Just as the battle between the two sides entered a stalemate, making it difficult to determine the victor, the men in black seemed to receive some kind of command. One by one, they took out a black, spherical object from their bodies and threw it directly into the middle of the mechanical guards.
With a burst of crackling, high-voltage electrical sounds, all the mechanical guards instantly lost control and collapsed to the ground.
In the blink of an eye—Karina's mechanical guard army was completely wiped out…
"Ha… electromagnetic pulse grenades… the bane of mechanical creations," Fiona said with some schadenfreude. After all, she had been imprisoned by Karina for a period of time, and it was impossible for her not to harbor resentment towards Karina. "Such outdated mechanical products. If it were our Sovereign drones, they would never be rendered inoperable by a single electromagnetic pulse grenade."
Fiona was quite confident. After all, the Sovereign's fighters had considered interference from various situations. If they didn't have this technology, they wouldn't be worthy of being called a major race in the galaxy and would have been conquered by other empires long ago. If it weren't for Zhou Ye's [Controller] being unreasonably able to completely control all mechanical creations, they would still have a fight with Zhou Ye's Umbrella, of course, that's under the condition that Zhou Ye doesn't take action.
"Darling…" Karina looked at Zhou Ye with a resentful expression, implying, 'Aren't you going to say something to Fiona…'
"You two, give me a break…" Zhou Ye simply gave each of them fifty lashes… The grudge between these two girls was deep, one hating the other for betraying her, and the other hating the other for imprisoning her… He didn't want to be caught in the middle…
"Wait—" At this moment, Ingrid was staring intently at the screen. From this familiar weapon, she seemed to have seen something…
"What's wrong?" Zhou Ye asked, turning his head to look at Ingrid after dealing with the two bickering girls.
"Can you rewind the screen to when that guy threw the grenade…" Ingrid asked with a serious expression.
"Of course." Although Karina had some minor grudges with Fiona, she wouldn't make enemies everywhere. Her relationship with Ingrid was still relatively harmonious.
As she spoke, Karina made a reversing gesture, and the surveillance footage immediately began to rewind to the scene when the men in black threw the grenade.
"Zoom in on that grenade," Ingrid said, staring intently at the surveillance footage.
"Okay." Karina nodded and made a stretching motion with both hands, and the entire surveillance footage was magnified… The traces on the grenade flying in the air were clearly visible…
"Advance a little…"
Karina pushed the screen little by little, and the grenade slowly rotated in mid-air…
"Stop." Ingrid finally saw what she wanted to see and shouted loudly, startling Karina.
"What's wrong? Did you discover something, Ingrid?" Karina asked curiously.
"I think I know who they are…" Ingrid sighed, her face full of complex emotions.
Chapter 498
"Who are they?" No one was more concerned about this question than Karina. After all, it was her manor that had been invaded. As the supreme emperor on Cygnus X-1, Karina could be said to have regarded the entire Cygnus X-1 as her backyard. But now, she was actually having her manor invaded in her own backyard. What was this? This was a blatant slap in the face.
As a woman who was confident to the point of being conceited, how could Karina tolerate such a thing happening? She firmly believed that if she didn't severely punish the invaders this time, to set an example, next time, someone might even dare to target the Tivan Group… Such a thing must not be tolerated.
"They are people from the Nova Corps…" Ingrid pointed to a spot on the still image of the black, round grenade where a trace had been rubbed off with a tool, her expression complex, and said, "There should be a Nova Corps logo here. Although it has been processed, it can still be restored."
"That's simple…" Karina said, operating on the screen a few times. The rubbed-off trace on the grenade on the screen was quickly restored… A Nova Corps logo appeared prominently on it. "Sure enough, it's the people from the Nova Corps… These guys, do they want to declare war on us?"
"I think they're probably here for me…" Ingrid knew their intentions very well. She had taken away the Nova Corps' technological data. How could those people let it go?
"No, it's not your fault, baby." Zhou Ye gently put his arm around Ingrid and comforted the dejected woman in a low voice. "If there's anyone to blame, it's my fault. I was the one who incited you to steal the Nova Corps' technological data. Don't worry, I'll take care of them…"
Zhou Ye understood Ingrid's feelings. As the empire she had fought for for more than a decade, it was now sending troops to kill her… It was impossible for her not to feel a little sad.
"…Darling…" With Zhou Ye's words, Ingrid felt that everything was worth it. Compared to the bastard who abandoned her and her daughter, this man, although a bit of a playboy, was really much stronger than that bastard… "Darling… don't be soft-hearted for my sake. From the day I decided to follow you, I'm no longer a person of the Nova Corps… Now, I only have one identity, and that is, your woman."
"Me too, darling." Dolores also chimed in, hugging her mother with one hand and Zhou Ye with the other. "I'm the same as my mother…"
"…Yeah, I know. I'll make the Nova Corps pay the price for this." Zhou Ye nodded.
"I always feel like I've missed a lot of things…" Nina looked at Ingrid and her daughter with Zhou Ye
Seeing them embracing, she couldn't help but murmur. Although she had a good relationship with Dolores, treason wasn't exactly a glorious thing. No one would actively tell others about it, even if that person was their best friend.
"No matter who they are or what they're here for, they're invading my manor now," Karina said, standing up and waving her hand with an air of dominance. "I'm going to make these guys pay the price..."
"Pa—!" Zhou Ye smacked Karina's upturned bottom, instantly turning the dominant woman into a pitiful little thing... "Why did you hit me..."
"Because you were standing in such a cool pose, and it felt right, so I just hit you," Zhou Ye teased.
"Bully—!" Karina pouted and said reluctantly.
"Alright, everyone get dressed. It's time for us to go and see these uninvited guests," Zhou Ye said, standing up and directly getting dressed with the help of the Phil sisters.
And the women obediently began to dress themselves... They knew that their man was about to go berserk.
And Zhou Ye was indeed about to go berserk...
Originally, after obtaining the New Star Empire's technological data, he didn't want to continue being enemies with the New Star Empire. After all, he had taken their things...
But now, the New Star Empire had actually sent troops to invade another one of his women's manor in order to capture Ingrid. This couldn't help but remind Zhou Ye... An empire is an empire after all. It won't be as righteous as it's portrayed in movies. No one is truly righteous.
Or rather, between countries, there is no justice, only interests.
For example, Ronan the Accuser, his actions were seen as those of a terrorist by the New Star Empire, but in the eyes of the Kree, he was an out-and-out national hero... This is the so-called 'the enemy's bandit is my hero'.
If he wanted the New Star Empire to acknowledge his existence and swallow the bitter pill of having their technological data stolen, then he could only beat them hard on the battlefield, make them cry... beat them until they knelt down and begged for peace. Only then would it be possible.
Previously, Zhou Ye was concerned about Ingrid's feelings for the country, so he didn't attack. But now, Ingrid's recent words were a complete break with the New Star Empire... Even a small evil titan like Thanos could destroy the New Star Empire, so there was no reason why Zhou Ye couldn't.
Now that he had no more concerns, Zhou Ye would let the New Star Empire know what they could afford to provoke and what they needed to curl up and hide in their holes, pretending to be deaf and mute about.
When Zhou Ye leisurely led the women out of the building, hundreds of men in black had already arrived here. They were all focused and wary of Zhou Ye, after all, the Shadow Star Legion that had gone to capture Zhou Ye had been wiped out for no reason...
Although their scientists had concluded that it was due to an unknown energy turbulence after investigating the scene, Zhou Ye's wanted status still listed his abilities as unknown—
"Everyone from the New Star Corps... don't hide your faces anymore, don't you feel stuffy?" Zhou Ye teased the group of men in black.
"..." The leader, a strong man, pulled down his mask, revealing a fierce face with a long scar: "S-class wanted criminal, you are surrounded. Quickly surrender and hand over the New Star Empire's technological data, and we will try to give you lenient treatment."
"Ha..." Zhou Ye smiled mockingly.
"And you, former Commander Ingrid, you were once the woman I admired most, but the things you've done are really disappointing," the man turned his head and said sincerely to Ingrid, who was standing behind Zhou Ye. "Surrender, and I will plead for you with the higher-ups."
"...Hehe..." Zhou Ye smiled and teased, "This is so interesting, what if I don't surrender?"
"Then what awaits you will be on-the-spot judgment," the burly man said sternly. "S-class wanted criminal, guilty of espionage, guilty of stealing state secrets... The charges are established, and the death penalty will be carried out immediately."
As he spoke, the man fired a shot at Zhou Ye's head with lightning speed. Everything he had just done was to confuse Zhou Ye. For him, using any means necessary to complete the mission was not unacceptable.
