Intergalactic conquest with an AI

Floating in the distance were two colossal vessels, each an awe-inspiring 15 kilometers in diameter. Their spherical shapes bristled with protruding spines, extending outward in irregular patterns like starfish.

Their exoskeletons were a dark, bone-like material, jagged, and organic in structure. Glowing green cracks spread across their surfaces, pulsing faintly like veins carrying some kind of energy through their massive frames.

They didn't look like ships. They looked like small planets that had been transformed into horrifying war machines.

"What the hell?" Rex muttered, his voice low. He stepped closer to the window, staring in awe at the supercapital ships. The sheer size of them was staggering; nothing in his fleet or even the megacorps could compare to something on this scale.

"Those are the Khryssari pride and joy," Ys said as she came up behind him, her voice unusually soft. "The Kragnarok-Class Planet Devourer. They're the Queen's personal vessels, built over centuries. Each one is capable of wiping out an entire star system on its own～."

Rex turned his head slightly to look at her. "You're saying those things can destroy entire systems?"

She nodded, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Mhmm～! But don't worry, darling. They're not here to destroy anything today. Mother doesn't like wasting their energy unless it's absolutely necessary."

Rex let out a small breath, turning back to look at the ships. "Good to know," he said dryly.

As the destroyer began its approach to one of the super capitals, Rex could see even more of the Khryssari forces spread across the sector.

There were fleets of bio-ships that moved in perfect synchronicity, defensive swarms circling the Kragnarok-Class Planet Devourer like living shields. The sheer coordination and unity of the Khryssari forces were both impressive and deeply unsettling.

"Welcome to my home," Ys said with a grin, resting her chin on his shoulder again. "Mother's waiting～."

Rex stared out the window, the weight of what he was about to face settling over him. "Yeah," he muttered. "This is going to be fun."

The moment Ys's living destroyer entered the hangar bay of one of the Khryssari supercapital ships, Rex couldn't help but feel like an ant in the presence of titanic gods.

The sheer scale of the hangar was overwhelming; it stretched endlessly in every direction, its walls pulsating faintly with a green bioluminescent glow. Every living organism here seemed insanely large, far surpassing anything Rex had encountered before.

Thousands of Khryssari of varying sizes and shapes filled the hangar, their forms darting through the air or lumbering across the ground with precision and purpose. Even the smallest creatures Rex could spot were massive, standing at least four or five meters tall.

The largest ones, hulking monstrosities covered in thick, chitinous armor, were more akin to walking skyscrapers, their every step shaking the organic floor.

But despite the overwhelming size and power of everything around them, Rex noticed something odd, none of these terrifying creatures dared to cross Ys's path. Every Khryssari they passed either stepped aside, flew higher, or outright froze as if trying to avoid her altogether.

Even those that were much larger and undoubtedly more powerful seemed to shrink under her presence.

"Ys…" Rex muttered, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and caution as his gaze followed a massive Khryssari scuttling out of their way. "What did you do to these cute and poor massive destruction beasts to make them stay the hell away from you?"

"Mmm?" Ys tilted her head, feigning innocence as she walked beside him in her humanoid form. "What makes you assume I did something?" she replied while puffing out her cheeks and lightly punching Rex's chest, though her punch had no strength at all, more of a playful gesture.

Rex chuckled, patting her on the head as he shook his own. "Oh, come on, I know how much of a little devil you can be. It wouldn't surprise me if you traumatized half the swarm just for fun."

"Hmph!" She pouted while crossing her arms. "Just so you know, I did nothing! It's just that they can feel my mom's pressure on me," she explained, her voice growing more cute. "They instinctively understand who I am, and since everyone here is connected to her, no one would dare go against her orders."

As Ys spoke, one particularly large Khryssari lumbered past them; it was a grotesque Tier 4 monstrosity, easily over ten meters tall, its heavy exoskeleton covered in glowing fissures of green light. It radiated raw power, the kind that would normally make even Rex wary.

Ys, however, simply reached out and gave the towering beast a sharp spank on its armored hindquarters.

The creature froze mid-step, shuddered violently, and then scurried away as fast as its massive limbs could carry it.

"See?" Ys said with a radiant smile, looking as though she'd just completed the easiest task in the world.
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Rex blinked in disbelief, his brain trying to process what he'd just witnessed. He could feel the immense power radiating from the creature Ys had just casually smacked, something that would normally be considered suicidal. Yet here she was, acting like it was no big deal.

