So What if I Transmigrated into a Honkai Beast?

Chapter 424 - 416 - The Rise of the Sacred Empire

However, the [Elixir Seeker] force was a mixed fleet from various civilizations. The annihilation of the entire fleet was no small matter.

This battle did not earn the [Elixir Seekers] the attention of "Yaoshi," but it did bring forth the true [People of Abundance]:

The [Abomination Fleet] led by the [Emissary of Abundance · King of Grafts · Graragon]. The things that composed this fleet were less like "starships" and more like hideous living creatures, similar to the [Swarm Hive Mothers].

The individual combat prowess of the [Dragonkin] had always been superb. In an [Emissary] versus [Emissary] duel, Oromis Messiah was absolutely confident he could defeat Graragon.

But the [Path of Abundance], having mutated into that of the [Abominations], held a strong suppressive effect on the [Path of Immortality]. Without the protection of their Astral God, Oromis Messiah's expended Path power was difficult to recover, causing him to grow weaker and weaker as the battle raged on.

What's more, Oromis Messiah also had to protect his already scarce kinsmen. In contrast, the [Abomination Fleet] had ample fire support and a madness that knew no fear of death. The [Path of Immortality] was not suited for mental attacks, and the [Psionic Void Dragonkin] were masters of extremely specialized physical combat. Oromis Messiah was no match for Graragon.

And then... the Imperial Fleet appeared.

The Monarch himself possessed the [Dominion of Immortality] and was a member of the [Dragonkin]. Thus, the [Dragonkin] naturally became one of the Empire's few allies. Of course, the Empire never counted on their combat strength (at least not for the next few tens of thousands of years). The reason they intervened was largely due to the debt the Monarch owed to "Long, the Astral God of Immortality," from the battle on the Imaginary Tree.

He was obligated to save the endangered Dragonkin.

---o---

Under normal circumstances, if most civilizations encountered an Imperial fleet head-on, even if they didn't raise a white flag, they would immediately turn and flee. Although the [Dragonkin] maintained a "reserved" attitude and had not formally established diplomatic relations with the Sacred Empire, many of them in fact lived within the Empire's borders.

This was not exactly common knowledge across the universe, but a major Astral God faction like the [People of Abundance] should have been aware of it.

But! As mentioned before, while there were normal individuals among the [People of Abundance], it was the small, abnormal fraction that held the real combat power (the older a Dragonkin, the stronger it is; the same applies to the People of Abundance, except their "aging" is invariably accompanied by spiritual madness). Graragon's [Abomination Fleet] not only did not surrender, but actively attacked the Imperial fleet.

After repeated warnings were ignored, the Empire broadcast pre-recorded footage through the public channel. After establishing the fact that "they shot first," they launched a war of annihilation against Graragon and the [Abomination Fleet].

The duration... 35 seconds.

That's right. As fate would have it, Graragon and the [Abomination Fleet] ran into the [Sovereignty-class] Super-Titan, Ship No. VII: Foe-Slayer.

This starship was the flagship of "Saint Engraving VII: Pillar of the Machine God," and as luck would have it, Duck Duck herself was on board at the time.

The [Abomination Fleet] had the great honor of taking a direct hit from [Genesis].

Every single one of the [People of Abundance], including Graragon, was instantly turned to cosmic dust.

What was even more terrifying... was the timing. By then, the territory of the [Antimatter Legion] had been completely occupied by the Empire. The remnants could only wander about, fighting a guerrilla war, and they had already gone through three or four generations of [Destruction Emissaries].

The Sacred Empire's prestige was at its zenith.

The Foe-Slayer, having just annihilated the [Abomination Fleet], along with two other summoned [Sovereignty-class] super-titans—Ship No. II: Advent, and Ship No. X: Zealot—headed directly for the territory of the [People of Abundance].

Since a fight had already started, not completely eliminating the opponent would only lead to endless trouble in the future. This was the Monarch's military doctrine and an ironclad rule strictly followed by the Imperial Fleet.

After that... no one knows what kind of reparations the [People of Abundance] paid, or what agreement "Yaoshi" reached with the Monarch. In short, after sacrificing four titan fleets and three [Emissaries] (two of whom had already become Abominations), the Empire officially ceased its hostilities, with the treaty witnessed by "Fuli, the Astral God of Remembrance."

