In the grand hall of the Shi'ar Empire's imperial palace, the atmosphere was suffocatingly grim. Queen Lilandra no longer wore the weary, perfunctory expression she had displayed during morning court sessions. Her face was ice-cold, and her bearing was intimidating.
"What exactly is going on?" Her tone was quiet, yet no one dared answer.
The fleet had already been destroyed. No one knew how those five capital ships had ended up in Skrull territory, so naturally, she could turn the tables and demand to know what everyone else in the hall had done.
After a long while, a noble finally stepped forward. After bowing, he said, "Your Majesty, now is not the time to dwell on past losses. The Skrull are being so arrogant—we must teach them a lesson!"
The moment he said that, quite a few people immediately stepped forward to echo him. But the Queen knew she could not agree so easily, so she said, "You make it sound easy! How could we possibly regain our dignity? Are you proposing that we declare war on the New Skrull Empire?!"
"I believe we should!" another, taller noble stepped forward and said. "They struck first. Why shouldn't we retaliate?!"
"Foolishness!" the Queen said heavily. "The current cosmic situation is stable. It is the perfect time for business. The treasury has only just begun to recover, and now you want war? What guarantees do you have?!"
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion." Another, younger noble stepped forward. "The Kree Empire and the New Skrull Empire are bitter enemies. If we declare war on the Skrull, they certainly will not stand by and watch. They will definitely offer assistance."
"That's right. The Kree Empire bears a deep grudge against the Skrull Empire. If we make a move, the Supreme Intelligence will surely