A fleet large enough to wage a border star trade war—this was practically the entire might of the Market Development Department.
Such military power, aside from the very top-tier factions like the Xianzhou Alliance, the Antimatter Legion, and the Denizens of Abundance, was sufficient to flatten most forces in the universe.
Let alone deploying it against the mere Planet Balmung. According to the Intelligentsia Guild's assessment, that planet was basically a wasteland, and its predecessor, the 'Glamoth Republic,' had long vanished into dust. Facing the Corporation's pride—its fleet—should pose no threat!
As for the so-called Emanator... while these individuals blessed by the Aeons were indeed incredibly powerful, if Emanators were truly invincible, the Xianzhou Alliance's Generals wouldn't have suffered repeated losses in the numerous wars against the Denizens of Abundance, nor would the Antimatter Legion's Lord Ravagers fall to the Galaxy Rangers' hunts.
After all, Emanators, in essence, were just mortal bodies capable of wielding more Path energy.
The Corporation's internal view of Emanators had always been that they were 'difficult individuals to handle,' but certainly not 'unhandleable.' This viewpoint wasn't solely based on the Corporation possessing its own Emanators of 'Preservation.' It was particularly prominent within the Technology Development Department.
Osvaldo Schneider was also a proponent of this view: whether to antagonize an Emanator depended solely on whether the potential reward justified the cost.
If it was a losing proposition, the Corporation naturally preferred negotiation and cooperation. But if reconciliation was impossible, like the inherent conflict with the Antimatter Legion's Lord Ravagers, the Corporation wouldn't hesitate to let them taste the Corporation's hammer!
Currently, the conflict between Osvaldo and the Emanator appearing on that planet was clearly irreconcilable. Therefore, after confirming the opponent wasn't a unique Abundance Emanator like the infamous 'Shuhu' from the Abundance Wars, all he needed to do was turn them into a success story to compensate for his own failures!
However, Osvaldo had clearly misjudged certain things.
The Corporation fleet he had dispatched, his pride and joy... was now surrounded by a dense swarm of silver warships.
Furthermore, that declaration of war, penned in striking red characters, made it blatantly clear to the Corporation: their enemy wasn't just a lone Emanator, but a nascent, incredibly powerful faction!
No matter how much Chandrar believed the so-called Glamoth Empire was the work of some History Fictionologist, the warships now filling the void aimed their cold cannons, silently testifying that they were definitely not some 'for-show props' whipped up by history enthusiasts.
At the head of their formation stood a silver-haired girl in green robes. Her amber eyes held the power of reasoned narrative, captivating and soul-stirring.
Although Jiang Qiao had simpler ways to deal with the Corporation's armed vessels—sending them to their graves in the sea of stars would be effortless—as the leader of a faction, the Empress of the Glamoth Empire, [Firefly] deliberately chose a method more befitting the 'Glamoth Empire' to meet the enemy.
The power of the Propagation Path provided him ample 'energy supply.' The Truth that narrated civilization allowed him to perfectly manifest his thoughts into reality.
With the most critical flaw of this authority resolved... the Glamoth Empire's 'Firefly Battle Group' materialized in an instant.
"Lord Chandrar, what should we do?"
Gazing at the densely packed, battle-ready enemy fleet, one of the Corporation subordinates couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling slightly during Chandrar's silence.
While the Corporation did have dedicated combat departments, the Market Development Department certainly wasn't one of them. They were mostly good for bombarding planets and bullying weaker civilizations. When faced with a truly tough opponent... well, the pay wasn't worth risking their lives!
"...Has the assessment come back?" Chandrar felt his scalp tingle, but as a P46-level cadre, he managed to maintain composure, pretending to be calm as he waited for the analysis results.
"Enemy ship types unidentified. Preliminary assessment indicates their technological level and numbers surpass our warships... If combat occurs with current configuration, probability of victory for our fleet is 0.01%... Probability of total annihilation is 99.9%... Recommendation: Avoid conflict with the enemy."
