After the report from the Alliance Leader Tarlov, the high-ranking members of the Crimson Alliance present had a basic understanding of the current situation, unlike before when they were completely in the dark.
"The most urgent task now is to restore communications." After a pause, Alliance Commander Tarlov said, "Once communications are restored, we can integrate the troops scattered throughout the Alliance, forging them into an unbreakable Iron Fist, and crush any vermin that dare to covet the Alliance!"
As he spoke, Tarlov slammed his fist on the table, a barely concealed ferocity on his face.
Seeing his expression, the many councilors below finally smiled. The Alliance Leader's tough stance was undoubtedly a shot in the arm at this time. "A bad general makes a bad army"—this saying applies everywhere.
At this point, a member of parliament raised his hand and asked, "Your Excellency, how exactly were our communication systems compromised? What is the specific extent of the damage? Are the damages the same in different regions? Could this information be provided at the meeting?"
"Of course, there's no point in hiding these things." Tarlov nodded slightly, then continued, "Based on the fragmented intelligence sent from various communication base stations in the last moments, we speculate that they were attacked by more than a dozen methods, including graphite bombs, psychological attacks, causal curses, physical assassinations, spy intrusions, and hacker harassment. In terms of damage, the border areas were the most severely affected, with more than a dozen colony planets, including Planet Golden Bridge, completely losing contact. The Crimson Continent suffered the least damage and has now basically recovered 90%. It is expected to be fully restored in three hours."
The councilors present were not surprised by this result. If the Crimson Alliance's power was divided in half among the other dozen or so star sectors, then the Crimson Continent held the other half.
This place is home to the most powerful Transcendent in the entire Alliance, as well as all kinds of technological weapons. The basic quality of its citizens is also the highest, and countless Champion emerge from the civilian population when disaster strikes.
Leaving aside those moving stories, just in terms of recovery ability, the Crimson Continent completely surpasses other regions.
"If we want to restore communications, we must ensure basic stability in our homeland. But the K11 Virus is raging everywhere, and a large number of low- to Low-Rank Transcendent have been infected and rendered incapable of fighting. We are severely short-handed." The speaker was a high-ranking leader in the Department of the Extraordinary, looking worried and clearly overwhelmed.
"Can we transfer manpower from other star systems? The Crimson Continent is the core of the Alliance. Even if we lose other places, we cannot afford to lose this one."
"It's not that simple. Not only our communication system, but our transportation system has also been targeted. Even our dimensional elevators have been paralyzed. Those damn Fax People (Blood Clan) know exactly where to stab us to inflict the most damage."
"However, if we don't bring in manpower from elsewhere, we'll need the army. Given the current situation, war could break out at any moment in the border region, and we can't afford to move the army recklessly."
"..."
Nothing worked, nothing worked, and the situation reached a stalemate.
At this moment, a robot whose entire body was made up of mechanical implants and whose voice had an electronic quality stood up.
Mechanical Bishop Belotti, one of the four Peak Demigod on the human side of the Alliance, is a mechanical warrior. He is not a mechanical warrior who specializes in mass-producing troops, otherwise he alone would be enough to raise thousands of troops.
Unfortunately, among mechanical professionals, the number of strong Mechanics decreases as the game progresses.
The reason is simple: it requires too much talent.
Other professions, such as gunners and mech warriors, only need to specialize in one system. Mechanics, however, need to advance in multiple systems simultaneously, with materials, energy, and structural engineering being indispensable.
This means that those without talent simply cannot progress to the later stages and will consciously switch careers to focus on studying a specific area of mechanics.
Besides that, there are resources. The Mechanic class is inherently a pay-to-win class, and the Mechanics is an even bigger spender. As the saying goes, "If you don't have money, you can't play this game," which is quite fitting for the Mechanics.
Talent plus resources—very few people can excel at both simultaneously. In addition, Mechanics are easily assassinated in the early game, resulting in very few Demigod- level Mechanics in the entire Elven Plane.
