Chapter 1323: The Interstellar Grand Stage (Part 47)

The Throne Room of the Raptor Star Palace had a high, arched dome, adorned with tens of thousands of precious gems that turned the incoming sunlight into starlit, dazzling rays, making the throne look even more noble when they fell upon it.

The Queen, wearing golden robes, was different from other female Raptors; she possessed long, magnificent feathers that were softer and smoother than those of the males, colorful and beautiful.

Within her narrow, lizard-like eyes, golden pupils were like gems embedded in their sockets. As the vertical slits turned gently, the Queen's slightly hoarse voice sounded: "Anduphus, could this be a trap?"

Standing in the center of the throne room was a male Raptor. He also wore noble robes, his feathers meticulously groomed, and beneath his high, spiked brow ridges, his gaze was filled with gravity.

"Your Majesty, I believe Loki is not worth trusting." The noble known as Anduphus lowered his head to reply, then began to analyze:

"I even believe that the Interstellar Expo hosted by Asgard is a massive trap. We cannot agree to let such cosmic terrorists join the interstellar society; otherwise, we will surely lose all our prestige. We should immediately expel Loki and draw a clear line with Asgard!"

But at this moment, another female Raptor standing beside him, dressed in light armor, said: "But if Asgard truly intends to return to the interstellar society, then they must find a partner among the three great empires. If the Shi'ar Empire rejects them, they will surely go to the Kree Empire or the Skrull Empire, which would be very disadvantageous for us."

The Queen standing before the throne sighed softly; she was also worried about this point. If Asgard were truly playing tricks, she wouldn't be afraid; the three great empires had deep foundations, and losing a few personnel at an expo wouldn't matter.

But if Asgard had truly changed its ways, the stable social situation of the interstellar society would surely see ripples, and the Shi'ar Empire did not hold an advantage.

The Queen's low voice echoed in the throne room:

"Loki coming to us is nothing more than thinking that we are the weakest in combat power among the three great empires. We need a powerful ally like Asgard, and they need our status and wealth."

"Compared to this, cooperating with the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire is not wise. Whichever of them gains an overwhelming advantage will surely provoke a war to retaliate against the other. Only by cooperating with the Shi'ar Empire can such a situation be avoided."

"This is also an opportunity for the Shi'ar Empire." The Queen sighed softly and said: "The Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire, relying on their powerful military force, constantly harvest the economy of the Shi'ar Empire and lower-level interstellar civilizations. For so many years, they have been sucking our blood."

The Queen raised her head slightly to look out the window and said: "The new God King and Prince of Asgard have ambitions far beyond this; even a fourth great empire is not their end point. Cooperating with them is no different from seeking skin from a tiger."

There was silence in the throne room. After a long time, the noble named Anduphus stepped forward, wanting to offer advice, but the Queen spoke first:

"I have decided to accept the olive branch thrown by Asgard, but at the same time, the cunning Loki must be guarded against. Someone, go invite Professor Thanos over; I want to speak with him alone."

The two Raptors standing in the center of the hall sighed helplessly. Although the Shi'ar Empire was ostensibly a constitutional monarchy where the Queen and the parliament existed simultaneously, in reality, the Queen was the head of the parliament. What she decided, no one could change.

Soon, the purple-skinned giant walked into the throne room. Everyone else withdrew, and the Queen sat on the throne, her fingers tapping gently on the armrest as she asked: "What is your take on Loki extending an olive branch to the Shi'ar Empire?"

"I think this is a friendly signal." Thanos replied, saying: "It's just that the technical cooperation part is not very credible. No empire would hand over its most core technology."

"I know that, of course, but I want to know, why did they single this point out? Even without the Bifrost's teleportation technology, do they also want to develop other technical cooperation with the Shi'ar Empire?"

Thanos sighed softly, but he looked up at the Queen and asked: "Before that, Your Majesty, I would like to ask you, has the dimension cutting and transport technology developed by the Shi'ar Empire really achieved a breakthrough as rumored?"

The Queen frowned, and Thanos immediately explained: "Please forgive my presumption; I have absolutely no intention of prying into the Shi'ar Empire's technical secrets."

"I am not a scientist, nor do I understand any teleportation technology. It's just that if it is really as rumored, and the experiment has succeeded, then we have a great bargaining chip, and we can demand a greater price from Asgard."

The Queen was silent for a short while, then spoke: "Even if I don't say it, you should be able to guess. If there were really any breakthrough progress, the situation would never be like this."

"Just one week ago, the Supreme Intelligence announced the Kree Empire's new interstellar policy. Their currency issuance for this year has risen by another 10%, and all of this has to be paid for by the Shi'ar Empire."

"Our strategic deterrent means are insufficient, and other civilizations under our jurisdiction have no confidence. Many commercial entities and even entire civilizations are fleeing. The people have not heard good news for too long; we urgently need a shot in the arm."

"Since that is the case, the cooperation with Asgard must be discussed." Thanos heard the Queen's implication; the rumor that the technology had achieved a new breakthrough was exactly what the officials had released to boost public confidence.

Thanos heard the worry in the Queen's tone. Taking advantage of the Queen's somewhat chaotic thoughts at this moment, Thanos pushed further and asked: "Then has the dimension cutting technology not achieved any progress at all?"

"Of course not." The Queen shook her head, seemingly feeling that Thanos wouldn't understand too deep technical issues, and said concisely: "The dimension cutting technology experiment succeeded long ago. The problem is that it cannot cut large teleportation portals, let alone transport them."

