"Anduin Fina Orvega Porpurus Sardoen Vanidi Masavir Lanrolana Miorgia Turunso …" A mechanized female voice echoed in the air, as though she was repeating the name over and over again in order to strengthen her memory of a certain aspect. The young girl with long straw-yellow hair and grayish-blue pupils who was sitting on the throne like a statue seemed to have forgotten about our existence. She repeated this super long name several times (in the time it took for Visca to finish a lollipop) before she said with certainty, "That is indeed how it is pronounced. It is my former name. However, if you aren't used to it, you can call me Fina. From what I remember, someone has been calling me that for a very long time."
… I think I should call you Fina. Out of all the people I know, only Anveena who doesn't need to pant would be able to pronounce this name in a single breath …
Alright, I knew it. It was almost fated for me to make things difficult for myself every single day. You just have to get used to all kinds of crazy settings. At the very least, she isn't called Cleopatra the Seventh, right?
"This name has clearly caused you to feel emotional fluctuations, powerful stranger." Her calm voice echoed in the air. "I'm very curious."
However, your voice doesn't even sound curious at all! You don't even need to blink at all!
The feeling of talking to her was too strange. We all knew that we were talking to the young girl on the throne in front of us, but the voice came from all directions. The person on the throne didn't seem to have the ability to move, not even the ability to make an expression. She was a statue, a statue used to make visitors focus their attention. If you didn't know about it beforehand, you might even have the misconception that you were talking to the room and not the girl on the throne. "Alright, alright, Your Majesty Queen Fina with an extremely long name, let's not discuss the sensitive issue of making up the number of words.
"Alright, alright, Your Majesty Queen Fina with an extremely long name, let's not discuss the sensitive issue of making up the number of words." I temporarily suppressed the urge to get to the bottom of the other party's family tree and changed into a more comfortable position on the stool. Yep, next time when I have the chance, I will look for Miss Lin and steal her ridiculously extravagant velvet seat. "Yep, it looks like I don't need to explain to you how we came to be here. In this universe, it should be a natural phenomenon. We came from another world and got lost here. I'll skip the process and we're currently unfamiliar with this place. If you're able to take on the heavy responsibility of guiding the NPC, please tell us about the situation here. Regarding the flames of war, the Shepherds, the messy technology and culture, yep, and also your plans, if you have the time."
"I have endless time." I wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but the young girl on the throne suddenly blinked her eyes. "I once thought that you were the Shepherds, which caused me to take a series of wrong actions up until now … Then, the first thing I need to explain is, the Shepherds."
I thought that such an important character would at least be used to keeping people in suspense, but the machine-like young queen in front of me was unexpectedly straightforward. She was like a ready-made information interrogator. With a press of a button, the information started rolling on the screen.
"The Shepherds, a powerful existence. In some parts of this universe, they are known as the Imperial Army. They possess unimaginable power and advanced technology that can no longer be classified as science. Regarding their past, purpose of action, form of society, and whether or not they can communicate, no one knows. The Shepherds may be the only native inhabitants of this universe. At least, in the current records, there are no traces of the Shepherds entering this universe from outside."
"The Shepherds have a mysterious territory in this universe. This territory may be hidden within stars, within black holes, or even within the folds of space. There is not a single power that claims to know where the Shepherds' territory is. Furthermore, out of the civilizations that were destroyed by the Shepherds, half of them broke the taboo by recklessly exploring these mysterious territories. These civilizations that were destroyed due to angering the Shepherds were either destroyed by the gigantic fleets of the Empire, or perished due to the collapse of their star system, or mysteriously evaporated in a single night. At present, there is no evidence that a civilization that angered the Shepherds could still survive. Thus, the Shepherds' territory is publicly acknowledged as a taboo topic among all the civilizations in this universe. Every power has the obligation to warn the lost who enter this universe not to explore what they are not supposed to explore. Otherwise, you will be killed by the combined forces of all the civilizations in the universe before the Shepherds take action — this is just for self-preservation."
Even though it was such a creepy topic, the 'Queen' named Fina spoke calmly. Did she not have any feelings?
"I remembered the story of the monkeys in the cage," the elder sister said through the telepathic connection, "There were a few monkeys in the cage, and no matter which one of them tried to touch the banana on the top of the cage, the zookeeper would use a water gun to punish each monkey. In the end, all the monkeys learned one thing: when there was a new member of their group, the monkeys would take the initiative to take the responsibility of supervision. Once the new member had evil intentions towards the banana, before the zookeeper could do anything, the monkeys would first beat the new member up."
I nodded in agreement. "And this tradition would be passed down from generation to generation, even if in the end, none of the monkeys knew why they couldn't touch the banana. I've heard this story before."
Shallow Shallow happily grabbed her sister's arm and swayed with Visca. "Tell me one more, one more …"
This girl's brain had no connection to the real world at all.
