Starting from the Planetary Governor

Chapter 1392: Chapter 791: The End Draws Near

Economic issues, along with the need for Gu Hang to allocate a portion of the essence from the Storm God Kingdom to suppress the subspace pollution of the ship…

These two points make it difficult for the Alliance to produce a Glory Queen every 15 years.

However, the Alliance currently has one, soon there will be two, and three in fifteen years… This scale is sufficient.

Indeed, when the current ship ’Eastern’ was unveiled to the world, it already induced countless astonishment.

Mars, Holy Terra, various Sect of Mechanics factions… countless inquiries came from those who received the news.

The Alliance Foreign Affairs Department had a contingency plan for this, diverting all inquiries.

Still, some inquiries were directed straight to Gu Hang.

For example, Zebert, and Kao’er Sage, who had provided key assistance to Gu Hang in Holy Terra.

People of such high status have contact information for Gu Hang. They bypass the Alliance Foreign Affairs Department directly to inquire of Gu Hang, who certainly couldn’t ignore them.

But it’s only to the extent of ’handling’ them.

The Central Empire proposed that next year’s three trillion Imperial Tax be waived in exchange for a Glory Queen, but Gu Hang resolutely refused.

How I pay the Imperial Tax is my business; the amount suffices; don’t concern yourself with the method.

Then, Zebert tried to place an order for a Glory Queen Battleship, offering four trillion, and inquiring of the Alliance how quickly it could be built.

Gu Hang turned the tables and quoted fifteen trillion, requiring 30% upfront, then 10% annually for a total of ten years, with delivery in sixty years.

Zebert actually hesitated.

These two conditions, actually… he could accept.

Fifteen trillion is indeed a substantial amount, almost half the Empire’s annual revenue, or slightly more.

However, to gather fifteen trillion for other purposes wouldn’t work, but to acquire a Glory Queen would; squeezing a bit, it could be possible.

As for the sixty-year construction time, it really is reasonable. Many Founding Worlds take decades to construct a Mechanical Ark or Battleship. Why not sixty years for a ship of Glory Queen’s caliber? He actually found it quite fast, at least he could see it in his lifetime—provided his life-extension surgery succeeded.

But when these two conditions combine, it becomes challenging.

Why should I pay all the money up front for a ship with a sixty-year construction period?

On this matter, Zebert endeavored to haggle with Gu Hang.

Gu Hang was genuinely surprised that Zebert appeared interested in negotiating further. He had initially quoted a price and timeline without sincerity, without even retaining a token final payment. I take all the money after ten years; what if the ship construction fails, won’t you worry?

Such a quoting strategy was meant to scare off Zebert.

Upon realizing negotiation was viable…

Gu Hang indeed became intrigued.

Let the Foreign Affairs Department negotiate with the Central Empire, incorporating it in the clauses of the new tax law being formulated now.

If the Empire can genuinely accept receiving a Glory Queen sixty years later, Gu Hang would be willing to sell.

Five construction durations for one ship in exchange for seven ships worth; it’s not impossible.

As for the Martian Sect, they weren’t after ships; they were inquiring about conducting a technology exchange.

This… Gu Hang could only agree to a limited extent.

The construction of the Glory Queen-class Battleship sees limited contributions from the Alliance’s own shipyards, undertaking only some low-tech tasks. The most crucial components, in essence, rely on the black box extracted by Gu Hang, crafted bit by bit.

This portion is not suitable for viewing by the Martian Sect members.

Viewing wouldn’t benefit them.

However, Gu Hang can allow them to visit and even study the ship itself.

This decision is also in consideration of the help the Great Sage once extended.

After all, they wouldn’t possibly derive the technology to construct new Glory Queens merely from studying the finished product.

The Empire doesn’t have just the Alliance’s sole Glory Queen now. Each major Loyalist Battle Group commands one too. Given the Martian Sect’s status, they surely have ample opportunities to study those Glory Queens, but have yielded no noteworthy outcomes, attesting to the reproduction difficulty far exceeding expectations.

Exchanging knowledge here isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

With this mindset, Gu Hang generously agreed to the Great Sage’s exchange request, without stipulating any conditions for additional profit swaps.

However, what the Great Sage said subsequently surprised Gu Hang further.

“To clarify, the exchange is not in the manner you envision. I will persuade the Founding General to dispatch Mars’s top team in large-scale ship construction and the team with the most thorough research of ancient Glory Queen relic information to Eastern.”

“The goal of the exchange isn’t to learn anything from you. But to harness their prior learning and expertise in building your Glory Queen.”

An unexpected boon from the heavens?

From this angle, one could almost say Mars is providing the Alliance with free technical support?

Though technically, it isn’t particularly needed by the Alliance; yet this particular group, if indeed as per the Great Sage’s claim, comprises talented individuals who, to some extent, may expedite the construction speed of the Glory Queen.

“Accelerating the Alliance’s construction of Glory Queen-class battleships is precisely my objective.”

“May I ask… why?”

The Great Sage didn’t mince words, candidly informing Gu Hang of the reason: “The Era of the End approaches. Our time is limited. Since the Alliance already possesses the capability to construct the Glory Queen, any accumulation of power before its arrival can better alter the Empire’s future.”

“The Era of the End… approaches? Could you specify? I wish to know exactly what it is, and if there’s a precise timeline.”

“I do not know either,” the Great Sage said, “but it won’t be much longer.”

“…Alright.”

…

Gu Hang could not pry further information from the Great Sage.

Yet the urgency within him intensified.

He was genuinely worried about the so-called Era of the End, and the prophecy he had once obtained from the Dark Spirit Race, evolving ultimately into what.

Gu Hang was greatly troubled by such matters.

Any matter preventing him from peacefully farming, growing, and providing a good life for the people bothered him exceedingly.

The issue surrounding the Era of the End might be even more vexatious than the problems brought on by the Central Empire.

Such that, the new crisis, new tax negotiations between the Alliance and the Empire, he lacked considerable interest in focusing on, instead dedicating more time within the Storm God Kingdom, observing subspace shifts.

Empire, humanity, face numerous threats in this universe. But if anything might be worthy of the term ’end,’ Gu Hang’s first suspicion remains that vast, formidable subspace.

A year and a half later.

When the group of experts from Mars arrived and began their work; when the Empire and Alliance’s negotiations broke down for the third time, and the Empire once again resorted to previously used measures, feigning troop mobilization to station near the Alliance’s Cosmos Domain, aiming to pressure the Alliance…

Gu Hang witnessed an earth-shattering explosion within subspace.