Read The Legendary Mechanic - Chapter 967 - Changing the Tracks of Destiny online free - Novel Full
Chapter 967 Changing the Tracks of Destiny
The meeting then carried on for half a day and ended after Tarrokov introduced the various objectives of the second exploration phase.
"There is one final thing. Take note of any strange occurrences during the exploration. We saw plenty of organizations trying to secretly enter the Flickering World during the first phase, and we took various measures to wipe these stowaways out. However, we would still miss some of them out. If any of you discover any stowaways, you must give chase."
The Flickering World was still in a stage of lockdown, and many organizations attempted to sneak into the Flickering World. Everyone present was extremely clear that these stowaways were generally troops from the various Star Cluster or Super Star Cluster Civilizations, or organizations hired by them.
Because the first exploration phase was already completed, these stowaways had already run into the later unexplored regions and their whereabouts are unknown. The dynasty had also sent some troops to give chase to these stowaways but had little results to show for it.
The way the dynasty saw it, the best way to deal with such a situation was to continue with their exploration. In any case, these stowaways would have nowhere to escape when their main troop arrived.
After the end of the meeting, the various representatives of the organizations reported the details of the meeting to their upper echelons. A portion of the Beyond Grade As did not leave immediately and stayed back to chat with each other.
After chatting for a while, Tarrokov walked over and got Han Xiao to have a private conversation with him.
Both of them walked to the side, and Han Xiao was a little curious.
"What's the matter?"
"Can't I come to you for a chat if there isn't anything?" Tarrokov chuckled. "However, I do indeed have something. The Garu Star Cluster and Russo Star Cluster are neighbors, and your territory is in the region between Russo and Garu. Your territory can be part of the long-term transportation route, and a portion of our troops will go through your territory. We may also need you to help transport some resources."
"Alright." Han Xiao agreed immediately.
Since the dynasty had given him the seven Star Systems, he had absolute control rights over the territories. Since the contract had already been established, the dynasty could not make any decision within his territory and had to seek his permission first.
Allowing the troops from the other organizations to pass through his territory would bring him more benefits than costs. He would be able to set up a proper resource transportation route within his territory and also cement his position as the core of the Garu Star Cluster.
Being in charge of the transportation route meant that he would also be in charge of logistics to a certain extent. The amount of benefits that came from being in charge of logistics was something that everyone clearly understood. During the first exploration phase, the Black Star Army was the Exploration Pioneer, and after gaining their own territory during the second phase, they had even more benefits.
After finishing what he had to say, Tarrokov suddenly suppressed his voice and said, "Did you receive the news? Cries within the dynasty to open up the sales right of the Evolutionary Totem have started again."
Han Xiao nodded and was not too bothered. "It doesn't matter. They won't affect me anyway."
The division within the upper echelons with regards to the Evolution Cube could not affect his status at the moment. In the past six years, none of the upper echelons had targeted him because they knew that it was useless to do so.
"I know, but you should be more careful," Tarrokov said softly. "I heard that a Ruler candidate wishes to receive the support from these factions…"
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but say with a teasing voice, "You're telling me such news? Aren't you afraid of them taking revenge in future?"
"Ah, I didn't mention any names, and besides, will you expose me? Furthermore, the faction that I am in doesn't really like his methods." Tarrokov smiled.
Han Xiao then came to a realization. He then understood that Tarrokov did not only come to warn him but also had a political objective.
The next Dynasty Ruler would always be trained when the current Ruler was still in power. These candidates would usually be high officials of the dynasty with various different factions supporting them from behind.
There could only be a single Ruler. Thus, some of the candidates who knew that it would be difficult for them to be chosen or had a huge ambition would try to obtain more support during this period.
In his previous life, Urranrell's service period had ended not too long after the Flickering World storyline.
The dynasty would not change because of a new Ruler, but the style of the dynasty was changed subtly with the style of the new Ruler. For example, the way they dealt with competition, subsidiary civilizations, and their Beyond Grade A allies.
The Ruler of the dynasty would be chosen internally, and apart from some special circumstances, the allies of the dynasty would not be able to influence the position of the Ruler.
Thus, it was more important for a candidate to obtain the support of the various factions rather than fawning over the Beyond Grade As. Although Han Xiao was surprised about the situation that Tarrokov had mentioned, he was not too shocked.
In any case, he already had plenty of targets stuck on him, and he would not mind a few more.
"Heh, a candidate is only a candidate, and he may not be the future Ruler." Han Xiao smiled.
"You're right. I also thought so." Tarrokov nodded.
After pausing for a while, he suddenly said, "I still have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
"How well do you understand the inheritance that EsGod left behind?"
Why would he suddenly bring EsGod up? Han Xiao was a little puzzled.
"Isn't his inheritance already spreading throughout the universe? Which aspect are you referring to?"
"Ah, this matter is related to you… Do you remember the spatial coordinates that you gave us previously? The ones that EsGod was looking for."
These words sounded like thunder in Han Xiao's ears, and he tried to suppress his shock.
Those spatial coordinates were the key to the World Tree!
Why would he ask such a question? Has the Crimson Dynasty found something already?
"Have you guys found anything?" Han Xiao asked in a low voice.
"I don't know. I am not a researcher." Tarrokov shook his head. "However, the head of the research team in charge of EsGod's inheritance seems to have some idea about the data. He asked me to ask you about the situation back then."
After the inheritance of EsGod was leaked, the spatial coordinates were hidden within the wealth of information and seemed extremely insignificant. The research team would rather spend their time researching other things rather than this set of coordinates without any records.
But after spending a few years, the research team had almost finished their research of the majority of EsGod's research and thus set their eyes on the mysterious coordinates.
"I only coincidentally found EsGod searching for these coordinates, and I am not clear about the details."
Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and hid the truth with a perfunctory response.
"Alright." Tarrokov was not too suspicious of the reply.
After a casual chat, Han Xiao turned off the long-distance projection and returned to his room. He then heaved a sigh of relief with a look of resignation on his face.
Following the meeting's conclusion, the Crimson Dynasty announced the start of the second exploration phase to the universe.
After the first exploration phase, the Black Star Army was already extremely familiar with the procedures and made sufficient preparations. They also began their exploration during the start of the second exploration phase.
He was assigned to explore the Russo Star Cluster this time with many exploration troops accompanying him. The job of every organization was more carefully detailed and orderly.
Han Xiao's [Flickering World] Main Storyline Mission was also refreshed when the dynasty announced the start of the second phase.
[Flickering World] Second Chain Mission Completed.
Your Mission Rating is: A
You have obtained 1,500,000,000 Experience, x2 Random Reward Draw, 1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and x1 Blank Character Summon Card.
[Exploration Pioneer] Current Progress: 2/3
The Third Round has been refreshed.
Mission Introduction: Complete the second exploration phase of the dynasty.
Current Exploration Area: Russo Star Cluster
Personal Exploration Point: 0
Total Exploration Point: 0
Current Rating: E-
The third round of the mission was for him to explore the Russo Star Cluster. There would not be a problem for him to complete the mission, and his main objective would be to increase his own mission rating.
Han Xiao was still extremely confident about this. Although there were many more organizations exploring the region with him, his advantage of being familiar with the map would still come in handy. Although he might not be able to achieve an S rating, an A rating should not be difficult.
With the exploration troops being sent out, Han Xiao remained in the Black Star Palace and only sent out a Lord avatar and mechanical army to the Russo Star Cluster.
The graduates were also broken up and sent to the various troops toward the new exploration region. Han Xiao had intentionally split Nero and Mia up into two different forces.
According to his understanding, nothing would go wrong in the Russo Star Cluster; the exploration fleet would only face trouble in the Dust Light Star Cluster.
Han Xiao was waiting for trouble to erupt on the other side so that he could throw Nero over. He had already come up with more than a dozen different plans to trigger Nero's storyline mission. He definitely would not let the matter rest if he did not make Nero feel despair and pain.
Feidin was an expert in the mind anyway, and even if a shadow was left behind in Nero's heart, Feidin would be able to take care of it.
At the border of the Dust Light Star Cluster, one of the dynasty's exploration fleets began constructing a stargate shortly after arriving.
At this moment, a group was spying on this fleet from a few Star Systems away using special equipment.
The dynasty's exploration fleet was displayed on a large screen within the conference room, and there were many creatures with carapaces, like gray lobsters, seated in the room. They were the local intelligent race of the Flickering World and called themselves the 'Kunde Race'.
Everyone in the room fell silent upon witnessing the fleet.
The leader of the Kunde Race then said slowly.
"The information on that spaceship was real. There are more life forms in the universe, and aliens are eyeing our world."
Everyone fell silent.
The Kunde Race had been slowly developing for millions of years and had started to walk the path of a Galactic Civilization ten thousand years ago. Their territory had continued to expand as they captured more and more planets.
It was not that they had not met any other intelligent races in the process. However, the races that they had met were far weaker than them and had become their pets and slaves.
The Kunde Race had been wondering if there were more powerful civilizations in the universe, but they had yet to meet with any. After so many years, they had taken control of many Star Systems and were the most powerful civilization within this Star Cluster.
However, their observation region was limited to the Dust Light Star Cluster, and everything outside of it was unknown.
Without a galactic society or any other civilizations to interact with them, this place was like a lone island and pitch black forest. The Kunde Race did not have any understanding of Star Systems and Star Clusters, and their technological skill tree was not as complete as the Galactic Civilizations'. They did not have stargate technology, and their hyperdrive technology was backward. They could only make use of cryogenic chambers to pass the long galactic travel duration.
A single day of travel for the galactic society could take the Kunde Race more than ten years.
However, all this changed a few years ago.
The Kunde Race would always remember the day that the spaceship wreckage had landed on their colonial planet. There was plenty of advanced technology that they had never seen before and information about countless alien civilizations.
They had finally met a civilization that was more powerful than them!
After researching the technology on the spaceship, the Kunde Race had finally developed many different technology fields such as hyperdrives, stargates, and quantum networks.
However, a huge shock accompanied the surprise. The spaceship had also recorded a powerful alien civilization called the Crimson Dynasty.
The information showed that the Crimson Dynasty was not only a powerful civilization but also a Universal Grade predator. All the civilizations discovered by them only had two paths to take: destruction or submission.
The outcome of submitting would be the loss of development opportunities, and they would never be able to go up to a higher level. Their future would be bleak, and they would be a vassal forever.
The Kunde Race had suspected the truthfulness of the information, but all the technology of the spaceship was real. As such, this was a form of assurance in the truthfulness of the information. It was a pity that only corpses were left behind on the spaceship, and there was not a living being to interrogate.
The data log of the spaceship indicated that the members of the spaceship were a bunch of escapees. They were escaping the expansion of the Crimson Dynasty and also announced that the Crimson Dynasty was not too far away from the Kunde Race. They had even recorded the possible route that the Crimson Dynasty would take, and this filled the Kunde Race with unease.
Data on long-distance surveillance equipment was also included in the databank, and the Kunde Race constructed the equipment and sent people to monitor the various locations where the Crimson Dynasty might appear. A few years later, this set of data came true, and there was indeed an unknown fleet appearing not too far away from their territory.
