II. Tyroth's Inquiry. Alis leaned forward, a smile playing on his lips. "The matter is thus. It seems this month has been filled with strange tidings; we've seen fourth-level entities, usually as elusive as dragons, appearing one after another. Besides the major news of three new fourth-level beings among the nobility, two more have emerged far away, in a place called the Solar System. These two are incredibly powerful—so powerful, in fact, that they managed to slay the Custodian Guardian, Karagunis."

"Oh, new fourth-level entities in the distant reaches as well," Tyroth remarked. As a core member of the Supreme Council, he was well aware of Yang Ying and Blade's actions leading to Karagunis's demise, yet he maintained an air of ignorance.

Alis nodded. "While people have always speculated that the Orion Arm harbored hidden, unknown fourth-level entities beyond the twenty-six named ones, no one expected five to surface at once, all possessing such formidable strength."

The magnificent galaxy is vast; even confined to the Orion Arm, it holds billions of stars. The races of the Orion Arm have a long journey ahead before they can fully explore their spiral arm, frequently discovering new intelligent species. Under these circumstances, the hidden existence of previously unseen fourth-level entities in uncharted space has become a widespread consensus.

As Alis spoke, he managed to pay a subtle compliment, including Cass and the other two Luminaries. In truth, only Sidelen, the Slaughter God of Luo Ya, truly knew the sheer power of the three Luminaries; Alis himself had very limited insight.

"Enough idle chatter. Let's return to the original question: how did you come by these G Singers, and how many are there?" Tyroth wished to steer the conversation away from that topic.

While the galaxy is large, the sudden appearance of five fourth-level entities in the Orion Arm within a few days felt too coincidental, startling many. For now, no one openly suspected any connection between the Protos and the Terrans, given the apparent vast distance separating the two species.

Seeing that Tyroth was unmoved by the flattery, Alis chuckled. "Very well, about this contingent of G Singers. Ah, their total number is around one hundred million. Their origin? We purchased them from the Kusta Empire. The Kusta people are currently liquidating assets to gather resources to cope with the G Singer threat."

Tyroth’s eyes flickered. "The Kusta sold their G Singer captives? Elaborate."

Alis confirmed, "Since Karagunis fell, the G Singer fleet's morale has soared. They are sweeping through the Flin Kingdom like a whirlwind, showing no intention of consolidating forces to seize territory in the Perseus Arm. It’s clear that eliminating their sworn enemy is a greater priority for the G Singers than territorial expansion. In the near future, they are bound to attack the Kusta Empire's homeworld."

Tyroth nodded, signaling him to continue.

"Thus, the Kusta people panicked," Alis continued. "Their Emperor has issued a full mobilization order, declaring the entire race to be in the highest state of war readiness to counter the G Singer pressure. Simultaneously, they sent envoys to various races seeking military aid. However, few responded. After all, seizing territory in the Perseus Arm is the current major trend. Most races either cannot spare the manpower or, even if they could, would be unwilling to lend it to the Kusta, whose reputation as warmongers is abysmal. Consequently, the Kusta are now scrambling to liquidate everything they possess."

At this moment, Cass sent a few words to Tyroth via telepathy. Tyroth immediately countered, "That’s incorrect. Even if the Kusta wanted to dispose of the G Singer captives, they wouldn't sell them to slave traders. The Slave Trade Alliance couldn't possibly withstand the G Singers’ pressure. If Yafei directly approached you to buy them, you would certainly hand them over—wouldn't that be tantamount to indirectly returning the captives to the G Singers?"

The Slave Trade Alliance was, after all, a cooperative body, not a sovereign state. While these merchants possessed some influence, it barely ranked them among the top seventy or eighty races in the Orion Arm; they wouldn't dare defy the will of the G Singers.

Alis, upon hearing this, adopted a stern expression. "Lord Tyroth, you underestimate us. Didn't we even accept the noble Burks' captives? Just as we can guarantee that these Burks will not return to the Burk Empire for five standard years, we can offer the Kusta Emperor the same guarantee—that these G Singers will not return to the G Singer Kingdom for five years."

"I don't believe that," Tyroth stated bluntly. "The reason you dared to take the Burk captives and make those guarantees is because you are betting on our war against the Burks, placing your wager on us becoming the new hegemon of the Burk-Reck star region. If the Burks remain dominant, you would likely sell us out in a heartbeat."

