The efficiency of the Iron Cavalry Corps is truly impressive.

When Duanmu Huai and others emerged from the shelter's gate, the insect swarm that originally ravaged the area had completely vanished, and the buzzing of the insects could not be heard anymore. Only the vast swathes of insect corpses revealed how brutal the previous battle was here, though at least for now it seemed the insects had been thoroughly cleaned up.

Of course, this was also because Duanmu Huai had preemptively taken care of the Bug Tide army in space, preventing reinforcements from arriving for the invading insects; otherwise, it might be unclear who would have emerged victorious.

Lumiaire had already locked in the Queen's location, unsurprisingly on this planet, and not far from the group, about half a city's distance. So, Duanmu Huai and his group followed the navigation while leisurely walking and digesting their meal.

At the same time, Duanmu Huai shared his plan with everyone.

"So, Great Judge, you want to recruit these Iron Cavalry?"

Alicia widened her eyes, staring at him.

"Yes, the efficiency of these Iron Cavalry is indeed high. You saw how arrogant those insects were just now, and now they're all eliminated, proving these Iron Cavalry excel at this. The Tribunal indeed needs troops adept at combating insects. Since the Governing Council doesn't intend to keep these Iron Cavalry, they might as well be incorporated into the Tribunal. Plus, I must say, this Iron Cavalry Mecha does have a certain charm."

Duanmu Huai looked contentedly at the design blueprint on the terminal—indeed, it's best to make the most of the situation, and Duanmu Huai did not like returning empty-handed. So, he directly had Lumiaire package a copy of the Gramer Republic's database to bring back, given that the nation was already extinct, and there was no worry about someone asking for copyright fees.

Of course, even if it's not extinct, the Tribunal wouldn't be afraid.

According to Duanmu Huai's plan, he intended to transform the Iron Cavalry akin to the Night Guard. In essence, much like the Night Guard, the clones would possess the Iron Cavalry Mecha and fight.

After all, they've already died.

"How do you plan to solve the breeding issue?"

"Although it's somewhat unfortunate, their Power of Breeding must be erased."

Duanmu Huai shook his head. True, the Power of Breeding is quite useful for rapid troop production, but once it spirals out of control, it causes problems. However, once these Iron Cavalry are transformed into Soul Cards, there's no worry about casualties; they can just be revived from the cemetery. Of course, the specifics will be discussed in detail once he meets with the Queen.

As they talked, they had already crossed the ruins of the streets and arrived at the Queen's location. It must be said, from the outside, it indeed resembled a palace. Compared to the previous scenes of devastation and dilapidated buildings they had seen, this palace was relatively intact.

"Stop!"

Just as Duanmu Huai led the three girls intending to enter, a shout accompanied by an Iron Cavalry descending from the sky landed before them.

"This is the Royal Palace. Unauthorized entry is forbidden... again, it's you?"

"Oh, it's you, what a coincidence."

Despite the Iron Cavalry Mecha concealing the appearance within, Duanmu Huai could guess the identity by the voice—after all, they knew only that one Iron Cavalry.

"We have matters to discuss with Her Majesty the Queen. Does she have any time?"

"Now?"

Faced with Duanmu Huai's answer, the Mecha Girl was somewhat surprised. She paused for a moment, seemingly communicating via some method, then nodded.

"Her Majesty agrees to meet you. Please follow me."

Subsequently, the Mecha Girl led the group into the Royal Palace's entrance.

The originally closed metal doors slowly opened, revealing the cold, inorganic white light within, and as the group followed the Mecha Girl inside, seeing the interior scene, the three girls widened their eyes in surprise, even Duanmu Huai raised his brows in curiosity.

The entire Royal Palace felt like a massive greenhouse. Only this greenhouse didn't cultivate vegetables or fruits, but rather large, oval-shaped incubation pods. Through the transparent glass, one could see the silhouette of girls inside these pods, resembling the Mecha Girl they had seen before.

Indeed, it's redundant to say because it's cloned; if they weren't the same, it would be gene mutation.

These oval-shaped incubation pods resembled clusters of large grapes, densely covering the walls and surroundings; this scene alone was astounding to behold.

"Hmm, not bad, indeed impressive, truly the handiwork of humans."

Duanmu Huai crossed his arms, nodding satisfactorily at the spectacle. Regardless of which world's humans, when they pull out all the stops, it truly is remarkable. One can imagine, when this device runs at full capacity, the number of Iron Cavalry it can produce would amount to thousands.

