From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 526 Potential S+
"So this Mr. Amber rejected the offer of cooperation?"

This was a cold and majestic female voice. There seemed to be another unique rhythm "beneath the surface" of the universal language of mankind. Even through a screen, Baron BASF subconsciously wanted to surrender.

"That's not the case. Your Highness. Mr. Amber is very willing to continue the regular cooperation with us on the existing basis. However, he thinks that if we want to have 'in-depth cooperation', we should be more honest, not..."

"Instead of what?"

"Instead of 'playing these boring word games'."

After saying this, Baron BASF, who was standing in front of the screen in the conference room inside the Shcherbechi cruise ship, felt a drop of cold sweat on his forehead again - just like when he heard Amber's second question.

There was a moment of silence in the conference room, and Baron BASF felt as if the air in the room was frozen.

The last time he had such a similar feeling was when he discovered that the son born to his second wife, the proud and charming daughter of a noble family, was not his biological son.

Of course, two months later, the baron married his third wife.
However, just as this "forgotten past" popped up in BASF's mind, he was frightened back by a chuckle coming from the other side of the screen.

"Hehe, this guy is quite interesting."

Princess Agnes showed a smile which was not common during this period. "What else? I believe Mr. Amber's 'original words' should be more than just these, right?"

"Um, can I tell you this?" Baron BASF asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, Lord Bass, I won't punish you for this."

Baron Bass swallowed his saliva, and then said, "Mr. Amber also said, 'The current situation is just like I took a ring from your Highness and put it in my pocket, but your Highness not only did not think of taking it back, but also blushed and said that he would give the ring to me as a reward. It's as funny.'"

After the Baron said this, the meeting room fell into silence for the second time that day.

He immediately regretted saying Amber's original words so bluntly. No one in the Star Dragon Empire would dare to say such disrespectful words as "teasing", and let Her Highness Agnes know about it.

“He has a good sense of humor.”

Agnes' voice was calm, as if the words just now had no effect on her.

Baron Bass breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Agnes speak again. However, before he could catch his breath, he heard Agnes continue:

"It seems that Mr. Amber did not directly reject our proposal, but he may need to observe and evaluate for a while. After all, he is indeed a cautious businessman.
Of course, there is another possibility that Mr. Amber is really too busy right now. Lord Basf, did he leave right after the meeting with you?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Baron Bass nodded.

"Mr. Amber didn't even have time to continue communicating with me at the banquet. He left in a hurry after having a drink with me to express his apology. After that, he seemed to have entered the jump directly with the First Fleet of Atlas. So I hurried to report to you."

BASF could see that Her Highness Agnes was very concerned about their cooperation with the Atlas Group. At that time, BASF found that it was late at night in the secondary capital where Her Highness was, so he just sent a secret report, thinking of saying it after Agnes woke up.

Unexpectedly, less than 20 minutes after he sent the secret report, he was asked to communicate directly with Agnes remotely.

"From the fact that he invited you to go directly to the core area of ​​Atlas and your conversation, it seems that Mr. Amber is quite friendly to us. He did not directly reject our proposal for 'deep cooperation', but instead made such a 'humorous' speech~"

Agnes on the big screen crossed her chest with one hand, and held her delicate chin with the other hand. Her eyes were glancing at the other side of the screen. She continued to speak while thinking:
"It seems that he really thinks that we are not honest and sincere enough. If we plan to continue cooperating with the Atlas Group, we must change our previous habits of dealing with other forces."

Agnes paused, then seemed to remember something funny:

"Of course, the premise of all this is that Mr. Amber can solve the troubles on his hands first, Lord Bass!"

The imperial princess suddenly raised her head and looked at Baron Basf, who immediately stood up straight as if he had been startled, with a determined expression on his face as if he was ready to be buried with the monarch.

"Yes! Your Highness!"

"The contact with the Atlas Group is now completely handed over to you. I don't care whether you stay in the A.Bava.Ku Fortress or go somewhere else. Anyway, I hope you can contact Mr. Amber as soon as he returns after finishing his work and tell me the result after the new round of talks."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Baron BASF answered firmly, "I will communicate with the person who is in contact with me to see if I can stay here for a while longer and take the opportunity to collect more information."

"That's good, but you still have to know your limits and not annoy the other person."

Looking at Baron BASF on the screen, Agnes smiled faintly again after remembering Amber's "original words" that he had just repeated, and continued:
"Thank you for your hard work during this period. I will go to visit Mona in person. It's been a long time since I last saw her. It's a good opportunity to see how she's doing after being with you~"

The 'Mona' mentioned by Agnes is the daughter of the former chancellor of the empire who has been overthrown by the regent, and was also her study partner in her childhood.
She was also the fourth wife of Baron BASF.

Yes, the fourth one.

We will leave aside the story between Baron BASF and his third wife for now.

In short, after experiencing another failed marriage, with the help of Agnes, the little baron married the daughter of the former prime minister.

Although his title was only a baron, BASF was also one of the richest nobles in the Star Dragon Empire. With such an identity, he was not unworthy of the daughter of a former prime minister who had become a prisoner.

Baron Basf actually knew all along that Her Highness Agnes's "matchmaking" was ultimately to hope that the daughter of the former chancellor, who was in a precarious situation in the empire at the time, could be given asylum.

However, he also had to admit that this young woman, who was completely different from his previous three wives in every way, had indeed become his "good wife".

It is for this reason that Baron BASF has since become a die-hard "Princess Party" and has always served Her Highness Agnes without any complaints.
BASF: "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Mona has been doing well since she married me, and her personality has improved a lot since that incident."

