"Wait, I know nothing of this at all. I give you my word: our Burns Interstellar Civilization has no thought whatever of making an enemy of your Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire. Please allow me to look into it." Beads of sweat had already appeared on the Burns Supreme Consul's forehead.
Just as he was about to ask his Secretary-General what on earth was going on,
how such a thing could have come about,
Zhao Chen spoke first: "No need to trouble yourselves looking into it. Just tell me: aren't you preparing to use force on the Luohe Star Region in the Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe?"
The Burns Supreme Consul was taken aback for a moment; he recalled that there did seem to be something of the sort.
He looked questioningly at the Secretary-General beside him.
The Secretary-General said at once, "Th… there is something of the sort. Some time ago a family power in the Luohe Star Region of the Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe got in touch with one of our princes, and proposed setting up an interstellar federation in the Luohe Star Region under our control."
"And you're preparing to send interstellar legion fleets to the Luohe Star Region to clear out every force of resistance there, aren't you?" Zhao Chen said with a smile.
The Burns Supreme Consul frowned at his Secretary-General.
The Secretary-General swallowed. "Th… there is something of the sort."
"Then it seems you admit it: you're preparing to declare war on our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, and to attack our Owl Dragon legion fleets!" Zhao Chen slammed the table as he said it.
The sudden bang made the Burns Supreme Consul across from him jump.
"Ah… what… what… what's the connection? Could it be……" The Burns Supreme Consul seemed to think of something.
A faint smile curled the corners of Zhao Chen's mouth, and he looked coldly at the two across from him.
"Because my Owl Dragon interstellar legion fleets are in the Luohe Star Region right now. As luck would have it, those few family powers have provoked me. And they've warned me that they have a powerful T6 interstellar civilization behind them, which will soon send interstellar legion fleets into the Luohe Star Region. And then it can crush my interstellar legion fleets as easily as crushing an ant. Talk like that leaves me so very scared."
Zhao Chen's expression changed, and he patted his chest with a frightened look.
Then he blinked and looked at the Burns Supreme Consul across from him. "So I've come specially to ask the Supreme Consul of the mighty Burns Interstellar Civilization: how do you mean to crush this weak little ant?"
The words sent a chill down both their backs.
The Burns Supreme Consul sprang to his feet, waving his hands again and again as he explained, "Your Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor, we never meant any such thing. This must be a misunderstanding."
"Then aren't you the ones about to send these interstellar legion fleets?" Zhao Chen asked back, narrowing his eyes.
"This… this… there is indeed such a thing. But I had no idea at all that those family powers were set against you. If I had known, I would never have agreed to my subordinates sending troops to set themselves against you. I personally admire Your Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor and your Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire very much. How could I do such a thing? It's surely a misunderstanding. Give me time; I'll investigate this matter thoroughly right away and recall every interstellar legion fleet! We'll never set foot in the Luohe Star Region again!" The Burns Supreme Consul made his position plain at once.
What a joke.
Go to war with the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, the mightiest there was right now? Their Burns Interstellar Civilization was not tired of living yet!
By now he had cursed whoever first put forward the plan for the Luohe Star Region in the Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe who knew how many times over.
Had that person been before him now, he would surely have strung him up and flogged him.
A Luohe Star Region had some military value, true, but to make an enemy of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire over it was certainly no good idea.
Zhao Chen put on a look of sudden understanding. "Oh~, so it's a misunderstanding."
"Yes, yes, yes! It's really just a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding!" the Secretary-General chimed in again and again beside him.
Anyone with sense now knew how to handle this.
They knew too that this Owl Dragon Emperor had appeared here to call them to account.
They had even worked out how the whole thing had come about.
Most likely the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had set its eyes on this Luohe Star Region of the Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe too, meaning to clear out those few families
and quietly prop up an interstellar power of its own there, so as to control the whole Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe.
And as bad luck would have it, they had run straight into it.
The Owl Dragon Emperor had come this time to call them to account for it.
But at least he was willing to talk, which meant he had no thought of war; otherwise what appeared here would not have been an Owl Dragon fleet of only three thousand,
but an Owl Dragon legion fleet group of several million.
That made them feel somewhat lucky at heart in spite of themselves.
Thank goodness, thank goodness.
