BATTLE FOR STARS

Why had Belina proposed such a solution?

Because she understood that if Lina could not be taken away, then the Red Rose Guard was the best place for her to survive.

As one of Emperor Hogan’s most important private guard units, the Red Rose Guard was untouchable territory—even for Balk.

Across the entire Resk Empire, there were only a little over thirty members in the unit. Every single one was among the Emperor’s most loyal subordinates.

Emperor Hogan trusted them even more than his own relatives.

Because of that, he absolutely forbade anyone from interfering with them.

Of course, whether Balk might eventually find another way to target Lina in the future was impossible to know.

But at least for now, this was the best possible outcome.

Emperor Hogan himself was also quite surprised by the proposal—

and very satisfied with it.

Lina’s figure, appearance, and combat ability were all fully worthy of the Red Rose Guard. The only thing she lacked was loyalty to the Emperor.

But the Empire possessed specialized “reconditioning” departments and equipment.

The Emperor firmly believed that after proper “training,” Lina would become a qualified member.

And from his perspective, this outcome satisfied everyone.

“Very well,” Emperor Hogan said. “I accept your proposal.”

Although neither Ding Yufei nor Balk had achieved the outcome they truly wanted, the matter had once again ended in another “draw.”

“Emperor Hogan,” Belina suddenly said, “the previous wager was proposed by your side. Shouldn’t it be our turn now?”

Her words immediately startled the Emperor.

At last, she was about to unveil the strategy she had been planning all along.

Ever since learning that Ding Yufei’s goal had been a draw, Belina had been thinking constantly about her next move.

Because she had no intention of returning to her kingdom with only half the Fleet.

“You mean...” Emperor Hogan looked at her with confusion.

“The mech fighter wager was proposed by your side,” Belina replied calmly. “So shouldn’t I also have the right to propose a wager of my own? That would only be fair.”

Strictly speaking, any wager only required one side to propose it and the other side to accept.

But theoretically, since Emperor Hogan had initiated the first wager, Belina also had the right to initiate another one.

That would indeed be fair.

Still, a second wager like this was extremely rare.

Nobody ever talked about “best two out of three.”

Normally, a single wager decided everything.

There was never a next round.

But this time, the previous match had ended in a draw.

Naturally, the Emperor could simply refuse to participate.

But earlier, whether it was the proposal for the wager itself or the later suggestion of declaring a draw, Belina had agreed to everything without objection.

Under those circumstances, if he rejected her request now, it would make him appear petty.

And from another angle, Belina hadn’t even explained the contents of the new wager yet.

If he refused immediately, it would look as though he were afraid of losing before even hearing the challenge.

To Emperor Hogan, that was completely unacceptable.

He was the ruler of an empire. If he lacked even that much courage, people would laugh at him.

So he decided to first hear Belina’s proposal before making any judgment.

General Frederick exchanged a glance with the Emperor.

He understood the Emperor’s thinking immediately.

After all, using mech fighting as the basis of the first wager had already heavily favored their side.

No one had expected Ding Yufei and Lina to end in a draw.

Since their side had proposed the original wager, Belina requesting an additional wager was not unreasonable.

No one present had expected Belina to say such a thing.

Not even Ding Yufei.

Naturally, nobody knew what kind of wager she intended to propose.

Still, everyone understood one thing:

within the territory of the Resk Empire, gambling against Emperor Hogan was never easy.

This place was practically the paradise of gambling.

What kind of games hadn’t they seen before?

What couldn’t computers analyze?

If it truly came down to gambling, Belina might not actually hold any advantage at all.

Seeing that Emperor Hogan remained silent, Belina continued.

“Your Majesty, for this next wager, we’ll simply use our current stakes as the betting chips.”

“If I lose, all the Starships will remain leased to the Empire.”

“But if I win, I take back every single Starship.”

“What do you think?”

The Emperor had already guessed the wager would still concern the ownership of the Fleet.

But hearing Belina say it out loud still made his heart tighten slightly.

Because from her expression, it was obvious—

she had prepared for this.

Emperor Hogan truly had no idea what she intended to gamble on.

But right now, it felt as though no matter what the wager was, it probably wouldn’t benefit him much.

Still, retreating at the last moment was something his pride would never allow.

Of course, there was one advantage.

This also gave him another chance to win all the Starships.

“I want to make one thing clear beforehand,” General Frederick added from the side. “If the wager itself is unfair, we reserve the right not to participate.”

He was already worried the proposed game might somehow favor Belina’s side.

“Yes,” Emperor Hogan agreed. “That would be best.”

“Please rest assured, Your Majesty,” Belina said with a smile. “This wager will be completely fair.”

“Then let’s hear it,” Emperor Hogan replied.

He genuinely wanted to see what she had prepared.

Belina smiled faintly and reached into her bag, pulling out a small circular chip.

Holding it delicately between her thumb and index finger, she displayed it to everyone in the room.

Other than Belina herself, two people instantly recognized the object.

Ding Yufei.

And Lina.

It was the exact same circular chip Little Chubby had once used during his performance.

But while Emperor Hogan merely felt curious, Ding Yufei and Lina were utterly shocked.

The Emperor simply didn’t understand what the chip was for.

But the two of them could hardly believe Belina intended to use this tiny object to determine the fate of thousands of Starships.

Emperor Hogan studied the chip curiously.

He had never seen anything like it before and had no idea what it was used for.

To him, it looked like nothing more than a small trinket.

He couldn’t imagine how Belina planned to use such a thing for gambling.

Still, he said nothing.

He simply smiled and waited for her explanation.

“It’s very simple, Your Majesty,” Belina said.

“You only need to guess which hand the chip is in.”

“If you guess correctly, you win.”

“If you guess wrong, I win.”

“That simple?”

A hesitant expression finally appeared on Emperor Hogan’s face.

Because yes—

the game truly was incredibly fair.

It was nothing more than a guessing game.

And the Emperor even got to guess first, meaning he technically held the initiative.

“Of course,” Belina replied. “However, no electronic devices may be used to assist in making the judgment. That includes devices inside or outside the room, as well as personal equipment. If any are used, it counts as a loss.”

“Very well.”

After thinking briefly, the Emperor agreed.

On one hand, as Emperor, he naturally could not openly cheat.

On the other hand, in his mind, he still had a fifty percent chance of winning.

“Your Majesty,” Belina added while glancing around the room, “your subordinates are also forbidden from using equipment to assist in judging.”

Although the Emperor had agreed personally, that didn’t mean others wouldn’t secretly attempt to cheat on his behalf.