From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 766: Senior Advisor on Star Dragon Empire-related Affairs
Amber rubbed his temple. He had to admit that the proposal made by Norton II was really attractive to him.

His wealth, the fiefdoms that allow Amber to play freely, and these external things, not to mention, even Norton II himself, are actually of extremely high value.

The former regent, who had been active in the imperial political arena for many years, had a deep understanding of the intricate power games of the Star Dragon Empire and the dirty dealings among the nobles that were kept secret, which was far beyond what Atlas' existing intelligence network could match.

Even Lilith, in terms of understanding the cunning of human hearts and seeing through the minds of those political veterans, is probably not even a fraction as good as the former regent.

If Norton II could really work for the Atlas Group, the group would undoubtedly be able to save a lot of unnecessary trouble and temptation when operating in the slightly turbid "blue ocean" of the Star Dragon Empire.

As if sensing the subtle change in Amber's mood, Norton II, who had been leisurely resting on the sofa, slowly sat up to make himself look more formal.

On his face, which had become a little old prematurely due to a series of misfortunes, there was no trace of the dejection of a prisoner at this moment. Instead, there was a kind of calmness that came from having seen through the world, and in the depths of his cloudy eyes flashed a cunning light of an experienced and shrewd person.

"Mr. Amber, staring at the ceiling is not like your style."

Amber paused, without lowering her head, and just uttered a noncommittal response from her nose: "Yeah."

Norton II laughed softly, and his laughter was particularly clear in this quiet room. Then he threw out his second "king bomb" of the day.

"If I'm not mistaken, our newly crowned Queen should be planning to look for you, or more likely has already looked for you in private, right?"

Amber finally lowered her head and looked at Norton II with a bit of scrutiny.

"Oh? Please continue, sir."

"Your Majesty, did she propose to marry you and promise to grant you the supreme title of 'Prince of the Silver Dragon'?" Norton II's tone was very firm, as if he was present at the time.

Amber raised her eyebrows, and a hint of surprise flashed across her eyes, but she finally nodded slowly: "Your Excellency is really quite good. I must admit that your guess is almost right."

"Haha." The smile on Norton II's face became even more intense, even with a hint of amusement, "And you, Mr. Amber, you definitely didn't agree to what I said right away, right?"

"How did you know?" This time Amber was really curious.

"Because you are a smart man, Mr. Amber. In my opinion, you are a real chess player who can jump out of the chessboard without being constrained by all parties."

Norton II leaned forward slightly, even though he had become Amber's trophy at this moment, he still exuded an air of being able to command the world.

"I believe you can see it more clearly than anyone else. For Agnes, the current marriage is a timely help and a lifeline to stabilize the imperial power and win over strong allies! For you and the Atlas Group, although there are obvious benefits, it is definitely not the best time to maximize your interests!"

Norton II paused for a moment, and looked at Amber with a little more undisguised admiration in his eyes, as if he had seen a like-minded person, and then continued:

"Marriage is one of the most reliable bonds to consolidate the relationship between the two sides. This is true~ but it should not happen now.
For you, Mr. Amber, the best time is to wait until the business network and influence of the Atlas Group have penetrated into the empire like a vine, until your will is strong enough to influence the empire's major decisions, and until you have cleared all obstacles for the final control.
At that time, your union with the Queen will be the final piece of the puzzle for you to be crowned as the uncrowned king of the empire, instead of jumping into a 'gentle trap' carefully prepared for you by others impatiently like now."

Norton II's eyes became sharp, as if they could penetrate people's hearts. "Mr. Amber, please forgive me for taking advantage of my age to say something off topic. It's like the old saying in the love field - 'Confession is not the charge to launch an attack, but the horn to blow the victory'. The same is true for your marriage with the Queen!"

"puff"

Amber was amused by Norton II's analogy, which sounded a bit strange at first, but seemed to make some sense when he thought about it carefully. His previous annoyance also dissipated a lot, and he even couldn't help but make a joke about Norton II.

"Sir, I didn't expect you to have such insightful views on this matter. You can't judge a person by his appearance."

Amber had to admit that every word Norton II said hit the nail on the head.

This old fox's vision is so sharp and his judgment so accurate that it is truly terrifying.

Completely isolated from the outside world, he was able to accurately infer Agnes's actions and intentions based on his years of experience and some clues.
This insight can be said to make Amber a little wary, but it also highlights his value.

At this point, Amber was too lazy to bother with it any further. Since this "hot potato" couldn't be sold anytime soon, she could only fulfill his wish and squeeze out the last drop of surplus value from him to pave the way for the future of the Atlas Group.

"Well, your analysis has indeed convinced me."

Amber stood up, walked to Norton II, and extended her right hand to him.