"The predators have appeared. What should we do? Should we contact them with friendly intentions or take the initiative to attack?" the Kunde leader said with a grave tone.
One of the upper echelons then slammed the table and said resolutely, "We cannot submit to them! We must make preparations. We must first find a route of retreat and a new homeland for our offspring. We should then seize the initiative to attack them before the enemy can discover us!"
"They are too powerful; we won't be able to win. Our race may end up being wiped out instead. We cannot start a war with them and should first come into contact with them…"
"Stop dreaming! The only outcome of engaging with them is to become a vassal. Are you willing to lose our future and become like those races that we enslaved?"
"Perhaps the other party isn't a predator but a friendly civilization?"
"Friendly civilization? Just how did you obtain your current position? Don't forget. Have we even been friendly to the other intelligent races? Will there be a friendly civilization in the universe‽ Do you want to surrender and get our entire race enslaved‽"
"But how can we know if the information is real without trying?"
"Are you mad? All the technological skills are real. Why are you still doubting the veracity of the information‽"
The upper echelons continued arguing.
If not for the sudden descent of that spaceship, many of them would have agreed to first come into contact with the aliens.
However, many of the upper echelons believed that these alien civilizations were predators to take over their land.
Right at this moment, a strange fluctuation could be seen in the eyes of the Kunde leader, and he said coldly, "Stop arguing. I have come to a decision…"
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Chapter 968 Shadow of the Exploration Era
The dynasty's exploration method was to steadily expand their exploration scope. The exploration fleet had just entered both Star Clusters and was currently starting their exploration from the borders.
At the border Star System of the Dust Light Star Cluster, an exploration fleet had arrived on a green planet. The insignia of a Star System Civilization was inscribed on the armor of the spaceships, and they were in charge of exploring this region.
"Exiting hyperdrive, arriving at our destination. Cooling down the hyperdrive engine."
"The planetary probe has been released. Examining the environment and resources on the planet."
"Activating the life force scanner and checking for signs of life."
In the main control room of the flagship, the staff of the exploration fleet were busy operating various equipment, and the commander was pacing around to wait for the test results.
Swoosh!
The door suddenly opened, and a man clad in heavy armor walked in.
The commander of the ship then turned around and said with respect, "Captain Kreb, do you need something?"
"I am only here to take a look," the guy called Kreb said impatiently.
He was one of the Calamity Grade Supers in this subsidiary civilization and was in charge of their safety.
However, there would obviously be far too few opportunities for him to take action, and Kreb was only there as insurance. As such, he was not too happy to take on such a job and felt that it was a waste of his training time.
After waiting for a while, the test results were out and displayed on the screen of the main control room.
"Commander, the data has been analyzed. This is a habitable planet, and the resources on the planet are also rich. We also discovered traces of life on the planet, and we have already discovered 730,000 different species. There is one intelligent species on the planet, and they are currently in the tribal era. The degree of their intelligence is still unknown, and their population is about 120,000."
The appearance of this intelligent species was then displayed on the screen. It looked like a goblin with plenty of creases on its white skin.
"An intelligent species. That isn't too bad." The commander nodded. "Make contact with them according to the rules."
The dynasty had rules about the procedures of coming into contact with the native civilizations. They would take a different approach depending on the situation. For such natives that did not pose any threat, they would usually approach them with peace and education as the main focus. This was the method that Han Xiao had adopted when he came into contact with the natives on Planet Pangurus.
The fleet then landed in the forest, and the ground troops started to make contact with the native tribes. These natives were both afraid and shocked but extremely curious about these unknown beings at the same time.
Under the aid of the translation tool, this exploration fleet successfully set up a communication bridge with the natives. They explained their intentions to the natives and used various diagrams to explain the situation of the explored universe. They also introduced the Crimson Dynasty to the natives and explained the situation to them.
The accompanying doctor also began conducting tests on the natives to check for any unknown viruses on the body of the natives. There were far too many of such examples, and they began to check the biological structure of the natives.
Everything looked as though it was progressing orderly, and Kreb took a stroll in the camp.
He then suddenly saw a native leaving the line and suspiciously heading toward the house of another native.
Kreb didn't think too much about the matter and wanted to continue walking but suddenly felt a sense of danger.
He immediately froze in place. Most Calamity Grade Supers had extremely astute senses and would be able to detect threats. Most powerful Supers trusted their instincts.
"Something seems wrong…" Kreb frowned and followed the suspicious looking native. He then pushed open the room door and walked into the native's room.
This native had his back toward the door and turned around upon hearing something. It was as though he was shocked by someone appearing behind him.
"What are you doing?" The sense of danger grew even more intense.
The next moment, the expression of that native turned malevolent, and he took out a bone dagger to stab it toward Kreb's neck.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew past, and Kreb instantly appeared before the other party. He then knocked the dagger away lightly and held the native by the neck.
He did not know the intentions of this native, but it would not be wrong for him to stop the attack.
But before he could even interrogate the other party, the native suddenly trembled with foam coming out from his mouth, and he died.
"He committed suicide?" Kreb was shocked.
Right at this moment, a gasp could be heard by the door, and Kreb ran out while holding onto the corpse. He then realized that a commotion was going on around the doctors. A large group of doctors were crowded around a medical instrument as though they had discovered something.
Kreb then went forward and looked at the individual in charge of the doctors.
"What are all of you doing?"
"Your Excellency, look at this gene report!" one of the doctors said with a strange look on his face. "We realized a huge flaw in the genes of this race. Furthermore, there are traces of their genes being modified, which resulted in at least eighty percent of their mental capacity being suppressed! In simple words, someone is trying to suppress their intelligence!"
"You mean to say that they are a being reared like animals?" Kreb asked.
Right at this moment, something happened!
Boom!
Everyone suddenly felt the ground beneath them tremble.
The next moment, an alarm went off in all the spaceships.
"Alert! Alert! Detecting high energy reaction, comparing energy reaction to the database… comparison complete. [Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion] has a 99.8% match. Evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately!"
"Primordial Psionic Energy‽"
Everyone's expression changed greatly.
Kreb suddenly seemed to have thought about something and smashed the head of the strange corpse in his arms. He then poured out all the contents of the head, and a small mechanical chip flowed out.
The instant he saw this mechanical chip, Kreb's eyes narrowed, and he understood what was going on.
This was a life force detector. In simple terms, the detector would send out a signal when the life force of its host was lost, and it would trigger a switch or equipment on the other side. The Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion was probably related to this life force detector!
Boom!
The surface of the planet immediately collapsed, and a psionic blue energy erupted from underground.
Following which, the entire planet became contaminated.
The mountains, rivers, forests, land, ocean, sky… everything was swallowed by the blue psionic energy and became part of the Primordial Psionic Energy!
It expanded without end!
Everything was swallowed and disintegrated by the blue light. The exploration fleet was not able to escape from the rapid expansion of the energy and was swallowed up by the energy.
Kreb charged out from the spaceship and wanted to escape for his life. However, the endless blue light swallowed his figure up. In the face of the Primordial Psionic Energy, a Calamity Grade Super was no more than an ordinary living being.
The same scene occurred on a few planets in the Dust Light Star Cluster.
It had not been too long since the last meeting, but all the organizations participating in the exploration were gathered in Planet Lighthouse's conference room once again.
This was an emergency meeting, and Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As were urgently summoned to attend the meeting.
Looking at the casualties on the screen, the atmosphere in the room was heavy.
"Our exploration fleet met with an accident in the Dust Light Star Cluster," Tarrokov said with a grave voice. "More than six thousand battleships were destroyed with more than seven million casualties, including two Calamity Grade Supers."
A small commotion was immediately created.
"Just what did they meet? Did they meet a powerful civilization?"
"How can there be such powerful natives in the Dust Light Star Cluster‽"
Han Xiao's eyes narrowed. He only knew that this native civilization created trouble for the dynasty but was not clear about the details. After all, this matter happened during the version update period, and the players did not experience it personally. They only understood what had happened from the background information.
Tarrokov raised his arms to get everyone to remain silent before saying, "The strength of this native civilization is far more powerful than your imagination. They have grasped psionic energy, and these fleets that were lost met with a Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion. We have reason to believe that it is a trap set by this unknown civilization."
The moment these words were said, everyone present could not help but take in a deep breath.
They could accept a native civilization having a powerful army. With the dynasty's battleship technology, suppressing a native civilization would not be a problem. Regardless of how powerful an ordinary army was, they would not be able to threaten their exploration fleet.
However, things were completely different if the native civilization had grasped psionic energy!
Under the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, the explored universe prohibited the use of Primordial Psionic Energy for weapons. Its strength was terrifying, and the pollution that it caused was even more severe.
To think that these natives actually grasped psionic energy!
Just how did they climb up the technological skill tree?
Could it be that they have other technology that we do not‽
Everyone present was filled with wariness and caution.
The feeling of facing such a native civilization was completely different. In the Galactic Society, even if one could not grasp some form of technology, one would know of the existence of the technology. But when facing a powerful native civilization that they had yet to see before, who knew what kind of strange technology they would suddenly bring out?
Many of the civilizations had experienced the exploration warring era and felt a sense of deja vu. None of them knew the trump cards that the other civilizations had, such as the Federation of Light's Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Arcane Church's Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and the Evolutionary Civilization's transformation.
This native civilization naturally would not be restricted by the rules of the Galactic Society and would not be bothered about casually throwing psionic energy around. It was like giving a child a pistol. Everyone present had a feeling that the death rate this time would be high.
"What is the dynasty's plan?" someone asked.
Tarrokov said coldly, "The situation is still unknown, and this native civilization isn't friendly to us and poses a high threat to us. According to the 'Exploration Rules: Rules of Contact', we will be adopting method twenty-four."
Many of them could not help but gasp in shock upon hearing that.
This was the final method. Compared to the other methods, this method was extremely simple. They would use war to achieve their motive and stop when the opposing civilization was enslaved or wiped out.
A civilization capable of walking out from the exploration era and becoming the tyrant of the universe definitely was not kind.
The exploration of the Flickering World was a little similar to the exploration era, and the difference was that the three Universal Civilizations were already tyrants. They were confident of employing more gentle means, and this gave weak civilizations the chance to protect themselves.
The more powerful the natives, the stricter the attitudes of the three Universal Civilizations.
A native civilization that had grasped psionic energy was already a threat, and the Crimson Dynasty would not mind killing them in their infancy to reduce their Star Cluster level enemies by one. This would be beneficial to the Galactic Society.
Tarrokov then said coldly with his gaze sweeping past everyone present, "We are completely clueless about them. We aren't aware of their location or their species. However, the other party has already launched accurate attacks, which means that they have some intelligence in their hands. Before this, we have not come into contact with this civilization. Thus, it is likely that someone is pulling strings from the dark, and the most suspicious individuals are the stowaways."
The looks of the representatives present all turned strange.
This was not too difficult to guess. It was difficult for a single civilization to form a complete technological skill tree. The benefit of the Galactic Society was the exchange of technological skills. The stowaways must have thrown a bag of technological skills to the native civilizations, including psionic energy skills.
