First Sunrise

In the early hours of last night, the "Angel's Protection's Protection" shield was removed, and rain finally fell upon the Radiant Holy City.

The ground was filled with the fresh scent unique to the area after the rain.

The damp stone pavement reflected the cool sunlight, and the air seemed to have been washed clean.

Su Ming and Zijin stood at the entrance of the Elf Embassy to welcome the arrival of Emperor Xialike of the Star Empire.

The Empire Heavenly Pivot Battle Group, responsible for security, arrived first and deployed defenses in the vicinity.

The armored soldiers stood in formation around the perimeter, their eyes alert.

Xialike approached on his griffin, leaping nimbly from mid-air to stand before him.

Su Ming looked at the other person, slightly surprised.

Xialike looks very young.

But then again, it makes sense.

Although he was fifty years old, in the concept of otherworldly superhumans, this age was indeed considered to be only in the prime of youth.

"Welcome!" Su Ming extended his hand proactively.

"Thank you for the hospitality!" said Xialike.

Beside them, Zijin and Zhapulai also made eye contact.

"Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you!"

Their eyes met, and sparks seemed to fly in the air.

Su Ming raised his hand in invitation, and the four of them walked together into the conference room inside the embassy.

The main speaker took his seat at the head of the table, followed by the secretaries from both sides.

But Zhapulai didn't stand behind Xialike. Instead, he moved to the side, found a small table, and sat down, pulling Zijin over with him.

"Would you mind treating me to a cup of coffee?" His face was expressionless, but his tone was very calm.

Zijin looked surprised. "Don't you stay by your emperor's side?"

Xialike didn't bring many people in, while Su Ming was accompanied by Ruixiuli and Jielusi.

"It doesn't matter," Zhapulai said casually. "You know I have 'mind reading'—I can roughly figure it out with just a glance."

"But you can't understand me!" Zijin was even more puzzled.

"So that's why I'm bringing you aside for tea," Zhapulai said matter-of-factly.

Zijin fell silent.

"So, this is how you slack off on every escort mission?"

"That's called making good use of your talent."

****

Zijin was filled with resentment.

So why did she and Jielusi go to such lengths early in the morning to set up magic arrays all over the venue?

Zijin's eyes darted around, and she took the initiative to extend an invitation to Zhapulai.

"Now that the talks are over, how about we have a little sparring session? We can just have a casual fight right here."

Now that the defenses have been laid out, these "defenses" cannot be wasted.

Even though Zhapulai couldn't fathom Zijin's thoughts, he still felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing these words.

"No, thank you!" he refused decisively.

Su Ming and Xialike exchanged the summary of the meeting.

The two glanced down and were both startled almost simultaneously.

"Midwinter Island, just a lease?" Xialike's face fell immediately.

The benefits that the Star Empire can obtain under the initial negotiation terms are mainly twofold.

Firstly, a disputed area of 12,000 square kilometers at the border between the Radiant Jurisdiction and the Star Empire was "returned" to the Empire.

Secondly, there is the Midwinter Island, which covers an area of 4,000 square kilometers.

"The original agreement stipulated that it was for your use," Su Ming said calmly. "I did not authorize the transfer of ownership of this territory."

"And similar situations exist on Midsummer Island," he added, delivering another blow.

Although Midsummer Island had been under the de facto control of the Star Empire during this period.

But nominally, it is still registered under Katharine's name.

Previously, relying on his powerful Stars Navy, Xialike was naturally not afraid of what tricks the Holy See might play in this matter.

As time went by, Midsummer Island was gradually locked down, and the "procedures" would be completed on their own.

But the Final Bone Mad Machines shattered all of that.

The Star Empire's fleet, when facing the Pansy, was no different from a paper model airplane.

"Conditions," Xialike said straightforwardly, "I can give up Midwinter Island, just let us use one of its ports. But Midsummer Island, I must have it!"

Midsummer Island is the largest of the Four Seasons Islands of the Temple of Light, covering an area of 9,000 square kilometers.

Xialike intends to develop it into a maritime trading hub.

Su Ming waved the paper in his hand.

The item that Xialike had just handed over was hardly a gesture of goodwill either.

This not only demands the return of more "disputed" territories, but also proposes numerous additional conditions, such as unrestricted trade within Guangming territory.

