Planet Master

With the fall of Noza Fortress, the way to the center of the Lizardfolk’s governance and politics opened wide.

The Cerulean Defense Force was preparing to launch an attack to Salamander while Tatsumi and his transcendent strike group went back to the Rift.

That was because the Gatekeeper's remains needed to be verified from the sender to the receiver.

“This should be enough, right?” Tatsumi gave the necessary documents that Ame had prepared.

He felt that the difficulty he was facing eased slightly due to Ame’s help and support. He could not help but glance at her when their eyes met.

He felt that overall, the things that had happened with him as the center were smooth.

He often thought about the meaning of a Star Child and its relation to the civilization as a whole. He also wondered if Ame was qualified to be a Star Child.

‘I just don’t know whether she becomes one or not after all this time. Father God also doesn’t tell me either so I am not sure. But a Star Child is someone who can influence the entire civilization on a large scale. I believe that one day, Ame would get that status.’

As if on cue, Ame trembled and looked at the Rift. Tatsumi followed the direction where her gaze landed and realized that she was looking at the Cerulean Planet as a whole.

Tatsumi then approached her and grabbed her hand.

“What’s wrong?” Tatsumi asked with concern. He had never seen her react this way.

“Looks like I am also becoming someone like you, husband.” Ame then got out of her trance and looked at Tatsumi with a teasing smile.

“What!? Is that true?” Tatsumi could not believe that such convenient timing could occur.

“I can even hear the voice of the Father God. Of course, He is confirming me as the Third Star Child.” Ame said while gripping Tatsumi’s hand.

-

Dian was looking at the system panel, which showed the Star Child he had.

[Star Child: -Charlene

-Tatsumi

-Ame]

The problem he had was that the power which produced Star Child was concentrated so much on the three that he had concerns about whether this was a good development or not.

After all, such a centralized fortune of the planet as well as destiny seed of the civilization on the three meant that they became the center of the development of the civilization, monopolizing the capability of the Star Child.

Oh, well. I just need to see whether this is fine or not myself.

The current quota for the Star Child on his planet was three and now all three were filled, so there was no way for another person to become a Star Child.

-

With the way to the Salamander opened, there was a fierce fight just north of the Noza Fortress, which was occupied by the Cerulean Defense Force.

Infantry, Cavalry, Armored Vehicles, Artillery as well as transcendents were sent to either preserve or to gain ground. Both sides were sending those to the frontline, causing it to turn into a meat grinder.

The casualties for both sides were increasing dramatically and even the Acquired Race of the humans felt that the Lizardfolk were formidable but ultimately fell short of the human race.

They fought with their entire race while the humans relied not only on themselves but also the humans’ Acquired Race, supporting the humans in the campaign to win the Seventh Star Battle.

The result? The human race gained an advantage once more and managed to get as far as the Salamander, the capital city of the Lizardfolk.

The Lizardfolk had exhausted their resources partly in summoning Smagenrog since it was a key development for their race to battle their opponent.

What they did not expect was the appearance of the Eminent Dragon Slayer to mess with them. As if that was not enough, they also lost the momentum due to the dragon being slain.

Just five months after the dragon was slain, almost all the territory of the Lizardfolk was in the hands of the Cerulean Defense Force.

But the Marshal was a bit dissatisfied with the speed since it was slower compared to the calculation of the simulated wargame when both sides were equal.

“We are a bit late in conquering the territory. This will have an impact on our logistics. But fortunately, the most pressing matter has come to pass. Who would have thought that we managed to slay that dragon? According to the simulated results, no one should be able to slay it.” Marshal Teach said as he used the transparent panels to access information regarding the entire war theater.

“It looks like the Lizardfolk are being pushed into the corner when the dragon is slain. That is probably why they fight so ferociously.” The adjutant added.

“To think that the dragon is both their strength and weakness. With the dragon gone, our advance can be said to be almost unstoppable. Now that the Noza fortress is in our hands, it is only a matter of time before we win the Star Battle.” Teach said while tapping the table in front of him with his finger in a rhythmic manner.

He then saw the live situation on the frontline and saw that a breakthrough happened when the infantry and the transcendent strike group led by Long Wu managed to cut into the enemy’s carefully prepared formation inside the capital Salamander.

‘This is it!’ Marshall Teach saw the opportunity and did not waste it.

He then ordered the General in the theater to enlarge the hole that was made using the direct communication channel to relay the order.

Another month passed by and almost the entire territory inhabited by the Lizardfolk was switching hands.

In this Star Battle, the humans were also deploying their Acquired races from the Undead to the newly participating Giant race and the Birdman.

The Lizardfolk were strong, formidable even for a human race standard but with the cooperation from numerous races, they managed to push the Lizardfolk into their eventual defeat.

