Chapter 152: Federation’s Gambit: The Price of Intervention

Year 226 of the Federation.

At this moment, the entire Federation Fleet had completed the injection of the Gene Enhancer.

Meanwhile, annual production capacity for the Gene Enhancer had climbed to 300 million doses, marking the official beginning of humanity’s large-scale evolution.

According to the Federation’s plan, capacity would further rise to 3 billion doses annually within the next five years, with the goal of completing evolution for the entire population in seventeen years.

Afterward, production lines would be adjusted based on yearly population growth.

All of this was progressing relentlessly.

Federation Year 228.

Half of the inner circle of the Xitoris Kingdom had already fallen.

Yet the King’s Army made no move to stop the rebels, still cowering in the capital sector.

Meanwhile, Tuoba received reports of an unusual troop buildup near the Totran Kingdom and the Ziyang Empire, both bordering Xitoris.

Judging by the direction of these forces, it was clear they were targeting the Xitoris Kingdom.

Even more worrying, the main army of the Ziyang Empire had massed just three nodes away from Tuoba’s stronghold, Tianyuan IV.

If the enemy finished gathering and actually invaded, the consequences would be disastrous.

If Tianyuan IV fell, Tuoba wouldn’t just lose his home – he’d be cut off from the Federation entirely.

That was the real danger Tuoba faced.

Should he pull his main forces back to defend?

Even if they managed to return in time, once Tuoba left, the remaining border clans wouldn’t stand a chance against Sadik, who still commanded over ten thousand warships.

It would be bad enough if all his allies were wiped out, but the real issue was…

This would buy Sadik a long breathing space. In fact, Tuoba even suspected the invasions from the Ziyang Empire and Totran Kingdom were orchestrated by Sadik himself.

A once-promising situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Tuoba found himself deeply unsettled.

With no other choice, he reached out to Bilodis, explaining the current crisis and asking her to tell the Federation he needed their support.

He even had her warn the Federation: if he failed, they’d get nothing at all.

Honestly, Bilodis doubted Lin Yu and Mu Qingxue cared about Tuoba’s fate.

But one thing was certain…

If Tuoba fell, the Federation might eventually recover those territories, but the cost would be much higher.

Possibly…

They’d have to go to war with the entire Wasteland Alliance.

But judging from their actions so far, the Federation wanted to avoid an all-out conflict with the Wasteland Alliance – at least for now.

After all, if the whole Alliance joined forces, they’d be fielding up to two hundred thousand warships.

Even if the Federation won, the price they’d pay would be steep.

So, after Bilodis reported to Lin Yu and Mu Qingxue, the two of them analyzed the situation and agreed: the twin invasions were almost certainly tied to the King of the Xitoris Kingdom.

The invasion targets weren’t the Kingdom itself, but the rebels – because…

Without the Federation propping things up, Tuoba would be flanked from inside and out, collapsing in no time.

So, why would they do this?

The only likely answer was the King of Xitoris Kingdom. Most likely, he, just like Tuoba, cut some deal and traded interests for military aid.

As for what to do, Lin Yu believed the Federation should step in.

After all, it had been twenty years since the Federation last went to war. Decades of peace were never healthy for an army.

Besides…

Although the Federation still hadn’t cracked zero-point vacuum energy extraction or hyperspace travel in the last twenty years, they’d made plenty of advances elsewhere.

Those new technologies needed a real battlefield test.

However, the Federation couldn’t act under its own name, or the entire Wasteland Alliance would react violently.

One misstep and the Desolate Star Region would close ranks, fighting the Federation together.

That was the last thing the Federation wanted now.

So what was the solution?

Simple – repaint the fleet.

Yep, just give all the ships the Tuoba clan’s emblem…

——

A few days later, Lin Yu shared their decision with Tuoba through Bilodis.

The Federation was willing to take action, helping Tuoba hold Tianyuan IV, and even drive the Ziyang Empire’s fleet out of Xitoris territory.

But this favor wouldn’t come free.

First, two more star systems would be added to the already-negotiated territorial deal.

Second, the Federation needed to operate under the Tuoba clan’s banner for this mission. Tuoba would have to play along, because the Federation wanted to stay clear of the Wasteland Alliance’s civil war.

In short, while the Federation was fighting, Tuoba needed to keep publicly declaring all the actions as his own.

So the rest of the Alliance would think it was Tuoba acting alone, with no outside intervention.

Tuoba agreed to everything.

For him, as long as the Federation kept the Ziyang Empire at bay and secured his base…

Nothing else really mattered.

He’d already given up twenty star systems. What’s two more?

But Lin Yu also offered Tuoba a warning: the invasions by Totran Kingdom and Ziyang Empire weren’t just opportunism – they were aimed specifically at the rebels.

In fact, the mastermind behind it all was most likely King Sadik of Xitoris, or perhaps one of the eight great noble families in the inner circle.

Tuoba had to proceed with extreme caution.

After all, as Tuoba had said, at this stage, the Federation really couldn’t afford to lose him.

Otherwise, wouldn’t a decade-long game be for nothing?

——

If there was one thing that had changed the most in the Federation Fleet over the past decade, it was definitely the Sixth Fleet.

Though the Federation’s navy still had nine fleets, each had gone through at least one round of expansion. Several key fleets had expanded twice, even three times.

The four fleets guarding the Barnard’s Star defense zone had all doubled their strength twice.

What began as 150 ships had now grown to over 500.

Along the way, the First Fleet lost its crown as the Federation’s largest.

Not because the Barnard’s Star fleets had surpassed it, but because the Sixth Fleet had.

Today, the First Fleet, after two expansions, commanded about 600 warships.

But the Sixth Fleet?

It went through three expansions, with one being especially massive.

After all, compared to the other fleets, the Sixth Fleet was responsible not only for Proxima and Alpha Centauri, but also for all combat on the inner front of the Desolate Star Region.

A few hundred ships just wouldn’t cut it.

And if another fleet was transferred over, how would Lin Yu keep control?

Of the Federation’s nine fleet commanders, only Ye Lingwei and one other held the rank of Rear Admiral. The other seven were all full Admirals.

So instead of shuffling fleets around, better to just expand the Sixth Fleet.

Following three rounds of expansion, the Sixth Fleet now boasted 925 warships. Mu Xingchen even told Lin Yu…

In recent years, the Federation Fleet had made such a fortune through Tuoba that they now had plenty of resources to spend, which meant…

They planned to keep growing even larger…

And the Sixth Fleet was already in line for the next wave of expansion…