From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 525: Agnes' Olive Branch
The welcome ceremony prepared by the Atlas Group was very brief, with all the other links cut out except for some necessary procedures. Normally, after the welcome ceremony, there would be a banquet of varying sizes to welcome the guests.

However, when it came to Atlas, it was also put after the first round of formal talks.
On the way to the meeting room, Amber kindly reminded Baron BASF to eat something first to avoid feeling hungry during the meeting.

But the latter smiled and shook his head, saying that he was "well prepared" and had already finished his meal before arriving at the fortress.

This is of course not some kind of "foresight", it is simply that Shikoti took a "vaccination" in advance.

When Baron Basf just set out from the empire, Shikoti informed him in advance that the entire meeting might not take as long as he imagined.

Therefore, in order to extend the time for formal talks between the two parties as much as possible, the Atlas Group will simplify or postpone some ceremonies.

For this arrangement, Shikoti apologized to the princess's envoy in advance on behalf of Amber, and Baron BASF also said that there was no problem.

If it were the previous BASF, given his personality, he would definitely express his dissatisfaction strongly, and even go so far as to make enemies with the other party and exert retaliatory pressure without reservation during the talks.

However, after Princess Agnes's warning, the usually proud baron realized that he really couldn't afford to offend the target this time, and might even anger Her Royal Highness the Princess, so he restrained his temper early on.

"It's just a meal, and what delicious food can there be in the deep space asteroid fortress?" The Baron comforted himself along the way.

But after officially arriving at the A-Bava-Ku Asteroid Fortress, Baron BASF quickly guessed the reason when he saw the Dawn and the huge fleet ready to go outside the asteroid fortress, combined with some information he had previously obtained.

The sudden incident on Rubion V will definitely lead to a sudden change in the situation in the entire Rubion galaxy and even in the Federation, and this will definitely have an impact on the interests of the Atlas Group there, and the impact is not small.
Therefore, the fleet assembled outside the fortress is most likely going to the Rubion galaxy to serve as a "ballast stone", and there is a high probability that Mr. Amber will go with them.

BASF believed that his guess should be more than 70% correct, so before walking into the conference room and sitting down, he quickly readjusted his negotiation strategy based on the current "new situation" and the "authority" granted to him by Her Highness Agnes.
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"Mr. Amber, it seems that your fleet is about to set sail. As far as I know, your company has had a lot of things to do recently, so I won't waste your time. How about we get straight to the point?"

These were the first words Baron BASF said after he sat down.

It not only showed his goodwill, but also told the Amber Empire that they had been paying attention to Atlas and knew a lot of things.

However, Amber simply ignored the other party's implied meaning, and he did not feel angry or have any other negative emotions. In his opinion, this was normal.

On the contrary, it would be abnormal if the Empire was unaware of what was happening in Atlas.

Therefore, Amber was actually quite happy about the other party's "time-saving" approach.

He smiled and gestured "please", then said: "Thank you for your understanding, Baron. Then let's get straight to the point and make it short. Please go first~"

"Then I will first explain my purpose. Mr. Amber knows that I am here to discuss with you on behalf of Her Royal Highness the Princess. Our cooperation has been going very smoothly since our first meeting, so this time I hope to discuss with you the possibility of 'deep cooperation' between the two sides."

Amber: "Deep cooperation?"

Baron BASF nodded. "Yes, in addition to the existing communication technology services, Her Royal Highness also hopes to establish more 'exclusive' cooperation projects, technology development, planetary governance, equipment production, and military contracting with your company."

This time, Amber did not answer immediately after hearing what BASF said.

The other party mentioned "deep cooperation", and everything else was just a foil. The most critical points were only two - exclusivity and military contracting.

The former means that the Atlas Group can only cooperate with Agnes, while the latter shows that Her Royal Highness hopes that the Atlas Group can intervene in possible armed conflicts in the empire in the future.

If you put these two points together, the meaning is actually very straightforward.
Agnes hoped that Amber could help her deal with the Regent. But after coming to this conclusion, Amber felt a little confused.

He and Lilith had analyzed before that the current situation in the Star Dragon Empire has undergone tremendous changes. This time, Princess Agnes's side, which had been suppressed before, should have the upper hand.

But when BASF finished talking about the "deep cooperation", Amber felt that the advantage of the imperial princess did not seem to be as great as she imagined, so she hoped to seek "foreign aid" like Atlas?
On the other hand, Baron BASF didn't know what Amber was thinking at the moment, so he only regarded Amber's current attitude as a hesitation.

Faced with this situation, he just happened to have a method that had worked every time before.

"Mr. Amber, if you have any doubts, please feel free to ask. I will answer them carefully. Or let me express the princess' sincerity first to see if I can dispel your doubts?"

"Please speak, Lord Baron~"

Seeing Amber nod in agreement with the proposal, Baron BASF also put on a serious and formal attitude:
"If Mr. Amber is willing to have a deeper cooperation with the Empire, then Her Royal Highness the Princess is very willing to grant Mr. Amber the status of a hereditary noble of the Empire after the coronation ceremony. Although the specific title is still to be discussed, it is certain that Pyra IV will become your fiefdom, Mr. Amber."

"Wow~ So generous?"

Amber raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had actually guessed that Agnes would want to cooperate with the Atlas Group, but he did not expect the other party to come up with such a big "gift".

"Although the foundation of Pyra IV is a little weak, a colony planet can be given to you just like that? Moreover, there is already a fiefdom of another baron on the planet. Your Highness, Princess, isn't you afraid that the imperial nobles will have objections?"

Baron BASF seemed to have anticipated Amber's question, so he smiled again and said his prepared answer slowly:
"As for the domestic noble groups, Her Royal Highness has actually wanted to 'govern' them for a long time. The data of the fiefdom of the baron on Pella IV was appalling. In Her Royal Highness's opinion, he was not a qualified noble at all, so it was not surprising that his fiefdom was taken back.

Although Your Highness is thousands of light years away from you, you have seen all of your company's actions on Pella IV. Under your company's construction, the scene of vigorous vitality and flourishing of all things is the true responsibility to the people of the empire and the true "noble way."

Therefore, Her Highness believes that Mr. Amber is fully worthy of this honor. If possible, she also hopes to follow your example in the future and let the nobles of the empire regain their former honor instead of indulging in a decadent life of debauchery and extravagance."

"Tsk tsk tsk, that's really well said. To be honest, my Lord Baron, I'm a little moved~" Amber said with a smile.

When Baron BASF saw Amber's expression, he immediately realized that this seemed to be a promising thing, and immediately started to strike while the iron was hot:
"Mr. Amber, please believe me! Accepting the princess's favor and cooperating deeply with us is definitely a win-win situation."

But this time, Amber did not let Baron BASF finish his words, but interrupted him:

"You are right, but I have two small questions. I would like to ask the Baron to answer them."

Although he was a little unhappy about being interrupted, Baron BASF did not show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he nodded.

"Well, Mr. Amber, please tell me."

"First, if my information is correct, Her Highness Agnes's coronation ceremony has not yet been made public, and the specific time has not been finalized, which means that the promise of 'after the coronation ceremony, blah blah' is actually still unknown."

Baron BASF's expression froze.

"Second, regarding the ownership of Pyra IV. Haha, this planet is already under the actual control of the Atlas Group. Do you think the 'fiefdom claim' granted at this time is really that important to me?"

A cold sweat ran down Baron BASF's forehead.

(End of this chapter)