These Super Star Cluster Civilizations also had sufficient motives. First, they wanted to wound the armed forces of the dynasty. Second, they wanted to delay the exploration. Third, they wanted to kill with a borrowed knife and get rid of the powerful native civilizations to free up more space in the Flickering World.
Of course, they would not just throw the technological skills to anyone. Only a native civilization that had sufficient production capabilities would be their target.
"I announce that the exploration plan of the Dust Light Star Cluster shall come to an end. The dynasty's exploration fleet will be going to war," Tarrokov said with a deep voice.
Everyone nodded solemnly.
Before taking care of the enemy, they would not continue with their exploration. The dynasty had plenty of war experience and had many different plans to employ.
The enemy had the advantage in terms of intelligence, but this advantage would not last long. The Oracles in the dynasty's fleet would come into use soon, and the Mechanics were not there for show either.
With the dynasty gathering their troops, the Black Star Army was also summoned. However, Han Xiao was not planning to take action personally. He wanted to let Nero and his subordinates join the battle. He only needed to send his mechanical army to protect Nero secretly.
He knew that the Kunde Race did not have any Supers. Their greatest threat came from the explosion of the psionic energy. As long as they avoided these battlefields, the number of casualties can be reduced.
My advantage of being familiar with the map can be put to use here, Han Xiao thought to himself.
At the same time, in the Dust Light Star Cluster, countless spaceships that were holding numerous civilians disappeared into space. Looking at this scene, the Kunde Race soldiers all had strange feelings in their hearts.
"Report, the migration fleet of every colonial planet has set off. The local civilians are all on board, and they are going to search for a new homeland together with all the races that they've discovered."
Upon listening to his subordinate's report, the Kunde Race leader nodded silently, and the other upper echelons fell silent.
The information on the spaceship wreckage did not lie to them. They had arranged for some enslaved subsidiary civilizations to come into contact with the other party, and the other party was indeed called the Crimson Dynasty. They were just as powerful as stated in the information.
Although the other party seemed extremely friendly, in the eyes of the Kunde Race, their ambitions were hidden under their friendly facade.
Originally, the resources of the entire Star Cluster would be theirs for development and evolution. However, the Crimson Dynasty had arrived and wanted to snatch these resources away from them. Their way out had been blocked, and they could no longer develop normally.
In this regard, the Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not lie.
The Kunde Race was not willing to become a vassal. The universe was a vast place, and they still had routes of retreat.
From the moment they decided to resist, they had planned for the worst. They sent most of their civilians into the depths of the space and left behind the seed for the civilization. Regardless of their victory or defeat, they would no longer have a chance to develop normally in this place. As such, they might as well send their race over to a new hometown where they would not be disturbed.
Only the Kunde Race's army was left behind to defend their land.
War was something that could not be avoided for peace.
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Chapter 969 Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire
Deactivating his long-distance projection, Han Xiao's viewpoint returned to his room. Before he even moved, a notification popped up on his interface. It was an Urgent Mission for the dynasty.
The contents of the mission were to listen to the dynasty's plans and carry out various war missions to deal with the Kunde Race. It was similar to the secret war mission, and Han Xiao was no stranger to it.
"According to the reward of the secret war, if I can complete a war mission at such a level, there is a high chance of receiving Legendary Points, Political Assets, or a new dungeon type reward. Oh right, my Contribution Points should also be able to increase greatly."
Han Xiao stroked his chin, uncertain. After all, Purple Crystal and Klent were close to each other in strength during the secret war. But to the dynasty, the Kunde Race was no more than just a little threat. Getting rid of the Kunde Race was not difficult, and the reward might not be as much as the secret war.
However, he would just take whatever came his way. His target this time was mainly to trigger various missions from Nero.
Although he was not planning to participate personally, Han Xiao would not slack off completely. He would not mind providing the dynasty with some Virtual Technology support during the war. Furthermore, Han Xiao was not planning to hide his map advantage.
The map that he referred to was not the star map. The astronomy observation equipment of a Universal Civilization was well developed, and they had already plotted out a map of the entire Flickering World. However, the details of the map could only be completed through exploration.
Han Xiao was familiar with the territory of the Kunde Race, and such information naturally would not be on the unexplored star map. This meant that the dynasty would not need to slowly explore the region and could charge straight into the Kunde Race's territory.
Of course, the dynasty would need to believe his intelligence. Even with his Beyond Grade A status, he could not interfere with the war orders of the dynasty. Every advanced civilization would definitely be skeptical of unverified intelligence.
Han Xiao was not too bothered about this. He had the name of a fortune teller, and he still had the famous Aesop by his side. Furthermore, the dynasty would also make use of many Oracles, so it would not be a problem for him to release intelligence.
However, in order to prevent others from framing the Kunde Race, Han Xiao also could not give the dynasty too detailed information. Although he could do as he wanted at his level, being careful would save him some trouble in the future.
"A Star Cluster level war, this is the second time I'll participate in one, but this is different from the secret war…"
Han Xiao let out a deep breath.
The secret war was a proxy war, and although the scale of the war was large, it did not involve the life and death of a race. This time, one party would be fighting to protect their homeland and would definitely employ all their strength and means.
Even if the Kunde Race was a native Star Cluster civilization, the scale of this war could not be compared to the secret war.
Han Xiao did not feel too much enmity toward the Kunde Race, but he did not have any goodwill toward them either. If he was a part of the Kunde Race, he would not be happy if a foreign civilization attempted to snatch his resources as well. By the time the Crimson Dynasty fully explored the Dust Light Star Cluster, it would be akin to locking the Kunde Race in this Star Cluster and limiting them to the level of a Star Cluster Civilization.
However, he was currently in the dynasty's faction. The dynasty's motive of exploring a new Star Field was to obtain new resources. With the advantage of absolute military might by their side, it was impossible for them to stop. It could only be said that both parties had a conflict of interests.
Since neither party was in the wrong, the one who was wrong would be the loser.
Han Xiao then wrote up a letter and sent some intelligence about the Kunde Race to Tarrokov. Without waiting for a reply, he sent out an order to gather his army.
"Summoning us to participate in the war?"
In the exploration fleet of the Black Star Army, the members of the Black Star Army received a message on their communicator. Some of them were excited, while others were grave.
Nero was a member of this exploration squad, and he immediately felt nervous upon receiving the order.
He had not made mental preparations for this sudden war. He had only participated in various different sparring matches but had never participated in a true war before. It was impossible for him not to be nervous.
Various different thoughts flashed through his head, and Nero could not help but let his imagination run wild. Will I be able to kill the enemy?
What does killing feel like?
Will I be killed by the enemy?
Will Mia participate in the war as well? Will she be in danger?
Just when he was letting his imagination run wild, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the captain of his squad, a burly freelance mercenary.
"Don't worry kid, we will take care of you." The captain laughed heartily.
"Relax." The vice captain, who was currently memorizing his spells, looked over and said casually, "I participated in the secret war before, and war is only so-so. It is either kill or be killed. Death in a galactic war of such a level will happen in an instant. There won't be any pain, so there isn't anything to be nervous about." Nero rubbed his head and forced out a smile upon hearing that. He had been sent to this squad under the identity of a maintenance staff. His captain and vice captain took good care of him, and his other squad mates treated him pretty well too.
In the battle squad of such a level, his background was not that important, and his personal combat strength was the most important. Nero's strength was not too weak, and his Mechanic skills were outstanding. Thus, the other members of the team were willing to take care of him.
Although Nero was indeed feeling nervous about participating in the war, he did not have any intentions of contacting Han Xiao. He did not wish for any special treatment. While his godfather might agree to not let him enter the battlefield, his godfather would definitely look down on him. Nero did not want to let his godfather down after studying for such a long time.
Nero then walked to the side and took out his communicator. After hesitating for a moment, he dialed Mia's number.
After ringing for a while, the other party picked up, but neither of them said anything. Only their breathing could be heard.
After a few seconds of silence, Nero then said, "Um… Did you see the internal notice already? I am going to war."
"Oh."
"Er… Aren't you going to be worried for me?"
"What's there to be worried about? I was also summoned." Mia snorted.
Nero felt his heart sink, and he said with hesitation, "Er… are you nervous?" "What's there to be nervous about?" Mia asked with a strange tone. "Didn't you already know that such a day would come when you became a Super? I am looking forward to the battle."
Nero was completely speechless and could only say, "Pay attention to your own safety. We aren't in the same squad, and I won't be able to protect you…"
"Who needs your protection?" Mia rolled her eyes. "You should take good care of yourself. Don't die."
The call was then cut off.
Nero then placed his communicator down and rubbed his nose with resignation.
He still preferred the shy and timid Mia that he had first met. Ever since she became a Pugilist, her violent tendencies had gotten worse.
There was no such thing as an absolute secret in the world, and the Crimson Dynasty was not attempting to hide anything.
Not too long later, news reached the explored universe, and the various Star Fields found out that the dynasty was preparing to go to war.
Most of the galactic residents did not have too much of an opinion. It was not surprising to them since the dynasty was dealing with a bunch of natives. They would rather the dynasty clean up all their enemies quickly and finish up the exploration early so that they could all go to the Flickering World and play. There was also a small group of individuals who took pity on the native civilizations and were crying out for peace. However, no one could be bothered with them, and their actions would not be able to influence the actions of an advanced civilization.
Most of the organizations were not too bothered by the news, but the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations were all extremely happy.
They hoped that the Kunde Race would be able to create as much trouble for the dynasty as possible. With the Primordial Psionic Energy, the Kunde Race definitely had the strength to cause damage to the dynasty. The more they killed, the better. It would be best if a few of the dynasty's Beyond Grade As died as well. Regardless of who won or lost, they would not be on the losing end anyway.
The exploration of the Dust Light Star Cluster was suspended, and the dynasty was gathering their troops on Planet Lighthouse.
Apart from the exploration fleet, the Crimson Dynasty mobilized their elites from the Central Galaxy.
While it was partly because they did not want to underestimate the enemy, it was also to train their soldiers. They would not be able to easily meet such a war in the explored universe, and this was a good chance to train their soldiers.
Because Han Xiao was not personally interfering, the Black Star Army fleet would be led by Herlous.
"The army this time is made from many different organizations. I will be the chief commander, and I am in charge of deciding the overall strategy. Every army will have their own commander to lead the various allies. The commander in charge of your Black Star fleet has also been decided."
Tarrokov then opened a resume and showed it to Herlous.
After looking at the resume, Herlous felt that it was pretty familiar.
"Teny Amenos?"
"That's right, it's him."
"His rank isn't high. Will he be able to do the job?" Herlous asked with doubt.
"Ah ah, don't worry. He is an officer that the dynasty is currently training, and he has outstanding commanding abilities." Tarrokov smiled. "He arrived at Planet Lighthouse not too long ago. Follow me to meet him."
As he said that, Tarrokov knocked on the table and the room door was immediately pushed open. A military officer then walked into the room with his aide-de-camp behind him.
"We meet again, my friend from the Black Star Army." The military officer nodded.
"Oh! So it's you." Herlous immediately recalled where he had met this individual.
He was an elite of the dynasty who had accepted the evolution energy of the Evolution Cube, the future Dynasty Marshal. He had a short interaction with Han Xiao eight to nine years ago, and the vice commander beside him was his trusted aide, Corbus.
