Chapter 85: Summary and Joint Assembly (5800)
Starfall Year 847, August 16th.
Five and a half years after the Mycroft Civilization launched the 'Stellar Expedition,' and also the second and a half year since the Joint Expedition Fleet arrived in the Multiverse Star River.
After three years of uninterrupted ultra-high-speed travel through the Silent Void, the Joint Expedition Fleet reached the edge of the Multiverse Star River, arriving at a border star domain named 'Jetram.'
Here, after a two-week breakthrough battle, the Expedition Fleet defeated the defensive forces of the Spirit Clan, while also blocking probing observations from other civilizations in the Multiverse Star River. They successfully established a Space-Time Hub in the 'Jetram World,' officially securing a foothold.
They began constructing large-scale permanent Void bases around the Jetram Star Domain, started exploring this unfamiliar Multiverse Star River, and began suppressing hostile civilizations in the vicinity.
Relying on their high-end combat power, the Expedition Fleet quickly subdued the local forces. Numerous exploration vessels rapidly surveyed the star river, which was named the 'Origin Star River.' Just as they realized that this star river's history was likely far more ancient than they had imagined, the wandering fleet civilization 'Knowledge Seizer,' which originated from this star river, was returning from the distant reaches of another star river.
Arriving with them were the ultimate powerhouses of two extremely xenophobic civilizations, the 'Amos Royal Court' and the 'Takur Annihilation Order'—Emperor Amos and the High Patriarch of the Order.
Perhaps to test their strength, perhaps to divert trouble, or perhaps merely to satisfy their curiosity and see just how capable this mysterious visitor from the Lost Star River, Mycroft, truly was—just as the Star Gate was about to be completed and the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground was about to connect to the Multiverse Star River, the battle began.
Legendary expert Joshua van Radcliffe engaged the enemy powerhouse's avatar. The Expedition Fleet's main force used the superweapon 'Wide-Area Aether Controller' to confront the Knowledge Seizer across the star river. Meanwhile, Legendary expert Baniel Gaskell single-handedly held off the enemy's reinforcements, allowing the Space-Time Hub to correctly calibrate its coordinates and open the Star Gate, enabling the Mycroft Civilization's main force, which had been preparing for over three years, to send reinforcements.
With the support of the new God of Might and Justice, Israel Diamond, the avatar of Emperor Amos was annihilated. The High Patriarch of the Order chose to retreat. The probing attack forces of the two civilizations were successively destroyed or forced to withdraw.
However, surprisingly, the super-civilization 'Knowledge Seizer,' which possessed the most powerful military force capable of wiping out the entire Expedition Fleet along with the large Void base at Jetram, shed almost all hostility upon discovering that the Mycroft Civilization was not related to Chaos. The Mycroft Civilization also unexpectedly learned that the Knowledge Seizers' special method of communication was 'Ineffective Mana Fluctuations' (later renamed Magical Language). The two sides engaged in relatively friendly exchanges and shared a great deal of extremely important information.
After learning that the other party possessed the legacy and teachings of the 'Sage of Demons' and the true purpose of the Knowledge Seizers, the Mycroft Civilization and the Knowledge Seizers held a private formal meeting and information exchange. This further confirmed many critical pieces of information. For example, the creator of the supernatural force 'Malicious Chaos' might be the source of the current dire situation in the Multiverse. He, or They, completed some key event, still shrouded in mystery, 160 million years ago. This led to the anomaly of the 'First Flame' and the emergence of the 'Evil Gods.'
According to the speculation of Legendary expert Joshua van Radcliffe, the 'First Generation Civilization Collective,' which built the 'World Ring' around the First Flame 160 million years ago, was destroyed at that time. The currently known strongest Evil God, the 'Plenty' Evil God, was born from the destruction of one of the extremely powerful civilizations within that First Generation Civilization Collective.
The First Generation Civilization Collective was likely the very first generation of civilizations in the entire Multiverse. Their collective destruction caused a massive civilizational gap spanning tens of millions of years. The subsequent Second Generation Civilization Collective existed during the time of the speculated 'Psychic Sage' and the Psychic civilization, though their exact origin time is unknown. Now, even the original Psychic civilization and their successors have vanished without a trace. The civilization of the Sage of Demons, known to have originated 37 million years ago, is the only ancient civilization with an accurate date and legacy. Yet it, too, has long since perished, with only its final legacy in the hands of the Knowledge Seizers.
