With a tumultuous resolve to sweep across the entire galaxy and become the true overlord of the Galactic Empire, it simply vanished without a trace. When the Iridium Star United Empire secured a complete victory in the Orion Arm campaign, and millions of Galactic Empire warships were destroyed, the Galactic Emperor just... disappeared silently.
The ten heads who had taken over the Prime Minister's Office were completely baffled. They not only found that the Galactic Emperor no longer issued any commands to them, but the Crystal Cube Cores given to them by the emperor had also vanished. This meant that the various civilizations had regained control over their own fleets.
The Prime Minister's Office, led by the ten giants, could still maintain the structure of the Galactic Empire. After all, they had been the actual controllers of the High Council before this. However, they never anticipated that, while they were in a wait-and-see stance, the second Swarm began its campaign of destruction against civilizations in the galaxy.
Without engaging in conventional space warfare and in unimaginable numbers, capable of launching attacks in Great Star Zones light-years apart, such Swarms almost confirmed everyone's imagination of a calamity: the Swarm, inherently malicious and bloodthirsty.
Even the civilizations of the ten unassailable giants were at a loss when suddenly facing such an enemy. Several civilizations tried various methods to combat these insect eggs, but the insectoids often evolved quickly to become immune to the previously effective strategies, leading to consistent failure in attempts to fight them.
Especially when the Insectoids seized the warships and other weapons of the civilizations, those with memories and knowledge of their original hosts began to use these weapons against their previous owners.
The Swarm established by Zero and Bai Zhongqi followed an anti-biomimetic path, allowing Enslaved Beasts to become functional devices, machinery or warships, while the Insectoids resembled a method that enabled them to operate these tools. Without the need to manufacture or even understand the technology, the Insectoids could still cause destructive effects with these tools, and that was enough.
As for what the Galactic Emperor said about being the fourth calamity, Bai Zhongqi didn't quite understand. Phrases like "the fourth calamity" never had any place in the civilizations of the galaxy, and it was even unclear if there had been any such thing in the past, but the term certainly existed.
Commander Porte Concepcion, with due reverence, said to Bai Zhongqi, "Chancellor, we the people of Porte Concepcion are keen on our independence and freedom, so we oppose entities like the High Council and the Galactic Empire. Yet now, the galaxy faces the greatest disaster in its history. After the merging of galaxies and rampant calamities, the Swarm, AI, and Void Demons could each potentially destroy all civilizations in the galaxy. This is exactly when the galaxy needs a strong leader. Clearly, the Galactic Emperor is not such a person; he doesn't care about the survival of civilizations and sacrifices warriors and citizens at will. Nobody respects that. Not to mention, we have no idea where he is right now. If Iridium Star, capable of opposing the Galactic Empire alone, could assume the leadership to lead a counter-offensive and restore the rightful order of the galaxy, I believe many civilizations would support your leadership."
Bai Zhongqi was quite taken aback by Porte's suggestion. He laughed and said, "What you say sounds like a trap to me. Not long ago, the entire galaxy considered me the public enemy of the galaxy, resolved to exterminate us Iridium Star people. Even before the Galactic Emperor disappeared, he accused me of being the fourth calamity. But now, you want me to lead the civilizations of the galaxy? Isn't that a bit ironic?"
Porte did not laugh, "Indeed, it requires some diplomatic effort. But at least Porte Concepcion would support Iridium Star. Every civilization faces the threat of extinction at this moment, and Iridium Star can offer not just leadership but their future."
After considering, Bai Zhongqi still couldn't easily give an affirmative answer and simply replied, "Such matters I shall leave to the diplomats. As to the forming of substantive cooperative relations, I have no expectations. As for the Swarm, I will certainly fight them, and of course, the ten giants and the Fallen Empire as well."
Porte nodded, "Porte Concepcion will assist Iridium Star in its diplomatic efforts. We own one of the four major news agencies in the galaxy, the Pine and Cypress Agency, which will spread the news that Iridium Star is willing to organize a counter-calamity operation to all the desperate civilizations."
Bai Zhongqi felt that Porte was perhaps too wishful thinking, but he didn't mind. He came here full of fervor to face off against the Galactic Emperor's great army, only to find that the emperor had vanished and four of the ten giants were cripple. Yet new enemies had emerged, with forces of three calamities appearing. If he didn't deal with them, the galaxy might indeed meet its end.
He had heard about the AI civilization from Emerald Sea. It was a burden he had to bear himself— a civilization composed of former Star Alliance's S-class AIs combined with Brain Worms, likely having their own motives for conquering other civilizations. Relatively speaking, negotiating with, or even fighting, this AI civilization, Bai Zhongqi felt, would be the least difficult. Despite having wiped out many civilizations, the current phase of this AI civilization probably hadn't reached level 30 yet.
The disaster wrought by the second Swarm goes without saying. If given the chance, the second Swarm might consume all life in the galaxy. It's in their instinct, and there's no point or possibility of negotiation. All civilizations are targets of the Swarm, Bai Zhongqi doesn't want the galaxy to become a barren wasteland. Besides, there is an inherent antagonism between the two Swarms, so he is definitely determined to defeat the second Swarm.
As for the Void Demons, they are also very odious opponents. Bai Zhongqi has little experience dealing with Void Demons, but he knows that wherever these monsters appear, they cause massive spatial fractures, rendering a place unsuitable for travel and habitation—effectively reducing the habitable volume of the universe, which is nearly as disastrous as what the Swarm brings.
Zero chuckled teasingly at Bai Zhongqi, "To go from the most wanted public enemy of the galaxy to the Savior who saves the galaxy from disaster, isn't that quite the quick turnaround?"
Bai Zhongqi didn't express any self-satisfaction, "It's too early to say anything for certain. How many civilizations are willing to is still up in the air, and I don't really have any expectations for this matter."