Chapter 991: Star Sea Calendar Year 729 (Thanks to CzLB's alliance leader 200,000 reward!)

Chapter 991: Star Calendar Year 729 (Gratitude to Alliance Master CzLB for the 200,000 tip!)

The Ancient Star River, Mordo Civilization, Planet Three Kings.

"...The recent string of official assassinations has cast a profoundly malignant shadow over society. The perpetrators remain unknown, yet threads of evidence from all sides point to the Crimson Empire lurking behind the curtain. It is clear that Madi has failed; his machinations could not escape the Empire's gaze."

Within the Chamber of Internal Affairs, a council of grave import was underway. Ministers gathered in solemn conclave to dissect the recent turmoil, every face etched with grim displeasure.

The relentless chain of official assassinations had fractured social stability, sending waves of panic through countless Mordo citizens, while casting a pall of disgrace over the entire ruling class.

With their own safety laid bare to the blade, not a single high-ranking minister could contain their towering fury.

"The sheer audacity! Does the Empire truly mistake us for those feeble, lower civilizations incapable of resistance?! If we unite with the other Super Star Cluster civilizations of the Ancient Star River and declare independence, tearing this sector from the triad's grip, let us see how they salvage the wreckage!" bellowed a volatile Minister of War, his face contorted in rage as his fists hammered the table with thunderous cracks.

"Best to curb such heated rhetoric," a voice cautioned from beside him.

The others present paid little heed to the outburst. Though every Super Star Cluster civilization harbored ancient grudges against the Triad and dreamed incessantly of usurping their throne, secession offered no path of retreat. Without absolute certainty, none would lend their support.

Once the venting subsided, the assembly returned to the matter at hand, weighing their course of action.

"Regardless, our first priority is to halt further bloodshed. Yet we must not parley with the Empire nor show weakness. There is nothing to discuss with them; they undoubtedly seek to cement the accusation that we manipulated the natives, forcing us to compensate for their war losses. Keep dreaming!"

"Agreed. We declare absolute non-involvement. Should the Empire produce evidence, we denounce it as forgery without hesitation."

"Furthermore, we must formally accuse the Empire of baselessly slaughtering our officials and petition the Civilization Council to sanction such despicable tactics. The Radiant and the Ethereal will likely stand with us, and we can rally more Super Star Cluster civilizations to our cause. The cosmos is not the Empire's sole dominion to command."

A minister shook his head, skeptical of the proposal. "With the Shimmering World poised to open its gates, few would dare to openly rupture ties with the Empire."

"Then what recourse do we have? We cannot simply stand idle while the Empire murders our cadres."

"Hmph. An eye for an eye, then. They assassinate our officials; we assassinate their officers. As if we lack superhumans of our own."

Another could not hold back his objection. "Assassinate Imperial personnel? Have you forgotten the Tragedy of the Apex?"

At those words, dark anger surged across most of their faces.

That millennial stain of humiliation remained fresh in memory. When the Triad's Beyond Grade A entities had clashed and suffered grievous losses, fearing the erosion of their strategic supremacy in individual might, they had fabricated a groundless pretext. They proceeded to slaughter every Beyond Grade A ally of the Super Star Cluster civilizations, Mordo included, before striding away without a backward glance.

The maneuver had not only crippled the Super Star Clusters' reservoir of individual power at the time, but also cast a long, chilling shadow. Countless subsequent Beyond Grade A entities, fearing for their lives, dared not accept the Clusters' overtures. Thus, the Triad hoarded the majority of supreme talents into their own folds—a near-extinction stratagem for their rivals.

Thus, Mordo understood the unspoken rule: the Triad could butcher their people as retribution and warning, but should Mordo strike back, it would be deemed a direct challenge to the Triad's sovereign authority, inviting a storm of blood and iron. The Radiant and the Ethereal would cease their spectatorship and join the Empire in crushing Mordo. When it came to preserving their hegemonic authority, the three supreme civilizations drank from the same ruthless cup.

Such thuggish decrees they had endured time and again, swallowing their pride with each passing era, until the reservoir of resentment ran fathomless.

"Let us not drift astray. The assassinations are but a minor skirmish. The Empire knows its limits; they dare not push us to the brink... Yet we cannot abstain from retaliation, though we must measure our response carefully. The Empire itself is untouchable, so we step back and target their allied factions... Hmm, but factions only. Do not slaughter any Beyond Grade A."

"Beauni seems a fitting target. His faction is rooted in the Ancient Star River, making him easy to handle. It will also broadcast our stance clearly."

With a few exchanged words, the assembly sealed Beauni's impending misfortune for the foreseeable future.

To a Super Star Cluster civilization, unless one spoke of figures like Mechanic Nation's Manison, Void Sovereign Kesuye, or Black Star Han Xiao, an ordinary Beyond Grade A amounted to little more than dust. Even a mere Star Cluster civilization could fell a Beyond Grade A; how much more so a Super Star Cluster?

The Empire orchestrated the murder of our officials; this debt of blood must be repaid.

As for the fact that we first wove the conspiracy, dragging the Empire into war and inflicting losses, leaving us in the wrong...

So what? Was that not our very intention from the start?

We are all scoundrels here; none has the right to cast the first stone.

At that moment, a voice laced with concern broke the silence:

"These are trivialities. What troubles me is whether the Empire will use this incident to bar our future entry into the Shimmering World."

"Why fear? The Shimmering World will open its gates sooner or later. Not even the Empire can halt that tide. If they explicitly forbid our entry, we will raise hell! And not just us—every other Super Star Cluster civilization will stand at our back. Let us see if the Empire can withstand that pressure!"

Indeed, Mordo harbored little fear that offending the Empire would cost them their ticket to the Shimmering World.

