Sovereign of the Ashes-Chapter 1354: Network of Interests

Life is like a play, and it all comes down to acting skills.

At this moment, Sein’s behavior perfectly matched that of a wealthy imperial noble’s son.

The lower-class citizens of the Gallant Federation often despised alien creatures from weaker world civilizations.

The Federation humans carried an innate sense of superiority, instinctively rejecting those born of inferior and ignorant worlds, dismissing them as crude and unrefined.

They were also amazed that so many planes in the Astral Realm still clung to primitive imperial systems and other feudal institutions.

The Federation elite, however, were more open-minded. The upper class often enjoyed befriending natives of these backward worlds... on the condition that their friends held meaningful influence back home.

An earl’s son was nothing remarkable, but Jeremy knew that with Sein as a stepping stone, his own ventures in the Zeak Empire would move along far more smoothly.

In truth, Jeremy himself was not especially important within his vast family.

The Doeschers ranked 97th among the Federation’s major conglomerates, yet Jeremy was just an ordinary core member.

He was only able to reach Rank Two through the use of genetic serums.

By contrast, the current head of the family—Jeremy’s second granduncle—had already reached Rank Five thanks to genetic serums and advanced life-modification engineering.

Compared to Jeremy, they were worlds apart.

At Jeremy’s granduncle’s level, one could truly guide and even reshape the course of the Gallant Federation itself.

From what Jeremy knew, the Doeschers under his granduncle’s leadership held not only a vast economic foundation but also deep influence across the federation’s political and military circles.

For example, the Icarus Group that manufactured the angel-type robot Jeremy had gifted to Sein did not even rank among the Federation’s top 100 conglomerates. Yet the Doeschers actively engaged them as business partners because of their extensive collaboration with the military.

If federation scientists and the military had already mastered Rank Six genetic engineering, things would be very different.

But forcing an upgrade to that level still carried a fifty percent chance of failure, or required extensive cybernetic modification, replacing much of what made a person human with mechanical parts.

With his granduncle’s capability, he could still raise his life level by another rank without any issue.

But still, this showed how limited the federation’s achievements in genetic engineering really were.

As a top-tier civilization, genetic research was not the federation’s main path to power.

In fact, the Gallant Federation’s overlord-level forces were not Rank Seven genetic superhumans, but rather non-living creations like their massive fleets and fortresses.

After conquering the Rosen Dynasty, a once-powerful civilization, the Gallant Federation made a revolutionary leap forward in an entirely new field of research!

At the federation’s level, anything worthy of being called “revolutionary” was never just about Rank Five or Six combat power.

It meant powers of Rank Seven and beyond.

Perhaps, this gave the Gallant Federation access to overlord-level combat power on top of the technology it already possessed.

The fact that they dared challenge the Magus Civilization, exposing themselves in order to crush the Rosen Dynasty, was most likely tied to this very advancement.

Not long after Sein and Jeremy began talking, the chief executive of this star domain joined them. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

As the executive, he directly controlled several life planets and more than a dozen mining planets. Yet the middle-aged federal man, with a protruding forehead, was not even a Rank One creature.

Still, this politician named George remained extremely respectful toward Jeremy. After all, the Doeschers were one of his biggest supporters.

At the same time, George was also the family’s political spokesperson within the federation. Year after year, he helped channel wealth and resources their way.

Take this charity auction, for example. Nearly thirty percent of the “donations” had quietly been arranged by Jeremy.

In exchange, when the garbage disposal planet went operational, the logistics contracts and ship-leasing rights tied to it would fall into the Doeschers’ hands.

The value of this garbage disposal planet should not be underestimated.

For George, it could earn him prestige, voter trust, and potentially a smooth path to re-election.

For the Doeschers, it opened up an entirely new business. And for Jeremy, it meant boosting both his personal contribution to the family and his standing within it.

At the same time, burning garbage on that planet would generate thermal energy, which in turn produced large quantities of valuable energy blocks each year.

George would distribute these profits among his supporters, weaving them all into a vast network of interests.

The ordinary citizens living in this star domain did not lose much either. Having a garbage disposal planet actually made their lives better.

George even promised his constituents that he would raise the ecological standards of the planets under his jurisdiction by one or two levels.

So, no one really lost out in this whole process.

Sein had not thought much about it before, but the longer he stayed in the Gallant Federation, the deeper his understanding grew, and the more impressed he became.

This kind of growth was not about improving his magic or uncovering deeper truths. It was about gaining a clearer picture of the Gallant Federation, and that was still a form of knowledge.

Even though George held enormous authority over resource allocation, he deliberately kept his life level below Rank One.

After all, more than ninety-nine percent of federal citizens were ordinary people.

A lower life level made George seem closer to his voters.

Many Federation politicians played the same game too. After stepping down from their roles, their wealth, living conditions, and life levels often skyrocketed by several tiers!

But this was rarely investigated—perhaps not because no one wanted to, but because no one dared.

From this perspective, one could see that the evolutionary path of Gallant Federation lifeforms was fundamentally different from that of the Magus World.

Federation creatures chased wealth and authority, while the Magus Civilization beings pursued strength and truth.