A line of Calamity Grades stood in front of Han Xiao. Nanoparticles rushed out behind Han Xiao, fusing into a silvery black humanoid machinery, floating beside Han Xiao like a stand-in.
This humanoid body sent a powerful iron fist to every officer originally from the Beast Ancestor, dealing some damage.
The attributes of each Calamity Grade were displayed on the combat information interface, and Han Xiao quickly scanned everyone’s abilities.
Among this group of people, the most powerful was naturally the Beyond Grade A seed, ‘Claw Empress’ Jotina. She was outstanding even among the Pugilists in the Calamity Grade, adept in claw arts and the pugilist arts of the Beast Ancestor. Her strength and agility were on point, and her damage output was high. She was more of an all-rounder fighter, and her combat power ranked in the forefront of the Army’s Calamity Grade officers. A good gauge would be third or fourth place.
As for ‘Boa Constrictor’ Schneider, he was an elite Calamity Grade. Among this group, there were two of them who were quite close to each other in terms of combat power, standing out from the rest.
Out of the eleven of them, nine were Pugilists, and the other two were Espers.
Because the Beast Ancestor Organization was one where they were muscle tyrants, not adept at using their brains, no one liked to learn. There were practically no mechanics or mages there.
Han Xiao intended to let all of them become combatants, while a small portion would be filtered into the Black Star Guards. Most of them would be commanded by Herlous as senior officers for the different fleets.
After some encouragement, Han Xiao left the scene with Hila, leaving the officers to mingle with this new group of colleagues.
As the two left the hall and walked through the corridor, the army members they passed nodded and saluted. Hila did not care while Han Xiao smiled as usual.
After walking for a bit, Hila suddenly opened her mouth. “You’re actually quite popular.”
“Are you referring to Jotina?” Han Xiao laughed. “In any case, I’m standing at the peak of personal power, so it’s normal for people to treat me like their idol. Don’t you worship me as well?”
“Nonsense, when did I ever worship you?” Hila snorted and avoided his gaze.
“Well, when you were surrounded and attacked, you were the one that personally admitted you had admired me for decades. It’s no use trying to deny it. I still have the recording.”
“Damn, you want to fight?” Hila was so embarrassed and angrily glared at Han Xiao.
“Hehehe…”
Hila’s forehead bulged with veins before she took a few deep breaths to regain her tranquility.
After being distracted by Han Xiao, she no longer felt depressed. Instead, she frowned and asked, “So, how are you going to handle Jotina? Are you really going to place her among the Black Star Guards?”
“Her ability speaks for itself, so why not? Are you afraid that a Calamity Grade can do anything to me? I’m a Beyond Grade A.” Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Humph.” Hila turned her head away.
While she did not like the brazen Jotina, Hila would not use her position to trouble others. She was not someone who would engage in small tricks and would not interfere in Han Xiao’s decisions.
Seeing that Hila was silent, Han Xiao thought for a while before suddenly saying, “Anyways, the army is expanding very quickly these days, and there will be a new batch of people every three to five days. As a result, there are many members of the army that are not familiar with each other and do not know the officers. There is a sense of distance, which will not be conducive to the unity of the army. So, I was thinking that we should hold some large-scale events to promote camaraderie.”
Hila looked over. “What are you planning?”
“I’m thinking toward some internal competitions, such as a military parade or a sparring competition…”
As he spoke, Han Xiao’s eyes began to gleam.
As of now, the Black Star Army already had a large number of groups and a large number of talents under its command. There were sufficient resources to host large-scale internal events, allowing members of the army to participate in such events outside of their work. This would be conducive to increasing the sense of belonging and promoting the camp culture.
Han Xiao’s idea was to create a league of his own. The Pro League was an internal game for the players, but he planned to create a large-scale event organized by NPCs under the Black Star Army’s name, not only for the players but for all members.
Sparring would be one of the focal points. He could separate them based on their ranks, and the elites of each rank would be selected from the competition. There would be prizes, and it would also allow the normal members to witness the officers displaying their strength.
In addition to competitions, a variety of events could also be held, such as sports or technical skills such as piloting and commanding. Even the Wayne Cards could be used as a separate leisure event.
In Han Xiao’s vision, such an event could be turned into something similar to the Olympic Games for the army, held every few years as a celebration and also to showcase their strength to the outside world.
If this could be carried out, the scale would be many times larger than that of the players’ Pro League, which would serve as a carnival for everyone.
Just thinking about it made Han Xiao excited.
“But holding such an event seems like it would need a lot of money…” Hila hesitated.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Are we lacking money?”
Shortly from now, the sale of the Evolutionary Totems would be opened to the universe, and he would also become a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group. At present, the Great Mechanic Han was bloated from the amount of money and could be considered to have fully entered the realm of a Rich Daddy.
If this money could be used to improve the faction cohesion and attractiveness, it would be quite profitable for him.
