Learning the Full Story and Returning

The First Governing Star of the Leviathan Civilization.

As soon as they stepped off the teleportation array, Lister followed Boren to a manor.

It doesn't have many technological elements; it's all antique-style and mimicry.

The pond, garden, and courtyard are intricately intertwined.

The two eventually settled down in an antique-style bamboo pavilion in the garden.

At that moment, General Boren's face was filled with surprise and a hint of relief.

"I didn't expect you to become Hegemon so quickly!"

"There are some things I planned to tell you a hundred years from now... Thank goodness... Thank goodness!"

Boren had actually been paying attention to Lister for a long time.

After all, they were people trained by Hoffman, so there would naturally be more emotional attachment to them.

Boren had no intention of interfering with Lister's rapid development in strength.

That was the first time we finally communicated, because the other party had taken the initiative to promote me to a higher military rank.

I thought Lister was still a long way from becoming Hegemon.

It should be noted that it took him nearly a thousand years to go from Quasi-Hegemon to Hegemon, and he was still considered a genius in the galaxy.

Not to mention someone like Lister, whose talent was absolutely monstrous.

This also led to Boren not revealing some matters concerning the Galactic Federation after becoming its Hegemon during their last exchange, fearing that knowing in advance might disturb Lister's peace of mind.

"Vidal is quite strong, and with the advantage of the Soul Barrier, how exactly did you defeat him?"

"My soul is unique and unaffected by barriers."

"No wonder!"

"Even without the Soul Barrier, the fact that you were able to defeat him suggests that you're among the strongest of the Overlord Tier contenders."

With such capabilities, I'm not worried about your future.

General Boren was immediately impressed by Lister's strength.

Having just entered the Hegemon stage, he was able to kill a veteran Hegemon, demonstrating a level of strength far exceeding that of ordinary Hegemons.

"General..."

"Now that you've also entered the Hegemon, just call me Boren."

"Boren... just how many Hegemon does our Galactic Federation currently have?"

"Currently, including you, there should be 13 Hegemon."

"Only 13 people?"

The exact number of Hegemon in the Galactic Federation is not clear.

However, based on some information from recent years, the number should be closer to 20.

Hearing the number 13 from General Boren was quite different from what he had expected.

"Among them, I am the only one from the Leviathan Civilization, five from the Beta Civilization, and six from the Witchcraft Civilization."

"However... actually, you only need to focus on the five people who came today."

"Why is that?"

"The remaining Hegemon may die at any time, but this may not be publicly announced."

"Is it a competition between Beta and the Witchcraft Civilization?"

Lister immediately realized the problem and couldn't help but speculate.

General Boren cast an approving glance and nodded silently.

Really!

Even the Hegemon within a civilization experience internal strife, or rather, it's not really internal strife at all.

From General Boren's words, it can be inferred that the remaining six Hegemon were probably just nourishment from beginning to end!

"What is that Soul Barrier?"

"This is a special area that existed since the birth of the Galactic Federation; it's a unique arena."

"It allows living beings to fight within it, and the surviving side can absorb the soul strength of the dead side."

"On the other hand, this space can draw on the soul energy of dead life forms within the Galactic Federation, and a certain amount of soul crystals will overflow every three years."

As a long-established Hegemon of the Federation, he knew all the secrets of the Galactic Federation.

He didn't hide anything from Lister at the time, answering all his questions.

"Then why... do we still have to fight each other...?"

"There must be some other restriction in this space, but I'm not sure of the specifics."

"However, for a Hegemon like Sailuo, the quality of simple soul crystals is too low, making improvement almost impossible."

"To further enhance soul strength, we still need to rely on the soul stripping of Overlord Tier life forms within the Soul Barrier."

So that's what happened?

Lister hadn't felt anything when absorbing the soul crystals before.

After all, before reaching the Fourth Advancement, the absorption of soul crystals was quite promising during the Quasi-Hegemon stage.

However, at the bottleneck of Robust Soul, the number of soul crystals required for each breakthrough increases tenfold, and this trend is already evident.

Now, after killing Vidal, Lister felt an improvement in his soul, but it wasn't very noticeable.

In comparison, I always feel that it has a lower cost-performance ratio.

Now he understands that his soul strength is too high, and increasing it requires more resources.

He estimated that ordinary Soul Crystals would offer limited improvement to him as well.