That said, after Mechanical Bishop Belotti stood up, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. After surveying the room, a voice came from behind his silver mask. "Use the Titan Fortress. As long as we have enough resources, we can produce a sufficient number of bio-warriors in a short time! High-Rank Transcendent are hard to say, but mid -Low-Rank Transcendent bio-warriors can be mass-produced using ordinary materials. Although they certainly can't compare to genuine Transcendent at the same level, they're more than enough for maintaining order!!"
The room fell silent immediately after these words were spoken, but rebuttals soon followed.
"Your Excellency, while your suggestion can certainly solve the immediate problem, there is a fact we must consider before that: the technical blueprints for the Titan Fortress originated from the Blood Clan. Who knows if those guys left any hidden tricks within them?"
"What if—I mean, what if—a rebellion breaks out after all the Titan Fortress are activated? What will the Alliance do then? That could very well be the final straw that breaks the Alliance's back!"
These words are harsh, but they are the truth.
The reason why the Crimson Alliance was able to achieve such technological advancements in such a short time was not only due to humanity's inherent expertise in scientific research, but also, crucially, the large amount of technical data initially provided by the Blood Clan.
Otherwise, why didn't other countries develop such a powerful technological civilization, allowing the Crimson Alliance to surpass them later?
This is unreasonable.
At this moment, Urta, the dean of the Holy Sword Academy, spoke up, "I think His Excellency the Bishop's suggestion is sound. The Titan Fortress, which is under the Holy Sword Academy's control, did not exhibit any abnormalities during the battle against the Blood Clan, which proves that the Titan Fortress is under control."
"Can you guarantee this isn't a trap set by the Blood Clan?" the councilor who had just questioned us immediately retorted. "What if they want you to have this idea so they can activate the Titan Fortress on a large scale, then seize control suddenly when the time is right, or cause the fortress system to malfunction and launch indiscriminate attacks? What should we do then?"
"This..." Urta was speechless. It was undeniable that the councilor's concerns were valid, and given the Blood Clan ' nature, there was a real possibility that they had left a contingency plan in the Titan Fortress.
It's important to know that these bastards have been keeping the final blueprints for the Titan Fortress —the "Sky Fortress"—to themselves, without sharing them with the Alliance. This is one of the key barriers between the Blood Clan and humans.
Ultimately, neither side truly trusted the other from the beginning, so a falling out was inevitable.
"Alright, enough arguing!" Mechanical Bishop Belotti waved his hand, exchanged glances with Moon Breaker Maxwell, Star Vein Eusius, Moon Poem Jacqueline, and others, and announced, "Fifty-one years ago, we already cracked the Blood Clan' contingency plan left in the Titan Fortress. We've been holding back, waiting to catch them off guard at the crucial moment."
"Now that the Alliance has reached this point, there's no need to hide anymore."
Upon hearing this, many members of parliament were immediately overjoyed, stunned by this unexpected good news.
Good heavens, these old guys who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years are really cunning, secretly preparing such a move. No wonder they are Pillar of the Nation.
However, even after Belotti provided an answer, the councilor who had initially raised the question persisted, demanding, "If that's the case, why didn't you use the Titan Fortress to quell the unrest at its initial stages? Do you gentlemen realize the immense losses your actions have caused the Alliance?"
Faced with this question, Star Vein Eusius stood up and calmly said, "A dormant state is the normal state for Titan Fortress. The upheaval happened too suddenly, and in the rush, most Titan Fortress did not have sufficient energy and material reserves. To launch a rash attack would be counterproductive."
"It's not too late now. The unrest has lasted less than 24 hours, and the damage is still under control. We can still fully activate the Titan Fortress. Moreover, doing so could very well catch the Blood Clan off guard!"
From the Blood Clan's perspective, the fact that we didn't fully activate the Titan Fortress at the beginning proves that we didn't crack their backup plan.
