On the day before Zhao Chen was to sail home,
the Flame Elf Queen, as agreed, brought Zhao Chen to a starship plant below the World Tree.
The whole starship plant was very different in style too; from afar it looked like a thicket of thorns.
On its outer walls no few vines could be seen as well.
Zhao Chen and the Flame Elf Queen rode a shuttle into this starship plant.
"I'm sorry; because this starship plant is one of our military installations, and the place in charge of producing T6-grade warships besides, Your Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor can only stay with me here," the Flame Elf Queen said, leading the way ahead.
"No problem." Zhao Chen nodded and kept dutifully at the Flame Elf Queen's side.
Perhaps for secrecy, the passages chosen were all fully enclosed too, so even had Zhao Chen wanted to see how the Sacred Elf Empire's T6 warships in service were built, he had no chance at all,
until the Flame Elf Queen brought Zhao Chen into a huge chamber.
On entering this chamber, the Flame Elf Queen even went through an identity scan; one could see how important the chamber was.
Zhao Chen looked around the huge chamber before him; there were not many people in it.
But a huge 'branch' lay there.
Put on a planet, it would surely be something of the grade of a thousand-year-old tree.
But Zhao Chen knew this was only a small twig from the World Tree.
"This is the raw material we gather from the World Tree. It's one of the important raw materials from which we produce T6-grade warships. It's a new kind of material in itself, but at the same time it holds enormous energy within it. So it's a material born to build warships," the Flame Elf Queen said, pointing at the wood.
Zhao Chen looked it over all round.
To look at, it was in the main no different from ordinary wood, but Zhao Chen had a feeling that merely being near this wood made his body feel very comfortable.
"If it's so powerful, then why can't it be used for research toward a breakthrough to T7 technology?" Zhao Chen asked the question again without thinking.
The Flame Elf Queen said nothing.
It seemed there truly was some great secret hidden here.
Zhao Chen did not press it, and said, "The World Tree is so enormous; if one branch like this can build a warship, then you could well build an enormous T6 interstellar fleet from it!"
Having said it, Zhao Chen waited for the Flame Elf Queen's explanation.
For he had guessed it was surely not so easy and simple.
Were it truly as he said, the number of T6 warships in active service in the Sacred Elf Empire now would surely be greater.
But from what he now knew of the Sacred Elf Empire, he had found it was not so.
So there must be some reason in it.
The Flame Elf Queen shook her head and explained, "The World Tree's raw material isn't something we can gather at will. Not that we don't want to; we don't have the technology for it. If we cut the World Tree's branches ourselves, those branches quickly age and drop off, and then turn straight to dust. Only World Tree branches that fall off of themselves hold this special power, usable for building warships. Our Sacred Elf Empire is trying to find ways to raise how efficiently this raw material is gathered, true. But so far we can only use some means to speed the fall of branches already about to drop of themselves, and can't master this stage entirely."
Zhao Chen understood the meaning of it.
It came to no more than this: the yield of this raw material was wholly beyond their control.
That also explained why the Sacred Elf Empire, with so great a gold mine, had no terrifyingly strong military power.
"I suppose if I asked to take a sample back, that couldn't possibly happen, could it?" Zhao Chen said half in jest.
The Flame Elf Queen said bluntly, "With our two sides' cooperation as it stands now, that truly is impossible. But in future, if our two sides grow close, it's not wholly without hope either."
"Then I'll hold you to it. If one day I save your Sacred Elf Empire and do you a great service, I'll want the thickest, hardest one there is."
"No problem." The Flame Elf Queen seemed not to catch the tease in Zhao Chen's words.
Zhao Chen went on, "I mean to go back tomorrow. When do you and your elf legion fleets plan to set out for the Owl Dragon Empire?"
"As agreed, for the first time we'll send five million warships to the Owl Dragon Empire. But that needs some time to get ready. It'll take about a month from start to finish. Roughly every week we'll send a million warships to the Owl Dragon Empire. Before that, Your Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor, your side also needs to get ready the industrial bases we require. As for me, I may come to the Owl Dragon Empire with the third batch of fleets." When she had finished, the Flame Elf Queen paused and looked at Zhao Chen. "And when does Your Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor mean to station your Owl Dragon legion fleets in our Sacred Elf Empire?"
"There's no hurry about that for now; whenever it's arranged, I'll let you know ahead of time. You know too that our Owl Dragon Empire isn't like your Sacred Elf Empire, with a great house and a great fortune; we have only so many warships. We've agreed to send warships to each other, true, but in fact we haven't many fleets to spare," Zhao Chen said with a shrug.
"The number of warships can't wholly stand for an interstellar fleet's fighting power. As I understand it, the Owl Dragon Legion has always fought campaigns where the few beat the many. With interstellar missile ships and interstellar escorts working together, you can often get very good loss ratios on the battlefield," the Flame Elf Queen said, fixing her eyes on Zhao Chen.
The lass truly had studied his Owl Dragon Legion a great deal.
All this while, because of the alliance, it was no longer as inconvenient to meet as before.
Whenever she had the chance, she would ask about all sorts of things.
And she would openly ask in front of Zhao Chen about some matters of Owl Dragon-line warships, and what could be told Zhao Chen would tell her a word or two of.
What could not be told, when she saw Zhao Chen brush it off, she would press no further either.
After that, Zhao Chen asked some more questions about this raw material from the World Tree, and that counted as the end of this visit.
…………
The Emperor's Guard Fleet · the bridge
Zhao Chen sat on the sofa-throne, looking out of the porthole at the Owl Dragon legion fleets already making ready for the voyage home.
