Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 104: Surprises Galore

At the Council Sanctuary on the Protoss homeworld of Aiur, a host of Protoss leaders, including Starmat and Starlut, were already waiting in the Sanctuary Plaza.

As soon as Zhou Yuan, Wei Shan, and Lefia were teleported to the plaza by the light, Xingmate, Xinglut, and others stepped forward, bowed their knees, and performed the most precious salute of the gods. The rest of the gods, including the large number of Templar warriors guarding the plaza, also bowed their knees in salute.

"Xingmate, Xinglute, please don't do this. You're making us feel bad."

Zhou Yuan leaped into the air and hurriedly went forward to help Xingmate and Xinglute.

"Dean Zhou, please allow me to address you in the same way. We, the Protoss, are very grateful to the Earth Empire for this rescue. If it weren't for you, all of our Protoss people would probably have perished in the sea of ​​fire of the sun."

"Singmate, don't be so polite. May we come inside and talk?"

Seeing that Xingmate and Xinglute still showed no sign of getting up, Zhou Yuan had no choice but to take the initiative to say that he wanted to enter the council sanctuary.

Xingmate, Xinglute, and the others had no choice but to get up and escort the three of them into the council sanctuary.

After they were seated, the gods served drinks and snacks that Earthlings liked. It should be noted that the gods' tastes were quite different from those of Earthlings, and the gods had gone to great lengths to prepare these. Zhou Yuan, Wei Shan, and Lefia naturally noticed all of this.

After eating and resting briefly, the Protoss councilors held a secret meeting with the three.

"Dean Zhou, let's skip the formalities. I wonder how the Earth Empire will deal with the Virgo Fleet in the future?" As the Speaker of the Protoss Council, Xingmate naturally had to pay attention to the movements of their greatest enemy and the plans of their allies.

"Starmart, I must first apologize to everyone here, because I did not tell you the truth earlier. In fact, our Earth Empire is capable of traversing galaxies."

Since the Virgo Fleet attack, although the Protoss councilors had vaguely guessed that the Earth Empire still had some reservations, they were still somewhat surprised that Zhou Yuan had personally informed them this time.

"So, we are not natives of the Andromeda Galaxy, but come from the Milky Way. There are many twists and turns, as well as luck and hardships, but we will not go into them here. You will definitely have the opportunity to learn about the history of the Earth Empire in the future."

"Dean Zhou, I understand. So what are the Earth Empire's plans?"

"The Imperial high command just discussed the matter. Some members of the Imperial leadership wish to travel across the galaxy, away from this star cluster, to avoid further harassment and attacks from the Virgo Fleet. There are many reasons to leave, and many reasons to stay, but I won't go into those. In the end, the Imperial high command decided to remain in this star cluster. The Empire's plans are essentially threefold, which you can easily figure out yourself; there's no need to keep secrets or say it aloud. First, the Empire will vigorously develop its technology and military to counter the Virgo Fleet or any more powerful enemies it may encounter in the future. Second, it plans to establish a pan-interstellar alliance spanning the entire range of this star cluster. Imperial scientists believe that each civilization possesses its own unique wisdom, and the pan-interstellar alliance is a platform for the exchange and integration of technologies and military capabilities among various civilizations. To be honest, the Earth Empire seems to have encountered a major bottleneck in its technological development. Only by relying on the wisdom of various civilizations within the pan-interstellar alliance can the Empire's technology achieve significant advancement. Third, the Empire has already deployed numerous hyperspace oscillation detectors in this star cluster to constantly monitor intergalactic travel. Furthermore, the Empire has already dispatched two fleets to the Virgo Cluster to secretly reconnoiter the Virgo Fleet."

"The Pan-Interstellar Alliance—that's a good idea, but many civilizations, including ourselves, cannot travel across galaxies. Forgive my bluntness, but I doubt the Earth Empire would currently teach this technology to our Protoss or Sandstar races."

"Yes, it's probably not possible right now. The Earth Empire stipulates that if you want to acquire advanced technology from the Earth Empire, you must voluntarily join the Earth Empire, become a member or part of it, and swear allegiance to the Earth Empire and abide by its various systems and regulations. Joining the Earth Empire doesn't mean becoming a vassal state or anything like that. Once you join, everyone is equal. Ultimately, the Earth Empire maintains its vast existence through strength, honor, and upholding justice."

"Yes, you're right, we can clearly see that."

"Speaker, let me tell you, I was originally a princess of the Star Luo Empire in the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy. The Earth Empire saved me and took in many of my subordinates. Now, we Star Luo people have long been integrated into the Earth people." Princess Lefia revealed this secret to outsiders for the first time.

"Huh?! We thought you were a princess from the Earth Empire."

“I’m still the princess of the Earth Empire,” Lefia smiled. “They still call me princess.”

"Xingmate, you can decide this yourselves."

"Okay, Dean Zhou, we will consider it carefully."

"You don't need to be discouraged. Although the Empire's advanced technology, such as intergalactic navigation, will not be shared with outsiders, we can equip you with several intergalactic communication devices. Through these devices, members of the Pan-Interstellar Alliance can communicate and exchange information with each other in real time and clearly. Moreover, as long as you are a member of the Pan-Interstellar Alliance, we can dispatch spaceships or warships to pick up and drop off top scientists from alliance members to the Imperial Academy of Sciences for exchanges, learning, and advanced studies."

