Warhammer: Striving to Be a Grinding Man

Chapter 76 Cocktail Party

For the first few days after the fleet docked, none of the crew's feet touched the ground.

Two hundred thousand people disembarked in batches, and administrative staff worked around the clock in the transfer hall, handling registration, household registration, and housing allocation—every step was pushed to the limit. The resettlement area under the dome went from being half-empty to feeling slightly crowded, and countless unfamiliar faces appeared on the streets.

But before all this settled down, Liu En did something.

He arranged a reception in the hall of the governor's mansion.

It wasn't a formal diplomatic occasion, nor did it involve the red tape of imperial nobility. It was simply a gathering, a chance for those who had drifted with him all the way from Lucis to have a drink under the dome of Garros.

When the news spread, the veterans of the Black Pearl thought they had misheard. Carlos, forking a steak in the mess hall, squinted and asked the messenger, "Did the captain say that? A cocktail party?" The messenger confirmed it with a binary pulse before he believed it, grinned, and swallowed the steak on his plate in one gulp.

The Governor's Palace's main hall was spacious enough. When Enp designed this building, he left ample space—the dome was over twenty meters high, and the adamantine columns stretched from the ground to the ceiling, their surfaces etched with prayers in High Gothic script interwoven with binary code. At the very center stood an imperial statue atop multiple steps, its hands resting on the hilt of a sword, the tip of which was embedded in the base. The flame in the cauldron burned day and night, and the smoke of frankincense swirled slowly beneath the dome.

A huge rectangular table had been set up in the center of the hall, covered with a deep red tablecloth and laden with cutlery and wine glasses. The lighting panels were adjusted to a warm tone, casting a soft glow on the adamantine pillars.

The basement warehouse held a number of good things. The liquors weren't bought in Lucis; they were casually created by Enp using omnipotent atoms when he was building the Governor's Mansion—Amigidon vintage, Lucis local spirits, and even a few bottles of aged drinks with labels printed in ancient High Gothic. He had only thought of them as "something he might need later," never expecting them to come in handy so soon.

The porters and servicing staff were the first batch of immigrants trained under the dome. Dressed in neat dark uniforms with temporary identification tags pinned to their chests, they pushed food carts between the hall and kitchen. There were no errand boys, no cold mechanical arms, only the sound of human footsteps and hushed conversations. A young woman carrying a tray walked past Carlos, the wine glass on it swaying slightly; she nervously pursed her lips. Carlos stepped aside, nodded to her, and her lips curved into a slight smile, her steps becoming much steadyer.

The crew of the Black Pearl arrived first.

Marcus, dressed in the dark uniform of the first mate, with the Black Pearl's ship's insignia pinned to his chest, stood quietly at the corner of the long table, holding a glass of water—not alcohol, as he had just finished his shift on the bridge—watching the flow of people in the hall.

Phyllis, dressed in the dark gray uniform of a logistics officer, stood at the doorway, holding a data tablet, coordinating with the administrative staff on the final batch of supplies entering the warehouse. As she spoke, she glanced into the hall, paused for a moment when she saw the wine bottles on the long table, then shook her head, put the data tablet in her pocket, and picked up a glass of wine.

Kara entered with several company commanders. She was wearing the dark combat uniform of a garrison commander, without her power armor, but her sidearm was still at her waist. Carlos followed behind her, his prosthetic left arm gleaming metallically under the light. He held a glass of strong liquor in his right hand, downed half of it in one gulp, and grinned. "Good liquor."

Lars walked at the back, his new left arm steadily holding a glass of wine. He found a spot in the corner, stood still, and didn't chat with anyone, just quietly drank. It's a Cardinal's habit to first observe the terrain, then the people, and only then relax.

The veterans of the Black Pearl came in in twos and threes. Some were company commanders and platoon leaders, while others were sergeants who had made a name for themselves on the wrecked ship. They were wearing training uniforms, some without helmets, some without even breastplates, only wearing their undershirts. After spending several months on the ship, they could finally take off that heavy shell.

The mid- to high-ranking officers took their seats on either side of the long table. Marcus sat to Liu En's left, Phyllis to his right, and Kara next to Phyllis. Department heads and senior sergeant majors sat against the wall in folding chairs.

Vera brought the core team of the Aletheon with her.

She changed into the crimson robes of a third-tier trainee technical priest. Her ponytail was neatly tied, and she wore light makeup—not intentionally, but because she had been in the bridge for too long and her face was a little pale, so she applied something to cover it up.

Behind her followed the core members of her team: her deputy, navigator, communications officer, logistics director, several senior marine engineers, and several company commanders from the Machine Soul Cultivation Society's combat guard. Most of these people were the original crew from the Truth Seeker, having followed her for many years. They had transitioned from an old transport ship to a brand-new Luna-class cruiser, and the excitement on their faces had not yet completely faded.

"Cohen." Vera walked up to Liu En and picked up a glass of wine. "The wine is good. This hall is also quite grand."

Liu En smiled. "I think it's a good idea too. From now on, this will be our meeting place."

Vera nodded, turned around with her wine glass in hand, and walked towards the crowd on the Black Pearl, clinking glasses and exchanging pleasantries with Marcus and Carla.

