"The Demon Clan aren't beasts. They have intelligence, organization, and a high-level command structure."
"What if some countries can't hold out, or decide they have nothing left to lose, or simply want revenge against us, and choose to surrender to the Demon Clan?"
"What if the Demon Clan actually accepts them and has them act as moles?"
"They know human communications, Underground City layouts, and every country's shelter systems."
"When they stab us in the back, who will bear the cost?"
Everyone in the hall fell silent.
Those words were unpleasant, but the reasoning was sound.
When national security and the survival of their people were at stake, no one dared gamble, even if the chance was only one in a thousand.
The young staff officer opened his mouth but could find no rebuttal. In the end, he only said quietly:
"But if we don't unite, the Demon Clan will defeat them one by one. That would still weaken Blue Star's forces."
The old staff officer nodded.
"True, but those are two separate matters."
"They're resisting the Demon Clan to save their own lives."
"We're refusing to unite with them to avoid bringing uncertainties into our own command structure."
"Uniting with other countries might bring us ten units of strength."
"But the risk would increase to a hundred."
"It's not worth it."
Han Niba listened quietly. Only when the old staff officer finished did he slowly nod.
"That's right."
Everyone immediately turned to Han Niba.
Han Niba said:
"Compared with ours, other countries' technology is at least fifty years behind, if not a hundred."
"They have no resources from Terra, no industry built around Demon Clan Energy Blocks, no advanced machine technology, no nuclear fusion or supermaterial Zheng Gold, and no capacity for large-scale deployment through Portals."
"It's unrealistic to