiting for the award were lined up in an orderly manner.
In the passionate tune of the traditional imperial military music "The Immortal of the Throne", the first group of people who came to the stage were the recipients of the Scarlet Skull Medal, which was usually given to soldiers who successfully saved other people's lives in battle. They were often obtained by field medical soldiers, but this time Soshyan also specially added medical nuns. During this expedition, thousands of medical nuns joined the expedition. They may not have joined the cruel battle themselves, but they also carried out difficult work in the field hospital like a slaughterhouse in the rear, and dozens of medical nuns died due to overwork.
Chapter completed!