The Far Shore of Deep Space.
The three Trial civilization leaders sat together at this moment, each face grimmer than the last.
"Don't everyone just sit there saying nothing. The situation is already pressing hard on us. Of the whole Far Shore of Deep Space domain we occupy, within the safe zone drawn at this refresh, only five systems remain in the safe zone. And I'm the unluckiest: only one system of my Trial civilization is safe. We can't go on just waiting like this. For us it's a slow death!" one Trial civilization leader said through gritted teeth.
"It isn't that we don't know the situation. But the question is, how do we respond? Open war on the other Trial civilizations? That could bring the fire down on ourselves! You've all seen what state the Crimson Flame Federation is in now. Of the five Trial blocs, the Crimson Flame Federation is in the worst shape. For nearly a year they've been fighting everywhere. Though they really did seize some territory, their military strength has also shrunk badly, and there are no small problems even inside. Anyone with eyes can see it. The Crimson Flame Federation will be the first power among all of us Trial civilizations to be eliminated. If we now open war on the other Trial civilizations ourselves, we'll become a second Crimson Flame Federation!" another Trial civilization leader said, somewhat more calmly.
But he was quickly attacked by the first Trial civilization leader.
"You can afford to hold back. Of the five safe-zone systems, you have two. He has two as well. I alone have one. The resources of one system: how am I supposed to feed my interstellar fleets on that? If this happened to you, you'd be no better off than me. In short, I don't accept the situation as it stands. You have to give me a satisfactory answer. If that answer doesn't satisfy me, then don't blame me for disowning old allies!"
Seeing this, the Korgi civilization's President, who had kept silent all along, spoke up.
His gaze turned to the most agitated of his partners.
He said evenly, "That's enough; calm down. For now, at least, we're still partners in the same boat. Have you forgotten the understanding we reached when we made our pact? Even if in the end the Trial of the Gods has only one winner, as long as it's one of us, the winner will treat the other two civilizations well. We all know very well that on our own strength alone we're no match for those few powerful Trial civilizations. If we fall out among ourselves here and now, we only hand outside enemies their opening. We might as well just raise the white flag and surrender!" Of the three Trial civilizations, the Korgi civilization was the strongest.
His word, too, carried the most weight.
The other two Trial civilization leaders said nothing more.
"As for the situation you just described, we understand it completely. But opening hostilities first right now really isn't right. Only your side would suffer losses. Let's do this. For the coming year, the two of us will bear the combat consumption of all your Trial civilization's interstellar fleets. Call it compensation to you. How does that sound!"
Hearing such a proposal, they all fell silent.
The Trial civilization leader who had still been making a fuss quieted down too, which amounted to accepting the proposal.
The Korgi civilization's President looked at the other civilization leader.
He too nodded his agreement.
Though in his heart he might have been somewhat unwilling,
if they did not do this, their Far Shore of Deep Space would most likely come to an end right here.
"In fact, compared with our present situation, I think what we should pay more attention to is the Fierce Dragon civilization's situation. We originally thought that once the bug-tide appeared, the Fierce Dragon civilization's existence would be exposed before the other Trial civilizations. But we never imagined that, after a whole year, this Fierce Dragon civilization would make no move at all. As if it didn't exist. This can only mean one of two things. The first: they gave up every system in the danger zone, then concentrated their fleets inside their safe-zone systems, waiting for the chance at the final decisive battle. The other possibility is that they're greedy. They built defense lines at the edges of those systems and held off the bug-tide's attacks. If it's the former, that's fine. It's only a question of how much they lost. But if it's the second case, then we have to guard against them. After all, by now no one has many systems left in hand. If this Fierce Dragon civilization still holds a great many systems, it will become our greatest threat."
The Korgi civilization's President said with a grave expression.
"Then what should we do? Expose the Fierce Dragon civilization's existence ourselves, to draw the other Trial civilizations' attention? Or do we strike at the Fierce Dragon civilization now?"
"But according to our earlier assessment of the Fierce Dragon civilization's military strength, that they dared to strike at the Savage Beast Alliance and the Golden Pupil Mutual-Aid Society is enough to show their military strength is great. Even if the three of us working together could defeat the Fierce Dragon fleets, the question is, what losses would we have to bear after defeating them? Would we still be able to contend with the other Trial civilizations in the time that follows?"
Both civilization leaders could see that everyone was strongly against striking at the Fierce Dragon civilization directly right now.
After all, the fighting power the Fierce Dragon civilization had shown before made it hard for them not to be wary.
The fighting power of those interstellar warships was beyond imagining.
You have to know that, during this period, most of those Trial civilization powers had chosen to give up their systems outside the safe zone.
A large part of the reason was the worry that if they sent troops to guard those systems, this interstellar civilization making trouble behind the scenes might launch a surprise attack on them.
If that happened, it would be very dangerous for them.
So they chose to give up the systems in the danger zone, choosing first to steady the military strength they now held.
And to wait and see how things developed.
The Korgi civilization's President nodded and said gravely, "What you say all makes good sense. We truly can't strike ourselves. I think we should work on two fronts at once. On one hand, prepare to leak this information. On the other, find out clearly the Fierce Dragon civilization's present situation in detail. Before, we only found three of the Fierce Dragon civilization's systems. We need to find out, as far as we can, just how many systems the Fierce Dragon civilization has now, and whether they will pose a threat to us. Only once this intelligence is clear can we make our judgment!"
Hearing the Korgi civilization's President say this, they all showed looks of approval.
This idea, once the three Trial civilizations had stated their positions, was finally passed unanimously.
The Far Shore of Deep Space would send out a great many interstellar reconnaissance ships to investigate the Fierce Dragon civilization.
If within three months it could be confirmed that the Fierce Dragon civilization did indeed pose a threat,
they would carry out the plan they had prepared!