Rusty Star Nation.
Domania Passage.
The colossal fleet, stretching over 1.4 light-years, consisted of tens of thousands of ships and starships streaking through the cosmos, rapidly advancing.
Their destination was the M36 star cluster.
Aboard the leading ship, Luna received reports from across the star nation.
"A virus outbreak?"
"The death toll exceeds 1.17 billion."
"They shouldn't have died. A waste of resources."
There were undoubtedly some stubborn individuals—whether they felt innately tough, believed death was fine, or were skeptical of any warnings—they all chose to remain during that hungry period, subsequently becoming corpses.
"Mask all Star City communications."
Luna was unsure if those Star Cities could transmit the new virus to the warships through communication.
Their sole objective now was the M36 star cluster. Afterward, it would be the cleansing of the surrounding star nations.
This three-nation attack had, in a way, saved her a long time.
With the three nations weakened, Rusty Star Nation held a monopoly. After absorbing the three nations, Rusty Star Nation entered a rapid growth phase. However, this would probably take several hundred years.
"Always feel like time is a bit short."
"Right, have those beings returned?"
Luna had already investigated Hyperdimensional Space.
She found that all five Divines had returned to Hyperdimensional Space.
"I didn't even say anything, and they returned so urgently."
"Hyper God, announce new missions to them: destabilize the surrounding star nations. Our direct attack efficiency is too slow this way. It's faster to wait for other star nations to self-destruct, then just pick the fruit."
Actually, if the Ynun Star Nation hadn't attacked first, Luna's ultimate plan might have been this.
To let the Ynun Star Nation fight the other two star nations first.
They were already enemies; fighting was normal.
"We must quickly pause the star nation and Federation wars to provide combat power for the dimensional war and the war with the Flyer Civilization."
...
A distant Sector.
Not that distant, actually.
Roughly 2,000 light-years away.
Within the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant, there is the Frost Blue Star Nation, known as one of the High star nations.
The Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant originally consisted of twenty-eight allied star nations.
Following the wars with the Federation, five star nations were annihilated. In reality, the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant now has only twenty-three primary star nations.
The strength of these twenty-three primary star nations varies.
They are divided into Low, Mid, and High tiers.
Seven Low star nations, eleven Mid star nations, and five High star nations.
The disparity in power between them is immense.
Even the weakest Low star nation could still reign supreme amongst other star nations. However, they were dwarfed in size by the High star nations—the disparity being at least fivefold.
And the Frost Blue Star Nation, within those five High star nations, was the third most powerful.
Within the human Civilization's sphere of influence:
Beyond the Federation, the Eternal Cycle star nation, and the two High star nations, it was the largest behemoth.
The Fifth Force of Human Civilization.
Frost Blue Star Nation, the Scarlet Nebula—this Sector belonged to the private holdings of the Archduke.
The Archduke's name was Sesri, also known as the Legendary Radiance.
He, along with the Frost Blue Star Nation's monarch, founded the Frost Blue Star Nation, serving as one of the king's primary lieutenants. However, he was now in a state of semi-retirement. Within the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant, new talents were as numerous as a school of silver carp; being a pioneer did not guarantee an absolute advantage.
A moment of stagnation was all it took to be overtaken.
This was especially true in the current war, which provided more opportunities for others to seize military merit.
Sesri had never felt such an urgent desire to return to the Frost Blue Star Nation's seat of power.
However, the tentacles he had extended toward the military had long since been severed.
Thus, several millennia ago, he began leveraging his political resources to cultivate ties with other star nations, pulling them into his orbit to expand his influence through alternative means.
In a nearly pitch-black room.
A creature radiated ten thousand beams of light.
It was dazzling, like a mythical deity of light.
Its massive, modified wings spanned over 20 meters, yet they still supported that small, central body.
The main server's transmission echoed in Sesri's mind.
"Will the Saintees Star Nation be destroyed?"
"Who did it?"
"Rusty Star Nation? A name I've never heard."
"Weak as the Saintees Star Nation may be, it is a faction I support. Tell the opposition to cease."
