Chapter 576: with translation of chapter title

"If there really were such a younger brother, then rather than letting Robert serve as regent, we would rather support him to directly take the position of emperor." Shengjilesi also expressed his view.

We need to keep punctuation? We'll translate as natural English.

"Hmm." Sui Meng nodded in agreement, seeming to agree with his two elder brothers' words.

This time, the three brothers' opinions were in agreement.

And Sui Bian had anticipated that his offspring would say this.

After all, whether in ancient Huaxia or other ancient civilizations, if a prince, royal family, or imperial clan lacked direct heirs, ministers or brothers who held actual military power and political resources, no matter how close their relationship, would develop ambitions and yearn endlessly for "that position".

Because there are few such power-holders willing to continuously devote loyalty to a dynasty without a "future".

For example, in ancient Huaxia, a prince, to win his subordinates' loyalty, deliberately threw down the only child who had risked life and limb to save a subordinate, and said, "Bastard! You nearly cost me a general!"

Although the subordinate was momentarily angry and resentful at the prince's impulsiveness, his heart was deeply moved.

Even if it was feigned, the prince's action showed that the subordinates' status in his heart was hardly inferior to that of his children.

Moreover, perhaps after having children, that prince's faction, even if it later fell into decline, would give the whole group a vigorous, upward drive and fighting spirit, ultimately achieving hegemony.

Although the situation between princes and subordinates differs from that between Sui Bian and the OriginalBodies—after all, each OriginalBody is a child—

But even if Sui Bian gave Robert more political status and more achievements, and the Extreme Warriors and Extreme Star Region (including the 02 Universe) produced even more troops, he could not win the wholehearted acceptance of all his brothers.

At first it was fine; everyone stayed close to their father and obeyed Robert's management willingly.

However, as the OriginalBodies left their father, left the Solar System, and came to govern their own star domains, star regions, and legions, it was inevitable that they would think, "I could do just as well."

There's no way around it; the main point is that whatever weakness the OriginalBodies have, it is still a strength far surpassing that of ordinary mortals.

Speaking of nothing else, just take Feilusi, who forges the Star Region: many OriginalBodies feel that letting this brother manage would be absolutely no inferior to Robert.

Moreover, Feilusi is rather "reclusive", focusing solely on weapon forging and management construction, with no interest in being regent or commanding the OriginalBodies.

But if the father sires a child naturally with a woman, the outcome is different.

The youngest being favored is one aspect; more importantly, this younger brother represents "orthodoxy".

The ten OriginalBody offspring of the older generation were orphans; thanks to the G Gland and Sui Bian's meticulous care and upbringing, they enjoyed a childhood not inferior to, and even surpassing, that of ordinary peers, thus they hold absolute loyalty and respect for Sui Bian.

(The father-son bond of the G Gland, as time passes, makes the OriginalBodies and Astate ever more reverent toward Sui Bian.)

Meanwhile, the newly born OriginalBodies, in terms of bloodline, are more "orthodox" than the older generation of OriginalBodies.

Because they are produced by Umbrella's highly advanced biotechnology, with Sui Bian and the Plague Doctor personally participating, consuming countless resources and Spiritual Energy to "manufacture" these offspring, they are not orphans.

As for Conrad and Chahatai…

These two are not among the OriginalBodies' competition.

Chahatai has a clear stance: non-competitive, he regards himself and the reborn White Scar as mere "tools" of the Human Emperor and the Empire.

Although Conrad has healed his mental illness and now regards Sui Bian as his true father, having personally experienced the midnight wanderer of Helusi's great rebellion, he is strongly averse to politics, let alone participating in the regent's struggle.

"Eh?!" At this moment Rog, as if realizing something, countered Sui Bian:

"Father! Do you mean you plan to bring us a new little brother, or have you already done so?"

"." (just a period)

Shengjilesi and Sui Meng exchanged glances, both eager to know why Father suddenly said this and what the truth is.

"Just have this plan; when that day truly comes, I will summon you and all your brothers to the Imperial Palace to announce it."

Sui Bian does not intend to hide anything from his sons; after all, deliberately avoiding this topic and then one day suddenly telling all the OriginalBodies, "You have a younger brother," would only breed resentment among them.

