"Of course!" Earl Atarik's tone was filled with unmistakable respect and sincerity. "On behalf of the Holy Stone Empire's Emperor Asaliuk, I extend my highest regards to your nation's Emperor!"
He paused, his expression clearly apologetic. "I must apologize. In our previous exchanges, we concealed some important facts from you."
Looking at Lord Wei Dongchen's impassive expression, he said helplessly, "The Holy Stone Empire originated in the Carina Dwarf Galaxy. At its height, it ruled over twenty-three Galactic Arms."
As Earl Atarik spoke, an ancient and powerful empire slowly took shape before the Gods.
It turned out that long before the Black Domain covered the Milky Way Galaxy and even the Local Group, the Holy Stone Empire had already developed technology on par with a Super Civilization. It had begun intergalactic expeditions early, and had nearly ruled half of the entire Local Group's Galactic Arms.
The Black Domain's arrival had altered the laws of nature, and the Tide of Darkness had swept in as well. Together, they forced the vast, ancient empire to steadily retreat. One Galactic Arm after another was swallowed by NPCs in a seemingly endless war. By the time the Dragon Soul Empire rose in the Milky Way Galaxy,
the ancient nation, which was said to have existed for tens of millions of years, was already struggling to survive. It had no choice but to relinquish most of its colonial rights in other Galactic Arms and concentrate its strength in its home system and a handful of others.
After a succession of defeats, the Holy Stone Empire had figured out how the Tide of Darkness developed and found a way to counter it. The civilization abandoned its former policy of aggressive expansion and chose a more conservative approach, concentrating all its forces in five Galactic Arms before