The more Han Xiao thought about it, the more he felt that this was something he could do. After he returned from the secondary dimension and settled the affairs of the Beyond Grade A union, he would have a lot of time to plan and hold such celebrations.
But it would be good to propose a prototype for Sylvia to perfect.
He had people to take care of his chores, so there was no pressure on him. Squeezing his own Chief Administrative Official had become a habit of Han Xiao’s.
He had no other choice. Who made Sylvia so good looking and capable, making him so pleased with her work?
…
Sylvia’s efficiency was high. She only took a day to perfect the draft of the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union.
Han Xiao revised it before sending it to Manison to discuss the matter together. While they had conflicts of interest, they had to cooperate for this matter.
“This Development Union… the idea is not bad. While it is an excuse, it is reasonable enough to pass through the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations.”
Within the encrypted channel, Manison made comments while browsing the draft.
“Oh, this is just a cover,” Han Xiao explained. “On the surface, the scope of cooperation will be limited to the Flickering World. In fact, as long as this union is created, the conflicts of the Beyond Grade A in other Star Fields can also be resolved through this platform, and at the same time, the Beyond Grade A organizations can form a network of interests throughout the universe, providing each member with a place to exchange and cooperate with each other. This will achieve the goal of uniting power.”
Manison pondered. “This is similar to how The Ancient Ones operate, but to achieve this, most of the Beyond Grade As will need to voluntarily accept such cooperation, linking their organizations in the interest network. But if there’s no benefit, most people will be unwilling to cooperate, and then there’s still the obstacle of different factions…”
Han Xiao interrupted him. “That’s
why we have to declare that this union is completely neutral by nature, just a loose one similar to The Ancient Ones. We have to organize it as much as possible so as to weaken any possible opposing influence from the factions. As for benefits, we will need the larger Beyond Grade A organizations to lead by example, by becoming the leader of the interest network and actively taking out cooperation shares. That way, the other Beyond Grade A organizations will be willing to join.”
“Who are the confirmed initiators leading this?”
“Only you and I.” Han Xiao shook his head. “In terms of influence, we can be considered behemoths in the Beyond Grade A circle, enough to serve as an example. The fact that we are willing to cooperate should attract a lot of people, but well… just two of us isn’t enough. We need more leaders, preferably the pinnacle Beyond Grade As. Otherwise, we cannot hold on to the crowd.”
“I understand what you mean.” Manison agreed. “We’ll need organizations with sufficient influence in various fields. On my side, I can try to lobby all the ancient ones, and the Protectors of the Galactic Black Market should also be brought in to take the lead. At the same time, we cannot forget about the neutral Beyond Grade As. Oh yes, there’s also Sorokin who controls the Limitless Financial Group. His money is very important.”
In the Beyond Grade A circle, Sorokin was recognized as a top dog with one of the highest assets. While the majority did not care much for his combat abilities, no one underestimated his power to make money.
At this time, Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.
“I have a question. With so many pioneers… who will be the Chairman?”
Hearing this, Manison narrowed his eyes.
Since they wished to form a union, this problem could not be avoided. The Chairman of this union was of great significance, equivalent to the position of the leader of the martial world, the nominal chief of the Beyond Grade As.
Thus, be it strength or influence, it had to be convincing. The prerequisite was to be a pinnacle Beyond Grade A. Manison would definitely be a hot candidate, and Han Xiao was also eligible to compete for the Chairman position.
The position of Chairman came with a risk, that he would become the main target of the advanced civilizations, attracting their firepower. However, with great risks came great rewards.
Manison was staring at this position naturally out of interest, but as the main initiator of this project, Han Xiao had no reason to actively hand over the position.
After silence reigned for a while, Manison spoke slowly, avoiding this sensitive topic.
“There’s only two of us now. It’s too early to discuss such a matter. Let’s bring in all the members before we decided on this.”
“Okay.”
Han Xiao nodded slightly before ending the call and letting out a sigh of relief.
Because this was a Beyond Grade A union, everyone present would be big bosses of an area. Thus, it would be impossible to make this into an area where only one person’s word mattered.
Thus, persuading other Beyond Grade As to join would be tantamount to pulling supporters for himself. Only with enough Beyond Grade As supporting himself could he justify becoming the Chairman of the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union.
Simply put, this was a matter of fighting for face. Just his strength was not enough.
“My network is quite extensive, but compared to Manison…”
Han Xiao shook his head.
He was confident in his relationship side, but Manison had been around for far too long, and his relationships were definitely much deeper than Han Xiao’s. It would be difficult to compete.
If he wanted this position, he could only start with the benefits part. He had to let people see that whoever served as the Chairman would bring about greater benefits.
“What a difficult task. I’m afraid this will be another uphill battle…”
Chapter 1070 - The Dark Lord“s Targe
After assessing the plan’s feasibility, both of them separated into their own teams.
