No War
On the Martial Dao side, the civilization corresponding to Tracing Light is mainly the Jianjia Civilization. On the cultivation side, the civilization corresponding to Tracing Light is mainly the Silent Civilization, as well as other Transcendent Side civilizations. Under the influence of Tracing Light, the humble gate is now opened for you.
However, the control of the entire galaxy over the Tracing Light, as well as its influence over other civilizations, has been inexplicably declining. The higher-ups of the Tracing Light are very puzzled and feel that it is because the Survivors of various civilizations have personally intervened.
On Origin Star, it's still that little house... Actually, it's not anymore. The original building was destroyed by the light radiation from that massive explosion. Tracing Light immediately rebuilt the capital on the other half of the planet.
The meeting room remained simple and practical, without any unnecessary decorations: a long table, twelve chairs, and twelve people.
The staff remains the same: three National Guardian Mages, three military personnel, and six government officials—a configuration that has been in place for many years.
"Something's clearly not right. Logically, with the huge benefits we Tracing Light, the rapid development of our infrastructure, and the alliance's Lifesteal, our influence and control should have been constantly increasing. How could it be declining?"
The first to speak was the military representative, who had a stern face and spoke in a firm tone.
"Survivors from various civilizations are no longer silent; they are all entering the fray, attempting to create pseudo-super-powerful units similar to the Life Tree for their civilizations. In a sense, this is an asymmetric Intimidation, akin to nuclear technology in the planetary era."
A person wearing a holographic helmet spoke up; he was the current dean of the Frontier Academy of Sciences. The previous dean, who had announced the restart of the Transmigrator Project, had resigned and was now focused on maintaining the project.
Helmets are a technological product of the late Information Age, directly connecting data streams to the brain, which can be considered the first step in the foundation of Mechanical Ascension.
A set of data was projected onto a large screen on the wall. It was a line graph with time on the horizontal axis and high-end combat power data of each civilization on the vertical axis. The line of the Tracing Light was slowly rising, but the lines of other civilizations were shooting up like rockets.
He touched his helmet and continued:
"In a well-connected alliance, rapid technological advancements can weaken the advantages of powerful forces and elevate the strategic importance and power of weaker forces. Powerful forces are no longer absolute, and the opportunities for weaker forces to stage a comeback greatly increase."
The military representative looked up, listened to the dean's speech, pondered for a moment, and then said:
In plain terms, it means, while we're developing rapidly, which Civilization Development even faster?
The dean nodded. "Yes, the other civilizations are no pushovers either. Originally, only those civilizations that had reached the pinnacle of development were qualified to be on this battlefield. Now that they've stabilized and have the Survivors' full support, their development speed is outrageous... A prime example is the Silent Civilization; their overall strength has already surpassed that of the Elf Race."
Since the Great Expedition, the Elf Race has received both military and technological assistance from Tracing Light, and the Elven King has always been Lin Yuan, so their development speed is truly as fast as lightning.
He even dares to speak loudly without relying on the Life Tree to heal his injuries, making him one of the strongest in the alliance besides Tracing Light.
"With such explosive development speed, and yet it's not even human civilization. Could it be colluding with the Zerg?" another military representative asked pointedly.
Under the banner of fighting the Zerg together, colluding with the Zerg would be going against the tide of history.
When Tracing Light suspects you of colluding with the Zerg, you'd better actually be colluding.
"The struggle between the Intelligent Zerg seems to have weakened, as does the war of attrition with various civilizations; it's like they're holding back something big... I believe the Silent Civilization Development is inextricably linked to the Zerg. In fact, they might even be the ones who created the Zerg."
The last military representative added a final sentence, aimed at the Silent Civilization.
The oldest of the National Guardian Mage who protected the nation, glanced at the three military representatives sitting in a row, but made no comment.
The military's intention is clear: to pressure the Silent Civilization, or even to wage war directly, in order to weaken its development. They can also use this as a springboard to enter a state of war between civilizations, thereby reducing cultural exchange.
"Do you know how much pressure there is? Colluding with the Zerg is a grave crime, but you and I both understand that no civilization can avoid contact with the Zerg. Zerg internal Intelligent Zerg war is almost turning into an Agent war between various civilizations... I don't agree with it."
The official in charge of diplomacy had a cold expression, as if the military needed to be disciplined.
"Tracing Light has the capability and the confidence to wage war. Tracing Light also needs a war to shock Xiao Xiao."
The official in charge of managing Tracing Light stated succinctly: Fight!
The moment the word "fight" was uttered, the atmosphere in the conference room instantly became tense. Then, those who wanted war and those who didn't started arguing.
The military said war was necessary, otherwise it would be seen as weakness; diplomats said war was unacceptable, as it would be seen as a trap. Those in charge of the economy said war was too expensive, and those in charge of public opinion said that not fighting would not appease public anger.
The oldest National Guardian Mage, listened for a long time, and his headache grew stronger.
"Okay, stop arguing!"
The room fell silent as everyone listened to his insightful opinions.
"When did we, the Tracing Light, ever need to prove ourselves in this way?"
Those who need war to prove themselves are not strong enough. It is said that force can stop war, and the Great Expedition of the Guangyuan Kingdom has already done so and succeeded.
"This agenda item is concluded. Next item: the anomalies that continue to emerge in the galaxy."
The dean operated the helmet, projecting data and images directly into the brains of everyone present.
"As we can see, under the influence of Survivors from other civilizations, pseudo-super-high combat power units are constantly appearing on the field, similar to the Life Tree. It has to be said that these are all extremely dangerous, and we also have to consider the possibility of the Survivors themselves being eliminated."
There are currently no truly high-powered units on the field. Even the surviving Life Tree, due to poisoning and damage to its main body, can only be considered a "pseudo-high-powered" unit.
Aside from the Life Tree, one pseudo-super-high level isn't scary, nor are two, but seven or eight of them together are something even the fleet of the Tracing Light would have to think twice about.
"The pseudo-super-high altitude has a significant impact on the battle situation, but if arranged properly, our fleet can handle it. The real threat should be the [Gate of Aberrants], which is relatively far away from us."
The data continued to be transmitted, and everyone saw a blood-red gate standing in the Void, with patterns flowing like living things on the gate frame, and inside the gate was a bottomless darkness.
It was constantly devouring everything around it—light, radiation, matter, energy... mainly all kinds of supernatural energy, and then, from that darkness, it would spew out some strange things or monsters.
"By endlessly absorbing energy and various extraordinary resources, they produce a constant stream of extremely troublesome monsters, some of which even possess a degree of immortality."