Ever since we parted after the Merrowa Campaign, this was the first time I had contacted Anu Lili. Although I had said back then that I would get in touch with her as soon as possible after returning to the Empire, I had basically been busy nonstop since coming back. Only today did I finally have the chance.
The thirteen universes once occupied by Merrowa had now been "dragged" into Imperial territory. Those worlds were now within the Empire's domain. They had once lain beyond the Empire's distant frontier, shrouded by the unfathomable White Zone of the void, but now these universes were inside the Empire, and two of them even had World Gate routes directly connected to Shadow City. One could not help marveling that the Shilin Apostles' void technology had truly reached breathtaking heights. The Empire's ability to "drag" worlds was probably another epic-grade colonial weapon, second only to overwhelming military force. There were two ways to fight a war of conquest: one was to send millions of Big Grey Ships and Small Grey Ships to flatten the enemy's home, while the other was to move the enemy, house and all, straight into one's own yard, then cut off their water and power and give them three days to sign a surrender agreement. Personally, I thought that while the first method looked cooler and helped ensure complete occupation, the second was even more exhilarating and no less effective. Quite a few emperors of the Old Empire had loved using this method to expand their territory. When facing civilizations whose tech trees lagged far behind theirs and which happened not to possess void anchoring technology, they would drag the other side's universe straight into their own yard in full view of its inhabitants, while sealing off all entry and