Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Since the Heavenly Dao Palace managed to withstand the attack of those creatures, the Galactic Empire wasn’t defeated too badly. They at least managed to guard the gateway to the Northern Expanse Galaxy. But for Darth Vader, merely holding it isn’t enough, especially when it’s being defended by someone else’s forces rather than the army of the Galactic Empire—it’s not like they’re obliged to risk their lives here with you every day, right?

So we have to rely on ourselves!

The Galactic Empire, being a military system, began operating to its full extent.

The first step was to upgrade weapons and armor.

Luke also provided many of his own suggestions.

”We need stronger, more powerful armor; the current armor is basically plastic and cannot withstand those creatures’ attacks at all!”

”We can’t just rely on guns; they’re fast and excel at close-quarters combat, so we need to enhance our soldiers’ melee combat capabilities!”

Darth Vader also received some advice from Fang Zheng.

”It’s best to avoid ground battles and intercept in space whenever possible. As you can see, that’s how we operate. If we can ensure that the majority of the enemy’s combat power is eliminated in space, the remainder is negligible. But avoid ground warfare if possible... how you handle this is up to you.”

The advanced scientists of the Galactic Empire were all summoned to review the footage and study the suggestions from Luke and Fang Zheng—well, they did manage to come up with something.

First is the armor.

The current armor was naturally to be completely abandoned; it was fine for battling alien races and the Rebellion within the Galactic Empire, but useless against these invading creatures.

But for the Galactic Empire, which could even build a Dead Star, is this even a problem?

Soon enough, they produced a solution—a Power Suit!

The Power Suit is bulky and massive, about the size of two or three people, equipped with a portable power unit, strong enough to lift a truck. The main purpose of the Power Suit is to complement the melee weapons suggested by Luke, as only users of the Primordial Force can wield a lightsaber, rendering it useless for the average person.

Therefore, during mass production for the army, lightsabers couldn’t be used, but they had another plan—they directly created the Chainsaw Sword!

The rapidly spinning Chainsaw Sword can cut through any creature’s shell, and alongside it, firearms were also upgraded. Following Luke’s suggestions, researchers developed a large Cannon Handgun with considerable explosive power.

Just the weight of these main battle equipments would be impossible for an average person to handle without a Power Suit, which would just collect dust without it.

When Darth Vader, full of vigor, appeared before Fang Zheng with a brand-new legion, not even a month had passed since the previous assault.

”The manufacturing power of the Galactic Empire is truly impressive.”

Watching the Imperial Soldiers disembark from the transport ship in formation, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but be amazed. These Stormtroopers had completely abandoned their original white paper-mache armor, replaced by Power Suit configurations resembling the machine gunners from Interstellar Confrontation. Most of them held massive firearms, with chains of ammunition feeding directly from the gun to the magazine at their back—which makes sense, as thinking about changing magazines amid the onslaught of those creatures is suicidal.

Just seeing these soldiers clad in Power Helm, holding a Cannon Handgun in one hand and a Chainsaw Sword in the other, marching down the transport craft in synchrony is enough to leave an impression.

”We are investigating those damned Cultists.”

Standing with hands behind his back next to Fang Zheng, Darth Vader spoke softly.

”We’ve found some leads. It’s unbelievable that they infiltrated the Galactic Empire so long ago... I have already sent Luke to track these creatures.”

”Oh? Is there no issue with that?”

”Of course not. In fact, it was Luke who volunteered.”

As he spoke, Darth Vader’s tone carried a hint of amusement.

”Guess what? We’ve discovered that this damned cult has ties to the Rebel Army, even suggesting that the Rebellion Empire’s plan was orchestrated by them... hehe, Luke feels responsible for this and wants to handle it.”

”I see... that’s not surprising.”

Fang Zheng nodded; if unnoticed before, the connection between the Rebel Army and these invaders does indeed seem plausible, or at least they are being exploited by the other side... But as Darth Vader said, it doesn’t really matter anymore.

”Mr. Fang Zheng.”

Darth Vader hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice.

”We wish to launch a counterattack.”

”Counterattack?”

”Indeed, we need to test our equipment in real combat. I believe the Empire should gain the initiative to ensure the extermination of those vile creatures. For this, we need to launch a counterattack... But currently, we don’t have enough space combat capabilities...”

