Marquis David was imprisoned for his grave crimes, and overnight, chaos erupted across the seven star systems under his jurisdiction.
Most of these star system lords were either members of the David Family, close relatives, or mid-level nobles supported by the David Family. As the news spread, some scrambled for help, some packed up to flee, and others, too deeply entangled in the David Family’s affairs to escape, decided to rally their forces for a desperate fight.
The Heka Star System, a military storage hub under the direct control of the David Family, naturally joined the rebellion against the Capital. However, when the commander-in-chief of the Heka Star System’s military issued orders to mobilize the armaments in a fit of rage, he found an eerie silence and no one responding.
“What’s going on?!”
He slammed the command room table and stormed out, grabbing an adjutant by the collar.
“Why is no one responding?! Where are the people?! The personnel at the starship bases, factories, and mecha warehouses?!”
“I don’t know, sir! I really don’t know!”
The noble adjutant shook his head frantically. A group of noble officers kicked open the armory doors. The commander grabbed the head of the workers’ foreman, snarling:
“I ordered the deployment of all star destroyers and the opening of all mecha warehouses. What are you doing?! We’re facing a crisis! What are you stalling for?! If you can’t understand human speech, why don’t you cut off that head and give it to me as a chamber pot?!”
The foreman whimpered and struggled, “But, but the Wolf Knights haven’t issued orders yet—”
“Wolf Knights?!”
The commander laughed in fury and pushed the foreman away, raising his whip high.
“Do you need me to remind you who your master is?! It’s the great David Family, not a few of the Emperor’s hounds!”
The whip lashed down but landed heavily on a hard metal shoulder plate. The menacing eye lights of the Wolf Knights slowly and coldly lifted right in front of the commander.
Unlike the Wolf Knights that followed Nero into bloody battles across star domains, the David Family members who had risen to high-ranking officers were merely academy nobles showing off XI generation mechas as luxury items.
The commander almost instantly wet his pants and, before he could kneel, had a cold gun muzzle pressed against his chin.
“By order of the Emperor.”
The Wolf Knight’s voice was as cold and mechanically noisy as the first time they met.
“All military authority in the Heka Star System is now under the Emperor’s control.”
After three days of no communication from Heka Star System, neighboring star systems realized something was seriously wrong. The lords hastily reallocated their forces, preparing to seize Heka Star System’s starships and mechas. However, due to the Heka Star System’s fortified defenses, the invading forces from neighboring systems were shattered by Heka Star System’s planetary orbital cannons.
While struggling with Heka Star System, the rebel lords received even more despairing news—the Emperor’s top general, Hermann Heidrich, was leading a colossal Harrison Family army into battle.
…
Unlike the frantic state of the rebel lords, the Emperor and his minister were quite relaxed.
“How many times have I told you to return victorious, Major General?” Nero said, reviewing official documents without looking up at the screen.
“I’ve said it too many times. It’s getting old. Let me put it another way—go earn your general’s star on the battlefield.”
The man in the command chair chuckled softly, donning white command gloves.
“Your Majesty, your generosity towards me is always immense. Please direct some attention to my adjutant, or he’ll keep sulking in the shadows.”
The eavesdropping adjutant yelped and fled at light speed.
The silver-haired youth on the screen raised an eyebrow slightly, casting a fleeting glance.
“Let’s see your performance, Major General.”
The screen went dark as Heidrich turned off the holographic pen. Heidrich’s amused smile faded, his blue eyes focusing intently on the forward screen.
“—All units, advance!”
…
Compared to the Battle of the Charon Star System, taking over a territory spanning seven star systems was not a task Heidrich could accomplish in a single blitzkrieg. However, with Duke Harrison mobilizing forces from twelve star systems, Heidrich’s unprecedentedly large army was advancing at a terrifying speed, sweeping through the opposition.
Sometimes, Nero would receive victory reports from the frontlines even in the middle of the night, with another star system surrendering after exhausting its resources and opening its fortresses.
Due to the vast distances between star systems, Heidrich couldn’t linger long in one place. After disarming garrisons and sending rebel commanders to the Capital, he would immediately move on to the next star system.
