Chapter 303: Taking Over Arrakis! Returning to Caladan! Leto's Plan!
Boom——!
On this side, with the activation of all engines, dozens of dazzling blue-white beams burst forth in an instant.
They propelled the mountain-like Inheritor, slowly advancing toward the stargate ahead. The violent tremors from the engines made all nearby personnel feel dizzy and unwell.
Several minutes passed before the much-anticipated jump was completed and the area around the stargate returned to normal.
Once the Inheritor docked steadily on the other side of the stargate, the departments of the LA Universal Megacorp quickly resumed activity. Engineers rushed to inspect various systems of the vessel.
Despite its immense power, this ancient super battleship that had lain dormant for years still needed a warm-up period before it could be fully activated and function properly in combat.
Meanwhile, the crew aboard the Inheritor began receiving data reports from various departments, checking for anomalies or any personnel injuries.
Back at the headquarters of the Multiverse Base, Li Ang turned his attention away upon confirming that the Inheritor had successfully reached the other side of the stargate, entering the Dune Universe.
The responsibilities going forward would be entirely handed over to Song Zhaomei—Li Ang was only concerned with the final outcome of the integration mission; he didn't care how it got done.
After all, the integration difficulty for Universe 005 (Dune) was practically a freebie. Unless someone deliberately chose the brute-force path, there would be little resistance.
With Song Zhaomei's assurance, Li Ang and Secretary-General Lucy temporarily left the Multiverse Base, boarding a shuttle to return to headquarters in Night City.
At the same time, the Universal Megacorp's Second Expeditionary Legion, with the Inheritor as its flagship, followed through the stargate into the Dune Universe.
The arrival of this second fleet sent a deep, soul-level shock through the entire Atreides family.
At first, upon seeing the stargate activate, they had assumed it would just be another fleet of similar scale. But the incoming fleet was clearly on a whole different level!
Just the lead ship, the Inheritor, took nearly ten minutes to pass through the stargate. This steel leviathan stretched over a hundred kilometers in length!
At that moment, even Duke Leto himself, along with the rest of House Atreides, stood speechless, too stunned to say a word.
Hawat, drenched in sweat and struggling to calm his nerves, finally spoke in a strained voice:
"No wonder they had the confidence to negotiate terms with us from the start, to demand a reshuffling of the Empire's political power and structure. They really do have the power to unify the Empire!"
"Your Grace, it's a good thing we agreed to work with them… otherwise, I can't imagine what would've happened."
…
To facilitate future troop deployments and conserve energy, the Universal Megacorp had set up their stargate directly on Arrakis, which would now serve as their first frontline base.
It wouldn't be long before Arrakis became the core stronghold of the Megacorp's operations in Universe 005 (Dune), with the Interstellar Governor's Office likely to be established there as well.
When the Inheritor appeared in the skies over Arrakis, the native Fremen all dropped to their knees in prayer, terrified by what seemed like a mechanical god descending from the heavens.
Such divine displays of technological power were completely beyond their experience.
Even the sandworms, lurking deep within the dunes, grew agitated—sensing a dire, alien threat drawing closer to their domain.
The Atreides guard detail, meanwhile, stood frozen in alarm. Even though they had been briefed ahead of time, the actual sight of it left them visibly shaken.
They had expected a standard fleet reinforcement—not an entire expeditionary legion from the Universal Megacorp on this scale.
A single warship stretching hundreds of kilometers long? Who could possibly stand up to that?
"What do you think of their strength?"
Out of nowhere, Duke Leto posed this baffling question, leaving Hawat momentarily stunned. Had the Duke lost his mind from shock?
Anyone with eyes could see that no one in the entire Galactic Empire—no matter how many noble houses banded together—could hope to rival the Universal Megacorp.
But in truth, what Leto really meant to ask was: How many years would it take for House Atreides to catch up to a force like this?
It was just that his mind was too overwhelmed, and the words had come out wrong.
Hawat could only shake his head with a wry smile. Still, he silently ran the numbers in his mind—only to quickly find his brain overheating, sweat pouring down his face.
Finally, after what felt like forever, a dazed Hawat solemnly gave Duke Leto his honest assessment:
"Your Grace, it's best not to even think about comparing us to them. Just their expeditionary legions alone—there are at least ten thousand of them, enough to fill an entire star system!"
"Forget House Atreides—if you activated every shipyard in the Empire, working nonstop around the clock, even if you spent one hundred thousand years, we still couldn't catch up."
According to reliable intel Hawat had recently gathered, the Universal Megacorp spanned five parallel universes. From the main universe to Universe 004 (Halo), all of it was their territory.
They had conquered countless advanced alien civilizations and controlled megastructures of unimaginable scale. They could even construct planet-sized warships.
With their level of productivity and access to resources, the Galactic Empire was little more than an appetizer. If the Enterprise wanted to, they could devour and drain the entire Empire at will.
After hearing Hawat's explanation, Duke Leto finally understood how naive his earlier thoughts had been. To think he'd once considered catching up to the Megacorp.