---o---

The above encapsulates the entanglement between the Empire, the Dragonkin, and the People of Abundance. Although the entire incident lasted less than 24 hours, it had a major impact on the political landscape of the entire cosmos.

The already illustrious Sacred Empire, after eliminating so many of "Yaoshi's" retainers, received no "sanction" from any god, causing its reputation to soar to unprecedented heights.

If the [People of Abundance] traded their reputation for survival (though their reputation wasn't great to begin with), then the various retainers of the [Path of The Hunt] served as a perfect example to the major powers of the universe... of the consequences of angering the Empire.

As is widely known, the [Paths] of the Empire's subjects were complex and diverse, including both [Abundance] and [The Hunt] (the former from Teyvat, the latter from Annihilation).

No, that's not right. First, an introduction to "Lan" is in order.

"Lan, the Astral God of The Hunt," honorifically known as the [Reigning Longevous Lord], became the sworn enemy of "Yaoshi" after his home was destroyed by [Abominations] and he ascended to godhood. To destroy "Abundance," "Lan" has always acted without regard for the cost (basically, when rescuing hostages, he kills the hostages along with the criminals). The attributes of the [Path of The Hunt] are: The Other Side, Decisiveness, Ruthlessness, and Obstinance.

He has two factions of retainers.

The first is the [Xianzhou Alliance]. They were originally a branch of the [Elixir Seekers]. After receiving "Yaoshi's" blessing, a large number of them mutated into [Abominations] due to a "mismatch of spirit and flesh." It was at this time that "Lan," returning from the "abyss," saved this branch of [Elixir Seekers] with a single strike that severed the [Jianmu] (a tool used by Yaoshi to bestow blessings on an entire star system). From then on, they called themselves the [Xianzhou Alliance] and formed the [Cloud Knights] to fight against the [People of Abundance].

The second is the [Galaxy Rangers], a self-organized civilian group that upholds justice, with their operations extending into the "abyss." That's right, "Lan" is one of the very few Astral Gods who have actually descended into the Sea (which is why, despite his youth, his power is comparable to that of the old-guard Astral Gods). Naturally, his retainers include members who follow him there.

"Lan" already detested [Abominations], and he was helpless against "Yaoshi" (there was still a power gap between them, and she simply ignored him). Therefore, "Lan" and his retainers spared no effort in striking down the [People of Abundance] in the material universe.

(Incidentally, "Lan" himself is one of the few Astral Gods willing to actively manifest in the material universe for long periods. And the [Xianzhou Alliance], in its fight against [Abundance], has gradually incorporated many [Pathstriders] who are not on the Path of The Hunt.)

---o---

Against this backdrop, what would happen when the [Cloud Knights] encountered Imperial subjects who held the [Path of Abundance]?

"Whether they believe in 'Yaoshi' or not, anyone who holds the power of 'Abundance' could become an [Abomination]"—this was the attitude of the [Xianzhou Alliance].

A mere attitude was nothing, but the actions of the [Xianzhou Alliance] genuinely threatened the safety of Imperial subjects.

The number of the Sacred Empire's native races (referring to the victims the Monarch saved with time reversal during the war with Annihilation and their descendants) was not large. The expansion of the Empire's territory was accompanied by a massive influx of vassal races, causing the proportion of natives to shrink dramatically.

According to Shesha's statistics, the bloodlines of full or partial (mixed-blood) Imperial natives accounted for only 4% of the Empire's total population. Of this meager 1/25th, more than half had contributed their power in the battle between "Star-Vault" and Annihilation. As the Monarch had said, he remembered every single one of these Imperial subjects.

Therefore, when the soul of a being "remembered" by the Monarch vanished, this Grand Monarch, who had already attained the seat of "Order," would naturally trace it to its source.

The matter was not that complicated. Two Imperial citizens traveling outside the Empire's borders were killed by the [Cloud Knights], mistaken for [People of Abundance]. To say the two were innocent was correct; the star system they were passing through happened to be where a [Jianmu] had just descended, and this [Jianmu] and the [People of Abundance] it spawned were being cleansed by the [Cloud Knights].

These two... were mistaken for stragglers.

Note: The "Obstinance" and "Ruthlessness" in the [Path of The Hunt] grow stronger along with the Path itself. The [Cloud Knights] corps capable of dealing with a [Jianmu] so efficiently were the absolute elite of the [Xianzhou Alliance]. They never showed mercy and would never give the [People of Abundance] a chance to explain.

