Departure and Gifts

A conference room with holographic projection.

"Recruitment complete!"

With Tolon's order, the Federation conscription officially came to an end.

The remaining forces of the Church of Mechanical Truth will be subject to a large-scale search by the Federation Military District, and new missions will be issued to eradicate them.

Lister knew in his heart that this purge would most likely end in failure.

Under Hoffman's guidance, Kavin has already traveled to the outer star system of the Milky Way, truly embarking on his journey into the vast universe.

The mechanical lifeforms he led naturally migrated away as well.

A73 headed directly to the Arcane Seat of Government Planet.

On the fleet, Lister was immediately filled with excitement.

The military achievements in this recruitment mission are truly numerous, and the Federation Military District is really generous.

A minimum of 2 million military merits, plus military merits for clearing out a complete route.

And Lister's 1v1 battle in which he held off Kavin during the great war with Ailan also constituted the largest portion of his military achievements.

In total, the ship's military merits amounted to 5.71 million points.

Apart from Lister's personal military merit of 910,000 points, the remaining military merit was distributed to him at a rate of 22%, totaling 1,056,000 points.

The two combined amount to nearly 2 million, and considering Lister's military achievements accumulated over the previous ten years, it's enough to reach 5 million points.

His days in the Arcane Civilization Army were now officially numbered.

But before the Ship A73 could even return, his fame spread even faster.

"The Galactic Federation's Newest Rising Genius! -- Lister Merrick"

"Colonel Tolon, one of the Federation's top ten Quasi-Hegemon, personally admitted that he is inferior to Lister."

"Breaking News! The Federal Central Army is losing its ability to attract talent; the top Quasi-Hegemon is actually serving in the Civilization Army!?"

"The Merrick Civilization, a Level 2 civilization, has surpassed the Intelligent Machine Civilization to become the newest and most likely candidate to become a Level 4 civilization!"

Information about Lister suddenly began to circulate widely within the Galactic Federation.

In the Federation's various sub-networks, the first few messages invariably contain information about Lister and the Merrick Civilization.

It should be noted that just a few years ago, when news of Lister's advancement to the eighteenth rank spread, his momentum to become one of the Federation's top ten Quasi-Hegemon was less than one percent of what it is now.

It's clear that everyone's expectations for the new Hegemon and the fourth-level civilization far exceed those for the Quasi-Hegemon.

After all, the top nine Quasi-Hegemon have been known in the Galactic Federation for thousands of years, but none of them have actually become Hegemon.

The Galactic Federation has always been the Hegemon in terms of discourse and focus!

The most publicly available information consists of speeches by the Hegemon of the Federation Government and Federation Military Districts, as well as their attendance at certain events.

After this recruitment mission, it's unclear whether Tolon helped him gain fame or if there was another force pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Lister's information within the Galactic Federation is increasing, especially the number of media reports and the spread of his civilization are growing exponentially.

"A young man from a remote star system, through his own efforts, founded the Merrick Civilization... Arcane Army Group, and after his first Federation conscription mission, he was promoted to major. He subsequently participated in several exterminations of Zerg-like Zerg... This year, he even completed the extermination of an 18th-tier Zerg civilization and participated in a special joint mission with the Quasi-Hegemon. When the former first Quasi-Hegemon Ailan Sanders, sacrificed himself, he turned the tide and earned the recognition of other Quasi-Hegemon, including Colonel Tolon Davis, currently ranked third, who personally admitted that his strength was inferior to Lister's..."

Inside his cabin on the warship, Lister carefully read the news reports about himself.

This report comes from the Beta Civilization, and it contains incredibly detailed information about his personal experiences.

The information uncovered after leaving Merrick Planet was crystal clear.

Logically, information from the Federation Military District should be classified, especially conscription missions, which are top secret.

However, in the public news of the Beta Civilization, Lister's information was as transparent as if it were transparent.

The most detailed account is of his annihilation of the eighteenth-tier Zerg matrix.

It's probably because this recruitment mission can't be overhyped, since the real core is Commander Vidal.

Therefore, his image was largely built upon his previous mission.

Lister compared the key details of many tasks with the task reports submitted by Cohen at the time, and they were almost identical.

That's right, most of the content was actually written by Cohen at his behest.

After all, there wasn't time to keep detailed records of the actual battle against the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother; it was just a matter of passing the Federation Military District's review.

Many operational details, upon closer examination, reveal themselves to be quite strange and illogical.

However, in current media reports, after being artistically embellished, it appears perfectly reasonable.

