Standing on the battleship's deck, Zhou Yi gazed at Sand Port City nearby.

Camels moved in and out of the city. They were the main labor force for transportation, delivering goods to the port—some were taken into the city while others were transported along Jade Avenue to the Jade City region to be sold to the workers there.

At the port station on Jade Avenue, many workers waited for the bus.

Vehicles and camels moved alongside each other on this long road, with some pedestrians mingling among them.

Although it was daytime, the new humans of the locality were no longer very fearful. Though many still ventured out at night, more and more were joining the new order, working during the day and returning home to rest at night.

Both the patrolling Building 5 along Jade Avenue and the meditating, Buddha-light enshrouded Leshan Buddha outside Sand Port City gave them more confidence and a sense of security.

The development of the Sand Port Region was visibly changing.

Lord Sha Hai, standing beside him, said with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, our place now presents a lively scene of flourishing life. Without internal conflict, Sand Port City, Steel Refining City, and Shell City complement each other in ways that were unimaginable before. Thanks to your company's mediation and coalition."

Zhou Yi politely responded, "Mainly, it's due to the proper management by the various sea lords."

Suddenly, the battleship under him spoke, "Mr. Zhou, we have a proposal."

This battleship was the ruler of Shell City, formerly one of Duke Baili's deputies, Duke Beidu.

Duke Beidu had a narrow hull with six secondary guns and one main gun, designed as a professional combat unit.

"Sand Port City, Steel Refining City, and Shell City wish to form an alliance and sincerely invite the Wasteland Development Company to join."

Duke Beidu said, "This alliance will be a solid community of shared interests, abolishing tariffs among each other, focusing on import and export to ensure our competitiveness and benefits. Any external affairs will be handled in the form of an alliance."

"Not bad."

The Steel Refining Lord also added, "Mechanical City forms alliances in various forms, such as technology alliances, agricultural alliances, medical alliances, or military alliances, etc. We can do the same; it will be beneficial in the long run."

It was a mobile crusher, parked on the deck of Duke Beidu.

Zhou Yi smiled slightly, "Could you clarify a bit more? Are you facing any trouble?"

Suddenly, the deck fell quiet.

Finally, Lord Sha Hai continued, "The trouble comes from Duke Destructive."

"He has already sent ultimatums to Duke Beidu, the Steel Refining Lord, and myself, demanding our formal surrender before winter arrives to incorporate our administered areas into his territory."

"Mr. Zhou should know that Duke Destructive is located north of Shell City, and in the past, Duke Baili faced tremendous pressure from there. It's in a rush to annex everywhere, including aiming at the Sand Port Region, because once Duke Destructive eliminates the Heavenly Kingdom Rebel Army in the northeast, it will inevitably turn outward for further expansion, and Duke Baili will face the brunt."

Zhou Yi immediately inquired with Duke Baili.

It was true.

Duke Destructive ruled the Shuanghe Region, where all cities were centralized on a medium-sized piece of land. Acting as the core, "Shuanghe City," he controlled seven cities, oversaw 25 towns, six ports, and governed a population of over 600,000—a true regional overlord.

Additionally, Duke Destructive was also an Overseas Governor appointed by the Black Emperor.

"An Overseas Governor, nominally, defends the overseas territories for the Heavenly Kingdom but is entirely autonomous. Only an annual tribute of resources is required to represent subordination to the Heavenly Kingdom."

Duke Baili explained, "Every governor is extremely powerful. The Heavenly Kingdom would incur a heavy cost to eliminate or annex them. Both sides take a step back, leading to the governor system."

"Duke Destructive is a top sea lord, but never makes public appearances, preferring to appear in the form of a puppet."

"There are two rumors about this; the first says it was severely injured in a battle with the Heavenly Kingdom army and is still recuperating. The second says its body is in the Outer Sea, thus focusing on the sky, only occasionally paying attention to the situation in the Inner Land."

"Duke Destructive's style is to destroy first then rebuild; its army excels in aerial attacks and ground operations upon landing."

Duke Baili also offered some advice: "Shuanghe Region is 840 kilometers away from Shell City in a straight line, which is not close, so a sea defense can effectively block and fend off attacks."

Zhou Yi asked him, "What's the issue with the Heavenly Kingdom Rebel Army?"

The sea lord replied, "The Heavenly Kingdom, relying on rapid expansion and annexation, eliminated and expelled many sea lords and other powers, thus gaining a vast territory. The peripheries of the Heavenly Kingdom's control frequently experience rebellions."

"These rebel forces are either fighting to reclaim territories, seeking revenge, or are coerced. Rebels target weak cities for raids, looting various resources and populations."

"Rebel groups continue to emerge, growing in numbers. The Black Emperor has also shifted his focus, concentrating on managing and stabilizing existing territories, no longer waging wars to the south and north. Instead, adopting the governor system to gain greater control and influence over larger areas. Even so, rebels still keep emerging in various places."

Duke Baili continued, "The Overseas Governors also participate in suppressing and eliminating the rebels. Previously, there was a sizable rebel force entrenched in the northeast, mainly engaging in maritime pillage and destruction."

"Last winter, Duke Destructive crushed the main force of this rebel group, which no longer poses a threat. Thus, Duke Destructive's next target is Shell City, the nearest to the Shuanghe Region, and then proceeding south... It will conquer in the name of the Heavenly Kingdom, this is known as the 'Honor War'."

The Honor War represents the Heavenly Kingdom's annexation through warfare, launched during winter.

