263: Join the alliance? No, I, Lu Chen, will fight my own battle!

In the holographic projection, Kristo's crystal-clear body looked as if it had been struck hard by a hammer; although it didn't shatter, the sense of cracks radiating from within was clearly conveyed to everyone present.

Refused? He actually refused?!

This was the supreme Archon seat of the "Galaxy Guardians" alliance! It was supreme authority over one hundred and thirty-seven advanced civilizations, controlling the accumulated power of the Milky Way Galaxy for hundreds of millions of years!

It was like a beggar suddenly being told by the royal family that he would be made king, only for the beggar not to thank them, but instead kick over the crown, complaining that it was too heavy and old to suit his head!

"Lord Lu Chen," Kristo's voice trembled. That resonant tone peculiar to Higher Dimensions beings now sounded like the wheezing of a broken bellows. "W-will you not reconsider? This is the greatest union in the history of the Milky Way Galaxy! As long as you nod, we will—"

"Shut up." Lu Chen spat out the two words coldly, instantly interrupting the other's incessant chatter.

He sat on the spacious captain's chair, too lazy to even stand up, merely sweeping his gaze languidly over the group of so-called "Galactic Elites" with the look of someone observing trash.

"Kristo, and you council members hiding behind the screens trembling in fear, have you made a mistake about something?"

Lu Chen extended a finger and tapped the armrest lightly; the "tap-tap" sound seemed particularly harsh in the deathly silent bridge.

"Your so-called 'alliance' is, in my eyes, nothing more than a sheep pen where a bunch of weaklings huddle together for warmth to survive."

"Where were you when the Star Devourer was wreaking havoc? Where were you when lower civilizations were being swallowed? And where were you when the Galactic Center region turned into hell?"

Lu Chen spoke slowly, but every word was like a loud slap across the faces of these aliens.

"You hid in folded space, using the so-called 'non-interference principle' to cover up your cowardice. You watched the tragedy unfold, even calculating how to profit from it."

"Now that I've killed the wolf, you flock of sheep come running out, wanting to promote me to be the 'lead sheep'?"

A trace of extremely sarcastic cold laughter curled at the corners of Lu Chen's mouth. "Sorry, I have no interest in being a sheep, even a lead sheep." "I am a hunter." "Hunters don't need to join the flock; hunters only need to—"

Lu Chen leaned forward abruptly, his pitch-black eyes like two black holes, locking onto Kristo's soul. "Decide which sheep should live, and which sheep should be served on the dining table!"

Boom! As soon as these words were spoken, the holographic conference room instantly erupted! Those alien representatives who had originally held a glimmer of wishful thinking were now ashen-faced. They finally understood that the human before them was not some justice-filled savior, but a tyrant even more overbearing and unreasonable than the Star Devourer!

"Y-you are trampling on the civilization conventions of the Milky Way Galaxy!" A creature that looked like an octopus couldn't help but shriek, "You can't do this! Civilizations should be equal! This is dictatorship! This is tyranny!"

"Equal?" Lu Chen laughed, laughing so hard tears were almost coming out. "heavenly craft, show it what 'equality' means."

[Yes, Master.] The next second, in the corner of the holographic screen, the huge "two-dimensional scroll" was zoomed in. In the scroll, countless remains of the Star Devourer still maintained their hideousness from before they died, but they had lost their thickness forever.

Lu Chen pointed to the painting, his tone as flat as if he were discussing the weather. "Before the Two-Dimensional Foil, all beings are equal." "If you have an opinion about my 'dictatorship', I don't mind letting you go into the painting as well to reason with that bunch of bugs."

"You—!" The octopus creature was instantly silenced, its tentacles shrinking into a ball in fear, never daring to make another sound. This was the deterrence brought by absolute force! Whatever conventions, whatever morality—in the face of power that could erase the dimensions of civilizations at will, they were all waste paper!

"Listen." Lu Chen reined in his smile, stood up, and straightened his collar. At that moment, the aura radiating from him was even deeper and more suffocating than that Sagittarius A* black hole.

