Chapter 139: Building Tensions on Tianyuan IV

Year 215 of the Federation.

Just like that, another two years have passed.

In the meantime, nothing particularly major happened within the Federation—just construction booming, industries churning, and everyone making a killing.

But Tianyuan IV…

That was a whole different story!

The major families from the inner circle sent people to investigate, but they couldn’t figure out how Tuoba was getting his goods.

Instead, they discovered that the current leading route to Alpha Centauri had been completely locked down.

Rumors already said the Second Pioneer Fleet had set out exploring again, heading for Alpha Centauri, but they pulled back soon after and nothing more was heard.

Yet judging by what Tuoba’s done lately, there’s got to be something in Alpha Centauri.

Maybe there’s even a native civilization out there. That could explain why the Pioneer Fleet retreated—they must’ve found something big.

If that’s true, everything starts to make sense, including Tuoba’s trade route…

Chances are, it’s all through Alpha Centauri.

Honestly, this guess is spot on—the only thing they got wrong was…

The Second Pioneer Fleet actually encountered an alien civilization in Proxima, not Alpha Centauri.

Afterward, Lin Yu disguised the Federation as a Tier-3 civilization and demanded compensation from Tuoba for trespassing into their space.

That’s how Alpha Centauri ended up ceded to the Federation in the end.

So, while that part of the theory wasn’t totally correct, the big picture was right.

Soon enough, all those upper-class families from the inner circle filed a complaint directly to the king.

According to the kingdom’s law, when a frontier Pioneer Fleet discovers another civilization, they’re supposed to report it straight to the king so he can lead the diplomacy and trade.

Obviously, Tuoba’s decision to keep things to himself broke the rules and couldn’t go unpunished.

The king immediately ordered the kingdom’s Third Legion to mobilize.

He didn’t tell them to start a war—just to enter Tianyuan IV, control the ocean current to Alpha Centauri, and see for themselves if there really was a foreign civilization and whether Tuosen had cut him out of the loop.

Once the order was given, the Xitoris Kingdom’s Third Legion sprang into action.

As one of the king’s four major legions, they’re massive, boasting 3,800 warships.

But those 3,800 warships are scattered across eight different star systems. No way they’d gather them all in one spot anytime soon, and there’s no need anyway.

After all…

They were just dealing with a border Pioneer Fleet.

And remember, Pioneer Fleets aren’t regular fleets—their job is to explore new frontiers.

So, compared to the King’s four main fleets, their combat power is much lower.

The main difference lies in the warship quality.

With just a few hundred ships, the Third Legion’s commander Rashid didn’t even blink—he simply ordered the fleet stationed at Tianyuan III to handle it.

Tianyuan III is only 5.5 light-years from the outer edge where Tianyuan IV sits. Taking into account travel time and moving through the ocean current, they’d arrive in half a year at most.

Plus, it’s the furthest outpost under the Third Legion’s control, so there’s already a hefty garrison there.

They’ve got 700 warships ready to deploy.

To Rashid, stomping out a Pioneer Fleet with this much firepower couldn’t be simpler.

So after giving the order, he stopped paying attention altogether.

He just lay back and waited for reports to roll in.

Naturally, the moment Rashid issued the command and Tianyuan III’s troops began to mobilize, the news reached Tianyuan IV right away.

You’ve got spies on my turf, and I’ve got eyes on yours—it’s just business as usual.

So, is Tuoba afraid of the 700-plus Third Legion warships?

If this were a few years back, he would be.

Back then, even 300 warships could have crushed his pioneering fleet.

But now…

Why be scared? Since he’s already exposed and the enemy is coming to him, why not…

Make a clean sweep while they’re still clueless!

This way, he could weaken the king’s army a bit and give them a real warning.

At the same time…

He needed to send people to Alpha Centauri pronto to place orders for more warships and gear, pushing the Federation to deliver faster.

Worst case, just pay extra!

Double the price—how about that?

Not enough? Then triple it! Quadruple, even!

However much you want—just write a number!

Money is no object!

To Tuoba, if money can solve it, it isn’t really a problem.

Wipe out those upper-class families from the inner circle, take over their fortunes, and he’d make every cent back, probably more.

As for that Third Legion arriving in half a year?

Right now, Tianyuan IV’s got 700 Sea Wolf-class warships, plus over 400 ships from the former Second Pioneer Fleet—still running strong.

And get this…

He’s also holding 500 Federation warships that just got delivered—originally meant to quietly go to other families.

At a time like this, he’d just use them for himself. None of those other families would complain.

Adding it up, that’s 1,200 Sea Wolf-class ships ready to go, plus 400 older Pioneer vessels.

Against 700 enemy ships, while holding the chokepoint at the ocean current’s exit…

This’ll be a walk in the park!

Without wasting another second, Tuoba got his family moving and started making plans.

Soon, all of Tianyuan IV was in an uproar, because…

Tuoba’s clan launched a massive search across the star system, digging out spies from those powerful inner circle families.

They also declared martial law—no ship takes off without reporting in, and surprise inspections could happen anytime.

On the ground, everyone had to stay at home.

As for the clan’s own people…

They went house to house conducting searches.

All to make sure they could clamp down on leaks as much as possible later.

——

“Lord Tuoba, can you tell me what’s going on?”

Having already spent over a year here as a diplomat, Bilodis knew Tuoba well.

The moment she heard about martial law, she contacted him for an explanation.

“Lady Bilodis, don’t worry. The martial law only applies to ordinary people—everyone in your embassy is still free to go about as usual. I’ve made sure of it.”

Tuoba answered her with utmost politeness.

He suspected plenty of folks might be spies for those inner circle families, but not the elves.

After all, the elves weren’t even from his civilization—there’s no way they’d be informants for those inner families.

So…

Of the non-clan residents on Tianyuan IV, only the 19 elves at the embassy could move about unrestricted.

“By the way, Lady Bilodis, we need to place an urgent order. Any chance it can be put on the fast track?”

“Tuoba, we’re old friends. I have no problem with the order, but speeding up the delivery—that’s tough.”

“Is there really nothing you can do? I’m willing to pay above the asking price—how about double?”

“Tuoba, it’s really not about money!”

“Two times the price, then!”

“I already told you…”

“Five times! That’s my limit. I can’t possibly go higher!”

“Alright, I’ll ask for you—but no promises!”

Bilodis finally gave in.

It wasn’t that she had no principles, but the money was just too tempting!

A single warship already brought in 600 times the profit, and now he wanted to multiply it by five on top of that…

Sheesh! That’s a jump from 600 to 3,000 times the profit per ship!

Who could refuse that?

Tuoba finally breathed easy, convinced of one thing above all…

If money can’t fix it, then…

You just haven’t offered enough!