It was not far, yet this time the walk was exhausting!
Very soon he stood before a desk of incomparable splendor, inlaid with all manner of treasures and rare things.
A middle-aged man sat with his head bowed, dealing with the work in hand.
This was the Burns Interstellar Civilization's Supreme Consul.
The Burns Interstellar Civilization was a federal interstellar civilization, which chose consuls of different ranks to manage its affairs.
And the consul of the highest rank was naturally in charge of the whole Burns Interstellar Civilization:
the man before him, the Burns Supreme Consul.
"Why the sudden visit; is something the matter?" he asked without looking up.
"There is a very important matter to report to you."
Before the Burns Supreme Consul could speak, the Secretary-General went straight on: "Just now, the lieutenant general of the capital planet's garrison reported that an interstellar fleet has appeared at the edge of the capital star system. It held a video call with us and handed us something. This matter is very important, so I came straight to report to you. The lieutenant general of the capital planet's garrison is present as well."
The Burns Supreme Consul raised his head, and only then noticed a video window that had been open beside the Secretary-General all along.
Had anyone else done this, he would surely have been very angry.
This was the Supreme Consul's office, where importance and privacy mattered a great deal.
But the Secretary-General was the man he trusted most, the man he had raised up with his own hands; if he did this, he must have his reasons.
So the Burns Supreme Consul did not get angry at once, but stopped his work and looked at the Secretary-General. "An interstellar fleet of unknown origin breaking into the outskirts of the capital star system: there should be a procedure for dealing with that. What's happened, that you're all in such a rush you ignore procedure?"
The Secretary-General did not explain further, but sent the electronic document to the Burns Supreme Consul.
"Look it over yourself, and you'll know." The Secretary-General dared not say more.
So mysterious?
The Burns Supreme Consul frowned slightly, but opened the electronic document first all the same.
Since it was the Secretary-General who had presented it, he had no worry about it.
Seeing that inside was only a single emblem, he was more puzzled still.
He studied the emblem before him carefully.
Wait… why did this emblem look so familiar?
He seemed to have seen it somewhere.
A dragon pattern… a dragon-pattern emblem.
A fleet crest……
Owl Dragon……
The Burns Supreme Consul sprang to his feet and stared in astonishment at the Secretary-General before him and the lieutenant general's video window. "This is the fleet crest of the Owl Dragon legion fleets?"
"Yes. We recognized it too as the fleet crest of the Owl Dragon legion fleets of the T6 Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire. Realizing how important this matter is, we came to see you so hastily and rudely," the Secretary-General said seriously.
"Just what is going on?" the Burns Supreme Consul demanded gravely.
The Secretary-General looked at the lieutenant general on the other side of the video window, signaling him to explain again.
The lieutenant general spoke now: "Once we found that interstellar fleet that had broken in, we acted at once according to the set procedure: surround, warn, question. At the time the other side contacted us of their own accord too, and sent me this thing. The one who held the video call with me was a man……"
A man?
"You say it was a man!" Beads of sweat appeared on the Burns Supreme Consul's forehead.
"I'm certain of it. By the look of it, it should be the one of report. The hulls of their interstellar fleet don't bear the Owl Dragon fleet crest, but I've watched those interstellar warships, and there are traces of disguise. Most likely they're acting in secret too. At the same time, the secretary-officer beside that lordship warned me to keep this matter secret, and let as few people know of it as possible. So I wanted to report straight to you……" The lieutenant general did not finish his last words, only glanced at the Secretary-General.
The Burns Supreme Consul looked at the Secretary-General and asked, "You've looked at it?"
The Secretary-General explained at once, "It came so suddenly; I didn't know it was a matter like this. As Secretary-General, it's my duty to handle these things, so……"
"All right, say no more. All I want to know now is whether anyone besides you two knows of this?" the Burns Supreme Consul demanded gravely.
"No."
"No one!"
The two of them said it with one voice.
"Good. Remember! Without my permission, from now on not half a word of this matter is to get out!" There was menace in the Burns Supreme Consul's tone.
"Understood!" the two answered at once, without the least hesitation in their tone.
The Burns Supreme Consul's expression began to ease now, and he said gravely, "The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire hasn't been risen long. But for it to defeat the Devourer Civilization's invasion fleets, its military strength must be above ours. It may even rank near the top among T6 interstellar civilizations. We're no match for it at all. For a figure like this to appear in our Burns Interstellar Civilization, there must be some purpose. We must deal with it carefully. But since they're acting in secret, unwilling to reveal who they are, and unwilling to make a show of it either, that at least means the purpose of their journey shouldn't be to make enemies of us. But we can't relax our guard either; dealing with a civilization of this grade, one slip could plunge our Burns Interstellar Civilization into the flames of war."
