This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 456: Dusk Banquet: Abel's Enlightenment

According to Reynolds, the Colossus is a powerful single-unit combat machine.

300X, this energy level is comparable to that of an X-level life form that has embarked on the ultimate path.

Li Ming thought that the ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization were indeed a treasure trove for mechanics.

The combat effectiveness of a mechanical body comes from many aspects, the most important of which is the strength of its own material, which determines its energy conduction and load limit.

Due to the upper limit of materials science, the hardest material currently available should be the "Zero Zone Alloy" released by the Covenant three years ago, with a hardness standard of 1000X.

Theoretically, it can withstand attacks at 1000X energy level without deformation.

Perhaps many special materials excavated from the ruins of civilization may be stronger, but they are difficult to reproduce and are not under consideration.

[Zero-zone alloy] is a marginal additional product produced by the gap in space-time distortion. Its synthesis process is extremely accidental and difficult to reproduce.

This thing is just a raw material. The molecules are super inert, the energy conductivity is below 20%, and its application scenarios are not wide.

Moreover, there are almost no conventional means to shape it into other shapes, so it is just a symbol of technological breakthrough.

The materials that can truly be used in the construction of mechanical bodies and are qualified in terms of hardness and energy conduction efficiency are not the ones with the highest strength.

The difficulty of creating an X-class mechanical body is beyond imagination. It requires a large number of auxiliary technology trees to reach a certain level. It is considered to be the culmination of various industrial bases and intelligent applications, but the benefits are not as high as imagined.

At present, there is almost no mechanical body in the interstellar space that can possess the energy level strength comparable to that of X-level life forms that have embarked on the ultimate path.

That's why when he was wearing the tank guards and armed with the guards, and was almost able to beat Ryan, it caused such a big reaction.

The ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization have value precisely because of this. If they can find breakthrough materials, it will be very useful to them...

No... Thinking of this, Li Ming shook his head. It was of great significance to Reynolds and Mikhail, the two master craftsmen.

"Well... according to Mikhail, the Red River flood covering that area should theoretically dissipate after half a year. However, taking into account unexpected circumstances, it would be best to set off after three or four months..."

Li Ming pondered and decided that he must go to the ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization.

To him, it was also a paradise. Even if there was no gain, it was still a huge treasure trove of metal energy.

Not to mention that judging by the reactions from Mikhail and Reynolds, there are a lot of good things to be found when picking up trash.

"If it takes three or four months, I think I can upgrade another mechanical guard."

He stared at the model in front of him. This exploration was different from previous ones. The three major civilizations would also send people, and their strength level would probably not be low. It was hard to guarantee that there would be no conflicts in the process.

"However, deep in the Red River Star Stream, things are much easier to do, and the genetic source may be found there."

Li Ming pondered as energy particles surged. He was about to communicate with the Holy Castle and hone his combat skills when the smart terminal on the side vibrated slightly.

Li Ming paused slightly, picked it up and glanced at it, his expression suddenly became strange, then he gave a few instructions, stood up and walked out of the meeting room and came to the reception room.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Ulrich opened the door, followed by two life forms in gray and yellow robes.

He was very tall, with fair skin, the kind of white that comes from not seeing the sun for years. He had no eyebrows and a bald head. He had deep eyes and an indescribable temperament.

The Dusk Followers, Anatoly's subordinates. It is rumored that Anatoly's evolutionary system is special and mixed with many things. This kind of believers is one of the most critical evolutionary paths.

"Sir Li Ming..." One of them spoke with a strange accent, holding a gray-yellow box about one meter long in his hand.

"Thank you for coming from far away and your hard work..." Li Ming nodded.

"You're welcome. This is an invitation letter. Please pass it to His Excellency Qinglong." The other party handed over the box with a calm expression.

"Don't worry." Li Ming took it. The other party clasped his hands in front of his chest, performed some strange etiquette, and turned away silently.

Ulrich nodded at him and quickly followed.

"Invitation..." Li Ming muttered and looked down at the box in his hand. It was a wooden box that exuded a sweet fragrance.

Even without opening it, Li Ming already knew what was inside. This was an invitation letter from Anatoly, the vice president of the United Organization of Higher Life Forms, His Excellency the Dusk Hermit.

