The Hidden Danger

"No, there are too few Zerg entering the field now, not even a single one that's 500 meters tall. There's no point in activating it now!" General Ricken disagreed.

"That's right. Eliminating only some Octopus Monster that are at most 100 meters tall will have no impact on the battle!" Arther echoed. Although he suffered a defeat in the second battle to defend Laze Planet, he was still the commander of the Third Space Fleet, and his words carried more weight than most of his peers.

"But if we delay any longer, our arrangements might be discovered."

"Then let's not launch it. The risks of this plan are just too great. If it goes wrong, we'll be in big trouble too," a general said nonchalantly. He himself was against the plan.

"But we can't just do nothing. If we don't stop them, our chances of winning are too low."

"That's right. If their goal really is the treasure, then our conflict is almost irreconcilable. We are currently at a disadvantage and must do everything we can to weaken them."

"It's not that serious, is it? Although we and the Zerg have taken different technological paths, our actual technological levels are not that different. We have now gradually begun to master and utilize stellar energy, and with the help of the treasure, we definitely have a huge advantage in terms of the speed of technological progress. So, time is on our side. As long as we can hold off and delay the Zerg's offensive, the scales of victory will slowly tip in our favor," a general questioned.

"I agree with Major General Gaitner's opinion. The enemy's supply lines are five light-years long, while we are backed by most of the galaxy. They simply cannot wage a war of attrition against us."

"Gentlemen, perhaps you were in a rush to start the meeting and haven't read the latest intelligence submitted by the General Staff. Now, let me give you a brief overview." Antonio slammed his hand on the table in front of him, interrupting everyone's speech. "Our technicians, through various comparisons and analyses, have discovered that the T85 Star System may not be the Zerg's Mother Planet. Like us, they are outsiders to the T85 Star System."

"How is this possible?" a Rickon exclaimed.

"How could it be impossible? I had my doubts from the beginning. We advanced our technology in a short time with the help of the treasure. But they are completely different from us. It took them countless years to reach their current level. Can you imagine a civilization quietly staying put for so many years? Think about us a hundred years ago, propelled by Light Sail, we were already itching to colonize other star systems!"

"Ha, how do you know they didn't obtain something like a treasure? Besides, they might just be a civilization without desires."

"Zike! Oh, so you're stationed on Liwen Planet now. Did you go out without your protective suit? Did that cause oxygen deprivation and mental confusion? Any normal Rickon wouldn't utter such idiotic remarks."

"Ricard! Do you want to fight?!"

"Come on, who's afraid of who? I'm on Liwu Planet. You should leave right now, maybe you can make it to the hospital's evening meal tomorrow!"

"Shut up, all of you!" Seeing the meeting about to erupt into noise again, Antonio cleared his throat a few times, interrupting the commotion. "Watch your words! Gentlemen! And Major General Zike, please think carefully before you speak."

The Wenwu Twin Stars system is very peculiar. Their masses are almost the same, and although they both orbit a star, they have achieved a wonderful gravitational balance, and they rotate around each other.

This is precisely why the Riken Race still debate which planet is the fifth and which is the sixth.

Because the two satellites are very close together, the garrison officers here can use video conferencing with very low latency. However, they are still some distance from their Mother Planet, Rickon, and communication latency is between 3 and 15 minutes.

Under such delays, a de facto strategic meeting could not be held. Therefore, Speaker Antonio traveled a long distance, leading some key personnel, to the Military Wenwu Twin Stars to hold a meeting. While listening to opinions and discussing strategies, he also strengthened his control over the military.

The Speaker's reprimand carried considerable weight, but Major General Zike still muttered under his breath, "What words should I be careful with?" His voice was so soft that it could be clearly heard through the video.

Speaker Antonio frowned almost imperceptibly. This Zike was a troublemaker. Because he was stationed outside the Mother Planet and didn't have much interaction with him, he didn't respect him very much.

Seeing Antonio's expression, Ricard understood immediately. "Zike! Putting aside the question of whether the Zerg have treasure, don't you know that profit drives technological progress? If they were truly without desires, they couldn't have reached this level. How can you say such mindless things? Shouldn't you be more careful?"

Zike remained unconvinced. "Couldn't it be that they were favored by the Creator, born at their current level? Without natural enemies, they naturally have no desires or wants; it's just that our appearance angered them."

This is a claim circulating on the Riken Race network. Because the Zerg's external form so far cannot be associated with an intelligent race, some Riken people who are unaware of the truth have fabricated this claim, and surprisingly, it has quite a few supporters.

For decades, the Riken Race have been engaged in militarism, investing almost all their resources in war-related aspects. While the general populace is not destitute, their happiness index is not high either.

Although the external threat from the Zerg has always existed, the accumulated negative emotions are not so easy to eliminate. They are dissatisfied with the leaders of the Riken, believing that the Zerg were originally a harmless race, and that it was the Riken's invasion that led to their retaliation.

They advocated negotiation and seeking peace, believing this would reduce war spending, revitalize people's livelihoods, and change current living conditions. This even gave rise to some superstitious and mystical ideas.

Fortunately, the Riken Race is now under military rule, and many things are under wartime control, so no major trouble has arisen. Although things on the surface are easy to control, the Seed of discontent have been sown, and the future remains uncertain.

Antonio knew those things had always existed and could not be completely eliminated. But he never expected that those thoughts had infiltrated to such a high level. He frowned. It seemed that Zike needed to investigate thoroughly, and he hoped that Zeke wouldn't pull any tricks during the battle.

It's one thing for him to be infamous for all eternity, but let's not let him be implicated.

Thinking of this, he coughed a few times, interrupting Major General Ricard who wanted to continue arguing, and then said, "Gentlemen, the claim that the Swarm is an alien force from the T85 Star System is not unfounded. Since the General Staff dares to say this, they must have evidence."

After speaking, he pointed to the screen in front of him and shared some information with the group.