"Ah, war, it's starting again..." Zhou Ye waved his hand nonchalantly. The man saw in horror that the destruction ray fired from his gun was actually flying back towards him... He didn't even have time to say a word before he was killed by his own attack.
After Zhou Ye let out that sigh, all the men in black realized that their bodies were unable to move. They felt as if they were being crushed by tons of weight, unable to even move a finger.
"Come, you tell me, how many people did you bring? Who is leading the team? Where is the base?" Zhou Ye randomly grabbed the closest man in black and asked.
"...I...will never tell you..." The man in black gritted his teeth, enduring the heavy pressure on his body.
"Wrong answer, what a pity," Zhou Ye sighed, waved his hand slightly, and in the horrified eyes of the other men in black, the stubborn man who had been questioned by Zhou Ye was instantly crushed into a pile of meat paste.
"Then next, you tell me..." Zhou Ye walked to the second man in black and asked.
I… I…" The black-clothed man was in a fierce mental battle, torn between loyalty to the Nova Empire and fear of death. However, he wouldn't have to struggle for much longer because Zhou Ye was losing patience.
"Too slow to answer." Zhou Ye waved his hand again, and this unfortunate soul followed in the footsteps of the previous one…
Zhou Ye continued to ask his questions one by one. By the time he got to the fifth black-clothed man, this guy, fearing that Zhou Ye wouldn't give him a chance to speak, blurted everything out like pouring beans. He revealed their troop deployment, mothership location, who came, and who provided the information…
His answers were incredibly thorough…
After listening to this guy, Zhou Ye smiled. "You're very good… and very obedient… But, now you're all useless."
With Zhou Ye's words, hundreds of blood mists erupted simultaneously. All the black-clothed men who had invaded the manor were instantly turned into minced meat, without exception…
"Honey, you know what to do, right?" Zhou Ye turned his head and smiled at Karina.
"Of course, I'll make sure the Nova Empire's mothership never returns to its home port." Karina said hatefully.
"No, no… darling, you don't understand what I mean." Zhou Ye shook his finger and said, "I want this mothership to return to the Nova Empire… Moreover, we must also put on a show of suffering heavy losses."
"Why?" Fiona, who knew nothing about military matters, asked curiously.
"Because we need a reason to start a war… We need a fig leaf to proclaim our righteousness." Ingrid unhesitatingly exposed her man's intentions.
"If we're going to war anyway, why do we need a fig leaf?"
"Because… although justice is a bitch that anyone can sleep with, sometimes it's also a good signboard that can save us a lot of trouble." Zhou Ye said with a smile, "Now, go arrange it, Karina."
"Okay, darling." Karina smiled and kissed Zhou Ye. In Cygnus X-1, she was most adept at handling such matters…
Chapter 499
Inside a heavily guarded room in the Nova Empire's embassy on Cygnus X-1.
Rivas and Consul-General Ian were nervously watching the large screen in front of them. As the blue dots representing the assault team members disappeared one by one, their expressions became extremely serious. Although Rivas had great confidence in his Dark Star assault team, they were, after all, operating alone, while Karina Devan could mobilize the defense forces of Cygnus X-1.
This was originally an unequal battle. When issuing the assault order, Rivas had already told his team members that if their operation failed, the Empire would absolutely not acknowledge their identities, let alone rescue them… After all, the Nova Empire was not prepared to fight on two fronts.
This operation was a gamble, but now it seemed—Rivas had failed.
"Hoo—it seems our operation has failed." Rivas watched as the blue dots representing the Dark Star assault team members disappeared completely in an instant and sighed, "The worst-case scenario has occurred."
"Now… what should we do?" Ian had already decided that he couldn't take the blame, so he asked Rivas for advice. Anyway, from the initial operation planning to the execution, it was all Rivas's people who were doing it; he had only provided some intelligence support.
Rivas didn't speak but remained silent for a long time—the air in the room almost solidified. Just as Ian was about to ask another question, they heard a burst of noisy commotion from outside. He couldn't help but frown. Why would anyone be so inconsiderate as to make such a racket at this time?
"I'll go take a look…" Seeing that Rivas's expression was a bit unpleasant, Ian quickly walked out…
As soon as Ian arrived in the front hall, he saw a familiar figure. This person was Gino from the Cygnus X-1 Foreign Affairs Department. He was specifically responsible for dealing with ambassadors from various countries, and they could be considered old friends…
However, Gino's arrival this time was a bit unusual. He looked aggressive, and several teams of mechanical police followed behind him—
Ian quickly took two steps forward to Gino, and said with a smile, "Hi, Gino, my old friend, what's going on? Why are you bringing guards to visit me today…"
"Consul-General Ian, I now represent the Cygnus X-1 Supreme Council to arrest you on charges of planning and participating in terrorist activities involving the kidnapping and assault of prominent figures in our country. However, considering that you are a diplomat from the Nova Empire and enjoy extraterritorial jurisdiction, we will change the arrest to expulsion… and legally seal all items in the consulate… until the terrorists who attacked the prominent figures of my Cygnus X-1 are found." Gino was not polite to Ian at all, and said in a businesslike manner.
"This… isn't there some misunderstanding?" Ian explained with a wronged expression, "We didn't attack Cygnus X-1 at all…"
"Heh heh…" Gino rolled his eyes, "No need to explain to me… Let your Nova Empire government wait for our Cygnus X-1 Foreign Affairs Department's letter of condemnation…"
As he spoke, Gino waved to the mechanical police behind him and said, "Seal off all the items here…"
With Gino's order, the mechanical police behind him violently pushed away the embassy staff who tried to stop them and began to inspect the embassy recklessly…
Ian couldn't bother arguing with Gino anymore. He quickly pretended to stop the mechanical police and walked towards the inside of the embassy, returning to the heavily guarded secret room where Rivas was waiting for his news…
"I think our affair has probably been exposed…"
Ian's first sentence made Rivas's heart sink. He quickly asked, "What exactly is happening outside?"
"A large group of mechanical police has arrived outside, led by someone from the Cygnus X-1 Star Foreign Affairs Department..." Ian recounted the events happening outside the embassy to Rivas, who frowned deeply as he listened. He couldn't understand why his rigorously trained soldiers had divulged everything so quickly.
This was unavoidable. Under normal circumstances, those soldiers could have withstood various forms of torture for at least a day, but under Zhou Ye's hypnosis and death threats, they only lasted a few minutes... After all, hypnosis isn't just for picking up girls; it can also be used to destroy the enemy's will...
"Then I must leave here quickly..." Rivas, not caring about much else at this point, immediately ordered his guards to pack up the equipment in the room, planning to escape through the embassy's secret passage.
"..." Although Ian didn't say anything, the contempt in his eyes couldn't be concealed...
"Don't overthink it; I just don't want them to get their hands on evidence..." Rivas, unusually, spared time from his busy schedule to give Ian an explanation. "Without evidence, we can deny everything they say... But if they have evidence, our empire's reputation in the galaxy will be utterly ruined—which would be detrimental to our war efforts."
"Alright, I misunderstood you, Commander." Ian accepted Rivas's explanation, but, obviously... they were moving a little too slowly... Before they could completely pack up the equipment, the mechanical police had already stormed onto this floor...
In the end, Rivas had to sacrifice the equipment to save himself, abandoning it and fleeing the embassy through the secret passage with his guards in a disheveled state...
"Now—does Consul General Ian have anything to explain?" Gino looked at the messy room, with equipment scattered everywhere, and coldly said to Ian.
"I... I have nothing to say." Ian really couldn't leave. Rivas could leave because he had originally entered illegally, but as the Consul General, he couldn't leave no matter what... Leaving would be fleeing from justice, and staying would be walking into a trap. While he hesitated, he missed the best time to escape.
"Then... you probably can't enjoy extraterritorial rights anymore... Take him away." Gino waved his hand, and the mechanical police behind him came forward and directly pinned Ian to the ground. "We will give you the treatment you deserve, but we also hope that your Nova Empire won't throw you out as a scapegoat..."
"..." Ian knew that if it were just suspicion, he might still have a chance to leave. Now, in the face of this evidence, he would probably have to wait for his country's diplomatic note or diplomatic negotiations between the two sides. The best outcome would be extradition back home... With this stain, his political career was completely over.
Just as Ian was being escorted away by the mechanical police and the entire Nova Empire consulate was being sealed off, a medium-sized spaceship had already flown out of the atmosphere of Cygnus X-1 Star and was heading towards the Cygnus Spaceport.
Only after Rivas returned to his mothership did he truly feel relieved... While ordering his subordinates to start the mothership and prepare to set sail, he turned on the display screen in front of him and tuned the signal to the Cygnus X-1 Star news channel.
