The battle of the Terminus Systems could be called fierce, and it could also be called brutal.
Several planets were reduced to ashes by Cyclone torpedoes. Tens of billions of lives were directly turned into charcoal. All warships that attempted to flee the Terminus Systems after being attacked were blasted into fragments by the three Lunar-class cruisers blockading the mass relay. As a result, around the relay itself lay a dense field of wreckage, wide enough to resemble an entire stellar river. As for the number of aliens who died drifting in space because of this—no one even knew how many there were!
Afterward, Duanmu Huai and the Shepard siblings gathered together and calculated the results. Only then did they discover that aside from Duanmu Huai himself, the younger Shepard's battle achievements were actually higher than his sister's!
After listening to the younger Shepard's report, Duanmu Huai immediately understood what had happened.
According to the younger Shepard, he had initially only surrounded the enemy planet and, step by step, attempted to persuade the other side to surrender. Naturally, the enemy refused and even mocked him. The younger Shepard didn't bother explaining further, merely telling them that the Stellar Federation had already launched a massive advance into the Terminus Systems, and that surrendering now would still leave them a way out—otherwise, there would only be a dead end.
Of course, the enemy didn't believe it. After all, even the Citadel hadn't taken down the Terminus Systems—who did you humans think you were?
But disbelief aside, they still contacted acquaintances on several other planets.
Hmm…
The result, of course, was silence—all of them had already been wiped out by extermination orders.
That's when the enemy panicked, and the younger Shepard seized the opportunity to launch his attack on the planet.
He didn't stop there. On one hand, he deliberately left the enemy a path of escape. On the other hand, he secretly communicated with the planet's ruler, saying he could give them a chance. The younger Shepard claimed that since he was young and had accumulated little military merit, he wanted to occupy the planet as quickly as possible to gain promotion. Therefore, if the enemy was willing to yield, he could let them live and allow them to flee the Terminus Systems. After all, the Stellar Federation's forces were currently fighting on all fronts, and the mass relay wasn't well defended—but if they waited too long, escape would no longer be possible!
For this reason, the younger Shepard even contacted Duanmu Huai to ask how to handle the matter. This was indeed true, because the alien boss had threatened him in exactly this way. At that time, Duanmu Huai had only said one thing—kill them all. That single statement completely crushed the alien boss's resolve, and it immediately decided to flee. It took its confidants and left the planet at maximum speed. Once the boss ran, all resistance on the planet collapsed, and the younger Shepard easily took it over.
"...…"
After hearing the battle report, Duanmu Huai stared at the younger Shepard.
He had to admit it…
This kid was sneaky as hell.
The younger Shepard pulling tricks didn't bother Duanmu Huai. On the surface, this guy seemed to have simply used a bit of strategy—but after hearing everything, Duanmu Huai knew that beneath his honest appearance, his heart was pitch black.
One had to understand that all strategic plans were set before the battle began, and the Shepard siblings were well aware of the Inquisition's style.
Duanmu Huai didn't care about exterminating one more planet, and would the younger Shepard really not know how powerful the Inquisition warships blockading the relay were?
The reason he let the enemy go was simply to watch those idiots walk straight into a trap!
After all, the situation he described earlier sounded dire, and by common sense, the longer things dragged on, the worse the situation would become. Anyone with a functioning brain would choose to flee as early as possible—as the saying goes, as long as the green hills remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood.
The result was that the younger Shepard easily secured his objective, while the enemy foolishly slammed straight into the guns of the Inquisition fleet to die—meaning that somewhere in that ring of wreckage around the mass relay, there was very likely the corpse of the unlucky bastard he had tricked to death.
By comparison, the elder sister was simply too reckless, which was why she had ended up in such a sorry state…
Hmm… now I understand why these two siblings turned out with such personalities.
Of course, strategy was strategy—but post-battle reports still had to be truthful. After all, every decision and communication made by a commander would be recorded. Whether you said something or not… those were two very different matters.
The assault on the Terminus Systems ended in less than a single day. Duanmu Huai was ruthless enough, the Inquisition vicious enough. Any planet deemed useless was hit with an extermination order without even checking for innocent civilians—everything was sent straight to the heavens!
As long as you're ruthless enough, is there really anything left to worry about?
At this point, most major powers in the Terminus Systems had been completely wiped out. The few remaining stragglers were trembling as they hid, afraid to show themselves again. Of course, they weren't willing to just let things end like this. After all, the Terminus Systems had been painstakingly built up over many years—who could accept watching it be destroyed just like that?
Take the Turian boss in front of us, for example.
"This is just… making me furious to death!!"
