They say when it rains, it pours. That is what the Conclave was experiencing at the moment, as they were now trying to withdraw after losing a quarter of their ships without even realizing what hit them. This made it nearly impossible to avoid what they didn’t see coming, resulting in the order to retreat immediately being given fleet-wide by the next person in the command chain. He was informed just a few seconds after the joint computer network went through the command structure, verifying whether his superiors were alive or dead before it moved to the next name if they were dead or unavailable. When it reached him, he was given all of the privileges, which he instantly used to call for an immediate retreat, because if things continued as they were, the empire's pincer attempt would succeed and make retreating even harder.However, despite the decision being a good one, it was very difficult to bring to reality without additional casualties. They couldn’t enter FTL speed due to the

“I must be dreaming or stuck in VR,” Bonga thought to himself as he continued running away, failing to do so effectively as he kept falling and crashing into things in his attempt to get as far away from the monster as possible.Although he knew everything was a reality, what his eyes were seeing was causing his brain to consider hallucination as an option. The corridor he was trying to escape from was currently under fire from an Ultramarine, something he knew was just a character in one of the empire's nearly limitless entertainment avenues. This specific type of entertainment was something that he too had enjoyed and had even spent his own END to experience.And just like everyone else, he believed it to be nothing other than a form of entertainment, because that was what even the humans who were into it said. But it seemed like the entire empire was in on the joke, or even they were tricked by the empire, which was most likely using these stories to hide the existence of these typ

{It is most likely not going to escalate any further until they are done dealing with the empire, so we advise you to entertain it at this stage and not attempt to kill them, as that would attract their attention back to you, and you risk becoming the main target for them to vent their anger and humiliation,} Little Protagonist advised Dreznor, who had just asked about the feasibility of them dealing with the Conclave’s probing forces that still remained even after their attack on the empire.Although inside, he was happy that the situation had somehow cooled due to a new target appearing, that target being his supporters, the empire made it very difficult to celebrate. He knew they were the ones who had made him and helped him reach this level of strength in just a few years.He wasn’t ungrateful, nor did he see this as a chance to break the alliance. The thought never even crossed his mind, not because he feared them, but because his loyalty ran deep. He also knew that even if he ha

“Oh, God,” were the last words that came out of a planetary defense station soldier's mouth before his space station was destroyed.With the appearance of new wormholes from all directions around the planet, a courtesy of the stealth mapping vessels sent out by the Empire, as the million avatars acted as a giant distraction. This time, the Empire sent more than just avatars. It brought ships to accompany them and help clear the route. The defensive force, designed under the expectation that they would know the direction the enemy was coming from ahead of time and prepare accordingly, was having a hard time dealing with ships and attacks coming from every side. With each passing minute, the number of defense installations was decreasing at an increasingly rapid rate.…………………Conclave Central CommandThe air in the Conclave Central Command, once thick with arrogant confidence, now crackled with raw panic. The grand circular chamber, surrounded by leaders of each civilization in the Con

When the scene of the attacks ended, the screen went black before the words [We have considered these actions as a declaration of war and have responded accordingly] appeared.Those words caused panic among the people watching, as they realized that this was not a prank and the Conclave was now at war with the Empire.However, if someone could hear what the majority were thinking, they would realize that the panic they were feeling was not because they were afraid of the empire's retaliation, but afraid of losing the comfort they had gotten used to through the VR and the wormhole lanes that the empire had opened.“But why did they leave the VR still active?”“I don’t know, but I think they might be using it to monitor and try to gather information. Considering that they have the ability and time to gather us in a single place this easily, it means they have a very detailed ability and control over it.”“But what is going to happen to it if we win? Are they going to destroy it in a fit