"Last night, a shocking incident occurred on Cygnus X-1 Star. A group of armed bandits attacked the manor of Ms. Karina Deevan, a well-known figure on Cygnus X-1 Star. These bandits were exceptionally fierce; they destroyed the security system of Ms. Deevan's manor, and even Ms. Karina Deevan was seriously injured in the firefight... The Cygnus X-1 Star Supreme Council has stated that it will thoroughly investigate this matter. Whether it was done by individuals or certain forces, Cygnus X-1 Star will never tolerate it and will fight them to the end..."
On the TV screen, Karina Deevan, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, was also giving an interview... Her performance was truly brilliant, portraying the image of an innocent victim with remarkable realism... causing the unknowing masses to feel a surge of sympathy.
Chapter 500
"So... you ran back alone?" Nova Prime, the Supreme of the Nova Empire, sat in her seat, coldly looking at Rivas, who looked cautious in front of her. "Why didn't you report the news to the Legion Headquarters beforehand...?"
"...I..." To be honest, Rivas felt somewhat wronged, because when he was sent out to perform the mission, the Supreme had told him that he had the right to handle everything, but now she was asking him why he didn't report to the Legion Headquarters first...
"Forget it, you may leave." Nova Prime, the Nova Supreme, sighed and let Rivas leave first.
She knew that what she was doing was wrong... Since she had given Rivas the right to handle everything, she shouldn't come back and criticize him, but what Rivas had done really made her angry...
The reason she had pushed Rivas to the position of Commander of the Dark Star Legion was because he was obedient enough... But she didn't expect that the first time she sent him out to handle matters independently, he would create such a big trouble for her... This really gave her a headache.
It seems that this Rivas can only follow orders; he is not capable of handling things on his own... He is too reckless and has no political wisdom at all... Such a person can only be used as a dog; he is not suitable to be sent out as a regional governor.
Just as Nova was considering the gains and losses of her personnel choices, the female official beside her walked over and whispered in her ear: "Your Excellency, the Cygnus X-1 Star Council has now lodged a strong protest against us and demanded that we give them an explanation within twenty-four cosmic hours, otherwise they will announce the severance of all commercial ties with us..."
"Heh... Cygnus X-1 Star?" Nova curled her lips in disdain. She really looked down on this commercial star that claimed to be eternally neutral. "Ignore them... Just say that we are pursuing our traitor, Ingrid..."
"But... I'm afraid they won't believe that at all..." The female official said with some embarrassment.
Whether she believes it or not, I believe it anyway, and it's the truth. As for attacking Karina Tevin's estate? Just say that Karina Tevin is in collusion with Ingrid... We were just dealing with an emergency and didn't have time to inform them..." Nova said Domineering.
"...Yes..." The female officer wanted to say something, but seeing Nova's somewhat displeased expression, she obediently nodded and walked away.
Nova didn't care about Cygnus X-1 at all. As the leader of the Galactic Empire, which has dozens of habitable planets, hundreds of resource planets, and hundreds of billions of subjects, how could she care about a small commercial star?
However, the changes below soon made Nova regret it...
The Cygnus X-1 Foreign Ministry, having received a tough reply from the Nova Empire, simply withdrew all of its diplomats stationed in the Nova Empire back to their home planet... and announced a permanent severance of diplomatic relations with the Nova Empire——
The Kree expressed a warm welcome to this——the enemy of my enemy is definitely my friend.
Cygnus X-1 doesn't have signal transmitters covering the entire galaxy? No problem, the Kree do... They can lend these signal transmitters to the Cygnus X-1 Council free of charge, and the Cygnus X-1 Council also reciprocated by broadcasting the entire Karina Tevin estate attack incident 24/7——
Regarding this incident——the reactions of other countries in the galaxy varied, but in the general tone of the small countries, they were all condemning the Nova Empire's hegemonic behavior... expressing sympathy for the plight of Cygnus X-1.
After all, in this kind of incident where everyone has their own reasons, everyone will definitely sympathize with the weak first. Besides, putting oneself in others' shoes, what should one do if the Nova Empire launches such a military operation on their own planet in the future?
This time it's Karina Tevin's estate... wouldn't the next time be an invasion of the home of the leader of their own planet?
This is simply a taboo——
After all, the fact that Karina Tevin is the uncrowned king of Cygnus X-1 is no secret among the galaxy's upper echelons.
The Nova Empire can use the excuse that Karina is in collusion with the country's traitors to attack her estate today, so will the Nova Empire use the excuse that we are buying and selling the country's citizens to attack our leader's mansion tomorrow? This must not be tolerated...
The anti-Nova Empire wave caused by the Karina estate incident is brewing in the galaxy——the Kree are simply ecstatic. In the millennia of war with the Nova Empire, the Kree have often been criticized by various countries due to their past combat style, but now, the whole situation has changed... The Nova Empire has also become a hegemonic country...
Although the Kree's reputation is still notoriously bad, the Kree are still very happy that the enemy's reputation has become as bad as their own...
Otherwise, when it comes to the Kree, it's always skeletons and barbaric races... When it comes to the Nova Empire, it's a model of a responsible major country in the galaxy... It's annoying to hear. Now it's good, although the Kree are still skeletons and barbaric races, the Nova Empire is no longer a model of a major country, but a hegemonic country...
The entire anti-Nova wave is spreading rapidly under the Kree's secret instigation, so fast that even the Supreme of the Nova Empire has a feeling of being caught off guard... It seems that overnight, all the countries in the galaxy are looking at the Nova Empire with colored glasses...
Just when the Supreme of the Nova Empire was becoming wary of this anti-Nova wave... in another estate of Karina on Cygnus X-1, Zhou Ye was leisurely watching the video report.
"Today, the head of a certain country in the galaxy expressed disappointment with the Nova Empire's performance in the Karina estate incident. He said that the Nova Empire is sliding into the abyss of hegemony. He suggested that the Supreme of the Nova Empire should reconsider the handling plan of the Karina estate incident, so as not to make the people of all countries in the galaxy feel chilled."
With a "pa——" sound, Zhou Ye turned off the video. He lazily stretched, he had been watching such content all morning, all the information he wanted to see had been seen...
After more than half a month of fermentation, the incident is almost at the point where the next step can be taken. Thinking of this, Zhou Ye smiled and patted Karina, who was snuggled in his arms, and said, "It's almost time to start the next plan."
"Can the Black Hole Project begin?" Hearing Zhou Ye's words, Karina's eyes lit up, and she sat up with a jerk. To be honest, she often plots against a company or something, but it's her first time plotting against a super empire, and Karina can't wait...
"That's right, it's time to start the Black Hole Project," Zhou Ye said with a smile.
Chapter 501
Nova Prime was sitting in her seat, listening to the female officer below report on the recent reactions of various countries...
"Yesterday, various marches and ceremonies broke out in various parts of the Kree Empire. They protested against the Nova Empire's hegemony, supported the Cygnus X-1 Council's move to withdraw diplomats, and requested the Kree King to support their brother country, the Cygnus X-1 Council, to jointly resist the Nova Empire's hegemony..." The female officer's words were interrupted by Nova before she could finish.
"Okay, I know." Nova's face was not very good at this time, and the dark circles under her eyes showed that she was not really indifferent to this matter. "
Those Kree, they can't wait for us to go to war with all the countries in the galaxy... Needless to say about them, tell me, what new suggestions does the Supreme Command of the Nova Corps have?
"The Supreme Command... thinks that Your Majesty should hand over the mastermind of this matter to the Cygnus X-1 Council..." The female officer said here, looking at the increasingly thick frost on Nova's face, and dared not speak.
"Hand Rivath over?" Nova said with a mocking expression: "Of course they can't wait for Rivath to be executed immediately, but... without Rivath's Dark Star Corps restraining them, how long do you think the integrity of the empire's territory can be maintained?"
"...I..." The female officer couldn't wait to hear nothing, the more you know about this kind of intrigue, the more dangerous it is.
"Okay, what about the reactions of other countries?" Nova looked at the female officer's somewhat frightened expression, sighed, and said.
"Other countries are condemning the hegemonic tendencies exposed by our Nova Empire in this incident..." The female officer read the information by rote...
"Are there any specific actions?" Nova doesn't care about condemnation at all. What can condemnation do? I won't lose a piece of meat... If you are willing to condemn, just condemn it... It doesn't hurt or itch.
"No, not really... the various nations are still showing a lot of restraint..." the female officer said cautiously. She had to be cautious; just yesterday, some unlucky soul angered the Supreme One while reporting news. Although there was no danger to his life, he lost his well-paid job.