They had very nearly, without knowing it, taken on a disaster-grade dungeon.
Had that truly happened, they would most likely have died a most unjust death.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, we won't trouble you here any longer." Zhao Chen stretched; then he added, as if offhand, "But I also don't want word of our coming here, or of our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's operations over there, getting out. If this news leaks, and we can't find who leaked it, my Owl Dragon legion fleets may come calling at some places they oughtn't to be."
The words seemed offhand, but they were a threat through and through.
What they meant was no more than this: the Owl Dragon legion fleets' operation in the Luohe Star Region was a secret one.
It was only because of this sudden business that they had been forced to appear here and talk with you.
Right now only you know who we are and what we're about.
If word of it leaks out later, then so long as we can't find the source of the leak, you'll take the blame for it.
Then we'll be very angry, and the consequences will be very grave; weigh it up for yourselves.
It was rather a scoundrel's way of doing things, but who could help it, when theirs was now the most powerful interstellar civilization in arms?
They could only swallow it.
"Understood, understood. Rest assured, we on our side guarantee to keep our mouths shut tight; we'll never let anything out."
As he said it, the Burns Supreme Consul's eyes darted, and then he said, "Today we never met. There was no interstellar fleet, and no talk. Nothing happened, and I know nothing."
Zhao Chen nodded with satisfaction, then said calmly, "Clean up the business over there as soon as you can. Guns and shells on a battlefield have no eyes; if something truly happens, it can't be undone."
With that,
Zhao Chen and Lilith left this holographic network meeting.
The Burns Supreme Consul watched the two figures vanish, let out a long breath, sat down in his chair, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Holy hell, who'd have thought the Owl Dragon Emperor would turn up here with us? That was close, that was close. I really thought we were going to war with this Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire. Our Burns Interstellar Civilization has only just stepped into being a T6 interstellar civilization; how could we be a match for a monster like that?"
The Secretary-General beside him nodded again and again. "Yes. Their number of T6-grade interstellar warships is several times ours. And it's said they have a portable superweapon that can destroy a small star system outright. It was with that weapon that they destroyed seven of the Devourer Civilization's star systems, nearly ten million interstellar warships, in a short time. If… if this master just now had used that weapon on the outskirts of our capital star system… gulp……"
The Secretary-General swallowed in after-fright.
The Burns Supreme Consul felt his own neck too; then, in anger, he slapped his Secretary-General across the face.
"How do you handle things? You didn't even know about something this important. Our interstellar legion fleets very nearly went to war with the Owl Dragon interstellar legion fleet group. To go seeking death like that! If you're not afraid to die, don't drag me down with you!"
The Secretary-General clutched his face and said with an innocent look, "This… this matter was something you agreed to……"
"I agreed… I agreed because the intelligence you gave me wasn't enough. Contact whoever is in charge of this matter right now. Stop every action at once, and have the person in overall charge come before me at once," the Burns Supreme Consul roared.
"Yes."
The Secretary-General went at once to see to it.
The Burns Supreme Consul let out a breath too, sitting in his office chair; he tugged at his clothes; the back of them was soaked through.
Because he liked to wear clothes without any technology in them, they had no self-cleaning function.
He would have to change his outfit in a while.
But his mouth was a little dry at the moment; he would have something to drink first.
The Burns Supreme Consul picked up his teacup, and just as he was about to take a sip,
the office door was suddenly pushed open, and the Secretary-General, who had gone and come back, cried with a terrified face, "This is bad! My lord, something terrible has happened. Our commander in charge of the Luohe Star Region business has already begun sending our interstellar legion fleets. Just now, ten legion fleets, three hundred thousand interstellar warships, were sent to the Luohe Star Region with cross-universe delivery technology. And… and… to the front-line battlefield at that!"
Crash.
The teacup in the Burns Supreme Consul's hand fell to the floor and broke into pieces.
It was his favorite teacup, said to be priceless, a gift someone had given him when he took up the post of consul.
But now it was nothing but shards all over the floor.
"Quick! Quick! Quick! Send people to the Luohe Star Region in the Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe this minute, right away. Bring every interstellar legion fleet that was sent there back to me." The Burns Supreme Consul was in a frantic state.
He felt as though the sky had fallen in that moment.