Chapter 110

Chapter 110

Lu Cian: "Good. Since there are no objections, let’s move on to the main topic."

Lu Cian named their new nation and announced it directly to those present: "We are establishing a new country—the Federation."

"The Federation?"

Timothy was the first to react, likely interpreting it as a union of multiple forces, and praised, "Sir, that’s a brilliant name."

The name indeed carried a good meaning, but Lu Cian had chosen it somewhat coincidentally. It also symbolized that the Federation stands opposed to the Empire, representing freedom and peace.

With the name decided, Lu Cian began referring to themselves as the Federation.

"Our Federation is the weakest among the insect factions, but we are by no means insignificant."

"The Empire has stood for millennia—it’s a behemoth. We won’t be able to take it back anytime soon..."

Timothy nearly choked on his own saliva. His Excellency truly dared to speak his mind! They had just founded the Federation, and he was already talking about seizing the Empire. Such... now that's ambition!

"Not that I want to take it over. The Empire is rotten through and through—let them continue ruining that dumpster fire themselves."

"But old systems die hard. Though the Empire is corrupt, countless insects still struggle to survive within it. We’re establishing the Federation not just for ourselves, not just to resist the Empire or for self-preservation, but also for those insects."

"They live in hell, barely clinging to life in cages. Our new nation, new system, and new vision can bring them hope for life."

"They can turn to us. We can save them."

These words might sound like a recruitment spiel, but as Lu Cian spoke, he began to believe them himself.

Suddenly, he wondered if his arrival in this world was meant for this very moment.

Perhaps this was his mission—to rescue the oppressed female insects and set things right in the distorted society of the insects.

Timothy applauded enthusiastically. "Your Excellency speaks brilliantly! Whatever you wish to do, I fully support you!"

Lu Cian smiled. "This is a massive undertaking that requires the effort of all of us. If I mess up in the future, I hope you’ll cut me some slack."

The others were quick to say, "You're too kind, sir," and so on.

Lu Cian was satisfied.

In truth, he had said all this to preempt unnecessary trouble.

Capabilities determined responsibilities, and responsibilities determined positions.

If any tribe felt unfairly assigned a lower role or if disputes arose over distribution, he hoped they wouldn’t accuse him of "failing" and cause trouble.

These insects were quite good-natured. Lu Cian figured they weren't that petty, but he still had to prepare for the worst.

Establishing the Federation wasn’t the hard part—the challenge was whether they could defend it.

Chief Kato hesitated. "What about the secrecy of our star sector?"

Nair Inan, who was familiar with this matter, jumped in directly.

He explained how they had discovered and entered this star sector to those present.

This wasn’t a secret. The survivor clans hadn’t asked before, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t speculated.

Now that they knew the truth, they realized that as long as no one betrayed them and they avoided deliberate exposure, they could lay low and build up for a few years.

But the question was—could they keep it hidden?

Someone brought up the about a dozen male insects they had "snatched up" earlier.

If even one of their kin realized they’d been kidnapped and started searching, this place wouldn’t remain hidden for long.

"Therefore, the clock is ticking. We must develop rapidly within a year."

A one-year grace period was still manageable.

"Among the three factions—the Empire, the chaotic planets, and the Federation—we have the smallest territory and the fewest insects. On the surface, we’re at a disadvantage. But in reality, the Federation is a defensive stronghold. Once we can protect ourselves, a tripartite balance will be the safest state."

After speaking, Nair Inan scanned the room meaningfully before adding, "I’ve received news that a powerful force has emerged in the chaotic planets, poised to unite them."

A few failed to mask their shock and looked at Nair Inan in surprise.

Nair Inan continued, "This news is already over half a year old. I don’t know the current state of the chaotic planets."

At this, everyone’s expressions grew solemn.

If the chaotic planets had shown signs of unification half a year ago, by now, they might already be under the control of some mysterious force.

Of course, their speculation might be wrong—the force could have failed, leaving the chaotic planets fragmented as ever.

But it was better to expect the worst. If that mysterious force did unify the chaotic planets, who would be their next target?

No one should assume space pirates would show restraint, play nice, or concern for their kin.

They might turn their sights on the Empire, other rogue space pirates, or quietly nibble away at nearby fringe planets.

The Federation’s location was off the grid, but there was no guarantee it would remain undiscovered.

With all that in mind, establishing the Federation can't wait another day.

The attendees got way more fired up, praising Lu Cian and Nair Inan endlessly for being visionaries. The meeting became far livelier than before.