When almost the entire territory of the Lizardfolk was occupied by the humans and their Acquired races under them, the result came out.

In the Planet Master Space which intersected with the two sides, the Lizardfolk Planet Master saw his opponent Planet Master, along with the others who he assumed to be following the human Planet Master.

It looks like the human Planet Master has spared them and integrated their races into his planet. But I chose to eliminate every Planet Master I encountered since I cannot trust them. Will I meet the same fate as those whom I defeated?

Dian looked closely at the Lizardfolk Planet Master.

He had the same appearance as his race, along with the animal skin as his clothes and a spear in his hand. His snout was quite grey and that also included his body since it was covered by grey scales.

[The Star Battle of the second rank has concluded]

[Congratulations to the Planet Master, winning the Star Battle]

[Settlement is in progress…]

[Settlement complete! The loser will be at the mercy and discretion of the winner.]

[You have obtained 100.000 energy points.]

[You have achieved five consecutive victories in the Second Rank…verifying the requirement.]

[You have achieved one condition for promotion to the Third Rank.]

Dian looked at the appearing system announcement and nodded in satisfaction. Now, all he needed to do was push the civilization into reaching T3 in the Technology Tree and T2 in the Transcendent Tree.

But he had one pressing issue in front of him.

The fact that only the Lizardfolk Planet Master was alone in the Second Rank Planet Master meant that he had devoured the defeated Planet Master.

Dian had faced similar Planet Masters and did not question it. For the lower rank Planet Master, survival was paramount and the strong devoured the weak.

But as the one who learn from the civilization under me, I need to show them that there are second chances and there are opportunities to develop themselves rather than just trying to survive. Dian thought as he glared at the Lizardfolk Planet Master.

“Damn it, even the mythical Dragon cannot defeat you. Looks like this is my retribution for all the deeds I have done. Whatever.” The Lizardfolk Planet Master was resigned to his situation and returned the glare.

But Dian saw the fear and anxiety deep in the pupil of the Planet Master.

“Don’t be nervous. You know that you will be fine under me, right?” Dian spoke. He knew that the Planet Master was overwhelmed with something that he knew would come eventually. That possibility alone was actually quite scary.

After all, the loser’s fate was in the hands of the winner. Meaning, Dian could do anything to the loser.

“What’s your name? My race called me Dian so I took it as my name.” Dian started the conversation by introducing himself.

The others were a step behind him and did not interrupt since they knew that Dian wanted to let the Planet Master into his fold.

Although that caused the fear and anxiety in the Lizardfolk Planet Master to recede slightly, but he still felt that he should not disrespect Dian.

“I am Smirth. I am the Grey Scale that the Lizardfolk worshipped. At least that is the case for the majority of the civilization.” Smirth introduced himself with a trembling voice.

“Come on, be more confident, like when you fight with me. I like you more when you are like that.” Dian encouraged Smirth to speak in the way most comfortable for himself.

“I…I can’t. Your position in the relationship between us is higher; there is no way I can disrespect you.” Smirth replied with a serious look.

Dian was stunned but he understood. It was an undeniable truth that his position was higher but he also wanted Smirth to understand that even with that kind of relationship, he could still search for something he personally needed by following Dian.

“It is fine for you to do this but not at the cost of sealing your opinion. In my camp, you can voice out your opinion despite being inferior. I will even listen and consider your opinion when you speak up. So, I will not devour you to strengthen myself. There are many methods to do that.” Dian said while extending his hand to Smirth.

Smirth looked at Dian seriously. He thought about something and then glanced at the others behind Dian.

He could see that the others were smiling and looking forward to his joining as if this were a natural outcome. Although he could not understand why Dian let him join, he decided to come clean and explain.

“But I have been devouring the other Planet Masters. Will you be able to accept such behavior from me?” Smirth asked.

“Truthfully, I don’t like you. But it is because of my own opinion. You are more useful existing rather than not, and I only care about the current you. So will you join me in the endeavor of exploring more of the world?” Dian opened his mouth and asked in the end.

“Don’t misunderstand. I invested in you for my own benefit. After all, I need more people to cover my own weakness. That is why I want you to join us. Well, there are some benefits, like your race will also develop well on my planet, for example. What do you say?” Dian added.

Smirth was dazed by the offer. It felt slightly unreal with how he was treated. He now understood that the others were probably treated with similar things by Dian and decided to follow him wholeheartedly.

“I can agree, right?” Smirth opened his mouth, and a certain emotion appeared on his face, even though Dian was having a hard time discerning Smirth’s emotion due to the difference in appearance.

“Of course. So you agree after all.” Dian nodded and Smirth reached out his hand and grabbed it.

Both then shook their hands.

“Welcome!” the others said at the same time, which made the Planet Master Space filled with their voice.

