Eclipse World. A technological civilization that inherently denied the existence of all creatures that were not completely human, or descendants of the like. This view was a collective thought instilled by their empire, the
While such views were not inherently evil, as desiring the survival and strengthening of one's own race was a good reason to strive forward, the way the Nexus taught and carried their ideals was full of malice and broken morals.
In the Eclipse world, one of the worlds at the edge of the Nexus's star-spanning empire, the remains of Altherion's expedition had arrived with extremely dire news.
Altherion, together with Vaarn, the other Star Lord of the expedition, was guided toward the council of the Eclipse World. The relationship between the two, just from their clear stance of not acknowledging the other party, was easy to guess.
These two, who had fought wars shoulder to shoulder in the past, were now looking at each other with gazes one would usually use to glance at a stranger.
"Star Lord Altherion. Star Lord Vaarn. Please, step inside. The Eclipse Council has been waiting."
Both of them followed the order and entered a spacious hall with sleek chairs and tables, each of them installed with a screen and other electronic devices. The place was clean, futuristic, and showed that this society, despite its views, was one whose strength was well earned.
In the center, there were 5 council members, with around 500 lesser members, 100 following each party. These 100 people would usually help with voting, and they were not to blindly follow the ideas of their leading council members. This was a system created so that political corruption would be much more difficult to take root.
After all, if even one of the 100 people were a spy from another force, being stabbed in the dark by an enemy would be extremely easy.
Overall, the system was not perfect, but it worked as long as the superiors were ruthless enough. After all, regardless of how large an empire was, micromanaging hundreds of star systems was nothing but the dreams of a fool.
"Star Lord Altherion. You took 30 Moon-Type ships and 2 World-Type Ships on an expedition. Now, you've returned with only 6 Moon-Types and 2 World-Types. Explain the reasoning, intent, and process of your losses."
Altherion looked around, his stern face not looking nervous. After all, he had a few years to think about what happened, so he wouldn't act like a fool.
"This time, it was my arrogance that led the expedition to failure. I went to investigate a new True World Tree growing at the edge of our battlefield with the Verdant Sanctity Covenant. This True World Tree is young, but it has shown potential no less than that of the Covenant's main True World Tree."
As he spoke, many in the room didn't react. After all, potential was potential. Regardless of how bright a future, if you snuffed out their weak flame with a breath, then what was the point?
Altherion knew this as well. He was just laying the groundwork for his future claims. "The first mistake occurred when the devices of the Level 150 World-Type mothership were unable to detect entering the domain of the True World Tree. We severely underestimated the spread of a World Tree a few decades old, taking us by ambush once we had landed in the neighboring world to prepare for battle."
Then, Altherion explained the battle situation, progress, and final escape as objectively as possible. This, once more, was part of his foundation for what he was about to say.
"—and so, our escape was completed. However, Council, I want to intervene here to speak of something very important."
Everyone who had been listening felt considerable disdain toward Altherion. After all, Altherion had said that the True World Tree is just a few decades old, not even a century old. Losing to such a being was nothing but shameful.
Of course, many people leaned toward the World Tree being unexpectedly strong, which divided the silent opinions brewing in the audience of 505 individuals.
"Council, I believe that this World Tree has banded together with the Verdant Sanctity Covenant to deceive us. Do not let her young age deceive you. The fact that Star Lord Cael was on the planet is more than enough to show how much importance the Covenant gives to this World Tree. We must strike now, while it is young, and get rid of this future thorn in our flesh. We are, after all, the Abyssal Void Nexus Empire! How could a disgusting World Tree be thinking of growing in our future domain?"
By the end of his speech, Altherion spoke with a deep, powerful voice, showing a stance full of determination and a will to fight.
The council, however, didn't show any moved expressions. These 505 people, who have managed to claw their way into their current positions, were naturally cunning, with only a few of them being put in their positions by connections and other types of nepotism.
Instead, one of the councils turned toward Vaarn and gave him the time to speak.
Vaarn, while resentful toward Altherion, was not stupid. What he wanted to do now was save his career and position as a Star Lord. After all, not all Level 175+ were qualified to have their own fleets and armies. Only those who showed promise were given that privilege.
However, while he didn't want to lose his position, he still wanted to get back to Altherion for guiding him to lose such a large part of his forces.
"The tale I will recount is similar to Lord Altherion's. However, I do have other things to add."
Altherion's face imperceptibly twitched. He very much wanted to glare at Vaarn so that he didn't say anything useless that would divert the focus from Tianlian Liu Shu.
"This expedition was planned by Lord Altherion for personal reasons. During the few years we took to return, I've been investigating and discovered that Lord Altherion's only daughter was killed in that small world. Allegedly, the person who once led the Nexus in that small world was defeated by that World Tree, and according to them, providing basically no solid evidence, Lord Altherion's daughter was also killed by that World Tree."
Altherion clenched his fist, his veins bulging around his hands and arms. While he didn't show any expression, his heart was burning with fury. 'This fool Vaarn!'
Vaarn then proceeded to recount a similar experience, but from his perspective, and heavily criticized the decision Altherion made as the overall captain. He even showed pre-prepared recordings to smear Altherion's reputation even further.
Once he finished, while the Council didn't show any reaction, Altherion could feel some people looking at him with mocking or disdainful looks. Clearly, the fact that this supposed exploration was founded only for personal revenge ticked off many people present.
The five main council members then went back and forth between Vaarn and Altherion, taking each of their accounts. Altherion tried his best to push Tianlian Liu Shu's threat forward. However, this ended up backfiring.
The reason?
Such insistence on pushing a young World Tree as some kind of future supreme threat felt intentionally set up to cover up for his mistakes. Moreover, many of them thought: 'If this True World Tree is so powerful, why were none of the Level 150 World-Types destroyed? The logs clearly show that not even their shields were depleted during the fight.'
While World-Types were strong Mothership-class ships, a Level 150 one was, among them, quite weak. For the Nexus, which had built Level 160, 170, 180, and even stronger World-Type Mothership Class ships, a True World Tree that could not scratch a Level 150 and almost died under their main cannons was a small threat.
No matter how much Altherion wanted to push her forward.
No matter how much Altherion wanted to explain that the enemy was doing this on purpose.
Everything he said felt like an excuse for his incompetence. Even if Vaarn had not spoken up against Altherion, the single fact that "Level 150 World-Type Ships are strong enough to fight against the True World Tree" was enough to make many of Altherion's statements feel hollow.
Altherion looked down for a moment, a mocking smile arching on his lips. 'It seems, even when everything is said and done, my weight, and the fact that Tianlian Liu Shu is considered a young World Tree, has made it basically impossible to push an appropriate level of urgency in the hearts of these people.'
Altherion was not really at fault. It was just that Cael knew far too well the higher-ups of the Nexus, and his guidance back to them was blooming now as he had expected.
Still, neither Altherion nor Cael had calculated one small detail.
Someone suddenly pushed the doors open and entered the grand hall. The five Council members were growing at first, but when they saw the medal on the man's chest, they quickly stood up and bowed. "Lord Star Emperor! It is our honor to receive you in our humble world."
Star Emperor! An individual who had achieved the
This Star Emperor looked at Altherion and the council and asked, his tone cold and indifferent. "I have arrived a bit late. However, I want to listen to the entire account of what was discussed here."
"With pleasure." A female Council member stood up and quickly typed a few things into the computer. She clicked here and there, and finally, the entire discussion that was recorded replayed on a large screen.
The Star Emperor sped it up, and with his enhanced senses, he saw the few hours of discussion in just a few minutes.
"Hm…"
The man frowned lightly, crossing his arms in thought. He, like the majority of the Council, still felt that Altherion's accounts were exaggerated, and this event didn't really need that much attention. A fleet of 10 or 20 Star Lords, each with a World-Type, should be enough to scorch that world and the World Tree to the ground.
However, he recalled the words of his higher-ups:
"Someone gave us a tip that in the remote Solar System we lost control over, there is an interesting World Tree. We know nothing much, but the source of that sentence comes from someone whose influence is impossible to overlook. Go check it out, but don't be too swayed. This might be a trap set up for us to lose a Star Emperor."
Still, while he was cautious, he still felt that this situation was too strange. 'Why is there so much focus on a recently grown True World Tree? These creatures can't make a single splash for a few centuries after their formation…'
So, for such a remote place to reach the ears of that high and mighty person, the Star Emperor guessed that things were much more complicated than he expected. 'I need to be sure that nothing's wrong.'
Therefore, he spoke up and made a decision for everyone present.
"I will go personally but not participate from the beginning. We can't discard the fact that this place is a trap aimed at me. Prepare 50 World-Type Motherships of Level 170, 1,000 Moon-Type Battleships of Level 150, and an army of 10,000,000. Divide them at 80,000 soldiers per World-Type and 6,000 per Moon-Type. I want each Moon-Type to have a Level 175 as a captain, at the very least." He looked at Altherion and Vaarn. "These two will pilot one Moon-Type each and lead the frontal charge as punishment."
The Star Emperor turned around and ordered. "If you are short of soldiers, contact nearby worlds with standby armies to gather. We will set off in 5 years."
As he left, he felt confident. 'A newly born True World Tree, even if helped, I bet they won't guess an army this big to go deal with it. Heh. Whoever is aiding that True World Tree will be uprooted by me.'
***
Back in Ceperet, Xakira sneezed, feeling bewildered. 'Is someone cursing me to death?'
Meanwhile, Liu Shu was researching a way to grind relatively useless skills for her to sacrifice, and which one would be the best among them. 'Ughhh… This is more complicated than I thought! QAQ!'