Another planet had fallen.
The local Imperial forces withdrew without much resistance.
Following past practice, the T'au Empire fleet dispatched Water Caste diplomats to the surface,
attempting to persuade the Imperial administrators with words to join the Greater Good.
In the past, this work was very difficult.
Fanatical cultists would never allow the God-Emperor's land to be encroached upon by xenos.
For this reason, many times, Fire Warriors had to be deployed to crush the remaining resistance before control could be established.
However, this time, the Imperial bureaucrats of the fallen planet were very cooperative.
"Why are you so submissive?"
Commander Farsight looked at the Planetary Governor before him and questioned him.
In the past, they always had to waste a lot of time, and even resort to force, to persuade these guys.
But now, it was so simple.
They proposed that the T'au Empire rule this planet, and those human nobles immediately agreed.
Think about what that means.
This confused Commander Farsight.
"Isn't this what you want?" the Planetary Governor said calmly.
"You always dream of acquiring more planets and having more beings believe in your Greater Good."
"Now that you have it, you are full of doubts and dare not believe it."
"But your behavior is too strange," Commander Farsight's tone was somewhat uneasy. "This isn't normal. You should resist like before."
"Then we suppress the resistance, repeat this a few times, and then you yield."
Hearing this, the Planetary Governor almost laughed.
"You T'au are truly humorous. If you want resistance, we can try to organize and put on a show for you."
Commander Farsight:
"..."
What do you mean, 'a show'?
Are you that perfunctory?
Where is your loyalty to the God-Emperor?
Where is your spirit of not yielding an inch??
"You weren't like this before," Commander Farsight said with a hint of resentment. "Now you're really not yourselves at all."
"Because what we do has no bearing on the final outcome," the Planetary Governor said calmly.
"The final decisive battle has already begun, and the fate of the material and immaterial realms is about to be decided."
"What do you mean?" Commander Farsight asked. "What is the final decisive battle?"
"You will understand in time," the Planetary Governor said. "Regardless, you now have dominion over this planet."
"As long as you don't do anything too excessive, we will obey your commands."
"Alright, then as a representative of the T'au Empire, I declare this entire planet officially part of the T'au Empire's territory." Commander Farsight completed the conquest process.
After confirming that the Planetary Governor would not instigate resistance, he took his team back to the warship in orbit.
He informed Shadowsun and the other Commanders about everything that had happened on the surface.
"What exactly are these humans up to?"
"They're not fighting, they're not fanatical. It feels very unfamiliar to me."
Many high-ranking T'au Empire officials felt unaccustomed to the sudden change in human attitudes.
In the past, when occupying human planets, they would always hear humans curse them as alien invaders, xenos, and curse the Auxiliaries as traitors.
Then they would resist desperately, defy them, and then be suppressed by Fire Caste warriors, eventually realizing they were wrong and joining the embrace of the T'au Empire. Now, the other side is acting completely resigned, which makes them very uncomfortable.
At least resist a little; they're acting like dead fish.
"The Imperium of Man is engaged in a great war we know nothing about."
"This war has led them to conscript all Imperial forces and resources, so much so that many insignificant worlds have been abandoned."
Shadowsun, the Commander, made his judgment.
He speculated that the Imperium of Man, as in previous instances, chose to ignore the T'au Empire because of other battlefields.
"It seems like it truly is the Greater Good's protection. We can take advantage of this opportunity to expand greatly. When the Imperium of Man finishes its current affairs and turns its attention to the T'au Empire, they will definitely be greatly surprised."
"We have achieved unprecedented victories, and the Imperium of Man is crumbling. Whatever they are doing, this war is beneficial to us."
An-Shi looked at the data projection in front of him, his face showing excitement, and he spoke to encourage the many Commanders.
As an Aether, his primary role was to boost the morale of the expeditionary force;
fighting and the like were secondary.
"Since the rulers of this planet are willing to submit, then let the Earth Caste scientists proceed with the transformation."
Shadowsun made his plans.
"We will continue our voyage, bypassing the Imperium's core fortress worlds. Those worlds stockpile large numbers of troops, and a forced attack would incur heavy losses and slow us down."
"We will first conquer the insignificant planets, turn them into our resources, and then use war to sustain war, constantly growing stronger, ultimately defeating the Imperium of Man completely."
"....."
"...."
Shadowsun's influence was significant.
His strategy was successfully implemented. The expeditionary fleet avoided military planets, continuously encroaching upon resource-rich planets, then establishing production systems, allowing the T'au Empire's power to rapidly grow like a snowball.
Victories were constantly reported back to the various Sept worlds, invigorating the entire T'au Empire.
Countless T'au and Auxiliary races cheered and celebrated.
The gloom of the past was swept away, and everyone rejoiced in the victories achieved by the expeditionary force.
Especially the Auxiliaries who had joined the T'au Empire.
The continuous victories further solidified their belief that joining the Empire was a wise choice.
The Imperium of Man was finished, and those foolish fanatics would pay the ultimate price for it.
Just as Shadowsun and An-Shi, along with other high-ranking T'au Empire officials, were ambitious and planning to accelerate expansion, pushing the T'au Empire's influence to an unprecedented height.
Farsight, who had betrayed the T'au Empire and exiled himself, appeared before them with a fleet.
Farsight's appearance shocked them greatly.
In the early days of the T'au Empire's expansion, most of its military victories could be attributed to a Commander named [Puretide].
Puretide was a legendary genius, and his writings on strategy and tactics had a profound impact on the T'au Empire.
Farsight was Puretide's most prized disciple.
After completing his studies, he was appointed Fleet Commander.
In his first mission, he used astonishing skill and wisdom to defeat invading Orks.
Thereafter, he achieved many more victories, solidifying his reputation as a genius.
After the death of the elderly Puretide, Farsight became the T'au Empire's most relied-upon Fire Caste Commander.
And Farsight lived up to expectations, continuously winning victories.
However, being independent-minded, he also repeatedly defied the teachings and commands of the Aethers.
These matters led to a poor relationship between him and the Aethers.
During an Ork war, Farsight betrayed the T'au Empire.
He established the Farsight Enclaves and refused to communicate with the T'au Empire.
Shadowsun, An-Shi, and other high-ranking T'au Empire officials had all tried to find the reasons for Farsight's betrayal, but unfortunately, they never succeeded.
Now, Farsight suddenly appeared before them.
"Are you finally returning?"
When the two sides established contact, Shadowsun's tone was emotional.
Shadowsun and Farsight were fellow disciples.
When Shadowsun learned of Farsight's betrayal, he was incredibly shocked and at one point doubted the news was true.
Only after multiple confirmations did he dare to believe that Farsight had truly betrayed them.
Regardless, as long as Farsight was willing to return, Shadowsun would welcome him and even try his best to intercede for him.
Currently, the rapidly expanding T'au Empire also greatly needed a strategic genius like Farsight.
"No." Farsight calmly denied it.
"If you're not returning to us, then what is your purpose in coming here?" An-Shi asked.
"To warn you," Farsight said, "to stop you from self-destruction."
"The T'au Empire is at its strongest period ever; we are rapidly rising, and our territory is expanding at lightning speed," Shadowsun said. "I see no shadow of any crisis."
"I've always had a question I wanted to ask the Aethers, but I never did." Farsight did not answer directly but changed the subject, staring intently at An-Shi.
"What do you want to ask?" An-Shi asked.
"How much do the Aethers truly know about the threat of the Warp?" Farsight asked.
An-Shi's expression subtly changed.
In the past, he had not known; it was only after escaping Ghomorra that he learned of the Warp's existence from members of the High Council.
"Your question is out of line."
An-Shi did not want to answer.
Because the truth of that question would trigger a crisis of faith, causing the Greater Good to face a crisis, or even cease to exist.
Without the Greater Good, the T'au Empire would also fall apart.
For this reason, this question could not be answered.
"I understand. You know, but you are unwilling to tell the populace." Farsight sighed softly. "You are merely repeating a practice that humanity has long proven to be wrong."
