by <unknown>
“Their method of doing so is just to force me to return. Black Star and Heber understand me. They know that I would not leave my race and escape.” Psyker’s expression turned calm. “There’s no point in running, and I have to face them sooner or later. This is the price of failure.”
Those present all revealed faces of indignation.
“Don’t worry, the dynasty already has four captives. Them visiting the Star Pupil Holy Race might not be to capture me.” Psyker shook his head.
He did not dare return, other than to observe the situation, because he expected the dynasty not to take the risk to violate the Peace Treaty. While his base was situated there, the dynasty would definitely not go head to head against him just to capture him. He just did not wish to put his race in danger, so he was not willing to accept the protection of his civilization’s troops. However, to prevent any problems, he did not move too far away and had always been hovering near his territory.
“Understood. We’ll open the border and escort them to one of the planets,” one of the commanders solemnly replied.
The security of one’s territory was important, but they also had to take the initiative to open the border and meet with more aggressive guests. The dynasty’s faction was undoubtedly exerting pressure, and everyone was placed in a state of unease.
…
Before long, the Star Pupil Holy Race sent troops over to the border to welcome them, and other than a large portion of the Crimson Dynasty troops remaining at the border, Han Xiao and Heber brought some troops and followed the Star Pupil Holy Race troops to a colonial planet.
The Star Pupil Holy Race evidently did not want to let too many people discover this matter, so the spaceships stopped directly within the inner administrative area of the planet. Before the emissary that was qualified to receive the two arrived, the local lord of the colonial planet performed the reception work himself.
After disembarking from the spaceship, Han Xiao and Heber were led to the reception room. Following from behind, Han Xiao could see that they were on edge, and beads of sweat could be seen trickling down his neck.
The surrounding soldiers were also nervous and alert, staring at Han Xiao and Heber with a death gaze while gripping their weapons tightly.
Heber was used to such fear coming from people and took large steps with his Vanguard Officials following close behind. This group often gave off a strange impression, as though they were going to shout out “Fitness is key!” at any given moment.
On Han Xiao’s side, he was observing the architectural style of the Star Pupil Holy Race casually, with Hila, his Black Star Guards, and the four Apostle Weapons behind him.
They both had brought their own Calamity Grade elites, as well as many officers from the Crimson Dynasty.
Upon arriving, everyone took their seats, and the local lord wiped his sweat, carefully saying, “The Emissary is on his way. Please hold on for a moment.”
Heber was akin to a tiny mountain as he sat on the sofa. He had a pressuring aura, his arms folded as he asked, “When will Psyker return?”
“This… this… I do not know…”
The local lord was pressured by his momentum to the point his throat was locked in place. He barely managed to speak, his sweat beginning to flow again like a waterfall.
Han Xiao casually picked up one of the fruits on the table, which looked like a melon that was dyed blue. He bit into it and chewed a few times, before wiping his mouth and flicking it toward Heber.
“I’ve tried it. There’s no poison, so you can eat in peace.”
Heber’s face twitched.
I’m over here trying to posture, yet you threw me the fruit. You’re totally spoiling this atmosphere!
Furthermore, I’m a pugilist. Why would I need a mechanic like you to test for poison‽
The fruit was already thrown over, and it would not be good to let it drop on the ground. Thus, Heber could only catch it and then fling it to one of his Vanguard Officials behind him.
This time, Heber could not be bothered to speak and only closed his eyes. Han Xiao did not press the issue either, half closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of Aurora massaging his temples.
The atmosphere thus quieted down.
While the surrounding guards were at the ready, after seeing the nonchalant attitudes of the duo, they had to suppress their rage.
Atrocious, these people are not showing the Star Pupil Holy Race the slightest respect!
Especially Black Star, this evildoer. Not only did he steal our clan treasure, he actually dared run over to our territory. How arrogant!
The guards held onto the weapons tight, almost wanting to shoot at Han Xiao. However, their reasoning stopped them.
The situation was more important than the people. The dynasty was going whatever they wanted in the Shattered Star Ring, and their backer, the Arcane Church, had also suffered losses, so they naturally would not dare make any rash moves.
Very soon, the surrounding guards swapped shifts, and Calamity Grades took over as the guards. They stared unceasingly at Han Xiao and Heber as though meeting their mortal enemies.
After a period of time, hurried footsteps could be heard from the door, and an emissary soon walked in with a few of his subordinates.
“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Heber, Crimson Dynasty emissaries, I’m the person in charge of welcoming you. You may refer to me as Jed.”
Jed slightly bowered, but his tone was neither arrogant nor humble.
Heber opened his eyes again and again asked, “When will Psyker arrive?”
“We’re not too sure ourselves. The leader has his own schedule and may take as little as several days to half a month. Please wait for a while. We’ll provide accommodation if both of you wish to stay,” Jed blandly replied.
Boom!
The pressure around Heber’s body intensified, and the room seemed as though a formless hurricane had been born within it.
He coldly stared at Jed as he spoke,
“Don’t try to play dumb. Psyker has always been hovering around the Star Pupil Holy Race and will not be too far away. I’ll give you three days. If I do not see him in person, you can handle the consequences yourself.”
