Chapter 843: Restraint and Scapegoating
The war in Sandstorm World might have ended for Sein and the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring mages, but that did not mean the broader conflict in the Wild Gorilla Star Domain was over.
While Sein and the others were still recuperating in Sandstorm World, several elite Magus Civilization Armies had already mobilized toward the borders of the Wild Gorilla Star Domain and the neighboring Feral Beast Star Domain.
Despite declaring neutrality and expressing a desire to stay out of the war between the Magus Civilization and Wild Gorilla World, the Feral Beast Star Domain found itself in an unenviable position.
After all, neutrality alone was not enough to pacify the Magus Civilization.
Several elite armies breached the Feral Beast Star Domain’s first line of defense and began their advance deeper into its territory!
However, before the Magus Civilization forces could penetrate further, a Gallant Federation fleet appeared seemingly out of nowhere, cutting short the invasion.
The sheer scale of the Gallant Federation fleet dwarfed the advancing Magus Civilization Armies, making it clear that the Federation had anticipated this move and prepared accordingly.
Yet, the Magus Civilization legions were far from isolated.
Behind them, in the Wild Gorilla Star Domain, countless war-hardened legions awaited orders, ready to join the fray!
In reality, there was growing dissatisfaction among many of the divine towers and knightly orders that had flocked to the Wild Gorilla Star Domain in hopes of securing substantial spoils.
Unlike the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, which had struck gold, many other groups left with little more than scraps. Only a fortunate few managed to secure a meaningful share of the spoils.
Unlike the overlords and overmages of the Magus Civilization with a broader, more strategic perspective, many Rank Four and Rank Five powerhouses were just eager to claim their share of the Feral Beast Star Domain.
The Blue Violet Star Domain, reserved exclusively for the Dragon Warlock Clan, was strictly off-limits. Even the boldest Rank Four mages and knights dared not risk provoking the Dragon Warlocks by attempting to seize what was rightfully theirs.
The Feral Beast Star Domain, however, was another story.
Tower Masters of Rank Four and above might hesitate, carefully considering the risks involved.
After all, waging war against the Feral Beast Star Domain might provoke another conflict with the Gallant Federation.
To the simple-minded Rank Four and above knights, their solution was straightforward—if the Gallant Federation dared to interfere, they would simply crush them as well!
The Magus Civilization had yet to encounter an adversary formidable enough to truly challenge its dominance over the past hundred thousand years.
Rank Six mages like Feylis, who had lived longer lives, knew that a war between two top-tier civilizations was never straightforward.
Yet, the younger Rank Four and Rank Five powerhouses—those who rose to prominence during the Magus Civilization’s golden age of rapid expansion—viewed things differently.
They had endured the growing pains of the civilization’s resource shortages and inflation in recent years.
For them, a war with the Gallant Federation was not a cause for concern but an opportunity to conquer a resource-rich target.
Pro-war parties existed in every civilization.
Beyond the few old, seasoned Rank Six powerhouses of the Magus World, the younger generation of Rank Four and above were predominantly in favor of aggressive expansion.
They were fearless—driven by their youth, their lack of the deep foundations held by the elder mages, and an insatiable hunger for success!
Fortunately, the Magus Civilization’s leadership had maintained a close watch over the escalating conflict in the Wild Star Domain.
Before the war began, every Rank Six being from the Magus World in the region—aside from the Amethyst Emperor—had been cautioned by the civilization’s overlords to tread carefully.
The clash with the Gallant Federation did not erupt immediately.
When the Federation’s fleet appeared, the pretense of harmony was maintained.
The Magus Civilization Armies’ intrusion into the Feral Beast Star Domain was far from a leisurely excursion, but their advance was halted by the arrival of the Gallant Federation fleet.
To preserve the Magus World’s reputation and justify their excursion, a Rank Five knight—one of the first to spearhead the charge into the Feral Beast Star Domain—presented a demand: the Feral Beast Star and the Gallant Federation must hand over the Roman Planet.
The Magus Civilization claimed to have solid evidence of the Roman Planet’s connection to the Wild Gorilla Clan, accusing it of directly supporting Wild Gorilla World.
Many energy crystals found in Wild Gorilla World even bore Roman Planet’s logo etched into their metal casings.
Though many in the Magus World’s higher echelons suspected that the true financiers of these energy crystals were elsewhere, they chose to suppress the possibility of direct conflict with the Gallant Federation.
Instead, they demanded the surrender of the Roman Planet.
In the grand clashes between top-tier civilizations, beyond the massive battles and calculated strategies, even seemingly insignificant matters could serve as tools for political leverage.
Roman Planet was just a low-level technological world.
The two top-tier civilizations, each governing tens of thousands of complete planes and life planets respectively, to fixate on a planet with only three complete planes felt like nothing short of outright bullying.
Unfortunately, such was the ruthless nature of the Astral Realm.
Under immense pressure from both the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation, the creatures of the Roman Planet found themselves powerless, voiceless, and entirely at the mercy of their oppressors.
Even the Roman Planet’s suzerain, the Feral Beast Star, had remained silent throughout this ordeal.
Ultimately, the Gallant Federation begrudgingly conceded to the Magus Civilization’s demands.
They agreed to relinquish control of the Roman Planet but firmly refused to allow the Magus Civilization to establish a garrison there.
This decision stemmed from Roman Planet’s location deep within the Feral Beast Star Domain, which had recently declared itself a “key partner” of the Gallant Federation’s economic coalition.
Much like the Magus Alliance created by the Magus Civilization, the Gallant Federation maintained control over its subordinate civilizations and numerous allies primarily through economic dominance.
Federal dollars were much more sophisticated than the magicoins issued by the Magus World.
Yet, in terms of liquidity and acceptance across distant star regions and remote planes, magicoins held the upper hand. Many civilizations and their overlords recognized magicoins and actively used them in trade.
This disparity highlighted the Magus World’s superior influence over certain civilizations deep within the Astral Realm, compared to that of the Gallant Federation.
Of course, there was another reason for this—Federal Dollars were virtual currency, tied directly to the creditworthiness of the Federation’s citizens.
This was a hallmark of technological civilizations.
In contrast, magicoins, crafted from physical metal, carried a residual trace of the Magus World’s aura.
For foreign powerhouses unfamiliar with the Magus Civilization, it was enough to command respect and eliminate any notions of underestimation.
When it came to punishing the Roman Planet, the Magus Civilization Army rejected the Gallant Federation’s proposal to handle the matter on their behalf, dispatching six space fortresses and millions of troops to the Roman Planet.
Over the ensuing months, Roman Planet, despite its relatively advanced technological development, was utterly devastated—reduced to a blazing inferno.
True to their word, the Magus Civilization did not station troops around the Roman Planet after its destruction.
They left nothing but ruins behind.
Before withdrawing, the space fortresses unleashed another volley of their main cannon beams, targeting Roman Planet’s three other subordinate planets.