The Human Empire, the Obscure Star Field, the Caliban Sector, the Caliban System.

[Emperor Dream].

The most powerful, gorgeous, important, and most recognizable ship of the entire human empire, like the golden queen of the void, quietly enjoying the arch of a vast fleet, it silently wanders beyond the low-earth orbit of Caliban, waiting for another divine command from the Lord of Mankind.

This order may come in the next moment, or it may have kept everyone waiting for days or even weeks: but in any case, no one will have the slightest doubt or apprehension about it, for the men who can serve in the Empire's First Expeditionary Fleet are the most ardent supporters of the Emperor, and can go without hesitation to the most terrible hell in the galaxy for the slightest shred of his will.

In a sense, these warriors of the First Fleet, as well as the obscure servants of the Terra Palace, are the most reliable and solid foundation of the Lord's empire, the true foundation of his galactic dominance.

And the Lord of Mankind, who was followed and worshiped by thousands of Imperial Cornerstones, was now in a humble room in the depths of the [Imperial Dream], his eyebrows and eyes lowered, looking like he was contemplative, and he seemed to be resting.

He was so silent and lonely, only a few crystal cards on the table, and the empty chair opposite him, were with him, telling of an inexhaustible loneliness: but when he ended his silence and raised his head, there was a few traces of unpredictable joy flowing in those dark pupils.

The Emperor spoke.

He spoke to the void and coldness in front of him.

+ What really knocked you out? ＋

+ It is the fall of blood relatives. ＋

+ is the pressure to fail. ＋

+ Or after countless efforts, you find that you can no longer become the unscrupulous [smart person] who maintained a cold heart? ＋

+ In your opinion, this change is a good thing at all? Or is it a bad thing? ＋

+ What do you say? ＋

The Lord of Men sighed softly, his sigh turning into a long white mist in the air, unwilling to dissipate for a long time: but there seemed to be more silence to answer him.

And......

[I can't tell. 】

[I don't want to say it either.] 】

The cold, rational voice that belonged exclusively to Avalon and the Dawnbreaker Legion came from the other side of the room: a voice with palpable displeasure and annoyance, causing the Human Lord to smile briefly.

+ Failure makes you angry? ＋

No one likes to fail, not even you, the father of my great genes. 】

The answer was accompanied by an overly pronounced snort that stung the air, and the false rapprochement between father and daughter: but it did not pierce the dignity and shame of the Lord of Mankind, which had long ceased to exist.

+ But no one is immune to failure, is there? ＋

+ The important thing is what you can learn from failure after failure: it doesn't matter if you fail for a lifetime, as long as you can turn things around at the most important time, then the life of a loser will be legendary. ＋

【……】

There was a sigh in the air.

[Father.] 】

[I'm already over an age, so don't expect to be able to teach me with some seemingly great empty truths like those mortal fathers and daughters, and establish a lofty image of you who know all things: I don't eat this. 】

[Don't you think this kind of stuff that has been written badly in all kinds of storybooks is a bit too boring: in Avalon, only children who have just started school will excerpt such great truths in their own compositions. 】

+ Really? ＋

The Lord of Humanity chuckled, picking up the cards on the table at random, lazily guessing the logo on each crystal card: it was a rather boring game, as he had accurately guessed all the crystal cards.

+ You're right. ＋

+ But: I wouldn't have been bored to this point if it hadn't been for some of my capable daughters, who had spent several minutes not picking up a dozen pieces on the ground. ＋

【……】

[Picking it up, picking it up, picking it up......]

A certain Genogen of the Second Legion, Honor Genogen of the First Legion, Lord of Avalon, and an eternal old friend of the people of Otrama (certified by Killiman himself) just muttered in a low voice when he heard this, crouched on the ground, and quickened the movement of his hands.

After a few more seconds, the Spider Queen, holding a hill in her hand, moved very slowly to her seat, and put all the pieces back into the wooden box on the left-hand side in turn: they had faded their previous color, and were once again a group of lifeless gray statues, but for some reason, when Morgan looked at the statuettes that were indistinguishable from each other, she found that she was able to determine the true identity of each statue.

