Snowballing and a space paartyy!

The Empire grew at an exponential rate, with each ship destroyed three more were created, with every man killed ten were enlisted, and numbers swarmed over all hope of resisting the tide of the Empire's military.

The Empire's tactics mirrored this change, becoming more generous with their resources and significantly more aggressive, often simply shooting down entire fleets in massive volleys from their gigantic battleships and cruisers, ships that are the peak of concentrated firepower.

The battleships are the greatest ship class the Orion Arm has seen, and the Empire has mastered their use, with the largest being over a thousand square meters, its guns were almost as big as most corvettes, capable of shredding them in one shot if the agile small ships didn't dodge.

Proud and strong along with spineless and weak all fell alike in front of the terror which has become of the Imperial Navy, its infamy spreading across all life within the Orion Arm, while it became even more famous within the Empire, becoming the peak of idolization, often considered a bigger force than entire civilizations combined.

This is not wrong, after all, the Imperial Army is fighting multiple federations, alliances, and independent powers at once, with the only ones escaping their wrath being the members of the "Great Shield" alliance.

A major alliance of immense scale which formed specifically with the purpose to resist the Empire, which it has done shockingly well so far.

Now with so many subjects and planets, the nobles were able to fulfill their duty of helping manage the Empire, with nobles sent on missions to ensure loyalty and inspire the people to serve the Empire well.

The less capable nobles were also sent on missions, and if they didn't improve, they were silenced and replaced with more capable personnel, with new noble houses forming with the explicit purpose of being diplomats and negotiators.

Commoners also sometimes earned noble status if they showed talent, making a new age of nobles, which was desperately needed considering Adam silenced many on his way to power so far.

With overflowing resources, many projects were started by the crown, notably a massive shielding project, effectively a copy of the shield which protected Earht on an interstellar scale.

It would protect the Sol system, as it was popularly known, and the core planets that circled it, including the lifeless stars between them, making a massive circle that would definitely set of alarms across the entire Orion arm due to the sheer scale and energy this would require to pull of.

Entire systems would be turned into glorified nuclear reactors and energy harvesters to power this thing, and even then, it would be weaker than the one that covered the Earth years ago, minly due to its scale.

Even then, it would grant the Empire unparalleled control in who entered and left, meaning that no spies could hope to infiltrate by sneaking it, since there would be no way for them to do so.

The inner planets would be completely safe, and Earth doubly so, since it had its shield, which was perfected just in case.

The consequences of the battle against the Hive could still be seen on Earth, as the regions hit slowly recovered with the aid of advanced fertilizers and advanced human aid, humanity for once helping mother nature grow, while they explore outside of Earth, their little nest in the universe.

As more humans were born outside Earth, it has slowly begun to lose the fanaticism the humans once showed when it was in danger, although still considered the crown jewel, now it was purely because of logical reasons, hence why Adam made it so that every human had to visit Earth at least once, with the state even providing the necessary funds for the journey if the person couldn't pay.

The idea of renaming Earth to something more grandiose as a way of honoring the birth of humankind upon it was thrown around, and Adam is still considering renaming it to something like "Holy Terra" or something similar.

The concept itself excited him, as he believed Earth to be the greatest planet, but he worried it might alienate his people who did not share his thoughts.

"Well, whatever. I can think about that later." Adam mumbled out loud while ripping a squid-like creature in half. War now nothing more than the usual Sunday to him.

"Father! We have successfully captured the base!" His son ran up to him and reported the situation, Adam left commanding the troops to him, as he believed it would give the prince valuable experience.

"Well done son! Keep the push going, spare not even the children." Adam's voice changed tone from happiness and pride to rage and Destain in mere moments, giving those around the two shivers. "If they think they can enslave ours, we will show them the pain of losing your flesh and blood." His voice was resolute, leaving no room for argument, and none was given.

"Understood!" His son saluted and left promptly, deciding he better not stay when his father is angry, leaving the other aliens to a horrid fate.

"Hmm, the boy is a good soldier and commander, and war hasn't broken him like it would many, in fact, the boy seems to be taking it with joy like me. Like a vacation!" He monologued to himself while an alien begged for mercy.

"Shut up." he ripped its head off, making the other aliens flee in horror.

"Well, I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my son! Feels good to be the father of a capable young man, I wonder when Serena will get pregnant again. I have felt pretty pent up recently..." He imagined his beautiful wife and got excited merely thinking about the things she will do when he comes back.

Serena, in her infinite feminine wisdom, came up with an elaborate plan to bring her husband back home faster, she would always do something extremely risky, like 'taste testing him' in his office while he had to keep a straight face when someone walked in.

Well, he made sure no one knew, and they didn't, since he was very stoic, but is still brought excitement into the equation.

