The Meeting

Due to the limitations of conventional power, even if the Swarm is faster, it won't be much faster Ketu Clan. After the Ketu Clan has already left for several hours, it's almost impossible for the Swarm to catch up with them. Even if they did, they wouldn't gain much, and a large-scale pursuit would be counterproductive.

Therefore, after the Dead Zone disappeared, the Swarm only sent a small force to pursue them, while the main force returned to the star system to continue basking in the sun.

The pursuing Swarm units were slightly different in appearance. After discovering certain limitations of the Space Octopus, Rowan had decided to develop some more targeted units. The Zerg responsible for the pursuit this time were one of them.

If the Ancient Class is Space Octopus, then these units are Space Squid. Their main bodies are larger and more slender, while their tentacles are shorter. Their specially optimized propulsion systems allow them to travel at much higher speeds under normal conditions.

Their small frontal area makes them difficult to hit with weapons, and their pointed heads are made of a special metal that is extremely sharp and strong.

They were not equipped with any weapon systems. In Rowan's mind, they were ramming weapons, like sharp blades, cutting through the enemy's hull.

In the last war against the Yuntu Clan, the Space Octopus, while possessing formidable melee capabilities, was easily countered by suicidal tactics. This Space Squid, however, serves as a complementary melee weapon. They are faster, possess greater point-to-point destructive power, and are quicker to engage. More importantly, because they sacrifice many features, they are cheaper and grow faster.

However, while these Space Squid are very fast, they start several hours behind the other competitors. If the track is long enough, catching up with them won't be a problem.

However, the track is actually limited in length, and the Ketu Clan racers will move away at warp speed as long as they are far away from a certain position. Even the slowest warp speed is much faster than the fastest conventional speed.

Therefore, the Space Squid's first battle was not ideal; before they could even show their prowess, their prey had already fled.

The excellent response of the Ketu Clan commander minimized the casualties of his troops. After retreating to the front line, he received numerous awards and praises and enjoyed a period of great prestige.

However, the heat of anything eventually cools down over time. After the Coalition Army withdrew, the Star Sea Alliance and the Swarm returned to a period of peaceful confrontation. Coalition Army forces continued to gather at their front-line positions 1.5 light-years outside the Swarm star system, and the Swarm did not react much except for some sporadic harassment.

"Something's not right; the Zerg are behaving too calmly."

"I feel the same way. Judging from their past behavior, the Zerg are an extremely aggressive, territorial, and xenophobic race. How could they tolerate the enemy amassing a large army at their doorstep? That doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps they've given up because they know they can't turn the tide. According to the latest intelligence, most of their forces are still stuck in orbit around their star. Aren't they afraid we'll suddenly attack?"

"Indeed, the Zerg seem completely unmotivated; this isn't the Zerg I know."

"Maybe they're preparing something big."

"That's possible. Since their technology originates from some advanced civilization, we can't let our guard down. Who knows what the Zerg might pull out? Perhaps their calm is simply because they're confident they can defeat us."

"I disagree with that statement." Suddenly, a voice broke into the discussion. Everyone looked and saw that it was Mowei, a star figure from the front lines of the Lashudia Clan.

Seeing that others' attention had been drawn to him, Mowei smiled slightly, gave an elegant bow, and continued, "I have carefully analyzed the Zerg. If they are confident, even after turning against the Alliance, they will not stop their offensive, just like they did against the Locke Mutual Aid Society and the Koya Alliance."

"Perhaps it's because we are stronger and more numerous now!" a foreigner retorted, unconvinced.

Mowei shook his head. "It has nothing to do with these things. If the Zerg were confident, they wouldn't have stopped. On the contrary, the fact that they stopped means that the Zerg weren't confident of winning this war. Moreover, we have already reinforced countless surveillance ships and equipment around their territory. The difficulty for the Zerg to do something or hide something behind our backs is far beyond your imagination."

"Have the Zerg already given up?"

"How could that be?" Mowei scoffed.

"Then tell me, what happened?"

Mowei stroked his chin, thought seriously for a moment, and then said, "Who knows?"

"You!"

"Haha, just kidding, I really didn't know. Please continue, I'll take my leave now." With that, Mowei quickly disappeared.

"Damn it! Why would someone with this kind of personality appear in a conversation at this level?!"

"Don't be angry. That's just how the Lashudia Clan is. They're all crazy. Just stay away from them in the future."

"Shh, watch your words." Although the Lashudia Clan has a bad temper, their strength is undeniable. Moreover, due to their personality flaws, they are more prone to extremes. They might escalate things over trivial matters that others might consider insignificant. The Inner-Ring Civilizations are naturally not afraid, but it's best for smaller forces in the middle and outer circles to avoid provoking such troubles.

Meanwhile, in another unknown location, a mysterious meeting was also being held, and surprisingly, the topic of the same issue was also being discussed.

"I never imagined the Zerg were so well hidden. No wonder they remained unmoved when we tried every means to get them to exchange Epoch Clan points to enhance their technology; it turns out they had their own secrets."

"Yes, when the war suddenly broke out, it gave me a huge shock. I thought the plan had failed. I never expected the Zerg to be so strong."

"Things have turned out better than we initially anticipated. If they hadn't been hiding their true intentions, it would have taken them an unknown amount of time to reach their current level using only the Epoch Clan Points. Even with our secret help, it wouldn't have worked."

"Perhaps this isn't a good thing. Zerg are hiding has already attracted the attention of too many people. Besides, I don't believe you're not tempted. Are you deliberately keeping quiet about this because you each have your own plans?"

"Hmph, there's only one copy of this item. Bringing it up without knowing if it can be shared is bad for our relationship."

"I think avoidance will actually hinder our cooperation. If we still want to achieve our initial goals, we'd be better off being more honest."

"Actually, this doesn't conflict with our goals. It might even accelerate the Epoch Clan's entry and advance the plan. Why don't we make a gentleman's agreement: everything should prioritize the plan, and we'll achieve our goal first?"

"What about the Zerg's concealment?"

"Prevent the Epoch Clan from obtaining it. Once the goal is achieved, we can share it if possible; otherwise, we can discuss it."

"Agreed, we cannot let something baseless throw us into disarray."

"All right."