Chapter 735 Silence Before The War (1)
The atmosphere in the dimly lit meeting room was tense as Otiga, Ashton, Mazton, and Anna gathered to discuss their next move. Otiga, with a no-nonsense attitude, broke the silence with a heavy sigh. Her gaze fixed on Ashton; she couldn't help but express her disbelief.
"You threatened the Xyrans?" Otiga's question hung in the air, a mix of surprise and concern etched on her face. "That's the best thing you could come up with? Don't you have enough enemies at this point?"
The room fell silent, all eyes turning to Ashton, who sat with a sly smile playing on his lips.
"Well, I did what I had to," he replied, his tone unapologetic. "Besides, by gaining their ships, we will have better security around Earth."
Otiga looked slightly puzzled, as she had expected Ashton to use the Xyran spaceships for a direct assault on Kro'Han. She had envisioned a strategy to take the fight to Euphoria, striking at the heart of the enemy before they did the same to them. However, Ashton's intentions seemed to differ.
"Why keep the ships stationed on Earth?" Otiga questioned as she went into interrogation mode.
Ashton leaned back in his chair, still wearing that cunning smile. The fact that even Otiga hadn't thought of such a plan brought him some confidence.
"Decoys," he stated simply.
Otiga furrowed her brows, puzzled. "Decoys?"
Mazton, as curious as ever, interjected, "Yeah, Ashton, elaborate on that. What do you mean by decoys? If the ships are top of the class, then it wouldn't make any sense to turn them into decoys, would it?"
"Top of the class?" Ashton scoffed as his gaze flickered between Otiga and Mazton before he spoke, "No matter how advanced the ships are, they wouldn't stand a chance against the Precursor fleet I saw on the Verge.
He continued, "I'm confident Kro'Han has those ships stationed on Euphoria and charging with our spaceships directly there would lead to the quickest defeat in the history of space warfare."
"Wait... Precursor spaceships?" Otiga mumbled, her eyes widening in surprise. "You survived an attack from those ships?"
"Nope. Me and Astaroth... fck, even thinking about him makes me feel weird," Ashton sighed, and Anna placed her hand on his, bringing him some solace. "We barely managed to take one such ship down. But when we saw hundreds more of them, we gave up."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "That's why I want the Xyran ships stationed strategically around Earth, acting as a defensive layer.
At the same time, 'hopefully', they'll be ready to destroy a few of those Precursor ships if Kro'Han decides to launch an attack on Earth. Because I don't think any of our weapons would make a dent on them."
Mazton closed his eyes. The sight of their previous war with the Precursors resurfaced in his mind. The destruction those ships caused was still fresh on his mind.
Hell, just half a dozen such ships were enough to destroy his homeworld, which was twice as big as Earth. Going by that logic, even if three Precursor ships managed to get to Earth, it would be over for them.
Finally, he nodded in agreement. "Given our current state, a defensive strategy is certainly better than an offensive one."
Otiga, still trying to wrap her head around the unexpected plan, asked, "But why do you think Kro'Han would attack Earth after we get the Xyran ships? Nothing is stopping him from attacking Earth right now."
"yes, if Kro'Han wanted to attack us, he could have done so long ago," Ashton's gaze became more intense as he replied, "Yet he's stayed on Euphoria, which makes me wonder if he's trapped there, and that's why Kro'Han had been recruiting people like the Cult and Astaroth. Maybe he needs others to execute his will."
He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Now that Astaroth is with him, he has the Precursor ships and someone who can command an entire fleet. That means Kro'Han and Astaroth might decide to attack us at any moment."
"That's what I'm saying!" Otiga waved her arms around. "The only way to ensure our survival is to abandon this planet-"
"And keep running?" Ashton yelled. "What makes you think Kro'Han will be trapped on Euphoria forever?"
"I- don't know..."
Ashton sighed and calmed down, knowing that giving in to his emotions wouldn't benefit anyone. "Once he is free from whatever's binding him to Euphoria, he will kill us all. Have no doubts about this."
"Which is why our best chance is to wait for Astaroth to make the first move," Anna chimed in, "Without Kro'Han's presence, we have the best shot at defeating him, and once he is gone, Kro'Han would have no one to depend on.
This means Kro'Han will be trapped on Euphoria for a longer time, giving us time to devise a proper plan to dispose of him. That's why we had to blackmail the Xyrans to get their advanced spaceships."
"What about the cult?" Mazton pointed out. "Even without Astaroth, Kro'Han would still have them at his disposal."
"Don't worry about it," Ashton assured them. "The Cult has been taken care of."
"How do you know?" Mazton raised an eyebrow.
"I got some informants of my own," Ashton said but didn't elaborate.
Otiga, after humming and hawing for a moment, reluctantly agreed. "It's a ridiculous plan, but it might buy us some time to work something out in the long term."
She continued, "Still, it won't guarantee victory. The Precursor ships might punch through the Xyran ships, making all hell break loose."
"If that happens, then it happens," Ashton, unfazed by the uncertainty, shrugged. "We'll deal with it when the time comes. But our focus would have to be on Astaroth... I'll take care of him then."
Otiga sighed, realising the gravity of their situation. She shifted the focus to the practical aspect of their plan.
"Alright, everyone, prepare for the exchange. Ashton, you'll take the Xyran hostages and deliver them to a planet midway between Earth and Xenithar, as you're the only one they seem scared of."
Ashton nodded. "Fine, I'll make the arrangements as you said and get those ships. I also have to meet my informant on the way."
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