Chapter 366: Chapter 38: Deterrence from the Stars, Brady County’s Choice

"Our Star Empire spans a Star Sea encompassing the Six Great Worlds."

"We’ve long grown accustomed to all sorts of strange and peculiar intelligent life."

"To give you an example, my own Intelligent Mechanic Legion, along with its powerful Army Commanders and the great God of Intelligent Machinery, only joined the Empire a little over two hundred years ago."

"In your eyes, we might just be products of alchemy, but we do not see ourselves that way."

"This is because every one of us Mechanical Warriors is equipped with a High-level Emotion Simulation System. In other words, we do not consider ourselves any less intelligent than you of the Human Race, or any other carbon-based lifeforms."

"Therefore, I advise all of you not to view us in the same way you would an ordinary alchemy tool!"

That night, inside the command room of the Intelligent Mechanic Legion, which was hastily constructing a camp two kilometers outside Brady County City, the Legion Commander of the 112th Landing Legion received Duke Zain and his retinue.

His gaze was placid and his expression serene. The way he explained everything perfectly demonstrated an intelligence on par with that of the Human Race.

Grand Duke Zane and his people couldn’t comprehend what an "Intelligent Mechanism" or an "Emotion Simulation System" was.

But he knew that these products of alchemy before him truly did possess an intelligence on par with humans.

This was a world of difference from the low-level Alchemy Puppets and other simple Puppets of Duke Zain’s world.

Of course, that wasn’t what Duke Zain was focused on.

His main concern was the power of this so-called Star Empire.

"An Empire that possesses the Six Great Worlds?"

"Meaning, the Star Empire you speak of possesses six worlds, each as large as our Skuoao?"

Zane’s expression was visibly stirred as he hesitated before asking again.

"More, not less. You must understand, worlds that can support life are rare. That’s why the Empire has also established city bases on many of the Death Stars within the Star Sea."

"Though these city bases play a smaller role, they are at least sufficient to support the construction needs of the Empire’s entire Intelligent Machinery Industry. They even help raise the standard of living for all citizens of the Empire."

"Explaining too much will only confuse you."

"How about this? I’ll show you the greatness of our Empire in a more direct way."

"This should help reduce any misunderstandings during our negotiations."

With that, under the stunned gazes of Duke Zain and his retinue, two beams of light suddenly shot out from the Legion Commander’s eyes.

The beams converged in the empty space between them.

They formed a vertical, holographic projection roughly seventy-five inches in size.

At the same time, a peculiar voice, completely different from the Legion Commander’s own, emerged from his mouth.

It was a tone much like a news announcer.

[The Star Empire, a great and sacred federated empire.]

[We unite. We build. We deliver all Races of Order from suffering!]

[The Empire was founded in the Year of the Stars Calendar, two hundred and fifty years ago.]

[Now, let us turn our attention back to the founding of the Empire...]

’It’s starting!’ The projection showed the scene of the Star Empire’s founding.

Vast numbers of the Human Race, various Beastmen, different members of the Sea Race, and even Demon Beasts were present.

Witnessed by countless different life forms, the Empire was established under the gaze of the so-called Cloud Court Dragon Clan and the attention of majestic Deities.

After the founding ceremony, the projection showed a montage of over a hundred years of development.

The entire process played in fast-forward, showing the Empire being built from scratch, with massive cities rising from deserts, swamps, and the ocean floor.

Then, the image suddenly shifted to a segment introducing the Intelligent Mechanism Planet.

It told of the suffering of the Octopus People and how the God of Intelligent Machinery, Anita, had gone astray. Then, under the guidance of a blurred, sun-like deity, they were shown completely embracing the Empire in a brief series of images and narration.

And that wasn’t all.

Immediately after, a brief introduction to another world appeared.

The Crimson World.

It was a world enslaved by the Blood Race—another story of liberation.

In short, throughout the entire presentation, any footage of the Dragon Race was skipped, and all the Deities were deliberately blurred.

Of course, any divine wars were almost completely omitted, replaced instead with text and still images.

But even so, just by watching the depiction of the mortal realms of these worlds transforming, Duke Zain and his retinue were already completely numb.

Deities!

’This Empire has so many Deities.’

’And its population is unimaginably vast.’

According to the presentation, the population of the Star Empire, across all its Races, had already surpassed thirty billion!

There were countless glossy buildings towering into the clouds, an abundance of unimaginable flying machines, and even an introduction to the Starships that sailed the Star Sea.

Every single thing shown left Duke Zain shocked beyond measure.

It wasn’t just him.

At that moment, even the High Tier Professionals beside him wore vacant expressions, their gazes filled with utter tension.

Such a civilization, such an Empire, was far beyond their comprehension.

It completely shattered their entire worldview.

’So this is how powerful a civilization, a nation, can become.’

’So even common people can have the chance to access Extraordinary knowledge, and anyone with aptitude can apply to train their abilities.’

’So when a nation becomes this powerful, there’s no longer any need for things like slaves. With the help of the Intelligent Mechanism, a single ordinary person could command machines to complete in one day what would take a hundred, or even a thousand, people from their world an entire year to accomplish.’

’So...’

The impact of the Star Empire’s visual presentation on these people was simply immense!