At the same time, his combat skills and swordsmanship are absolutely superb!

And the civilized citizens who read these news articles all developed a sense of admiration and awe for them.

In less than twenty years, he rose from a mere Hegemon to become the number one near -Quasi-Hegemon. This legendary experience has truly captivated the entire Galactic Federation.

Following the lead of the Beta Civilization, the Leviathan Civilization and the Witchcraft Civilizations also began to report on it publicly.

At present, Lister is the most popular figure in the Galactic Federation.

Notification: Information in the Galactic Federation's Special Information Database has been updated and is now available for viewing.

Following the system notification, Lister opened the information database.

Ailan Sanders' information had been erased, and his own name had been replaced as the first in the list.

"Lister Merrick, Colonel of the Federation Military District's Arcane Civilization Army, belonging to the Merrick Civilization, 18th Rank, Quasi-Hegemon."

"Enel Quirk, former member of the Federation Government House of Representatives (currently wanted), belongs to the Intelligent Machine Civilization, 18th level, Quasi-Hegemon."

"Tolon Davis, Colonel of the Seventh Army Group of the Federation Military District, belonging to the Leviathan Civilization, 18th Tier, Quasi-Hegemon."

Everything happened so naturally.

It was as if all the honor and the adoration of the Galactic Federation had been bestowed upon him.

I wonder if the battle between Ailan and Hoffman for the title of the first Quasi-Hegemon thousands of years ago was as grand as his.

"Captain~!"

"Captain~!"

The soldiers approaching them no longer held the respect and admiration of the past; instead, their eyes were filled with utter fanaticism.

"Um..."

He nodded slightly in response, and the soldiers had already stood aside, waiting for him to pass first.

Inside the Landing Operations Department's conference room, Lister distributed the fleet's military achievements.

Just as he was about to leave, Zahn quickly followed behind, looking very cautious, as if he needed to talk to him.

On large ships, the conditions for the Landing Operations Department are also much better than in the past.

They led Zahn to a small, private meeting room next door.

"Is there a problem? Do you feel the military merits have been distributed too little this time?"

Over the past decade, Zahn has become increasingly valued by him.

While the increase in strength wasn't rapid, it had already completed three evolutions thanks to the resources gained from exchanging a large amount of military merit.

Strength at level 13, combat power at level B.

This military merit award is sufficient for promotion to major.

This was a promotion he never dared to dream of, given that he was previously only a lieutenant.

At this moment, when faced with Lister's question, Zahn hurriedly shook his head.

"Captain, I have no objection to the military merit."

"I just wanted to ask you, are you leaving the Arcane Civilization Army?"

Upon hearing this, Lister immediately understood why Zahn had sought him out.

His information about the warship was already quite clear.

He served in the Arcane Army Group precisely to create his own Civilization Army.

Ordinary sergeants might not know this, but most of the officers on board were well aware of it.

Zahn's mention of this at this moment speaks volumes.

"You want to come with me to develop the Merrick Civilization Army?"

"Yes!"

"You should think this through carefully. The Merrick Civilization is currently only a level two civilization, and the establishment of its Civilization Army from scratch has taken a tremendous amount of time and effort."

"For a long time, we won't have the military achievements and resources that Unit 73 has now."

"If you come with me to the Merrick Civilization Army, it will hinder your own development."

In the early stages of the Civilization Army's establishment, the focus was mainly on construction, including the training of new recruits.

There's no need to focus on completing tasks in the early stages, as it definitely slows down Zahn's growth pace.

Of course, if Zahn can pull through, under Lister's care, his future will certainly be much brighter than that of the Merrick Civilization.

Upon hearing Lister's words, Zahn's eyes lit up instantly.

This test already demonstrated Lister Lister's willingness to accept him, and he quickly expressed his agreement.

"Captain, I'm willing!"

"I am willing to grow alongside the Merrick Civilization Army!"

"I believe that with you, Captain, the future development of the Merrick Civilization Army will definitely surpass that of the Arcane Civilization Army!"

"Alright, you can stay on the Ship A73 for now. I'll handle the transfer later."

As Zahn left happily, before Lister could even get up, there was another knock outside the small conference room.

Lister was somewhat surprised to see who was knocking on the door; he hadn't expected it to be Reck.

Compared to ten years ago, Reck has changed drastically.

Even wearing a federal military uniform couldn't hide the overwhelming sense of decadence emanating from him.

