Chapter 509: Does Schnatter know about this?
Interstellar Federation, new main star, Maple Blue Castle.
The magnificent banquet hall was brightly lit. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the towering ceiling. The soft light shone through the intricately cut crystal facets, refracting a dazzling halo.
On the walls were hung portraits inlaid with gold frames. They were oil paintings of outstanding members of the Priest family throughout the ages.
A young man in a slim black tuxedo was introducing these important names in the Federation's star calendar to two beautiful and elegant girls in evening gowns beside him.
"Norman Priestley, my great-great-great-great-grandfather, once established the Earth Federation and led the Earth's ancestors to usher in the Great Galactic Age. He was the founder of the Interstellar Federation, the first to fourth Speaker of the Federation Parliament, and the only Speaker to be re-elected for four terms. His life was brilliant and shining like a pearl. Perhaps the only flaw in his life was that he was deceived by that woman and made an unbreakable vow with her." The man curled his lips and shrugged.
The long-haired girl showed a standard ladylike smile and followed his words, "That's not the case. It's just that the woman is too good at disguising herself. And her true face was finally revealed by your uncle. To use the words of the ancient Earth, it's called God's will, isn't it?"
The man raised his head with pride: "You are right."
The short-haired girl next to her frowned slightly, pointed at a portrait of a lady next to her, and changed the subject: "Who is this lady?"
"Anna Priest, my great-great-great-aunt, was a member of the Federal Congress and Minister of Justice. She once ran for the tenth Speaker of the House and was the most prestigious candidate that year. However, that woman could not stand any other woman being stronger than her, so she refused to support her. Naturally, no one in the military dared to vote for my great-great-great-aunt, so even though Anna received more votes from the people, she was unfortunately not elected Speaker of the House." The man snorted coldly.
The short-haired girl was young after all, and could not hide the embarrassment on her face. She wanted to turn around and leave, but felt it would be rude, so she could only stroke her hair and stop talking.
The long-haired girl noticed her companion's discomfort and moved her feet unintentionally, leading the man away from the wall. She smiled and said, "This is my first time in Maple Blue Castle. It's exactly the same as the castle from the ancient Earth era that I saw in the documentary. It's so beautiful."
The man raised his eyebrows and said, "This is my great-great-great uncle Joseph. He ordered people to make a one-to-one replica of the Royal Violet Castle from the ancient Earth era. He was a famous entrepreneur and philanthropist, and had nothing to do with politics. As a result, he was inexplicably involved in the disappearance of people from a distant star. Not only was he secretly executed by that woman, but she almost took away this castle."
This time the long-haired girl couldn't respond. She turned around and exchanged a helpless look with her companion. She didn't understand why the banquet hadn't started yet. She already wanted to go home.
In the banquet hall, guests dressed elegantly and appropriately gathered in twos and threes, chatting in low voices and occasionally letting out restrained and joyful laughter.
A melodious and ethereal orchestral melody came from the lofty balcony. Everyone seemed to be unaware that the castle owner, Hans, the Speaker of the Interstellar Federation, had not arrived yet.
The heavy oak door blocked out the soothing music in the banquet hall. Speaker Hans stood in front of the window, his gaze shifting from the gleaming moonlight roses in the huge garden to his own reflection in the glass.
He said in a deep voice: "What do you mean by those stubborn rebels making unusual moves?"
The federal security assistant held the screen in his hand and immediately replied, "The latest news sent by Major General Carl, the commander of the 6th Sector Fleet in the 3rd Quadrant, shows that the rebels have been avoiding fighting and dragging our army around in circles for some time. But just a few hours ago, a small fleet took the initiative to entangle our main force."
"Major General Karl said that Ludwig was known for his cunning tactics. He suspected that this fleet was sent by Ludwig to confuse our army. As expected, our army detected abnormal energy fluctuations in the direction where the main force of the resistance army was stationed. The resistance army seemed to be conducting a large-scale jump."
Speaker Hans's light grey brows furrowed. "Where are they going?"
"Major General Karl said that the fleet that was harassing our army did not open fire. When our army wanted to fight, they ran away. When our army stopped chasing, they came back to provoke us. It was obvious that they were deliberately delaying time. Major General Karl therefore ordered people to strengthen electronic reconnaissance and signal detection, and finally captured the jump coordinates sent by the resistance to the harassing fleet."
The assistant paused and said, "The destination is the interstellar jump gate of the solar system - the Corona Ring."
Hans's eyes, which had been calm before, suddenly widened. "Corona Ring? The absolute main force of the Third Quadrant is stationed at the nearby Eclipse Fortress. Are you sure their target is the Corona Ring?"
The assistant looked down at the light screen and whispered, "... Confirmed."
Hans turned around, took the light screen from his assistant, and carefully scanned the top-secret report on it. Just as he said, the jump coordinates sent by the rebels were exactly where the corona rings in the solar system were located.
"Does Schnatter know about this?"