Promotion to Major General

Inside the holographic projection, Hoffman sat upright in front of him.

The Ailan Sanders doll behind him was using its spatial abilities to help relocate the manufacturing line for the mechanical lifeforms.

"Something felt off; I could sense that Vidal had been hostile towards me."

"General Vidal? Was it the one we were summoned to see before?"

"Yes."

When Admiral Vidal was mentioned, a hint of reminiscence appeared in Hoffman's eyes.

"In fact... General Vidal was originally my superior."

"You mean, he was originally the commander of the First Central Army Group?"

Lister immediately recalled Hoffman's past resume from the special database.

He was a lieutenant colonel in the First Central Army Group. He later defected from the Federation Military District due to a conflict and has been living in the vast universe ever since.

"Well, I don't know why, maybe it was just a normal rotation, but now he's the commander of the Seventh Army."

The Central Army Group of the Galactic Federation is the core of the Federation Military District, as evidenced by its very name, "Central Army".

The top ten Central Army are the elite of the elite, and they are bound to be dominated by Hegemon leaders.

Furthermore, the armies each of the seven federal generals command is also the Central Army of these top ten designations.

Currently, among the nearly fifty Central Army Groups in the Federation Military District, the other Central Army are led by lieutenant generals and major generals, not by Hegemon force.

"May I ask why you left the military region back then?"

When the First Central Army was mentioned, Lister couldn't help but ask about those days.

After all, Roland didn't even believe the reasons he gave, let alone convince Lister.

"Same as you are now, but also different."

Hoffman paused after speaking, then explained.

"Back when I was in the First Army, there was actually another Quasi-Hegemon who reached the eighteenth rank even earlier than me."

"He suddenly died during a conscription mission, and from then on, I also felt that Vidal's attitude towards me was somewhat strange."

"After I spoke to General Boren about this, it was only with his tacit approval that I ultimately defected from the First Army."

"General Boren?"

"Speaking of which, I just contacted him today."

Hoffman's face showed a hint of surprise when Lister mentioned General Boren.

"Is the general... alright?"

"I can only communicate with him through a holographic projection, and he seems to be in good condition."

"So... you defected back then simply because Vidal was hostile towards you?"

"Isn't this... enough?"

A simple rhetorical question caused Lister to fall silent.

He had considered that Hoffman's departure was not simple; it might be a power struggle between Level 4 civilizations, or it might be due to interference from certain individuals.

I never imagined that the reason was simply that Hoffman himself sensed something was wrong.

"He was a division commander back then, a colonel Quasi-Hegemon in the army. His death was not investigated much."

"I'm about to be promoted to colonel and report directly to him, but his attitude towards me is inexplicable."

"If you were in my shoes, would you still continue?"

After Hoffman's explanation, Lister shook his head.

High-level Class Holder have keen senses, especially Class Holder with sensory skills.

A sixth sense when facing death, and a strange feeling about something or someone.

The stronger one is, and the higher one's level, the more one naturally trusts their intuition in everything.

"Back then, I was in the Central Army, which imposed many restrictions, leaving me with no other choice."

"But you're different from me. You've always been in the Civilization Army, so you don't have to deal with these things all the time."

"Didn't you ever consider transferring back then?"

"I considered transferring to General Boren's army, but the general suggested I go 'outside' and see the world, so..."

It turns out that General Boren's influence was indeed behind Hoffman's defection.

When Roland asked you to participate in cultivating the 'Soul-Devouring Spider,' did he mention the source of the Soul Crystals?

"We've talked about it, so the Galactic Federation really is, as he guessed, all of us are just nourishment?"

"To 'supply' those existing Hegemons...?"

In fact, the more time passes, the more Lister endorses this absurd and nonsensical claim.

Even if there are some situations he cannot verify, or that are inaccurate.

However, the hierarchical structure of the Galactic Federation pyramid, and some other aspects of it, do indeed confirm this conjecture.

Hoffman, too, nodded in agreement.

"Since leaving the First Central Army, I haven't spent much time in the Galactic Federation."

"However, from my own perspective, I also agree with Roland's guess."

"So, what's my situation...? Or rather, what about all the Quasi-Hegemon right now...?"

"That doesn't make sense! If that were the case, shouldn't the Galactic Federation be helping me make a name for myself? Wouldn't it be better to keep a low profile and suppress the Quasi-Hegemon?"

