"Then what do you plan to do next? Are you going to carry out that idea of yours from before?" The Flame Elf Queen looked at Zhao Chen; she was already planning the arrangements to come.
Zhao Chen thought a moment and said, "As things look now, the Devourer Civilization won't be any threat to us again for a while. So we really can carry out that plan we got ready before. Of course, the plan still needs your Sacred Elf Empire to provide the technical help."
The Flame Elf Queen nodded. "We've got a chance to catch our breath now, which is rare. We really do have to seize it, and recover and raise our own fighting power as far as we can. As for your idea of opening up new territory abroad, I'll have to talk it over first with the High Council and those Elf Sovereigns. My guess is they'll all be against it at first. But with the technology you're willing to provide, I'm confident I can persuade them. And if I can't, then if it comes to that, we use the fallback plan."
A fallback plan?
The Flame Elf Queen showed a trace of a smile. "For instance, what if your technology for exploring interstellar universes happened to have a breakthrough by accident? Or what if you happened to rescue some technical people in that field by accident?"
Zhao Chen understood at once what the Flame Elf Queen meant.
He smiled and nodded.
"Then afterward, once the Devourer Civilization's interstellar fleets have pulled back completely, my Sacred Elf legion fleet groups here will split into three batches and take turns going back to the Sacred Elf Empire to rest, refit and resupply. After the three rounds of rotation, 5 million interstellar warships will still stay behind to garrison the Owl Dragon Empire, just as we agreed before," the Flame Elf Queen said.
Zhao Chen nodded. "No problem; I'll have orders given to grant you priority in using the star gates."
The bases given to these Sacred Elf legion fleet groups to garrison had some industrial capacity, true, but it could never compare with the Sacred Elf Empire's own industrial bases.
And the biggest reason was that some badly damaged interstellar warships needed major repairs.
And the Sacred Elf Empire's upper ranks would naturally never allow the Owl Dragon Empire's people to do major repairs on elf-line interstellar warships.
The two sides were partners now, true, but some core technology, above all the military-industrial core technology of interstellar warships, was what both sides held under the highest secrecy.
Such technology was not something an ally could never be allowed to know,
but it could not be had for nothing either.
So these elf-line interstellar warships would naturally all go back to the Sacred Elf Empire's own ground for major repairs.
Once the major repairs were done, they would come back to the Owl Dragon Empire's military bases and resume their garrison as before.
Zhao Chen thought a moment and said, "The technical cooperation just mentioned: it would be best to move fast on the timing. Reach the cooperation within a week. On our side we'll set up the related technology projects in half a month, and begin exploring the other interstellar civilizations' universes out there within a month. After all, for our Owl Dragon Empire, time is beyond price."
The Flame Elf Queen nodded in agreement.
What mattered most to them now was time.
But then she thought of that lot on the High Council.
The Flame Elf Queen clutched her head and said helplessly, "I'll find a way on this. When the time comes…… even if they don't agree, I'll carry out the fallback plan; what you want, you'll certainly have within a week. But at the same time, our deal stays as it was."
The Flame Elf Queen looked at Zhao Chen.
What she meant was: what was due to you, by whatever means, you would get.
But just the same, what you were due to bring out could not be one bit less.
The Flame Elf Queen was well disposed toward the Owl Dragon Empire, but that did not mean she cared nothing for her own Sacred Elf Empire's interests.
After discussing a few more things,
the Flame Elf Queen ended this talk too; in a while, once she had given instructions about the Sacred Elf legion fleet groups' affairs to come, she would set out once more back to the Sacred Elf Empire.
The Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship · the bridge
Zhao Chen watched the Devourer Civilization interstellar fleets slowly withdrawing in several battlefield video windows.
At least until these Devourer Civilization interstellar fleets had all pulled out, Zhao Chen's legion fleets would stay in a state of readiness for war.
"How much longer until they've all pulled out?" Zhao Chen asked Lilith beside him.
Lilith calculated and answered, "If they keep withdrawing at this speed, it should take another five hours before they're all out."
"Five hours?" Zhao Chen frowned slightly, somewhat displeased at the time.
These fellows were far too slow and sloppy.
Lilith explained, "That allows for the hulls of those Devourer Civilization remnant fleets all having some damage, more or less, from the fighting before, which affects their speed. Some hulls may not even meet the standard for crossing universes. The other side either has to reinforce these starships' hulls on the spot, or give up these interstellar warships and move their crews off. Operations like that take a good deal of time. About five hours."