Storming back and forth in the command room, the Turian boss was so angry he was practically hopping in place. He was one of the few lucky survivors who managed to escape. But because he fled too quickly, he hadn't been able to take any assets or supplies with him. His planet had been wiped out by a single extermination order from Duanmu Huai. If he hadn't happened to be away on business at the time, he would've died at the Inquisition's hands too!!
And now…
Aside from this tiny ship, he had nothing left!
No. This can't just end like this!
With that thought, the Turian boss made a decision. He activated his terminal and contacted a secret number.
He was going to complain!
As mentioned before, the Terminus Systems were filthy and corrupt, but they were deeply intertwined with the upper echelons of other civilizations. Soon enough, similar reports reached the ears of the top leadership of the Citadel's three major civilizations.
To be honest, after hearing these reports, the leadership of the three major civilizations were shocked.
They had expected the Stellar Federation to move against the Terminus Systems—after all, during earlier negotiations, the Federation had already expressed dissatisfaction to the Citadel Council. The Council's stance at the time had been one of "moral support, no opposition." In fact, they secretly hoped the Federation would be foolish enough to invade the Terminus Systems. If that could bog them down and drain their strength, all the better.
But what the Citadel Council never expected…
…was that humanity would be this ruthless.
They knew about extermination orders. They had even seen their effects. But they had always treated them as a last-resort trump card—like nuclear weapons. Everyone knew nukes were powerful and devastating, so no one dared to use them lightly. But…
They never imagined the Inquisition would use extermination orders as casually as eating and drinking water. So many life-bearing planets in the Terminus Systems—aside from a handful, all of them were wiped clean!
Every single form of life on them was slaughtered!
Was the Stellar Federation really this brutal? Were humans really this terrifying?
At this point, even the representatives of the Citadel's three major races were dumbfounded. Among them, the Turians were the most warlike—but even the Turian representative felt a chill in his heart at such cold-blooded behavior.
As a result, the representatives of the three major races immediately contacted Stellar Federation President Li Longcheng to question him!
"The atrocities committed by the Stellar Federation military in the Terminus Systems?"
Facing the holographic projections of the three representatives, Li Longcheng appeared extremely calm.
"We previously discussed the issue of the Terminus Systems. Didn't the Citadel Council already agree to let the Stellar Federation decide for itself?"
"But this is simply too horrifying!"
The Asari representative frowned. As an Asari, she genuinely disliked such large-scale slaughter.
"There are innocent civilians in the Terminus Systems. Eliminating them without discrimination is far too cruel!"
"Cruel?"
At this, a sharp glint flashed in Li Longcheng's eyes.
"The Terminus Systems have repeatedly violated Federation territory and attacked Federation citizens. Were those people not innocent? Not pitiful? Were the Terminus Systems not cruel? Since they dared to provoke the Federation, they must be prepared to suffer the Federation's full retaliation!"
Li Longcheng showed no fear of the Citadel representatives' pressure. His stance had always been clear—if others don't offend us, we won't offend them; but if they do, we'll return it tenfold. Whether it was the Terminus Systems or the Batarians, they had started the trouble first. Why should the Federation cower and act as if it were in the wrong?
This was also the greatest point of conflict between Li Longcheng and the appeasement faction.
But now, with the Inquisition backing them…
Heh…
"And besides…"
At this point, Li Longcheng's lips curved slightly upward.
"This was the Inquisition's method. As allies, it wouldn't be appropriate for us to oppose it."
This was exactly what Duanmu Huai had taught Li Longcheng. If those bastards wanted to pick a fight, let them go find the Inquisition and see if they really had the guts to confront him!
"..."
Sure enough, the moment the word "Inquisition" was mentioned, the expressions of the three representatives stiffened slightly. In fact, after negotiations with the Federation concluded, the Citadel had sent envoys to request a meeting with the Inquisition—only to be turned away at the door with the message: "The Inquisition only protects humanity. Affairs of alien races have nothing to do with us."
Naturally, the Citadel didn't give up. They specifically sent an Asari envoy, trying every possible way to speak with Duanmu Huai. In the end, Li Longcheng facilitated a remote video conference.
But the moment the other party appeared on screen, the Asari envoy screamed in terror, rolled her eyes, and fainted on the spot. Thankfully, Asari were skilled in mental healing, so she eventually recovered. Upon waking, she said that the human on the other side was simply too terrifying—that just looking at him felt like her soul was about to explode, and she didn't dare speak to him at all…
Faced with such an eerie situation, the representatives of the three major races naturally…
…didn't dare follow in her footsteps.
Just a glance through remote communication had been enough to mentally collapse an Asari. How horrifying would someone have to look to cause that?!
In truth, the three major races had suffered losses as well. Because the Stellar Federation and the Inquisition had launched their surprise attack on the Terminus Systems without leaking even a hint, many agents of the three major races had still been stationed there!
