Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 107: Verbal Spar Against The Masses

The audience hall was over 10 meters tall and gave off a solemn atmosphere when one stepped inside. An old man with a crown on his head was sitting upright on a throne. His deep blue hair and eyes emanated the solemn dignity of a monarch. Without a doubt, this individual was King Xido.

Prince Toruse stepped forth and stood beside the king. To the left of the hall was a row of the kingdom's advisors while to the right were the Interstellar League's representatives. Seated at the head position among the league representatives was a tall Gliesen. He was most certainly Duke Yidon, the leader of the operation. In the row of league officials, I also saw Captain Angela. She was glaring at us furiously.

"Welcome, envoys, especially the warriors who had once helped Prince Toruse," said the king.

"Most Respected Majesty, hello. We come bearing Emperor Fille's aspiration for peace," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Fille's words can't be trusted. He is extremely ambitious and never keeps his word," an Eternal from the left row suddenly stood up and exclaimed in agitation.

"Principal Sosse, please calm down. Allow the envoy to finish talking," said the king.

"Emperor Fille has but a simple request. The Interstellar League's action of stationing a fleet at the empire's border can be easily construed as a provocation for war. If the league is willing to retreat from Akko, the empire is willing to come to an agreement with the league to preserve peace," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Who are you to tell the league what to do? You're a traitor. I propose that we arrest them immediately," shouted Captain Angela as she stood up as well.

"Brigadier General Angela, please watch your attitude and be mindful of your identity," berated an old man with a genial expression. From his stripes, he was a lieutenant general in the army.

"Yes, General. My apologies," said Angela. She still appeared unhappy, but there was nothing she could do but sit down since someone ranked higher than her had berated her.

"Thank you, Uncle Edward," said Zhang Xingxing.

'So that's General Edward? He looks much more reasonable than his daughter,' I thought.

"Children, I understand your circumstances and mission. It is still up to discussion whether what the league did to you was reasonable. Even now, you're doing all this in hopes of earning enough merit to return to the league. I am aware of all you have done," said Duke Yidon.

"Thank you, Duke Yidon. We're here for peace. Compared to peace, our personal affairs are nothing," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Good. You are a responsible young woman just like your father. Although I have only met him once, his strong sense of responsibility has given me a deep impression," said Duke Yidon.

"Thank you. However, my father is still missing to this day. He certainly isn't going to play any role in this peace we seek," said Zhang Xingxing. She seemed somewhat resentful toward her father as well.

"You can't say that. I understand your father. He has a reason for anything he does," said the duke.

"Let's stop talking about him. Emperor Fille has given us only seven days for this mission. We need to make haste and hammer out a peace deal. Otherwise, war might really break out," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Xingxing, you don't understand. It's not that we're unwilling to withdraw, but the Divine Empire is the side that has broken peace, aiming to conquer the Milky Way Galaxy," said Prince Toruse.

"The entire Milky Way Galaxy? Presently, most of the empire's territory remains within the Orion Constellation. Why do you make up such an atrocious lie?" retorted Tasse.

"Youngsters, let me tell you the truth," said Principal Sosse as he stood up.

"I'm listening," said Zhang Xingxing.

"After Emperor Fille IV inherited the throne, the empire has grown three times larger. A total of 78 nations have been annexed and 13 races have been eliminated. That is not all," said Principal Sosse.

"Eliminating 13 races? Just conquer them. Why eliminate them?" Zhang Bao'er muttered.

Everyone focused as the principal continued speaking.

"On the night of the New Age Festival, the emperor showed me an ambitious plan. He had decided to unify the entire Milky Way Galaxy within 10 years. His first target is the Interstellar League," said Principal Sosse.

"Conquering the entire Milky Way within 10 years? Is his army even strong enough to do that?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Yeah. That's a one-sided story from you. Do you have any proof? What if you're making things up?" asked Tasse.

"Excluding the Divine Empire's hidden military force, just what they have on paper is powerful enough. The emperor has 3,000 Milky Wayclass battleships under his command, three times what the Interstellar League has," said Principal Sosse.

"Three thousand battleships? Good heavens. That is too scary. I didn't expect the emperor to have such a powerful military," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er, who was standing behind me.

"You're an Eternal. Why did you betray your nation?" Old Du suddenly asked.