Herlous stood up, and both of them shook hands before sitting back down. "It has been almost ten years since I last saw Black Star. I am truly happy for him that his status is getting higher and higher," Teny said.
Herlous nodded before said curiously, "Your rank must've increased already. You were only a Colonel the last I saw you."
"I earned some merits, but my merits can't be compared to Black Star." Teny shook his head. "I requested to be the commander of the Black Star fleet and hope to reduce your casualties."
"Then I have to thank you for that." Herlous was overjoyed. As an allied organization of the dynasty, he was the most afraid of an incompetent commander.
"There isn't a need to thank me. You can treat it as me repaying a favor." Teny waved his arms. "Black Star gave me a set of mechanical guards that was personally constructed by him back then, which helped me overcome a few difficulties. I should be the one thanking him."
"I see."
Herlous came to a realization. There was no such thing as a free lunch. It turned out that the other party owed a favor to his boss.
He could not help but praise Han Xiao's foresight.
"I will pay a visit to the Garu Star Cluster to see Black Star after the end of the battle. I hope that he will be free," Teny said.
"Don't worry, the officers will be the ones in charge of the army, and he is extremely free every day." Herlous immediately sold Han Xiao out.
Both of them then chatted for a while until Tarrokov coughed. They left Tarrokov's office together and continued chatting with each other.
As they were walking about the base, Teny met someone he knew, another commander of the dynasty. Both of them greeted each other and chatted casually.
Herlous was not too bothered at the start but realized that the skinny aide-de-camp beside this commander kept staring at him with a profound look.
"Eh… cough, what are you looking at me for?" Herlous asked.
That aide-de-camp then chuckled. Pointing at Herlous' uniform, he asked, "You're a member of the Black Star Army, right?"
"I am the fleet commander of the Black Star Army, Herlous. I wonder, how can I address you?" Herlous nodded. "Ah, call me Gaud."
"Have we met before? Why do you keep staring at me?" Herlous asked.
Gaud laughed and said, "Nope, but I have always admired Black Star. This is my first time seeing an officer of the Black Star Army, and I am a little curious."
He then turned around without the intention of continuing the conversation.
Upon seeing that, Herlous sized Gaud up and was secretly shocked. This fellow called Gaud obviously did not have much of a presence, but Herlous could not help but feel a sense of pressure when standing beside him.
At this moment, Teny finished his conversation with the other party, and he left with Gaud.
"Do you know that aide-de-camp?" Herlous asked.
Teny shook his head, and Corbus replied instead.
"You're talking about Gaud? I know him. What's the matter?"
"I chatted with him a bit just now and am a little curious."
Corbus nodded and said, "This Gaud isn't a graduate of the military academy, and he hasn't been serving the army for a long time. However, he is a Super with great potential and was spotted by that commander. His various abilities are extremely outstanding, and I heard that he is on the list of individuals to be trained by the military."
"This resume sounds very ordinary…"
Herlous could not understand where the pressure came from, but he was certain that his feelings were accurate.
However, there was not much of a need for him to bother about such things, and he continued chatting with Teny, throwing Gaud to the back of his mind quickly.
The dynasty was extremely efficient. They only took a few days to gather their forces.
The dynasty originally did not know the location of the Kunde Race and originally planned to first send out their scouts to search ahead. However, Black Star had sent them an intelligence report not too long ago that marked out the rough location of the Kunde Race in the Dust Light Star Cluster. Although there were no accurate coordinates, it saved the dynasty a great deal of trouble.
Although the intelligence report was not too accurate, it allowed the dynasty to narrow down their scope of operations. Many reconnaissance squads were sent out toward the coordinates that Black Star had marked out, and the army also began moving toward the different directions.
With an entire Star Cluster as their battlefield, mobility was the key factor, and the stargates would be the blood vessels connecting the army.
Because of the Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion trap, the dynasty had already tacitly acknowledged that the other party had stargate technology. As such, the dynasty paid close attention to protecting their own stargates to prevent the enemy from launching an ambush.
However, the army did not meet a single enemy over the following half a month. The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light, and the enemy seemed to have disappeared.
A couple of days later, this situation changed, and the dynasty finally exchanged fire with the Kunde Race fleet.
The location of the battle was Planet Lighthouse!
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Chapter 970 Taking Out Unknown Technology
Half an hour earlier…
In the desolate universe belt far away from Planet Lighthouse, a Kunde Race fleet exited from the stargate and split up into various divisions. They then entered hyperdrive and approached Planet Lighthouse from different directions.
After the attack of the Arcane Church and EsGod, the Crimson Dynasty had expanded their surveillance perimeter several times. Not too long after the Kunde Race fleet appeared, they were detected by space detection equipment. However, the Kunde Race fleet completely ignored the fact that they were spotted and charged straight at Planet Lighthouse.
The command room of the flagship had a gray and blue theme. The various control panels were structured in a way for carapace creatures to use. The commander of the fleet was a gigantic lobster with flame like engravings on its shell.
The Kunde Race was also split up into different branches, and one of their branches had a special feature. Some parts of their shells would change colors according to their emotions. Red represented anger and agitation, and this commander was currently in a state of rage.
Yelu, a military commander of the Kunde Race, was an aggressive commander who had volunteered to participate in this ambush mission. He and the other members of the fleet knew that chances of returning alive were slim, but they had still chosen to accept the mission.
"How far are we from Planet Lighthouse?"
"Commander, we will still need about four hours."
"Speed up," Yelu said with a baleful aura. He hated the fact that he could not immediately unleash his firepower on the enemy.
It had only been a few years since the Kunde Race obtained the stargate and hyperdrive technology. Even if they had powerful production capability, they could not equip all of their fleets with such equipment. Furthermore, the Kunde Race still was not familiar with this technological skill and could not come up with too many tricks.
They naturally would not be able to ambush the enemy since they still had to travel for another four hours. However, this was already the best that the Kunde Race could do. They were only able to secretly place the stargate at this location; any nearer would have been impossible.
However, this fleet was not concerned about being discovered, and their plan was to launch a head-on attack.
In the information of the spaceship wreckage, a rough outline of Planet Lighthouse's surveillance perimeter was marked out. It was also indicated that this was the command center of the Crimson Dynasty. The Kunde Race had used their long-distance surveillance equipment to verify this fact as well. As such, they had come up with the plan of attacking Planet Lighthouse while they sent their forces out.
The Kunde Race knew that it would be difficult for them to emerge victorious if they fought a head-on battle. As such, they could only take the risk of attacking the enemy's headquarters. This way, they might be able to cut off the enemy's path of retreat.
Their fleet carried a large amount of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons, and the Kunde Race truly believed in the strength of this item. As long as they could approach Planet Lighthouse, and as long as a single one of these weapons could hit Planet Lighthouse, their objective would be complete. The Primordial Psionic Energy was able to ignore most defenses, and most shields would only serve to provide energy for it.
Although they knew that it would be difficult for them to return alive, all of them in the fleet had a resolute will and were not afraid of death.
On one hand, it was because of their fury and hatred toward the dynasty. On the other hand, it was because of the fear in their heart. The reason for their fear was related to Han Xiao.
Originally, the Kunde Race paid attention to hiding their location because they were at a disadvantage. As long as the location of their territory was not revealed, they would be able to use that to their advantage and make many strategic arrangements.
However, the Crimson Dynasty did not scout ahead and actually went directly to their territory. This ruined many of the Kunde Race's plans and made them flustered.
With the location of their territory being exposed, most of the methods that they had prepared became useless, and their entire army was placed in danger. Many of them were thankful that they had sent away most of their civilians. If not, they would have been in an even more passive position.
Helpless, the Kunde Race could only come up with a desperate method to attack the enemy headquarters.
The sole cause behind this entire event was Han Xiao, who had provided the intelligence. He saved the dynasty a great deal of effort and also forced the Kunde Race to make such a risky move.
In the command room of Planet Lighthouse, Tarrokov and the other commanders were gathered together. Their gazes were fixed on the star map and the red dots that represented the Kunde Race fleet approaching them with a countdown counter in the top-right corner of the screen.
"The enemy is approaching Planet Lighthouse and will arrive in about three hours," Tarrokov said with his arms behind his back. His expression was calm. He did not feel any pressure.
Everyone present was also calm and not too surprised by this development.
This was one of the outcomes that they had predicted, and they had made the necessary preparations. The enemy did not have any chance in a head-on battle and thus were extremely likely to make a risky move.
During the exploration era, the Crimson Dynasty had met plenty of different ambushes and were extremely experienced in dealing with ambushes. As such, the commanders present were not nervous at all. Some of them even felt like laughing.
The native civilization that had far too little battle experience was like a little child before their eyes, and all their actions were within their predictions.
They wanted to launch an ambush without the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device?
They did not have the might of the Federation of Light but had the habits of the Federation of Light.
Planet Lighthouse was truly fraught with difficulties, and they were used to people coming after them.
After the last lesson, even if they sent out a large fleet, they would still leave sufficient spaceships to guard Planet Lighthouse. Furthermore, they had also expanded their surveillance perimeter, which resulted in the enemy requiring a longer time to reach Planet Lighthouse. A few hours was sufficient for their allies from Renault, Garu, and Crown to arrive. In fact, the army that they had sent out would also be able to return through the various stargates in time.
"Everyone is already aware of the situation. The only threat that the enemy can pose to us is by using Primordial Psionic Energy weapons." Tarrokov paced around and spoke slowly. "We have sufficient preparation time and will have to wipe out all the attacking spaceships before they can arrive on Planet Lighthouse. We will be in trouble if they are allowed to launch even a single attack on Planet Lighthouse."
"I wish to apply for the use of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons. Just like Black Star said, we should pay them back in their own coin," a commander from the hawk faction said.
"Hmm, alright." Tarrokov nodded.
The use of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons was prohibited in the explored universe, but since the enemy had already made use of it, the dynasty would not hold back. Since the universe would be polluted anyway, there was no need for them to care.
However, although he allowed the use of the Primordial Psionic Energy weapons, Tarrokov had other plans. He then added in a deep voice, "The strength of the Primordial Psionic Energy weapons is far too terrifying. If possible, try to make use of ordinary weapons to capture the enemy and enemy spaceships. This is the best chance to obtain information about the enemy. Don't forget that we do not know anything about their civilization. Furthermore, get the Virtual Mechanic squad to be on standby. Their help will be useful."
The dynasty had a large number of Virtual Mechanics, and there was no need for them to borrow the strength of a Beyond Grade A ally to face a native civilization. Black Star's fee was currently pretty expensive…
After noticing the enemy's intentions, the defense fleet of Planet Lighthouse began to set off to intercept the enemy.
Not too long later, both parties met in the desolate universe belt near Primordial Psionic Energy. The battle was not as peaceful as the battle in the explored universe, and both parties were using Primordial Psionic Energy weapons without any restraint.
In the open universe, the expansion of Primordial Psionic Energy was not as fast as it did not have an entire planet to swallow up. However, it was still equally dangerous as it would not dissipate.
