Upon hearing this, Robert was still smiling.
He even thought that Gu Hang wasnât actually that smart.
He had initially believed Gu Hang to be a high-level âpeer,â an extraordinarily intelligent individual who could guess his perfect plan without being told. And once he knew his plan, he would surely believe that everything would proceed smoothly.
Unfortunately...
But since Gu Hang held the powerful Alliance,
he decided he needed to take some time to explain it to Gu Hang carefully and patiently, persuading this ruler of the Alliance.
Still, he felt somewhat disappointed.
If Gu Hang were the kind of person with âabsolute wisdomâ that he had previously thought, he even considered handing over the Empire to him. During his time as the âRegent Kingâ of the Empire, he had taken control of the entire military and political affairs of the Empire, understanding how taxing it was. He was willing to hand off this responsibility or share it with Gu Hang.
But it seemed Gu Hang wasnât that âabsolute wise man.â
Regrettably, Gu Hang should at least be able to act as his deputy, helping him shoulder some of the burden.
However, before he could begin to outline his perfect plan, Gu Hangâs next words completely wiped the smile off his face.
"...I believe that ten thousand years ago, when you led reinforcements from the Infinite Starfield, serving as the most crucial and largest force to support Holy Terra during the Empireâs civil war, you surely had a âperfect planâ as well. But you and your forces arrived fashionably late after the war ended, which definitely wasnât part of your perfect plan, was it?"
Below Robertâs frozen expression, a wave of anger was brewing.
How dare you?
That was one of the most painful scars of his life, one that he spent countless nights blaming himself for. As exceptionally intelligent as he was, he certainly knew many people thought this way in their hearts, but no one had ever dared to expose it to his face.
Although he was known as the rational Son of God, it didnât mean he was immune to anger.
After all, does Robertâs character lack the impulsive and fiery side?
No, not only does it exist, but itâs quite strong, not less than some of his more recklessly famed brothers.
Seeing Robert no longer smiling, Gu Hang instead laughed: "I believe you have reflected on that history countless times on countless nights. So, donât repeat the same mistake, alright?"
After Gu Hang said this, Robert fell into a long silence.
After waiting a while, Gu Hang started speaking on his own:
"Of course, Iâm not totally opposed to negotiations. But negotiation is just a means, we must push for negotiation through combat, we must gain complete dominance, which means rejecting any conditions proposed by the Dark Spirit Race, accepting only one thing: they must completely, unconditionally accept all of our terms."
"Time is on our side. The autonomous plan can start from today. We can dismantle a small Veil Spirit Gate now, reclaim it into equipment and materials, then have the Vanguard Fleet carry it towards Holy Terra."
"In Comoros, we can continue to search for new equipment and materials for manufacturing Veil Spirit Gates, and we will attempt to conquer other ports as well."
"Within a few years, when our Vanguard Fleet reaches one or two star systems adjacent to Holy Terra, we can set up the small Spirit Gate. Presumably, by then, we should have acquired more Spirit Gate equipment and more ports. At that time, transport the equipment through the small Spirit Gate to establish a large Spirit Gate, and the Expeditionary Force can still make its way through."
"Time wonât be as bad as we initially thought under the worst case."
"Moreover, we can make this clear during negotiations with the Dark Spirit Race. With each passing minute and second, the bargaining chips they hold for negotiation will become increasingly weak."
"Multiple channels, parallel advancement. Your Highness Robert, you can adjust your rather frugal plan, my Alliance has sufficient resources to pursue many grand goals simultaneously. You donât always have to think about having a perfect, least costly, highest probability plan. Thereâs no need, we can do everything, we can afford to lose."
At this, Robert couldnât help but speak up: "What if we lose Holy Terra?"
"We can afford that as well," Gu Hang replied, "Did the Dark Side Expedition of the Alliance have anything to do with Holy Terra? We still seized a quarter of the Empire, and visibly so, as long as we are given time, we could seize the entire Dark Side of the Empire, and then reconquer the other sideâs Holy Territory."
At this point, Gu Hangâs voice turned somewhat cold: "Let me put it bluntly, even if Holy Terra were completely destroyed, so what? Rebuild a world, regenerate a trillion people, create an Imperial Guard, assemble multiple stationed Battle Groups, and dig up the secrets and treasures buried under Holy Terra, replicate them, nothing more."
"Perhaps, such a New Terra might even be more worthwhile than rescuing Old Terra."
Robert pressed further: "What about The Emperor? The Emperorâs body still sits on the Golden Throne deep within the Imperial Palace!"
Gu Hangâs smile became somewhat unfathomable, seemingly even with a hint of mockery, Robert wasnât sure if he was seeing things.
He only heard him say: "The Emperor probably no longer cares."
Ascended Emperor, what does he need with the flesh? Old man, you might as well stay there.
...
In the end, was Robert persuaded?
No, he wasnât.
Itâs just that he had no choice.
The Alliance is the side with the greatest power. All of his plans needed the full cooperation of the Alliance.
If Gu Hang wasnât on board, no matter how perfect his plan was, it would be in vain.
He could only execute Gu Hangâs plan.
He even had to repair and patch up the so-called rough proposal taken out by the Alliance Militaryâs General Staff Department.
In this aspect, Gu Hang completely trusted his intelligence.
As long as the general direction was right, the specific implementation plan, Robert could modify any way he wanted.
After all, he was the âabsolute wise man,â he wouldnât be wrong, nor act foolishly out of spite.
Hmm, probably not.
Even if he did, it wouldnât matter.
Just like Gu Hang said, the current Alliance can afford to lose, and afford to lose many times.
With the new large Veil Spirit Gate operational, the throughput of Queen Rose Port doubled.
Two months later, one-third of the main force of the Allianceâs Central Front Army had already entered Comoros.
That was three thousand warships, with an Alliance Queen of Glory overseeing them.
Simultaneously, the Starfighter Battle Group engaged in combat had more than thirty from the Alliance alone. Coupled with the descendants of the Infinite Legion from Robertâs Expeditionary Force, the total exceeded fifty thousand Interstellar Warriors, fighting in Comoros.
After gaining Robertâs agreement and consent from various Infinite Sub-groups coming from the Infinite Starfield, recruits from the Allianceâs New Blood Cultivation Center, drafted as Original Casting recruits, would also be replenished into those Infinite Warriorsâ Sub-groups.
Though there were issues of acceptance among veteran soldiers, during wartime, there is no room for such concerns.
They would have to adapt slowly on the battlefield.
And with the abundant forces, humans once again launched a frenzy of assault within Comoros!