CHAPTER 1000: CHAPTER 515: WE NEED TO MAKE AN EVEN BIGGER MOVE

"What?"

Sener suddenly stood up, looking shocked and staring for several moments, as if finding it incredible: "The Empire and the Federation, both backing him up?"

"How could this be?" she asked again, clearly unsettled.

This is the Empire, the Federation, always having their sights high; if a conflict arises, they’re usually the ones to back down.

These two great civilizations have almost never made such statements, voicing support for outsiders.

Even if an ally under them is attacked, they rarely publicly reprimand the assailant.

After all, the interstellar universe is so vast; if the attacker truly disappears, there’s no way to find them, which would be quite embarrassing.

Anatoli put down the knife in his hand, and also looked up to carefully read the news, a complex expression flashing in his eyes, "Strictly speaking, it’s not considered full support."

The Empire and the Federation’s wording are different; the Empire is harsher, using "will not tolerate".

The Federation is more subtle, using "severe reprimand", quoting the Azure Dragon’s statement, but only addressing actions that disrupt interstellar stability, leaving room for interpretation.

"Whether it’s support or not doesn’t matter much, why did the Empire and the Federation make such a choice?" Perkins said in a deep voice, his words like a thunderclap: "I thought they would be unhappy over the Mechanic Association’s issue."

"There must be something we don’t know," Anatoli turned to Gusta: "Red River Star Stream..."

He continued: "After coming out of the Red River Star Stream, many things have become quite strange, and some conflicts between the Empire and the Federation have eased, giving the Mechanic Association some leeway."

"And now, the student of the Azure Dragon is kidnapped, and both the Empire and the Federation have stepped forward."

Everyone remained silent; their information networks were quite extensive, even secretly probing into matters within the Red River Star Stream, but they found nothing.

The high level of confidentiality was evident.

It was Sener who spoke, the Shadow Queen quickly grasping the thread, "If it’s because some interest connects the Empire, the Federation, and the Three Great Masters together, making them advance and retreat together, it could explain the current situation."

"This thing is not so simple," Gusta finally spoke, already having stowed away his smart terminal.

"Mikhail and Reynolds do have some background, but the Red River Star Stream is not the Main Universe, their Mechanical Army can’t operate effectively there."

He said calmly, "If the Empire and the Federation discovered some huge secret during the Red River Catastrophe, their first action would certainly be to silence all who know."

"With the Empire and the Federation joining forces, who could stand in their way?"

Gust’s question plunged the room into silence once more.

The Empire and Federation working together projected an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Sener even felt a vague sense of trepidation, "Are you saying that the Three Great Masters together can already challenge the Empire and the Federation?"

"No..." Anatoli shook his head: "Reynolds and Mikhail have some depth, but truly fighting the Empire and the Federation would mean their accumulated Mechanical Body would be exhausted in less than three months."

He paused and said, "The issue... lies with the Azure Dragon."

"The Azure Dragon..." Sener’s expression shifted slightly, "Is it the Azure Dragon that forces the Empire and the Federation to step back?"

She couldn’t help but speculate, how strong does the Azure Dragon have to be?

"If it’s a direct confrontation, that would be the conclusion, but that doesn’t mean the Three Great Masters only have the path of direct confrontation; besides the Empire and the Federation, there is the Star Alliance and many other civilizations, including us..."

Gusta considered more, "If it’s to avoid the Three Great Masters leaking information, the Empire and the Federation might retreat, since as long as they escape, the secrets might leak, which is easier than a direct confrontation."

The other three fell into contemplation and then nodded, Gusta’s words were very logical.

The discussion continued, with the statements of the Empire and the Federation leading them to almost fully interpret the situation.

"Then... what exactly is this secret?" Sener couldn’t help but ask?

A secret guarded by the Empire and the Federation working together was indeed tempting.

"Perhaps no one apart from the involved parties knows," Gusta’s gaze was deep.

Perkins suddenly said, "Could this be the reason Li Ming was kidnapped?"

"Is the mastermind trying to learn the hidden secrets of these two civilizations through the Azure Dragon?"

"Hmm..." Anatoli’s expression flickered, but Gusta said, "Based on known information, this is as far as we can speculate."

"Now we must consider whether to add fuel to the fire for this Lord Azure Dragon."

"We should," Perkins said in a deep voice: "It’s not just a matter of offering help when needed, the support of the Empire and the Federation has already elevated the Azure Dragon’s status."

"In other words, our lack of statement now wouldn’t imply that the Azure Dragon isn’t welcome by us, rather that the Azure Dragon hasn’t informed us."

The meaning is entirely different depending on how you see it.

"For the sake of the bigger picture, we should issue a statement," Anatoli also nodded.

Sener, who initially disagreed, remained silent.

Gusta glanced at the three, "In that case, let’s issue a statement as well."

Gusta looked down, fiddling with his smart terminal, while Sener pursed her lips, looking at Anatoli, "Lord Hermit, we’ve been here for many days, aren’t you going to reveal the Star Beast coordinates yet?"

Anatoli’s expression changed slightly as he resumed cutting ingredients, lowering his head: "There’s no rush for this, we can discuss once the other guests arrive."