Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1240: Chapter 675, Merchant Mindset

Yalina was pacing on her warship, filled with anxiety.

Ever since the meeting with Marshal Xi Rui, she had been in this state.

Though she appeared youthful and radiant, she was actually one hundred and twenty years old. She hailed from the Southern Lake Cosmos, which was part of the Imperial North Border, north of the Devourer Star Cosmos.

This Ironclad War, including the subsequent war against the Void Insect Species, in strict terms, had little to do with the Southern Lake Cosmos. To strike Southern Lake Cosmos was still far off.

However, the summons from the Central Empire was not something to be ignored. The prominent figures within the Southern Lake Cosmos discussed among themselves and assigned the task of dispatching troops to Yalina’s star domain.

She was initially the head of an Empire Commerce Guild within the star domain, but her guild was not quite like a typical Empire Commerce Guild. While she did engage in business and transportation, she also controlled many ships that bore the guise of merchant ships but were, in fact, warships.

The reason for this was that her star domain had relatively broad avenues for outward exploration. Although that area wasn’t connected by the Star Realm Tunnel and lay outside the Imperial Territory, it was actually quite populous.

Some were human colonies that had not been absorbed into the Empire’s governance, naturally to evade taxes.

Some were aliens but indigenous, communicative natives.

Dealing with these non-empire forces generally required special permission, and coincidentally, Yalina’s guild possessed such permission.

To conduct business, she had to maintain a powerful fleet, which also served as the naval force of the star domain.

Now, when there was a need to deploy troops, the responsibility had fallen upon her.

To be honest, she was unwilling to come.

While Yalina had experience with war, it wasn’t extensive. In her war history, it was nothing more than escort duties and battling pirates; or becoming a pirate herself to plunder non-empire forces.

The most crucial point was that the wars she participated in were never large in scale, and they all had clear profits.

Without clear profits, she was even more unwilling to fight.

In her view, responding to the Empire’s call to join the Northern Frontier Legion and fight in the Spiderweb Domain was fraught with risk and unclear returns.

However, it wasn’t without returns, nor were the returns small. If she could gain merit, the substantial political benefits could elevate her guild, and herself, in the political arena of the Southern Lake Cosmos.

This was her clear goal for participating in the war.

Unfortunately, a devastating defeat stripped her bare.

She lost numerous ships and suffered significant losses, turning her anticipated gains into mere illusions.

She thought everything was over, but unexpectedly, the Alliance came to her rescue.

Not only did it stop the bleeding, but it also allowed her to see the possibility of achieving victory, gaining political capital, recovering losses, and even making considerable profits.

But the prerequisite was to rebuild the Northern Frontier Legion.

She was the one who connected with many people sharing similar thoughts and ultimately gave Xi Rui the suggestion, hoping he would take the lead.

After the last meeting, although Xi Rui didn’t openly agree, from his attitude, she felt things were quite stable.

The marshal of the Black Cross Army wasn’t willing to remain dormant either.

From her perspective, that was all too normal.

What’s his status?

A dignified marshal!

Previously, he was the second-in-command of the Northern Frontier Legion, poised to assume the role of Northern Commanding Officer!

Coming to the Alliance, he could only take a regular battle group leader’s position, reporting to that Gu Hang.

How could he be content with that?

In truth, Yalina also considered the Alliance quite formidable. If only the distance between them were shorter, she would earnestly desire to foster strong relations with the Alliance to facilitate future business.

But unfortunately, her foundation was too far from the Alliance’s territory, leaving her with no choice but to give up.

Better focus on pondering the independence of the Northern Frontier Legion.

After returning, she issued orders to every ship under her control, instructing her people to be ready.

Though she didn’t wish for things to become particularly ugly, she figured that Governor Gu Hang wasn’t a benevolent figure. In a power struggle impacting actual authority, a simple resolution was not possible.

At critical moments, even if not reaching the point of armed conflict, at least they needed to show enough strength in the control room to force Gu Hang to compromise.

After all, Mr. Gu surely wouldn’t want internal strife before a major battle, right?

While she was preparing internally, she was also closely watching Marshal Xi Rui’s movements.

This was exactly why she was anxious at this moment.

As per their agreement, time was running short.

At this moment, her adjutant suddenly entered, reporting to her: “Guild Master! Marshal Xi Rui has gone to the ’Golden Pass’!”

“Alone?”

“With a team of Interstellar Warriors!”

She let out a sigh of relief; this was the first step.

Supposedly, Xi Rui was going to confront Gu Hang directly.

With a large number of Interstellar Warriors by his side for protection, and their Black Cross Army’s think tank, they could transport the marshal back to the warship if necessary, ensuring his safety.

Moreover, from start to finish, their aim was never to reach the level of martial conflict.

Thus, Marshal Xi Rui’s safety, along with the demands of their group, could not rely on dialogue alone.

“We need to be ready to move too,” Yalina told the adjutant. “Inform all ships to prepare, and notify the other leaders as well. We must be ready to support Marshal Xi Rui when needed so we can negotiate for what we want.”

“Yes!”

The adjutant responded and then added, “By the way, there’s also a ship coming from the ’Black Cross Star’. The Black Cross Star has already put through a message, it’s a messenger from Marshal Xi Rui, wanting to meet you.”

Yalina wasn’t surprised and said, “I’ll wait here for the Black Cross Army’s messenger. You go ahead and prepare.”

“Yes!”

A moment later, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Thirteen Interstellar Warriors pushed open the door and entered.

Seeing Interstellar Warriors wasn’t unexpected for Yalina, but having over ten show up was somewhat surprising.

According to the logic, there were only three hundred Interstellar Warriors around Marshal Xi Rui, which wasn’t much.

But she thought that showed Marshal Xi Rui’s regard for the forces she controlled. After all, in terms of fleet size, the forces she controlled represented the largest remaining part of the Northern Frontier remnant forces.

Additionally, there was something slightly odd: why were these Interstellar Warriors all draped in long robes?

She stood up, preparing to greet them.

However, in the next moment, her expression suddenly shifted.