Chapter 736: Chapter 613: If it weren’t for you, we would have been almost cheated!
From the inexplicable message from the exploration fleet of a millennium ago to the defeat and capture in the interstellar war, and then to entering this satellite prison, all the oddities that baffled them were explained in an instant.
There are numerous civilizations in the universe, each emerging from different environments for survival and evolution, so it’s not uncommon to encounter civilizations with high moral standing.
Some powerful civilizations possess extremely advanced technology and never worry about precious energy resources. They don’t need to expand outward to amass rare elements, instead preferring to maintain order in a region over aggressive conquests and slaughter made possible by technological superiority.
The civilization they faced this time might meet the mark technologically, but morally, it was another oddity.
The magistrate suspected that the main intelligent species of the Magic Empire preferred peace over war due to their abundant materials and long period of stability. However, the upper echelons apparently thought otherwise, resulting in such a unique defensive and counterattack strategy!
If the enemy initiated the attack, then the war and judgment against the evil invaders would be justified, and that was the purpose of the bait!
The more the magistrate thought about it, the colder he felt inside, but fortunately, it wasn’t all bad news. At least without solid justification, the other party probably wouldn’t launch a large-scale invasion against the geometric civilization.
“So, were you also lured here by this bait?” the magistrate asked, looking at the fellow prisoner from the Light tribe, feeling a sense of camaraderie in their shared plight.
“No, in fact, I’m a leader of an interstellar mercenary group. I was tasked to rescue some serious criminals held in this satellite prison. Because of previous agreements, I’m not at liberty to disclose more, but as for the outcome… well, you can see for yourself,” replied the Light tribesman, releasing a long sigh. Although he didn’t share the details, everything was clear without being spoken.
The Geometrics couldn’t help but feel sympathy; no wonder the Light tribesman had warned them how deceptively dangerous the prison appeared—it was based on his own direct experiences.
After mutually denouncing the Magic Empire’s deceitful tactics, their relationship instantly grew closer. Despite the outward show of friendliness, both sides harbored their own motives, each trying to glean more information from the other.
The Light tribesman mostly talked about various ‘settings’ related to the Magic Empire, only occasionally mentioning his experiences as an interstellar mercenary before his capture, boasting of his once-great reputation. Still, the exaggeration was quite apparent to everyone.
Meanwhile, the Geometrics shared basic information about the current star system without any intention of concealment, maybe because they considered such low-level intelligence of no value. However, that was exactly what the Parliament was lacking.
By the end of the negotiation, the Light tribesman made a point to remind the Geometrics that after their defeat in the war, the enemy would likely make outrageous demands, creating a pretext of weakness that the Geometrics might see as a chance for battle, in order to take over the entire star domain.
The magistrate agreed wholeheartedly, now wary of falling for superficial deceptions after becoming aware of the other side’s cunning tactics.
While they were in discussion, within the capital city of the Magic Kingdom on Eternal Star, senior members and speakers of the council were observing the satellite prison through Projection Magic.
Seeing that their deception had taken full effect, Aurora couldn’t help but laugh and commented, “These extraterrestrial civilizations are too easily fooled, aren’t they?”
“They just don’t understand magic, that’s all!” Lynn shook his head. The ‘advanced technology’ they had shown was genuine, but it took the previous war to lay the groundwork for such an effective deception.
This attempt to extract intelligence from the prisoners was undoubtedly very successful, not only explaining why this star system was ‘backward’ but also gaining information without raising any alarms.
According to the Geometrics, there were fifteen civilizations in this galaxy capable of interstellar travel, with three Level 6 civilizations that matched their strength. Due to similar technology levels, the overall situation was relatively peaceful.
It couldn’t be helped—the galaxy was simply too vast, with diameters reaching hundreds of thousands of light-years, meaning light itself would take that long to travel from one side to the other. Without wormhole technology, a civilization might never cross the entire star system from its birth to its demise.
“What should we demand as reparation that would be more appropriate?” Vittorio pondered aloud.
This was undoubtedly a rare opportunity, as a star system-level civilization held many technologies they needed. But they certainly couldn’t ask for these lower-end technologies directly, as it might arouse suspicion.
“Perhaps we could demand an entire star system!” suggested Harrov. With the actual objects, they could use material analysis magic to decode and replicate the technology—another advantage of magic.
The other speakers, however, were concerned about whether the other party would agree, as a whole star system, after all, included a sun and several modified planets and had not previously been considered tradable commodities.
“Just one star system shouldn’t be a problem,” Lynn said confidently. The star systems under Geometric control were exceedingly vast, and there were hundreds of connected points of light when the Quantum Entanglement message was sent.
Lynn even felt they were asking too little. Since they had already told the other side about their high demands, they had to demand even more to follow through.
The broken window theory should be quite effective on most intelligent species.
During the search of those Geometric memories, one thing, in particular, caught Lynn’s interest: the so-called Element Seven.
It was this peculiar element that allowed the Geometrics to leap technologically and become one of the most powerful civilizations in the star system.
After several hours of deliberation, the terms of reparation were officially set: five star systems, one hundred active warships, and ten thousand tons of Element Seven!
When this message was relayed back to their homeworld, the leaders of the Geometric civilization were outrageously angry. The terms were considered humiliating, and Element Seven was the cornerstone of their power, not to be easily relinquished!
Many of the disc leaders believed they were far from defeated in the previous star system war. Although they lost over fifty of their most advanced interstellar warships, they had also destroyed the high-dimensional biological weapons dispatched by the other side. Formally speaking, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to claim that the battle was evenly matched…