by <unknown>
Nero’s smile froze in place, and his eyes widened.
In his eyes, the sacred glow on Han Xiao’s body seemed to have become a demonic aura, and his godfather’s smile was like a demon’s grin.
Tears welled up in his eyes and were about to burst forth.
Nero cried his heart and lungs out.
Godfather is also a demon!
Wuwuwu… father, mother, I don’t want to live in space anymore. I want to return home!
As Reynold heard that, his eyes lit up, and he nodded with praise.
You are indeed the Army Commander that I respect. You are also a demon.
Han Xiao then got Sylvia to comfort Nero. It was a pity that Rossellin had gone to become a revolutionary. If not, she would have been able to easily fix this mental damage.
Following which, he then used a blank Character Summon Card on Reynold to replenish the number of times he can use Perfect Mechanical Sense. The blank Character Summon Card was slightly different to the previous reward, and he only had a single chance to use it.
Who knew how long it would take for Nero to learn the [Perfect Mechanical Sense]? Han Xiao had always kept his guard up ever since the Planet Lighthouse battle and was worried that the Arcane Church might become desperate. As such, he had to keep a trump card prepared.
…
After settling his internal affairs, Han Xiao went to find Milizaus and the others and led them on a tour of his headquarters. He also contacted Tarrokov to discuss the dynasty’s pursuit mission.
The dynasty’s forces present in the desolate universe belt near the Shattered Star Ring were smaller than their forces in the Flickering World. Together with the fact that the enemy had made use of a secret stargate, the dynasty was not able to set up a defensive line in time. By making use of that small opening, Sagman’s group had successfully avoided the dynasty’s surveillance and escaped into the Shattered Star Ring.
“According to the spatial fluctuations left behind, we believe that Sagman’s group of four have decided to split up. This has increased the difficulty of our search.” Tarrokov’s projection floated beside them and walked together.
“It will be akin to a drop of water entering the ocean when they enter the Shattered Star Ring. It will be incredibly difficult to find them,” Beyoni said.
“That’s right. Her Excellency also thinks so.” Tarrokov nodded. “According to reliable intelligence, the Arcane Church has activated many of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring to save these four Beyond Grade As. Every Universal Civilization has many spies located in the various Star Fields disguised as workers from various occupations, and it is incredibly difficult to see through them. It is an important source of information, and it will be much easier for Sagman and the others to escape with their help.”
“Hidden spies… If we can get a list of the spies, we will be able to track them.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.
“That’s impossible.” Tarrokov shook his head. “Such a list will be stored in the main database of the Universal Civilization and protected by a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic. The firewall will be extremely powerful, and it will be impossible to infiltrate them.”
“Will those spies contact the higher ups?”
“The spies of a Universal Civilization will report directly to the intelligence agency, and a single encrypted command can allow them to willingly remain hidden for ten years. They do not have any higher ups.”
“I see. Then forget it.” Han Xiao shook his head and decided to forget about this matter.
Tarrokov then said, “Although it is incredibly difficult to capture them, we cannot give up halfway. We may have some unexpected rewards as well and uproot some of the Arcane Church’s spies. We can attempt to completely wipe out all the hidden pieces that the Arcane Church has in the Shattered Star Ring! If they want to plant new spies, it will take them a few decades for sure.”
“Hmm, this is fine as well. Rather than attempt to chase after four extremely nimble Beyond Grade As, we might as well uproot the Arcane Church’s spies,” Maximiler said.
Capturing two Beyond Grade A captives was already a satisfactory battle result.
They were worried that the Arcane Church might truly become desperate after losing even more Beyond Grade As and end up in a large-scale assassination attempt toward each other’s Beyond Grade As.
There was an example of such an incident. During the exploration era a thousand years earlier, there was a historical incident called the Saint Menason Incident.
At that time, the leaders from the three Universal Civilizations were not the present ones, and an important Beyond Grade A called ‘Saint Menason’ from the Federation of Light was ambushed by two Beyond Grade As from the dynasty. Their target was to snatch the Universal Treasure in Saint Menason’s hands. However, the Federation of Light called even more Beyond Grade A combatants to counter-ambush the two Beyond Grade As and snatch the Universal Treasure back.
The two dead Beyond Grade As had many friends, and a huge chain reaction was created.
Because of this, the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty began to push the blame onto each other politically.
Nine months later, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As worked together and washed the organizations that belonged to three Beyond Grade As from the Federation of Light with blood. They also got rid of two of the Federation of Light’s Beyond Grade As, and only one managed to escape. During this period, the biological brother of an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A also died in the battle because he was a guest at the ambush site.
Because of this, the Arcane Church was dragged into the matter, and another series of assassinations unfolded. The three Universal Civilizations began to assassinate each other’s Beyond Grade As, and more and more people died. In the eyes of a civilization, a Beyond Grade A combatant was a strategic weapon, and they would not allow other Beyond Grade As to live if their own had died. As such, the conflict between the civilizations grew deeper and deeper.