Unlike ordinary invasions, this is a legally recognized war by the Heavenly Kingdom. If an Overseas Governor initiates any other form of warfare, it would be considered rebellion and would face suppression and elimination by the Heavenly Kingdom.

The Honor War has a clear time limit.

Once the war starts, it lasts only 3-5 years, with extensions permissible up to 10 years. If a victory isn't achieved within 10 years, the Heavenly Kingdom will forcefully intervene to cease the war.

Zhou Yi quickly realized, "Imposing a time limit is the Heavenly Kingdom's way of limiting the governors' power, right?"

"Yes."

Duke Baili elaborated, "Early governors launched wars everywhere, causing considerable trouble for the Heavenly Kingdom, leading to widespread rebellions and increasingly tarnishing the Heavenly Kingdom's reputation."

"The Honor War not only restricts the Overseas Governors but also serves as a clear selection mechanism."

"If you can withstand the Governor's annexation and offensive, it means you have excellent strength, and Heavenly Kingdom will come to recruit you. Some governors are generated in this way. If the Governor launches a war of honor and ultimately fails, the result is simply a massive loss of Light Seeds and resources, making them very cautious about starting a second war against the same target."

Zhou Yi frowned.

Behind Duke Destructive was Heavenly Kingdom, after all, they were up against this behemoth.

Heavenly Kingdom was forcing various forces to take a stand through the governors.

If you're not with us, you're against us.

Zhou Yi suddenly realized, no, there was a group that was not like this.

"Has a war of honor ever been launched against Mechanical City?"

"They are very special."

Duke Baili said, "There are rumors that Mechanical City has some kind of agreement with the Black Emperor; they remain neutral and independent. However, I'm not clear about the details."

Zhou Yi once again synced with Red Kestrel and asked for reasons.

"Mechanical City has its own faction."

The drone replied, "Currently, the 138 Mechanical Cities, though operating independently, all represent Electromechanical Civilization Society with the same program patterns and order consciousness on the level of life order. However, the specifics of the agreements are accessible only with the authority of the programming department."

"Zhou, it's impossible for the Sand Port Region to become a Mechanical City. The main ethnicity here is not electromechanical life, and there's no governance by program running the whole society. It fails to meet the most basic two thresholds."

Zhou Yi thought it was a pity.

Joining the Heavenly Kingdom's camp would obviously be a better choice than joining Mechanical City.

Since that's not possible, he would rather stand independently.

Zhou Yi decided not to think too much about it and first considered how to deal with the winter war of honor.

...

Zhou Yi looked at the three sea lords, "I'm curious why the three of you did not choose to side with Duke Destructive but instead chose to band together to fight this war of honor?"

Lord Sha Hai's gaze was resolute, "The reason is simple, surrendering and fleeing are just because we had no other choice. Duke Destructive would relocate us to the Shuanghe Region and then send others to rule here; it's his consistent style. But if your company is willing to join the alliance, with Mr. Zhou here, there's a fight to be had, and the outcome remains unknown."

"Indeed."

"Our thoughts are aligned."

The three sea lords were quite confident in Zhou Yi.

He himself wasn't sure if he could withstand Duke Destructive.

Zhou Yi smiled, "Wasteland Development Company will join."

Lord Sha Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead with his claw, and his large body also relaxed. "That's great. If you hadn't joined, we would really have had to surrender."

"Because the three of us together can't defeat Duke Destructive. Without your participation, the alliance would be pointless; we might as well surrender or quickly pack up assets and flee."

Zhou Yi: "..."

Duke Beidu, embodied in a warship, also said, "I used simulations 256 times. Just with the combined forces of Lord Sha Hai, Steel Refining Lord, and myself, the average winning rate against Duke Destructive is about 12.1%."

"As resources are massively consumed and soldiers continually fall, this winning rate will get even lower. Therefore, Steel Refining Lord and I will choose to surrender or take some soldiers and populations to start anew elsewhere."

"But with you joining, the winning rate will rise to 48.12%, which is worth fighting for."

Zhou Yi almost forgot that these two sea lords were also electromechanical life.

They're real data parties; if the data's not favorable, they choose the decision-making method with the least loss.

In a nutshell, direct surrender and abandonment.

He curiously asked, "How did you calculate this winning rate?"

"You hold six locations in Jade City, Yalong Bay, Maria Hospital, and Leshan Buddha, totaling nine major Alien forms. Excluding the hospital and the Buddha, the other seven Aliens have been proven capable of participating in combat."

"They provide a very high variable for winning rates."

"As long as they enter our land battlefield, coordinated with our ground fortifications' combat members, the enemy will not be able to restrain the Alien Soldiers' impact, and they will have to pay a heavy price to land."

"In addition, the presence of Condensers is enough to deter Duke Destructive from all angles."

"As long as they can't breach our coast and cities, even with massive air raids, we can move the residents underground. Turning to a prolonged war, we have the depth of three regions, and as long as the rear can supply the necessary materials to the front line, we can hold out."

"Next to Shell City are many natural rapids areas; there are only a few routes through the Dead Sea that can be attacked. Naval defense is my area of expertise, and I'll exert all my efforts to break Duke Destructive's blockade."

Zhou Yi thought to himself, that makes sense.

The combat-capable architectural beings are highly rated in the evaluation system of electromechanical life.

Lord Sha Hai rubbed his claws, "Mr. Zhou, why don't you give a name then? We all look up to you; the alliance needs a name."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment: "We oppose war and focus on development as our core principle... Let's call it Development Alliance."

"Good! That's a good name."

On this ordinary day, the Development Alliance was officially established, and it was determined that the Wasteland Development Company would serve as the absolute core of the urban triangle.

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