Soumia's workload had increased significantly once again, filling every hour of his day.
In truth, it wasn't that he couldn't work faster.
However, as the recipient of orders, he had to weigh many matters carefully, and his mind was often cluttered with stray thoughts.
If he could eliminate those, his actions would likely be more than twice as fast.
This kind of stagnation is common within corporate structures.
Low employee efficiency is often the result of superiors failing to foster a sense of involvement in their tasks, or not allowing employees to make their own decisions within the larger project.
A good superior achieves this from the start.
But Soumia's predicament didn't stem from Luna being an incompetent leader; rather, his workload was simply immense. Moreover, he was taking over a complete system; trying to think outside the box while within a mature workflow inevitably leads to getting bogged down.
Soumia prioritized performing better over being more efficient.
However, as time passed, his elite nature meant his efficiency began to climb steadily.
Yet, that wasn't what Soumia felt most deeply.
What truly commanded his entire attention was the nature of the work itself.
As a secretary, he inevitably came into contact with a vast amount of information.
Through this data, he caught a glimpse of a tiny fraction of Luna's plan.
He had originally thought Luna's intent was simply to hold the Feuae star system defensively, perhaps continuing to toy with or deceive the Glolo Golden Fleet as she had before.
But that wasn't it.
Luna's objective had never been the external threat.
It was internal.
Following the tasks Luna had assigned him and through his observations of the other officers, he had discovered some troubling signs.
For instance, the vast majority of the officers didn't truly believe they could win this war. As time dragged on, their thoughts leaned even further in that direction.
They believed Luna was merely making a desperate, final struggle.
In their minds, from the moment she launched the war, Luna's goal had been to save Rusty as best she could.
As reactive characters, any crazy moves they made seemed logical, but being crazy didn't equate to victory; it only offered a glimmer of hope.
These officers weren't willing to bet their lives on a single sliver of chance.
Therefore, they were attempting to contact Glolo.
Betrayal.
Soumia felt the tragedy of these people.
They had no faith.
They only cared for their own interests.
As a Generation 6, having clawed his way up from the bottom, Soumia held onto his own beliefs: he believed his origins could not limit his growth.
Thus, he had never hidden his identity, nor had he pursued the chance to replace his body.
He was both humble and proud.
Humans are naturally contradictory entities; that was of no concern.
However, Soumia despised those who harbored thoughts of betrayal. He believed that if those at the top hadn't given up, then those below had no right to such thoughts; if they did, they shouldn't exist at all.
So, he handed all the data on these individuals over to Luna.
But to his confusion, Luna didn't replace them. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to disrupt personnel during such an unstable time.
The Strategos always had far-reaching insights.
The Strategos also never looked down on anyone because of their status.
As a Generation 6, he had faced countless instances of discrimination throughout his life. Before being selected as secretary, his colleagues had discussed several top candidates; despite his own outstanding abilities, no one thought he stood a chance.
Yet, in reality, Luna had chosen him without hesitation, giving no one else a chance to compete.
For Soumia, this was a life-altering redemption.
Previously, he had been insecure about his status, believing himself to be inferior.
But now he saw clearly: he wasn't inferior. It was those who considered him lowly who were truly inferior. A truly superior person doesn't care about such things as status.
It wasn't necessary; their sense of superiority wasn't expressed by looking down on others.
Though Soumia had only been with Luna for a short time, he felt he loved her.
Unfortunately, word was the Strategos wasn't someone who accepted romance. Fortunately, neither was he, in the past, anyway. He could only accept someone as perfect as Luna.
"How pathetic, Soumia," he praised his own self-loathing internally.
"But if it's for the Strategos, what's so bad about being pathetic?"
"Her legend continues, and this time, perhaps I can become a supporting character in a new chapter."
Soumia admitted this was the first time his fantasies had given him such a peak sense of euphoria. Although it hadn't even begun, Soumia was already imagining it: the most brilliant moment of his life might be born right here.
He was indulging in fantasies, but Luna was the one who gave him the hope to do so.
He became even more dedicated to his duties.
...
Four months later.
While walking through the usual corridor, he received a transmission from Luna.
"I'm coming immediately!"
He hurried toward Luna's office.
The door opened, and he stepped inside.
As always, Luna was focused, scanning through data while surrounded by a dozen screens constantly updating content.
"You must have seen it: enemy movements are frequent. This means the Golden Fleet has begun to move."
"We can't actually wait three years to react. You've done well over these past few months. I have a mission for you: destroy planet a."
Luna's voice was like an intoxicating melody, causing Soumia to freeze in his tracks.
He knew a vast amount of information, pieces that hadn't quite fit together before, but now, everything was connecting.
So that was it.
"I'll see to it immediately."
"Is there anything specific I should do?"
"Should the particle matter from the stellar explosion be projected in a particular direction?"
He inquired.
Glolo didn't want to destroy the Feuae star system because of the resulting damage.
But they were doing it, because for them, what mattered was the Feuae system's strategic position, not the system itself.
No one had considered this, but it was as if Luna had harbored the idea from the very beginning.
Destroying a star would create numerous opportunities for them.
For example, the surrounding probes absolutely couldn't withstand the energy pulse from a stellar explosion; as precision instruments, the high-energy surge would cause them to fail.
But this was only the first step of Luna's plan. What came next was the true focus.
Soumia had some ideas, but he still couldn't see the full picture.
He left to relay the orders.
First, he ordered every ship stationed at planet a to retreat. Then, he located the blueprints for a stellar weapon on the warship and ordered its construction, after all, these were evasion ships, and they wouldn't normally carry stellar-class weaponry.
After he gave the order, the crew informed him that Luna had already instructed them to do so months ago.
He only needed to use what was already prepared.
Clearly, this wasn't some impulsive decision.
"Detonate it. Now!"
"..."
"Planet a has been destroyed. The explosive energy will reach our fleet in approximately two months and will arrive here in nearly four months."
Soumia reported the results of the mission to Luna.
He was unexpectedly calm.
He had just destroyed a star.
He had never imagined he would be the one to order the destruction of a star.
It was a star, an eternal celestial body!
A star itself was a source of immense energy; this was like an ordinary person suddenly deciding to push the button to launch an atomic bomb.
"Well done."
Luna briefly praised Soumia.
She was never stingy with her praise, as it made her subordinates work harder, especially those who required validation. After all, praise costs nothing, so why not offer it constantly?
"This was all prepared by the Strategos; I merely followed the plan," Soumia felt he didn't deserve such praise, this was Luna's praise, after all.
"Not everyone knows how to execute a well-laid plan. Your contribution is yours alone."
"Next, launch some craft toward the Silver Fleet."
Luna's orders were often this simple and direct, and Soumia quickly carried them out.
...
Golden Fleet.
Helens had brought the Golden Fleet's energy reserves to 100%.
Simati had wanted to depart at 80%, but Helens believed they weren't lacking for time. Although time was more precious for them than for the opponent, Helens felt it was foolish to enter a war without being fully prepared.
And as expected, the situation was not going to be easy.
They observed the explosion of Star a.
A fierce storm of stellar matter rapidly swept in all directions. This wasn't a typical explosion; the core did not reform into a stellar remnant, meaning the amount of matter ejected was massive.
The stellar explosion even affected the other two stars in the Feuae star system, and quite violently at that, but the Rusty forces didn't care.
If these stellar winds aren't dealt with quickly, they will severely impact the surrounding star systems. The most critical impact, of course, was on the probes.
The probes lacked high-speed mobility; their movement was limited to ten or twenty kilometers per second. However, because their coverage was so vast, they generally didn't need much movement.
This meant the ejected stellar matter would destroy these probes.
They could be rebuilt if destroyed, but the current war was what mattered most, and the probes played a vital role in it.
"We've become blind!"
Simati's words reflected his panic over the situation.
"What do you think Rusty's next move will be?" Helens asked him.
Simati realized the implications in an instant.
"Conceal their warships, launch a lightning strike against us, destroy the Silver Fleet, we will lose our numerical advantage and will no longer be able to surround them."
The probes had indeed surrounded the Rusty fleet, but they lacked significant offensive capabilities, making that encirclement less meaningful. Only a fleet-based encirclement was a true one, capable of pinning the opponent down.
"So should we go to reinforce the Silver Fleet now?"
"Would deploying just 1,000 warships be enough? Because they could also be using this as bait."
Simati believed they shouldn't commit the entire army.
Helens completely agreed with his approach.
"But we cannot afford the losses, or rather, the higher-ups will not tolerate them."
"If we act this way, then the subsequent events will no longer be under our control."
Helens did not participate in politics, which meant he was inevitably constrained by it. If he dared to be too aggressive, politics would drag him into the abyss, as it would conflict with political interests.
In fact, Simati understood these things even better than Helens, as he hadn't originally come from the military.
