"We can't figure out the intention of this Insect Swarm."

"Is there really an Insect Swarm? Could it be a ploy by the New Federation playing the victim, using the annihilation of a planet to clear themselves of the suspicion of planting the bugs?"

"How does that clear anything? They've already admitted to it. The difficulty now is that we've always proclaimed the Insect Race as humanity's enemy, urged to think from a human perspective to criticize the New Federation. Now that the New Federation has encountered an infestation, should we save them or not?"

"Don't save them! Why bother? They brought this upon themselves."

"Even if we don't save them, we must make a show of doing so. Now is a once-in-a-century opportunity for the Empire..."

"Cough!"

Admiral Thomas, seated at the head, coughed dryly, and the sounds of discussion quickly faded.

"Captain Hanton, Captain Catherine, Captain Griss, please take a seat."

Admiral Thomas called out, and Yang Ming and the other two saluted in military fashion, taking their seats at the end of the table with stern faces.

The guards closed the doors to the conference room.

Admiral Thomas immediately played a segment of remote sensing footage.

The propagation of light follows the principle of the speed of light. Even if the planet's destruction was caused when it fell into Subspace, cutting off external communication, remote detection stations set at some distance could still actively observe delayed images.

"The New Federation has indeed suffered a bug disaster, with the scale exceeding ten billion," Admiral Thomas said with a grave voice.

"Currently, our negotiations with the New Federation are still ongoing, and they have not yet signed the compensation treaty.

"Based on the military's supercomputer simulations of various possibilities, it's possible that the New Federation may seek our help, use moral righteousness to coerce our military into combating the Insect Swarm, and ultimately refuse to sign the compensation treaty.

"Today's meeting is chaired by me, commanders of various combat clusters are listening in through projection devices, and we must come up with a countermeasure.

"Captain Hanton and the others are experts in bug extermination, and they are here to provide relevant professional advice."

An elder general immediately said, "We only have one option, to present a show of military might, pressuring them to sign quickly!"

Opposition was immediately raised: "We are already in a major victory, whether it be the ratio of warship losses or casualties on both sides. If we reignite an all-out war, the outcome is uncertain."

The group of senior officers immediately began to debate.

Their logic was clear, their perspectives distinct, and their considerations for all matters were quite thorough.

This was obviously a group of senior think tanks in the Imperial Military Department.

However, after debating fiercely for more than ten minutes, they failed to reach a consensus.

Half advocated that they must force the New Federation to sign the compensation treaty now, enabling the Empire to disengage from the maelstrom.

A smaller group argued that they must make a full show out of it to ensure the Empire's advantage in the court of public opinion, cherishing the hard-earned reputation.

And a few officers advocated waiting and seeing, as after all, the Imperial Invincible Fleet feared no Insect Swarm.

Admiral Thomas raised his hand to gesture, and the conference room quickly quieted down.

"Captain Hanton, what is your opinion? You know the Insect Race best."

A group of colonels and lieutenant colonels turned to look at him.

Yang Ming hadn't expected to be called out suddenly, but he had prepared a speech in advance.

After all, he was summoned by Admiral Thomas for his 'professional opinion' about the bugs.

"We must leave the New Federation's Star Domain as soon as possible," Yang Ming said with a serious voice.

"The queen wreaking havoc in the New Federation right now is the one who previously tried to sneak attack the Emperor Star.

"She is here for revenge, revenge against the New Federation, and against their bug-planting scheme. The bug-planting scheme was likely condoned by her initially, but its results led to the deaths of many Mother Worms. When the queen tried to avenge herself on the Empire and was repelled by the Heavenly Fury Fortress, she would inevitably choose the next target for revenge.

"The social structure within the Space Worm Clan is extremely complex. The only peers they recognize among themselves are Mother Worms... In simple terms, real individuals in the Space Worm Clan are actually very scarce, yet a large number have died in recent years.

"This is why the queen about to ascend to a higher dimension is furiously taking revenge on humanity.

"Do you think, how much will it cost us to help the New Federation repel this queen without the assistance of the Constant Star Cannon?"

A buzz went through the conference room as the senior officers whispered and discussed among themselves.

Admiral Thomas frowned and asked, "You're suggesting that our military should retreat now?"

"That is the wisest choice," Yang Ming said. "I know you're all still concerned about the New Federation's compensation, considering it one of the most glorious victories the Empire has achieved in centuries."

"Yes, Captain Hanton, the amount of compensation will be substantial and will provide a strong boost to our national economy."

"We can't just surrender these compensations."

"In the court of interstellar public opinion..."

"Oh, come on!"

Captain Griss spoke with a chuckle:

"Let's not dwell too much on this factor of interstellar public opinion.

"All of you are the pillars of the Imperial Military Department, why can't you see through the nature of so-called public opinion and human hearts?

"Even if we make their president kneel and call us grandpa now, once our fleets withdraw, they'll slander the Empire as usual. The New Federation's industrial system is still there, and their economic foundations remain. In a decade or two, they could recover their strength.

"Without fighting this war to the end, without dismembering the New Federation, the interstellar political landscape won't change. At most, it makes the Empire's external public opinion environment more comfortable for a few years, which is meaningless."

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