Sorting Out the Thoughts

Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the negotiations have made no progress. Even the members of the Telo Civilization who came to the meeting have changed several times.

For some members of civilizations, sleeping for decades or even centuries might be normal, since they wouldn't feel the passage of time while in hibernation. But Rowan genuinely couldn't adapt to this concept of time.

How can such a trivial matter drag on for so long?

They redefined the word "efficiency," Rowan felt the pressure on him instantly lessen by 80%. Given their current state, even if they were to hold a meeting to discuss whether or not to wage war against the Swarm, they might argue for centuries.

Just when Rowan thought the wrangling would continue, something else happened that disrupted the flow. The Riken Race's third prince's scheme finally came to light, and the failed invitation was exposed.

Since the Swarm had not yet joined the Star Sea Alliance, there was no civilization to communicate with, and no relevant information channels. So, this matter was only learned by overhearing Telo diplomats chatting.

Although the Duoqi Civilization was nothing compared to the Telo Civilization, perhaps because of past grievances, the Telo Civilization paid some extra attention to the Duoqi Civilization.

Rowan wasn't too worried about the strength of the Duoqi Civilization, but they had been a member of the Star Sea Alliance for thousands of years and had joined some of its internal organizations. The Swarm, on the other hand, was still in the negotiation stage and was not actually a member of the Alliance, nor was it protected by the Alliance's internal rules.

Even after joining the Star Sea Alliance, it's not uncommon for two civilizations to find a pretext to start a war. However, one difference is that these are internal conflicts within the Alliance, and the intensity of the war is kept within a certain range.

However, the Swarm is still considered an "outsider" at the moment. Rowan is worried that once a battle breaks out, there might be a situation where the smaller ones are attacked and the older ones come, and the older ones are attacked and a whole swarm comes.

With negotiations still dragging on in the Origin Star System, Rowan wondered if they were playing good cop/bad cop, putting pressure on the Swarm in hopes of getting them to accept some harsh conditions.

However, things did not develop into this worst-case scenario. The Duoqi Civilization could not hold back and gathered its forces to make a comeback, wanting to get revenge.

Now, the Duoqi Civilization has finally assembled 50,000 warships and arrived in a grand procession at the Riken Star System.

These 50,000 warships represent almost all the forces the Doki Duoqi Civilization can currently deploy. They came with overwhelming force, but unfortunately, the Swarm's strength in the Riken Star System is not what it was sixty years ago. They have delayed for too long, and the Swarm's deployment in the Riken Star System is no longer comparable to what it was sixty years ago.

More than a million Ancient Class swarms charged forward, their sheer numbers creating a vast, overwhelming presence even in space. And this was merely a small fraction of the Swarm's forces in the Riken Star System.

Ultimately, after a probing exchange of fire, with comparable technological levels and vastly different individual sizes, but with the sheer number of ships overwhelming the enemy, the 50,000 Duoqi warships retreated in disgrace, suffering half a percent of their losses.

Although they lost face again, at least the fleet suffered minor losses, thus preserving some of their substance.

Although the Swarm is still deliberately concealing its strengths in this war, some things, like the brightest stars in the night sky, cannot be hidden.

The Swarm's formidable troop-producing capabilities are still on full display. Sixty years ago, just over two thousand Duoqi warships were enough to inflict heavy losses on the Swarm forces in the Riken Star System. Now, however, they can easily withstand a fleet of fifty thousand.

That's not so bad, actually. The key issue is that despite deploying so many forces to bask in the sun near the star, the Ancient Class doesn't seem to have decreased, which is a serious problem.

In fact, the Ancient Class Swarm always been there. Even if some have been hidden using certain methods, there are still so many that cannot be concealed. They have always been exposed to observation, but they seem to have been intentionally ignored.

It wasn't until this war, which had been planned for decades but ended quickly, that some people seemed to be awakened.

However, Rowan did not encounter a stronger opponent or a gang fight. The change occurred on the side of Origin A11. The negotiation process suddenly accelerated. Just two years after the war ended, several new members of the Epoch Clan arrived at the A11 Swarm base aboard a "Treasure Ship" style warship.

They replaced the original the Five, Frodo reappeared, and the agreement reverted to the version drafted by Bular. Their attitude was completely different from before, and their intention to speed up the negotiations was very clear. Things seemed to be back on track.

"My Overlord, what are you worried about?" Sarah appeared behind Rowan and asked softly.

"Have you calculated the speed of the Epoch Clan's spaceship?" Rowan didn't answer Sarah's question, but instead asked Morgan.

"They're out, at about six times the speed of light. Because they only have one warship, they're a small target. By the time we spotted them, they were already very close to our territory, so we're not sure if they slowed down beforehand," Morgan replied.

Rowan nodded. Fortunately, it wasn't a hopeless gap; it just needed time to catch up. And right now, Swarm needed most was time.

However, the current situation is even more surreal than before, and he doesn't quite understand it anymore.

"Why do you think the other side is speeding up negotiations?" Rowan murmured seemingly unconsciously. But without waiting for Morgan and the Intellect to answer, he continued, "It's definitely influenced by the battle in the Riken Star System, but what exactly is their objective?"

Rowan moved the timeline forward and began to sort out his thoughts from the beginning.

He didn't know who was orchestrating the game or how many forces were involved, but the Swarm was undoubtedly a pawn.

After the third prince of the Duoqi Civilization fled in defeat, before they could even seek revenge, they sent the Telo Civilization. What did this mean? Rowan scratched his head, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he understood.

Yes, the other side is unaware that the Swarm possesses the ability to create Swarm Network and transform Intellect. Although the Swarm have captured many Duoqi Race, the other side is not certain how much those people know or how much they can reveal.

So, is Bular actually here to educate the Swarm about the Star Sea Alliance? Although he himself certainly doesn't know this, he'll definitely mention it if he wants to discuss joining the Swarm.

What exactly did Bular say back then? Rowan began to recall and started retrieving some footage from that time. Because he already knew about the Star Sea Alliance and even the origins of the Epoch Clan, he hadn't paid much attention to this information at the time.

Looking back now, there were indeed some oversights. Fortunately, Danton, who was in charge of the negotiations, did not have prior knowledge of this information, inadvertently eliminating the potential danger. Otherwise, there might have been a slip of the tongue, which would have alerted Bular to something amiss.

After all, there's a difference between pretending not to know and genuine ignorance. Rowan Wen reflected to himself that he was lucky this time, but it wouldn't happen every time. He must pay more attention to details in the future.