The issue was meaningless. Six, "The Blade Emperor has no intention of accepting the rental," he stated, "The course of events is quite simple: the various races of the Orion Arm and my own race fought for living space, each using their own means—survival of the fittest. The fighting became a bit intense; nothing surprising about that."

The Empress Dowager walked a few more steps forward, observing rolling grey smoke everywhere. Wisps of fire could be seen rising from the haze, mixed with ruined fortifications, dismembered robot parts, the corpses of combat soldiers, and the wreckage of colossal war machines. She shook her head abruptly, turned back, and said, "Indeed, I was being too demanding."

The Empress Dowager’s mood was far from the calm facade she presented. The strength of the Orion Arm races varied unevenly, but overall, while not overwhelmingly powerful, they were certainly not easily bullied. The combined expeditionary forces of these races were comparable to one or two of the Empire’s top Great Noble houses—equivalent to the Fourth Tier peak Elders of the Senate.

Judging by the ruins on the Prime Star, the Zerg assault on the unified command post of the allied races had been crushing. Only a few hours had passed since the battle erupted, yet the allied races had lost everything, with a pitifully small number of survivors.

This forced the Empress Dowager to re-evaluate the true power of the Zerg.

Fortunately, Yang Ying supported maintaining amicable relations between the Zerg and the True Human Empire, and the Empress Dowager shared this view. Thus, after a round of negotiations marked by mutual reservations, the two sides managed to establish a preliminary framework for friendship.

Although the Empress Dowager had considered helping the Zerg supreme experts establish the God Core Legion as a potential source of support, she temporarily shelved the idea. She recognized that the Zerg's mode of existence posed a fatal threat to other races, constantly encroaching upon the survival space of other lifeforms.

Regarding whether such a Zerg force was trustworthy, she preferred to spend more time observing rather than taking risks, even though the royal family’s major operation to challenge the Great Nobles and reclaim power was only three days away.

Yang Ying guessed what the Empress Dowager was thinking. God Core technology was a crucial military secret even within the Empire. Despite serving as a Royal Confidant for so long, he had only obtained access to it a few days prior; the Royal Family had made an exception specifically to maximize its utility in the upcoming operation.

Upon acquiring the God Core technology, Yang Ying immediately employed the Protoss Sarnaga technology to refine and perfect it. In his hands, the God Core technology was now three parts superior to the Empire's version, rendering the Zerg incapable of coveting it.

Furthermore, the Zerg and the Protoss already possessed control systems similar to God Core technology. The Protoss Path of Khala and the Zerg Hive structure were both built upon mental linkage—a control system analogous to, and perhaps even more efficient than, God Core technology.

The Zerg Overmind could command the great Zerg army as easily as its own limbs without the need for a God Core system. The Protoss energy matrix served as a massive energy source capable of greatly amplifying psychic power. For these two races, the Empire’s God Core technology was, in fact, merely a point of reference.

Only the Terran race benefited significantly. By merging the Terrans' original technology with Imperial technology, the newly upgraded and debugged battlecruiser fleet underwent a fundamental transformation in its combat doctrine, incorporating many advantages of the God Core Legions.

Yang Ying was currently using the energy amplification of the entire battlecruiser fleet to boost his own mental strength, allowing him to control the offense and evasion of every cruiser in the fleet, making the fleet more agile, tactics more flexible, attacks more efficient, and casualties lower.

After circling the Prime Star, the Empress Dowager bade farewell to the Blade Emperors. She had obtained what she needed.

Yang Ying and his entourage returned to the capital star with the Empress Dowager. For the next three days, Yang Ying monitored Sandovar’s movements, curious to see if he, too, would seek out the Zerg for negotiations. However, Sandovar never appeared, suggesting he harbored undisclosed plans.

Yang Ying did not attempt to predict Sandovar’s actions. For a Fourth Tier entity, if another party were predicting their future, they would sense it and could employ means to obscure or scramble their own destiny, thus denying the predictor information or feeding them false data.

Of course, if the predictor's strength far surpassed the predicted, they could still glean the future information. However, an apex powerhouse at Sandovar’s level was among the strongest beings in the galaxy. Although Yang Ying possessed many avatars of comparable strength, he had not reached a point where he could completely master Sandovar's future. Rashly attempting a prediction would yield no valuable intelligence and would only alert the target.

For three days, the atmosphere within the Empire remained eerily calm, like the silence preceding a great storm. The final batch of the new Awakening Serums had begun distribution in the Capital Sector. Once this phase was complete, the awakening project across the Capital Sector would be finalized, and the serum distribution in the other Imperial star regions outside the core would commence immediately afterward.

