Chapter 495.3: Reunion After A Century And A Half

What baffled Cohen was that this so-called Administrator af the New Alliance showed strength not inferior to the soldiers behind him.

Could it be that even the New Alliance’s Administrators were awakeners?!

The realization left Cohen astonished.

Although certain drugs could forcibly stimulate genetic potential and awaken even the untalented, few among the ruling class would ever choose that path.

There were plenty of ways to prolong one’s life. There was no need to go down that route.

Beyond the meager gains in lifespan and physical prowess, Awakening carried many side effects and uncontrollable risks at the genetic level.

No one knew what would happen when their genetic awakening reached 100%.

It was something that hadn’t happened even in the Prosperity Era.

Suppressing the condescension in his eyes, Cohen looked at the madman before him and teased, “... The Triumphant Reports described you as a three-headed, six-armed beast. I didn’t expect you to be such a young man.”

Chu Guang smiled faintly. “Not that young, but certainly not as old as your Marshal.”

Cohen gave a short laugh, coldness flashing in his eyes.

Chu Guang returned his gaze with a calm smile, matching his presence without yielding an inch.

A short distance away, the players watched the spectacle with amusement, quietly chatting on their communication channel about the boss’s level and the elite mobs behind him.

Further away, King Morgott and his nobles were sweating nervously, terrified the two might suddenly start shooting.

The odds were slim, but not nonexistent.

Just then, blue flashes appeared in the distance. Escorted by 10 Cloudfly aircraft, two Orcas flew in formation towards them.

They had departed from Bist Town, originally intending to land at the castle’s plaza. But seeing the commotion there, they quickly changed their course.

Seeing those Cloudfly aircraft, Chu Guang couldn’t help clicking his tongue.

Good grief.

Throughout the entire war, the Enterprise’s support reached such a level.

But the moment their old rivals from the west came to negotiate a ceasefire, they suddenly pulled out all their hidden toys!

Still, that worked in the New Alliance’s favor.

The more chips they held, the more carefully the other side would weigh the cost of breaking the talks.

Sure enough, Cohen’s face grew grave, especially when he saw the Enterprise’s Orca transport planes.

“Plasma engines...”

The people from the East Coast had abandoned advanced antigravity drives in favor of cheaper, obsolete technology.

It was hard not to see it as a countermeasure against the Army’s inherited cutting-edge weapons, like the Phase Cannons.

Apparently, the East Coast dwellers had never forgotten what happened a century and a half ago. Though they spoke of moving on and facing the future, they had always seen the Army as their hypothetical enemy.

Cohen narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing.

Escorted by the Cloudflies, the Orcas landed steadily in the golden wheat fields, their pale blue plasma exhausts receding with the conical nozzles.

From the open hatch, a squad of fully armed soldiers and a middle-aged man emerged.

To Chu Guang’s surprise, it wasn’t Yi Chuan, but Wu Changnian, deputy head of the Enterprise Management Group, the same man who’d greeted the New Alliance delegation in Ideal City.

The middle-aged man wore his hair in a neat 3:7 parting, his silver-gray longcoat crisp as if polished. Not a wrinkle could be seen, nor the gentle smile he’d shown on camera before.

It was over 3,000 kilometers from Ideal City to Clearspring City and over 5,000 to where they were in the desert.

Chu Guang did a quick calculation.

It’s quite the trip.

Fixing his eyes on Cohen standing in the distance, Wu Changnian ignored the nearby war machine and the airships beyond, striding forward with his squad until he stopped before the gathered crowd.

“... I am Wu Changnian, deputy head of the Enterprise Management Group. On behalf of the Highest Council, I lodge a formal protest and demand that you immediately release the Pioneer and all its crew!”

“Otherwise, your actions will be deemed a provocation against the agreement and we will show no restraint!”

Cohen, unfazed by the angry man, said flatly, “You’ve captured plenty of our people too.”

Wu Changnian merely chuckled instead of getting angry. “At least you’re aware of that.”

Cohen’s eyes narrowed to slits.

The air between them was like a barrel of gasoline waiting for a spark. One flicker could ignite the entire field.

The tension was even greater than during the New Alliance-Army standoff.

Chu Guang suddenly realized he had become invisible.

Neither Cohen nor Wu Changnian was paying him the slightest attention. They were locked on each other.

But that was fine. Chu Guang preferred it that way.

The grudges from a century and a half ago had nothing to do with him, and he had no desire to meddle. He only wanted his share.

The share that belonged to all members of the New Alliance.

Just then, a flash of light appeared in the northeast.

Cohen frowned slightly and Wu Changnian mirrored his reaction. Both turned their eyes toward it.

A long, spindle-shaped craft came skimming in at near-Mach 1 speed along the riverbank, then fired twin arcs of lightning from under it and abruptly braked in midair with impossible acceleration.

But apparently, something went wrong.

The shuttle failed to stop completely and crashed straight into the wheat field, its rear end plowing deep into the soil.

Fortunately, the soft earth and stalks cushioned the impact, sparing the craft from total ruin.

The guards behind Cohen moved to shield him, but he raised a hand.

“No need.”

The design of that craft... He found it strangely familiar.

As if to confirm his suspicion, a door opened on its side.

A middle-aged man in a white-and-blue-trimmed uniform stepped out, holding the frame for balance and trying to stay composed.

“

Ahem

! Sorry... I came a bit late.”

Two android bodyguards followed behind him.

Unlike Enterprise’s androids, these looked and felt purely utilitarian. They were more weapons than beings.

“And you are?” Cohen asked, frowning.

“Li Ke, B-class Researcher of the Academy,” the man replied with a friendly smile. Clearing his throat, he added, “You must be the Army’s representative, yes? We’ve all fought long enough, why not sit down and talk?”

The field fell silent. Or rather... awkward.

Li Ke clearly felt it too, and his eyes darted around anxiously.

At last, he spotted the man in azure exoframe and cast him a pleading glance.

Chu Guang, of course, saw him. After all, he was the one who’d invited the dude. However, he was still puzzled.

He could understand Cohen not recognizing him. The man had just arrived in Sunset Province.

But even the Enterprise looked completely blindsided by his appearance, as if they hadn’t expected him at all.

Then, suddenly, Chu Guang realized.

Could it be that Comrade Li Ke hadn’t actually coordinated with the Enterprise at all?

That he had only made separate contact with Griffin on the frontlines, and with me?

The realization shocked Chu Guang.

Good grief.

Doing the biggest job with the smallest budget. Now that was talent.

From the shuttle’s design, Wu Changnian could already tell who the newcomer was, though he couldn’t figure out why someone from the Academy had come.

The Highest Council hadn’t discussed anything like it, and he wasn’t about to unilaterally decide the Enterprise’s diplomatic stance toward the Academy. So he coughed lightly and said ambiguously, “The Academy, huh... a rare guest.”

Cohen’s reaction, however, was completely different. It was downright hostile.

Fixing the awkwardly smiling B-class Researcher with a cold glare, he sneered, “Tired, are we? Heh... You think we’re slugs crawling out of a swamp?”

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Whether we keep fighting or not, what the hell does it have to do with you?”