"Right, send a transmission to that Rusty Star Nation as well. If they align themselves with me, I can grant them unimaginable resources."
He had certainly diminished in power, but that was only relative to the Frost Blue Star Nation.
For those small star nations, his resources—even if not given directly—could make them a fortune just by his brokering of connections.
This was his capital.
The total GDP of a massive minor nation might not even equal that of a single Corporation within the Frost Blue Star Nation.
That was the disparity.
The Frost Blue Star Nation internally held 16 titan Corporations with market values in the tens of quadrillions. The entire Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant held 75 such tens-of-quadrillions-value Corporations. How large could those minor star nation Corporations be?
100 trillion? Or perhaps 1 quadrillion?
"How is the battlefield lately?"
[128 years ago, the Federation's offensive slowed. The Covenant's grand army has had room to breathe. Using this window, we have replenished our forces; we no longer fear a renewed Federation assault.]
"It's very strange."
"Not just these last 128 years—over the last 2,000 years, the Federation's attacks have become leisurely."
"Though they are still terrifying, it leaves me feeling uneasy."
"The Federation's Boundary God makes it difficult for spies to obtain precise intelligence. The star nation's information sources are too isolated; we are almost unable to observe the entire theater of war from a third-party perspective."
This flaw had always existed.
But it wasn't something that could be changed through effort alone.
It required them to surpass the Federation in a specific field of technology.
And that was far too difficult.
The Federation remained the heart of human Civilization; its collective strength was overwhelming, and its rate of technological progress defied imagination.
This stemmed from the Federation's resource theory of imagination, coupled with lifespan restrictions that forced countless new generations to rise upon the brilliance of their predecessors.
Sesri commanded a vast number of scholars.
Yet, those scholars were merely coasting on their past achievements.
They had lost the drive to learn and could no longer rapidly engage with or absorb new phenomena.
"The only option left is to conduct large-scale probes on the front lines."
"Arrange an audience for me with His Majesty. I must urge him to launch a proactive offensive against the Federation; the Federation's response will inevitably reveal something."
...
229010 A.D.
The Frost Blue Star Nation of the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant declared war on the Federation, launching three fleets to strike the border at the Mocen Sector.
The two sides engaged in fierce combat for over 300 years. The Mocen Sector suffered catastrophic losses and was eventually overrun.
This battle, known as the "War of Frost and Ink," sent shockwaves throughout human Civilization.
Until then, the Federation had consistently maintained an absolute advantage.
The Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant had never once defeated the Federation in a direct head-to-head confrontation.
This victory signaled a new beginning.
But everyone understood the truth.
It wasn't that the Federation had grown weak.
It was that the Federation had shifted its focus elsewhere.
This was the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant's opportunity.
In the 1,000 years that followed, fueled by the Covenant's escalating offensives, the Federation military suffered consecutive retreats, losing a total of 23 star systems.
Sesri leveraged these wars to place himself back at the center of the political vortex.
...
230428 A.D.
Having settled his affairs, Sesri once again received news concerning the Rusty Star Nation.
"They treated my previous words as nothing more than a passing breeze."
"They actually moved to occupy the Saintees Star Nation directly, without any intention of replying."
"What is the current situation there?"
[In 228558 A.D, the Rusty Star Nation defeated three neighboring star nations: the Ynun Star Nation, the Saintees Star Nation, and the Kingdom of Sky, declaring itself the hegemon of the Lican Sector.]
[In 228902 A.D, Flaorse of the Ynun Star Nation betrayed the Saintees Star Nation and the Kingdom of Sky, dealing another heavy blow to both nations.]
[In 229137 A.D, the Rusty Star Nation deployed its forces against the Ynun Star Nation; in 229400 A.D, the Ynun Star Nation was annihilated. Five years later, the Rusty Star Nation simultaneously struck the Saintees Star Nation and the Kingdom of Sky. In 229738 A.D, the Kingdom of Sky was destroyed, and in 230023 A.D, the Saintees Star Nation was eliminated. The Rusty Star Nation now controls three-fifths of the Lican Sector. Its premier entity, the Supernova Technology Corporation, saw its market value skyrocket as a result, exceeding 7.6 quadrillion.]