“Why are you all so welcoming toward me?” Smirth asked with half curiosity and half doubt.

“Because we are just like you, devouring the defeated Planet Master and clashing against Dian. But we lost and he did not devour us. Instead, he gives us some tasks as part of managing his planet and living beings on it.” The Birdman spoke.

“Mazdari, you stole my line.” Leif said, then patted his stomach and laughed. Despite the first enemy Dian faced, Leif had been in another battle with another Planet Master before, so he knew exactly what someone in a similar predicament felt.

“Haha, that’s funny because everyone also thinks that way, right?” Mazdari the Birdman Planet Master laughed and his beak opened slightly.

“Wha…” Smirth was stunned by the revelation that Dian spared them.

If it were him, he would want to be safe and would not give them a chance to mess him up. So he looked at Dian more carefully, scrutinizing him.

“I am doing it because it is more convenient to work with others than to do everything alone. After all, I learned that way from my race.” Dian explained his thought.

“Although the price of trust is always betrayal, so I mind that also.” Dian added.

“If you have any questions, ask now. We have to handle the post-Star Battle arrangements after this.” Frie interjected.

“What will I do in your group?” Smirth asked.

“I don’t know for now, since I need to see your performance so far but watching over your race will definitely be one of them.” Dian said truthfully.

After all of this, the next thing on the agenda was for the Lizardfolk to migrate to the Cerulean Planet. The losses both sides had were quite severe since they lost most of their main battle forces. What remained however were the survivors and those who honed their skills to a certain level.

Dian controlled the assimilation of the planet while the others introduced themselves.

“I am Goliath. My race is the giant. You have seen them on some occasion, right?” The Giant Planet Master introduced himself.

“Even we have a hard time fighting against him before due to their size. You are also giving us a very hard time, near impossible challenge.” Chikara said.

Even her Glings were having a hard time with the Giant that walked the path of transcendence due to their overwhelming power.

But ultimately, they were defeated quite easily.

The miracle for the human race and its Acquired race was that someone managed to slay the dragon which was calculated not to be able to be slain. But reality differed, and thus was born the Eminent Dragon Slayer.

Even Smirth did not expect that the human race could do that, even though the feat was not done alone. But it was undeniably the joint effort of everyone that the Dragon Slayer managed to get that result and even the person himself knew it.

“I wonder where you get that Auxiliary Card from, I may ask.” Dian wondered about this before and when the opportunity rose, he asked away.

“From exchange in the Universe Market. But the price is really expensive.” Smirth then told them the story of how he got the Auxiliary Card.

From what Dian knew, the Auxiliary Pagoda was the one who could create Auxiliary Cards in the Universe Market to be used by the Planet Master’s purpose.

That was all he knew from the information available on the [Forum] and the Planet Master Service Center. As for who was responsible for that, Dian’s information access was limited and he did not want to ask Tritis about this meager information.

He’d rather find out for himself.

“I see. It is a fortuitous encounter you have, so I won’t ask further. Welcome to our group. Your first task is to let the Lizardfolk migrate to the Cerulean Planet. You can do it, right?” Dian asked Smirth.

Smirth nodded and then swept his hand as he opened the Planet Master System panels simultaneously and relayed his order to all available priests.

Dian also ordered the humans and the races under them to cease fire since he had declared victory in the Seventh Star Battle.

Dian sighed at the difficulty he had faced during the Star Battle. Especially when Smirth used the Summoning Dragon Card to make a dragon appear and make a mess out of the Cerulean Defense Force.

Without the newest Auxiliary Card he had acquired, he would not be sure about the result of facing the dragon with the transcendent strike group led by Tatsumi.

He also led the others in the effort of escorting the Lizardfolk to migrate to the Cerulean Planet and had to pause the assimilation progress.

After one month of migration, all the Lizardfolk went to the Cerulean Planet’s side and had to build everything anew.

“Alright, that’s all of them. You can begin the assimilation process, Master.” Smirth said with a pause but he accepted what he had said.

Dian nodded and his eyes glinted as he let the assimilation process underway. The Lizardfolk home planet was thus slowly being assimilated by the Cerulean Planet and increased its size once again.

[Diameter: 14.500 km]

Not only was the planet assimilated, but even its Afterlife Model was being assimilated into the Library of Consciousness, increasing its size. Now, the entire Library of Consciousness had covered the whole Cerulean Planet in terms of size and kept growing.

“I can’t believe that your Afterlife Model is helping those in the living world. My Afterlife Model did not have that function. Can you tell me all about your Afterlife Model and how it works?” Smirth asked since he had seen the Afterlife Model that Dian had and wondered about it.

Dian smiled and then he explained in his capacity about what he knew about the Afterlife Model so far.