Many countries in the Intergalactic United Nations were unhappy that the Federation used a G.o.d-cla.s.s mecha but there was no rule restricting the movement of G.o.d-cla.s.s mechas. Thus, they couldn"t question the Federation about this. They were furious so they added new rules into the Human United Agreement to make sure that such a situation would never happen again.

The Federation didn"t care about all these, because every citizen from the Federation was in an angry frenzy on a different matter. This anger was ignited by the climbing number of casualties from the war on Planet Haijiao.

Although Ling Lan managed to save Base 013 and prevented the reinforcements of the Federation from sinking into Hailiya"s trap, the other soldiers on Hailiya were not so lucky. Most of these soldiers died when their bases fell. Only a few extremely powerful or lucky people managed to survive.

As Qi Yaoyang and his army slowly claimed the lands of the Federation back, the number of casualties increased exponentially.

A month later, Qi Yaoyang managed to claim back all the lands they lost to Hailiya with the help of continuous reinforcements from the Federation. By now, the total number of casualties from this battle was out. The number was alarming. The citizens from the Federation knew that many people had died for this war but when they saw 160 million casualties, they were still shocked.

This was the highest number of casualties in 300 years of history of the Federation. They didn"t lose to their enemy in battle fairly. They lost because Hailiya broke the Human United Agreement and sent their imperial operators from the G.o.d-Killers. If there were less than 100 million casualties, the citizens of the Federation were still able to maintain their composure. However, this number angered them. They were furious.

They wanted revenge. The soldiers of the Federation couldn"t just die like this. Rally for wars started happening on many planets in the Federation. The citizens hoped that the Federation would launch an all-out attack on Hailiya to take revenge for the fallen soldiers.

At the Second Marshal"s mansion, the Second Marshal looked at the newest information he received and shook his head with a bitter smile. "That sly old fox got what he wanted again." All the citizens of the Federation supported his plan now, so he and the Third Marshal had no choice but to support the First Marshal too.

"What do we do now? Is there really no other way?" Some of his confidants were unhappy that the First Marshal got hold of the situation again.

"Of course. Anyone that disagrees to fight now will be going against the intention of the public. We are unable to stop this." The Second Marshal was able to sit in this position because he was good at a.n.a.lyzing situations. Everything was in the First Marshal"s favor now. Thus, they could only go with the flow. If they go against the tide, they would be outcasted by the public.

The confidants knew the Second Marshal was right. The power they managed to wrestle back with some difficulty might be gone because of this. They felt their heart aching. However, there was nothing they could do. They could only smoke their cigarettes silently and keep their frustration in their hearts.

"There"s no need to be so dejected. We still have a long way ahead of us. The First Marshal might look glamorous now but who knows what would happen in the future?" The Second Marshal gave a cold smile. That sly old fox must be regretting it now. Even if he wasn"t, he would feel frustrated. Ling Xiao, whom he groomed personally, was becoming a threat to him.

"Marshal, are you talking about Ling Xiao?" One of the confidants was very quick-witted so he immediately understood what the Second Marshal meant.

"There will be a struggle for power in the First Marshal"s faction. Let"s wait for a good show." Ling Xiao was a threat to him and the Third Marshal too but his threat to the First Marshal was much greater. He wondered if the people in the First Marshal"s faction had any thoughts about changing their leader… A good show was definitely coming up soon. The Second Marshal was schadenfreude. The First Marshal had been suppressing them for over 30 years. They had kept their anger to themselves for a long time. Hence, they were happy to see the First Marshal getting into trouble.

A similar conversation was going on in the Third Marshal"s mansion. The Third Marshal seeked peace. So, he was frustrated when he saw the Federation fighting war after war. Many soldiers died in other countries" soil. Unfortunately, he was always on the losing end in the political battle with the First Marshal. This time, he was defeated by the First Marshal again.

"I hope that the battle can end on Planet Haijiao," the Third Marshal said worriedly. He knew how tensed the Federation was after years of wars. If the Federation couldn"t handle the stress, the entire Federation would collapse. Its economy would move backward and there might even be a civil war.

He noticed these dangers. The Second Marshal noticed them too. The First Marshal was even clearer about them. They were all looking for ways to solve the problem. On his end, he wanted to stop the wars slowly and let the Federation have some time to settle their internal affairs. However, the First Marshal planned to bring everyone"s attention to their enemies so that they could become the fighting machines of the country. The Second Marshal wanted to find a perfect blend in between these two extreme ends but the Third Marshal felt that it was impossible.

Everyone had their own plans, and none of them approved of each other"s plan. This was why the three marshals kept fighting among themselves. They wanted to control the military so that the military could run based on their beliefs. No one was willing to take a step back. Thus, the battle for power would continue until someone fell. However, the most likely situation was that they would continue to keep each other in check until the end.

"Ling Xiao… he is the crux."

Because of the battle of Planet Haijiao, the power of the Second Marshal and the Third Marshal got suppressed by the First Marshal. The military was controlled by the First Marshal now. But, there were hidden dangers too. It all depended on how tolerant the First Marshal was.