The Titan Fortress of the Holy Sword was merely a test for us, and the Blood Clan played along, not activating their backup plan, thus lulling us into the illusion that they hadn't done anything wrong.
In this way, once the Titan Fortress is fully activated, they will inevitably launch a counter-strategy to seize control of the Titan Fortress from us.
Unbeknownst to the Blood Clan, Belotti had already installed anti-tracking devices in every Titan Fortress, just waiting for them to slip up...
As he finished speaking, Star Vein Eusius's tone turned icy cold, like the biting winds of the Far North, enough to freeze one's soul.
His answer made the rebuttaling congressman frown, open his mouth as if to nitpick, but he had nothing to say and could only sit down.
"Does anyone else have any other opinions? If not, I will order the military to activate the Titan Fortress, invest resources, and produce bio-soldiers!" Maxwell surveyed the room.
The lawmakers looked at each other, but none of them voiced any objection.
Maxwell was a man of action, and immediately issued the order to mass produce troops.
Just thirty seconds later, all adult citizens of the Alliance, regardless of gender, received a message on their communicators from the military recruiting volunteers. The message clearly stated that they were willing to undergo biochemical modifications and preferably had some basic combat or firearms skills.
People who had just experienced turmoil immediately signed up, with ordinary people being particularly enthusiastic.
In an environment ravaged by viruses and zombies, everyone understands the importance of strength. The mayfly guards on the streets can no longer protect them, and becoming bio-warriors seems like a good choice.
Yes, the fastest way to produce bio-soldiers is to directly modify humans, which saves the most complex intelligent system installation project and increases the production speed by at least ten times.
With a sufficient number of people, a large-scale Department of the Extraordinary can be mobilized in a short period of time.
This is what makes the Titan Fortress so terrifying.
The Crimson Alliance's military power is feared by all sides not only because of its technological weapons, such as positron cannons, which are capable of destroying stars, but also because of the Titan Fortress.
An overwhelming army of bio-engineered soldiers is enough to wreak havoc on the earth and flatten one country after another.
It's important to know that, in terms of population, the entire Crimson Alliance has trillions of citizens, with over a hundred billion residing on the Crimson Continent alone.
It doesn't need to be many; just one-thousandth of them, or one hundred million bio-engineered soldiers, would be a force enough to instill fear in even imperial-level powers.
Of course, normally the Alliance would not produce so many bio-soldiers. Putting aside other factors, the supply of materials alone would be a problem, as would the subsequent allocation of various weapons and equipment to the bio-soldiers, logistical support, and so on. These are all things that must be considered.
After all, these bio-soldiers are not just consumables; they are legitimate citizens of the Alliance, and their basic rights must be guaranteed. Otherwise, the existence of civilization itself would lose its meaning.
After finalizing the details of launching the Titan Fortress, the meeting continued.
at the same time.
In a secluded corner of the Planet Oklo.
Several high-ranking members of the Blood Clan gathered here, including Kudolin, who had just attacked the Holy Sword and was the former deputy minister of the Alliance's foreign affairs department.
"Hey, Kudolin, you're a disgrace. You got beaten up so badly by three Epic life forms. If I were you, I'd just step down from my position as one of the nine elders and give it to some other capable young people!" Kudolin said sarcastically to his rival, Karen Morgan.
"Alright, what time is it? Fighting amongst yourselves and ruining the clan's affairs? You will all have to atone with your lives!" The most prestigious elder, Ulan Ross, spoke up, coldly reprimanding Karen. After speaking, he gave Kudolin a look, signaling him not to stoop to the former's level.
The scene that had just sparked a fire calmed down.
Elder Ulan Ross breathed a sigh of relief and said, "News just came that the humans cracked the code we left in the blueprints for the Titan Fortress 51 years ago. Not only are the control valves no longer working, but the humans can also track our location. Now they plan to turn the tables and wipe us out in one fell swoop."
