Super Mothership
Just as everyone was marveling at someone's selflessness and noble character, a soldier suddenly hurried in from outside.
“Report! The latest news from the front lines!”
“Hmm? Speak!” Isabel frowned.
The news coming from the front lines had been nothing but bad lately. Hopefully, this wouldn't be another piece of devastating news.
“Report, Commander! The enemy has just sent us a message through an open channel. They say they want to speak with our supreme commander!”
“A conversation?!”
Everyone froze, their faces filled with surprise.
The enemy, who had always been indifferent to their attempts at communication, acting as though “Don't talk to me. I just want to kill you,” had actually taken the initiative to contact them and request negotiations?
“I'm afraid... they're here to lay their cards on the table.” Beckman speculated.
If the enemy's previous actions had not been pointless, then there was a good chance they had another objective.
Isabel thought for a moment.
“Whatever the case, let's first see what exactly they want.”
...
Soon, Chloros's image appeared before everyone.
“You must be Lady Isabel. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Chloros revealed his fangs with a smile.
It wasn't surprising that the Locke Consortium had obtained intelligence about Isabel's promotion. This was Gemini's home territory, after all. Capturing a few prisoners for interrogation was extremely easy.
From an intelligence standpoint, the Locke Consortium held an absolute advantage.
“Lord Chloros, I'm sorry, but when it comes to an invader, I can't say that I'm pleased to meet you.” Isabel's expression tightened slightly.
“Uh...” Chloros's smile froze.
It wasn't because Isabel's sarcastic tone had offended him. Rather, he was slightly astonished that she had been able to call him by name directly.
He hadn't introduced himself just now, and she hadn't even phrased it as a question...
That meant they had probably already obtained a photograph of him?
Chloros reacted quickly. He soon composed himself and put his smile back on.
“Heh heh! Compared to your combat capabilities, I have to admit I'm impressed by your intelligence-gathering abilities. However, the strong prey on the weak and the fittest survive. That is the unchanging law of the universe.”
“That's true. But I need to remind you that you've only gained a temporary advantage. The wartime potential of an entire civilization mobilizing its population is not something a single consortium like yours can match.
“It won't be long before we can assemble more fleets and send them here. By then, you'll be dragged into the quagmire of war and forced to pay a heavy price.” Isabel's momentum did not weaken in the slightest.
Or rather... at a time like this, they absolutely could not show weakness.
“Hmm! I quite agree with your assessment.” To everyone's surprise, Chloros actually nodded in agreement.
“Actually, there is no deep hatred between us. There is no need for us to fight to the death. The universe is so vast that even if we choose different directions, there is still plenty of room for everyone to develop.”
Everyone exchanged glances, unable to understand what meaning there was in saying such things at a time like this.
Beat someone to a pulp and then say, “Sorry, I hit the wrong person.”
Did that sound reasonable?
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Isabel frowned.
“What I mean is... it isn't impossible for the two of us to coexist peacefully.”
Peaceful coexistence?
Everyone was even more surprised.
Was the enemy... here to negotiate peace?
Had they made a mistake?
They had considered negotiating peace before, but the other side had acted as though there was absolutely nothing to negotiate. So why were they suddenly taking the initiative to ask for peace talks?
Could there... be some kind of conspiracy?
Nie Yun looked at Chloros opposite him, and he already had a vague idea of what was going on.
Judging by the timing, the news from the Shattered Star Domain... had probably already reached the other side.
In other words, although Chloros looked completely calm on the surface, he was probably already panicking like crazy inside.
Heh heh heh...
...
To be honest, Chloros was indeed somewhat panicked.
According to his original plan, he should have waited until he had conquered at least another four or five star systems, or destroyed one of Gemini's sizable fleets, reducing Gemini's will to resist to its lowest point.
Only after the other side could no longer withstand the enormous losses and pressure would he accept their request for peace talks as the absolute victor.
By then, with Gemini at the end of its rope, wouldn't it be his to take whatever he wanted?
A few planets didn't matter to him. Destroying them was no big deal. Even the entire Gallente Star Zone was merely an insignificant interest in his eyes.
As long as he could obtain that thing, Gemini, the Locke Consortium—none of them would amount to anything in front of him!
However, ideals were plump while reality was skinny.
Just as he was about to bring everything to a conclusion, a crucial part of his carefully laid plan... the Shattered Star Domain, suddenly underwent an unexpected change!
First, the Gold Coin Pirates were wiped out. Then, Karon, who had gone to rescue them, was inexplicably killed as well, leaving two of his three pieces on the Shattered Star Domain chessboard gone in an instant.