Every Super Star Cluster civilization knew full well that even upon the world's opening, the Triad would move to stifle their growth. Thus, they had long ago forged clandestine strategic pacts, resolved to shatter the blockade together.

The Shimmering World represented a once-in-an-epoch opportunity, one for which the Super Star Clusters were willing to unite their banners.

Even if Mordo alone faced suppression within that new frontier, the other Clusters would still step forward to bolster them. Though none relished aiding a rival, the imperative to jointly fracture the Triad's stranglehold weighed heavier. On this front, the Super Star Clusters understood that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold; they would not merely sweep their own doorsteps and allow themselves to be divided.

Moreover, the Empire was currently stretched thin, capable only of issuing warnings through such glancing, painless strikes. Having discerned this vulnerability, Mordo felt little trepidation. They quietly sharpened their claws, waiting only for the gates to open before unleashing their ambitions.

The Super Star Clusters possessed the backbone to challenge the Triad in the arena. Unlike the lesser Star Clusters, they had exhausted all room for sycophancy; without stirring the waters, there was no path to overtake their masters on the curve.

They could only fight. They could only seize.

...

At the headquarters of the Infinite Financial Group, Manison of the Mechanic Nation, Void Sovereign Kesuye, and Beast Ancestor Gorutan once again paid visit to Sorokin.

"I wonder what brings the three of you to my door today?"

Within the bright, immaculate office of the conglomerate's sovereign, the four sat in a circle. Sorokin's gaze swept over his guests, his smile faint and measured.

"You remember our bargain, I trust?" Gorutan rumbled, his voice deep and resonant.

"Naturally. I am to wage commercial war against the Black Star Army, constrict their operational sphere, apply external pressure, and aid your designs upon the Evolver Totem," Sorokin replied, unhurried and precise.

Kesuye spoke, his tone ethereal and distant. "Yet your yields over these years appear rather lackluster."

The Black Star Army had weathered the Infinite Group's onslaught, failing to yield the anticipated collapse. This stagnation had soured the patrons behind the trio, and today, Manison and his companions arrived as envoys of accountability.

"Heh." Sorokin dismissed the critique with a wave, his cadence deliberate. "I did warn you that the Black Star Army would not be so easily broken."

"We expect you to intensify your efforts."

"By all means." Sorokin offered a light smile. "However, I have already demonstrated my good faith. Now, the turn passes to you."

If one wishes the steed to run, one must first let it graze. The three understood perfectly: Sorokin was demanding that their backers honor a portion of their original pledges before daring to dictate terms.

Manison spoke slowly. "A minor matter. The resource subsidies, policy concessions, and deep-tier cooperative ventures will be enacted shortly."

"Then I shall await their arrival." Sorokin's smile deepened. "Conveniently, my next maneuver also requires the ripening of time."

"What maneuver?" Gorutan pressed.

Sorokin cleared his throat, his words unfolding with deliberate pace:

"After years of contention, the Black Star Army and I have reached a stalemate. Fracturing new ground within the Shattered Star Ring has proven arduous. Thus, I have set my sights on the Shimmering World—their new developmental nexus."

"I possess privileged intelligence: the Empire will throw open the Shimmering World during the fourth exploration phase. It will spark a cosmic carnival, with countless factions flooding in to forge a new order. Commerce, in particular, will see conglomerates scrambling to seize markets. That is my opening."

He had long coveted the development of that frontier, waiting to deploy the Infinite Group to monopolize markets, intending to wield economic warfare as a blade against the Black Star Army's territories.

Having reaped the bounty of territorial acquisition, the Army must now bear the burdens and perils of governance. Sorokin sought to ignite a fresh theater of war within their secondary stronghold.

The extraction, demand, and circulation of resources within those domains constituted a colossal market. The Infinite Group possessed myriad methods to deploy its wealth, seizing market share and suffocating the breathing room of legitimate enterprises within Black Star's jurisdiction.

When the time came, whether by remotely manipulating interstellar corporations to throttle resource flow, employing trade tactics to erect barriers against economic development, or weaving smuggling and intelligence networks through various industrial sectors within Black Star's domain, every thread would tighten the noose around the Army. These were the Infinite Group's native arts.

Yet, Sorokin's paramount objective remained the expansion and ascension of the Infinite Financial Group itself.

Compared to the spoils of the Shimmering World, the cost of suppressing the Black Star Army was, in his eyes, a trifle not worth mentioning.

...

The minor friction between the Crimson Empire and the Mordo Civilization, tempered by mutual restraint and hidden agendas, never escalated into open warfare, leaving the broader tapestry of cosmic peace and development largely undisturbed.

The era's grand symphony of exploration and expansion resonated through every sphere. Most civilizations and civilian factions kept to their bounds, their eyes fixed on the Shimmering World's development, quietly stockpiling manpower and materiel for the day its gates would finally swing wide.

Swept along by this prevailing current, the stellar landscape maintained a tranquil facade. Occasional skirmishes flared, but none were enough to mar the greater calm.

Within this climate, the Empire's second exploration phase concluded without incident, swiftly giving way to the third. Leveraging this momentum as bargaining chips, the Crown secured fresh allies and vassals, swelling the ranks of the third expeditionary force once more.

In times of peace, the footsteps of time seem to grow ever more silent, so that only upon turning one's head does one startle at the realization that year after year has already slipped away.

Unmarred by significant turmoil, the Empire fulfilled its ambitions on schedule, and the third phase of exploration gracefully drew to its close.

On July 15, Star Sea Calendar Year 729, the Crimson Empire at last promulgated the decree for which the entire cosmos had long held its breath:

—With the imminent dawn of the fourth exploratory epoch, the Shining World shall formally throw open its gates!

Like the detonation of a phantom-energy bomb,

the cosmos, tranquil for over a decade, instantly erupted into a roaring frenzy!