Super Mothership
“Trash! You useless trash! Why don’t you just die already?!”
A furious roar blasted out from the communication terminal, causing Kloros’ expression to stiffen slightly.
“I trusted you completely and handed this entire battle over to you! I poured enormous amounts of money into supporting your plan, and what did you bring me in return? This is the glorious victory you promised me?
I pay you several hundred million a year just to raise a useless piece of trash like you?!”
Jinlok’s fat face was practically twisted with rage.
More than a thousand warships had been destroyed in a single battle. These weren’t cheap second-hand ships either — most of them belonged to the elite First Fleet, all brand-new cutting-edge battleships!
Including the garrison fleet, the Jinlok Consortium only possessed a little over 2,500 warships in total. This single defeat had directly slashed nearly half of their military strength.
Thinking about the staggering financial losses, Jinlok instantly felt as though he were suffocating from shock.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
The truly terrible possibility was if news of this leaked out…
Without military protection, the surrounding commercial environment would deteriorate rapidly. Not only would competitors take the opportunity to stab them while they were down, but even the previously quiet Fragment Star Pirates would likely begin making moves.
And if the news reached the capital markets… Jinlok could already imagine the horrific sea of green as the consortium’s market value plummeted catastrophically…
Although the Jinlok Consortium was controlled by the Jinlok family, many major figures held shares behind the scenes.
For example, the Empire’s Second Prince was the consortium’s second-largest shareholder. It was precisely because of this connection that Jinlok had obtained the “Vassal Race Employment Rights” and the “Wormhole Development Contract Rights.”
But clearly, this investment had turned into a complete disaster…
If this incident caused shareholders to withdraw their investments on a large scale, the consequences would be unimaginable!
“My lord, perhaps the situation isn’t actually as bad as we think…”
After silently enduring the furious tirade without expression, Kloros suddenly spoke.
“What did you say? This still isn’t bad enough? Does the entire fleet need to be annihilated before it counts as bad?!” Jinlok roared.
“This fleet suffered devastating losses, and I admit that my intelligence work was inadequate. I never expected a mere Gemini civilization to possess a near-light-speed attack battle star.
But my plan was also a success!
Their fleet is now practically wiped out. They won’t be able to organize any effective resistance for quite some time. Next, with only a thousand warships, I can crush through and occupy most of their territory with overwhelming force.
With our superior technological level, we can sustain the war through plundering resources while simultaneously purchasing large numbers of warships externally to rebuild our combat strength. Defeating Gemini is only a matter of time.
The benefits we gain from Gemini will soon compensate for all our losses…”
The grand promises Kloros painted finally managed to calm Jinlok down slightly, though he still remained skeptical of Kloros’ assurances.
“Can you guarantee that high-speed battle star won’t appear again? Are you confident you can deal with it?”
“The reason it inflicted such heavy damage on us was entirely because of secrecy and surprise. Now that we’re prepared, I have no fewer than ten methods to deal with it.
And besides… don’t you think that battle star itself may be the true treasure?”
A sharp gleam flashed through Kloros’ eyes.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“A Cosmic Artifact.”
Those four words caused Jinlok’s heart to skip violently.
“Hiss… Are you certain?”
“The ability to instantly alter an object’s motion vector — that kind of dreamlike technology is not something a tiny Gemini civilization could possess. There’s at least an eighty to ninety percent chance they acquired one of those things!”
Hearing this, Jinlok’s breathing immediately grew heavier.
Seeing that Jinlok had been tempted, Kloros quickly pressed the advantage while the iron was hot.
“If we can obtain that object in the end, then forget one fleet — even if we sacrifice every fleet we possess, it would still be an unimaginably profitable trade!”
Kloros spoke in a tone dripping with greed for wealth.
“But our military strength is already stretched thin. Where would we find the spare forces to assemble another attacking fleet? If we redeploy our troops, the surrounding powers…” Jinlok frowned deeply.
Cosmic Artifacts were indeed immensely valuable, but his home territory was the true foundation of everything.
Within the current Wolf Empire, the central government’s control over the various star regions was weak. To protect one’s territory and wealth, one relied not on imperial law, but on massive warships and heavy cannons!
Now that their military strength had been severely weakened, continuing to invest troops into conquering Gemini would reduce the defenses of his home territory to nearly nothing.
Those Fragment Star Pirates were no pushovers. The moment they discovered the Jinlok Consortium had fallen into weakness, they would swarm over like sharks smelling blood.
Even their seemingly close ally, Black Sail, might not be able to resist coming over to take a bite out of such a huge piece of meat!
“You don’t need to worry about that at all!”
Kloros revealed a confident smile.
“I sealed off the information immediately and blocked all communication signals. At present, news of our devastating losses has not leaked out.
So all we need to do is completely blockade this wormhole — entry allowed, exit forbidden. That way, outsiders will have no way of learning the true situation on the battlefield on the other side of the wormhole.
You only need to publicly announce that we achieved a major victory in this war, and that we will soon gather even more forces to launch a massive invasion of Gemini’s colonies. That will provide perfect cover for our troop deployments into Gemini.
Even if outsiders realize our rear defenses are weakened, they still wouldn’t dare risk provoking us while we’re supposedly carrying out an ‘all-out expedition,’ fearing our inevitable retaliation!”
Jinlok’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.
Kloros’ plan was simple: conceal the truth and use the prestige of a “great victory” to make their “paper tiger” appear even more terrifying. However…
“This deception might work for a while, but it can’t last forever,” Jinlok said worriedly.
Completely crushing Gemini was not something that could be accomplished overnight.
A short period would be manageable, but if their main force remained on “expedition” for too long while no news whatsoever came from the other side of the wormhole, even a fool would realize something suspicious was going on.
“It won’t take long. Give me half a year, and I’ll use a lightning campaign to force Gemini to hand over that object!”
Kloros’ face was filled with confidence.
“Besides, while we’re busy, we can’t let those pirates remain too idle either!
Hasn’t Black Sail been getting somewhat restless lately? Then let them stir up some major trouble. As long as the Fragment Star Region falls into chaos itself, who would still have time to pay attention to us?”
“Oh? It seems you’ve already made arrangements in the Fragment Star Region as well?”
“Of course. My abilities are absolutely worthy of the salary you pay me, hehe!”
Kloros smiled faintly.
“Hahahaha! Good! As expected of my most capable subordinate. Then we’ll proceed according to your plan. Just don’t disappoint me again!”
Jinlok now wore a warm and friendly expression, as though he hadn’t been calling him trash moments ago.
The mere thought of obtaining the Cosmic Artifact filled Jinlok’s heart with burning excitement. He could practically see his wealth skyrocketing like a rocket…
“It shall absolutely be as you wish, my boss!”
Kloros bowed respectfully, yet an oddly mocking smile appeared at the corner of his lips…
…
After ending the communication, Kloros curled his lips disdainfully.
A mere merchant actually dared to covet a Cosmic Artifact?
He opened his communicator and connected to a secret communication channel.
When the holographic image of a handsome young man appeared before him, a trace of burning fervor immediately surfaced in Kloros’ eyes. He instantly dropped to one knee and respectfully performed a deep salute.
“Your loyal servant, Kloros, greets Your Highness…”
TL Note- Double Agent....
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