Her original short haircut had long since grown out naturally, and her hair was messy and disheveled, with dirt on it.

He wore the rank of captain on his shoulder insignia, but he was not well-known in the Landing Operations Department. He was just the second deputy commander of the second battalion under Zahn's command, and his rank and position were completely mismatched.

"You've figured it out?"

Reck's face was somewhat blank, and he appeared taciturn.

From a former social butterfly to this state, all it took was one painful heartbreak.

And this pain actually started ten years ago.

At the party where Lister met Roland, Mila hooked up with a lieutenant colonel from the Glimmer Civilization Army.

And after being with Roland for two years, he was suddenly transferred from the Arcane Civilization to the Glimmer Civilization Army.

Since then, Reck has been deeply affected.

The entire person in the Landing Operations Department underwent a drastic personality change and became indifferent to everything.

They only unleash their fury when it comes to planning battles.

If it weren't for Lister's care and Zahn's several acts of assistance, Reck would probably have died on the battlefield long ago.

Today, sitting opposite him, his eyes were much clearer than before.

"My lord, I wish to go with you to the Merrick Civilization Army."

"Yes, I would have taken you with me even if you hadn't mentioned it."

Don't worry.

Lister paid no attention to these trivial matters; he no longer cared much about or valued Reck.

Out of consideration for their past relationship, and knowing that Reck knew about Wang Yue's situation, he knew he couldn't bring himself to kill him. Since he couldn't expose himself, he would naturally keep Wang Yue by his side.

But the words he was about to say filled Reck with immense gratitude.

After my first heartbreak, I lived in a daze for nearly seven or eight years.

It was only after this conscription mission, and after being reminded by his old leader Zahn, that he finally realized his mistake.

The thought of Lister's impending departure brought back vivid memories of the earliest days when I followed him.

That's why they rushed over in a hurry, their ambitions from their recruit days rekindled.

The Arcane Seat of Government Planet.

When the A73 docked Lister led the way off the warship, the three rear admirals were already waiting at the docking and landing point.

This was the first time, aside from previous awarding rank occasions, that Lister had seen three major generals appear together.

This is the first time someone has ever come specifically to pick him up!

A colonel-level officer followed behind, as documented by various media outlets.

In just over half a month, Lister went from being somewhat famous to being a household name, even though he hadn't yet become Hegemon.

His status Quasi-Hegemon number one player garnered far more attention than he had anticipated.

Have you thought it through? Or should you reconsider?

"I will try my best to apply for the general's rank for you with the Federation Military District. We can discuss the large ships and the fleet you need."

"A special seat will be added to your Military Council within the Arcane Civilization Army."

The elderly Major General York patted him on the shoulder quite naturally, offering his final words of advice, his eyes full of expectation.

Major Generals Nielsen and Morse, standing beside him, were dealing with reporters while also keeping an eye on Lister.

"I've thought it through. I still want to create my own Civilization Army."

"I believe that even if I leave, Merrick's friendship with the Arcane Civilization will not change."

Major General York was not surprised by the answer, and his expression remained unchanged.

He simply nodded before speaking again.

"Alright! We, the Arcane Civilization Army, respect your decision."

"Our military region has already completed the internal procedures for you in advance. Once you submit your request to create Civilization Army, we will report it to us immediately."

"The new large ship A73 will also be gifted to the Merrick Civilization."

Consider this a farewell gift from our Arcane Army Group.

"This... Major General York, this gift is far too valuable! Let's just forget about it!"

Lister had considered various scenarios in which he would soon depart.

But the fact that they helped him resolve all the complicated procedures ahead of time and even gave him a large ship as a gift was completely beyond his expectations.

The Arcane Civilization Army has only built four of these large ships so far.

The required materials and manufacturing costs are countless, far exceeding those of ordinary small and medium-sized warships.

This can be seen from the Glimmer Civilization led by Roland. Even after ten years, the Glimmer Civilization's main warships are still medium-sized ships, and large ships are still under construction, estimated to take another two years to be officially completed.

"Haha! This is a resolution from our Military Commission, and also a comprehensive resolution approved by the Arcane Civilization Government."

"Besides, even a colonel wouldn't be able to handle a large warship, so you don't need to refuse."

"Major General York, if the Arcane Civilization ever encounters difficulties in the future, I will definitely help if I can!"

From the very beginning of his time with the Arcane Civilization Army, Lister had always received their care and support.

Major General York's words made it clear that the Arcane Civilization was making an early investment in him.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Major General York's smile grew even wider!