The Holy Cas Empire’s starships hovered above their heads.
There weren’t actually that many.
But with precedent, a wave of tension swept through the conference hall.
Emperor Yakai entered briskly from outside: “Attempt to contact the Holy Cas starship comms.”
“Your Majesty.”
Inside, the other national and regional leaders rose as Yakai entered, calming somewhat.
The communication went through smoothly.
“Good afternoon, Holy Cas representatives.”
Emperor Yakai took a deep breath, wearing an official smile.
“The previous times were all uninvited visits, so we did not host you. Since you’re here now, please follow our guide and land—we’d be honored to entertain you as guests.”
The silence was palpable.
Hard to believe, not so long ago, the arrogant Emperor Yakai of the Gesen Empire, who considered no nation in this starfield a match, could say such things.
He still maintained dignity and stance, but to those present, the mere sight was extraordinary; they instinctively kept quiet.
On the other end, it was clearly not a Holy Cas senior official, but a cold voice: “Regarding Gesen’s repeated offenses against our Holy Cas Empire and the Holy Sanctuary—multiple warnings ignored, collusion with Aberrant Beasts, interference with our operations—our only demand is this: Immediately dissolve the Gesen Empire’s upper echelon and disarm. The specifics of your administration will be taken over by the Eastern Alliance.”
This was precisely the Eastern Alliance’s role in accompanying Holy Cas.
Holy Cas had few people; the Sanctuary did as well. While they could clean out the rabble, integrating everything was tedious—unlike their home starfield, there were no other powers to take over the population, and Holy Cas’s main goal was to clear high-tier Aberrant Beast commanders without these people causing trouble. Further expansion was not in the cards.
So, from a pragmatic standpoint, the populous Eastern Alliance, backed by the Sanctuary, would do nicely for now.
But to Gesen’s ears, such demands were an outright provocation.
Emperor Yakai’s lips twitched several times, as if about to explode, but at the thought of Holy Cas’s might, he forced himself to endure.
Still, he finally spoke: “Don’t you think Holy Cas is going too far?! Do you really think Holy Cas alone can hold a whole starfield?”
A cold laugh came through from the other side.
The Ninth Army’s commander, Yemeng, failed to stifle it—after all, elsewhere, it really was only Holy Cas that had kept things from turning as twisted as here.
“There’s nothing to discuss! And if there is anything to discuss, at least show some sincerity and talk face to face! I demand to see your king and negotiate as equals—otherwise, is Holy Cas trying to provoke a war? The Survival Games might have pandered to Aberrant Beasts, but didn’t they help more humans survive?”
Emperor Yakai persisted.
But this time, there was no reply.
“Emperor Yakai—was that wise? Given who they—”
“What’s not wise? They’re already riding roughshod over us. Give an inch, and what will they demand next?”
An argument broke out.
Emperor Yakai’s face grew worse.
Meanwhile, the accompanying Eastern Alliance ship was observing; they also heard the discussion, and were momentarily speechless.
Chairman Shi He of the Eastern Alliance stood at the command deck, massaging his brow.
He whispered, “So this is big-power diplomacy?”
He’d seen it now, truly seen it.
He glanced back at those behind him.
“But, a talk is probably in order, right? We can’t just start fighting right out of the gate, can we?”
“Probably…Ah—they’re powering their cannons.”
What?
Shi He swung his head around, staring over.
All he saw in the corner of his eye was the flash of ship cannons, blasting toward the Gesen Empire’s palace.
Those beams met the planetary defense shield and exploded in sheets of white light.
Countless small starships launched from the Holy Cas fleet, moving in to take further action.
Chao Huangmu was among them.
This wasn’t just a show of force.
They’d started, with no hesitation.
Clearly, Holy Cas had decided talks were futile—they had no patience to waste words.
Aberrant Beasts were born of pollution, and pollution was the Crown Clan’s nemesis. From the start, they held nothing but disgust for the upper echelons of Gesen Empire.
No intention of giving them an easy out.
Only—
“Direct confrontation would cost a lot of soldiers, wouldn’t it?”
Shi He remarked.
But indeed—a merciful general is a weak one, charity unfit to handle money.
If an empire is that strong, its way forward is by treading over blood.
