Insectoids Descend
There were not many people participating in the free trade in the afternoon. Xia Fei knew that most of them had gone to participate in the auction. There were three auctions held in the carnival every day, and the afternoon and evening auctions had the most high-grade items and the most people attending.
Xia Fei did not find anything he needed after going around, so he got up and returned to Sparrow Island.
The night passed uneventfully, and early in the morning, Mosquito knocked on Xia Fei's door once more.
"Big brother Xia Fei, this is today's trading booklet. Due to time constraints, I only made some simple annotations and didn't have time to categorize everything."
The latest trading booklet needed to be collected at Thirteen Pearls Island every day, and it was not hard to tell from the sweat on Mosquito's forehead that he had collected the booklet from the trade fair and returned to give it to Xia Fei. As for those dense annotations, he had probably written them down on his way back, so his handwriting was not as exquisite as usual.
Xia Fei frowned. "Brother Mosquito, why did you have to go to Thirteen Pearls Island just to get the booklet for me? I could've just gotten one myself when I got there."
Mosquito chuckled and took out several dozen booklets from his spatial ring. "I had to get one for Bean, Monkey, and the others anyway, so I got one for you, though I didn't make any annotations for them."
Xia Fei nodded, thinking to himself, 'Sending Mosquito to get the trading booklet before breakfast; these young masters sure are arrogant.'
Before Xia Fei could thank him, Mosquito quickly ran off.
Shrugging, Xia Fei closed the door and sat by the window, casually flipping through the information for today. The auction list changed every day, and Mosquito carefully circled the new items in red ink so that Xia Fei could read them.
Xia Fei was somewhat disappointed after going through it. Be it rare medicinal ingredients or high-capacity spatial rings, none of these items that Xia Fei needed the most were on the list.
"Looks like I'll have to wait until the last day," Xia Fei said as he threw the booklet down.
Phantom said, "That's how it's always been. The best part of any trading event will always be at the end. Right now, we haven't even gotten the list for the last day. Who knows, when the list appears, it might give you a big shock."
The Brotherhood had purposely hidden the auction list for the last day, and they would only announce it to the public on the second to last day of the event. It was not just Xia Fei; everyone else was looking forward to this day. Even if they could not afford it, it would still be nice to look at it.
So far, the only auction item that Xia Fei knew of was his extra-large high-quality Purple Heart of Spirit. Aside from that, he knew nothing about the auction items on the last day or even the contents of the event. It was evident that The Brotherhood was quite successful in keeping secrets.
Over the next few days, Xia Fei would still make a trip to the Thirteen Pearl Islands. Even if he did not find anything he needed, it would still be good to broaden his horizons.
Mozzie would send him the updated information of the day every morning. This made Xia Fei feel rather apologetic. He was only twelve or thirteen years old. Not only was he constantly being bullied, he even had to run errands every day. His days were truly miserable.
However, Mosquito did not seem to mind and was quite willing to help everyone. None of these princes were lacking in wealth, and any one of their fingers was thicker than the thigh of an average person. There was no such thing as being afraid of anyone. The reason for this was because of Mosquito's introverted personality. If it were Xia Fei, he would have long since thrown a tantrum.
Lady Nicole seemed to still be angry with Xia Fei. Xia Fei had tried to approach her several times to discuss the purchase of warships, but she had always brushed him off perfunctorily. Xia Fei was very reluctant to buy in bulk at market price. They were all A-list suppliers to the military, so why was it so difficult to get a discount?
The warships produced by each of the four major warship companies had their own unique characteristics.
Amarrian's warships were used to being equipped with thick armor and powerful laser weapons. They had quite a bit of research on defense and positional warfare, and were known as the number one manufacturer of heavy-armored warships in the Alliance.
When a group of Amarrian warships formed up neatly in positional warfare and slowly advanced toward the enemy, the deterrent and crushing effect it created was unparalleled. Beams of dazzling laser beams lit up the night sky like a meteor shower, pulverizing the enemy warships.
As the best positional warfare warships in the Alliance, the weakness of Amarrian warships was that they moved too slowly. Their bulky armor greatly slowed down their advance and turning.
They were like a group of fearless warriors, advancing toward the enemy's artillery, never stopping until victory or defeat had been decided.
Caldari was famous for its unique missile weapons. The warships they produced were good at long-range attacks, able to provide safe and sustained firepower on the battlefield.
Missiles needed time to fly. Imagine hundreds of Caldari's Raven-class battleships hiding in a dark corner and firing missiles at the enemy. By the time the enemy realized what was going on, they would already be surrounded by a sea of missiles. Any attempt to break out of the encirclement would be futile unless they could warp away immediately. Otherwise, they would just be waiting to be bombarded by countless missiles.
Caldari's warships were more reliant on energy shields for defense. Their main weakness was their weak resistance.
