Super Mothership
During the ceasefire negotiations, both parties tacitly avoided any intention of signing a formal written agreement.
Firstly, everyone knew such a document would hold no real binding force. Secondly, the moment an agreement was reached, both sides were already prepared to break it at any time...
Not long after the ceasefire, over a hundred prisoners were released back to the neighboring star system. Gustav seized this opportunity for a grand publicity campaign, turning the return of the captives into a ceremony as triumphant as welcoming victorious warriors.
At the same time, Gustav declared this as a major diplomatic victory, boasting that the invincible fleet of the Twin Stars could make any force tremble in fear. This propaganda helped to slightly restore morale, which had been shaken by the abrupt ceasefire, and also salvaged some of Gustav’s dignity after his previous defeat and the capture of his soldiers.
As a result, some uninformed individuals mistook this prisoner release by the All Things as One faction as a sign of weakness toward the Twin Stars.
The returning captives, having survived their ordeal, were naturally overjoyed to reunite with their forces. However, when questioned about the situation in the Solar System, they were completely clueless:
- "We don’t know. Ever since we were captured, they completely isolated us from any outside information. Our guards were nothing but automated robots."
- "The place we were held was probably near the wormhole. They had no intention of interrogating us—not even a single normal questioning session."
- "Torture? Not at all. In fact, we were treated quite well. Even after multiple failed escape attempts, the punishments were light. Their prisons were friendlier than the ones back home!"
- "Intel on the detention facility? Hmm... lots of surveillance cameras, does that count? Sometimes I felt like countless eyes were constantly watching me—I couldn’t even sleep peacefully..."
This left the Twin Stars deeply disappointed, as they realized they couldn’t extract any useful intelligence about the Solar System from these captives. The only potentially valuable piece of information was dismissed as the delusion of a soldier under extreme psychological stress...
"From the looks of it, there might truly be some unspeakable secret hidden within the Solar System..." This was the conclusion that Isabel reached after analyzing the captives' testimonies.
"Yes, it's obvious that these prisoners were deliberately subjected to strict information isolation. The enemy even minimized direct human contact, relying solely on automated robots to guard them, all to prevent any intelligence leaks."
"Could it be that the Solar System… really has a garrison of the Ant Empire?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out. Moreover, judging by how they treated these captives, it's likely that from the moment All Things as One captured them, they already planned to use them as bargaining chips." Isabel speculated.
Kind treatment of prisoners and strict intelligence lockdown—this was by no means a standard approach to detaining captives. Unless, of course, the captors had already decided from the beginning that these prisoners would eventually be released...
Could it be that during the wormhole battle, the enemy had already foreseen this exact scenario?
Gustav’s expression darkened. He felt humiliated, as if he were being led by the nose. The enemy was thinking three steps ahead while he could only react passively, following their rhythm.
However, his mood quickly improved.
The enemy’s actions only proved that they lacked the strength to face his fleet in direct combat—hence their need to manipulate the situation using prisoners.
"We’re strong enough that we don’t even need to rely on prisoners!"
Isabel ignored Gustav’s internal thoughts. After some consideration, she asked, “Has there been any recent activity on Kara?”
"Hmm… nothing too unusual. However, our surveillance systems have detected a significant decrease in the number of Hunter units on the planet’s surface. Not only that, but traces of the remaining Karans’ activities also seem to be gradually disappearing." Gustav replied.
The Longevists' transformation project was undoubtedly a world-class megastructure endeavor, requiring enormous resources and manpower. The massive Hunter force had almost entirely been repurposed as construction workers, which naturally drew Gemini’s surveillance system’s attention.
"A sharp decrease in numbers? And they chose to go dormant in this situation?" Isabel frowned slightly.
"Hah! Isn’t that exactly what they should be doing? They went through all that trouble to trade prisoners and the Water of Life for a ceasefire agreement. I’d say they’re afraid of provoking us again, so they wouldn’t dare act out." Gustav scoffed.
"No… that’s not right. When two armies face off, even if one is at a disadvantage, it should never show weakness. It’s just like two wild beasts locked in a standoff—if one shows fear, the other will pounce without hesitation and tear it apart."
"If they truly wanted to maintain the ceasefire, they should be baring their fangs, making it clear that provoking them would be unwise. But choosing to go dormant… that’s not normal!"
Isabel’s words made Gustav pause. Thinking it over, he realized she had a point.
"Warfare is the art of deception. Those who have strength will feign weakness, and those who are weak will exaggerate their power."
What was the purpose of a strategic deception bureau?
Powerful nations hid their trump cards—this was “having strength but appearing weak.” Meanwhile, the weaker side constantly boasted about their weapons being world-shattering—“appearing strong while being weak.” The goal was always to deter the enemy, creating the illusion that they were no easy target.
From this perspective, the situation on Kara seemed rather strange.
"Are you saying… there’s some kind of conspiracy?" Gustav asked.
"I’m not sure. Maybe they’ve simply reached their limit and can no longer sustain such a large military force."
"After all, the Karan population is already dwindling, and their industrial infrastructure has been largely destroyed. They were likely running on borrowed resources even before this. The sharp decline in their Hunter forces might indicate they’ve put them into a sort of ‘hibernation’ to conserve energy."
"However… I can’t shake the feeling that things aren’t that simple…" Isabel muttered, lost in thought.
"Hah! Even if they have some kind of scheme, our fleet holds absolute strategic superiority. As long as we maintain control over Kara’s orbital space and prevent a single vessel from passing through, no matter how much they struggle, they’ll be stuck on the planet’s surface—completely incapable of threatening us." Gustav declared confidently.
After a moment’s thought, he added, "But just to be safe, I’ll deploy additional fleet units to reinforce the blockade around Kara. We must ensure nothing goes wrong!"
As a competent commander, he could afford to dismiss the enemy strategically, but he would never underestimate them tactically.
Hearing this, Isabel nodded in agreement. Their side held the advantage of superior positioning, and she too found it hard to believe that the enemy could pull off anything significant under such circumstances.
Kara provided the enemy with shelter, but it was also a natural prison—gravity itself was the heaviest shackle.
With dozens of warships blocking the way, any flying object attempting to leave Kara would be reduced to scraps before it could even escape the planet’s pull.
However, what they failed to realize was that deep beneath the surface of Kara, something terrifying lay hidden—an ultimate weapon waiting to be unleashed…
TL Note- New Weapon?
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