Five hundred thousand interstellar warships.
It had been squeezed down a long way from the three million interstellar warships Elf Queen Salaman had put forward before,
but it already met what Elf Queen Salaman had expected in her heart.
When she put forward the figure of three million, she herself had in fact known that the number could hardly be met.
No Elf Sovereign would agree to it.
She had put forward the figure to give the other side room to bargain.
Elf Queen Salaman looked at the Radiant Elf King before her, and at the Nightglow Elf King behind her.
Neither of them said a word, which counted as tacitly agreeing to the number.
But Elf Queen Salaman's demands were far from over yet.
She went on: "Five hundred thousand interstellar warships doesn't make a proper establishment. Make it six hundred thousand interstellar warships, including my own guard legion fleets."
A hundred thousand more interstellar warships.
None of the many Elf Sovereigns present objected.
Only then did Elf Queen Salaman turn and go back to her throne, and went on, "Besides that, apart from these six hundred thousand interstellar warships, what goes with them mustn't be lacking either. Six hundred thousand interstellar warships count as one-fiftieth of our Holy Elf Empire's. That being so, there should be no problem with my demanding five percent of the military budget allotted to me directly every year, should there? Once that budget is given to me, however I use it is my own affair; it's none of your business. How I train, manage and dispose these six hundred thousand interstellar warships is my own affair too; you have no right to interfere. So long as you agree to these, I'll go now on your behalf and receive that quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship from the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire!"
"Five percent?" The Radiant Elf King was greatly startled.
Mind you, five percent of the budget was more than ample for six hundred thousand interstellar warships.
And it meant they would either have to cut the budgets of the other legion fleets, or the few Elf Sovereigns would have to pay out of their own pockets to make up the difference.
The Radiant Elf King still meant to speak,
but Elf Queen Salaman spoke first and cut him off: "That's all my demands, and not one bit less. That's how it is; there's nothing to negotiate."
Elf Queen Salaman's tone was very firm, and allowed no question at all.
The Radiant Elf King could only look to the other Elf Sovereigns for their views.
Mansfield, the Emerald Elf King, spoke first: "I have no objection."
All this Emerald Elf King could think of now was his Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought.
As for other matters, he did not care in the least.
"I have no objection," Marietis, the Bluewater Elf Queen, said calmly too, with a shrug.
She herself had never objected to anything Elf Queen Salaman did; she had always kept a neutral, slippery stance.
When others agreed, she agreed.
When others objected, she objected.
Perhaps her time handling the empire's diplomatic affairs was what had given her this temper.
So now only the Radiant Elf King and the Nightglow Elf King had not stated their positions.
Onias, the Nightglow Elf King, fixed his eyes on Elf Queen Salaman and said, "I know what you want these six hundred thousand interstellar warships for. I can agree to these terms of yours. But I need your guarantee that in future, whatever happens, these six hundred thousand interstellar warships' guns will never be aimed at our Holy Elf Empire's interstellar fleets, and will never threaten our Holy Elf Empire!"
Hearing this,
Elf Queen Salaman said almost without the least hesitation, "I can guarantee that. I can swear it before the great Elf God too. It's true I'm very close to the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire now, and in your eyes I've been helping the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire all along. But my starting point all along has been to wipe out the Devourer Civilization, this cancer that threatens our Holy Elf Empire and the other interstellar civilizations' universes. At least so far, everything the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire has done has been aimed at dealing with the Devourer Civilization. That's why I stand on the Owl Dragon Emperor's side. But that doesn't mean I've betrayed the Holy Elf Empire. I'll always be an Elf Queen of the Holy Elf Empire; never, at any time, will I betray the Holy Elf Empire!"
Hearing Elf Queen Salaman speak so firmly,
Onias, the Nightglow Elf King, said nothing more either.
Seeing this, the Radiant Elf King naturally took it from there and announced, "Everyone has heard this matter. Since it was proposed before everyone, the proper procedure must still be followed. On granting Salaman, Flame Elf Queen, the supreme independent command of six hundred thousand interstellar warships, and five percent of the Holy Elf Empire's military budget each year: the High Council will now vote at once. Those opposed, raise your hands."
