Hazy Star Field, Gothic Star Sector, Cyclops Star Cluster.

"It looks as big as the Imperial Fists possess the Mountain Formation, but it seems to have something dark and sinister about it compared to the incredible creation: I don't think it would be a human creation, not even the long-lost Golden Age, which would not have been able to create a fortress of tranquility with such an aura."

When Jean-Lana Mantebello, the chief guard of the Dawnbreaker Legion and consul of the Legion, first saw the existence of the Blackstone Fortress, he fell into a brief silence before looking at his comrades and commenting.

There were many Daybreakers who reacted in the same way as the Chief Old Guard, and in fact, when the battleship loyal to Morgan made its way to the system where the first Blackstone Fortress was located with the help of the Tuchucha engine, all the think tanks in the expeditionary fleet, as well as the sons of Morgan, who had psionic potential, couldn't help but frown.

Because they felt some kind of heavy oppression from the unknown realm, it was not malice, but the snort of an ancient beast quietly confiding in its slumber, but it was enough to make their weak latecomers tremble.

And Rana is one of these inexplicable tremors, as one of the most powerful heirs under the command of the Spider Empress, the Chief Old Guard rightfully possesses some talent in the field of psionic energy: if in other legions, such talent is enough to make him the backbone of the think tank force, and even rise to a higher position.

But in the Dawnbreaker Legion, Lana's psionic talents are very mediocre, and he didn't deliberately develop them: there are many Dawnbreakers like him, who have psionic talents because they inherited Morgan's bloodline, but for various reasons, they didn't follow that path, and the Spider Empress didn't have any compulsion or urging mentality on this, which made the Dawnbreaker's think tank force a little sad.

Lana shunned psionic for the same reasons as most of his fighting brothers: he had the talent but no reason to learn it, and in his heart he was in awe of the dangers of psionic powers, far greater than the thirst for power.

After all, although it was never mentioned on the surface, the short journey to Prospero did leave a dim shadow in the hearts of many Daybreaker warriors, invisibly killing their path to psionic power.

Lana doesn't know if there is a protogenotype behind all this: he also knows that this is not something he should have thought about, and besides, if this is really the result that the protogens want, Lana doesn't feel that his genetic mother has done something wrong.

Psionic waves bring convenience and power, but they also bring danger and some unexpected troubles: now, for example, as their ships get closer and closer to the strange onyx-colored fortress, the condition of the Daybreaker Think Tank is undoubtedly the worst, even though everyone is in a certain low pressure.

Some low-level think tanks even need the support of their battle brothers to stand, and potential psionics like Lana, who have not embarked on the path of think tanks, although the situation is also not optimistic, relatively speaking, it is much better.

Fortunately, this farce did not last long: when the last battleship also jumped out of the subspace, the Gene Queen ordered the entire expeditionary fleet to anchor temporarily, and then, an invisible wave of qi from the throne swept through all the warships in an instant, easily dispelling the gloomy aura on everyone's face.

At the same time, the Chief Old Guard receives a one-line call from the Mother of Genes: he needs to assemble a lean team and wait for the primordial to make a tentative landing on the Blackstone Fortress with the Legion Master.

Rana listened to the command, repeating it three times: according to his thoughts, he felt that it was somewhat inappropriate for the Mother of Genes to participate in such a tentative landing with unknown dangers, but he had no intention of admonishing him.

Nearly ten standard years of Terra had allowed Lana to get to know his lord: the Praetorian Guard was well aware that his Genetic Mother would force her reason in even the most angry moments, listen to the sincere advice of her heirs and subordinates, and make concessions, changes, and even apologies for it, which is a merit that can never be erased.

On the other hand, when the situation is not so urgent, it is better not to disobey the request from the Lord of Avalon: even if it sounds willful or even whimsical, do not disobey her, or make her feel that her orders are deliberately ignored and delayed.

That would have a very bad result: so bad that no one wanted to know about it, and no one wanted to experience it.

After all, while the Spider Queen is well aware of the value of her advice, she is still in her bones a person who abhors disobedience and rebellion, especially when these misdeeds come from her children: in this respect, the Lord of Avalon is no different from any ordinary mother.

After a few years or so of getting along, Rana saw that at this time, he did not choose to speak out, but in his own way ensured that similar mistakes would not occur in the Old Guard: in fact, he was even proud of his knowledge of the Mother of Genes.