...

A new nation required new policies.

The first one Lu Cian established was: gender equality.

This was agreed upon by all the remnant tribe leaders.

The Shelley Clan representatives also didn't raise any big objections.

Lu Cian was aware of the Shelley Clan’s situation.

Due to the Insect Emperor’s dirty tricks, many in the Shelley Clan disliked male insects. But they understood the stakes—a newly founded Federation without males would never thrive.

Moreover, their hatred was directed at male insects with trash behavior. Those with small faults weren’t targets of their disdain.

They were fair-minded folks. If not for the Insect Emperor’s use of handsome males in a honey trap scheme to harm them, they wouldn’t harbor such hatred.

As for Lu Cian’s identity as a male insect, the Shelley Clan assumed he was simply an excellent actor, fooling other tribes into believing he was male.

There were still good male insects in this world. The females didn't hold it against innocent ones.

Therefore, it was relatively easy for Lu Cian to persuade them to treat female and male insects equally.

From what Lu Cian knew, most of the lawless planets were inhabited by space pirates, who advocated for acting on impulse and flaunting power, where females held higher status than males.

Lu Cian said, "The Empire is male-dominated, the lawless planets are female-dominated, so we will uphold gender equality."

Once these words were spoken, no one objected further.

Nair Inan deferred completely to Lu Cian.

Lu Cian rolled up his sleeves, his mind brimming with ideas he wanted to implement one by one.

The new Federation would establish an armed forces division.

Lu Cian stated, "Though our forces are weak, since we’re building a nation, basic departments are essential—and the military comes first."

A country without armed forces would not last long.

"I referenced the Empire’s structure: the armed forces division will be hierarchically structured, with Marshals serving as supreme commanders... Military promotions will be based on merit."

"The military will be divided into the Five Army Corps, stationed in five theaters: the Central, Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern War Zones."

As for which insects would be assigned to which war zones, and how to appoint Marshals in the absence of combat records, Lu Cian needed to discuss these matters privately with Nair Inan before making an official announcement.

"Military ranks will be divided as follows: Marshal, General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, Master Sergeant, Sergeant, and Corporal."

Since most military titles were similar to those in the Empire, they were not unfamiliar.

"The rank for ordinary soldiers, Corporal, is also subdivided into Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, Intermediate Non-Commissioned Officer, and Junior Non-Commissioned Officer."

Given the sheer size of our forces, the hierarchy of military ranks was extensive.

"Aside from combat roles, there are also administrative positions, such as management, technical, and specialist posts, which can be promoted based on ability, with ranks equivalent to officers."

As long as one had the capability, they could apply for these positions.

The distinction between military and civilian roles was a revelation to the ranks.

Insects revered strength and traditionally measured power through martial prowess, but they did not look down on logistical departments—after all, logistics were crucial on the battlefield.

However, in terms of military merit, support roles earned less recognition in comparison to female soldiers fighting on the front lines.

Now that Lu Cian stated logistical roles could also be promoted by rank, even holding equal standing to officers...

Some among them were dissatisfied. Frontline troops risking their lives could die at any moment—should their merits be equated with those in logistics? Anyone would feel somewhat unbalanced.

But Lu Cian added, "Administrative roles require double the commendations to advance."

Since logistical roles had limited avenues to distinguish themselves, doubling the requirement seemed fair, and those in combat roles had fewer complaints.

Following Lu Cian’s plan, the most combat-ready factions would need to be dispersed across the Five Army Corps to prevent them from consolidating power blocs.

However, Lu Cian kept this thought to himself, intending to discuss it privately with Nair Inan later rather than bringing it up in the meeting.

This meeting had been thrown together, with many ideas proposed on the spot. After outlining the general plan, Nair Inan adjourned the assembly.

They were to inform their subordinates about the Federation’s establishment, as collective effort would be needed moving forward.

The Federation could not be built overnight.

Once everyone had left, Lu Cian and Nair Inan returned to their room to discuss matters not addressed in the meeting.

"Brother Nan, for now, it seems these survivor factions will cooperate for the Federation’s sake. But we must think ahead—the Five Army Corps’ troops should still be separated..."

Nair Inan was ahead of him.

Four corps would rotate patrols across the capital world’s east, west, south, and north, while the remaining one would stay to protect the central planet.

Different races had different abilities. Entire factions should not be concentrated in one position—this would prevent both over-specialization and dominance by any one faction, keeping the chain of command balanced.