Chapter 534: Ch

"Do not despair just yet," the elder murmured, his eyes glittering with an ancient resolve. "I will awaken the Divine Beast of Fortune to stand alongside you on the front lines. With its destiny-altering domain providing divine protection, we should, with any luck, be able to hold the defensive perimeter that much longer."

Hearing this, Reo shook his head. "I'm not worried about that, Supreme Elder. With our current strength and that thing on your hand, we really should be able to hold off the beast tide when the entire Outer Realm erupts, even without the help of the Divine Beast of Fortune."

"What I'm worried about is whether we can hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive from the several Super States and other Tier 3 States..." Reo looked toward the Supreme Elder with a bitter, helpless gaze. "

With the current situation outside engulfed in chaos—multiple hidden factions emerging to fight sovereign states for territory and control—will they even have the forces or time to send aid? That is my concern, Supreme Elder."

"Hmph!" the Supreme Elder snorted.

Yet, Reo did not fail to detect a faint trace of helplessness in the elder's voice as well. Still, he kept quiet and listened as the Supreme Elder continued.

"Reinforcing us is not a matter of choice for them, Reo. Even those factions emerging right now will have no option but to put their disputes aside and come to our aid—especially across the twenty-five star sectors surrounding us... and you know why."

Listing to this, Reo remained doubtful and uncertain. Would those hidden factions truly listen this time around? Some might, but others might not. Even if they intended to act, nothing prevented them from waiting to intervene until his Star Empire was swallowed completely.

He sighed internally as his thoughts drifted, considering the current geopolitical reality. With so many enemies made across more than two dozen star sectors under the current Star Emperor, there was far more malice directed toward their empire and race than goodwill. He deeply doubted whether those people would rush to support them when the empire had spent years stepping on their necks.

Still, he did not voice these thoughts aloud to the Supreme Elder. The elder was surely aware of it already, and if he chose not to speak of it, who was Reo to point fingers?

He could only nod in apparent agreement. "That might indeed be the case, but Supreme Elder, there is one more situation I'm uncertain about. Th—"

Before he could finish, the Supreme Elder cut in. "You mean that human empire? The Celestial Void Empire, right?"

Reo nodded. "Indeed, them... This human empire appeared out of nowhere less than a year ago, yet they've already amassed terrifying momentum, having wiped out two Tier 3 states and multiple Tier 2 states. Currently, they are attacking another two Tier 3 states in the Holy Blood Moon Star Sector, and the fighting has spilled directly into our Stellar Star Sector. They've already obliterated the Brutal Blood Super Grand Fleet and the defense garrison led by them."

Reo paused, hesitating before finally pressing on. "And I'm... I'm worried they will continue pushing their advance, and our northern border will suffer catastrophic losses."

Though Reo hadn't said it outright, the Supreme Elder caught on immediately and asked directly, "You are worried our troops stationed along the northern territories won't be able to withstand an attack from the Celestial Void Empire... is that what you are saying?"

Reo was taken aback, but he nodded, offering no denial—that was precisely what weighed on his mind.

"They are simply that powerful, Supreme Elder," Reo continued, his tone grave. "Their ships vastly outmatch ours, their technology is far ahead of our own, and inexplicably, every single one of their fleets consists of battle-hardened elites with immense combat experience. It defies reason, but every report I review leads to the exact same conclusion."

Reo's expression shifted, turning awkward. He hesitated for a fleeting moment before forcing the words out: "Compared to them, our own elites are practically playing with clubs. They brought down the Bright Moon Republic's premier armada, the Radiant Fleet—a force boasting well over a hundred thousand warships. Yet they were obliterated by an enemy force barely numbering over ten thousand vessels, Grand Elder."

Taking a breath, Reo drove the point home. "The exact same fate befell the Brutal Blood Fleet. I have serious doubts that any of our garrisons or noble fleets deployed across the northern territories could hold the line if they push forward."

