Rules Amended

The Swarm's rejection came as a surprise to Humins.

In his mind, even if the Swarm had some unique talents, he was an elder of the Epoch Clan with a noble status. He had already lowered his stance so much and even used words like "please," but he was still rejected.

In his view, this was already a humiliation.

Although furious, Humins maintained a semblance of decorum, but he didn't linger with the Swarm, leaving hastily. Before departing, he uttered a meaningful remark. "Your Majesty and the Zerg will not make friends with people acting in this manner!"

Watching the Epoch Clan's spaceship disappear into the distance, Rowan Wen chuckled, "Judging from that old guy's demeanor, if it weren't for the Swarm's individual secrecy, he might go back and rally his forces to support a faction within the Swarm to overthrow you."

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression shifted, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

Sarah looked worried. "My Overlord, is this really the right thing to do?"

"It's alright," Rowan said, coming back to his senses and reassuring Sarah.

"But Humins' return will inevitably cause trouble, and our influence in the Riken Star System will likely..."

Rowan shook his head and said, "Sarah, Humins is just a pawn. His will can't control anything. It's fine if you offend him."

"But what does he represent?"

"It's alright. So what if the Riken Star System is given to the Riken Race? It won't affect us much. Besides, I was planning to use this opportunity to legitimately withdraw the Zerg Swarm from the Riken Star System anyway."

Why is that?

"There are too many outsiders in the Riken Star System now, and quite a few with impure intentions have infiltrated. Several years ago, they attempted to infiltrate the Swarm base. And recently, their actions have become even more brazen."

The Riken Star System has an extremely high population density due to the presence of the Epoch Clan Laboratory and the booming trade city. It's also very easy for troublemakers to sneak in.

"Damn it! Can't we block the shipping lanes and keep these guys out? Or just make them disappear?"

The Swarm controls the outer reaches of the Riken Star System, and all ships entering or leaving the Riken Civilization must pass through Swarm territory. Logically speaking, Sarah's proposal is feasible.

Rowan shook his head. "There's no point in doing this. It will only offend too many powerful forces for no reason. Besides, those behind the scenes would be more than happy for us to do this, so they'll have more reasons to attack us."

The Swarm are currently facing pressure from public opinion, but this is merely a legacy issue, and the Swarm are not entirely at fault. However, if the Swarm were to blockade shipping lanes, kill the Alliance personnel, and voluntarily hand over incriminating evidence, the ensuing uproar would likely be far more severe than it is now.

Sarah understood this, but she was still slightly unwilling. "Isn't there any other way?"

"Sarah, don't let your emotions control you. If they have good intentions and genuinely want to be our friends, then we will reciprocate with goodwill. But if they try to bully us, then we will remember it and retaliate. However, we don't have that strength yet; we need more time..." Rowan thought for a moment and continued:

"What we need to do right now is to minimize our presence. The other side is using our issues with the Riken Race to put us in the spotlight. But arguments require interaction from both sides to escalate. If we just let things cool down, this will pass quickly."

"But what if the mastermind behind it doesn't give up?"

"As long as we don't create new trouble, the existing issues can't cause us any real harm. If they don't give up and continue to hype it up, it just gives us time. I'd love for them to keep this up for centuries."

After Rowan finished speaking, he and Sarah exchanged a smile.

In fact, Her Majesty the Empress, who had lived for hundreds of years, could not have imagined these things, but she also knew how to please the Overlord. At the same time, Rowan also needed this kind of instruction to clarify his own thoughts.

Perhaps it was because Humins, enraged, had indeed exerted considerable effort, or perhaps the Swarm were simply being tactless and angering some people. For some time afterward, the conflict between the Swarm and the Riken Race remained at the top of the Star Sea Alliance's trending topics list, attracting increasing attention from various factions.

The Riken Race, as one of the parties involved, has also had a great time being treated like a celebrity, giving interviews to various organizations, and their official spokespersons have been extremely busy.

However, the other party involved seemed to be completely isolated from the world, not only making no statement on the matter but also ignoring all related inquiries. Driven by certain individuals, this action by the Swarm has stirred up another wave of hatred.

But the Swarm had no other leverage over them.

The Swarm forces in the Riken Star System have largely withdrawn. For those outsiders who intrude into Swarm territory under the pretense of being lost, the Swarm simply capture them and throw them out. Thus, the outsiders are in the wrong.

As for whether they will invade the Swarm? Those places are not open to the public. Even if they claim to be lost, they can't stray that far off course. If they die then, it will be for nothing.

However, the Swarm Trade City is also a vulnerable point prone to problems. Although the Swarm have only sold a few local specialties in recent years, they are all extremely popular. For example, the Swarm's bound Biological Armor has always been in a state of high demand but low supply. However, since the Swarm have no demand for any foreign goods, the Swarm trading city is not bustling, and can even be described as somewhat deserted.

However, because that area was also part of the development zone, it was subject to some disturbances, but under Rowan's orders, no major trouble ensued.

In this way, the Swarm, like a slippery eel, left those who wanted to cause trouble with no way to find fault. Meanwhile, under the watchful eyes of the entire population, the Epoch Clan's efficiency also increased considerably. In just five years, the Council of Elders reached a consensus and modified some of the rules.

Of course, the outcome was definitely unfavorable to the Swarm, at least from the outsider's perspective. The rules changed, Swarm were ordered to withdraw from the Riken Star System within twenty years.

Upon hearing the news, the Holy Mothers seemed to have been elevated, and the entire clan celebrated. Many other forces were waiting to see the Swarm make a fool of itself, and Elder Humins was naturally among them.

"Hmph, see if you're still so arrogant. Now you know how powerful you are, right?" Upon hearing the news Humins laughed loudly three times, releasing all the pent-up frustration he had accumulated over this period.

However, the Swarm did not file any complaints, adopting a non-violent and non-resistance attitude. Just the day after the news was announced, the Swarm in the Riken Star System began to take action, withdrawing its forces, packing up supplies, and preparing to withdraw.

The Swarm's actions stunned many factions. They were waiting for the Swarm to angrily file a complaint so they could mock them again, but the Swarm didn't give them that chance at all.

Thank you for the simple yet genuine 100 Qidian coins reward.