An alliance

At the sight of Shusha, who stood roughly three meters tall, with a massive body and a terrifying appearance, Laya felt a shiver of fear and his stomach churned. He steadied himself and bowed, neither servile nor arrogant.

"I am Laya, deputy general of the Centipede Legion. I have come on behalf of His Highness the Right-Whirling Sun King of the Nine Clouds Star System to negotiate peace with the Insect Race."

Suddenly, the Insect Race members around him erupted into a chorus of hisses. Though Laya was a veteran of countless battles, the terrifying sound still chilled him to the bone. I'm afraid this is where I die today.

Shusha smiled. "There is no need to be alarmed, Deputy General Laya. This is merely our welcoming ceremony. I am Shusha, Matriarch of the Insect Race. Please follow me. We are actually quite willing to talk with the people of the Nine Clouds Star System."

Hearing that the Insect Race was willing to negotiate, Laya felt half the weight lift from his heart. Whether the other half would lift depended on how the negotiations went.

On the way to the command cabin, Laya was so astonished he could barely speak. The advanced technology inside the Insect Race warship far surpassed anything he had imagined.

Short-range teleportation devices, high-efficiency magic energy converters, subspace high-explosive bombs, ore extractors-those were merely the devices he recognized. There were plenty he could not even name.

After holding back for some time, Laya finally asked, "Lady Shusha, your technology is so advanced... May I ask why the Insect Race came to the Nine Clouds Star System?"

Shusha smiled. "Lord Laya, we are a peace-loving race. We were merely passing through when we discovered some minerals we needed. We had barely begun mining when your Nine Clouds Star System declared war on us. I had no choice but to fight back."

Laya grumbled inwardly. You make it sound so innocent. You had no choice but to fight back, so you occupied two entire planets? Though he thought this, he did not dare say it aloud.

Looking aggrieved, Laya said to Shusha, "To be perfectly honest, this has nothing to do with our Right-Whirling Sun King. It was the Left-Whirling Sun King who kept advocating driving out... no... exterminating the Insect Race. We had no choice either."

Shusha asked, "Then which king does this army belong to?"

"It is the Right-Whirling Sun King's army..." Seeing that Shusha seemed displeased, he immediately added, "Our Right-Whirling Sun King was forced into this too."

Laya hurriedly explained, "The Proud Sun King's royal guards are stationed behind the Right-Whirling Sun King's army. They are there to enforce the advance. If we do not attack, they will attack us. But the Right-Whirling Sun King is also a peace-loving man, which is why he sent me to establish contact with the Insect Race."

"Oh... So the Right-Whirling Sun King wishes to coexist peacefully with us, while your Left-Whirling Sun King wants to exterminate the Insect Race."

Shusha paused, then asked with a show of sudden realization, "I suspect the Left-Whirling Sun King's original target wasn't the Insect Race at all..."

Laya seemed to grasp her implication and hastily agreed. "Yes, Matriarch Shusha, you are absolutely right. He wants to use the Insect Race to destroy the Right-Whirling Sun King."

"Then what should we do now?... The army of your Nine Clouds Star System is facing off against the Insect Race, and our strength seems to far exceed that of your Right-Whirling Sun King's army. Perhaps we should speak to that Left-Something King. Helping him destroy you might buy us peace."

Feigning composure, Laya laughed loudly. "Matriarch Shusha, you do not understand the Left-Whirling Sun King. In his eyes, the Insect Race are inferior creatures. He has never entertained the idea of negotiating with inferior creatures."

Shusha flew into a rage. "He dares call the Insect Race inferior creatures?" All six of her wings spread, and the armored plates covering her body clattered.

Laya hurriedly said, "Please calm yourself, Matriarch, please... If the Insect Race is willing to ally with my king, he guarantees that he will deliver the Left-Whirling Sun King's head to you."

"Hahaha, another one who wants someone else to do his killing... What would the Insect Race gain from an alliance with you?"

