The Luohe Star Region · the front-line battlefield between the four great families and the Luohe Kingdom
The standoff had held until now.
Something, no one knew what, had happened
to set the four great families' legion fleets opposite, so cautious before, astir at this moment.
Their interstellar patrol fleets began boldly crossing the warning line to scout, and even, on meeting Luohe Kingdom interstellar warships, fired a few swaggering shots.
At the same time, the four great families' legion fleet positions began slowly pushing forward too,
with every sign of launching an attack!
And the reason for all this change
lay behind the four great families' legion fleets' positions.
"Report: the interstellar reconnaissance ships we sent have found unusual spatial disturbances behind the enemy's positions. When we slipped in to look, we found great numbers of legion fleets appearing there. They seem to be the T6 interstellar civilization behind the four great families, the Burns! So far at least three hundred thousand interstellar warships have poured out. Among them are a few T6-grade interstellar warships!" the adjutant reported to General Leng Qian.
The look on General Leng Qian's face turned cold at once.
The Burns Interstellar Civilization really had sent interstellar legion fleets over: three hundred thousand at one go, and with no sign of stopping.
Those families' people had said before that the Burns Interstellar Civilization would send a million interstellar warships into the Luohe Star Region.
That meant seven hundred thousand more interstellar warships were still to come.
If it were truly so, it would be a disaster for the Luohe Kingdom.
Before this, General Leng Qian would most likely not even have had the will to keep fighting now.
A T5 interstellar civilization could hardly defeat a T6 interstellar civilization; between the two lay a chasm!
But now the Luohe Kingdom was not without a backer of its own.
With the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire there, there was no need to worry.
The only thing that puzzled her was that the Owl Dragon Emperor had not appeared again all this while; she did not know what he had gone off to be busy with.
That left her somewhat uneasy at heart.
But if she contacted the Owl Dragon Emperor herself now, might that seem rather presumptuous? And yet if she did not contact him,
the situation now was very urgent.
The four family legion fleets opposite, with the interstellar legion fleets of their backer, the T6 Burns Interstellar Civilization, now arrived, already had the look of a bow drawn and ready.
Here the battle might break out at any moment.
Just as General Leng Qian's thoughts were running every which way, a video call popped up before her.
When she saw the caller's tag, General Leng Qian took it without a word.
For the caller was no other than
the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's Chief Secretary-Officer, Lilith!
"Lady Lilith." General Leng Qian greeted her respectfully.
Lilith nodded slightly, then looked at General Leng Qian with some amusement. "General Leng Qian is rather composed. With a T6 interstellar civilization's reinforcements turning up on the enemy's side, you can still sit here without the least anxiety or worry."
Without anxiety or worry? Hardly.
Had you not contacted me just now, she would most likely soon have been unable to stop herself contacting the Owl Dragon Emperor.
"Since I chose to work with the Owl Dragon Emperor, I naturally trust the Owl Dragon Emperor and the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire without condition," General Leng Qian said with a smile.
Lilith smiled faintly, not caring whether the words were sincere or only polite.
She said, "We already know about the T6 interstellar civilization over there sending legion fleets into the Luohe Star Region. His Majesty the Emperor has had me tell you there's no need to worry. Everything is under our control. Don't forget: it's the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire that stands behind you."
"Understood; I'll follow the Owl Dragon Emperor's orders in everything," General Leng Qian said modestly.
The video call ended.
Lilith looked at Zhao Chen beside her. "Your Majesty, you made a special trip to the Burns Interstellar Civilization's universe. And they turned straight round and sent interstellar legion fleets to the Luohe Star Region. Do they really mean to go to war with us? They don't take you or our Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire seriously at all."
As she said it, there was a cold, dark look in Lilith's eyes.
Anyone who dared defy the Owl Dragon Emperor was already a dead man in Lilith's heart.
Zhao Chen thought for a moment and said, guessing, "In my talk and meeting with that Burns Supreme Consul before, I felt his attitude wasn't faked. If it was, he acted it far too well. I think there may be some misunderstanding in this. Never mind; let's watch first, and let the bullets fly a while longer. If that Supreme Consul really does say one thing and sing another, then don't blame us for giving him a little lesson."[1]
Lilith nodded in silence.
For now they could only watch and wait to see how things changed.
Time passed bit by bit.
The hundred thousand Owl Dragon interstellar warships brought over had gone onto combat standby now too, ready to meet anything sudden,
including wiping out certain interstellar legion fleets that did not know what was good for them.
