Deep down, he also wanted to get out of this place where unknown things were now at play… but he couldn’t escape from here. That is, he didn’t want to fail the ambitious Emperor who had placed his faith in him to achieve success. If the Emperor took this the wrong way, who knows? He might start plotting against him or even sideline him and his entire family. Not forgetting, this was a big opportunity for himself and his family, one he was unwilling to miss.

“Well, if any of these people…” Flexie eyed the others for a moment. “…make their move first, then I could have a perfect excuse to evacuate from here. I hope these people do just that.”

For a few minutes, the five of them constantly bickered with each other, not reaching a decision at all. The seats had become divided into two parts: the Elven Empire and the Forger Guild basically came together in support of backing out.

Meanwhile, Flexie and the Alchemy Association remained hell-bent on not backing out; instead, they wanted to fight it out!! The Alchemy Association even went as far as saying they would commit one of their Nova Fleets if they went through with this together.

This made everyone’s eyes gleam for a moment, but the Elven and Forger Guild representatives still maintained their standing. However, the Elder from the Mountain Dwarf clan began swaying to Flexie’s side, now that the momentum was shifting there…

After all, if the Alchemy Association really committed a Nova Fleet—a fleet made of tech that fundamentally utilizes natural mana to enhance its systems, thus projecting an advanced level of power over normal Tier One techs—it would mean that even if they suffer, they could still fundamentally protect themselves. Though, the point wasn’t clear: when could they expect that fleet to arrive at this location? Because of that, the Elder remained undecided even now.

He asked the question, “If what you say could be done, then I’ll be willing to stand with you and fight against those filth, like we are supposed to do as allies!! But the question is: when can we expect the reinforcements to arrive? If they were to arrive too late, it wouldn’t do us any good even if you pulled the Nova Fleet here, as we won’t be existing anymore—only flying debris would be left.”

The Mountain Dwarf Elder said this as he tapped the table with his fingers continuously while looking at the Alchemy Association representative… who was eyeing him with a neutral face, while internally he was cursing the old fool for being too sly.

He opened his mouth and said, “Rest assured, the reinforcements of the Nova Fleet…” But before he could even finish, he was stopped mid-sentence by none other than Arya, who had stood up from her chair.

Her face was morphed into an expression of pure frustration as she looked at them all—specifically Flexie and the representative from the Association. “I don’t know what is going on in your minds, and I can’t wait for you to reach a point that is ‘clear enough.’ This is but a waste of time, and time is something I’d rather not waste… especially with you fools playing around when you shouldn’t be.”

“Who cares if you are willing to deploy a Nova-level fleet?” Arya said as she eyed the Association representative before turning her face toward the Elder of the Dwarf clan. Before continuing, she added, “Well, I care not about you all or what you think…”

“From this moment onwards, seeing the uncertainty of the situation and the unknown strength of our adversary, we, the Elven Empire, pull ourselves from this place. We will only rejoin you if you provide us with a sufficient explanation about the lapse that happened here, as well as intelligence on the enemy fleet.”

With that said, Arya turned around and walked out with her subordinates, leaving the other four in a stunned state. But before she could walk out of the room, Flexie intervened and spoke in a loud voice.

“If you leave this chamber, that means you leave yourself and your empire out of the alliance! You also lose your claims to the Holy Region!!” he shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. This time, he let his aura run wild.

But Arya didn’t care about any of this; she didn’t turn around, nor did she stop her walk. She continued moving forward, and just as she was about to leave, her cool voice came back for everyone to hear: “So be it… if that is what you want, then I have no problem with it. See you all, gentlemen.”

With that, she walked away, leaving the room in silence.

“Damn the Elven Empire!” Flexie shouted in full anger. But if anyone could have read his inner thoughts, they would have been stunned and then would have applauded his acting—for it looked as real as it could possibly be.

(Good, good… finally someone with a brain did something helpful. Though the promise of a Nova-level fleet was great, as that old fool of the Dwarf clan said, who knows when the fleet will actually arrive and what our situation would be then? I’d rather run away than stay and fight only to lose my own personal fleet strength.)

Similar to him—at least in terms of visible anger—the representative of the Association was also fuming. He was so enraged that his body was shaking. “Good… good… good. Elven Empire, really good… You played your hand well, really well. But if you think you can come and go just like that and won’t bear the brunt of the consequences, then you are wrong! I will personally see to this and tell the higher authorities of the Association about your actions in our time of need!”

He vowed to take revenge for this moment on the Elven Empire, and he let the others hear it as well—telling them, in a way, that the same would happen to them all if they chose to back off.

But as if having no care for the threat—and even wanting to trample upon the Association—the Forger Guild representative stood up, looking at the other three calmly. “Well, gentlemen… I can’t help but agree with the Elven representative on this. Backing off is the right choice. Seeing as, even now, you all can’t come up with something proper, the Forger Guild will also back off from this operation. We will only join when things are clearer and more judgeable, not like now.”

While saying this, he specifically looked at the representative from the Association. Seeing that man’s face becoming pale, the Guild representative couldn’t help but smirk. “And yeah, people of the Star Empire… the Holy Region isn’t your toy that you can kick or add anyone to as you please. If you dare do the same with us, don’t think you will have easy days ahead. Now, if you will, gentlemen, I’ll leave. Goodbye to you all.”

With that, much like Arya, he walked out with calm, steady steps.

Unlike with Arya, no one stopped him, tried to talk to him, or sent warnings like Flexie did last time… for the Guild representative had already laid things bare. If anyone dared, they would definitely have to face the giant that is the Forger Guild.

Flexie was mindful of this; the Star Empire’s connection with the Forger Guild at this junction was very important. Not only do they supply spiritual weapons, but they also control much of the higher grades of material alloys needed to craft Tier One ships, mechs, and more… along with some rare technologies that are “must-haves” and can only be bought from them.

In a way, the backing and strength of the Forger Guild was superior to the Alchemy Guild, and he dared not offend them. But frankly, he wasn’t going to create a ruckus anyway…

The gloominess of the Alchemy Association representatives only increased at that moment, though they said nothing for now. Flexie and the old fool of a Dwarf could only guess the fury boiling within them. Flexie knew he couldn’t remain silent for long; he needed to speak, as it was expected of him.

He knew that at this point, staying here wasn’t worth it. With two powerful forces backing off, the chance of winning had reduced by more than 40 percent. He had to address the elephant in the room.

“Nothing can be done about it,” Flexie said, looking toward the people of the Association. “Our alliance wasn’t well-structured from the start; there were no clauses added to stop this from happening. But one thing is clear: we cannot stay here any longer.”

He had to address the elephant in the room.

“Nothing can be done about it,” Flexie said, looking toward the people of the Association. “Our alliance wasn’t well-structured from the start; there were no clauses added to stop this from happening. But one thing is clear: we cannot stay here any longer.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep