Chapter 152: Butting Heads

Before the Astral Dominion expanded beyond its home world and established its connection to the Lord’s Domain, humanity had already experienced an unprecedented era of development.

?Back then, Earth was divided among countless nations, each pursuing its own narrow interests.

Political rivalries, economic warfare, and ideological divides had kept humanity fragmented for centuries.

Even as technology advanced at a breakneck pace, the prospect of genuine global unity remained little more than a pipe dream.

?That changed when five powerful families joined forces.

?Their collective influence spanned politics, global commerce, cutting-edge technology, higher education, and military affairs.

Through a combination of strategic marriages, economic dominance, political maneuvering, and overwhelming military pressure, they gradually brought the entire planet under a single governing authority.

?It was an achievement that fundamentally reshaped human history.

?For the first time, humanity possessed a unified leadership capable of coordinating the resources of an entire world.

Scientific research accelerated exponentially, technological barriers collapsed, and the foundations for interstellar expansion were laid.

?Eventually, humanity reached beyond its home solar system, expanded into the stars, and linked with the Lord’s Domain.

?The five dynasties responsible for this transformation became known as the Legacy Families.

?Their original contributions had earned them astronomical prestige, but their influence extended far beyond historical reverence.

Over generations, they had woven themselves into every critical institution within the Astral Dominion.

Their descendants occupied pivotal positions in high politics, megacorporations, scientific research institutes, military high command, and the academies shaping future generations.

?The Council was no exception.

?Through carefully cultivated alliances and generations of political maneuvering, the Legacy Families had secured an iron grip over the primary legislative body governing the Astral Dominion.

Their representatives could draft policies, veto appointments, and steer massive resource allocations directly toward their private interests.

?Fortunately, there was one fundamental power they couldn’t monopolize.

?Becoming a Lord.

?The Lord’s Domain alone determined who could awaken as a Lord. No amount of generational wealth, political leverage, or ancestral prestige could force the system to bestow a Lord Seed.

?A scion of a Legacy Family might awaken as a Lord, but so could an ordinary citizen born in a slums district on a remote frontier world.

The Lord’s Domain made zero distinction between noble bloodlines and common ancestry.

?It was the single check that prevented the Legacy Families from turning the Astral Dominion into their private family inheritance.

?That didn’t mean they lacked power, however.

?Far from it.

?Their reach inside the Dominion’s public institutions was vast, and their private military forces were formidable.

They possessed wealth that ordinary families could scarcely comprehend, political connections that reached into the highest offices, and enough leverage to make even high-tier Lords think twice before opposing them.

?Louis Ferdinand knew these families all too well.

?After serving as Overseer for centuries, he had crossed swords with their representatives countless times.

He understood their subtle methods, recognized their boundless ambitions, and knew precisely how far they were willing to go to protect their bottom line.

?If there was one thing he could say about the Legacy Families, it was that they were exceptionally skilled at causing severe headaches.

?And today, they had apparently decided to give him another one.

?Louis sat upon the highest seat in the House of Council, looking down over the vast, stepped chamber.

?The council members occupied ascending rows of seats arranged in a wide semicircle before him, mimicking the parliamentary chambers of humanity’s distant past.

Each tier rose above the previous one, giving every representative an unobstructed view of the central dais.

?Holographic displays floated above the center of the chamber, streaming real-time briefs concerning the attack on Planet Roca.

Images of shattered skyscrapers, captured mercenaries, and the containment field around the Worldbreaker Core rotated slowly across the screens.

?The atmosphere in the room was suffocatingly tense.

?Several council members whispered behind their hands, while others reviewed the casualty reports with dark expressions.

Representatives from military intelligence and planetary administration had already delivered their initial briefings, but the assembly had reached a complete standstill.

?They wanted answers.

?And naturally, they wanted them from the man who had personally intervened on the ground.

?Louis had barely settled into his high seat when a councilor stood up from the middle tiers.

?The man wore a tailored formal uniform adorned with the crest of one of the Legacy Families.

His silver hair was immaculately combed, and his expression carried the distinct flavor of unearned self-importance that Louis had encountered far too often throughout his career.

?Bypassing basic protocol, the man addressed the Overseer directly.

?"Overseer Ferdinand, perhaps you would care to explain why you abandoned the capital without authorization?"

?The murmur across the chamber gradually died down.

?The councilor didn’t wait for a response before pressing on.

?"Were you oblivious to your primary duties? Gaia is the capital world of the Astral Dominion. If it had come under surprise attack while its principal protector was absent, who would bear responsibility for the catastrophic consequences?"

?He spread his hands wide, as though the answer were painfully obvious to everyone present.

?"Or are we expected to simply accept that the Overseer can abandon his post whenever he pleases to pursue some personal side quest?"

?A few representatives exchanged subtle glances. Others leaned back in their seats, quietly waiting to see how Louis would react.

?The elderly Overseer remained perfectly still.

?"..."

?For several long seconds, he simply stared down at the man.

?’Side quest?’

?Louis felt a vein twitch faintly at his temple.

?He had spent the entire day coordinating a global planetary defense, personally vaporizing hundreds of thousands of hostiles, and preventing billions of citizens from being vaporized by a black-hole-level extinction device.

?He had barely found a second to draw breath, let alone rest.

?And now, after rushing back to the capital to brief the council, he was being lectured by a politician whose greatest contribution to the crisis was sitting in a climate-controlled chair waiting for someone else to fix it.

’?The Legacy Families really know how to make a man regret saving a world.’

?Louis drew a slow, deliberate breath.

?He had dealt with their posturing for centuries. He knew better than to rise to cheap provocations with blind anger, especially in a legislative hall where every word was recorded and weaponized.

?Still, that didn’t mean he intended to let the insult slide.

?He leaned forward slightly, resting one hand firmly against the arm of his high seat.

?"Before we discuss my absence from Gaia, perhaps you should clarify something for the assembly."

?His voice was quiet.

?Far too quiet.

?The councilor’s posture stiffened slightly, but he held his ground. "And what would that be, Overseer?"

?Louis locked eyes directly with him.

?"When you refer to my intervention on Planet Roca as a ’personal side quest,’ are you asserting that preventing the total destruction of a core Dominion planet falls outside the scope of my duties?"

?The chamber went dead silent.

?Louis continued before the politician could formulate a response.

?"Or do you believe that the billions of citizens living on Planet Roca are somehow less deserving of protection than the elite residing on Gaia?"

?His tone never rose, but the questions landed with the force of a warhammer.

?Several council members shifted uncomfortably in their seats, pulling back from the silver-haired representative.

?The man opened his mouth to retort, then hesitated, realizing the trap he had just walked into.

?Louis leaned back into his seat, his gaze cold and heavy.

?"And even in my absence, are the rest of you truly so fragile that you require constant hand-holding?"