Chapter 720 - 544: The New Replaces the Old: Wedding in Progress

Wu Qingjing wasn’t exactly a stick-in-the-mud, but some of his old-fashioned thinking persisted. He believed that, at the very least, a monumental event like marriage required three to five months of preparation.

A wedding in ten days?

And Gao Neng was the Speaker of the Alliance Supreme Council, no less.

A Speaker!

A Lieutenant General!

An event of this magnitude wouldn’t be over the top even with half a year of preparation, would it?

How could it be so soon!

’Are all young people... like this?’

Wu Qingjing once again felt like he was falling behind the times. However, since Gao Neng and Shen Ning’Er were about to get married, he felt that bothering Gao Neng right now would be... inappropriate, wouldn’t it?

The older generation was particular about "omens."

Wu Qingjing was no exception.

During such a joyous occasion, stirring up any "unpleasant business" would be rather inauspicious, perhaps even jinxing things.

"Get Commander Qin. And have Elder Liang and Elder Guo join us. We’ll discuss this amongst ourselves first!" Wu Qingjing finally made his decision.

As things stood, the Eastern and Northern Districts were already under their control. Combined with the full might of the Human Alliance, they actually held a slight advantage in the war.

That being the case, there was no need to be overly hasty with certain matters.

"Yes, sir!" The Secretary General immediately withdrew.

...

「Half an hour later.」

A small meeting was convened inside the Federation Government Building.

Wu Qingjing, Qin Jianfei, Liangshan, and Guo Xin were all in attendance. Also present were two of the Strongest: Qin Lei and Li Tiannan.

Though the meeting was small, it was nothing less than a gathering of humanity’s finest.

As for Gao Neng and Shen Ning’Er...

Wu Qingjing had not notified them for the time being.

The meeting began without a hitch.

Wu Qingjing immediately gave a detailed report on the intelligence from the West and South Districts, then sat down to await the others’ opinions.

"It seems the aliens have shifted from their previous offensive strategy to a defensive one!" Guo Xin was the first to voice her opinion after the report.

"Yes. When we retook the Eastern District, the West and South Districts didn’t interfere. That in itself suggested the aliens there were intent on defense," Liangshan nodded.

"A change in strategy—that much is certain. The only issue is that such a large-scale contraction of their defensive perimeter is something the aliens of the past could never have orchestrated!" As the former commander of the Military Department, Qin Jianfei was naturally sharp when it came to battlefield dynamics.

"Commander Qin has hit on the root of the problem!"

"Does anyone else have a take on this?"

"..."

A brief silence fell over the room.

Then, the council members began to voice their various opinions.

However, no consensus was reached.

Listening to the discussion, Liangshan frowned slightly. "Speaker Wu, since this situation is so strange, perhaps we should bring Speaker Gao in? He can teleport, after all. If he were to scout the West and South Districts, we could get to the bottom of this."

"That’s right, why not bring Speaker Gao in?" Guo Xin nodded in agreement.

After the battle for the Eastern District, although two council members had died for charging in too recklessly, the Supreme Council had essentially fulfilled all the "promises" made afterward.

Such assurances had never existed before.

Combined with the brilliant victory in the Eastern District, both Liangshan and Guo Xin now truly saw Gao Neng as the leader of the Human Alliance.

"Speaker Gao’s wedding is in ten days..." Wu Qingjing trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

But all the council members understood his meaning.

"This is a momentous occasion!"

"Exactly. A wedding between Speaker Gao and General Shen at a time like this is the perfect way to declare to the public that the Human Alliance has seized the initiative in this war!"

"Mmm, that’s right. We should let the entire Alliance celebrate!"

"..."

"That is precisely why I didn’t notify Speaker Gao about this meeting," Wu Qingjing nodded, explaining his reasoning. "I wanted to hear your opinions first. If it proves absolutely necessary, I will then inform him of our discussion."

"Yes, Speaker Wu is being very considerate."

"In that case... how about we send in a few elite squads for some deep reconnaissance?" Liangshan suggested after a moment, opting for a more conservative approach.

"I considered that possibility before the meeting began. However, when it comes to deep reconnaissance, the Military Department is far more proficient," Wu Qingjing said, turning his gaze to Qin Jianfei.

"Understood. I’ll make the arrangements," Qin Jianfei nodded, offering no objection.

Reconnaissance was one thing, however.

The main topic of the meeting remained the ’discussion’ of the aliens’ new defensive strategy and the formulation of the Human Alliance’s future grand strategy.

The conversation returned to the main point.

After all, given the "nature" of the alien races, a large-scale defensive contraction meant that many races would have to sacrifice their own territory and become "guests" in the lands of others.

It might not sound like much.

But in reality, what race would willingly abandon its own territory to go mooch off another?

"If only the West District or the South District had made such a move, it wouldn’t be so strange. But now, the races in *both* districts are contracting their lines. This seems to point to one thing..." Qin Lei stood up as he spoke.

"Elder Qin, please enlighten us," Liangshan said, nodding to Qin Lei.

"There are two possibilities for how this could be achieved. The first is that the West and South Districts have formed an alliance, creating a temporary joint leadership. As for the second..."