Brawl or Duel

Second by second, time passed. At last, Emperor Algor spoke:

"Mm—supporting the front lines is necessary, but how we support them is another matter."

Thragg nodded lightly, bowed slightly, and said expressionlessly:

"Your Majesty is wise."

Algor stroked the armrest back and forth, opened his eyes, and fixed his gaze on Thragg again:

"Raise an army for a thousand days, use it for a single moment. We did not kill those alien races that have already submitted."

"And now is the time for them to offer their loyalty to the Empire."

Thragg suddenly raised his head and looked at the Emperor in surprise.

All along, he had only considered sending Empire warriors to reinforce the front lines. It had never occurred to him to send the other races instead.

As expected of Emperor Algor, who possessed infinite wisdom. He had instantly broken free of Thragg's fixed way of thinking.

Letting other races serve as cannon fodder—wasn't that more satisfying than using their own warriors? Even if they all died, there would be no reason to feel sorry for them.

"Your servant understands."

Algor suddenly chuckled twice with a smile that did not reach his eyes, then waved his hand at him:

"Heh heh. Issue the order in my name."

"Have every colonial planet under the Empire send at least ten million troops as reinforcements."

"If anyone dares defy the order, Commander Thragg should understand what I mean..."

Though each planet was only sending ten million troops, that number was not much for an entire civilization.

But Viltrum ruled no small number of colonies. Added together, they could gather several billion troops at the very least.

The remaining Empire warriors at the front lines plus several billion alien rabble soldiers—it would be easy to turn the tide of the battle.

Thragg bowed slightly, light flickering in his eyes as he silently thought:

As expected of Emperor Algor, who possesses infinite wisdom.

"Your servant understands."

With that, Thragg straightened up, turned, and left the Emperor's bedchamber.

Algor watched him leave, then closed his eyes again.

Inside a room at the hospital.

Clayton, Digger, and Kaden were gathered together.

Digger and Kaden were currently mocking Clayton, whose face was twisted in pain.

"Serves you right for always provoking Sparta for no reason. Got beaten up again, didn't you?"

"Was that beating on Big Mouth Star not enough to make you behave? Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

"Your mouth got you into this. You just had to make yourself miserable. Stop provoking him in the future."

"The three of us together might not even last half an hour against Sparta. You thought you could handle him alone?"

Bare-chested, Clayton held medicine he had gotten from the medical room and rubbed it over the bruised, purple-and-blue skin on his abdomen.

Listening to the two of them talk beside him, veins bulged on his forehead. He barked irritably:

"Shut up, both of you!"

"What does this have to do with you two? Can't I enjoy getting beaten up?!"

After saying that, he continued applying medicine to his bruises.

Digger and Kaden exchanged glances, unable to hide the contempt in their eyes.

At a time like this, he was still putting on a tough front. He just loved stubbornly doing things his own way.

He had been beaten into this state, yet he was still all talk, still refusing to admit defeat, still provoking others.

"Heh, looks like Sparta went too easy on you. Maybe you'll stop talking tough after he beats you half to death."

Digger crossed his arms and stared at him contemptuously.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

Clayton flung the medicine at Digger's face, rose to his feet in a rage, and pointed a finger at the tip of his nose.

"You motherf—"

Digger sprang to his feet, grabbed Clayton's wrist, and glared back at him.

Neither of them would yield as they glared furiously at each other. The air was thick with gunpowder, and they looked ready to start fighting at any moment.

Kaden, who had been sitting nearby, quickly stood and placed both hands on Digger and Clayton's shoulders.

"Are you trying to tear this hospital apart? Sit down, both of you. Talk things out properly if you have a problem."

Digger ignored Kaden's attempt to mediate. He merely stared at Clayton, gritted his teeth, and said:

"Come on, let's have a match."

"I've been sick of you for a long time."

Clayton raised his chin and looked down his nose at Digger. A cold sneer curled across his lips as his eyes flashed with disdainful provocation.

"Don't think I'm afraid of you. Shall we go right now?"

It was a fact that he could not beat Sparta, but he refused to believe he could not beat a guy like Digger.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Sparta and Jayce returned from the park and appeared at the doorway.

"Your room is the noisiest. We could hear you clearly from dozens of meters away."

Sparta crossed his arms, crossed his legs, and leaned one shoulder against the doorframe.

The moment he entered, he saw Chang Wei... no, he saw Digger about to fight Clayton.

Seeing the two of them enter the room, Digger released Clayton's wrist, which he had been gripping tightly.

Sparta blinked innocently, pursed his lips, and nodded approvingly at him.

"Aren't you guys going out to spar? Is there room for one more? How about counting me in?"

No matter who wanted to fight Clayton, Sparta would definitely go lend a hand.

For no other reason than to lift his spirits.

Kaden withdrew his hands from their shoulders.

"No, no, they were just messing around."

Clayton and Digger said nothing, but Jayce suddenly became interested and asked:

"Sparta, do you know how strong you are now?"

Leaning against the doorframe, Sparta glanced at Jayce, shook his head, and said softly:

"I don't know, but I definitely won't be weak. Beating Clayton is easy, anyway."

He only knew that his strength had improved considerably. As for how much it had improved, he would need a fight to find out.

Clayton's face darkened, and Sparta's words made him furious.

Sure, Sparta could beat him, but saying it was easy meant Sparta did not take him seriously at all. He was looking down on him too much.

Jayce swept his gaze around the room and suggested to Sparta:

"How about finding an uninhabited planet and fighting them?"

The moment he said that, Digger and Kaden's eyes widened. In disbelief, they pointed their index fingers at their own faces.

Who? Me?

Fight Sparta, who trained so hard? Seriously?

Sparta tilted his neck slightly forward, somewhat confused by Jayce's words as well.

Though they had also grown considerably stronger during this period, fighting him was still too much of a stretch.

Noticing everyone's puzzled and astonished looks, Jayce explained:

"I don't mean a one-on-one fight. I have two options."

"Option one: all of you gang up on Sparta."

"Option two: Sparta fights the three of you alone."

Jayce even added a reassurance afterward:

"Of course, if you end up at a disadvantage, I'll join you in fighting Sparta."

Jayce's words silenced the entire hospital room.

Sparta smacked his lips, speechlessness spreading through his entire body.

Was there even a difference between those two options? And... as their superior, not only was he refusing to act as referee, he was actually joining the fight.

Clayton's lips curled upward, forming a strange "✓" shape on his face. Without a moment's hesitation, he immediately said:

"Not bad. I agree."