Seated on a plush, comfortable sofa, Gu Xiechen, who abstained from alcohol, slowly sipped his fruit tea. He watched the enraged Fu Ya.Ming. He let out a soft sigh. "Your Highness, with an army in such disarray, do you believe you can bring them into proper order?"

Fu Ya.Ming paused for a moment, casting a cold glance at the terrified nobles. She then spoke faintly, "My father left me a loyal corps of officers. I have already ordered them to assemble here; they will take control of this army. However, I did not anticipate the sheer magnitude of the private forces they have hoarded."

Gu Xiechen smiled and nodded. "Actually, you don't need this army for the fight. I can handle everything for you. Of course, the prerequisite is that you provide me with certain materials... I require three first-tier battleships to transport these supplies to my flagship, and then I can dispatch a powerful force to conquer these territories for you."

Fu Ya.Ming looked at Gu Xiechen with exasperation. She gave a wry smile and relayed information that nearly made him leap from his seat! Those three first-tier battleships could never leave Afik Star. They had arrived here by stealth, using ultra-low-altitude gliding maneuvers. If they ascended higher than three thousand meters, they would already have been annihilated by the planet-wide defense system laced across Afik Star! This was an ultimate defense system capable of repelling an attack from a space fleet comprising one hundred thousand first-tier battleships! This was precisely why Fu Ya.Ming could only rely on Poluopolu's smuggling vessels for military replenishment. Poluopolu's craft were compact and small, thus avoiding being flagged by the planetary defense system for active targeting. If Fu Ya.Ming had mobilized large merchant ships to replenish her supplies, no matter how much material she gathered, it would be reduced to cosmic debris long before the ships could even approach Afik Star. The entire planetary defense system was controlled by the Elder Council of the Afik Kingdom—a body of individuals who were extremely rigid, profoundly conservative, and, in Fu Ya.Ming's own words, greedier than the grave, loath to let a single coin of the kingdom’s treasury leave their grasp.

"What? The Elder Council? Do they hold that much power?" Gu Xiechen expressed profound astonishment. The Earth Federation also had its so-called two houses of parliament, but the real authority lay with the Federation Chairman and the Chairman of the Military Department. As for the councilors, they could fuss and fume over minor issues, but when major decisions arose, they had to yield to Qiao An and Du Lang's final say. The Earth Federation’s ultimate defense system was in Du Lang's hands. How could such a critical asset ever be entrusted to a body like the Elder Council?

Fu Ya.Ming bit her lip in frustration, explaining with a weary smile, "This is the symbol of the Afik Kingdom's democracy. Half of the Elders in the Council are elected by the populace, and the other half are composed of retired high-ranking officials. They represent all the citizens of the Kingdom, so naturally, they hold certain key powers."

The balance of power between the King of the Afik Kingdom and the Elder Council shifted constantly through their mutual maneuvering. When the King held the greater weight, the Council might only retain control over a single standard ground detachment. When the King lost influence, the Council could even be entrusted with the command of both space fleets, all ground Poutuo, and supreme military and political authority.

When Fu Ya.Ming's father died suddenly from illness, by the time she rushed back from the main planet of the Star Alliance, the Elders of the Council had already joyfully seized control of the Afik planetary defense system and commanded both of the kingdom's space fleets. Prince Daogen, acting quickly, leveraged his position as Minister of Military Affairs to seize command of over half of the ground forces, leaving Fu Ya.Ming with only a small fraction of ground command, supported by a faction of the nobility.

Prince Daogen declared himself the successor to the throne, while Fu Ya.Ming sought to investigate the circumstances of her father’s sudden, unexplained demise. Thus, the civil war of the Afik Kingdom had begun in grand fashion.

As the popularly elected body, the Council of 360 Elders, after a full year of arguments and debates, finally reached a decision: they would not support Prince Daogen, nor would they support Fu Ya.Ming. However, they would absolutely uphold the King who ultimately emerged victorious. Regardless of who won, the Elders would cheer and kneel before the victor's throne.

This peculiar phenomenon unique to the democratic Afik Kingdom then manifested. After serious deliberation and solemn debate, to prevent the kingdom's fighting strength from being severely eroded and to avoid excessive bloodshed among the citizens, the Elders unanimously decreed that neither Prince Daogen nor Fu Ya.Ming would be permitted to deploy warships with high destructive capability in the war! Consequently, the private warships belonging to the nobles who supported Fu Ya.Ming and Prince Daogen—the entirety of the kingdom's aristocracy—were placed under the total custodianship of the Elder Council. All these vessels were sent to the kingdom's space fleet bases for registration, cataloging, and sealing. Under the threat of the impossibly potent Afik Star defense system, any ship larger than a small freighter, two hundred meters in length, would face a devastating strike if it dared approach Afik Star or attempt to ascend from it! Fu Ya.Ming sighed wryly, pointing at the crestfallen nobles: "Three first-tier battleships and sixty-five second-tier battleships... what in the blazes is that bastard trying to accomplish?"

