"Master!"
While Ding Ling Dong and Li Yao were talking, Jin Xinyue and Di Feiwen, the commander and the deputy commander in charge of the deception troop, showed up together.
The moment she saw Li Yao, Jin Xinyue could not help but exclaim in delight.
Ever since she almost made a fatal mistake in the 'Dim Moon Plan' four years ago and went into self-exile, leaving the power center of the Xing Yao Federation and coming to Boneyard, Jin Xinyue had been monitoring and modifying the remaining soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet and conducting intelligence spying and strategic deception on the homeland of the Imperium together with the remaining soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet. The burdens on her shoulders had not been light, either. She had grown into a whole new person.
In the past, she was like a gorgeous queen bee, full of aggressive and domineering feeling, making people see at a glance that this was an unfathomable woman who was not to be trifled with. The only thing missing was that the word "conspiracy" was directly written on her forehead.
Right now, her brilliance was concealed, and her appearance was plain. She was like a harmless, inconspicuous sparrow. She did not look like a 'queen bee' at all.
However, Li Yao was very clear that the fatal needle that was soaked in venom must still be lurking deep inside her heart. Otherwise, she couldn't have become the commander of the strategic deception plan that was of paramount importance to the Federation!
"My king!"
Di Feiwen bowed deeply to Li Yao, too.
Over the past three and a half years, the deputy commander of the Black Wind Fleet had been living quite comfortably on Boneyard. He was even fatter than before, and his lips were red and his teeth were white. He did not look like a commander of a regular army at all but more like a wealthy, amiable merchant.
He was wearing a wrinkled uniform of the Union Army, but he was bowing to Li Yao as a subordinate of the Imperium of True Human Beings would for a 'Sector Master'. It was truly inappropriate. Together with the 'my king', Li Yao had goosebumps all over his body, and his hair was all standing on end.
"General Di, can you not use such a disgusting form of address?"
Li Yao said, rubbing his goosebumps.
"That won't do. You will always be the supreme master of the five Sectors and the Black Wind King in the eyes of all the soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet," Di Feiwen said respectfully.
Di Feiwen said respectfully and uncompromisingly, "Calling you 'my king' means that all the remaining soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet will absolutely submit to you and the Star Glory Federation. It also means that we will follow you back to the center of the cosmos day and night to reclaim our homeland and rebuild it. You wouldn't be so cruel as to kill our tiny dream, would you?"
Li Yao's right. Is that right? according to the messages sent from your message, I heard that the Imperium won quite a few consecutive victories during the three and a half years I was in the three years War, the Imperium won during the three years Era when I was in the three and a half years I've been in the Sector, according to the message according to the of the Imperium, the Imperium won quite a few of the three years of the World.
At the very least, that's what the 'victory report' sent from the homeland of the Imperium to the Black Wind Fleet said. "
Jin Xinyue invited Li Yao and Ding Ling Dong to go to the intelligence processing center. The super-remote communication base that the Black Wind Fleet deployed on the orbit of the brown dwarf had long been dragged to this place, making the 'forward base of the Black Wind Fleet' the only node for the Federation to collect intelligence about the Imperium. "According to the latest 'victory report', the Imperium has secured three decisive victories in the past year and has marched all the way to the border of a thousand years ago.
"In other words, the Imperium of True Human Beings has basically 'recovered' all the territory of the Star Ocean Republic more than a thousand years ago. It is now the largest territory in the past thousand years. On the surface, everything is going well!
"But the Imperium did not expect that the entry into the exhibition would be so smooth and that the lost territory would be recovered in only a couple of years. As a result, the soldiers and supply lines of the Imperium have been stretched to the limits, too," Di Feiwen said.
"The situation of the Imperium right now is similar to the situation of the Federation a few years ago. They are both suffering from indigestion because they 'ate' too fast. It will take a long time for them to digest and absorb everything before they can incorporate the territory and the people that have just been recovered into the economic, political, and military system of the Imperium again."
Li Yao nodded. It was only a matter of course.
In only a couple of years, even a habitable planet with a large population might not be able to figure out everything, much less dozens of Sectors.
It was one thing to defeat the local defenders of the Holy League and 'recover the lost territory' in name, but it was certainly not easy to turn the people who had been brainwashed by the 'Path of Ultimate Benevolence' of the Holy League into the citizens of the Imperium again and awaken their dignity and pride as human beings.
As he expected, Jin Xinyue said, "The situation that the people of the Imperium are faced with is even more complicated than the situation that the people of the Federation faced in the beginning.
"In the past, when the Sectors were governed by the Holy League, the Holy League established temples on every habitable planet and brainwashed the people repetitively. Countless people were turned into heartless tools of production and war, even more inhumane than the people of the Imperium.