And what they'd just seen—this massive force—was still just a standard expeditionary legion.
If the true elite legions, equipped with planet-class dreadnoughts, ever arrived… wouldn't that be even more soul-crushing?
Leto couldn't help but shake his head again and again. He couldn't even fathom how much wealth, energy, and materials were needed to support fleets on this scale.
In the past, he had once ordered his people to calculate how much it would cost to build a standard Universal Megacorp fleet. Even after solving every technical challenge and slashing material costs to the bone…
They'd still need to drain all the wealth of House Atreides—ancestral assets, generational industries, everything—just to barely complete the build.
And that didn't even include future maintenance or personnel upkeep. Fully sustaining such a fleet would require the resources of five House Atreides put together!
These colossal gold-devouring monsters—yet the Universal Megacorp could afford to maintain ten thousand of them without breaking a sweat. No wonder they dared to walk all over multiple universes.
The Galactic Empire, on the other hand, had crippled its own industrial potential by limiting AI development.
In contrast, the Megacorp had risen through aggressive AI integration—transcendent-level AIs driving explosive growth in productivity. Building, maintaining, and fueling their vast legions was nothing for them.
And this was the toned-down version. If the Megacorp unleashed its full manufacturing might, it could easily double or triple its existing forces.
But… there was no need.
Technically, if the Galactic Empire lifted its AI restrictions and used ancient AIs to enhance production, its own "mass-army" capacity could rise significantly too.
But without a core technology like the Matrix to regulate AIs, the risk was too great—hence their fear and restraint.
Still, even if they did develop AI, their productivity and mobilization power would never surpass the Universal Megacorp.
The Megacorp stood upon scientific nexuses and resource hubs. They had immense tech reserves and an endless supply of basic materials.
In terms of research, they held Precursor archives and scientific think tanks. With their "semi-self-developed, semi-reverse-engineered" approach, they simply upgraded whatever caught their interest.
Sheer indulgence and freedom defined them.
As for materials? They siphoned black holes with mass decompression engines, shattered stars with dreadnoughts, and used clones to mine entire planets. If anyone could imagine it, the Megacorp could do it.
A trans-universal mega-civilization running on five "core systems"—unless fighting apocalyptic-tier wars, the Megacorp would never have to worry about resources.
"I finally believe they've really unified multiple parallel universes… I'd be a fool not to."
Duke Leto couldn't help but sigh, eyes filled with envy, resentment, and—most of all—overwhelming helplessness.
Before the Megacorp's arrival, he had been a bold and ambitious politician.
He'd tried to wrest power from the Emperor by allying with other houses through the Landsraad League, hoping one day to stand on equal footing with Shaddam IV.
That had been his endgame.
The political model he dreamed of resembled the powerful Yuan family from late Han Dynasty China—generations of elite statesmen controlling the court from the shadows.
Even after the Megacorp arrived, Leto still planned to renegotiate terms once things stabilized, aiming to carve out more influence for House Atreides.
After all—why not take advantage if you can?
But now, after seeing just the tip of the iceberg of the Enterprise's might, he finally realized the truth: they had chosen House Atreides purely out of convenience.
If they ever became a nuisance, the Enterprise wouldn't hesitate to replace them with another noble house.
With a helpless sigh, Leto muttered inwardly: no matter how grand your ambitions, when fate stands before you like a mountain, cold and unmoving, even the fiercest fire gets doused in ice water.
If all efforts are futile, then… might as well lie flat.
House Atreides had already cashed out its privileges at a high point. Now it was just time to quietly await the relaunch of the Enterprise's grand plan.
"Looks like House Atreides will be working obediently for the Megacorp from here on out."
Leto said with a wry, self-deprecating smile. The best course now was to stay low—blend in with the other noble houses.
If the Megacorp's executor intended to rule as god-emperor, then anyone attempting another Landsraad-style conspiracy would be digging their own grave.
After all, human ambition often shifts with the tide of power.
Even the warlord Xiang Yu, when witnessing Qin Shi Huang parading across the empire in luxury motorcades, only dared to mutter "That throne should be mine someday"—but never once acted on it.
After all, when it comes to the Qin army under the First Emperor's rule going to war, they really fight to the death. No matter how many ideas Xiang Yu had, he could only suppress them for now and continue biding his time and developing in secret.
As for Duke Leto, who had the bearing of an emperor, he truly was a capable statesman and deserving of the imperial throne. But the bigger picture was that Li Ang was destined to become the God Emperor—everyone else would have to step aside!
Recognizing the situation for what it was was crucial. And frankly, working under the Universal Megacorp wasn't such a bad deal. The Atreides family stood to gain more than they would lose.
"Your Grace is wise indeed!!"
Hawat's words of praise and flattery were spoken with genuine sincerity.
Sometimes, as a subordinate, it's natural to worry about your boss taking reckless risks or making blind bets—because when things go south, the fallout usually drags everyone down.
Especially in their line of work—if things really hit the fan, it wouldn't be surprising if they lost their lives thanks to the boss's poor judgment.