…………
On the other side,
for the four families, the moment was simply like a festival.
Watching legion fleet after legion fleet appear at the rear of the battlefield, their grins very nearly reached their ears.
They seemed already to see the scene: under the lead of the Burns interstellar legion fleets, they would clean out the Luohe Kingdom, build a powerful interstellar federation in the Luohe Star Region, and then begin expanding outward.
The Xie family's clan head now naturally went warmly to welcome the Burns interstellar legion fleets that had come from afar,
including the envoy who had already arrived before them.
That envoy of the Burns Interstellar Civilization, Mr. Weitz,
stood now before a huge floor-to-ceiling window in a military star port, looking at the Burns interstellar legion fleets in the distance, and said proudly, "Do you see? Those are the interstellar legion fleets that belong to our great Burns Interstellar Civilization. Do you see those interstellar warships! Very nearly all of them were developed and built by our Burns Interstellar Civilization itself. They're not the finest there are, but among T6 interstellar civilizations they're of some renown. As for this backward universe of yours, every one of them is a treasure."
"Of course, of course! Those are the creations of a T6 interstellar civilization; naturally they're not something a place like ours could develop."
"To have the good fortune to see the Burns Interstellar Civilization's interstellar warships is truly the luck of three lifetimes."
"With these interstellar warships here, never mind controlling one Luohe Star Region; even taking half the Cancer Interstellar Civilization Universe would be no problem!"
The three family clan heads all fell to flattering now too.
This Mr. Weitz did not usually like to hear such talk, but now that it was his own civilization being praised, his face still wore a proud look.
"Mr. Weitz, what's the arrangement next? Let the legion fleets that have come from afar rest and refit first, or attack the enemy at once?" the Xie family's clan head asked carefully.
Mr. Weitz smiled disdainfully. "No need to rest and refit. Once our army of a million has finished massing, we can attack the enemy. Those fellows who don't know their limits: for our Burns interstellar legion fleets, dealing with them is simply child's play. I'll make them regret becoming enemies of our Burns Interstellar Civilization!"
Hearing Mr. Weitz's words, the clan heads were naturally very pleased, and began flattering again without end.
What came next was to wait for the rest of the interstellar legion fleets to arrive.
They watched happily as those Burns interstellar legion fleets grew from three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand, and kept on growing.
But just then, among these Burns interstellar legion fleets, a fleet appeared that did not fit in.
This fleet had only three hundred interstellar warships, but the crests on their hulls were all gold.
It was plain this fleet must hold a special standing in the Burns Interstellar Civilization.
Just as the clan heads were wondering,
Mr. Weitz sprang up, a look of disbelief on his face.
"The Burns Enforcement Fleet? Why would it appear here?" Mr. Weitz muttered in astonishment.
The Burns Enforcement Fleet was a military force in the Burns Interstellar Civilization answering directly to the Supreme Consul.
It did not have many starships, but their fighting power was considerable.
What mattered most was their special standing.
They could arrest anyone directly, officer or noble alike.
For they answered directly to the Burns Supreme Consul.
That meant anything they did was done on behalf of the Burns Supreme Consul.
Just then a video call came in.
When he saw the tag on it, Mr. Weitz gave a violent start.
It was the Secretary-General!
He glared at those around him. "Quiet, all of you!"
The clan heads naturally dared not speak, and even turned their eyes elsewhere.
Now the video window opened, and on the other side appeared the Secretary-General's grim face.
Mr. Weitz, still not sensing anything wrong, at once bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Lord Secretary-General. May I ask what brings Lord Secretary-General here this time? Does Lord Consul have some instructions on the Luohe Star Region mission?"
At Mr. Weitz's words,
the Secretary-General's eyes turned a few degrees colder.
"Send me your present position. Then stand by where you are; don't go anywhere." When the Secretary-General had said this, he hung up outright.
This left Mr. Weitz bewildered, with no idea what was going on,
or what kind of show the Secretary-General was putting on.
But he still obediently sent his position to the Secretary-General, and told the clan heads at the same time:
"Listen to me, all of you. The Burns Interstellar Civilization's Supreme Secretary-General is coming. Don't think little of the Secretary-General because it's a civil post; he could be called the Burns Interstellar Civilization's second in command, the man our Supreme Consul trusts most. All affairs large and small are handled by this Secretary-General. When Lord Secretary-General comes in a while, you'd all better look sharp!" At this moment, this Mr. Weitz still had no idea what he was about to face.