From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 476 Bad News Good News

The human crew members in the Atlas Group's combat fleet basically come from two categories: crew members of various federal corporate fleets and crew members of the Federal Navy.

Of course, most people would add a prefix in front of it - 'captive'.

So in theory, most of the humans in the Atlas combat fleet can be considered federal citizens.

Moreover, compared to the ordinary crew members who only want to live a good life, those senior officers in the fleet who already have a certain social status, although they have been "against" the Federation under the leadership of Amber, in fact, they occasionally subconsciously pay attention to the situation of the Federation.

Therefore, after learning about the course of this battle, which was brutal for both sides, everyone in the "Command Observation Group" was silent.

No matter how dissatisfied they were with the federal government, they couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable when they thought of the people who died in the war, especially the nearly one million passengers in the mobile fortress.

Amber looked at everyone's performance, but did not choose to enlighten them at this time. Some things could not be solved by just a few words. If they wanted these people to work wholeheartedly in Atlas in the future, then they had to rely on their own thinking to become "clear-minded".

"It looks like there's going to be another round of public opinion erupting in the Federation." Guterres, who had remained silent since his previous speech, suddenly spoke up: "Some people have begun to question whether the federal government's move to posthumously award the commander of the mobile fortress the title of 'Federal Hero' is reasonable."

"I've seen it too. The news from the front has only just been reported back and the heat has risen all of a sudden. It's obvious that someone is behind this and fanning the flames."

Cleves also nodded and continued:

"There are two main doubts. One is that the federal government's move is to manipulate public opinion so that the war can continue. The other is to question whether the commander of the mobile fortress is qualified to be awarded the title of 'Federal Hero'. After all, under his command, nearly one million people in the mobile fortress also returned to the starry sea, and not all of these people are willing to sacrifice themselves."

Listening to what Cleves said, everyone in the command observation group showed a look of contempt. Randall, who was always outspoken, even spoke directly:

"Although I don't like the federal government and hope someone can replace it, sometimes I have to admit that people who say these things are nothing. Those who come out to sing the opposite tune at this time are either stupid or evil!"

"This is the 'biological' diversity in the virtual space. Just get used to it." Amber said comfortingly:

"And think about it, who can go against the federal government in the virtual space at this critical juncture? They are nothing more than the extreme opposition that believes that 'politics is above all else', the 'only awake people' who think they are sober, and of course the undercover personnel specially trained by the Star Dragon Empire. It would be too easy for them to take advantage of the situation at this time."

Listening to Amber's words, Guterres also took over the conversation and said: "This actually shows another problem - the Federation's control over the domestic public opinion environment has begun to have problems. I estimate that with the outbreak of negative news about this campaign, it may not only be the public opinion environment that has problems."

"That might be a good thing for us at Atlas?" asked a trainee fleet commander. It was obvious that he was looking at the situation from Atlas' perspective at this moment.

Amber nodded: "Putting aside my sympathy for the victims, the end of this battle between the Federation and the Empire is indeed a good thing for us in Atlas.

The naval forces of both sides were severely damaged, and morale was also affected to a certain extent, which led to insufficient control of the battle lines and territories by both sides.

This also means that in the short term, neither the Empire nor the Federation can extend their hands to Pyra IV and the Rubion system, so we have enough time to operate in these two places, especially the Rubion system. I think this "armed rebellion" is most likely to be unstoppable. "

"One more thing, a general mobilization order." Guterres suddenly said:

"Neither the Federation nor the Empire can maintain a state of total mobilization for a long time, especially when the internal situation is already unstable.
Therefore, there are only two choices left for both sides. Either use all the trump cards and drastic measures to kill the opponent in a short time and end the war completely.

Otherwise, get ready to dress up and sit down to negotiate a ceasefire."
-
Since no more valuable information came out for a while, everyone left after communicating for a while, leaving Amber alone in the conference room to quietly think about the current situation.

To be honest, he really didn't expect that this 'strategic decisive battle' would end like this.

Duke William's death should be regarded as the biggest "world line change" he has experienced since he came to this world. After all, in the previous game plot, when the Star Dragon Empire was completely divided, the Regent and the Princess of the Empire died and disappeared, and it was the five dukes who had their own troops and declared independence who were more like the ultimate "beneficiaries".

As a result, it was unexpected that Duke William, one of the five dukes, retired so suddenly, and also suffered the loss of the celestial fortress under his command.

"This script is wrong. If things continue like this, Norton II won't be able to gain the same advantage as in his previous life."

Amber frowned and thought, although Duke William did not play a big role in the background story of the game, he was definitely not a small role in the Star Dragon Empire.

His sudden death was bound to bring about a series of chain reactions, especially since he was an important member of the 'Regent Party'.

Even if Amber didn't think about the hidden impacts, just looking at the developments on the surface, she could guess that this was definitely a heavy blow to Norton II.

Not to mention that the intelligence we received earlier has already mentioned that the old nobles within the Regent Party are already ready to make a move. Now that Norton II has lost the important helper Duke William, there is no guarantee that these old nobles will become more and more presumptuous.
"This development is really getting more and more interesting. Plus, the old emperor seems to be plotting something. Who knows, the outcome of the 'end of the game' for the Star Dragon Empire will be completely different."

Amber silently pondered the impact of the outcome of this round of "strategic decisive battle" between the Federation and the Empire. Just as he was about to think about what impact the Federation would have, an encrypted communication request popped up.

The cartoon octopus on the communication profile picture revealed the identity of the caller - the Riddler Saleh.

"Salih? Why did you suddenly think of looking for me? Didn't you say a while ago that you would be in seclusion for a while to develop Forerunner technology?"

Saleh: "How can I stay in seclusion when things are like this outside? I have good news and bad news. Amber, which one do you want to hear first?"

"Let me tell you the bad news first."

"The bad news is that after your last decision, plus a series of events that happened afterwards, including the war between the two major human forces that just ended, the timeline of this universe has been heading in the worst direction, and it is the kind that cannot be corrected."

"."

Amber was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the "bad news" brought by Saleh was of this level. He temporarily suppressed his doubts and continued to ask: "What about the good news?"

"The good news is that the 'bad news' I just mentioned will not happen immediately. From a time perspective, there is still time to prepare for it."

"Thank you very much. So what preparations should we make?"

Saleh shook her head and said as if it was a matter of fact: "I don't know."

"So how much time is left?"

"I don't know, but it won't be short."

"."

Amber held his forehead with his hand, feeling a little headache. He found that even though he had adapted to it for so long, his blood pressure still tended to rise when he talked to Saleh, the "Riddler".

(End of this chapter)