Chapter 492 — Apex Civilizations

"How is your current body? Do you feel any discomfort?", Liora glanced at Alpha and questioned, only to receive a shake of her head in response.

"No, my Lord. In fact, this body is extremely suitable for me. Although I haven’t fully fused with the AI Chip and can’t unleash its full potential just yet, I can feel it’s only a matter of time."

"Once the process is completed, I will completely integrate its traits."

Liora smiled upon hearing her words.

The arrival of Alpha in this world was great news.

Similarly, her being able to replace the AI Assistant was nearly as good.

In such a state, the two would not have to separate any time soon, including during battles and adventures.

Not only that, but Alpha could utilize her identity as an "AI Assistant" to help her analyze some complicated information.

Thinking of this, Liora’s expression grew solemn.

"How is it? Have you finished analyzing the information of this world?"

Alpha nodded in response.

"Thanks to my Lord’s permission to enter the Information World, I have integrated countless pieces of information. By now, I have gained a rough understanding regarding its structure.", Alpha said.

The moment she finished speaking, blue lights flashed and merged into a beautiful starry sky.

Countless galaxies and stars could be seen spread along its surface, shining brightly and making the image look magnificent.

But the next moment, some black lines formed under Alpha’s thoughts and divided the image into four equally-sized portions.

"Just as you previously said, my Lord, this world possesses the form of a universe. Over the past few days, I’ve learned that there are currently four major forces controlling it, which the natives call Apex Civilizations."

Saying this, Alpha pointed her finger, and a part of the starry sky immediately lit up. A human figure with long red hair appeared right above it, which somewhat resembled Liora.

"This is the Human Federation, the place we are currently at. Most of its inhabitants are humans, though there are other races living among them. The ’organization’ in power is the Human Federation, represented by the strongest Awakeners of each galaxy cluster."

Finished, she pointed to another part of the map. This time, the figure that emerged looked very much like Alpha, though she possessed the body of a robot.

"This is the territory of the Mechanical Race. It’s said that whether it is robots, AIs, or other technological products that possess their own consciousness and will, they can be considered part of this race."

"Their biggest weakness is that their numbers are the lowest among the four Apex Civilizations. However, their intelligence appears to be the highest. As such, they’ve never been at a disadvantage."

Liora quickly grasped why Alpha had created a figure similar to her own above this civilization. In this world, the other party could be considered a member of the Mechanical Race.

Of course, Alpha felt nothing about this. She had no emotion for her "compatriots", just like Liora did not currently consider herself a human.

Next, Alpha pointed again. An ugly, ferocious rat-like figure erupted from another part of the starry sky.

"This is the Demon Race. Animals and strange organisms that come into contact with Cosmic Energy are considered demons. Their number is the highest among the Apex Civilizations, surpassing the Human and Mechanical Races—combined."

Liora listened attentively. However, as she turned to look at the figure above their territory, she became momentarily speechless.

This ferocious demon looked exactly the same as Scurry—if he had gone insane.

She didn’t believe that this was a mere accident.

Especially when she saw that her own figure and Alpha’s were standing quite close and coexisted peacefully, while Scurry was far away and howling at them with murderous intent and threatening to break their peace, she couldn’t help but take a peek at Alpha.

Alpha faced her gaze calmly, showing no embarrassment.

A moment later, she made another move, and the last part of the starry sky finally lit up.

She hesitated briefly, perhaps not knowing what figure she should create. In the end, a crawling monster with a black hole representing its mouth showed up.

"Finally, it is the Zerg Race.", she introduced.

"My Lord should already be familiar with this race. Just as the members of this race we have encountered in the past, the Zerg in this world are equally as terrifying. Each Zerg Queen possesses Rank 7 strength upon reaching adulthood."

"Moreover, their combat prowess is equally astonishing as their potential. Even an ordinary Rank 5 Zerg Queen can fight against Rank 7 Awakeners if given time to breed enough Zerg Servants."

Liora had remained mostly calm when listening to the descriptions of the first three Apex Civilizations.

But upon hearing Alpha mention the Zerg, her eyes narrowed involuntarily.

She had not forgotten that the reason she was able to reach this place was because of Diana’s kind-hearted "sacrifice". Or rather, thanks to the coordinates attached to the Zerg Queen trying to revive in her body.

"Is this the home world of the Zerg Race? Or merely the hometown of that Zerg Queen in particular?", Liora stroked her chin, looking thoughtful.

It would be fine if it were the latter.

However, if the former was the truth, then this world was perhaps even more terrifying than she imagined.

She knew from her bloodline memories that the Zerg Race had Prince of the Demon World-level beings in their ranks, and multiple such beings at that.

Could this world really house so many hidden powerhouses?

While Liora was deep in thought, Alpha continued giving her report.

"The four Apex Civilizations are not the only races existing in this universe. In fact, each of the Apex Civilizations has thousands of subordinate races under them, mostly serving as cannon fodder."

"Currently, most of the battles are contained within the extraterrestrial battlefields. There, members of the Apex Civilizations are engaged in a constant, never-ending battle."

As she was speaking, the floating image zoomed in on a certain part of the starry sky, where the territory of the four forces met.

A life-like picture appeared. Humans, mechanical beings, demons, and Zerg fought fiercely.

Planets shattered, continents were demolished, while terrifying beings larger than entire suns collided in space and razed everything around them.

Though it was just an image, Liora could sense those beings’ immense power.

The weakest among them had reached Rank 4, while the strongest were at Rank 10. This was stronger than her during her peak!

"Rank 10 Awakeners, equivalent to peak Archdevils, are the strongest beings on the surface.", Alpha said, adding:

"However, it appears that there may be stronger individuals. I’ve seen mentions of Ranks 11 and 12 in the Information World. Unfortunately, such information is a high-level secret. Soon after I found something, the information would be deleted."

Liora did not require an explanation. Rank 11 Awakeners were bound to possess the strength of Ancient Devils.

Nodding her head, she memorized all the information before asking a final question.

"Did you find any traces of the Hollow Ancestor?"

"No.", Alpha shook the head.

"Either the other party is hiding their abilities like my Lord, or they may not be in the Human Federation at all. I tend to lean towards the latter."

Nothing ensured that the Hollow Ancestor would be reborn as a human.

In fact, considering the number of creatures belonging to other races, the chances of that happening were relatively low.

It was no wonder that Alpha suspected that the Hollow Ancestor was not in the Human Federation at all.

Liora frowned. She didn’t know if this was a good or a bad thing.

She stroked her chin for a few seconds and was about to say something when her movements abruptly halted.

Alpha noticed her sudden actions. Without the need for her to speak, her body and the starry sky shattered into streams of blue light that flowed back into the AI Chip.

A moment later, an excited voice echoed from outside the room.

"Liora, we’re finally here! We’ve finally reached the War Academy!", Elena spoke excitedly.

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Author’s Notes: Please let me know what you think of the new cover. Thanks for reading! c: