Dare?

Avarone's voice dripped with a barely concealed fury. The junior starship shook and quaked, the seams threatening to burst. However, if a starship was so easy to destroy, it wouldn't have such a name to begin with.

"We can't go that far."

The words cut through all of Avarone's momentum despite its softness. To the shock of the Heads, it was actually Silam, the silent Head of the Umbra family, who spoke, shutting down Avarone's thoughts before they could even be put into action.

"What did you just say?" Avarone growled.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

"I'm not a fan of repeating myself, you heard me just fine. In case you've forgotten, Earth is the subject of interest for countless powerful existences. As much as you look down on them, those that have a vested stake in what happens to Earth going into the future are the very same individuals that would look down on you.

"The only advantage we have over these existences is proximity. Don't let your overinflated ego blind you to that fact. If you dare to commit mass genocide, even setting aside the fact that Shield Cross Stars would never allow such a thing to happen, even if you somehow manage to succeed there will be hell to pay.

"I agreed to participate in this war to claim a small piece of this fertile land for my Umbra family. I didn't come to kill or maim. I would advise that you all wake up and realize the true nature of the situation that we're in.

"We're nothing more than mice nibbling at the edges of meat prepared for lions. The more you pretend as though you're the lion, the greater you'll suffer in the future.

"If you want revenge, go and seek it. But if you dare to step over the bounds of reason, I'll be the first to stop you."

From beginning to end, the Umbra family Head's words were even and unhurried, and yet it simultaneously felt as though there wasn't an opportunity to interrupt him at all. His momentum was smooth and consistent, his silent confidence weighing far more than any false sense of bravado ever could.

Despite the fact he was calling himself a mouse, it still felt like something far more profound than just that.

Silam's words seemed to wake everyone out of their delusions, even Avarone to some extent.

That was right, they had the advantage of proximity and they could take a hold of it. But, if they went too far and compromised the food of the true giants, it would be they who suffered first long before Earth did.

In addition, as the police force of the universe, there were many heinous acts that Shield Cross Stars would never allow. Something like genociding a whole world of people was most definitely on that list. If their families were placed on a list of evildoers, it wouldn't even matter what gains they made here because it would all be stripped away very soon.

Avarone looked off into the distance, his hands still clasped behind his back. His fury was still buried deep within his heart.

They had been breathing in their own bullshit for so long that they actually believed it. The reason they didn't dare to send Sixth Dimensional existences after Earth wasn't to 'avoid bullying the weak', it was because they didn't want to incur the wrath of those higher powers.

They were still walking on eggshells when they came here. They were trying to probe out the bottom lines of those organizations which was why they hadn't even tried to attack Earth directly and only aimed for the periphery…

Wasn't this exactly why Emperor Fawkes would call them cowards?

Avarone took a deep breath before suddenly closing his eyes. When they opened again, they reflected the same calm they had before. But, this time, he was truly calm. He had experienced too much life to lose his cool for an extended period of time.

"Silam." Avarone said calmly.

"Yes?"

"What is your end goal?"

"As I said, I don't like to repeat myself."

Silam had made himself clear. He just wanted to carve out a small piece of these fertile lands for his Umbra family. Nothing more, nothing less. Greed was the bane of human existence.

"I understand, however I still need to know your bottom line. How far are you willing to go? Or how far are you willing to cower?"

Avarone's words were clearly provocative, but Silam didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"As long as Earth isn't eradicated, I'm willing to go as far as necessary."

Silam's stance was also clear. If he didn't want to take any risks at all, he wouldn't have come to this battle. However, he was obviously willing to do so, he just knew that wiping out the people of Earth would be way too far.

"Then are you willing to push our plans forward? Do you dare?"

Silam fell into silence.

The original plan of the families came in two steps. The first step was to claim a strong foothold in Earth's Fold of Reality when it entered the Fifth Dimension. The second step would occur when Earth entered the Sixth. When that happened, they would no longer be restricted and could use that foothold they had earned to expand and carve out a territory for themselves.

According to even the most conservative predictions, Earth's Sixth Dimensional Fold of Reality would swallow the entire Milky Way. In the most aggressive, it might even encroach on their nearby galaxies. Knowing this, the families were ready well ahead of time.

If they 'pushed' their plans forward, they would be throwing caution to the wind and effectively strangling Earth by bringing out their full power ahead of time. Even if this plan didn't go as far as to eradicate the people of Earth, what it did do was put them in a strangle hold they would have little chance of getting out of.

To them, this wasn't a risk that involved Earth. As things stood, Earth wasn't prepared to deal with a full scale attack from Sixth Dimensional worlds. Their loss was inevitable. Rather, this was a risk that involved the reaction of those powers. Did they dare to do this or not?

"Ah…" Silam let out an odd sound. "Finally some real backbone, it's about time. Why would I not dare?"