Although Yunyang’s expression was cold and her tone more serious than ever before, Leonardo still couldn’t help twitching his ears.
His female master was worried about him.
On the light screen, the little fox restrained himself from wagging his tail too excitedly. “Yes. I’ll return to base immediately!”
Only then did Yunyang’s expression ease. She quickly reminded Leonardo to stay safe and told him to keep the video connection open.
Leonardo did as instructed, and the surrounding environment soon appeared on the light screen.
This was the other half of T01, far from the First Army’s base. Even when Yunyang had gone there to help, she had never gotten close to that area.
She remembered that the First Army sent people to patrol there every day. Now that the area had become a base for the insectoids, what had happened to the Federation soldiers who had previously patrolled it…?
Yunyang refused to continue that line of thought.
While Leonardo was still making his way back to base, she opened her chat window with Leo and relayed every word the little fox had said.
Leo was on T01. He could make the necessary arrangements faster than anyone else.
Aside from Leo, Yunyang also passed the message on to Si Zhao and the other Federation commanders she knew.
Si Zhao had originally been in the laboratory, overseeing the progress of the Xilingpo extraction. Her expression changed slightly when she saw Yunyang’s message.
He Youchuan, who was beside her, noticed his female master’s abnormal reaction at once.
He asked gently, “Your Majesty, has something happened?”
Si Zhao didn’t answer immediately. She instructed the laboratory staff to continue the extraction, then hurried back to the palace as quickly as possible.
On the way, she relayed the news to the military.
Before she even returned to the palace, the military sent in a request for a meeting.
Si Zhao simply sat down in the rest area of the starship and accepted it.
More than a dozen commanders soon appeared on the enlarged light screen.
Wu Zhengming had sprinted back to the control tower to attend the meeting. After straightening his uniform, he explained on behalf of the others, “Your Majesty, those insects are biting down hard. The others probably couldn’t get away to attend.”
Si Zhao nodded. “No matter. Tell me what you think.”
There were thirty-two Federation armies, yet fewer than half their commanders were able to attend the meeting. It was clear just how grim the situation on the frontier planets had become.
At a time like this, if the Federation could completely eradicate the insect queen, the blow to the insectoid race would be even greater.
Holmont, commander of the Second Army, was the first to speak. “Your Majesty, if this information is accurate, I request permission to lead a team to the insect planet and eliminate the insect queen!”
“Holl, you’ve got the most insects to deal with over there. Let me handle this instead,” Commander Wu said, clearly disagreeing. None of the Federation commanders didn’t want to personally kill the insect queen.
There was no way he was going to let Holmont take this opportunity!
Sheng Li adjusted his military cap. “Commander Wu, don’t you have quite a few insects on your side as well?”
His meaning was obvious: he wanted the assignment too.
Leo didn’t compete with them for the mission. He had learned about the news from Yunyang in advance, and all he felt now was confusion.
The beastmen and the insectoids spoke different languages. The Federation had once sent microscopic robots to infiltrate the insect planet, but the information they brought back was impossible to decipher with the Federation’s current technology.
That was why the Federation had never been able to discover where the insect queen laid her eggs during the annual breeding season.
How had Lady Yunyang suddenly learned about the insect queen’s whereabouts?
While the commanders on one side argued over who would lead the expedition to the insect planet, Yunyang kept a close eye on the environment around the little fox shown on the light screen.
Leonardo hadn’t lied. He had shrunk his beast form to several times smaller than usual. Combined with the equipment that concealed his presence, he had already passed by several insectoid patrols without being discovered.
Yunyang watched with her heart in her throat.
The insectoid base was home to more than just low-level insects. She had previously asked Commander Lei Ou about it. This attack on T01 involved at least ten ninth-level insectoids, not to mention countless other high-level ones.
If he were discovered, it would be difficult for the little fox to escape unscathed. He might even…
Bah! What was she thinking?
The little fox would definitely return safely to the Federation military base.
Yunyang leaned against the bed, not daring to take her eyes off Leonardo on the light screen for even a moment.
Using a mecha in the middle of the insectoid base was far too dangerous, so the little fox relied entirely on his four legs to run. Several times, he nearly collided with patrolling insectoids from behind.
Fortunately, he was quick to react and successfully avoided them each time.
Yunyang didn’t know whether the little fox was tired, but her own emotions kept swinging between tension and relief. Combined with the fact that she was on her period, she soon grew exhausted.
After successfully evading another patrol, Leonardo hid behind a rock and quietly glanced at the image transmitted through the video.
At some point, Yunyang had closed her eyes.
The little fox blinked.
“Female master?”
He kept his voice very low, worried both about disturbing Yunyang and about attracting the insectoids’ attention.
Yunyang didn’t respond. The pain-relief potion had indeed eased the discomfort of her period, but she still didn’t have as much energy as usual.
The little fox watched her sleeping position for a while. When he noticed that Yunyang hadn’t covered herself with a blanket, he immediately issued a remote command to Steward One, ordering the robot steward to cover her.
The four robot stewards had originally all been in standby mode, recharging.
After receiving Leonardo’s command, Steward One quickly sprang into action. It went upstairs, entered Yunyang’s room, and covered her with a blanket.
Leonardo saw everything clearly through the video.
Once it had completed the command, Steward One quickly left the room. Only then did Leonardo relax.
He shut off the light screen but didn’t disconnect the video.
After observing the movements of the surrounding insectoids a little longer, he set off again.
The insectoid base wasn’t particularly large. Another half hour later, Leonardo successfully escaped from it.
To be safe, he continued moving away from the base. Only after confirming that no insectoids would be able to detect him did he take out the combat mecha issued to every Federation soldier and switch it into aircraft mode.
Back at the palace, the commanders had argued for quite some time over who would lead the expedition to the insect planet. In the end, Wu Zhengming won the opportunity.
He was practically beaming with pride.
“Your Majesty, leave this matter to me. You can rest assured.”
Wu Zhengming was certainly long-winded, but there was no doubt about his strength. Si Zhao was perfectly at ease entrusting this mission to him.
Once the empress gave her approval, the other commanders stopped arguing.
Although Wu Zhengming, the commander of the Third Army, would lead the operation, the other Federation armies would each send part of their forces as well. As a result, the deployment would require some time.
Before the arrangements were finalized, Holmont asked, “Your Majesty, where did you obtain this information?”
He wasn’t doubting Her Majesty the Empress. It was simply that the expedition to the insect planet would undoubtedly be fraught with danger.
If the information wasn’t completely reliable, any unforeseen incident would result in enormous losses for the Federation.
Si Zhao didn’t answer.
“Commander Holmont, you only need to carry out the order.”
“If my judgment is wrong, I will bear full responsibility for the consequences.”
Since Her Majesty the Empress had put it that way, Holmont no longer pressed the matter. He immediately raised his hand in a crisp military salute.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The other commanders saluted as well before gradually leaving the meeting to arrange the personnel for the expedition to the insect planet.
Leo was the last to remain.
Through the video connection, Si Zhao met his eyes. There was no doubt in her tone.
“Leo, you still have something to say.”
