Illya stood like a gambler who had lost everything, her eyes scarlet, fixed intently on the grand hall doors. Humiliation, powerlessness, nowhere to vent her fury.

This was Illya’s first true defeat. She had sailed smoothly for over two decades, only to falter at this final hurdle before the gates of the Unification Ministry.

The rage burning inside Illya surpassed her capacity to bear it. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to turn; she was absolutely convinced that even if the Ministry rejected her once, she could still return!

Those who refused her today, she would spare none of them! By then, she would grind the Unification Ministry itself into ash!

The explosion of the Galen Space Station flashed before Illya's eyes—the execution chief of the Ministry kneeling, begging for mercy. Her anger finally subsided slightly, and she boarded the airship, flying toward Ivan’s location.

At that very moment, Ivan lay on the emergency transport provided by the space station, clinging to the last thread of life, being rushed toward the medical bay. Peizhe and the Peizhe Mutants were skilled fighters.

Everyone Ivan had brought with him had been killed; only Ivan remained alive. His body bore no visible wounds, no blood.

The only sign that his condition was dire was his ashen face, with blood continuously surging from his mouth, staining his white uniform crimson. Yet, Ivan paid them no mind.

With a trembling hand, he pulled out the genuine authorization scroll, his eyes fixed, then erupted in a peal of triumphant laughter: “Hahahaha! Illya, weren’t you demanding the authorization scroll?

The real one is right here!” With that, he tore the scroll into fragments with both hands and crammed them into his mouth. Before he could swallow, another torrent of blood burst forth, spitting the shredded authorization scroll out onto the floor.

Ivan glared, gasping for breath, “This young master will be a strong man again tomorrow!” He seemed to glimpse his future self sitting in the main seat of the Crystal Palace, looking down upon all creation, and he laughed once more, then tilted his head, his breath failing. The medical staff noticed something was wrong, stopped the transport, and checked him.

Shaking their heads, they announced, “No need for the medical bay; he’s dead.” Illya rushed back and saw the medical personnel wheeling Ivan forward. Without hesitation, she shot forward from her stopped airship, blocking their path.

“You can go, but Ivan stays.” The medical personnel replied with blank faces, “You’ve arrived at a convenient time. You must be his next of kin.

Please take his remains for funeral arrangements.” Illya was stunned. “Funeral arrangements?” It took her a long moment to process it: Ivan was dead?

Just like that? Beaten to death?

What about her vengeance? Illya stared at the motionless man on the medical vehicle, her eyes nearly popping out.

Suddenly, a cold smile touched her lips. “Dead is perfect.

One less person competing with me.” She activated her ultra-comms, dialed a trusted subordinate, and ordered, “Find all of Ivan’s clones, and destroy every single one before they are activated!” Ivan, don't blame me for being ruthless, just blame you for being too foolish… No matter how they fought, it was already irrelevant to the Legion Assembly. Behind the tightly sealed doors of the assembly hall, the Legion Assembly was in session.

The Unification Ministry expressed regret over Fia’s absence, though it amounted to little more than a polite nod. Most attendees of the Assembly had suffered under Illya’s arrogance at the Colle Hotel, and since Fia had no representative, everyone tacitly agreed to settle the score with her instead.

Regarding the remnants of the war, legions such as the Angel Domain, Wolf Den, Tang Sect, Huaxia, and Moko tacitly agreed that Fia bore the responsibility. The Interstellar Federation, wishing to avoid being cornered by the group, decisively followed the majority and shifted the blame onto Fia as well.

As for signing the armistice agreement, the various legions signed without protest. Fia’s absence was defaulted as a refusal to sign, sealing her tragedy once more.

Fia definitively became the scapegoat for the war. The Legion Assembly decided to levy a fine of ten trillion credits upon Fia for post-war reconstruction.

Concerning the future development of the legions, each one extended olive branches, reaching cooperation agreements in various sectors. Fia was, once again, excluded.

It could be said that the Wolf Den was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Legion Assembly. During the war, the Wolf Den had annexed the Hope Legion, gaining vast territories for development, already a significant gain.

After Old Dog’s maneuvering, the Wolf Den secured the largest share of the war indemnity—a staggering eight hundred billion. The coalition Red Hair had managed at the Colle Hotel finally paid off.

When signing cooperation agreements, hardly any legion made things difficult for the Wolf Den; everyone was willing to partner with them. The few legions loyal to Fia, seeing their Queen reduced to a stray dog, dared not utter a word.

The Legion Assembly concluded, marking the dawn of a new interstellar order. The Wolf Den began to stand tall and proud on the interstellar stage.

When Fia received the report from the Unification Ministry, the entire legion was in disarray. Legion membership decreased in droves, capital flowed out massively, war indemnities crushed many of Fia’s industries, and it was barred from legion cooperation.

The populace was gripped by intense fury, protesting daily outside the Crystal Palace gates, demanding the Queen step down. Illya, Ivan, and Queen Fia had fought to the bitter end.

