SWNOVELXO Chapter 71: Chapter 071 - Meeting Prepare High school of dead"
The Interdimensional War Begins
Reuel's understanding of what "war across universes" truly meant had deepened: to dominate the entire existence within a universe until not a single entity remained outside his control. All life, all technology, all authority—everything had to kneel.
Wars between countries on Earth? Too trivial.
What was about to unfold was the true Multiversal War.
And this wasn't just a clash between armies. It was total conflict—from common folk to gods and demons. Every living being in the target universe would be involved, whether they liked it or not.
The victor?
They would gain everything. Absolute authority over reality, access to the highest tier of technology, and unique powers inherent to that world.
"Sounds pretty good... Winner takes all."
If Reuel conquered a demon-filled universe, he'd gain demonic powers. If he defeated a world driven purely by advanced technology, he'd absorb their innovations into his Imperium.
However, choosing a target wasn't a simple matter.
A universe that was too weak would be good for expanding population.
Too strong, and Reuel risked being repelled—or worse, obliterated—by nameless cosmic-level entities.
"My power as the Emperor of Mankind is only at 40%... Still not enough to face those unnamed monsters. I'd better focus on growing my population and infrastructure first. Can't have Terra Aeterna becoming the target of a fucking counter-invasion."
The interdimensional communication channels were two-way.
It would be bitterly ironic if the Imperial capital got infiltrated or captured first.
Reuel surveyed the neighboring universes surrounding his own.
The Demon Slayer world was already under control.
Minato was an ally.
The three major worlds—Fate Series, Date A Live, and Honkai Impact—were far too complex. Emotional connections existed there—wives were involved. And while the Servants were powerful, could they truly surpass human limits? Reuel wasn't sure.
"Better to keep developing peacefully for now. The next target will reveal itself in time."
With that decision made, Reuel activated his communicator.
"All primary units, gather. We've got a massive new project ahead!"
---
Two Hours Later
The main conference room was filled with dozens of ship girls from various factions.
Among them were key figures of the Imperium: Ursarkar E. Creed, the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, and even Saint Celestine herself—radiating an aura of purity even amidst the fog of military strategy.
"Commander, does this mean we're going to explore another world again?"
"Can you take me this time?" asked Yukikaze eagerly.
Reuel gave a faint smile.
"Yes, but I've also got business here that needs handling."
He projected three main objectives onto the screen:
1. Build orbital communication satellites
2. Establish the Imperial Navy
3. Acquire power from other worlds
"How long will it take to complete the first two?" he asked the team.
All eyes turned to Akashi, the head of technological research for the ship girls.
"Launching satellites is easy, nya~! But the Imperium of Man has a long history of being... kinda skeptical about satellites. They're easy to shoot down, easy to spy on, and dogmatically considered 'vulnerable.' But now we've got three technological foundations: Azur Lane, Gundam, and the Imperium of Man. We can combine their strengths!"
Launching orbital communication satellites for Terra Aeterna was no longer a technical challenge. But building a large-scale space fleet still required time—especially in transforming the ship girls into units capable of interplanetary operations.
"For communications, I recommend we still install backup systems: Vox-Casters, Vox-Net, Relay Stations, and Beacon Towers, for the Imperial Navy. Let the Tech-Priests Mechanicus handle that part. Your focus should be the evolution of ship girls into Spacefaring Warships!"
"We receive the command, O Omnissiah!" the Tech-Priests answered in unison, almost like a litany of praise.
Akashi lay across the table, deep in thought.
Even though she had never directly worked on space technology projects before, the Gundam tech tree provided by Reuel was far more than just a collection of combat units. It included blueprints and operational principles for various advanced spacefaring ships, including the Archangel, Izumo, USS Minerva, and other warships that functioned not only as Gundam carriers but also as genuine interstellar combat vessels.
Combined with the technical knowledge from the warships of the Imperium of Man—studied by the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars after temporarily setting aside all Omnissiah-worshipping dogma—Akashi had finally grasped the core structure and principles of the technology.
Now, only one question remained: would they reproduce the original models, or just imitate and create their own versions?
"Oh... If we can build our own spacefaring ships, doesn't that mean we can also customize their weapon systems as needed...?" Akashi muttered, eyes beginning to shine with excitement.
"That's right," Reuel nodded firmly.
"We can use this spacecraft manufacturing technology to turn you into orbital fighter units, interstellar warships, even star system cruisers…"
Some of the ship girls who were part of the carrier and heavy fleet looked uneasy. Normally, they could only envy the nimble destroyers darting through space with live warheads. Now, they too had the chance to break through the atmosphere and sail among the stars.
"Akashi, my future is in your hands," Musashi said dramatically, hugging Akashi's head.
"In the future, I'll voyage through the sea of stars with the Commander... and create a grand symphony of love among the heavens and galaxies…"
"Nya~ You're gonna choke me to death!!!" Akashi shrieked, nearly suffocating in Yat Sen's embrace.
The cat-eared ship girl emerged from beneath a pair of deadly sins, panting—but her eyes still gleamed with unshaken spirit.
Meanwhile, Reuel turned to glance at them, then refocused.
"What about the third objective?" asked Richelieu, eyeing Dafeng with a teasing look.