"Well, I will go and ask in person. That's all for today. You can leave now. Lord Bass should also have a good rest. You will have a lot to do later."

After saying this, and watching Baron BASF bow his head respectfully, Agnes cut off the encrypted communication.

As the projected virtual screen disappeared, the surrounding night lights also adjusted their brightness after detecting the brightness change, and the light in Agnes's bedroom gradually dimmed. However, the cold moonlight outside the bedroom window shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling glass and cast a slender and graceful shadow on the ground.

After a moment, Agnes, staring at the moon outside the window, suddenly spoke:
"Natalia, what do you think?"

Following the sound of military boots tapping on the ground, Natalia, dressed in the uniform of a Guards officer, walked out from the shadows of the room and quickly came to the side and rear of Agnes.

"Your Highness, I also believe that Mr. Amber should still have some goodwill towards us, but there is indeed one thing I don't understand. I hope Your Highness can help me solve this puzzle."

"Oh? Tell me."

"Why does Your Highness think so highly of Atlas and Mr. Amber that he even takes the initiative to show his goodwill to them?"

Natalia asked in confusion:
"I know that he does have some technologies that are beyond the current level, but if we look at the size, if we want Mr. Amber to participate in the current chaos in the empire, it seems that he is still a little small? And his ability to resist risks may not be enough."

"When evaluating the Atlas Group, you can't just focus on 'size', Lady Natalia."

Agnes turned around and looked at her captain of the guards, then continued:

"I know that 'size' is indeed a very objective indicator when measuring a force, but you can't look at the Atlas Group with a conventional perspective, because it is completely different from other forces.
Judging from the growth rate or expansion speed alone, this private enterprise has reached a level that only exists in "imagination". No, most people don't even dare to imagine such a growth rate.

Therefore, when we evaluate, we should pay more attention to its "potential". After all, "size" can only reflect the current strength of the company, but "potential" determines to what extent the company can develop in the future.

So what I am optimistic about is actually the future of Atlas Group. Moreover, Mr. Amber has always been a man who makes the impossible possible, right? "

Listening to Agnes' explanation, Natalia nodded thoughtfully, and after a moment continued to ask:

"If your highness is interested in the future of Atlas, then this company does not seem to be able to provide us with much help in the upcoming chaos?"

"Who said we can't? Have you forgotten what I just said about 'growth rate'?"

“Isn’t this a bit too fast?”

"No, because we are facing a force whose overall efficiency is beyond our imagination. From the intelligence fragments we have obtained, 'efficiency first' is not just a slogan in Atlas, but a fact.

So if Mr. Amber can handle the problem of the Rubion system, I think the development of Atlas will accelerate again."

Although Natalia had never expected that His Highness would have such a high opinion of the Atlas Group, judging from many things that had happened before, His Highness's predictions had eventually become reality.

So after hesitating for a moment, the loyal captain of the guard chose to believe again.

"I understand, Your Highness. Thank you for clearing up my doubts," Natalia said respectfully with her head lowered.

"Haha, if you really want to thank me, Natalia, go get me a glass of ice water. I'm already thirsty from talking so much~"

Hearing this, Natalia smiled embarrassedly, then quickly went to bring some ice water to Agnes.

After taking the cup, the imperial princess drank the ice water in a gulp, which was somewhat inconsistent with her image, and then let out a comfortable sigh.

"Phew, I'm finally saved~"

Natalia was not surprised by Agnes's attitude. After all, the royal family of the Star Dragon Empire had different physiques from ordinary people, and it was normal for them to drink a large glass of ice water in the middle of the night.

After stretching her body a little, Agnes suddenly asked:
"By the way, Lady Natalia, how long does it take to get from the A-Bava-Ku Fortress to the Rubion System?"

"If it's a regular fleet jump, it will take about 10 days. However, based on the jump speed of the Atlas Group fleet we observed a few times before, plus the support of some intelligence fragments, I estimate that the Atlas Group fleet will jump faster, perhaps only 6-7 days to arrive."

Natalia answered after doing a quick calculation in her head, while also frowning in confusion.

"This company is actually able to upgrade the Forerunner technology called 'Jump Drive'. This is also what I am puzzled about."

"Yeah, that's why I pay so much attention to them. This company, or Mr. Amber, has so many secrets. It's really fascinating~"

Agnes raised her delicate eyebrows and continued:
"We only have 6-7 days to make the jump, but we are still leaving so quickly. It seems that the situation in the Rubion system is developing faster than we thought."

"Your Highness, do you think the incident in the Rubion system was the work of Norton II?"

"Who knows? But this incident did create a good 'window period' for him."
-
Hyperspace jump route, bridge of the Dawn.

Amber stood in front of the holographic projection platform with a serious face, staring at the three-dimensional image of the Rubion galaxy.

"Did Randall say anything else in the emergency communication besides confirming that the Federation fleet will soon enter the warp and launch an attack?"

Cleves: "He also said that the garrison fleet controlled by the Rubion System Autonomous Government is clearing out and suppressing other 'rebel' ships.

And judging from the actions, it seems that they want to ensure the safety of a certain airspace. He guessed that this airspace is most likely the expected jump coordinates of the Federation Fleet. "

Hearing what Cleves said, Amber immediately guessed Randall's plan.

"so?"

"So he wanted to launch a surprise attack on the garrison fleet in this area before the enemy's forces had an absolute advantage."

(End of this chapter)