The Primordial Psionic Energy was able to remain in the battlefield for a long time, and the spaceships could only opt to avoid it. Furthermore, the psionic energy sphere was still expanding and releasing a powerful attraction force to suck up the various spare parts of the destroyed spaceships. It was just like a mini black hole.
In such a complicated battlefield, everyone was wary of the other party's long-distance attacks.
"Commander, spaceships 078, 075, and 102 have been boarded by the enemy, and the guards on board aren't able to block the enemy."
In the main flagship of the Kunde Race fleet, the scenes of the Supers slaughtering the Kunde Race soldiers were shown.
Upon seeing this scene, Yelu said with an unfriendly tone, "This is the Super that is mentioned in the information, huh? They are actually able to obtain superhuman strength without any modification of their genes‽"
"Commander, the situation isn't to our advantage. What should we do?"
Upon hearing that, Yelu glanced at the star map before him. There was a technological gap between their fleet and the enemy, and their losses were huge.
Although their operation this time was no different from suicide, they were not even able to see the shadow of Planet Lighthouse and had lost so many ships.
Everyone looked at him and seemed to be mentally preparing themselves for something.
Yelu then gritted his teeth and said with a malevolent tone, "It has been my honor to fight alongside all of you. Listen to my orders, activate the spacetime splicing equipment!"
On the other side, Han Xiao had already received news of the battle, and his long-distance projection was currently watching the battle on Planet Lighthouse.
The dynasty dealt with the assault of the Kunde Race fleet promptly, and the enemy was not able to fight back at all. It was not that easy to make up for the gap in technology.
Tarrokov controlled the situation calmly while Han Xiao slacked off by the side.
Although the situation was extremely good, Han Xiao had a doubt in his head.
Strange… the Kunde Race seems to be extremely weak. Just how did they create trouble for the dynasty in my previous life?
The situation was slightly different from what he had expected. The way he saw it, the Kunde Race should have been able to fight the dynasty on somewhat equal grounds since they could be written down in history as a troublesome opponent. Why was the enemy so weak?
A group of Virtual Mechanics were currently breaking through the firewall of the Kunde Race fleet, and their progress was smooth.
They would be able to obtain an entire fleet in a few more minutes, and there was no need for him to take action.
The Kunde Race no longer has a chance to turn the situation around. Strange, Han Xiao thought to himself.
Just when he was deep in thought, a Virtual Mechanic suddenly said with a doubtful tone, "Chief Commander, we've discovered a problem."
Tarrokov looked over and asked doubtfully, "What problem?"
"This… the enemy fleet disappeared from the quantum network, and we are unable to receive any signals. Our Virtual Intrusion has been automatically cut off, but they did not forcefully go offline."
Before Tarrokov could even respond, a strange scene occurred on the battlefield.
All of a sudden, all the Kunde Race spaceships seemed to have frozen on the spot.
The dynasty's army would not fall into a daze and continued to rain down their attacks. More than half of the battleships were immediately destroyed, including Yelu's flagship.
Right at this moment, a change occurred!
A spatial distortion could then be seen on these destroyed spaceships, and before everyone could react, these spaceships were suddenly repaired and returned to their state before being destroyed. At the same time, they moved forward a great deal as though they had teleported.
The dynasty's army hesitated for a moment before attacking again. However, the exact same scene occurred, and the Kunde Race fleet moved forward again.
This time, the dynasty's fleet no longer attacked by the Kunde Race fleet still moved forward as though they had teleported.
"What is this?" Tarrokov, who had observed this scene, was also at a loss.
Ohm!
Right at this moment, an alarm went off in the room!
"Detecting a spacetime ripple. Matching it with the database… Match not found. Creating a new file…"
At the same time, the dynasty's army used all the means that they had to attack the enemy fleet but to no avail. Furthermore, they continued to approach Planet Lighthouse, and it was impossible to stop them.
Upon seeing this scene, Tarrokov took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions. He then shook his head and said, "It seems like we have underestimated them. We can't look down on any civilization."
Everyone then looked at each other with strange looks on their faces.
They originally thought that this would be an easy battle but never expected the enemy to suddenly take out unknown technology. It seemed related to spacetime, and who knew how they climbed up the technological skill tree?
Just when the commanders were at a loss, Han Xiao also fell into a daze.
He recognized this technology!
However, he had never imagined that it came from the Kunde Race!
This was one of their trump cards when dealing with the World Tree in his previous life!
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Chapter 971 Spacetime Splicing Technology
The same theory would usually result in different technological skills. Being a Universal Civilization did not mean that they were omniscient. Just like how the three Universal Civilizations could not grasp each other's specialty technology, the various civilizations would have a technological skill tree that was unique to themselves.
Han Xiao was familiar with the special skill that the Kunde Race had displayed. It was a technological skill called Spacetime Splicing Technology. It was a branch of spacetime theory.
Spacetime skills were extremely advanced, but they were not rare. The three Universal Civilizations and the various Star Cluster Civilizations had all grasped a certain degree of spacetime technology. Even the Mages had some spacetime related spells.
However, the Spacetime Splicing Technology also had its own uniqueness.
The three Universal Civilizations did not reveal the exact theory behind it in Han Xiao's previous life, and Han Xiao only understood the general situation. This Spacetime Splicing Technology seemed to be a type of spacetime shuttling technique, but it was very different.
The way Han Xiao saw it, the Kunde Race fleet was able to restore themselves because they used the Spacetime Splicing Technology to freeze their fleet in a state before being destroyed. Regardless of how many times they were destroyed, they would be able to return to their previous state. It was like the legendary save and load method.
The movement of the fleet was the other effect of the Spacetime Splicing Technology. They first made a certain action into a parameter and simulated the entire action in spacetime. They then broke apart the spacetime continuum and split spacetime up into different time fragments. To put it simply, they transformed 'something that they wanted to do' into a movie with every time fragment being a scene in the movie.
Following which, they then locked themselves in the spacetime fabric and cut off the past and future. The entire process was cut off, and only the present was left behind. As such, the fleet would jump to different points in time while skipping through the process. Because there was no process, the attacks of the dynasty were not able to stop them.
Another way of putting it was that the fleet transformed into a high ping warrior. Even if they got hit, they were only hit in the previous frame.
This technological skill had many different uses but also had its side effects. The spacetime fabric of the entire universe was connected and a system that could not be calculated. As long as there were any peculiarities in the fabric, it would be self-corrected.
For example, after various spacetime freezing or slowdown spells were used, the area of effect would slowly revert back to normal, leaving behind the modified physical objects. However, it would not have an effect on the spacetime fabric.
The side effects of the Spacetime Splicing Technology came from the self recovery of the spacetime fabric after being broken.
By the time the spacetime fabric repaired itself, their entire physical being would be completely wiped out as though they did not exist.
This meant that their deaths were already announced, and they would disappear anytime.
In my previous life, the three Universal Civilizations made use of a lot of supporting equipment to stabilize the spacetime fabric in order to greatly extend the time taken for the fleet to disappear. If the dynasty took this technology from the Kunde Race, it means that the dynasty will definitely improve on it over the next few versions, and the Spacetime Splicing Technology in the Kunde Race's hands is probably only the first version. This means that it will be much easier to deal with them, and the side effects will be far worse.
Meeting the attack of a native civilization would only give the dynasty trouble. But now, the dynasty would be able to receive a decent spoil of war.
Who knew whether the stowaways that secretly gave the natives technology knew that the Kunde Race grasped such a technology? Although the stowaways would definitely observe the strength of the Kunde Race, the Spacetime Splicing Technology was a confidential technological skill, and it would not be discovered so easily.
The stowaways in the Flickering World were not too different from suicide troops, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations would not send out too many Calamity Grades for such a mission.
"If they didn't know about it, they will definitely suffer a huge loss. They wanted to backstab the dynasty but ended up giving them a huge treasure," Han Xiao sneered in his mind.
On the other side, Tarrokov did not remain idle either.
As an experienced commander, he had been through many different battles. Although he did not know the theory behind the Spacetime Splicing Technology, the alarm said that it was related to spacetime and thus employed the relevant measures.
Very quickly, a dynasty fleet awaiting their orders on Planet Lighthouse set off with a large amount of spacetime stabilizing equipment and a large group of Mages that specialized in spacetime magic.
Ordinary attacks were not useful, but spacetime attacks would create some trouble for the Kunde Race fleet.
After the second fleet entered the battle, the situation changed greatly. The distance that the Kunde Race fleet could move shortened, and the speed of their disappearance increased.
Everyone in the command room watched the battle calmly.
After a short while, the Kunde Race disappeared and never appeared again.
There was not an intense battle scene, and the Kunde Race fleet was wiped out just like that.
Despite the enemy knowing that their death was certain, they still wanted to deal a heavy blow to the enemy.
"Has it been settled?" Tarrokov asked doubtfully.
"Chief Commander, spacetime has returned to normal, and there aren't any abnormalities on the radar."
"Er… this may be the side effect of the enemy's technology. It shouldn't be perfected yet. However, we cannot let down our guard before being sure that the enemy has been destroyed. Continue to scan the surrounding region. Also, open the shield of Planet Lighthouse and activate the emergency escape system. If the enemy suddenly appears near the planet, we will be able to escape safely."
Because he did not understand the enemy, he did not dare let his guard down.
Han Xiao, however, already knew that the enemy was dead and thought to himself, The dynasty obtained this technology from the Kunde Race in my previous life, but I didn't receive any news about it. This means that the dynasty did a good job keeping the matter confidential. I don't think they will allow their allies to exchange for such technology. Thus, I will have to take things into my own hands if I want to grab this technology.
It was a rare opportunity for him to obtain unique technology. Han Xiao was truly tempted.
Since the dynasty still was not aware of the theory of the Spacetime Splicing Technology, he could make use of this opportunity to obtain it for himself.
Although he would not be able to use it, the members of the army might be able to use it.
Would the Spacetime Amber be compatible with the Spacetime Splicing Technology? Han Xiao was a little curious.
In the depths of the Dust Light Star Cluster, a large Kunde Race fleet was slowly moving in the universe.
In the conference room of the main flagship, the leader and upper echelons of the Kunde Race were present.
After discovering that the Crimson Dynasty was coming after their territory, the upper echelons had resolutely left their mother planet and followed the fleet.
Since they had already sent out most of their civilians and temporarily abandoned all their colonial planets, they no longer needed to hesitate about war.
"We've lost contact with Yelu. The assault plan has failed."
"Have they died?"
"I am not sure. They should have used the Spacetime Splicing Technology."
"Does this mean that even the Spacetime Splicing Technology is useless against the dynasty?"
Everyone's mood was heavy as they listened to the report.
The Kunde Race leader then said slowly, "Make use of the scorched earth plan."
Upon hearing that, everyone's expression… shells changed slightly.
They had come up with many different plans, and the scorched earth plan was their final resort. They had originally planned to only make use of such a plan when their loss was determined, but they never imagined that their leader would start off with such a plan.
In truth, the members of the upper echelons present were not confident about the war either. The only reason they had stayed behind was because they were not willing to hand over their homeland to bandits. They did not wish to let the Crimson Dynasty take over their homeland without paying a price.
The scorched earth plan would make use of the never-ending expansion property of the Primordial Psionic Energy to destroy their homeland to ensure that the dynasty would not be able to obtain anything. They would then retreat and follow the members of their race.
However, they found it difficult to destroy their own homeland.
As no one responded to him, the Kunde Race leader said with a deep voice, "Since no one objects to the plan, begin the arrangements. As for the Crimson Dynasty's fleet, send out our fleet to intercept them and tie the enemy down. Try to stall for time and slowly let them into our homeland and the lockdown region of the scorched earth plan."
Everyone's mood was heavy. There was no turning back if they chose to destroy their homeland.
The scorched earth plan required time to implement, and they needed to send their fleet to slow down the dynasty. This meant that many of their comrades would die on the front lines.
A few days after the ambush on Planet Lighthouse, war finally erupted on the frontlines, and the Kunde Race fleet appeared to exchange fire with the dynasty's fleet.
The division that Teny led also met more and more enemies.
It was not that there was not an opportunity for battle. However, Teny was far too good at fighting, and the enemies that he met were all easily defeated by his strategies. They would be able to defeat the enemy in a long-ranged battle, and there was not even a chance to engage in close quarters combat.
Furthermore, Teny intended to protect the members of the Black Star Army, so Nero was not even able to fight a single battle after following the fleet for almost a month.
If this continued, Han Xiao was tempted to use his Virtual Intrusion and remotely control the Kunde Race to attack Teny.
Thankfully, Teny did not let Han Xiao stretch out his demonic hands so quickly, and the Black Star Army finally engaged in a close combat battle.
Nero finally welcomed his first time.
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Chapter 972 Nero, a Non-Tanky Mechanic Doesn"t Have a Soul
In a corner of the Dust Light Star Cluster, Teny's fleet met a new wave of attacks. They exchanged fire with the enemy while sending their small spaceships to weave through the chaotic battlefield to engage in close combat battle.
In the previous few battles, Teny had been too obviously biased toward the Black Star Army, and in order to balance the opinions of the other organizations, he decided to let the Black Star Army take on the role of facing the enemy.
In the chaotic battlefield, a battleship nimble weaved through the Primordial Psionic Energy explosions.
In the battleships, many different squads were awaiting their orders in the charge cabin. Nero's squad was also a part of this battleship.
The interior of the charge cabin was gray with a red light blinking over their heads, dying their faces red. Nero's team was seated across two rows with their backs facing a magnetic plate. The backs of their uniforms also had a magnetic plate on them so that they could stabilize their bodies.
The charge cabin was trembling under the intense maneuvers of the battleship, and Nero's face turned slightly pale.
The captain who was clad in a heavy armor mechanical suit patted Nero's shoulders and said, "Little brat, don't worry. The mobility of our ship far exceeds our enemy. They won't be able to hit us."
Trouble usually befalls someone who says something like this… Nero could not help but curse in his heart.
The academy had a charge cabin module, and Nero was extremely clear about the things that he needed to take note of. However, he could not help but be nervous when being placed in an actual battle.
"This is our first time fighting together since you entered our squad. Let's see your true strength and don't hold us back." The captain chuckled.
"Alright." Nero let out a deep breath and clenched his fists.
Waiting in the charge cabin was an extremely tortuous thing. Time seemed to drag on for a long time, but an announcement was eventually made in the charge cabin.
"Locking on to the target. The charge cabin will be launched in forty-five seconds! Please get ready for battle! I repeat, please get ready for battle!"
A countdown timer then appeared on the screen of the charge cabin. Nero felt as though his heart had stopped, and his teammates all had nervous looks on their faces.
The captain cleared his throat and said with a deep voice, "This is the final chance to check your equipment!"
All of them were already prepared, but they still checked through their equipment once more. Nero had also activated his mechanical suit's self-check feature.
His mechanical suit was personally modified by him and forged from many different rare materials. It was even stronger than the mechanical suit provided by the Black Star Army.
Although Nero could obtain a more powerful mechanical suit forged by other Mechanics, he preferred to research new blueprints.
This mechanical suit was similar to the Mountain Ape suit that Han Xiao had used before. However, Nero did not have that high a skill and could only make a simplified version of the suit that he called 'Iron Ape'. It was a suit that specialized in close combat battles.
As a normal paper Mechanic, Nero was naturally concerned about his close combat abilities. Under Han Xiao and Mia's influence, Nero also had a thing for hand to hand combat.
Nero was currently Grade C, but with his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and the various Mechanic talents that he had obtained over the years, his strength could reach Grade B, and the equipment that he forged exceeded his own grade.
"Get ready. Ten, nine, eight…"
Hearing the captain's roar, Nero took a deep breath and prepared to go into battle.
Boom!
He could feel a powerful propulsion force, and the charge cabin was launched.
The coordinates of their target were indicated on the screen, and they were rapidly approaching it.
Bang!
The charge cabin suddenly trembled, and they successfully smashed into the interior of an enemy battleship.
The doors to the charge cabin opened up, and a long passageway greeted then. Without any hesitation, they charged out with their captain to clear up the enemies.
Enemy reinforcements came quickly, and their squad met with a large number of enemies.
All the warriors of the Kunde Race had accepted gene modification. Although they were not Supers and did not have different abilities, their physiques were powerful, and they had the strength of an individual around Lv.25 – Lv.45. They were roughly in between Grade E and Grade D, so they were not too weak.
Their squad was trapped in the center of the passageway with the enemy reinforcements flooding in from both directions and opening fire at them.
Nero had already thrown out a compressed orb that transformed into a mini fortress to protect the squad. It was able to block the heavy fire coming from both directions while their squad returned fire from within the fortress.
"Good job, brat." The captain praised Nero before giving an order to his vice captain. "Break through from the enemy encirclement. I will be in charge of the front, and you will be in charge of the rear. Nero, release your artillery towers and mechanical soldiers behind to provide cover for us."
As he said that, the captain charged out from the fortress and charged forward while enduring enemy fire. His advantage of being a Super was his superior combat strength.
Nero then threw out a large number of compressed orbs, which transformed into various artillery towers.
Tuk tuk tuk!
The artillery towers opened fire in both directions to provide cover for his squad.
Under the boost of his Mechanical Force, the strength of his long-distance weapons was terrifying. The armor and shields of the Kunde Race warriors were immediately torn apart, and body fluids spewed in all directions.
He instantly killed a large number of enemies, and a gray fog entered the death mark on the back of Nero's hand. This was a gift that Hila had given him a long time ago. The more he killed, the greater the increase to his mental strength. This was Nero's first time making use of this mark.
With the support of his firepower, his squad mates easily broke through the formation of the Kunde Race warriors and began slaughtering them.
Many of his squad mates were impressed with Nero's strength.
"This newbie is truly powerful."
"Is an ordinary Grade C Mechanic so powerful?"
"This little brat has some abilities."
Their squad pushed on, and the enemy reinforcements charged at them without any concern for their own lives.
As a Pugilist, the attacks of the captain were extremely powerful. Even if his attacks were not able to break through an enemy's armor, his Pugilist flames would seep into the armor and kill the Kunde Race warriors.
Nero was not used to the sight of bodies littered all around. Even with the filtration device of his mechanical suit, he could still smell the blood in the air.
The Kunde Race's fearlessness truly shocked Nero. However, he and his squad mates would not hold back, and the Kunde Race warriors were only sacrificing their lives for nothing.
This was the first time he had felt the nervousness from killing. He would not pity the enemy, and the army had also educated them in this regard.
At the same time, Nero also felt a tinge of excitement. He did not wish to be the one providing cover fire all the time.
As a Black Star Class Mechanic, he was itching to engage in hand to hand combat but was afraid of being scolded by his squad mates.
Right at this moment, the scream of his squad mate could be heard over the communication channel.
The Kunde Race warriors had surrounded this Black Star Army warrior, and the shield of his squad mate was destroyed. At the same time, his armor was also badly damaged, and black smoke could be seen coming out from it. He took a few steps back from the impact of the attacks and was temporarily dazed.
The Kunde Race warriors in the surroundings then unsheathed their daggers and charged forward.
This squad mate of his was a Grade C Pugilist who had a powerful body. He struggled to send a few of the enemies flying, but the enemies continued to charge forward fearlessly. He had already been stabbed a few times by the enemy.
The squad mates in the surrounding wanted to turn around and help him, but a black figure charged out from behind to send all these Kunde Race warriors flying. It was Nero, who had been itching for a fight.
The surrounding Kunde Race warriors attacked Nero, and Nero's combat panel displayed the trajectories of their attacks. He then dodged according to the instructions of the screen, and the enemy's daggers created sparks whenever they collided with his mechanical suit.
Nero unsheathed a blade and brandished it without restraint, cutting through the enemies' armor like it was tofu.
After helping his squad mate resolve the danger, Nero did not have the heart to return back to a shooter but charged into the enemy formation to slaughter the enemies.
Nero had a sense of satisfaction as he witnessed the enemies dying under his blade.
Indeed, a real Mechanic should fight in hand to hand combat! This is the true style of a Mechanic!
Upon seeing this scene, the captain had a strange look on his face.
Although he knew that Nero might be the strongest individual in the squad, they had never fought side by side before and were not familiar with each other's abilities.
Upon seeing Nero killing enemies like he was dicing vegetables, the captain thought to himself, Why would a Mechanic like you want to charge into a close combat battle? Where did this bad habit come from?
In the face of a group of Supers, the Kunde Race warriors in the spaceship had no way to fight back, and the enemy troop was wiped out quickly.
Bluish green blood sprayed across the command room, and every enemy in the battleship had been killed.
Nero recovered his compressed orbs and seemed to be in a daze.
Upon seeing that, the captain walked over to Nero's side and patted him on the shoulders. "Good work just now. How do you feel? Are you used to fighting yet?"
"I… I am much better now." Nero waved his arms. After a battle, he was no longer as nervous as before.
Although he had been extremely nervous at the start, his mental state got better as the battle went on, and he felt extremely comfortable in battle.
He did not really feel discomfort from killing. First, it was because the enemy was of a different species. Second, a Super had a certain degree of mental resilience and could easily accept cruel scenes. Third, his mental state would change after having strength in his hands.
"It's your first time after all. You will get used to it soon," the captain said casually. "You can find me for free counselling if you aren't feeling comfortable."
"Thanks, but I won't need it."
Nero smiled and was a little moved. After this battle, he could not help but feel a sense of camaraderie with his squad mates.
Nero's first combat experience went smoothly, and he had more confidence than before. Not too long after the battle started, the Kunde Race fleet was defeated, and the dynasty's fleet began clearing up the battlefield.
In the main flagship, Teny looked at the intact Black Star Army battleships returning to the fleet and nodded.
The Black Star Army did not have too many casualties, and he was extremely satisfied. As the fleet commander, he had many ways to reduce the casualties of the Black Star Army. He planned to do this to repay Han Xiao's favor.
Beep beep!
Right at this moment, his communicator rang.
Teny then took a look, and his expression changed slightly. He picked up the call with a respectful tone.
"Your Excellency Black Star, I was still planning to pay you a visit after the war but never expected you to contact me first."
"It has been a long while since we last talked, and I have something to trouble you with." Han Xiao was the one who called.
"What do you need?" Teny did not like beating about the bush and went straight to the point.
"I heard that you want to protect the Black Star Army fleet?"
"That's right." Teny nodded.
"Ah, this is what I want to trouble you with. You don't have to protect my men too much. I sent them into the battle so that I can train them." Han Xiao smiled.
"Alright then. I understand." Teny did not say too much after hearing that. Since their master had spoken, he naturally would not reject.
"Also, I hope that you can take care of this person…"
Han Xiao then sent Nero's information to Teny and said with a smile, "This brat is my student, and I want to train him. If it is convenient, try to give him a few more combat opportunities. Also, don't find it strange if he meets some unexpected situation. It is just my training."
He felt that he still had some conscience for not interfering with Nero's first battle.
However, he would take action after this and thus informed Teny first.
Teny looked at the information and nodded. "Alright, I will make the relevant arrangements."
"I will have to trouble you then. I will be waiting for you in the Garu Star Cluster after the war. We can have a good chat then."
"Okay."
The call ended, and Teny looked through Nero's information while muttering under his breath, "Black Star's student… I will have to arrange it properly then."
At the same time, another dynasty fleet had just ended their battle and had just cleaned up the battlefield.
The commander went to rest and got his vice commander to handle the other matters. Gaud, who was the commander's aide-de-camp, also had some time to rest.
Gaud returned to his room and took off his uniform for a shower.
After his shower, Gaud walked in front of the mirror and looked at his own body.
Fair skin, skinny figure, ordinary looks…
Looking at the mirror, Gaud touched his face, and his lips curled up with a smile.
"It's truly good to be young."
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Chapter 973 Master Thief
In a galactic war, the support and supply lines based off the stargate traffic were very important. The expeditionary dynasty troops planted stargates continuously along the way, connecting them into a rapid channel that could be used to advance and retreat as they liked. In order to prevent the enemy from ambushing their stargate stations, each time the passage was extended, some personnel would be stationed there. So, the deeper they went into the Dust Light Star Cluster, the number of troops led by each dynasty officer would also decrease.
As the attacking side, the dynasty had to continuously extend the supply lines, but this was where the advantage of the military was shown—they had the capital to squander their resources like this.
Because the size of the frontline troops would gradually shrink while the intensity of the battle would gradually increase, the commander of each army would be a young officer with tremendous prospects within the dynasty. All of them had to gain rich experiences in interstellar warfare.
As for how luxurious this lineup was, Han Xiao recalled that almost all of the mobilized officers were people who would be high-ranking in the military in the future. Among them, there were at least three who had power that was not below that of Teny, and they also commanded other large army corps of the dynasty.
Facing such a group of famed generals, the Kunde Race was at a complete disadvantage. Even if the dynasty troops were reduced, the Kunde Race still did not stand a chance.
After being asked by Han Xiao, Teny changed his previous style and began to allow the Black Star Army to undertake more war tasks, and he especially took care of Nero.
In almost every battle, the troop that Nero belonged to would be assigned key combat missions, which gave them plenty of chances for battles.
It was just nice that most of the graduates of the Super Academy were assigned to different teams within this troop. The continuous high-intensity and high-risk battle placed these young students under a huge load. Even Nero was also overwhelmed. He found it strange, wondering if their troop had somehow offended the army commander.
Because of the continuous high-pressure battles, Nero's machinery became seriously worn out. He had lost nearly half of his entire inventory. When there was no battle, he could not rest as well, having to work hard to repair his machinery, for fear that he would be unequipped for the next battle.
It was at this time that Nero was extremely grateful to Reynold.
… Isn't it just not sleeping? When I was being forced to study, I quickly learned this ability.
Oh, this was not figurative. It was literally expressed on his character interface as a talent:
[Advanced Fatigue Resistance] – 500% Physical Recovery Efficiency when at rest, -60% Physical Loss Rate. Reduces the negative status of 'Mental Fatigue' caused by lack of sleep, capped at the maximum of 'Slight Mental Fatigue'.
A gifted person could develop talents even by not sleeping, and Han Xiao did not know whom he could reason this with.
However, the other graduates did not have Nero's experience and were totally exhausted. Even Mia did not have time to chat with him over the phone.
Since there was no way for him to guess the commander's mindset. It was useless even if Nero wanted to curse at him. He could only grit his teeth and continue to do battle, not knowing that he had been arranged to do so by Teny.
A high-pressure battle would result in casualties, and this could happen even in a real-life combat simulation. However, Nero's team was quite well off in this regard. They were all fatigued but had not met with any deaths yet. Through the frequent battles, their bonds were molded deeper.
The Crimson Dynasty had an overwhelming advantage in this war. Several days passed in a flash, and the various dynasty fleets steadily advanced, crossing multiple star systems to arrive at the Kunde Race's border.
With the main force holding fort, the Reconnaissance Troops moved out first, splitting into various regiments to infiltrate the Kunde Race in advance to obtain intelligence. These scouts included both remotely controlled unmanned drones as well as ground combat personnel.
It was no surprise that Nero's squad was selected as scouts to perform the dangerous mission.
Whilst the dynasty troops were exploring the Kunde border, a secret mechanical army quietly sent by Han Xiao followed his guidance to arrive near the Kunde mother planet.
On one of the black planets that looked like a desolate planet, a large number of exploration satellites were suspended in outer space, as well as a canopy camouflage device used to cover the planet's surface. If one broke through the camouflage detection using the mechanical soldiers, they would see the true appearance of the Kunde mother planet. It was sapphire blue in color. The color occupied most of the surface area, and on top of the ocean floated various floating cities.
"Turns out, the actual look of the planet is like this."
The mechanical soldiers stopped in outer space, far away from the planet, and all of them turned on their stealth camouflage. Han Xiao's technology and Mechanical Force buffs were enough to prevent the Kunde mother planet from detecting this group.
Among one of them was a mechanical host bearing Han Xiao's avatar, which was currently carefully observing the planet.
After the opening of the Flickering World in his previous life, Han Xiao had come over to perform missions here. At that time, the Kunde mother planet had completely changed its appearance after being modified by the dynasty.
Because the dynasty had stormed in, most of the population on the Kunde mother planet had basically moved away, but the Kunde Race did not implode their mother planet. On it was left many facilities, and one last fleet was stationed there to temporarily manage the place. This was where one of the core quantum network nodes of the Kunde Race was located.
"Let's start."
Han Xiao stretched, and with a thought, he entered the field of vision of the quantum network.
His vision turned black, leaving only the light clusters representing the nodes of the quantum network. They varied in brightness and were connected to each other with delicate light rays, which represented the information flow to form the network structure.
Han Xiao directly locked onto the main quantum network node of the mother planet, turning into a stream of light as he approached it. The firewall of the node appeared in front of him like a layer of dynamic data, and in his eyes, loopholes and gaps existed everywhere.
He did not wish to alarm the Kunde Race, so he decided to slip through the holes of data within the firewall and open a backdoor instead of directly hacking in.
The other party's quantum network skills were trashy, with all the permissions they set as good as nil in front of him. It was as though he had arrived in a home whose owner was not present, but he had the tools to open anything within the doors. There was no need to ask for permission; he could just do what he wanted.
Quickly, the Kunde's database lost all its defenses, and strips of data appeared in front of Han Xiao, like a dessert waiting to be enjoyed.
"Phillip, copy and pack up their databases."
Han Xiao snorted.
His goal was only their imperfect Spacetime Splicing Technology, but since he was there, he might as well take everything.
Phillip began to work, but it took a while for an entire cluster of data to be copied. Taking advantage of this period, Han Xiao simply checked all the objects connected to this node.
Through reverse tracking, it was possible to locate the whereabouts of the fleets in the Kunde Race.
"Let's see where the troops of the Kunde Race lie…"
Glancing at the data of the coordinates on the star map, Han Xiao's eyes lit up, and he found some interesting intelligence.
He saw that Kunde's fleet was roughly divided among four groups. Among them, the core fleet mainly consisting of the commanders was hiding within the territory, the second moving off to intercept the frontal combat troops of the dynasty on the front line. The third consisted of the fleet carrying the evacuated civilians and was already far from the Kunde Race's territory.
But what attracted Han Xiao's attention was the fourth fleet. They separated into countless teams, approaching their territorial borders. It seemed as though they wished to form an encirclement, but at such a distance, it was not practical. Thus, they should be more involved in performing other special missions.
Based on his current knowledge, Han Xiao would definitely not be at a loss. He quickly came out with a hypothesis.
"There are three possibilities… One is escape, another is to cover evacuation, and the last is to make special arrangements. Escape can be ruled out, and the evacuation is happening on the opposite side, which is not on the way. Thus, there is only special arrangements. As for what kind of special arrangements…"
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. According to his knowledge, the most likely scenario would be that they intended to bury a large amount of Primordial Psionic Energy at their borders and catalyze its expansion to allow it to swallow up all the stars and planets around it, leaving nothing for the dynasty.
This was not a blind guess; there were too many of such examples. Many of such desolate universe belts were actually man-made, caused by the catalysis of the Primordial Psionic Energy.
"Kunde wants to turn their homeland into a killing trap, luring the dynasty into it to kill them. Heh, very cruel. Before running, they want to take a bite out of the dynasty." Han Xiao shook his head.
Only civilizations that had not come into contact with the Primordial Psionic Energy would dare use such a thing indiscriminately. The formation of a natural celestial body took billions of years, and the probability was random. However, Primordial Psionic Energy would engulf everything it passed through, turning the area into a vacuum zone, barren and without material resources.
Moreover, if the pollution was not controlled, it would expand indefinitely. As it expanded, the engulfed area would increase faster and faster, and by that time, one could only run as though the apocalypse had arrived.
In his previous life, there was no detailed information about how the dynasty dealt with the Kunde Race. Han Xiao did not know if the latter had adopted this scorched earth plan, but the celestial bodies within the Dust Light Star Cluster were well preserved, meaning that even if implemented, the dynasty had stopped it.
Thinking about it, Han Xiao prepared to send this information to the dynasty, which would definitely improve his Mission Rating.
"Primordial Psionic Energy might be frightening, but it needs a certain procedure to expand to a certain scale. Thus, the dynasty has enough time to solve this problem."
Han Xiao secretly nodded, his mood relaxed.
He originally just intended to copy the Spacetime Splicing Technology. He did not expect to have an unexpected harvest.
After a while, when Phillip had completely copied the data, Han Xiao left the backdoor program and cleared any traces of his visit. He then released his quantum network vision, ordering the mechanical unit to return.
The Kunde mother planet disappeared in the vision of the mechanical host. From the beginning to the end, his visit did not alarm anyone, a master thief.
A peak Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic was unparalleled in stealing intelligence and was a fearful existence for even the three universal civilizations.
At this moment, their home had been ransacked, but the Kunde upper echelons did not know anything about it and were still in a meeting.
It was related to Supers.
In the room, the Kunde leader glanced at everyone, speaking in a deep voice. "The enemy's Super technology has given their warriors powerful individual combat power. According to the data of our spaceships, their technology is a method for individuals to practice on their own. With this method, a person can grow so strong that they even have the power to destroy a planet. We are proud of our warriors, but they are not worth anything in front of such Supers."
