by <unknown>
The sudden invitation surprised Han Xiao. However, after some thinking, Han Xiao also thought that it was not too unreasonable. Mercenaries that could revive as much as they wanted would be able to become the best vanguard and cannon fodder. Even a large organization like Sky Ring would not ignore this ability.
He calculated the losses and gains in his mind. Joining Sky Ring would guarantee them special privileges, and they would be able to enjoy Sky Ring’s influence, which had been built up over the centuries. He could also gain access to many new shop items…
But if the Black Star Mercenary Group worked under Sky Ring, they would cease to be their own faction. The long-term losses were too much to bear, and he was not willing to give up on having his own faction just for some short-term gains.
“Your offer is very attractive, but I’m not really interested in becoming part of another organization,” Han Xiao declined politely.
The onlooking Sky Ring mercenaries all started to whisper among themselves after hearing that.
“He actually declined.”
“There’s only benefits to receive, so why wouldn’t he accept? I didn’t even hesitate when I was recruited.”
Gashley had a face full of surprise, and he thought that Han Xiao did not understand the benefits they would be receiving after joining. Thus, he then went on to patiently explain. “You might not be too knowledgeable about the benefits that Sky Ring can offer. Firstly, we do not confine our members with strict rules. You can even choose to become an individual mercenary, or you can also join a team, as long as you complete a minimum of two job assignments every year. Also, there are many other benefits enjoyed by Sky Ring members such as…”
“Sorry.” Han Xiao interrupted him and shook his head. “Sky Ring is indeed very nice, but I’m a man who believes that benefits always come with risks. Acting with my own faction suits me more, but I would still like to thank you for the invitation.”
Chapter 360. I'm a Professional at Planting Flags |
The crowd exchanged looks with surprise on their faces.
Gashley shook his head. Black Star had used polite words, and he was not angry at being rejected, just felt that it was a missed opportunity.
Although Sky Ring was a large organization, most of the members were not arrogant and did not feel superior. Sky Ring was an official and lawful mercenary group, so they would not make enemies in the same industry easily.
Gashley felt it was a shame. At this time, Han Xiao suddenly changed the topic and asked, “It’s only been a month since Black Star Mercenary Group was created, yet Sky Ring’s contacted us—is it because we have the reviving ability?”
Being an honest man, Gashley nodded and said, “Yes, it is.”
“Although I’m not willing to join other mercenary groups, I feel we can be in a partnership. Sky Ring definitely takes on many dangerous missions—my group can accept tasks from Sky Ring and take on these dangerous missions with high risks of death.”
Gashley thought that having a partnership was not a bad idea even though he could not recruit Black Star.
Sky Ring also had similar partnership relationships with other mercenary groups. There was a long list of records of these partners, who were like backups. In times of danger, Sky Ring could ask for help from these reliable partners any time.
The two discussed for a bit and agreed on their intentions on the partnership, which Gashley reported to the organization.
Many mercenary groups wanted to get in touch with such a large organization like Sky Ring, and people applied for partnerships very often, so the people of Sky Ring were very used to it. Most of the applications did not meet the requirements, but because of the special characteristic of being able to revive, Black Star’s application was approved immediately. When its name was added to the partnership list, Han Xiao signed the partnership agreement.
What the agreement roughly meant was that all members of Sky Ring could contact Black Star for support privately at any time, and they had to pay a reward individually. The two parties of the agreement were in a partnership, and any form of combat between the parties was prohibited. If Sky Ring was hired by a certain party, Black Star could not accept hiring from its hostile party, and vice versa. If that happened, the agreement would have been breached, the first party to breach it would have to pay a fine, and the agreement would be voided. Other than that, the other terms were very free and easy. It was regulated by the Mercenary Alliance, compulsory to comply.
Han Xiao was rather satisfied with the result. It was like gaining a new customer and expanding his business by borrowing Sky Ring’s name. Sky Ring definitely did not lack combat opportunities, which meant his mercenary group would not lack job opportunities as well. Anyway, the mercenary group had just been created, so it did not matter who their missions came from.
Although they could not enjoy Sky Ring’s privileges through the partnership, at least they had some backing—it was beneficial for the mercenary group’s development.
After signing the agreement, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and said, “If I guessed correctly, you guys should have accepted the Silvers’ request, right?”
Gashley nodded and said, “No large mercenary groups are going to give up this opportunity. My team has been summoned by the cadres, so we will be leaving and heading toward Fawn Galaxy later on.”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled and asked, “Can my group follow? If you guys get the mission, our help might be needed. I’m happy to accept a hiring from Sky Ring.”
Gashley was stunned for a second. After some consideration, he realized that it did not seem like there was any downside to bringing a group of undying mercenaries. “Okay, bring your team to the pier later. We will take our spaceship together. However, be mentally prepared. If the mission is very easy, Sky Ring will not need help, so you will have wasted your time.”
Han Xiao waved, signifying that it was not a problem.
He felt that this was a pleasant surprise. He could skip the Credibility Rating requirement using the relationship with Sky Ring. Although his mercenary group was still very weak and there was not much chance of gaining the Silvers’ favor, they could expect good things from Sky Ring’s hire.