"But don't even think about it again, except this time."

Before Lister could ask, Boren offered his explanation.

"The true key to the Soul Barrier currently lies solely with Sailuo and Zion."

"Of the remaining Hegemon, only five know about this space. To enter, one must obtain a 'temporary key' from one of them."

"Boren... you don't have permission either?"

With a smile, Boren shook his head, completely unfazed by the situation.

"This is a core secret of the Galactic Federation, and I was excluded from the original agreement."

Indeed, this is true both in terms of the number of Hegemons and within the actual federation.

Even among the three major and four-level civilizations, there are still clear divisions and factions that exclude each other.

The Leviathan Civilization was implicitly excluded and never received genuine respect among the three major Tier 4 civilizations!

"I never expected that something like this would happen so soon after I became the Hegemon."

"Given this situation, it's no wonder that no Level 4 civilizations have emerged since."

"Boren, how did you win the duel inside the Soul Barrier back then?"

Lister now understands that Hegemon within the Galactic Federation have to go through this process.

Even the Hegemon that emerged from the Witchcraft Civilization and Beta Civilizations are no exception.

No one can escape this fate; they just get to experience it a little longer after becoming Hegemon.

Ultimately, it became nourishment for the established Hegemons.

The more this was the case, the more Lister admired General Boren.

After all, General Boren was arguably the first Hegemon to escape being kept in captivity and then exploited.

Even though the Leviathan Civilization it created is still rejected among Level 4 civilizations, it has at least escaped this vicious cycle.

He was Lister's true predecessor, unlike Enel Quirk of the Intelligent Machine Civilization, who died immediately after becoming Hegemon, a fact that even the Intelligent Machine Civilization itself probably didn't know about.

When Lister asked, Boren looked somewhat embarrassed.

However, she didn't intend to hide it from him; she just paused before speaking.

"I'm not like you..."

"In fact, after I became a Hegemon, I spent nearly two hundred more years developing before being pulled into the ranks at level 21."

"The opponent is only at level 22. Even though I suffered a severe soul injury, it has no effect on my mechanical army..."

"In the end, it was only with the help of the mechanical army that they were defeated."

Leviathan Civilization, the pinnacle of civilizations developed within the Galactic Federation's Mechanical System.

Boren Leviathan follows the typical path of a veteran mechanic, focusing on quantity.

An endless army of machines is the best fighting force!

For a mechanic of this level, if they fail to single-handedly defeat their opponent and are instead surrounded and attacked by the opponent's mechanical army, their chances of winning are already sealed.

"In fact, it was after me that all the other Hegemon that emerged from the new civilizations were immediately tricked into the Soul Barrier..."

No wonder General Boren looked embarrassed just now; that's what happened.

The emergence of his predecessor, the Hegemon of the Galactic Federation, resulted in the original opportunity being blocked by the two great civilizations.

This means that these new Hegemon of other civilizations will encounter the greatest crisis as soon as they step into the Hegemon!

"So you were only recognized by the two great civilizations after you won the battle back then?"

Lister was genuinely curious at that moment.

He subconsciously felt that things weren't that simple.

Even though it was just prey, after killing the hunter, it should have faced an even fiercer counterattack.

The situation he's in today is normal. Of course, it's true that the parties didn't go all out before the game even started; it was mainly a test.

How is that possible?

"The two great civilizations aren't so polite."

"I faced the same situation as you back then, but there's one difference between us."

"After I ascended to the Hegemon, a special accompanying mechanical core was nurtured within the Leviathan Civilization."

"Over two hundred years, I've completely transformed this mechanical core, turning it into an irreparable high-dimensional energy core in an accident—or you could say, a 'giant bomb'."

"This core is bound to me; it will explode if I die."

"While its power may not be enough to destroy the entire Galactic Federation, it will affect at least 45% of the region."

"The location of our Leviathan Civilization is large enough to cover the entire Witchcraft and Beta Civilizations."

"So that's why they were willing to make an agreement with you to make the Leviathan Civilization a Level 4 civilization?"

It turns out that everything ultimately comes down to strength.

To have an equal dialogue, you either need equal strength or you need to have something that makes the other party wary.

Boren Leviathan was clearly the latter.

If 45% of the area Destruction, how can a new Hegemon emerge based solely on the remaining number of life forms? How can this game of reaping continue?