Hearing the analyst's report, Chandrar's expression went numb. He knew perfectly well that the so-called 0.01% was just a scientifically offered platitude—purely hoping for a miracle.
Feeling a wave of despair, Chandrar glanced at the charging enemy cannons and finally made an extremely 'Corporation-like' decision.
---||---
Watching the Corporation personnel being escorted away by Glamoth soldiers clad in their distinct armor, Silver Wolf chewed on her lollipop stick and couldn't help remarking, "Whoa, the fight didn't even start, and the other side already surrendered~"
"They are Corporation employees, after all. Their will to fight isn't typically very high," [Firefly] replied, not too surprised by the outcome.
"Your Majesty, this was retrieved from the Corporation leader," a soldier reported, presenting an item.
"Another Cornerstone? The Corporation's gonna lose its mind," Silver Wolf gloated, having learned the details about Preservation Cornerstones from Jiang Qiao. She couldn't resist adding, "This one's actually quite pretty. It's such a waste for these things to end up with the Market Development guys... they're all so dim and lifeless."
"If you like it, you can have it," [Firefly] offered.
"...Eh?" Silver Wolf stared, stunned, at the Cornerstone [Firefly] handed her, finding it hard to believe.
[Firefly] looked slightly puzzled. "Is it strange? It's not that valuable, is it?"
"No, but this is a Cornerstone of Preservation... That Strategic Investment Department, just as famous as Market Development, only has ten of them." Although Silver Wolf didn't personally value the item's significance much, she understood its worth.
"I suppose so. But it's fine as long as you like it." [Firefly] shrugged. "Hmm, even if you don't like it, it's okay... We can go to Pier Point later. I can help you knock one you like off Qlipoth. Two are fine too... though if we take too many, that stone head might complain."
"Are you serious... Never mind, this one is fine." Silver Wolf blushed slightly, annoyed, then rolled her eyes and snatched the stone.
Remembering something, [Firefly] stepped closer. "Hmm... Okay then. Let me polish it for you. That guy was too awful, and the power source for this Cornerstone isn't great either..." A moment later, "There, it should look much prettier now."
Feeling the warmth of [Firefly]'s proximity withdraw, Ms. Silver Wolf felt a strange reluctance and blushed again before returning to normal. She looked happily at the gemstone in her hand, now emitting a faint blue glow.
"Right, carrying such a large stone around might be inconvenient. If you want, you can try using your will to change it into a shape you like. It didn't originally have that function, but since I re-polished it, I made a small adjustment."
Silver Wolf tried Jiang Qiao's suggestion, turning it into an earring and putting it on... Hmm, it actually looks pretty good~ She glanced at her reflection in a mirror created with Aether Editing. Though usually indifferent to such things, she felt quite pleased now.
"Gulp..." Pheebe, the Guard Captain, witnessed the entire exchange. Seeing Silver Wolf's delight, she couldn't help puffing out her cheeks, overcome with envy. Damn it, I want a gift from Her Majesty too!
---||---
While things were cheerful inside the Firefly flagship... the universe outside had descended into chaos.
The declaration of war edited by Silver Wolf wasn't just sent to Chandrar's Market Development fleet; it was broadcast publicly via open channels.
Due to the violation of its territory and to punish the Corporation's aggression and anti-humanitarian actions, the Celestial Empire of Glamoth hereby formally declares war on the Interastral Peace Corporation, effective until the Corporation announces its surrender.
Upon seeing this declaration, major and minor factions across the universe reacted with the universal expression of utter confusion.
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Wait... who is this? A completely unheard-of name declaring war on the Interastral Peace Corporation, whose business spanned the cosmos... Honestly, many factions despised the Corporation's methods, but most only dared to resist privately.
Openly declaring war? Only Emperor Rupert had done that... Oh, right, the Antimatter Legion? They just attacked without declaring anything.
