In one of the ancient palaces on the planet Keizar-
Ding Ding Ding
Aro, who had been sitting quietly at one of the corners of a massive round table where a small circle of the upper nobility had gathered, finally rose to his feet. With a composed expression, he began tapping the rim of a crystal cup placed before him, producing a clear tallic rhythm that echoed across the hall. "May I have your attention, everyone?" he said in a calm yet commanding tone.
"..."
And indeed, not only did the nobles closest to him put down their utensils and turn their heads toward him, but behind them, across the vast hall, lay several long rows of lavish banquet tables filled with every delicacy imaginable. Upon those tables sat hundreds of officials, generals, and elite commanders who had participated earlier in the Armant Bath simulation ceremony. One by one, their conversations faded; forks were lowered, and all eyes gradually converged on the Marshal standing at the round table.
Once Aro sensed that he had captured the mont he wanted, he gently placed the cup down and allowed a confident smile to form on his face. "First of all," he announced, "I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you all on the triumphant success of the Fourth Weaponization Bath Simulation. This is not rely a victory in formality-it is a significant milestone on the path of strengthening the resilience and immunity of our army, the army that has proven ti and ti again that it is truly unbeatable!"
Clap Clap
Aro waited patiently as the wave of applause swept across the hall and gradually faded. Then, with a gracious gesture, he motioned to the individuals seated at his round table. "Second, let us all warmly welco the new Wing Master-Master of the Wing of Light's Isle-whose contributions have brought us an astonishing addition of 170 new planets, increasing the total number of worlds under our dominion to an incredible 1,640 planets!!"
Thunderous applause filled the hall
"Congratulations to all of us for having you among our circle, and congratulations to you for the great future that awaits!" Ranther-the
dark-skinned king with gleaming yellow eyes-turned with a proud smile to salute the new mber seated beside him.
"You have made the right choice." A woman adorned with a magnificent feathered crown gave him an acknowledging nod.
anwhile, the green-skinned man let out a booming laugh. "I want an extra dose of the Affinity-Enhancing Elixirs from Sky Opening City as a diation reward for pulling strings here, hah hah hah!"
"Haha! Thank you, my brothers, Wing Masters!" The newcor, a man with narrow eyes and a dark circular mark around them, stood and bowed
respectfully. "Thank you all for this honor."
"....." Aro continued clapping, although his smile now looked noticeably stiff and controlled. Only when the new Wing Master finally took his seat and all attention drifted back to the Marshal did the forced smile disappear from Aro's face entirely. He straightened his shoulders. "Now then," he said, his voice dropping into a more serious register, "after enjoying such a pleasant and festive day... how about we move on to the real matter at hand?"
".."
Everyone had already been silent, but after those words, it felt as though the grand hall had been a bustling marketplace that suddenly froze in place. A suffocating stillness swept through the air-many felt as if they had instinctively held their breath without realizing it.
"Is this about the Holva Alliance?" Wing Master Howard asked, wiping the last traces of food from his lips with a finely embroidered napkin before lifting his gaze to et Aro's. "Has sothing new happened?"
"...There is sothing new." Aro nodded firmly, his expression grave.
"I knew this gathering wasn't only for celebration." One of the figures at the round table-a Wing Master with large antlers resembling those of a majestic deer-leaned back with visible irritation. "What have those Holva bastards done this ti?"
Holva was the na of a fearso millennial empire. Their empire occupied the starfield closest to the Specter Blood starfield, the sa region where the Double-Centennial Grave Empire had recently erged.
Holva had begun stepping into the scene after they were officially invited by nurous factions within the Specter Blood starfield to intervene and provide protection against the Double-Centennial Grave Empire crazed conquest's...
So of the forces warring against Aro had turned to Holva, pleading for military assistance and advanced weaponry. The Holva Empire agreed and sent them whatever they desired-but only in exchange for exorbitant, borderline outrageous prices.
Yet even after being supplied with superior arms crafted by an ancient millennial power, those factions continued to crumble, losing planet after planet. Their repeated failures earned them nothing but disdain and mocking laughter from the Holva envoys.