The Mittal Company had the least experience among the four major warship companies. Their warships were all about speed, and the warships they produced were far faster than the other companies. Their flexibility was also superior, and they were a true master of guerrilla warfare.
Mittal's main focus was rapid-fire cannons. Although they were at a disadvantage in terms of firepower, they had the reputation of being a nightmare for small warships. Warships that relied on their speed and agility to evade attacks were least willing to face a warship manufactured by Mittal.
When it came to defense, Mittal's warships were even worse than Caldari's. Most of the time, they could only rely on their speed and agility to defend themselves.
As for Gaian, which was led by Nicole Sawyer, they were known as the melee killer. Their thick armor and the Alliance's number one firepower, the blitz neutron cannons, deterred any warship from approaching them. If a Gaian warship were to get close, the outcome would be tragic.
In terms of defense, Gaian's warships were weaker than Amarrian's, but they were much stronger than Caldari's and Mittal's. Their weakness was that their range was too short, making them more suitable for small teams or individual battles.
Decent defense and the Alliance's number one firepower were the reason why Xia Fei wanted to purchase a few warships from Gaian. After all, Xia Fei was going to build a small fleet, and he needed to balance both agility and firepower. Moreover, Xia Fei was a fan of the blitz neutron cannons. In his mind, a small fleet must have the ability to pounce and bite the enemy to death at a critical moment.
Nicole's lack of cooperation made Xia Fei somewhat annoyed. He decided not to look for this eccentric young lady to discuss the discount. It would not be too late to make a decision after he visited the other three companies after the carnival was over.
…
On the second to last day of the trade fair, Xia Fei went to Thirteen Pearl Islands as usual, but this time, he had another reason other than to look around. This was because Chief of Staff Williams had suddenly called to discuss something with Xia Fei.
The beach was white and smooth. The sun was warm, and the air was moist. Williams was very comfortable sitting on a beach chair, enjoying the drinks and sweets that a waiter had brought him.
"General Williams, why don't I see General Tai and General Layton?" Xia Fei greeted him with a smile.
"The two of them aren't interested in auctions or anything like that. All they can think about is the military and war, so they went back as soon as they were done with their work. I'm still waiting to participate in the final auction on the last day, so I stayed behind."
Xia Fei frowned. "It's said that General Williams enjoys life, and it seems that it's true. But did you just say that General Tai and General Layton are here on official business?"
Williams nodded. "That's right. Talking to you that day was also part of official business."
Xia Fei was slightly taken aback. He lit a cigarette and put it to his lips.
He had long felt that his conversation with the military triumvirate that day was a little strange. It was as if they were deliberately asking him to share his views on many things, and this was actually their official business?
For the three of them to be dispatched together, this official business was definitely not simple.
"Do you remember when we talked about the insectoids that day?" Williams asked with a smile.
"I do."
"If you're the insectoid leader and you've always been dissatisfied with the Pan-human Alliance, when will you choose to start the war?"
Xia Fei thought for a moment before answering, "In six months."
"Oh? Why? "
"The war in the Death Trio Star Region is about to begin, and a large number of the Alliance's elite fleets have already been sent there. I'm afraid that they won't be able to return for at least a year or two. Coupled with the fact that the Alliance hasn't been at war for the past few years, the number of regular fleets has been reduced again and again. I don't know how many fleets the Alliance has at present, but I'm guessing that it shouldn't be too many. After all, it's very costly to maintain an army during peacetime, and the politicians of the Alliance will definitely not agree to it.
"The number of fleets is already insufficient, and now that a portion of them has been diverted away for the war in the Death Trio Star Region, the Alliance's current defense system is probably quite weak.
"Moreover, the Alliance is currently collecting an astronomical amount of funds for the reconstruction of the Death Trio Star Region. The moment the war with the insectoids begins, the entire Pan-human Alliance will face double the financial pressure."
Williams nodded. "Your analysis is correct, but why did you set the time for the war to begin six months from now?"
Xia Fei smiled. "It's actually very simple. The war in the Death Trio Star Region will reach its climax in six months. If we want to catch them off guard, that's the best time to strike."
Sighing, Williams did not say a word as he looked at the rolling waves on the surface of the sea. His eyes were deep and his expression was melancholy.
"You might be able to figure it out, but not everyone is able to figure it out."
Xia Fei was startled. He could smell something unusual in Williams' words.
"What? Are the insectoids really going to war with us?! "
Williams did not give any indication. "Given the current situation, I can only say that it's a very high possibility."
Xia Fei did not continue asking. He was not someone from the military, so Williams telling him all this was already beyond his expectations.
"The insectoids are very cunning. Delaying the attack to six months from now is already vicious enough, but their plan is even more vicious than yours," Williams sternly said.
* Crack! *
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
