Capítulo 1022: Chapter 1022: Cat The Tree Elves should be considered one of the most peculiar vassal clans of the New Empire—in fact, there are many times when Sandora and I tend to forget that they’re also a vassal race of the Empire. Like the New Eden Federation or the Civilization Commonwealth, they serve directly under the Imperial Command Headquarters, carrying out orders from the Imperial Royal Family and having the privilege of stationing an envoy in Shadow City as a so-called “High-level Vassal Clan.” What’s even more rare than any vassal clans currently existing is that—they possess an “ancient lineage” that has survived since the Old Empire era. Is this fact filled with drama? During the Old Empire era, the Tree Elves were the least qualified vassals with a brief history and mediocre strength. Though they didn’t shy away from battle, most Tree Elves were somewhat romanticists—they were a peaceful species passionate about life and love, engaging in large-scale campaigns only when facing the Abyss. In the Old Empire era, they didn’t even qualify to be cannon fodder on the front lines, let alone gain any bit of the Empire’s knowledge. If not for the disaster, and with Harlan having no choice in haste but to let the Tree Elves carry out one last mission as a vassal, they likely wouldn’t have caught the eye of those military dictators of the Old Empire. Yet today, history seems to have taken the least experienced Tree Elves and somehow made them the elders among all vassal races? This was something I happened to think about while casually chatting with Sandora. The Tree Elves have become a hot topic between us these days. We both have a keen interest in this race that has stumbled all the way here. Sandora sees them as a reflection of Old Empire times, which elicits her sentiments, while I am amazed at how a race that birthed such eccentrics like Lu E could bring Lilina to her knees. From Sandora’s habitual perspective, the Tree Elves aren’t really excellent “children.” They’re not very militant, lack military characteristics, and the catastrophe from tens of thousands of years ago even halved their civilization. Now they barely have any combat capability. Nevertheless, Sandora and I both agree that the Tree Elves should have a place in the Empire’s hall—just their arduous journey and tenacious spirit over tens of thousands of years should merit them this eligibility. Furthermore, Lilina has genuinely recognized the value of this gentle race: diplomacy and civil services. The enormous war machine that is the Xyrin Empire has never really had such a component, not even in the New Empire which presented itself as saviors. Its military hierarchy lacks the ability to communicate softly with ordinary races, and there aren’t qualified diplomats among the Xyrin Apostles—their sole negotiation tactic being to give you a contract and sternly tell you your only choice is to sign. Even with good intentions at heart, the Time-Space Administration Bureau still receives countless complaint calls daily due to this—the Ravens have to each provoke three Scorpions daily to relieve their mental stress as a result. Their stress might have lowered, but would I not still have to appease those bomb-like berserk Scorpion Sisters? Now, all’s well, the Tree Elves have been entirely supplemented into the Time-Space Administration Bureau, with twenty-four billion affinity-possessing civil servants who greatly enjoy traveling—Lilina suggested I call them Liaison Officers, so Liaison Officers they shall be, this gentle, amiable race will from now on rush through the Macro World Network, finally undertaking affairs and orders demanding personnel presence. Consequently, perhaps we can free up twenty-four billion Imperial Soldiers… Hmm, maybe I miscalculated at a critical point, shouldn’t be that many. It seems all the races in the Macro World together don’t need so many Liaison Officers, even if there are several branches in each world. Unbeknownst to me, a month has already passed, and the weather in winter is getting colder. Mercury Lamp began to molt—or rather she thinks she may have to, yet actually every day the feathers she finds in her room are secretly placed there by Lilina. I consider their little rivalry good entertainment, so I haven’t bothered to tell Little Lamp. Now the Tree Elves have nothing more to worry about; these elves, eager for a stable new home, have taken root on New Oasis Star. That newborn stellar system is still rather rudimentary, with only three planets, and among them, only one has a satellite. Yet compared to aging systems, only able to enjoy forest dreams in their