Published at 24th of May 2026 6:07 am

Chapter 2168 His Majesty's Orders

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Knock Knock

Everyone present immediately rose to their feet, one after another, as soon as they caught sight of the new arrival. Chairs shifted softly against the polished floor, and every gaze turned toward the entrance with instinctive discipline. Without exception, they bowed their heads with deep respect, voices uniting in a single tone, "We greet Your Highness."

"No need for formalities, please, sit."

Zara stepped inside with a faint, composed smile resting on her lips, her movements calm and unhurried as if she carried a quiet authority that needed no display. She wore a beautiful white and green dress that flowed gently with each step, its colors blending in a way that reflected both purity and vitality. Her short hair shimmered under the hall's light like a cascading golden waterfall, catching every flicker of brightness, while her radiant face seemed almost unreal, a dream sculpted into reality for every man within the empire.

Yet her eyes told a different story. Beneath that gentle smile, something far heavier lingered... exhaustion etched faintly into her gaze. Even if she relied on the path of life to cleanse any visible physical fatigue, smoothing her skin and restoring her posture, she could not conceal what weighed upon her soul. That quiet strain remained, hidden only from those who did not dare to truly look.

"Sister Zara." Emily rose as well, her expression softening into a polite smile as she greeted the daughter of His Majesty. With a subtle gesture, she guided her toward the main seat at the head of the table, ensuring her place was acknowledged without disrupting the atmosphere.

"Has something major happened, Sister Emily?" Zara asked the moment she settled into her seat, her tone calm but carrying a trace of curiosity, "I don't think I'll be of much use in military meetings like this."

For centuries, Zara had devoted herself entirely to Sky Opening City within the Young Belt. She oversaw everything within its bounds, managing countless individuals and systems, while dedicating her energy to refining and developing the crucibles of greed she had painstakingly created over time. Her focus had always been inward, centered on growth, refinement, and control within her domain.

Her presence and relentless effort had, without question, shaped the empire as it stood today. The stability, the expansion, the prosperity... all of it bore her mark in one form or another. Yet if one were to ask her about the current state of social dynamics, political movements, or even military developments across the empire, she would find herself at a loss for words.

It was not ignorance, but specialization.

This simply was not her domain. She fulfilled her responsibilities with precision and left the rest to those entrusted with them... this was His Majesty's way, her father's way, a system where every piece moved according to its role without interference.

Which was precisely why the invitation she had received today felt so unusual.

To be called into such a high-level meeting, one dominated by military discussion and strategic planning... it was not something that happened without reason.

"You bookworm," Kristan, who had yet to shift his gaze away from Emily, suddenly spoke, his voice laced with disbelief and irritation, "aren't you going to explain what you said earlier?!"

"Tsk..." Emily clicked her tongue softly, casting him a brief look filled with clear disdain before turning her attention away as if he were hardly worth the effort. Then she straightened her posture and addressed the entire hall, her voice steady and authoritative, "In truth, new orders have arrived from His Highness, the First Sword. Urgent orders, delivered to him directly from His Majesty himself."

"..." The atmosphere tightened almost instantly. Brows furrowed, shoulders stiffened, and yet no one interrupted. They simply waited.

His Majesty was not one to interfere lightly. He rarely issued commands, rarely involved himself directly in the empire's daily operations. But when he did... it was never something small. His words carried weight enough to shift the course of entire sectors.

"According to these new orders," Emily continued, her tone growing heavier with each word, "His Majesty demands the complete subjugation of all the Young Sectors 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, and 103 within the coming century."

".......?!"

Silence fell.

Not the ordinary kind that fills a room between sentences, but something deeper, heavier... as though even the air itself had frozen in place. No one moved, no one spoke, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as if time had simply stopped.

Even Zara, who had maintained her composure throughout, could not hide the shock that flickered across her face.

"Control seven young sectors within a hundred years?" Kristan let out a low laugh, baring his teeth in a grin that bordered on disbelief, his eyes sweeping across the room as if searching for someone to share the absurdity with, "And you all call me the mad one?!"

"Watch your tongue." Emily responded sharply, her disgust no longer concealed, before turning back to the others as though dismissing him entirely, "Does anyone have questions?"

