Traveling through time, I'm making pancakes in Warhammer

Chapter 262 Confrontation

Four days ago, Governor's Mansion, conference room.

Even with the incense burning, a lingering musty smell still lingered in the conference room. As part of the Governor's Palace, this room shouldn't have been neglected. However, ever since the unexpected death of the previous Governor and the original heir apparent, this room, symbolizing the center of Karenya's supreme power, had been intentionally or unintentionally neglected and forgotten until today.

Because according to the message conveyed by the astropath, the channel to the warp will be opened in fifteen days, and the Space Marines who responded to the previous governor's call for help will arrive at that time. These super warriors will take over the planet and recapture this precious mining area that has fallen into the hands of the orcs for the Empire.

In front of the Space Marines, these mortal nobles have no status at all. Even if the Empire has no intention of pursuing their mistakes over the years, their power will undoubtedly be greatly reduced with the arrival of the Space Marines.

Therefore, whether for self-protection, self-interest, or other unspeakable secrets, the nobles of this planet took the initiative to convene the first Karenya planetary conference in five years.

The most prominent feature of the conference room was the massive circular table in its center. At that moment, the area behind the table was completely occupied, except for the main seat. A dim light shone from the ceiling, barely illuminating the empty area at the center of the circular table, while the attendees were completely lost in the light.

There were only about twenty people qualified to sit down and attend the meeting. Including the trusted waiters standing behind these people, the total number of people in the meeting room reached more than fifty.

These people are the decision-makers in different fields of this planet. They have a high status and the severity of the war cannot bring any chill to these people. They hold banquets and enjoy themselves all day long, and interests are exchanged as they drink and chat.

But after entering the conference room, these nobles who usually feasted lavishly kept silent and kept their distance, which was unusual. They sat in their seats, thinking and waiting, while looking at other participants with malicious eyes.

Their wait soon paid off. The half-closed door of the conference room was pushed open, and the young governor in a gorgeous military uniform walked into the conference room. Following him was his personal female assistant Jasmine, who was carrying a file box in her hand.

Jasmine was still wearing the specially tailored military uniform underneath, but she was wearing a serious brown-green windbreaker on the outside, so outsiders couldn't see anything unusual.

After the governor arrived, the nobles participating in the meeting stood up to greet the distinguished young man, but when the governor greeted them back, they did not sit down, but continued to wait until the next person entered the meeting room.

He was a tall, thin, and hunched human, wearing a thick red robe that completely covered his body and limbs. The gear pattern printed on the red robe and the holy mark hanging on the chest of the robe announced his identity to everyone: the Sage of the Mechanicus.

The Mechanical Sage was not wearing a helmet or mask of the Mechanicus, but an exquisite masquerade mask, with not a single bit of his face or body exposed.

Only after the Mechanical Sage came in did the nobles in the conference room sit down.

The Governor seemed unaware of the abnormality of these nobles. After greeting them, he casually sat on the main seat. Then the Mechanical Sage and his female assistant stood behind him on his left and right.

After sitting down, Esrick did not speak a word. This meeting was within his expectations and in line with his wishes, but it was not initiated by him. He followed the example of the nobles and hid himself in the darkness. He only stretched his hands into the light and kept tapping on the table.

All the nobles' attention was drawn to Esrick's restless hands, and Esrick took this opportunity to thoroughly examine the nobles attending the meeting.

Esrick had met many of the nobles present when he was a child, and some even had a good relationship with him, of course, only when they were young.

More than a hundred years ago, this lonely and desolate planet was discovered by the Empire. More than forty years ago, after the warp routes stabilized, Esrick's father was appointed by the Empire as the first governor of the planet Karenya. He came to this barren and cold land to expand the territory for the Empire. These nobles were the people who were sent here with his father, or their descendants.

However, Esrik knew that although it was nominally to expand the empire's territory, in reality it was no different from exile.

But if it weren't for the orcs' interference, perhaps by now this planet would have been divided into several hive cities and mining areas, either about to be built or currently under construction. In the following millennia, these nobles would have devoted their efforts to the construction of the hive cities, and their families' power and the profits they could seize would have risen accordingly, prospering for a thousand years, rather than being forced to huddle in this small stronghold like they are now.

Esrick could naturally guess what these nobles were thinking, and he also knew what they were planning. After his father and brother died and he temporarily took over the duties of governor because of his bloodline, he had been pretending not to see the little tricks of these nobles. Now he didn't mind continuing to pretend, but this time, they would be the ones who were anxious.

After knocking on the table for a long time, one of the nobles finally couldn't hold back and spoke: "Your Excellency, the angels are about to descend. We should be prepared to welcome them."

Esric raised his eyelids and glanced at the nobleman, then put on a sincere face and said, "Mr. Gray, we have been preparing to welcome the angels all along. Three Terran moons ago, I ordered the soldiers to withdraw their battle lines and conserve their strength. Even earlier, the supplies and weapons sent from other star regions were sealed. All of this is to prepare for the counterattack after the angels arrive. You have all reviewed these orders before they were issued. Is there anything I haven't considered?"

"Your Excellency, Governor, you misunderstood me," said the nobleman named Gray. "I believe we shouldn't retreat. Before the angels arrive, we need to win a decisive battle to prove our courage and resolve to the Divine Emperor's messenger. This victory will also add a brilliant chapter to your resume."

"You've got the logic wrong. We just can't win the battle, so we ask for help from the angels," said Esrick.

"It was not the angel we asked for help, but your father, the former governor, who secretly sent a request for help to the empire!" Before Gray could speak, another noble stood up. Although Esrick was not very familiar with him, his presence meant that he was a high-ranking noble on the planet. Therefore, Esrick could still remember the other party's name. If his memory was not confused, the other party should be called Hubbard.

Hubbard refuted Esric's words and continued, "It's not that we can't win battles. In fact, under your father's leadership, we often achieved victory on the battlefield. But for some unknown reason, your father suddenly lost his courage and violated the long-standing principle of conferring decision-making with the nobles on important matters, requesting aid from the Empire. Please forgive my rudeness, but I must say that this is a sign of cowardice. His actions not only tarnished his own honor, but also caused unnecessary trouble for the Emperor's Angels."

"If you call a casualty ratio of one to five or even lower against the orcs a victory, then I can only say that you don't understand orcs at all." Esrick waved his hand, and Jasmine placed the briefcase on the table.

"Thank you, Jasmine, you did a great job." When Jasmine put the file box up, Esrick thanked her in front of all the nobles, seemingly unaware of the confusion and panic in the girl's eyes.

Esric dug out a report and said, "In the dozens of battles we've fought before, we haven't been able to inflict significant damage on the Orcs. The most we've managed is to wipe out only half of their effective strength, at the cost of wiping out one legion and losing over a third of the remaining four, for a total loss of over 40% of our forces. After that, we didn't have enough troops to hold the conquered territory, nor could we burn the Orc corpses, so we had to retreat. A month later, the total number of Orcs had surpassed the peak before the war, and we had to recruit soldiers from nearby star regions to maintain the size of our garrison."

"The reports say we've been winning battles and annihilating the enemy, but the reality is that our strongholds are constantly being overrun by the orcs. Our numbers are dwindling, while the orcs are gaining strength. The buffer zone keeps retreating. Don't you think something's wrong?"

Hubbard was stunned by Esrick's words. He probably couldn't understand why this young governor had suddenly become so difficult to deal with. It seemed his previous tricks to deceive him were no longer working. Logically, he shouldn't have known this information. Shouldn't he have proposed it, and the nobles around him would have agreed. So, how could this matter just be abandoned in such a muddled way?

But Esrick's combination punch did not end there. He put the report in his hand into the file box and took out another document and handed it to Jasmine.

"Miss Jasmine, please help me deliver this document to Mr. Hubbard." Esrick said with a smile.

The girl named Jasmine looked a little hesitant, and the young governor pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Miss Jasmine, what's wrong with you? Are you too tired recently and haven't rested well?"

"No...no." Jasmine answered hesitantly, then she took the document and, under the gaze of all the nobles, gritted her teeth and handed it to Hubbard.

"Mr. Hubbard, I remember you were always in charge of military affairs, but I've noticed a significant shortage of weapons. These weapons aren't being lost, but rather falsely reported as having evaporated. A patrol of twelve was equipped with thirty laser rifles, and after one round, only ten were left. When I asked the person in charge, they said they were damaged by overheating during a firefight with the orcs. There are many similar examples. Conventional weapons are fine, but even anti-psychic weapons aren't matched." Esrick said, "Mr. Hubbard, some of your men are truly courageous."

The document that Esrick asked Jasmine to hand over to Hubbard was naturally the result of the nun's investigation.

After saying this, while Hubbard was still in shock, Esrick used his fingers to push the so-called "investigation report" he had just stuffed in further, because the content of this "investigation report" was actually completely irrelevant to what he said.

He had always known that these nobles were secretly doing all kinds of tricks, but he was weak and powerless. Although he knew many things, he had no way or evidence. The report that Sister Gloria had investigated out of her duty actually became his helper. In the box of documents that he asked Jasmine to move, only the nun's report was real. The others were junk files that he had picked out from the corners without telling Jasmine in advance and put back into the folder to make up the number.

Once the nun's document is recognized, all the junk documents in this box will become real. In his subsequent speeches, he will no longer show these nobles the document like this one. Then, whatever evidence he needs, it can be found in these documents.

"Slander! This is slander!" Hubbard was anxious after reading the report. "Governor, please tell me, who wrote this unfounded report?"

"This is the results of the investigation by Miss Gloria, the Archangel." This was the question Esrick had been waiting for. Then, pretending to remember something, he pulled another piece of paper from the folder and had Jasmine hand it to Hubbard. "Please forgive my oversight, Mr. Hubbard. I omitted the last page of the report I just gave you. It has Miss Gloria's signature and seal. As the Emperor's daughter, she is responsible for the results of the investigation. If you have any further questions, I can call her over."

Hubbard's aggressive aura was instantly extinguished upon hearing the name of the Sister of Battle. He knew that these Daughters of the Emperor were all irrational fanatics. Questioning their findings could get you into trouble even if you were not wrong, not to mention that almost everything written here was true...

Then Hubbard couldn't help feeling a sense of fear. They once thought that they could sit back and relax after sidelining this young governor, but now it seems that even the combat nuns who are only responsible for fighting are willing to obey his orders. Who knows if this young man has other tricks up his sleeve.

"Your Excellency the Governor... wait... when I get back, I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Please give me some time." Hubbard said and sat back.

So in this confrontation, Hubbard and Gray were the first to be defeated.