As they talked, Lister felt a chill run down his spine.

The thought that such a massive Galactic Federation might be hiding a secret of cannibalism sent chills down his spine.

At the same time, I also became increasingly wary of my situation.

But upon further investigation, I was somewhat surprised by my own situation.

Currently, his influence in the Galactic Federation is unprecedented, aside from the true Hegemon.

At least most second- and third-tier civilizations are aware of him.

The Galactic Federation also mostly promoted the issue positively, and he always felt that there were still some key points about this matter that he couldn't understand.

Hoffman, who was standing in front of him, slowly spoke up and asked.

Did General Boren say anything else to you?

Recalling their conversation, Lister noticed that the other person hesitated several times before saying something, but indeed didn't offer any further advice.

After Hoffman was told about the situation, Hoffman nodded.

"If Lord Hoffman hasn't mentioned it directly, you should be safe for the time being."

"As for your opinion that the Galactic Federation is giving you such positive publicity and hoping for your promotion..."

Is it possible... that even the Hegemon... could compete with and 'devour' each other?

Hoffman's conjecture, given his long-standing residence in the vast universe, is indeed a bold one.

At least Lister himself never considered it from that perspective.

His thinking naturally categorizes the Hegemon of the three great civilizations into one class.

But to be honest, the higher the level of life form, the higher the energy of its Soul Crystal after death.

The death of Overlord Tier life form should naturally lead to a division of spoils...!

If that's the case, could it be that established Hegemons also suppress and devour newly emerging Hegemons?

And everything he has gained so far might simply be a way for the Galactic Federation's Hegemon to keep him around?

Or to put it another way, is his leek not mature enough?

Has a more powerful hunter already set his sights on him?

The call with Hoffman and Kavin ended.

Lister remained seated in the meditation room, his vigilance towards the Galactic Federation growing even stronger.

The Galactic Federation currently has 17 clearly Hegemon.

His chip access allows him to know information from as many as seven federal generals.

These seven individuals were also the supreme rulers of the three major civilizations, and they also held concurrent positions in the Federation Government.

But for other Hegemons, at least in terms of his current authority.

I only know that such a person exists, but I can't find any other information about them.

In fact, another person from the military region was promoted to the Overlord Tier during the same period as Admiral Boren.

He was nurtured by the Beta Civilization, but because Admiral Boren started from scratch and rose to become a general, his influence was too great.

This is why this Hegemon's reputation is not great, and his development over the years has indeed not been as fast as Admiral Boren's.

After pondering for a while in the room, Lister returned to his work with the Merrick Civilization Army upon receiving a system notification.

Regardless, his Fourth Advancement quest has been finalized, and for now, advancing to the Hegemon is more important.

Even though new challenges await him after becoming the Hegemon, Lister believed in his World-Ending Level strength, and that once he advanced, it would be a completely different world.

The Galactic Federation probably doesn't have the ability to restrain him.

These past few days have been the busiest time for Ship A01.

The six-month term at Merrick Recruit Camp has come to an end, and the vast majority of recruits have applied for early graduation.

The personnel from the former Merrick Military District were simply going through the motions at the recruit camp, truly transforming themselves from unrecognized ragtag troops into members of the Federation Military District.

As for the players, needless to say, although they were initially full of anticipation for the new recruit camp.

At the same time, he was very enthusiastic about the skills courses in the recruit camp.

But in reality, the novelty only lasted for three months. If it weren't for the monthly exams and competitions, I would have given up on this monotonous life long ago.

They're here to play games and experience it, not to actually join the army!

After undergoing sergeant screening in the reception area, countless new recruits entered this large ship to report for duty.

"Sariel?"

"Present! Major Zahn!"

Inside the Landing Operations Department, Zahn looked at the young man in front of him and couldn't help but smile.

As one of the main leaders of the first recruit camp, he naturally had already made a list of the geniuses in the camp.

Sariel's performance was particularly outstanding in the final monthly exam.

Out of more than 300,000 people, they broke into the top 25.

Seeing such a talented person assigned to his Landing Operations Department, he was immediately in a great mood.

"I heard... you were trained by Commander Lister before?"

"Hmm... yes... but it was only for five days."

"After that, Lister rarely returned to the ruling planet."

Faced with Major Zahn's questioning, Saliwen couldn't help but recall ten years ago.

