The Divine Rise Galaxy

Blue Cluster Galaxy, N7 Star Sector.

As a peripheral region within the original star system, it has never been visited by anyone other than a few native inhabitants.

Now, during Lister's brief respite, it has suddenly become incredibly sought after.

The Crimson Pirate Ship was anchored in orbit around a metallic planet, its claw marks long since covered by the gear emblem of the Church of Mechanical Truth.

After the Lister docked, tens of thousands of warships circled around it like a swarm of bees, but dared not get too close.

The restricted zone marked by the Evil Shadow Mechanical Birds, their silver-blue wings appearing like a cluster of floating knives under the starlight.

Meanwhile, several Quasi-Hegemon- level mechanical guards took charge of allowing the group to meet and present gifts.

In the planet's temporary outpost, Lister sat high on a knife-shaped throne woven from star core crystals and mechanical runes.

This was specially made by the craftsman who accompanied Jieao.

Even with time constraints, this throne is no joke; sitting on it has a calming and restorative effect.

At this moment, Lister leaned back on the throne, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest, below him were kneeling representatives of the Blue Cluster Galaxy.

He hadn't expected the allied forces' arrival in the Blue Cluster Galaxy to go so smoothly.

Even Hoffman would find it difficult to finish meeting and communicating with each person in a short period of time.

Let's just find this temporary base and hold a unified audience.

Plasma streams from the N7 Star Sector Twist and twisted outside the porthole as Yawente Blue's ceremonial ship slowly anchored on the planet's outskirts.

He took a deep breath, his hand unconsciously stroking the gift list box inlaid with star marks beneath his bio-armor—it contained the accumulation of three thousand years of the Blue Cluster Civilization, and was his only bargaining chip at this moment.

"Sir, the mechanical guards have given us permission to land."

The adjutant's voice trembled with suppressed emotion, explaining that the meeting had been changed from being on the ship to being on this planet.

Even he could sense the power and influence of Lister, the Hegemon, from the actions of other forces.

Even though his superior, Yawente Bluecluster, had not officially relinquished power, the galaxy's Hegemon had effectively been handed over.

Yawente glanced at the holographic projection and saw Evil Shadow Mechanical Birds circling in battle formation on both sides of the ceremonial ship, their silver-blue wings reflecting a cold light that made the bridge look like an ice cave.

"Walk."

He straightened his dress collar, and as he took a step, he was suddenly grabbed by his adjutant.

The other person pointed to the bronze short staff hanging at his waist—a symbol of power for the Blue Cluster Race, which was now gleaming with ominous blood-red patterns.

"Would you like to disarm?"

The mechanical guards outside the door nodded slowly, their eyes fixed on the weapon.

A wave of humiliation rose in Yawente's heart again. He sneered and slammed his short cane to the ground.

The moment the staff cracked open, the stellar core energy stored inside dissipated into the air.

This scepter, the last memento left to him by his Yatke, could no longer be kept.

"Now... what do I have left to lose?"

Inside the Golden Hall, Lister's throne floated in a gravitational field three meters above the ground.

The entire venue fell silent as Yawente approached.

The representatives of the forces kneeling on both sides glanced at them, some even letting out mocking sneers.

"Archiver of the Blue Cluster Civilization Yawente Blue Cluster, pays respects to His Majesty the Hegemon."

His knees slammed heavily onto the metal floor, and the gift list box he held aloft opened automatically.

Three hundred star core crystals floated in a ring, with a strange crystal at its core encased in liquid soul matter—the "Tear of the Shattered Stars," which Yatke cherished most in his lifetime.

Lister leaned slightly forward on his throne, and the moment his Killing Intent Wave over the gift list, the Tear of the Shattered Star suddenly trembled violently.

At the same time, the Jiji on its shoulder instantly unfurled its wings, its eyes also fixed on the "Tear of the Shattered Star," seemingly having found the upgrade material it needed.

[Tear of the Shattered Stars (SS-Rank): A rare energy crystal unique to the Blue Cluster Galaxy. It can be used for forging, increasing the energy of forged items by 170% and circulation efficiency by 130%. It also has a chance to inflict a stellar attraction effect...]

"Interesting."

With a flick of his finger, Lister sent the Tear of the Shattered Star flying into his palm.

Jiji's movements grew even more eager, and its wings began to flutter.

It didn't stop until Lister put the item into his Inventory.

"Where is the star map of the Blue Cluster Galaxy?"

Lister certainly had basic star maps, but star maps that had undergone core calculations and detailed exploration could not possibly be leaked.