The Radiant Elf King looked around the High Council; hardly anyone raised a hand, just a scattered few.
At this, the Radiant Elf King announced at once, "The vote is over; fewer than ten percent oppose this motion. I hereby declare this motion carried. From this moment, Salaman, Flame Elf Queen, holds supreme command of these six hundred thousand interstellar warships; on condition that she does not threaten the Holy Elf Empire, she may give these six hundred thousand interstellar warships any combat order. Furthermore, Salaman, Flame Elf Queen, is to be given five percent of the military budget each year; the use of this military budget is for Salaman, Flame Elf Queen, to decide herself, and no one, the High Council included, has any right to interfere."
When he had said all this, the Radiant Elf King looked at Elf Queen Salaman with a look that seemed to say,
are you satisfied now?
Elf Queen Salaman said nothing, but stood up and headed out once more.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you playing at now?" The Radiant Elf King looked at Elf Queen Salaman.
"Aren't we going to see that quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship of the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire's?" Elf Queen Salaman blinked and looked at them.
The Radiant Elf King was taken aback, then followed her helplessly.
The other Elf Sovereigns followed one after another as well.
Mansfield, the Emerald Elf King, was fastest, all but on Elf Queen Salaman's heels.
And the Radiant Elf King and the Nightglow Elf King walked at the very back.[1]
As for the high elves, they followed too, though whether they could board that Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought was hard to say.
But at least they could see the splendor of this legendary quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship for themselves.
The long corridor seemed so very long to Mansfield, the Emerald Elf King, at that moment that he began muttering ceaselessly under his breath.
Why had this road been built so long? If only it could lead straight to the docks of that starport outside the planet.
At the very back, the Radiant Elf King looked at the Nightglow Elf King walking beside him, whose face had been a mask all along.
The Radiant Elf King said, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "What did you mean just now? It was plainly you who proposed before to deal with Salaman over this business. And just now, after hearing that news, it was you again who stepped out first to say the punishment should be canceled?"
The Nightglow Elf King glanced at the Radiant Elf King beside him and said calmly, "Because the situation has changed. When I proposed before to deal with Elf Queen Salaman, it was because she had indeed done wrong at the time. She moved the Holy Elf legion fleet group to fight across universes without our deliberation, and to support the fighting on the Devourer Civilization's home-universe battlefield at that. Such a thing has to be dealt with. If such a thing were tolerated, then wouldn't other commanders do the same in future? That would disturb the order and peace of the Holy Elf Empire as it stands."
The Radiant Elf King nodded; when he had wanted to deal with Elf Queen Salaman before, that had been his thinking too.
The Nightglow Elf King went on: "As for my changing my stance just now, it was because of this business of the Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought. The Golden-Scarab-class Heavy Interstellar Dreadnought is the only mass-produced quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship in the known universe now. And it has only just been proven on the battlefield, which establishes that this interstellar warship truly has quasi-T7-grade fighting power and isn't some gimmick. If our Holy Elf Empire could have such an interstellar warship, it would be a very great help to us. It's only lent to us for ten years. But in these ten years we can set our researchers to study and feel their way into this quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship. We may not get to the bottom of this quasi-T7-grade interstellar warship's technology by then. But if we can get to the bottom of even part of it, that alone could give our Holy Elf Empire's technology a huge breakthrough. And Mansfield, the Emerald Elf King, will surely be very interested on that front. All along, our Holy Elf Empire has stood still at T6 technology because of things left over from the past. To tell the truth, I too have kept wondering whether our Holy Elf Empire's standing still at the T6 technology level all along is really a good thing. Leave aside the threat of the Devourer Civilization and of Order. Just the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire, which has now caught up, already has technology beyond ours; it falls short of us in imperial foundations, but at its present rate of growth it is bound to overtake us before long. And I have a feeling that if our Holy Elf Empire goes on standing still, the Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire will be the first interstellar civilization to overtake us, but certainly not the last. The Owl Dragon Interstellar Empire bears us no ill will now, but who knows about the future? Or whether the other interstellar civilizations' empires that overtake us will bear us ill will?"