Chapter 60 The Saint of Toulon

Governor Yamadera came rushing over, his face full of rage and an aggressive aura, his short and plump body wrapped in a black formal suit as he sprinted forward like a stone projectile hurled by a catapult, the kind that could roll all the way down and crush dozens of people in its path.

This was the most "manly" performance the Governor had ever put on in front of Eleanor, causing her to be momentarily stunned for a few seconds. By the time she reacted, the man had already "rolled" right up to her.

After coming to a halt, he panted heavily for nearly ten seconds before shouting loudly, "Lieutenant Eleanor Bonaparte, in the name of the Governor of Xinyumen, I relieve you of your post as acting commander of the garrison!"

"Oh? Governor, sir, now that all matters here are settled, you actually haven't taken a proper rest!"

"Rest my foot! You, you, you actually dared to place me under house arrest! Lawless! Completely lacking in organization and discipline! I am going to Earth, I am going to report you to the National Defense Committee, I am going to expose you to the Parliament! I want you to face a military court!"

"Governor, sir, you can't put it that way. I was simply concerned for your safety and asked volunteers to protect you."

"Nonsense! Is this how you protect someone? Disarming my guards and locking me in my office... Wait, where are those kidnappers? Where are those impudent scoundrels? I am going to have them shot! Yes, if it's not Sanga, it must be Dorset's men! Tell Dorset and Sanga to run over to me immediately."

Up until now, the Governor still hadn't realized that the ones who had placed him under house arrest were actually the Marines. Of course, he was a civilian official who usually looked down on common infantrymen anyway, so it was somewhat understandable that he wouldn't understand these things.

"And another thing, I haven't been able to contact Mr. Chuck Brownwool this whole time. Is it your people messing around? I've already said he is with the Canaan Mercantile Guild! Are you trying to provoke some kind of diplomatic dispute?"

"With all this turmoil, it's not surprising if some incidents occur, right? Of course, the more it's like this, the easier it is for people to lose their cool! That's why it was necessary to temporarily restrict the movements of foreign guests in order to provide the most effective protection!" Senior Sister Eleanor still spoke with plausible arguments, leaving the other party momentarily unable to find any fault in her logic.

"Fine, fine, fine! You say 'protection' is protection, then where is he?"

"As for that... Oh, right? Where is he?" Eleanor began staring up at the sky.

"You, you, you..." The Governor pointed a trembling finger, almost touching Eleanor's cheek.

This scene made Yu Lian quite displeased, so he simply whistled softly, letting a strand of psychokinetic energy—completely undetectable by psionic integration—strike the Governor's stomach. The man instantly clutched his belly, instinctively trying to squat down, but with his massive potbelly, he couldn't manage it no matter what, and ended up dry heaving with a series of hacking coughs.

Eleanor showed a look of disgust, pulled out a scented silk handkerchief from somewhere to cover her mouth, and took two steps back.

None of the others had ever witnessed such a scene and simply assumed the Governor had some sudden, severe illness, plunging the entire area into chaos. His guards, having hastily covered their noses and preparing to lean back tactically, finally snapped out of it and hurried over to support him.

Eleanor likely guessed what had happened, casting a sideways glance at Yu Lian—half-reproachful, half-angry, and wearing a playful smile that resembled rippling autumn waters.

She withdrew her gaze and no longer concealed her schadenfreude: "See? I told you that you should take a proper rest."

Bending over at an angle of less than twenty degrees—which was the absolute limit of his effort—the Governor pointed at Eleanor and retreated a few steps, trembling slightly: "Seize... seize her!"

"What did you say?" Eleanor Bonaparte wiped the smile from her face, her voice sinking.

"Eleanor Bonaparte, you shall be put on trial for the charges of unlawfully initiating border conflicts, defying orders in the face of battle, sabotaging diplomacy, and imprisoning your superior! Yes, there's no need to return to Earth; right here, I can sanction you under colonial regulations."

