Ronan’s War Artistry Was Highly Refined

"Little Sha, you need to know that Grandma is Asgard’s Goddess of Death, the future empress who will inherit the throne of the Allfather. As the eldest legitimate son, I’m also the Royal Crown Prince. But your mother was just a nine-to-five workhorse tightening giant screws. There was an enormous gap in our statuses; we could never end up together."

Allen pulled out a stalk of celery from under his arm, held it between two fingers, and pretended to smoke away his sorrows.

He looked exactly like a devoted man who could not resist the shackles of worldly conventions and had been forced into helpless compromise.

"Grandma is so amazing. That means Dad should be a prince."

Ayesha said excitedly, "Then I should be a princess."

"That’s not the point."

Allen could not help rolling his eyes. Ayesha clearly had not kept up with the rhythm, so he continued, "I was determined to elope with your mother, but your grandmother refused to let me degrade myself. So she hunted me across the universe and even killed your mother."

"What!?"

Ayesha looked as though she had been struck by lightning, frozen stiff on the spot.

The person closest to her had killed the person most important to her.

Allen patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don’t blame her. People born into royalty can’t control their own fate."

"I don’t believe it."

The tears swirling in her eyes could no longer be held back. As if her worldview had collapsed, Ayesha ran out of the tavern.

Just as she stepped outside the tavern, she happened to run into Hela and the others returning.

"Ayesha, where are you going?"

Hela casually asked after her.

"I don’t need you to care, murderer of my mother."

Ayesha threw out those resentful words, then ran away in tears without looking back.

The teammates were all baffled. Wasn’t she an orphan? Where had this mother come from? Even her so-called father was fake.

The only person who could provide an answer was definitely Allen.

When they entered the tavern, they saw Allen talking with the bartender.

He offered up a bottle of fine wine, naturally as a consultation fee.

Nothing in this world was ever free, especially in a tavern full of all sorts of people. Asking for information without giving anything in return was clearly unrealistic.

"According to rumors, an unknown force suddenly attacked various Star Gates, forcing the Three Great Cosmic Empires to shut them down and launch a campaign to encircle and suppress the attackers," the bartender said in a lowered voice.

"Is our star region in danger?" Allen asked casually.

"For now, it’s very safe. The unknown force is mainly attacking Star Gates. It seems they’re challenging the authority of the Three Great Cosmic Empires."

Even so, anyone daring to challenge the position of the Three Great Cosmic Empires had to possess considerable confidence in their strength.

For now, the war was limited to fighting over the strategically vital Star Gates, but it could not be ruled out that it would spread throughout the universe.

Moreover, the Three Great Cosmic Empires could conscript the cosmic civilizations dependent on them to join the war.

When that happened, bounty hunters might not be able to stay uninvolved.

They might post dangerous missions for bounty hunters and Ravager Crews to carry out.

"Allen, what did you say to Ayesha?"

Hela’s face was frosty, and her eyes carried a strong killing intent. There was probably only one lunatic capable of corrupting a child like that.

"I didn’t say anything."

Allen defended himself evasively, "Ayesha fell for a Will-o’-the-wisp youth. I firmly refused to let her date so early. What kind of character could a Will-o’-the-wisp youth possibly have? As a man with an Epic Rainbow Will-o’-the-wisp, a symbol of the supreme aristocracy among will-o’-the-wisps, of course I couldn’t let Ayesha go astray."

"When did I kill her mother?" Hela asked coldly.

"So it was a misunderstanding."

Allen said with a sleazy grin, "I told her that her mother was a will-o’-the-wisp girl. Because I was the Royal Crown Prince of Asgard, Sister Kelp, you wouldn’t allow that love, which looked wrong but was actually utterly, catastrophically wrong. So you killed her mother to provoke and train me into becoming a qualified iron-blooded monarch."

"You’re insane."

Upon hearing that, Hela was furious. She stepped forward in a flash and viciously drilled both hands into Allen’s temples. "You’re truly shameless. You gave yourself the title of Asgard’s crown prince. I wouldn’t even dare think in that direction."

"Pain, pain, pain…"

Allen twisted free, looking utterly innocent. "Everyone already calls you Mom, so what’s wrong with inheriting Asgard? You’re really stingy."

"You should ask Odin whether he agrees." Hela sneered disdainfully.

Odin ruled Asgard through violence. The various races of the Nine Realms viewed him as a tyrant, which was why resistance forces continually emerged.

As commander of Asgard’s armies, she had seen far too many truths and knew very well that, in the eyes of all living beings in the Nine Realms, Odin was a cruel oppressor.

"Forget it. Being an emperor is so boring. I’ve experienced it before. It’s just like being an old lady from the neighborhood committee."

Allen wisely backed down.

If he really dared go to Asgard and ask Odin for the throne of the Allfather, he was guaranteed to end up charred inside and out.

Besides, in the mage timeline, he had built an empire before. It was not remotely as decadent and indulgent as he had imagined.

First of all, the native women were dark-skinned, their hair was a mess and full of lice, and worst of all, they never brushed their teeth. Getting too close to them could practically fumigate someone to death.

Allen, who liked hugging women’s thighs, immediately lost all interest and could not even be bothered to give them a proper glance.

Second, Allen never drank. One sip would only get him drunk to death, never drunk in pleasure. Besides, the natives could not brew alcohol, and even drinking raw water easily caused diarrhea.

He also had to mediate disputes between tribes every few days. He was basically a huge sucker.

Allen concluded that he was not the kind of protagonist suited for farming and management. He was not fit to cultivate a power base.

The Accuser Military Base.

The members of the group supporting Ronan had been staying there, waiting for the latest news from the Kree Empire.

After all, Ronan was the one who had seized the black water, not the other members. They would not be implicated in any accountability.

"Your Majesty, why are we taking so many Star Gates?"

High Evolutionary could not understand Ronan’s military intentions.

Revealing the existence of the insect race too early would undoubtedly increase the risk of failure.

At the insect race’s current scale, it was not enough to confront the Three Great Cosmic Empires head-on. It would only cause meaningless losses.

"Please do not question a strategist’s strategic principles."

Ronan had graduated from the Kree Empire’s military academy and experienced many wars. He was extremely confident in both strategic planning and tactical application.

He spread out a star map and marked the Star Gates they had already captured.

"Can you see the problem?"

"…"

High Evolutionary specialized in biochemical research, so naturally he knew nothing about warfare.

Ronan was very satisfied with his ignorant expression, allowing him to display a little of his war artistry.

"The Star Gates we currently occupy are scattered very widely, but they are all transportation hubs. Now that they’ve been shut down, they cannot resume normal operations. Trade and shipping within the Three Great Cosmic Empires are nearly paralyzed. My intention is simple: guide their armies into spreading out to provide support. Without Star Gate transportation, they’ll need to spend considerable time on long voyages. While that happens, the insect race deployed on more ecological planets will reproduce and grow."

After saying that, Ronan smiled coldly and tapped the star map with a finger. More red dots appeared as he explained, "The red dots are all insect races. When the time comes, we’ll divide and annihilate the main forces of the Three Great Cosmic Empires, then surround their three capital planets in one stroke."