Duoqi

In fact, the Swarm that was constantly monitoring them discovered the moment the new forces destroyed the Riken Race's observation device.

This decisive action suggests hostility from the newcomers and also reflects their confidence in their own strength.

But the Swarm wasn't worried about this, or rather, Rowan, after the Swarm Network was upgraded again, wasn't worried about this.

This confidence also stems from strength.

Both sides are full of confidence; what follows is a contest of raw strength.

"Let's see who's really bluffing."

--

"Ah~ two nascent interstellar civilizations, ignorant and utterly unaware of the dangers of releasing a high-yield Nuclear Bomb in space?" On the bridge, a tall, humanoid creature over two meters tall exclaimed, "If it weren't for the Suzerain's restraint, they would probably be wiped out." He wore a dark red uniform with ornate patterns subtly visible at the edges, which, combined with his equally dark red skin exposed outside the clothing, created a bloody and grotesquely eerie beauty.

Moving the gaze upwards, the humanoid creature's face is complete with all the necessary organs, including eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. However, what's rather peculiar is that it has three eyes. The corners of two of the eyes reach above the ears, and between these two, a third eye appears above the bridge of the nose, level with the other two.

Judging from the distribution of his eyes, it's clear that their field of vision far exceeds that of two-eyed creatures. Dark yellow occupies most of his eyes, while his black pupils are constricted, giving him a very fierce appearance.

Aside from the strangeness of his eyes, his skin had crisscrossing cracks and scattered granular bumps, but this was not a disease; judging from another member of his race standing behind him, it was simply a racial characteristic.

The man of his own race standing behind him was only a little over 1.9 meters tall, with a slender build. From behind, he was a figure that evoked endless imagination, but his three half-closed, dark yellow eyes and skin that looked like cooled lava probably didn't fit the aesthetic standards of some races.

"Aslite, what do you think?" The tall humanoid creature exclaimed, then basked in his own admiration for a while, but received no response from his Adjutant behind him. He thought to himself, "How can he be so oblivious?" but still asked.

Perhaps other races cannot accept her appearance, but according to the aesthetic standards of her tribe, Aslite is a stunning beauty.

"Your Highness, you are right." Upon hearing the question, the female creature named Aslite couldn't help but sigh inwardly, her tone tinged with helplessness.

The man before me is Prince Dialo, the third prince of the Duoqi Empire. He is over three hundred years old, but within the empire, he can only be considered a young man.

Because interstellar civilizations hibernate during travel, their age calculations are very chaotic. Although Dialo is over three hundred years old from birth, he spends two-thirds of his time in hibernation due to frequent interstellar travel. Hibernation causes bodily functions to almost stop, so his body is still at the peak of a 100-year-old.

The Duoqi Empire is a vast empire spanning three star systems. Two thousand years ago, with some external assistance, they had already completely conquered their Mother Planet. Subsequently, they colonized surrounding star systems, and over the past two thousand years, they have brought two more star systems under their rule.

However, although their engine technology is advanced and has reached its limit within the current technological system, it still has not broken the speed of light barrier.

The distance between two adjacent star systems is usually more than five light-years. Therefore, it takes more than ten years for the Duoqi Empire's Mother Planet and the Colony Star, and that is at their current travel speed. When they first occupied the Colony Star, their technology level meant that a round trip would take more than thirty years.

As the colonies' infrastructure gradually got on track, some people in the Colony Star far from the empire's center began to have ulterior motives. Although their ambitions were quickly crushed in the face of the powerful imperial fleet, they still aroused the vigilance of the Duoqi King.

After discussions within the royal family, it was agreed that the Imperial Fleet would be permanently stationed in the Colony Star. However, the royal family was not comfortable with appointing outsiders to command the fleet, so they had no choice but to use their own people.

After some research, new rules were formulated.

Because the Duoqi Race has a long lifespan, and as the regional overlord, the king's safety was well guaranteed as he resided in the center of the empire, the crown prince was already quite old and had many children when the old king abdicated and the crown prince ascended the throne.

For example, Dialo already had dozens of brothers and sisters when his father ascended the throne.

When a new king ascends the throne, his prince must travel to the Colony Star to take command of the imperial fleet, guarding the frontiers while also deterring any troublemakers within the territory.

The former princes who originally commanded the fleet—who are now the brothers of the new king and the current princes—will have their fates decided based on the circumstances. If they have a good relationship with the princes of the younger generation who will take over the fleet, they will be retained to serve as deputies or similar positions. If their relationship is not good, they will be sent back to the imperial Mother Planet to retire.

Of course, by this time there might not be many princes left, because the Duoqi Race had a very bloody rule.

That is, when the old king reaches a certain age, a battle for the throne will begin, and all the princes who are qualified to become the crown prince will participate.

The ticket to participation was having real power, that is, commanding the fleet. Therefore, the princes who could participate were generally those born before the old king ascended the throne, because princes born after the king's ascension to the throne almost never obtained this right.

The battle for the throne was limited to a small number of princes, but during this period, all the means by which the princes fought were legal.

These methods include more peaceful ones, such as expanding the empire's territory, suppressing rebellions, and carrying out missions, ultimately ascending to the throne through unparalleled achievements. However, these things are rare and hard to come by; since the Duoqi royal family established the new rules, no prince has ever risen to the throne based on merit.

The other method is more barbaric: all the princes gather on the Imperial Mother Planet and compete in various contests to determine the winner. This ranges from large-scale simulated fleet command battles to small-scale direct combat between special operations personnel, and even direct poisoning and assassination to eliminate competitors completely—all of this is permitted.

When the battle for the throne ends, the surviving princes will determine the winner through a unique scoring system, and the victor will obtain the title of crown prince. At the same time, all grudges from the period of the struggle for the throne will be settled and must not be pursued any further.

Because of this rule, princes mostly choose more direct methods, making each battle for the throne exceptionally bloody. After a major battle, of the dozens of princes involved, fewer than five would survive.

Thank you S Tudou brother for the reward of 500 starting coins.