97: Chapter 97 The Beginning of the Visit

"Didn't the list of the visiting delegation reported by Olympia say there was only Prince Krol's private guard?"

On the Holy Alliance's communication channel, Major General Asterion Saint Morian stared at the bright gold fleet on the sensor, which was roughly the size of the entire Violet Legion, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

"You call this a 'small private guard'?!" he almost roared. "The Third Imperial Guard Legion! A whole Imperial Guard Legion! Thirty-seven thousand ships of cruiser class and above! If this is 'small,' then what does our Violet Defense Zone patrol detachment count as? A kindergarten school bus?!"

The adjutant approached tremblingly and lowered his voice: "General, please calm down... Well, according to the political system of the Olympia Empire, the Third Imperial Guard Legion... is indeed Prince Krol's 'private army.'"

Morian snapped his head around: "What do you mean?"

"Olympia implements a Royal Council System," the adjutant explained cautiously. "Several major royal bloodlines each control a portion of the military power. The 'Thor Bloodline' to which Prince Krol belongs has managed the Third Imperial Guard Legion for generations. So, legally speaking, this legion is indeed his private armed force..."

Morian was silent for a full five seconds.

Then he took a deep breath and squeezed out words from between his teeth:

"These... old fogies... stinking nobles..."

Every word sounded as if he were using all his strength to prevent it from turning into a roar.

The adjutant shrank his neck, not daring to respond.

In fact, half of Morian's anger was because he had been played, and the other half was due to deeper political considerations.

In the power map of the known universe, the Holy Alliance and the Olympia Empire were traditional allies—or more accurately, partners of the same feather.

Both were civilizations with strong theocratic or monarchical colors; both liked to talk about bloodlines, discuss backgrounds, and create a sense of ritual, and both considered themselves representatives of the 'high-order human race.' Over the past few centuries, the two had frequently teamed up in the Interstellar Council to point fingers at other countries, occasionally 'educating' disobedient small nations together.

The Blazing Dragon Federation, however, was a complete outlier.

In terms of history, they had the longest history, continuing without interruption from Earth's ancient civilizations to the present, unlike the Holy Alliance, which always claimed to be Descendants of Rome yet didn't even dare to include Rome in its national name;

In terms of territory, they occupied the richest and most stable star sectors in the known universe;

In terms of strength, they were the first human power to achieve a strategic stalemate with the Zerg and stabilize their defense lines.

But these 'unrefined folks' happened to have no noble temperament at all. They didn't care about bloodlines or titles, didn't bother with tedious etiquette, and spoke directly. Culturally, they looked forward to the future; in war, it was all about steel torrents and saturation bombing; in diplomacy, it was 'talk if we can, fight if we can't, and talk again after the fight.'

Simple, crude, and effective.

What made the Holy Alliance and Olympia even more uneasy was that in recent decades, a trend of 'learning from Blazing Dragon' had appeared within the Olympia Empire.

Some young officers and pragmatic nobles believed that rather than engaging in those flashy but impractical Psionic Rituals and bloodline theories with the Holy Alliance, it was better to learn Blazing Dragon's combat system of 'firepower supreme, efficiency first.'

After all, the Zerg wouldn't bite you any less just because your prayers were recited perfectly.

This trend was particularly evident in military heavyweights with real power, like Prince Krol.

"So the current situation is—" Morian rubbed his temples, summarizing for the adjutant, "our 'old ally' has brought a main combat legion to our doorstep to flirt with our 'old rival.' And we can't even turn hostile because, nominally, everyone is here for a 'friendly visit.'"

He waved his hand irritably: "Forget it, we can't fight this battle. Notify Blazing Dragon and Olympia that we'll follow the standard procedure—'After urgent verification, the border alarm was a false report, and new transit documents have been issued.' Guide their main fleet to station in the Seventh Trial Star Sector, and send the visiting delegation to the Covenant Star."

The adjutant felt as if he had been granted a great pardon: "Yes, sir!"

Morian stared at the bright gold fleet on the screen, then looked at Blazing Dragon's silent steel torrent, and finally sighed:

"Have St. Alburn Glory Academy get ready. This 'visiting season'... is likely to be much more lively than in previous years."

---

The so-called 'standard procedure' was actually the three parties tacitly taking a step back at the same time.

The Holy Alliance sent a politely worded 'correction letter,' stating that it was a 'system misjudgment' and warmly welcoming the friendly delegation's visit.

On the Blazing Dragon Federation's side, Major General Zhao Yu calmly replied that he 'understood your side's defense pressure' while simultaneously ordering the fleet to stand down from combat status.

Olympia Empire's Imperial Guard Legion didn't say a word from beginning to end, only silently adjusting their formation to follow behind the Blazing Dragon fleet's flank, heading toward the guided coordinates.

That posture clearly said: "I'm just passing through; you guys keep arguing, I'm just watching."

Chu Xinghe was delighted watching from his fighter: "Look, Luo Lan, this is called 'adult decency'—cursing in your heart, smiling on your face, hands shaken, while stepping on each other's feet underneath."

Luo Lan: "Senior Brother, are you very experienced in this?"

"You bet," Chu Xinghe said proudly. "When I was fighting for budget with those old foxes in the Logistics Department back at the North Star, I played this trick to perfection. I'll teach you next time."

"No thanks."

---

The main fleet turned to station in the trial star sector, while the core members of the visiting delegation transferred to several small diplomatic ships, guided by a ritual fleet from the Violet Legion toward the first stop of the visit—

Covenant Star, St. Alburn Glory Academy.

