"Are we really going to force our way in? It doesn't seem very reliable."
To the Collectors, a direct assault was far from the ideal plan. There were too many variables, and they still intended to learn information related to the Great Destruction after taking Bofur as a vassal.
Otherwise, why were they going to such lengths to make the Seventh Stratum into a vassal species?
While part of the reason for subduing Bofur was indeed their interest in Bofurians' way of thinking, for Amoeba, which already possessed quite a few vassal civilizations, that was no longer enough incentive to tackle such a tough bone—especially while the Great Destruction continued its onslaught.
"Is there a better method?" one individual asked in return.
"...Perhaps we could do as they said?"
An individual amid the silence tentatively offered an idea.
"They? Who?"
"The ruling class of the Bofur Hegemony. Didn't they say we would parasitize them? Then let's parasitize them," the proposer replied.
However, that answer failed to win the approval of most Collectors.
"You mean infiltrating Bofur's capital planet and achieving our strategic objective through parasitism?"
"It won't work. The Seventh Stratum can precisely sense parasitized individuals through the Spirit Domain. Unlike the Spirit Domain perception of the other strata in the Gate World, theirs is active at all times. To the Seventh Stratum, parasitized individuals are like anomalies that have been specially marked."
"As long as the ruling class is ruthless enough to decisively eliminate the parasitized individuals, this strategy cannot succeed. Instead, the rulers of the Bofur Hegemony will use it against us, publicize it among the lower classes, and reinforce the capital planet's populace's fear of us."
The Seventh Stratum differed from the other strata of the Gate World. It instinctively sensed living organisms through the Spirit Domain.