Hearing this news, Sesri paused, startled. He asked, "What was the original market value of the Supernova Technology Corporation?"
[Approximately 2.3 quadrillion.]
Superb.
In reality, most star nations do not possess a single company with such a high market valuation.
Take the Saintees Star Nation, for example; with several companies competing, their individual valuations hovered in the tens of billions, which is standard for a Mid-tier star nation.
Yet, a virus company like the Flaorse Corporation could exceed a quadrillion in value. The market generally favors virus firms; they have numerous revenue streams and low capital expenditures, meaning their profit margins are immense.
"Why does the Supernova Technology Corporation command a quadrillion-level valuation?"
"Let me see its data."
According to the comprehensive records, Supernova Technology Corporation's valuation surged primarily due to its manufacturing of evasion-type ships.
"The White Dragon class?"
"We've purchased them before; they're quite effective. It's just a shame they are only ships."
The market for evasion-capable ships is massive, a true "Red Ocean," and Supernova Technology Corporation was the sole producer.
Though the utility of evasion ships later declined as countermeasures were developed, they remained the elite choice among specialized ships.
But what truly caught Sesri's attention wasn't the evasion ship itself.
It was the profit.
Based on the audit of Supernova Technology Corporation's financial reports:
The profit margin for evasion-type ships reached 500%.
One must realize that the profit margin for an average ship is 20% at most.
By leveraging these evasion ships, Supernova Technology Corporation had made a fortune. This ultra-high profit margin kept market expectations climbing, eventually pushing the value past 2 quadrillion.
In this data, Sesri saw the potential for Supernova Technology Corporation to grow into a tens-of-quadrillions market cap giant.
If they could manufacture an evasion-type warship, the company's valuation would break through the heavens.
Ships were too limited.
Combat power was the true domain of warships.
Mainstream ship companies don't even reach a 20% profit margin; the industry average is actually only 12%. That 20% figure usually includes a brand premium, where customers believe a specific brand's quality is superior and are willing to pay more.
Warship companies are a different breed.
It is equivalent to the arms trade.
The mainstream market for ships has always been civilian; while the military market is large, it only accounts for roughly 35%.
Warships are 100% military-grade, and because of the state of war, they have become high-demand commodities.
The average profit margin for warships stands at 58%.
Although the overall market scale for warships is not as vast as that of civilian ships, the crucial point is that competition within the warship sector is far less saturated; warships are also heavily reliant on high-tech innovation.
Supernova Technology Corporation's ships already command a 500% profit margin. If they could truly manufacture an evasion-capable warship, even at a 150% profit margin, buyers would be lining up to pay.
Such a vessel would instantly become a blockbuster commodity, purchased by nations everywhere.
How much wealth could Supernova Technology Corporation amass through this?
For a moment, even Sesri dared not imagine it.
"I must seize control of this corporation."
"Dispatch negotiators to meet with them. I want to inject capital. At the same time, have our agents buy up the company's shares on the open market. Ideally, I want my ownership to reach 51%. Use whatever means necessary."
Even as an Archduke, Sesri had managed to re-enter the nation's core power circle.
Yet, a tens-of-quadrillions-market-cap corporation was a titan.
He was backed by two or three such entities funding him, but for him to seize personal control of one was almost impossible.
He could perhaps acquire a company in the one-to-two-quadrillion range, but the gap between that and the tens-of-quadrillions tier was immense.
Within the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant, the 75 corporations in the tens-of-quadrillions tier were deeply entrenched. Some of these giants might see their valuations fluctuate down to several hundred trillion, a ten-fold drop, but that was usually just a temporary loss of profit due to national shifts, causing their market value to dip.
A quadrillion-level company represented, at most, a few hundred trillion in market reach within a star nation.
A tens-of-quadrillions-level corporation, however, was a market force worth hundreds of quadrillions, or even thousands of quadrillions, in its own right.
Why was the disparity so vast?
Because of these corporations' first-mover advantage and monopolistic status.
A quadrillion-level company is a latecomer, carving out a small slice from an existing pie.
