The Leo Civilization and the Begla Civilization were only a few hundred light-years apart, and their border was always filled with conflict.
260 years ago, a massive Cosmic Crystal Vein Ore was discovered in the narrow space between the two civilizations. It was roughly estimated that the reserves were enormous, valued at over three million trillion Cosmic Coins, almost equivalent to half the value of their entire civilization!
According to the regulations of the Cosmic Federation, any resources discovered within the territory of a civilization would belong to the highest civilization with mining rights.
Therefore, whoever owned this area would own the vein ore.
However, this region had never been conceded by either side since ancient times. Under the immense profit, the two parties signed a development agreement, which sparked a military standoff lasting over two hundred years at this border.
For a great civilization, a war lasting even a thousand years was quite normal. Two hundred years was just the beginning. Both sides had equally matched martial artist strength, technological prowess, and military capability, leading to a prolonged stalemate.
The stakes were so high that no one was willing to seek help from other civilizations because doing so would inevitably mean sharing a part of the profits; thus, it was a matter of who would run out of patience first.
The commanders responsible for the war between the two civilizations were both Martial Artists at the fifth stage of the Controller level. The commander of the Leo Civilization was named Asri, coming from the largest family in the civilization, an intimate of the Sovereign.
The commander of the Begla Civilization was called Nick, who was the master of a dojo. Both were equally stubborn and unwilling to suffer losses; despite numerous battles over two hundred years, victories and defeats were balanced.
At the edge of the two civilizations, troops were stationed at intervals. A few light-years away from this edge was the main base of both commanders, where enormous war fortresses and countless Cosmic Battleships stood.
In the military fortress of the Begla Civilization, a man dressed in an imposing and luxurious manner observed the deployment of troops on the stellar map, surrounded by numerous warriors and strategists.
"General Nix, we recently had a skirmish in the Biggett Region, yielding small gains. We annihilated a third-level battleship unit of the enemy, killing over thirty thousand and capturing more than two thousand."
"General, in the third combat zone, the enemy seems to be stirring; I suspect they're brewing a large-scale operation!"
Each general reported on the situations in their respective combat zones. Recently, the Begla Civilization's troops had achieved significant results, but there was no change in the expression on Nix's face.
"Meaningless," Nix said, "these small-scale victories and advantages have almost no impact on the bigger picture. Over the past two hundred years, we've both had victories and defeats. Now we have the upper hand, but in a while, they might win somewhere else."
"General, it's unavoidable. Our military strengths are too close. If we could find support and increase our forces by twenty percent, we are confident we could end this war within three years."
"Hmph, do you think I am unwilling?" Nix said, "I've suggested it to the Sovereign many times, but the Sovereign doesn't want that mining area divided with any civilization and doesn't want external aid. We probably still have to consume hundreds of years in this war!"
"Ah, hundreds of years; I wonder how many warriors our civilization will lose in this war," an older warrior sighed.
"General, what's wrong?" Someone noticed a change in Nix's expression.
"Oh, nothing. I just received a message in my private mailbox sent through the Virtual Universe network."
Nix was surprised because, apart from a very important person and some martial friends, no ordinary person knew his private mailbox, and this email was anonymous. Logically, no stranger should be able to send an email here.
Using his personal intelligence system, he read the email. His expression was initially confused, but moments later, it was as if he had seen something incredibly astounding; his pupils dilated several times.
"General, what happened?"
"Someone... invited me to have tea at the Wuji Tea House in the Virtual Universe."
"What?" Everyone was momentarily stunned.
Even on the battlefield, the Cosmic Federation network was covered, and the warriors and soldiers would meet with family and friends via the Virtual Universe when not fighting; this was all very normal.
But everyone knew that Nix was a very serious person. Apart from occasionally using the Virtual Universe for brief meetings with family and the disciples in his dojo, he would not engage in any personal meetings.
Over the two hundred years, he had never been seen doing anything for relaxation, surprising those who knew him well.
"Is it your family, General?"
"Could it be someone from the Leo Civilization wanting to cease the war?"
"Impossible; they value that mining area too much. Having them cease the war is impossible."
"General, you've been fighting continuously here for over two hundred years, really, occasionally relaxing is beneficial for emotional adjustment," a few people suggested.
"I don't know this person," Nix said, "but he says he's from the Godly Opulent Civilization."
"What? The Godly Opulent Civilization?"
"The civilization behind those two young men from the so-called Moral Civilization recently?"
As significant figures in a third-level civilization, they naturally heard about Ma Yun and Zhou Runfa. But they never imagined that their Begla Civilization, which should have no association with the Godly Opulent Civilization, could possibly invite Nix for tea.
"General, is it Ma Yun or Zhou Runfa from the Godly Opulent Civilization?"
"Neither, he said his name is Li Yunlong, and his family controls the largest martial and cosmic fleet of the Godly Opulent Civilization."
"Li Yunlong? Is he another major figure from that civilization?"
"Certainly! Don't forget, this Godly Opulent Civilization can easily enlist Transcender-level martial artists, and since Li Yunlong's family controls the greatest military force of this civilization, imagine the strength. Such a person could not even be offended by a top-tier civilization, let alone us."
"General, what could he be looking for you for?" someone asked worriedly, "Our Begla Civilization hasn't offended them; surely they are not here to cause trouble?"
"Wait, could he be an ally sent by the Leo Civilization?"
"No... no way, the Leo Civilization is just a third-level civilization, and don't forget, that young man named Ma Yun casually deals with tens of billions of Source Coins. Why would this Godly Opulent Civilization care about just a few million trillion Cosmic Coins?"
"True enough, General, please tell us!"
"I don't know why he seeks me out," Nix looked troubled, "In the message, he only said that if I don't go, I will definitely regret it."
"What to do? Go or not?"
"General! Go! Since it's in the Virtual Universe, there's nothing to be overly concerned about."
"Yes, General, if he wanted to confront us, we wouldn't stand a chance anyway, why not understand his intention?"
"I have a feeling this could be an opportunity for our Begla Civilization!"
After a moment, Nix's eyes shone with determination, "Alright, then I will go see what this Mr. Li Yunlong from the Godly Opulent Civilization is up to."