If it really Lister himself who sent people to search and investigate, it's hard to say how accurate it would be; it would take at least another three months.

Blue-gold beads of sweat appeared on Yawente's forehead as he quickly activated the implanted optical brain.

The moment the holographic star map unfolded, the venue suddenly erupted in chaos—four of the seven core star regions marked on the star map had already been taken over by the Church of Mechanical Truth!

"It seems your brother's subordinates are more open-minded than you."

Hoffman's voice came from the shadows, and the mechanical fingers of Ailan's body traced the star map.

"They've even sent the defense keys for the Deep Blue Star Region."

Yawente looked up sharply and saw that Jieao Paxson was standing behind Hoffman, with a mechanical gear emblem clearly branded on the hunter captain's bio-armor.

Although he knew that Jieao had come to surrender early on, the speed at which he was getting closer still surprised him.

In particular, the four core areas guarded by the hunting teams have now fallen under the control of the Church of Mechanical Truth in a short period of time.

At this speed, Yawente couldn't help but feel fortunate.

These so-called "loyal subjects" were probably ready to surrender the very day news of Yatke's death arrived.

If he had been even a fraction slower, his head would probably have been offered as a gift by Jieao today.

"I pledge my eternal loyalty on behalf of the Blue Cluster Civilization!"

Suddenly, Yawente slammed his head against the ground, the sound of which made the metal floor tremble.

He tore open the front of his tuxedo, revealing the shimmering Blue Cluster Race mark of the race on his chest—the highest level of submission ritual of the race.

Before Lister could speak, the hall suddenly stirred.

The Moruk Race's representative smashed through the guards, dragging the resource star's traction beam and plowing a deep trench in the venue.

"Lord Lister! We are willing to offer up the entire dark matter vein!"

With the Moruk Race taking the lead, one after another, the powerful figures came forward to offer their gifts.

The conservation of resources and materials came one after another to Lister.

Unfortunately, these things no longer attract Jiji's attention.

On the contrary, there were quite a few precious forging materials, which piqued Lister's interest, and he planned to return to the Galactic Federation to have a master forge a sword.

While waving for everyone to stand up and wait, he first checked the star map presented by Yawente.

Its area is one-quarter the size of the Milky Way Galaxy, not to mention its abundant resources.

In comparison, it's pitifully small.

However, it is indeed much wealthier than the Babylon Galaxy.

I was halfway through reading when suddenly I heard shouts from outside.

"Lord Lister, a special envoy from the Eternal Sea of Trees Green Vine Overlord has arrived!"

The sound of the mechanical guards drowned out the noise at the scene.

A fleet of floating platforms woven from emerald branches slowly descended, with the leading Tree Whisperer holding a fruit radiating life.

"This is the Breath of Life Fruit sent by the Green Vine Overlord. Congratulations on your ascension to the throne, new Hegemon!"

[Breath of Life Fruit (S-rank): Level 4 resource, increases all four main attributes by 3 points, increases lifespan by 1000 years, and provides 60 million experience points. (Cannot be reused)]

All the newly subjugated faction leaders now had their eyes fixed on the fruit, their desire evident in their eyes.

Lister had never heard of this thing, but for them, its characteristics were already well-known.

Within the vast universe, this is an absolutely precious Level 4 upgrade resource, truly one in a million!

"In addition, the Honeydew Council has tripled its resource allocation to trade with the Blue Cluster Galaxy."

"My lord, envoys have also arrived from the Bloodred Galaxy."

"Let them in."

Yawente, standing to the side, felt increasingly conflicted.

The relationships with the other star system Hegemon that his Yatke had painstakingly maintained now looked completely different in front of Lister.

He was so proactive and enthusiastic that he didn't need his brother's past protectiveness at all.

This differential treatment made him feel increasingly desolate about the Blue Cluster Galaxy.

Compared to the Eternal Sea of Trees, the things in this Bloodred Galaxy are much more random.

However, the fact that they sent someone to deliver gifts instead of troops clearly shows their attitude.

The Blue Cluster Galaxy belongs to Lister; they acknowledge it and will not come to claim a share.

After accepting the gifts from both envoys, Lister first arranged for them to leave.

Only the people of the Blue Cluster Galaxy remained.

The crystal formed from the killing intent at his fingertips trembled slightly, reflecting countless faces, some terrified and others obsequious.

When the Killing Intent Wave swept across the entire arena like a tidal wave, all sound abruptly ceased.

"Hoffman."

Lister turned to look to the side, and Hoffman followed suit, turning his head to look at him.

"Let's rename the Blue Cluster Galaxy from now on."

