Nodding his head, Kael said, "I was just recently made aware that following our Empire’s Founding Day, in no more than a month, it will be the Azura Imperium’s Foundation Celebration Day!

And since they are our first allies, shouldn’t we present something great? Seeing this fortress, I realised that after upgrading and overhauling it, we could gift it to them.

It would be no big burden to us, and it would benefit us in the long run, right?

"Also, it gives other parties a figure of what they could have a chance to get if they were to side with us or join our fold. It’s not like we need them, but it is a must that we don’t let them form a coalition like the Star Empire and the Alchemy Association have done to trouble us, no?"

"Ohhh, you have thought about these things deeply!!" Rick exclaimed. "But while your intention is great, you know and I know that this is not something for us to decide or take action on.

You need to get permission from the Imperial Commander before we start! But your plan is good and should be accepted. Knowing that you are leaving for the central star system, I guess you plan to propose this plan to the Imperial Commander?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I plan to do," Kael admitted.

"Then I guess I have to wish you the best," Rick said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Nodding his head, Kael looked toward Crown, who, understanding his cue, cut off the communication.

"Are we done with offloading the loot?" he asked her.

"That we have," Crown nodded.

"Good! Is the fleet ready to move?" Kael asked.

"Yes! We have cycled the FTL drive and could move at any moment!" Crown replied.

"Hmm, let’s get moving then. We have already gotten permission to leave for the central star!" Kael said, nodding his head. With a smile, he added, "There, we will transition you to your new frame!!"

Hearing this, Crown’s eyes lit up with yearning! She had been waiting for this upgrade for quite a while ever since she found out about it. She had also been very jealous when most of her other brothers and sisters had already gone through their upgrades, leaving only her behind—something she had wept quite a bit about in secret!

Kael, having no idea about her secret tears, noticed nothing other than the intense excitement in her voice.

"Yes! Let’s get moving in a hurry!" she spoke.

After a few more minutes, the fleet started moving again. They quickly entered hyperspace and began heading toward the core ring, where the central star system was situated!

Sol Region — Core Ring — Celestial Star System — Capital World: Celestial Void

Central Continent — Imperial Palace

Emperor’s Office

Inside, Kallus could be seen leisurely drinking tea while seated on a sofa, getting updated on everything by the Red Empress!

"The Border Zone has been equipped with Battle Stars at a rapid pace! Defense Zones 6 and 8 are fully equipped, with Zones 4 and 7 soon expecting theirs, and the others following them!

"Furthermore, Defense Zone 6 has already surrounded the star system where we expect the coalition of Star Empires, along with the Alchemy Association and others, to set up a one-time spatial link—all without letting the group of people from the Orc race have any idea about it! We could expect a good outcome from Commander Alex and his defense zone."

"Hmm," Kallus simply nodded his head. He did not choose to make any comment at this moment; it was unnecessary anyway.

Seeing that, the Red Empress simply continued on. "Preparations for the Founding Ceremony are halfway there..."

Finally, after a full ten minutes, the Red Empress focused on a new report she had just received from none other than Grand Admiral Kael!

"Lastly, Grand Admiral Kael and his 4th Battle Fleet have completed their mission against overwhelming odds! They were successful in completely destroying the coalition fleet of the Alchemy-Star Alliance, and after doing the deed, they successfully retreated!"

"Ohhh?" Hearing this, Kallus, who was almost bored to death, became interested. "Did they suffer losses? Or did everything go well?"

The Red Empress just rolled her eyes before calmly saying, "There were no reported deaths suffered by the 4th Battle Fleet! Though minor injuries were indeed reported."

Hearing this, Kallus sighed in relief!

But hearing her next words, his relief was caught in his throat!

"Material losses did happen, with both the Mech Corps and Starfighter Corps suffering heavy casualties on their units. Losses are projected to be close to a thousand mechs and starfighters combined!!"

Only after hearing the full context did Kallus calm down, but he soon frowned and asked, "So many?"

"They are not many, actually, when compared to the losses and complete destruction of the Hegemony fleet! But indeed, it is the first time a loss like this has occurred. Based on the reports and my own observation of the footage sent, Grand Admiral Kael, in order to finish the battle quickly, opted for..." She explained the whole battle in detail to Kallus, who nodded his head as he listened.

He sighed again. "Looks like we need to upgrade our fleet a bit more, and maybe add more numbers to balance..."

"Not quite right, Master," the Red Empress interrupted him. "This happened because the 4th Battle Fleet, while superior, still falls short of being a Generation One or Tier 5 ship. They are only a superior version of Tier 4—or, in terms of this galaxy, Arc-class ships!

"While this gives us an edge against the Star Empires and others by a full level, you see, there isn’t too much of a massive difference or technological gap. If faced with an enemy ten times our number, we could manage quite well in almost any other scenario with near-nonexistent losses. But in this case, with reinforcements arriving, our fleet could realistically be outnumbered and outgunned!"

"And as for adding more numbers to our fleet, that is also a big ’no-no,’ Master! Ten thousand ships is already big enough. We could increase the battle fleet size, but too much won’t be productive. Above all, we don’t possess the numbers to even crew our ships yet! Even now, we are barely operating our whole army with a minimum headcount. Plus, the burden they add on us respectively regarding maintenance and everything else is already big! It’s something we can’t tackle just yet."

"Ahhh, whatever. We can only go with the flow for now, right?" Kallus sighed.

"Well, not exactly that either. We are improving rapidly, and with Generation One or Tier 5 ships based on universal standards, we already have more than sufficient strength to crush most of our opposition! It’s just that we need a bit more accumulation before we could finally start a total offensive," the Empress added.

"That as well," Kallus nodded.

"Yes, and one more thing—just now, I reviewed a report forwarded by Lord Rick from the Anvil star system. He reported about an idea that Admiral Kael proposed there, and he added in the report that Kael intends to seek you out for approval! But I have to say, it is quite a fitting plan which we could definitely utilize," the Red Empress spoke with interest.

"Oh? What is it? Tell me the details!" Kallus’s interest peaked as he asked.

"It’s like this..." And like that, the Red Empress began to tell him all about it.

After hearing this, he nodded his head. "It is quite genuine and good! And those words, ’While we don’t need anyone, that doesn’t mean we let them go to the other side and form a coalition against us’\dots What a strong word!" he said in an unbelievable tone.

"Unbelievable, right?" the Red Empress asked, her eyes twitching as well.

"Yes, quite unbelievable that it came out of Kael’s mouth!!" Kallus said. "Never thought he could even think like that. I always thought he was mostly brawl and no brains, but looks like that isn’t the case, huh!" he added with a small laugh.

"Well, it might be a new growth sprout that just developed late in him?" the Empress said in confusion.

"That might be the case," Kallus agreed.

"You think so as well, huh?" the Empress asked.

"Well, that could be the only reason, no?" Kallus asked doubtfully, not entirely sure himself.

"Whatever!" both said at the same time, unable to reach a conclusion, and laughed heartily!!

While Kallus and the Red Empress were sharing a laugh here, a few people in different places of the galaxy had an ominous report land on their desks. Reading them, they burst into rounds of cursing and anger at the same time, completely razing the places wherever they were!

The Star Emperor roared, "Fuck the Void Fleet!!" Seeing his hidden forces obliterated by a surprise attack made him boil with anger !!

"After all, that was a whole fleet of ten thousand Tier 1 superior-level ships!!