CHAPTER 138: DEFIANT RESOLVE

Tom’s face showed a strange expression as he looked at the message and the attached catalog, which listed material requirements such as "100 million tons of deuterium, 1 million tons of tritium, 1 billion tons of pure water, 5 billion tons of high-carbon steel."

"Do you really think the solar system is your backyard, where you can come and go as you please?

I already gave you a chance before.

If you had agreed to me then, I might have actually given you these materials. But now, do you think... I could still agree to you?

No materials, can’t leave? Then don’t leave!"

Tom immediately drafted a reply message and sent it.

"I’m too lazy to waste words with you. Now, even if you want to leave, you can’t!

I’m also too lazy to ask for compensation for the losses you’ve caused me. After defeating your civilization, your population, technology, and spacecraft will all be mine. I demand your entire civilization as compensation!"

The power of the Bluetoth Civilization was beyond doubt.

Their spacecraft’s performance and combat power far exceeded his own.

In this war, Tom truly had no certainty of victory.

But...

He had to fight!

Why!

Why could you treat my previous goodwill as weakness, when it could have been resolved peacefully, yet you insisted on intruding into my home?

Now that you see I’m not easy to provoke, you want to extort a batch of materials and leave? There’s no such good thing in this universe!

Now, even if you want to leave, I won’t let you!

After centuries of full dedication and meticulous effort, after one technological breakthrough after another, and with various war weapons that, while not as good as theirs, were sufficient to threaten them, and most importantly, with the previous victory, Tom was now filled with soaring fighting spirit and combat intent.

...

On the Bluetoth Civilization flagship. Seeing this reply from Human Civilization, many civilization high-ranking officials stood up, full of anger.

"This Human Civilization is so arrogant! Just a small victory, and they actually think they can defeat us?"

"We originally intended to preserve their civilization’s legacy, but they dared to treat our goodwill as weakness... Fine, fine, fine, then let’s destroy them!"

Amidst the excited crowd, Chief Haiwei’s face showed a peculiar smile.

"No peace, then let’s fight."

"Fight, fight!"

"Fight!"

...

After waiting for more than a full day outside the Chief’s office, the office door finally opened, and Chief Haiwei calmly stood before Harrier.

Behind him, all the civilization high-ranking officials looked furious.

"Harrier, stand up."

Harrier immediately stood up, trying his best to straighten his body and maintain his last shred of dignity, awaiting the civilization’s judgment.

"The failure of this war is not your responsibility. Not only that, it is precisely because of your decisiveness that our side avoided greater losses.

You are not at fault; on the contrary, you are meritorious."

First, Chief Haiwei appeased Harrier’s emotions, then continued, "Before, the civilization’s high-ranking officials unanimously decided to negotiate peace with Human Civilization. As long as they agreed to our demands to severely punish the internal culprits, compensate our fallen, and deliver materials, our side would agree to their peace request."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Harrier’s eyes.

They actually negotiated peace... Alas, what a pity, I will never have the chance to seek revenge on humans in this lifetime.

"But... Human Civilization rejected us."

What?!

Harrier suddenly looked up, staring at Chief Haiwei in disbelief.

This possibility had never occurred to him before!

Why, how dare you humans reject the peace we bestowed?

Just because of that small victory, you dare to be so arrogant?

Chief Haiwei looked at him calmly. "I have decided to also grant you the position of commander for the second campaign."

Harrier’s heart was once again filled with shock, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"The public..."

"The pressure is indeed immense, but you don’t need to worry about it; I will bear it. I will handle all opposing voices."

Chief Haiwei calmly said, "As long as I know you are an excellent commander, that is enough."

Harrier’s eyes suddenly welled up.

"Chief, rest assured, I will definitely fight the second campaign well, and I will, I will give Human Civilization the... punishment it deserves for trampling on our desire for peace."

"Alright, now tell me, what are your operational plans?"

"Chief, I have repeatedly thought and analyzed, and I believe the failure of the first campaign was mainly due to us clearly defining our attack target in advance, giving the opponent too much time to mobilize forces and stockpile heavy troops at Neptune.

Ultimately, it was because we underestimated the enemy.

In the second campaign, I will not pre-select the main attack target. Instead, I will first enter the solar system, while closely monitoring the opponent’s troop movements to find a weak target for the main attack.

Our fleet’s maneuverability is stronger. Once a weak target is selected, our side can maneuver there more quickly and launch an attack more rapidly.

And the opponent will not have time to reinforce!

This way, we can quickly capture a large planet to serve as a base for our main fleet."

Chief Haiwei nodded slightly: "Very good, then, go and do it.

This time, I will give you a force of 300,000 warships."

Three hundred thousand... That’s 75% of the civilization’s entire military force!

Excluding the necessary forces to guard the main fleet, and the forces escorting industrial and transport spacecraft to other distant dwarf star systems to collect resources, the Chief had almost handed over all available forces within the civilization to him!

"Yes!"

Harrier solemnly agreed.

The reply from Human Civilization was finally released to the public. For a time, the entire Bluetoth Civilization was plunged into unbelievable shock.

After the shock came an indescribable fury.

To betray our goodwill, to trample on our benevolence, this Human Civilization... deserves death!

Destroy them, we must destroy them!

No, first enslave them, make them produce materials for our civilization’s interstellar migration plan, and after the materials are produced, kill them all, completely eradicating their civilization!

Since the factors for the failure of the first war were not General Harrier’s fault, since General Harrier is an excellent commander, since that is the case...

General Harrier, destroy them!

The shouts of countless people converged into the strongest voice within the civilization, ultimately reaching General Harrier, making him feel the heavy responsibility and mission.

"Please rest assured, Chief; please rest assured, the people; I, Harrier, this expedition... will not fail in my trust!

Warriors! I order, set sail!"

A total of 300,000 warships of various sizes, along with numerous cargo ships, logistics ships, and more, gathered together, and countless tail flames spewed out, almost illuminating the entire sky.

The massive fleet slowly departed from Eris, heading toward the bright star in front of them.