I, transformed into a vampire girl, sparked the Industrial Revolution.

Chapter 412 Stepping into the Imperial Territory

Imperial Frontier Sector – Riemann Royal Territory.

This prosperous star sector belongs to the Imperial Prince Leman Danleix, the most powerful prince who controls the Empire's richest frontier star sector.

The interstellar routes formed by the ships are connected – cargo ships, passenger ships, and private vessels connect planets – the core city planet of the Riemann Royal Territory – Riemann Star.

"So many...so many spaceships."

When the fleet jumped to this point, what they saw astonished everyone—before the fleet, the planets facing away from the stars emitted twinkling lights—they were giant cities connected together.

The UN Armed Diplomatic Expeditionary Fleet—a tiny fraction of these ships—was hardly noticeable in the absence of conflict, before the densely packed truths on board were fired.

"Your Highness... an emergency! An emergency!"

It was early morning at the royal residence where Riemann was—the sun was rising above the concrete and steel horizon, and he took off the shirt he was wearing, revealing his scarred body.

A royal attendant entered, waving a red handkerchief—an old imperial tradition—as a sign of a military emergency.

"Don't worry, I'll be right there."

Riemann quickly dressed. As the "Iron-Blooded Prince" of the empire, he always appeared in military uniform. The so-called royal residence of Riemann Star was also the location of the headquarters of the Riemann Royal Guard.

"These twenty-odd warships—have just arrived in the star system... Sir, scans show that they are neither Imperial warships nor any registered Imperial vessels."

Data is running at breakneck speed—tens of thousands of staff officers, commanders, and technical experts are on duty 24 hours a day—the Riemann Royal Territory itself is a massive military fortress—beneath the surface of prosperity, military industrial groups, massive fleets of warships, interstellar fortresses, and secret military laboratories are intertwined.

The Imperial Royal Navy claims that "no enemy warship can enter any of the Empire's central planets."

But this armed fleet just appeared openly in a star system only a few astronomical units away from Riemann.

"Matching parameters found, Your Highness! Analysis of multiple features of the ship's exterior complete!"

Riemann looked at the screen—the azure emblem was clearly visible on the exterior of the starship. Most of these ships were different in design, but the emblem on them represented only one possibility.

"Earth United Nations America West Star District Restoration Government".

"This is a newly discovered human civilization on the border—small in scale, occupying only the western sector of Amelan, but they successfully used a weapon powerful enough to change the course of the war to force back the Imperial expeditionary fleet..."

Riemann looked at the officers' report—a rapid reaction fleet from Riemann had set sail from its nearest patrol position, but the small ships sent to strike small infiltration groups and islands could not possibly contend with such a fully armed main fleet.

As for the orbital defense systems of Riemann Star—since it has never entered a state of war, and civilian ships are shuttling around everywhere in its orbit, the Riemann Star defense forces cannot directly activate those orbital defense systems and accidentally injure civilians in public.

After all, the emperor's days were numbered, and the open and covert struggles among the princes were no secret.

Meanwhile, on the "Vigilance," Alice was sitting next to the captain's seat, and alarms were blaring all over the bridge—the hyperspace drive was overheating due to the excessive jump distance, preventing the entire fleet from jumping again for a short period of time, and now the fleet was stopped at someone else's doorstep.

Not only was Riemann nervous, but Alice was also quite nervous—there was a problem with the precision of the jump; it should have jumped to the edge of the galaxy but instead, due to coordinate issues, it was inserted directly into the core region—if anti-gravity variables hadn't been added to the jump model, who knows what they might have collided with.

"Communication access request".

"Take it."

The initial contact between the two sides provided each other with sufficient information—electronic warfare and social engineering tactics were particularly effective, especially within a shared human society.

A burly young man appears in the picture, his black, red and gold military uniform exuding an imposing aura, his medals and royal insignia shining brightly.

Alice, on the other hand, was dressed simply in an executive jacket, making the contrast between the two striking. Alice's information was then retrieved, which surprised Riemann.

The Danlex family has a distinctive bloodline; the women always have long, snow-white hair—a unique hair color among so many races, which shimmers with iridescent colors in the sunlight.

"Alice De La Leah, the so-called UN Cardinal, it is your civilization that attacked the Imperial fleet. Now, state your intentions."

Riemann looked at Alice—who nodded, not denying it.

“Your people have declared war on our people. Oh, my intelligence indicates that you are the Crown Prince of the Empire, Leman Danlex.”

"So you're bringing your fleet to declare war on me? Alice Delalaye, I admire your courage, but it's too early for you to attack the Empire with just this fleet."

Alice smiled instead. There was some movement in orbit, and remote observation equipment showed that the Imperial shipyard in orbit was active—several small frigates and destroyers were already circling around the UN fleet.

"But you are still wary of us, aren't you? You think we might attack your planet at any moment. You don't understand our weapons, but you know how powerful they are."

"Oh, your empire is in a period of turmoil. I see that any change will alter your position in this competition. So, do you want peace—or destruction?"

Rushing into the heart of the Empire, aiming missiles at the Empire's prosperous planet, armed diplomacy is never just about peaceful diplomatic actions—Alice knew that was the case.

Only when she holds the big stick can she speak of peace.

"Destruction? With just your twenty ships? While we are talking, my hundreds of Imperial Navy ships are assembling—no matter how powerful your fleet is, there is absolutely no way you can escape from this level of encirclement."

Alice listened to Riemann, but instead smiled – the more he talked, the more likely he was to compromise, and the less confident he became.

"You are welcome to try and see if your fleet's ridiculous sub-light-speed engines are faster, or if we can destroy this planet faster."

Riemann was somewhat annoyed, but he dared not gamble—Alice possessed epoch-making space warfare technology. That kind of unconventional propulsion method, which could navigate within the gravity wells of a star system without needing to use hyperspace channels, was not only a ship propulsion technology, but also a weapon technology.

The Empire's fleet had already learned this lesson; Riemann was indeed a ruthless crown prince, but he was never a hothead.

"Alright, Your Highness, since our guests have come from afar, it is unreasonable for us, as the hosts, not to welcome them. We are here to negotiate for the sake of human peace. The choice is yours."

Alice fiddled with the ends of her hair, her navy blue executive jacket draped over her back, revealing the shirt underneath.

"Your Highness, since Alice is not a warmonger, why don't we back down gracefully? You know, if problems arise at this juncture..."

Riemann made his decision, and with a resolute expression, he said, "Then, Ms. Alice, please come to my residence."

Logically speaking, Alice's United Nations belongs to the "hostile human forces," but they are not just ordinary hostile human civilizations. They possess the power to change the balance of war, and Alice happens to be at this particular juncture—on the eve of the Emperor's death, just when the crown princes are consolidating their support forces.

Alice is like a female assassin, her knife already pressed against the chests of the princes, but her mission is not assassination—it's a deal.

Alice is here to make a deal—if such a vast interstellar empire were to turn its guns on the still weak United Nations and launch a full-scale war, then even though the United Nations possesses strategic weapons, there would only be one outcome—it would be overwhelmed by the empire's countless fleets.

If Alice is able to maneuver among the crown princes, then in their subconscious, the United Nations will no longer be a piece of easy prey, but a force that can be used in crucial moments. Incidentally, she can inject her own power and exert her own influence into such a behemoth.

This is precisely why Alice commands the fleet.