No wonder the Gramer Republic dared to challenge the Star Gods with mortal bodies; they indeed knew a thing or two.

Duanmu Huai had no opinion on the Gramer Governing Council's decisions, but at least they truly achieved this, and based on that alone deserves Duanmu Huai's respect.

Led by the Mecha Girl, they proceeded onwards, observing the incubation rooms, mecha assembly areas, and even practice venues for training. It could be said the Royal Palace was more akin to a large automated factory, overseeing the entire process from birth to Iron Cavalry formation. Essentially, a clone emerges from the incubation pod, makes a round through the palace, and leaves as a Gramer Iron Cavalry.

This automated production line was indeed intriguing; Duanmu Huai might not understand it, but if Maria were here, she'd probably drool...

Finally, they arrived at the council chamber.

Compared to other places, this spot did have a regal atmosphere. Heavy drapes descended from the high dome, and under the lighting, a figure sitting behind the drapes could be vaguely seen. Just witnessing this scene alone, there was indeed an air of majesty.

"Your Majesty, the guests have arrived."

The Mecha Girl knelt on the ground and reported in a low voice.

"Understood, you may withdraw..."

A distant, deep voice came through, and the Mecha Girl quickly bowed, stood up, and left the council hall. At this time, Duanmu Huai stepped forward, approaching the foot of the throne, staring at the figure before him. Meanwhile, the voice sounded again.

"Traveler from afar... What is your intention here...?"

"I don't waste time with useless talk, so let's get straight to the point."

Duanmu Huai never indulged in diplomatic rhetoric, as the Tribunal's stance was that whatever belonged to you also belonged to them, and whatever was theirs was still theirs; whatever caught their eye had to be given, whether willingly or not.

"You have no future staying here, why not join the Tribunal instead?"

"..............."

Listening to Duanmu Huai's words, Alicia slapped her forehead in disbelief, while Lumiaire remained silent, and Mugeng simply shook his head without speaking.

Although their reactions differed, the underlying meaning was the same.

Is this how you talk?

Lumiaire was better off, having been acquainted with Duanmu Huai for a long time, knowing that he was infamous for his infuriating manner of speaking, but Alicia and Mugeng were struggling to hold it together.

Are you sure we're here for recruitment, not causing trouble?

Are we not about to start a fight?

Mugeng had already quietly gripped his sword hilt, while Alicia took two steps backward.

If a fight breaks out later, at least don't dirty my clothes.

"..............."

Even the Queen probably didn't expect Duanmu Huai to be so direct, leaving her momentarily speechless. After a brief pause, her voice sounded again.

"Thank you for your offer... Traveler... But... this... is everything to us..."

With the Queen's words, the previously concealed curtain slowly rose, revealing everything hidden behind it to the four.

What they saw was completely beyond their expectations.

A silver-haired woman quietly sat on the throne, and behind her, dozens of pipelines hung down from the ceiling, running along the walls and connecting to the throne. Even visible were various points on the silver-haired woman's body hooked up to all sorts of lines, resembling a patient in the ICU. Her body was emaciated to the bone, and even her face appeared skeletal, like skin tightly bound around a skull.

"So, this is how the Governance Council uses the Power of Breeding."

Seeing this scene, Duanmu Huai was not overly surprised, silently nodding. After all, being an Insect King within the swarm structure was no easy task—consider bees and ants, where the queen, despite being a ruler, exists entirely for reproduction. Just like the silver-haired woman before him, everything was mechanically extracted from her, nourishing the soldier bees, leading her to naturally become this ghostly sight as the mother body.

"As you see... We cannot leave here, this is our Imperial... Gramer Empire... We will protect it... Until the very last moment comes..."

"But, the empire does not exist."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand dismissively.

"When trees move, they die; when people move, they live. Your complete annihilation here does not align with the Tribunal's interest; in the Tribunal's view, you hold better value. So, truly, won't you reconsider?"

"We... have... no... choice..."

The Queen's voice was intermittent, deep, and filled with authority.

"The Insect Swarm is about to arrive... This will soon become the place of ultimate demise..."

"Oh........."

Duanmu Huai stroked his chin.

"Then if I handle the Insect Swarm for you, would you be willing to submit to the Tribunal?"

"..............."

This time, the Queen fell silent for a long time.

"However... I have one condition..."

Then, she spoke again.

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