The Queen turned her head to one side. Thanos could hear the disappointment in her tone. The Queen continued: "All our technology is centered around large teleportation portals. If there is no progress on the technology related to large teleportation portals, then everything is zero."

"I, however, feel that is not the case." Thanos proposed an opposing argument, saying: "Asgard is the ruler of the Nine Realms, equivalent to the royal family of the entire Nine Realms."

"They want to return to the interstellar society. Besides having a big fist, strengthening their comprehensive strength is essential. But there is almost no civilization worth mentioning in the Nine Realms. Except for Asgard, other places are like a wasteland."

"But I heard that Midgard... that is, what Earth..." The Queen frowned slightly, clearly having heard some legends.

"Perhaps they have potential, but it is too early." Thanos shook his head and said: "Except for Asgard, the other civilizations in the Nine Realms are too young. Asgard should also be having a headache about how to strengthen them. This is their weakness, and also our bargaining chip."

The Queen's constantly tapping fingertips paused. Her eyes turned, looking at Thanos, and she said: "You mean, actually, the technical cooperation Asgard wants to develop with us is not that high-end? They precisely need some relatively low-end technology to nurture other civilizations in the Nine Realms?"

"Exactly. I think this is Asgard's dilemma. After all, the Aesir can directly use divine power, but in the Nine Realms, most other races cannot. This means that other races cannot use Asgard's technology."

"Even if Asgard wants to strengthen them, they have no way. Even if they give them the blueprints and energy, if they don't know how to use divine power, they still can't drive the machines manufactured by Asgard."

"I think this is the reason why Loki suddenly visited the Shi'ar Empire. He cannot come to see you with great fanfare in an official capacity. If the Skrull Empire and the Kree Empire find out about their dilemma, they will definitely implement a technical blockade, making it impossible for Asgard to obtain similar technology through other channels."

"Then we..." The Queen spoke immediately, but soon she denied the thought in her mind. She said: "No, it won't work. We cannot blockade Asgard; we don't have that kind of confidence."

"The new God King is finally not so irritable anymore. For these few years, the Shi'ar Empire's trade routes have been rarely peaceful. We hope this peace can continue."

"If we provoke Asgard, the God King only needs to go around our most prosperous trade centers a few times, and we are powerless to repel him. Public security will decline, the confidence of trade partners will definitely suffer a huge blow, and the situation of hot money fleeing will become more severe."

"Exactly so, Your Majesty." Thanos nodded, then began to pace in the throne room, saying: "Therefore, we should conduct private transactions with Asgard, taking out some technology that is not so advanced and suitable for civilizations that have just stepped into the interstellar level, in exchange for some things we lack."

"But you also said, it is impossible for them to take out teleportation portal technology to exchange with us." The Queen's fingers began to tap the armrest again, clearly a bit anxious. She said: "But besides that, what technology can we want? Their starships?"

"In the past, it's not that the Shi'ar Empire hasn't picked up starship wreckage left behind by Odin's fleet, but their application technology for divine power is very mature, and everything in the fleet is geared towards divine power output. We don't have divine power, yet we force its application; it's simply not cost-effective. Even the dismantled parts cannot be integrated into our fleet."

Thanos shook his head again and said: "Your Majesty, don't forget, why you want teleportation portal technology."

The Queen frowned, clearly not having turned the corner for a moment. Thanos immediately explained: "It is to strengthen military force, boost public confidence, and thereby ensure that our national economic system is not harvested."

The Queen nodded, clearly accepting Thanos's argument, and Thanos continued to analyze: "Since that is the case, why don't we directly strengthen our military force?"

The Queen was stunned for a moment, then slowly widened her eyes. She looked into Thanos's eyes and said: "You mean..."

"We directly hire Asgard's fleet and let that bunch of martial artists who are keen on fighting escort our merchant fleets."

"It would be best if they could send a few good hands to the trade routes where the Kree Empire's patrol fleets often appear on the edge of the Ring Sector to escort the Shi'ar Empire's merchant ships."

"Of course, that bunch of irritable Aesir won't be like the civilized Shi'ar Empire people, honestly accepting the inspections of other countries' patrol fleets."

"More importantly, if it just so happens that the Kree Empire's patrol fleet is beaten up by the Aesir, and it just so happens that a pair of reporters pass by in a ship, and it just so happens that they film the Kree Empire's ferocious extortion of Shi'ar Empire merchants, and it just so happens that they record the scene of the mercenaries we hired winning a great victory, and it just so happens that it is reported in a large space in the Shi'ar Empire's capital New District..."

The Queen's eyes widened more and more. She swallowed gently, reached out a hand to smooth the feathers at her temple, opened her mouth, and said somewhat hesitantly: "But if the patrol fleet is attacked, the Kree Empire won't let it go easily..."

"The people were beaten by the Aesir; what does it have to do with us?"

"But they are hired by us!"

"Then we can not pay them!"

Thanos said righteously: "If we don't pay, the employment relationship is not established."

"Then how do we make them..."

"We are conducting technical cooperation with other independent civilizations in the Nine Realms; what does it have to do with Asgard? The Aesir are just helping out when they see injustice; they have always been happy to help others."

"Then what if the Kree Empire goes to trouble Asgard?"

"The people were beaten by the Aesir; it is more likely that they were beaten by the God King."

"Then what if the Kree Empire comes to trouble us?"

"The people were beaten by the Aesir; what does it have to do with us?"

"Then what if they are unreasonable?"

"The people were beaten by the Aesir."

The Queen covered her eyes, then she said: "Then what if they deliberately intercept our merchants elsewhere... Alright, you don't have to say it, I know, the people were beaten by the Aesir."

(End of chapter)