If Su Ming agrees to sign, he'll probably have to change his name to Principal.

"This paper is invalid," Xialike said decisively.

Negotiation is a process of asking for the moon and then settling for the moon.

"Tell me what you really want first," Su Ming said directly.

"The last point in the 'Outline' is to establish a Taya Economic and Trade Community," said Xialike. "We, as the main stakeholders, will invite other forces to join, form unified trade rules, eliminate trade barriers, and seek world peace and development."

Su Ming frowned slightly and leaned back in his chair.

"What is Xialike trying to do?" he asked Zijin.

This condition is way too good for the Final Bone Mad Machines!

Did Xialike hit his head?

The scholar pondered for a moment before giving her answer.

The rise of the Star Empire over the past twenty years has relied on the establishment of global trade routes and the breakthroughs it has achieved in the economic sphere.

[But even now, long-distance trade still accounts for a small percentage of the overall economy, and various obstacles continue to emerge.]

The Treaty of the Taya Peoples, signed a thousand years ago, is now defunct.

Xialike has always longed for is to rebuild a communication system that can encompass most of the major powers.

Su Ming immediately understood.

[This is an attempt to intimidate others by falsely claiming power.]

Limited by the scarcity of superhumans and the backwardness of long-distance transportation capabilities, it is extremely difficult for the traditional forces in Taya to wage a world war.

But the Final Bone Mad Machines can do that.

They can fight, and they can win.

Xialike wanted to team up with the Final Bone Mad Machines to establish a global organization.

Ostensibly, it was for the sake of peace and trade development.

In reality, it was clearing obstacles for the future economic expansion of the Star Empire.

Su Ming and Zijin exchanged a few words and figured out most of Xialike Ke's plan:

[Xialike wants to use economic weapons to contain us and use the process to learn and imitate our technology.]

****

"The proposal to establish a Taya economic and trade community can be agreed to in principle."

Su Ming adopted a thoughtful expression and slowly said, "Please wait a moment, let me consider my terms."

Actively opening up to promote free trade?

Su Ming was overjoyed.

In other fields, he might not have been so decisive.

But if he loses in this aspect, Su Ming can afford to lose face.

But on Earth Support Team, it's likely that everyone from top to bottom, even the cleaning lady, will be taken down!

Su Ming switched his view and contacted Dodder.

As expected, the entire group erupted in celebration.

Some people even hummed "la la la" involuntarily, creating a festive atmosphere.

"The current strategic goal was originally to find an opportunity to build the prototype of a global trade system in Taya," the Dodder twitched. "But the other side is actually offering it up willingly."

With this as a foundation, once the dimensional gate is successfully established—

The "company" will definitely be able to mold Taya into their own shape in the future!

"Quickly help me think of what conditions I should propose to reluctantly agree to Xialike's request," Su Ming said.

A trade expert immediately spoke up.

Demanding control of the trade community's administration.

"Right to make and amend rules."

"And control over dispute arbitration institutions!"

Dodder agreed.

"Full dominance is impossible."

"But our seats and voice must at least be equal to those of the Stars, and ahead of other forces in the plane."

Su Ming shook his head.

"That's not enough; these are things that would naturally be asked when forming a community."

We need to propose other conditions.

Otherwise, Xialike will realize that we are actually "very interested" in the WTO!

****

Ultimately, Su Ming requested a one-year interest-free loan of 50 million gold coins from Xialike.

Su Ming is currently short of money.

The business is expanding rapidly across the Radiant Jurisdiction, and cash flow is being depleted at an alarming rate.

Although the purge of the Divine Covenant Faction's top brass yielded substantial gains, the amount of cash available for immediate use was limited.

The seized assets need time to be converted into cash.

Especially given the current unstable situation, disposing of it at this juncture would be an absolute fire sale.

Only once Su Ming's side has gained a firm foothold and formally established the new regime will everything return to normal order.

"Your plan is quite clever," Xialike couldn't help but sigh.

"Not at all, just so-so," Su Ming said with a smile, waving his hand.

One reason was the need for money, but the more important purpose was to use the loan to bring out the Star Empire to endorse and support them.

This will greatly boost outside confidence in the "stability, positive outlook, and sustainability" of this newly established nation.

