After the Owl Dragon Empire's war was over,
apart from those few 'ink' blots still there, everything else seemed to go back to what it had been.
Because of the Owl Dragon Empire's powerful industrial capacity,
in the main every damaged building, and every planet, was repaired in the shortest time.
Apart from the casualties, everything went back to what it had been at the start.
But some planets very close to the 'ink' saw a wave of emigration.
After all, with a time bomb like that hanging overhead, most people were still uneasy.
Who knew whether, at some moment in the future, those warships, pitch-black like devils, might come back again out of those strange 'ink' blots?
So in the main, the star systems where these ink blots lay,
so long as they were not high-value systems, all saw a wave of emigration.
Over 90% of the planets' people chose to move to the next system over, or to the system where family and friends lived, and go to them for shelter.
For this, the Owl Dragon Empire officially gave very generous compensation as well.
On this point it won no small goodwill among the people.
The compensation was chiefly of two kinds.
One was for the emigrants: the fares for the interstellar transports they rode in the course of emigrating were all reimbursed.
And after they reached the planet they emigrated to,
the local planet's governor had to give these emigrants from ink systems three years' housing,
and priority in finding work.
That way the emigrants could settle into their new homes in the shortest time.
And these emigrants would also spread the word of the good treatment the Empire had given them.
The other kind of compensation was that anyone who had property in their original home
would be compensated at a certain proportion.
Though it was not compensation at a hundred percent, still, once they had moved away, many things left behind here lost their value.
Above all the houses bought before:
they could be called worth not a single cent.
In such a case, for the Empire to give compensation at a certain proportion
could already be counted quite a good policy.
And some star systems, because of their special nature, naturally could not be emigrated from:
the small ink blot that had appeared in the Holy Angel System, for one,
and the large ink blot outside the Holy Radiance Kingdom's capital system.
The residents of these star systems naturally could not emigrate.
Though the subordinates of both had petitioned their leaders with proposals such as moving the capital,
both had refused.
Both Queen Saint Cana and the Holy Angel Queen chose to stay where they had been.
Since the royal houses chose not to move, the people in those systems were naturally at ease too, and did not move away.
After all, these systems were not like ordinary ones; with many years of working behind them, they were high-value systems.
To give them up would be a loss of no small amount.
But for this the Owl Dragon Empire did not stay silent either.
First, it stationed a great many Household Legion fleet garrisons in the systems where these ink blots lay.
It would even have corps fleets under the Imperial fleet groups take turns garrisoning these systems.
And it built special military starport fortresses expressly to meet this threat.
Many defensive installations had already been added:
besides the shelters within the planets, the planets' defensive force fields had been strengthened.
The Holy Angel home planet, for one, had had a planetary protective force field added; put simply, a star-shield that protected a planet.
This technology was of T6 grade,
and the Owl Dragon Empire had supplied it free of charge!
Beyond that,
a new industry had arisen as well:
'ink tourism.'
Because of some legendary battles around the ink blots, no few people from systems outside the war zones were very curious about the things, and some research scholars and the like as well.
Some of the more out-of-the-way ink blots would be sealed off by the Owl Dragon Empire, and could not be entered.
But these ink blots 'in the full public eye': one could hardly stop people from looking at them, could one?
At the most, some electronic sentry posts were set around the ink blots to forbid anyone without business from coming near.
"Everyone, look now to our right. There is the chief culprit of this ink affair. Do you see that bit of black? Its form is like a drop of ink fallen into the cosmos, and so it's also called 'ink.' They say that in this affair there were five large ink blots in all, and nearly a hundred small ones. The great majority of the ink blots have been sealed off by the Empire, and all warships are forbidden to come near. This is one of the few ink blots at present that we can see at such close range." A tour guide stood in the viewing cabin of an interstellar cruise liner.
One whole side of the cabin was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, with a function to magnify the view as well.
In the cabin were tourists from every corner of the land, every one without exception curious about the ink.
"Those Pitch-Black Legion fleets came out of these ink blots?" someone asked in surprise.
The tour guide took it up at once. "That's right. The invaders from beyond our domain in this affair surged out of these ink blots. They say that so far no one has worked out thoroughly what this ink really is, or what technology. All that's known is that it links to another space-time, and these Pitch-Black Legion fleets used this passage to break into our universe and attack us!"
"Just… came popping out like that?" someone still could not understand.
"Just what happened, we have no way of knowing," the tour guide said with some regret.
"I've heard these Pitch-Black Legion fleets are very strong. That they even have quasi-T7-grade warships; is that true?" someone raised a question.
Faced with this question,
the tour guide said at once in a deep voice, "About the quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships, I have reliable word from the inside. They're the genuine article! Once you get onto the quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships, there's plenty to tell. They gave our Empire's fleet groups no small trouble. Several of our Empire's ace flagships even took the field over them. I hear the interstellar missile ships, to keep up missile fire support, even had their launchers overheat and overload, and even blow themselves up! In that time, over 70% of what the interstellar transports at every star gate carried was interstellar missiles. If our Empire's stock of interstellar missiles hadn't been large enough, there's no saying we could have dealt with those quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships. ……"
The tourists listened to the tale as though listening to a myth.
This, as it happened, created a whole industrial chain for these systems that had ink blots.
The Holy Angel home planet · the Holy Temple Mount
The Holy Angel Queen stood at the highest point, raising her head to gaze at the black dot beyond the 'dome.'
Out of concern for the Holy Angel Queen's safety, the home planet's defensive force field was kept raised twenty-four hours a day, though keeping it up consumed energy.
"My lady, will you really not consider going to another planet? We need not move the capital. But while this thing is here, you could go to another planet for a time, to rest or to make a tour of inspection." Saint Cana[1] looked at her lady the Holy Angel Queen with a complicated gaze.
The Holy Angel Queen said with a faint smile, "Don't take everyone else for a fool. If I leave here at a time like this, won't everyone know I'm an Angel Queen who clings to life and fears death? Now I am the only Angel Queen our Angel Race has left. If I am one who clings to life and fears death as well, then the last bit of pride our Angel Race has will be thrown on the ground too."
"But……" Saint Cana was still very worried.
The Holy Angel Queen looked at Saint Cana with a smile. "I know that as Angel Queen I am queen in name only now. But as a symbol, or say, as a banner of the Angel Race, I must be a good banner. At least that way, the Angel Race still stands here."
Saint Cana urged nothing further, but only sighed.
"Has the Empire given you any instructions?" the Holy Angel Queen asked.
"No; it only asked for a report on our Angel Race legion fleets' losses in the fighting before," Saint Cana said.
The Holy Angel Queen looked at Saint Cana. "You are the Angel Race's grand marshal now; every angel legion fleet is under your command. I know the responsibility is great, but I trust you. And that Majesty trusts you as well. Our Angel Race has left no few bad impressions in that Majesty's mind; if our Angel Race is to survive safely, it can only rest on you. For the Angel Race now, you matter more than I do."
In this time, to keep clear of suspicion, the Holy Angel Queen had handed every legion fleet within the Angel Race to Saint Cana's charge.
She had applied to His Majesty the Emperor for this as well.
The answer His Majesty the Emperor gave was two words: "I agree."
So now, in the strict sense, Saint Cana was the one with the greatest power in the Angel Race.
"My lady." Saint Cana looked at the Holy Angel Queen with some tenderness.
"In truth, if you were willing, you could give up your present standing in the Angel Race and join the Owl Dragon Empire as well. I believe that with your ability and gifts, and His Majesty the Emperor's trust in you, you could well have a seat in the Imperial military. Never mind marshal; at least lieutenant general or general would be no problem," the Holy Angel Queen said slowly.
At once Saint Cana said, "My lady, don't say such things. I am the Angel Race's commander; at a time like this, when you need me and the Angel Race needs me, I cannot think only of my own future. I am willing to stay with the Angel Race and work for the Angel Race's growth! And His Majesty the Emperor's side bears the Angel Race no great ill will; I believe the Angel Race can have its place within the Empire, and flourish too!"
The Holy Angel Queen nodded.
Only she did not speak aloud what was in her heart.
His Majesty the Emperor would allow the Angel Race to exist, but he would only allow a docile Angel Race to exist,
not a beast baring its fangs and claws.
So the legion fleets within the Angel Race's borders now, though in name they seemed still to be under Saint Cana's control,
were in fact held in check by the Owl Dragon Empire.
If she had not guessed wrong,
the Owl Dragon Empire would very soon give Saint Cana a certain military rank, so that she would hold an Owl Dragon Empire rank while commanding the Angel Race's legion fleets.
Still, this was the only choice the Angel Race had now.
"Saint Cana, what do you suppose that thing really is? And where did those pitch-dark warships come from?" The Holy Angel Queen changed the subject, raising her head to look at the streak of black in space overhead.
"I don't know. But by the orders the Emperor has passed down, these pitch-black starships or creatures are all our enemies. It's you die or I perish. And the planets that were invaded are the same. Only, by the intelligence I've had, of the civilians attacked on those planets, apart from those killed outright in the fighting, most died peaceful-looking deaths; but on examination after death, their… their brains were empty."
"Empty?" The Holy Angel Queen was somewhat surprised.
"Not empty in the literal sense. Everything is there… but… the will is gone… Just… just… just as though they'd lost their souls. But the Empire has sealed this news off from the outside. I only learned it by chance." Saint Cana scratched her head as she said it.
"Lost their souls," the Holy Angel Queen murmured to herself. "The Emperor… our Majesty the Emperor. Or say, our universe. What kind of enemy is it truly facing? The Mechanical Race gone without a farewell, the strange undead creatures, the hive-race creatures, and now the Pitch-Black Legion fleets. I feel that our universe has not many peaceful days left."
The Holy Angel Queen raised her head and gazed up at the sky, her look somewhat heavy.
Saint Cana did not think much of it; as a marshal, what she thought of was very simple:
to protect the Angel Race well, carry out well the orders the Emperor gave,
and win battles.
It was as simple as that.
In the blink of an eye two months had passed since the ink war.
And in that time Zhao Chen had stayed in the Imperial Military Industry Research Academy, dealing with outside affairs entirely through hologram meetings.
The rest was two points and a line between them:
his own office, and his quarters.
And the time Zhao Chen allotted himself could be called squeezed to the utmost.
Apart from sleeping, eating and the toilet, he was in the office.
To outsiders he was a model worker, and the other crew and engineers looked on in admiration.
This was hard on a certain Chief Engineer.
Annie dragged her listless body into the office.
Seeing Zhao Chen, who had come in who knew how early, she rolled her eyes and went into her own office.
"What's going on? His Majesty's already here; why are you only coming in now!" Chief Engineer Nana, who was assisting His Majesty the Emperor, flung over a tool the size of a thumb with no ceremony at all; it struck Annie square on the head.
Annie was numb to it by now.
Come on!
She was only coming and going at the proper hours, all right?
With every one of you coming in hours early, you make it look as though she's the one in the wrong.
She truly wanted to design some technological gadget
that would ban all involution, all this rat-race overwork!
Aish!
Annie roared inside.
But on her face she was all smiles.
"I left work late last night and got to bed a bit late."
Nana did not press Annie.
She came straight over and pulled Annie along toward Zhao Chen's side.
"His Majesty's seventy-ninth version of the model is out. Come and see whether there's anything wrong with it."