"What are you two talking about?" Shadowsun didn't understand their riddles.
"You don't need to know the truth. Stopping your foolish actions immediately is the wise choice," Farsight said to Shadowsun with a cold voice. "The Imperium of Man is engaged in an unprecedented war, deciding the ultimate dominion over the Warp and the material realm."
"Many powerful races have participated in this human-led war. The Orks, Aeldari, and Necrons you have seen before are all fighting the Warp alongside humanity."
"Your war at this time is undoubtedly a stab in the back. Once the war ends, the entire T'au Empire will be held accountable."
"If it's a war that could decide the fate of the entire galaxy, then why weren't we invited?" Shadowsun questioned.
"Because we are insignificant." Farsight retorted unceremoniously, stating a cruel truth. "The T'au Empire's strength is too weak to participate in a war of that magnitude."
"Insignificant?" Shadowsun found such a statement hard to accept. "Our Greater Good is enough to illuminate the entire galaxy."
"That is just a lie. Science and rationality are not the entirety of this world." Farsight's tone was severe. "You have already seen the god born in the Warp."
"The threat posed by the Warp surpasses all else. Before, we were always puzzled why the Imperium of Man became this way, questioning why such a backward and ignorant race could rule the galaxy."
"But our end will definitely not be better than theirs, perhaps even more desolate. Once the T'au race reaches a certain scale,
it will become prey for the unspeakable entities of the Warp."
"Humanity once had more glorious intelligent technology and civilization than us. At their strongest, they could transform a planet's environment within two or three days."
"Now, all we see are a group of desperate people using the heritage of their ancestors to fight against inevitable destruction."
"We will not stop," An-Shi said calmly. "Whether what you say is true or false, this is our best opportunity."
"This is the beginning of the T'au Empire's destruction." Farsight retorted unceremoniously. "You have all witnessed the power of the Imperium of Man; they are merely busy with another war."
"Your actions are suicidal. Once that war ends, we will certainly be held accountable."
Farsight had traveled a great distance, trying hard to persuade the T'au Empire to halt its war efforts.
However, no one was willing to listen to him.
Shadowsun and An-Shi continued to lead the T'au Empire fleet, executing the celestial expansion plan.
However, their joy did not last long before a crisis struck.
They encountered a Chaos warband fleet possessing an Ark of Omen.
To deal with the Imperium of Man, Vashtorr had enhanced all the Arks of Omen,
but still failed to gain an advantage against the Imperium of Man.
This caused many Chaos warbands to question their existence for a time.
The fighting was too desperate.
No matter how hard he tried, the Imperium kept him down.
Even the blessings of the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods were of no avail; the Imperium still relied on various technologies and Old One creations to suppress them.
Now, the entire Moro battlefield was utterly brutal.
Those slightly weaker were cannon fodder.
Various legends and heroes of the Imperium returned.
Even dead guys like Tavitz and Loken were back.
The various warbands were beaten like grandsons, serving merely as backdrops for the Greater Daemons and Imperial heroes.
One can imagine how brutal the Moro battlefield was; it was essentially another Eternal War.
Avatars of the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods appeared, just to win the Moro War and prevent humanity from continuing to build the Aether Phase Engine.
However, when these warbands faced the T'au Empire, their confidence, shattered by the Imperium of Man, returned.
"We can't beat the Imperium of Man, but can't we beat these little blue-skins?" a Chaos Lord shouted excitedly.
The T'au Empire's warships were also highly developed, but when faced with the utterly unreasonable Warp fleet, they were truly at a loss.
Overwhelming legions of daemons, various terrifying warships defying all logic.
The Air Caste pilots even saw the ship's console come alive, cables attacking them as if they had a life of their own.
The outcome was predictable: the T'au Empire fleet couldn't even withstand the first wave of attack against the Ark of Omen before shattering into fireballs in the void.
Ultimately, it was Farsight, leading his fleet, who unexpectedly intervened, covering their retreat from the battlefield.
But the losses were still immense; two-thirds of the warships were destroyed. The Auxiliaries went mad, causing many ship personnel to be injured or even killed.