Free Web NovelChapter 172: Chapter 172: The First March
With the World Transformation settled, it was time to unveil the secret as to why Epos had suddenly decided to attack him.
After questioning Epos’s high commanders, two names came to the surface.
Sol-III and the Milky Way Alliance.
Apparently, the Federation had reached out to seek assistance from its neighboring powers, hoping to stop Neo from rising.
A week ago, a dozen Councilmen met with Lord Epos and sought his assistance to bring Neo down in exchange for 1 Million Universal Credits.
It was an exorbitant sum, even for a Viscount.
Neo only had around 100,000 UC.
From the looks of it, the Federation was absolutely serious. They were even willing to spend their national wealth. frёewebnoѵēl.com
So, how could Neo sit idly by?
Then, he suddenly remembered something. freёweɓnovel.com
"Why isn’t Vesper here yet? It has been a week since she completed her mission. Do not tell me she went after the rest of the Rothschilds too."
His guess was completely correct. The Arcane Assassin was currently on a solitary mission to exterminate the Rothschild family and Ark White.
Neo obviously would not like her to kill the women and children. However, he also understood that leaving loose ends would come back to bite him in the future.
That is exactly why he made no effort to stop her.
Instead, he called the Elven Commanders to prepare for their first interstellar attack on another planet.
There was also the matter of establishing a military presence on the newly acquired ten Life Planets.
And most importantly, he had learned that about ten Life Planets had refused to surrender to him, even after the crushing defeat of Epos.
As a Marquis, Epos should have had fifty Life Planets. But in reality, he only had twenty planets under his rule, while the other thirty had been forcefully snatched by another Dominator.
In essence, Epos was fighting over his own borders as well.
He was completely broke, too. Why else would he accept this task for only 1,000,000 UC?
As a Marquis, he should have brought at least two billion stellar warriors.
Whatever. Neo cast those thoughts aside. For now, he would focus entirely on attacking Earth.
---
After a few hours, Neo stood on the massive command balcony of the central LORD Class flagship.
Below him, the colossal orbital deck was packed with his terrifying army. Millions of heavily armored Beyonders stood in perfect formation alongside the towering, pitch black frames of the automated Void Sentinels.
Even the newly integrated soldiers of the Spider Expanse knelt in the back rows, their heads bowed.
Standing at edge, he then raised his right hand.
Instantly, the deafening hum of millions of soldiers went completely dead silent.
The aura of a Type 4 Legend Rank being washed over the entire hangar.
Then, his grand speech began:
"Soldiers of Zenith Empire... look at the cosmic graveyard floating just outside our atmosphere. A few hours ago, a Marquis of the Spider Expanse came to our home. He brought a massive vanguard, expecting to find weak, helpless prey. He came to burn our world to ash and steal our resources."
But what did he find? He found an unbreakable fortress. He found absolute destruction. We shattered his dreadnoughts. We broke his elite forces. We took his life, and now, that very same Dominator serves as a mindless hound at my feet.
But I am not standing here to simply celebrate a defensive victory.
For far too long, Zenith has played the role of the quiet defender. We sat patiently behind our planetary shields. We waited for the universe to test our strength. We waited for greedy empires to cross our borders."
I have just learned that the Federation of Sol-III paid a fortune in Universal Credits to have us all slaughtered. They are absolutely terrified of our rise. They are begging their neighbors to do their dirty work because they know they do not possess the power to stop us themselves."
He summoned the Sunfire Judgment Blade, and held it high above his head for the entire army to see.
"That era of waiting ends exactly right now. We are entirely done defending our borders. If the Federation wants a war, we will give them a total cosmic apocalypse."
The millions of soldiers began to tremble, their blood boiling with pure adrenaline.
"From this exact moment forward, the Zenith Empire takes the absolute offensive. We will march across the stars. We will take their planets. We will crush their cowardly councils, and we will make the entire Solar Sector kneel before the flag of the white dragon!"
Neo pointed his blazing sword directly toward the distant stars.
"Our very first target is Sol-III! We will blot out their sun with our LORD Class warships! We will show the Milky Way Alliance what true, unstoppable power looks like! Soldiers of Zenith! Power up the Void Cannons! Today, we become the nightmare of the universe!"
The Interstellar Emperor boarded three LORD Class warships for this grand mission.
Seeing them leave, Nina clutched his mother’s dress.
"Mom, is brother doing the right thing? Earth is our home world isn’t it?"
"Earth was our home, sweetie. But the people ruling it now... they will never let your brother live in peace. They want to destroy everything he has built here to protect us.
Neo is doing what he must to ensure our survival. Sometimes, to protect your new home, you have to face the ones who threaten you from the old one."
Standing a few feet away from them, Leon took out a secret communication device.
After connecting to the other party, he said, "Father, he is coming. Surrender to him as soon as you see him. The Aizenberg family will be saved."
A furious shout came from the other side, "Bastard son! You want us to stay as cowards? Never! The Aizenberg family will do its duty to the Federation until our last breath. If you had the heart of a warrior, you would not have been crawling at that Dominator’s feet. Now, fuck off!"
Leon’s face grew ugly. "Foolish old man! I was trying to save you all."
The veins on his arm threatened to burst open. He looked up to the stars.
"Zestia, the fate of the Aizenberg family now rests on your shoulders!"