But a tens-of-quadrillions-level corporation is the baker. When it bakes the cake, everyone else clusters around it, forming an integrated industry chain that becomes inseparable.
A tens-of-quadrillions corporation doesn't just hold its own market value; it likely holds shares in dozens of quadrillion-level companies and has investments in hundreds of trillion-level firms.
Of course, not all tens-of-quadrillions corporations were equal: there were resource-based giants, tech titans, heavy industry conglomerates, and more. Some were easily replaced, while others used their monopolistic grip to grow even larger.
But the tens-of-quadrillions mark was the threshold of this era, and nowhere was this clearer than in the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant.
The Federation's bar was set even higher.
Federation statistics showed over 1,593 corporations in the tens-of-quadrillions tier, more than twenty times the number in the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant. The Eternal Cycle star nation had 192, while the Bwarm star nation had three. Beyond those, there were 52 such corporations belonging to independent nations or operating outside any star nation.
Faced with a super-corporation that had the potential to join the tens-of-quadrillions elite:
Sesri was determined to have it.
...
New Rusty Star Nation.
Supernova Technology Corporation, M36 Star Cluster Branch.
The territory of the Rusty Star Nation had now expanded to five times its previous size.
The bustling Luna paused.
Following the war, she had stabilized the M36 star cluster and, through two void-class shipyards, deployed brand-new void-class vessels, restructuring the military to seize the three star nations in one fell swoop.
This had been an effortless feat for her.
Now, Luna's focus had shifted from warfare back to the construction of void-class shipyards.
Phase four of the factory plan had commenced.
The phase three void-class shipyard was now operational, with an output of 800 vessels every century.
The phase two factory construction was entirely complete, reaching a capacity of 1,200 vessels per century.
The phase one factory had finished its production line adjustments and upgrades, now capable of producing 2,116 ships every hundred years.
Combined, the three phases produced 4,115 ships per century. In a millennium, they could churn out nearly two full fleet-groups' worth of vessels—already exceeding the original projections.
However, for Luna's subsequent plans, this was still insufficient.
She needed at least five shipyards of equal manufacturing caliber, reaching a combined century-long output of 10,000 vessels. Only then would they be qualified to stand alongside the top-tier star nations.
Fortunately, the internal infrastructure of the three conquered star nations included production lines for standard ships and warships.
Currently, the total output of the entire Rusty Star Nation was 6,283 standard ships and 90 warships per century.
Theoretically, in one millennium, the Rusty Star Nation could add 103,900 ships and 900 warships to its ranks: almost equal to the nation's entire former military strength.
One must remember that the original Rusty Star Nation took tens of thousands of years to amass such wealth; now, it could be achieved in just 1,000 years.
Yet, this was not Luna's primary objective.
The void-class warship project was initiated.
The current phase produced one vessel every 31 years. Luna intended to establish a warship production line with a minimum output of 50 vessels per century.
This was exceptionally difficult.
The most critical hurdle was financing.
The Rusty Star Nation had invested too heavily in the war. Although they occupied the three star nations afterward, those nations had suffered immense damage. The spoils were mostly real estate: assets that were extremely difficult to liquidate in this era.
One couldn't exactly sell real estate to other star nations.
Therefore, statistically, despite its near-total victory, the Rusty Star Nation was operating at a loss.
While they would eventually recoup the costs, Luna didn't want to wait that long.
The second mission for the Divines had been announced; the Rusty Star Nation was about to enter a period of rapid expansion, and it had to field sufficient combat power.
Within 2,000 years, they had to amass a fortune.
Currently, the only thing the Rusty Star Nation—or rather, the Supernova Technology Corporation—had that was worth offering was the evasion-capable warship.
"I believe we can restart the White Dragon production lines."
Toma K and Giotto were both present at the headquarters meeting.
Such gatherings were rare before the war.
This proposal came from Giotto.
The profit margins of the White Dragon were considerable. Previously, production had been halted to clear the way for void-class ships.
Although the White Dragon was a moneymaker, manufacturing it required vast resources: computational power, energy, and massive factory space.
If they were to manufacture the void-class ships while maintaining the White Dragon production lines, the entire Rusty Star Nation would collapse under the strain.
It was like a 500ml water bottle that was already filled to its 500ml capacity; trying to pour more in would be impossible unless the bottle itself was enlarged.
Everyone understood this, but developing new star systems to provide energy took a vast amount of time. At that point, Luna already had her expansion plans in motion.
Given enough time, anything can be achieved.
But without time, compromises are necessary.
Shutting down the White Dragon production lines was Luna's compromise.
Fast forward to the present, by leveraging the energy-producing star systems of the three conquered nations, the Rusty Star Nation now possessed a slight energy surplus. Restarting the White Dragon production lines was a viable option.
However, Toma K and Giotto had a disagreement.
"Scientific progress has moved on; returning to live off past achievements is a waste of resources."
"The price of the White Dragon is no longer as insane as it once was. Many star nations, even the Federation, have dozens of ways to counter the White Dragon. We can't sell it at a 500% profit anymore."
"The White Dragon's utility is declining. My suggestion is actually to sell the White Dragon production lines, while we remain the suppliers of the evasion-capable materials."
A superior strategy.
The evasion-capable materials were the core of this technology; even if the production lines were sold, the technology would remain firmly in their hands.
Not only that, they could use this to forge alliances with other star nations.
"Mhm!"
"Director Toma K's idea is better. We can sell the White Dragon production line technology, utilize other star nations to manufacture the White Dragon ships, and buy them back at a low cost. This is better than restarting the lines ourselves."
"It simultaneously replenishes our insufficient ship numbers and allows us to reap high profits."
"Even if the White Dragon can't sell for a 500% profit now, it can still fetch 150%. By controlling the evasion-capable materials, we can take 100% of that profit, while those star nations will scramble to compete for the remaining 50%."
"Director Toma K, go investigate which neighboring star nations meet our requirements. We aren't afraid of having too many nations involved."
Toma K was delighted to have a mission.
"No problem."
"I'll get on it immediately. Leave the negotiation phase to me as well."
Toma K was working hard, and Giotto instantly felt the pressure.
The reason the two of them appeared at the meeting was a result of their discussions after the war.
They could no longer distance themselves from the core leadership of the Supernova Technology Corporation. Continuing down that path would only lead to stagnation, eventually turning them into mere puppets in a civilizational war.
Giotto still retained his title as the King of Rusty, but he had reclaimed his authority as a Director. He intended to use his power as a Director to control the star nation, rather than simply holding the hollow title of a king.
Because the authority of a King within the Rusty Star Nation was minimal; the scope of what he could achieve was limited, let alone the amount of resources he could mobilize.
Both men were searching for a way forward.
However, Luna actually preferred them to remain somewhat stagnant.
Before the plan commenced, it was better if they weren't idle, as they could assist Luna.
But once the plan began, Luna had to guard against the Civilization backing them; the further they were from the core of human Civilization, the lesser the risk they might encounter.
Though it was merely a conjecture, she treated the possibility as real.
Nevertheless, they remained seated there now, and Luna did not show excessive concern for them.
As a leader of a Civilization.
Her concern could easily lead to unpredictable shifts in the course of events.
Technically, she had already intervened, but currently, that involvement remained within the parameters of the original Civilization plan; the script was moving forward steadily.
Since the issue of the White Dragon production lines had been resolved, Luna moved to the final topic of discussion.
"In a formal, large-scale theater of war, ships can only serve as cannon fodder. Even if void-class ships are somewhat serviceable, there is ultimately a gap between them and warships."
"In our last war, we were fortunate that our enemies were weak, using ships as their main force just as we did."
"However, in a true High-tier star nation, the ratio of warships to ships is very distinct. Regarding combat power, any nation worthy of being called a High-tier star nation possesses a fleet composed entirely of warships; the standard is 20,000 vessels."
"Yet our current count of warships is a mere 320."
This was the count following the war.
But even factoring in the pre-war numbers, it was far too meager. Even if all four star nations were bound together, they wouldn't even reach the threshold of a High-tier star nation.