Jed only felt his breathing become labored. He was pressured to the point he could hardly breathe and could only nod with difficulty. “I’ll convey your intentions to the upper echelons…”
At this time, Han Xiao opened his eyes, gesturing for Aurora to stop, before looking interestedly at Jed.
“I just took a gander around your network and realized that your side seems to be very keen to block off the news. Not many of them know that we came over for a visit.”
Upon thinking of Han Xiao’s ability, Jed’s expression changed. “What do you intend to do?”
“It’s no good to withhold information like that. Let me help you guys.”
Han Xiao smiled, and with a thought, the data packet that Phillip had prepared was immediately sent to the major media channels of the Star Pupil Holy Race and forcibly promoted.
It could be roughly summarized as…
‘The dynasty fleet comes to settle accounts, Star Pupil Holy Race trembles in fear!’
‘Black Star and the Tyrant show up, but Psyker dares not meet them!’
‘Psyker flees due to his crimes, leaving behind his race!’
All of the articles showed the Star Pupil Holy Race in a cowardly light and how Psyker did not dare take responsibility, which made the citizens of the race feel suffocated, cracking the prestige of Psyker.
With his current Virtual Technology skills, this news instantly broke the barriers of public opinion that were silenced and swept through the entire network of the Star Pupil Holy Race.
Psyker had brought him a huge crisis this time, and now that he had come over on behalf of the dynasty to apply pressure, Han Xiao would naturally not be polite. Only when Psyker showed himself would he then command Phillip to stop.
Jed walked
to the side, and after exchanging a few sentences with the upper echelons, he approached Han Xiao with a strict expression.
“Your Excellency Black Star, please stop such behavior, or else…”
Bang!
Before he could finish, Jed’s head was captured by a large hand and ruthlessly slammed on the table.
The entire table cracked!
The person holding onto his head was a Vanguard Official of Bloodshed Land, Fosters. He coldly commented, “Watch your attitude when you speak to us. If there’s a next time, I’ll break your head apart.”
The moment the grip was released, Jed stumbled and retreated, a furious expression on his face.
However, he had no choice but to swallow this injustice. He took out his handkerchief to wipe off the blue blood flowing down his head.
When the Calamity Grades saw them being so arrogant, their faces got uglier, and the rage smoldered within their hearts. However, because this impacted the entire race, they chose not to move, instead keeping the resentment within their hearts.
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows as he gestured at Heber. He seemed to be saying, If you compare viciousness, you’re still more vicious.
Look at how much bullsh*t you have to say, Heber seemed to reply with a look.
Meanwhile, the news caused a sensation on the internet. Countless citizens burst into anger, some scolding the dynasty for taking advantage and others smearing the name of their leader. Some of them were also worried that Psyker would never return. There were innumerable emotions.
Countless people wished to recapture their national treasure, so the hatred the Star Pupil Holy Race had toward Han Xiao was not light. Han Xiao did not care about the hostility, though, as the more hostile they were, the more it meant that Psyker’s prestige was affected.
Jed did not speak, but one of the guards could not take it any longer and suddenly lashed out at Han Xiao.
“Don’t you have a conscience! After stealing our clan treasure, you dare come here and flaunt it!”
After this sentence was spoken, everyone turned over.
A chilling gaze passed through Hila’s eyes, and she was just about to move. However, Han Xiao gestured for her to hold back and turned to look at the guard.
“What’s your name?”
“Lalem!” The guard was obviously out of control and extremely emotional.
“Hmm, ok, then what would you have me do?”
“Of course, you should return our national treasure!”
“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded, taking out the Evolution Cube and throwing it into the guard’s hands. “Catch.”
Everyone from the Star Pupil Holy Race was stunned, staring incredulously at the Evolution Cube.
“You, you…”
“Didn’t you say you wanted it? Now it’s in your hands.” Han Xiao smiled. “However, I have to warn you. If you walk out of this room, it means that you have snatched the Evolution Cube, and that would mean that the dynasty would send their expeditionary fleet over. Are you ready to handle that?”
The guard’s face turned purple in anger and humiliation.
“You’re just relying on your backer! Do you have any morality in your heart‽”
Lifting his hand, Han Xiao retrieved the Evolutionary Cube, shaking his head as he spoke. “You all claim that it’s your national treasure, but this thing was not created by you. Just by using it for a long period of time, it becomes yours, huh? This is the inheritance of the Evolutionary Civilization, and you guys are the same in that you picked it up, holding on through strength. It never belonged to you, yet you call it your ‘national treasure’… There’s also another point. I did not snatch your Evolutionary Cube. It was you guys who lost it, and I picked it up. I merely refused to hand it over to others, just like you guys so many years ago. This question of stance should not be used as an excuse for morality. That would be so meaningless.”
“Bullsh*t. We’ve used the Evolution Cube for so long and can be considered its owner. Leader Psyker has always been connected to the Evolution Cube, so of course it’s ours!” the guard raged.
