“So, Your Majesty,”
Heydrich exerted a bit of effort to shift his gaze, “you wanted to show me the Empire’s first physical Anchor Point Planet.”
“Yes, but it has yet to take shape.”
Nero’s smile faded as he looked towards the empty hangar. “The Charon Lord’s family colluded with Star Pirates, amassing wealth for over a century. In the end, the property confiscated from the Charon Lord’s family, minus what was used to build the Charon Star System, is only enough to construct half of an Anchor Point Planet.”
His voice grew softer, almost muttering to himself.
“—Too slow. Before the Zerg arrive, the Empire needs at least 30,000 Anchor Point Planets of this scale to establish a barely adequate defense line. This pace is too slow.”
Heydrich, standing beside him, quickly caught a keyword.
Zerg?
He couldn’t help but furrow his handsome brows, once again looking at the Emperor’s profile.
To people living in the Empire era, the Zerg were as distant a legend as the Temple.
In the old common era over 2,000 years ago, humanity encountered these terrifying creatures from the distant deep space for the first and only time.
That catastrophic near-extinction event is now so far in the past that the remaining information is mixed with rumors, making it hard to distinguish fact from fiction.
It is said that the Zerg could connect with each other using mental power to form a network, fighting collectively in the harsh vacuum of space with their extremely hard shells, like bugs.
They could even traverse wormholes with their physical bodies—considering wormholes were an unsolved problem even in the Empire era.
Wormholes come with spacetime distortions and massive tidal forces, enough to crush and stretch the hardest known materials into thin threads.
Whether in the past or present, humanity’s chances of successfully resisting the Zerg have never exceeded 1%.
“Is the information reliable, Your Majesty?”
Heydrich asked softly.
Nero remained silent, his expression dark as he stared at the glass wall of the elevator.
The vertical elevator roared downward, descending to a deeper layer inside the star.
According to their design plan, the Anchor Point Planet uses the core to provide internal circulating energy, with a thick outer defensive shell. The interior is illuminated by an artificial sun. The first layer, 200 meters high, is used as a storage bay for star destroyers and mechas;
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The second layer, 80 meters high, begins the construction of military training bases and weapons research facilities from this point downward.
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Heydrich recognized the face of one of the chief instructors.
“So this was your other purpose for having me screen the Empire’s generals before the Temple ceremony?”
Heydrich said quietly, “You had me search in the 648th star domain for military educators with the following characteristics: having served in noble military academies for many years but rarely promoted; and with a subordinates’ death rate below 15%.”
Nero replied, “Yes. The new recruits conscripted under the guise of the ‘Wolf Knights Reserves’ must be handed over to these people for training to put me at ease.”
The silver-haired Emperor descended the elevator and walked onto the second layer’s open ground.
On the frigate, he had already removed his heavy crown and thick royal robe.
Now, he was left only in the white silk shirt that served as the inner lining of his ceremonial attire, with the cuffs tightened at his pale wrists and the collar edged with ruffles. His long legs were tightly wrapped in breeches, with the pant legs tucked into knee-high, strapped military boots.
At a glance, he seemed less imposing than when wearing his royal robe, appearing more like a delicate and noble young lord.
As Nero walked along the edge of the training field with two adult Alphas, the young recruits doing leapfrog jumps grew increasingly unsteady.
Countless pairs of youthful eyes, full of naive curiosity, seemed almost ready to pop out through the wire mesh fence.
The chief instructor kicked each recruit who strayed off the track, making their butts bloom with pain: “Damn it, what are you all looking at?! You were personally selected by His Majesty from the star district military academies as the best of the best. When you fight by His Majesty’s side, do you dare to look around like this?!”
As he cursed and swept his gaze across the training ground, his towering figure suddenly froze.
Three people stood outside the wire fence, two of whom could be identified as top-notch Alphas with mental strength definitely above grade A, just by their physiques and bearing.
But for some reason, the silver-haired youth standing in the middle had the strongest presence among the three.
Beside the two adult Alphas, the youth seemed slightly petite.
His features weren’t fully matured, but his appearance already had a mesmerizing charm. It was no wonder these young recruits, raised in military academies, couldn’t take their eyes off him.
But with that striking silver hair…
And the Wolf Knight in white armor beside the youth…
The chief instructor snapped to attention, saluting sharply: “Salute to His Majesty, the Sacred Emperor of the Galactic Empire!”
The leapfrogging recruits in the back row collided with those in the front, falling over each other in a heap.
“No need for formalities, Lieutenant.” Nero’s tone was gentle, “The Empire’s first Anchor Point is not yet completed, but you have already moved in. If there are any shortages at the base, feel free to let me know.”