"That's all about the Shepherds." The 'Queen', who seemed to have lost her human emotions and thought processes, continued to narrate like a machine. "In this universe, the civilization that came from a lost voyage, you, us, and everything in the universe other than the Shepherds, regardless of life form, strength or weakness, are all lambs." "We are lambs herded by the Shepherds. We are livestock reared by the Shepherds.
In this boundless cage and pasture that no one can escape from, the flock of sheep trembles in fear, as if treading on thin ice. They kill and rob, they play as they please. This is a banquet, or perhaps it is just a game that they are used to. It has started since ancient times, and it will never end … "The Queen, who had lost her human heart, narrated the strange words that sounded like an obscure ancient prophecy." This is a poem that has been passed down from ancient times. No one knows the civilization that summarized these poems. Perhaps they are just a flock of lambs among the countless generations of lambs in this universe. That era is far too long ago … but this world has never changed in the long passage of time. We came to this lost voyage, and then tried our best to let our civilization survive a little longer. That is all, all you need to know. "
"That is why … there is no complete technological system here. There is no systematic civilization. Everything is pieced together. Everything seems to have never been considered for long-term use …"
The big sister's eyes flashed with a silver-white light, but she didn't know who to release this curse on. "They are all passersby who are trapped here. This universe itself has never given birth to any civilization — apart from the Imperial Army. Is that true?"
"In theory, yes."
"Tawil, you've come to the wrong place."
Queen Funa's words had a huge impact on our hearts. None of us expected things to be like this. Combining the information we currently had, what Funa said was probably true. However, it was also quite confusing. A world in a cage? Wantonly slaughtering innocent passersby? Was this something that the Shiring Apostles were capable of doing?
It was impossible to imagine what the Schilling Apostles were doing in this world. I also didn't know when this world had been created and how it had been running until now. The more Funa spoke, the thicker the fog surrounding the truth became. However, I knew that this fog wasn't something that could be dispelled right now. I suppressed my churning thoughts and waited to see what other secrets this robot-like queen had to say.
"The Empire … could it be that the Shepherdians' goal is to kill off all life here? Your fleet being attacked by the Shepherdians was also … "
Even Shallow Shallow, whose mind could leave the real world at any moment, stopped making a fuss. She grabbed my arm tightly and asked the queen in front of her. "No, the Shepherdians' actions are unpredictable.
They rarely interact with normal life forms. We generally believe that the Shepherdians don't possess logical thought processes that are commonly understood. "The voice in the air directly denied Shallow Shallow's guess. Cough, cough, and the content of the conversation was rather embarrassing." Encountering the Shepherdians is a terrifying thing, but it doesn't necessarily mean death. Sometimes, they just wander around the lambs, as if they were really herding the lambs. However, there are also times when they will attack any civilization that has just arrived in this universe without any warning. Nobody knows how the Shepherdians will act. Their judgment doesn't exist either. Their actions are random, unpredictable, and illogical. Everything they do is based on sudden decisions. This is the nature of the Shepherdians' actions, the only rule that has been discovered after the destruction of countless civilizations. "
The air was silent for two to three seconds. Suddenly, Shallow Shallow lightly tugged on my arm. "Ah Jun, I think I've heard someone say those words before …"
… That's right, that's what I've always used to describe you. I didn't think that you wouldn't remember it even once?
The other party's explanation helped me solve one of my doubts. Why were the various countries in this universe still able to hold on until now despite being locked in such a cage and being enemies with the Empire Army? So it was because of the strange actions of the Empire Army that they couldn't understand?
Sis had been sitting on a high-back chair that she had taken out from her dimensional pocket. Speaking of which, it was now time to see personal preferences. I loved a stool, while Sis preferred a sedate high-back chair. Shallow Shallow was the same as me, while Pandora and Visca were each sitting on a cannonball shell that was placed horizontally. How could I be so bored to analyze that? Either way, Sis had been sitting on the chair with a pensive look. It was obvious that the girl on the throne had left her perplexed. It was only then that she casually tossed out a question. "So, the nations and factions in this universe were formed by the Lost Fleets or their descendants from various worlds. That's why everything here is so unified, right?"
"Correct."
"Then, since you're constantly under the Shepherdians' shadow, and civilizations from different worlds could unite into a single nation, why don't you all unite?" Sis stared straight ahead. The elder sister stared straight ahead. "We have seen the current situation of this universe. Every country is at war with each other. If there are really ferocious beasts in the wilderness, then as the weaker side, we should be more united. If you come from an unfamiliar world, there shouldn't be any natural enmity between you all. In the face of life and death, it shouldn't be a problem to fight the enemy together or simply stop the war. Even if you can't completely unite as one, it shouldn't be like this, where the weak races have to be divided into countless forces …"
"A very good idea." A calm voice interrupted the elder sister's words. "This is also what I'm curious about. Why haven't you received the Shepherd's message yet? If you received the message like the other Lost Voyagers, perhaps you would understand."
