From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 508 Spark
Johnny wasn't entirely joking, as he did show great talent in HCP manipulation.

In the 'career allocation prediction' that all young people in the Federation must undergo when they turn fourteen, the teenager named Johnny Riding was recommended two career development paths by the system.

One option is to join the Federal Army and become a glorious HCP pilot. Another option is to drive a civilian stepping platform, which is the civilian version of HCP, and become a special pilot needed by many industries.

However, due to his family situation at the time and in order to better take care of his family, Johnny finally chose to stay on his home planet and became a civilian stepping platform driver with a more stable income and safer daily work.

However, his talent was not buried. When a large-scale "armed rebellion" broke out in the Rubion galaxy, in order to protect his family and co-workers, he boarded an HCP whose pilot was seriously injured and many parts were damaged.

In desperation, he killed a pursuing government HCP and its accompanying troops. Finally, when he was surrounded by the government's follow-up troops, he was rescued by the Renaissance Alliance's troops. As a result, he joined the Renaissance Alliance's HCP troops and became a real HCP pilot.

After the news spread that Atlas Group was cooperating with the Renaissance Alliance and would help the Renaissance Alliance train HCP pilots and heavy armored combat boat drivers, Johnny was quickly recommended by his superiors.

At the assembly area of ​​the 'Pillar of Heaven II' space elevator, Johnny Riding also met Manfred for the first time, who was going to be training as a heavy armored combat boat driver.

Although their personalities, family backgrounds, and personal experiences are very different, they actually became friends in such a short period of time.

And Johnny Riding also found out the true identity of his new friend.

Manfred von Richthofen, a name that sounds full of old-fashioned nobility, but in fact, when Manfred was a child, his full name was actually Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen.
Obviously, compared to a federal citizen, such a name seems more appropriate for a Star Dragon Empire noble.

In fact, Manfred and his family were the "downtrodden nobles" who escaped from the Star Dragon Empire.

Manfred actually didn't know what exactly happened, because his deceased parents never told him. He only learned from their fragmentary words that his family was a victim of the political struggle in the Star Dragon Empire.

If it weren't for the help of some old friends, they might not have had the chance to escape to the Federation and accept the "political asylum" of the Rubion Galaxy Autonomous Government.

However, after so many years, a nobleman with no practical value soon lost the attention of the galaxy's autonomous government, and Manfred's family financial situation plummeted.

In order to survive, Manfred joined the reorganized garrison fleet and became a reconnaissance boat pilot. This was also thanks to the fact that the newly built garrison fleet did not set too many barriers in terms of identity and background, and also hoped that Manfred, a somewhat "special" soldier, could become a "propaganda subject" in the future.

Otherwise, given Manfred's background, he would never be able to join the federal army in his lifetime.
The conversation between the two teenagers did not last long, and soon they were asked to return to the cabin and secure themselves like everyone else, because the freight ship was about to follow the fleet into a collective jump.

"Johnny, don't be eliminated. I'm waiting for the day when you drive the HCP to escort me~" Before entering the cabin, Manfred looked at this new friend and said seriously.

"You should worry about yourself, little noble. Don't let me become an ACE and not have your battle boat to serve as a stepping stone."

Johnny Riding waved his hand nonchalantly, and finally looked at Manfred. The two teenagers couldn't help laughing anymore.
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Time passed like a white horse, and before anyone could react, nearly five months had gone by.

When the situation in this universe entered a new chapter, time seemed to pass faster.

Not only psychics like Amber, but even many ordinary people feel that time is passing faster and faster. Sometimes it seems that just a blink of an eye, and then a day has passed.
Of course, it wasn't some powerful 'power' that really sped up the flow of time in this universe. It was mainly because too many things happened during this period, and explosive news came one after another. Under the impact of a large amount of new information, many people's boring and unchanging lives were broken, and they naturally felt that time was passing faster and faster.

From Amber's perspective, in addition to the fast pace of both the Atlas Group and the outside world during this period, the "tension" of the entire universe has also begun to rise to a new level.

Although this "strategic decisive battle" between the Federation and the Star Dragon Empire ended with a seemingly lose-lose outcome, in fact, the two major human forces did not enter a stage of stopping the fighting.

On the federal side, the prestige and credibility of the federal government have been greatly affected by many previous events. In addition, the military-industrial complex that was in cahoots with the government was severely damaged by the Atlas Group. Therefore, various galaxies, especially those controlled by the opposition, began to stir.

When the "armed rebellion" in the Rubion galaxy was not quickly suppressed but instead showed a trend of intensifying, in addition to the opposition party that wanted to stir up trouble, other forces also began their actions.

These forces neither recognize the federal government nor the galaxy's autonomous government. They have only one goal, which is to "become their own king."

“Why believe in the future promised by some bullshit political party? Why not do it myself?”

Soon, "sparks" spread across multiple star systems within the Federation. Some were armed rebellions launched by civilian forces like the Rubion star system, while others were star system autonomous governments that declared "independence."

For the former, although the people in these galaxies have entered a wartime state, most of them still have some goals to fight for, and the warring parties will still intentionally avoid civilians during battles to avoid accidental injuries.

But if your galaxy is the latter, then congratulations, you have obtained an unlimited time 'Slave Experience Card'.

As we all know, many autonomous governments and chief executives of federal galaxies are not very human, and when they declare complete "independence" from the jurisdiction of the federal government, these inhuman behaviors immediately become even more inhuman.

Such a situation in the Federation caused Marshal Trafalgar, who had just returned to the capital to report on his work and rest, to faint.

Although the federal government blocked the news immediately, there were still some groundless rumors, which also caused these "sparks" within the federal territory to seem to burn more and more vigorously.
While the federal government was having a headache because of the "armed rebellion" that broke out simultaneously in multiple galaxies within its territory, the various forces in the Star Dragon Empire were not much better off.

The news that Her Highness Agnes was to be crowned had already spread completely. Coupled with the previous news of Duke William's death in battle and the destruction of the Chaos Fortress, the Regent Party fell into a disadvantage almost overnight.

And just as Amber expected, the old nobles who had previously joined the Regent Party suddenly stood up to act as "peacemakers" at this time, hoping to ease the confrontation between the two sides.

After all, they were the most capable of "following the wind". They knew that if they did not stand out and make their position clear at this time, then when Princess Agnes was officially crowned, they would be waiting for a big purge.
It was at this time that a number of forces suddenly emerged in the galaxies controlled by the "Princess Party" and the "Royal Party". Under the slogan of "overthrowing the monarchy, overthrowing the Leon family", they hanged a large number of planetary governors and entire families of nobles, launching the so-called "Glorious Revolution".

At the same time, some nobles within the 'Regent Party' began armed intervention in these galaxies in the name of assisting in dealing with the 'riots'.

The Regent Norton II himself began to liquidate without warning a group of old nobles within the "Regent Party" who had long been against him.

(End of this chapter)