Chapter 1263: Evaluation

Khan’s aura turned sterner as he flew at high speed through the sky. He had joked around while saying goodbye to Liiza, but the matter was beyond serious. Its conclusion could impact the galaxy’s political layout as a whole, and Khan had other reasons to seek a peaceful resolution.

Settling things peacefully with the Kros would add another valuable ally to Khan’s organization and remove some of humankind’s leverage against him. The Niqols would still be a problem, but their political situation would become more unfavorable, and Khan hoped that might prevent the worst-case scenario.

Also, Liiza felt guilty about what had felt like tricking the Kros. She had offended them, but Khan could fix that, sparing his wife from shouldering that blame for the years to come.

Moreover, Khan would prefer to avoid tainting his marriage with the necessity of war and knew Liiza felt the same. The two would stick together no matter what, but they would both appreciate it if their union wasn’t built upon blood and corpses.

Garret sent updates to Khan’s phone as the situation on his end developed. He set the meeting point somewhere above the arrangement of sea stations, so Khan accelerated, summoning his real speed to get there as quickly as possible.

Khan had to reach the meeting point from his position, while the alien fleet could enter it directly from orbit, so the spherical ships arrived earlier than he did. Nevertheless, they respected Garret’s wishes, stopping in the sky and awaiting Khan.

Of course, it wasn’t proper to leave an alien force with unclear political allegiances unguarded. The gesture would also be impolite, so the area featured two fleets that kept each other in check when Khan arrived, with one hovering above the other.

The spherical ships obviously hovered above Khan’s forces, but he disregarded the battle formations to focus on the former’s curious detail. One of those vessels was at least four times the size of the others, and Khan could easily guess who or what it hosted.

Khan ignored the usual political pleasantries and headed directly for the bigger spherical ship, stopping right before its wide and bright enneagram. No announcements flew in his direction, so he took it upon himself to start those negotiations.

“I’m Prince Khan of the Nognes family,” Khan declared. “I thank the Kros for accepting my request. As promised, the negotiations can start now.”

Khan didn’t know much about the Kros’ technology but would wager all the cans of spicy chicken in the world that their ships had speakers. Still, the big spherical ship didn’t rely on them to respond. It did something far more spectacular.

Blue lines stretched from the bright enneagram, drawing a wide spiderweb over the ship’s dark hull, seemingly splitting it into multiple pieces of different sizes.

The lines brightened while stretching deeper into the hull. Khan became able to sense the ship’s insides’ symphony at that point, confirming the division, but the powerful aura it carried made him disregard that technological marvel.

The glow intensified until the ship split completely. Its many metal pieces expanded outward and moved, creating a spherical barrier-like structure of debris connected through the blue light.

The sphere of debris expanded even more, eventually halting its spinning motion to make room for other functions. The blue light stopped connecting the whole wall, splitting it into multiple pieces that rearranged themselves into different machines.

An engine-like structure took shape in the rear, while machines resembling scanners formed right before Khan, pointing their glass-like tips at him.

Three rifle-shaped weapons also appeared on the left side, and a vast control desk formed behind the scanners. Each of those tools carried traces of the previous blue light, and their sizes put them closer to heavy weaponry than simple machines. They even reeked of a rather fearsome aura, but Khan didn’t spare them a single glance.

The various massive machines were definitely eye-catching and fearsome, but their aura wasn’t artificial. It had a precise source that could manipulate them at will due to an intrinsic connection, and Khan had looked at it from start to finish.

A humanoid figure had become visible once the spherical wall started to transform. A Kros wearing a loose and unkempt white medical coat sat on a thick metal chair, lazily supporting his head on his arm on the armrest.

Physically, Khan couldn’t spot any stark difference from the Kros met in the past. The alien still had dark green scales, yellow eyes, and a thin physique. Visually, he didn’t look scary at all.

However, the Kros’ aura highlighted the most crucial difference. The alien’s mana wasn’t only connected to the surrounding machines. It also conveyed his power, unmistakably placing him in the evolved realm.

Khan didn’t know what kind of government the Kros had, but it seemed they had taken his request quite literally. Still, they didn’t focus on the King part. Instead, they had sent someone who stood beyond mere mortals to allow negotiations between equals.

The floating metal chair also contained part of the Kros’ mana, and that energy moved to activate its functions, releasing the familiar manufactured human voice.

“Prince Khan of the Nognes family,” The robotic voice resounded through the sky. “I’m Muhsin of the Kros, tasked with starting the negotiations and seeing them to their conclusions.”

Muhsin’s chair seemed capable of articulating more complex sentences, but Khan couldn’t confirm that point since his previous interactions with the Kros had been rather short and one-sided.

“Let us start then,” Khan announced. “I’ve already expressed my willingness to compensate the Kros for the offense. On top of that, I’ll match whatever deal you had with the Niqols.”

“That’s mathematically impossible,” Muhsin responded. “Your force has no relationship with the Niqols species. You can’t offer what you lack.”

Khan had been vague with his initial offer, but it seemed Muhsin only cared about hard stats. It was technically accurate that Khan couldn’t offer what the Niqols had offered since he didn’t have access to that species. Yet, his force now had something similar and more.

“I’m Lord Blue Shaman of the Thilku Empire,” Khan declared. “My force has alliances with the Ef’i, humans, Fuveall, Scalqa, and Nele. Three Niqols are currently with me, too. I can match and surpass that offer.”

The more detailed explanation silenced the evolved Kros, but the latter didn’t fall into a pensive state. The energy inside the chair moved again, summoning two holographic screens before the alien. They listed words and stats Khan couldn’t recognize, but those bright rectangles quickly vanished.

“The Kros can obtain more from collaborating with the Global Army,” Muhsin declared. “Our simulations place the likelihood of your desire to avoid a war with the Niqols at over ninety-five percent. By allying with the Global Army, the Kros will obtain your support.”

Khan had to admit he didn’t expect that political maneuver. Muhsin was right. The Kros, Global Army, and Niqols could tighten their alliance and use it against Khan. They only had to promise a peaceful resolution for Khan to consider the most awful terms.

Still, that resolution would most likely try to suppress Khan’s force. The Kros and Niqols probably wouldn’t care, but the Global Army was bound to make Khan pay for his past misdeeds. After all, humankind had spent years attempting to control him, and that was the perfect opportunity to succeed.

“I’m more valuable than the Global Army as a whole,” Khan stated. “Establishing an alliance with me will provide the same benefits without souring our relationship.”

Two of the massive rifle-like weapons lit up and split into debris again, rearranging themselves to create more scanner-like machines. A new holographic screen also appeared before Muhsin, and data flooded it.

“That’s incorrect,” Muhsin soon concluded. “Prince Khan of the Nognes family is worth close to forty percent of the Global Army’s value.”

“Is that evaluation due to my force or strength?” Khan questioned.

“All available information about your persona has been taken into consideration to reach this conclusion,” Muhsin explained. The energy inside the chair still moved, planning to add something, but a thunderous noise suddenly filled the sky, interrupting the function.

“I suggest you calculate again,” Khan said, purple-red light starting to shine over his red tattoos. “I can provide more updated information if needed.”