Sage Monarch

More and more experts in mechas appeared, who the patriarchs on the Cruiser of Civilization welcomed with open arms. As the mechas' visors opened, the experts' faces were revealed.

The leader was a handsome young man who was obviously taller than the average Mechfolk. He radiated a sensation of nobility and royalty, and even his mecha seemed unusual. Apparently he was an important person among the Mechfolk.

"Someone from the imperial house!"

When the patriarchs realized whose presence they were in, they all respectfully bowed their heads.

"Our respects, Prince! It's a true honor to have someone like you come to meet us."

When the prince noticed that Yang Qi hadn't bowed his head, his eyes flickered with displeasure. Looking back at the Mechfolk patriarchs, he said, "It's good that you haven't forgotten about the ancient protocols. It's quite proper for you to show respect to those with imperial blood. You've performed a great service by bringing back an object from the ancient mechanical civilization. You actually found a fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization! We'll take this fragment to the parliament of elders to be researched and studied. Of course, this matter is classified and can't be revealed to any outsider."

"Uh…." The patriarchs' faces twitched a bit as they realized that this prince intended to take the spacecraft from them. Considering it was an incredible specimen of technology from the mechanical civilization, they were loath to simply relinquish control of it.

But in the end, this was a prince with noble blood, a person all Mechfolk would instinctively offer allegiance to.

"What, not happy?" the prince said. "You discovered this spacecraft, so it's only natural you would think of it as your personal property. But unfortunately, it's beyond your ability to research and study. We'll be notifying almighty members of our people from thirty-third ranked immortal worlds to come deal with it. This will allow us Mechfolk as a whole to advance by leaps and bounds. Soon, we will control all the immortal worlds and restore the glories of the ancient civilization! Don't worry, you'll be rewarded for your services. You'll be given titles, and who knows—after the research is concluded, you might even end up in the imperial clan."

One of the warriors standing behind the prince stepped forward aggressively and said, "Don't tell me you're going to defy the prince?! Rebel against the Mechfolk!?"

"Of course not!" one of the patriarchs said, offering a respectful salute. "We would never betray our people. We entered the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart a million years ago to look for this fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization. The entire time since then, we've ruminated about how to further serve our civilization. It couldn't be more of an honor to offer this treasure to you, Prince."

"What!?" the prince blurted. "You came from the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart? But it only opens once every ten thousand years, and although it's easy to enter, leaving is a different matter. How did you get out?" The prince had instantly identified what seemed like a big hole in their story.

It seemed this prince was a clever individual, and wouldn't be easy for Yang Qi to deal with.

"It's all thanks to our new friend here," one of the patriarchs said. "Without him to save us, we would have died at the hands of a vicious fiend-devil in the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Prince, this new friend of ours is incredibly strong, and he also has three of King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, allowing him to get in and out of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart at will. Unfortunately, we're being chased by someone else who also has three of the legacy medallions."

"Exactly," added another patriarch. "Prince, we really hope that you'll offer a handsome reward to our new friend. He's a powerful ally to us Mechfolk."

"What? He can get in and out of the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart?! He has King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions?!"

All eyes instantly locked on to Yang Qi.

RUMBLE!

One of the warriors couldn't control himself. Stepping forward, he said, "Alright, brat, you refused to offer respect to our prince, and that's a crime. That itself cancels out any services you've performed. Hand over those legacy medallions. And you patriarchs, since you're on the side of our prince, lock down this spacecraft immediately to make sure this brat can't escape!"

"This…."

The mood instantly changed.

The patriarchs knew exactly what was happening. This prince wanted King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions, which was little surprise considering how much of a temptation the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart was. After all, they had found this fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization in there, and there were likely other fragments yet to be discovered.

"No!" one of the patriarchs blurted. "Prince, he's offered us immense help! You can't repay a benefactor's kindness with hostility!"

"Hmph! This is all for our people! You know how difficult it's been for us Mechfolk to drift to and fro among the immortal worlds for hundreds of millions of years! In the beginning, we were always on the run, always being chased and killed. Eventually, we built a trade empire, and yet, there are always powerful entities who ignore our rules, who rob us and steal from us. Do you know how many of our people have been killed because we lack power?!"

