Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1025: Chapter 556

When the Alliance showed signs of approaching Hector VIII, the Alfonso Sect’s communications had already been established with the Alliance.

To be honest, the Alliance and the Alfonso Sect had always maintained contact.

The Alliance had dispatched numerous diplomatic envoys to various places, including Ironrage Rock, and Alfonso was no exception.

However, until now, the interactions between the two sides have been mundane, never touching upon important, useful, or core matters.

There wasn’t much to discuss between the two sides anyway.

Things changed when the Alliance began its offensive in the Proudclaw Cosmos, and the Alfonso Sect’s summoning of the Alliance Ambassador became more frequent.

Now, as the Alliance approached Hector VIII, a Principal Sage of the Alfonso Sect had even boarded a small vessel and blocked the path of the Alliance Fleet.

This Principal Sage, named Todd Bowelson, claimed he could represent the Alfonso Sect in all matters within the Proudclaw Cosmos and expressed a sincere desire for an in-depth dialogue with the Alliance to resolve the conflict there.

He spoke eloquently, and Gu Hang, considering his counterpart’s status as a Principal Sage—an undoubtedly high-ranking member of the Alfonso Sect—decided to grant him some face.

However, stopping the Alliance Fleet on his own was out of the question.

Negotiations could happen while the fleet proceeded towards Hector VIII.

In fact, after Sage Bowelson boarded the Alliance vessel, he never got to see Gu Hang; he was always communicating with an Alliance diplomat.

Bowelson kept emphasizing that the Alfonso Sect and the Iron Armor Battle Group were not allies; the Alfonso Sect always stood firm under the great banner of the God of All Machines; the Alfonso Sect and the Alliance were by no means adversaries.

The Alliance did not oppose these statements.

They didn’t even bother to present the so-called evidence of the Alfonso Sect’s collusion with Ironrage Rock before Bowelson.

There was no point; Bowelson could claim them to be falsehoods with open eyes.

Arguing right or wrong was meaningless; if you say you’re loyal, then demonstrate genuine loyalty.

The Alliance laid out the conditions clearly:

Hector VIII must fully comply with the Alliance’s arrangements; the armed forces on Hector VIII must be gathered to accept Alliance command and participate in this war; the ships remaining on Hector VIII bearing the Alfonso Sect’s insignia must all be conscripted into the Alliance Fleet and follow orders.

If these conditions were met, the Alliance would consider you loyal and acknowledge the Alfonso Sect as an ally, comrades standing together on the ’anti-Iron Armor front’.

When it came to this, Bowelson hesitated.

He could only emphasize that Hector VIII also needed defense arrangements; the core interests of the Alfonso Sect, which lie beyond the Princess Star Domain in the Alfonso Star Domain, where over 400 worlds are swarming with Iron Armor Battle Group’s auxiliary corps and naval stations, have the entire sect under threat of having an iron blade to their throat, wanting to slay the enemy but powerless to act.

As the discussions dragged on, the Alliance lowered their demands.

The Alliance even offered to accept that the Alfonso Sect could withdraw all military forces from Hector VIII and relocate the fleet docked at the Starport.

The Alliance just wanted this planet to ensure that when they announced the full conquest of the Proudclaw Cosmos later, and needed to fortify against an enemy invasion from the south of Thistle Muster Star Field, there wouldn’t be a massive explosion behind them.

These were already quite sincere conditions.

However, Bowelson kept evading the subject.

He prattled about how Hector VIII was the Knights’ homeland. The so-called armed forces—essentially the Knight Order—were actually local natives; how could the sect force their loyal followers, namely the Alfonso Third Knight Order, or the Heyang Knights Group, to relocate from their homeland?

But for the Alliance, if it came to this point and they still didn’t agree, then there would be war.

The Alliance was resolute in capturing Hector VIII.

Bowelson, cornered, even resorted to threats:

“Do you really want to force the Alfonso Sect into rebellion?”

“Can your so-called Alliance truly bear the responsibility for this?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Hang simply chuckled and had an Alliance receptionist respond to Bowelson:

“Loyalty to the Divine Emperor is unconditional.”

“Whether the Alfonso Sect rebels or not is not for me or anyone else to decide; it is a matter of fact.”

After relaying Mr. Gu’s opinion, the Alliance diplomat reiterated the Alliance’s unwavering bottom line.

Hector VIII must be relinquished by Alfonso.

Bowelson couldn’t agree and claimed he would leave to consult with the ’Heyang Knights Group’ on Hector VIII.

The Alliance didn’t let him go.

The Star Language facility was onboard, allowing him to communicate as needed.

The next day, a servant discovered Sage Bowelson ’dead’ in his room.

However, upon dismantling the body, it was found to be a completely mechanized ’dummy.’

Bowelson had never personally been there from the beginning, having prepared in advance.

Even the ship carrying the dummy body, seized by the Alliance, contained no trace of Bowelson.

According to Alliance technicians and advisors from the Mingyang Sect who assisted in dissecting the ’corpse,’ it was concluded that Bowelson’s real body might not even be in this star system.

The Dominant Bishop from the Mingyang Sect excitedly speculated that this was technology allowing one to control a mechanical body from an unknown number of light-years away, an anomalous lost technology, and formally requested the Alliance.

Subsequently, if they officially went to war with the Alfonso Sect, all the equipment seized from the Alfonso Sect, the captured personnel, and the acquired technology should be handed over to the Mingyang Sect.

The Mingyang Sect wouldn’t take them for free, aren’t we allies? All of these can be monetarily compensated!

The technology analyzed by the Mingyang Sect, if mass-producible, could provide products for the Alliance’s use.

This was the typical cooperation model between the Sect of Mechanics and other forces.

Previously, the Mingyang Sect wasn’t keen on engaging in such collaborations with the Alliance.

Frankly, they looked down on the Alliance a bit.

However, ever since the Alliance produced the black box, things were different.

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