Reunion with Elizabeth
In just over thirty days, news of the battle Gu Ding Team and Boti, the Second Elder of the Dark Magic Domain, had spread throughout the entire Fei Me Universe Country and more than ten other Universe Country that had established network sharing with Fei Me Universe Country, including the Long Teng Universe Country Kingdom.
The outcome of the battle was not witnessed firsthand, not even by the many civilians on Red Shield Star who saw part of it. However, the result wasn't hard to predict: Gu Ding's ship ultimately bombarded the Child Family, and the Witch Bodhi's name had completely disappeared from the demigod Ranking List. Sword God Roland, previously ranked eighth, jumped one place to seventh.
Many witnessed the Gu Ding Team being drawn into Boti's Exclusive Domain, followed by Boti's death, and then the Gu Ding Team's Golden Eagle bombarding the Child Family. The sequence of events and causal connections clearly suggest that the Gu Ding Team was most likely responsible for Boti's death. Of course, no one knows exactly what happened in Boti's domain that night, or what methods the Gu Ding Team used to eliminate Boti; it all remains a mystery.
Even more strangely, since the Red Shield Star incident, the Gu Ding Team seems to have completely vanished from the face of the earth. For a full thirty-one days, there has been no news about them.
Immediately, there was much discussion in the sky.
Some say that this battle resulted in the deaths of Gu Ding and several other members, and the team was completely disbanded.
Some people say that someone in Gu Ding Team must have been seriously injured and is still recovering.
Some even say that the Gu Ding Team must have encountered the opening of the civilization ruins not long after leaving Red Shield Star, and is currently searching for treasure with all members...
Some people's speculations are actually not far from the current situation of the Gu Ding Team. But no one guessed that the Gu Ding Team would appear in the Royal Capital Star Region at this time.
No one knew that Gu Ding's strength had been enhanced once again.
Gu Ding actually only spent two days successfully mastering the first chapter of the "Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body." After using it, his Combat Strength could be increased tenfold, but the duration was only one minute. Over the next twenty-seven days, he spent time every day strengthening the divine power of the "Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body," finally extending the one minute to forty minutes, which also consumed a total of fifty-eight source stones.
The day before the Grey Eagle arrived in the Royal Capital Star Region, Gu Ding finally had time to inject the Golden Armament into his body, increasing his Combat Strength fiftyfold. His base Combat Strength of 100 million points, with all the amplifications, could reach a staggering 100 trillion points, roughly equivalent to the Combat Strength of a newly promoted One-Star Low-rank God. Adding damage stacking, his maximum Combat Strength could even barely reach that of Four-Star Low-rank God.
The Grey Eagle slowly docked at the Interstellar Port of Forget-Worry Star in the Royal Capital Star Region.
With Sea Emperor's help, the two easily passed the identity verification. The spaceship's scan also found nothing unusual; no one discovered the Cell Repair Pod inside the spaceship or Bigge hiding within it.
The planet where the King's palace is located is called Dragon Dock Star, a place teeming with powerful individuals. Furthermore, Elizabeth rarely leaves the palace; to see her, one would have to infiltrate, but that's far too risky. Therefore, the Sea Emperor chose this Forget -Forget-Worry Star for Gu Ding. If Dragon Dock Star is Elizabeth's home, then Forget-Worry Star is Elizabeth backyard.
Forget-Worry Star is a scenic tourist planet, so in terms of regulatory oversight, it's on a completely different level from Dragon Dock Star. Most importantly, Elizabeth visits this planet at least once a month, and when she has more free time, she stays for a few days to explore. Of course, she's also secretly protected by various powerful individuals, though the situation is slightly better than on Dragon Dock Star. Furthermore, Gu Ding has a much higher chance of seeing her.
"Elizabeth has been visiting Forget-Worry Star frequently in recent months. She should be gradually handing over her work. I just don't know when the new ruler of the Fei Me Universe Country will be chosen." The Sea Emperor also knew very well that being the ruler was not an easy job.
"Handing over the throne? Why?" This was the first time Gu Ding had ever heard of such a thing.
"Because Elizabeth is still too young, her ascension to godhood now means she can go even further in the future. The position of ruler will not benefit her advancement in strength. Moreover, the Congress and Federal Government of the Fei Me Universe Country have cultivated many candidates for rulership. The position of rulership can be replaced at any time, which will not affect the operation of the Congress and Federal Government. Compared to a ruler at the level of Low-rank God, the Congress and Federal Government would prefer to obtain a Mid-rank God, even if that Mid-rank God is just an ordinary citizen."
"Why is that?" Gu Ding couldn't understand it at all. What did it have to do with Congress and the Federal Government if an individual became a god?
"The more powerful individuals a Universe Country produces, the more resources it will receive from the Federal Government. Therefore, Congress hopes that powerful individuals will emerge in its jurisdiction, even if these powerful individuals are just ordinary citizens or even Interstellar Pirate."
