Chapter 175: The Brewing Storm Within the Alliance

Honestly, the Alliance’s arbitration council is in a tough spot with this.

Back when complaints poured in about the Totran Kingdom, all they did was try to smooth things over. Now the tables have turned and they’re expected to pick a side?

Forget it. Best to keep playing mediator, let these two fight it out, and sort things out once tempers have cooled.

No one’s spelling it out, but everyone knows that’s exactly what’s going on. It’s an unspoken agreement.

So every day it’s the same routine—try to break up the fights, but never make an actual decision.

That dragged on for half a year…

After wiping out Totran Kingdom’s border legion, Tuoba calculated that the few remaining legions wouldn’t be able to reach him within the next three years. So, he split his forces and pushed forward.

In just half a year, four more star systems fell. Adding the original one, that’s five territories lost already.

But the real kicker? Tuoba wasn’t even close to stopping. He split his armies again, turning two fronts into four, and kept advancing.

This time, Totran Kingdom absolutely couldn’t sit still. They stormed into the Alliance’s arbitration council in an uproar.

At first, others from various civilizations figured Tuoba should probably stop now. But…

Before they could take action, another piece of news hit.

One of the civilizations operating outside the Alliance, the Blue-Eye Tribe, reached out to the Alliance.

Their request? They wanted peace.

That left everyone totally baffled.

Wait, hold on. We’re not even at war with you. Why are you asking for peace?

After digging a bit, they finally realized—the Ziyang Empire had gone and beaten up the Blue-Eye Tribe, and from the sound of it, they’d really handed them a serious defeat.

See? That’s why they came begging for peace.

Honestly, at first, all the other civilizations couldn’t help but gloat.

The Desolate Star Region may have a core controlled by the Alliance, but its outer edges are a mess of unruly civilizations.

Take nomadic civilizations like the Blue-Eye Tribe, for example.

Or pirate coalitions, cobbled together from star pirates of different worlds.

Basically, the Alliance can’t stand these kinds of groups or factions.

But as soon as word spread that the Ziyang Empire had already conquered over 20% of the Blue-Eye Tribe’s territory, everything changed.

If you just put the Blue-Eye Tribe in their place, we’d cheer you on. But at this rate…

Aren’t you planning to swallow the entire Blue-Eye Tribe?

If the Empire doubles its territory, will it still be that second-tier civilization standing toe-to-toe with the rest of us in the Alliance?

So, the Empire must be stopped!

Even if it’s the enemy everyone despises, they still have to be stopped now.

And so, a few days later…

Tuoba and Parlo both received official documents from the Alliance.

They were ordered to halt their invasions of both Totran Kingdom and the Blue-Eye Tribe.

“So, what do we do now?”

Both of them started strategizing as soon as they got the Alliance’s message.

When an official notice like this goes out, it means every other second-tier civilization in the Alliance has voted for it.

Well, except for those two.

If they ignore the order, one of the Alliance’s core rules kicks in, allowing the other civilizations to band together and launch a joint fleet in retaliation.

“What else can we do? Just pretend we never saw it…”

Parlo didn’t look bothered at all.

“That really okay? If they actually form a joint fleet, and over a hundred thousand warships show up on our doorstep, we’re in real trouble.”

“Tuoba, are you serious?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just think. To get a joint fleet of over a hundred thousand warships, how many civilizations would need to pitch in? Do you have any idea how long it would take to gather a massive fleet from all those places? Try ten, maybe twenty years at best.”

Parlo gave Tuoba a look of pure exasperation.

Compared to Sadik, this guy still had a long way to go.

He couldn’t even figure out something this obvious?

“So, in the short term, there’s no way they’ll bring a massive fleet to our borders?”

“Exactly. Even if the closest civilizations scrape together thirty or fifty thousand warships, they’ll need seven or eight years just to get to the front lines. By then, would you really be afraid of that many ships?”

“That makes sense. If it’s really seven or eight years from now, who’s going to be scared of a fleet that size?”

Enlightenment finally dawned on Tuoba.

Parlo just shook his head. Now he understood why Lin Yu picked Tuoba over Sadik.

With a mind like Tuoba’s, he was just easier to control.

“If they want to form a joint fleet, let them. After they weaken the nearest civilizations by drawing out their forces, we can concentrate our forces and wipe them out. Isn’t that better for us?”

“After all, once we’ve finished dealing with the Blue-Eye Tribe and Totran Kingdom, the weakened civilizations nearby will be easy pickings…”

At that, Tuoba’s eyes sparkled.

He might be a little slow, but Parlo had spelled it out so clearly, he couldn’t miss the point.

Naturally, the next step would be to keep pushing, no gaps or hesitation.

And so—

The very next day—

The two of them sent their reply to the Alliance.

They firmly rejected the order, stating that if the Alliance kept pressing, then—

The Ziyang Empire and Totran Kingdom would officially leave the Alliance.

That left everyone completely dumbfounded.

They figured Tuoba and Parlo would try to drag things out with half-hearted delays, hoping to conquer a few extra star systems and milk the situation.

No one expected them to outright defy the Alliance, threatening to withdraw as payback.

After the initial shock came outrage.

Immediately, one civilization proposed forming a joint fleet to put Tuoba and Parlo in their place. They insisted that such disruptive behavior couldn’t be tolerated.

So, just as Parlo guessed—

The Alliance members discussed it for ages and finally decided that the nearest civilizations would join forces, putting together a joint fleet of fifty thousand warships split into two groups.

One would head to Totran Kingdom to confront Tuoba’s fleet. After all—

Anyone traveling to Xitoris Kingdom’s territory had to go through Totran Kingdom, following the route through Okka.

The other force would move directly against the Ziyang Empire.

But none of that was happening any time soon.

——

At the same time—

Lin Yu received intelligence from Parlo and Tuoba.

He skimmed it, but didn’t give it any more thought.

After all, everything unfolding now matched exactly what he had predicted before.

He’d known that as soon as Parlo and Tuoba launched their attacks, it was inevitable that the Wasteland Alliance would step in.

After all, if they didn’t intervene, Tuoba and Parlo would just keep growing.

Eventually, the Alliance would end up with two unstoppable forces, and the others would never allow that.

Besides, split into two fronts, with only fifty thousand warships, and all of this seven or eight years from now…

Isn’t that just sending troops to be slaughtered?