So now, as Gesen Empire’s shields rose, mecha everywhere took up the call.
They emerged directly, countless mecha cannons targeting one small starship—
But the next moment,
A shaft of light sliced through those mecha.
Now Gesen’s tension peaked. Holy Cas kept advancing, bearing a crushing momentum, unlike their pleasure-seeking, decadent nations—Holy Cas’s forces were the infamous iron fist of war itself.
Now, many in Gesen had already begun to scatter and flee.
“Hold the line! Hold the line!”
Emperor Yakai saw the situation clearly, knowing that if they didn’t stand, his own head would be next.
He gritted his teeth.
“Move! Press forward! There’s no way the whole empire can’t hold out against a few ships.”
Even as he barked orders, he turned to his attendants.
Signaling them to ready a ship for an immediate escape.
Meanwhile, front-line reports kept streaming in—showing the real status.
Mecha after mecha shattered and exploded; Holy Cas’s small ships hovered now over the palace.
Yakai fell back a few steps, but then suddenly saw the screen flicker—
After the explosion’s smoke, the mecha’s optics still functioned, revealing a scene.
A small youth stood before a starship, smiling faintly, his aura utterly out of place amid all this. But when he drew his bow and aimed, a chilling dread spread from the heart.
Where was he aiming?
They could see Chu Zao speaking, but not quite make out the words.
Bow drawn, little Chu Zao blinked, then asked lightly,
“Coordinates locked on the voice?”
“Yes, little highness.”
“Good.”
Chu Zao’s crown blazed, its light trailing behind, as if illuminating the universe, and the surrounding pollution seemed to recede from its path.
“Negotiating as equals with Baba?”
Chu Zao laughed, letting the bowstring go.
“Don’t joke.”
Amos watched from nearby, his gaze softening for a moment at his cub.
The arrow shot out, stronger, swifter than any before, and rammed straight into the Gesen Empire palace.
In an instant, the whole palace roof was blown apart.
There were screams, there were howls, and when the smoke cleared, all stared blankly at the epicenter—
In the conference room, where just moments before Emperor Yakai had been so brash, his eyes were now lifeless; his chest bore a massive hole, nailed to the center of the room, bloody and cruel.
Meanwhile, the Holy Cas starships pressed forward, the Empire’s advance barely hindered.
This was the brutal empire that kept an entire section of the galaxy in order by force.
And today, Gesen would see its short history come to an end.
Members of the Eastern Alliance were stupefied. It ended so fast—now, following behind the Holy Cas fleet, they understood why Holy Cas never bothered with them—they simply weren’t important.
Chu Zao finished his shot, watching below, the light in his eyes slowly gathering inward.
The glow of the crown atop his head also slowly faded.
All right, that should do it.
Now it was up to the Holy Cas troops and Baba.
Chu Zao glanced around, then dug into his pocket and popped a piece of candy into his mouth.
It was a very sour candy—his eyes squinted tightly from the taste.
Nngh—why so sour—
Nngh!!!
Who put that in Zao Zao’s pocket?!
Amos walked by, reaching out to pat his cub’s head, a bit puzzled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Papa.”
Chu Zao bravely sucked the ultra-sour candy—
“I’ll go check up on the ship’s situation.”
There was nothing else that needed the little one’s worry for now.
So Chu Zao returned to the ship, found an empty spot, and spat out the candy, staring at it as if doubting life—
Supposed to relieve stress, but it was only getting more stressful.
“Little highness, we’ve detected an unknown signal—”
“What unknown signal?”
Chu Zao walked over to check.
Meanwhile, the Hymn Organization’s vanguard followed orders into a quiet zone to explore.
On a certain planet in that silent sector, the roaring had died away; a pair of scarlet eyes opened, gazing into the stars.
Above, bare bones were now faded, as if drained of the last dregs of power, brittle and about to collapse.
Feeney’s fleet was carefully threading through the polluted region, still without contact from anyone.
Until—
“A suspected Holy Cas signal source detected?”
Feeney stepped quickly to the screen.
“Yes, Prince Feeney, it’s connected.”
Said the crew.
The screen flashed.
Through it, Chu Zao and Feeney locked eyes.