The atmosphere in the hall gradually warmed up. The gunnery officer from the Black Pearl and the weapons chief from the Truth were chatting animatedly together. Carlos, holding a wine glass, weaved through the crowd, boasting that he had shot and killed three scoundrels in the wrecked ship. Laughter and jeers rose and fell as people nearby challenged him.

Liu En checked the time and stood up from the steps. He took his wine glass and walked to the head of the long table, but didn't sit down. He just stood there, watching the people chatting in twos and threes in the hall.

"Gentlemen," his voice wasn't loud, but the noise in the hall quickly subsided. "Quiet down. I have something to say."

Everyone turned to him. The glasses were put down, and the conversation fell completely silent.

"I invited everyone here today not just for drinking," Liu En said, glancing around the room. "There's something I need to announce. It was a last-minute decision, so I'm taking this opportunity to say it all at once."

He paused for a moment.

"The fleet needs to expand. The Black Pearl and the Truth are just the beginning. In the future, we will have many more ships. Luna-class cruisers, destroyers, combat transport ships—all types, all of them will be of the highest quality. Not just one or two, but many, enough to form a fleet."

His gaze slowly swept over everyone present. Marcus's eyes narrowed slightly, his fingers pausing on his glass. Carlos's mouth opened and closed, forgetting to drink his beverage. Phyllis put down her data tablet and looked up. Kara crossed her arms, but her lips were pursed.

"Everyone here could be a commander, captain, or core member of one of these ships," Liu En said calmly, but every word carried weight. "So, this time in Armageddon, we need to change our recruitment methods. We were conservative before, but not anymore. Anyone with a skill, leadership experience, or anyone we can find in the naval retirement files—anyone with talent, we'll take them. Don't worry about having too many; worry about not having enough."

A moment of silence fell over the hall. Then, joy spread across everyone's faces. It wasn't the kind of boisterous laughter that erupts in celebration, but rather a suppressed, restrained gleam that couldn't be hidden in their eyes.

Someone whispered "God Emperor above," someone picked up a wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, and someone tapped their fingers lightly on the edge of the table, as if calculating how many people they could bring on board.

Marcus's lips twitched slightly as he walked over to Liu En, carrying his water glass. "Captain, the expansion plan... I'll redo it when we get back."

"Um."

Kara lowered her arms and straightened up. "The garrison also needs to prepare in advance. The veterans of Amighiddon should dig as much as they can."

"You decide."

Vera approached, a glass of wine in hand, her face still flushed, but her eyes were perfectly clear. "Cohen, what's the location of the Axiom?"

"The Moon-class is a combat ship, so you take good care of your Truth. Captains for the other types will be chosen from the middle and upper management of both ships. You have the right to make recommendations."

Vera nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "Okay. I'll make a list when we get back."

Hawke didn't attend the reception; his Resolute and transport fleet were still en route to Armageddon. But Liu knew that when they returned, this expansion plan would fall to them as well.

Liu En raised his glass. "That's all. Let's drink."

The atmosphere in the hall became incredibly lively. It was no longer just reminiscing and boasting; the conversation shifted to fleet organization, ship type selection, and personnel deployment. Several senior petty officers huddled together, discussing the tactical role of destroyers in hushed tones. A company commander from the USS Aletheon approached Marcus with a wine glass and asked…

Coordinated operational plan. Phyllis was surrounded by several logistics officers, calculating the scale of logistical support after the expansion.

Carlos walked up to Liu En, grinning. "Captain, can I be a destroyer captain?"

Liu En glanced at him. "First, focus on being a good company commander on the Black Pearl."

Carlos chuckled, turned and left, his steps much faster than when he arrived.

When the party ended, the starlight outside the dome had already shifted to the other side.

Liu En stood at the entrance of the hall, watching the crew of the Black Pearl and the Truth emerge from the Governor's Mansion in twos and threes. Their footsteps tapped out a scattered rhythm on the stone slabs, but their conversations were no longer aimless chatter; instead, they were about the fleet, about expansion, and about future plans.

Kara walked at the back, nodded to Liu En, and then turned and walked into the corridor.

The starlight outside the dome remained cold and unchanging. The spaceport's guide lights formed a bright arc along the tracks, stretching from the edge of the dome to the horizon. The Aletheia sat in its berth, the five-kilometer-long steel behemoth gleaming with a cold gray sheen in the beams of the guide lights.

In the corridor, the lighting switched from warm to cool white. Executive servants stood silently at the intersection of the passageways. Several young men in dark uniforms were tidying up the lobby, returning wine glasses to the serving carts and folding tablecloths.

The spaceport in orbit around Galos welcomed the arrival of the Star Language Choir. The first group of immigrants, trained into administrative and technical personnel, are gradually taking over various tasks at the spaceport. The Governor's Office is also beginning to assemble an administrative team, selected from the 200,000 new arrivals; their abilities, cultural background, and technical skills are temporarily superior to those of the immigrants from Amigiddon.

Liu En turned and walked back into the hall, standing beneath the Emperor's statue, watching the figures gradually disperse. Marcus stood at the doorway and glanced back at him.

"captain."

"Um."

"I've gone to draft the plan."

"Go."

Marcus turned and left. Liu En picked up the glass of wine and downed it in one gulp.