"It's not that we don't want to unite, but it's not allowed."
"Not allowed?" Sis and I shared a look, and we couldn't help but repeat the same thing.
"The Shepherdians control life and death, and the Shepherdians have fun. What I'm saying is not just that they hunt us when they feel like it, but that they're the ones who set everything up. They don't have close contact with any 'lower races', but they will use their actions to give you orders. It could be a vague signal, or it could be a warship that comes directly to you. Usually, they only have one goal … to order you to start a war."
"The war in this universe is designed by them. We have to fight to the death, fight against civilizations that we have no grudges against. Every time the calm period ends, the Shepherdian warship will appear in the sky above the colony planets of every civilization. They won't allow the slightest mistake. They've planned many things, and if we want to survive, we have to carefully guess their orders and execute them perfectly. Many civilizations have paid the price for this …"
Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, there was a loud noise in the empty room. The 'Queen's' narration was abruptly interrupted, and I looked at my two sisters in surprise.
Pandora and Visca had already stood up from the shells that they'd been sitting on. In their hands were huge anti-ship cannons.
The two girls had their backs to us, so I couldn't see their expressions, but I could feel the shocking anger and murderous intent from our mental connection.
"The two of you, what are you doing?"
Elder sister and I asked at the same time as we each grabbed hold of the two 1.2m men who were about to turn around and rush out.
"Kill all the rebels!" Visca lifted his head, his eyes glowing with an ominous red light. "Kill them all!"
"Those rebels don't deserve to be part of the Imperial Army." This was Pandora, who was equally fired up. This girl is really strong.
"Nonsense, calm down!" I forcefully pressed the two of them down. "Of course I want to kill them, but the problem is, which one of you knows where the enemy is? Are you going to open fire in space? "
Then, the two lunatics, who obviously didn't have any plans, wilted.
"I can't understand their actions," the narration continued in the air. "But your words carry a lot of targeted information, and I have come to a bad conclusion …"
"That's your illusion!" I quickly diverted the other party's attention. "Alright, we have a rough understanding of the situation in this world … Although we still have a bunch of questions, the biggest one is this: You are a dignified Queen. Why would you personally come to see a lost fleet like us?"
"Because I suddenly found out that there is a Shepherd among you."
Cold sweat dripped down my forehead. It wasn't from fear, as the other party didn't have the ability to scare me. It was purely from shock. Your Majesty, could you have been Zhuge Kongming who had his wings broken in your previous life?
"But after observing your fleet and battle style, I eliminated this possibility. I trusted the Jetas Star Ring's sensor too much. Now, it seems that the ancient device that was damaged by the Shepherd is no longer trustworthy. It made me make the wrong judgment."
Judgment of the Jetas Star Ring?
"Jedas, the capital planet of a powerful kingdom that once confronted the Shepherdians in ancient times. The Jedas Star Ring was a planetary defense device created by the kingdom by imitating the Shepherdians' technology. The kingdom was later destroyed by the Shepherdians, and the capital planet was also destroyed by energy radiation. In the final battle, one of the Shepherdians' spaceships was destroyed and self-destructed when it fell above the Jedas shield. The explosion destroyed the energy balancer of the Jedas Star Ring, and the energy core of the spaceship fell on Jedas Andur Crater. The planetary shield became a star ring that no one knows how it works. Except for a few people, most citizens of the Free Kingdom think that it is just an ancient energy station, but this star ring still has some hidden functions that can detect the advanced combat units of the Shepherdians."
"The appearance of the high-level Shepherdian units in the sky above the colonial planet of the Free Kingdom is a signal that a new power war has begun. As the leader of the power, I have to be there personally to reorganize the army and show that I have been ordered to go to war. Otherwise, the kingdom will be destroyed. This is why I came here personally. Major General Zeon is not an outstanding general. He was promoted to the position of the chief of the colonial planet because of his seniority and the death of his colleagues. However, he is lacking in intelligence. To prevent the people who have yet to recover from the last power war from panicking, I hid some of the truth from him."
… Master Zeon, don't worry. I will never let you know any of this. But then again, I guessed it right last time. You became a major general because all your colleagues died!
"Seriously, I need to digest this information." I suppressed the tumultuous thoughts in my heart and tried to look calm as I stood up. "Now, I have one more question. Of course, it's fine if you don't want to answer it. Why did you tell us so much? It's fine to introduce the background of the world, but isn't it inappropriate for you to tell us things that are related to secrets? "
"Because," Zeon said slowly after an unexpected silence of nearly ten seconds, "you are the hope."
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