"Oh~!"

Seeing Father seem not to take it seriously, Rog immediately showed the expression "I understand! Father, you needn't say more!"

Mainly because he is relatively close to Father, and also because he and the OriginalBody brothers of the same era regard a certain female human, or female humanoid, as "mother"—there are only a few such women.

And only that hunting or moon can enable the soon-to-be-born younger brother to inherit Father's physique and Spiritual Energy potential.

！

Suddenly!

Rog felt a chill down his spine; looking again at Father, he saw Father already narrowing his eyes in that kind of smile…

Rog hadn't seen that expression in, at least, two hundred years.

Since the last time—when they were fifteen or sixteen, he and Rus dragged Magnus to release Spiritual Energy, accidentally blowing up Lockford Island's power system, and before Father could raise his hand to strike them, it was virtually identical to this moment.

!!!

Recalling that "unforgettable" memory, Rog quickly stopped his forthcoming words and stepped back, deliberately letting Shengjilesi stand before him.

Seeing Rog instantly wilt, Sui Bian also couldn't be bothered to really strike out, after all the children are already hundreds of years old, each a legion commander; fighting again would lose face.

Then Sui Bian, in the center of the reception hall, opened a small Space Gate whose edges flickered with pale golden light, and as he walked slowly toward it, he instructed the three OriginalBodies following him:

"As I said before, the Space Death Spirit still exists; the Empire's security won't be stable, so stay vigilant. As for the topic just discussed, I will convene a family meeting when I have time, but before that—"

Having reached the Space Gate, Sui Bian turned to face the three OriginalBodies and continued:

"You may appropriately mention this to Robert, John, Leon and the others, but aside from the OriginalBodies, no one else has the right to know—understood?"

"Yes, Father." The three brothers replied in unison.

"Hmm." Having said that, Sui Bian turned and left, and the Space Gate dissipated with him.

After confirming Father had left

"Phew!"

Rog heaved a deep breath.

If observed closely up close, one could see Rog's back already soaked through.

Only a Human Emperor could make an OriginalBody who fears neither evil gods, demons, nor any formidable foes become this frightened.

"Rog, I've long told you to watch your habit of blabbering; I hope this time you'll finally remember." Shengjilesi shook his head helplessly.

"…" Sui Meng remained silent.

"A habit of several hundred years—where could I change it?"

Rog waved his hand, didn't seem to mind; he of course knew his overly "straightforward" habit wasn't very good, but as he said, it simply couldn't be changed.

Then he said, "All right, Father has already issued the orders; prepare to execute."

"By the way, Shengjilesi, we will first return to the vicinity of the Space Gate within the 03 Galaxy and send your holy‑blood angels to the Space Gate, making it easier for you to return to the main universe."

"Fine."

———————

…

Soon after.

Outside the core world of the Never‑Fall.

Only then did this homeworld and fewer than three thousand warships, following Ark 002, enter a pseudo‑wormhole, traversing billions of light‑years in an instant and straight back into the 03 Galaxy.

Moreover, when Shengjilesi led one‑third of the fleet out, passing through the Space Gate that spans an entire star system in scale and diameter and has a constant stream of ships, and returned to the main universe, it also marked the complete conclusion of the expedition against the Tai Luo Insect Race.

As for what comes next, it will depend on the efforts of Leon and Laura.

After all, tomb‑raiding is not a one‑day task.

At the same time, it does not rule out that some Space Death Spirits have already awakened, so Rog and Sui Meng still need to continue gathering and dispatch their camps to assist in the search.

And as the Human Empire has expanded to its current state, it assumes that galaxies like the Milky Way are nothing special; many netizens of the main universe think "it's just that big."

But in reality, without a concrete coordinate, searching within the galaxy for a planet that contains relics is about as difficult as finding a single grain of sand on Earth.

———————

…

Within the 101 Universe's galaxy.

A fleet whose smallest ships are Empire‑class star‑destroyers, totaling about twelve thousand warships, is conducting a hyperspace jump.

One of the star‑destroyers, about ten kilometers long and six kilometers wide, appears to be the fleet's flagship.

At first glance, one might mistake it for a main fleet of the First Empire heading to a suppression mission, but this fleet's hull paint is not light gray; it is dark gray, almost black.