Both paused.
Chu Zao had poked his head in, holding a bag of candies he’d picked out to counter the sour taste in his mouth, slipping another in. Suddenly seeing Feeney—
“Third Uncle! Did you get lost again?”
Feeney: …
Look at your wording.
“Not that bad—”
In front of the cub, Feeney tried not to give up completely, still putting on a tough front.
“Zao Zao, can you see where I am? Our navigation’s shot in the pollution, but the other instruments are good.”
“Another spatial event?”
Chu Zao asked.
Feeney grumbled, but answered.
“I can see you.”
Chu Zao manipulated a few keys, glanced at the soldiers nearby.
“You’re not that far from us.”
“Where are you then?”
“Near the Gesen Empire.”
So Feeney had ended up right near Gesen?
Now that he thought about it, last time he went mineral hunting, it was in about the same region—they’d encountered a Gesen mecha team.
“Near Gesen? Amos went to let off steam?”
Feeney laughed.
Good—once he’s vented, he’ll be too tired to beat me when I get home!
“So aren’t you still lost? I woke up and didn’t see you; Dad said you spent ages in the training room?”
Chu Zao chewed candy, removing his crown, his eyes lighting up as he nimbly pulled a thread, tied it up, and linked with Amos via psionics to report that Feeney had been found.
Feeney: …
Was that really necessary to state so plainly?
And the training room wasn’t even bad.
Just goes to show how hard-working he was—Feeney pressed his ribs.
Ah, Amos really didn’t hold back.
But even now, Feeney couldn’t help saying in front of the cub,
“You know nothing, kid. It’s all tactics, you hear? Tactics.”
“Really?”
Chu Zao grinned, cramming more candy into his mouth, the sparkling golden crown restoring itself to its spot.
With each crunchy bite, it quivered lightly.
“Of course, with Amos’s so-called training, as soon as he makes a move—”
Feeney was about to say more.
The kid paused.
“Baba.”
“What? Impossible, Amos can’t be back so soon.”
Feeney blurted.
But Chu Zao, caught red-handed with the bag of candy, quickly hid it behind his back.
Already a proper young teenager.
But after being managed for so long, whenever caught gnawing candy, he still instinctively tried to hide it from Amos.
Feeney: …Not good.
The report is true!
A hand came into the display, as if adjusting the projection.
Amos’s face appeared, calmly looking at Feeney, then breaking into a frosty smile.
“Oh? What were you just saying?”
“I said…whenever you act, you always end up crouched by my side, begging me not to die—”
Feeney was clearly traumatized by those training days, involuntarily backing up two steps.
“Third Uncle, you didn’t mean to say that.”
Chu Zao chimed in.
Feeney: …
You little traitor!
“What’s your position now? Can we confirm it?”
Amos, impatient with the banter, asked the crew.
“Yes, Prince Feeney’s position is confirmed.”
“Recall some, leave half to clean up, send the rest toward Feeney’s position.”
“Bro, are you coming to get me?”
Feeney felt a flicker of true brotherhood.
Baby face betraying a little emotion.
“Mainly to spar some more with you in the training room.”
Amos replied icily.
Feeney: …
Feeney hit his limit, then blurted out,
“It’s all because of Zao Zao!”
Chu Zao blinked.
“It’s your cub! He led me to say it! I really admire you, Second Brother, and you don’t really want me hauled to the medbay, do you?! Oh, and yes, the candy is Zao Zao’s, all his—never planned to share, what a filial son!”
Let’s all go down together!
Third Uncle, the Media Specialist, began dragging Chu Zao down with him.
Chu Zao: …??? Hey!!!
“He hid candy!”
Feeney announced.
Chu Zao wrinkled his nose, clutching the candy behind his back: “Childish.”
Amos glanced over.
Too quick, and Amos hadn’t noticed—just in time to see Chu Zao stuff the bag into his wing-feathers, messily disturbing them.
Amos: …
He reached over, fishing the candy bag from Chu Zao’s wings and weighing it.
Hmm, already half-gone.
“All eaten today?”
Chu Zao batted his eyes.
Digging in his pocket, he found a new piece, quickly unwrapped it, and shoved it in Amos’s mouth—trying to bribe his way out.