"That's right!"

"Back then, the Leviathan Civilization I belonged to underwent a full 200 years of 'testing' before finally qualifying as a new Level 4 civilization after that day!"

"At the same time, new agreements were made with two great civilizations."

"We will neither participate in nor interfere with the allocation of resources between the two major civilizations for the emergence of a new Hegemon. However, if a new Hegemon truly emerges from the Soul Barrier, then we will unconditionally guarantee its living space and acknowledge its civilization's advancement."

Speaking of that agreement from back then, even Boren Leviathan himself finds it hard to believe.

When he signed this contract, his main intention was not to interfere with the two great civilizations continuing to distribute the newly cultivated resources.

As for whether a new Hegemon can emerge, under the existing Galactic Federation system, even he himself felt it was almost impossible for someone to defeat the established Hegemon within the Galactic Barrier as soon as they stepped into the Hegemon realm!

But if such a person were to appear, then they would naturally stand on the side of the Leviathan Civilization, needing him to maintain and grow together.

This is also why he rushed to the scene today and Steadfast to save Lister.

The Leviathan Civilization alone is now truly no match for these two established civilizations within the Galactic Federation.

If another new civilization were to emerge, especially a genius like Lister who possesses absolute dominance among the Hegemon, then they would truly be qualified to contend with the two established civilizations in the future.

For the next few days, Lister stayed in the Leviathan Civilization.

Most of the time, I consulted with Boren about common knowledge about the Hegemon, including some deeper information about the universe.

On the other hand, they are making final preparations for the advancement of their own civilization.

During this time, Boren also took him to see the completely chaotic "mechanical core".

Although described as a mechanical core, it is actually buried beneath the planet's crust and is about one-third the size of Leviathan's First Governing Star.

And after the special protective shield was deactivated, an incredibly unsettling sensation followed.

As expected... this is a bomb that can keep people at peace.

However, Lister couldn't help but have doubts.

In the game of his past life, Kavin's delusional attempt to create Galactic Big Bang... could it be... a scheme targeting this bomb?

In terms of power alone, they are a perfect match.

In addition, there's the connection between Kavin and the Leviathan Civilization.

The more Lister thought about it, the more likely it seemed!

Merrick Civilization's directly administered star system.

After several days of travel, Lister finally returned to his civilization's star system.

The advancement of the Merrick Civilization is still in its final stages, which, to put it bluntly, is the final approval from the other two major civilizations.

I guess they're holding their breath, and it's really hard to say when they'll agree.

"Notice: The Merrick Civilization has violated the Federation Constitution. All external contact is suspended immediately. Do not approach in violation of constitutional provisions."

Looking at the notification messages from the small ship.

Immediately, a powerful killing intent erupted from Lister, quickly engulfing the hundreds of warships.

Even the Seventh Central Army Fleet, led by large warships, could hardly withstand the overwhelming killing intent emanating from him, who was already at the Overlord Tier.

"We are the Seventh Central Army Group of the Federation Military District. Please cooperate and move away immediately, sir."

A message came through the communicator.

Despite being part of the Central Army, they remained proud even when they sensed the danger at hand.

"I am Lister Merrick."

"I hereby formally inform you that you must evacuate immediately, or it will be considered a declaration of war against the Merrick Civilization!"

Upon hearing the name Lister, a projection was immediately connected.

Above him was a colonel he knew very well, Tolon Davis.

After the official announcement of Lister's ascension to the Hegemon, he will soon become the new first -Quasi-Hegemon.

"Lister? You... what are you doing here?"

"Who gave you that order? Get your team out of here right now!"

Although they were acquaintances, given the current situation, Lister was not going to give them any face.

The killing intent emanating from him grew even stronger, causing even Tolon to tremble inwardly.

"I am here on General Vidal's orders, and no one is allowed to enter or leave the Merrick Civilization."

"Lister, you're also from the Federation Military District, you know what the military orders are, so let's not make things difficult for each other."

Tolon was unaware of the full picture at the time, only knowing that General Vidal had mentioned in his military orders that Lister would enter the Beta Civilization and would not return for some time.

Who knew it had only been half a month, and the other party was already standing in front of him.

Especially this intense killing intent, which was far stronger than before, completely extinguished any thought of resistance!