The pinnacle Beyond Grade As that Han Xiao was most familiar with were the three oldies of the dynasty, and the others were mostly acquaintances.
In contrast, Manison knew many more people, including those from the Federation of Light, the Arcane Church, Galactic Black Market, and even the neutral pinnacle Beyond Grade As. All of them were left to him to lobby.
Since his network was not as good as the other party’s, Han Xiao did not stop Manison from doing more work. Instead, he made up his mind to compete from another direction.
Only the dynasty’s side was left to Han Xiao. He sent out the proposal of the union to both Milizaus and Kant, inviting them both to participate in this grand event. As for the Dark Lord, Han Xiao did not invite him.
Thanks to the consensus reached in the Meeting of the Gods, the majority of the pinnacle Beyond Grade As readily accepted and agreed to build a Beyond Grade A platform in the form of a development union. However, a small portion of them hesitated, worried about the reactions of the three Universal Civilizations. Overall, it could still be said to have gone well.
The direct line of Beyond Grade As from the advanced civilizations was not included on the invitation list. They would not be issued any sort of invitation until the union was completely established. After all, most of these Beyond Grade As placed their own civilization above their personal interests, and while admirable, not everyone thought the same way.
Kant and Milizaus were both allies, and while agreeing to the invitation sent by Han Xiao, they raised their own concerns.
“Black Star, the relationship between you and the dynasty has just eased. If you take the lead now in forming the Beyond Grade A union, the dynasty will be dissatisfied with you again.”
“There are no rulers who wish to see any unstable factors in their jurisdiction, but there’s no way about it. Everyone has different positions,” Han Xiao replied.
“You still have to be careful,” Kant urged him again. “Manison’s objective is to seek for profit. He wants to tie all the Beyond Grade As together as a bargaining chip. You’re too young, don’t let him use you.”
These Beyond Grade As actually knew that Manison was using them, but because they could see the longer-term benefits that they could obtain, they saw no reason to reject this proposal.
“I’m aware of his intentions, but only through this can the Beyond Grade As benefit. If this can be realized, it can reduce the infighting between the Beyond Grade As caused by factions’ differences.” Han Xiao wished to preserve the vitality of the Beyond Grade As and intervene in the Calamity of the Supers as a chess player rather than a pawn.
“If I must say…” Kant spoke in an uncertain tone as he lowered his voice. “If the Beyond Grade A union can be fully formed, it will solve the problem of excess individual power. The moment Beyond Grade As grow to a certain extent, we will internally liquidate and kill those not from any of the factions, which is better than the three Universal Civilizations taking action in person.”
Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but glance at him.
This was a way to seize the power of liquidation from the hands of the three Universal Civilizations and use the ordinary Beyond Grade As as a price to maintain their pinnacle Beyond Grade A status.
If they continued developing normally, the union would indeed likely evolve to this final form. When the Beyond Grade As circle was strong enough and had succeeded in stabilizing their position, the union would definitely actively control the number of Beyond Grade As to prevent this circle from becoming too strong and attracting a bloodbath from the three Universal Civilizations.
The Beyond Grade A union would take the initiative to prune the branches, keeping the number of Beyond Grade As at a level that could threaten the three Universal Civilizations but not force them to take action. This way, they could decide who to kill and how many to kill, keeping the initiative. This loss was naturally much smaller than having the three Universal Civilizations take a
ction.
It was estimated that among the pinnacle Beyond Grade As, there were many who thought in the same manner as Kant. This behavior of taking away the ladder once he climbed up to the top of the wall himself was not a fresh concept… After all, when the number of Beyond Grade As reached a certain level, the nature of their circle would gradually change as well. This posed more disadvantages than advantages to them.
While these pinnacle Beyond Grade As agreed to join the union, their ideals were all different. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes but did not say anything.
In general, there were no many problems in pulling people on board, so the action was quickly implemented. The organizations of the many leaders cooperated to mobilize materials and to select a site in the Flickering World to build the base camp for the development union.
Naturally, it would be impossible to conceal such actions from the other organizations, and the leaders themselves saw no need to conceal it. After all, the nature of their union was no secret, and the three Universal Civilizations should have already learned about it.
Of course, the news also travelled to the dynasty.
…
Pa!
“Black Star is taking a yard for every inch we give!”
In the Ruler’s office, Bekorodi’s face was contorted in anger as he smacked the table.
He pulled along several of the upper echelons from the hawk faction, berating Han Xiao in front of Urranrell.
“Just look at Black Star’s recent actions. He acts with no respect for the dynasty at all! He has just eased his relations with the dynasty, and he dares to do something like this. Does he regard the opening of sales for the Evolutionary Totems as our weakness?”
Urranrell rubbed the center of her brows. “Then, what do you think I should do?”
“I feel that we should warn Black Star,” Bekorodi bellowed. “If he continues to act as he wills, then the dynasty will withdraw the decree to open up the sales of the Evolutionary Totem.”
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 749
