Reception

To the Riken Race's surprise once again, the Swarm made no other demands besides these two points. There were no requests for things like disarmament, maintaining the council, or limiting technology...

The Riken Race said, "If we had known it would turn out like this, why bother fighting at all? We would have just shaken hands and made peace already..."

Rowan stated that the Swarm has always treated the "production base" very well. Moreover, after only a few cycles, the Riken Race will become the second Rat-folk civilization, with all the middle and upper classes replaced by Intellect, and ordinary Riken people will only see the two races living in harmony.

Because the Swarm's demands were extremely simple and "reasonable," the ensuing meeting turned into a celebration, commemorating the beginning of friendship between the two races. This is also why Hamis and his two companions were able to hide to the sidelines and joke around in peace; with their burdens lifted, they naturally wanted to have some fun.

The meeting's "celebration" lasted for several hours. The general direction had been set, and the subsequent details were naturally handled by professionals. Then, the Riken Race conducted a prisoner transfer. These Duoqi Race had run away to the Riken Race's Binary Star Defense Line, causing the Riken Race a great deal of trouble.

The Zerg were not to be trifled with, and the Duoqi Race were no pushovers either; they were beings the Riken Race could not afford to offend. Therefore, before the battle ended, the Duoqi People treated the Riken Race with the best food and drink.

Although the Duoqi People did not consume these foods and drinks due to the environmental differences between the two planets, the Riken Race at least did a good job in terms of appearances. Even if the Duoqi Race won the war later, they would have no reason to complain. This was why Dialo felt at ease letting his crew transfer to the Riken Race side.

But in the end, the Duoqi Race was driven away, so these "prisoners of war" naturally had to be returned to their rightful owners. The Riken Race didn't care about this; it wasn't even a condition. They were just hoping the Swarm would take all these untouchable, unassailable people away as soon as possible.

Of course, while "detaining" these Duoqi Race, the Riken also tried to subtly inquire about the origins of these "grandpas." However, the language barrier became an obstacle, Riken Race did not know the Duoqi Race language.

Fortunately Duoqi Race also wanted to release some information to intimidate the Riken Race, so some Duoqi People were proficient in Riken Language intentionally or unintentionally revealed some information.

For example, their civilization is incredibly powerful, its territory spans three star systems, it belongs to a certain the Alliance, and the alliance has countless powerful figures whose strength is terrifying.

The Riken Race wasn't too concerned about the first piece of news; they were currently surrounded by Zerg, so they weren't too worried about the Duoqi Race. However, the subsequent news was alarming: the Duoqi Race had a powerful force behind them, which caused the Riken Race to change some of their policies.

Fortunately, the Swarm's terms were very generous, Riken Race set their future diplomatic tone as not to excessively curry favor with the Zerg and to maintain their autonomy in order to deal with potential future crises.

Simply put, it's about being a fence-sitter, leaving yourself a way out, so that if the Swarm is defeated by the Alliance, they can at least have an explanation.

However, during the handover of the Duoqi prisoners of war, the Riken Race still shared the information they had obtained with the Swarm. In fact, it would have been useless for them to keep it a secret; even if they did, it wouldn't necessarily mean the Duoqi People would keep it a secret, and they might even use it to sow discord between the two races.

Rowan was well aware of the various underhanded tactics of the Riken Race, but he didn't say much. He had always been very lenient towards the "production base."

Rowan had already made all the necessary arrangements for these prisoners of war from Duoqi.

A satellite of Chuyun Planet, with numerous rooms dug out inside, where Duoqi prisoners of war were taken.

The Duoqi People had mixed feelings about the Swarm. One was a sense of superiority stemming from looking down on the rural natives, another from the shame of being brutally beaten by them, and yet another from shock and incomprehension at the Swarm's combat power. However, outwardly, they were quite different from their true selves, and their arrogant attitude towards the Riken Race had become much more subdued.

Several Duoqi People shouted loudly in Riken Language, repeating the same rhetoric they used on the Riken Race, hoping to intimidate the Swarm. They didn't know the Zerg language and could only use Riken Language, but they knew the Zerg could understand it.

However, no Zerg intelligent units came out to deal with them; only small Octopus Monster and some unfamiliar multi-legged insects escorted them to the underground tunnel.

Purple-gray fleshy tissue floated on the surrounding passageways. As the group moved forward, Duoqi People at the back disappeared. Fear began to spread, and various vulgarities in the Duoqi language filled the passageways. But even if they couldn't understand them, these meaningless words couldn't disturb the insects' minds in the slightest.

Because their only obligation is absolute obedience to Rowan; everything else is irrelevant.

"My Overlord, we don't need to worry about the Duoqi Race, but how should we deal with the forces behind them?" Sarah asked.

Rowan shook his head and said, "It's too early to say anything now. We need more intelligence. For now, let's see what these guys can provide."

"But how long will this take? After all, it's a new race," Sarah with some concern.

"Based on the experience of the previous Riken Race, it shouldn't take too long, at most two years, to complete." Rowan is the most qualified to speak on this matter, because this is something that can basically only be tested and operated by Rowan himself. Moreover, his longevity has made him less sensitive to time, and two years is only a short time in his definition.

"Is it too late? Will we be attacked by that the Alliance in the meantime?"

"Don't worry, that guy who ran away is still very unwilling to give up and is trying to find a chance to turn the tables. As long as he hasn't completely given up hope, he won't look for help."

Indeed, after escaping, Dialo looked at his fleet of over a thousand warships and felt confident again, plotting a decisive blow against the Swarm. However, his movements were constantly under the Swarm's surveillance.

When the Swarm first entered the Riken Star System, they deployed countless surveillance Overseer there, some disguised as meteorites, others embedded directly within them.

With over a thousand warships, such a large target, there's no possibility of losing track of them. Although their hulls have stealth coatings, those are effective against radio radar and have no effect on the Swarm, whose optical technology is highly advanced.

"But I don't know if those surveillance cameras will trigger an alarm." Sarah was still a little worried, Rowan also fell silent.

This is indeed a problem. The surveillance cameras found near the battlefield were clearly not of the Duoqi Civilization's technology, which is a huge variable.