“I did share with Papa!”
Feeney watched as Chu Zao attempted bribery, the kid not even pretending, pointing right at Feeney: “It’s Third Uncle’s fault!”
So righteously, he covered his tracks for sneaking so much candy in such a short time.
Feeney: …
Would Second Brother play favorites?
“Mm, Feeney’s fault.”
Totally playing favorites!!
Yet the tone was a little off.
Chu Zao and Feeney both looked over—Amos involuntarily furrowed his brow, as if stung by sourness, eyes blinking and then opening wide.
Feeney: ? What’s wrong?
Chu Zao checked his pocket.
Ah, the sour candy!
Chu Zao looked up to meet Amos’s gaze.
From Amos’s eyes, Chu Zao saw a bit of shock and suspicion—His calm and steady Majesty seemed to question whether his cub stuck that one in his mouth on purpose.
Like the time with the sour fruit that a “filial son” had shoved at him.
But right now, Chu Zao’s wings flapped, defensive in guilt.
“That—well—it was special, so I saved it for Baba to try. I’d never tasted something that sour before, so it must be Third Uncle’s fault.”
Amos crunched down on the candy, brow furrowing hard—
Feeney snuck a glance—pity, it must be another sour one, sour enough that Amos furrowed even deeper and swallowed it quickly.
Only little Chu Zao could get away with putting stuff like that in Amos’s mouth.
If they did it, they’d be beaten in the training room for a week.
So any protest was pointless.
Feeney’s eyes fell.
Hearing Amos agree, “Mm, Feeney’s fault.”
Feeney: …
Feeney gave up.
He was about to say more.
When an alarm went off.
Feeney looked over—
“What’s wrong?”
Meanwhile, the Hymn Organization squad carrying a Stone of Divine Grace quickly ran into a small starship fleet.
“What’s going on?”
“This should be a heavily polluted area? And hardly any Aberrant Beasts—why would there be starships?”
“That one looks familiar—zoom in.”
The Hymn team watched as the video zoomed, and immediately recognized the Holy Cas Army insignia with dread.
The Hymn group: …
At the same time, on Feeney’s end.
“Unknown ship?”
“Prince Feeney, Your Majesty, little highness, this ship looks familiar.”
A Holy Cas scout spoke up.
Hmm? What kind of familiar?
Well, this situation wasn’t unfamiliar.
He always ended up in weird places.
Aberrant Beast armies, Hymn hideouts—why couldn’t he ever get lost all the way into the Hymn Organization’s HQ? That would wrap it all up neatly, save the trouble of hunting them down.
Those creeps really were like turtles, aggravatingly elusive.
In any case, whoever was here probably wasn’t friendly.
And with Amos coming—it was actually a good thing their signal was found now.
“Surround, contain, I’ll go check—”
Feeney spoke, standing, stretching his wings—the lines of muscle beneath his uniform tensing with barely concealed power.
He raised his eyes, face cocky beneath his rumpled uniform—
Flexed his wrist, and shot out of the hatch.
Feeney was faster than the ship, keeping his distance but spotting the insignia easily.
Feeney blinked.
“Ah…”
Radiance flickered in his hand, spreading to form a longbow.
The Hymn group, just reorienting their view, were startled to catch Feeney with his bow drawn.
Only a step ahead, they stared wide-eyed: …
Crown Clan?
What were they doing here?!
Feeney: I really want to know why I’m here myself, and why you’re here, too.
But—
Feeney let out a careless laugh.
“Why is it you guys again?”
Meanwhile, Amos received word of this possible Hymn encounter—their purpose unknown, but not far away.
Feeney had comms on, hearing Amos issue orders, and then Chu Zao’s voice: “No way, Third Uncle? You ran into them again? And you said nothing was wrong?!”
No matter how many times, even Chu Zao was stunned by this.
Feeney’s mouth twisted in a grim smile, as if to say—hi hi hi, friends.
Wasn’t it enough back there in the other starfield? Had to happen again here?
So…what is this fate? Is it just this life, or did we have beef for several lifetimes? Is it your problem, or mine?
When Feeney rushed into beast armies before meeting Zao Zao, he never had this feeling—but now, his confidence was nearly shot.