old planetary fortresses, that’s already a cozy little paradise. The Mikasa Biological Society and several other quirky organizations have taken the initiative to build many ecological domes for the Tree Elves. While the New Oasis environment remains unstable, these domes are their safest walls. Behind the high bastions of the domes, the Tree Elves construct their new home in their own way: their architecture, building techniques, and urban planning are all accomplished independently. Besides essential food and materials, we have not sent a single soldier to help. Sandora calls this a crucial process: a home built by oneself holds multiple times the meaning of a bestowed colonization ball, especially for a race that has wandered for tens of thousands of years—building a stable home by themselves is extraordinarily meaningful. More Tree Elves are starting to queue up to join the Time-Space Administration Bureau. After a rigorous screening, they will be granted varying levels of “civil permissions” (this is a regulation, with all junior staff of the Administration Bureau, regardless of whom, only having civil permissions, as they often have to face “Mortal Worlds” that haven’t even ventured outside the Solar System. To such worlds, an Otherworld ambassador capable of commanding Star Annihilation Weapons would be terrifying, plus civil permissions are generally more than enough because as I heard, under the logic of Xyrin Apostles, anything not involving Mother Ships counts as civil: their civilians are reckoned from Imperial Soldiers onward…). These newly appointed Imperial Envoys have temporarily been allocated three standard items: an Envoy’s Scepter, representing the Empire’s authority and their ambassadorial status; a few Imperial Soldiers as guards (although they seem largely unnecessary for most missions), responsible for security work and so-called “violent tasks”; and lastly a Bible of the Life Goddess Sect, representing the Envoy’s simultaneous identity as a Goddess believer, thus possessing neutrality. Hmm… A Bible of the Life Goddess Sect. Just like the one currently in my hand. This morning, Lu E came promptly to harass Lilina, from whom I received this little book. Incidentally, I should note that Lu E now has special permission to come over as a guest at any time, or put differently, we’ve already recognized this Elf Girl as Lilina’s close “assistant,” so if she wishes to stay at our home, she’s welcome to do so. Thus began Lilina’s life of turmoil, that little girl employing tantrums, rolling, fake crying, feigning hanging, drinking pesticides, and returning to her parents’ home—she used about every trick in the book yet could not alter the decision jointly made by me and Big Sister. Big Sister’s intention stems from thinking there’s an urgent need for a normal person like Lu E to balance out the psychologically abnormal child that is Lilina, while my intention is… there’s nothing wrong with some yuri, and besides, the sight of Lilina deflated is pretty amusing. Lu E was one of the first tree elves to apply to join the Time-Space Administration Liaison Officer team. When she heard that this team was established at Lilina’s suggestion, she sprang into action immediately. This girl, with at least one-third of Lilina’s imprint in her soul, is a highly proactive person. Under her influence, the three Ravens responsible for registration at the Time-Space Administration were almost driven crazy—they were overwhelmed. All right, now let’s continue to talk about this Bible—excluding the occasional appearance of strange watermarks like “Baidu Library” and XX novel site, the editing is actually quite good. Lilina, with her psychology background, crafted a very thorough Bible. The codes of behavior she sets for believers can subconsciously make a person proactively take faith as part of their soul, and there are many persuasive and even motivating little stories in it: many of Dingdang’s foolish acts have been beautified into miracles by Lilina and written into the Bible. The only problem with this book is, after reading it for a while, I suddenly felt like it might not really be promoting faith in the Star Domain Divine Race… “The Goddess is the close friend of the Xyrin Monarch, therefore all believers should regard loyalty to the Empire as faith in the Goddess.” “At the extremities of that world, there is a Goddess, a Holy Father (thankfully she didn’t write Holy Dad here), the Goddess shepherds spirits, the Holy Father ensures the peace of all believers, therefore all believers should have faith in the Goddess and know that loyalty to the Holy Father is the only correct