Spike spoke with determination as he said, "If the Ivory Gem Emperor decides my suggestion for corporation is a good idea, then they will have a way to implement it successfully. If they don't accept my suggestion, then I can rest easy knowing that I've tried my best."
The Sun King laughed a depressing laughter and said, "Good for you. At least, you can rest in peace. I am the one who has to rest in peace. Good for you."
Then he cut off the connection of their leystones. This caused his voice and face to disappear from the small leystone in possession of Spike.
The Sun King's behavior was rude, but Spike only shrugged and said, "I can't blame him."
Then he quickly connected his leystone to the leystone connection of his homeworld. After he did this, he switched the leystone to the frequency of the Ivory Gem Emperor.
His leystone's attempt at connecting went through very quickly. The two sides connected in less than a second. It was clear that there was someone on the other end constantly waiting for his correspondence.
When he saw the face that appeared on the small leystone, Spike fell to his knees and bowed as he said, "My Emperor."
The white face of the Ivory Gem King didn't move, but his voice sounded through the leystone, "What is the conclusion of your hypothesis?"
"From the state of things, it can be confirmed that the Sun King is weakening. I believe that the invaders are doing something to weaken him and the world. My suspicion is that it has something to do with the expanding boundary of the strange energy of the invaders that has been spreading from the North Pole ever since they arrived."
The Ivory Gem Emperor said, "Hmmm. So it can be confirmed that they have a technology for conquering worlds. This is important news. For this, I will allow you to return."
Spike became happy when he heard that he was now allowed to return home. He said, "Thank you for your grace, my emperor."
The Ivory Gem Emperor replied with a nonchalant tone, "You deserve it. You did your job in eliminating the Snow King at the cost of your body. And you have been weak ever since to fight off the invaders, so you are not at fault for the failure of the garrison in defending Aries."
"Now that you've uncovered this important weapon of the invaders, you deserve to be rewarded. And you will be rewarded heavily for it."
What the gem emperor said confused Spike. He couldn't figure out why he was being rewarded despite the colossal failure of his expedition.
The best that he hoped for was permission to return home. He can do this easily because his current body is very weak.
Since his body is still at the first step and weak, he doesn't need a large leystone to return home. A small one will do. But he hasn't dared to return home without permission, as that would be a crime of desertion.
Another thing he doesn't dare do is question the gem emperor. So even though he was very confused, he only continued to bow and express his gratitude.
But the gem emperor noticed his confusion. So the gem emperor explained why he was being rewarded.
The gem emperor said, "What you are concerned about right now is only the world of Aries. But have you considered what the invaders will do after they conquer Aries?"
The answer to this question made Spike become angry. He said in anger, "They wouldn't dare."
His outburst made the Ivory Gem Emperor chuckle and ask, "And why wouldn't the invaders dare to invade us?"
Spike only thought that the idea of being invaded was preposterous because it was something that had never happened to the gem people. He didn't have any logical reason for why it wasn't possible.
As if reading his mind, the gem emperor said, "There is always a first time for everything. If we can invade other worlds, then it is only right to consider that other worlds can invade us. Plus, this time seems as good as any for us to be invaded."
"These invaders have a boat that travels in the void and a weapon for conquering worlds. It proves that this is not their first time invading worlds. If they can defeat us in Aries, there is no reason for them not to extend their gaze to our home world."
"They will at least try to invade us. They will surely fail. But they will still try. So we have to be prepared for an invasion."
"This is why your contribution in discovering their weapon for conquering worlds is so important and why you will be rewarded for the discovery. Do you understand now?"
Spike nodded in understanding and said, "Yes, my emperor."
He understood very well, which was why he also understood that suggesting cooperating with an enemy that is likely to invade his home world could become an offense worse than treason and betraying his world.
If he suggests cooperation now, he doubts he will want to return home because of the consequences. So he didn't want to make the suggestion. But he had to because he had promised the Sun King.
Gem people don't lie. If they say they will do something, they will do it. So even if he doesn't want to make a treasonous suggestion, he still has to go ahead with it.
So he sighed and thought to himself, "What a pity. What a shame. I just hope that the reward will be enough to cancel out my punishment enough for me to keep my life."
After encouraging himself, he said to the gem emperor, "What should we do about Aries, my emperor? Currently, the invaders are after the Sun King's life. I suspect that they want to kill him to weaken the world even further. Their behavior concerning him is suspicious to me."