“This does make sense, but since you guys failed to guard your belongings, it was stolen by EsGod. I didn’t steal it; I merely chose not to return it. Furthermore, because this item was not the creation of your civilization, I have no mental burden toward withholding it for myself… If you guys can snatch it back from me, I can’t do anything about it, but your strength is insufficient, so anything else you say is meaningless. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t dare take it away. Let’s just forget about it.”
Han Xiao shook his head. He had never been a kind person, and he had another motive here, which was to resolve the hidden danger of the Evolution Cube once and for all. He planned to use pressure to force the citizens and Psyker to lift their psychic link with it!
As for right or wrong… Psyker had endangered his life many times. Now that things had gotten to this point, there was no need to worry about this issue.
“You, leave.” Jed waved toward the guard. While he was also furious about losing the ‘national treasure’, he was more realistic and knew that the dynasty had come to pressure them. It would be a pipe dream to make them hand over the Evolution Cube.
Having witnessed this little spat, Heber threw a glance over to Han Xiao.
“You’re not too bad at being evil yourself.”
“As to you.”
Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.
One needed to be more arrogant when posturing to apply pressure. For someone like him, who was used to being low-key, this was difficult to do.
[1] He’s referring to a leader that only delegates work but never does any
Chapter 868. Lock On Removed |
The Star Pupil Holy Race fleet in the surroundings immediately gathered toward the planet and awaited their orders. At the same time, the defensive fleet at the border was also strengthened.
After waiting for two days, Psyker finally reached the border.
“Your Excellencies, Leader Psyker has already reached the border and will be here soon.”
Jed heaved a sigh of relief.
His appearance was much frailer than before. Over the past two days, he had stayed in the room together with Han Xiao and Heber. He had suggested that the two go to a guest room, but Heber and Han Xiao did not even reply to him. Furthermore, they did not allow him to leave either, so Jed could only accompany the two in the room over the past two days. He did not even dare sleep, and his mental state was already on the brink of collapse.
To a Beyond Grade A Super, two days was no big deal at all. They could easily close their eyes, and two days would be over in a flash. Furthermore, the guards of the Star Pupil Holy Race present were all in the Calamity Grade and would not be affected too greatly. Only someone like Jed who was an envoy from the government would feel fatigue.
If they went to the guest room, the pressure that both of them had accumulated would be gone. As such, they chose to sit here for two days to increase the pressure on the Star Pupil Holy Race.
After waiting a while longer, a commotion could be heard on the outside, and both of them could feel a powerful energy source approaching them.
Heber opened his eyes and nodded. “He’s here.”
The door opened, and Psyker walked into the room slowly. Everyone’s gaze was then focused on him.
The guards present all heaved sighs of relief and stood up straight as though they had found their backbone.
“Eh, isn’t this Little Psy-Psy? The hero has finally appeared,” Han Xiao teased.
Psyker walked over to the two. Jed, who was originally seated, immediately gave up his seat for Psyker.
“Didn’t both of you want to meet me? I’m back. Get straight to the point,” Psyker said with a deep voice.
The next second, Han Xiao’s arm suddenly transformed into a mechanical arm, and he swung it out toward Psyker.
The table and sofa in front of him was pushed away, and his palm sent Ps
yker flying into the wall.
Bang!
The entire room erupted!
“What did you do‽”
The faces of the guards all changed, and they wanted to take action to help their leader.
Right at this moment, Hila and the other Black Star Guards also sent their auras toward the guards in the surrounding with the intention to warn them. The Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials did the same.
Just when the situation was about to erupt, Psyker’s voice sounded from under the mechanical arm.
“Don’t move.”
The mechanical arm was retracted, and Psyker dislodged himself from the alloy wall with his Psychic energy. He then looked at Han Xiao without any intention of fighting back.
“I almost took your life. Do you have any issues?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
“… No.”
Psyker took a deep breath and knew that Han Xiao wanted to take him down a notch. He then told his subordinates not to act recklessly and got them to bring a new table in.
The members of the Star Pupil Holy Race in the surroundings clenched their fists with aggrieved expressions.
They were able to understand why Psyker chose to give in but could not help but feel disappointed. On one hand, they were enraged at their own weakness, and on the other hand, they felt humiliated on behalf of their race.
Although all of them knew that the dynasty was there to seek an answer from them, they were all hoping that Psyker would be able to deal with such a situation and turn the tides. However, the unacceptable truth was that their leader was there to suffer humiliation.
The Crimson Dynasty emissary, who had not said a word so far, then said calmly, “You participated in the attack on Planet Lighthouse, and four of the six Beyond Grade As who participated have already been caught. The dynasty needs you and the Star Pupil Holy Race to give us an explanation.”
“What kind of explanation?” Psyker asked.
The dynasty’s emissary then tapped his bracelet, and a holographic screen appeared. A contract appeared on the holographic screen.
“You have to give a public apology and sign this compensation contract to prove your sincerity. The details of the contract are all within it. If you don’t agree, please follow us to accept your judgement in the dynasty or wait for the Arcane Church to pay a ransom.”
