The Almighty Ring

To be completely honest, Jiang Fei did not want to leave Dhiras. Its gravity was only a tad stronger than Earth, and the flora and fauna there thrived naturally.

Compared to the current state of Earth, Dhiras’ condition was that of the primordial state. The air they breathed and the land they walked on was far, far better than any planet Jiang Fei had been to.

As for the other planets that were considered to be ‘habitable’, Jiang Fei would rather remain on this planet than stay on those sandy or rocky planets.

He wondered why Dhiras was not as populated. It had the perfect conditions for life, as it was orbiting the local star at the goldilocks zone. But 0541 quickly explained the reason.

The planet, or rather, the entire system, was constantly attacked by Ultralisks of both the Galactic and Nebulae kind. Instead of developing into a civilization, the most primitive life forms were gobbled up by the Ultralisks, long before even dinosaurs roamed the planet.

Having barely started, life was reset back to its basic extremophiles. The current locals were not really locals, but surviving soldiers who had not yet perished.

…

Jiang Fei and his entire squad roamed for a bit in search of a good location for a base. When they came to the mountainous regions and found a good source of water, Jiang Fei immediately chose to set up camp there. The place he chose was situated next to a waterfall. He threw The Seed of Yondu’s Sprout to the ground.

“What kind of a house do I want…” thought Jiang Fei to himself.

With proper control, Jiang Fei could influence how the sprouts grow. He needed to think of a large enough structure to house nearly two thousand soldiers.

Unconsciously, an image of an ancient building flashed in his mind. It was a traditional, oriental Chinese building, the kind he was familiar with from novels and Chinese wuxia TV shows.

Although he did not learn architecture or have a knack for design, Jiang Fei did have a good enough memory to rely on. Even though the sprout could not materialize shingles or red pillars with dragon carvings on it, it did grow to be what Jiang Fei imagined.

In about 30 minutes or so, a grand palace with several floors now stood on the once empty land of green. As per 0541’s suggestion, Jiang Fei made sure to firmly attach the palace to the side of the mountain for support, since there would be over two thousand soldiers living there.

Jiang Fei turned to his soldiers and announced, “The house is done. There is enough room for all of us. Take your pick.”

“Thank you, Sir! How miraculous! To think we planned on digging a hole in the mountain or pillaging other settlements!”

“Praise the leader!”

“I knew that there’s nothing sir Jiang Fei can’t do!”

…

Being able to kiss-ass was a skill that’s very much required for those without true potential. It was rampant not only on Earth, but also in interstellar space.

Even soldiers would learn such a skill in order to be able to garner a good impression from their leaders. Jiang Fei had heard enough of it to be immune to its effects.

In an orderly manner, everyone entered the palace of stalks and chose their own room. Even though they had never been inside a palace of oriental design, much less one made of tree stalks, they were smart enough to leave the largest room and the one attached to it, alone.

As a member of the infamous Valsalrian Army, they were still subjected to their own rules and regulations, despite breaking the ones of the universe, They were all trained to obey both written and unwritten rules, like, for example, never taking the most valuable room for themselves.

Sarila came into the palace and after circling the entire palace with Jiang Fei, she asked about her own accomodation, hoping that he would take the hint, “Fei, where should I-I stay?”

Just then, someone else whispered loud enough whilst hiding his presence amongst the crowd, “Just stay with sir Jiang Fei! We’re all fine with it!”

Everyone knew about Sarila’s feelings for him, the man in question was the only one still oblivious.

“Hmm? That room over there,” said Jiang Fei bluntly.

He knew what Sarila was thinking, as well as the meaning behind the soldier’s whisper. He was thick-headed, but still sharp enough to read the atmosphere in certain situations.

But taking into consideration all the girls back on Earth, he definitely had more than enough female companions and didn’t need to bring back one more…

“So it seems…” answered Sarila dejectedly.

Somehow, despite knowing what Jiang Fei was like, she still could not help feeling disappointed, even though she knew what he was going to say.

…

Now that their accomodation was sorted, the next thing they had to worry about was provisions. Meals for two thousand soldiers was no small amount. Even though the ship ferried more than enough provisions to last them a while, everything would eventually run out.

All two thousand of them could survive for a bit, but if Jiang Fei wanted to play the long game, he needed to start searching for a food source.

Luckily, the planet was fertile enough to farm edible plants. That being said, more than half the soldiers there, Jiang Fei included, were omnivores. Sure, they could survive on plants for some time, but meat was essential for their strength.

There were some that fed on non-biological materials like rock eaters, lava drinkers, and some others. Those kinds of food were rather easy to find. It was the carnivores that he had to worry about.

According to the locals, the planet had just been attacked by a Nebulae-type Ultralisk. Larger animals and beasts were wiped out, while rats and smaller critters went into hiding. Only ants and teeny tiny insects were still alive and thriving.

Just when Jiang Fei was feeling frustrated about potentially having to feed on ants and insects, a loud commotion was heard coming from outside the stalk palace. It was so loud that Jiang Fei thought that a war had broken out.

Before he could get up from his wooden seat to investigate, Sarila barged into his room.

“What’s going on outside?” asked Jiang Fei.

“There’s… argh! Come and see for yourself,” barked Sarila, dragging Jiang Fei out of the room.

“Could you please explain the situation?”

“Trouble.”

When Jiang Fei and his soldiers arrived, the ship they were in also carried a large amount of provisions. That cargo was meant for all the occupants of the planet, but Jiang Fei had taken everything for himself. Naturally, this angered the rest of the population.

By the time Jiang Fei came out of the palace and into the courtyard, there were more than tens of thousands of foreign visitors gathered about. His soldiers were out in the open and in defensive positions, ready to retaliate at the first sign of attack.

Jiang Fei’s side was greatly outnumbered and outgunned.

To live in Tallgeese is to survive. The strong will prey on the weak. If not Ultralisks, it would be fights that would weed out the weak. Only the strong would survive.

Fearlessly, Jiang Fei strode past his soldiers.

“Where are your manners? These are our esteemed guests!” he said tauntingly.

He ordered the dispersal of his soldiers whilst examining the new arrivals.

“You’re the greenhorn?” said a Valsalrian, revealing himself to Jiang Fei.

It took Jiang Fei by surprise, as he never expected to see a Valsalrian here. From what he remembered, Valsalrians are usually stronger than other races and always held higher positions in the Valsalrian Army.

Everyone had some sort of connection to each other, and if not, they were strong enough to have a status of their own. This Valsalrian must have done something horrible to be sent here.

Jiang Fei smiled, answering to the nickname, “Greenhorn? That’ll be me!”

The Valsalrian had a combat level of over 3,900,000. He was strong enough to be a Fleet Commander or a Vice-Commander.

“Mhm. Since you’re new, I’ll not judge you for what you have done. However, do you have any particular reason to take all the provisions meant for the entire planet?” he asked.

Jiang Fei was once again taken aback. Instead of immediately attacking, the man was reasoning with Jiang Fei, and even doing so politely!

The rules of Tallgeese were plain and simple. The strong were in charge and the weak obeyed. However, this man was not dumb enough to start a fight with Jiang Fei.

Having sent someone to investigate, he knew all about Jiang Fei’s strength. Despite his own strength, he had no confidence to fight Jiang Fei. So, when fists couldn’t settle the score, why not have a friendly discussion instead?