Following a high-level meeting of the independence faction in the Reef region.

Two women standing atop the pyramid in the Reef Starfield had a private meeting.

"You led the Serpent Fleet to victory this time, which has boosted the morale of our Independents!" Red Rose, the head of the Thorn Free Trade Group, exhaled a smoke ring as she looked at Medusa opposite her.

Medusa chuckled self-deprecatingly: "This is just giving us a breather."

However, the gap between us and the Warhammer faction and the Stars faction is still very large.

This one victory doesn't change anything.

"That guy from the Lion King Galaxy, doesn't want to join us? Since he sold you those excellent interstellar warships, he probably wouldn't ignore the situation in the Reef Starfield," Red Rose guessed.

Mentioning this man reminded Medusa of the conditions he had proposed a few days earlier.

She rubbed her temples and mentioned the conditions the man had offered to her best friend.

"He wants us to become his puppet agents in the Reef Starfield?" Red Rose was somewhat surprised, but as a businesswoman, she quickly calmed down.

Using a businesswoman's mind, she began to consider the pros and cons of the matter.

Unlike Medusa, she was not'stubborn'; she was more likely to consider the pros and cons of a matter.

"Do you think he can really keep his promise and give us the highest level of autonomy?" Red Rose asked.

Medusa looked at her best friend with some surprise: "You're actually actually interested?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Red Rose chuckled: "As a businesswoman, one naturally has to consider every possible option."

I'm different from you; I consider interests more.

If that man can really deliver on his promises, then agreeing to his conditions is perfectly acceptable.

After all, as he said, the price we would have to pay to side with either the Warhammer faction or the Starshine faction now would be enormous.

Medusa knew her best friend's temperament; if she said that, she wasn't joking, and she was genuinely considering it.

"My only two questions now are whether he can deliver on his promises and whether he really has the ability to do so."

After all, putting aside the two great empires behind them, the Warhammer Faction and the Starshine Faction alone have interstellar fleets of tens of thousands of warships.

"If it weren't for the outstanding performance of those two interstellar warships on this battlefield, I wouldn't have believed that man had that kind of strength," said Red Rose.

Medusa said, "My intuition tells me that I can trust what he says."

"To earn the trust of our Queen, this man must be quite special," Red Rose teased.

She knew that her queen friend had a very accurate intuition, perhaps due to some kind of racial talent.

Medusa ignored the red rose's teasing and fell into deep thought.

The current situation in the Reef Starfield really doesn't allow her to make any mistakes.

Just then, Red Rose's handheld terminal flashed red.

When she opened the red rose and saw the message she had received, her expression changed drastically.

She looked at Medusa: "Our situation has become very bad."

"What's wrong?" Medusa asked, puzzled.

Red Rose showed the message to Medusa and explained, "My people have received the latest intelligence."

The ogre chieftain of the Warhammer faction met with the Starshine faction and ultimately decided to eliminate us, the Independents, first.

"Within a week, we will assemble a coalition of 60,000 interstellar warships to launch a direct attack on our Serpent People system!"

Medusa was shocked upon receiving this news.

"They actually cooperated? How is that possible!"

This development far exceeded Medusa's expectations.

She had originally planned to watch the two rivals fight it out while she could reap the benefits.

But who would have thought that they would become the common target of both of them?

"It seems to be because of the military operation that your Snake-People clan carried out against the forces under the Starshine Sect."

Using this as a starting point, the ogre chieftain of the Warhammer faction persuaded the leader of the Starshine faction to join forces against our Independent faction.

They proposed that the Reef Starfield could be divided into two parts in the future, with each part submitting to its respective imperial power.

"And we, the Independents, have become the sacrifices to this 'cooperation,'" Red Rose said in a deep voice.

Medusa's brows were furrowed, and the snakes on her head were hissing.

Red Rose knew that this was a time when her best friend was experiencing extreme emotional turmoil.

Originally, the independence faction still had a fighting chance.

But now that the two factions have surrounded her, even if she has great command skills, she cannot reverse this situation.

A few seconds later, Medusa's face turned ashen. Several plans flashed through her mind, but none of them could solve the current situation.

"Rose, perhaps we really have no other choice this time."

You have a wide network of connections and a sharp mind; even if you leave the Reef Starfield, you'll find a way to make a comeback.

There's no need for you to stay here with me and wait to die.

Red Rose looked at her best friend and said, "So, you've given up?"

Medusa remained silent, but her hands were clenched tightly.

She didn't want to give up.

But there was really no other choice.

"Since that's the case, why don't we make a bet?"

"Compared to that, becoming that man's puppet is not a bad choice," Red Rose said seriously.

Medusa remained silent for a moment.

...

End of July, Galactic Calendar 3032

It has been almost half a month since the Warhammer faction fought against the Serpent People in the White Hair Galaxy.

No one expected the situation to change in the Reef Starfield.

I had expected a fierce competition between the two factions.

Who would have thought that the snake people, who were the ones who ultimately suffered, would be the ones to do so?

The two factions jointly dispatched a fleet to the Serpent People system, each sending 30,000 interstellar warships, forming a combined fleet of 60,000 interstellar warships.

It seems that the snake people have become fish on the chopping block between the two factions.

All of the Serpent People's interstellar warships are now gathered at the Serpent King's Fortress in the Serpent People's star system.

They seemed determined to fight to the death here.

Serpent Clan Headquarters - Serpent King Fortress

A T3 Blizzard No. 1 ship is moored in the mooring area outside the fortress.

In the middle of the bridge, Medusa was sitting in the captain's chair.

Because of the Second Fleet's excellent performance in the past, and because the Second Fleet also suffered considerable losses at that time.

Medusa simply combined the First Fleet and the Second Fleet of the First Legion together, temporarily canceling the Second Fleet's organization.

Captain Qingman was also reassigned as the deputy fleet commander of the First Fleet.

At this moment, Medusa was glancing at the stargate not far from the Serpent King Fortress from time to time.

"Your Majesty, what are you looking at?" Qingman asked from the side.

"It's nothing." Medusa didn't explain, but simply looked away, though she glanced at it again a few minutes later.

This was all because, at Red Rose's suggestion, she, having exhausted all other options, finally expressed her willingness to cooperate with that man.

The man's answer was simple.

'He knows.'

Apart from that, the man simply instructed her to carry out the normal preparation schedule.

This puzzled Medusa. Now that the combined forces of the two factions were about to invade, the man's interstellar fleet had yet to appear.

This made her uneasy, and she could only keep turning her gaze to that stargate.

She has already given instructions to the stargate administrators to give priority to any requests for passage through the Leo stargate!

"Report! Latest news from our interstellar reconnaissance ships! The two allied factions, each with 30,000 interstellar warships, have entered the border of our Serpent People star system and are heading towards our Serpent King Fortress!"

"They are expected to approach our Serpent King Fortress in three hours!" My subordinate reported an important message.

This made Medusa look at the stargate again, but there was no movement there.

first.

She, the queen of the snake people, was so 'concerned' about a man.