Chapter 171: The Price of Expansion

“You really drive a hard bargain. Earth promised each of them at least 200 stars after the deal, but when it landed on your desk, it turned into 200 stars split between the two families?”

Mu Qingxue rolled her eyes in a way that was oddly charming.

“Didn’t I say it? The most we can promise is 200 each. It’s business—when do you ever reveal your highest price from the start?”

“My plan was to start with 100 stars for each family. If they hesitated, I’d bump it up to 120. But you should’ve seen it—the moment they heard they could get 100 stars each, that look on their faces…”

“By the way, didn’t they come to see you afterward? What did they end up ordering?”

As he was talking, Lin Yu suddenly remembered something important.

He quickly asked.

“Their appetite is wild. Just the Seawolf-class warships—they ordered 70,000. The Ziyang Empire took 40,000, and the Xitoris Kingdom grabbed 30,000. That’s not even counting the Bai Ze mechs, Heavy Infantry gear, assault ships, and a ton of light and heavy weapons. With the Federation’s current production rates, we’d have to run at full tilt for over twenty years to fill it all.”

“But both representatives agreed to a 50% deposit. They want us to ramp up production. If we can deliver faster, they’re willing to pay an even higher deposit.”

“Guess what percentage we finally settled on for the advance payment?”

Mu Qingxue grinned playfully—a rare sight.

Lin Yu knew right away, seeing that expression on his wife’s face, this number had to be outrageous.

“Eighty percent?”

Lin Yu was already guessing on the high end.

But even then,

he was still underestimating it.

“One hundred percent. That’s right, you heard me—full payment up front!”

“Wait, one hundred percent…? How much lead time did you promise them?”

“All delivered within five years!”

“Seriously? That means we’ve got to quadruple the Federation’s production capacity!”

Lin Yu was stunned.

To pull this off, they’d have to expand output at least fourfold—maybe even five or six times over.

After all, you can’t just conjure up new production lines overnight. Building and calibrating them takes time.

So, for the first year, there won’t be much of a boost.

It’ll be the last four years when almost all of that production will need to happen—and that means nearly a sixfold increase.

“Grandfather said it again—the Federation’s out of time. Acceleration is our only choice!”

“And this is the perfect opportunity. With everything we’ve learned from those two civilizations, we can supercharge the Federation’s military industry in record time.”

“Fleet Headquarters’ real goal isn’t just keeping up—they want to push output at least eight times higher.”

“Because after supplying those two civilizations, the Federation is gearing up for its own massive arms build-up.”

Eight times normal production—no less.

In five years, besides shipping out 70,000 warships so our ‘allies’ can seize territory across the Desolate Star Region, the Federation Fleet’s next round of expansion will likely push overall strength to more than 30,000 ships.

That’s…

an enormous plan.

If the Federation had to rely on its resources alone, there’s no way it could shoulder this burden.

But thankfully, the Desolate Star Region’s civilizations have never suffered under the Drac Empire. They’ve got a fortune in stars, plus centuries’ worth of savings. Wealthy doesn’t even begin to describe them.

Still, soon…

Ninety-nine percent of the Wasteland Alliance’s resources will belong to the Federation.

The last one percent? That’s just crumbs—something for the Ziyang Empire and the Xitoris Kingdom to gnaw on as a reward.

——

Federation Year 235.

It’s been three years since the power shift in the Xitoris Kingdom.

With the pace of Seawolf-class deliveries picking up, 38,000 of the 70,000 warships ordered have already been handed over.

The Ziyang Empire claimed 25,000 of those.

The reason they got so many more than Tuoba? It all comes down to the connection with the Blue-Eye Tribe.

Right now, inside the Ziyang Empire—

Kanon.

It’s a border star system of the Empire, only three current loops away from Skywarehouse V.

The proximity is all because of the Empire’s peculiar shape.

If the Xitoris Kingdom spreads outward from its capital planet in a sphere, then…

the Empire is more like a long, narrow strip.

Skywarehouse V and Kanon just happen to lie on each side of the border—one facing the Xitoris Kingdom, the other bordering the Blue-Eye Tribe.

Of course, Skywarehouse V now belongs to the Federation, with even more territory ceded after.

But the side that touches the Blue-Eye Tribe—that wasn’t the Federation’s concern.

If war breaks out, let the Empire fight it. For at least the next seven or eight years, the Federation doesn’t intend to get involved.

Which means, for now, the Empire’s territory is stretched even thinner…

But that’s not a problem—once the Blue-Eye Tribe’s lands are taken, the Ziyang Empire will balloon again.

“Are all other locations ready?”

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. The other six areas each have 2,000 Seawolf-class and 3,000 former Empire warships deployed. Even if the Blue-Eye Tribe musters ten thousand ships, breaking through won’t be easy.”

“Very good. Tell Dika—glory to the Empire!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Minutes later, having received the order, Dika’s face was lit with excitement.

He’d been waiting for this moment too long.

And the fleet at his command now wasn’t the old Imperial Army.

It was an expeditionary force: ten thousand Seawolf-class warships and ten thousand Empire warships.

By old standards, that firepower matched eight full legions.

Consider this—

Civilizations in the Wasteland Alliance typically field four to five legions as their standing military.

So within the Desolate Star Region, this fleet was a juggernaut.

Now, that force was moving.

Their target? The other side of the current—the Blue-Eye Tribe’s frontier, Starte.

Honestly, if not for having to defend seven other border systems against the Blue-Eye Tribe, the Empire could probably field a second expeditionary force.

Still…

After Starte falls and the surrounding areas are taken as planned,

he’ll be able to free up the ships tied down in these defensive positions.

Besides, this opening campaign alone could take more than two years. By then, he’ll have received the remaining 15,000 Sea Wolf-class ships.

At that point, the Blue-Eye Tribe won’t be facing just one expeditionary fleet.

They’ll be staring down two, three, maybe even four Imperial fleets.

Within ten years, the Blue-Eye Tribe will be wiped out—completely.

This…

was Parlo’s goal for himself!