"Before they retreated, the Holy League took away almost all the resources and destroyed the mother lodes, forests, and farmlands that were left behind. What the people of the Imperium saw were devastated planets that were riddled with holes and the people who had been heavily brainwashed and were deeply hostile to the Imperium.
"How to integrate the resources of the planets so that they could contribute to the war in the next phase, or at least not be a burden for the Imperium, has become a headache.
"Of course, the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium are certainly not the most benevolent of men and women. When it is necessary, they can even kill all the people who have been brainwashed on a planet. But it is not one planet but dozens of them. The internal influence must be considered after all. Besides, the population is a very important 'resource'. Who is going to rebuild the planets after they are all killed?
"If they kill everybody after recovering so many planets for the purpose of 'saving the civilization of mankind', the morale of the Imperium will be greatly shaken despite the brutality and extremes of the army of the Imperium."
Li Yao nodded and said, "Got it. It seems that the Imperium has been dragged into a swamp where it can neither advance nor retreat, right?"
"Yes. It is a swamp!"
Di Feiwen said. "The Sectors that have just been recovered were the fixed territories of the Star Ocean Republic and the Imperium of True Human Beings a thousand years ago. They were the prosperous areas in the old days. Now that they have been reclaimed, there is no reason for the Imperium to give them up.
"If we continue marching forward, we will enter the remote worlds where the Alliance of the Holy Covenant rose in the beginning. They are essentially the central territory of the Holy League.
"In the wars of the past thousand years, the central territories of the Holy League have never been invaded. Therefore, the Imperium does not know the first thing about the environment there. There are no star maps, sailing routes, or resource distribution maps at all.
"It is not hard to imagine what a headache it will be to fight in such a harsh environment that is unfamiliar with the people and faced with such an inhuman opponent as the Holy League. With the Imperium's' indigestion 'right now, it will be barely possible for us to break through the central territory of the Holy League.
"Besides —"
Jin Xinyue smiled. "We also have to consider the uniqueness of the Imperium. The so-called 'army of the Imperium' is not an iron plate but a coalition army made of the emperor, the nobles, the Sector Masters, and the warlords. Everybody has their own plans and wants to make profits for their small group.
"Right now, they have reclaimed the most prosperous areas in the past. Who would like to be the first to enter the central area of the Holy League that is enshrouded in mist and gnaw on the hard bones that are full of thorns?"
"Therefore —"
Di Feiwen continued. "Our conclusion is that the Imperium's strategic counterattack, which has lasted almost seven years, has achieved results far beyond our expectations and is now coming to an end.
"In the next ten to twenty years, the strategic goal of the Imperium will be to divide the trophies in a reasonable and orderly way, reestablish order on the recovered planets, consolidate the frontline, and accumulate strength for the next expedition to the central territory of the Holy League.
"In other words, the Imperium and the Holy League will enter the phase of 'strategic stalemate' again. As long as the Holy League does not launch a large-scale counterattack, there will be temporary peace in the next three to five years."
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao said quickly, "For the Federation, it is not good news."
"Exactly."
Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly. "Once the two parties enter the phase of 'strategic stalemate', the Imperium will not be able to break into the central territory of the Holy League, and the Holy League, which has just suffered a brutal defeat, will not attack actively. Then, the Imperium will likely cast its greedy eyes and redundant attention to the edge of the cosmos.
"I know the personalities of the warlords and the nobles very well. When they divide the trophies, anything can be exchanged as a bargaining chip. Take the Black Wind Fleet, which has nothing to do with this matter in the first place, for example," Di Feiwen said.
"It must be noted that, in the strategic counterattack, even the Black Wind Sector, the Purple Fire Sector, and the other Sectors have returned to the control of the Imperium. How to deal with the few Sectors has become a very delicate question. If they are assigned to a certain warlord or noble, my king, what do you think the warlord or noble will think of the 'Black Wind Fleet'?"
Without thinking at all, Li Yao immediately replied, "One world cannot have two dominators. If I were a brutal noble of the Imperium who exchanged my hard-earned military credits for the Black Wind Sector, I would certainly regard the Black Wind Fleet as a thorn in my flesh and try to get rid of it as soon as possible.
"After all, in a world where the strong prey on the weak, it is perfectly justified to strike first. If I show mercy right now, when the Black Wind Fleet accumulates enough strength at the edge of the cosmos, they will certainly come back and try to take back the Black Wind Sector!
"On the other hand, now that I know the existence of the Black Wind Fleet and am bold enough to swallow the Black Wind Sector openly, it means that I must be as strong as the Black Wind Fleet and confident to swallow the Black Wind Fleet. At the very least, I will not be scared of the revenge of the Black Wind Fleet!"
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[Third update!
His father had been busy for days, but one of his indicators was too high. Right now, the cause of the disease had not been found out yet, so he could only stay in the hospital.
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