The number 320 made everyone present realize their own weakness.
The fervor and excitement following the war's victory instantly cooled.
The meeting was also attended by the various department heads and managers of the Supernova Technology Corporation.
They possessed even more data on these matters: specifically the Resources Department, the Market Department, and the Engineering Department.
"For the time being, warship production cannot be scaled up. A more rational approach is to purchase warships."
"Our Market Department has conducted relevant research and found that there are over 130,000 warships available for sale on the market. The lowest price is 32 billion, while the highest is 420 billion."
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, the price of a warship was as low as 50 million Energy Credits; bio-engineered warships were even cheaper, costing as little as 10 million to manufacture.
But now, as warship technology has continuously advanced, coupled with the inflation of human Civilization, the base price for a warship is generally above 50 billion Energy Credits.
The most elite warships can cost as much as 1 trillion, though such cases are rare.
The size of a warship is usually the deciding factor in its value, not because of the material cost, but due to the volume of integrated power systems and weaponry. Building a hull is relatively cheap, accounting for only about 1/15 to 1/20 of a vessel's total cost.
A 32 billion Energy Credit warship is typically a 10,000-meter class vessel. Generally, warships under 15,000 meters are rare; over 95% of the 10,000-meter class are actually 15,000 meters in length.
A 420 billion warship is usually a 100,000-meter class heavy warship.
The 1 trillion price point is determined by the specifications of the main cannons and engines; warships at the 500 billion level and above are commonly equipped with super-range weaponry.
Sub-planet-class warships are those over 500,000 meters. Production costs range from 2 to 10 trillion, with selling prices typically between 5 and 20 trillion. However, these are not for public sale. Within the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant, there are two sub-planet-class production lines, averaging one vessel every 1,000 years; the entire Covenant possesses only a few dozen.
The Federation has many more sub-planet-class warships. Because of Luna's orders to cut production of standard-class warships in favor of increased output for larger vessels, the Federation's sub-planet-class count has exceeded 1,300 and continues to grow.
Luna dismissed the Market Department's idea of purchasing warships.
"Buying warships comes with many hardware and software vulnerabilities. Usually, it's only star nations or corporations that cannot manufacture their own that resort to purchasing them."
"Since we can build them ourselves, there is no need to take this risk."
Backdoors are something any corporation will implement, and no one knows exactly what they are.
If they were only meant to guard this small patch of territory, Luna might have chosen that path. But they were about to expand rapidly, which would surely make them a thorn in the side of certain powers.
If their warships were controlled from a remote back-end, the consequences would be unimaginable.
What truly concerned Luna was a transmission from the Frost Blue Star Nation several hundred years ago. The Saintees Star Nation had handed over this message during their surrender, urging them to spare the nation and join in swearing fealty to that Archduke.
If this were still the first phase of the plan, Luna would have certainly feigned loyalty, as she wanted the Rusty Star Nation to infiltrate and disrupt the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant from within.
But in this current phase, she had to bring the conflict to a swift end to prepare for the true civilizational war.
The Rusty Star Nation needed to exist as an independent power that could threaten the Twenty-Eight Nations Covenant, eventually standing on equal footing with it.
"However, at this stage, we have no way to add more warship production lines."
"A warship line is unlike a ship line; the technological barriers are immense. It is a comprehensive combat platform, not just a box carrying weapons."
The "box carrying weapons" referred to the star nation's current combat ships.
The true decision-making still relied on the main server.
But if a warship's server were to regulate the entire battlefield, its computational advantage wouldn't be as distinct.
A fleet composed of warships is also a massive server cluster; its collective computational power can utterly suppress an opponent.
In long-range space combat, the duration of the engagement is longer than on typical battlefields, making it extremely difficult to hit enemy vessels. Fleets move in seemingly chaotic patterns, yet this chaos is structured. On a macro scale, it becomes ordered: like a sequence of ten digits. If one can calculate all possible permutations, one can predict the next move.
The warship's server utilizes this predictive processing: even if the enemy moves erratically, it can identify patterns and calculate the most probable vectors to strike the target.
