There was more.
Namely, Black Stone Duchy's knack for seizing the moment!
It had expanded its territory more than tenfold in one fell swoop.
Yet throughout the process, Black Stone Duchy had never rushed recklessly.
On the contrary, every step had been measured and sure!
Whenever it occupied a star system,
large numbers of security forces and professional administrators immediately moved in.
They took over the system's governance in its entirety.
All local powers and anyone suspected of being a destabilizing influence
were relocated outright.
Not that there was no resistance.
But while the newly occupied territories were still under its control,
Black Stone Duchy took semi-coercive measures.
With its armies bearing down on them,
few fools dared to make trouble.
This meticulous approach
inevitably required extra manpower and resources. More importantly, it slowed the advance of Black Stone Duchy's armies.
In most wars,
no one would make such a strategic sacrifice just to improve stability in newly occupied territory.
If it caused the war to be lost,
what use would those early gains be?
But Black Stone Duchy was different.
After setting a trap in a head-on battle and nearly wiping out the main force of the Oda Shogunate fleet,
the Oda Shogunate, already at the end of its rope after battling Shannan Kingdom, had been holding on by sheer willpower.21
It collapsed all at once!
It had exhausted its national strength and mobilized every warship it could.
Even though Black Stone Duchy deliberately slowed its advance,
the Oda Shogunate was still helpless.
On the contrary,
the multiple full-scale mobilizations it had ordered early on had left all the local powers within the Oda Shogunate weaker than ever.
That only made it easier for Black Stone Duchy to clear them out!
So Black Stone Duchy advanced step by step,