Then, Zhong Yun patted his forehead. "I forgot. How could the armies of the Gaan Empire harm you?" He sighed afterward, "If you had been in Davor back then, perhaps the catastrophe of annihilation wouldn't have occurred."

Ming Yunyu seemed to have been struck by a memory of pain, letting out a faint sigh. "The Gaan Empire's actions were so heinous. It's a pity I was still on my way back to the country; otherwise, I certainly would have stopped them..."

Zhong Yun could see how much she cared for Davor, so he quickly comforted her. "What is done is done; you shouldn't be too sad. In the future, I will certainly demand justice from the Gaan Empire."

"Your Majesty..." Ming Yunyu's eyes flickered, her emotions stirred. Her petal-like lips moved a few times, but no words came out in the end.

Suddenly, Zhong Yun shook his head. "It seems you don't consider me a friend."

"Ah!" Ming Yunyu cried out somewhat timidly, then lowered her head, biting her lip. "You are Your Majesty; how could I presume to cross..."

Zhong Yun turned away. "It seems you have forgotten the years we lived and died together."

"I haven't forgotten," Ming Yunyu blurted out.

Zhong Yun turned back, a slow smile spreading across his face, and said softly, "I have always kept the bond of fighting side-by-side in my heart."

"Your Ma—"

"Call me Brother Yun," Zhong Yun interrupted, slightly domineering.

"Brother... Yun." Ming Yunyu's face burned like fire. Her heart pounded violently.

…………

After seeing Ming Yunyu off, Zhong Yun sat on the sofa, gazing at the empty cup on the table. A faint, almost invisible trace of crimson remained on the rim—it was the lipstick left by Ming Yunyu.

He had just half-forced her to drink half a cup of wine, watching her shift from resistance to helpless obedience, her fragility and compliance. The slight resentment in her hazy eyes, and finally, her face flushed a moving red as she fled as if escaping.

Reaching out, he slowly closed his palm around the exquisite wine glass, as if he had already captured her.

In his ears, his mother's words seemed to echo again: "Within one year, you must provide me with a Third Imperial Consort. If you don't find one, I will."

It was an ultimatum that made Zhong Yun realize the urgency his parents felt about expanding the family. This was not just his mother's wish, but his father's, the entire clan's, and indeed, the wish of this increasingly powerful nation.

Three wives, three children, one younger brother, and one younger sister, plus his parents and himself—the entire family numbered only eleven. For the ruling family of this rapidly expanding nation, this was far too few, even dangerously so.

Zhong Pingjiang and Yun Rong were deeply worried. Their concerns for the family's future outweighed their affection for their current daughters-in-law, compelling them to sacrifice some of those women's happiness.

Zhong Yun knew he couldn't refuse. If he didn't marry a Third Imperial Consort according to his parents' wishes after a year, he might end up with a second mother, or even a third.

He absolutely would not allow another woman to compete for favor with his mother, nor did he wish to have another woman in the house whom he would have to call 'Mother.'

Without much deliberation, he knew what choice he had to make.

Moreover, deep down, he felt no aversion to this ultimatum. It was a masculine instinct, though the guilt towards his existing wives deepened.

Meeting Ming Yunyu again brought a flash of light to Zhong Yun's eyes. This intelligent and beautiful woman had once shared life-and-death moments with him; a special rapport existed between them.

Almost instantly, Zhong Yun made his decision. If he absolutely had to marry another, he preferred to find someone pleasing to his own heart rather than leave it to his mother's introduction.

Just a few days after his return, a major event occurred—an urgent report arrived from Star Sea.

Over the years, Star Sea had been the primary source of raw materials for the Galactic Empire. It could be said that the Empire's rapid development was largely thanks to the abundant mineral resources found there.

The Galactic Empire's fleet had been constantly sweeping through nations near Base One, gathering contribution points. Later, the area around Base One was scoured clean, turning into a desolate wasteland.

Thus, the mining ships based at Base One confidently ventured out to mine in the nebulae surrounding it, as many high-grade ores could only be found outside the immediate perimeter.

But a few days ago, the mining ships were attacked; a total of three large mining vessels were lost.

When the news reached the capital, Zhong Yun was furious. He immediately ordered the dispatch of the most capable scout ships to investigate, to see who dared to tug at the tiger's whiskers.

Simultaneously, war mobilization began. Star Sea was the Galactic Empire's vital rear base, incredibly important to its stability.

Regarding this war, Yun was highly confident. After two years, the Galactic Empire had completed its refit; all main battlecruisers had been fully upgraded to 'Quasi-Planetary Class' warships, supplemented by a large number of 'Super-Satellite Class' vessels.

The only thing lacking was actual combat experience. This was the perfect opportunity to hone the army and truly forge its fighting strength.

A few days later, the intelligence returned: the attackers were the suzerain state of the Al Kingdom, one of the major powers within Star Sea.

Back when Zhong Yun first entered Star Sea aboard the Mercury, the first nation he encountered was the Ferocious Beast Kingdom, a vassal state of the Al Kingdom. The Al Kingdom, in turn, was a vassal of another, even stronger nation.

The Hundred Stone Nation, that suzerain state of the Al Kingdom, dispatched a fleet upon receiving Al's distress signal. By the time this fleet reached the region where the Al Kingdom was located, it was too late; the entire Al territory had already been razed to the ground.

The Hundred Stone Nation was extremely far away; even at full speed, it took them a full three years to arrive.

The lack of space-jump technology was a fatal flaw for any cosmic civilization.

This intelligence had been secured at the cost of an entire reconnaissance team's sacrifice.

And the strength of this fleet arriving from afar made Zhong Yun’s heart tremble. It possessed fifteen 'Planetary Class' warships alone, with over a hundred more 'Quasi-Planetary Class' vessels.

A fleet of such formidable strength suggested that the Hundred Stone Nation was likely not far behind a high-level civilization state.

Even using the entire might of the Galactic Empire, they could only deploy two hundred 'Planetary Class' warships, and these couldn't all be sent to Star Sea; some had to remain for garrison duty. At most, they could send one hundred, supplemented by one thousand 'Super-Planetary Class' warships.

This meant that a head-on confrontation in this war was out of the question.

With the nebulae acting as a natural barrier, the Galactic Empire already held an unassailable defensive position. However, to acquire the high-grade mineral resources, they must defeat this fleet, or the development speed of the Galactic Empire would be severely hampered.

One day later, Zhong Yun led a contingent of high-ranking officials—including Tian Hai, Chen Wen, and Zhang Xiao—to Base One, to command the largest military operation of their lives.

P: Many brothers have complained about the slow updates. It is true that the updates have been slow recently. Firstly, as the year-end approaches, more matters have piled up, leaving less time for writing.

Secondly, I am conceptualizing a new novel. Super Empire, at this stage, is nearing its conclusion; this book will likely wrap up within about a month, at the fastest.

I know this might seem a bit rushed. But there's nothing I can do; since this is my first book, I lacked experience and didn't establish a detailed outline initially. By the middle sections, things became somewhat disorganized, and performance began to decline.

Writing to this point, I feel somewhat unable to sustain it. Moving forward, I will have to focus on the 'farming and tech-climbing' aspects, which, frankly, are not my strong suit.

I will do my utmost to tie up all loose ends. If you have any ideas, please feel free to post them in the review section.

I will read every single one.

Finally, everyone can go vote. I want to conduct a poll to see what genre of book you all prefer. Wishing everyone happy reading.