Winning Them Over with Love

"Sir, I can't understand this. This should be handled by the Empire's elite. The rookies of the Recruit Company are incapable of carrying out this mission."

"They haven't even been in the Military Department for a month. Most of the recruits haven't carried out a single mission."

The Recruit Company commander cast a cold glance at the staff officer sitting in the corner of the conference room.

They wanted a group of rookies, most of whom had never participated in any mission, to join a war capable of changing the entire galaxy?

Did he even hear what he was saying?

Serving the Empire, sacrifice was an honor. That much was true.

But he couldn't just lie through his teeth.

Even the Empire's elite could not emerge unscathed from a massive war, yet they expected a bunch of recruits to manage it.

By then, the recruits would be dead or wounded, and only a handful would return alive.

Was he, the commander of the Recruit Company, supposed to become a commander with no troops before the next batch of recruits arrived?

The staff officer fell silent for a moment, his gaze never leaving the galaxy map projected in the center of the conference table.

"This is precisely the best opportunity to temper them."

"Recruits need to be forged through trial by fire. Though the casualties will be severe, anyone who survives will be, at worst, Empire elite."

The commander frowned deeply. "This is sending them to their deaths!"

It was as absurd as sending someone who had studied combat training for a few months to fight boxing champion Tyson the next second.

Among the hundred people in the conference room, who did not know that everyone left standing after a massive war would be elite?

But the problem was how the recruits were supposed to survive the war. If they could not even stay alive, what elite were they supposed to become? Elite my ass!

"You need to understand, Captain."

"Every soldier, including you and me, must be prepared to become fuel for war. Even the underage are no exception."

"The Empire's elite can die, so why can't recruits die?"

"Obey my orders! That is the only thing you need to do right now!"

"I do not wish to hear any more dissent in this conference room."

The staff officer swept a cold gaze across the room. The more than a hundred attendees all frowned slightly, but no one dared provoke his anger.

However, the hot-tempered commander did not take him seriously at all. He slammed his palm onto the table and glared at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Yelling in my face like that!"

"Save it! When I was fighting for the Empire and conquering planet after planet, you weren't even born yet."

"In terms of seniority and military achievements, at least half the people here are better than you. You're just a parasite who climbed up through luck. Who are you trying to impress?"

"You don't want to hear objections anymore? Do you have even the slightest tolerance for opposing opinions?"

The staff officer's face turned livid from the scolding, and his clenched fingers went white.

Ever since becoming a major and staff officer, he had not been cursed at in a very long time.

Now even a subordinate dared curse him. How could he not be furious?

For a time, everyone present turned their eyes toward the staff officer, wanting to see how he would deal with this.

"Captain, this is an order from above!"

"You are opposing a superior's decision. I will have you sent to military court!"

The commander burst out laughing and said without the slightest concern:

"Go to hell. I've never heard anything about this. You're probably just making it up."

Whenever a new order came down from above, his major general father would notify him in advance.

He only knew that the Empire had convened a highest-level meeting this morning, but he had never heard of any decision to send recruits to war.

What he did not know was that the decision for the massive war had been made in secret and had not been finalized during the meeting.

"This matter was proposed by Commander Kregg and personally issued by the Emperor as a supreme order."

"Of course you didn't know. This information is being passed down bit by bit through Staff Headquarters. The other generals were not involved."

As the staff officer finished speaking, the commander froze.

The other generals were not involved. Did that not mean the Emperor had bypassed the council of senior ministers and made the decision personally?

How could that be allowed?

Although the Emperor had that authority, without the council of senior ministers—

No one could guarantee that this was not an order issued because the Emperor had gone mad, or that it would not bring severe consequences.

That was why it was necessary for the senior ministers to gather and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a decision.

Though he was extremely unwilling, the commander knew that when the Emperor's will descended directly, no one could alter it.

"Understood."

Elsewhere, in a pitch-black room without the slightest trace of light, several indistinct figures gathered around a round table.

In the darkness, the first figure spoke, his voice aged.

"I presume you have all heard some rumors by now."

As his voice fell, the others responded one after another.

"I think Algor has lost his mind with age."

"Lost his mind? He is perfectly clear-headed! As the Viltrumite Empire has gradually grown stronger over the years, Algor's ambitions have grown as well. He is no longer satisfied with what he has."

"Ruling the entire universe is the ultimate dream of nearly every race. Algor wants to become the first person to rule the universe."

"What do we do now? Should we step in and stop him?"

"Stop him? With what? Though we have struck the Viltrumite Empire many times over the years, I believe you all understand that bringing them down will be extremely difficult."

"Over the past few days, I have made contact with a Viltrumite in the Rai Quadrant. His name is Teddus. Perhaps we can start with him."

The speaker was the seventh figure, and also the last person at the round table.

His words drew the attention of the other six.

The name Teddus carried tremendous prestige. Everyone present had long heard of him.

According to the intelligence they had gathered, he was not only one of the Viltrumite Empire's upper echelons, but also had an illustrious record of military achievements.

His strength was also considered among the very best within the Viltrumite Empire.

The room fell silent for a moment before the third figure spoke first.

"Teddus... that madman from the Viltrumite Empire? Are you sure we can find an opening through him?"

As far as he knew, Teddus was not someone who could be reasoned with, and his methods were exceptionally cruel.

What opening could someone like that possibly have?

The seventh person chuckled.

"After observing him for many days, I discovered that Teddus has a fatal weakness. His loyalty to Agag is wavering."

The second figure leaned forward slightly, a trace of interest in his tone. "Oh? Such a thing happened?"

"You all know what the Viltrumite Empire is like: oppressive, twisted, and rigidly hierarchical."

"They live like machines. No one loves them, no one cares about them, and no one is willing to listen to what is in their hearts."

"Precisely because of this, every Viltrumite has psychological issues to some extent."

"Think about it. What if someone appeared who was willing to care for him, or even love him?"

At that point, everyone understood.

Winning them over with love—when it came to Viltrumites so desperately starved of affection—would be like a meteor striking a planet.