Ivan was dead, Queen Fia wounded, and Illya failed to secure what she desired, instead ending up as the common criminal. If you don’t act, you won’t die—why can’t people grasp this simple truth?!

However, this was not the end. With her sudden loss of power, all the underlying issues accumulated within Fia were exposed: crime rates soared, suicide rates skyrocketed, officials fled with embezzled funds, medicine was abused, clones ran rampant—the entire legion descended into chaos.

Amidst the widespread complaints, the various factions that had failed to seize the Queen’s throne, burdened by crushing taxes, decisively raised their banners, launching a coup and demanding independence. This call unexpectedly garnered significant support.

Factions scrambled to seize their respective star systems, hoisting banners of independence. Within mere months, Fia, once ranked in the top five, was carved up and partitioned, reaching a point of no return.

The legions that had been observing from the sidelines acted in unison the moment they received the news! The first to move swiftly was the Teuton Mercenary Group.

Two months prior, the Teuton Mercenaries had forcibly occupied the Phib and Phihua star systems, using Fia’s conflict with the Interstellar Federation to preserve their own strength while fully invading the lives of the local Phia people. When news of the split arrived, Fia lost the will to resist and collapsed entirely.

The Phihua system was not adjacent to the Interstellar Federation, making supply and logistics difficult. The Interstellar Federation, aiming to carve up the territory, decided to abandon the Phihua and Phib systems, cooperating instead with the independents in the neighboring systems to devour a larger slice of the pie.

As for Popo’s fate, faced with such immense profit, few cared about him anymore. Only Karu, upon learning that Illya had failed to enter the Legion Assembly hall, abandoned Illya and decided to save his son first, dispatching troops toward the Phib system.

Rainar, sent by Illya to the Phihua system to retrieve Popo, had held back his attack. Seeing the armies of Fia and the Interstellar Federation withdraw in unison, he recognized his chance.

He gathered his brethren from Silver Crest Star and began seizing the Phib system. As Rainar made his move, the Teuton Mercenary Group also mobilized.

With lightning speed, they seized ownership of the space stations, handing them over to Tang Wen, while sending mercenary squadrons to capture more systems. The Phihua and Phib systems were taken for Tang Wen.

What remained was what the mercenary group seized amidst the chaos. Though the Teuton Mercenary Group was the top mercenary outfit in the galaxy, they were, after all, only mercenaries.

Now, with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they intended to seize territory and establish the Teuton Legion! The Teuton Mercenaries stationed a contingent in the Phihua and Phib systems to await handover from the Tang Sect forces, while the vanguard pressed toward the Phiding system.

The mercenaries had concealed themselves well. When Rainar entered the Phib system, believing both major forces had retreated and that it was unclaimed territory, he immediately proclaimed himself king and raised the flag of independence.

Coincidentally, Karu arrived. The moment Rainar saw the Interstellar Federation forces, he assumed a massive fat sheep had arrived, perfect for seizing warships.

The moment Karu saw Rainar, he was instantly furious. Rainar, ostensibly Illya’s man, had kidnapped Popo and now crowned himself king?!

One shouldn't push boundaries so far! Karu gave the order, and the cannons opened fire.

No matter how high Rainar’s martial prowess or mental power, it was useless. Under the indiscriminate bombardment of the warships’ heavy cannons, Rainar’s mere hundred-odd men weren't even enough to clog the muzzle.

Before Rainar could grasp what he had done wrong, he was vaporized by Karu’s artillery. After the bombardment ceased, Karu suddenly realized a very serious problem: he had forgotten to ask where his son was.

What should he do now? Had he accidentally blasted his son into dust as well?

Karu felt completely unsettled. He pondered carefully.

If Popo was truly dead, he would return and activate Popo’s clone. While a clone wasn’t as good as the original, it was better than nothing, wasn't it?

The only regret was that his Amanite lineage would end. He was a clone, his son would become a clone, and clones had no reproductive function… As he was musing, an unfamiliar ultra-comm call connected, “Esteemed Mr.

Karu Amanite, do you still wish to have your son?” Karu froze abruptly. His son wasn't dead yet?

Karu quickly stabilized his voice, “Hello, what do you want?” The voice chuckled lightly, “My demand is simple. One hundred billion and vacating the Phihua and Phib systems.” The demand was not high.

One hundred billion wasn't a small amount, but it wasn't excessive either. Overall, neither condition seemed difficult to meet.

Doubt clouded Karu’s mind. “What is your true objective?” The person laughed, “I originally wanted one trillion from you, but since you can’t produce that much right now, I won't make it difficult.

Besides, your son was not kidnapped by me. A group of people made a deal with me, and if they couldn't pay, they offered your son as collateral—nothing more.” Karu pressed, “How can you make me believe you?” The person paused for a few seconds, “Transfer the money to Popo’s account, and let him complete the transaction with me.”