Chapter 1117: The Plot of the Diplomatic Escort Fleet (2)

The plan is radical, yet logically rigorous.

The officers on the Bridge exchanged glances, and most were gradually persuaded.

"Then, let us vote."

Sele'en said.

"Those who support the plan, light your Third Eye."

After ten seconds of Silence.

The first Third Eye lit up with a faint purple glow, followed by the second, the third... in the end, everyone except Kaierte expressed their support.

Sele'en looked at Kaierte: "Major, what is your choice?"

Kaierte's three eyes were tightly shut, and his facial muscles were tense.

After a long while, Kaierte slowly opened his eyes, and his Third Eye also lit up with a glow.

Seeing this, Sele'en said in a low voice.

"For the Feng Qi Xing Alliance."

"For the Feng Qi Xing Alliance."

Everyone repeated.

In the void behind the diplomatic Frigate fleet, the Oathkeeper fleet flagship, the Oath, was cruising at speed.

On the Bridge, Admiral Olaf stood before the observation window, watching the neatly arranged fleet outside.

The old general's purple skin was covered in wrinkles, but his three eyes remained sharp.

"Sele'en has confirmed, the plan is initiated."

The Adjutant reported.

"They will act 24 hours after the negotiations begin."

Olaf nodded, not responding immediately.

"General, if we do this, how will history judge us?"

"History?"

Olaf replied in a calm voice.

"History is written by the victors. If we succeed in forcing the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance to a ceasefire, winning time for Fengqi to regroup, then everything done today will be a 'patriotic act'.

If we fail... then there is no need to worry about the judgment of history, because we will have no future."

Olaf turned and walked toward the tactical holographic table.

The table displayed the situation map of the entire Feng Qi Xing Alliance, with a clear gap bitten out of the purple area of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance by the blue area of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance.

"I have served for forty-five years and have seen countless enemies."

Olaf said slowly.

"Pirates, raiders, small border civilizations, and those self-important so-called 'higher races'. But the Star Alliance... they are different."

Olaf's finger traced over the area occupied by the Star Alliance.

"They have organization, discipline, and a unified ideology.

More importantly, they have those 'Primarchs'. Those are not conventional military commanders; they are... a kind of existence that transcends the concept of conventional warfare.

Facing such an enemy, conventional tactics are ineffective. We must think of means that transcend the conventional."

"But detaining our own diplomatic mission..."

The Adjutant still had concerns.

"This is a necessary evil."

Olaf said.

"Kalaier Guanzhe is my old friend; we once studied together at the military academy. He is a smart man, with wisdom and foresight.

But precisely because he is too smart and too good at calculating gains and losses, he chose the path of compromise.

He cannot see that compromise with the Star Alliance will only lead to the demise of the entire civilization."

Olaf pulled up the historical data on the expansion of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance.

"Look at this. The planets the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance has contacted during its rise.

Those that chose to resist with all their might were all destroyed.

Negotiations or surrender, what was the result?

All were annexed, their cultures assimilated, their political autonomy stripped away, becoming 'subordinate administrative districts' of the Star Alliance.

Kalaier thinks he can negotiate a result favorable to Fengqi, but he is wrong.

The Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance has only one mode: either fully accept their rule, or be annihilated."

"So you believe the negotiations are doomed to fail?"

"Not doomed to fail, but doomed to lead to the slow death of Fengqi."

Olaf said.

"Kalaier will win some time, some concessions, some superficial 'equal terms'.

But during this time, the Star Alliance will continue to infiltrate, divide, and disintegrate our society.

When the time is ripe, they will only need a gentle push, and the entire Feng Qi Xing Alliance will collapse like a rotten wall."

Flames burned in Olaf's three eyes.

"So we must take radical measures. Use the diplomatic mission as a bargaining chip to force the Star Alliance to stop its steps.

First, full mobilization, raising the threat level of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance to 'civilizational survival' level, and activating the wartime system.

Second, accelerate the research and development of new weapons like mirror rifts, and find ways to counter the Primarchs.

Third, build a true interstellar anti-Xiuluo alliance, instead of the current wait-and-see and probing."

The Adjutant was silent for a moment, then asked.

"General, what if the Star Alliance ignores the safety of the hostages and attacks directly?"

"Then we fight. The Oathkeeper fleet is already prepared.

270 warships, all operated by warriors who have volunteered to die.

If the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance attacks, we will make them pay the price.

Even if we ultimately fail, we will bite off enough flesh from them to make them feel pain whenever they think of Feng Qi for decades to come."

"Then... are you prepared to bear all the consequences?"

Olaf smiled and said in a relaxed tone.

"I have been through seventeen major campaigns, seen countless subordinates die in battle, and hovered on the edge of death countless times.

My wife passed away from illness twenty years ago, my son sacrificed himself in a border conflict three years ago, and my daughter is currently teaching in the Core World; I haven't seen her in three years.

Do you think there is anything left that I cannot bear?"

Olaf walked to the communication console and connected to the fleet-wide broadcast.

"All members of the Oathkeeper fleet, I am Olaf.

I know why each of you is here. It is not because of orders, not because of pay, but because you saw the same crisis and made the same choice."

Olaf's voice spread through the encrypted channel to all 270 warships.

"Our civilization is facing a threat unseen in three hundred years.

Politicians are preparing to compromise at the negotiating table, but compromise will not bring peace; it will only bring a slow death.

We are soldiers; our duty is not to calculate political gains and losses, but to protect our people, protect our civilization, and protect the future of the Feng Qi Xing Alliance."

"The operation about to begin will cause us to be labeled as rebels by the parliament, condemned by mainstream public opinion, and even branded with infamy when recorded in history books.

But I want to tell you: let future generations judge history; our responsibility is in the present.

If today's action can win a chance at survival for Feng Qi, then every price is worth it."

A brief pause, and Olaf's voice appeared again.

"All units, move to designated positions according to the plan.

Maintain communication silence and wait for the signal to act.

May Three Eyes watch over us, may courage be with us, and may the Feng Qi Xing Alliance endure forever."

The communication ended.

Olaf looked toward the observation window, his gaze solemn.

This was a high-stakes gamble, with the future of the entire civilization as the wager.

And the chips were 270 warships and the lives of everyone on board.

Of course, there were also those unsuspecting Diplomats of the Carlyle Mission.