Speaking of this, Darth Vader was also speechless. The fleet assault of those creatures was completely different from what they imagined. Generally, fleet battles involve mutual bombardment, but the fleet battles of these creatures resembled ancient naval battles, directly advancing and sticking close to the target, tearing and biting upon contact. The poor Galactic Empire had never encountered this kind of fleet battle since its founding; in this situation, no matter how solid your defenses or how fierce your artillery, it was useless. This was why Darth Vader’s fleet was almost shattered.

After all, although the Empire’s Star Destroyers are massive and seemingly mighty, they instead became the best food for those creatures. In previous battles, the Empire’s Star Destroyers, like sandwiches, were torn apart by those creature battleships... The more miserable it could be, the more miserable it was.

Currently, the Galactic Empire needs to modify its warships and naturally cannot participate in battles in a short time. Meanwhile, Darth Vader needs to quickly determine the combat effectiveness of the new Stormtroopers and their lethality against those creatures, so after much thought, he could only ask for help from the Heavenly Dao Palace.

Apart from this, a series of harsh reforms have begun internally within the Empire. In the past, the Empire did not care much about religious sects, after all, there are hundreds of alien races within the Galactic Empire, and each alien race has its unique doctrine, impossible to manage them all.

But now it’s different. After receiving reports from Darth Vader, Palpatine quickly discovered the danger within, so he waved his hand and launched a round of religious reforms throughout the Empire.

Palpatine’s actions were not only for the safety of the Empire itself but also inseparably linked to his attempt to spread his own Primordial Force ideology. After all, the Xis are not to be seen, and the Jedi are self-proclaimed sanctimonious, so both hardly have any believers. But Palpatine was different; after receiving reports from Darth Vader, Palpatine keenly noticed this was an opportunity.

So, under the guise of combating heresies, he began to purge religious beliefs throughout the Galactic Empire, simultaneously creating a completely new state religion. Its core is the Truth of the Unified Primordial Force as realized by Palpatine, and Palpatine announced that all other religious beliefs outside the state religion are heresies, which threaten the foundation of the Empire and will be completely abolished. Those who resist compliance will be considered enemies of the Empire and completely annihilated.

In response to this, Fang Zheng neither supports nor opposes it, as it is an internal affair of another country. As long as no large-scale humanitarian disaster is caused, Fang Zheng will not interfere.

Not to mention, during wartime, a unified religion is also more suited to boost morale.

”Also, Mr. Fang Zheng, after discussing with His Imperial Majesty, in order to determine the name of the enemy, we’ve decided to officially name them the Zerg...”

”........”

”???”

”Can we change the name?”

”Why?”

”You see, just calling them Swarm doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

Facing Darth Vader’s query, Fang Zheng spread his hands.

”Isn’t there a race in the Galactic Empire that looks like insects too? Calling them Zerg would imply including them all. Why not choose a different name?”

”Then according to your suggestion...?”

”These creatures first appeared on the Taren Planet, right? Then let’s call them the Taren Insect Race.”

”...Alright.”

Darth Vader didn’t mind much; instead, he thought this could more accurately identify the name of the opposing side, so he nodded in agreement. Fang Zheng, on the other hand, let out a breath, silently wiping sweat inside his heart.

Damn, only my Zerg can be called Zerg, you’re only fit to be a branch! Stop trying to steal my name!

On this point, Fang Zheng would not relax at all.

”I agree with your proposal in principle, but I wonder which planet you intend to choose as the battlefield?”

”We have already chosen.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Darth Vader made a gesture, soon a Soldier came over and opened the Star Map.

”We decided to make the Shadow Star the primary battlefield. Based on the intelligence we gathered earlier, currently, these creatures, having suffered severe losses, urgently need to replenish their forces and are advancing towards the Shadow Star. This planet had long been abandoned and is currently only used as a sect outpost. We can go to the Shadow Star in advance, take over the defense facilities, and then engage in a head-on confrontation with them.”

”Although I think a direct confrontation is not a good idea, but... well, since you’ve decided, I have nothing more to say.”

After hearing Darth Vader’s plan, Fang Zheng shrugged. He knew very well that this battle was not to protect this planet, but to test the power of the Empire’s new equipment and weapons in actual combat with the Taren Insect Race.

Of course, for the Imperial Soldiers, this is a cruel decision, but... it’s not Fang Zheng’s concern.

”So what do you need me to do?”

”I hope you can be responsible for support in space. Although this is an experiment, we also hope as many Soldiers as possible can survive.”

”No problem, I agree to your request.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng nodded.

”I will personally lead the team to the Shadow Star.”