The other eight leaders of the Yinglong Pirate Group turned to Qi Mu, waiting for him to explain.

Lei Hengbang’s question was shared by everyone else.

Qi Mu controlled the only force in the Yinglong Pirate Group capable of challenging the regular fleets of other nations. His position was second only to Lei Hengbang’s. He was known for his integrity and generosity. He always prioritized the group’s interests. He rarely used his power for personal gain. In the past, whenever someone suggested expanding the Chiyou Fleet, Qi Mu would respond: “The Yinglong Pirate Group doesn’t have much wealth. The Panhua tribe’s descendants face difficult lives across the universe. We’ve just started accumulating some wealth, so we should save it for other purposes. Also, the balance of power in the Pirate Nebula is stable, and the Chiyou Fleet is enough to handle any emergencies. Plus, maintaining warships is expensive, and there’s no need to waste money on ships that won’t be useful.”

Now, however, he suddenly wanted to expand the Chiyou Fleet. This surprised everyone and raised questions.

“Look for yourselves,” Qi Mu said. He didn’t answer directly. He pressed a black button, and a white light projected a message: "To the Yinglong Pirate Group Chiyou Fleet Command: The nations around the Pirate Nebula are in constant conflict, with the possibility of war. This may affect our group’s safety. The Teuton Pirate Group has decided to increase the number of main ships in the ‘Temple Fleet’ to 30,000. This message is to inform you as agreed."

The Pirate Nebula was located in the Yumen Star system, part of the Panhua Empire, the third-largest empire in the universe. It was an important area, near a busy part of space. The Pirate Nebula bordered many nations and was a key stop for space travel. Many civilian and commercial ships used it as a refueling point. Although intelligent beings could travel faster than light, it consumed a lot of energy. Most civilian ships could only make jumps of around 500,000 light years. The Pirate Nebula’s diameter was 520,000 light years. So, many ships had to jump inside the Pirate Nebula. At first, people feared pirate attacks and quickly made a second jump to escape. Some ships ran out of energy and got lost in hyperspace.

Over time, these incidents became common. They caught the attention of nearby nations, who began considering joint action to destroy the pirates. After evaluating the situation, they realized that defeating the pirates would be easy. However, the Pirate Nebula had been destroyed during the First Cosmic War. All the life and resource planets were wiped out. Once they defeated the pirates, what would they do with the region? From a national perspective, it was a useless wasteland. No nation wanted to send fleets to maintain order. Without a fleet, pirates would soon take control again. At this point, the pirates offered the "Win-Win Agreement" to space explorers. The nations decided to let private organizations negotiate with the pirates and adjust the terms of the agreement. Afterward, civilian and commercial ships passing through the Pirate Nebula would pay a fee to avoid being robbed, similar to paying protection money.

The arrangement worked well. The pirates agreed because they feared retaliation from the governments. The first time they robbed space explorers, the surrounding nations nearly wiped them out, and the pirates didn’t want that to happen again.

Over time, the Pirate Nebula became a strange place. Pirates no longer robbed ships within it. Instead, they collected protection money and taxes from space explorers. When they wanted to rob, they went to other star systems. The Pirate Nebula eventually became the headquarters of various pirate groups.

This unusual situation soon attracted the interest of several nations. The universe has always had both light and darkness. These nations realized they could use the pirates for secret operations. The Pirate Nebula’s location was crucial. A behind-the-scenes negotiation began, and the main pirate groups found their backers. The Teuton Pirate Group’s backer was the Alemann Republic, the third-largest economy in the universe.

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"Humph! This must be the work of Adolf John, the new prime minister of the Alemann Republic," Lei Hengbang said angrily.

“Don’t worry, Captain,” said Shi Mo, the Minister of History. He adjusted his glasses. “The Alemann Republic’s predecessor, the Alemann Empire, betrayed our Panhua Empire during the First Cosmic War. They worked with other nations behind our backs. This is their tradition—to abandon any ally for their own benefit.”

The History Department was responsible for preserving the culture of the Panhua Empire. It collected information about the old empire’s customs, art, stories, and laws. These materials were printed as books for the descendants of the Panhua tribe in the Yinglong Pirate Group to study. This helped increase their pride and unity. The rest of the universe had erased all records of the Panhua Empire. Any non-approved information was deleted from the universal network.

“Hey, what’s going on with Old He?” asked He Tiezhou, the Director of Public Security. “I never read the books your department publishes. It’s easier to use the internet.”

"You..." Shi Mo’s face immediately showed his displeasure. He was a strong believer in ancient Panhua culture. Hearing one of the leaders admit he didn’t read the books his department produced upset him. He felt frustrated. Only Lei Hengbang and Qi Mu seemed to care about the books. The others likely never read them. He Tiezhou, however, was blunt and asked questions. The others kept their thoughts hidden. The universal network was far more convenient than the books produced by the History Department.

Shi Mo sighed. He thought to himself, "Is our great Panhua Empire really going to disappear? If our descendants don’t care about their history and culture, how can we hope to revive it?"

“Old Shi, just explain,” Lei Hengbang said. "Consider it a history lesson for us."

“Alright,” Shi Mo agreed and began explaining.

The First Cosmic War started when a count from the Alemann Empire, inspecting the newly annexed Sara Star, was killed by a Rasfu nationalist. This event sparked the war.

After the assassination, the Alemann Empire declared war on the Yaviel National Republic.

The reason was that the main ethnic group in the Sara Star and the neighboring Segwei Star systems were the Rasfu people. They had been trying to break away from the Alemann Empire and join the Yaviel National Republic to form their own nation.

The Alemann Empire used the "Sara Star assassination" as an excuse to attack the Yaviel National Republic. This would prevent the Rasfu people from seeking independence and allow the Alemann Empire to expand its territory. The region also had valuable resources, particularly the "Xi" minerals, which were used to power military weapons.

The "Xi" minerals contained high-energy crystals, essential for weapons like magnetic rifles, lasers, and particle guns.

The Alemann Empire was a rising power. Its main people, the Mansur, were known for their disciplined, methodical work. They perfected industrial products that other civilizations had stopped improving, making their goods highly sought after. As a result, Alemann’s economy grew rapidly and surpassed the older powers, Saxon Kingdom and Faklu Republic, in just a few thousand years.

However, Alemann faced resistance from the older powers. The Saxon Kingdom and Faklu Republic were pioneers in space exploration. They were the first to discover the space energy formula, allowing them to become a Level 5 civilization. With this advantage, they expanded by colonizing many Level 4 civilizations, growing wealthy and powerful for millions of years. However, as technology stagnated, many Level 4 civilizations began upgrading to Level 5. They resented Saxon and Faklu for their colonial rule.

Seeing this shift, Saxon and Faklu changed their strategy. They formed economic alliances with other nations, buying off elites and upper classes.

One new Level 5 civilization, the Byute United States, rose to prominence by focusing solely on business and avoiding any political ambitions. This allowed them to attract money and talent, making them the wealthiest nation in the universe.

Alemann, however, was located in the most prosperous part of space. It constantly expanded, seeking dominance. Once it reached Level 5, its ambitions to conquer the universe grew.