We are planning to hold a joint banquet one year from now.

He looked it up and found out that the outside world called it the Dusk Banquet, and it was also very famous among the top leaders of the entire interstellar space.

The gifts are distributed personally by Anatoly's followers of the Dusk once every hundred years. Since higher life forms have a weak sense of time, they are generally distributed one year in advance.

There are many people who like to hold similar banquets, but not many can actually do it. It is a good opportunity to expand your network.

The people invited are basically the famous X-class life forms and S-class life forms with great potential.

But the last time the Dusk Banquet was held was more than three hundred years ago.

It is said that the reason was that the gathering of these higher life forms aroused the fear of the three major civilizations, which jointly suppressed it, resulting in a suspension of three hundred years.

Now that the joint organization of higher life forms has been established, this kind of banquet can naturally be restarted.

"Stick together..." He thought of what Anduin said, that after the emergence of the united organization of higher life forms, under the premise that no ultimate life forms appear, the future interstellar will definitely tend to stick together.

Higher life forms will form a small group, which will in turn promote closer ties between civilizations.

Anatoly has already begun to make plans in order to maintain a considerable voice in the future expansion of the United Organization of Higher Life Forms.

He opened the wooden box in front of him, and wisps of energy particles floated out, forming a dark yellow sun symbol that emitted a dull yellow glow. Inside was a piece of light yellow thin paper.

"Light-track paper..." Li Ming recognized the material of the paper at a glance; it was quite precious.

I took it out and saw a few words written in the interstellar universal language -
[Your Excellency Qinglong is cordially invited to attend the joint banquet one year later...]

“You’re very polite…” Li Ming glanced at it and saw that it didn’t say how to refuse, as if it implied that he would go.

"Ok?"

Li Ming's eyes moved slightly. Under the invitation letter, there was a small piece of paper.
"In a month, I will hold a preliminary tasting event with various rare interstellar ingredients. I hope you will come. I know that you have been paying attention to some secret information recently."

"Interesting..." Li Ming looked at the two pieces of paper, one large and one small. In the highly developed interstellar age, it felt a bit strange to use paper to transmit information.

The Dusk Banquet is a big banquet, and attending it does not mean standing on the same side as Anatoly.

But this tasting session may be different and extremely private.

The Dusk Banquet was once quite popular. By the last session, the number of X-level life forms in attendance had exceeded thirty.

This time, the invitation is renewed, combined with the establishment of a joint organization of higher life forms, and the momentum is likely to increase.

"Do you know that I've been paying attention to some secret information recently?" Li Ming glanced at it again, his eyes flickering. Boom - red flames burst out from the paper, and in a moment, it turned into ashes.

"I hate the Riddler the most..." Li Ming shook his head. He would definitely not go to this tasting event. The other party wanted to win him over, but he didn't make it clear.

If he was given a clear price, he would be interested in making the trip, but now he'd better give up, as he might get it for free.

As for the Sunset Banquet, we have to wait for another year and we will talk about it then.

Li Ming casually threw the box into the display cabinet in the reception room. This was just a small episode. After dealing with it, Li Ming returned to the room and continued to develop and communicate with the Holy Castle.

.........

Empire Homeworld
"Your Highness..."

A man hurriedly walked through the palace corridor and came to the deepest room. He knelt down with a plop and said in a trembling voice: "Just got the news - Marquez died in the battlefield of Krendia."

"What!?" Abel's pupils suddenly dilated, his expression gloomy, and he shouted coldly: "The highest level of Krendia's rebels is only A-level life forms, and he is an S-level life form, how could he die?"

"The battle report said that Major General Marquez acted on his own will and drove a small spaceship into the battle line, but he was ultimately killed," the subordinate reported cautiously.

"You insist on having your own way?" Abel couldn't help but sneer. "What a corpse! My brothers are afraid that I will develop any power at all."

"Ever since the incident of Dominating the Holy Elephant ended, most of my people have been cleared out by them."

The men prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to speak.

"I understand. Send condolences to his family in my name." Abel quickly calmed down and said calmly.

The men nodded and left cautiously. Abel was the only one left in the room. His expression suddenly became ferocious, and his voice was almost squeezed out of his throat: "You are going too far. You even dared to kill my fighting teacher!"