And so, this "obstinance" became the final spark that ignited the [Xianzhou Alliance]'s refusal to "apologize" to the Sacred Empire. They were not upholding justice, but proclaiming it. In their eyes, the image of the Sacred Empire had nothing to do with "sacred." While they weren't calling for war, apologizing to such a power was out of the question.

Thus, a war sparked by two lives, spanning 33 star sectors, began.

---o---

Why "spanning"?

Because besides their six super-titan class starships called "Xianzhou," the [Xianzhou Alliance] had no fixed territory. (Though their individual combat power wasn't that strong, being basically oversized transport-colony ships, they were officially classified as "super-titans"). The retainers of [The Hunt] were widely distributed throughout the cosmos, usually operating in small teams. When they encountered a problem they couldn't solve, they would report back to the "Xianzhou" through special means. Since "Lan" often manifested in the material universe, the power of his Path allowed for efficient information gathering.

Wherever [Abundance] appeared, the Xianzhou and [The Hunt] would follow.

Therefore, the battle between the [Xianzhou Alliance] and the Sacred Empire became a veritable chase. The [Xianzhou Alliance] might have been stubborn, but they were not brainless. They knew the limits of their "Xianzhou's" combat power, so they could only rely on their sole advantage, an "even match" in speed, to lead the Imperial fleet in circles across the universe.

Logically, deploying super-titans was extremely expensive. The unknown dangers posed by various celestial phenomena, along with the consumption of materials and energy, made super-titans a poor choice for a chase. While the "Xianzhou" were not that powerful, they couldn't be defeated by titans either. Even if the Empire used super-titans to chase them, over time, they would naturally be forced to concede due to political and economic reasons.

Unfortunately, the Empire was an autocracy. When the Monarch made a move, he didn't necessarily care for reason.

Excluding the three [Throne-class] super-titans guarding the capital world (the planet, not the entire territory), the Sacred Empire deployed all eight of its active [Sovereignty-class] super-titans, along with all 72 [Sovereign Might-class] titans, to form a fleet and launch an unprecedented encirclement campaign against the [Xianzhou Alliance].

After a war that lasted over 200 years, five "Xianzhou" ships were destroyed. 29 star sectors were affected by the fires of war, and 3 were completely obliterated—these 3 sectors belonged to civilizations that had dared to resupply the "Xianzhou," and they were personally burned to cosmic dust by the Monarch.

Of the entire Xianzhou Alliance, only one ship, the "Luofu," remained.

After this war, the brutality and terror of the Sacred Empire were seared into the minds of all powers.

And yet, this was not the most famous event of that 200-year period. The fundamental reason why no civilization dared to act tough in front of the Sacred Empire was...

The defeat of "Lan."

That's right. [Lan, the Astral God of The Hunt, the Reigning Longevous Lord], an existence who ranked high among the Astral Gods, was defeated by the Monarch.

He was not the first Astral God to fall to the Monarch. Before "Lan," the Monarch had already killed Nanook's avatar in the material universe (at 5% power); repelled and tore a piece of flesh (a dark nebula) from "Ouroboros, the Astral God of Voracity," who had discovered and tried to devour Cerberus (the Twilight Ancient Beast); and even killed an obscure existence, "Shrike, the Astral God of Vicious Beasts."

The Monarch had no idea what this "Shrike" even was. He had just been wandering the cosmos when he suddenly encountered a powerful hostile intent. This Astral God, who had no concept of fleeing (though it was indeed a high-dimensional being), was simply annihilated. Eliminating an Astral God and repelling one are two entirely different concepts. The Monarch's all-out attack this time left not even a fragment of a Path behind, making it impossible to trace its origin.

"Lan" was powerful, but he was too young. The Path held by this "Astral God of The Hunt" was average at best. His most terrifying aspect should have been "Quantum energy"—he could wield the "power of the abyss," which other Astral Gods would have to expend vast amounts of Imaginary energy and Path power to eliminate. This was "Lan's" greatest strength.

But this ability... was child's play in front of the Monarch.

In terms of manipulating Quantum energy, the Monarch had no fear of "Lan." And when it came to a normal clash of Paths, the Order Grand Monarch, commanding 17 Dominions, chased the "Astral God of The Hunt" across 55 star sectors, forcing the latter to flee back to a higher dimension.

And to this day—

He has never again dared to show his face in the material universe.