Thinking of this, the chief of the Praetorian Guard, who had always been unsmiling in front of outsiders, drew an arc on the corner of his mouth, and he peeled away the crowd cheering the name of the original body, and walked to the old guard's lodging area: he still had an order from the original body that needed to be executed immediately.

As he said, the Primordial had always disliked her orders being ignored and delayed.

——————

[This galaxy is more repulsive to subspace forces than any other place I've ever seen: in my mind, only the trap I hate, has the same atmosphere and efficacy. 】

[Is this also one of the abilities of these ancient alien creations?] 】

The Spider Empress leaned on her silver-white throne, hot tea freshly brewed by Virgo in her hands, her psionic vision casually swept the kingdom beneath her feet, and it wasn't until she found her Praetorian Guard Keeper gathering her Praetorian Guard as fast as she could, and the Lord of Avalon's smile grew more sincere.

In this pleasure, she looked beneath the throne, in the court of the Dawnbreaker, the new ruthless favored servant and her temporary chief knowledge advisor: the being named Tuchucha Engine.

The subspace artifact's answer is an eternal stability: fast, concise, straightforward, and full of valuable coherence that makes the Spider Queen pleasing to the eye.

"For this, my memory reserve tells me that the raw material that shaped these Blackstone Fortresses, namely Blackstone, is itself a creation that can be used to manipulate subspace energy, and this operation is bidirectional, and Blackstone Fortress may amplify this power."

"What it's showing you right now is most likely its powerful suppression of subspace energy: almost all Blackstone creations can do this, but Blackstone Fortress is undoubtedly the best of them all."

【……】

Morgan crossed his fingers and fell into a brief silence.

[You just said that the manipulation of subspace energy by this material of blackstone is bidirectional: that is, it can in turn strengthen the energy of subspace and weaken the curtain between the sea of souls and the real universe? 】

"I'd suggest you'd better not do that, Morgan: it's true that using a blackstone creation to open a subspace rift in the real universe is the simplest and most basic operation, but you never know what that crack will spit out."

[Thank you for the reminder, but I'm not interested in the subspace rift, and I'm not my humble and introverted Prospero blood relative, what I care about is: If I can mobilize the power of these blackstone creations to temporarily strengthen the connection with the subspace, will my strength be improved for a short time?] 】

"Yes, but it doesn't seem necessary: your strength is already very impressive, Morgan, and your talent in the Sea of Souls is also very good, and even in my memory reserves, there are not many more terrifying subspace adaptors than you."

[But that's not enough, Tuchucha: I always remember how weak and humble I am in the face of those who are stronger than me, and therefore, I will never give up the pursuit of security, and I will never give up on solving the problems in my heart. 】

[And power, the power that can belong to me, is the most straightforward and effective answer: at any time, violence that can be in your own hands will always be the hard currency in the galaxy. 】

“…… That's true. ”

The subspace artifact fell into a near-thoughtful stagnation, and soon found itself unable to contradict Morgan's claims, so, after a quiet search, it continued to use the channel in its mind to pour a torrent of information into the Spider Queen.

"Well, if you ask me questions, I can tell you one thing: a long time ago, there were two kinds of instruments made of blackstone, which were thrown into war, and they were the embodiment of the two functions of blackstone."

[Two kinds? 】

"Yes, the first of them is called the Blackstone Obelisk, its existence is to suppress the connection between subspace and reality, its effect can be enhanced by piling up the number, and it has a very good countermeasure to the energy and even spiritual erosion of subspace: they are deliberately made into stubborn existences, and if you look for them carefully, you should still be able to find them."

[Are they effective?] 】

"If used correctly, you can completely free a galaxy, or even a wider land, from the influence of subspace, but at this intensity, it would be difficult for any life to exist healthily in this realm."

[I see, what about the next one?] 】

The Spider Empress waved her hand, and at her signal, Virgo began to write.

"As for the second type, I'm sorry I forgot its name, but it's also some kind of blackstone construct, but its function is to amplify and induce the energy of the subspace, so as to connect with each other and set off a subspace storm that can affect reality: if properly arranged, only a dozen creations of this type are needed to make the land of dozens of star zones almost completely lose contact with the outside world, so as to achieve the effect of victory without a fight."

