Chapter 40: Ch- 40 A declaration of solidarity-1 (Revised)
There was a pause as those titles hung in the air, momentarily heavy with meaning. The name, the titles—they painted a far clearer picture of William than anything he had revealed to Kallus or others so far.
But then, as if acknowledging the present reality, he added with a faint smile,
"Of course, those titles have little weight here. There is no Terra Empire in this universe...."
The Grand Admiral was momentarily taken aback by the titles William had just revealed—titles he was certain had never been mentioned in Kevin’s report. If they had, Kevin would have made a note of it. And it wasn’t just him. Admiral Natasha, his wife, mirrored his stunned reaction.
There was a reason for their surprise—and it was immense.
If what this man claimed was true—if he had truly given them Tier-7 technologies and commanded the colossal vessel floating in front of them, a ship that was clearly far beyond Tier-7 in design—then that could only mean one thing: the Terra Empire was a civilization operating on a level far beyond the Federation.
The Federation, even at its peak, was a Tier-6 power. But this... this was something vastly superior.
And now, this William was revealing that he was the Supreme Commander of the Terra Empire’s naval forces, a man of royal rank second only to the Empress herself. That placed him above them not just in military power, but in hierarchy and influence as well.
Even if they weren’t citizens of the Terra Empire—or had never even heard of it before—and even if they were completely unrelated to it in any way, the claims William had just made were hard to ignore. Yes, claims—ones they were still struggling to believe.
The idea that the Terra Empire was not of this universe but from another entirely... it sounded impossible.
And yet, despite how unbelievable it all seemed, neither the empire nor William could be dismissed so easily. What he had just said carried weight—far more than they were prepared for.