The Supreme Elder's face settled into a thoughtful expression. He even offered a subtle nod, seemingly acknowledging the grim reality. But then his eyes pierced forward. "Speak plainly. What do you want me to do? Or rather, Reo... what is the real point you are driving at?"

Caught off guard once more, Reo felt a chill as his thoughts were read like an open book. Still, looking at the man before him, he knew it was only natural. This was the undisputed powerhouse of the Star Empire; piercing through Reo's meager calculations was as effortless for him as snuffing out an insect.

Reo cleared his throat against the sudden awkwardness, then decided to lay his cards on the table.

"Since it has already come to this, Supreme Elder, here is my point: if my fears materialize and the Celestial Void Empire attacks—which I firmly believe they will, given the bitter grudge they hold against us—our northern forces will stand powerless. They will be wiped out without accomplishing a thing.

Meanwhile, with the Outer Realm disaster looming over us, we won't have a single spare hand to send to their rescue. Worse, the fleets we would lose to the Celestial Void Empire are the very assets we desperately need to survive the catastrophe heading our way."

"All in all, we must find a way to cut our losses short," Reo finally concluded. "To do that, we have to prevent the Celestial Void Empire from striking us and chewing through our military strength. With this looming disaster, we need to consolidate every scrap of our power and steer clear of outside conflict wherever possible."

The Supreme Elder nodded slowly. "On that, I agree. But the question remains, Reo: how do you propose we accomplish that? You don't expect me to hunt them down personally, do you?"

"That might be taking things too far, Supreme Elder," Reo replied quickly.

The notion had certainly crossed his mind. While the Celestial Void Empire's fleets held overwhelming technological and collective firepower, individual martial might was a different domain entirely. Against a supreme entity like the elder—a being who had already stepped into the Eternal Realm—a fleet alone shouldn't stand a chance.

Yet, a theory was merely a theory. Reo lacked any real certainty. After all, the seven Super States possessed plenty of Eternal Realm powerhouses of their own, yet for some inexplicable reason, none of them had moved against the Celestial Void Empire.

With such glaring anomalies staring him in the face, Reo remained deeply apprehensive, unwilling to gamble the entire empire's survival on an untested assumption.

Reo preferred to err on the side of caution, and the Supreme Elder evidently shared the same sentiment. The sheer number of anomalies surrounding this sudden human power was unnerving. Rising from complete obscurity to effortlessly crushing venerable Tier 3 empires was a feat that gave even an Eternal Realm powerhouse pause.

"I understand," the Supreme Elder said simply. "Carry out my orders. Leave the Seventh Elder out of the mobilization; I will seek him out personally and brief him on the situation."

With a deep sigh, the elder vanished into thin air, leaving no ripple behind.

Left alone, Reo let out an exhausted breath of his own, his chest heavy with dread for the empire's survival. That idiot Emperor... what possessed him to make such reckless blunders? It's like sawing off the very branch he sits on—dragging everyone else into the abyss alongside him.

Never mind. What's done is done; cursing him won't fix a damn thing. Reo pushed the frustration aside to focus on the task at hand. As the Supreme Commander of the Annihilation Armada, he had orders to execute. Stepping through the spatial portal, he too disappeared from the hall.

Meanwhile, inside the imperial Elder Council chamber, pure pandemonium had erupted.

The grand hall lay in ruins, walls shattered and ancient pillars reduced to rubble. Even the Imperial Throne had been smashed to splinters amid the violent clash.

"Cough... cough..."

The Star Emperor lay battered and bloody near the edge of the dais, his aura fractured and his presence guttering like a dying ember. Hovering menacingly above him stood four Archdukes and eight Dukes, their cultivation unleashed in full fury—a suffocating tide of Star Law Realm and Peak Star Law Realm pressure locking him to the floor.

Only moments earlier, pushed past the brink by the council's relentless condemnation, the Star Emperor had gone completely berserk. He had launched a savage assault directly at the Archduke of Darkness, nearly overpowering him on the spot.