The anomaly of the First Flame caused numerous World Star Rivers to lose their nearly eternal lifespans. The great civilizational gap caused all truths to be annihilated by time. Newborn civilizations must face unstable star rivers, Void Behemoths born from the star rivers' self-preservation, the Abyss where failures gather, the invasion of Chaos Evil Gods, and the covetous gazes of other orderly civilizations.
Different time flows—differences of several times, dozens of times, even hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of times—caused some star rivers to be annihilated into wrecks within the Void, while others with the same time flow converged into a single massive 'Multiverse Star River.' However, a mere Multiverse Star River is utterly insignificant compared to the true 'Multiverse' that once expanded infinitely, dissipating all darkness, and the light of the true 'First Flame.'
—This is the worst of times.
The First Flame recedes, the light fades. Facing the encroaching darkness, even star rivers can only face destruction. In the dim Void, the sound of the end draws ever closer. The cluster of Evil Gods is about to launch another 'Great Extinction.' If this generation's civilization collective is destroyed again, whether the remaining Multiverse Star Rivers have enough lifespan to nurture a new generation of civilization, a new generation of Sages, is a complete and utter unknown. This possibility is also shrinking over time, becoming increasingly urgent.
If this attempt fails, it likely means the countdown to the end of all civilizations in the Multiverse will begin, with no orderly successor left to continue this endless war against Chaos.
—This is also the best of times.
Wisdom is immortal, order endures. Tens of millions of years of accumulated wisdom have given rise to several new supernatural forces in today's Multiverse. Compared to the era when only psychic power and mana existed, or even the era before mana, today's Multiverse can be described as prosperous. Numerous supernatural forces drive and cooperate with each other, giving birth to more and more civilizations at an accelerating pace.
The rich supernatural forces have shortened the time for primitive life, or even inorganic matter, to develop intelligence and civilization from tens of millions of years to tens of thousands or even thousands of years—Mana gives birth to souls, Elements converge into cores, Psychic energy bestows intelligence, Aether shapes worlds, Life Energy accelerates evolution—Magical Beasts, Elemental Lifeforms, Psychic Lifeforms, Aether Lifeforms, and ordinary material lifeforms evolving ever faster... This is an unprecedented spectacle.
Most importantly, within a span of less than a few thousand years, two Sages have emerged in succession. The births of 'Holy Light' and 'Shadow' are nearly simultaneous on a scale of a hundred million years. Throughout history, even in the records of the Knowledge Seizers and their predecessors, such a thing has never occurred.
Despair and hope coexist. Destruction and vitality arrive together.
This is the era of today.
Starfall Year 847, August 16th.
Jetram Star Domain.
Jetram Void Base, External Void Port. Void warships of various shapes and bizarre designs were slowly docking at the already somewhat cramped anchor points. Surges of energy spilled from the ships' vector control nozzles, stirring the dim temporal turbulence.
A newly docked Void warship could be seen fixing its coordinates under the guidance of the dock personnel. As the energy nozzles dimmed and extinguished, this teardrop-shaped, ornately decorated light blue warship emitted a beam of light. One by one, octopus-shaped intelligent lifeforms, using magic to control water currents and immersing themselves in clean water, drifted along the beam into the port reception area. Arriving simultaneously was the unusually conspicuous black iron spherical ship of the Lund Civilization. One by one, the high-ranking members of the Lund Civilization—who, half a year ago, had furiously cursed a certain warrior because their home planet was forcibly protected—that is, clusters of magnetic metal spheres—detached from the ship.
Lund Civilization Ambassador 'Gvas' (original name, electromagnetic wave onomatopoeia, 'Crackle Crackle'; following the suzerain's customs, adopted a Mycroft-style name) cautiously surveyed the surrounding port. Upon realizing he was neither late nor alone, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"...The Kmond Joint Council and the Leen Empire are here. Even those Demasians, who are always immersed in water, have come. It seems no one dares to defy the will of the Mycroft people."
With this thought, Gvas rolled towards the port. The small delegation rolled forward, and a short but exceptionally sturdy guide hurried over, ready to lead this peculiar alien lifeform into the interior of the Void base.
A dwarf. A branch of the Mycroft main race, 'Humans,' adapted to high temperature, high pressure, and various dry environments. They excel at designing, creating, and using various mana-powered devices, leaning towards a craftsman-type bloodline modification. Another branch, 'Elves,' possesses genes for rapid adaptation, allowing quick conversion based on the local environment. They should be a bloodline modification specifically for colonizing other worlds.
Besides these, there are also Fishmen, an aquatic branch... As expected of a great civilization that once dominated a star river! From such clearly differentiated races, one can imagine how vast their former territory was!
Having crammed knowledge about the Mycroft Civilization but clearly misunderstanding something, Ambassador Gvas rotated his body. In the language of a certain uncle-like figure, it would be 'spun a ball.' In Lund Civilization language, this signifies a friendly greeting like 'hello.' The dwarf guide had apparently also learned relevant knowledge, so he jingled the metal rings on his beard and spun around with a smile.
After exchanging pleasantries, Gvas was led through specially widened Void base corridors to a giant metal hall built specifically for the Lund people.
"Ambassador Lund, this is where you and the other members of the Lund delegation can rest temporarily. You are free to move around, but please forgive us if some areas are inaccessible due to your race's size."
One of the many metal rings hanging from the dwarf guide's beard emitted a faint light. A series of electromagnetic wave languages used by the Lund people were emitted along with the dwarf's rough voice. This was a sign that the Mycroft people's unique artificial implant, the 'Psychic Terminal,' had activated its translation function. For the Lund people, such artificial implants were common; they often modified themselves this way. In their perception, the Mycroft people loading this 'Psychic Terminal' implant onto each individual at a young age was one of the few bizarre behaviors of flesh-and-blood species that the Lund people could understand, appreciate, and even wanted to learn and adopt.
Naturally, the above is from the Lund perspective.
"...That's roughly it. Please be careful and avoid conflicts with envoys from other civilizations. However, if two parties truly have an irreconcilable grudge, we have prepared a dedicated dueling arena—rest assured, no one will die. Two Legendary experts are monitoring at all times, absolutely capable of stopping your duel before any real harm occurs."
After explaining the rules of the Jetram Void Base to Gvas and the other delegation members, the dwarf guide temporarily took his leave. Many Void warships had arrived today, not just from the twelve civilizations vassalized by the Mycroft people. The specially trained reception staff were few, and their workload was heavy and busy.
Gvas didn't mind this. He actually wanted to freely tour and see for himself the Void base of this incredibly powerful yet profoundly mysterious 'suzerain state.' As an elite of the Lund Civilization, he understood well that a civilization's essence appears in the details of all its creations. Seemingly insignificant places often reflect the most fundamental characteristics of that civilization.
The Lund people's exclusive rest hall was not far from the central hall of the Void base—mainly because spatial magic was very convenient. After two teleportations, Gvas, traveling alone, slowly rolled and crept into the central hall. His appearance immediately attracted the attention of many in the hall.
The essence of the Lund people is the constantly leaping electromagnetic waves within magnetic metal. After being gathered by mana, it produces sufficiently complex information, thereby giving birth to intelligence. The older and stronger a Lund person is, the larger the magnetic metal they can control. As an exceptionally intelligent individual among the Lund people, Gvas had a startling diameter of twenty-one meters. Such a behemoth rolling in naturally drew many eyes.
However, soon enough, both the Mycroft people and other alien intelligent races looked away, unimpressed... After all, the Lund people were quite famous. Some were even 'old friends' from previous dealings, so they naturally wouldn't stare blankly at his appearance.
As the Lund Civilization's ambassador, Gvas had long been accustomed to the surprised looks of other races... In fact, from his perspective, all flesh-and-blood species looked strange too. In any case, calming his mind, Gvas surveyed the hall, searching for details that interested him.
Architecture, furniture design. While using mechanical waves for communication, they could also communicate using magic, elements, and psychic energy. Additionally, there were pure Life Energy cultivators. Every mana-powered machine could be activated using different supernatural forces. It was evident that the main race of the Mycroft Civilization was truly erudite, seemingly unfamiliar with no supernatural force.
Undoubtedly, this was a true supernatural civilization... Unlike other civilizations that merely used supernatural forces as auxiliary tools, the most important core tool for the Mycroft people in their search for truth was the various completely different supernatural forces!
However, the average height of this race did not exceed two meters. Many doors and passages were small compared to the Lund people. But size did not represent strength. It could be seen that every guide weaving among the many alien lifeforms was very powerful. Some guides even vaguely approached the threshold of a 'Super Lifeform,' seemingly just one step away from the realm of the Lund Civilization's 'Great Elder'!