Some were representing Citadel leadership to coordinate affairs. Others were secretly handling shady matters. In a normal war, these representatives could have revealed their identities, and the Federation wouldn't dare act recklessly.
But the Inquisition didn't care at all. High-level representatives of Citadel races? Never heard of them.
If I don't know, then they don't exist!
So a Cyclone torpedo went down. How many died below, who they were, how they died—that had nothing to do with the Inquisition. They didn't care.
As long as everyone was dead, that was that.
What could the Citadel races do? Go accuse the Federation?
If the Federation asked why their high-level representatives were mingling with criminal forces in the Terminus Systems, how would they answer?
Wouldn't questioning the Federation just expose their own actions? The Federation wasn't stupid. If they found out that Citadel high-level representatives had ties to the Terminus Systems, they would certainly suspect whether previous attacks on Federation colonies had been directed by Citadel leadership…
Of course, if this were any other civilization, knowing wouldn't matter much—what could you do about it?
But humanity's Stellar Federation…
The Citadel races genuinely didn't dare gamble.
Look at them. They had only just stepped into the cosmos not long ago. First, they fought the Turians. Then they destroyed the Batarians' homeworld and annihilated their main fleet. Now they had completely wiped out the Terminus Systems.
For such a hard-line civilization, going head-to-head with them…
…didn't seem worth it.
And the Inquisition…
…was indeed terrifying.
So afterward, the three representatives said a few meaningless lines and hurriedly closed the communication.
"Phew…"
At that moment, Li Longcheng finally let out a breath and looked at another screen.
"Just as the Inquisitor expected, those guys really didn't dare say much."
"Hmph. I knew they didn't have the guts."
Duanmu Huai's lips curled slightly into a cold smile. In fact, back in the game days, many players compared the Stellar Federation to the Song Dynasty—wealthy, powerful, full of heroic generals—but ruled by idiots at the top. In the end, the Federation had to swallow its pride and perform all kinds of ridiculous maneuvers just to integrate into the galactic community.
If the Song Dynasty had had a truly iron-blooded emperor…
…would barbarian invasions even have been an issue?
Now it seemed that helping Li Longcheng had been the right move.
Just like Duanmu Huai had told that human-traitor doctor on Pandora: when two races meet, the first thing to do is demonstrate strength and toughness—only after that comes civilization! Acting "civilized" right from the start only looks like weakness to other races. The Na'vi were a perfect example. If those traitors had shown human power without hesitation when they first arrived, the Na'vi wouldn't have dared attack the mining teams later.
In the end, it was simple—
They just hadn't been beaten enough!
Beat them until it hurts. Beat them until they're scared.
Then they'll understand!
As the ancients said: "The barbarians are like beasts— they fear power but do not cherish virtue."
And also: "Those not of our kind—when strong, they plunder; when weak, they submit. They care nothing for gratitude or righteousness; such is their nature."
History also says: "The people of China are the root of the world; the barbarians are like branches and leaves. To weaken the roots to fatten the branches and seek lasting peace—this has never existed."
Thus the Spring and Autumn Annals say: "The Rong and Di are wolves and jackals—never satisfied; the Xia peoples are kin and must not be abandoned."
These words applied just as well to humans and alien races.
And such things were clearly beyond the understanding of historyless barbarians. The appeasement faction's ideas were nothing more than "weakening the roots to fatten the branches in pursuit of peace"—and of course, "this has never existed."
Of course, within humanity itself there were many voices opposing this ideology, claiming it was too race-centric and advocating openness and tolerance…
Heh. Say one more word, and before I even deal with the Tau, I'll wipe you out first!
Protect humanity—or go learn that idiotic "Greater Good" bullshit from the Tau?
Thankfully, the Tau hadn't appeared yet. Otherwise, Duanmu Huai would've already led a fleet to slaughter them all!
"Alright. The issue of the Terminus Systems is considered resolved. The follow-up cleanup will be left to you."
Although Duanmu Huai had solved the Terminus Systems in one blazing sweep, there were still problems left behind—like the debris ring around the mass relay, the reconstruction of planets destroyed by extermination orders, and the remaining stragglers hiding within the system.
Those would be handled by the Stellar Federation itself.
The Inquisition was not the Federation's babysitter.
"I understand. I'll accelerate colonization and immediately begin surveying and mining operations in the Terminus Systems."
Hearing Duanmu Huai's reminder, Li Longcheng's expression turned solemn. He had already been informed by Duanmu Huai that the Reaper armada would return in a few years, and that knowledge made him extremely tense. In fact, he had already ordered the R&D departments to begin researching a new generation of warships—larger and stronger than dreadnoughts. Even if they couldn't reach the level of the Inquisition, they had to possess at least a fraction of that power!
Otherwise, once the Reapers arrived…
Wouldn't humanity be completely doomed?
(End of Chapter)