way to believe in the Goddess. The Holy Father is the Imperial Emperor…” “The existence of the Divine Sect depends on the Empire. Since the Holy Father and the Goddess are on good terms, the citizens are also on good terms with the Goddess, which is why there are believers. Thus, the Goddess has taught that those who believe in God must be citizens of the Holy Father, and if they are not, they are barbarians outside, unfaithful and unethical, unworthy of entering the sect.” These sentences are not common throughout the Bible, but they all appear at the end of each chapter. This means the only conclusion a believer comes to after praying according to the prayer scripts is that the Empire and the Goddess are one, and the practical action to take in believing in the Goddess is to be loyal to the Emperor. The Emperor himself is not a god, but the Emperor is responsible for accepting loyalty on behalf of the Goddess, and the Goddess Sect is an internal benefit for Imperial citizens. Only citizens of the Empire are allowed to believe in the Goddess—she has completely turned the belief in Dingdang and loyalty to the Empire into one concept! “I say… doesn’t this Bible look kind of strange?” I waved the little book in my hand and said to Bingdisi next to me. Bingdisi was also reading a book. This imposing female hooligan actually enjoys surprisingly quiet hobbies in her spare time: reading, writing, weaving garlands, and, well, cracking open people’s skulls. Hmm, the last one doesn’t count. Anyway, she was reclining with me on the balcony lounge chair, looking at her enormous Divine Canon with a silly grin as she read. “What are you reading?” Without hearing Bingdisi’s answer, just her silly giggles, I couldn’t help but become curious. “Divine Canon,” Bingdisi raised the heavy tome in her hand, “‘Tusarona’s Observations of All Realms,’ the Millennium Edition.” Holy crap, can you ask what does Millennium Edition mean?! Besides, why is there an entertainment magazine in something as serious as a “Divine Canon”?! “Is this the Bible compiled by Lilina?” Bingdisi took the little book from my hand, glanced at it, and then casually tossed it back, “She seems to be spreading the Goddess Sect as part of the Empire’s private culture, I was aware of it long ago.” “As a Star Domain God, don’t you have any thoughts? With this method of spreading the faith, the believers cultivated eventually might not even know Dingdang and the relationship with the Star Domain Gods.” “So what? This way of proselytizing must be approved from above—these scriptures are all on record in the Divine Realm. The only purpose we recruit believers is for convenience in work; the Star Domain Gods don’t need believers to provide any ‘faith power,’ and the Star Domain Gods themselves don’t gain anything from the Mortal World. So generally, when the priests under the Star Domain Gods preach, they direct faith towards the management god of the local world, and mentioning the Star Domain Divine Realm is optional: it’s better not to mention it, so you can avoid explaining to low-level believers what a Star Domain is. About how Lilina uses these Bibles, I can only say that girl is really good to you—she’s long realized that your Empire isn’t suited for gathering people’s hearts, so she uses something else to bind your citizens.” Newest update provıded by 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙 I was somewhat stunned, not knowing why Bingdisi would say such. “A fully armed soldier who only takes orders and issues commands and a smiling priest using grace and garlands to win people’s hearts—who among them is more relatable to civilians who just want to live peacefully?” “…I think I understand now.” “That’s the problem. Your Imperial Army can indeed gather amazing power; you’ve recruited countless armies from many worlds, and they fight for you as the ‘Servant Army,’ but this is all irrelevant to the common folk. Those grateful to your Imperial Army are only the racial leaders, military commanders, battle heroes, and at the lowest, veterans who survived the battlefield—only they can understand the Empire’s importance to their fate. But what about the most ordinary citizens and small-time civilians? Well, they might cheer for a few days after being rescued from the apocalypse, but once everything stabilizes, they’re concerned with daily necessities; whoever makes their lives comfortable is the good one. As for the frontline warfare—that’s too far from them. So as the Leader of the Empire, when dealing with vassal races, you’re actually facing two parts: one part is your ragtag militia, whose minds are those of