【……】

[Is this a means of attack? 】

"Of course."

The voice of Tuchucha's engine was full of legitimacy, but that didn't stop the Spider Queen's endless speculation: Morgan had to admit that the first word that came to her mind when Tuchucha explained that such a creature could disconnect a large area from the outside world......

Five hundred worlds.

【……】

Morgan slowly twisted her neck, crunching.

Her brow was not soothed.

When, exactly, her Otrama blood relative, Robert, had put so much pressure on her?

His world, his kingdom, his books that never leave his hand, his rustling quill, his ridiculously stupid but jealous army of blueberry sauce, and his face that always exudes a smirk......

【……】

It would make her jealous.

It would have made her ...... Fear.

【…… Tsk......】

Morgan's eyes were closed, a little annoyed.

She had to admit that whenever she was alone in the dark, pondering the possibility of being an enemy of the Emperor, the being named Robert had broken into her plans again and again, messed everything up, and then upset her.

It's like, if she can't win over or restrain Otrama, then with a little seriousness on his part, the wave under his command will be enough to crush the Spider Empress's ambitions, leaving no possibility in the slightest.

She didn't have the confidence to fight against the Lord of Otlama, she didn't have the confidence to fight against his five hundred worlds and legions, although she had done whatever it took to expand her kingdom and strengthen her legions, but the more the territory of the Avalon Federation expanded, the stronger the strength of the Dawnbreaker Legion, and the anxiety in Morgan's heart became more and more obvious.

Because with the expansion of Avalon, the Spider Queen can also feel more and more clearly the power of the Five Hundred Worlds: when she has a home planet, she doesn't think Otlama has anything to fear, but when she has a star zone, she has to start figuring out the power that Robert has.

And now, with Avalon's growing stability and prosperity, the core world under the Spider Empress has reached a hundred and fifty: she has begun to fear.

Because, when she really saw how great the power of the one hundred and fifty core worlds could provide, and then thought of how strong the five hundred worlds that had already been combined, she finally fell into some kind of uneasiness.

Because of his strength, because of his advance, because he was getting closer to that height, Morgan was clearly aware of the potential of the Five Hundred Worlds, but he realized the weakness of his current strength.

Because it is strong, it is fearful.

【……】

Pretty good, isn't it?

Morgan couldn't help laughing, comforting himself bitterly: at the very least, it was much better to be aware of this matter now than to realize it when he was overwhelmed by Otram's heavy troops.

At best, she now has a way to suppress Otrama, which is far from enough, but there is plenty of time left for her.

She's not in a hurry.

Thinking of this, her suddenly tightened heart finally relieved most of it, and the Spider Queen slowly opened her eyes, intending to continue discussing some issues with Tuchucha Engine: and at this moment, she saw the thoughts in Virgo's pupils.

What are you thinking, Aniah? 】

"I'm thinking of a possibility, Mother."

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

[Let's talk about it.] 】

Virgo pondered her thoughts for a moment, then pointed to the contents of her electronic board.

"I'm wondering, Mother: if one day something happens to the Milky Way, and you want to watch from the wall and reap the benefits of the fisherman, then can we use the kind of blackstone creation we just mentioned?"

【…… Let's be specific. 】

"I don't think a subspace storm needs to be used to restrain others: if we can really evoke a storm that can be largely controlled, wouldn't that be a great cover?"

"Because of the existence of the storm, we can reasonably watch from the sidelines, and not throw ourselves into the chaos of the galaxy too soon, and the storm can also protect our land from the first flames of war that will burn us up: until the moment you are ready to step into the galactic battlefield."

【……】

Morgan blinked, and it took less than a second for her voice to think seriously about Virgo's words, and then smiled.

[Write down your words, my lovely Aniah.] 】

"Yes, Mother."

[In addition, if you have any similar ideas in the future, you can also write them down, but you should mark them carefully, so as not to confuse them with my thoughts, which will cause trouble.] 】

"Understood, Mother!"

The voice seemed to be a little more excited.

Morgan patted her daughter's head as some sort of reward, and then her psionic sense sent back a message that Lana had assembled his team, and in three seconds, his debriefing would be in front of her.

The Lord of the Second Legion rubbed her somewhat sore arm, she stood up and looked at the huge figure projected in the divination instrument in front of her: even the expeditionary fleet led by the Genogen himself seemed so insignificant in front of the Blackstone Fortress.