And Adam loved it, and that's only an example.

"Smart little girl..." He chuckled to himself, well, she couldn't exactly be called little.

He walked through the slave camp, a large iron door now in front of him, his soldiers rushing to catch up with him.

He dug his fingers into the metal door, slowly pulling it open with sheer strength, his veins looking like they would explode any second now.

His men and his son stopped and stared in awe as the Emperor pulled open a many-ton door that was actively fighting him, a feat that shouldn't be possible, and yet for him, it is.

After the door mostly opened, Adam shoved the two sides away, breaking the door and keeping it open in the process.

He turned around at his stunned men and yelled at them. "What are you standing there for!? Want me to change your diaper?! CHARGE AND FREE YOUR FELLOW MAN!"

The men surged forth, killed all remaining inhabitants of the camp, and freed the prisoners there, women and children crying in joy and men collapsing from exhaustion could be seen all around, eternally grateful to the Emperor and his men.

"Your majesty" A report came from the Imperial Fleet, "The sentient nonhuman population of the planet has been determined to be zero, all have been slaughtered and killed slowly as you ordered."

"Well done, everyone involved gets double their salary this month." He answered, receiving words of thanks from the other side.

After a few hours of recovering the humans, Adam walked onto an elevated balcony-like platform from which the previous owners most likely issued announcements, his son behind him.

Now, A human stood there on that wretched balcony, which filled the freed slaves with glee, especially knowing the fate of their former torturers.

No, not masters. The word "master" suggests even the vaguest form of respect, and there was none to be found in the hearts of these people.

Adam looked down, and spoke, his voice resounding clearly across to the thousands present.

A normal person would get nervous, but Adam has spoken to hundreds of thousands at once back on Earth, this is like breakfast for him.

"My people! You have been freed from the oppression and tyranny of the Vultok! Now options are before you, will stay within the vast cosmos? Or..." Adam spoke as a sinister grin covered his face, slowly turning into a wide grin. "Do you desire for the blood of your enemies to flow? Do you want to make them all call YOU master?! B e g. Beg you for mercy!?"

The men within the crowd let out roars that seemed to shake the walls of the camp as if the spirit of liberty and rage made the planet itself tremble in fear.

"Then Follow our army back to Earth! And fight for the Empire! Your Fatherland and Motherland! Your home! Rip them all apart like the filthy cattle they are!"

The men cheered, while the women were a lot calmer, enraged, yes, but not so physical about it, which Adam didn't mind.

Alexander, the son of the man himself, sighed.

He could still remember the man who took that painting as if it was the most precious thing in the world, the gentle but stern soul, and it is still there when he isn't threatened, but when something annoys his father or threatens him...

He becomes like this, a fanatical speaker, a man capable of turning billions of normal men into ruthless killing machines, a man capable of driving species to extinction, a man capable of killing his brother, albeit for every right reason, and a man he aspired to be more like.

He felt pride in being the son of such an amazing man, and he only felt the responsibility that came with it to be natural, but every time his father got that glint in his eyes, every time he spoke so naturally and passionately, spreading his emotions to everyone around him with ease, he shivered.

That. That is a true Emperor, a man capable of creating an Empire, someone so legendary, history will never forget them, even after thousands of years, such a man is his father, and he could feel it, deep within his being that he too, is destined for something great, but he should never. N e v e r. give his father a reason to kill him, cause if he had to, he knew he wouldn't hesitate.

After he finished his speech, Adam turned around and spoke to his son. "Come boy, your mother must be worried sick about us, I'm afraid that if we delay, she isn't going to bake us those delicious cookies we both love so much!"

"Ha! We both know that's not the only reason you want to go back so soon!" Alexander joked

"Like you have anything to say! Considering how loud that girl of yours is, I'm surprised I'm not a grandfather yet!" Adam revealed a shocking fact to his son.

"...Why didn't you tell me you could hear us?!" Alexander was outraged, the rooms are soundproof too! Just how loud were they without realizing it?!

"I wanted to see your expression when you found out, and my god, it's hilarious!" The almighty Emperor laughed at the expense of his son, and a devilish grin covered his face as he came up with a comeback.

"At least I can make my woman scream like that!"

"Oh... My dear boy, if you knew what your mother is like in bed, you would never be the same."

"..." x2

"Wanna go to Mcdonald's on the way?"

"... Fuck it, why not. Sex is good, but a hamburger is better." Adam said with complete seriousness, making Alexander crack up, and Adam himself smiled a little.

So the two enjoyed a hamburger in a space Mcdonalds and the entire fleet joined in, making an improvised party with Alexander and Adam as the lead stars, rivaling the greatest parties in galactic history.

Truly, men are fucking animals, and we all love it!