Odd

Those descendants of the Epoch Clan, even those Nth generation after their ancestors, might not even know where their mother's clan is. Given their changed mindset, it's understandable that they might have some mental issues.

However, the attitude of the Telo Race was somewhat strange.

Through continuous information gathering, Rowan learned that there were indeed some members of the Telo Civilization's diplomatic team who advocated raising the price. They believed that the Swarm was not as powerful as imagined, and that the Zerg legions in several star systems were just putting on a show of strength, perhaps only showing their true size and not having any hidden forces.

They believed they should put pressure on the Swarm, constantly probing Swarm strengths and weaknesses and bottom line, in order to secure the greatest possible benefit for their tribe. And a significant portion of the Telo Race held this view.

This is understandable, as it is for the benefit of the community, and if successful, one can also gain considerable benefits.

But the strange thing is, this is a negotiation between civilizations, how could it be handled so hastily?

When Bular came last time, he didn't utter a single harsh word. His behavior showed that the Telo Civilization actually had a fairly clear understanding of the Swarm. And this was most likely the intention of the 200,000-strong fleet commander. Could it be that the second-in-command who has arrived now disagrees with him?

But the Telo royal named Frodo, since his arrival, has barely spoken, and later on, he didn't even show his face. Moreover, from the casual conversations of the negotiators, it was learned that Frodo neither openly supported nor opposed the current situation. But his attitude led many Telo to believe that he was tacitly approving of those who were raising the price.

Even if he disagreed with the fleet commander, shouldn't he have shown it at this time? Wouldn't that make him a laughingstock among other civilizations? And wouldn't he be branded as someone lacking integrity?

Could their conflict have deepened that much? Could they be what are called archenemies? However, this situation is beyond Rowan's comprehension as the supreme will of the Swarm. His will permeates the Swarm, and he has no concept of political enemies.

Rowan thought it over and over and concluded that this possibility was still too small, because wouldn't the Telo Civilization's so-called the Alliance be worried about the Swarm expanding into the inner circle? That involved the interests of several star systems! Or perhaps something had changed in the past fifteen years, causing a shift in the overall attitude of the Telo Civilization?

This is not good news; the feeling of being caught in a conspiracy without any intelligence is not pleasant.

Not long after, Rowan received another piece of news that was difficult to define: this the Five from the Epoch Clan had actually come from the territory of the Telo Civilization...

Civilizations joining the Star Sea Alliance engage in various collaborations beyond things like head taxes and accumulating points. These collaborations extend to areas such as trade and tourism. Unlike the Swarm, whose Intellect appear to be intelligent individuals but are ultimately products of the Swarm, these civilizations differ from the Space Octopus in that one is a physical entity while the other is a spiritual entity.

Ultimately, the Swarm has only one will. Under this will, and only when permitted, can individual intelligence and emotions emerge. For the Swarm's Intellect, working 997 (9am-9pm, 7 days a week) is nothing; working continuously for hundreds of hours is routine. And they will never have any negative emotions towards the supreme will that issues the orders.

But individuals in other civilizations are different; each of them has their own will and needs various forms of entertainment in addition to their work.

Interstellar travel, especially to other star systems to experience exotic cultures, is the most expensive and top-tier form of entertainment.

Such activities typically occur in established civilizations, because newly arrived civilizations need a long time to adapt to changes in time. After all, intergalactic travel, even in faster-than-light spaceships, requires a considerable amount of time spent in space.

Each member of the Star Sea Alliance will open one or more cities for tourism and trade, depending on their own circumstances. The Five of this Epoch Clan were previously in a trading city on the Mother Planet of the Telo Civilization.

Later, upon learning of the Telo Civilization's invitation to the Swarm, and somehow obtaining authorization, they represented the Epoch Clan in the negotiations. The ten-year delay in the Telo diplomatic mission's arrival was due to the time it took them to travel from their Mother Planet, the Telo homeworld, to the fleet.

This means that the Swarm's previous guesses about the speed of the Epoch Clan's ships were all wrong. It is still unknown whether those Ji Epoch Clan came in a ship from the Telo Civilization or their own. But regardless, ten years is not considered very fast for the Zerg to travel from the Telo Mother Planet to the Swarm.

This might be considered good news, but the situation has become even more unpredictable.

Although the Telo Civilization is well-known in the outer circle, compared to the location of the Epoch Clan's territory, it can only be considered a remote mountainous area far from the city center.

A few members of the Epoch Clan, who had come to this place for some unknown reason—whether for tourism or something else—somehow gained the right to represent the Epoch Clan and sign an agreement with the Swarm to join the Star Sea Alliance.

Although there's no concrete intelligence, it's almost certain that this the Five Epoch Clan group has a powerful background. But hasn't the Swarm already come into the sights of the Epoch Clan and many other races?

Originally, Rowan thought that at the very least, besides the Telo Civilization, there would be quite a few "professionals" from the Epoch Clan participating in the negotiations, and maybe even a few representatives from other tribes, with spies mixed in with the group.

So far, no foreign representatives or spies have been found. Five Epoch Clan have come, but they are not professionals. The Telo Civilization team is professional, but now, whether influenced by the Five of the Epoch Clan or for other reasons, the whole meeting is like a large-scale game of make-believe.

All of this combined gave Rowan a magical, unreal feeling.

However, from the seemingly arrogant demands of the Five of the Epoch Clan, Rowan still gleaned a lot of information. For example, although their conditions often changed, one thing remained constant: they demanded that the Swarm share biotechnology.

This shows that the Epoch Clan covets the Swarm biotechnology. After all, although these Nth generation members aren't very bright, they must have some inside information and negotiation bottom lines since they've come to be representatives.

However, the Swarm would never agree to such conditions. Although the Five kept making various threats, such as demanding that the Epoch Clan send a large army to wipe out the Swarm and seize the technology, someone from the Telo Civilization came out to "kindly" educate the Swarm, explaining that since the Swarm had not yet joined the Alliance, they were not protected by the rules, and the Five's words were not entirely unfounded.