Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1762: The Tenth Pharaoh

Both proposals put forward by the Fourth Pharaoh had their flaws.

Launching an offensive against the Grand Cosmic World would involve countless complications.

As a large-sized world civilization, the Grand Cosmic World did not possess overwhelming military strength, but it was an exceptionally prosperous economic powerhouse. It maintained close ties with many large and medium-sized world civilizations across nearby star domains, as well as with several top-tier civilizations in the depths of starry skies.

It also provided the Amenkha Empire with vast amounts of resources in the form of tributes every century—figures that could only be described as astronomical.

The Amenkha Empire had long refrained from delivering a decisive blow to the Grand Cosmic World largely for this reason. Numerous aristocratic families within the empire were deeply entangled with it.

If the Amenkha Empire were to destroy the Grand Cosmic World outright, then regardless of whether the eventual war gains met expectations, the interests of many powerhouses within the empire would suffer severe losses.

In the eyes of those powerhouses, preserving the Grand Cosmic World was far more profitable than annihilating it.

It was a golden goose.

The Fourth Pharaoh’s second proposal to launch a surprise assassination against a Magus Civilization overlord was hardly flawless either.

The Magus Star Domain was, after all, the Magus Civilization’s home territory.

Sending too few overlords from the Amenkha Empire into that star domain would likely fail to achieve meaningful results, while sending too many would incur staggering costs simply to transport them across star domains and back.

The Magus Civilization was no easy prey.

If they had managed to assassinate a Rank Eight overlord of the Amenkha Empire, then, as the superior top-tier civilization, the Amenkha Empire would be expected to eliminate at least one Rank Eight overlord in return to preserve its authority.

Even that might not be enough. Two would be safer!

And if the objective was to eliminate two Rank Eight beings from the Magus Civilization, how many overlord-level powerhouses would the Amenkha Empire need to mobilize across the stars?

Surely, it would be impossible to dispatch the entire Pharaohs’ Temple, along with Rank Seven overlords and the Monster Legion.

That would amount to a declaration of war, a full-scale star domain expedition against the Magus Civilization!

In this world, there was no such thing as a perfect plan.

The Fourth Pharaoh’s proposal simply followed the path of “moderation”.

The Eighth Pharaoh was truly a fool. He had placed himself in danger through sheer recklessness and ultimately paid for it with his life.

Not only that, the burden of avenging him now fell upon the Amenkha Empire.

That was the reason behind the Tenth Pharaoh’s earlier outburst.

She was actually insulting the Eighth Pharaoh.

For a newly ascended Rank Eight to openly insult a fallen senior Pharaoh, one who had once stood above her in both strength and status, was something only a figure as eccentric as the Tenth Pharaoh would dare to do within the Amenkha Empire, where hierarchy was normally enforced with absolute rigidity.

She had never explicitly stated whom she was insulting, and everyone present had seen her casually erase the soul of a peak Rank Six being.

In any case, declaring war on the Magus Civilization at this stage was unwise from any perspective.

Be it assassination strikes against their leadership or a full-scale expedition across star domains, neither course of action aligned with the Amenkha Empire’s present interests.

Yet the matter could not simply be ignored.

The Ninth Pharaoh, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. “I agree with the Fourth Pharaoh. Fighting on two fronts places us at a clear disadvantage. Our primary adversary at this stage remains the Luminara Civilization, whose attributes fundamentally counter our own.

“Deploying forces against the Grand Cosmic World, or carrying out proportional retaliation by assassinating one or two Magus Civilization overlords, may be the most reasonable course of action for now.”

“As for the complete annihilation of the Magus Civilization,” the Ninth Pharaoh continued, “it would be far wiser to wait for the First Pharaoh’s return before launching such an expedition.”

His words drew nods of agreement from the other Pharaohs.

Those who had reached the highest decision-making level within the Pharaohs’ Temple were no longer driven by mundane interests. Personal gain held little weight for them.

Their priority was the long-term advancement of the civilization itself.

Just as the Ninth Pharaoh finished speaking and the Second Pharaoh prepared to formalize the decision, the Tenth Pharaoh suddenly interjected with a playful grin on her face.

“I have one additional suggestion.”

The Second Pharaoh paused, and the others turned their gazes toward the Tenth.

“I hear the Magus Civilization is currently at war with the Gallant Federation, and it seems the latter isn’t exactly winning.” The Tenth Pharaoh tilted her head, appearing thoughtful.

“How about we find a way to contact the Gallant Federation?” she continued. “We could agree to deploy a limited force to assist them—on the condition that they provide the expeditionary funds and the energy supplies required for long-range teleportation.”

The Tenth Pharaoh’s suggestion caused the Fifth Pharaoh’s brow to furrow slightly beneath her bandages. She retorted in a deep voice, “The Amenkha Empire has never cooperated with others. What civilization is worthy of partnering with us?”

“A civilization that had been reduced to a pathetic stray dog by another that emerged barely two hundred thousand years ago is hardly worth our attention,” she declared.

Powerful, arrogant, cold, and ruthless—this had always been the Amenkha Empire’s attitude toward the civilizations around it.

As the Fifth Pharaoh had said, the Amenkha Empire had never once cooperated with another civilization throughout its long history.

It ruled through overwhelming superiority, leaving others with only two choices: submission or annihilation.

Perhaps in its distant past, when the Amenkha Empire existed merely on the scale of a large or medium-sized world, it had been more restrained.

But those eras were long gone, with few records remaining.

In the official annals of the Amenkha Empire, it had always been portrayed as invincible.

The Fifth Pharaoh’s words drew clear approval from the other Pharaohs present.

None of them held the Gallant Federation in high regard. While the Magus Civilization had indeed risen only around two hundred thousand years ago, the Gallant Federation was even younger, making it inferior even to the Magus Civilization. That was precisely why it had been beaten down so thoroughly!

In the Amenkha Empire’s long-term vision, all surrounding star domains—whether belonging to the Luminara Civilization, the Magus Civilization, the Gallant Federation, or any other known world civilization—were nothing more than nutrients to be absorbed and assimilated in the future.

The First Pharaoh had once told the Second Pharaoh that he had no intention of igniting a Dimensional War just yet. Leading the Amenkha Empire through a dimensional ascent was a matter for the next generation of supreme rulers.

To many of the elder Pharaohs, steeped in rigid traditions, cooperating with civilizations destined to become servants or slaves was nothing short of disgraceful.

The Tenth Pharaoh, however, clearly did not share that mindset.

With a smile, she asked, “Cooperating with the Gallant Federation benefits us without harming us at this stage. Why should we refuse?”

“It also allows us to strike back at the Magus Civilization. This approach is far more cost-effective than the two retaliatory actions suggested earlier,” she said.