Zhao Chen shrugged helplessly. "Barring accidents, they should pull out obediently. We have to get the relevant preparations ready in advance too. Work it out: how long will the Owl Dragon legion fleet groups under us need to finish resting, refitting and resupplying, and get their fighting condition back?"
Lilith soon had some figures; she answered, "Not counting making good the damaged interstellar warships, getting every interstellar warship of every Owl Dragon Empire legion fleet group back to full fighting condition will take at least a month. Of course, if we restore these interstellar warships at any cost, we can draw off some other industrial capacity. But I don't think that would be fitting."
Zhao Chen nodded in agreement; affecting normal industrial production really would not be fitting.
"When the time comes, have several ace fleet groups rest, refit and resupply first, and after that give priority to our Owl Dragon Legion First Fleet Group. Try to finish both within half a month after the war," Zhao Chen set out his requirements.
Lilith thought a moment and nodded. "In that case, no problem."
Zhao Chen gave these interstellar legion fleets priority in resting, refitting and resupplying to get them ready for the next phase of combat tasks.
When the time came, so long as conditions allowed, they would go into combat condition at once, ready to strike out on their own and carry out combat tasks at any time.
After all, time was now critical for the Owl Dragon Empire; the more time could be saved, the better.
Very soon
the Devourer Civilization's interstellar fleets on the seven battlefields thinned out, until only some interstellar warships, burning and pouring black smoke, were left abandoned here; the rest of the Devourer Civilization's interstellar fleets had all pulled out.
Those black caverns began gradually to blur, and at last faded away.
In this moment the seven battlefields fell utterly still.
On the battlefields there remained only the "broken walls and ruins" of the fighting.
The Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship · the bridge
There was none of the celebration one might imagine; instead the crew mostly slumped at their posts, falling sound asleep with smiles on their faces.
Zhao Chen looked at those weary figures.
The crew of this starship did not usually appear on the main front, but in directing the whole of the war, every nerve of theirs had been strung tight.
That pressure had been no less than what the crews and NCOs on the interstellar warships on the main front bore.
Now at last this string could slacken a little.
Lilith saw the scene, frowned slightly, and opened her mouth, torn.
But Zhao Chen raised a hand and said softly, "Everyone's very tired; let them rest a little. There'll be more work to keep them busy later."
Lilith's eyes softened, and she nodded slightly.
Zhao Chen stretched, then said, "What comes next for us I'll leave to you and Charlotte. Tell me at once if there's news from the Flame Elf Queen's side. I'm going over to the Imperial Military Industry Research Institute now to see if there's anything they need help with. And I'll need to sift through the technology for the Sacred Elf Empire myself, too."
Lilith saw the weariness in Zhao Chen's eyes, and opened her mouth to persuade him to rest a little.
But Zhao Chen had already risen; he patted Lilith on the shoulder, turned with a smile, and walked off the bridge.
Lilith sighed lightly; he was the same as ever.
……
News that the war between the Owl Dragon Empire and the Devourer Civilization had come to a pause spread through the whole Owl Dragon Empire and the Sacred Elf Empire.
For the Owl Dragon Empire, in truth, most people did not feel much about this war that had gone on for three months.
For the homes they lived in had not been attacked directly, and their lives had not been much affected.
What they felt most were some rumors they heard, and, in work connected with the military, some changes in military supplies, or greater demand.
Beyond that, it had little effect on the middle and lower ranks.
But for the Sacred Elf Empire, on learning the news,
upper ranks and lower alike were greatly astonished.
They had clashed with the Devourer Civilization several times, and had heard of many cases of the Devourer Civilization wiping out and destroying one interstellar civilization's universe after another.
They knew more of the Devourer Civilization's evil name, and feared it more.
So learning that this Owl Dragon Empire had actually held off the Devourer Civilization's attack greatly astonished them.
But on learning that their own Sacred Elf legion fleet groups had joined in too, they also guessed that their own legion fleet groups had likely had a great deal to do with it.
The truth of this only the upper ranks knew.
The Sacred Elf legion fleet groups had indeed taken part in the fighting, committing 15 million interstellar warships all told.
But the ones who had truly shone in it were the Owl Dragon legion fleet groups themselves,
above all in that surprise strike deep into the Devourer Civilization's universe domains,
and that super-weapon!