The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

2785, Executor, Serandis

The moment the equipment was activated, the holographic star map suddenly went completely black, then gradually began to light up with faint rays of light. These points of light twinkled like stars, yet seemed to be connected by veins, outlining some kind of hidden psionic network.

Countless rays of light converged in one spot, turning it into a dazzling sphere of light.

“This is the psionic network behind the Kilik swarm that Archbishop Ronis has revealed to us,” Adela said. “And this place is Fitz, a node where psionic energy converges.”

Meanwhile, Severance-Tann looked at the optical images coming from the other side and saw that Ronis's Apocalypse had stopped, and was bathed in the star's intense radiation at a distance of about 60 million kilometers from the star in the galaxy.

Suddenly, a holy light began to emanate from the top of the warship, as if an eye had opened from the void and was looking at the distant psionic network.

At the same time, on the holographic star map in front of Adela, the beams of light began to extend gradually, as Ronis was following the clues and exploring the rear of Fitz planet.

Severance Tann frowned as she watched the light behind Fitz extend directly toward the galactic center.

That direction was already beyond the range of her fleet's attack.

Simply put, the Unknown Star Region is roughly two-fifths of the western region of the entire Milky Way galaxy's planar star map. In other words, the western side of the Milky Way's center is also part of the Unknown Star Region.

At the same time, the closer you get to the center of the Milky Way, the greater the density of stars becomes, and the more deadly astronomical environments such as black holes, gravitational traps, and high-density nebulae become. Therefore, normally, there is no hyperspace passage at the center of the Milky Way.

Because there is simply no route that can traverse the chaotic and complex center of the Milky Way.

Apart from that mysterious and unpredictable Tian Shu route.

Take the Kingdom of Dawn as an example. Their controlled areas include the southwestern and northwestern regions of the Milky Way. To travel between these two places, one must actually bypass the center of the Milky Way, and sometimes even cross the territory of the Galactic Empire.

Therefore, before the stargate on Macito was completed, the commercial alliance in the North was relatively independent, mainly because transportation between the two regions was extremely difficult.

And now, what is gradually extending in front of Severance Tann is this beam of light, stretching towards the center of the Milky Way.

This also means that the psionic link is in that direction.

This perception lasted for several hours, after which Archbishop Ronis returned to the spaceport on the planet Jobri aboard the Apocalypse. He appeared somewhat exhausted upon exiting the spaceship, and Cardinal Adela quickly went to support him.

However, at that moment, Ronis suddenly stopped, raised his hand to signal Adela not to come closer, gazed at a point in the sky, and slowly said, "A distinguished guest has arrived. Please allow me to wait here."

"Who?" Adela asked.

Moments later, however, her question was answered—a flash of white light appeared in the starry sky, and ten enormous warships instantly detached from hyperspace and materialized in the outer reaches of the planet Jobri. Around these warships, approximately 30 fighter jets provided escort.

These warships are entirely gold, with a smooth, rounded surface and a front end resembling a flower petal, giving them an elegant and magnificent appearance.

Because the Protoss High Templar Rasdian was there, Cardinal Adela immediately recognized it—without a doubt, this was definitely the Protoss's shipbuilding style.

“It seems this is the Protoss executive fleet,” Adela said. “I just wonder which executive has arrived.”

Meanwhile, in the command center, the expeditionary fleet's commander-in-chief, Severance Tann, had received notification of the Protoss executive fleet's arrival. She stood in front of the holographic screen and connected to their communication.

The projection flickered, and a Protoss with a slender and graceful figure appeared compared to the other Protoss—a female Protoss. Her armor also appeared more delicate and elegant, with a touch of silver-white added to the gold.

Despite having completely different racial features, Severance Tann somehow sensed beauty in this appearance. She felt that even by Protoss standards of beauty, this person should be considered exceptionally beautiful.

"I am Selendis, the Protoss Executive, leading the Executive Fleet here." The Protoss Executive spoke through psionic resonance, transmitting his voice via communicator, "Exterminating the Kilik swarm will be my top priority."

“It is my honor to fight alongside you, Executor Serandis,” said Rasdi, a high-ranking Templar, patting his chest.

“Welcome, Your Excellency. The Protoss reinforcements will be a vital asset to our victory,” Sefrans-Tann said with composure, showing no sign of being intimidated by the Protoss’s imposing manner.

Archbishop Ronis and Cardinal Adela of the Holy Advent Church also came to the command center to greet Thranduil.

“According to the agreement between the Twilight Council and the Supreme Command of the Kingdom of Dawn, I will accept your command as much as possible, General Tann. However, I will reserve the final say on the fleet,” Thranduil added, appearing very polite.

In other words, she is basically under the command of Severance Tann, but if she believes that the other side's orders are detrimental to her own fleet, she also has the right to act according to her own judgment.

This statement relieved Severance Tann, who had been worried that the proud and aloof Protoss would refuse to cooperate and act independently.

In hindsight, her worries seem unnecessary.

“Thank you very much for your support. I will use this power very carefully until the Kylik swarm is completely wiped out,” Sefrans-Tann said with a slight smile. “Then, we can talk about something else,” Thranduil suddenly said, changing the subject.

“Please speak.” Severance Tann frowned, suddenly sensing that something was amiss.

"I have discovered that you are cultivating the Kilik swarm, an extremely dangerous and utterly wrong choice," Thranduil said coldly. "I demand that you immediately and completely purify this Kilik swarm. If you believe you cannot do so, my executive fleet will be more than happy to do it for you."

Severance Tann frowned and said, "These swarms are what we've bred to fight off the enemy's Kilik swarms. We also need corresponding countermeasures against such a large number of swarms."

