Chapter 449: Ch
But after what Kallus had revealed earlier regarding the excuses and true motives of those galactic superpowers...
And now, after personally witnessing the military might of the Celestial Void Empire...
They finally possessed a fair amount of confidence.
They believed that by joining this new Federation, they would only continue to grow stronger rather than one day being erased from existence like so many promising powers before them.
And they began to truly believe in, and seriously consider, the Universal Stellar Federation that Kallus had been speaking about.
At the very least, they had now witnessed a portion of the Celestial Void Empire’s military strength, which would undoubtedly become the core pillar of the Universal Stellar Federation.
More importantly, the empire possessed not just enough strength, but more than enough to stand against not only the galaxy’s great powers but even the Galactic Federation itself, over which those galactic superpowers held tremendous influence.
What did that mean for them?
It meant that joining the Federation would not be a disadvantage.
Rather, it would be an enormous advantage.
It meant they would no longer have to constantly fear the day they themselves reached the level of a Super Tier 3 State, only to be branded as traitors and face their own Ragnarok.
Because by then...
They would have someone capable of holding up the sky for them.
And that wasn’t all.
The overwhelming display of military power they had just witnessed also allowed them to see something they had long believed impossible.
A path.
A path toward becoming a Super Tier 3 State and perhaps even beyond.
This realization especially stirred the twelve Tier 3 powers seated around the table.
Although that distant realm was still unclear to them, and they had no idea how long it would take to reach it, the Celestial Void Empire had already stepped onto that path—and perhaps had even gone beyond it.
At least, that was what Valoria and the others believed.
For the first time in a very long while, they allowed themselves to imagine a future where they too might one day possess the privilege of wielding such advanced technology.
A future that might become reality at some point that is not too far away provided they remained alongside the Celestial Void Empire and joined the Federation Kallus was striving to build.
Of course, they still had their reservations.
After all, Kallus wasn’t someone they had known for long. Even if he had been, the matter before them was simply too great to blindly place all of their trust in another person much less a power that was too powerful form them to handle.
And then there were there own ascestor words and believes.
That ’those not of one’s own race could never truly be treated as one’s own’.
Those words still lingered heavily in the minds of everyone present, leaving them with much to think about despite the excitement that now filled their hearts.
But it was clear to them that, no matter how cautious they wished to be, they ultimately had to join and become part of the organization Kallus was proposing.
At the very least, that much had become clear.
Kallus, who could read the slight changes in everyone’s expressions and even the subtle shifts in their body language, immediately caught a whiff of their caution and reservations.
Something he rather appreciated.
Mainly because he felt they were realists instead of people living in delusion, believing opportunities like this simply rained down from the heavens and that he was some kind of saint acting without any motive of his own.
That realization actually made him feel relieved.
No...
Relieved wasn’t quite the right word.
Rather, it meant he no longer needed to give too much thought to how he would make use of them to further strengthen the foundation of his empire.
Yes, he intended to benefit greatly from them.
But he had no intention of draining them dry.
They would continue to see growth in their own strength, influence, and standing while he simultaneously benefited from their growth, creating what could genuinely be called a win-win situation.
While Kallus was lost in those thoughts, a king from a Tier 1 human state, Ignis Drake, suddenly spoke.
"Lord Kallus, then... how exactly should we join this brilliant Federation of yours?"
"What is the process?"
"And how long will it take for the Federal Army to take shape?"
"As you know, I hope to have them stationed throughout my own borders as soon as possible."
"My kingdom suffers tremendous casualties every year because of pirates, and my own forces simply can’t seem to deal with them."
"Those damned pirates are far too good at hiding, setting ambushes, and striking whenever they find an opportunity."
"Our merchants as a results are becoming fewer and fewer and so are trade and business."
Just as his name suggested, Ignis was extremely direct in his approach.
Although there was obvious hesitation in the way he spoke before so many powerful rulers, the same certainly couldn’t be said for the meaning behind his words.
He asked exactly what was on his mind without trying to hide it.
The moment those words left his mouth, they acted like a stone thrown into a still pond, creating ripples that spread throughout the room.
Every other "fish"—the dignitaries and rulers representing the various powers—immediately began discussing their own problems while expressing their intentions to join the Federation as member states.
Some even began making requests without so much as blinking an eye.
Much to the enjoyment of both Kallus and Red Empress. The two of them silently watched as their plan unfolded exactly as they had envisioned.
Kallus patiently answered most of their questions while also explaining the process of joining the Federation, something that could largely be completed right then and there.
Some other matters still needed to be jointly formulated by all the members.
However, Kallus was confident that it wouldn’t take too long.
With the Void Earth Star Alliance serving as the foundation, it was simply too easy for both Kallus and Red Empress to expand upon it.
By the end of the day, most of those details had already been formulated.
The discussions were then temporarily concluded and continued the following day.
The very first matter finalized was the distribution of stakes within the Federation.
As the leading force and founder, the Celestial Void Empire would hold the overwhelming majority stake, reaching eighty percent.
The remaining twenty percent was divided among the other participating powers.
In total, there were exactly one hundred member powers.
Among them were twelve Tier 3 states, thirty-eight Tier 2 states, and fifty Tier 1 states.
The Tier 3 states naturally received a larger share of the remaining stake, the Tier 2 states received less, and the Tier 1 states received even smaller portions.
Even so, everyone agreed without much objection.
Of course, it would be a joke to say that none of them wanted a larger stake.
After all, greater ownership directly translated into having a greater voice within the Federation’s affairs and a more dominant position over the other members.
However. None of them possessed anything substantial enough to justify demanding a larger share.
Fortunately, there was one condition that greatly reassured them.
The distribution of stakes was not permanent.
It could change in the future.
Everything would depend upon how much each member state contributed to the Federation.
Greater contributions would gradually translate into greater ownership and, therefore, a greater stake.
The complete process was every bit as complex as it was difficult to explain, but everyone understood the underlying principle.
Because of that, they became genuinely excited.
It meant that if they worked hard enough and contributed enough to the Federation, they could one day rise to hold a far more dominant position within the Universal Stellar Federation.
At the very least, they hoped to one day stand on equal footing with the current weakest Tier 3 member state, the Elfheim Empire.
As for surpassing the Celestial Void Empire. Not a single one of them even dared to dream of such a thing.
At least, not at this moment. The gap between them was simply far too vast for such a dream to be considered realistic.
After this, they moved on to discussing the ruling body of the Federation.
While each member state possessed a stake in the Federation, which represented their degree of ownership and influence, Kallus made one thing perfectly clear.
The Federation would have its own independent ruling structure.
The member states would have influence over it, but they would not directly govern it themselves.
With that, the Federation Council was established, along with the position of Federation President.
The Council would consist of approximately four hundred seats in total.
Of those seats, eighty percent would, by virtue of its ownership stake, be controlled by the Celestial Void Empire, while the remaining seats would be distributed among the other member states according to their respective stakes.
Right after confirming this structure, the first Federation President was officially appointed by Kallus.