"Erm, yes, I see," Rex said carefully, his gaze following the retreating Tier 4. "But... and I'm just throwing this out there, but maybe you should refrain from spanking anyone else while we're here."

"Why?" Ys asked innocently, tilting her head.

Rex gestured vaguely toward the creatures around them, his voice lowering. "Because, unlike you, I don't have your mom's 'pressure' on me. To these guys, I'm basically a walking, delicious-looking snack. And I don't feel like being eaten today, if you know what I mean."

Ys giggled, ignoring his caution entirely. "Oh, come on, Rex, relax! This is my home. There's nothing that can go wrong here!" She said cheerfully as she leapt onto Rex's back again, wrapping her arms around his neck and becoming his "backpack" once more.

Rex's eyes widened in alarm. "And now you've done it. That was absolutely a death flag!" he shouted dramatically, throwing his arms in the air.

Ys laughed, clearly enjoying herself as they bantered. But their playful moment was cut short when Rex noticed something that made his chest tighten with unease.

Several Khryssari, different from the others in the hangar, were approaching them. These creatures were smaller than the hulking beasts Rex had seen earlier, but they were far more imposing.

Their sleek, chitinous bodies were covered in intricate patterns of glowing green veins, and their eyes burned with an unnatural intensity. Unlike the other Khryssari, who seemed to exude raw brute force, these warriors carried an air of precision and intelligence, their movements calculated and deliberate.

"Ys," Rex said slowly, his voice tinged with caution.

"Yes, darling～?" Ys replied sweetly, still clinging to his back.

"Who are those guys?" Rex asked while pointing at the approaching warriors with a small, nervous gesture.

Ys's playful demeanor shifted slightly as she climbed off Rex's back, her expression becoming a bit more serious. "Oh, them?" she said casually, brushing off her dress. "Those are my mother's sons."

Rex stiffened, his instincts immediately going on high alert. "Her sons?" he repeated, his voice low and cautious.

"Yup," Ys said with a slight grin, stepping behind Rex and peeking over his shoulder as though she were hiding.

The sight of Ys, the ever confident, carefree Ys, hiding behind him made Rex tense even further. "Wait a second," he muttered, glancing back at her. "Why the hell are you hiding? You're her actual daughter, aren't you?"

"Well, technically, yes," Ys admitted, her voice unusually quiet. "But they're, um... my mom's sons from when she was still a princess. They were made before I was, so they're technically my older brothers. And…"

"And what?" Rex prompted, his nerves on edge.

"And they're kind of... possessive about her," Ys said sheepishly, avoiding his gaze.

Rex turned back toward the approaching warriors, his body instinctively tensing as they stopped a few meters away. Their eyes locked onto him with a piercing intensity, their expressions unreadable but unmistakably hostile.

"Well, this is going to be fun," Rex muttered under his breath.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here," the Khryssari champion said, his voice oozing mockery as he stepped forward, coming to a halt just a meter away from Rex and Ys. His piercing green eyes scanned them with clear disdain, his mandibles clicking slightly as if he were holding back laughter.

The champion was humanoid in shape but distinctly alien in appearance. His four legs, jointed like those of an insect, supported his tall, imposing frame, and his carapace-covered back glistened under the faint bioluminescent glow of the hangar.

A pair of translucent wings peeked out from beneath his armored shell, twitching faintly as though anticipating battle. Behind him, the other nine Khryssari champions also arrived, each similarly humanoid but with varying features, some had additional arms, some had fewer, while others had limbs shaped like jagged blades.

Each of them radiated the raw, predatory presence of a Tier 6 being.

The champion's glowing green eyes flicked dismissively to Ys, and his mandibles curled into a smirk. "And for the Mother's sake, what is that horrendous appearance you're using right now, Y'Ssera?" His tone was full of mockery, his wings twitching with amusement.

He leaned forward slightly, his face inches from hers. "And what's this? Weren't you already a Tier 3 being the last time I saw you? How is it that you've regressed back to Tier 2? Not only are you uglier than before, but now you're even more useless."

He laughed cruelly, the sound echoing through the massive hangar. "Hahahaha! No wonder Mother sent you away like the failed experiment you are!"

Ys didn't respond immediately. Her usual carefree demeanor was gone, replaced with a stoic expression as she stood her ground behind Rex.

She didn't flinch under the champion's verbal assault, but Rex could see the subtle tension in her body, the way her fingers twitched slightly as if holding back the urge to retaliate.