Chapter 516: Ch

"In a few hours, we should receive updates on that as well. As soon as a decision has been reached by the Interior Council and approved by the Imperial Commander, the Resource Management Bureau should dispatch a team to take over."

"All in all, it shouldn't take much longer. The necessary approvals should come through soon."

"Hmm." Ritika nodded her head and sighed. "Better they hurry up with this. I want to hand it over to those nutcases as soon as possible."

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Mav suddenly laughed. "Why? What happened? Why are you suddenly in such a hurry to hand it over?"

"And if I remember correctly, it was you who 'forcefully' took this over. Now what happened?" He asked teasingly.

"Sigh… don't laugh at me like that," Ritika said through gritted teeth. "I don't know what got into me when I decided to take it over. Maybe I wanted to prove that I'm not that hopeless and actually have some talent in management as well.

But at that time, I forgot that things like this would eventually be passed over to that special division within the Resource Management Bureau.

And I realized it even more after I touched down on Lunaria.

It's much more special than just that, Mav. The presence of the Laws of Ice, Water, and other elemental laws can be felt there. And not only that, even the Supreme Law of Soul can be perceived if one possesses enough talent."

She said this with a serious tone. "You know how rare it is to perceive any kind of law—whether elemental laws, special laws, or even those Supreme Laws—anywhere other than Origin Planets within the Universal Domain and a few other special places in there."

"Knowing that, along with that special spirit plant that's born there, it would definitely garner the attention of that special division and those people."

She sighed with worry. "You know how much of a ruckus they create over one little thing. Now I even fear they'll dare to report me for stepping one foot onto the planet itself."

She gritted her teeth hard, as if imagining the scenario where she would have to appear before the panel and argue with those nutcases.

While she wouldn't actually be in trouble herself, those pieces of pain would drag her here and there, making her deal with endless procedures.

Mav, hearing about the Law of Soul, was surprised and nodded his head. "Sigh… at least our luck is good. Finding such a thing means we will definitely gain a load of Merit Points.

As for you suffering… Hahahaha!" Thinking about the way those people from that special department did things, he knew Ritika would, one way or another, be dragged into the matter.

She was in for a long and tedious ordeal, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"Just bear with it. You know how they are. And anyway, it's just going to be a few offices and posting a few sheets of paper. Not much of a deal, is it?" He snickered as he said this.

Ritika, meanwhile, felt even worse. "Ahhh, damn it! This is what we call an inescapable fate. And you, Mav, laugh and laugh some more. Your days are numbered as well.

Hmph! Today it's me. Tomorrow, those nutcases will definitely deal with you as well. But no worries. I'll accompany you through those tough days, just like you are doing now." She huffed angrily.

While her words sounded humble, anyone with a brain could tell she was definitely targeting Mav.

Mav chuckled sinisterly in response, as if such a thing would never happen to him, and snorted before changing the topic.

"There have been reports about Grand Admiral Yuki's Grand Fleet as well. They have not only successfully taken down the Hegemony completely, but they have somehow taken down a huge chunk of territory governed by the Hegemony as well."

"They took down more than 5,986 star systems in the process. They completely wiped out twenty Tier 2 mid- to low-class powers and about three Tier 2 high-level states while doing so.

Their strike range is more than a level higher than ours." He sighed with a desolate look.

All the smile had vanished from his face. What remained was the expression of someone who had suffered a crushing defeat.

Ritika noticed this and immediately spoke. "Even though I'm a bit perplexed myself about how Grand Admiral Yuki, Lunava, and Lunivia achieved that, but hey you don't have to be so down about it."

"It would have been the case previously where you could drown yourself in depression over this."

"But with my new discovery of Lunaria, all of that can be made up for and more, you know?"

"While we might not have gained more territory during the first phase of the operation, we have definitely gained a crucial resource for the Empire. That is more than enough to cover the difference between us and Grand Admiral Yuki." She said this confidently.

Hearing this, Mav's face lit up a little, and he nodded his head like a chicken. "Yes, you're right. We are still in the lead if we consider that. But that was our luck this time. Maybe we won't be so lucky next time."

"So, we have to come up with a way that allows us to actively conquer more territory at a faster pace while maintaining resource stability." He said this firmly.

"Looks like we might need to pause the defensive projects for a short period of time and create some momentum for the next part of the operation." He contunued thinking this thoughtfully after analyzing the situation for a few moments.

"Great! I'll go and call everyone now to pause the defensive projects and have them come here to brainstorm." Ritika said this immediately and turned around, preparing to go and do exactly that.

"Hey, hey, wait! Wait! We don't have to be in such a hurry. Let's first finish laying a protective formation around the three main worlds. After that, we can brainstorm." Mav hurriedly stopped Ritika from leaving just like that and creating a ruckus when it wasn't needed yet.

And not wanting her to speak any further about it, he quickly changed the topic and brought Kallus into the mix.

[Kallus: Good. Very good, Grand Admiral. Now I've become an excuse for you to change the topic, huh?]

"There has been another piece of news from the capital that reached me. The Imperial Commander—His Majesty the Emperor—is on the move. He left the capital alone with Obliterator." Mav added.

"Really?!" Ritika yelped in surprise and astonishment, immediately forgetting everything else.

Mav sighed in relief. Oh, thank God. It worked. He thought this while wiping away his sweat.

[Mav's Inner Spirit: I'm sorry, Imperial Commander, but there was no other way. You just don't know her… sigh.]

"Why didn't he let the Imperial Fleet and Imperial Guard Fleet follow him?" Ritika asked with a hint of worry.

"Wasn't that the reason behind the creation of that elite force along with imperial guards in the first place?"

"What are you worried about? You know the strength of the Imperial Commander. Back during the war with the Dark Flood Dragon Race in the Flood Dragon Star Cluster—"

(Note: A star cluster contains roughly one hundred thousand star systems.)

"—he defeated that thing against which even US beings of the Integration Realm couldn't move properly against. Not to mention, this time around, the Imperial Commander is moving with Obliterator, his own personal ship."

"That ship is the true foundation of our Empire. With that, what power in this galaxy—or beyond—could possibly do something to him?" Mav said this with absolute certainty and an almost worshipful look on his face.

[Kallus: Excellent, Grand Admiral. I'm proud to hear the confidence and worship in your heartfelt words. Hmm… I'll agree to let you create a temple in my honor. Go ahead, my believers. You shall walk among mortals and promote my will… cough, cough. Oh damn, when did I develop this fetish for playing God?]

Ritika, hearing the certainty in Mav's words, could only sigh and nod her head in agreement.

Indeed, their Imperial Commander was simply too powerful. There was no one around here who could be compared to or contend with him anyway.

"This would be the first time our Imperial Commander is making a move with Obliterator in the real world, right?" she asked.

"Indeed. This will be the first time," Mav responded.

"Looks like this time, our Imperial Commander is going all in to establish absolute authority for our Empire." Ritika said this with admiration on her face.

"'All in' might be too much, but indeed, authority will most definitely be established, and it will be swift and fast."

"Though there will be some problems in his way."

"Indeed, much of it has to do with us letting more than a few stragglers—and those people from the Seven Super Powers—deliberately escape."