Zhao Chen remained silent for a long time.

He was still processing this matter; the turmoil had only just begun, and it had already escalated into a storm powerful enough to engulf the entire existing system of the Starry Empire.

Five days!

Ambush the royal fleet, an elite force with five T4 starships and hundreds of T3 starships!

No clues or information have been left yet.

There are too many mysteries surrounding this.

Why is the Crown Prince's royal fleet here?

Why didn't the royal fleet that attacked the Crown Prince send out distress signals when it was under attack? Was the signal intercepted?

Aside from the wreckage of the royal fleet's interstellar warships, no other interstellar warship wreckage was found at the scene—meaning no wreckage of the attackers' interstellar warships!

This method of deception is simply too terrifying.

The culprit who could accomplish all this needed to meet too many conditions.

It's really hard to imagine who possesses such ability and such courage.

Attacking a country's crown prince is tantamount to declaring war on that empire! Zhao Chen frowned.

This sudden event disrupted all of Zhao Chen's plans.

Just then, Lilith received another message.

Lilith checked the information and reported to Zhao Chen with a somewhat surprised expression: "Commander, here's the latest intelligence."

The interstellar fleets of those interstellar forces supporting the Starshine Faction within the Reef Starfield have completely withdrawn from the Reef Starfield and retreated to the few newest star systems controlled by the Starshine Empire!

"They withdrew?" Zhao Chen immediately guessed the reason: "Is it because of the death of the First Prince?"

That's right.

All Imperial fleets of the Starry Empire have received orders to cease all military operations and are not permitted to leave their current positions without further orders.

I've heard that many commanders and generals of the Imperial fleet have been taken away for investigation!

This led to a complete halt to the Starshine Empire's military operations in the Reef Starfield.

Without the support of the Starshine Empire's imperial army, the Starshine faction's interstellar fleets naturally dared not confront us head-on, so they chose to temporarily withdraw from the Reef Starfield.

"The Starry Empire has also temporarily agreed to let them relocate to several new star systems under its control, and also allow them to develop those systems," Lilith replied.

"This is truly a domino effect; one domino falling has triggered a chain reaction."

"I have a feeling that there must be some major conspiracy behind the death of the First Prince!" Zhao Chen said solemnly.

In truth, Zhao Chen wasn't particularly interested in whether the eldest prince lived or died, since he was someone who had nothing to do with him.

The problem is that the eldest prince has implicated the political system of the Starry Empire.

Most importantly, who will benefit from the death of the eldest prince?

The Prince's Party!

The Princes' Party, formed by the second and third princes who originally had no hope of competing!

But how could the party that originally supported the eldest prince possibly stand idly by and watch the prince's faction rise to power? It's even possible that this was the mastermind behind the eldest prince's death!

After all, the princes' faction was the biggest direct beneficiary of this incident.

When Zhao Chen thought of the eldest prince, he thought of the eldest prince's younger sister, the little princess of the Starry Empire.

Most importantly, his older sister was serving in the little princess's royal fleet.

"Lilith, revise the original battle plan!"

Contact Medusa and have her interstellar fleet immediately occupy the star system territories of the former Star Glory faction and other interstellar powers.

I think the Warhammer faction's StarCraft forces will definitely take action.

Our JF-17 fleet will remain stationary for now, observing the situation.

Now that the Starshine Starfleet has withdrawn from the Reef Sector, our only remaining enemy here is the Warhammer Starfleet.

"I have to say, the death of the First Prince is a double-edged sword. It affected us, but it also indirectly helped us," Zhao Chen said with a hint of helplessness.

Zhao Chen complained for a moment, then immediately added, "The fighting here will be temporarily handled by you and Charlotte."

I need to return to the Xiaolong system. I need Jiang Hong to help me contact my older sister.

I suspect that the little princess will soon be implicated in the attack and death of the eldest prince.

Lilith's eyes lit up. She understood the meaning behind Zhao Chen's words: "Do you think that the Crown Prince's faction, which originally supported the First Prince, will switch to supporting the Little Princess because of the First Prince's death?"

However, since the establishment of the Starry Empire, there has never been a female emperor in power.

Will the Star Emperor agree?

"Regardless of whether Emperor Xingyao agrees or not, the people below should still try to persuade him."

Originally, because the eldest prince was in power, the princes' faction had no chance of seizing power.

But now that the Crown Prince has been attacked and killed, it will inevitably cause fluctuations in the Crown Prince's faction.

The princes' faction will definitely not waste this rare opportunity; they will surely seize the moment to rise to power, and the only thing that can stop them now is the little princess!

After all, the little princess is the eldest prince's sister. Although the Starry Empire has no precedent for an empress, who can guarantee that the little princess won't become the first?

Zhao Chen scratched his head in frustration and said, "The Starry Empire is in complete chaos right now. I just hope that these factional disputes won't involve me."

I just want to find a place where I can settle down, make a living, and develop properly, so that I won't be bullied by others.

These things all came together, it's really...sigh..."

The reason Zhao Chen cares about the little princess now is, of course, because of his older sister!

We need to find a way to contact my older sister.

Let's see if we can persuade the eldest sister to leave the little princess's royal fleet and return to the Xiaolong system.

The eldest sister left the Xiaolong Galaxy because she had no choice in the matter.

Now, the Xiaolong Galaxy is thriving under Zhao Chen's control.

The eldest sister can definitely come back.

If the eldest sister wants to build her own career, Zhao Chen can even support her to become his spokesperson in the Reef Starfield.

"Please rest assured, Commander, Vice Commander Charlotte and I will handle this matter properly!" Lilith assured him.

"I'll keep the T3 Phoenix for you. I'll just take a T3 Blizzard back."

If nothing unexpected happens, the round trip should take about half a day.

"If any emergencies occur during this period, contact me immediately. You and Charlotte have the right to make decisions!" Zhao Chen instructed.

"yes."

His return to the Xiaolong system was partly to contact his eldest sister.

On the other hand, we need to find out the current situation of the Starry Empire through some information channels.

After giving his instructions, Zhao Chen hurriedly left the Serpent Man Galaxy aboard the T3 Blizzard, first returning to the Lion King Galaxy, and then heading to the Owl Dragon Galaxy.

Where will the death of the Crown Prince ultimately lead the Starry Empire?