"Imprisoning your superior... That sounds like a heavily saturated plotline," Yu Lian remarked, clicking his tongue. Given the Governor's physique, he genuinely imagined a rather eye-scorching picture.

Eleanor didn't know what was so "saturated" about it, but that didn't stop her from covering her stomach and laughing.

Two of the Governor's guards reached for their waists, but Yu Lian suddenly thrust out a hand, and the pistol in the holster at the former's waist flew directly into his grasp.

Governor Yamadera and his guards wore dazed expressions as if their worldview had been shattered. After nearly half a minute, someone finally realized what was happening and screamed loudly, "Psionics!"

Yu Lian stared straight into the Governor's eyes, his psionic energy transforming through his gaze into a mental pressure that felt almost tangible. His willpower began to confront, battle, and ultimately annihilate the discordant, intrusive consciousness hidden within the Governor's mind. The mental clash felt like an epic battle, but in reality, it lasted only a few short seconds.

Eleanor watched as the Governor transitioned from anger to confusion, then to a daze, and finally ended up sweating profusely with twitching lips.

"He was under mind control, subjected to mental suggestion," Yu Lian whispered to his Senior Sister. "I've already helped him dispel it."

"In other words, it was that Chuck Brownwool who did it?"

"It must be..."

"No, it definitely was! Heh, so what if he's an Imperial noble? With this evidence in hand, let's see what else they can say!" Senior Sister beamed with triumph, speaking into the wrist terminal: "Uncle Louis... Major Dorset, lock Chuck Brownwool up in the high-security cell reserved for psionics. Also, investigate why a mental-type psionic was able to approach the unprotected Governor so easily, and who provided the convenience!"

At this moment, Governor Yamadera finally awoke from his daze and confusion, and his state of near-demented rage completely subsided. He finally realized that he truly lacked the qualifications to provoke a military aristocratic scion like Eleanor. He couldn't fathom what had happened earlier; he had simply felt an urge to retaliate, to vent, to go on a rampage, and to fight her to the death. This completely violated his consistent pacifist stance.

"What... what on earth happened to me?" The tragic part was that now that he had regained his senses, he had no idea how to back down gracefully.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from behind them, followed immediately by a voice he found utterly detestable.

"Governor, sir, your actions were crude, tyrannical, and foolish! This place is a part of our great Republic, and justice prevails here! It is not your independent kingdom, and you have no right to act so lawlessly! We politicians are laymen when it comes to the battlefield; as long as we learn not to add to the chaos, we've done our duty. At a time like this, shouldn't you frankly express the proper respect to the commander who guided us to victory?"

This dashing, refined, and handsome middle-aged uncle looked every bit like an extraordinary figure. Right now, he even wore a stern face mixed with three parts reprimand, three parts displeasure, and three parts heartbreak, giving off a rather imposing air without even getting angry.

Who could this be if not Councilman Jiang Yudong?

How did this fellow get here? Yu Lian was somewhat puzzled, but upon seeing an airship that had just landed at the landing pad, he instantly understood. Since the man was a fairly prominent councilman in the colony, it was impossible for him to have zero connections within the garrison. Besides, now that the battle was over, calling an airship to pick him up was only natural.

Even so, Yu Lian had to once again pay tribute to Councilman Jiang's execution prowess.

"Jiang, Jiang Yudong, you old dog..." Governor Yamadera almost bit through his teeth, but when he turned around, he still managed to squeeze out a sanctimonious smile. "Oh, isn't this Councilman Jiang? I heard you were taking business clients outside the city for investment inspections recently, and I was just worrying about you."

"You certainly should worry about me. It was precisely because you dismantled two-thirds of the colony's probes and satellites that we were caught completely off guard by the rebelling natives! If it weren't for our loyal and brave Commonwealth soldiers, you wouldn't even have to look at my detestable face." Councilman Jiang Yudong let out a dashing and handsome cold laugh, completely outclassing the Governor by more than a few streets purely in terms of aura and demeanor.