"Emperor Fille's clan had used unscrupulous methods to snatch power among Eternals. Not satisfied with that, he even intended to launch such a massive war. How many lives will be lost? I couldn't accept it. For life and for peace, I could only flee. This is not a betrayal. This is justice," said the principal.

'That fellow fills his mouth with so many facts, but we can't know if he's speaking the truth,' I thought. After my previous interaction with the emperor, I found myself increasingly skeptical of these politicians.

"Fools, let me show you something," said Captain Angela as she placed a projector on the ground.

A hologram appeared above the device: "88th order of the Divine Empire, deploy the army to Akko immediately. Annihilate all intruders from the Interstellar League, as decreed by His Majesty."

"What is the meaning of this? The league was the one to first intrude upon the empire's territory," said Zhang Xingxing.

"We had merely sent a small fleet of scouts led by Captain Jingan to follow the monster that Jupiter II had turned into," said Angela.

"An intrusion is an intrusion, yet you're still shamelessly lying about it? One could only imagine how shameless the Interstellar League is," said Tasse.

"What do you mean by intrusion? Akko was originally a free nation. Are you pretending that your emperor didn't conquer the planet with his military years ago?" countered Angela.

"Hehe, you? Talking about freedom? It's merely the empire's internal affair. If we follow your argument, don't forget that Blue was also conquered by Gliesens through force. In that case, you should be pointing your gun at that so-called duke, not His Majesty," sneered Tasse.

Angela found herself speechless, unable to muster up a retort. For some reason, I greatly approved of Tasse's words.

"Dear envoys, Angela is speaking the truth. Back then, my order was to wipe out the Interstellar League's fleet, which would only result in war. I was greatly troubled when I received the order," said King Xido.

"I also learned of the order at that time. If it is implemented, carnage will ensue. I could no longer watch on and decided to flee from the Imperial College. Instead of carrying out the order, I came here to advise the king," said Principal Sosse.

"Ridiculous. Respected King Xido, even if I don't question you about the authenticity of the so-called order, if you disagreed with it, why didn't you talk to the emperor about it? Why had you opted to outright betray the empire instead? That doesn't make sense," retorted Tasse.

'What a surprise. This fellow is quite an eloquent one,' I thought in admiration.

"Team Leader Xingxing, when I returned, I told my royal father to expel the Interstellar League for peace. But Royal Father said that according to the empire's laws, any act of betrayal will result in the termination of the royal dynasty. That leaves us with no choice but to take the extreme option," added Prince Toruse.

"You had indeed performed traitorous acts, but if you are willing to change your ways, I am willing to plead for leniency from His Majesty. We will write off your crimes with your contribution toward peace," said Tasse.

"Hmph. And how can you guarantee you're telling the truth? I reckon you will start your slaughter the moment we leave. King Xido is only doing this for peace and justice. There is no betrayal!" said Angela.

"Hehe. Miss, your double standards are quite strong. What King Xido did is not betrayal since he did it for justice. Our envoy, Lord Zhang Xingxing, also did what she did to save lives. Why does the Interstellar League consider her a traitor? Don't forget, the fugitive order was signed by none other than you," said Tasse.

'Oh my god. This fellow's eloquence is reaching the level of perfection. How can anyone argue against that?' I praised inwardly.

I could see that Zhang Xingxing and Zhang Bao'er were similarly pleased to see Angela humiliating herself.

"Seven days. You said the emperor gave you seven days?" asked General Edward.

"Yes, Uncle Edward. The emperor himself promised us that before we came," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Duke, can this be their ruse to confuse us?" Edward asked Duke Yidon.

"General, your suspicion is reasonable. We need to muster the army and be ready for battle," said the duke.

"Why are you making things so complicated? If you insist on thinking like this, there won't be any hope for peace," said Old Du.

"Dudal Homlu, both you and your father are loyal supporters of the league. I can immediately remove your wanted order. You may return and serve the fleet immediately," offered Duke Yidon.

'Here we go again. The wanted order for a Gliesen can be canceled so easily. What about us Bluelings?' I cursed inwardly.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Duke, but our team is a single entity. We will advance and retreat together. If you want to withdraw the wanted order for any of us, you will need to do it for all of us. Regardless, we are here today for a mission," said Old Du.

We all looked at Old Du in admiration. This was truly a unique Gliesen. Abruptly, a loud explosion sounded from the sky.