The genoplasm blinked.

[So, from the very beginning, the identity of each chess piece is fixed: those so-called identity cards just make them eligible to participate in the chess game? 】

+ I would have liked them to be out of the world: but every time they don't succeed, even the most ethereal Eagle will end up in the game, and in most cases, he's on my side. ＋

[Chagatai will oppose you? 】

+ For the most part, yes: until now I do not know why he has taken such a path, and he belongs to the most visible group of all of you. ＋

[Yes, he is smart. 】

[So ......]

[Is it possible that the problem is actually yours, father?] 】

The Emperor was silent for a moment.

He looked up at the Lord of Avalon: there was nothing to do with respect in his turquoise pupils, only cunning and mockery, and a renewed and eager bravery.

+ Have you come out of failure? ＋

[Not yet.] 】

[I'm still a little confused: Specifically, I'm a little confused, why do you have the power to bring Horus back to the battlefield, and it stands to reason that this power belongs only to the evil gods in the depths of the highest heavens?] 】

+ There are many things in the world that cannot be explained: you don't have to go deeper. ＋

The Emperor waved his hand, he didn't seem to really want to discuss it.

+ And, I'm a little confused too. ＋

The Lord of Men looked at his daughter.

+Why does the Blind Darker burst out with such great power in your hands? You know, in most of my previous chess games with the Palm Sealer, the [Blind Darker] was a marginal minor character, and even if more effort was put in, it would only self-destruct. ＋

【……】

Morgan raised an eyebrow.

[First of all, father, he is not called the Blind Dark, he is called Conrad-Coetze, or you can call him the Midnight Ghost: in general, I will only call him that if he does exceptionally well, or if he does well in the exams I assign, and cook him a meal myself as a reward.] 】

+ Does he like these? ＋

[I don't like it, but I participate very seriously every time.] 】

+ Looks like you're well educated. ＋

[Barely qualified, I think this is also the reason why Conrad is able to perform so well in the game: your pieces seem to be influenced by the subjective thinking of the chess player, and in my subjective thinking, Conrad can't expect more, but it won't be a drag. 】

+ But in the beginning, you do see Conrad as some kind of drag. ＋

[It was the past: As you just said, it was the past that could not be returned. 】

Morgan laughed, there was a bitterness in her smile, but she didn't care.

The Lord of Humanity took the smile in his eyes, and he was silent, stroking his square chin, not knowing what he was thinking.

+ Conrad was lucky. ＋

+ This is a good thing, both for you and for him. ＋

After a while, Morgan's genetic father suddenly uttered this unending whisper, and then he lost all interest in the topic: the emperor was so busy that he could only set aside such a short period of care and time for his children.

He has more important things to do.

+ From the moment you spread out your pawns to occupy the entire Far Eastern Star Field, I was guessing one thing: in your heart, you know how to hold me back, right? ＋

The human lord's fingers tapped lightly on the empty chessboard in front of him, and he drew a non-existent straight line between Divine Terra and Avalon, his dark pupils staring at the face of the original genogen, telling her the seriousness of the words: this is not really a problem, and a yes.

[There are only some vague estimates.] 】

The Lord of Avalon rubbed his fingers around the side of his ear and rubbed it slowly, thinking in his mind how to answer the question: after all, this is a dangerous topic involving [Attack on the Emperor].

+ Channel. ＋

Her father spoke.

+ You know how important it is: Even if you don't know it at first, after talking to the Crucible Master and participating in my dealings with it, you should already know how much I value the Internet. ＋

+ So, tell me, Morgan: at some point in this game of chess, did you ever have the idea of delaying me and my power by moving on the net? ＋

【……】

The Genogen was silent, her hands crossed against her chin, which made it impossible for her to escape the Emperor's gaze: in this silence and staring, Morgan realized that the question of the Lord of Humanity was extremely serious.

[Yes, father, I have: even from the beginning. 】

[This is the most important reason why I chose Magnus.] 】

+ Beautiful selection. ＋

The Emperor nodded, and he seemed to let out a sigh.

+ So what are you going to do? ＋

[I don't know.] 】

Morgan shook his head.