Neither Cass nor Tyroth ever trusted that these slave traders would honor their commitments based on rules alone. Only strength compels them to keep their word. Alis broke into a cold sweat. He dared not deny that the Slave Trade Alliance’s perspective on the Burk-Reck star region was exactly as Tyroth described. Having this laid bare so suddenly by Tyroth left Alis feeling quite cornered.

Tyroth pressed on. "But the G Singer captives are different. The G Singers have already gained the upper hand on the battlefield against the Kusta. The Kusta's defeat is sealed. If you possess even a shred of rationality, you would not choose to oppose the G Singers at this juncture."

Alis laughed sheepishly, his face turning a shade unpleasant. After a moment of thought, he decided honesty was the best policy. "My Lord speaks the truth. We truly cannot withstand direct pressure from the G Singers, and the Kusta know this. Therefore, until now, the Kusta always established their own concentration camps to deal with G Singer captives. Any G Singers who occasionally ended up on the slave market were immediately ransomed back by the G Singer Kingdom. However, this time the situation is different—"

"How is it different?" Tyroth inquired.

"Well," Alis chuckled slyly, "the fate of the G Singers seems unrelated to the nobility. Why pursue the matter so deeply? Why not return the topic to our business? If you are truly interested in the G Singers, I guarantee I can find several beautiful G Singer maidens among the captives for you. Wouldn't that suffice?"

"Speak!"

Tyroth's gaze sharpened to a tangible point, chilling Alis to the bone.

My god, a peak-third level, no, perhaps even a master at the very limit of the third level.

Alis broke into another cold sweat. He himself was merely a second-level mentalist, far inferior to Tyroth.

Alis darted a glance to his left, his vision piercing a transparent screen to reveal a large hall outside the conference room, where fifty or sixty fanatical zealots stood, radiating formidable auras. He swallowed hard, then glanced to his right, seeing a balcony beyond the screen where various sized aircraft zipped across the sky.

At this moment, all exits were sealed. His entire party was completely surrounded by the Protos; to put it pessimistically, they were at the mercy of their hosts.

"Wait a moment, alright, I'll talk," Alis made the prudent choice. "Actually, these G Singer captives are not yet under our direct control. The Kusta sent an escort team specifically to liaise with the buyer. We are merely providing brokerage services, offering them a channel into the market. Who they ultimately sell to is decided by the Kusta escort team."

"Fearing I would bypass you and approach the Kusta directly, cutting out your brokerage commission?" Tyroth sneered. "Indeed, a calculating bunch. The Protos operate openly and disdain such methods. You will arrange contact with the Kusta escort team for me. If you handle this well, I might allow you a cut of the profits from the Burk captive sales as well."

Tyroth’s initial, direct reprimand had made Alis's face extremely unpleasant, but upon hearing about potential business, his expression instantly flipped. He beamed, nodding rapidly. "That would naturally be no problem at all, Lord. I will contact them immediately."

He excused himself and returned about fifteen minutes later, his expression now somewhat troubled. "Lord Tyroth, it seems the situation has taken a slight turn."

"What kind of turn?"

"It's the Burks," Alis said, seemingly having completely forgotten the previous scolding from Tyroth. "The Burk Empire somehow learned of this. They have contacted the Kusta escort team and wish to acquire these G Singer captives. Their offer is extremely high, paid for entirely in strategic resources. The Kusta seem tempted by their proposal."

"The Burks?" Cass, who was secretly observing, paused for a moment, then understood the Burks' intention immediately. "It seems they intend to use these G Singer captives as leverage to persuade the G Singer Kingdom to mediate the war with the Protos."

Currently, all races were preoccupied with foreign expeditions, and only the G Singers kept their main forces within the Orion Arm. This made them the most convenient mediators the Burks could find.

This way, the Burks would manage both war and peace simultaneously. If their methods were strong enough, and their luck held, they might actually find a slim chance of survival.

It was just unfortunate that their opponents were the Protos, specifically the Protos under Yang Ying.

"The Burks want these captives to bargain with the G Singers, meaning these G Singer captives are very likely to return to the G Singer Kingdom. The Kusta won't agree so quickly. Arrange a meeting for me with the Kusta, as soon as possible," Tyroth stated, his third-level limit mental strength granting him considerable wisdom and insight.

"Naturally, Lord. It is my honor to serve you," Alis bowed deeply.

"Have them escorted out and arranged lodgings. Report to me if anything develops," Tyroth commanded, signaling a squad of zealots to take Alis and his party away.