"That's good..." Nova felt slightly relieved. The events following the Karina incident had stirred up a storm throughout the galaxy, making Nova very worried that someone would take the opportunity to cause trouble.
She had already decided that if anyone dared to jump out, she would use overwhelming force to suppress them completely. Otherwise, the Nova Empire's continued existence would be questionable. Taking advantage of weakness is a common failing of all empires, and the Nova Empire had done its share of kicking people when they were down in the past... She had to guard against others trying to tear down her walls.
To this end, she had even recalled the Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Fleets that were fighting the Kree, waiting for someone to emerge so she could crush them...
Just as she was feeling slightly relieved, hurried footsteps sounded, and a young girl with chestnut-colored hair, wearing a military uniform, walked in. Seeing this girl, Nova's expression softened considerably.
That was her only daughter, Cloris Prime, the princess of the Nova Empire, the future Nova Supreme.
Nova had high hopes for this daughter. From a young age, she had received the most elite royal education. To ensure her daughter could smoothly take over her position in the future, Nova had even transferred her to the Supreme Command, instructing her to secretly cultivate her own loyalists. After all, a Supreme One without military power would only become a figurehead.
And Cloris had not disappointed Nova. In the Supreme Command, she relied on her beautiful appearance, gentle personality, and prestigious family background to gain the loyalty of many young officers...
Seeing her daughter, Nova smiled and opened her arms. "Sweetheart, why are you here to see me at this time today? Don't you hate it when Mommy discusses state affairs?"
"Mom..." Cloris didn't give her mother a hug as usual, but said anxiously: "Cygnus X-1 has declared war on our empire."
"What?" Nova was slightly surprised by this news. She didn't expect Cygnus X-1 to dare declare war on the Nova Empire. However, she had anticipated someone would jump out, she just didn't expect it to be Cygnus X-1. Believing she was fully prepared, Nova smiled and said: "Don't worry, sweetheart, the small Cygnus X-1 will soon be forced back to the negotiating table by our absolute military power..."
"No, Mom, that's not the worst of it..." Cloris was not infected by her mother's confident appearance, but said even more anxiously: "At the same time, the Sovereign have also declared war on our empire..."
"How is that possible?" Hearing this news, Nova couldn't sit still any longer and stood up abruptly, steadying herself on the throne. She really didn't expect the Sovereign to declare war on her as well. The Sovereign were not like Cygnus X-1, a lone star council. Even in the galaxy, the Sovereign could be considered a mid-sized nation... "The Sovereign... what... what is their reason for declaring war on us?"
"The Sovereign's new High Priestess, Ayesha, claims that during the Karina incident, the Sovereign's treasure, the Galactic Diva Fiona, happened to be a guest at Karina's manor... She was also affected by the incident... and is said to have been seriously injured..." As someone who had received an elite education since childhood, how could Cloris not know how serious the consequences of the Sovereign declaring war on their empire would be?
If the Nova Empire could pacify Cygnus X-1 in just one week and withstand the Kree's strong offensive, once the Sovereign intervened in the war, the Nova Empire would be completely caught in a two-front war, something the Nova Empire had always desperately avoided...
After all, Cygnus X-1 was just a commercial star. They didn't have any resource stars themselves, and all their resources were obtained through commercial circulation. Once the war started, the Nova Empire wouldn't even need to forcibly land on Cygnus X-1. They could simply block the stargates near it, turning this commercial star into a dead zone... The merchants on Cygnus X-1 would tear the council to pieces without the Nova Empire even needing to say a word...
Once an open commercial star is besieged, all commodities will stop circulating, so where will you earn your profits? Without profits, wouldn't those merchants rebel?
But the Sovereign are different. They have their own technological achievements and more than twenty resource stars. Their resource stars are enough to support them in a protracted war...
Especially these despicable guys, under the banner of cherishing their people, they use small drones... What does small mean? It means they require fewer resources. What does unmanned mean? It means there are almost no casualties...
Therefore, the nations in the galaxy don't really like to provoke the Sovereign, because they exchange materials for your lives, and every empire feels like they're getting a bad deal...
"That damned Rivath... He didn't tell me when he came back that this incident also involved the Galactic Diva..." Just as Nova was secretly scolding her dog for learning to deceive its master... more bad news arrived...
"Supreme One, we have just received a battle report. The Sovereign fleet has occupied thirteen of our resource stars in the Perseus Arm... and they have also sent their mining machines, seemingly intending to occupy them for the long term..."
"Supreme One, we have discovered the Cygnus X-1 fleet near the stargate in the Baily system... They have ignored our warnings and have fully invaded our Baily star..."
"Supreme One—a battle report from the front lines. The Kree have launched another large-scale battle, the largest in nearly a century... The front is requesting support..."
"... ..." One bad news after another came, causing Nova to finally lose control and faint...
She hadn't been able to rest well these past few days because of the public opinion crisis, and today she received a series of bad news, how could she still hold on?
"Mom..." Cloris hurriedly ran forward and hugged her unconscious mother... She knew how hard her mother had been working these days... But now... the empire cannot be without her mother. "Mom... Mom, how are you?"
Chapter 502
I don't know how much time had passed—
Nova Prime, the Nova Supreme, finally slowly opened her eyes.
"Mom…" Seeing her mother finally awake, Clary cried with joy, embracing Nova and weeping…
"I'm fine…" Nova had just been holding her breath, she was just suffocated, her body was not in any serious condition. Opening her eyes, she looked around. This was a pure white medical room, with various medical instruments placed around her. Obviously, she had been sent here during her coma. "Help me up—baby."
"Yes—!" Clary wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and helped her mother up. "Mother, your body is too weak, you need to rest well…"
"Even if I die, I don't want to die here." Nova extremely hated the smell in the medical room, that kind of smell easily reminded her of bad memories…
"Mother—" Clary scolded softly, but to no avail. Nova still insisted on leaving here. Helpless, she had to press a button on the bed. Soon, a series of clicks sounded from under Nova, transforming into a comfortable floating wheelchair.
"How long have I been unconscious…?" Nova asked, sitting in the wheelchair.
"Mother, you've only been unconscious for more than four hours…" Clary knew what her mother wanted to ask, but she didn't want to talk about news that would easily make her mother angry. She tried to change the subject and said: "The doctor said that there is nothing too serious with your body, you just need to rest well…"
"Baby, you know what I want to know…" Nova looked at her daughter in front of her, her face haggard but forcing a smile, and said: "And your acting isn't good, baby, tell me… the news from the front lines, I can handle it."
"Mother…" Clary took a deep breath, hesitated for a long time, and finally said it. "At the Kree front lines, our fleets are desperately defending… but the strength of the two sides is too disparate. Commander Frielet has sent back more than a dozen requests for assistance…"
"…Tell Frielet that reinforcements are coming soon, let him hold on a little longer." Nova closed her eyes tightly, thinking about the gains and losses.
"But Mother… we don't have any extra fleets anymore…" Clary said strangely.
"Where are the Fifth Fleet, the Eighth Fleet, and the Eleventh Fleet?" Nova still closed her eyes, waiting for her daughter's answer.
"The Fifth Fleet has already gone to the Beli star system to resist the invasion of the Cygnus X-1 star fleet. The Eighth Fleet and the Eleventh Fleet are on their way to the Sagittarius Arm, they are responsible for holding back the Sovereign fleet…" Clary reported the movements of these three fleets to her mother.
"Whose order is this?" Nova instantly widened her eyes, her pupils full of anger.
"This… this is… the decision of the Supreme Command…" Clary looked at her mother with wide eyes and said somewhat fearfully: "During your coma, the Supreme Command was responsible for taking over the command of the fleet."
"A bunch of old foxes, what are they trying to do?" Nova's anger burned fiercely, she didn't believe that those old foxes couldn't see how to deal with the current situation…
"Mother? Is there anything wrong with this approach?" Clary asked somewhat puzzled.
"Of course there's something wrong…" Nova said angrily: "What is the relationship between the Kree and us?"
"Millennial enemies." Clary replied without hesitation.
"Then is there any possibility that the hatred between us will ease?" Nova asked rhetorically.
"How is that possible?" Clary said dismissively: "Thousands of years of war, there is no possibility of reconciliation between our two countries. Sons who have lost their fathers, mothers who have lost their sons… our hatred with the Kree has been imprinted into the bones of our Nova Empire, flowing in our blood…"
Clary knew how deep the hatred accumulated over thousands of years of war was. It was no exaggeration to say that every citizen of the Nova Empire basically had a feud with the Kree. Every citizen of the Nova Empire had friends and relatives who had fallen asleep forever in this millennial war. There was no possibility of reconciliation between the two countries…
"If something big happened in the Kree country now, and they couldn't handle it, what would you do?" Nova asked.
