This was achievable. This would finally free their hands from these unreasonable people. They didn’t wonder about the risks, knowing full well their own advantages. Even if these people somehow managed to rise up—which they were sure wouldn’t happen, especially if the infamous Imperial Commander Kallus had suggested this—they didn’t need to worry.

“Brilliant, my friend! Brilliant!” David exclaimed, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. “Indeed, this can be done! We just need to grandly propagate this in the ears of the people below. They will definitely accept! After all, what is grander? Ruling over a small piece of land, or ruling over an entire planet—an entire star system?”

“Exactly!” Jiang Wu added. “Don’t they want power? These people are greedy for it, and this offer is incredibly lucrative. They don’t have any long-term perspective, so they will definitely be satisfied with this. It is acceptable!”

“So? May I assume I have your agreement, my friends?” Maximus asked with a smirk. Seeing their reactions, he already knew the plan was viable.

It was a logistical nightmare, of course—transporting a billion people was no joke, especially to a far-away star system. But as he had mentioned, they had already built several transportation ships.

Two more would finish construction the next day, with their sea trials scheduled for the day after that. Furthermore, the Star Fleet was currently constructing something called a Star Gate, which he heard would be completed and ready for use in about three days.

The Gate wasn’t something they officially had permission to use yet, but Maximus believed he could bypass those restrictions using his connections.

If he was right about the Imperial Commander’s intentions, the man must have set all of this up in advance. Maximus only needed to approach the Void Fleet Embassy to get everything sorted.

Looking at the timeline, Maximus calculated that the entire crisis should be dealt with easily in no more than ten to fifteen days.

Maximus stopped his racing thoughts for a moment and looked down at the chaos below. Vane and the others were a second away from climbing onto the council tables, only prevented from doing so by the line of guards.

But that didn’t stop them from slamming their hands on the wood and barking at the seven Domain Governors.

The governors, though more composed, didn’t back down an inch. They fought back with their own words, their voices echoing through the chamber.

This will work… if these people accept what I have in mind, Maximus thought. But they should, if I’m right about them and their intentions. In fact, a conflict among themselves probably isn’t far away. He smirked at the thought of the greedy lords turning on one another once they were isolated.

“Absolutely, Maximus! You have my agreement!” Donvas, who had finally processed the entire plan, was the first to nod in approval. “Though, as you said, it will delay us—but not by more than a few days. That is perfectly acceptable!”

“Just as Donvas said! The loss of time and money is acceptable,” David agreed. He said the word ‘ourselves’ with a hint of disgust; internally, he admitted it was getting harder and harder to associate with those people.

“We avoid causing mass death and ruining the Federation’s reputation among the people at this critical stage. Even though many—if not the majority—are with us right now, it is only because of the boundless prospects they see for their future. It is something they don’t want to miss out on, and something we don’t want them to lose, either.

“But human nature is complex,” David continued, his tone turning grave. “At the end of the day, common people are full of compassion. They wouldn’t be able to bear the sight of a massacre; they would treat us as inhuman. We have to consider this: while the Federation is the ruling authority and has the power to implement the law of the land, we still serve the people. We are here for them, and them alone!

“If, at this point, they feel threatened and consider us overbearing… would the Federation truly last? A seed of doubt, given enough time, can be fatal.”

David ended with a heavy sigh of relief. He was profoundly glad that a bloody conflict was no longer the course they were heading toward.

“Thankfully, we are no longer heading in that direction. It would have been the end before things even truly started,” Jiang Wu said. “We all have our own interests in the Federation’s lasting development. It wouldn’t end well for us if something disastrous happened in the future because of our shortsightedness today. After all, while it is necessary to clear out this bunch—since they’ve already gone rogue and cannot be kept—who knows what would become of them if we let this continue? What kind of drama would they create then? They have to be dealt with.

“Now that Maximus has provided us with a ‘medicine’ for this disease, I have to say: I am thankful to you and your connections, my friend,” Jiang Wu added.

“Yes! You have our thanks, Maximus,” David chimed in. He started to say, “You could have kept this—” but his emotional mask slipped, and he looked momentarily flustered. He had been putting on an act, but he gave himself away. “Who would even want to keep such a useless star system on their hands? That was a load of bull, and we all know it!”

Despite the teasing, David knew that if Maximus had tried to keep the information to himself, he would have likely lost his “good relationship” with the Imperial Commander—assuming this was all part of Kallus’s broader plan. It was clear to David, and he suspected Donvas and Jiang Wu felt the same: how could one man be powerful enough to predict the future so far in advance?

The mystery surrounding Kallus grew even deeper in their hearts. They were all left with the same chilling thought: Was this exactly what he predicted to happen?

“If that is the case, they are literally floored!”

Maximus stood up, a wide grin spreading across his face. “So, shall I have the honor of ending this once and for all, my friends? With your permission, of course?”

Looking at his grin, the others just shook their heads. They knew this guy wouldn’t take no for an answer, so they might as well play along. The three looked at each other, momentarily speechless.

“Sure, go ahead. We have no interest in encroaching upon your idea,” the three of them said, a heavy hint of sarcasm in their voices. With that settled, they leaned back to watch the drama unfold.

Maximus smiled at their agreement and nodded. He then turned toward Bai Zenmi. “And what about you, Lord Bai? I assume you also have no problem with this?”

Bai Zenmi, who had his eyes closed—leading everyone to think he was asleep—casually opened one eye. He looked at Maximus and smiled. “Of course, you can go ahead, Lord Maximus. I have no issue with it at all.” He quickly closed his eye again, though not before looking Maximus up and down with a knowing glint.

“Then I’ll be shameless, since you are all pushing me so hard…” Maximus said, his voice dripping with fake reluctance. “I’ll go ahead and end this, albeit a bit regretfully and under duress.”

Maximus was being exactly as shameless as he promised—though his “performance” wasn’t for the audience below, but for his fellow leaders. All four of them felt their mouths twitch, their expressions darkening slightly at his absolute gall. Even Bai Zenmi’s composure slipped.

Internally, they all cursed him: Damn you, who forced you? If you don’t want to do it, just say so! We’ll gladly do the job! What is there to regret? You shameless person… you truly have no shame at all! Hmph!

The others were infuriated by Maximus’s display, but they were helpless. They could only watch, not daring to intervene—after all, they didn’t know how much more he would “thicken his skin” if they challenged him.

Jiang Wu leaned toward David and whispered silently, “This guy is becoming more and more shameless. It’s hard to believe he was once the dignified emperor of a thousand-year-old empire!”

Jiang Wu leaned toward David and whispered silently, “This guy is becoming more and more shameless. It’s hard to believe he was once the dignified emperor of a thousand-year-old empire!”

“Indeed. That royalty he once possessed—the royal aura around him—is still there, but it has diminished compared to before. The contrast is stark,” David replied, watching Maximus as he rose from his seat with a slightly strange, smug energy.

Donvas, who had heard all of this, felt his mouth twitch. He let out a light cough. “Well… people change. The times around us are constantly shifting, and at a faster pace than ever before. Maybe this ‘shameless’ version of Maximus is just his way of catching up with the rapid development and demands of the current age—and the future as well.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep