Chương 836: Meeting the Advanced Vanguard.

Time had passed, and Cinderielle's fleet had left for the border of the Solar System. Thanks to recently upgraded radars, detecting incoming threats had become much easier. The only vice was that when the other party intended to hide, their current detection methods were mostly useless. Technology in the Golden Sap Empire was advancing rapidly, and together with Liu Shu's biological computers, specific-function machines were much easier to build.

Scientists who had previously been quite opposed to them were now diving into the technology after its potential had been demonstrated. The best example was those businesses that took Liu Shu's first offer to get a free Biological Computer. Those companies now had machines at a higher level than the rest, giving them a competitive edge that allowed them to settle and capture a large share of the marketplace.

Sitting in one of the chairs inside the Mothership Class Starship's main control room, Seraphina pointed at a certain zone of the starmap.

"Zoom over there. I want to see the activities of the past three days in that location." A time-lapse compressing the three days into ten minutes was played, and soon, they noticed a shadow passing through that area. It was not fully detectable, but there were ternary essence fluctuations captured by the previously settled sensory nodes within the interstar structures.

"Good eye." Cinderielle nodded and spoke.

"Traces of starship activity have been detected in the following coordinates. Move to intercept. Our first contact with the enemy's advance fleet is imminent, so be on alert." The Mothership, surrounded by 100 other starships, moved through the void to intercept. Seraphina spoke.

"Do not advance too much. If we leave Liu Shu's captured domain, our strength will be reduced significantly. We must fight within Liu Shu's domain if we want to have an advantage."

"Mhm. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Their army, numbering 1, 000, 000, was composed of 100 <Second Ascension> powerhouses, over 50, 000 Level 175+ Star Lords, and the rest were Level 150+ <Six Energy Cycle> strongmen. It was a force that could be considered sizeable, even by the standards of the advanced Star System Empire. Moreover, with the six Sylvans leading this group, the army's lethality was quite monstrous. Tempestria's lips arched faintly.

"I can wait to test my new strength." Cinderielle chuckled.

"Who would've known that the evolving Chaos Titles were tied to our general strength…" Reaching this point, she couldn't help but look at Seraphina and Obsidianis.

"You two having so much strength even before you got these modifications was quite the surprise. We four started at D and C Tier."

"We did as well." Obsidianis smiled.

"Only, after reaching Level 100, our Ascensions caused quite the transformation."

"Right. You already told us about this a few years ago, right?" Obsidianis laughed.

"We did." Tempestria asked.

"Do we attack as we've practiced?" Seraphina answered with an excited smile.

"We must. We six together make quite a powerful mix." Seraphina's absolute firepower, Tempestria's powerful frontline abilities, Seraphina's and Obsidianis's endless armies and offensive abilities, and Verdantia's defensive army and healing skills. On top of the five active and well-rounded fighters, Harmonixia elevated their capabilities to a whole new level. Their combination was absolutely devastating. It didn't take long for their group to arrive at the front line.

They were still within the bounds of the Solar System and Liu Shu's domain, but not at the edge. In a way, they were waiting for the enemy to make contact. A few weeks later, a signal reached them.

"We've detected starship activity. The other side has most likely detected us as well… Hm? Lady Cinderielle, the other side has sent a communication request."

"Accept it." In the middle of the control room, a hologram appeared. There, Cinderielle and the rest noticed four people appearing. Cinderielle, in turn, sent the image of the six of them. The four people were two ascended humans with exotic traces, one Sylvan, and one lizard-type beastkin with short horns on his forehead.

"Greetings. We've communicated to ask why you are standing in our way." Cinderielle was momentarily confused, but then it clicked.

'Right, while they are somewhat modified, our starships once belonged to the Covenant. Are they confusing us with the Covenant's people?' For a second, she pondered whether to use this gap in information to ambush them. Soon, though, she discarded the option. If their actions became public, the Covenant would have all the justification they needed to attack them directly, unlike the current excuses they were making by marking Liu Shu as a potential threat.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. So, after silently discussing with the girls for their opinions, Cinderielle spoke up.

"We are not from the Covenant. We are the defensive army of the Golden Sap Empire. May I ask why your group is intruding into our domain? We have never provoked the Covenant, nor do we have the intent to fight you." A white lie, but an effective one. If they wanted to use this conversation later, these words could serve as a defense of public opinion.

After all, while conquering other powers was not viewed too harshly, attacking non-active civilizations with the intent to destroy their True World Tree was not a good look for anyone. Regardless of position, justification was needed. Only powers like the Nexus, whose justification and alliance lay on the opposite side, could use the excuse of "because there is a World Tree, it is a legitimate attack." The other side was naturally not incompetent.

So, once they confirmed that the other side was their "target," they changed their tune. The human man snorted.

"You say you have no intent. However, what is it that you are riding? That's our Covenant's Mothership, a stolen ship! If you have no intent to face us, the mere act of robbing the Covenant is blasphemous toward Lady Balaya!" Having already anticipated such opinions, Cinderielle countered easily.

"These starships were left behind by the Covenant's envoys to compensate for some of their mistakes. We don't want to publicly air the Covenant's shameful acts. Therefore, we will not clarify. However, the legitimacy for obtaining these ships exists, and we do not fear using it." The other side didn't show it, but they were momentarily confused. After all, the higher-ups had not told them anything about the problem with the Verdant Elder's actions.

If Cinderielle were to use the brainwashing of a child to obtain government secrets as an excuse, public opinion would swing their way fiercely. Confidence showed in Cinderielle's orange-colored eyes, which made the other side hesitant to push their narrative. Even then, the other side had come with orders, so retreating was hard without good justification.

"Regardless, your Golden Sap Empire has breached many of the Covenant's laws. You, who are considered an ally and subordinate power, are acting on your own and conquering nearby defenseless stars with excessive force. Our Lady, Deadly Petal, has already looked into your misdeeds. Today, we come here as an advanced party to subdue you. Please, do not resist and return to the Covenant. There is still time if you repent now."

Moral high ground, dismissal of previous words, and labels that exaggerate every single thing that could be found to be wrong. Cinderielle listened to their words with a stoic and somewhat bored face.

'Well, I expected it. It seems that they will attack regardless of justification. They must think that, as long as the justification is mildly acceptable, they can do whatever. After all, once our power is gone, we won't be able to defend ourselves. Moreover, the Interstellar space is far too occupied with constant conflict to care for a remote corner of the galaxy.' Their premise, however, was horribly wrong.

'Everything they are doing is not an incorrect course of action… as long as the premise is truthful. Do they think we are the same weak power that fought against Rhazor's army?' Cinderielle's lips arched coldly.

"A bunch of bullies that took over our world when we were powerless. Now that we managed to develop with Lady Heavenly Willow, our own True World Tree, you come out and want to suppress us. Lady Balaya is magnanimous, but those under her seem not to follow her in character." Praise the enemy so that, when their true face is revealed, they fall harder. Lady Balaya is merciful? Probably not even the people arguing with her would believe it.

"Nonsense! This order comes straight from Lady Balaya. You, who have gone astray, I'll give you one last chance. Surrender and ensure you receive due punishment for violating the Covenant's laws and agreements."

"Excuses. It is probably Lady Deadly Petal who has become greedy and wants to expand our way. I've heard plenty of her Ladyship, and this is nothing but a routine case. If you think we will surrender and fall like others you've suppressed into obedience, we won't. The Golden Sap Empire has never gone against its beliefs to protect its people, and we will never will!" Protection. That sweet word that can branch out into countless meanings. Conquering to protect ourselves, destroying our enemies to protect ourselves.

We are just a weak group trying to survive; it is you who are bothering us! It didn't matter whether the other side agreed; the important thing was that it needed to be mentioned to use it later. Realizing a touch late that Cinderielle had constantly built up their own justification for when they actively defended themselves and counterattacked, the other side showed an angry side.

"Protecting yourselves? You are just bloodthirsty barbarians trying to aggressively swallow your surroundings! It seems that words won't work with you people; cut the communication!" After the communication was completely cut off, Cinderielle's lips arched faintly in contempt.

"Well, that went better than expected." Serahpina chuckled and leaned back.

"Now, we don't need to hold back. Also, I've seen another Motehrship Class on the other side. We should try to capture it. Each Mothership class starship costs quite a fortune." Harmonixia asked, curious.

"Don't you feel even a little bit of attachment for the Covenant?" Seraphina looked at her with a look that screamed Harmonixia was talking nonsense.

"Me? Liu Shu's wife? Feeling attachment to Liu Shu's enemies? Harmonixia, did you not sleep well last night?" Harmonixia laughed.

"Alright, alright. I was just asking out of curiosity. There is no need to act like that." Glancing at the enemy starships in the distance, she smiled.

"We will meet in three more days, more or less. Do you think they will give us problems?"

"None." Obsidianis was sure.

"The other side's army is nothing more than a test vanguard. At most, and I say at most, there will be four <Second Ascension> powerhouses, the four we saw in the hologram."

"Isn't that a lot?" Tempestria frowned.

"Rhazor's army only had him at the lead." Obsidianis shook her head.

"It only had him because the enemies that Rhazor was supposed to face were a Level 150 World Tree with mediocre subordinates. They even sent him while vastly overestimating Liu Shu's abilities. And, without Aunty Xakira's presence back then, things would've gotten dangerous, right? So, they were not too far off with their estimates." Seraphina added.

"Lady Deadly Petal has a strong army, and as an advanced Second Ascension True World Tree, she has quite a few subordinates near her level as well. Only, not everyone of them will be as strong as Rhazor. Remember, the <Star Emperor> label is not given to all Second Ascension Powerhouses. Only those with strong potential and strength." The girls nodded and prepared for combat. Meanwhile, in the four nearby Covenant and Nexus Solar Systems, forces were silently and constantly gathering, planning a larger offensive.