Chapter 386: Chapter 46: The Giant Demon Empire’s Olive Branch, the Allied Force Concept (Part 2)

"I believe the main reason is the very existence of the Ancient Species."

"That Dragon God’s growth rate is too fast! So fast it’s almost beyond comprehension."

"It even surpasses any Ancient Species we’ve ever known!"

"After all, you all know that when the Empire discovered the Crimson World, there was an extremely terrifying Ancient Species living there."

"And how long had that Ancient Species been alive?"

"A thousand years? Ten thousand? A million? Or even hundreds of millions of years."

"But even a powerful Ancient Species that had lived for an unknown number of ages was no match for a being who had achieved Ascension to Divinity less than two hundred years ago."

"Of course, we can’t deny the possibility that this Dragon God had been hiding his true strength all along, and that his actual Power had long surpassed what ordinary Deities could comprehend."

"We don’t know why He hid his strength, or even why He signed that so-called treaty with our Empire."

"But none of that matters anymore. Since He didn’t move against our Empire back then, it’s highly unlikely He will do so in the future!"

"In fact, we have reason to believe that everything this Dragon God has done was for a purpose. That purpose likely doesn’t concern our Empire; at the very least, the Empire isn’t standing in His way. This might be the real reason our Empire was spared back then."

"As long as we understand this, I think that’s enough!"

"As for what comes next, I believe our focus should be on how to maintain our current alliance with the Star Empire."

The words of the Minister of Internal Affairs earned the approval of many of the Deities!

It was true.

The Empire was not without its own research on the Ancient Species.

A growth rate as terrifying as that of the Dragon God, Lince, was something with a near-zero probability of existing, even in the Star Realm.

Therefore, in their view, Lince had most likely been using methods that ordinary Deities couldn’t see through to hide his true strength.

’Gained the favor of an elder Ancient Species?’

That was all bullshit. His background was most likely just himself.

After all, the Star Empire had been established for nearly three hundred years, and according to the intelligence gathered by the Giant Demons, no other powerful Ancient Species had ever appeared above that Dragon God.

Just thinking about it made the Giant Demons present break out in a cold sweat.

If Matty hadn’t chosen to compromise back then, it was anyone’s guess whether the Tobien Empire would even still exist today.

"I agree with almost everything Minister of Internal Affairs Seli has said."

"However, I would like to add some information here."

Just then, the Deity Matty, Director of the Research Institute, began to speak.

Emperor Tobien looked at Matty, his expression unchanging, and gave a slight nod.

"When it comes to the situation with that Dragon God, no one here knows more than I do."

"After all, I am the one who has had direct contact with Him!"

"I won’t elaborate on His mysterious nature."

"What I want to talk about next is... have any of you looked into the group within the Star Empire known as the Divine Favored?"

’The Divine Favored?’

The Giant Demon Gods whispered amongst themselves.

Evidently, some of these Deities knew of them, but others did not.

But in any case, judging by the scene, the Deities as a whole did not know much about the Divine Favored.

"The Divine Favored... I’ve heard of them. But I heard this group is composed of individuals who have received that Dragon God’s favor, correct?"

"Their numbers seem quite large, occupying almost all the important official departments in the entire Star Empire."

At this moment, the Deity leading the military department spoke up.

Matty nodded upon hearing this.

"Yes!"

"Just as Military Minister Sedon said, the Divine Favored are indeed a group that permeates every official department of the Star Empire."

"You could even say they are beings under the protection of that Dragon God."

"But none of you have truly understood the terror of this group!"

As he said this, the Deity Matty waved his hand, projecting a chart into the Divine Council Hall.

"Currently, according to publicly available information..."

"Within this group, the number of New Gods has already exceeded thirty. The number of Demigods has broken past five hundred. As for the number at the Saint Tier, there are even more—over three thousand."

"Looking at it this way, you might think this group’s strength is nothing special, right? After all, our Empire has accumulated as many, if not more, beings at the Saint Tier and above over several thousand years."

"But, everyone, do you know how many High Tier members this group has?"

The Deities were stunned. Why would they have the spare time to care about the number of mortals?

Even if some of the Deities knew, they remained silent.

But the Deity Matty continued:

"One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand?"

"No, everyone. The number of High Tier Transcendents in this group of Divine Favored has already surpassed one million!!!"

"Yes, I’m certain. Because this is the data released by the Star Empire’s so-called Divine Favorers Association itself!"

"One million High Tier Transcendents?" a Deity gasped in astonishment.

What did one million High Tier Transcendents even mean?

Even in the Tobien Empire, which had three colonial worlds to support the Giant Demon citizens of the entire Empire...

...the number of High Tier Transcendents, accumulated over several thousand years, was only maintained at around three hundred thousand.

When a High Tier Transcendent died failing to break through, a Middle-Low Tier Transcendent would rise to take their place.

In short, the entire Tobien Empire currently had only about three hundred thousand High Tier Transcendents in total. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

But the Star Empire?

It hadn’t even been established for three hundred years, yet its number of High Tier individuals had already surpassed the Tobien Empire’s by more than three times!