"Therefore, we must go."
If they didn't, and both the 1,000 warships and the Silver Fleet suffered losses, they might be able to ignore orders from the field, but their hands would still be tied eventually.
The higher-ups wouldn't understand the difficulty of this campaign; in their eyes, 20,000 warships taking down 200,000 ships should be easy.
With Helens bringing it up, the situation became difficult.
"If Rusty sees this, then the attack on the Silver Fleet must be a feint."
Simati still wanted to argue his point.
But he wasn't in Helens' position; Helens had many things to consider.
"The opponent is clever. We're going to be delayed for another year or so, but it's fine; it's just a few minor tricks. The longer it stretches, the better it might be for us, actually."
"While we don't have spies within Rusty, the inferiority complex of being a small nation still exists in the bones of those officers. Dispatch a probe to broadcast a message, offer them a path to surrender without being killed. Spend some money; toss 100 million Energy Credits into their star system to show them we're serious."
Even if this didn't recruit traitors from within the enemy's ranks, it would sow discord among them.
Simati's eyes brightened, and he immediately assigned a few people to the task.
Only after they had discussed the entire matter did they receive word from the Silver Fleet about the discovery of unknown approaching objects.
Scanning was useless; the enemy used evasion-type ships that could hide perfectly.
The Silver Fleet's message was frantic, as they already knew the outcome of the battles in the Lican Sector, where they hadn't fared well against Rusty's Tier 2 fleet.
This had completely eroded their sense of superiority, and the fact that the Golden Fleet had been deployed for so long without defeating Rusty's Tier 1 fleet added to their fear.
In reality, they had already amassed over 100,000 ships; in a direct confrontation with the Rusty fleet, they could likely hold their own for a while.
Helens and Simati didn't believe the Silver Fleet would break, but they assumed Rusty would take a bite and flee, inflicting heavy losses.
A long-term conflict was the only way the Silver Fleet could hold an advantage over Rusty's evasion ships; it wouldn't work in a short-term engagement.
"We've lost intelligence on the enemy, but the enemy might not have intelligence on us either. Admiral, I believe we can use this opportunity to launch another ambush against Rusty."
"Our goal should simply be to inflict losses. The greater their casualties, the smaller their chance of turning things around. We destroyed over a thousand of their ships last time; this time, we launch an all-out attack instead of just seizing the star, to maximize our gains."
Simati still had a few clever tricks up his sleeve.
Helens considered it and agreed it was feasible.
"Once we rendezvous with the Silver Fleet, we'll do just that!"
...
Godard Stellar Council.
Initially, everyone was focused on the war at the front lines.
But the atmosphere in the council had changed. Hua'a felt a lingering, intangible gaze on him.
"Is everyone watching me?"
Hua'a had an ill-omened premonition.
Haoifa kept a close watch on those around him and confirmed that many were indeed looking their way, with distinct ill intent.
"Boss, I think we should leave."
He cautioned Hua'a.
Hua'a rose from his seat, intending to depart.
The council chamber was vast; a few individuals leaving was usually inconsequential, especially for a merchant like himself.
However, Naminko, seated at the front, suddenly spoke: "Hua'a, is there a problem?"
He seemed to assume Hua'a had stood up to speak.
But the moment Hua'a met his gaze, he knew: Naminko was speaking to draw everyone's attention and keep him in place.
Something must have happened outside.
Hua'a shook his head and said, "No, Mr. Chairman. I just received a message from the company. Although I've silenced it several times, the notifications keep coming. I believe something significant has happened at the office, and I need to step out for a moment."
He tried to be as tactful as possible.
But Naminko had no intention of letting him go.
"Could company matters possibly be more important than the Star Nation?"
"This is a critical moment, Hua'a."
"What we discuss here is directly linked to your company's survival. The war is about to begin; the Golden Fleet will depart to neutralize the Rusty fleet."
"It won't be too late to handle company internal matters then."
Faced with this, Hua'a had no choice but to sit back down.
He couldn't exactly say his company was more important than the Star Nation.
But as he sat, he felt as if he were on a bed of nails.
With a single look, he signaled Haoifa to contact the outside world; he had to know what the current situation was.
Haoifa understood and immediately headed out.
No one stopped him this time.
However, the moment Haoifa stepped out the door, he was surrounded. He tried to resist but found that the area was under an electromagnetic field dampener; the mecha and quark-bots within his body couldn't activate, and even his communication devices were dead.