"I don't have time to play these political games of house with you. My goal is the starry sea, the ultimate of the universe; I have no time to roll around in your mud pit."

"From today on, Earth Civilization is a faction of its own!" "I won't join your alliance, but I declare—the Milky Way Galaxy has entered the 'Earth Era'!"

Lu Chen waved his hand, and a huge star map appeared behind him. It was the magnificent map just drawn by heavenly craft, containing the entire Milky Way Galaxy arms and the Galactic Center region.

"First, abolish all laws and treaties of the 'Galaxy Guardians' alliance. From now on, the Milky Way Galaxy has only one code of law, and that is the 'Earth Federation Interstellar Law'!"

"Second, all civilizations above level three must unconditionally open their star map databases, resource distribution maps, and core technology trees to the Earth Federation! I want all your knowledge, all your accumulations!"

"Third," Lu Chen's gaze became incomparably cold. "Every year, you must pay a 'survival tax' to Earth. Resources, energy, or rare samples; I will have heavenly craft send you the specific list."

"This is not a negotiation; this is a notification." "Who agrees, who objects?"

Deathly silence. Complete deathly silence. The representatives of one hundred and thirty-seven advanced civilizations were now like one hundred and thirty-seven frozen statues. Humiliating? Of course it was humiliating! Not only did they have to dissolve the alliance, but they also had to hand over technology, and even pay taxes! This was simply demoting them from "nobles" to "slaves"! But, did they dare to object?

Look at that black fleet outside the window like the Grim Reaper, look at the "causality interference device" that hadn't been retracted yet, and look at that two-dimensional scroll capable of covering the entire galaxy. They didn't dare. They didn't even dare to let out a fart!

"I—I represent the Andromeda Civilization," Kristo was the first to kneel down, his crystal-clear knees hitting the ground heavily, making a crisp sound. His voice was full of bitterness, but more than that, it was resignation. "We accept all your conditions." "May the glory of Earth shine upon the galaxy forever."

With the kneeling of the speaker, it was like knocking over dominoes. One after another, those once high-and-mighty alien leaders lowered their noble heads and bent their straight backs.

"Cygnus Civilization submits." "Orion Empire submits." "..." In just one minute, the entire top power circle of the Milky Way Galaxy was kneeling at the feet of that eighteen-year-old Earth youth!

"Very good." Lu Chen looked at this scene, his face didn't have much expression, as if all this had been in his expectation long ago. He turned around, no longer looking at those humble aliens, but looking at Su Qingying and Zhan Lang beside him.

"Did you see that?" Lu Chen said softly. "This is the law of the jungle." "When we are weak, we are bugs that anyone can step on. When we are strong, we are gods, and even our breathing is a gift to them."

Zhan Lang was trembling with excitement. He looked at Lu Chen's back, his eyes full of fanaticism. "Commander Lu! That was damn satisfying! This is the presence we Earthlings should have!"

Su Qingying held Lu Chen's hand tightly, her eyes shimmering. She knew that for this moment, for Earthlings to be able to stand tall under this starry sky, how much pressure the man before her had shouldered. "Is it over?" She asked softly.

"No." Lu Chen shook his head, his gaze piercing through the kneeling crowd and casting towards the more distant deep space. "The Milky Way Galaxy is just a beginning." "Since the house has been cleaned up, and we have gathered a group of obedient housekeepers." "Then next—" "It's time for us to upgrade our 'gear' as well."

In Lu Chen's mind, the system's cold prompt sounded again. It was a prompt that the mission was completed, and it was even more the horn of a new journey.

[Ding—] [Congratulations Host, successfully suppressed the Milky Way Galaxy! Obtained title: "Galactic Overlord"!] [Hidden reward triggered!] [Refreshing Legendary-level technology for you!]

The corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled up again into that familiar smile that made the whole universe tremble. "heavenly craft, prepare to receive data." "Our 'Dyson Sphere', it's time to start construction!"