Cartabelli paused thoughtfully after closing the folder. “It seems like their insect tides are more frequent.”
Insects had a unique trait of propagating intensely between dormant periods. Even hives nowhere near human civilization would eventually come into conflict, aka the insect tide. The Insect Plague was a much rare phenomenon occurring on a massive scale.
The adjutant nodded. “Their methods for dealing with the tides differ greatly from us. They use centralized disposal to end the tide ASAP. In addition, they use psychic power weapons to directly kill 5he king insects using technical skill instead of via proxies like mecha.
The method beggared the imagination. While it was theoretically possible, it was still a hard pill to swallow. How can basically unarmored humans take out king insects that can kill them with a swipe?
It’s common knowledge that king insects can easily cut through most metals.
Despite that, they would still use a method like centralized disposal to deal with the long insects. It hard to imagine the terrifying density of king insects on site.
The adjutant couldn’t help but think back to that young Grantz facing off against five king insects. The real deal would be even more numerous. “There are no relevant videos on the galactic network. If only we can see firsthand…”
Cartabelli nodded with a stern expression. He sighed, “What an astonishing combat style…”
He breathed a sigh of relief that not everyone here was as terrifying as the Grantz. “Despite their prowess, the Plague will be troublesome for even them.”
Saying that, they both knew Grantz was not to be underestimated. Their military also held quite the reputation.
He looked up at the adjutant. “The Federation will be here any day now. We must focus on establishing cooperation with as many nations as possible. The stipulations can be relaxed further.”
“But Sir, that could bring us below the baseline we previously established.”
“There should be room after sending word back about the Grantz. Time is of the essence. Focus on our task. Even if we don’t reach a cooperation, try not to make any enemies.”
The adjutant nodded. “Understood.”
Cartabelli pinched his brows. He looked tired. “Also, clear out any insects within the Exile Sectors. It will make movement easier and demonstrate sincerity on our part.”
The adjutant made a sound of acknowledgement.
What was once a simple mission to gather influence before the Federation could grew more complicated by the day…
“The Empire is also requesting progress updates and intel.
The adjutant said in a self-mocking tone, “Everyone back home must think everything’s going smoothly over here.”
The adjutant used special information transmission methods to transmit Intel back to their homeworld. The people on this side were referred to as the Remnants. Their existence has been a hot topic of discussion ever since their discovery. They thought the Remnants had perished already. Even the most advanced supercomputers indicated the odds of survival under those circumstances was near zero.
Therefore, the transmission from the Remnants captivated the attention of the entire nation.
The citizens of the Empire not in the know mostly talked about how to rescue the Remnants from their insect-infested lands. They celebrated the possibility of obtaining more resources and wondered if there were any specialities or tourism opportunities on the other side.
Cartabelli raised his head. “Lock down information about Grantz within the Empire for now. It must not leak before the Federation finds out.”
The adjutant nodded before leaving, soundlessly closing the door behind him.
“Large fleets are gathering at the galactic boundary lately, slowly coming to a stop behind a small planetary belt, indicated by the marker…”
Faceless turned the TV off. He glanced at 03 on the sofa. 03 crunched his lollipop. Before Faceless could speak, he said, “It probably isn’t them. Their second batch has moved to the Exile Sectors already.”
03 was talking about Cartabelli’s faction.
Faceless and the others have already moved from the base at the galactic boundary to the Exile Sectors. They had a lot more freedom here.
At least this wretched place had good internet. When shipments came late to the galactic boundary, they had nothing to eat but nutrient fluid.
“Maybe it’s their archnemesis. The Federation or something. Seems like things aren’t peaceful over their either.”
03 recalled their reaction to an undisputed authority like Grantz, meaning they had competition where they came from.
Faceless frowned.
The changes in power dynamics mad ehim fall into thought. 03 couldn’t care less. He was even gleeful. “Them being there isn’t bad. They can slow down the Plague when it comes.”
“Speaking of, they seem to want to clear the Exile Sectors of insects and make the progress public.”
Faceless knew this already. They moved quickly.
Faceless glanced down and turned on his holomind.
The galactic network was already rice with discussion.
[The signs were there already. It makes sense. The insects will propagate single mindedly during the Plague, and the chance of king insects being born rises considerably. Clearing the insects in the Exile Sectors will greatly ease the pressure on that front.]
[Doesn’t Grantz go to clear the area in their spare time? The local powers do too. However, Grantz is limited by distance and their own issues while the local powers are too weak. It’s common knowledge that Level S psychics have a good chance of taking down king insects, but the Exile Sectors have none.]
[Grantz can rest easier now. Isn’t their goal to get more ore and other resources? In that case, there’s no harm in doing business with them. It just comes down to the terms. Maybe an exchange of resources for technologies can take place.]
[I doubt things will go that smoothly. It is good that they’re cleaning out the Exile Sectors, but I’m still not in favour of cooperating with them. The terms they shared before were exploitative, pure and simple. If Grantz was the one offering the deal, I would want my country to immediately capitulate.]
[The citizens of those countries that picked a bone with the Grantz only to forfeit territory to them have probably forgotten their roots already. I’m kind of envious to be honest.]
[Am I the only one thinking His Majesty Bert will have nothing to do the next time he gets kicked out now?]
[Actually, I think the Exile Sectors will be cleared out if His Majesty Bert makes His Little Highness cry a few more times.]
There were varied opinions on even this issue.
But a flood of videos of variable quality were popping up. Most of them were uploaded by natives of the Exile Sectors.
Mecha in formation launched from gigantic motherships, heading full speed towards infested planets all over the galaxy.
After exterminating all insect life, the mecha gradually returned to mothership.
[I kept count. The numbers match up too. According to footage and feedback from local residents, the carcasses of the king insects were left outside of their hives. Once the remaining insects are taken care of, the planets will be habitable again.]
[They managed to get the king insects? Their mecha can face of directly against them? I’m even more intrigued by the technology now.]
[The returning mecha have obvious signs of damage. No wonder they’re hungry for ore with this rate of turnover. Seems quite costly and a bit slow, but it feels safer, ah. By killing king insects this way, fewer of our soldiers need to sacrifice themselves…]
[Hey, what would happen if a Grantz was in the pilot seat of one of these mecha?]
[The Grantz are the pinnacle of Level S psychics, ah. Maybe they can control an entire squadron of mecha at once.]
[That makes sense. I remember Prince Jacob controlling a fleet and the mecha stationed on it out of boredom once. Emperor Norton often controls an entire unmanned fleet at the insect tide frontlines, right? It’s unlocked based on their numbers that all the pilots are Level A and above. Level B or C should be the threshold.
Based on that, the Grantz have a good chance of being able to control an entire squadron. If only we knew the exact piloting requirements. In theory, the lower the threshold, the more that can be controlled at once.]