He tried to activate his gene pool, but there was no way to supply the high energy required for the genetic shift.
This kind of dampening was ineffective against biological flesh.
Several massive guards, nearly six meters tall, subdued him in an instant.
However, Haoifa didn't panic excessively. Instead, he asked jokingly, "Whose men are you?"
"Is there some misunderstanding here?"
The guards escorted him away from the council chamber.
When he saw the insignia on the atmospheric shuttle parked outside, Haoifa knew he was in trouble.
The insignia was a shield with thorns.
The Star Nation's Special Rear-guard Unit.
Also known as the Special Security Bureau.
If they caught you, it was never for something minor.
He boarded the atmospheric shuttle.
A person was standing inside.
Haoifa recognized him at a glance.
A captain from the Special Security Bureau.
Despite only being a captain, his rank carried immense weight due to the Bureau's unique nature. His authority was staggering, belonging to Glolo Star Nation's innermost circle. Under normal circumstances, even Hua'a would have to be exceedingly polite when meeting him.
This time, Haoifa remained silent.
However, the other man spoke first: "Judging by your expression, you know who I am."
"Understandable. To navigate the Star Nation, comprehensive intelligence is a necessity."
"But in your eyes, my status isn't that high, is it? After all, you're plotting against the entire Star Nation."
"Haoifa, Vice Phalanx Master of the Xcaglan pirate group. Previously, we only had your other alias, a branch member of the Xero-Spine Syndicate."
Haoifa remained calm and composed.
He didn't show shock at those words, nor did he protest his innocence.
"A wise choice."
"Silence."
"But you know, the Star Nation isn't a place that places much value on rules. I don't have a Boundary God watching over me."
"We already have evidence of your collusion with Hua'a, no, evidence that you are the Xcaglan pirates. That's enough."
"Don't worry, you'll see your boss in prison soon enough. The Chairman still wants to toy with him a bit."
Jeswn had Haoifa locked in a cage at the back of the shuttle. It was filled with restraints; once inside, no amount of tricks would allow for an escape. The interior was a void, total vacuum.
...
The Council.
Hua'a continued to endure the gazes from all around.
Naminko and the other councilors chatted a bit more about the frontline reports, then turned their attention to him.
"Hua'a, what is your view on this war?"
Hua'a replied, neither subservient nor overbearing.
"I am merely a merchant; I don't know much about military matters."
"However, I believe that as an upper-tier Star Nation, we should easily defeat Rusty. The Rusty fleet coming here is simply courting death."
Naminko laughed.
Everyone else laughed along.
After laughing for quite a while, Naminko finally asked, "Since you hold Glolo in such high regard, then why did you provide intelligence to Rusty?"
"Hua'a, we never doubted you. You presented yourself as so loyal and stayed out of politics. To be honest, I was grateful; after all, so many people are swayed by money. If you had bribed officials at any point in the past, our Star Nation might not have developed peacefully for so long."
"However, good deeds cannot conceal the bad, Hua'a."
He knew.
This was Hua'a's first thought.
Who was it?
Haoifa? Impossible.
Had the truth been exposed long ago?
Also impossible; Naminko wasn't the type of person to tolerate a grain of sand in his eye for long.
Recently...
Luna!
Hua'a thought of the most likely person.
Luna had plenty of motivation.
Luna wanted the Glolo Star Nation to descend into internal chaos. Hua'a could create it, but the chaos caused by the Xcaglan pirates was beneath her notice. If it were Hua'a himself, however, it would be a massive shock to the entire Star Nation.
Fenton Games wasn't just a gaming company; it was an investment firm. Such a massive corporation was inextricably linked to everything.
If he were pushed into opposition against the Glolo Star Nation, wouldn't the entire nation fall into chaos?
It turned out he was Luna's true target all along.
Hua'a's face twisted; at this moment, he wanted to tear Luna limb from limb.
The puppet master stood on the execution platform, and the outcome would naturally be the fuse being lit.
However, Hua'a wasn't overly anxious. Naminko believed he had no allies in officialdom, but that was impossible. He had many people here; there was no need to rush.
"Mr. Chairman, I believe you have been deceived. I have never betrayed the Star Nation."
"My loyalty to the Star Nation is as clear as the sun and the moon."
"Perhaps you have heard some idle gossip, but I guarantee those are merely rumors aimed at me."
"At a time like this, we should be united against external threats, Mr. Chairman."
His words didn't change the attitude of anyone present.
"Still struggling?"
"Hua'a!"