"Of course, I would take the opportunity to kill into their home planet…"
"What about after killing into their home planet?"
"Kill them all." Clary said without hesitation.
"…The Kree think the same way." Nova said meaningfully: "Cygnus X-1 and the Sovereign, to us, are just disputes of pride, which can be resolved through negotiation, but… the Kree, do you think there is a possibility of negotiation between our two countries?"
"I understand, Mother, I'm going to the Supreme Command now…" Clary said, about to rush out of the room in a hurry, but was stopped by her mother.
"There's no need to go to the Supreme Command." Nova stopped her daughter and said: "I believe those old foxes can't possibly not see the importance of this, but they still did it… someone must be plotting something behind my back… Now, you go and call Rivas, and then in my name, directly order the Fifth, Eighth, and Eleventh Fleets to immediately return to the front lines fighting the Kree and support Commander Frielet."
"Okay, Mother." Clary agreed and turned to leave the room.
Nova watched her daughter walk out of the room, sighing with a tired face… She wasn't as calm as she appeared on the outside. Since Cygnus X-1 and the Sovereign had sent troops, it was impossible to get the two races to withdraw without paying any price…
She had already prepared to sacrifice her confidant Rivas. In any case… the battle with the Kree must not be lost, otherwise, the Nova Empire would only face destruction…
Not long after—Rivas walked into the room under Clary's lead.
"Supreme—!" Rivas saw Nova and hurriedly saluted: "Is there anything you need?"
"Go and investigate what those old guys in the Supreme Command have been busy with lately…" Nova said, waving her hand to let Rivas leave.
"Yes, Supreme." Rivas didn't dare to say much, took the order and left. Although he was confused, he didn't think much about it.
Nova originally wanted Rivas to send his Dark Star Legion to take over the defense of the entire Xandar, but thinking that he might be sacrificed by her soon, to avoid trouble, Nova swallowed the order back…
In the end, there were too few useful people… Nova couldn't help but sigh, those who were capable had ambition, she didn't dare to reuse them, those who were loyal were all guys like Rivas who didn't have much ability…
"Mother?" Clary looked at Nova somewhat strangely. She knew that when her mother had asked her to call Rivas in just now, she definitely didn't want to say this. Such a thing could be contacted with Rivas through the communication system, there was no need to call him to explain it face to face.
"Baby…" Nova looked at her daughter, hesitating to speak, she didn't know whether she should give such an important task to her daughter…
"Mother, what exactly happened?" Clary squatted at her mother's knees, asking with some concern.
Forget it, Nova sighed, her daughter would eventually have to learn to grow up, and some things could only be done by her, she wouldn't trust anyone else.
Having made up her mind, Nova gently lifted her daughter's cheeks and said softly: "Baby, it seems you have to serve as an ambassador for a secret negotiation…"
"Secret negotiation? Ambassador?" Clary looked at her mother somewhat puzzled, waiting for her to continue.
"Yes." Nova nodded and said: "I want you to secretly contact Karina Tyvan of Cygnus X-1 and Ayesha, the new High Priestess of the Sovereign—invite them to a secret negotiation together."
Chapter 503
On the Emperor's Ship—in Zhou Ye's command room.
"The Nova Empire wants to start seeking peace?" Zhou Ye said with a smile, looking at the message that Karina had specially sent over: "This is really good news… Baby, you can immediately wash away the title of traitor."
"Yeah…!" Ingrid didn't know what to say anymore. In her opinion, her man had completely launched this war for her sake. How could she not be moved? She had thousands of words in her heart but couldn't say them, she could only replace them with actions.
Ingrid directly excitedly pounced on Zhou Ye and started kissing him…
Her actions aroused someone's dissatisfaction.
"Ingrid, you're pressing on me…" Karina, who was busy under Zhou Ye, complained dissatisfiedly: "Although I know you're very happy… but… your knee just hit my face…"
"Sorry, sorry…" Ingrid hurriedly apologized to Karina. She was so excited just now that she forgot that there was someone under her man…
"Alright…" Zhou Ye also pulled Karina into his arms, laughing: "Don't blame Ingrid, baby. Tell me quickly, who is the Nova Empire sending to be responsible for the negotiation? And where is the negotiation location?"
"This time, the Nova Empire is responsible for negotiating with us. It is the only daughter of the Nova Supreme, and also the heir to the next Nova Supreme, Princess Clary Prime. They have scheduled us to negotiate at Bohat Star after forty-eight cosmic hours…" Karina said obediently.
"Clary…" Ingrid's expression was somewhat complicated when she heard this name…
"What's wrong? Baby?" Zhou Ye noticed the strangeness in Ingrid's expression, tightened his arm and asked: "Are you very familiar with this princess of the Nova Empire?"
She… used to be my student." Ingrid's face revealed a look of reminiscence. "Klaris was once assigned to serve in my fleet. At that time, her identity was concealed from above… I didn't know she was the princess of the Nova Empire, so I reprimanded her very harshly… I remember scolding her until she cried many times…"
"…And then what?" Zhou Ye asked curiously.
"Later, when she was transferred away, I learned her identity…" A slight smile appeared on Ingrid's face. "This little girl actually hugged me and cried, and even called me teacher… She also said that she knew I was hoping she would become successful, so I scolded her the hardest… This silly girl…"
"Really? Why did you scold her so harshly back then?" Karina's curiosity was also piqued, and she asked, "Did you really want to train a student, so you were so strict with her?"
"Nothing like that…" Ingrid rolled her eyes and said, "On the battlefield, how could I have the leisure to take in students… I just thought of my daughter when I saw her, and when I thought of my daughter, I wanted to go back and see her… But, it just so happened that during that time, the Kree's offensive was coming wave after wave, and the Imperial Command couldn't give me leave at all… So I just got depressed and…"
"Poor Princess, you treated her like a scapegoat…" Zhou Ye said speechlessly.
"That's why I said she was a silly girl…" Ingrid said with a smile.
Although Ingrid said so, Zhou Ye still saw some clues from her face. Obviously, she didn't feel completely indifferent towards this princess as she claimed. Perhaps, when she missed her daughter the most, Ingrid regarded that princess as a substitute for her daughter. It's just that the princess only saw Ingrid's strict mother side, while in front of her own daughter, Ingrid always maintained the image of a doting mother…
"What an unlucky princess…" Zhou Ye's heartfelt remark made Ingrid's expression change. "Honey, can you let Klaris go?"
"Eh?? Let Klaris go?" Zhou Ye didn't know where Ingrid's words came from. "Let her go from what?"
Seeing Zhou Ye's bewildered expression, Ingrid felt like she had done a disservice… "No, it's nothing…"
"..." Karina, who was sitting to the side, rolled her eyes and immediately said with a smile, "Honey, Ingrid is begging you not to harm the princess of the Nova Empire."
"Why would I harm her?" Zhou Ye said dejectedly, "What do you take me for? Am I the kind of person who sleeps with every woman he sees?"
"..."
"..."
Karina and Ingrid exchanged glances, nodded in tacit agreement, and then Karina asked, "Honey, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
"The truth…" As soon as Zhou Ye finished speaking, the two women said in unison with Jiao·smiles, "That's right, honey, you are that kind of person."
"…Are you trying to rebel? Do you know what kind of family law I'll be subjected to if you criticize me?" Zhou Ye said with a straight face, putting on a very angry look.
"Honey, I know I was wrong… Ah… No…"
"Honey, I didn't say it… Why do I have to be punished too…"
"Because you nodded too."
Three hours later… The exhausted women snuggled in Zhou Ye's arms, pinching the soft flesh around Zhou Ye's waist with hatred… But it was useless. For Zhou Ye, it was no stronger than a mosquito bite, neither painful nor itchy.
"Is that Nova Empire princess really that beautiful?" Zhou Ye asked curiously, holding the two women in his arms, "That Ingrid, you're so worried that I'll lay my hands on her?"
"…Hmph, I don't want to talk to you, you bad person…" Ingrid was feeling depressed. She was so tired from being implicated that she didn't want to move at all…
"She's very beautiful…" Karina, who feared that the world wouldn't be in chaos, directly took out her personal terminal and played the video recording of Klaris talking to her…
In the picture, Klaris's long hair was coiled behind her head, and two long chestnut curls hung down from both sides of her temples, giving people a playful feeling. Long eyelashes, big eyes… Just looking at it made Zhou Ye feel very com·fortable.
This Klaris is not the kind of girl who gives people a very amaz·ing feeling. Her appearance is gentle and pleasant. At first glance, it gives people the feeling that this girl must be very gentle…
However, Zhou Ye looked at her somewhat weak performance and suddenly understood why Ingrid scolded her so much. "It looks like she's saying to people… Come and bully me, I'm easy to bully… No wonder Ingrid you scolded her like that…"
"I thought I was the only one who felt that way…" Karina said in surprise, "So honey, you have that feeling too…"
"…Don't bully Klaris…" Ingrid now regretted saying that. It had backfired and aroused her man's inter·est…
"You have to think about it, Ingrid." Karina began to persuade Ingrid instead. "If such an easy-to-bully girl inherits the supreme position in the future, won't she be hollowed out by her subordinates? So, finding a good man is more important to her than anything else… At least to suppress those guys under her… In that case, who is more suitable than our dear?"
"..." Ingrid found that she was actually seriously considering Karina's words.
"Look… In the universe, the powerful ones are either like Thanos… guys who are ugly to the extreme… or like Galactus, freaks… Where can you find someone like our dear who has both strength and good looks…" Karina continued her efforts. She planned that after Zhou Ye got this little girl, she would also bully her for fun…
Zhou Ye just watched, not saying a word. Anyway, if he really wanted to harm someone, Ingrid couldn't stop him... He just felt that Karina was a little too enthusiastic this time. Could it be that this girl hadn't changed her ways? No, the treatment for the Lala syndrome needs to continue...
"Okay..." After thinking for a long time, Ingrid finally nodded. "But, darling, don't bully her too much..."
"..." Zhou Ye was speechless. Ingrid, my dear, you were persuaded by Karina, this Lala? What about your persistence just now?... But forget it... Anyway, the one who benefits is me.
Chapter 504
Bohat Star — is an uninhabited, habitable planet.
On this planet that has never been invaded by civilization, there are forests everywhere... Inside, there is a kind of silly and cute bird-like creature. Unlike the birds on Earth, they don't have feathers, but are covered in soft fluff, with long, upturned noses, round eyes, and fluffy bodies, making them look very cute... At least that's what Zhou Ye thought.
At this moment, he was placing three Dodo birds, two large and one small, in front of him, playing with them. Looking at the vivid and helpless expressions on the faces of the three birds, Zhou Ye almost burst out laughing... Dodo bird was the name Zhou Ye gave them. Anyway, not knowing their name, according to the principle of whoever discovers it names it, Zhou Ye unceremoniously gave this cute creature the name Dodo bird.
"Big Dodo, Second Dodo, you have to take care of Little Dodo. I still can't take you back, it's a pity." Zhou Ye said, putting the three Dodo birds back on the tree branch...
There's no way, every creature has its own fixed living environment... If he rashly took these three little cuties away, they might die... Although Zhou Ye claims to be a pet killer, he doesn't want to harm these cute little things.
The three Dodo birds who escaped from Zhou Ye's hands were simply overjoyed... Twisting their fluffy bodies, they disappeared into the tree hole in the blink of an eye...
"These heartless little things..." Watching these little guys run away as if they were avoiding a plague god, Zhou Ye couldn't help but laugh and scold: "I fed you so many fruits, and you still avoid me like you're avoiding a plague god..."
Just as Zhou Ye was watching the Dodo birds he released leave, Karina walked to his side and said, "Darling, the Sovereign's mothership is here too..."
"Yeah, I saw it..." Zhou Ye had already seen the Sovereign's iconic oval mothership slowly landing in the open space not far away. The Sovereign seem to have a special preference for circles. Not only are many of their buildings circular, but their motherships and fighters are either circular or semi-circular... "Where are the people from the Nova Empire? For a three-party negotiation, as the weaker party, they're actually the last to arrive? Are they trying to intimidate us?"
"Isn't this just giving you a chance to throw a tantrum, darling?" Karina nestled obediently beside Zhou Ye, smiling and saying, "That way, you'll have a reason to make them increase their negotiation chips..."
Just as Zhou Ye was about to speak, Ayesha, surrounded by a group of priests, came to them.
As soon as she saw Zhou Ye, Ayesha completely disregarded her image and rushed over, hugging her master as if she had suffered a great grievance, crying, "Master, I miss you so much. You didn't keep your word, you haven't come to see me for so long..."
"It's only been a month since we separated..." Zhou Ye said speechlessly.
"But Master, don't you have a saying that not seeing each other for a day is like three years?" Ayesha looked at Zhou Ye with tears in her eyes, pouting her little mouth, "I always thought that sentence was too exaggerated... But now, I think the person who said that sentence was amazing..."
"...Okay, haven't you seen me now...?" Zhou Ye noticed something. "Huh, where's Yolanda?"
"Hmph... Of course Yolanda wanted to come too, but someone needs to guard the Sovereign homeworld. We both wanted Master, both wanted to participate in the negotiations, but in the end, I was one step ahead!" Ayesha raised her neck slightly smugly.
"I want to ask, how did you choose the person responsible for the negotiations?" Zhou Ye asked curiously.
"Of course, we used the fairest method of drawing lots..." Ayesha smiled like a weasel who stole a hen... "There were two paper balls in total, one with 'guarding' written on it, and one with 'negotiating' written on it... Whoever drew which paper ball would do that job."
At this moment — on the Sovereign homeworld, in the Umbrella Temple, Yolanda looked at the two paper balls placed in front of her, both with the word [guarding] written on them, her silver teeth gnashing. "Ayesha — I'm not done with you —!"
Although he didn't know Yolanda's depression at the moment, Zhou Ye knew from Ayesha's expression that his little female slave had definitely played a trick... But forget it, I'll just compensate Yolanda more in the future...
Karina didn't find it strange at all that Ayesha, the High Priestess of the Sovereign, actually called her man Master. She had heard about it from Ingrid and the other women a long time ago...
Just as the three of them were chatting in the open space in the forest, waiting for their subordinates to set up the hastily made BBQ tools, preparing for an alien outdoor barbecue... Ingrid walked over. "Darling, the people from the Nova Empire are here..."
"They really know how to pick their time, actually arriving right at mealtime..." Zhou Ye waved his hand indifferently, signaling everyone to continue the barbecue... completely not taking the three-party negotiations seriously.
After all, Zhou Ye and his group held the advantage. Whether this war would continue or not depended entirely on Zhou Ye's decision. Did Zhou Ye need to care about the feelings of the weaker Nova Empire? Absolutely not.
The Nova Empire's mothership, upon seeing that the representatives from the two negotiating factions had arrived long ago and were already discussing matters together, hastily landed in another direction. Coincidentally, it formed an equilateral triangle with the motherships of Zhou Ye and Ayesha, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Zhou Ye was indifferent to the Nova Empire's petty actions. Wanting to get him to speak up at the negotiation table? It was absolutely impossible without offering the price he desired.
Just as Zhou Ye was leisurely barbecuing and chatting with his women, a beautiful young woman with chestnut-colored long hair walked over, accompanied by a dozen female officials in Nova Empire uniforms.
"Your Highness Cloris, hello."
Seeing Cloris approaching, Karina did not stand up, but politely greeted her. Ayesha was even more excessive, only giving a slight nod as a greeting. Then, she continued to snuggle up to her master, acting cute and coquettish. To her, Cloris's status was irrelevant; she only cared about her master's thoughts.
"You…" Seeing the two's arrogant behavior, the female officials behind Cloris couldn't help but speak, but were stopped by their princess.
"Hello, Miss Karina Deevans!" Cloris respectfully performed a Nova Empire courtly bow to Karina, then turned to Ayesha and said, "I am honored to meet you, High Priest."
After greeting the two, Cloris looked at Ingrid, who was sitting next to Zhou Ye, and respectfully gave a deep bow, saying, "Teacher, I am so happy to see you here…"
"Your Highness is too polite…" Ingrid smiled self-deprecatingly, "Aren't you afraid of being attacked for calling a traitor like me 'teacher'?"
"Teacher… you taught me so much. In my heart, you will always be my teacher…"
Cloris's words made Ingrid feel somewhat gratified.
"May I ask who this gentleman is?" After greeting Ingrid, Cloris asked, pretending not to care.
"This is the representative of our Sovereign race, Lord Zhou Ye." Before Zhou Ye could speak, Ayesha interjected, "Lord Zhou Ye will fully represent our Sovereign race in this negotiation. All decisions he makes will be unconditionally agreed upon by our Sovereign race…"
"At the same time, Lord Zhou Ye also represents our Cygnus X-1 star." Karina also chimed in, not wanting to be outdone, "All decisions he makes will be unconditionally supported by our Cygnus X-1 star."
"…" Cloris was dumbfounded. What was going on? What was this Zhou Ye's identity? Why did both representatives support him so firmly?
This sudden change of events ruined all the arguments Cloris had prepared… She didn't even know if she should continue the negotiations now…
Chapter 506
Cloris was stunned by the scene before her. The generous conditions she had meticulously prepared to target Cygnus X-1 star and the Sovereign race were instantly rendered useless…
Cloris was stunned for a long time until the female official behind her tugged at her sleeve, and she reacted, hurriedly saying, "Does Lord Zhou Ye have any requests for this negotiation?"
"My requests are very simple…" Zhou Ye stood up with a smile and said, "I only have two requests… Are you sure you want to hear them?"
"Of course, it's a negotiation, whatever requests there are… we can discuss them slowly…" Cloris said with a smile, but was interrupted by Zhou Ye.
"No, you didn't understand what I meant." Zhou Ye waved his hand to stop Cloris's next words, and said directly, "I don't like trouble. Once I make a request… it will never be changed."
"…" Cloris was speechless. Who negotiates like this? Did he come here to cause trouble… Could it be that the two races didn't want to negotiate a peace? So they found such a person to disrupt the situation? But if they didn't want to negotiate, they shouldn't have accepted her invitation… Her country was at a disadvantage now, so she should be the one using delaying tactics… What did they mean by this?
Zhou Ye watched Cloris's face change, almost like a Sichuan opera face-changing performance… This girl was too easy to understand; all her thoughts were written on her face. Zhou Ye didn't even need mental power to know what she was thinking…
Could it be that after traversing so many planes, he had finally encountered a legendary 'naive white sweet'?
The atmosphere was a bit stiff. Zhou Ye's side didn't care, flipping the barbecue, sprinkling seasoning, completely not taking the negotiation seriously. In Zhou Ye's words, they had come specifically to barbecue, and the negotiation was just a side activity.
On the Nova Empire side, the person in charge, Cloris, was still stunned, wondering what Zhou Ye meant. Before she knew it, the barbecue on Zhou Ye's grill was ready, and Cloris was still in a daze.
"Cloris, take a break. You've been standing there in a daze for a long time." Ingrid took a skewer of barbecue and walked to Cloris, handing it over.
"Ah? Oh…" Cloris woke up from her dream and took the barbecue from Ingrid, saying, "Thank you, Teacher…"
"You don't have to be so polite…" Ingrid directly pulled Cloris to sit on a chair that a Valkyrie had moved over, and said with a smile, "What are you daydreaming about?"
"Teacher…" Cloris cautiously glanced at Zhou Ye, who was sitting in the distance being served barbecue by Ayesha, and whispered, "Who exactly is this Lord Zhou Ye? Why are you with him? And why is the High Priest of the Sovereign race serving him so humbly? It looks like he's her…"
After thinking for a long time, Clarice didn't know what appropriate and polite words to use to describe the relationship between the two. She thought for a long time, but she couldn't come up with anything, so she stammered for a long time without saying anything...…
"Looks like his female slave, right?" Ingrid didn't have so many scruples and directly helped Clarice say what was in her heart...…
"..." Clarice nodded, admitting her teacher's statement.
"You're right, Ayasha is Ye's female slave…" Ingrid smiled.
"Heavens… How is this possible?" Hearing Ingrid's words, Clarice almost exclaimed. In her opinion, the Sovereign race, a race where politics and religion are united, can be said that the High Priest of the Sovereign race is equivalent to the head of the empire… How could she be someone else's female slave, and it seems that she is quite willing to be one.
"Hehe…" Ingrid smiled and didn't answer Clarice's words. Some things are not suitable to tell her now. When it's time for her to know, she will naturally know why.
"…Then… Miss Karina Devan? Is she also this Lord Zhou Ye's female slave?" Clarice glanced at Karina, who was snuggling in Zhou Ye's arms in the distance, and couldn't help but ask.
"Karina is Ye's woman." Ingrid simply stated her relationship with Zhou Ye, "Including me, I am also Ye's woman…"
"…Teacher… Could it be that this Lord Zhou Ye is the foreign spy who abducted you?" Clarice belatedly realized that Ingrid's appearance here was too abnormal.
"…That's right." Ingrid almost laughed. Zhou Ye was actually regarded as a spy. She had to remember this and planned to use it to tease her man when she had nothing to do in the future…
"..." Clarice was speechless… No, no, now is not the time to gossip about these things. Negotiation is the most important thing. Thinking of this, Clarice cautiously asked: "Teacher, can you tell me what exactly are the two requests of this Lord Zhou Ye?"
She really wanted to know what Zhou Ye's requirements were. Zhou Ye's words just now directly scared her. For no reason, she just felt that Zhou Ye would definitely do what he said… That's why she was so hesitant, whether or not to listen to Zhou Ye's request. What if Zhou Ye made some excessive demands? For example, asking for dozens of resource stars from the New Star Empire… For example, directly demanding that the empire redraw its borders… She didn't think about herself at all.
"Ye's conditions are not harsh. You can listen to them. I can only tell you so much." Ingrid said, picking up her plate and walking towards Zhou Ye. As she walked, she said: "If you want the negotiation to continue, you must take this step."
"...…" Clarice looked at Ingrid, who abandoned her and threw herself into Zhou Ye's arms, with a look of grievance. What she said was as good as saying nothing… She didn't even reveal any information to herself. What a bad teacher.
However, she knew that, just like Ingrid said, the negotiation had to continue. She had to take this step. If she didn't even dare to listen to Zhou Ye's conditions, then what was there to talk about? She might as well go home…
Thinking of this, Clarice picked up her plate, walked to Zhou Ye, and asked aggressively: "I wonder what the two conditions of Lord Zhou Ye are? I am very interested in hearing you talk about your conditions."
"Oh?" Zhou Ye raised his head, looked at Clarice, who was like a cat putting on a show of force, and smiled: "My two conditions are very simple… First, withdraw the wanted order for Ingrid and restore her reputation."
"This is very simple. I can make the decision here. Okay." Clarice had wanted to restore her teacher's reputation for a long time, but she just never had the opportunity. Now, since Zhou Ye is using this as a condition for a ceasefire, saving her a lot of trouble, she is of course happy to agree.
"The second condition…" Zhou Ye stood up gently, looked down at this princess who was only 1.7 meters tall, and said: "I want you to be my woman—"
Chapter 506
"…Lord Zhou Ye, what did you say?"
At this moment, Clarice even suspected that there was something wrong with her ears and that she was hallucinating.
"You heard me right…" Zhou Ye looked at the somewhat dazed Clarice and said: "The second condition is for you to be my woman… As long as you meet these two conditions, then the Cygnus X-1 star and the Sovereign race's fleet will immediately withdraw."
"…That's impossible." Clarice said decisively. She hated using feelings as a transaction the most, and her mother had also promised her to give her freedom of marriage. Having lived a carefree life since she was a child, she had always yearned to meet the right person in a romantic place.
Obviously, although this place is a good place, Zhou Ye is definitely not the right person. Just because he has so many women, she is unwilling…
"You can change a condition… The second one is absolutely impossible." Clarice was even a little angry. In her opinion, Zhou Ye was completely teasing her… "Lord Zhou Ye, I have to solemnly remind you that now is the negotiation time between our three countries, not a casual after-dinner chat…"
"…I'm not kidding, and I've said it, I won't change my conditions once I've stated them." Zhou Ye was not provoked by Clarice's words—but instead smiled and said: "It doesn't matter if you don't agree now, you will agree in the future… It's just that, by then, the conditions may change."
As Zhou Ye spoke, he ignored Clarice, directly put his arms around Ayasha and the other women, turned around, and walked towards his mothership surrounded by the Valkyries… He still had to comfort his little female slave whom he hadn't seen for more than a month… He didn't have time to waste here with Clarice.
You … … You … … " Klara was so angry at Zhou Ye that she couldn't speak. In her opinion, Zhou Ye's last words were clearly a threat. She really wanted to leave… However, thinking of her country's predicament and her mother's somewhat aged face, she stomped her foot and walked towards her mothership… Klara knew that today's negotiations had failed and she could only wait until tomorrow…
On the other side, Ingrid, who was following Zhou Ye towards the mothership, asked hesitantly: "Darling, why did you say that she would agree in the future? Does this war have to continue?"
As a native of the Nova Empire, Ingrid really didn't want her country to be ravaged by war again. That's why she asked this question, and she even wanted to find a way to persuade her man to end the war as soon as possible when Zhou Ye was sure.
"… … You're thinking too much, baby." Zhou Ye understood Ingrid's thoughts in a second and smiled: "I just saw some interesting things that will happen in the future… That's why I said that."