politicians, military experts, big heroes, who enjoy interacting with your soldiers. The other part is the ordinary world’s civilians who can’t reach you, but every slight move by you and your Empire affects their daily life. Their loyalty cannot be maintained by the military—you can’t let them experience an apocalypse every year and then lead troops to their rescue, can you? Ultimately, civilian loyalty is maintained by food and shelter; in this respect, the Imperial Soldiers can’t help; it’s up to Lilina’s priests: a Life Priest can do many things—they can grow better crops, keep children from getting sick, cure colds, coughs, and diarrhea, even assist in difficult childbirths: that’s the source of civilian loyalty. And what Lilina does is make them firmly believe that this grace comes not only from the Goddess but also the Emperor.” I was flabbergasted by Bingdisi’s words and then convinced. “That child foresaw today’s scenario three years ago. The Xyrin Apostle itself has no civilian class from top to bottom; you can never win the loyalty of small-time citizens and farmers in those vassal worlds with their guns and artillery. Yet, these most insignificant civilians are quite important because all your Servant Army members are selected from among them. Once these grassroots citizens lose interest in the Empire, your Servant Army is destined to last only one generation. So Lilina uses religion to ensure devotion from the lowest civilians to the Empire—even concocting this kind of thing,” Bingdisi pointed to the Holy Scripture of the Life Goddess next to her, “it’s written a bit outlandishly.” With that said, Bingdisi stretched lazily, turned her head, and walked towards her room, “I’ll go back and nap for half the afternoon; call me when it’s the apocalypse.” I chuckled wryly, feeling a complex bitterness: how can this female hooligan know so much? Well, along with a bit of gratitude towards Lilina. “Boss, Boss!” Just then, Lilina’s voice suddenly came from behind me. I thought what a coincidence, so I turned, intending to give this girl a long-overdue hug. But before I could, a black shadow dashed past my face, and then Lilina’s voice came belatedly, “Boss, watch out… oh, didn’t dodge.” “What the heck was that just now?” It took me a full two seconds to react, fumbling to touch my face; fortunately, there seemed to be no dirt left. What was that just now—a black shadow dashing across my face at a speed that I couldn’t make out! Mind you, my eyes can see bullet trajectories, thanks to some super enhancement and level eleven boost of tri-titanium alloy something-something eyes, and yet I couldn’t make out what that shadow was! All I remember is the small paw pads brushing my face and a fluffy touch, seemed like a small animal? “A cat, a black cat, just suddenly appeared.” Lilina came trotting over. I was alarmed to see this girl with her hair full of weeds, as messy as if she’d been through Anwina’s nest. What on earth happened to her? Did Lu E finally give up on mild methods and try to overpower Lilina, but both ended up in a bout of Yuri? “I got into a scuffle with that cat,” Lilina leaned on the balcony railing, looking around outside, trying to spot the black shadow from before, “darn it, just a bit more and I would’ve caught it! Xiao Xue, did you see the cat?” Lilina leaned half her body out from the railing and shouted down. I went closer and saw my daughter, with a head as messy as Lilina’s, covered in knots and sticks, circling the yard with an enormous net in hand, occasionally looking up to answer Lilina, “Nope, it dashed just like that; the prediction scene was all just flashes, so fast, catching it won’t be easy. Oh Dad? Are you up there?” “What are you all up to?” I asked loudly. Xiao Xue, hand shading her eyes, looked around and responded, “Catching a cat! Just now, a black cat suddenly dashed in, Lilina pounced on it, and then they got into a fight. Now Little Lamp and I are blocking it off separately.” Catching a cat? So the shadow just now was really a cat? I thought Lilina was kidding. I looked around puzzled, finding no trace of the shadow, a creeping realization struck me: a cat, a cat able to duel the Life Goddess Sect’s Pope, to dash under my nose, to evade the Prophet’s daughter! Just then, Mercury Lamp suddenly flew down from upstairs, loudly yelling, “Idiot, idiot, cat! The cat’s underfoot!” Startled, I looked down and indeed saw the so-called “cat,” yet… It was an imprint on the ground. Yes, just a cat-shaped shadow… (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) for recommendations and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)