"No problem, what would you like to call it?"

"Let's call it... God's Rise Civilization."

Lister was unsure when the player would next arrive.

Choosing this name was also a kind of test, to see if the game would unlock its eighth act because of it.

Even if it's not activated, at least in the space age, players will naturally choose "Divine Revelation Civilization" as their main base.

"From now on, the governance of the God's Rise Civilization will be led by Hoffman."

"Yes!"

Two weeks later, in the core council of the Deep Blue Star Region.

Hoffman traced a scarlet path with his finger on the holographic star map, marking the core star regions of the Blue Cluster Galaxy one by one in deep blue.

"God's Rise Civilization... that sounds more impressive than Blue Group."

After saying that, he turned to look at Yawente.

"Lord Hoffman... I... I think so too."

Seeing that Yawente had no objections and was extremely cooperative, even willing to shrink the territory of the Blue Cluster Civilization.

Hoffman nodded, not in a hurry to divide the Blue Cluster Civilization.

After all, it is the civilization that once Hegemon and is now the core power of the Blue Cluster Galaxy.

For now, it's more important to be able to use him for his own purposes.

"Your original governing system was too bloated. Effective immediately, all departments will be abolished and reorganized into three major institutes: the Mechanical Institute will be responsible for military industry, the Puppet Institute will coordinate people's livelihood, and the War Institute will command the military."

"Is everything alright?"

"No problem... but sir... we've never heard of this Puppet Coordination Institute in our civilization."

Who will be specifically responsible?

At this point, it's perfectly clear why Yawente still has some right to speak with Hoffman.

His influence within the Blue Cluster Civilization still needs to be exerted through him.

Now they are focused on pleasing Hoffman, hoping to leave a useful mark on Hoffman's mind before they become of any use to him.

He knew something about the other two departments, but he truly didn't understand the Puppet Coordination Institute.

"I will personally manage this part of the work; Amasi will be in charge of the Puppet Institute."

"Your role is to work with Jieao to lead the War Institute."

"Yes, sir!"

Although he shares power with Jieao, he is still in charge for the time being.

Yawente left immediately.

Not long after, Hoffman also left that place and went to another newly built laboratory.

Lister was also among them, studying the collection of precious resources in the Blue Cluster Galaxy.

"Yawente has handed over the control key to the core star system."

Hoffman immediately activated the holographic projection, gesturing with his fingers within it.

"Things went more smoothly than expected; he must have truly come to terms with reality."

Lister's fingertips unconsciously traced the Shadowless Blade, and as he silently nodded, he brought up another matter.

"The tree whisperers haven't left yet?"

"Cultivating life-giving vines in Ecological Container No. 3."

Hoffman pulled up the surveillance footage—emerald branches grew wildly under the transparent dome, quickly intertwining to form a forest.

"They said it was a 'housewarming gift' from the Green Vine Overlord."

Lister could not deny this, but he always felt that the forces in the Eternal Sea of Trees were a bit too enthusiastic.

Fortunately, the other party's waiter was only using the excuse of research for the time being, and even brought quite a few gifts.

So far, they have not revealed their true intentions.

Hoffman stopped communicating and began his own research.

Ailan's body gradually stiffened, and his eyes became lifeless.

The next instant, a complex green fluorescence lit up in his pupil.

Only upon close inspection can one discern that it is a projection of the Hoffman Mental Network, a three-dimensional network composed of 300,000 dolls.

"The seventeenth phase of the experiment on the puppet civilization begins with you."

Hoffman's voice suddenly became more emphatic, as if hundreds of people were speaking at once.

The puppets controlled in various locations froze in place, their pupils also displaying an unusual color.

Lister watched this scene with great interest.

The Mind Splitting skill acquired from the Star Matrix Civilization is ineffective in enhancing mechanical life forms.

But it was inexplicably useful to Hoffman, who modified it into an even more terrifying consciousness synchronization device.

Before he could continue observing and awaiting the results...

Suddenly, Jiji my shoulder perked up its wings alertly, as if it had sensed something.

Seeing this, Lister left the core laboratory.

Outside, the mechanical guards were the first to speak.

"My lord, the representative of the Bloodred Galaxy has departed."

"The servants of the Eternal Sea of Trees are waiting outside, hoping to discuss matters with you."

"Bring them in."

Just as he had expected, the servant of the Eternal Sea of Trees was indeed using the excuse of staying in the star system, saying that he had something to discuss with him.

And the fact that they were waiting for the people from the Bloodred Galaxy to leave only fueled Lister's curiosity.