The dispute over territorial boundaries continued to escalate. The Confederation insisted that the Swarm retreat to its original positions, naly the line between Genesis star and Neighboring star.
On the Swarm’s side, while they had expanded and occupied hundreds of star systems in this galaxy, the dozen or so they had captured in this conflict were hardly essential. However, these territories had been hard-won, and there was no way they would simply hand them over based on empty promises.
Was Luo Wen the kind of person to back down? If the Confederation had shown a bit more strength before the Swarm had established its secondary bases, there might have been a slim chance. But now, it was completely out of the question.
Finally, the Swarm also demanded to hold the captives for a hundred years. Even though most races had entered the interstellar era and optimized their genes, a hundred years was still an incredibly long ti. For so shorter-lived races, it could amount to half their lifespan.
However, the Swarm had considered this and offered two supplentary solutions. The first was to help the captives enter a state of hibernation. With a simple blink of an eye, a hundred years would pass without the tornt of ti.
For races with strong family ties, the Swarm provided a second option: substitution. The Swarm didn’t care who the captives were, as long as the numbers matched. Therefore, if a captive could find soone willing to take their place, the Swarm would allow the swap. This way, a brother could hibernate for a few years, then a sister, followed by younger siblings, ensuring everyone shared the burden. A hundred years would pass quickly, demonstrating the Swarm’s consideration for races with strong family values.
Despite this, the Confederation remained unsatisfied. In the eyes of the Ji race and the inner-circle civilizations, the fate of the captives was irrelevant. What concerned them was ti.
A hundred years? Giving the Swarm a hundred years would allow it to develop into an unimaginable force. This was completely at odds with their core strategy.
The two sides clashed fiercely over these three points, refusing to budge. Days passed, and the Swarm was content to engage in verbal sparring, dragging out the negotiations. After all, the hundred-year captivity period would only begin once the agreent was officially signed. The current stalemate was essentially free ti for the Swarm, and they were more than happy to milk it.
But the Confederation couldn’t afford to wait. The outer and mid-ring civilizations were desperate to reclaim their people and fleets, while the Ji race and inner-circle civilizations were eager to curb the Swarm’s growth—or better yet, eliminate it entirely.
However, with trillions of captives in its hands, the Swarm remained as steady as an old dog, leaving the Confederation in a difficult position.
Just as Luo Wen thought the stalemate would continue, the Confederation suddenly changed its stance. Within a few days, they made concessions on all the previously contentious issues.
This was highly unusual, as even Elder Hus, one of the Swarm’s “insiders,” hadn’t received any prior notice. Hus was at least the third most influential figure in the Confederation’s negotiation team.
This even led Luo Wen to suspect that the Swarm’s intelligence network had been compromised. But when he saw Ambros agreeing to the Swarm’s terms, even the inner-circle civilizations, the outer-ring observers, and even Beladuka, another Ji elder, showed expressions of confusion and disbelief.
Luo Wen realized that sothing strange must have happened within the Confederation.
The eting ended abruptly, and Elder Ambros was imdiately confronted by the other two Ji elders.
“What are you doing, Ambros? You have no right to represent the Confederation! How dare you agree to the Swarm’s terms?” Thanks to Hus’ connection, Luo Wen was able to witness this drama firsthand.
Beladuka launched a fierce attack, her anger so intense that it was hard to reconcile her current deanor with the calm, grandmotherly figure she had presented during the negotiations.
It seed that, at the very least, Beladuka was genuinely unaware of the decision. Her reaction indicated strong opposition to the Swarm’s terms, aligning her with the inner-circle civilizations. She was undoubtedly part of the Ji faction that favored their origin races.
In the eyes of the inner-circle civilizations, the optimal outco would be for the two sides to completely fall out. This would result in the loss of the outer and mid-ring captives, severely damaging the Ji race’s credibility. The Ji race would then be forced to intervene directly against the Swarm.
Although the Swarm had grown rapidly and beco formidable, it would still be no match for the seasoned Ji race. However, the Ji race would also suffer significant losses in the process.
In the end, the Swarm, a potential threat, would be eliminated without bloodshed, while the Ji race would be left weakened and disgraced. If this outco could be achieved, the inner-circle civilizations would be overjoyed.
But now, everything had been thrown into disarray. Just as the negotiations seed poised to continue indefinitely, Ambros had suddenly agreed to the Swarm’s terms.
“Calm down, Beladuka. You should take a page from Hus’ book…” Before Ambros could finish, Beladuka cut him off and turned to Hus, who had been silent.
“You didn’t know either?”
Hus, suddenly dragged into the conversation, could only nod helplessly. “I truly had no idea…”
“You’ve gone mad, Ambros!” Before Hus could finish, Beladuka interrupted again, turning to him with a roar of disbelief.
Among the three Ji representatives, Beladuka represented the Pro-Origin Race faction, Ambros the New Ji faction, and Hus the Neutral faction. The three factions balanced each other to prevent any extre decisions.
Beladuka had initially assud that this unfavorable decision had been kept from her due to her faction’s stance. But now, even Hus, the neutral party, was in the dark. This ant the decision was either made unilaterally by the New Ji faction or even by Ambros himself.
But how could they dare? This move would not only alienate the Pro-Origin Race faction but also the Neutral faction. What were they thinking? Beladuka’s mind raced, and a sense of dread began to creep in. This kind of unpredictable behavior could only an sothing major was about to happen.
“Calm down, Beladuka…” Ambros repeated. “This decision was made collectively by the Council of Elders, including…” He gestured in a circle, “all of us.”
[T/N: I’m pretty certain the author forgot what the original three factions were called or decided to change their na. The three factions were previously called the descendents, immigrants and the rebels. I’ve left it as is for now, but I’ll see if he starts using those faction nas again.]
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