Vast numbers of soldiers from the Papal States and the Federation of Gods were hastily evacuating the ruins. These disarmed and unarmored troops surged toward several large military bases on the outskirts of Paris. Under the surveillance of the Earth Federation's space fleet, new-generation super-heavy transport ships belonging to both the Papal States and the Federation of Gods were ferrying soldiers away, ship after ship.

Transports landed continuously, and then took off again without pause—a scene playing out simultaneously at military bases across Europe, Africa, North and South America, and the Antarctic coast.

Zit and Ganggelu had been killed. This struck a major blow to the morale of the Papal States and the Federation of Gods. The previously rioting and rebellious populace quietly returned to their residences, and no one dared to bring up the topic of sharing sovereignty. The parliamentarians within the council who had supported the two nations suddenly shifted their tune. Their forced cooperation transformed into active collaboration with the Earth Federation, dedicated entirely to maintaining peace and stability within the Earth Federation.

The armies controlled by the two nations also beat a hasty retreat from Earth, daring not to engage in conflict with the Federation forces.

Looking through the viewport, Gu Xiechen quietly observed the chaotic scene unfolding below. After a long moment, he chuckled softly, "It should be quiet for a while now!"

Fanning himself with the Five-Water Dragon Beard Fan, Gu Xiechen secretly calculated his future movements.

The Papal States and the Federation of Gods were unlikely to return anytime soon. The two hundred billion subjects they secretly evacuated were likely the deeply devoted followers cultivated through intensive missionary work. Believers are the hardest people to deal with; two hundred billion fervent followers—he truly had no good solution for them. Gu Xiechen could slay Zit and kill Ganggelu, but he couldn't lay a hand on these ordinary citizens. Selling them arms to kill each other was a different matter; he could not bring himself to directly confront common people.

The best outcome now would be a chaotic free-for-all among the four powers.

"Still, this is good," Gu Xiechen muttered. "This mess is exactly what I need. I can use you all to pin down the Romans and drag down their rear!"

The battleship passed over Paris and soon arrived at Versailles Town, which had already attained the status of a major metropolis. At the edge of the town, within a patch of jungle that had fortunately been preserved, the magnificent and glorious Palace of Versailles stood quietly. Large numbers of fully armed special forces soldiers encircled the palace, establishing dense, impenetrable defensive lines.

The battleship landed on the landing pad in the northwest corner of the Palace of Versailles. Two Earth Federation Lieutenant Generals, accompanied by a retinue, greeted them eagerly and escorted Gu Xiechen's party off the ship.

Before the Battle of '93, the Palace of Versailles had also suffered plunder akin to banditry from the Romans; nearly two-thirds of the main palace structure had been transported to Mars by them. The current Palace of Versailles was a tapestry woven from advanced, high-strength materials, restored according to ancient architectural blueprints. The main structure could now withstand the bombing of a million-ton nuclear missile, transforming it from a scenic spot into an impregnable war fortress. This was also the headquarters for the Federation Military Department's Rapid Reaction Force.

Sunlight spilled onto the Palace of Versailles, and the grayish-white edifice reflected a faint golden glow. Upon entering the palace's great hall, Fu Yaming stopped. "Xiechen, this is the internal affair of the Earth Federation; I will wait for you outside." She tugged Gu Xiechen's hand, gave a dazzling smile, and then decisively clamped down on Chu’s arm, who was trying to sneak in behind Gu Xiechen pretending to be deaf and mute.

Chu struggled a few times, but Fu Yaming's progress in cultivating the Hanyuan True Canon was accelerating daily. Fu Yaming now possessed immense strength. After a brief struggle, he couldn't break free and could only stand miserably beside her, rolling his beautiful purple eyes toward Lou Ren on the side.

Gu Xiechen led the way. "That is fine. General, please assign someone to accompany Her Majesty the Queen on a tour of the Palace of Versailles. Although this palace was replicated after the Battle of '93, the furnishings inside are all original items from the old Palace of Versailles. Fuya, you can also appreciate some of our authentic local crafts."

Facing Fu Yaming, Gu Xiechen felt embarrassed to call the displays in the Palace of Versailles antiques. A mere few hundred years of history, compared to the nations in the Star Alliance with histories stretching tens of thousands of years, could only be considered modern curiosities, perhaps? If the Corpse Emperor were here, taking a few old things excavated from some unknown ancient tomb off his teeth, then those might be worth showing off.

Fu Yaming nodded with a smile, pulling Chu and a few of her accompanying female aides along with the guides provided by the two Federation Lieutenant Generals.

Gu Xiechen, accompanied by Sai Ren, passed through layers of corridors with the two Lieutenant Generals, finally arriving at the famous Hall of the Moon God within the Palace of Versailles. Standing before the hall's modified main entrance was a group of lean soldiers with bluish skin. Their eyes, yellow and hard like amber, stared intensely at everyone passing by. Gu Xiechen noticed that these soldiers’ eyes were like the compound eyes of insects, divided into tens of thousands of tiny facets.