"'Acquire power from outside this system'... Commander, do you have any leads?"
"Well… taken literally, we're surrounded by many neighboring worlds, aren't we?" Reuel replied while activating a multidimensional star projector.
A superdimensional map appeared, displaying a network of interconnected worlds.
"At the moment, we've already acquired technology from Azur Lane, Gundam, and the Imperium of Man. Now, we only need to add one more element—magic, or non-technological energy systems."
"From this map, we can see several targets: users of Honkai energy, the magic system from 'the moon,' and the fairies from the Yue lineage."
"Their energy isn't random. Each has a systematic structure. If we can analyze and modify it, we can integrate it into our technological framework."
More than a dozen heads leaned in, eyes fixed on the starmap with eager curiosity.
"Commander, which world will be our next target?" one of the ship girls asked.
"Hmm…"
Reuel stroked his chin. There was still an unresolved mission in the combat world of Date A Live. The threat from the Origin Spirit remained. He knew that finishing it with their current strength was nearly impossible... unless he fully unleashed the psionic power of the Emperor and crushed the Spirits outright.
But Mio Takamiya… was too complicated. And he was reluctant to choose such a brutal solution—at least, for now.
"Honkai... sounds interesting," Reuel muttered.
"But I know, if we disrupt the balance of the Honkai world, it'll trigger the birth of new Herrschers. And the stronger our civilization becomes, the stronger the Herrscher that will emerge… I'm not sure we're ready to face entities like that right now."
After thinking for a while, his gaze shifted toward the Fate Series realm—more specifically, Fate/Grand Order.
Not just Fate/stay night or Fate/Zero, but the Grand Order universe structure, filled with singularities and temporal anomalies that had vanished from the main timeline.
"High School of the Dead... looks like I'll have to return to the zombie world again," Reuel muttered as he stared at the slowly pulsing multidimensional star map before him. "That world tells the story of a group of high school students caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak... and a nuclear war."
Reuel narrowed his eyes, then shifted his gaze toward the coordinates of another universe.
"Ling Cage: INCARNATION… if I'm not mistaken, 99% of humanity is already extinct there. Only one city remains—called the Tower. All flora and fauna have been infected by some kind of advanced biological virus. But… there's some gravity-based technology that looks interesting. Might be worth it."
He tapped the end of the table, bringing up a simulation of the next world.
"The Wandering Earth. This world follows a group of astronauts trying to push Earth away from an expanding Sun… and avoid colliding with Jupiter. Fascinating, but I don't have Star Wars-tier technology yet. No way to control stellar trajectories or harness energy on that scale. For now, forget it."
He swiped the map again.
"Avatar: The Way of Water… a story about a traitor named Jack Sully who chose to live as an alien. Now he even has a family with the Na'vi. Humanity returns to Pandora because Earth is almost destroyed and plans to make that planet their new home."
Reuel sighed softly, then chuckled.
"If I had a battalion of Catachan Jungle Fighters, I'd teach the Na'vi how to deal with humans… properly. But facing Eywa, the will of the planet itself, is still too risky. Unless I've attained full power as the God Emperor of Mankind, killing an entity like that is still out of reach."
Then, his gaze shifted to a point marked only as: "????"
"This universe is suspicious. Most likely contains some kind of war point system, or other unknown mechanics. But to trigger it, a massive human population is needed—and a full-scale Imperial Navy fleet. Not the right time yet."
Reuel sat silently for a moment, deep in thought.
Then, he made his decision.
"Alright. We'll start with something simple. First target: High School of the Dead."
He stood, sweeping his gaze across the room.
"For you ship girls—you'll depart first with Akashi. Your current focus is transforming yourselves into spacefaring units."
"Richelieu, you'll stay here to oversee the construction of the Imperial Palace and the management of Terra Aeterna."
"Understood, Commander." Richelieu gave a slight bow before leaving, following the other ship girls who began exiting the room one by one, ready to carry out their duties.
Now, only the Tech-Priests Mechanicus, Ursarkar E. Creed, and Saint Celestine remained.
Reuel resumed issuing commands, calm but firm.
"Adeptus Mechanicus—you will lead the Imperial Navy construction project. All logistics and production design are in your hands."
"We receive the command, O Omnissiah!" the Tech-Priests replied in unison, their voices like a litany hardwired into their mechanical souls.
"Ursarkar E. Creed," Reuel turned to the legendary commander. "You will train the Imperial Guard forces and new recruits for the Imperial Navy fleet. Also, send Chris Redfield and Major Hellsker to join me on the mission to High School of the Dead. You'll be in charge of defending that world. Make sure no nuclear weapons are launched. And save as much of the human population as possible."
"Understood, God Emperor. I'll prepare the Imperial Guard forces and coordinate personnel transfers immediately."
Reuel turned to the radiant figure at the end of the room.
"Saint Celestine. You will oversee all Adeptus Terra institutions on Terra Aeterna. From the Schola Progenium to the other branches. All future generations of the Imperium will be under your care."
"Understood, God Emperor," Celestine responded in a gentle yet resolute voice.
Reuel nodded.
"Good. This meeting is concluded. The assault on High School of the Dead begins in one week. Use this time to prepare everything."
With that decision, all units began to move. A new era of interdimensional conquest had just begun.