"The reason why the Federal Government needs strong individuals is because your entire Human Race is now almost falling out of the ranks of first-class races in the Great Universe Sea. This is also why, in this era, the Federal Government has reduced its hunting rate of Interstellar Pirate to the lowest level. Basically, as long as they are not true Interstellar Pirate, they are captured alive. Moreover, in the Universe Sea, the Federal Government is also willing to give up some benefits to other major powers, relinquishing a lot of jurisdiction and allowing those Interstellar Pirate to grow stronger."
"Regardless of your identities—whether you are soldiers, Interstellar Pirate, mercenaries, or anything else—you all belong to the Human Race. If the entire human race faces a tremendous crisis of annihilation, Gu Ding, will you step forward?" the Sea Emperor suddenly asked.
Gu Ding nodded heavily. The loss of his entire race meant that his friends, and even the Deep Sea Star, would be in turmoil. He couldn't stand by and do nothing, even if he was just an Interstellar Pirate.
"The Federal Government thinks the same way. So, the strength of the Interstellar Pirate, to some extent, has also promoted the strength of the Federal Government's military, and even the strength of the entire Human Race. In critical moments, apart from individual organizations like the Dark Magic Domain, even Interstellar Pirate will step forward to help when the Human Race needs them."
The Sea Emperor's explanation finally made Gu Ding understand that he was actually born in a good era.
"In the previous era, the Federal Government spared no effort in hunting down Interstellar Pirate. Back then, Interstellar Pirate were basically like rats in the street, and many would be killed on the spot. It was precisely because of the excessive hunting in the previous era that some powerful Interstellar Pirate who had the opportunity to rise were nipped in the bud. Without a sufficiently powerful opponent, the military's overall strength declined, and the number of new powerful individuals in the entire Human Race fell below historical records in that era. Only then did the Federal Government realize that it had made a colossal mistake."
"Once humanity is downgraded from a first-rate race to a second-rate race, it can only exist by depending on another first-rate race. Otherwise, it will only suffer from the joint division of other first-rate races, and in severe cases, the entire race may be wiped out by other first-rate races."
"Even if we choose to vassalize another first-rate race, our sphere of influence will definitely shrink to less than one-tenth of what it is now, and a large amount of resources will be plundered by the vassal first-rate race. Becoming a second-rate race also means that it is legal for members of this race to be sold as slaves."
"If things reach that point, it will be very unlikely that humanity will be able to rise again."
The Sea Emperor's addition made Gu Ding frown. He shook his head to clear his mind of distractions. "Tell me about Elizabeth's schedule."
"Elizabeth will be arriving on Forget-Worry Star in the next few days, and that woman named Medea will be with her. There will be at least four peak demigods secretly protecting her, and it's possible that even a peak demigod might appear." Although the Sea Emperor's current authority is not powerful enough to spy on the king's secrets, he has deduced this information from what he has gathered from other sources.
"Medea, that woman is very strong! But I don't seem to see her name on the Demigod Prodigy Ranking." Gu Ding found it a bit strange.
"There's nothing strange about that. The Star Pavilion won't reveal personal information about certain individuals closely connected to the Federal Government; this is an agreement between the Star Pavilion and the Federal Government. I've never heard of any ruler of Universe Country being on the Demigod Prodigy Ranking, and the bodyguards around the ruler should also be subject to such restrictions. That woman's strength isn't much weaker than Roland's. I personally estimate that her Combat Strength is at least in the top twenty of the Demigod Prodigy; she at least possesses the Combat Strength to slaughter a one-star god. But for you now, she's not an obstacle. Your biggest obstacle is still Elizabeth. Although she's only a one-star god, she possessed four-star Combat Strength upon her advancement. Now, after consolidating her cultivation for several months, she's probably comparable to a five-star Combat Strength expert."
"Wow, that spaceship is really impressive!" Dokter suddenly exclaimed in amazement.
Gu Ding immediately looked in the direction his gaze was directed, where a Phoenix painted in purple and gold, was positioned. A golden Phoenix crown adorned its top. This spaceship clearly belonged to Elizabeth; Gu Ding hadn't expected her to arrive so quickly.
The Phoenix slowly descended, attracting quite a crowd of onlookers.
The port staff and some local vendors certainly knew who owned the spaceship, but Wuyou Star was a tourist destination, and many visitors didn't know who owned it. The onlookers were simply separated from the group by some military personnel; they weren't expelled. Many people started taking pictures of the spaceship.
The Phoenix's hatch opened quickly, and a stunningly beautiful woman in a purple dress stepped out with a faint smile.
Only then did the onlookers realize that the spaceship actually belonged to Queen Elizabeth ... (To be continued).