Afterwards, he once again employed a flashing ability akin to psionic teleportation, appearing in front of Eleanor with a "whoosh" and grabbing her hand: "Thank you so much! Ms. Bonaparte, on behalf of Toulon—no, on behalf of all 70,000 citizens of Xinyumen, I thank you!"

Eleanor managed him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes for a couple of seconds before unceremoniously shaking his hand off.

The awkwardness and displeasure on Councilman Jiang's face flashed by so quickly it was almost invisible. He then made another energetic stride toward Yu Lian, smiling warmly as he grabbed and shook the latter's hand again: "Yes! With military talents like Lieutenant Bonaparte, and rising teenage heroes like Warrant Officer Yu Lian, we are bound to win, and indeed we have achieved victory!"

*I'm twenty-one, I just have a youthful face,* Yu Lian thought.

"We will march from victory to victory! Our country will surely be unbreakable! Long live the great Blue Star Commonwealth!" He began shouting slogans. When other people shouted slogans, they sounded completely fake, but with him, they sounded exceptionally sincere and stirring.

At that moment, the cameraman popped out from somewhere and started snapping away like mad.

Indeed, besides calling them talented, one hardly knew what other adjectives to use.

Thus, a deeply impressed Yu Lian, a tight-lipped Eleanor, a dashing and high-spirited Councilman Jiang Yudong, and a sweating, grieving-like-bereaved-parents Governor Yamadera were all frozen in the exact same frame.

Governor Yamadera turned dejectedly to leave, but at that moment, Councilman Jiang—who had just finished reviewing the photos and wearing a satisfied smile—suddenly spoke up again: "Oh, by the way, I just learned from our brave Commonwealth soldiers that you actually coerced their pilots into running personal errands for you, which prevented most of our troops from returning in time to reinforce us. Within three days, I will persuade the majority of the colonial councilors to initiate an inquiry against you and report it to the central government. Mr. Yamadera, please make sure to attend."

As soon as the Councilman said these words, whatever little vigor the Governor had left completely drained out of him. Though his physique didn't change much, most people felt that he had shriveled at a visible speed, and his gait became noticeably more faltering.

The seven or eight Governor's guards he brought with him watched their superior walk further and further away with sorrowful gazes, and some even covered their eyes. An indescribable sorrow seemed to condense into a dark cloud lingering over everyone's hearts, refusing to disperse... Wait, if you guys are that sad, hurry up and go over to support him!

The guards wiped away their tears, cast awkward, ingratiating smiles toward Eleanor and Yu Lian, and then looked at Councilman Jiang, whose face had already shifted into an enthusiastic and expectant smile, as if every wrinkle on his face brimmed with sycophancy.

...These people were all talents too!

Yu Lian looked sympathetically at Governor Yamadera, whose steps were now trembling as if he might drop dead at any moment, and for the first time in two lifetimes, felt a shred of sympathy for him.

Meanwhile, the Councilman's performance was still ongoing.

"Rejoice, citizens of the Commonwealth! Rejoice, our motherland! Under the command of our Lieutenant Eleanor Bonaparte, we have achieved a glorious victory! Even the Kaitai Grand Fleet, which tried to fish in troubled waters, was sent fleeing in panic. Lieutenant Bonaparte is simply like the Maid of Orleans from the Earth's mother-star era! She is the Saint of Toulon!"

With that, Councilman Jiang darted in front of Eleanor like a long-armed ape and raised one of her hands, much like a referee declaring victory in a boxing ring.

"Click, click!" The cameraman held the camera in one hand and a portable video recorder in the other, snapping away furiously.

Yu Lian believed that this speech, accompanied by various pictures and news videos, would soon appear on major news media outlets back home. Senior Sister would undoubtedly become famous, but wouldn't Councilman Jiang become famous too?

This truly was a talent among talents!

Senior Sister didn't shake her hand away this time, because even she was left utterly speechless in admiration.