The gap-like gap instead inspired the flame in the Spider Queen's heart.

She's going to gain this power, right now!

[Before I leave, I think I should ask you one more time, Tuchucha Engine: Are you sure that by placing you in the center of the Blackstone Fortress, you will be able to transport these behemoths back to my Avalon with precision?] 】

"Absolutely."

The floating subspace artifact slowly circled around Morgan, and there was a kind of dissatisfaction with the questioning ability in his words.

"I think you should be more worried about the attitude of the Blackstone Fortress towards you than this, Morgan, you should also see that it is highly repulsive to subspace energy, and if an existence like you ascends its cabin, it is very likely that its consciousness will have some kind of obvious malice."

[Will it kill me?] 】

"Not really, but it's likely to repel you and squeeze you out of its chamber."

"In fact, in most of the creations born of that era, resistance to an alien presence was a general subjective emotion, such as the Net, which was as old as the Blackstone Fortress, which would repel some of its perceived opponents."

[But according to you, Tuchucha Engine: This Blackstone Fortress in the Cyclops Cluster is already the most likely one for me to use of all the Blackstone Fortresses.] 】

"That's true, after all, you hold the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of the Night: this means that if you want, you can actually ignore their attitudes, strengthen them and make them weapons to fight for you, and even spend a long time polluting their will, making them puppets under your coercive will, but such an act has hidden dangers after all, so I think you better try to convince it first."

[Can it be persuaded?] 】

"It's the youngest one: so it's the one with the highest success rate."

【……】

[Okay.] 】

Standing in front of the throne, the Spider Empress glanced at the massive projection of the Blackstone Fortress, thought for a moment, and nodded.

It won't take long anyway.

Then, she closed her eyes and entered the realm of the spirit.

They felt that there were still about five minutes before all the preparations for the first wave of boarding were completed.

Enough is enough.

——————

From the first time she opened her eyes and had a clear will, the Spider Queen had been walking in the galaxy for more than thirty years, and her strength had increased day by day.

Now, for Morgan, it is all too common to summon the psionic waves that can envelop a world and spread half a galaxy: when her third eye of the invisible earth opens, no matter what chaos the sea of souls of this galaxy has had before, now, they must fall silent, they must all bow their knees.

Because the Spider Queen doesn't like to be disobeyed.

Standing in the deepest part of the Glorious Queen-class battleship, Morgan waved his hand casually, and in the waves of subspace, an arm that could hold the asteroid appeared and became her vanguard and envoy, reaching out to the ancient alien creation that had been silent.

The Spider Empress glanced at the projection of the Blackstone Fortress in the subspace: what made her find it quite interesting was that for some reason, the shadow cast by the Blackstone Fortress in the subspace was exactly the same as its outline in reality, without the slightest change.

Considering the distorted and transformed nature of the Sea of Souls, this is a rare sight.

The Gene Queen smiled, and before she knew it, the status of the Blackstone Fortress in her heart had risen to another level: so, although the alien creature remained dead silent in the face of Morgan's breath, the Spider Queen still exuded as much kindness and gentleness as possible, decorating her psionic hand as some kind of symbol of kindness, and slowly and politely reached out to the ancient fortress in front of her.

In the sea of souls, her will opened up with the greatest kindness that could be disguised.

[Hello, I'm ......]

"Bang!"

Before she could finish speaking, the Spider Queen's brow furrowed violently, and her perfect countenance cracked at the moment when the sound rang, revealing the consternation and anger beneath the mask: all because of Morgan's reaction when his psionic hand reached in front of the Blackstone Fortress.

The ancient xenomorph creature didn't respond to Morgan's words, and its cloudy figure pounced on the Spider Queen's question mark before it could land, like a toothy puppy pounced on its imaginary prey.

Morgan watched her psionic hand be overshadowed by the Blackstone Fortress for a moment, and then, a pain in her soul made her instinctively retract her hand, and she even prepared for battle: on the other side, the Blackstone Fortress was once again nested in a mess, like a beast huddled in a corner, fighting the enemy's beast.

The Spider Empress didn't pay attention to it immediately, she looked at her psionic hand and felt the pain on it: the pain wasn't intense, it wasn't an attack, but the slight tingling touch confirmed its presence, and it felt like a ......