“This is not a request, but a notification.” Thranduil’s tone grew colder. “My task is to exterminate all the Kilik swarms… no matter where they came from.”

“Master of Evolution Abathur has complete control over this swarm; their existence will only be of help to us!” Severance Tann’s tone gradually rose, and she began to feel anxious.

“Ah…Abathur, one, a Zerg,” Thranduth said sarcastically. “Killing a Zerg is naturally my duty.”

“I told you so,” the voice of High Templar Rasdian echoed in Severance Tann’s mind.

Although Rasdian is a very brave warrior, after spending a lot of time with the humans here, he is actually much more tolerant in character.

At this moment, the holographic projection of Governor Sheen Morabito of the Kingdom of Chis appeared here. He also changed his previous languid demeanor and said very seriously, "I have said before that such disputes should not occur on the front lines! If you Protoss have any objections to the actions here, you should contact the Dawn Planet directly!"

"Why do you think I didn't act immediately?" Thranduth asked calmly. "Well, you can consult the Supreme Command of Dawn Planet now."

Severance Tann frowned. She exchanged a glance with Sheehan Morabito, who gave her a look. Tann nodded, turned, and went to a private conference room to connect to the Supreme Command communications.

A moment later, Severance Tann emerged, her expression grave. She saw that on the other side of the holographic projection, the figure of Sheen Morabito had just appeared, and he was clearly doing the same thing.

“The Supreme Command has instructed us to handle this as appropriate,” Severance Tann said in a deep voice.

She knew that this was because Tang Xiao was in seclusion, so the Supreme Command didn't dare to make decisions on matters involving a dominant race like the Star Spirits, and instead simply passed the buck.

To put it more bluntly, Qi Jian was simply passing the buck. Throughout Severance Tann's consultation process, Qi Jian was absent; it was his secretary who relayed the information.

Severance Tann sighed, sensing things were getting tricky. She tried to persuade Thranduil, "I can stop breeding the Kilik swarm and use it in combat, even if it's just cannon fodder. That would at least provide good cover for the carriers you brought."

Thranduil said coldly, "Are you saying we should throw these swarms into the battle against their hive, risking being taken back into control by the Kilik swarm's core hive? And what use are these low-level swarms, other than being slaughtered at will and used as food by the more powerful swarms? This is tantamount to you going to great lengths to find large amounts of food from the rear and then feeding it directly to our enemies to produce even more swarms."

Severance Tann was speechless; she had to admit that what Thranduil said was indeed a risk. And it seemed Thranduil had extensive experience fighting such swarms.

Just as she was about to accept Thranduil's suggestion, Sheen Morabito spoke up, "I don't recall the Protoss being so aggressive. We share the same goals and the same enemies. What we should be doing is cooperating and achieving mutual benefit, not making a clean sweep and dividing things into black and white."

"If you want to talk about win-win cooperation, why don't you ask your Supreme Command why Orega suddenly received a batch of reinforcements?" Serandis countered.

Shin Morabito's expression also turned serious; he somewhat understood what Thranduil meant. But regardless, whether it was Abathur, the Torgate swarm, or Orega, it was all a decision made by the High Command. Since the decision had been made, all he could do was support it to the end.

"The Torgate swarm can be destroyed, and we will guarantee that we will no longer breed the Kilik swarm. But Abathur must return safely, and there is no room for discussion on that! If this cannot be accepted, then we cannot accept the arrival of the Archon's fleet," Sheen Morabito said decisively.

Thranduil narrowed his eyes, staring at Sheen Morabito with his pupil-less eyes, a heavy silence filling the air.

After a long silence, Thranduil finally softened his tone and said, "Orega, Abathur, and the Swarm, I hope the Kingdom of Dawn can understand the Protoss's concerns. So, I accept your proposal. But please remember, these matters are not truly over."

“It’s a pleasure working with you, Protoss.” Sheen Morabito resumed his casual demeanor, raised his hand and waved, then said to Severance Tann, “The battle here is yours, General Tann.”

Severance Tann remained serious, understanding that this was the result of a compromise between the two sides. The Protoss were very unhappy that the Dawn Kingdom hadn't severed ties with Orega, but instead was flirting with him, because Orega's hatred for the Kalei Protoss ran deep, and he was almost certain that Orega was the Protoss's enemy.

Even so, the Kingdom of Dawn was still sending reinforcements to Orega. What did that mean? The Protoss were naturally furious.

In comparison, the very act of cultivating the Kilik swarm was merely a trigger for the Protoss's discontent. To the Protoss, it was simply a matter of technical and tactical questioning—because Thranduil genuinely felt that cultivating a weak swarm to fight against the powerful Kilik swarm was essentially tantamount to delivering takeout to the enemy.

This is diplomacy, especially diplomacy between races.

You can't please everyone. Tang Xiao received Orega's help, so he has to bear the Protoss's wrath. Conversely, from the Protoss's perspective, isn't that also true?
If they want to rebuild their civilization, they need Tang Xiao's help, but at the same time, they will have to face some decisions made by Tang Xiao that are not conducive to the development of the Protoss.

So in the end, it all comes down to compromise. That's right, politics is the art of compromise.

The shuttle carrying Abathur, under the protection of the Kingdom of Dawn's fleet, entered hyperspace and disappeared into space. He was indifferent to the negotiations between the Protoss and the Kingdom of Dawn. To him, the Torggart Swarm was merely a product; within his own body already were recorded the evolutionary essence obtained from the Torggart Swarm and other Kyrik Swarms—this was what mattered most. (End of Chapter)