"This is quite good, but it seems you haven't gained anything from it?"

"Benefits? Well, they're all relative. We hope that scientists from alliance members will also participate in our scientific and technological and military weapons research at the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The more advanced a civilization's technology, the harder it is to tap into its potential. As I just mentioned, Imperial technology seems to have hit a bottleneck. We hope to leverage the strength of alliance members to improve our technology. Perhaps that's the benefit we're looking for."

“Dean Zhou, we understand. Thank you for telling us all this, and we are very grateful for your trust in us.” Xingmate, Xinglut, and the others knew that what Zhou Yuan said was almost entirely some of the secrets of the Earth Empire.

"The Earth Empire has always adhered to a policy of punishing evil and promoting good, and we naturally have our own set of standards for judgment. Just like your Protoss, I have high hopes for you and trust you completely. Of course, you should also understand some of the absurd things we have done, such as the gamma-ray burst in the Maguar globular cluster. The Earth Empire will absolutely not tolerate the existence of hostile forces that threaten the life and death of the Empire."

"This is natural; every civilization follows this pattern—the law of the jungle."

"By the way, I have some good news for you. The Imperial Academy of Sciences has made a breakthrough in your gene modification research. It is estimated that clinical trials can be implemented in seven or eight days. You need to discuss and decide on this collectively. Of course, you also need to provide some volunteers to participate in the gene modification clinical trials."

"Really? That's wonderful!" The leaders of the Protoss were overjoyed. The population problem that had been troubling and frustrating the Protoss seemed to have a solution.

"Dean Zhou, we don't know what to say, thank you so much."

"To be honest, these are all minor matters for us, especially since we are an alliance."

"However, not every advanced civilization is as generous and righteous as the Earth Empire."

"Oh, thank you."

"Dean Zhou, we would like to ask for your opinion. Do we, the Protoss, still need to disperse our planets? Since the Virgo Fleet's solar strike, every one of us Protoss has suffered mental anguish and self-examination." Xingmate seemed to be struggling internally, emanating a strong aura that Zhou Yuan clearly sensed. Although Zhou Yuan had guessed what was going on, he did not interrupt.

“Every one of us, the children of the gods, later pondered: if many of our compatriots die tragically, what is the point of us living alone? Later, we all reached a consensus: in the moment of life and death for our race, even if we die, even if we are exterminated, we should all die together!” The atmosphere seemed to intensify, and Xinglut and the other councilors emitted a certain kind of force field.

"Dean Zhou, as you know, our council naturally hopes to continue the race and cannot allow them all to die unnatural deaths. However, the will of the people cannot be defied. Therefore, our council would like to seek your opinion."

"Starmart, I understand. Our Earth Empire has also faced life-or-death moments, and none of us abandoned our fellow citizens. This is the will and cohesion of civilization. The will of the people is the will of the people, which is a great blessing for your race. I believe we should follow the will of the people and win their hearts. If you want to preserve the continuation of your race in critical moments, our Empire has a technology for replicating life forms, which can preserve the genes and consciousness of your race's outstanding individuals. Starmart, how about this? Our Empire has restored our fleet base in the old location where the original human planet city on Sand Star was three thousand light-years away. All of your Protoss planets can be moved to the vicinity of our fleet base, so that the Empire can take care of you."

"That's wonderful!" Xingmate and the others were overjoyed. This meeting was full of surprises.

"When will you be moving to the vicinity of the fleet base? How many planets are there? I need to inform George and the others to make some preparations."

"Seven days from now. There will be twenty-six planets."

"Okay. Shan, please inform the Seventh Fleet and have them contact George."

"Okay, Brother Zhou."

"The business is almost settled, Xingmat. We still need to go to the Sand Star Clan. We have a favor to ask; the three of us would like to revisit that beach from last time. You know, the Zerg raid on Planet City last time interrupted our plans."

"Okay, okay, we'll send people to protect you."

"No need, the three of us just want some peace and quiet. We can go by ourselves."

“Dean Zhou, the three of you are our saviors and lucky stars. We must take good care of you. Let’s send some warriors to protect you.” Xingmate, who was usually serious, seemed to be very happy and started joking.

“Xingmate, El is so beautiful, the three of us will be coming here to wander around often from now on.”

"That would be our honor."

"Alright, then thank you for your trouble, guard."

Xingmate and the others respectfully escorted the three out of the council sanctuary.

It was still those fifty high-ranking Templar guards, still that Protoss stormship carrying them, still the pristine beaches of Aiur.

This time, however, no one and nothing disturbed them, and the three of them played on the beach to their hearts' content, enjoying a rare sweet and warm moment.

The two beautiful women played wildly, constantly throwing Zhou Yuan into the sea. Sometimes Zhou Yuan would deliberately stay submerged and not come out, scaring the two women into quickly jumping into the water. The three of them then engaged in a sweet and playful entanglement in the water.

The sunset glow reflected on the sea, making it sparkle and glow red.