She was bitten by the Blackstone Fortress?

【……】

Morgan raised an eyebrow, and she looked at the location of the Blackstone Fortress: faintly, she could really hear some kind of ripple mixed with hostility and pride, as the voice of an ancient creature in the sea of souls, transmitted to her.

……

Very good.

The Spider Empress chuckled: her last, and only bit of kindness, was carefully buried at this moment, for they seemed to be unnecessary.

As her lips curled, the two ancient xenomorph creations that had not left Morgan's side since they were found: the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night, were captured by the unshakable will of the Spider Queen, dragged in front of her, and held in her hands.

The two alien creatures that had already existed for the sake of subspace, after coming into contact with the Sea of Souls for a long time, immediately emitted a steady stream of waves and energy, making the Blackstone Fortress aware of their existence.

The subspace waves of the two creations even attract terrifying gazes hidden in the depths of the Sea of Souls, some from the labyrinths of change and the royal courts of pleasure, while others raise their heads from their own altars, longing for prey more precious than the offerings of a civilization.

But just as these beings who were enough to plunge countless galaxies into turmoil, they excitedly spied here, but they collided head-on with the Spider Queen's cold pupils and terrifying smile.

Morgan noticed these uninvited creatures, she didn't do anything, just snorted casually: the next second, countless beings capable of destroying the world and civilization, quietly reined in their breath, left this corner of gradual silence, and fled into their respective shadows without looking back, like a frightened bird flapping its wings, hastily avoiding the scene of predation by beasts.

The Spider Empress didn't even bother to bother with their existence: she had encountered too many of the creatures she had stumbled into her psionic vision over the years, and most of them were so weak that they didn't even dare to look directly at her existence, and could only roll down into the humble mud and dust in a huddle.

Morgan cared more about the attitude of the Blackstone Fortress than these strange creatures, and the reality did not disappoint her: when the two ancient alien artifacts began to exude their unique aura, the Blackstone Fortress visibly came to a standstill, remembering the beings that could control it, and also seeing that Morgan's will had firmly grasped these things.

The corners of the Gene Queen's mouth curled, and she didn't talk nonsense, nor did she pretend to be kind: according to her previous progress in studying and researching, she had mastered the maximum use of the Dark Hand and the Eye of the Night.

In the sea of souls, in the silence created by the consciousness of the Spider Queen, she smiled and held the two artifacts flat, while operating some of the programs on them, unhurriedly admiring the aura around the Blackstone Fortress.

One-step, two-step, three-step......

It was something that could be done in a moment, but it was delayed by Morgan into a long torture drama, and when her fingers stopped before the last step, she looked at the ancient fortress in front of her again, and did not speak, but the meaning was very obvious.

As long as she goes further, as long as she presses the final procedure, the two ancient alien creations will issue an irreversible order: at that time, the Blackstone Fortress in front of Morgan will disintegrate itself because of this unbreakable order, and its existence and consciousness will be annihilated in an instant, and it will never stay in the universe again.

Obviously, the ancient alien fortress knew this: so, it fell into a low dead silence, the beastly mentality that had been eager to try was restrained, and the chirping puppy had to retreat into its corner, with reluctance and resentment in its eyes, but it did not dare to show its minions again.

It all happened very quickly, and the transformation seemed to be only in a split second.

And Morgan saw it all.

She smiled.

The Spider Empress waved her arm again, calling out her massive psionic hand again, only this time, her palm was no longer pure tenderness and kindness, but a kind of hard iron palm wrapped in smile and warmth under the silent majesty, which involuntarily descended on the head of the Blackstone Fortress, appreciating its silence and mocking its helplessness.

It didn't take long: as Morgan's iron palm pacified the projection of the Alien Fortress without any backlash, she clenched the destruction that was only one step away from it, and looked at the reluctant beast, beginning to mentally gauge its use, assessing how much power it could bring her.

As for its silence and hostility: Morgan didn't care, and now that it had taken the first steps to submission, the Spider Queen wasn't worried about the next steps.

The bottom line is that it is always a one-time thing that can never be regenerated.

The Blackstone Fortress is hers now, so it will always be hers, and the Spider Empress has time to slowly train it and let it know its own position and limits.

And now, what she needs to do most is another thing.

[That's it.] 】

"Let's get on board.] 】

(End of chapter)