"Wait... What is that?!"
With a spherical body, Gvas could observe the surroundings from a 360-degree angle without being noticed. He quietly stayed in place, gathering intelligence. But when his attention focused on a 'virtual Void map' in mid-air, he was instantly stunned.
It was a series of constantly changing Void maps, like a cluster of brilliant golden nebulae. Each golden dot represented a World Star Domain, and each red dot represented a World Star Domain controlled by the Mycroft Civilization. The Void map was constantly shifting, starting from the Origin Star River and changing to star rivers where the Mycroft Civilization had Space-Time Hubs stationed.
Occasionally, one could even see the Void map of the Lost Star River—a golden nebula mostly occupied by scattered red dots, magnificent and awe-inspiring.
However, what truly attracted Gvas was not this, but a familiar, intimate, nostalgic yet awe-inspiring aura emanating from those clusters of golden nebulae.
"Ah, that."
As if hearing Gvas's question, a passing young Mycroft guide scratched his head and smiled, saying, "That should be that Lord's trophy? I heard it's solidified elements extracted from the body of a stellar-class Void Behemoth. It looked nice, so it was used as raw material for the Void map... We didn't abuse the Void Behemoth! Please don't misunderstand! We Mycroft people are always friendly. That Void Behemoth didn't cause much destruction or casualties, so we wouldn't kill indiscriminately!"
Noticing Gvas's constantly shaking body and the electromagnetic waves racing across his surface, the young guide swore earnestly, speaking with heartfelt sincerity—after all, according to Mycroft's traditional values, no enemy is innocent. In the words of a certain warrior, 'Are enemies even considered people?'
Such are the differences in moral views between different races.
However, just as Ambassador Gvas was sinking into melancholy from sensing the familiar and intimate aura of his 'home sun,' suddenly, a series of beautiful signals appeared in his electromagnetic vision.
Subconsciously turning his perspective (since he was a ball, he didn't need to turn his head), Gvas saw two individuals with horns on their heads and tails behind them—classified as 'Dragonmen,' a branch of the Mycroft human race—passing by from a nearby teleportation passage. Beside the pair, presumably male and female, rolled a metal ball emitting cheerful electromagnetic waves. The three chatted and laughed, communicating in a mix of electromagnetic waves and Mycroft Common Language, heading towards a teleportation array.
Whoosh—A wave of magical fluctuation, and the three vanished.
"Ah..."
Only then did Gvas snap back to reality. The Lund ambassador murmured softly, "That electromagnetic wave... is truly beautiful."
Today, Starfall Year 847, August 16th.
Five and a half years after the Mycroft Civilization launched the 'Stellar Expedition,' and also the second and a half year since the Joint Expedition Fleet arrived in the Multiverse Star River.
After two years of sweeping and expeditions, the Mycroft Civilization-Joint Expedition Fleet finally temporarily halted its territorial expansion. It stopped building Space-Time Hubs in various star rivers and forcibly vassalizing other weak Void civilizations. Instead, it began consolidating its sphere of influence, undertaking large-scale infrastructure construction, and starting to disseminate a vast amount of technology as widely as possible.
The Mycroft Civilization, which had been vassalizing and annexing at a nearly frenzied pace, had by now become a giant Void civilization alliance with eight Space-Time Hubs as core nodes, territory spanning eight World Star Rivers, and jurisdiction over twelve Void civilizations. Although the actually occupied territory was only around eight star domains within the eight World Star Rivers, the high mobility provided by the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground made the controlled area astonishing. Some star rivers even contained multiple Void civilizations within their controlled zones.
Willingly or forced into allegiance, accustomed to relying on the strong, or intending to use the Mycroft Civilization's power to ascend to a higher level—each civilization had its own thoughts. The ambassadors were the ones responsible for conveying these thoughts to other civilizations. They had crossed countless star domains and star rivers to reach this most distant edge of the Multiverse Star River for the future of their own civilizations.
And now, it was the day for the ambassadors of the vassalized civilizations, along with many other civilizations admiring the Mycroft Civilization's prestige, to gather at the 'Jetram Star Domain,' the closest point in the Multiverse Star River to the Mycroft Civilization's homeland, to hold the first Joint Assembly.