With a supercivilization like the Universal Megacorp, which immediately installs proxies to facilitate their resource plundering, going against them could only lead to disaster.
Given the Atreides family's current stature, simply earning recognition as contributors to the Megacorp's unification of the Galactic Empire was already enough to ensure their prosperity for generations to come!
In truth, it often takes just one or two generations of hard work for a family to rise again—a maximum of three, at most.
Future successors merely need to preserve the blessings passed down by their ancestors. As long as they can maintain what was already achieved, they're doing a decent job.
The real fear is reckless expansion and misguided alliances that squander the family's legacy, ultimately leading to ruin and devastation.
For House Atreides, the toughest period had been during the Butlerian Jihad ten thousand years ago. Back then, the family patriarch struggled through hardship and eventually succeeded in staking an early claim.
Now was the real boom era for House Atreides. All they had to do was pick the right side and cast that crucial vote for the Universal Conglomerate. Then they could sit back and ride the wave to easy victory.
Although their rise seemed to span millennia, in reality, it only took two generations of focused effort.
No matter how incompetent some of the patriarchs in between may have been, as long as they didn't lose the family's core assets, there would always be another chance to rise.
As for Leto now, standing like a pig at the wind's edge, all he had to do was relax with his wife and son and enjoy the rest of his life. As long as he didn't make waves, the Atreides family would only grow stronger.
Hawat, as the family's Mentat, had a clear view of the political landscape, which was why he praised Duke Leto for choosing not to stir up unnecessary trouble.
"Since the Universal Megacorp's Second Expeditionary Corps has arrived, let's get ready to depart for Caladan and hand over Arrakis to them,"
Duke Leto instructed Hawat.
After all, he was just keeping watch over this place for the Megacorp—he might as well head home early to his warm bed, his wife, and kids. Making a few more babies with Jessica sounded far more appealing.
Besides, aside from its spice, Arrakis was nothing but a barren wasteland. A godforsaken planet like this couldn't compare to Caladan.
Caladan had a pleasant climate, abundant resources, and was the Atreides family's true stronghold. Staying on home turf was unquestionably safer.
Given how critical the current situation was, there was no telling when the Bene Gesserit might resort to desperate measures and try to pull off an assassination.
"As you command, Your Grace. I'll begin making the arrangements to return to Caladan right away!"
Hawat nodded solemnly, clearly agreeing with Leto's plan. This place was a hotbed of trouble—they needed to leave as soon as possible.
Once the preparations for departure were settled, Duke Leto finally felt some relief. As he gazed at the Ornithopter floating in the air, he knew the Atreides family's involvement had come to an end.
With the two mighty expeditionary corps of the Universal Megacorp in action, they would be more than capable of chasing down the Corrino forces and wiping them out wherever they went.
No force could stand against the Megacorp.
Emperor Shaddam, that mongrel, had reached the end of the road. The Corrino family, who had strutted about for ten thousand years, would finally be finished.
When that time came, Leto would immediately use his reputation and prestige to lead the charge in proclaiming Li Ang the God Emperor, compelling all the noble houses to bow in allegiance.
As the Megacorp's executive, Li Ang would only need to show up in person, sign a few documents, and meet with the leaders of the Great Houses. With that, the massive Galactic Empire would fall neatly into his hands.
The entire transition of power would be as smooth and effortless as a flowing stream—without a single hitch!
Leto also had some plans in mind for the Atreides family's future.
Once the Galactic Empire was officially under new rule, he intended to establish a Galactic Chamber of Commerce, modeled after the Spacing Guild, bringing in members of the noble houses to focus on interstellar trade and logistics under the Megacorp's economic network.
If he couldn't revive the old Landsraad and become the political leader of the houses, then becoming the chairman of a powerful trade alliance and making a fortune was a solid alternative.
"Oh right—when you head back, ask Director Song Zhaomei on my behalf if, during their takeover of Arrakis, they can spare a batch of Fremen for House Atreides."
At that moment, Duke Leto hesitated briefly. After thinking it over, he spoke to Hawat with a trace of unease.
"The Fremen are naturally brave. Their combat prowess rivals that of the Sardaukar. I want to form a household guard with them to protect the honor of House Atreides."
Leto knew that making such a request to the Megacorp at this moment was a little sensitive. But if he didn't ask now, he might never get the chance again.
The Corrino dynasty had been able to rule the Galactic Empire for millennia and manipulate the noble houses into fighting among themselves largely because of their unmatched military power—chiefly, the invincible Sardaukar.
That was the true source of their unshakable dominance.
Now that Emperor Shaddam was about to fall and the Corrino dynasty with him, regardless of whether House Atreides intended to use their new position to oppress others or not, their political status was bound to undergo a seismic shift—from dragon slayers to the new "dragon."
This was a change no one's will could prevent.
Leto would need stronger military power to safeguard the fruits of revolution and deter any challengers.
Besides, the Fremen didn't serve much use to the Megacorp anyway. Letting House Atreides keep a few of them as personal guards shouldn't be too much to ask.
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