The server is the core, but for a server to achieve total battlefield dominance, other components are indispensable. The combined hardware upgrades result in high manufacturing difficulty and exorbitant costs.
A Mid-tier star nation typically possesses only a few warship production lines, and the output of a single line is usually just two or three vessels per century: some can't even manage that. Because for a Mid-tier nation to build a warship, many core components must be imported; this is a technological stranglehold.
Even the current Rusty Star Nation faces this reality.
"Several neighboring star nations seem to have warship production lines," Giotto suggested.
"This is a frontier Sector. They don't have enough resources to produce more warships themselves, so we could lease their lines to build ours."
"The major warship corporations might leave backdoors, but with these crude production lines from minor nations, we can detect most backdoors ourselves and feel more secure."
Warships require maintenance, and the costs are staggering. Therefore, a star nation cannot produce warships indefinitely; once they reach a certain quota, production halts.
"But will they feel secure letting us produce them?"
They are neighbors, after all. If I build for you, what happens if you turn around and attack me?
"Sign peace treaties, establish trade integration, and create a community of shared interests."
"We need allies, and those star nations surely hope we become theirs as well. We can offer these allies certain incentives when setting up the White Dragon production lines. While we might not get everyone to agree, we'll certainly get some."
Finding a role he could fulfill, Giotto turned to Luna: "Leave this to me. I will provide the Corporation with a satisfactory result."
Giotto's individual ability might not be elite, but he wasn't so incompetent that he couldn't handle this. Moreover, he had a professional team behind him.
Luna approved the plan.
These two proposals defined the Rusty Star Nation's next steps: amassing wealth and converting that wealth into combat power.
"..."
After the meeting concluded, the main server notified Luna that she had received a foreign transmission.
The message was flagged as originating from the Frost Blue Star Nation.
Upon opening it, Luna found it quite tedious.
"This Archduke seems dead set on seizing our Supernova Technology Corporation."
"But what can he actually do?"
"Across a distance of 2,000 light-years, can he truly lead a fleet to invade the Rusty Star Nation?"
Even if an entire fleet's speed exceeded 100,000 kilometers per second, it would still take 6,000 years to arrive.
By then, Luna wouldn't fear him in the slightest.
Besides, did an Archduke truly wield that much power?
She tossed the message directly into the trash and issued an order to ignore any future transmissions from the Frost Blue Star Nation.
She would stall for as long as possible.
Luna saw no need to concern herself with the whims of that side.
...
500 years later.
Frost Blue Star Nation.
Scarlet Nebula.
This was the final deadline Sesri had set for the Rusty Star Nation; surpassing this point meant their refusal was official.
To ensure he remembered, Sesri had set an alarm.
He had been in deep sleep when the main server awakened him.
[ Alarm "Rusty Star Nation" has reached its set time ]
Sesri checked the timestamp.
230928 A.D.
"It seems they look down on me, an Archduke."
"Do they think because of this distance, I have no way of dealing with them?"
"Do we have any Client States in that region?"
Client States were vassal nations.
Usually subordinate to a specific star nation or faction, the Frost Blue Star Nation possessed Client States, and Archduke Sesri held several of his own: and not small ones at that.
A Client State wasn't necessarily weaker than the faction of an Archduke like Sesri; in fact, it could be much stronger. But if the Frost Blue Star Nation itself showed no interest, then becoming a vassal to a specific power within that nation to leverage its resources became a viable strategy.
The Frost Blue Star Nation itself wasn't merely a High star nation; it had transcended that category to become a Super star nation.
Among Sesri's Client States, there were several that qualified as High-tier star nations.
[ The Glolo Star Nation is situated a mere 218 light-years from the Rusty Star Nation ]
The Glolo Star Nation was one of the High-tier star nations, though it ranked among the lowest within that tier. Its interior was home to three quadrillion-level Corporations, with total power and wealth concentrated in the hands of the royal family.
The threshold for a High star nation was 20,000 warships, and Glolo maintained a fleet of 30,000. In its early days, the Ynun Star Nation had possessed 10,000 warships, but those were ancient; there is a vast difference in combat effectiveness between old and new models. A true High-tier star nation can continuously modernize its fleet.