Seventeen days later, Heidrich’s main fleet arrived at the Heka Star System. The neighboring system’s forces, still struggling to breach Heka Star System, turned to find themselves surrounded by a massive fleet.
When Heidrich reunited with the Wolf Knights in Heka Star System, Nero, closely monitoring the military situation, finally relaxed.
Taking Heka Star System, with its vast resources of mechas and star destroyers, made the battle a foregone conclusion. The remaining task was to pursue those stubborn nobles still resisting—a minor issue for Heidrich, now armed with star destroyers.
With a weight lifted from his shoulders, Nero began organizing the administration for the reclaimed star systems, forming and deploying provincial committees. He worked tirelessly from morning till night until he received a communication request from the Wolf Knights stationed in Heka Star System.
“Your Majesty.”
Several wolf heads peeked into the screen, their fierce eyes lighting up at the sight of Nero.
“Matching the gladiator list provided by the Capital, we found Asaga’s whereabouts.”
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.
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“Give me the location.”
“Target’s Star Pirate fleet is departing from the Normandy Star System, heading north at high speed.”
Nero opened the star map to check the fleet’s position. During the territorial recovery, Heidrich had crushed underground casinos and captured slave owners, causing Star Pirates to flee early. Once they left imperial borders, they’d be hard to chase.
Nero didn’t ponder long before issuing another command: “First-level emergency operation order. Charon Star System and Winter Spring Star System garrison commanders, heed my command.”
“At your service, Your Majesty!”
After mobilizing northern troops to intercept the Star Pirate fleet, Nero drummed his fingers on the table, deep in thought.
On the battlefield, there were no guarantees. If the northern troops engaged the Star Pirates, he couldn’t risk imperial forces to save a single hybrid gladiator.
But letting Asaga die easily would not only affect the System but also diminish the Empire’s odds against the Zerg.
“Alexei,” the Emperor finally said, his red eyes sharp and determined, “we’re heading out again.”
…
“Surrender.”
In the dark, frigid space, a man’s voice transmitted through quantum communication, cold as the polar regions.
“Open your fortress and surrender. By order of the Emperor, I will pardon your lives.”
Heidrich rested a hand on the command ship’s console, his cold blue eyes calmly observing the broken star fortress on the screen.
“Otherwise, I will consider your garrison as Star Pirates and annihilate you all.”
“You have 30 seconds to decide.”
The adjutant, understanding the cue, activated the mechanical clock on the console.
The clock’s ticking added immense pressure on the enemy.
Heidrich leaned back in his command chair, fingers interlaced on his knee, waiting leisurely.
With ten seconds left, the battered star fortress on the screen finally lowered its ineffective shields. The fortress gates opened fully, revealing depleted starships drifting helplessly before the massive imperial fleet.
The clock continued ticking down.
Heidrich: “Fortress privileges?”
The opposing star system’s commander: “!!!”
The star system’s commander was racing against time. After executing extremely complex AI commands and manual operations, he finally transferred all fortress control privileges to Heidrich at the very last second.
After verifying the authority transfer was correct and confirming all laser turrets were shut down, Heidrich commanded the fleet to advance to the port.
“Alright! Another one down!”
It was only then that the adjutant finally breathed a long sigh of relief, hopping around the command room with joy.
With the capture of the Heka Star System, the territories that had been resisting collapsed by half.
If not for the time-consuming jumps between star systems, Heidrich felt he would already be on his way back to the Capital.
“Damn, these two systems are so far apart! Quick, report to His Majesty! We don’t want him thinking we took eight days to take down an enemy with triple our forces! It would be too embarrassing!”
“When will you stop being so eager for quick success?”
Heidrich’s face was cold as he mocked, but his hand was already on the screen specifically used for communicating with the Emperor.
Long-distance jumps through the vast and silent void of space were a severe test of one’s mental fortitude.
Heidrich deliberately restricted the soldiers’ entertainment activities, causing them to be like pent-up beasts by the time they reached the rebel star system, eager for fierce combat once unleashed.