[I don't know what to do: although I vaguely guessed that the network has a crucial place in your plan, and may even be the most fundamental reason why you will choose a commander, I still can't imagine, or believe, what kind of use this so-called network will be. 】

So, even though I've collected a lot of information about the Internet, and even though I've done my best to pay attention to this creation, I still can't understand: why are you so attached to the Internet? 】

[I'd rather believe that this is just a smoke bomb you have unleashed, and that your real purpose is actually something else.] 】

The Lord of Humanity blinked, and he looked at his daughter, his pupils flashing with a strange look that Morgan had never seen before, and the light seemed to shine on a madman.

+ Morgan, my daughter. ＋

"I'm here, father. 】

+ You know, the so-called subspace is only a short-lived phenomenon that will occur in these centuries, and one day, subspace will change again. ＋

Of course I do. 】

+ You know, the so-called network is actually a stable means left by the ancient saints to bypass the limitations of subspace and travel faster than light: it is enough to maintain a transgalactic human regime. ＋

[Yes, I have tortured this from the mouths of those alien souls. 】

The Emperor smiled.

+ So, now you give me these two sentences and tell me: You don't understand the value of the Internet? You don't understand why I take the Internet so seriously? ＋

【……】

【……】

【Oh......】

Morgan pretended to sigh.

[I see, Father: Do you mean that you intend to spend more than a hundred years repairing something that has been half-abandoned for millions of years while fighting a war that has swept the galaxy?] 】

[Even the Aethers can't repair this network, this is what they told me personally: Do you have the corresponding technology?] 】

The Emperor was silent.

Do you have a secret weapon? 】

Silence ensued.

Or are you 100% sure that you will be able to fix it?] 】

……

[So, why do you scold me for my contempt for the network: from the beginning, it was not an achievable goal at all, why should I pay attention to an impossible thing, besides, the spirit race told me that in the darkness of the network, there is no lack of traces of subspace and demons. 】

[Do you really think that you can maintain an entire human empire with a so-called ancient relic that has long been infiltrated by subspace?] 】

[You can't even guarantee that you'll be able to fix it?] 】

……

The silence of the Lord of Humanity seems to have lasted for an unusually long time.

This time, Morgan could have sworn that she really heard a sigh.

+ Do you have a better way? ＋

【……】

Now, it was Morgan's turn to be silent.

——————

+ So, from the very beginning, you were not optimistic about the possibility of the network, thinking that it was just a smoke bomb that I had released, and that it was impossible for me to put my own strength into it, so you ignored the plan for the network. ＋

+ Is that so? ＋

[Pretty much.] 】

After a long silence, the monotonous question and answer echoed again between the relatively silent father and daughter: the Lord of Men did not seem too satisfied with this answer.

+ Only this one reason? ＋

【……】

[Nope.] 】

Morgan blinked.

[Actually, there is a second one.] 】

+ Speak up. ＋

[Hmm......]

The genogen's throat moved, and she hesitated in a rare way, until her Father of Genes cast an increasingly serious gaze that forced her to say the words.

She said it with her eyes closed.

[I was thinking: If the network can have a success rate of even one in ten million, then it is even more impossible for me to destroy it: after all, in this game of chess, I want to beat you, inherit the entire human empire and the galaxy, whether it is the network or anything else, it is my property, but it has not yet arrived. 】

Why should I destroy them? 】

……

The Lord of Humanity was silent.

He sat there, seemingly lost in thought at the answer: Morgan had her head down, she couldn't see the emperor's expression.

The Spider Empress could only swallow, and she felt that the air around her was extremely cold, so cold that it seemed as if the next moment there would be a violent wind.

She waited.

It's been a long, long wait......

It wasn't until much later that her ears caught the slightest hint of a sound.

That's a hint of ......

Laughter.

+ Nice idea. ＋

It was laughter from the emperor.

A lighthearted, happy, and even a little schadenfreude laugh.

【……】

Morgan felt that he must have been so nervous that he was hallucinating.

Right.

It must be a hallucination.

Today I have a toothache and am not in a good state, so I will write these first

(End of chapter)