The three knowledges of the compression technology were his target. There were plenty of strong people in Sky Ring, and class advancement knowledge should not be in shortage. If they were fortunate enough to be hired, he felt that he could try to make requests.
…
After deciding the time and pier number, Han Xiao went back to the stronghold and gathered all members.
“We have a new job, so get ready. We will be leaving in a while,” Han Xiao said.
The people’s face turned bright—they were thrilled. Knowing that the mercenary group had growth potential, they had been looking forward to the next adventure, and it finally came after doing very little for so long.
Maple Moon raised her hand and asked, “What are we doing this time? Why did the mercenary group information not show a new hiring mission?”
“The thing about the Silvers drew quite a lot of attention, so we’re following the people of Sky Ring to Fawn Galaxy. I have brokered a partnership relationship with them, so we might have a chance to be hired.” Han Xiao thought and added, “Also, you don’t have to raise your hand if you have a question.”
No wonder no mission had been triggered in their interfaces. They followed Han Xiao’s lead and had no problem with the arrangement.
Herlous was quite surprised. He knew how huge the Sky Ring was, yet in only a few hours, how did Han Xiao suddenly become Sky Ring’s partner? There was completely no sign of it beforehand.
Herlous pulled Han Xiao aside privately and expressed his doubts. Han Xiao, of course, did not have anything to hide. He told him about what had happened.
“I see.” Herlous understood, admiring Han Xiao discreetly. If he was the one to make contact, he probably would not have thought about suggesting a partnership. Then, they would
have lost this opportunity. Although Han Xiao was not strong enough in his eyes, his ability to catch opportunities astounded him—a person like this was more suitable as the captain.
“So, did you foresee anything?” Herlous asked softly.
Han Xiao shook his head. There really was nothing at all.
The Silvers’ storyline was not a storyline that he was familiar with. He did not have any memory of it, so it was probably no big deal…
…
The Sky Ring Army was very large. Gashley’s team’s spaceship was a dozen-meter-long civilian spaceship. Its front was narrow, and its back was wide, streamlined like a water droplet but with clear edges. The exterior armor was covered with dark-gold metal plates, and the two sides of the tail had crossbars diagonally connecting into the spaceship body. At the ends of these crossbars were spiral shaped propellers, four in total, able to change angles agilely. This was a spaceship from some civilization in the Gelock Star Cluster. It was equipped with a light jump engine, suitable for galactic traveling, but weak in combat power.
This kind of small spaceship looked much cooler than the large and swollen spaceship of Galactic Travelling Agencies. The players kept sizing it up with glowing eyes.
Han Xiao touched his chin. He also wanted to buy a mercenary group private spaceship, but sadly, it was too expensive. Even the humblest one-man galactic spaceship cost more than 10,000 Enas. He could only build it himself if he wanted to save on that money, but building a galactic spaceship had too many difficulties—engine, energy source, armor adaptability, structure strength, detector, and many more, which required a large number of knowledges. He was way too far from being able to do that.
The gathering time came, and the Sky Ring mercenaries appeared. They walked up to the spaceship. Gashley set the auto route in the control panel, and the ship left the pier. After some trembling, it entered the exterior vacuum space.
The tail propeller emitted a golden glow, and it gradually entered the jumping state. The colorful galaxy outside the window rapidly became blurry, then into stretched lines, like it was infinitely long. It had entered a teleportation star gate near Juberly Hub.
“We will very soon arrive in the Fawn Galaxy through the star gate.” Gashley turned to the people and said, “The Silvers’ spaceship is parked at number 12 planet of Star Zone 4, and the travel time is about twelve days.”
There were eighty or so people in the spaceship, but there was still plenty of space. After the players were given their rooms, they took the initiative and went to chat with the Sky Ring mercenaries.
Han Xiao found Gashley. They had only met each other that day, so it was mainly to talk about the mission. However, Gashley did not know the details either. He only knew that he was one of the teams summoned, and the representative of Sky Ring this time was a Three-Ring Level cadre, code named [Ice Sorcerer].
Three-Ring Level cadres were the backbone of the organization, mostly grade B Supers. This Ice Sorcerer was the leader of this mission, and that person would be the one that had the power to decide if Han Xiao was hired. Their codename suggested that it should be a mage.
Han Xiao had yet to come into contact with the Mage class. The Mage class was similar to the Mechanic class in the sense of their high difficulty, and its enchanting ability could enhance mechanical equipment too. Unfortunately, there were only Pugilists, Espers, and Mechanics on Planet Aquamarine.
After chatting for a while, Gashley went back to his room to rest. Han Xiao explored the spaceship himself. He came to the living area of the spaceship and realized that this spaceship had a Battle Simulation Room. Using virtual technology to simulate various enemies and environments, one could experience the effect of battle training. It was marked as ‘Occupied’.
Han Xiao controlled the monitor, and the image from inside showed up, Herlous swung the Battleship Slicing Blade and was fighting nonstop against weird beasts. Silver flames splashed everywhere like waves.