"What is it?" Ingrid asked, pressing.
"You'll know later." Zhou Ye refused to say any more. Certain things that would happen in the future gave him considerable confidence in taking this silly girl for himself.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — I am the dividing line of the camera switch — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
At this moment, Klara, who had returned to her mothership, was complaining to her mother through the communicator.
"Mom, you don't know how rude that guy named Zhou Ye is… He actually said that the second condition was for me to be his woman…"
"That Zhou Ye must be a very ugly guy, that's why my good daughter is so angry." The Supreme of the Nova Empire in the screen said with a smile.
She was in a very good mood. After she transferred the Nova 19th Fleet, which was guarding Xandar, to the front line, she temporarily resisted the large-scale invasion of the Kree. The other two countries were also in a state of truce negotiations, and the entire Nova Empire could be said to be able to catch its breath temporarily.
"No, that guy is very handsome…" Klara explained: "But he is a fickle guy… You don't know how many women he has, Mom. The High Priestess of the Sovereign is his woman, Karina is also his woman, and Ingrid is also his woman…"
Klara couldn't say the word 'female slave' after all, and unconsciously beautified Zhou Ye.
"Is my good daughter jealous? Are you angry that the woman beside that handsome man isn't you?" The Nova Supreme, in a great mood, teased her daughter.
"I won't look at this scumbag!" Klara wrinkled her nose and said, "So many women, he's not afraid of being exhausted…"
"… …" The Nova Supreme was silent for a moment, and then said: "Baby, you can come back after hanging out with them for a while. By then, it doesn't matter even if the negotiations are unsuccessful…"
Klara nodded sensibly. This was what her mother had told her before she came out. If the other party's conditions were too harsh, she would drag them on and wait for the Kree to win on the front line before she could transfer the fleet back…
Their plan was very good. A delaying tactic—then solve the big problem first, and then solve the small problem…
It's just that, sometimes, the development of things never goes according to people's wishes.
Just when the Supreme was happily talking to her daughter, not far from her, there was also a small meeting… However, what they were talking about was not such a warm thing as a mother and daughter meeting and chatting, but a conspiracy to subvert the Nova Empire…
Nova Empire—Supreme Command.
An old man with white hair, wearing a high-ranking commander's uniform, was smiling and extending his hand to a middle-aged man who was also wearing a commander's uniform. "Welcome, Commander Rivath."
Chapter 507
Xandar, Nova Corps Supreme Command—
"General Stewart, you should know what I'm here for." Rivath stared at the white-haired old man. He wouldn't underestimate this old guy. This old guy was known as the undefeated God of War Stewart, a being that once made the Kree tremble.
"Don't worry, young man, be calmer." Old Stewart said, stood up, poured Rivath a glass of yarrow fruit wine, and handed it to him. "Have a glass?"
"Thank you, I'm not used to drinking this kind of wine…" Rivath refused directly.
Old Stewart didn't mind, he picked up the glass and took a sip himself, closing his eyes, looking like he was savoring it.
This almost made Rivath angry. He didn't believe that this kind of fruit brewed into wine, which was placed in the mothership as emergency rations, was delicious… This kind of fruit, which doesn't need soil and can grow as long as it is occasionally sprinkled with water, is indeed more suitable for being placed on motherships that cruise in the universe all year round as emergency rations, and its nutrition is also very rich, but when it comes to taste, it is really a bit… Uh, not very good.
Just when Rivath felt that he couldn't bear it anymore and was about to explode, Old Stewart finally opened his dim old eyes and said, "This taste really makes people nostalgic…"
"Do you know? When we were fighting against the Kree, supplies were often not available. At that time, we all survived on this thing…" Old Stewart said, his eyes full of vicissitudes,
He sighed: "Especially during the [Raid] campaign, our Ninth Fleet broke into the periphery of the Kree Empire alone. In the end… the energy was used up, and the mothership could only fly slowly with the solar sails…"
… … " Rivas knew about that battle. It was that battle that cemented the title of the undefeated God of War for the old guy in front of him. He led his fleet and charged into the Kree's defense line, flanking them and almost taking down the Kree's capital star… Since that battle, Old Stuart had been promoted to the Supreme Command.
"I have contributed to the Empire and shed blood…" Old Stuart's emotions began to stir as he spoke. "But how has the Empire treated me? My comrades have been transferred away from the fleet one by one… Some went to a planet to become security officers, while others were simply given clerical jobs… What about me? I was also transferred to the Supreme Command to retire and wait for death… Heh."
"… … This is also something that couldn't be helped. At that time, your prestige in the Empire had even surpassed that of the newly enthroned Supreme…" Rivas muttered.
Old Stuart nodded. He knew that Rivas was right, he had indeed become too powerful, overshadowing the ruler. "Yes… something that couldn't be helped… But now, you have also encountered something that can't be helped. What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?" Rivas asked warily. He had come here because he had received a communication from Stuart saying that there was something of life-and-death importance to discuss in person. He had to know that one of his duties was to monitor the Supreme Command… In fact, to put it bluntly, it was to monitor the old guy in front of him…
"Have you seen Princess Clora these days?" Old Stuart didn't answer Rivas's question, but instead asked.
"Didn't Princess Clora go on vacation to an alien planet?" Rivas said, somewhat confused. "That's what the Supreme said."
"Heh heh…" Old Stuart didn't speak, but instead looked at Rivas like he was an idiot.
"What do you mean?" Rivas asked unhappily.
"Haven't you noticed that the offensives of Cygnus X-1 and the Sovereign race have also been suspended?" Old Stuart sighed.
"Maybe it's because they lack the strength to continue…" Rivas had a bad feeling, but he still tried to convince himself…
"Okay, let's just say they lack the strength to continue." Old Stuart didn't refute him, but instead asked again: "Why would the Supreme know that the two countries lack the strength to continue, and confidently transfer the fleets that were resisting the two countries on both sides to the front lines of the Kree? Is the Supreme a prophet?"
"… … … … … …" Rivas could no longer deceive himself. He gritted his teeth and said: "Princess Clora went to negotiate with the Cygnus X-1 people and the Sovereign race?"
"Heh heh…" Old Stuart knew that Rivas had already confirmed this news. He didn't answer his question, but instead asked: "Why did Cygnus X-1 and the Sovereign race launch this war?"
"The Karina Manor Incident—" Rivas had already begun to follow Old Stuart's train of thought.
"Then what would be one of the necessary conditions for negotiation?" Old Stuart continued to guide him.
"The Nova Empire hands over the instigator of the Karina Manor Incident…" Rivas's eyes widened, and his eye sockets were filled with bloodshot veins. This wasn't because he hadn't rested well, but because he was too excited. "No, the Supreme will not hand me over… I am her person…"
"Heh heh…" Old Stuart ignored this screaming idiot and said softly: "Look at me now and you'll understand…"
"… … … …" Looking at the old guy with a full head of silver hair in front of him, the last line of defense in Rivas's heart collapsed. He couldn't help but cover his face with his hands and said: "What should I do…"
"Now… the Nineteenth Fleet guarding Xandar has already gone to the front lines to resist the Kree invasion. The entire Xandar is left with your Dark Star Fleet… Do I still need to teach you what to do?" Old Stuart took a sip of his wine.
"… … No, I can't do this…" Rivas's last shred of loyalty was still struggling.
"Whatever…" Old Stuart said indifferently: "Anyway, it's not me who's being handed over. However, I want to remind you that your end will be worse than mine. Speaking of which, I'm still a general, just being idle, and you… will be a prisoner of war. I wonder how Queen Karina of Cygnus X-1 will treat the guy who caused her serious injury?"
Old Stuart's words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely crushing Rivas's struggle. He stood up silently and walked towards the door…
Old Stuart didn't care at all about Rivas's unceremonious departure. He knew that his goal had been achieved. A storm was about to sweep through the entire Xandar, and even the entire Empire—he also had to contact his old friends. At that time, the position of Chief Executive Officer should fall on his head… He had this confidence.
Chapter 508
When Nova Prime, the Supreme of the Nova Empire, was happily chatting with her daughter through video, suddenly, a chaotic sound of footsteps rang out behind her. Without even turning her head, Nova Prime said with dissatisfaction: "Didn't I say, don't come and disturb me? I'm talking to my daughter…"
"Supreme, may I ask, where is Princess Clora now?" A voice rang out, not the voice of a female officer here, but the voice of a man. Nova Prime was very familiar with the owner of the voice.
"Rivas?" Nova turned around, looked at Rivas who had walked in with a group of subordinates, and asked in surprise and anger: "Who let you in? Where are the guards here?"