"What?" The Blood Clan elders present were all taken aback.
Karen Morgan even shouted on the spot, "These humans are too cunning! They were planning to turn against us 51 years ago! They're ingrates, a bunch of ingrates! We should never have cooperated with them in the first place!"
The other Blood Clan elders, though not as vehemently opposed, harbored even deeper resentment towards humans, feeling betrayed and that humans were the traitors.
However, Kudolin sensed something was amiss and looked at the Grand Elder, asking, "Is the information reliable?"
"Reliable!" Ulan Ross nodded. "I know what you're worried about. Don't worry, this informant was secretly cultivated by me a long time ago. He's already infiltrated the highest levels of humanity. He's a big figure in the Radical Faction, and he'll never arouse suspicion!"
"Alright then... I see." Kudolin nodded slightly, suppressing the strange feeling in his heart.
"Since humans are planning to sabotage us, should we turn the tables, gather our forces, and ambush them?" Karen Morgan asked sinisterly. He was an expert in intrigue and scheming, and he loved and excelled at plotting against others behind their backs. Kudolin had suffered many losses at Karen's hands over the years.
Therefore, when Karen vehemently denounced humanity as treacherous and cunning, the other elders found it both laughable and absurd, like a fake criticizing a real person—neither could really say anything to the other.
Elder Ulan Ross had considerable faith in Karen's ability to cause trouble. After a moment's thought, he said, "Gathering manpower requires coordination with the Sea Dragon Alliance and the Ashes. We also need time to set up ambush locations. It would be best to hire a rune master; with a powerful Rune Array, the operation will proceed more smoothly."
"Alright, I'll handle the coordination. As for the Rune Master, Tuya, don't you have a connection with Madison, the Cartographer of the Tia Empire? Are you confident you can get him to help?" Ulan Ross's gaze was fixed on a female Blood Clan named Tuya Locke, nicknamed the Bloody Madam. She was in charge of the Blood Clan's finances, renowned for her beauty, and had a wide circle of friends and extensive connections.
Tuya Locke hesitated, "Although the Cartographer Madison owes me a favor, he is a high-ranking official in the Tia Empire and shouldn't rashly get involved in our conflict with the Alliance."
"No matter what, let's give it a try. It would be best if we could invite them. If not, we can still ambush human powerhouses even without Rune Array. This time, it would be best if we could leave one of the four Pillar of the Nation alive!" Elder Ulan Tuya said fiercely, clenching her fist.
The Blood Clan are plotting something.
The Alliance humans weren't idle either.
A basement shrouded in countless threads of Fate.
The old steam-powered machinery spewed out thick white smoke.
The clicking and clanging of the amplifiers echoed throughout the room, like the clatter of an old clock.
On a dilapidated single sofa covered in pudding, sat an old man with a cane and blind in one eye.
His face was so wrinkled that it could crush a fly; his loose, hunched back made it seem as if his spine might break at any moment.
Yet this old man, who was about to die, Maxwell, one of the strongest players in the Alliance, who stood to the side with a respectful expression.
"Grandpa Sid, how is he?" Maxwell asked.
It's worth mentioning that the person attending the highest meeting was his projection, while the person in this basement was Maxwell himself.
"What's the rush? At this level, how come you still can't shake that easily agitated and irritable personality?" The old man named Sid rolled his eyes at Maxwell, his tone like he was scolding his grandson.
Of course, in a sense, the two are indeed grandfather and grandson, but the story behind it is very complicated and cannot be explained in a few words.
Maxwell seemed used to being scolded by the old man, and just awkwardly scratched his head and stood there waiting.
About three minutes later, the steam engine in front spewed out a lot of white smoke. The old man Sid finally made a move, raised his hand and pointed, and the white smoke condensed, turning into a blurry image.