"Everything's arranged; in ten minutes the 'Water Dragon Gate' will open, and you and your fleet can go back to the Owl Dragon Empire. Coming with you to the Owl Dragon Empire this time there'll be an interstellar fleet of our Sacred Elf Empire's as well. Besides diplomats, this fleet has technicians concerned too, chiefly to oversee the basic works for building the 'Water Dragon Gate · Star-Gate Type' on the Owl Dragon Empire's universe side."
When she had said this, Gladys looked at Zhao Chen and stood up straight. "Besides that, I've received a special assignment. I'm to be sent to the Owl Dragon Empire as a special envoy. From now on, if you have anything to take up with the Sacred Elf Empire, I can discuss it with you on the High Council's behalf."
Zhao Chen looked at Gladys. "No need to be so stiff; we're old acquaintances, after all. I never thought that going back, I'd be taking you with me."
Gladys gave a hee-hee laugh.
"You've been keeping us company all this while, with no time to go and see your family," Zhao Chen said.
Gladys said with a smile, "You needn't worry about me. My family and I have had a video call. And this trip of mine to the Owl Dragon Empire is only a few months. You know, don't you, that we elves live very long. The average lifespan now is around a thousand years."
Only then did Zhao Chen remember that these elves were every one of them very long-lived.
Without relying on any lifespan technology, they could live to a thousand.
A few months truly were nothing at all to them.
"Then let's get ready to set out," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes."
After that, everything went as it had on the way there.
With the 'Water Dragon Gate' open, Zhao Chen and his fleet formally set out on the way home.
……
The Devourer Civilization
Aboard a certain warship with a pitch-black hull, shaped like an interstellar behemoth,
on its gloomy, palace-like bridge,
"Latest word from the Sacred Elf Empire. They've made contact with that universe we newly found, and have already begun military cooperation, and seem even to have concluded some covenant of alliance. And they're to send five million elf warships to that new universe, under the fine name of resisting our invasion together," said a creature in old armor, black vapor rising from its body.
"I know this news too. Heh heh heh. Who'd have thought those timid elves, after giving up so many universes, would actually be willing to fight shoulder to shoulder with this new universe's civilization and fight us? I really can't think where they got the courage. Wouldn't it be nicer to huddle in their own little patch and wait to die as before?" In one of the two video windows before it,
a creature thin as a rake, as though only a skeleton were left, said with a sinister laugh.
In the other video window was an enormous body, tall as a small mountain.
"Don't let down your guard. I've looked up some information on this new universe; it seems they call themselves the Owl Dragon Empire, the Owl Dragon universe. An interstellar civilization with T6 technology. And the Great Existence sent fleets to invade this universe too, and they were beaten back time after time. It's made the Great Existence very angry; if the Great Existence's main fleets weren't held up in the outer domain by a pack of iron lumps, this universe would long since have been devoured by the Great Existence. So an interstellar civilization that can stand against the Great Existence like this, we must be careful with too."
"Careful. Ha ha ha ha ha, don't make me laugh, all right? What's there to be careful of in an interstellar empire founded not even ten years ago? Being able to resist the Great Existence's seeping-in was only because that was just a tiny bit of the Great Existence's power. If the Great Existence could come down in full, could a mere T6 technological civilization hold out?" the thin one sneered.
The armored creature said in a deep voice, "Enough; stop arguing over these needless things. Right now our only task is to eat up this Owl Dragon Empire's universe, and then invade the Sacred Elf Empire completely. The Sacred Elf Empire's existence has always been a thorn in the Great Existence's heart. Before, we were just about to invade their universe, but who'd have thought they'd actually use a technology like that? Still, that only slowed their death. Let us pass judgment of death on them ourselves, for the Great Existence! But before that, wipe out this Owl Dragon Empire first. How are the expedition legion fleets I told you to prepare coming along?"
"On my side, five million warships, all ready."
"On my side too, five million warships, ready to set out at any moment."
"Good; then we have fifteen million warships in all. That should be more than enough to wipe out this one Owl Dragon Empire. We can even use it to draw more of the Sacred Elf Empire's legion fleets onto this Owl Dragon Empire battlefield, and wipe them out."
"Heh heh heh heh heh."
"Devour… devour everything……"
……
"Oh, right, let me ask you something. By some material I've learned about the Devourer Civilization in your Sacred Elf Empire these days, the records all say the Devourer Civilization is ruled by the Three Sovereigns. That these Three Sovereigns are Order's only believers, and it's even rumored they've seen Order in person and got technology from Order's side, and so founded the Devourer Civilization of now. Have they really seen it?" Zhao Chen, looking at the familiar sight of crossing between universes, chatted idly with Gladys beside him.
"Those are all rumors; who knows whether they've seen Order? Anyway, we've never seen Order. Order commonly appears on the level of the mind; either it affects you without anyone knowing, or you can sense its existence in your mind. Anyway… it's just a very strange sort of thing," Gladys said.
What Zhao Chen knew of Order was only that it was a powerful soul-body, or consciousness-body, or spirit-body; it had a great many names, anyway, and mastered marvelous T7 technology.
But what it truly looked like, no one truly knew.
That, if anything, made Zhao Chen very curious.
"And the Devourer Civilization's Three Sovereigns? Have you seen them? I've never found any footage of them at all," Zhao Chen asked, turning to the Devourer Civilization.
"The Three Sovereigns are the beings at the summit of the Devourer Civilization's power. There are no few legends and rumors about them, but real footage there is none. It's said that of the Three Sovereigns one is a huge fat one, five meters tall, who likes to eat other intelligent life raw. Another is a thin one, very cunning and cruel, who likes best to watch a planet sink into the end of its world, and enjoy the dying struggles of those people at the world's end. The other is the Sovereign in armor, of whom least is known. But he is the highest in standing of the Three Sovereigns!"