The shuttle passed through the atmosphere of the Covenant Star and slowly landed at the academy's exclusive airport.

By this time, the faster-moving members of the Ten Thousand Races Alliance had already arrived at St. Alburn Glory Academy.

Li Yuan and the other students crowded against the observation window, truly seeing for the first time what the 'Ten Thousand Races Alliance' meant.

"My god..." Laya's whole face was pressed against the glass, her eyes wide and round. "So... so many..."

There were indeed many.

On the airport tarmac, the parked aircraft were of all shapes and sizes: there were the white, elegant Angel Race flying boats with feather patterns; there were the ferocious, craggy Demon Race landing pods burning with ghostly green flames; there were the crystal-clear Ultraman Race shuttle prisms that looked as if they were carved from crystal; and various alien vehicles that completely defied human aerodynamics but clearly functioned well.

And the beings walking through the airport corridors were the real visual feast.

The Angel Race—Li Yuan noticed them first.

These angels had an appearance highly similar to humans, with handsome features and an ethereal temperament. Most prominent were the pairs of pure white wings on their backs, with every feather distinct and gleaming with a soft luster under the light.

"Are their wings... biological tissue?" Li Yuan asked softly.

Laya also looked on curiously and responded in a small voice: "Hmm, I can feel it; they are real feathers and bone structures with blood vessels and nerves inside... but strangely, what flows inside their wings doesn't seem to be blood or other biological matter, but a special kind of energy."

As they spoke, the leader of the angel group seemed to sense their gaze and turned around. The wings on his back suddenly glowed, and then the entire pair of wings actually turned into countless light particles and dissipated into the air.

"Light Particle Hidden Technology," Elia explained calmly from the side. "The Angel Race follows a technological path. Their wings are essentially highly modified, energy-based biological organs capable of matter-energy conversion. They unfold when needed and can be completely retracted into the body through light particle conversion when not in use, without affecting daily activities."

Laya blinked, suddenly feeling a bit envious: "Can their wings... be plucked to make pillows?"

Li Yuan: "...Why would you think of that?"

"Senior Brother Chu said it," Laya said with a serious face. "He said angel feather pillows are a universal luxury; one feather can be exchanged for a yacht..."

Next to pass by was a group from the Demon Race.

They were generally tall, with skin appearing dark red, deep purple, or dark green, with curved horns on their heads and spiked tails swinging behind them. Glowing Magic Runes could be seen on some of their exposed skin.

Their overall temperament was wild and dangerous, but strangely, when they brushed past the group of angels just now, both sides merely nodded to each other and didn't actually start a fight.

Elia explained softly from the side: "The opposition between justice and evil is a story from forty thousand years ago. Now the demons' faith is freedom; that group just now was simply the unconventional bunch among the demons."

"Most demons actually don't look like that; the orthodox demons are very beautiful," Chen Yao floated over from behind.

The appearance of the Ultraman Race—or rather, the Light Giant Race—caused a small commotion.

They had an average height of about fifty meters and were covered in biological armor of red, silver, and blue tones. Their eyes were glowing oval crystals, and they had a large Color Timer on their chests. Although they had currently shrunk their size to a 'Daily Mode' of about three meters, the sense of majesty belonging to giants still rushed toward everyone.

"The Ultraman Race follows the 'Light Energy Lifeform' path," Chen Jingyi also walked over at some point, her tone as calm as if she were introducing some mechanical equipment. "Their bodies are composed of special light particles, allowing them to freely switch between 'Giant Form' and 'Humanoid Form.' They enlarge for battle and maintain a body size similar to other races for easy communication at other times."

Chu Xinghe also leaned in: "Then how do they eat? How much would one bite be in their Giant Form?"

Chen Jingyi glanced at him: "According to public data, the Ultraman Race's main energy source is 'light,' which they can absorb through their body surface from stellar radiation or dedicated energy blocks."

Besides these major races, many other strange life forms could be seen in the airport:

There was the 'Triangular Body Race' hovering in the air, with streamlined triangular bodies of silver-gray—they seemed to have no fixed form and could change their body structure at any time;

There was the 'Beast Race' with animal ears and tails and seductive looks; when a small team clearly carrying fox characteristics walked by, several males from various races couldn't help but take a few extra looks;

There was the 'Spirit Race' shrouded in a hazy energy mist, their specific forms unclear;

There were even several 'Machine Intelligence Race' members who were clearly mechanical in construction but moved freely and communicated naturally with other races.

"So this is the Ten Thousand Races Alliance..." Li Yuan murmured.

It wasn't the dry textual descriptions in textbooks or the cold images in holographic projections.

It was countless, distinctly different civilizations, living, breathing, and walking together.

"How does it feel?" Chu Xinghe put his hand on Li Yuan's shoulder and asked with a grin.

Li Yuan thought for a moment and answered honestly: "It feels like walking into an interstellar biodiversity expo."

---

The Blazing Dragon Federation's visiting delegation arrived together with the Olympia delegation. Hearing that Prince Krol was the lead, Sai Wei, who hadn't seen his father in a long time, ran over immediately upon disembarking.

The reception for the Blazing Dragon visiting delegation was uniformly arranged by St. Alburn Glory Academy.

The guide sent by the academy wore well-fitted scholar's robes and had a gentle, refined temperament.

"Welcome to St. Alburn Glory Academy, young friends from the Blazing Dragon Federation."