A very strange aura, one that made Gu Xiechen uncomfortable, emanated from this small contingent of a dozen or so soldiers. The movements of the two Federation Lieutenant Generals leading Gu Xiechen became stiff and awkward. Before they reached the grand door of the Hall of the Moon God by ten meters, they quickly produced their credentials and a document. One Lieutenant General announced loudly, "By order of the Federation Marshal, this is His Excellency Gu Xiechen, the Federation Minister of Foreign Affairs."

The soldiers’ cold, emotionless eyes fixed on Gu Xiechen for a moment, then they uniformly stepped aside, opening a passage.

The door of the Hall of the Moon God, capable of resisting nuclear strikes, opened soundlessly. A Federation Lieutenant Colonel, clad in a light blue naval uniform, stepped out lightly. She tilted her head slightly and bowed faintly to Gu Xiechen. "Your Excellency, the Marshal requests your presence inside."

Gu Xiechen nodded toward the Lieutenant Colonel, his divine sense rapidly scanning the lean soldiers. Just like the aura they projected, the bizarre structure within these soldiers made Gu Xiechen frown deeply. The muscle and bone structures of these fellows were extremely strange, not resembling any known terrestrial mammal, but rather approximating the skeletal structures of certain insects.

His divine sense instantly shot out beyond the Palace of Versailles. Gu Xiechen located more than ten different types of insects in the surrounding jungle and conducted a detailed comparison between the muscle fibers and exoskeletons of those insects and the structure of these soldiers. As he suspected, these soldiers were not human at all; they were giant insects wearing human facades. Their muscles and bones shared over eighty percent similarity with those insects, but in aspects like nerve junctions and brain structure, they resembled humans.

Large insects possessing human forms and high intelligence—this was the definition Gu Xiechen assigned to these soldiers. He also discovered that attached to the core areas of the soldiers' brains and vital nerve clusters were tiny but highly powerful biological explosives, and these soldiers lacked reproductive systems capable of breeding.

"Just like Jack on Easter Island, a genetic hybrid of insect and human!" Gu Xiechen mumbled softly to Sai Ren. "This is why I detest biological technology. I like fighter jets and artillery; I don't like these insect-like creatures that mimic humans."

Sai Ren paused, also glancing at the soldiers with distaste. "I don't like them either. It’s a good thing they are all male in appearance."

Nodding courteously to the Lieutenant Colonel, Gu Xiechen strode into the Hall of the Moon God. Sai Ren paused next to the Lieutenant Colonel, muttering just loud enough for her to hear, "My dear Lieutenant Colonel, this uniform looks like it was tailored just for you. Are you free tonight? I happen to have a table reserved at a restaurant aboard a cruise ship on the Seine."

The Lieutenant Colonel looked at Sai Ren with a slight smile, and she replied in a voice that was neither subservient nor arrogant, "General Sai, I am the intelligence liaison between the Ministry of War and the Special Assistance Bureau. I have all of Miss Aredia's contact information here, as well as emergency contact sequences for three critical states."

Sai Ren suddenly stood up straight, puffing out his chest. He nodded seriously to the Lieutenant Colonel, who was beautiful, charming, and cute. "Your work is exemplary. I will ensure you receive commendation!" Striding with steady, measured steps, Sai Ren walked into the Hall of the Moon God without glancing aside, but in a spot unseen by others, he fiercely flipped the Lieutenant Colonel the middle finger.

Inside the Hall of the Moon God, Du Lang sat ramrod straight. Across from him sat a white-haired elder nearly two meters tall, with thick eyebrows, deep-set eyes, and a ruddy complexion that looked as if blood might drip from his skin. This elder possessed a powerful bearing, like a fierce tiger, and sat firmly on the sofa, giving the impression of an unshakeable small mountain. He wore a black Federation Admiral's uniform, but with every breath he took, faint red light seemed to erupt from within him, staining the uniform a faint crimson.

To the elder's right sat a middle-aged man with a scholarly and refined air. This man shared ninety percent of the elder's fiercely imposing features, but on him, the same countenance imparted a gentle feeling, like a gentle spring rain falling over apricot blossoms, contrasting the elder's iron will with a soft extreme—one hard, one soft.

One of the leaders of the Federation's Asian Military Region, the longest-serving Admiral in the Federation, Xiao Liefeng, and his son, the longest-serving council member of the Federation Asian Council, Xiao Yusheng. Gu Xiechen glanced at the two and nodded to Du Lang. "Marshal, what is it you needed me for?"

Du Lang gestured toward Xiao Liefeng and Xiao Yusheng. "I relayed your proposal to them. They have a small matter they wish to discuss with you."

Gu Xiechen sat down next to Du Lang, as if he were in his own home, and beckoned to the Lieutenant Colonel who had opened the door. "Lieutenant Colonel, would you trouble yourself to bring me some good liquor?"

Under the astonished gaze of the Lieutenant Colonel, Gu Xiechen laughed heartily. "Don't tell me about the military regulation forbidding alcohol consumption. Look, behind those two large blue dishes, I see a few bottles of excellent gin. Hurry and fetch them."

To be continued. To find out what happens next, please log on to [URL] to support the author and genuine works.