Federal Calendar, May 8th, 3:00 a.m., Columbia local time.
The lights of Columbia Pantheon Palace had remained lit throughout the night. Soldiers on rotating guard duty patrolled past the main gates. Looking at the resplendent grandeur within, they could not help shrinking their necks. It seemed as though an icy wind constantly blew from inside, making their entire bodies tremble.
"Urgent report! Urgent report!" Before the patrol soldiers had even left, an officer came sprinting from afar. The soldiers recognized him as a general from the military headquarters and hurriedly moved aside, afraid that any delay on their part would slow him down. His Majesty the Emperor had not left the palace for two days and nights. News of the massacre at the galaxy's border had already reached the ears of ordinary citizens. The Emperor now was like a powder keg packed with explosives—whoever dared light the fuse would undoubtedly be courting death.
The patrol soldier felt a chill around his neck, and his steps past the palace gates unconsciously quickened. He seemed eager to leave this place as soon as possible...
Yet before he could get far, His Majesty the Emperor's cry of alarm reached his ears...
"My son, my son! Damn Starsea Beasts! The only son of I, Julius! Investigate! All of you, investigate! The Starsea Beasts would never attack the Tanzania Star Region without reason! Quickly—three days, no, within one day, I must know who the culprit is!!!" Julius was already over two hundred years old, yet he had only one son.
After all, the more advanced a civilization became, the harder it was to maintain an imperial system. Take Saint Masente, for example. Although the Elf Race had an Empress, she was still constrained by several elders. Most advanced civilizations were either federal systems or republics.