Su Ming made a rather bold statement, so Xialike summoned the councilor and moved aside to discuss it privately.

The group spoke in hushed tones for a long time, their expressions changing several times, clearly assessing the gains and losses.

Finally, they stipulated that the Temple of Light's assets must be used as collateral, while reducing the amount to thirty million gold coins.

"Deal!" Su Ming agreed readily.

This amount is sufficient to sustain us through the early days of the nation's founding.

As the Stars Clerk prepared to draft the terms, he discovered a crucial problem and had to ask, "May I ask, what is the name of your country?"

As of now, they still don't know the name of this new country.

The old Holy See always touted itself as "God's spokesperson," so it never formally defined a country's name, always referring to it simply as "the XX jurisdiction of the Holy See of Light."

Su Ming disliked all this empty talk.

"Our new name is now the Republic of Chuxu," he replied solemnly.

****

The afternoon's agenda focused on jointly launching a campaign to eradicate the Plundering Clock.

"Following the battle at Mist Mountain Bay initiated by your side, I immediately dispatched men to track down the escape route of the Death Knell."

Zhapulai began his report.

"According to the latest intelligence, the group has escaped into the Gravel Scale Desert."

The Temple of Light – now known as the Republic of Emerging Sun, the Gravel Scale Desert, and the Star Empire – are three bordering each other.

The Gravel Scale Desert is located in the northernmost part of the Western Continent, in the temperate zone, and is a vast area with an arid climate.

"What's the deal with the gravel-scaled lizardmen?" Su Ming asked directly.

"They've infiltrated us," Zhapulai said. "Our investigators suffered heavy losses after entering the desert."

"This is troublesome." Su Ming frowned. "If we had clear intelligence to guide us, we could try to directly decapitate the members of the Plundering Clock."

"This is too difficult."

Zhapulai explained.

"We can't plant spies among a group of desert dwellers and reptilians."

"The native inhabitants of the Gravelscale don't need a second glance to see through the disguise."

"And now it's gotten to the point where they don't even allow external chambers of commerce to enter freely."

"The core area is absolutely sealed off."

"So, we have to send a large army to attack?" Su Ming asked.

"Yes," Zhapulai confirmed. "It seems that the entire Gravelscale is now under the tight control of the Plundering Clock."

"I really don't know how they did it," Xialike sighed. "It's my negligence; such a huge thing happened right next to my bed, and we only found out now."

"There's little activity in the desert; they're making a fortune quietly," Zhapulai said. "And in recent years, Gravel's foreign trade has been normal; we haven't noticed any change."

Su Ming began to calculate, "It will probably take me two to three months to stabilize the situation on my end."

"It's about the same on my end," Xialike nodded. "We need to develop combat equipment and transport vehicles adapted to sandy terrain, and we also need to train our troops in combat skills for desert conditions."

For the Star Empire, the Gravel Scale Desert was a tasteless and useless region.

The Star Empire's current combat order does not include any units specifically designed for the desert.

But since the Plundering Clock is involved, we must fight them no matter what and wipe them out!

"Logistics is the real problem," Zhapulai pointed out. "The desert rainy season is over, and a soldier under high-intensity combat load needs six to eight liters of water per day."

"We also need to factor in transportation losses and other expenses," Ainuobia interjected, this being her usual responsibility. "Normally, it should be ten to twelve liters per person."

The Gravel Scale Tribe has a population of around one million, which doesn't seem like much, but the entire population is a soldier.

Therefore, the attacking force must consist of multiple legions, each numbering in the tens of thousands.

"Most camels and vehicles cannot adapt to the desert environment," Ainuobia continued.

"Yeah, we can't win if we're outnumbered."

Zhapulai also said.

"If there are too many people, the logistics will completely cripple us."

"Caught in a dilemma."

Su Ming, however, made a promise.

"It's not that difficult; leave the water problem to us."

"In addition, we can provide desert trucks—to handle half of your supplies transportation."

Upon hearing this, Xialike and Zhapulai's eyes both lit up.

If that's the case, then this war is fightable!

He and Zhapulai quickly discussed the matter, then announced loudly, "We plan to dispatch four elite divisions and two logistical support regiments, totaling approximately 60,000 men."