Chapter 235: Federation on the Brink

The Kovalo Federation.

A tier-2 civilization nestled in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

It claims 27 stars, one natural life-bearing planet, and 72 terraformed habitable worlds.

Their entire territory borders the so-called Forbidden Zone of Civilization.

Yes, in the local tongue of their home region, the Driss Star Region is known as the Forbidden Zone of Civilization.

That’s because they lack any tier-4 civilizations, so they just assume no civilization can enter that region—hence the name.

Right now, the Kovalo Federation is at war.

And their enemies? Three neighboring territories—themselves tier-2 technological civilizations.

“Leader, urgent news from the front—the Vico Line… it’s been breached!”

“What?!”

The leader of the Kovalo Federation, Reynold, stared in disbelief.

Vico Line was the Federation’s most important defense, a project they’d spent more than a hundred years building.

It wasn’t just guarded by thirty thousand warships, but also shielded by a massive defense network.

Frankly, if a tier-2 civilization wanted to break through, they’d need at least a hundred thousand warships and would be nearly wiped out in the process.

So even faced with a three-way alliance, the people of the Kovalo Federation weren’t seriously worried. At least, not at first…

They figured, worst-case scenario, their foreign trade would be completely shut down. But as long as the Vico Line stood, no one could possibly break through.

But now, before the war had even really begun, the Vico front had already fallen?

That’s impossible…

“Leader, according to General Dale’s final report, it looks like the Holy See intervened directly!”

“What!!!”

Reynold’s voice rose again in shock.

That’s right—this war shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

All of it traced back to a new force that had risen up decades ago: a tier-3 civilization called the Pure White Holy See.

Ten years ago, the Holy See sent an ‘invitation’ to every civilization in the region.

But calling it an invitation was generous; it looked much more like a command.

The language made it blatantly clear—this was an order.

It was pure ‘submit and thrive, resist and perish’.

In short, every civilization was expected to convert to the faith of the Pure White Holy See.

The details in that so-called agreement…

Frankly, they made even the Drac Empire over in the Orion Spur seem lenient by comparison.

Facing a tier-3 civilization was already tough for Kovalo, but after a nationwide referendum, over ninety percent of the population rejected the terms. They said they’d rather die than yield.

So, the Kovalo Federation refused.

For years, the Holy See did nothing, as if Kovalo’s refusal didn’t matter at all.

But Reynold barely had a chance to breathe easy.

Suddenly, the three civilizations next door declared war all at once, raising the banner of exterminating all heretics.

Well, that made things crystal clear. Reynold instantly realized what was really happening.

Plus, he’d never received a hint that those three had joined the Holy See.

It caught him completely off guard.

Still, with the Vico Line in place, Reynold wasn’t panicking just yet.

He immediately redeployed fleets and reinforced the troops guarding the three star systems along the Vico defense.

Maybe they couldn’t win outright against all three tier-2 civilizations.

But Reynold was confident he could keep them firmly outside the walls.

And to be fair, Reynold made it happen.

For years, the Kovalo Federation held the line, weathering the combined assault and even costing the enemy over thirty thousand warships at the Vico front.

But now…

The Holy See had stepped in, personally.

“How many ships escaped from the Vico Line?”

“Fewer than three thousand…”

When Reynold heard that number, his heart turned cold.

Over eighty percent of the Federation’s fleets had been stationed on that line, and barely three thousand had gotten out. Their core combat force was all but annihilated.

Worst of all, with the Vico Line gone, the entire Federation was suddenly exposed.

With less than ten thousand warships left, there was simply no way they could mount a defense.

Reynold collapsed into his chair.

And just then, the office doors slammed open.

A staff officer rushed in at a sprint.

“Leader, thirty unknown warships have suddenly appeared in orbit!”

“Suddenly appeared? What about the sentry fleet at the interstellar current mouth?”

Reynold’s eyes burned with anger.

The mess at the front was already bad enough—now this?

Most of their ships had been dispatched to the Vico Line, and the handful that remained were stretched thin across the territory.

But even with these shortages, the capital region still had two thousand warships, and every current mouth entry should have a thousand.

So how had thirty unknown warships managed to slip in?

Was the current mouth sentry fleet just twiddling their thumbs?

“Leader, there wasn’t any activity at the current mouth. These warships just appeared out of nowhere. Monitors show nothing there one second, then the ships are just there the next…”

“That’s impossible! What, did a legendary tier-4 civilization actually show up for real?”

“Uh…”

The staff officer was just as lost, no idea how to respond.

After all, the only forces capable of moving straight to a star system without traveling the current mouth were those mythical tier-4 civilizations.

And yet, there was no civilization of that class anywhere in this star system…

Suddenly, the staff officer felt something and pressed the metal patch behind his ear.

“Leader, just received the latest report. Those unknown warships have sent a message and a language pack. Our people have already decoded their transmission.”

“Just tell me what it says.”

“We are the Human Federation—a tier-4 civilization. We invite your representative aboard to discuss matters in detail.”

……

……

Tier-4 civilization?

He’d just finished arguing with his aide about tier-4 civilizations…

And now, suddenly, a real tier-4 civilization was here?

And it was calling itself the Human Federation?

The Kovalo Federation didn’t know every civilization by name in the galaxy.

But they knew all the tier-3 players. In the entire Large Magellanic Cloud, there were only a few of them.

Reynold was absolutely certain—none of them were called the Human Federation.

So this supposedly tier-4 power couldn’t have just leveled up from tier-3.

Then where had this Human Federation come from?

Wait a minute…

Tier-4 civilization…

If this was all real—maybe, just maybe, his civilization could still be saved.

“Quick, make arrangements! I’m going to their warship myself!”

“Leader, you can’t—It’s too dangerous!”

“That’s nonsense! If I sit here and do nothing, the Kovalo Federation won’t last much longer. And with the Holy See’s stranglehold, those people from the Human Federation—out there in orbit—might be our last hope.”

Reynold slammed a fist on his desk.

He’d made up his mind. If this really was a tier-4 civilization—no matter how much everyone else protested—

He would take matters into his own hands, just this once.