Han Xiao watched for a while, licked his lips, pressed the pause button, opened the simulation room door, and walked in.
Chapter 361. Spar |
While Herlous was having a good time slashing left and right, the enemies suddenly disappeared, and Han Xiao opened the door and walked in. Herlous asked, “Why are you here?”
Han Xiao laughed and said, “It’s boring to train alone. Come, let’s spar.”
After reaching grade B, he had yet to get into combat, and he was itching for a go. He was a noble man and would not bully the players for nothing; plus, Herlous happened to be a senior grade B. It would only be meaningful to spar with a comparable opponent, and it was suitable for him to better understand what his actual strength was.
He could only find trouble… cough , take action confidentially if he had a clear idea.
“Spar?” Herlous only had one thought in his mind. With you?
The grade of Supers was different from cup sizes. The difference between C and B was extremely vast—they were on a completely different level. The fight would be one-sided, and it could only be called a ‘spar’ if the parties had comparable strength.
Herlous was not really willing; he was so strong that he might hurt Han Xiao easily if they fought.
However, he felt that this act of Han Xiao’s was like the other members of the mercenary group—it should be called ‘asking for advice. Herlous suddenly understood. So, that’s what he means… the captain wants some pointers.
“No problem, do you want to make any preparations?” Herlous kindly accepted it. He was happy to tutor his comrades. Plus, Han Xiao’s safety was very important to him—making Han Xiao stronger would mean he could worry lesser.
Han Xiao was not shy at all. He told Herlous to wait for a while, then moved boxes of machines in. He wanted to test all the weapons as a form of respect for an opponent so willing to help.
Originally, Herlous was very calm, but as he saw more and more boxes entering the room, his face started to twitch. When Han Xiao carried a colossal Electromagnetic Rail Cannon prototype in, he uncontrollably took in a breath of cold air and yelled, “Oi! That’s enough!”
With Herlous’ objection, Han Xiao had to give up testing the damage resistance limit of a grade B Pugilist. He put on his Amphiptere mechanical suit and warmed up his body.
Melee combat was a Pugilists’ specialty, and since the space in the simulation room was limited, it was disadvantageous for Han Xiao. Hence, he stood a certain distance away before starting the fight. “Are you ready?”
“Come.” Herlous was very calm; fighting an opponent one grade lower needed no preparation.
Right as Herlous finished his sentence, Han Xiao flipped his hands. Two Electromagnetic Handguns slipped out from his leg armor, and he fired rapidly with Moving Snipe. The muzzle was flashing with blue electric light, and the sound was different from gunpowder weapons—it was a high-frequency buzz with the sound of electric flow. Needle bullets bolted toward Herlous, dragging a faint blue light behind.
His Battleship Slicing Blade rose up in time, blocking in front of Herlous like a shield, making clanks from the collisions. Following which, Herlous’ expression changed a little. “Electromagnetic firearms‽”
The Mechanic’s core ability was to build machinery for combat, and being able to build electromagnetic weapons meant that the attack power was on a new level. Electromagnetic guns had a high fire rate, so he almost could not react to it. Herlous has to take it seriously—although he had energy protection, his body was not some easily replaceable equipment, so he was totally not interested in getting focus fired.
Herlous did not know much about Mechanics, but he knew that only higher-grade mechanics could build weapons with higher technology. Naturally, he was a little confused—could grade C mechanics build stable electromagnetic firearms?
Herlous closed in with his blade in his hand, rushing faster than a sports car. Closing the distance, Han Xiao’s feet slid as he moved back, maintaining the distance. There were many firearms hidden u
nder his armor—a handgun, assault rifle, and sniper—that had all been changed into electromagnetic versions with higher damage.
Herlous was a well-deserved grade B. His reaction speed was extremely fast, and the wide Battleship Slicing Blade was suitable for blocking. Han Xiao fired hundreds of times, but less than five percent hit. Furthermore, the damage of those hits was largely reduced by the Pugilist’s energy coating and strong physic, only dealing skin damage.
Having dealt some damage, Han Xiao saw Herlous’ data panel.
“LV 98, grade B Pugilist, high in both strength and endurance, semi tank, quite a lot of talents, almost as many as me, and all with very strong effects… Damn, this guy has Basic Luck Glow, too.”
Han Xiao was so jealous. According to Herlous’ self-description, he had been very lazy since he was young—he had extraordinary talent but never trained hard. Then, he abandoned combat for more than ten years, yet he still reached grade B. Maybe this was what a genius was like…
Han Xiao could not help but think, If Herlous did not die like in the original storyline, he might have achieved grade A in the end.
This is one hell of a recruit.
As he became stronger, Han Xiao’s mind became faster; even thinking of something else during combat would not distract him.
At this time, Herlous suddenly stopped chasing. His silver flames expanded, then contracted, condensed between his palms, and became a blinding silver-white light.
Boom!
Veins appeared on Herlous’ face, looking very exhausted. Then, with a growl, he pushed his palms forward. The light shot out as energy flew out from his palms continuously. A blinding silver white beam shot out like a furious growling dragon, the light filling Han Xiao’s vision.