Obviously, each star‑destroyer's hull sides bear the roaring dragon emblem, and some transport or research‑purpose destroyers also display a red‑white umbrella insignia…

It is true that this fleet formerly belonged to the First Empire, but now, including all warships and their combat crews, it belongs to the Human Empire, or rather to the Human Emperor personally.

Moreover, twelve Earth days have passed since Sui Bian personally rushed to Expedition‑072 to "bring the Tai Luo Insect Race and the insect‑nest will into his grasp."

And during those twelve days, half of the 101 Galaxy also fell into Sui Bian's personal possession…

After all, Sui Bian has not been able to set out for a long time, so he postponed the plan to open the Space Gate, putting Constantine and half the Imperial Guard on standby to reduce resource consumption as much as possible.

At this moment.

Inside the flagship's bridge.

"Your Majesty." Bai Hou, standing on the second‑level platform of the bridge and gazing at Sui Bian through the viewport, reported, "We have twelve minutes left before we complete the hyperspace jump and reach the target."

"Mm." Sui Bian nodded lightly, saying nothing more.

Seeing this.

Bai Hou continued to place her hands in front of her abdomen, maintaining the calm demeanor of a secretary.

However, Bai Hou's cybernetic eyes constantly roamed between the pitch‑black, yet speckled‑with‑starlight, hyperspace view outside the viewport and Sui Bian standing before her.

Although her boss is not alone—counting her, the accompanying Artemis and two hundred Imperial Guards and Grey Knights—yet the 101 Galaxy fell into their possession within just twelve days, a situation inseparable from Sui Bian.

Spiritual Energy control and assimilation at the star‑system, even nebula, level caused the First Empire's territories and populace to fall and be lost in an instant.

Humans were prioritized to remain, while the non‑human alien residents, even Bai Hou could not know where they went, but based on her understanding of her boss's temperament, she surmised they were likely transferred to other universes.

Although her boss is quite averse to aliens, it has not reached the level of wanton slaughter of innocent civilians.

But if her boss is in a bad mood, innocent aliens could suffer.

As for continuously releasing Spiritual Energy to directly control a colony of a star system or sector, Bai Hou does not know why, but in her eyes her boss seems to treat this war as some kind of simulation, total war, or civilization‑type game.

And the boss, as a player, lost the initial novelty of cautious, hands‑on strategy; after the chassis expanded later, he grew lazy to manually control each battle, opting for auto‑combat to achieve rapid conquest.

It feels like a rush to clear the level quickly.

However…

Her boss's habit of "plundering" and "snatching" has not diminished because of that.

For example, this fleet composed of "uniform" star‑destroyers is a product of her boss piecing together ships after discarding hundreds of thousands of "unsightly" warships.

Having fully seized the First Empire's network and communications, Bai Hou naturally knows that star‑destroyers are, for the First Empire, definitely high‑cost, expensive warships.

If that Parf Parfatin were to learn that the star‑destroyers are merely used by her boss to satisfy a compulsion…

He would not die of anger, but a feeling of collapse is certainly present.

Twelve minutes vanished in an instant.

The moment the hyperspace jump ended, the view outside the viewport returned to normal.

Directly ahead in the line of sight was a terrestrial‑like planet bathed in the direct light of a yellow dwarf star, its surface reflecting a metallic sheen.

Without needing the ship's auxiliary sensors, Bai Hou could see the planet's surface, almost entirely covered by towering megastructures that pierce the clouds, leaving no natural land visible.

More importantly, the data Bai Hou obtained indicated that this planet alone "houses" a staggering one hundred trillion residents.

The vast majority of them have lived at the bottom tier since birth, with even the concept of daylight limited to imagination.

And it is the capital of the First Empire, as well as the birthplace of humanity in the 101 Universe—

Colossan.

"Bai Hou." At this moment, Sui Bian also finished the gesture of clasping his hands behind his back and ordered Bai Hou, "The overall command of the landing operation is yours; I'll go to the surface."

"Very well, Your Majesty."

As Bai Hou nodded in agreement, Sui Bian was already enveloped by a pale golden light, and immediately his figure vanished inside the bridge.

(End of chapter)