This also meant... he had completely lost control of the Shattered Star Domain!
Years of planning had been wiped out in a single stroke. Naturally, this made Chloros extremely furious. But what worried him even more was whether this sudden upheaval would disrupt his plans going forward.
The intelligence concerning the “All for One Society” particularly caught his attention.
There had been nothing wrong with his own plan. His biggest mistake had simply been failing to anticipate that such a powerful force would suddenly emerge from the Shattered Star Domain!
A secret society suspected of colluding with both the Mechanical Race and internal factions of the Woolf Empire... just that reputation alone was enough to make anyone wary.
His decision to mobilize the Dark Temple and Karon to stir up chaos now seemed to have been nothing more than making a wedding dress for someone else. Instead, it had allowed the Ghost Pirates supported by the All for One Society to rise to prominence.
Had the other side already known his entire plan and deliberately turned his strategy against him?
Or was this merely a coincidental expansion of their power?
If it was the latter, then there was still room to deal with it.
But if it was the former...
That would be truly terrifying...
Although there was currently no direct evidence proving that the other side was targeting him, Chloros had an instinctive feeling—a feeling that danger was approaching...
To avoid complications from allowing the matter to drag on and to prevent any further unforeseen developments, Chloros had no choice, despite his reluctance, but to accelerate the final stage of his plan and reveal his cards to Gemini ahead of schedule.
“As long as you agree to three conditions, we can immediately withdraw our troops, and we can even return all the star systems we've occupied!” Chloros dropped a bombshell.
When Isabel heard that they were even willing to return the occupied territories, however, she did not become nearly as excited as the others.
Civilizations operated according to equivalent exchange. If they wanted to obtain something, they naturally had to pay a corresponding price. The more the other side was willing to give, the greater the benefits they must be seeking from Gemini.
“What are your conditions?”
“First, compensate us for our losses during the war... twenty thousand tons of energy crystals!” Chloros said calmly.
“What?”
“That's outrageous!”
“Impossible!”
...
A series of shocked cries and furious curses erupted from the Gemini officers.
Even though they had already guessed that the conditions would amount to nothing more than ceding territory and paying reparations, they had never expected the other side to make such an outrageous demand.
Twenty thousand tons of energy crystals was almost equivalent to Gemini's entire annual fiscal budget.
Such a huge compensation payment would be enough to severely damage Gemini's vitality.
Faced with the fury of Gemini's officers, Chloros was also somewhat helpless.
This was the downside of bringing the endgame forward ahead of schedule.
It was like throwing a punch that had only traveled halfway. Before the fist could reach its maximum speed and power, it had already hit the target. Only seventy or eighty percent of the force had been delivered, so naturally, the effect was greatly reduced.
If the other side had already been driven into a desperate situation, their reaction would definitely not have been this intense.
Although he was frustrated inside, Chloros still maintained a leisurely and composed expression.
“Whether a Gallente Star Zone is worth twenty thousand tons of energy crystals, I believe you all know the answer yourselves.”
Everyone fell silent.
The Gallente Star Zone contained five precious habitable planets and thirty-five secondary star systems, with a population of more than fifty billion. It had taken hundreds of years of development to reach its current scale.
If they chose to continue the war, given the ruthless methods of the enemy, it was entirely possible that all of this would be reduced to scorched earth.
Even if they managed to reclaim their lost territory later, all they would obtain might be nothing more than ruins and rubble.
Was a star zone worth twenty thousand tons of energy crystals?
Everyone naturally knew the answer.
Seeing Isabel frown silently, Chloros smiled.
“The second condition: limit the number of troops stationed in the Storm Star System to no more than one-third of the number of ships in our ‘Wormhole Defense Fleet.’”
The second condition was easy to understand. Clearly, it was laying the groundwork for them to control the wormhole and secure this strategic choke point.
However, the officers present did not react particularly strongly to this condition.
A wormhole was a strategic location that both sides would inevitably fight over. Whoever controlled the wormhole could use a relatively small defensive force to exert a powerful military deterrent against the other side.
With the enemy holding an absolute advantage, even if the two sides eventually reached a ceasefire, Gemini had never expected them to simply return control of the wormhole.
Chloros glanced at Isabel's grim expression before calmly stating his final condition.
“The third condition... hand over the battle star ‘Death God’!”
Nie Yun's eyelid twitched.
Damn!
“That bald monk actually dares to snatch the nun from this Taoist priest!”
TL Note- Peace?
Next
Comments
Post a Comment