The Secretary-General and the lieutenant general both nodded.
"Is this fleet still on the outskirts of our capital star system now?" the Burns Supreme Consul asked.
"Yes. Our people have been watching it all along," the lieutenant general explained.
The Burns Supreme Consul thought for a moment and said at once, "Announce publicly that we're holding a military exercise in this area, and no interstellar warship is to enter without permission. You're in charge of the interstellar fleet watching this Owl Dragon fleet; cut off its communication with the outside, so it can only contact you and me, on a single line. Once this matter is over, have every one of those personnel investigated thoroughly, wipe all their private devices clean, and keep them under strict watch for the next three years."
"Understood." The lieutenant general's expression did not change; he took the order without a moment's hesitation,
not caring in the least that those to be "watched" were the fleet under his own command.
Running into something like this, all one could say was that their luck was bad.
That the Supreme Consul let them live already counted as mercy.
Under some leaders who stopped at nothing, those who knew of such a thing would only fare worse.
"Next, arrange my meeting with them, and make sure it's kept secret," the Burns Supreme Consul told the Secretary-General.
"Very well; I'll see to it," the Secretary-General said.
All three faces there were very grave.
They knew very well that though this looked like only a simple meeting, the matter weighed no less than a war.
Handled badly, anything at all might happen!
……
Very soon a short message was sent to the Dragon Emperor Interstellar Command Ship.
Lilith read it, then looked at the Owl Dragon Emperor. "The Burns Supreme Consul on their side invites you to a video meeting."
Zhao Chen stretched. "Not bad; we didn't wait too long. Arrange it."
"Yes."
Very soon, on a channel,
in a networked holographic conference room,
the figures of Zhao Chen and Lilith appeared; on the other side, two people had long been waiting.
Who would attend this meeting had been settled beforehand: two representatives on each side.
Zhao Chen's gaze swept over the two across from him; from what he knew of the two, who they were came to mind at once:
the Burns Supreme Consul, and his Secretary-General,
the two who stood at the peak of power in the pyramid that was the Burns Interstellar Civilization today.
At the same time, the two across from him were sizing up Zhao Chen and Lilith.
"Let me introduce myself. The one hundred thirty-ninth Supreme Consul of the Burns Interstellar Civilization, Harisaka. This is my Secretary-General, Beckas." The Burns Supreme Consul introduced himself, and bowed to Zhao Chen as well; the Secretary-General beside him bowed in turn.
With the other side so courteous, Zhao Chen had no need to put on airs either; he gave a military salute, then said, "The first Emperor of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, Zhao Chen. This is my secretary-officer, Lilith."
It was him after all.
The Owl Dragon Emperor, Zhao Chen!
They had guessed it before, but now that it was confirmed, the Burns Supreme Consul and his Secretary-General were both shaken at heart.
After all, this Owl Dragon Emperor's name carried great weight across the many universes now.
Even those who had never met him knew of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's battle with the Devourer Civilization,
and knew this Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire stood close to the Holy Elf Empire.
To be an ally of the Holy Elf Empire was a very rare thing indeed!
"Owl Dragon Emperor, I've long looked up to you, long looked up to you. May I ask what brings you so far to the Burns Interstellar Civilization this time?" the Burns Supreme Consul asked politely.
Zhao Chen smiled faintly, but what he said next truly frightened the other side.
"I've come here specially this time just to ask: does the Burns Interstellar Civilization mean to go to war with our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire?"
Had the Burns Supreme Consul not had some depth to him, he would have shot to his feet then and there.
Holding back his astonishment,
the Burns Supreme Consul asked in bewilderment, "Why does the Owl Dragon Emperor say so? There's no grudge between us; why would I go to war with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire?"
What a joke.
The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire was so powerful; how stupid would their Burns Interstellar Civilization have to be to go to war with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire at a time like this?
Wouldn't that be seeking death?
"Is that so? Then why do I have a fleet reporting that your Burns Interstellar Civilization means to move against them?" Zhao Chen asked, narrowing his eyes.
What?
Seeing the Owl Dragon Emperor take this attitude,
the Burns Supreme Consul began to have doubts of his own now.
Could there really be such a thing?
By rights, if the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire meant to target the Burns Interstellar Civilization on purpose, there would be no need at all to find such a lame excuse.
But if there really was such a thing……
The Burns Supreme Consul swallowed; why did his neck feel a little cold?