Chapter 40: Yusef’s Gift

As the glass wall began to crack, the researchers around Yusef were filled with fear and instinctively stepped back. However, Yusef stood calmly, watching the mutated rat with interest.

The creature shook its head and let out a furious screech before launching itself once more at the already fragile glass wall.

Crash!

The mutated rat smashed through the glass, carrying shards with it like deadly projectiles, flying straight toward Yusef at high speed.

Buzz—

The rat and shards seemed to collide with an invisible wall, bouncing back even faster than before, slamming violently into the opposite glass wall. The creature lay on the ground, almost completely immobilized.

It had hit Yusef's personal miniature force field.

As a noble lord, Yusef always carried a miniature force field generator with him.

He lowered his mechanized arm, which had been raised in defense, and the humming of the force field dissipated. That mechanical arm was, in fact, a miniature force field converter, always protecting him.

This device was a crude imitation of the Empire's powerful force field generator known as the "Rosary Beads," but it worked well enough.

Hiss—

The mutated rat screeched once again as it struggled back to its feet. Its tenacity excited Yusef even more.

What a terrifying weapon!

The mutated creature lunged once again, but this time it seemed to be held back by some unseen force. It struggled violently, but its movements soon slowed, and it collapsed, unmoving.

"You've arrived…" Yusef said calmly, turning toward the figure in a black robe who had just entered the room.

The figure's forehead bore a blue symbol of the "Broken Eye" cult, and his face was marred with scars. His eyes glowed faintly with blue light.

It was he who had subdued the mutated rat.

The blue light in the robed figure's eyes faded, and he knelt before Yusef. "My lord, your devoted servant greets you."

Yusef was plotting a grand scheme, and this black-robed man was a key part of that plan.

For years, Yusef had been preparing for the day when his ambitions would come to fruition.

I am born to rule!

As the fourteenth son of the Hoffman family, born out of wedlock, Yusef possessed knowledge and wisdom beyond ordinary men. He was a master strategist, driven by boundless ambition.

He had navigated the treacherous politics of the noble houses, orchestrating countless schemes and conspiracies to defeat his elder brothers and become the sole heir of the family.

His father had high hopes for him, believing Yusef could lead the family to new heights, fulfilling the centuries-old dream of the Hoffman family.

To that end, his father poured all the family's resources into his training, grooming Yusef for greatness.

But everyone underestimated Yusef's ambition.

One night, Yusef personally drove a poisoned dagger into his father's heart.

Only then did his father realize how impatient and ambitious his heir truly was.

"Take that seat!" his father gasped, his eyes wide, gripping Yusef's hand with his final breath.

With tears streaming down his face, Yusef agreed to his father's dying wish.

And so, Yusef became the head of the Hoffman family.

What followed was a brutal purge of dissenters and the placement of loyal followers in key positions, securing his control over the family.

With this newfound power, Yusef could finally pursue his true goal—the centuries-old dream of his family: revenge against the Grant family and the ascension to the position of planetary governor!

The Hoffman family had long coveted that seat.

It was rightfully theirs!

The Hoffman family had taken root on Urth long ago, growing into a powerful noble house. However, at that time, they were still subservient to the ruling Red-Eye King of the Gangar Dynasty.

The Hoffman served the Red-Eye King loyally, paying their exorbitant taxes on time. But no one wants to be a servant forever. In secret, they amassed power, waiting for their chance to rule.

That chance came over three thousand years ago, when the Empire arrived.

The Red-Eye King, mad with power, refused the Empire's offer of peaceful submission, killing the Empire's envoy and even firing upon their ships.

Within a day, the Empire's mighty fleet surrounded Urth, drop pods raining down like meteors.

From the pods emerged warriors clad in crimson power armor—Space Marines.

They obliterated the Red-Eye King for his defiance, reducing him to ashes, and hunted down every last trace of his bloodline.

Seizing the opportunity, the Hoffman family pledged loyalty to the Empire, emptying their stores to supply the Imperial fleet. They hosted grand feasts to honor the Empire's officials, swearing fealty to the Emperor and agreeing to pay the eleven-tax.

Impressed by their loyalty, the Empire's officials promised to grant them the position of planetary governor.

The Hoffman family was overjoyed. After centuries of plotting, they were finally about to achieve their dream!

But just as they were preparing to celebrate and plan the coronation ceremony, disaster struck.

The Grant family—outsiders from another planet—bribed the Empire's officials and stole the position of planetary governor!

"Thieving scum!"

The Hoffman family's patriarch, upon hearing the news, was so enraged that he vomited blood and died on the spot.

Soon after, the Grant family moved in, taking control of Urth as the new planetary governors.

Furious, the Hoffman family rallied other noble houses, raised private armies, and incited the populace to rebel.

But the Grant family was too powerful, crushing the rebellion in a bloody crackdown.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Hoffman family did what they always did best.

They became the first to surrender.

After executing a few scapegoats, the new Hoffman patriarch knelt at the gates of the Grant family's palace, begging for mercy and swearing eternal loyalty to the Grants.

And so, the Hoffman family was forgiven, once again becoming vassals, serving their new rulers.

Three thousand years passed. The world had changed, and most people had forgotten that bitter history.

But the children of the Hoffman family had not forgotten.

Their family creed commanded them to remember the shame of the past!

Whenever Yusef recalled these events, he burned with rage and humiliation.

That was why, after securing control of his family, he had begun planning for revenge.

He was even willing to use forbidden powers.

Though recent years had brought chaos—the brutal eleven-tax, warp storms, Hive undercity mutations, and the heretic rebellion—Yusef had never forgotten his desire for vengeance.

He seized the opportunity when the Grant family was at its weakest, striking a blow that nearly destroyed them.

For the first time in thousands of years, the Holman family was free.

Yusef had held off the Grant family's retaliation, taking control of a third of the Upper Hive.

He believed that, with his intelligence and cunning, he would be the one to end his family's centuries of shame!

He would destroy the Grant family and take the title of planetary governor.

Once he held that power, he would reclaim the lost Hive cities and restore Urth to its rightful path!

Now, all he had to do was follow the timeline and advance his plan step by step.

Yusef looked down at the kneeling black-robed man. "Have you delivered the gift to Eden Grant yet?"

(End of Chapter)