Maxwell immediately focused his attention, and the next moment, his eyes narrowed, his expression imposing without anger, "The mole is him, Badr!"
"Is he your friend?" Sid asked, glancing sideways.
"We're not exactly friends. We're both Radical Faction. I never expected him to be on the Blood Clan side." Maxwell's mood dipped slightly. Anyone would be upset to have a traitor in their life.
"Look at you, you pathetic sight! Since you know he's a traitor, just kill him. It's that simple. Who are you trying to impress with this melancholy? Where's your recklessness? Did you throw it in the mud?" The old man raised his cane in exasperation, clearly preparing to give him a lecture.
Maxwell clearly had a phobia of the cane; after crashing through the planet's core, a look of panic flashed in his eyes, and he vanished into space in a flash.
"Hmph, brat." Old man Sid snorted coldly, then his expression became complicated. "Fate has already begun, Elven. Did you spare me back then only for this day?"
Steel Refining Academy, a spatial rift, and Maxwell emerges from it.
"Can you please stop being so violent? If you keep doing this, one day you'll be ostracized by the planet's rules," Star Vein Eusius Earth Dao irritably.
Maxwell said nonchalantly, "It's okay, as long as I keep getting stronger, the planet's rules can't do anything to me."
"Alright, let's get down to business. Has the traitor been identified?" Mechanical Bishop Belotti said coldly, his tone still completely flat.
"Yes, through observing the fluctuations in the Fate of everyone in the meeting, the old man has identified the traitor as Badr, one of the high-ranking members of the Radical Faction."
"It was him?" Eusius recalled the stern old man who had been the first to stand up and question the Alliance Leader, Tarlov, in the hall earlier.
"You can know a person's face but not their heart. I don't want to believe it, but that's the truth."
Eusius sighed, "Of course I won't question the conclusions drawn by Sid, the strongest diviner in the plane and the Fate Defier. I just regret that if only Lord Sid could have foreseen this upheaval!"
Belotti coldly replied, "He won't. Doing so would be tantamount to forcibly changing the Fate of the entire Alliance. Master Sid doesn't have much time left; if he did that, he would perish immediately."
"It's not just that," Maxwell began. "The old man said that the upheaval in the Alliance is an irreversible destiny, only a matter of time. Even if he had given us a heads-up, it wouldn't have changed anything; he would have only wasted his life. As for helping to divine the traitor, it wasn't just for the Alliance and me; there were other reasons, but he couldn't tell us."
"Other reasons? What could they be?" Eusius pondered.
"Who knows? Fate- related Transcendent are always eccentric, let alone the Fate Defier Sid. We should just listen to what he says; if we delve too deeply, our heads will explode." Moon Poem Jacqueline took a drag of her cigarette, her red lips slightly parted, and she exhaled a beautiful pale blue smoke ring.
Mechanical Bishop Belotti remained calm as always, analyzing the situation unhurriedly. "The situation is now quite clear. The Blood Clan have been successfully deceived by us, mistakenly believing that we have dismantled the Titan Fortress's backup plan and are taking the opportunity to wipe them out. Next, given Ulan Ross's personality, he will definitely lay an ambush, waiting for us to take the bait, and then use this opportunity to severely damage the Alliance's high-end combat power."
"But he never imagined that this was all a scheme we had set up, designed to deceive the Blood Clan and buy time for our army to be mass-produced."
"Give us just three days, and the fully operational Titan Fortress will be able to produce a sufficient number of bio-warriors. By then, the situation on the Crimson Continent will be stable, communications and production capacity will be restored, and we will be able to integrate the forces of various star systems, basically guaranteeing the Alliance's national defense security."
Maxwell chimed in with a cold laugh, "By then, even if the Blood Clan realize something's wrong and try to activate their backup plan, it will be too late!"
As soon as they finished speaking, the four Pillar of the Nation exchanged a smile, and their tense emotions, which had been building since the upheaval in the Alliance, finally eased.