In the central square, the Elite councilors, upon witnessing the brilliance of the psionic light, had a flood of images appear in their minds.
They saw the prosperity of the Forerunners 100,000 years ago, when they were still the dominant power in the galaxy. They also saw the war between the ancient humans, ancient Prophets, and the Flood. Following that was the epic conflict between the Forerunners and the Flood.
Ultimately, the Forerunners' defenses nearly collapsed due to the betrayal of their AI, known as the Prejudiced Monk. After paying a heavy price, the Forerunners managed to activate the Halo Array, restoring peace to the galaxy.
Afterward, the Forerunner AI followed pre-established protocols, using 3D-printing technology to mass-produce and replicate stored biological data, allowing life to flourish once again in the galaxy.
From these events, it became clear that the Forerunners were far beyond the technological capabilities of ordinary civilizations, and could indeed be considered "gods."
At the same time, the fact that the Forerunners had designated humans as the Reclaimers, the sight of Samuel Young opening the space gate, and the alliance of Atlas with Terra to fight against the Miado worshippers and orcs all flashed through the Elite councilors' minds.
When their vision returned to normal—
Boom! Boom!
The sound of bodies being seared by fire echoed.
"Roar!!"
The anguished cries of the Elites filled the central square and nearby streets.
Some of the councilors snapped back to reality and saw their former colleagues, along with Elite soldiers mingled among the human crowd, engulfed in golden flames.
As the flames subsided, all that remained of the soldiers and their once-formidable colleagues were charred corpses.
After the shock wore off, the remaining councilors and all the Elites turned their gaze to Samuel Young, whose eyes still glowed with a golden light.
Naturally, only that giant could cause such an effect.
At the same time, the six Primarchs and all the Astartes became immediately vigilant.
Especially Vulkan, who, standing almost as tall as Samuel Young, wielding a giant frost hammer, stepped forward and looked down at the Elite councilors.
"My lord, what is this?" Xiandel, the Elite commander, was bewildered by the situation.
However, he firmly believed that Samuel Young had a reason for his actions and was not like the Prophets, who betrayed and discarded them.
"Those burned by the fire were trying to stir up trouble when we let our guard down," Samuel Young explained calmly.
As he spoke, he approached Xiandel, flanked by his Primarch sons, placed his left hand on Xiandel's shoulder, and smiled. "But their thoughts were already known to me. Besides, I don't want the newly stabilized City of Brotherhood to fall into chaos again. So, I dealt with the hidden threat. Relax, Captain Rosse."
Before arriving at the square, Samuel Young had already sensed that half of the Elite councilors were dissatisfied with Xiandel's actions and did not agree with having "mere humans" hold divine office.
These councilors had secretly gathered nearly ten thousand loyal followers, including powerful berserkers and frontline generals.
They were aware of the strength of the Primarchs and Astartes, but they believed their loyal soldiers could also pose a threat.
A single Elite veteran couldn't win against an Astartes in a one-on-one fight, but with a three-to-one or five-to-one advantage, they thought they had a good chance.
They also knew the Primarchs couldn't be defeated by sheer numbers, so they planned to use their loyal followers as suicide attackers.
Their ultimate goal was to eliminate the human leader referred to as "my lord" by Xiandel.
The councilors had already distanced themselves from the assassination plan, ensuring that even if it failed, they wouldn't be implicated.
Unfortunately for them, their thoughts were laid bare before Samuel Young.
Furthermore, Ferrus Manus, Angron, and Leman Russ had already noticed the councilors' covert actions before Samuel Young even arrived in the City of Brotherhood.
In fact, Ap's duplicate data had gathered undeniable evidence of the plot.
After reporting the situation to their father, Samuel Young simply replied, "Let it be for now."
The deterrent of a public execution was far more effective than dealing with it beforehand.
Now understanding the situation, Xiandel still felt deeply guilty and said, "It was my negligence that put you in danger, my lord."
"It's fine." Samuel Young withdrew his hand and continued toward the council hall, saying, "Focus on improving your strategic and tactical skills, Captain Rosse. In the future, you will lead the Sangheili."
"Yes, my lord."
Xiandel nodded and turned to the stunned, fearful councilors, reminding them, "Don't do anything foolish. Follow us! We still have Prophets and Jiralhanae to deal with!"
Upon hearing this, the remaining councilors were grateful for making the right choice and silently followed, heading to the council hall to discuss the ongoing war and the human-Elite alliance—or rather, the integration of the Sangheili into the human system.
At the same time, four Traveler-class dreadnoughts deployed cubic light beam arrays to fully protect the Atlas fleet.
Moreover, the Traveler-class beam cannons accurately pierced the energy shields of nearly a hundred CCS-class battlecruisers, disabling their main engines.
Next, Atlas launched a large-scale boarding operation, sending transport ships and boarding craft to capture the crews and captains.
According to the intelligence provided by Ap's duplicate data, these nearly hundred CCS-class captains were all loyalists of the burned councilors.
Even though they hadn't yet launched an attack, Atlas preemptively disabled their ability to retaliate.
To prevent misunderstandings, as the Traveler-class ships released their light beam arrays and carried out precise strikes, Ap made public the files, images, and part of the evidence of the assassination plot.
While the Elite captains and commanders said they understood the humans' actions, they still harbored some dissatisfaction and resistance.
Atlas was prepared for this.
During the council discussions, as the leader of Atlas, Samuel Young would propose a "Human-Sangheili Friendship and Development" agreement.
The Sangheili were indeed a warrior race, and their technology had significantly advanced after joining the Covenant.
However, due to cultural decline and industrial stagnation, the Sangheili's standard of living remained at a level similar to that of the early 20th century on Earth, a mix of old and new.
Thus, Atlas aimed not only for deep military cooperation with the Sangheili but also for collaboration on construction and development projects.
If everything proceeded smoothly, the Sangheili homeworld of Sanghelios would soon see the arrival of Hextech robots and human and dwarven engineering teams.
This would effectively improve the desolate environment of Sanghelios and raise their standard of living.
When these changes occurred, even the disgruntled Elite captains and commanders would be won over.
Meanwhile, in the Eredana system...
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