Another of the Mechfolk warriors stepped forward. Glaring at Yang Qi, as if he was worried he might flee, he began setting up a deadly spell formation.

"That's exactly right," the prince said. "Friend, I don't want to cause problems for you. But the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart has more remnants of the mechanical civilization. They belong to us, and we can't allow them to fall into the hands of others. Please, cooperate with us. We'll simply put you under house arrest until we finish clearing out the Myriad Worlds Monarch Chart. Then you can be on your way."

"I'd advise you to not struggle," one of the other warriors said, grinning viciously. "Otherwise we'll grind you into a bloody paste. Incidentally, that's my specialty. I love crushing people into nothing."

The mood was growing more tense, with killing energy surging. It seemed like fighting might break out at any moment.

As far as Yang Qi was concerned, these people were ungrateful curs. Apparently, there were degenerates everywhere, even among the Mechfolk. Smiling coldly, he turned to look at the patriarchs he had just recently saved. "What's your stance in all this? Are you really going to kick your benefactor in the teeth? Return evil for good?"

Face flushed with embarrassment, one of the patriarchs said, "Er, friend, that's not what we want…."

"Listen, you lot," the prince said, taking a step forward. "All of this is for our people. Seize this man! Use the powers of the Cruiser of Civilization to bind him. That's an order! For the services you've performed, you'll be well rewarded. You'll become important people among the Mechfolk. Maybe you'll even be appointed as princes!"

At first, they hesitated. But then one of the patriarchs made up his mind.

"For our people!" he shouted. "Maybe we have to kick our benefactor in the teeth, but that's a price we're willing to pay. Sorry, friend. I promise that we won't kill you. Just hand over King Immortal-Slayer's legacy medallions and you'll live!"

"To the photonic computers!"

"War of Civilization, activate!"

"Space-Time Fetters!"

The patriarchs all leaped to activate various functions of the ship. Instantly, the Cruiser of Civilization trembled and streams of bright light shot toward Yang Qi.

In response, he laughed. "So, you really are a bunch of ungrateful curs. I saved you, and this is how you treat me? Fine, I won't be courteous. What's more, I'm going to take this fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization. And I'm also going to make you my slaves! You're going to be making new mechas for me soon!"

RUMBLE!

When the streams of light hit Yang Qi, they didn't actually bind him up. Instead, something very strange happened. The voice of the photonic computers began to speak.

[Power compatibility, one hundred percent. Drawing on the mechanical legacy of the creator…. Beginning the binding process. Binding countdown initiated. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six….]

All of a sudden, all of the hatches in the Cruiser of Civilization slammed shut.

RUMBLE!

No matter what the patriarchs did, the photonic computers of the Cruiser of Civilization wouldn't follow any of their commands. Instead, they were listening to Yang Qi.

He was the new captain of the ship.

"What exactly is going on here?" shrieked one of the patriarchs. "We took control of the photonic computers a million years ago! We run this ship! How could it be binding itself to him? How is he doing this?"

Yang Qi snorted. "You think trash like you can control the high-level technology from the ancient mechanical civilization? My power is one hundred percent compatible with the Cruiser of Civilization. I could have drawn on its full potential earlier, but I held back out of politeness. Now you've forced my hand. Death isn't good enough for backstabbers like you!"

Yang Qi had realized much earlier that, if he wanted, he could simply take this fragment of the Cruiser of Civilization. His will and nascent divinity had already connected with the photonic computers, which recognized him as the rightful captain of the ship.

But not even he had thought he would need to use those abilities like this.

"Kill him!" the prince shrieked in terror. "Kill him this instant! If he takes full control of this ship fragment, we won't be a match for him. This thing was designed to fight the legion of gods! Heaven-Warrior Battle-Mecha! Profound Myriad Transformations!"

The warriors all lunged toward Yang Qi. But before they could reach him, he suddenly vanished. Then a stream of light wrapped around all the Mechfolk, transporting them to a hidden location.

"I already took control of the primary computer. Watch and learn!"