In general, anyone who dared to openly challenge the Corporation was no pushover. And today... a completely unknown faction dared to declare war on the IPC. In most people's eyes, this was like an old man eating arsenic—utterly tired of living.
Many factions entered full spectator mode.
Of course, some lawful-aligned factions, due to Silver Wolf also disclosing the Market Development Department's atrocities, condemned the Corporation, even if they didn't declare hostility. This included the inorganic life of Planet Screwllum, the harmony-advocating Family, and even the Xianzhou Alliance joined the chorus of condemnation.
After all, as a faction aligned with the Hunt, while the Xianzhou wasn't as focused on knight-errantry as other factions, their stance against evil was quite clear. However, given the current circumstances, they could only offer verbal condemnation.
The Corporation itself was in a state of complete shock.
The IPC had numerous departments and vast operations. The failure of the Market Development Department's mission was currently known only within the involved departments (Market Development and Strategic Investment) and the Board of Directors.
For damage control, the Corporation's upper echelons were already preparing to suppress information about the incident and hold Osvaldo accountable at the next Board meeting, leaving him time to rectify the situation.
But the result... How long had it been? Not only was there no sign of Osvaldo fixing anything, but some 'Glamoth Empire' had used the Corporation's own channels to publicly declare war, dragging all the dirty secrets out into the open.
Even with the Corporation's swift damage control attempts to block the news, the brief transmission had instantly tarnished the company's reputation beyond repair. Stock prices, heavily tied to the company's reputation, plummeted disastrously.
Undoubtedly, the expressions on the faces of the Corporation's department heads, and even the Board members, were as ugly as if they'd just Look like choked on shit.
Especially the man at the center of it all, Osvaldo Schneider, Head of the Market Development Department. This rising star of the Corporation, whose expression had previously been one of confident victory, already contemplating how to further boost his performance, was now utterly ashen-faced.
Believe me, even the passing of a loved one couldn't compare to the spectacle on Mr. Osvaldo's face right now.
No one knew better than him what was coming next.
Soon, an emergency meeting was convened via projection. At the head, a dark silhouette spoke, its voice filled with fury and icy coldness: "Mr. Osvaldo Schneider, I believe you owe the Board members a reasonable explanation for the recent deplorable incident. Remember, everything."
What had happened was enough to infuriate any director. The exposure of the Market Development Department's dark history under Osvaldo had severely damaged the Corporation's reputation and even jeopardized future strategic deployments.
Whether motivated by profit or faith in the Amber Lord, Osvaldo clearly needed to provide a reasonable explanation to them, to everyone.
Knowing this full well, Osvaldo's face was grim. If he reported truthfully, without any defense, the events alone were enough for the Board to kick him down to the lowest rungs of the Corporation... No! Knowing their methods, they would undoubtedly use him as a scapegoat without hesitation, sacrificing his head to appease the masses.
At this moment, Osvaldo's mind was filled with regret and confusion. Of course, he didn't regret his past actions; he merely regretted how things had gone wrong.
If he could do it again, he'd be even more ruthless, ensuring absolute success! His confusion stemmed from how, just recently, he was the celebrated future star of the Corporation, yet today he faced such dire straits.
But... this didn't mean he would surrender meekly. As a ruthless and ambitious schemer, Osvaldo would never accept his fate so easily. Sweating profusely, his mind raced, searching for a way out, a way to remain unscathed.
Finally, he smiled.
"Honorable Board Members, I must clarify that this was not merely my personal strategic misjudgment, but also a provocation against the Interastral Peace Corporation by that unidentified faction!"
Completely shifting the blame was impossible; the Corporation's leadership wasn't stupid. But, by accepting some responsibility while steering the narrative towards the bigger picture... undoubtedly, he still had a chance!
...Drag the entire Corporation onto the war chariot! Then use the Corporation's might to crush that insolent, jumping clown!