He thought that twelve years of exile would have made him better at enduring extreme loneliness than his soldiers.
…But he was wrong.
Every day, waking up in his cabin and facing the endless darkness outside the window, he found himself uncontrollably and madly missing that young Emperor.
…Damn it.
Heidrich clenched his fist, annoyed at how easily his emotions were influenced by the other.
But when the screen lit up, his body reacted honestly, immediately connecting the communication.
“I thought you got sucked into a wormhole, Major General.”
As the screen lit up, the silver-haired Emperor’s face, exquisite like a painting, appeared in Heidrich’s glowing blue eyes.
“Eight days without a single audience request. That’s not like you. I was considering sending someone to rescue you.”
Nero was the same as ever.
Reviewing endless government affairs while taking a moment to glance over.
The corners of his eyes lifted, carrying a hint of a smile. Heidrich also smiled.
The hostility brought from the battlefield slowly dissipated as his brows relaxed.
“Quantum communications can be disrupted during warp jumps, making it unsuitable for sending any important confidential information.”
Heidrich spoke softly.
“Please believe me, Your Majesty. I am the one who can’t wait to see you.”
This statement made even the adjutant peeking from behind the screen look up at him in confusion.
Heidrich immediately realized his slip.
He quickly corrected himself: “…To bring you more good news and achieve complete victory sooner.”
“Hmm.”
Nero responded casually, moving the star system survey results aside and focusing on the man on the screen.
“Major General, report the battle.”
Heidrich: “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Heidrich detailed the battle records, casualties, and the current state of the rebel territories. Nero, with his white eyelashes lowered, listened calmly.
As more lords surrendered, the complete capture of the David Family’s territory seemed imminent.
The Heka Star System, as a purely military star system, with its superior defenses and mineral resources, was favored by the Emperor. Nero decided not to change its function, making slight adjustments to the Empire’s defense system and setting the fourth warzone’s Anchor Point in the Heka Star System to continually supply starships and troops to the Empire.
Whenever Nero planned the future of a newly recaptured star system, he unconsciously became excited and talkative. Heidrich, unable to interrupt, could only be a content listener.
Until Nero realized he had been talking for almost ten minutes with the star map projector in hand.
Nero glanced at the man on the screen and said nonchalantly: “You may continue with your thoughts, Major General.”
“I have a wise Emperor as my backing, so I have little opinion on system construction.”
Heidrich calmly said, “I just know that I need to keep winning in wars.”
This clearly pleased the young Emperor.
The boy glanced at him again, a proud smile at the corner of his mouth, rarely giving praise:
“And I have an overly excellent general, so I have to hasten the planning of system construction, or I won’t keep up with your speed in conquering star systems.”
Heidrich smiled lightly again, slightly embarrassed by the other’s dazzling appearance, averting his gaze.
In those secret dreams, he had kissed that tempting curve at the young Emperor’s lips countless times, making those tender, full lips bloom with juices.
Their pleasant conversation was interrupted by a low humming from Nero’s side.
The smile on Heidrich’s lips disappeared abruptly.
“Your Majesty,” he asked, “you are not in the Capital now, are you?”
The silver-haired Emperor looked at him, seemingly pondering something.
Soon, he replied: “I am indeed in the Capital.”
“……”
Heidrich was silent for a moment, then slowly said: “That is the sound of a warp engine slowing down.”
The warp engine is key for starships traveling through warp corridors.
When a starship leaves a warp corridor and prepares to land, the warp engine starts cooling and slowing down until it is completely replaced by conventional engines.
Such a deceleration noise would not occur unless Nero was in a starship cabin.
“Focus on your current mission, Major General.”
Nero, clearly displeased at being exposed, said: “The Emperor also has his work to complete.”
“If you are personally inspecting the Heka Star System, please wait until the battle is completely over. The David Family’s territory is still a war zone, and there may be hidden dangers in the void.”
Heidrich paused as his blue eyes accidentally glanced at another screen, suddenly freezing.
He had gone to see the Emperor as soon as he exited the warp corridor, not having checked the shared communication channel with the Wolf Knights in the past eight days.