After a moment's thought, Laya promptly replied, "Name whatever terms you wish, Matriarch. I am certain the Right-Whirling Sun King will agree."

Shusha smiled. "Very good. We want the Sulamei Starfolk and half the planets in the Nine Clouds Star System. If you agree, we can negotiate. If not, you can do your negotiating on the battlefield."

After Shusha and Laya discussed matters in the command cabin for a while, she personally escorted him aboard the reconnaissance craft.

Once Laya had taken off, Shusha turned to Qilamei beside her and asked with a smile, "Was the gift put aboard?"

"Hahaha, it is already in place."

Shusha's face filled with disdain. "A bunch of inferior creatures, blinded by so-called power. Destruction will be their only fate."

With the Insect Race's alliance agreement secured, Raya returned to the Centipede Legion's command ship in high spirits. The moment he landed, he rushed eagerly toward the command cabin.

"My king..." Carried away by his excitement, Laya shouted as he entered, only to discover that the Left-Whirling Sun King was also standing inside.

The Left-Whirling Sun King asked in surprise, "Are all my second brother's subordinates this ill-mannered?"

He caught sight of the Magic Crystal Hologram Projector in Raya's hand, the token from the Insect Race, and snatched it away. "What is this? It does not look like anything from the Nine Clouds Star System."

Laya had never expected the Left-Whirling Sun King to be in the command cabin, but fortunately, he thought quickly.

"This is... something left behind by the Insect Race that I found while scouting just now. I came to report it."

"Something left behind?" As if reminded of something filthy, the Left-Whirling Sun King immediately tossed it back to Laya. He sneered. "What? Does the Hundred-Foot Army now have the Insect Race do its scouting?"

Laya hastily replied, "I discovered that the Insect Race came only for the minerals. This magic crystal ore is slightly toxic to us, but to them it is a delicacy, so..."

The Left-Whirling Sun King interrupted him. "So, you want to say there is no need for us to wage war against the Insect Race? So, we can negotiate peace with them?"

This was not a question Raya had the authority to answer. He could only look toward the Right-Whirling Sun King.

"Third brother, aren't you mistaken about something?"

"What am I mistaken about?"

The Right-Whirling Sun King roared, "This is my damn command ship, not a place where you can shout and bark as you please. Get out!"

"You..." The Left-Whirling Sun King was about to explode, but he glanced around. This was not his territory, and the Hundred-Foot Army obeyed only the Right-Whirling Sun King. What if...

The Left-Whirling Sun King swept out in a huff, unaware that a strain of Insect Fungi had already been quietly planted on his body.

Only after the Left-Whirling Sun King left did Laya let out a long breath of relief. Bowing, he handed the Magic Crystal Hologram Projector to the Right-Whirling Sun King.

"This is the Insect Race's Magic Crystal Hologram Projector. Their Matriarch has agreed to an alliance with us, subject to two conditions. First, we must find the Sulamei Starfolk and hand them over. Second, once they help you overthrow the Proud Sun King and become king of the Nine Clouds Star System, they want six planets as their forward bases in the Southern Universe."

After a moment of silence, the Right-Whirling Sun King said, "The matter of the Sulamei Starfolk should be easy enough to resolve, but six planets... You have been inside the Insect Race's ship. How advanced is their technology?"

Hearing the Right-Whirling Sun King's sudden question, Laya immediately tried to claim credit. "The Insect Race's technology is extremely advanced. I saw dozens of high-efficiency magic energy converters alone. They have already promised me that once we succeed, they will share these technologies with us."

After watching the simulated strategic deployment in the Magic Crystal Hologram Projector, the Right-Whirling Sun King clenched his fist tightly. "The dead soul of the centipede refuses to perish, reborn in fire to forge a new Proud Sun... Then let us die once."

"Pass down the order. All forces, advance! Set course for Insect Race space!"