From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 452 Recruitment Success~
"Mr. Amber, are you sure we both want to attend this meeting?"

Ten minutes before the remote meeting started, Guterres, who was sitting on Amber's left with Van Vliet, asked uncertainly.

Although he had just fought alongside Atlas and won a resounding victory, the former vice admiral was still very clear about his identity and current situation.

He was not like Van Fleet, who was "all muscle" beside him. He had subconsciously considered himself a member of the Atlas Group, but was still carefully handling the relationship between himself and Atlas.

Especially before the defense of A Bawa Ku, after having a frank communication with Amber and learning his true identity, Guterres became even more conflicted.

After all, from a certain perspective, he had indirectly or directly created two "life-threatening" crises for Amber.

Although the order to attack Robert IV with a proton annihilation bomb came from a secret letter from Marshal Trafalgar, it was actually himself who gave the order to launch the proton annihilation bomb.

As for the fleet battle in the orbit of Pyra IV, although the fleet under his command was tactically crushed unilaterally, this also could not conceal his original intention to lead the fleet to annihilate the fleet of Atlas in orbit.
Therefore, Guterres always thought it was a fantasy that Amber would send people to rescue him and his family when his tavern was attacked by the armed forces of the military-industrial complex. This also led to Guterres never thinking about the possibility of joining the Atlas Group.

But now it seems that Amber really intends to let bygones be bygones and let him join Atlas, so the former vice admiral once again asked the same question.

Amber seemed to have guessed that Guterres would ask such a question, so she didn't think too long before speaking:

"Yes, the two generals have also participated in the defense of the A. Bawa Kubao Fortress before, and they did not slack off in the battle. I don't think it's inappropriate for you to attend the meeting now, right?"

“But those battles before.”

"Don't worry that I will attack you for this, General Guterres, of course, and General Van Fleet as well." Amber shook her head and said calmly:

"Before coming here, you were all professional soldiers of the Federation. As a soldier, your duty is to obey the orders of your superiors, so it is logical for you to follow the orders of your superiors and fight with Atlas on the battlefield. I can't expect you two to surrender without a fight as soon as you see Atlas, right?"

Hearing this, Guterres relaxed a little, and was glad that Mr. Amber was not an unreasonable and illogical person.

At the same time, Amber continued, "And if it weren't for the persecution of the two of you by the military-industrial complex and the inaction of the federal government in the face of this matter, which made us have a common 'enemy', I would not have thought of inviting you to join Atlas. After all, no matter what, you are both active lieutenant generals of the federation. It is a bit of a waste of your talents to come to this 'small temple' of Atlas."

"Mr. Amber, you are too modest. If Atlas can only be considered a 'small temple', then the military-industrial complex that you have been messing with during this period of time can't even be considered a 'ruined temple'?"

As an Army Lieutenant General, Van Fleet used fewer roundabouts and qualifiers in his speech, and his overall style was more rugged.

"Hahahaha, General Van Fleet, you really know how to joke." Amber smiled and shook his head. He was not worried about the "recruitment" of this Army Lieutenant General.

Although the Federation has not yet made any statement, based on Van Fleet's description of the secret dealings between the military-industrial complex and the Federal Army Command and the bribed adjutants, it is clear that this is not a unilateral action of the military-industrial complex.

After that, Atlas's intelligence sources also collected some new information - the federal army was gradually clearing out Van Fleet's direct lineage and people related to him.
This basically confirms that the federal government or the military, at least, allowed the military-industrial complex to take action in this incident and even helped to "clean up the mess."

This also means that Van Fleet doesn't have to think about returning to the Federation for the time being.

In addition, during these days, Amber had Van Fleet taken to visit the production workshop inside the asteroid base and showed some of the ground equipment that Atlas was gradually installing. The expression on the face of the former Army Lieutenant General had already exposed his inner thoughts.

Therefore, what Amber was really worried about was Guterres' choice. After all, according to the relevant information provided by the intelligence channel that Isabel was in charge of, this vice admiral was almost a direct descendant of the Federal Navy Marshal.

After the war broke out, Marshal Trafalgar initially sent the 13th and 14th fleets to the border galaxies to meet the enemy. In addition to considering the fleet's readiness, one of the reasons was that Guterres was one of the generals he promoted.

Thinking of this, Amber looked at the former Vice Admiral of the Federation Navy again, and then said:
“General Guterres, I have no intention of forcing you. If you cannot accept joining Atlas and the possibility of continued conflict with the military-industrial complex and the federal government in the future, you can choose not to attend today’s meeting.

I will not restrict your freedom. If you do not want to stay in this asteroid base, I will arrange for you to live in the Thousand Star Empire. Although it is the kingdom of elves, there are still many human chambers of commerce and families settled in the border galaxies, so you don't have to worry about not being able to adapt."

"I'll stay," Guterres said calmly but firmly.

"Have you really thought it through? General Van Fleet has a simple mind, so I am not surprised by his choice. Sorry, General, I tend to be straightforward."

As Amber spoke, she apologized to Van Vleet, who graciously said there was nothing wrong with what he said.

"But you, General Guterres, I hope you can make a careful decision, instead of making an impulsive choice just to repay the so-called 'life-saving grace'."

"I thought it through very clearly. My previous hesitation was mostly due to my concern about what you, Mr. Amber, would think of me. But now it seems that I was too narrow-minded."

Guterres laughed at himself, then looked up at Amber and said seriously:
"After this incident, I realized that the federal government is rotten to the core, and you and Atlas seem to be the 'fire from heaven'. Perhaps after Atlas's 'burning', this country will burn away the filth and be reborn in the future.
In this case, I am willing to join Atlas and spend the rest of my life on this mission."

(End of this chapter)