At that time, he was just a boy, and he was still somewhat confused about the selection process of the Merrick Civilization.

All I know is that being able to Merrick Civilization is the best recognition I can receive, and the way to make my family the proudest.

In the end, he was indeed selected as he wished, joining the most powerful Merrick Civilization in this star system from an unregistered individual.

During that most exciting and ignorant period, I received a few days of training from Lord Lister.

At first, he didn't feel it deeply. On the one hand, he found it difficult to understand Lord Lister's true status, and on the other hand, he felt that he would have the opportunity to receive training in the future.

However, reality was not so simple. The older he got, the more he realized how high Lord Lister's status was and how powerful he was.

He never saw Lord Lister again in the days that followed.

On the contrary, he himself received special treatment in both the military region and the Federation Government on several occasions simply because he had a few days of special training experience with Lord Lister.

Even today, although he graduated and entered the Merrick Civilization Army based on his own abilities.

But his superior, Major Zahn, still secretly mentioned this experience to him.

This left Sariel with mixed feelings. On one hand, he felt joy and pride. Within the Merrick Civilization, whenever his experience was mentioned, everyone's attitude changed drastically, and they would admire and praise him even more.

On the other hand, there was also a sense of loss. After more than ten years of hard work, his strength still could not surpass his experience with Lister ten years ago. This was the epitome of "living off past achievements."

"Good!"

Zahn, standing in front of him, was oblivious to the complex emotions swirling within Sariel's heart.

He nodded happily, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke again.

"Alright, you'll be the captain of the First Landing Operations Department."

"Work hard!"

Oh! That's right!

There's a high-ranking officers' meeting tomorrow; you'll come with me then.

"Yes, sir!"

The Merrick Civilization Army was still in its infancy, consisting of only a group of officers recruited from outside.

Sariel's rank of captain was already the ceiling at the moment, so he wasn't surprised that he was appointed as a battalion commander.

However, there's a story behind these high-level operational meetings; Major Zahn from their unit only brought him along.

Furthermore, the opportunity to get up close to Commander Lister filled Sariel with anticipation.

The next day.

The control room was already filled with officers attending the meeting.

This behemoth, which hadn't been officially put into operation for three years, is finally back in service today.

"The Federation Military District has issued a special notice that the meeting will be postponed by one hour. Everyone, please take a short break."

"Zahn, you take charge here for a while."

After saying that, Lister didn't leave, but instead opened the system notification on his own.

"Federation Military District Notification: Lister Merrick, your rank promotion has been approved by the Federation Military District Commission. Effective immediately, your rank has been promoted to Major General, and your position is Commander of the Merrick Civilization Army."

System notification: Due to the construction needs of the Merrick Civilization Army, 'Temporary Real Force Interaction Points' have been opened in all areas where the Merrick Civilization Army's warships are located.

Notification: You have completed the exclusive Main Quest – the Rise of the Merrick Civilization.

Task details (three stages in total):

Second step: Establish the Merrick Civilization Army within the Galactic Federation. (Completed)

Third stage: Raise the Merrick Civilization level to level three and achieve a rank of Major General or higher in the Federation Military District. (Completed)

Notification: You have received the mission rewards: 10 million experience points, 10 free attribute points, and 500,000 Federal Credits.

"Notification: The Merrick Civilization Army has been conscripted by the Federation. This conscription mission is led by the Third Central Army Group. Please cooperate and proceed within two months."

The sudden promotion, along with a series of notifications, somewhat disrupted Lister's plans.

Needless to say, his promotion to the rank of major general was definitely arranged by General Boren.

Lister was somewhat surprised, after all, the other party hadn't made any promises during their communications a few days ago, but they hadn't expected to act so quickly, arranging his rank without a word.

At the same time, his exclusive mission, which had been delayed for ten years, was finally completed.

Ten free attribute points are a good reward, perfect for improvement after the Fourth Advancement.

This sudden summons was somewhat unexpected.

Notification: You have a new mail delivered to you by Boren Leviathan.

Just as I was pondering this, Admiral Boren unexpectedly sent me a message.

I only learned the details of this task after clicking on Lister.

It turns out that this conscription was issued by Admiral Boren, Third Central Army was the army he commanded. This conscription was a trade-off to help him get promoted to the rank of Major General, and he was needed to be the main force to complete it.