Chapter 539: Ch

Kallus drew in a sharp breath through his teeth, his expression darkening. "Such an existential threat sits right on their doorstep, and the Star Empire was treating it so casually? They’re only waking up to the reality of the situation now, when everything is already too late to stop? Damn fools."

Foolish, yes? To be unable to anticipate something like that and have zero countermeasures—especially for a power millions of years old—was utterly foolish.

The Red Empress shared those exact thoughts regarding the higher-ups of the Star Empire. To be caught in such a situation with no preparation whatsoever clearly revealed the chaotic internal state of the entire empire. Not to mention, they faced an Outer Realm eruption every few hundred thousand years, yet this was their supposed state of combat readiness.

Shaking her head, she pushed these thoughts aside. Lacking enough intel to form a complete picture, she turned her attention to the Star Emperor instead.

"Still, this Star Emperor isn’t simple either, Imperial Commander. He definitely has his own motives to do this, and so willingly... right?"

Hearing this, Kallus wasn’t surprised and simply nodded.

"That is indeed the case, Empress. After all, he is an emperor. Having studied the histories of multiple kingdoms and empires from Earth, every ruler—no matter who—does everything in their power to hold onto their rule. No matter how idiotic their decisions appear, every move is made to secure their throne. Even if the opposite outcome occurs, that isn’t the point."

Kallus paused, leaning into the thought.

"The point is, no emperor would willingly cast aside his own throne and source of power... unless..."

"...Unless he has some guaranteed plan he’s confident enough in to ensure his empire survives, along with most of its people... and the only ones who perish are his enemies—or the ’parasites.’ Is that what you’re trying to say?"

The Red Empress finished Kallus’s sentence after quickly connecting the dots, turning the question back on him.

"Right." Kallus nodded in agreement, making no attempt to deny it.

"Then you might actually be right about this theory of yours," she said suddenly, an odd expression settling across her face.

Her reaction caught Kallus off guard. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I just received fresh intel. The Star Emperor used a teleportation talisman to escape, cursing the nobles the entire time and warning them that his return would mark their end."

"Oh..." Kallus murmured. "Then he truly did have a contingency in place. To say those words right to the faces of multiple nobles and members of their Annihilation Legion... this matter might be even more serious than we thought. It shows just how much confidence he has in whatever he’s planning."

"Then do you think whatever contingency he prepared actually stands a chance of succeeding?" the Red Empress pressed, narrowing her gaze.

"Frankly?" Kallus looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t know... We have almost nonexistent intel to make any reliable guess at this point. But if we try to make a deduction based on what little we have..."

Kallus paused, looking thoughtful as he organized his ideas before speaking again.

"...Those preparations might still fall short. That is, unless his backer is as powerful as those seven super-states combined—and the possibility of that is almost negligible."

"Based on what?" the Red Empress pressed further, demanding the logic behind his deduction.

"First," Kallus began, raising a finger, "if he truly had that caliber of backing, he wouldn’t have struggled so much. He wouldn’t have had to scream like a mad emperor stripped of the supreme authority his title ought to grant. Nor would he have suffered so many defeats against us, and we certainly wouldn’t have had such an easy time pushing them back."

He lowered his hand slightly as he continued.

"The second possibility—the one I’m more inclined toward—is that his backing isn’t an entire superpower like those seven super-states, with all the vast numbers and accumulated foundations they’ve built over countless years."

Kallus leaned in. "Instead, it’s a single entity. Much like myself—a Sovereign Realm being, but one who is either critically injured or standing on death’s door. That feels far more likely."

"Oh? What led you to that conclusion?" Intrigued by the second possibility, the Red Empress asked for his reasoning once more.

"Based on the fact that the Star Empire possesses a secret realm," Kallus explained. "One that can only be entered by members of their race—or at least by someone possessing the Star Race bloodline. It’s a mysterious secret realm that forced even those seven super-states to abandon their greed, giving up entirely out of sheer helplessness."

He met her gaze. "Those super-states have endless methods and even more terrifying backgrounds from outside the galaxy, yet not even they could force that realm open. Just think about that, Red Empress."

"Why were they stumped by a mere secret realm?" Kallus asked again.

"Because the realm itself was either of a high enough level, or created by an artifact much like..." The Red Empress stopped short. A realization flashed across her mind, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes." Seeing her reaction, Kallus gave an affirming nod. "Much like the beings who fought in the Sol Region. Weren’t they Sovereign Realm beings—either of the Undying or Indestructible Sovereign Realms? Only beings of that caliber would possess artifacts capable of wielding such terrifying might."

"Put that way, it really is a genuine possibility... a very real one at that," the Red Empress remarked, narrowing her eyes as her tone grew solemn.

"There’s no need to take it too seriously," Kallus countered, radiating confidence. "A Sovereign Realm being forced into hiding like that has to be grievously injured. Even if he wanted to act, he’s simply no match for me. Don’t forget, I’m already a Supreme Sovereign Realm cultivator. Even beings an entire realm above me can’t do a thing to me, let alone anyone still within the Sovereign Realm."

The Red Empress was left momentarily speechless by his sheer confidence. Yet, after pondering it for a second, she realized his claims weren’t empty bluster, and she gave a slow nod of agreement.

"Then what is our next move?" Pushing aside the lingering doubts, she quickly steered the topic back to the campaign. "Do we maintain our offensive and push deeper into Star Empire territory?"

"Of course. That’s a given," Kallus replied without missing a beat. "After all, their internal troubles aren’t our problem, are they?"

"Not only that," Kallus said. "Not only must we keep pressing our offensive, but we should also strike with even greater intensity."

"Oh?" The Red Empress narrowed her eyes in understanding. "You want the Star Empire to approach us of their own accord—striking a different, even cooperative tone despite everything we’ve done to their territory—and offer massive concessions. Is that it?"

Kallus smirked. "Ah, Empress, only you understand me so well. That is precisely the plan. Beset by trouble on all sides, the last thing they can afford is more losses from us piling onto an already dire situation."

"Knowing this," Kallus added firmly, "we must exert even greater pressure and extract far bigger, more valuable concessions from them."

"Then what about our original objective?" the Red Empress asked. While she saw the merit in his logic, she knew their current stance and suspected this approach might conflict with their primary aim. "Coming here to begin with, Kallus—wouldn’t doing this produce the opposite result?"

Kallus didn’t dismiss her concern. "In a sense, yes. On the surface, it might seem at odds with what we set out to do. But if you take a step back, what was our true reason for attacking the Star Empire in the first place?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he pressed forward.

"We never cared about taking their territory. You know that, right?"

The Red Empress gave a firm nod; expanding their borders had never been the objective.

"We only wanted to weaken the imperial family’s grip, breaking their absolute control over the empire," Kallus explained. "With rebellion already brewing among the nobility, our continued assault will only pave the way for them. The empire’s internal turmoil will rapidly deteriorate, forcing them to turn their attention entirely inward rather than outward."

His eyes gleamed as he drove his point home. "That gives us total freedom to execute our plans without interference, resolving several headaches in one stroke, doesn’t it? At the same time, those Tier 2 and Tier 1 empires will finally have the breathing room to make their own choices."

"It gives us the much-needed breathing room to digest the territory seized from those two Tier 3 powers, fully integrating them into the Sol Region. From there, we can launch a massive internal expansion—both in population and starship fleet size."

Kallus’s expression sharpened as he looked ahead.

"All of this prepares us for our grand operation. We already know those Tier 3 super-states have set their sights on us. It won’t take long for them to realize something massive is underway and call upon their backers—and dealing with all of them at once would become an immense headache for us."