Chapter 441: Ch
Immediately, many realized what he was getting at.
"Without sufficient strength, doing something this grand would only attract the envy of others, along with even more troubles than you already face. Isn’t that right?"
Everyone had their breath held in their throats as they waited for Kallus to complete his statement to them. They wanted to know how much further he truly wanted to take this alliance, or even the federation he spoke about.
They agreed with his words. His theories and thoughts were indeed true. The world belonged to the strong, not the weak. If someone possessed a pie in their hand, and a bigger one at that, but lacked sufficient strength, what would become of them? They knew. They knew better.
And it was this very thought that acted like a great roadblock in their minds, stopping them from immediately stepping forward and declaring that they wished to participate in the alliance, or even the federation, right then and there.
Kallus did not let them wait for long and spoke.
"My proposition is simple and absolutely clear. That is not to reach agreements individually and merely form an alliance where nothing but economic interests are taken into consideration, while ignoring the most important thing, and that is strength, which should be the foundation of this instead.
Therefore, to avoid creating a building without a proper and strong foundation, one that could withstand troubles from every side and every opposing power and faction, I propose something a bit bolder.
That is to build a federation. And a federation that will possess its own standing army."
Just as these words left his mouth, an immediate uproar cut through the hall.
"A federation?" shouted a representative of a Tier One state, shuddering. "J-just like the Galactic Union?"
(Also known as the Galactic Federation, created by the seven Super Tier Three states, forty Tier Three states, one hundred and twenty Tier Three families, and twelve Tier Three corporations.)
Kallus had been waiting for someone to point it out and immediately replied.
"Exactly as the gentleman, and also the President of the Bright Republic, has spoken about. Much like the Galactic Union, or the Galactic Federation, I propose that we found something similar, yet of a different nature.
In the Galactic Federation, we all know that it prioritizes the interests of its ruling members: the seven Super Tier Three states, forty Tier Three states, one hundred and thirty Tier Three families, and twelve Tier Three corporations.
While outwardly they show acceptance toward every race and preach inclusivity, are they truly like that?
A few of you know this better than others. Despite reaching considerable heights, you have never been given a true seat at the table. Your words are not heard, nor are your matters treated as priorities.
How many of your territories lie in shambles, and yet the Federation, which should step into such matters, has it ever truly stepped in?
Has it ever acted when your people needed it the most?
Or has it only acted when the interests of its ruling members were at stake?"
"And even when they do step in, what do they do?"
Kallus opened his hands wide.
"They ask all of you for an exorbitant price from your economies, a price that in most cases leaves little in your own hands to spend on public projects or to strengthen your respective powers against the constant attacks and suffering inflicted by nearby powers and even pirate groups, which, under the rule of the Federation and its military, instead of decreasing, have only continued to increase.
And who suffers because of this? You Tier One powers, and even some Tier Two powers.
Isn’t that right?"
The more Kallus spoke, the more everyone felt that he was making sense. In fact, he truly was. Whatever he had said until now was, for the most part, correct to the letter, without any real exaggeration.
After all, this was something most of them actually suffered from.
And there was even more that Kallus had not mentioned.
What he did not say was the Federation’s heavy-handed methods whenever a state rejected its demands. When they refused to allocate space for Federation military stations or declined to hand over exorbitant shares of profits and resources, the Federation often found other measures to force them into compliance.
And that was one of the major reasons why many of them were in the state they were today, partially desperate and searching for some way to push through the crises that surrounded them.
But as right as Kallus was, the assurance still was not there.
While the Federation may have wronged them and continued to do so through manipulation and the creation of natural-bred disasters that weakened their territories, they still dared not act against it. A Tier Three faction might be able to do so, like Valorias and a few others, but world-level factions such as themselves certainly could not.
For the Federation truly possessed the strength and numbers to counter every single one of them, to the extent that they would not even have a chance to raise their heads before their factions were crushed and destroyed.
Kallus knew that as well.
But he also had a way to make them forget that fear and become far more proactive in joining his cause. More importantly, he intended to turn them into the very fuel that would allow his empire to reach even greater heights.
"I know your fears.
You fear what will happen if you go through with this. If you form a federation of your own, how will the Galactic Federation react? What will happen then?
Will your factions and powers be crushed like those countless others from years ago, simply because they were labeled as ’traitors’?"
Kallus paused for a moment before continuing.
"Then let me ask you this.
What if those so-called traitors were not traitors at all, but innocent powers?
What if they were eliminated simply because they possessed something that the people running the Federation desired?
What if some of them were destroyed because they displeased a few influential members?
What if the charges against them were nothing more than convenient excuses?"
Those words stirred the people below to a far greater degree than anything Kallus had said previously.
After all, everyone knew that history was written by the victors. And if what Kallus was implying held even a grain of truth, then many of the events they had accepted as fact might not have been what they seemed at all.
"The Ignis Empire, a Tier Three power, was eliminated by the Federation because it was found to be a nation of traitors and was, in fact, collaborating with the Insectoid Race to create disasters throughout the galaxy. A fact many of you know, right?"
Kallus swept his gaze across the hall.
He could already see it.
Some were beginning to believe his statements. Others were starting to doubt the version of history they had accepted for decades as absolute truth.
Seeing the opportunity before him, he struck.
"But what if I told you that was not the case at all?
What if I told you that the Ignis Empire stood on the very cusp of becoming a Super Tier Three state?
What if I told you that they possessed a galactic rarity, one with the potential to push an individual beyond the Gene Law Comprehension Realm with relative ease, and perhaps even further?
And what if I told you that rarity was not without practical use?"
The hall grew increasingly silent.
"The Federation learned of its existence. And together, its ruling powers moved against the Ignis Empire. At a tremendous cost, they destroyed the empire, seized everything of value it possessed, and took that rarity for themselves.
Then, to conceal their slaughter and justify their actions, they branded an entire nation as traitors.
The empire was erased. Its people scattered or exterminated. Its history rewritten. And those responsible stood before the galaxy as righteous defenders of order."
Kallus paused briefly once again before speaking.
"And there are many other examples out there as well."
As he spoke, many projections appeared within the line of sight of every person present. They showed proof of his statements—recordings detailing the Federation’s plans, how they orchestrated the extermination of the Ignis Empire, and many other incidents. They also revealed how the Federation later labeled them as traitors of the galaxy, accusing them of colluding with the enemies of every race at the same time.
Seeing this evidence, many realized to their horror just how dark the Federation truly was from the inside. To maximize its own benefits and those of its High Chair members, it could go to any extent and do anything.
Then... what about them?
Kallus struck right where their doubts about the Federation were the strongest.
"So let me ask you this. If this could be done to them and many others, then what are you?"
"All it takes is for one of you
