"How do our Owl Dragon Legion fleets stand in their finances?" Zhao Chen asked, low and grave.
Lilith shook her head. "It does not bear an easy view. If it were only a matter of maintaining the Owl Dragon Legion's own industrial system as it stands and building interstellar warships, that would do. But should a war of this same order occur again, we have no sufficient reserve of war resources. It may be put this way. In this one war we have very nearly fought our whole patrimony away. By our secretarial department's reckoning, suppose… suppose the enemy had 100,000 interstellar warships more. Then the ending of this campaign might well not have been what it is now."
Zhao Chen drew a deep breath.
It was indeed time to hasten, and let the Holy Radiance Empire and the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom show their value; and to put to use besides the resources of those 10 additional star regions.
Lilith naturally guessed what the Commander was thinking now.
"The development plan for those 10 star regions we have already begun to prepare. At the fastest, a rough scheme can be settled before the year's end. By my projection, if hereafter these 10 star regions, together with those five star regions we have already developed, are all brought into development. Then the output value of resources extracted each month alone can reach 2 trillion star coins a month! And in future, if we build up planets fit to live upon among them, the value these star regions bring us will keep on increasing! Though these 15 star regions must be properly managed; in managing five star regions before, we could be somewhat slack, but with these 15 that will not do. There must be a complete framework of institutions before efficiency is possible," Lilith said.
"Since you have raised it, you must have some notion?" Zhao Chen looked at Lilith.
Once Lilith raised an opinion of her own motion, she would generally throw out a solution as well.
Lilith raised a hand and put forth an electronic document.
Upon it stood a line of large characters.
The Owl Dragon Fifteen Star Districts
"These 15 star districts stand for these 15 star regions. In truth I think that you might perfectly well now establish a—" There seemed to be something hidden within Lilith's words.
Zhao Chen caught the drift of it, and waved a hand hurriedly. "Whatever it may be about founding a state and taking an imperial title, do not speak of it to me. A thing of that kind tires me merely to think of. That girl Qin Xiaolei gave me the title of Prince Regent, and I could not even be troubled to take notice of her. And you would have me found an interstellar empire?"
Zhao Chen had no notion whatever of taking an imperial title; he liked the feeling of holding everything from behind the curtain, and pushing every affair onto others.
Once every threat was removed, he could retire, find a tolerable planet, and enjoy life properly.
Taking Charlotte and Lilith with him…
At the thought of that, Zhao Chen was somewhat moved.
Lilith understood her own Commander's temper too, and knew he could not be urged.
She could only go on. "This scheme of mine is one where it makes no odds whether you take an imperial title or not. But what we need at present is to establish a system."
"Whatever you would advise, say it out."
Lilith raised a hand, and a framework in the structure of a pyramid appeared before Zhao Chen's eyes.
Within it were terms familiar to Zhao Chen.
The Northern Goose Group, the Earth Dragon Group, the North Dragon Group, the Rose-Red Dragon Group…
And certain things besides that were only now in their stage of development.
And at the pyramid's very top there appeared a line of characters.
"The Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group"
"Before this, things such as the Northern Goose Group we had to hide and cover over. But the case now is not what it was before; to set them out in the open, bound together with us, is the more to their advantage in developing. As the common saying has it: with a great tree at one's back, one takes the shade easily. And this Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group takes in every one of these modules of ours, and takes in our Owl Dragon Legion at the same time. In which case, even should you found no interstellar empire and take no imperial title. You could still become the uncrowned king of what was once the Galactic Alliance!" Lilith said out her thought.
The Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group?
Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes. This had some interest in it; but why did it feel as though something were not quite right?
Thereafter Lilith set out the advantages of this system besides: that the several modules within it could communicate quickly, and that though some might stand in competition, they stood in partnership as well, and would develop soundly.
And Zhao Chen, unable for the moment to think of any better proposal, naturally agreed to Lilith's notion of establishing this Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group.
Lilith, having got her leave, let the corners of her mouth lift slightly.
This was indeed an excellent system; but it was likewise an embryo, and given the chance and the need, the whole Owl Dragon Galactic Interstellar Group could be altered.
This was what Lilith had prepared for Zhao Chen's future.
As the common saying has it: prepared, one is spared trouble.
And Lilith had always held that this man Zhao Chen was destined to stand at the summit of this stretch of the star-heavens.
And she would lay for him, step by step, the stairs by which to climb, and wait for the moment he should mount them.
Thereafter Zhao Chen heard out Lilith's report. "Since what remains is only the business of clearing the field. Then the several Owl Dragon legion fleets may make ready to sail home as well. In fighting of so high an intensity, no few are very weary; they must go back and be properly refitted a while."
"Very well; I shall arrange it."
Thereafter each Owl Dragon legion left behind a portion of interstellar warships whose fighting power was whole, to guard this relic of a battlefield.
And the remaining Owl Dragon legion fleets set out upon the "journey home."
Some hours later.
The Owl Dragon legion fleets appeared beside another field of wreckage — this being the field where Chitong's Owl Dragon Second Legion and Su Lan's Fourth Legion had held off the Demon Race fleets.
Here too, at this hour, the field was being cleared.
Seeing interstellar warships appear, the several fleets here entered war-readiness at the first instant.
And when they discovered that the newcomers were the Owl Dragon legion fleets.
The mood of the whole company turned at once from wariness to excitement!
Zhao Chen's side received several video-communication requests very nearly at the first instant.
There were Chitong and Su Lan; and there were the Giant Dragon Legion's commander Princess Blanche, the Hundred Beasts Legion's commander Big Bear, and the Dragon-Tiger Legion's acting commander Chieftain Ted.
Their purpose in contacting him so urgently Zhao Chen naturally understood very well.
He accepted every one of their video-communication requests outright.
Several video windows appeared one after another.
The company, each of them impatient a moment before, seeing the others appear as well, did not put their question at once.
Until Princess Blanche could bear it no longer, and asked first, "My lord — the campaign upon your side…"
"Three days, and the Demon Race's 300,000 interstellar warships annihilated entire." Zhao Chen said it levelly, in a single sentence.
Which left the whole company dumbstruck; for though they had expected this result, when they truly heard it.
The excitement within them was hard to cover over all the same.
They had won!