"Yes, I have a question." One of the attendees slowly raised his hand, his expression tense as he sought permission to speak. After a brief pause, he voiced the single thought weighing on everyone's mind, "...how?!"

"You're asking me?" Emily pointed directly at him, her gaze firm and unyielding, "Then why did I gather all of you here in the first place?" Her voice carried a subtle edge as she continued, "Aren't you the one responsible for army distribution? You should be the one presenting answers, not asking for them. Go on... give us your opinion."

"There is nothing to say," that man, the assistant to His Highness Caesar who had been assigned to headquarters, shook his head slowly in clear resignation, his voice carrying the weight of countless failed projections and calculations, "we have not even fully secured Sectors 99 and 100 yet. The number of planets in each sector alone exceeds what we could realistically bring under control in thousands of years, let alone compress that into a single century… and now we are speaking of seven entire sectors instead of just two!"

"We were already forced to send a significant portion of the First and Third Armies to Mid Sector 98 based on direct orders from the Shadow Swords," another officer added, his tone strained as if repeating the matter had become exhausting, "and that alone crippled our operational capacity here in 99 and 100. Our mobility has dropped drastically. On top of that, the forces we still have deployed are facing relentless attacks from the followers of the Sorcerer Behemoth, and judging by the intensity of those clashes… it does not seem likely that many of them will return intact, if at all."

"We already require decades just to recover the losses from the troops that were redirected to Young Sector 98," a third voice joined, shaking his head with visible frustration, "and the ongoing wars from Mid 98 to Mid Sector 101 demand a continuous stream of reinforcements… more fleets, more weapons, more supply lines. It has pushed us into a permanent state of shortage. We are no longer operating from strength, but from deficit."

"We have reached the point where we are no longer even deploying fleets in planetary-scale battles within the Young Sector," the communications officer spoke next, his eyes scanning the room as if seeking agreement, "the marshals have completely downgraded the importance of our front. They barely allocate fleets to us anymore. We are left with scraps… we have actually regressed to relying on space portals!!"

The root of this shift was clear.

With the recent decline in the number of newly subjugated planets, caused by both the severe shortage of war vessels and Kristan's repeated failure to locate any new high-value planets worthy of integration into the empire, a drastic solution had been introduced.

Kristan had presented an idea to the army… one that aligned disturbingly well with the empire's already ruthless system.

Recently, star scout vessels had been tasked with gathering precise coordinates and environmental data on potential target planets. Once a planet was deemed viable, military headquarters would dispatch a unit of no more than one thousand soldiers through a space portal, aiming to minimize large-scale losses while maintaining expansion momentum.

The journey itself could take days, sometimes even weeks depending on the distance and stability of the route. And once they arrived, that small force would be expected to engage an entire planet, establish a functioning portal on-site, and defend it against all resistance until a stable connection for reinforcements and supply lines could be secured.

From a strategic standpoint, the approach had its brilliance.

Each unit was led by a young planetary general undergoing real battlefield training, forcing rapid growth under extreme pressure. It allowed the empire to project its influence across hundreds of planets simultaneously, stretching its reach farther than ever before. The First and Third Armies, though fragmented, had returned to active engagement on a massive scale, successfully subjugating a number of weaker planets through this method.

For stronger, resource-rich worlds, available fleets were redirected as reinforcement when possible. In other cases, additional units would be deployed through the established portals, tightening control and accelerating the conquest process.

Yet despite these advantages… the cost was undeniable.

It was a strategy that traded cohesion for reach, and safety for speed.

No matter how advanced the empire's soldiers were, no matter how refined their training, their equipment, their talismans, their arrays, their ground combat systems… even if each of them stood as a walking fortress capable of surviving conditions that would crush ordinary beings…

One thousand soldiers facing a population of millions would always bleed.

Losses were not a possibility… they were a certainty.

"Our armies no longer have sufficient equipment," another officer spoke, his voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and concern, "and what remains has already been scattered across hundreds of planets. We do not possess a unified, large-scale army anymore as we once did. What we have now are fragmented forces… closer to militias than structured armies, inserted into hostile worlds and left there to fight and endure until an outcome emerges."

He paused for a moment, then continued, his confusion turning into a direct challenge, "So what exactly are we supposed to do with them? Pull them back and consolidate… and in doing so abandon the open battlefields in Young Sectors 99 and 100?"

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