During this incident, the three Universal Civilizations sacrificed many Beyond Grade A Supers, and the turning point of the incident was what the civilizations called the Saint Menason Incident. There was actually a mastermind behind the scene, and it was a Super Star Cluster civilization at that time. The three Universal Civilizations then claimed that they found solid evidence to believe that these Super Star Cluster civilizations were fanning the flames from behind the scenes and wanted to make them lose some Beyond Grade As.
Following which, the three Universal Cis then wiped out all the Beyond Grade As of that Super Star Cluster civilization and their allies before the entire incident came to an end.
At that time, around half of the Beyond Grade As in the known universe were killed. A few neutral Beyond Grade As were unable to avoid the matter and were forced to join the three Universal Civilizations.
As for whether the mastermind behind the matter was truly the Super Star Cluster civilization, only the three Universal Civilizations knew. In any case, that was how it was written in history.
Although their Beyond Grade As were dead, the civilization was still around. While the three Universal Civilizations were much more peaceful in the Galaxy Calendar era, the majority did not wish to see history repeat itself. After that incident, the number of Beyond Grade As being sacrificed was reduced greatly.
“Don’t worry, even if we can’t catch Sagman and the others, there is a target that won’t be able to escape,” Tarrokov said with a smile.
“Psyker right?” Han Xiao also smiled.
The Star Pupil Holy Race was in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was impossible for Psyker to escape. Even if the dynasty adhered to the Peace Treaty and did not attack the Star Pupil Holy Race, it would be impossible for Psyker not to return forever.
If he had killed Han Xiao successfully and snatched the Evolution Cube back, Psyker would have had the protection of the Arcane Church and would not have been in such a passive state.
For now, however, Psyker was
truly in a pathetic state.
Han Xiao only had a single thought toward Psyker’s current situation.
There’s no hope. Let’s move house.
Chapter 863. Red-Named Monster, Please Stop! |
The dynasty’s search mission in the Shattered Star Ring lasted longer than anyone expected. Three months went by in a flash, and the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty were still waiting there.
However, the dynasty’s pursuit mission did not yield many results as a Beyond Grade A in disguise was far too nimble. Over the past three months, the dynasty had only caught many of the Arcane Church’s spies and a few suspected traces of Sagman and the others. The Beyond Grade As were unable to find any of the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As when they took action.
These Arcane Church’s spies were naturally interrogated and were unable to keep any secrets under the various methods of the Universal Civilizations. However, the Arcane Church had various preventive measures up their sleeves, and these spies did not know the exact locations of Sagman and the others. They only headed to a certain location at a certain time, and some of these messages were there as a smokescreen for the dynasty. The amount of useful information was extremely little.
When the Arcane Church decided to make use of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring, they were prepared to lose them.
Apart from the Shattered Star Ring, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were not idle in the other Star Fields. Plenty of skirmishes had broken out between the two over the past three months, and the relationship between the two was extremely tense.
In summary, the Crimson Dynasty ferociously sought an explanation, but the Arcane Church refused to give in. The way the outside world saw it, war was about to break out.
But as upper echelons of the dynasty, Han Xiao and the others received inside news from Tarrokov. The Arcane Church had privately contacted the Crimson Dynasty, and both parties were already discussing how to settle this matter. The two parties were only putting on a show for the outside world and would not actually end up fighting.
The Arcane Church also had no choice but to give in. Two of their Beyond Grade As had been captured by the dynasty, and they had to find a way to get them back. If not, none of their allies would be willing to fight for them in the future. The party that the Arcane Church hated the most was not the Crimson Dynasty but the Federation of Light.
The actions of the Federation of Light in the Shattered Star Ring couldn’t be hidden from the Arcane Church. The Federation of Light tried to hit them when they were down and even aided the dynasty in searching for Sagman and the others. Although the cooperation between both parties was only limited to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Arcane Church was still furious.
The Shattered Star Ring was the Federation of Light’s territory, and they had deep foundations. Their intervention had resulted in many of the Arcane Church’s spies being exposed.
The conflicts between the civilizations were mainly for benefits, and supporting Beyond Grade As was also for this reason. The Arcane Church hoped to use diplomacy to resolve this problem and pay a ransom for Dylan and Mercer.
The army and various weapons were the basic strength of a civilization, and a Beyond Grade A was like a special weapon that served as a powerful deterrent. In the exploration era, the Beyond Grade As that were captured would either be converted to their own use or executed.
However, the Galaxy Calendar era was more peaceful than before, and the galactic civilizations were currently in a state of peace. No one was capable of shaking the position of the three Universal Civilizations, and the military activities of the past gradually became diplomacy.
Thus, it was not impossible to pay a ransom. As long as one was willing to pay a sufficient price, everything could be discussed. The three Universal Civilizations would see their Beyond Grade As fall into enemy hands from time to time, and there was thus a tacit agreement between the three civilizations and also an unspoken rule. However, this unspoken rule was only restricted to the three Universal Civilizations. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not have such a privilege.