This third day was when the Royal Family was scheduled to announce the specific arrangements for the next phase of serum distribution—the first overt step in the grand scheme hatched by the Royal Family to reclaim authority.

That morning, Empress Elimiya personally appeared at the Royal Press Office to announce the specific procedures for serum distribution to the entire Empire.

“The serum distribution in the Capital Sector is now completely finished, with excellent results. Aside from a very small number of cases due to physiological reasons, virtually everyone who used the serum has completed their awakening,” the Empress stated in a measured tone, summarizing the success of the Capital Sector rollout.

Applause erupted from below. Almost every reporter wore an excited smile, clapping furiously, as if they could already see the Empire’s future developing toward a brilliantly bright horizon.

“The distribution in the Capital Sector was merely a pilot program. Following its success, we intend to roll out the new Awakening Serum across the entire Empire,”

The Empress continued, her expression growing more severe—a stark contrast to the joyful news she was delivering and the excited reporters filling the hall. This shift made some seasoned journalists uneasy; it felt as though a storm was brewing.

“A long time ago, the Empire was truly the True Human Empire; all its citizens were naturally awakened True Humans. Since the devastating catastrophe over ten thousand years ago, the Empire split into two factions: True Humans and Sub-Humans, causing a significant shift in the founding statutes established hundreds of thousands of years ago.”

The Empress’s tone suddenly pivoted as she spoke.

“Looking across history and toward the future, after more than a decade of governance, I have finally realized that the Empire has strayed from its proper course!”

At these words, a wave of shock swept through the hall; the assembled reporters collectively gasped. They could not comprehend why the Empress would choose such an auspicious day to utter words that bred such anxiety.

The Empress proceeded: “Perhaps many of you do not know, or have chosen not to notice. Here, I must inform you that the Empire is, in fact, facing a crisis unseen in hundreds of thousands of years. In my view, though this crisis has not yet surfaced, once it erupts, it will cause destruction second only to the great catastrophe of ten millennia ago.”

“Your Majesty, what kind of crisis is it?” several reporters asked simultaneously.

The Empress rose, her expression solemn. In such a situation, the reporters naturally rose as well.

The Empress declared, “Since the Great Catastrophe, various regional nobles have seized numerous privileges. They maintain private armies and enforce private laws within their territories that violate Imperial statutes. Moreover, I have received reliable intelligence that some unscrupulous nobles even employ pirates to leverage the Empire into condoning their military buildup—this behavior is intolerable!”

The murmurs of astonishment from the audience grew louder. The matters the Empress mentioned were hardly secrets; such situations existed to varying degrees across the Empire, and well-informed reporters were accustomed to them.

Even ordinary Imperial citizens discussed these issues as gossip during casual talk, and those victimized by these practices often voiced curses and condemnation. In certain localities, these circumstances had already incited localized unrest.

It must be remembered that the Empire was already unrivaled in the galaxy, and the Imperial Military far exceeded what was necessary for external defense. The reason the military had not been downsized was precisely due to the incessant pirates and rebels plaguing the interior.

However, these matters existed beneath the surface. Bringing them into the open constituted an extremely serious issue, potentially bordering on sedition.

And now, under the gaze of the entire nation, the Empress had voiced these words. The reporters could barely fathom the internal earthquake this announcement would cause! This press conference was being broadcast simultaneously nationwide; as the reporters stared in astonishment, the Empress's words were already reaching every corner of the Empire, spanning half the galaxy!

“The Empire cannot continue this way. Over the past decade, the scourge of piracy and regional rebellions has escalated, largely fueled by the improper conduct of local nobles.”

“As Empress, since my ascension, I have strived to change all of this, but due to direct obstruction or passive resistance from the regional nobility, the results have been minimal.”

As she spoke these words, the Empress’s voice grew more impassioned.

“Therefore, I have decided to use the distribution of the new Awakening Serum as an opportunity to conduct a thorough purge of those antiquated, misguided, inappropriate, and obstinate nobles! Within one month from today, I command, in my capacity as Empress of the Empire, all territorial nobles to submit detailed reports of their domains to the Royal Family. The Royal Family will assess the situation and take action regarding each territory—excessive private forces will be disbanded, and exorbitant taxation will be reduced…”

The clamor in the room vanished, leaving only the Empress's voice. All reporters listened in stunned silence, understanding implicitly what the Empress’s words truly signified.

The heavens were about to change!

It's cold, and my fingers are stiff. One chapter today D