"Have the Glolo Star Nation exert pressure on the Rusty Star Nation."
"If the Rusty Star Nation continues to resist, then launch a direct offensive. Just ensure we seize the evasion-capable ship technology."
Sesri's words were as cold as iron.
With a single sentence, he decided the fate of a Mid-tier star nation.
...
231203 A.D.
More than 700 years had passed since the last council.
The two originally scheduled plans had stabilized; the current phase was the sustained manufacturing of ships and warships.
The Rusty Star Nation had formed an alliance with five surrounding star nations:
The Yanli Independence Star Nation, the Rofas Star Nation, the 28783 Star Nation, the Oraned Federation Star Nation, and the Northern United Star Nation.
These five represented four distinct political models.
An "Independence Star Nation" was born from a former Client State, proving it was once a vassal.
A plain "Star Nation" was a standard entity, implying no major regime shifts since its founding.
A "Federation Star Nation" was typically formed by a large star nation aggregating several smaller nations or factions.
A "United Star Nation" consisted of several roughly equal small nations joined together, with no internal hierarchy.
All five were Mid-tier star nations, as only Mid-tier entities possessed warship production lines.
These five nations provided the Rusty Star Nation with nearly seven production lines, manufacturing 120 warships every century. Combined with the Rusty Star Nation's own output of 160 vessels, they maintained a respectable total of 280.
Production had been running for over 200 years now, totaling 250 warships.
The Rusty Star Nation itself, during these 700-plus years, had manufactured 1,030 warships. Its total warship count had reached 2,100, essentially recovering to pre-war levels.
Among these vessels, 20 were void-class warships, their designs derived from the Ghost.
The recovery of the Rusty Star Nation's combat readiness signaled that war was imminent.
The Lican Sector, where the Rusty Star Nation was located, currently housed 11 star nations. The Rusty Star Nation alone held three-fifths of the territory, while the remaining 10 nations occupied the other two-fifths.
Previously, Luna had dispatched the Divines to destabilize these nations. Now, relations among those 10 nations were abysmal, with each launching campaigns against the others. Some had even petitioned the Rusty Star Nation for protection.
The Rusty Star Nation chose two nations to cooperate with, granting them White Dragon production lines.
These two nations gradually gained the upper hand during these centuries of conflict, but star nations are not easily annihilated; even the weakest was projected to hold out for another 200 years.
In such a theater of war, it was unwise for the Rusty Star Nation to intervene directly. That would invite condemnation and provide an excuse for certain powers and factions to launch an offensive against them.
Wars also require pretexts. Without one, a nation is branded a warmonger, prompting peaceful star nations to shun cooperation and causing significant economic damage.
Even within the current climate of the star nation Sectors, neutral star nations exist; typically, their inherent strength is quite formidable, as the weaker ones were annihilated long ago. Because these neutral star nations are relatively large, many other nations still weigh their attitudes carefully.
Beyond the Lican Sector, the Rusty Star Nation has also extended its reach into the neighboring Kehir Sector.
That Sector is 20% larger than Lican and 50% richer in resources, making it a relatively wealthy region.
It contains eight star nations, which have also been plunged into chaotic infighting by the Divines. The Rusty Star Nation is currently sponsoring one of these nations.
At the M36 Star Cluster headquarters.
Luna examined the current map of the Rusty Star Nation's sphere of influence.
If development continued at this pace, in 1,000 years, the Rusty Star Nation could grow to match the Ynun Star Nation's peak combat power, becoming one of the stronger entities among Mid-tier star nations.
"Haste makes waste, as they say."
"And yet, it is still too slow."
"Even with my assistance, does a star nation's growth still require ten thousand years to measure?"
Sometimes Luna felt time moved too quickly.
In the blink of an eye, over 200,000 years had passed.
But at times like this, Luna felt time moved far too slowly: how had only a thousand or eight hundred years gone by?
"Have those two, Toma K and Giotto, gone a long time without producing any new technology?"
As Luna was considering this, a transmission arrived from the border.
Communication with five border star systems has been lost!