Han Xiao could not be bothered with that. He had already received his Contribution Points, and since he handed the captive over, the dynasty could choose to do whatever they wanted.
He had remained within the headquarters of the Black Star Army during the past three months, and even if he was summoned by the dynasty, he would only send Psionic Prime and his mechanical army out.
Maximiler was the same as him and also sent out his long-distance troops. The best advantage of this was that he could slack at home.
Maximiler was a Mechanic that belonged to the Energy Branch, and he chose to stay at the Black Star Army so that he can have an exchange with Han Xiao. Both parties had a good conversation with each other over the past three months and became much closer.
Han Xiao originally thought that Ames would come and look for him, but Ames returned to Floating Dragon Island after destroying the stargate and did not mention the matter again. She had a carefree attitude.
What a reliable ally.
Over the past few months, Han Xiao had spent most of his time crafting new machines. With his new [Endless Material Combination] knowledge, he was able to create many baffling materials to increase the attributes of his machines. The strength of his mechanical army would be increased this way, and he would also pose a greater threat to Beyond Grade A Supers.
Manison was able to deal with Beyond Grade As even with his long-distance troops, and he could fight many different Beyond Grade As at different locations. That was the true battle tactic of a Mechanic, and Han Xiao was still lacking in this respect. However, he still had a long time to accumulate his strength. After all, he had only been a Beyond Grade A Super for around a year.
After the Planet Lighthouse battle, the damage to his mechanical army was not small. If not for his mechanical army restraining the enemy, they would all have been in danger for sure. Thus, Han Xiao made use of this opportunity to create a new batch of machines.
The endless stream of Enas from exploring the Flickering World came into Han Xiao’s pockets, so Han Xiao was extremely wealthy. One of the reasons he had created such a large organization was so that he would not need to worry about the cost of constructing machines.
The three new Apostle Weapon slots were given to Silver Flash, Giant King Kong, and Mad Sky Hunter, who each had their own weapons and special attributes.
Silver Flash’s long-distance attack was improved, and his weapon was a transformable Planetary Obliteration Cannon called [Spreader of Destruction].
Giant King Kong was like a main tank meat shield with his weapon being strengthened armor. It could be taken off like ordinary armor and could even be transformed into a gigantic shield. It also had the ability to repair itself and was called [Divine Giant Armor].
Mad Sky Hunter was a beast-shaped Mechanical Life, and his body structure was different compared to the others. He had a pair of wings stuck on his back, which had a length of ten meters when fully opened, and he looked like the combination of a leopard, wolf, eagle, and dragon. His weapon was a strengthened hyperdrive module which gave him the ability to flicker and was called [Hunting Module].
Han Xiao gave the slots of the Apostle Weapon to the Mechanical Lives that were created earlier on. They had grown for a period of time already and were more reliable. Furthermore, he tried to give the slots to the different models of Mechanical Lives so that his Apostle Weapons would have a greater variety.
Over the past three months, Han Xiao had released a faction mission that got many of the players to look around the Shattered Star Ring.
An unexplored Star Field would not have as much activity as the discovered universe. After staying in the Flickering World for such a long time, the players could truly feel the silence of the vast universe. They would usually travel for a few Star Zones without seeing anybody, and it was easy for them to feel just how small they were in the u
niverse. They could have a change of pace after returning to the Shattered Star Ring, and many of the players gradually became energetic again.
Exploring a new Star Field naturally had its own benefits, and the players knew that the Flickering World was definitely a huge event. However, after exploring the Flickering World for some time, the sense of novelty was gone, and a portion of them preferred to remain in the Shattered Star Ring. There were numerous NPCs in the Shattered Star Ring with plenty of different things to do.
Han Xiao would not force the players to do anything. Although he always joked that the players were laborers, he was extremely clear about the players’ personality. Sometimes, their benefits would have to give way to their interests, and this was what the majority of players chased after.
He would not restrict the players’ freedom and would only issue a mission and the relevant reward. As for whether or not the players wanted to complete the mission, it did not have anything to do with him. After all, they players still did not know that the Flickering World would become the most exciting place in the universe during the next version.
On the forums, Bun-Hit-Dog transformed the battle on Planet Lighthouse into a video to let all the players who were not present watch it to their heart’s content.
All the players were extremely curious and shocked after watching the video. This was the battle between eleven Beyond Grade As, and it was the first time the players had witnessed such a scene.
Something worth mentioning was that Han Xiao began selling the Dungeon Crystal in the faction store after the battle. Although the dungeon was not one that the players could complete at their current level, he was certain that the players’ curiosity would overcome them, and this was a good business opportunity.
Indeed, the sales of the Dungeon Crystal were extremely high, and the average survival time of the players was about forty-seven seconds.
The players were all curious about the strength of a Beyond Grade A and wanted to know the true strength of their captain. The players now had a deep understanding of this.