The three first-tier battleships belonged to the families of Duke Jin Lihua and two other dukes. The sixty-five second-tier battleships were contributed by the other noble families supporting Fu Ya.Ming.

The entire Afik Kingdom possessed only two fleets, totaling twenty first-tier and one hundred second-tier battleships. The private armaments held by these nobles were nearly equivalent to the strength of one of the kingdom's space fleets. If one included the warships secretly retained by the nobles loyal to Prince Daogen, the collective power held by these nobles was sufficient to overthrow the Afik Kingdom.

Fu Ya.Ming glared at the nobles, faint traces of killing intent swirling within her narrowed eyes.

Gu Xiechen frowned in thought. The losses sustained by the Honghuang-class warships had been too devastating. Without the materials and equipment provided by Fu Ya.Ming, repairing them in the short term was simply impossible. Even with Ducart, the genius mechanic, the workload would be immense.

Furthermore, the technological capabilities of the Afik Kingdom were clearly superior to those of the Roman people. If he could utilize the components provided by Fu Ya.Ming to perform a vital refit on the Honghuang-class warships, their combat effectiveness would undoubtedly see a fundamental leap. Such a beneficial opportunity simply could not be easily dismissed.

While hesitating, Gu Xiechen looked toward Ducart.

Ducart remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Very well. Let us first focus on seizing control of the planetary defense system."

Fu Ya.Ming immediately declared with urgency, "Mr. Gu, control of the planetary defense system must remain in my hands! This is the foundation of our cooperation!"

Evidently, Fu Ya.Ming was becoming anxious. The reason she dared to cooperate with Gu Xiechen, the leader of this mercenary group of unknown origin, was her confidence rooted in that impossibly formidable planetary defense system. As long as she held control of that system, Fu Ya.Ming had no fear of a mere mercenary group causing trouble in the Afik Kingdom; that system could counter threats far beyond just space battleships.

But if that system were seized by Gu Xiechen and his people, the Afik Kingdom would effectively face total annihilation, with absolutely no chance of recovery.

Therefore, Fu Ya.Ming watched Gu Xiechen with intense, almost palpable tension, her beautiful eyes never leaving the corners of his gaze, desperately trying to decipher his inner thoughts.

However, a person cultivating the Way is best able to control their state of mind; Fu Ya.Ming could discern nothing from Gu Xiechen’s expression.

Taking a slow sip of his fruit tea, Gu Xiechen spoke casually, "Kan Hua, Ducart, take a trip over and have Poluopolu guide you back to the warships. Ducart, you stay behind to repair the combat armor on the fleet; we need to restore the combat readiness of the ground forces as soon as possible. Have Holm, Linghu, and Lily come over as well. Your Highness, can Poluopolu's smuggling craft transport a life support system?"

Fu Ya.Ming's heart skipped a beat, and she replied with a hint of panic, "The most advanced life support system produced by the Kingdom occupies a volume of only twelve standard cubic feet and can create an ideal living space spanning three standard square li. Poluopolu's smuggling vessels can transport more than fifty sets of life support systems."

"Excellent. I don't need fifty sets; ten will suffice... We also require the most advanced main ship control super-brain and its corresponding regional control super-brains. They must be brand new, straight from the factory, with clean chips and clean programming. I do not want any sabotage installed in those super-brains!" Gu Xiechen looked directly at Fu Ya.Ming.

"I swear by the name of my father and the Kingdom, I will provide you with the most advanced ship control super-brains and supporting equipment," Fu Ya.Ming declared proudly. "The super-brains manufactured by our Kingdom rank within the top five thousand in the Star Alliance, and among civilizations of comparable standing, our Kingdom’s super-brains are the finest. The super-brains from the Doko Federation require twenty units linked together to equal the processing power of one of ours." (It was only then that Gu Xiechen realized that the ship control super-brains manufactured by the Afik Kingdom were not only incredibly powerful but also astonishingly compact. A single super-brain assembly controlling a first-tier battleship was only one-fifth the size of the ship control super-brain built by the Earth Federation.) Gu Xiechen immediately went for broke, raising his requested quantity of super-brains to ten—he intended to replace all the regional control units with main control units. It was obvious that the faster a super-brain calculated, the more powerful the warship's performance would be! After a period of intense haggling and precise calculation regarding the volume of Poluopolu's smuggling vessel, Gu Xiechen and Fu Ya.Ming finally finalized a manifest—a list of goods sufficient to fill the Old Ancestor.

This list served as a down payment from Fu Ya.Ming to Gu Xiechen. Although no formal contract had been signed, the employment relationship between the two parties was established.

Following this, during the days spent waiting for Holm and the others, Gu Xiechen devised a battle plan that left Fu Ya.Ming utterly aghast.

Audacious, bordering on reckless—this was Fu Ya.Ming's sole assessment of the plan.