Now, the messages on the screen showed that the Wolf Knights in the Heka Star System had left in the fastest speedboats after Heidrich took control, heading towards the northern border of the Empire, seemingly pursuing a Star Pirate fleet carrying gladiator slaves.
And it was known to Heidrich and the Wolf Knights that the Emperor had been searching for a gladiator named “Asaga” in the David Family’s territory.
When Heidrich looked up again, his fingertips under his gloves felt cold.
“Your Majesty,” he said quietly, “you cannot.”
Nero frowned, not understanding: “I cannot?”
“——You cannot intercept the Star Pirate fleet carrying ‘Asaga’ with just over a hundred Wolf Knights.”
He spoke each word carefully, “Most Star Pirates fleeing from a war zone are extremely dangerous desperados, and their fleet will grow as they escape. Your Majesty, you have completely wiped out an elite Star Pirate fleet before, and the Star Pirate Leaders have long hated you, placing a billion-credit bounty on your head.”
Nero narrowed his red eyes, not surprised that Heidrich quickly guessed his intention.
His experience of exile and return to the throne made Nero accustomed to handling things personally, a habit his followers were used to.
However, he didn’t plan to explain about Asaga now.
To explain Asaga’s insect blood’s importance would require discussing the upcoming war with the Zerg, which was not a quick topic.
Nero, not wanting to dwell on this, reached for the screen’s power button, saying: “That’s enough for now. We’ll discuss the rest when I return to the Capital.”
As he spoke, he saw Heidrich stand up on the screen.
Heidrich, a formidable adult Alpha, was quite tall.
With broad shoulders and a straight posture, his imperial uniform hid his muscular frame.
As he stood, he blocked the light behind him, casting a shadow over Nero’s screen.
“——You really are pursuing that fleet.”
He seemed incredulous, his blue eyes fixed on Nero, his voice low.
“May I speak frankly, a gladiator is not worth such a risky ‘deviation’ by the Emperor. You can leave it all to the Wolf Knights or my vanguard.”
Meanwhile, the system’s excited yet fearful hum sounded in Nero’s mind: [His hostility is rising~~~~]
“As I said, focus on your current mission.”
Nero, with patience, explained again.
“Asaga is crucial, and I need to ensure his survival personally. This is not the time to discuss it. When I return to the Capital, I will explain further.
“Any other questions, Major General?”
Heidrich remained calm.
But hearing ‘crucial’ made his gloved hand tighten under the table.
The System, oblivious to the growing tension, happily reported rising hostility levels: [49! 60!]
Heidrich: “According to the Star Pirates’ route, they will enter the northern border defense zone in a few days. The troops in the Winter Spring Star System and Charon Star System are loyal to you, and you can command them to intercept the Star Pirates.”
Nero: “When I say ‘ensure,’ I mean achieving and confirming it personally.”
Heidrich: “……A gladiator holds such importance to Your Majesty.”
“He is indeed indispensable.”
“Indispensable enough for you to risk retrieving him personally?”
“If you consider infiltrating a group of rabble a ‘risk,’ then yes.”
“……”
Nero waited for a response and then asked: “Any other questions?”
Heidrich remained silent for a moment, his blue eyes darkened by backlighting, staring at Nero.
The system cheerfully reported: [67! 72!]
“……Your Majesty. You are the supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire, the Emperor of countless imperial citizens.”
After a long silence, the invincible imperial major general, as if defeated by his own Emperor, spoke in a voice that grew progressively quieter.
“I implore you, before you undertake any extremely dangerous ‘detour’ for anyone, to remember that you are the ruler of the Galactic Empire. You do not belong to any ‘individual’; you belong to all the imperial citizens who await the honor you bestow upon them.”
The system celebrated: [— 90!]
Thank you for the chapter!
I can’t wait when nero becomes an omega.just imagining it makes me cackle.
Haha!
Bwahh max jelly!!
Translation: I’m jelly
heidrich is gonna be the hardest 2nd ml for me to accept ㅠㅠ if he is even that
listening to Chokehold by Sleeptoken while reading this chapter was an experience