For in the eyes of the millennial empire's representatives, these were naive upstarts-an empire that had crawled out from underground just a few centuries ago. And now, even while wielding weapons forged by a civilization millions of years older and imasurably more sophisticated, they still managed to lose.
To Holva, it was shaful... and amusing.
But at last- after the Grave Empire had officially risen to the rank of a Centennial Empire-the Holva Empire finally began looking at them with a touch of seriousness they had never shown before. A subtle but unmistakable shade of concern crept into the hearts of several Holva officials, stirred by the Grave Empire's alarming and increasingly accelerated growth. Their rapid evolution couldn't be brushed aside anymore.
Bit by bit, Holva's high-ranking ministers started listening carefully to the requests being sent to them, urging them to intervene formally-mobilize their ancient legions and wipe the Grave Empire from existence while it was still
young.
Thus, a coalition slowly began to take shape-or more accurately, a cluster of factions hostile to the Grave Empire attempted to push the millennial Holva Empire into stepping decisively into their starfield. They begged millennial Holva Empire to stop Aro's advance in exchange for considerable benefits and political leverage. And this ti, unexpectedly, the Holva Empire did not ignore
them.
They actually listened. Real discussions were opened-serious ones- concerning how many battalions each party would contribute, the distribution of military responsibilities, and, most importantly, the exact share of spoils and planetary rights that each partner in this alliance would claim after the
invasion.
But then the Shadow Swords intervened... and they disrupted eting after eting with frightening precision. One representative's spacecraft mysteriously malfunctioned in deep transit, another lost his aunt to an assassination, and a third ended up drinking a subtle but extrely lethal toxin that left him bedridden and delirious for weeks.
This string of disasters forced the alliance into silence for a while... The major factions could no longer gather their delegates in a single room without soone mysteriously falling victim to "accidents." anwhile, the millennial Holva Empire itself was not particularly interested in the conflict. In their eyes, the Grave Empire was still nothing more than a rising threat-one that might potentially matter in a hundred thousand years, maybe even later. As far as Holva's ancient perspective was concerned, the Grave Empire was still far too insignificant to bother their great machine of war.
Everything stayed that way-until that fateful ceremony was held... the ceremony in which the Grave Empire publicly announced the joining of the
Black Wasps.
At that mont, sothing shifted across the entire geopolitical landscape. No being no matter how arrogant, ancient, or condescending- could look at the Black Wasps and dismiss them as weak or irrelevant. Even the millennial Holva Empire had tasted the sting of the Black Wasps in the past; they had suffered operations at their hands and had paid heavy, unforgettable losses. Their reputation was carved into history.
With the Black Wasps now standing behind the Grave Empire, it beca impossible-utterly impossible-to treat that empire as sothing distant, harmless, or "future concern." They had suddenly transford into a rising force that must be dealt with before it evolved beyond control.
That was when the true alliance began to crystallize-an alliance ford with a single objective: to invade the Specter Blood Starfield. And this ti, the alliance was not rely seeking Holva's approval; the millennial Holva Empire stood at its very center. After once being nothing more than a party others begged to join, Holva had beco the very power issuing the invitations, setting the terms, and shaping the coalition itself.
When Aro learned of this developnt, he imdiately dispatched diplomats
to the millennial Holva Empire with a clear ssage: he held no desire for hostility, and he wished to open paths of trade, cooperation, and mutual benefit. He offered sothing invaluable-he would purchase any of their valuable products in large quantities, no limits, no restrictions. It was, in truth, the greatest gesture a rising power could extend toward an ancient empire.
And remarkably, Aro's gentle approach worked for a long ti. The comrcial exchange between the Centennial Grave Empire and the millennial Holva Empire grew and flourished until it reached an astonishing 750 million Pearls within just a single century...
The Holva Empire found in Aro a perfect buyer-soone always ready to purchase all their rare materials, regardless of how massive the stockpiles were or how steep the price. And Aro found what he desperately needed: a gigantic, open vein of rare and exceptionally high-grade materials-materials above grade five-which he used to fill the vaults of the Grave Empire and construct the strong foundational core he had lacked as a newly risen force. Everyone-both sides-was content with this new balance. Both empires benefited, and the tense political landscape slowly stabilized into a mutually
profitable coexistence...
Until sothing happened thirty years ago.
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