Zhong Xiaoxia paused, then said with a sharp gaze, "I know the pressure on you is very great now. This is the first military task our Phantom Scout ace fleet group has carried out since it was formed, and so important a military task at that. Not only is the pressure on you great; the pressure on me is great too. Before this, His Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor and Grand Marshal Charlotte both came to me. They value our Phantom Scout ace fleet group highly! Before fixing the time of this military operation, Grand Marshal Charlotte even came to ask me when the Phantom Scout ace fleet group could reach effective fighting strength and carry out operational tasks. That means the time Operation Avenger is carried out is closely bound up with us! His Majesty the Emperor said our Owl Dragon forces are a ship sailing through a storm. And we are the ones showing this ship its way. If we do well, ahead lies the rainbow after the rain! But if anything goes wrong here with us, it could capsize our ship in the wind and waves. So we must know clearly how heavy our task is. There must not be the slightest mistake! Do you all understand!"
"Understood!"
"Rest assured, General; our battalion guarantees to complete its combat task!"
"General, please tell His Majesty the Emperor to get our victory celebration ready soon. We'll never disgrace the Owl Dragon legion fleets!"
One imperial general after another declared herself gravely.
Zhong Xiaoxia nodded with satisfaction, then saluted these imperial generals: "Now I give our Phantom Scout ace fleet group's first order. All units: prepare to weigh anchor, and set out!"
"Yes!"
Before each Phantom Scout scouting battalion appeared a star gate for crossing universes; they would go to the Devourer Civilization's universe as the vanguard of the Owl Dragon interstellar legion fleets,
to lay the groundwork for this battle!
Zhong Xiaoxia watched the Phantom Scout battalions vanish from this stretch of space one by one, seeing them off with her eyes.
Last of all came the turn of the Phantom Scout battalion she was with.
At the end she looked at the two video windows that had been open to one side all along; on the other side were Grand Marshal Charlotte and the Owl Dragon Emperor.
"A safe journey." Zhao Chen saluted Zhong Xiaoxia.
"Set everything in place, and let the Devourer Civilization get ready to receive our ship's guns." There was a killing edge even in Marshal Charlotte's words of farewell now.
Zhong Xiaoxia saluted the two of them too, then said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty and Lady Grand Marshal. Our Phantom Scout ace fleet group guarantees to complete the operational task given us!"
As her words fell, the video windows went dark too.
For the fleet Zhong Xiaoxia was with had already left the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's universe.
This stretch of space, "crowded" a moment ago, was suddenly quiet and empty.
Zhao Chen and Charlotte exchanged a look.
Zhao Chen said with a smile, "Then next, we ought to get on with our own business too."
Charlotte nodded slightly.
Zhao Chen looked at Lilith beside him. "Get me the Flame Elf Queen; tell her I miss the fruit of their Holy Elf Empire."
…………
The Holy Elf Empire · a certain tourist planet
"Why the sudden wish to have me bring you to the Holy Elf Empire for a holiday?" Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, looked at Zhao Chen beside her.
Zhao Chen looked at the scenery before him and said lightly, "Only that I've just finished some work and wanted to get out and relax a little. You know how it is: in the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire everyone knows me. The moment I appear on any planet, it's bound to cause a huge commotion. And going out means bringing a great many guards. Not like here, where a few guards are enough."
Zhao Chen pointed at the panther-girl and the others following beside him.
Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, gave a light laugh and looked Zhao Chen up and down. "You don't really think I'd believe that lame excuse of yours? I'd say you have some business to see to, and business to do with our Holy Elf Empire at that. If you have some request, you can say it straight out. We're allies; whatever I can do, I'll find a way to do it for you."
Zhao Chen looked at this Flame Elf Queen before him.
He could feel she meant it: whatever she could do, she would surely do.
Zhao Chen said, "There is something to be done. But I'm sorry; I can't tell you yet. But rest assured, it won't harm you or your Empire, and when the time comes, I'll tell you at once."
Seeing this, Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, pressed no further on the matter; she blinked at Zhao Chen and said, "Then let's leave that aside for now. Can you give us a copy of some more detailed data on that quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought? Ever since Mansfield, the Emerald Elf King, learned you've developed and built mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warships, he's been contacting me every day, telling me to find some way to get more detailed material. If the other Elf Sovereigns and the High Council hadn't stopped him, he'd have gone to the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire to find you himself. Of course, it wouldn't be for nothing. We can do a trade by the old rules."