“The academy lacks nothing, Your Majesty!” The chief instructor reported loudly, “The training environment of the Anchor Point is superior to that of the noble military academies! Only in a place with the simplest personnel relations can we train warriors fully dedicated to defending Your Majesty!”
Nero replied indifferently, “Lieutenant, I do not need warriors fully dedicated to defending me. I need warriors who will follow me without hesitation when I go to the front lines to defend the Empire.
“An Emperor is born for his country and dies for his country. But if there are no soldiers willing to follow him to death, his life and death will be meaningless, lighter than a feather.”
The chief instructor stood still for a long time before reacting, snapping to attention and responding loudly, “I will follow your will, Your Majesty!”
Nero’s gaze swept over the recruits still lying on the ground, startling many into hurriedly getting up to salute.
“I see the first layer’s hangar is still empty. During mecha training, you are probably still in the simulation phase, not yet engaging in actual combat?”
Nero asked.
“Your soldiers are all exceptionally talented individuals I selected based solely on merit, regardless of their background. Every day they are unable to pilot mechas themselves is a day of wasted potential. Soon, I will transfer a batch of the Empire’s latest XI-generation assault mechas here for better training.”
He smiled, his red eyes gleaming proudly.
“A king’s promise is worth its weight in gold.”
It wasn’t until they had walked quite a distance that suppressed, excited whispers began to rise from the training ground:
“…That…was the Emperor! The ruler of the Galactic Empire—our Emperor!”
“Was that really the Emperor? Why would His Majesty come to such a remote, desolate star…could it be he came specifically to see us…”
“Watch your tongue, show respect!”
“His Majesty looks nothing like what I heard in the noble military academy…those aristocratic sons and daughters always said that members of the Kaises Royal Family are all eccentric and violent. When the Lord of the Charon Star System failed to receive the Emperor in time during his tour, His Majesty became furious, stripped them of their titles, imprisoned their entire family, and reclaimed their star system…”
“What?? Is that what happened with the Charon Star System? Then why did the noble scions in our school say it was because the Lord of Charon Star System accidentally spilled wine on the Emperor’s boots, and was slapped by His Majesty on the spot, dragged out for punishment, and had his fingers cut off—”
“Nonsense! I have a relative living in the Charon Star System, and he told me that the Charon Star System is now developing very well. Many commoners and low-ranking noble families from neighboring northern star systems are secretly moving to Charon… Do you know how far the jump distance is between those northern star systems? If people are willing to pay such a high price to move their entire families, this news is probably true!”
“Wait, wait! The XI-generation assault mechas His Majesty mentioned, are those the ones featured on the homepage of the military enthusiasts’ forum? In our school, only the second sons of high-ranking nobles get to pilot them… Damn! Their skills are so lousy, and such good mechas are just their luxury rides!”
“Is it one per class, or does everyone get one? I’d be satisfied if even a company got one…”
“His Majesty is really… really good-looking… Oh, is that something I can say…”
The chief instructor’s face darkened, and he kicked each recruit hard, making their butts bloom with pain.
“—Extra 30 laps in training!!!!”
…
The roar echoed far and wide.
Heydrich lowered his eyes, gazing at the boy’s snow-white eyelashes. “Your Majesty, where are the thousands of XI-generation mechas left in the Capital for dispatch?”
The moment he asked, the man felt a pang in his heart.
…Knowing Nero, this trip was certainly not just for a visit.
Sure enough, a familiar, fox-like smile curled at the corner of Nero’s lips.
“By coincidence, they are not stationed in the Capital, Major General.”
His voice was rare and gentle, “How can you so simply conclude that the Empire doesn’t have them?”
Heydrich blinked and replied softly, “Yes, I remember. The Kaises Dynasty, over more than ten generations, has built a vast starship base and advanced arms factories for the Empire, along with a massive reserve of mechas—most of which were allocated to the territory of Marquis David during the rebellion.”
Nero seemed not to hear the latter part of the man’s words: “—And all of them are mine.”
For a moment, Heydrich paused and looked into the young Emperor’s eyes.
In those uplifted red eyes, there seemed never to be any shadow or hesitation. Only an overflowing ambition, and a determination that could captivate any ambitious soul in this world.
Heydrich looked at him, his voice laced with a smile: “All of them are yours?”
Nero stared into his eyes: “All—of them are mine.”
“Very well, Your Majesty.”
Heydrich then bowed, his lowered blue eyes also filled with enthusiastic ambition.
“They will become yours.”
Heeeheee
awww i wish this was a harem :))) but it isnt:((((