“The only heir,” Prince Li Erben emphasized, his frown deepening, “Just a few hundred years ago, the empire chose heirs by the hundred. Now, we’re left with just Mir.”
Adjutant Ivan tried to comfort the prince, “His Highness will soon come of age, and then we can select excellent noble women for reproduction, producing many new lives.”
“With increasingly fewer females?” Prince Li Erben took a sip of his wine, his concern deepening, “Even with more heirs, we can’t match the Zeraeni family known for cloning.”
The Austin nobility was vast, but female nobles were scarce. Due to their unparalleled genetic superiority, offspring from noble unions were powerful and exceptionally intelligent, while children from commoners or mixed marriages were as ordinary as cabbages. Imagine a victorious general leading a battalion of cabbages into battle; the result would be predictable… even if all the cabbages were thrown, they wouldn’t take down even one enemy warship. Thus, favoring boys over girls was clearly not the way to go.
Adjutant Ivan stepped forward, a strange light in his eyes, “The cloning virus research in the lab is in its critical phase; if successful…”
Prince Li Erben walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, coldly gazing at the distant black planet enveloped in stardust. The Zeraeni family, with their unparalleled cloning technology, had produced numerous skilled warriors for the battlefield. Even with Austin’s powerful warships and laser particle bombardment cannons, they suffered heavy losses against the Zeraeni’s human wave attacks, whose strategy was, if not to survive, then to die together. These clone warriors, capable of breaching blockades to slit throats, were a headache for Prince Li Erben.
Adjutant Ivan continued, “Over the past hundred years, eleven children have been born, including the soon-to-be-of-age Prince Mill. Each newborn takes a hundred years to mature. In another hundred years, our tribe will gain ten more of the best generals. However, a population gap has emerged, and the combat value of our army will reach its lowest point. If the Zeražni family launches an attack at this time…” Prince Lirben fell silent.