Zhao Chen thought a moment and said, "In fact it isn't out of the question. If you're willing to pay some price, I could even give you a quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought."
At Zhao Chen's words, Salaman, the Flame Elf Queen, showed no surprise or delight, but narrowed her eyes at Zhao Chen. "A quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought. Surely you're not after our World Tree? That we can't do; even if we wanted to give it to you, it would be impossible."
"Even if you gave it to me, I couldn't carry it away." Zhao Chen shrugged, then said straight out, "In fact, at present the only things worth as much as a quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought are the products of that World Tree of yours: the World Tree's material and its raw sap, for instance. If you're willing, you can bring these two out to trade with us. The details can be left to the people in charge of such things to negotiate."
Trading a quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought was in fact an idea Zhao Chen had had long ago.
The quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought was the most advanced mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had at present, true.
Output was scarce for now, and could not even wholly meet the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's own needs.
But to speed up the growth of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's strength, some price was bound to be paid.
And if a quasi-T7 Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought was handed to the Holy Elf Empire, it could be foreseen that the Holy Elf Empire would surely study this quasi-T7 interstellar warship and work out the technology it held.
But that would take time before it could become the Holy Elf Empire's fighting power.
So, relatively speaking, this trade was one the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire could accept.
And the World Tree's raw material and raw sap they needed were the Holy Elf Empire's very finest resources at present,
essentials for building T6-grade interstellar warships.
Zhao Chen had also, through some trades and negotiations not long before, obtained a few small samples.
When he had taken them back and studied them, Zhao Chen found that these two might in fact be used to develop and build true T7-grade interstellar warships.
Only, because of the "barrier" the Holy Elf Empire had made for itself, it had never been able to make any headway in T7 technology, and had shut itself in.
For true T7-grade interstellar warships, apart from searching for the resources of a primordial universe, the only lead Zhao Chen had at present was the World Tree's raw material.
And taking it by force was surely out of the question.
In military strength now, Zhao Chen was confident the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire did not fear the Holy Elf Empire; the only things he was wary of were the Holy Elf Empire's depth, and the advantage of fighting on home ground.
But even so it would be fifty-fifty.
And Zhao Chen would never do anything so foolish as to make an enemy of the Holy Elf Empire over it, letting the Devourer Civilization sit back and reap the fisherman's profit.
So the best choice was to have the Holy Elf Empire supply these two materials of its own will.
And that naturally meant offering terms that could tempt the Holy Elf Empire!
"I have to say, with the terms you're offering, that crowd might really agree," the Flame Elf Queen said teasingly.
A quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship was quite a great temptation.
When it had become known before that the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire had mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warships, it had shaken the Holy Elf Empire greatly too, and there had even been discussion of it from every angle inside.
……
A few days later, Zhao Chen's tour with the Flame Elf Queen brought him to the Moon-God Planet.
This counted as Zhao Chen's second time here.
He had seen the Moon-God Planet before, and the sight of that World Tree, but seeing it again, he was still greatly shaken inside.
In the environment of space, a wondrous great tree had been born, a mystery that to this day no science could explain.
That too was why the Holy Elf Empire had religion and faith; they all believed in the existence of the Elf God,
and that the World Tree was what the Elf God had left them.
On this day, Zhao Chen had stayed all along on the bridge of the Flame Elf Queen's flagship, standing tall before the viewport, as if admiring the scene outside.
The Flame Elf Queen appeared behind Zhao Chen at some point and looked at him. "You look so restless; you're thinking about something, aren't you?"
"Why should I be thinking about something, and not admiring the beautiful view here?" Zhao Chen looked at the Flame Elf Queen beside him with a light laugh.
The Flame Elf Queen said with a wry smile, "We're not of one race, but we're the same sort of people. At least our thoughts run on the same wavelength, which is why we can talk. So I can see from your eyes that you're not admiring the scenery here. You're here in person, but your heart has long since drifted off who knows where, hasn't it?"