Terms

When the Swarm arrived at the Binary Star Defense Line, the Riken Race, having never fought alongside the Zerg before, adopted a very euphemistic approach, broadcasting their message indiscriminately to the Swarm forces.

The gist of it was that in order to maintain friendly relations between the two tribes and to avoid further bloodshed, they took the initiative to make concessions, and so on. But the central idea was surrender, and of course, they used the Riken Language.

After receiving this information, both sides entered a period of silence. The Swarm forces neither attacked nor made any other response, which made the native Riken very uneasy.

A few days later, the newly appointed Speaker of the Riken Race, Milton, arrived at the front lines from his Mother Planet and made a more formal broadcast.

Thus, at a secluded, small meeting, the Rikens finally met the legendary "Zerg" for the first time.

"I knew it, those Octopus Monster weren't their true forms! They look much better now." Arther said softly, looking at the female Zerg talking to the Speaker not far away. Her slender figure, bony armor on her vital parts, and horned spikes at her joints made her both ferocious and beautiful, perfectly matching the aesthetic of the tough military men.

The three fleet commanders of the Ricken Fleet held high positions and wielded real power, so they were naturally qualified to attend this meeting. In addition, the three of them had previously fought together and had accumulated a considerable degree of friendship, so it was natural for them to gather together at this time.

"Shut up, Arther. We're the defeated side now, we need to keep a low profile," Hamis snapped.

"What are you afraid of? I didn't say anything. Besides, we're so far away, she wouldn't be able to hear me even if she did." But just as he finished speaking, the female Zerg suddenly turned her head and smiled slightly at him. Arther awkwardly raised the cup in his hand. After realizing that she had turned her head back, he and the other two exchanged a glance, and the three of them tacitly shrank into the corner of the room.

"Arther, you need to change your habit of talking nonsense," Novaru muttered under his breath.

"XX, how was I supposed to know they could hear that far?"

"I doubt they heard it."

What did you find?

"Nothing much was discovered, but it feels like anyone would notice if they were being watched by two searchlight-like eyes." After saying that, Hamis and Novaru high-fived and laughed.

Arther was somewhat embarrassed and angry, but fearing he would make too much of a fuss, he changed the subject, saying, "I feel they're being too cautious. We've been fighting them for so long, decades now, and only now have we finally seen their true faces. But apart from their appearance, we still know nothing else. Sigh, who do you think they're guarding against?"

"They're definitely not guarding against us! After seeing the previous battle, we realize how ridiculous our current strength is. If the Zerg unleash their full firepower, we'll probably be wiped out in one charge."

"I don't think they're necessarily guarding against specific targets. They're powerful and capable of hiding things, which makes them seem mysterious and unpredictable, thus deterring potential enemies."

The group nodded in agreement. That was indeed the case. At the very least, the Duoqi Race would have to think twice before making a move again.

"However, their terms are more lenient than I expected; this is something I didn't anticipate."

"That's right. Put yourself in their shoes. If I were the victor, I definitely wouldn't have done it so simply."

As the losers in a war between civilizations and races, it's not too hard to understand if they were all slaughtered by the victors.

In this current situation where they are at the mercy of the insectoid race, even if the Zerg make some harsh demands, as long as it doesn't mean their extermination, the Riken Race will grit their teeth and agree. They are already prepared for this.

However, the Swarm's conditions surprised them greatly. First, they agreed to maintain the current spheres of influence for both sides: the outer edge of the star system would be defined by the Binary Star Defense Line, while the inner edge would be defined by Planet No. 3. Within these boundaries, the Riken Race would be in charge; outside these boundaries, Riken Race wishing to pass through or develop the area would be subject to further negotiation.

When they first heard this, all the Riken Race present were stunned.

Before surrendering, they held several internal meetings and finalized certain so-called "bottom lines." For example, regarding the borders, they thought the Swarm would seize their warships, defenses, and colonies, driving them all back to their Mother Planet. But on that basis, they would strive to gain the right to develop all of their Mother Planet's satellites.

Unexpectedly, the conditions offered by the Swarm were even more generous than those they had been trying to negotiate. It's like bargaining when buying something; your target price is 100, but you'd prefer to get it down to 80. Before you can even open your mouth, the seller says, "Take it for 20."

This psychological gap made Rickon and his team feel both happy and a little lost...

The tendency to push one's luck is inherent in any intelligent being. Several Rikens, who thought the Swarm was easy to talk to, wanted to bargain further. However, the Zerg female in charge of the negotiations was quite assertive. Her name was said to be Malin, and she was a general in the Zerg. In fact, she didn't need to introduce herself much; being able to represent the Zerg in negotiations with a civilization indirectly indicated her high status.

Indeed, when Sarah was the Rat-folk Queen, she had more than a dozen high-ranking generals under her command, and Malin was the only female among them. To reach that position, especially as a military commander, required her to put in even more effort, which also proved her exceptional abilities.

After her death, she was fortunate enough to be chosen as an Intellect and served under the Blade ever since. When the Overlord ordered Sarah to build a civilization system, she was recruited by Sarah as an elder of the same era.

Malin, who had long held a high position, naturally exuded an aura of authority. When faced with the Riken Race's bargaining, she merely swept her murderous gaze over the Riken members, which sent chills down their spines and made them realize their predicament.

With the territory settled, the next issue is the "treasure" spaceship.

Faced with the allure of remnants of an advanced civilization, the Swarm only requested to have a research team stationed Riken Race research team and share previous research findings.

The Riken Race initially thought the Swarm would simply tow the spaceship away, but to their surprise, the situation took an unexpected turn. Not only were they able to keep the spaceship, but they could even participate in the research. What did it matter if the research team was led by the Swarm, since the results could be shared?

Upon hearing this condition, before the other Ricken researchers could even voice their opinions, the Ricken research and testing executives involved in the negotiations nodded frantically, while simultaneously glaring menacingly at their colleagues, as if to say, "Anyone who dares to utter another word will face my wrath."

Perhaps intimidated by their threats, or perhaps by Malin's murderous gaze, the Riken Race fell silent and ceased their bargaining.

Malin looked at the Rickons before her with great satisfaction. She knew that everything here was being observed by her beloved Overlord, and she couldn't afford to disappoint him.

Happy holidays everyone!

Thank you to Aoni, who loves roller coasters, and Book Guest Good Brother the 100 Qidian coins as a reward.