After saying that, he became somewhat dejected again. Although he was accidentally tricked in the incident of commanding the Holy Elephant, that was something no one had expected and it was not his fault.

Moreover, the highest person in charge that day was Costat, and with Ryan's interference, he could not be held accountable.

In any case, he obtained the Holy Castle's trajectory calculation program and clues about the Star of Eternal Silence, and was highly praised by his father.

His brothers had a good understanding of each other and, seeing this, joined forces to kill all the subordinates he had trained with great difficulty.

"But, the battle between the Holy Emperors has always been like this..." Abel took a long breath, restrained his emotions, and various thoughts intertwined in his mind.

Although he has always behaved maturely and steadily and has been favored by many people, it is just optimism.

Each of his brothers is as good as him, and some are even stronger than him.

Age is a fatal flaw. He develops dozens or even hundreds of years later than others, and he does not have a strong maternal family to support him. It is nothing less than a foolish dream for him to want to reach the supreme position.

But Abel was not discouraged, because there was a Holy Emperor with a similar background to him right in front of him - his father Adam.

Although Adam’s age is not the youngest, he is not much better than him. However, he was able to ascend to the throne of the Holy Emperor step by step. What did he rely on?
It's an external force. If his father can do it, why can't he do it?
Do you really want to do this? There is struggle and hesitation in his eyes.

Finally, his eyes gradually became firm, and his gaze finally fixed on a group photo on the table. Next to him was the calm-looking Marquez, his fighting teacher.

Take out the smart terminal, set up the shielding equipment, find a contact, and initiate communication.

No one answered the phone at the first time, but he was not in a hurry and just waited quietly.

……

"I can barely withstand the beating from four Yuan tribe members..." Li Ming opened his eyes and took a long breath. His muscles couldn't stop shaking. Energy particles suddenly dissipated and then became more and more violent.

The mental fluctuations induce a physical reaction, making the body think that it is still in a battle.

After adjusting his state, he found that someone on the Black Hole Network had contacted him, and it was Li Ming's account.

"Abel?" Li Ming raised his eyebrows, quite surprised. After thinking about it, he called back.

The call was connected quickly and a screen popped up.

Li Ming's tone was very familiar, "Your Highness, why did you suddenly think of contacting me? Do you want to exchange information?"

Abel seldom exchanged information with him, and he always adhered to a certain bottom line. The last time they exchanged information was when Ryan died.

Abel said in a dull voice, "I heard that your teacher destroyed the lair of the conservative faction of the Virgin Mary Church not long ago?"

"You all know about this?" Li Ming couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this. No one on his side knew the news. The only one who could have leaked it was the Holy Mother Church.

It's all seeped in like a sieve. He shook his head secretly.

And Abel continued, "The conservatives control the remaining power of the Holy Mother Church within the empire. Your teacher should have the list."

"Oh?" Li Ming did not comment, but suddenly realized that Abel came here for this matter.

The value of that list to him was not that great, and using any one of them alone would hardly have any impact.

After all, the people on the list are just other people’s wives.

But for Abel, it was completely different.

"I want that list. Name your price." Abel said straight to the point.

Li Ming couldn't help but laugh. Ha, he liked dealing with people like this.

"Ask me a price?" He said slowly, "Your Highness, you should think carefully about what you can do for me. I ask you to transfer 10 trillion star coins to me. Can you do it?"

Abel was choked and snorted unnoticeably. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I do have some information related to your teacher."

“Tell me about it…” Li Ming’s reaction was indifferent.

"Just let me get it straight?" Abel asked.

"This is a question of trust. By the way, Ryan's death should be kept secret within the empire." Li Ming suddenly mentioned this matter. "This information is actually not very useful to me, but for you, there is a lot of room for maneuver."

"Just tell me first. Don't worry, I'll estimate a suitable price."

When this matter was mentioned, Abel fell silent. Ryan's death was indeed of great value.

He knew that many people in the royal family were secretly investigating Ryan's whereabouts, but he never offered it to anyone for a trade.

Abel's expression changed, he hesitated to speak, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "...It's the Holy Castle..."

(End of this chapter)