"Young colleague, I completely understand your anger.
In fact, I was troubled by the exact same concerns when I first embarked on the path of conquest."
Her voice became gentle yet persuasive:
"But let me ask you a question—when a group of bandits is about to slaughter your family, do you choose to adhere to the principle of ’non-violence’ and watch them die, or do you take up arms to protect them?"
The young Wizard was taken aback, clearly not anticipating such a question in return.
"Protecting family and conquering innocent civilizations are two different things!" he insisted.
"You are right."
Cassandra nodded in agreement:
"But what if those ’innocent civilizations’ hold the technology that can save your dying family, yet refuse to share it?"
She presented a more specific scenario:
"Suppose your Master is dying painfully from Abyssal erosion, and a civilization possesses the cure.
They are willing to trade this method for half of our magic knowledge—do you think that’s fair?"
The young Wizard’s expression began to waver.
"Further still, what if they demand that we surrender all our research findings and give up the independence of Wizard Civilization in exchange for that cure - would you still think negotiation is the better choice?"
Cassandra’s voice grew more powerful:
"This is the real situation I encountered in the Otherworld.
Those civilizations never engage in genuinely equal exchanges; they either completely refuse to communicate or propose conditions that are intolerably harsh."
She paused for a moment, then looked directly into the young Wizard’s eyes:
"In such cases, conquest is not greed, but self-defense.
It’s not to satisfy a thirst for power, but to gain the ability to protect those we love."
This personalized argument evidently evoked a strong emotional resonance.
Ron observed that not only the young Wizard but even many other initially adamant opponents began to show thoughtful expressions.
But he also noticed how skillful Cassandra’s wording was when giving examples.
She consistently avoided mentioning the specific atrocities involved in the conquest, instead shifting the focus to "rejected requests" and "unfair exchange conditions."
This rhetorical tactic made the act of conquest seem like a forced defensive reaction rather than an aggressive assault.
"More importantly."
Cassandra continued her argument:
"We are not to become destroyers, but integrators."
The projection showed the current state of a conquered civilization under her governance:
Orderly cities, structured production, various ethnic groups working in roles suitable for them.
Though a distinct hierarchy was evident, the scene appeared relatively harmonious.
"You see, how these former ’enemies’ now live?
They have a stable food supply, fitting jobs, and basic security assurances.
More crucially, their knowledge and culture have been preserved and developed."
She specifically pointed to some details in the image:
"Here is the artisan district of the former ’Crystal Civilization,’ where they continue to create traditional artworks—only now with better materials and tools.
Over there are the Technicians of the ’Mechanical Federation,’ developing more advanced equipment with our support."
"Conquest does not mean destruction, but optimization."
Cassandra’s voice was filled with confidence:
"We integrate the strengths of different civilizations to create a more efficient, more powerful composite system."
But Ron’s "Extraordinary Recognition" allowed him to see some subtle details in the images.
Those so-called "harmonious" otherworldly beings had an unmistakable hollow look in their eyes.
Their movements, though orderly, lacked natural vitality, resembling more like some kind of mechanically controlled response after Spiritual Control.
And at the edges of the image, vague outlines of huge monitoring facilities and armed guards hinted that this "harmony" was maintained by force.
"The Great Wizard’s rhetorical skills are indeed superb."
Ron analyzed calmly in his mind:
"She packages conquest as salvation, describes enslavement as integration, and depicts coercion as cooperation.
But the most brilliant part is that the examples she provides may partially be true, making the deceit all the more believable."
At this point, another person in the audience raised a question, a senior researcher whom Ron knew:
"Great Wizard Cassandra, what you say sounds reasonable, but I’m concerned about the risks in implementation.
Conquest actions consume vast resources and have unforeseeable consequences.
If we suffer significant losses during the conquest or attract the attention of more powerful enemies, how would we respond?"
This question touched on the operational risks of the conquest policy and was a quite rational and pragmatic challenge.
Cassandra clearly valued such a rational challenge more highly:
"Professor Frank has raised a very important question.
Risk assessment is indeed a factor that must be considered in any major decision."
She displayed a detailed risk analysis chart:
"This is the conquest strategy framework we have formulated, with core principles being ’gradual expansion’ and ’safety margin control.’"
The chart showed a cautious and systematic plan:
"We will not rashly attack civilizations beyond our capabilities, nor will we operate on multiple fronts simultaneously.
Each conquest action will undergo detailed strength assessment and risk calculation."
She pointed to a key indicator in the chart:
"Our safety standard is: the success probability of any conquest action must exceed 85%, and the casualty rate must be kept below 5%.
Only targets that meet these criteria will be included in the conquest plan."
Professor Frank nodded, but then asked again:
"But Great Wizard, even if we strictly control the risk of individual actions, the cumulative effect of multiple conquests may alert other powerful civilizations.
If they form an alliance against us, how would we cope?"
This profound strategic issue made the atmosphere in the audience more serious.
Many Wizards began to realize that the path of conquest was not as straightforward as it appeared.
Faced with this challenging question, Cassandra’s expression became exceptionally serious:
"Professor Frank, your concern shows the depth of thought a strategist should have.
The answer to this question touches upon the core secrets of our conquest strategy, but in this setting, I am willing to share it with everyone."
Her tone became more confidential, as if revealing critical intelligence:
"Our intelligence network has conducted in-depth investigations of neighboring civilizations.
Through analysis, we’ve found that most powerful civilizations are either in a development bottleneck period or facing internal conflicts."