Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 390 - 0388 Ending a war to start another war. {8}

{Rex? What are you doing? This wasn't in the plan…} she asked him urgently through their private neural link, the mental channel they always kept open between them.

Being so deeply connected, it wasn't just communication; it was instinctual. She could feel the rhythm of his thoughts, the flow of his emotions.

After all, half of Rex's body was built from Cleo's own original systems, merged with living tissue. In many ways, they were more than partners. They were two halves of a greater whole, linked in body, thought, and even soul.

And yet, at that moment, Cleo felt something unexpected... distance. Rex didn't answer her. freёnovelkiss.com

Instead, he tilted his head ever so slightly and looked directly at her. A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes, and a knowing smile curved across his lips. It was small and subtle but to Cleo, it spoke volumes.

He was improvising.

That flustered look on Cleo's face was so rare that even Rex had only seen it a few times before, so this was enough to make his smirk grow wider. Her internal processors flickered through dozens of subroutines in an instant, trying to predict what he was about to do, what angle he was working from.

But she couldn't see it. He was off-script, and unpredictably so.

{Rex… you better not mess this up...} she said with narrowed eyes, more flustered than angry. And despite herself, a faint simulated blush bloomed on her cheeks, subtle enough that only Rex, who knew every micron of her expression, could catch it.

Rex didn't reply through the link, but he raised his glass toward her in a silent toast, his expression full of that reckless charm she had grown to both love and fear.

He was about to gamble.... and Cleo could only brace herself for what came next.

"What if...." Rex began, his voice calm but full of conviction, "instead of crawling back to those squid-faced bastards with their tight collars and tighter rules… you joined me on my road to conquest?"

He stood up slowly, his chair sliding back with a low scrape across the smooth floor. With steady steps, Rex walked behind Lazien and placed a firm but not unfriendly hand on the general's shoulder.

"I know your kind, General. You're not built to follow orders blindly. You're a man who likes freedom, who craves it. And where there's freedom… there's always ambition. And where ambition burns, greed isn't far behind... it's part of the package, isn't it?"

He chuckled softly and stepped out from under the shadow of the small bar's awning into the artificial sunlight of the greenhouse's simulated sky. The warm golden rays lit up his figure like a spotlight, and for a moment, Rex looked every bit the rising warlord he claimed to be.

"So here's my offer, plain and simple," Rex said, his tone sharper now, more focused. "Instead of licking boots and chasing scraps… why not rise higher? Why not become one of my generals? You've seen it with your own eyes, general, this fortress, the soldiers, the power I hold."

"I'm not some petty warband leader. I'm what the megacorps would call a conqueror. I've already taken planets, and I'm just getting started. My strength is growing, and soon…" he paused for effect, letting the silence build tension. "Soon, we'll be strong enough to topple one of the megacorps themselves."

Rex turned his gaze to Lazien, a cocky but confident smirk dancing across his lips. There was fire in his eyes, the kind that made men believe, or fear, or both.

"Now the question is…" he raised his hand, palm open toward Lazien, "before that day comes... what side will you stand on?"

He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping lower, almost conspiratorial. "You can go back to them, earn your rank, maybe get a medal or two, and live a 'comfortable' life in their cold metal hierarchy."

"But you and I both know… you'll never be more than what you are now. A common soldier with a nice title. You're not one of their own. You'll never sit at their table."

He paused again, letting that reality sink in.

"Or…" Rex continued, "you can gamble. Stand beside me. And maybe, just maybe... you'll rise higher than you ever dreamed. Riches. Power. Worlds under your command. Or… nothing at all. That's the game."

He held his hand steady, waiting.

Lazien stared at it, his eyes narrowed, and waited in silence.

His thoughts were a storm. No matter which road he chose, his future would be changed forever. One path was safe and familiar, with walls and chains he had learned to live with. The other... wild, unpredictable, dangerous... but full of promise.

In Nexum, he could stay a general. That was the ceiling. The highest he could ever climb. He wasn't one of the squids. He wasn't part of their inner circle. No matter how many battles he won or how many enemies he crushed, he'd never be more than a glorified servant.

