Chapter 210: The Federation’s March Beyond the Stars

Everything is settled.

The Joint Fleet disbanded right away, each civilization splitting into eight separate forces to get moving on their own.

At the same time, the Ziyang Empire, the Xitoris Kingdom, and the Federation’s other three fleets in the Proxima Warzone—aside from the Sixth Fleet—also began their advance.

It didn’t stop there…

Within those eight civilizations, thanks to the recent heavy procurement of Seawolf-class ships plus the fleets already stationed at home, forces struck out in all directions.

With that, across the entire Alliance’s territory—combining the Federation and its ten subordinate civilizations—there were now more than thirty fleets moving at once.

The appetite for conquest was clear as day; the swallowing had begun.

At this pace, in just four or five years, the Wasteland Alliance would be wiped out completely.

And the Federation would seize full control of the Desolate Star Region’s core.

As for the remaining ninety percent of the Desolate Star Region, the Federation planned to explore some of it but wasn’t in any rush to claim more territory.

The truth is, they simply didn’t have the capacity to develop so much space at once.

Besides, those regions were barren, and the Federation had no shortage of common resources. Unless they found something rare, there really wasn’t much point in developing them.

——

Federation Calendar, Year 258.

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

A decade passed in a flash.

Now, the Federation had kicked development into high gear. Besides the Solar System and the Barnard Defense Circle, it held 1,200 stars in the Desolate Star Region’s core, with another 500 stars up for sale.

But what exactly does ‘stars up for sale’ mean?

To put it simply, after conquering the Wasteland Alliance and some neighboring forces—and splitting the land as agreed with fifteen subordinate civilizations (ten local and five others like the Venus Empire)—the Federation still had roughly 2,100 stars left.

Clearly, the Federation couldn’t develop such a huge area. Even with help from its subordinate civilizations, it was still far too much.

So, the Federation picked the best 1,200 stars and made sure they were all connected, securing them as its own core territory.

The remaining 900 stars were immediately listed for sale on the Subordinate Civilization Platform.

Whoever wanted them could just buy them.

The Venus Empire went all in, snatching up 280 stars. With that and its existing territory, it now boasted the largest domain after the Federation itself.

No surprise there—the Empire had uploaded vast amounts of Tier 3 civilization technology and earned enough points.

Nobody else seemed to mind.

After all, the Empire was a Tier 3 civilization.

Having more territory than Tier 2 civilizations only made sense.

The fourteen other Tier 2 civilizations tried to grab what they could, but their total only came to a few hundred stars combined—nothing like the Empire’s haul.

At present, 527 stars were still unsold in the Federation’s hands.

The Federation wasn’t in a hurry—they could just sell them off slowly.

Besides, if more subordinate civilizations joined in down the road, this territory could be used for relocation.

So what happens when the Federation finishes developing its 1,200 stars?

They’d already divided all the land. They weren’t about to take territory from their own subordinates, right?

Actually…

This has a simple answer.

As Mu Xingchen put it:

“The Desolate Star Region isn’t exactly rich. When we need new territory decades from now, we should head for the prosperous regions in the Orion Arm—not back to the wastelands.”

“Before, we didn’t have the strength to show ourselves in that direction.”

“Once we’re strong enough, why keep staring at barren stars when we could be claiming fertile ground? Only a fool would do otherwise…”

Outside the land rush, the Federation Fleet itself underwent a massive restructuring.

The Federation established a brand new fleet organization.

From top to bottom, the ranks were:

Fleet Headquarters – Warzones – Group Armies – Fleets – Sub-fleets.

Fleet Headquarters was exactly what it sounded like—set on the Moon, home to the Federation Fleet’s main command.

There were still just two warzones, but both had new names.

The Proxima Warzone was renamed the Wasteland Warzone, and the Barnard Warzone became the Viayas Warzone.

Everyone understood—the Wasteland Warzone meant the Desolate Star Region.

As for the Viayas Warzone…

To explain that, you had to start with the entire Orion Spur.

Anyone familiar with the Milky Way’s star chart knows it’s a barred spiral galaxy, with four major arms and several smaller offshoots.

The four main arms hold 99% of the Milky Way’s stars. The smaller arms put together struggle to account for even 1%.

Take the Orion Arm for example—it only has about twenty million stars, not even one ten-thousandth of the galaxy.

And those twenty million stars are squeezed into a secondary spiral arm just 3,500 light-years long.

According to the galactic star charts used by all civilizations…

That 3,500-light-year stretch is divided into five main star regions.

From the inner side closest to the galactic center, they’re Dustlight, Terra, Aster, Viayas, and the Desolate Star Region.

Of these, the Desolate and Dustlight Star Regions are the smallest—one has just 30,000 stars, the other 50,000.

Yet those two regions are also the most impoverished and the most prosperous within the Spur.

The other three are all vast—especially the Terra Star Region, with more than ten million stars.

Viayas sits right next to the Desolate Star Region, containing 1.2 million stars.

And this is the Federation’s next target.

You could tell just by the name changes.

Barnard, the star at the heart of the Federation’s defense circle, technically belongs to the Desolate Star Region.

Yet the stationed fleet there was reassigned to the Viayas Warzone.

The Fed’s ambitions were written all over these moves.

It’s just what you’d expect. A growing civilization either pushes forward, or it falls behind.

And falling behind…

Means extinction.

So, it was inevitable—the Federation would expand beyond its borders.

Not just the Viayas Star Region. One day, they’d move on the Terra and even Dustlight Star Regions.

They were all in the Federation’s sights.

Will the Federation ever stop after conquering the Orion Spur?

No. Not even close.

Beyond that, there are still the four main arms. Even if the whole Milky Way was subdued, other galaxies would still be waiting.

From the moment a civilization truly sets foot among the stars, there’s no turning back.

Move forward—or perish!