Chapter 326: CH

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.”

“With the absence of the other two, it has become irrelevant for us three,” Flexie said. He turned to look at the Elder of the Mountain Dwarf clan—the person who had started all of this to begin with—and paused.

Seeing Flexie’s gaze linger on him, the Elder felt a moment of bitterness, as if he could read the Grand Admiral’s mind. However, he didn’t comment on it; in fact, he didn’t dare to. He simply said, “I am with you all. Whatever you say, we Mountain Dwarves will follow as per our agreement and as allies—unlike the other two.”

Both Flexie and the representative from the Association looked at the Elder with skepticism clearly written on their faces. It was obvious they didn’t believe a word he said, and neither of them bothered to hide their expressions. The Mountain Dwarf Elder felt shame and bitterness building within him, but having no defense for his earlier cowardice, he remained silent.

Meanwhile, the representative from the Association turned to Flexie. That look told the Grand Admiral exactly what he needed to do: continue with his proposal.

Flexie, acknowledging the silent nod from the Association representative, continued, “Seeing that only the three of us remain, our combat ability is reduced by almost 40% at this moment with the pullback of both the Forger Guild and the Grand Elven Empire…”

“We can’t rely on a lowly race like the Minotaurs at all; they are being decimated as we speak. Though I am very much unwilling to fall back—which I consider running with my tail between my legs—it brings shame upon me and my family. But no matter what, it is what it is. The enemy’s strength, though not entirely unknown, is something we don’t have a full grasp upon.”

He paced the room, his voice growing lower. “We are treading upon a path that we have no idea about, with no reinforcements to speak of. So, it’s better that we leave this place for now and plan for something else, because we definitely can’t rely on those two factions as of now.”

“I don’t know whether both of you have noticed or not,” Flexie continued, his eyes narrowing, “but I did notice unusual behavior from Miss Arya. Something felt off. There is something that she knows—something she is hiding from us—and because of that, she was the first to withdraw. If I am thinking correctly, it is most likely related to the rumors about the Empress of the Grand Elven Empire looking for the Seer from the Asura Imperium…”

“Whatever it is, we can’t purely speculate, but there is something definitely going on with the Elves. Since we can’t rely on them, I propose that we deploy some resources to uncover exactly what that reason might be.”

In trying to diffuse the anger of the Association, Flexie attempted to deflect the topic toward something relevant and mysterious. While this didn’t entirely erase their fury, it successfully created a strategic diversion that eased the immediate pressure on himself and the current situation.

The representative from the Association, who had remained silent throughout this, finally nodded. “Now that you mention it, Admiral, the people from the Elven Empire were behaving weirdly. Their anxiousness was quite clear to see. I suppose the moment was just too intense for all of us to notice it at the time, but now that you’ve pointed it out… definitely, there was something off about them.”

He narrowed his eyes, the gears of his mind turning. “Indeed, we should deploy the necessary resources to get a hold of this. It might prove very useful for us as well….”

“But before that, I must say—just like you—I am very much unwilling to leave this place without the fruits of our labor in our hands. It brings me great shame to feel as though I am escaping for my life with my tail, which is to say my pride, between my legs,” the representative admitted, his voice dark.

“But reality is different from what I wish it to be, and I must accept it. Otherwise, I would only be feeding us to our enemies, who would pound at us happily. Let us fall back from this star system to somewhere we can regroup. We will reconnect with our forces, inform them of the situation, and ask for the reinforcements we so desperately need. If we want to achieve what we came here for, even though the cost has risen, it is still worth it. Well… those are my thoughts. The rest will depend on our forces and the higher-ups.”

Flexie and the Mountain Dwarf Elder both released sighs of relief upon hearing this. They readily nodded their heads, the Elder especially eager to agree.

“A good decision, my friend,” Flexie said as he stood up from his chair. The other two followed suit. Giving a respectful nod to each other, they turned and walked out of the chambers. The representative from the Association and the Elder of the Mountain Dwarves headed toward the hangar bay. From there, each boarded their ship along with their crew, issuing orders to their respective fleets to begin preparations for an immediate withdrawal from the Horn Star System.

Meanwhile, Flexie did the same on board his own flagship. Once the orders were sent, he moved toward his secure chamber to inform his Emperor about the developments—developments that were going against their plan and his will. He braced himself to bear the brunt of the Emperor’s fury, while also preparing for the worst possible outcome that might arise during the talk. Depending on that, he was ready to make a decision that suited his own agenda… especially if the Emperor’s rage threatened his personal interests.

Meanwhile, Kael—who had just launched from his flagship in his massive mecha, Dark Blade—was heading toward the battlefield when he was fed new information by the suit’s AI. The data stunned him for a moment.

However, after considering it, he realized it was actually for the best if they pulled back now; at least it removed an immediate headache from his plate. Dark Blade, sensing his pilot’s thoughts, couldn’t help but voice its opinion in surprise.

“You are letting them go just like that? Aren’t you going to prevent them from jumping out of this star system? They will only create more problems for our missions and future plans.”

Hearing this, Kael simply shook his head. “It’s not like that, Dark Blade. The thing is, even though we could definitely make them stay here forever… it wouldn’t benefit us. After all, the information about our attack on this system is already known. Even if we destroy these ’elite powers’…”

When Kael said “elite powers,” there was a sharp hint of sarcasm in his voice, as if he didn’t consider them to be elites at all. And indeed, that was the truth. To him, these so-called Tier One powers were just slightly more resourceful and powerful ants compared to the Minotaurs—pests that could be swept aside with ease if he truly wished it.

“I would rather not burn bridges with all of them; some could be of use to us and the Empire in the future. We shouldn’t give them the worst possible first impression of us,” Kael mused. “We are mighty, but we still have limitations. We are not yet omnipotent—especially now that resources from the Universal Domain have become so difficult to access. Every one of them presents challenges and hurdles we must cross, unlike in previous times when we could simply take whatever we found there.”

He adjusted his controls, his gaze fixed on the tactical display. “Ultimately, our conquest needs those resources, and we can only source them from the galaxy we are in now. So, if they are backing off, it is more of a blessing than a curse. It preserves our options; as of yet, there is no true hostility between us. The only thing intervening is our differing interests in this one place.”

As he spoke, he glanced back toward the Soul Regions, a few hundred light years behind them.

Hearing this, Dark Blade fell silent. Within the cockpit, its spiritual manifestation trembled slightly before it spoke. “If that is the case, then it is indeed viable to let them go. There is no need to create unnecessary strife. Our goal today is the Minotaurs, and we should focus on them alone.”

“Indeed. We should focus on what we came here for. Other things are unnecessary—at least, as long as they stay out of our way,” Kael said with a nod. He then pushed the thrusters of the Dark Blade to the limit, heading toward the Minotaur battle line, ready to let himself loose.

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