Just a uniform. A rank. A name forgotten in the next generation.

But here… this madman offered him something more.

A chance.

And that was something Lazien hadn't had in a very long time.

Lazien let out a long, tired sigh. His eyes met Rex's with reluctant respect before he reached out and gripped the offered hand.

"You have a deal, My Lord," Lazien said with quiet finality. "I, my soldiers, and the entire fleet under my command are now at your disposal."

He stood up straight, squaring his shoulders, his voice firm despite the weight of the choice he had just made.

Rex grinned, clearly pleased. "Hahaha! Well done, General. Welcome to the team!" He gave Lazien a solid pat on the back.

"Now then, I imagine the luxury cell you were in wasn't exactly five-star, so why don't we fix that? I'll have one of the maid bots take you to one of our finest suites that is comfortable, quiet, and well-stocked with all the good stuff."

Rex turned slightly, as if done, then stopped himself and glanced back at Lazien with a sly grin.

"Oh, right.... almost forgot. There's just one more thing."

Before Lazien could react, Rex suddenly squeezed his hand tightly. A strange sound like a soft whirring echoed for a moment, followed by a sharp stab of pain.

"Arrrgh!! What the hell—?!"

Lazien collapsed to the floor, unconscious, as a swarm of nanomachines invisibly surged into his bloodstream through the handshake.

"Take him away," Rex ordered casually while waving his hand.

Two tall Aegis units stepped forward immediately and lifted the general's limp body, carrying him off like a package.

From nearby, Cleo approached slowly, her long black hair catching the light like strands of silk. She stood before Rex in silence, her luminous golden eyes fixed on his face, glowing softly.

Rex raised an eyebrow once he noticed her staring.

"...What? Why the look?"

"You deviated from the plan," she said calmly, her voice as smooth and cold as ever. "Why did you go through all that trouble? And what you did at the end, was that really necessary? He's supposed to be your ally now, isn't he?"

Rex tilted his head and sighed. "Well, yeah. But listen... I don't really know how dangerous a two-thousand-ship fleet is, but I do know you're going to need every bit of firepower we can get. Our sleepy beauty over there."

He thumbed lazily in Lazien's direction, "has some very fine ships and experienced men. I'd rather have them fighting with us than against us."

He walked over and leaned against the bar, looking up at the simulated blue sky with a casual smile. "And as for what I did to him... let's just say I added a little insurance."

He glanced at Cleo with a smirk. "I told Mini-Cleo to keep an eye on him. If he ever dares to have impure thoughts about you or the other girls…" Rex paused and pointed toward the hallway where Lazien had been taken. "He's going to end up just like that."

Cleo blinked once; her expression was unreadable as ever.

"I'm not really into the whole 'watch-my-woman-get-ogled' thing," Rex added with a shrug. "Call it jealousy, call it pride... but yeah, I'm not a cuck."

Without waiting for a response, he reached out and pulled Cleo by the waist, gently spinning her around and bringing her against his chest. She didn't resist, didn't move, just looked up at him, perfectly composed.

"You stink," she said, her face completely blank.

Rex burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Of course I stink! I haven't had a single decent break since this whole conquest business started. I've been covered in blood, sweat, and alien dust!"

He scooped her up in one motion, throwing her gently over his shoulder like a victorious hunter with his prize. Cleo didn't protest; she simply let it happen, eyes half-lidded, lips closed, completely unfazed.

"Come on," Rex said. "We both deserve a proper bath."

Later, inside one of the fortress's most advanced bathing chambers, the maid bots had finished carefully washing their bodies with precision and care.

The room itself looked more like something out of a high-end sci-fi palace, with polished chrome walls, multicolored lights that adapted to mood, and floors that gave off a gentle warmth with every step.

Finally, Rex sank into the enormous, steaming jacuzzi. He let out a deep, relaxed breath as the hot water worked its way through his tense muscles.

Cleo sat on his lap, her body as still and calm as ever. She rested lightly against him, as if she belonged there, her black hair floating lazily on the water's surface.

For a brief moment, there was no war, no politics, and no calculations.

Just peace.

A rare, beautiful silence.