No Pure Good Factions in Our Neighborhood (1)

The more I scrolled through those concept posts, the more detailed faction explanations from veterans like Doctor Midori kept popping up.

The more I read, the more uneasy I felt.

I'd never actually played the game before, so as a complete newbie, I'd assumed our Demonia Empire was some kind of villain faction.

I figured the Earth Coalition and other nations were the "good guys."

But the veterans posting these explanations, starting with Doctor Midori, were openly tearing that idea apart.

Last time I wrote something that felt too messy, so this time I'm keeping it clean and concise.

Nickname: Earth Bastards or Tyrants of the Galactic Treaty.

Originally the capital of the Demonia Empire, it reorganized around the Earth sphere after the Great Rebellion that brought the empire down.

Surprisingly, if you only count raw territory size, the Earth Coalition is smaller than the Demonia Empire and the other "same-tier" factions like Atlantis or Babel.

It's bigger than minor groups like the Replicant Republic or individual Atlantis member states, though.

So how do they stay relevant? They practice true armed neutrality.

What does that mean?

They stockpile enough antimatter bombs to crack a planet in one shot and black-hole bombs that can wipe out entire star systems—far more than their size should allow.

In reality, they treat kids barely old enough for elementary or middle school like child soldiers, turning them into magical girls and boys while developing insane combat power through their magic-tech meta.

The Demonia Empire managed to salvage and escape with some assets, but you can't just pack up an entire galactic capital's infrastructure or blow it all up.

A lot was left behind, and the Earth Coalition claimed it.

That's why they're the richest faction right now.

As mentioned earlier, their tech focuses heavily on magic-tech.

Roughly seventy percent or more is science and magic combined, with the remaining thirty percent a mix of everything else.

So in battle you'll see meteors instead of torpedoes launched from battleships, or enemies teleporting straight into your ship with magic.

They layer mana shields on top of their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠science-made shields and armor, so their defense is unmatched.

The downside is that magic-tech is pretty bad at mobility.

Their fleets are slower than other factions, and redeployment takes longer.

Diplomatically, they look like peaceful pacifists on the surface—unlike the Demonia Empire.

But as the gallery folks will learn, they've got some seriously shady stuff going on behind the scenes.

There are rumors of illegal bio-labs (including breeding programs) to mass-produce more magical girls and boys.

They have this weird mindset that only Earth and the solar system matter, treating everything else as someone else's problem.

Stories say they sometimes banish entire annoying minor nations to another dimension.

They're also deeply tied to the Outer Gods who call themselves Constellations, which ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gives off a strange vibe.

There's even a MacGuffin-level rumor that they created the Red Scourge.

Honestly, their nickname already says it all.

Every faction in this neighborhood has dirty laundry.

Shady business is the default, so never trust what you see on the surface.

"For real."

The Earth Coalition, right after the Demonia Empire, already had the ominous nickname "Tyrant."

Then the post flat-out admitted they were shady as hell.

I couldn't help wondering if this was actually accurate.

When I checked the info on the other nations that followed, including the Earth Coalition...

Atlantis Confederacy of Independent Countries.

Nicknames: Outer Side's Disaster, Gigacorp, "Asik."

Most nations have a single government and system.

The Atlantis Confederacy of Independent Countries, or ACIC, is unique—it's a coalition of countless interstellar states.

Technically, it uses the Atlantis star system, the first to declare rebellion against the Demonia Empire during the Great Rebellion, as its nominal capital.

Setting that aside, here's their style:

While the Demonia Empire aims for physical galactic conquest, these guys go for economic domination through megacorps.

That doesn't mean their military is weak, though.

Compared to the Demonia Empire, Earth Coalition, Red Scourge, or Babel Church, they're more of a ragtag bunch.

But when they share a common goal, the member states pour out trillions of troops and tens of millions of warships.

There's huge variation between member states—some can only send small ships while others field heavily upgraded battleships.

Still, having the second-largest territory after the Demonia Empire and the top overall economy isn't just for show.

They're shady too, but I don't need to explain why.

The fact that "megacorp" is in their name and "gigacorp" gets thrown around should be enough, lol.

Their tech ratio is roughly forty percent science, forty percent wuxia, and twenty percent a mix of magic, faith, and psychic powers.

That's because the Atlantis star system was famous for space-wuxia, so the trend spread across the whole coalition.

Not every member state is the same, so the ratios vary.

This is just the Atlantis average—more accurately, it's the standard for the coalition's direct fleet that shows up if you openly antagonize Atlantis.

By the way, if you end up hostile with Atlantis while you're out in the galactic rim, you'll understand why they're called "Outer Side's Disaster."

That said, they have a corporate-state tendency.

If they think they can talk and negotiate with you, they'll still do business properly even while being hostile.

Think of them as the final boss of capitalism.

But if you're under the Red Scourge, they'll attack you without question, so watch out.

Why?

More than ten percent of the annual losses suffered by Atlantis megacorps come from the Red Scourge. That should explain it.

"Atlantis sounds terrifying too."

The empire that once ruled the galaxy collapsed in rebellion and barely clawed its way back.

The countless factions born from that power vacuum had turned the entire galaxy into a free-for-all.

I learned that much from the post.

The little one squirmed on top of me, most of its clothes already stripped off and tossed aside, wearing only a single t-shirt while I browsed the gallery.

I shook my head at how brutal the universe was.