"So I have decided to accept your 'employment application' and formally appoint you as the 'Senior Advisor on Star Dragon Empire-related Affairs' of the Atlas Group, effective immediately. Our Atlas Group is not a sweatshop, so in addition to food and lodging, we will still pay you your salary as usual~" Upon hearing Amber's decision, Norton II finally showed a hint of barely perceptible relaxation on his face. It was a sense of security that came from finally grabbing a piece of driftwood after drifting in the stormy waves for a long time. Even though this piece of 'driftwood' might be even more dangerous.

He stood up quickly, smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes, and then solemnly held Amber's right hand. He lowered his posture and spoke with a hint of excitement and expectation that was difficult to conceal:
"It's my pleasure. Please give me your guidance in the future, Boss."

"Your Excellency has adapted quite quickly."

“Hahahaha, this is called a correct posture!”
-
After resolving the pending issue of Norton II, the internal storm of the Star Dragon Empire finally came to an end temporarily. Amber was finally able to spare some energy to contact Guterres and others who were far away on the federal front.

An encrypted communication channel was quickly established, and holographic images of Guterres, Randall, and Cleves - the 'Three Phantom Gods' of the Atlas Group's combat fleet appeared in front of Amber one after another.

After not seeing each other for many days, the three core commanders of the group on the federal front had an unconcealable fatigue on their faces, but they were still in good spirits.

Amber didn't waste any time in pleasantries and went straight to the point. She first told the three people that the matters on the Star Dragon Empire side had been mostly resolved.

Then he succinctly recounted a series of events that had taken place in the capital of the Star Dragon Empire in the past few days, including the encounter with a living star dragon, the final conspiracy and downfall of the old Emperor Frederico, Agnes's ascension to the throne, and the capture of the former regent Norton II, etc.

As he finished his narration, there was a noticeable silence on the other end of the communication.

Guterres frowned, obviously trying to quickly digest this shocking amount of information and immediately began to assess its impact on the overall strategy.

Cleves had a look of disbelief on his face, his mouth slightly open, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock of the word "Star Dragon".

Although Amber had warned everyone against this in the previous combat meeting, he was still stunned after hearing the actual battle process and seeing the filmed battle footage.

As for Randall, the fleet commander who has always been unrestrained and unruly, his eyes widened at this moment, and he slammed the console in front of him, making a muffled "bang" sound.

"Ahhhhh, a living star dragon! There really is a living one. The legendary perfect cosmic creature!"

Randall's voice was trembling with disbelief. There was not much fear in it, but more of an extreme excitement and deep regret.

"Oh my god! I actually missed the chance to witness that legendary creature ravaging the Imperial Fleet with my own eyes! This is simply the biggest regret of my life besides being an elf model!"

"Wait. Hasn't the Elf Young Model been realized many times?"

"Yes, that's why I said it was 'other than that' which was the biggest regret."

Amber looked at Randall, who was beating his chest and stamping his feet, wishing he could jump over immediately to see the wreckage, and said unhappily:

"Come on, Randall, if you were to 'appreciate' the efficiency of the demolition up close, you would probably be thinking about life in the medical cabin now. This giant star dragon is not a specimen in a museum. It dismantles the fleet like a toy."

Randall touched his nose angrily and said nothing more, but the regret and curiosity in his eyes were still so strong that they were about to overflow.

After the three of them calmed down a little, Guterres began to report the battle situation on the federal front to Amber.

"Boss, the situation is basically under our control."

Guterres' voice remained calm. "Under Franklin's leadership, the Renaissance Alliance has made progress more smoothly than expected. The 'technical support' and 'equipment assistance' we provided have created an overwhelming advantage over the remaining fleets of the federal navy and local armed forces, and their resistance is rapidly disintegrating."

The screen switched to the Federation's real-time star map at the right time. Large tracts of star fields within the Federation's territory had been dyed the color representing the Renaissance Alliance, spreading rapidly like a virus.

"Franklin's style of doing things has changed drastically recently. He has integrated forces quickly and ruthlessly. Many wavering small forces have either been coaxed and deceived into joining him or simply crushed. The size of the Renaissance Alliance's fleet is expanding rapidly like a snowball."

Cleves added, his tone showing concern for Franklin's style and efficiency: "At present, with our support, the main fleet of the Renaissance Alliance has broken through the core defense circle of the Federation and is advancing towards the Federation capital system at high speed. It is expected to arrive soon."

The implication of Cleves' words was simple: the civil war in the Federation had apparently entered its final countdown.

"One more thing, Boss."

Guterres took over and said: "According to our latest calculations, the ultra-high-quality ice crystals that we dropped into the federal capital system during the previous 'Icebreaker' operation will soon be ready for 'receipt'."

(End of this chapter)