( ) Had They Unearthed Something Incredible?
In the end, on Four-Four planet, Darius, the top melee fighter from the Hero Federation of the Koprulu Sector, and Horus, commander of the Terra Empire's Second Expeditionary Fleet and a Primarch, had fought a fierce battle.
All the participants in the negotiations—including the representatives from the Taiwei Star System and the Astartes—were rather tight-lipped about what had happened and what they had seen. No one dared spread rumors. All they knew was that the two commanders didn't seem to have truly settled the matter, and neither had declared a draw.
The official explanation from both sides was that important news had arrived from Canopy Star: unexpected emergencies had suddenly arisen on the planet, and Darius and the other senior officers had to return at once to deal with them.
When the representatives from the Taiwei Star System started to grow restless, Horus had promptly extended an olive branch and called a halt, seeing that he wouldn't be able to defeat Darius anytime soon.
Perhaps he wasn't confident he could win, and couldn't afford the severe blow to his reputation and other consequences of losing?
At any rate!
The two sides stared at each other for a while, then exchanged a few polite pleasantries and tacitly reached an understanding. After a few more formalities, they left the venue with their people.
The Terra Empire's Second Expeditionary Fleet didn't continue its heavy-handed advance into the Taiwei Star System, but neither did it leave immediately. It remained in the outer reaches of the system.
As for the wager, both sides tacitly avoided bringing it up again. Neither showed any intention of following through. After all, the agreement didn't specify a deadline, so it was left to peter out.
"Go on!"
"What exactly is happening on