Everyone wore a heavy expression. The superpower system was a type of technology that required luck to discover, and the Kunde Race was just like Han Xiao, obviously on the blacklist of the Goddess of Luck.
The Super Star Cluster level civilization behind the scenes had mentioned the existence of Supers but did not give the methods for producing Supers over to the Kunde Race. Thus, they did not possess a Super system.
"Supers, this is what we are sorely lacking," the Kunde leader slowly replied. "Everyone, since we've decided to leave our ancestral homeland, if we can also obtain this technology from our enemies, that will help us in the rebuilding of our civilization."
"You mean…"
"I want to find ways to capture some of the frontline Super as experimental material. As long as I can obtain their bodies, we will be able to study the principles along with the mysteries of the system."
"In that case, the combat principles of the frontline troops will have to be tweaked."
Everyone perked up and began discussing the idea.
They all wanted to have a strong personal power and long life, not to mention that they were people in the upper echelons who had been holding onto power and authority. Authority was always derived from power.
They coveted the Supers, and now they not only planned to destroy the dynasty with the scorched earth tactic but also wished to grab the new technology that they did not possess from the dynasty.
A few days later, on the Kunde national border, a section of the Reconnaissance Troops were advancing in secret.
This unit possessed more than twenty warships, and most of them were ships from the Black Star Army. They consisted of small combat teams, and not only Nero but also Mia and a whole bunch of other graduates were present.
They had already been within the Kunde territory for several days, but they had remained vigilant along the way, ready to respond to encounters. Yet, they did not meet a single enemy along the way.
In the cabin of one of the battleships, a large group of the army warriors gathered around the star map to discuss their current situation. Nero pinched his chin and could not help but voice his suspicions.
"This is strange. When we had yet to arrive, we met enemies that would intercept us daily. However, now we've entered their territory, why is there no one to restrict us?"
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at him but did not speak.
Not far away, Mia stood with her arms crossed. She raised her brows and confidently said, "Maybe the enemy think that they cannot stop the dynasty and have all retreated."
"I don't think it's that simple." Nero shook his head.
This time, Nero's and Mia's team were on the same battleship, and there were several other combat teams accompanying them.
After experiencing the baptism of war, Nero's actual combat ability had improved, but his personal temperament did not change much. After all, he still had his baby face, and however fierce he looked, it only made him more adorable.
On the other hand, by confirming her strength in battle, Mia had become more confident.
Hong!
At this moment, the fleet had arrived at the preset target location and exited hyperdrive.
Outside the window was a planet, their exploration target, which was suspected of being a Kunde colonial planet.
On the surface of the planet, they could clearly see that there were traces of cities.
Seeing this, everyone's expression tightened.
"It seems like we've found the correct place. Everyone, focus."
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Chapter 974 Arranging It Clearly
The fleet did not close in immediately, choosing to maintain its stealth mode. It instead released a miniature space-based exploration satellite to slowly approach the atmosphere of the planet, constantly scanning the surface.
Within the cabin, the virtual screen showed the image of the satellite screening. There were a lot of cities on the surface, but most of them were deserted. Garbage was piled up on the streets from the citizens evacuating in a hurry.
"The colonial planet seems to have been abandoned." Nero swiped his finger across the virtual screen, constantly scanning through the unoccupied cities.
"Check the detection of life signals," the captain of his squad urged.
Nero nodded and switched to the control interface of the satellite, setting it up. This satellite was a product of the Black Star Army, and while not made by him, operating it was simple.
This Reconnaissance Troop unit had about two thousand soldiers, where most of them were Grade C Supers. Only their leader was at Grade B. Nero was the strongest person there apart from the commander and the best mechanic within this unit. Because of this, almost all the mechanical devices were left to him to handle.
Very quickly, the results were displayed on the screen. The light spots signaling life on the surface were sparse, clustered mostly in the wilderness. They were likely beasts. In the city, there were only a few sporadic light spots signaling the presence of intelligent life.
Mia's eyes lit up. "There are people still in the city!"
"They should be civilians that do not wish to evacuate." Nero breathed a sigh of relief. Their mission for this trip was to try to capture as many Kunde civilians as possible to interrogate.
"Kid, check the armed forces of this planet. If there's no problem, we can land," the commander ordered.
Nero nodded and began the scan.
Everyone stared at the screen, awaiting the results, but at this moment, in the quantum network that could not be seen by all of them, a series of data that had been waiting in ambush secretly intercepted the information flow of the satellite and quietly tampered with it. The intelligence was then sent to everyone on board.
"Uh… seems to be no enemy ships around, and there is no abnormal response from the military bases on the surface. It seems like the enemy has completely abandoned this colonial planet, and even their troops have not stayed." Nero read the results out.
Their leader then smiled. "Then this will be easy. The commander has given his orders. We're to descend."
The fleet went to work quickly, most of the warships entering the atmosphere and beginning to land toward the city. Only the commander's battleship and three other spaceships remained in outer space to serve as a response force.
At the same time, there was a medium-sized fleet of the Kunde Race on standby at a floating military base high above the colonial planet. There were more than a hundred spaceships within the base, and it remained in camouflage, with its signal reflector turned on. It blended with its environment and appeared transparent.
A large number of operators were busy in the main control room of the floating military base. One of the operators who was monitoring the radar suddenly saw a signal of an abnormal fluctuation of the atmosphere, but when he looked closer, the signal had disappeared.
"Was I mistaken?" The Kunde operator was puzzled and activated the radar to make another sweep.
The detection results showed that not only was the atmosphere intact, even Nero's group, which had daringly descended, could not be detected.
"Should be a false alarm." Seeing this, the operator turned away.
The scout team did not find the military base, nor did the military base personnel discover the scouts. They were both close but could not see each other due to being blinded.
The initiator was Han Xiao, who was hiding within the scout squadron's mechanical unit. He had directly used Virtual Technology to tamper with the scan results of both parties.
This scene was completely in line with Han Xiao's script.
Before long, the Reconnaissance Troop's spaceships landed in the city, and the various combat teams put on their equipment, successively stepping off the spaceships and onto the desolate streets.
"Come, let's assign our respective missions."
The captains all held a brief meeting before dividing themselves into three groups. One group would remain behind to prevent any accidents occurring to their spaceships, the second would proceed with the capture of civilians, and the last would be responsible for searching for any special facilities such as military bases and energy plants.
After assigning each team their mission, they broke up into small teams to move separately. Nero and Mia's teams were responsible for exploring the abandoned military base in the suburbs. They took a ground vehicle to the destination together.
Within the vehicle, the combat teams maintained their silence. Nero looked around and coughed awkwardly before standing up and moving over to Mia's side.
Mia, who was polishing her blade icily, glared at him before lowering her head to continue maintaining her weapon. Her tone was casual. "Why are you sitting here?"
"To chat with you." Nero scratched his face. "During this period, we've been busy fighting and haven't had time to talk."
"What's there to chat about?" Mia rolled her eyes. "We don't even have enough time to sleep. You think we're like you, being able to function without sleep?"
Nero was speechless, and after thinking about it, he replied, "Actually, I can teach you how to combat fatigue. In this regard, I'm very experienced."
"I'm a pugilist, but I need you to teach me?" Mia laughed.
But Nero replied seriously. "As a pugilist, it's more crucial that you learn this than me. A mechanic doesn't require much stamina, but without stamina, the pugilist will experience a decrease in their combat capability. I'm afraid you will run into danger."
"You seem to care a lot." Mia gave a sideward glance at Nero.
"I said before, I will protect you." Nero grinned.
"Humph, stop smiling. It makes you look like a fool." Mia snorted and turned her head away. A few seconds later, she turned back ahead, pretending to casually ask, "So, how do you actually practice this fatigue combating?"
Nero scratched his nose as he spoke. "You have to first change your habit of sleeping. Under the state of fatigue, you must attempt to get your mind to remain working at full capacity. It will be difficult initially, but as someone who has gone through it, I have experience. If you feel like sleeping, you can come look for me."
Mia nodded foolishly before belatedly discovering something wrong.
"You said to look for you when I want to sleep‽ Are you teasing me!"
A sense of shame rose within her heart, and she viciously hammered at Nero's chest.
"Ah, did I say anything wrong?" Nero was at a loss, but because his mechanical suit was sturdy enough, he did not take any damage.
Mia seemed ready to say something, but she suddenly discovered that everyone's gaze on the vehicle had fallen toward the two of them. Within their gazes were laughter, envy, jealousy, and many more emotions, as though they were looking at a pair of lovers quarreling.
A tinge of red hit her cheeks, and she glared at Nero before ducking her head down in embarrassment. She no longer talked, keeping her gaze on maintaining her weapon. Her whetstone moved so fast that it seemed to produce a meteor shower on her blade.
Nero scratched his head and wanted to say more, but the captain sitting opposite him suddenly signaled silently to him. He held up a hand and clenched into a fist. His other hand extended a finger and put it in the fist. This was a common gesture even in the galaxy, and its meaning was self-evident.
Kid, don't be wishy washy, you should do it when you have to.
Seeing this, Nero could not help but curse. "Darned hooligan…"
It was at this point that someone discovered an anomaly on their radar.
"There are two abnormal sources of energy detected."
The crowd immediately stopped smiling. They stared at the radar, only to see two more signals appearing, one pointing to the abandoned military base and the other pointing to the wilderness further away.
"Strange, why did it not pick up previously? Is this thing broken?" The vice captain patted the radar with a suspicious expression.
"No matter what, we have to check it out."
The captain glanced at it before giving the order to Mia's team. "I think we need to separate. When we arrive at the military base, drop us first before going over to the wilderness to check out the energy source."
The plan was quickly finalized, and the vehicle let Nero's team down at the perimeter of the military base. Nero watched as Mia's team moved down the dirt path. The two were separated again.
Seeing Nero staring in the direction of the vehicle's departure, he reached out and snapped his fingers at Nero's ears, drawing the latter's attention. "Kid, stop staring. It's time for work."
Nero settled his emotions, catching up with the team a little absent-mindedly.
He did not know why, but in that instant, he felt a little unsettled.
While somewhat dwelling on this, Nero followed his team to explore the military base. They found an abandoned elevator, arriving at an intricate underground base before going to explore the 'abnormal signal' displayed on the radar.
"Alert! Unknown target discovered!"
It was more than ten minutes later that the Kunde floating base, which had become blind, was suddenly cured of its 'cataracts'. They found, to their surprise, a scout troop on the surface.
Everybody within the base received a shock, scurrying around like ants.
The intelligence report was quickly sent over to the commander of the floating base. In his office, the commander opened his eyes wide as his anger rose.
"When did this group of enemies land, and why didn't you spot them earlier? Were you neglecting your duties‽"
The leader of the radar operators defended his team. "The radar did not even respond, and it was probably avoided by the enemy's scouts with more advanced camouflage!"
"It's too scary. With this sort of technology, if they chose to ambush us, we would have long fallen!" The base commander had a frightened look before turning furious. "Sneaking in like that, do you think we don't exist!"
"Commander, think about it. The opponent has this kind of strength, yet they chose not to ambush us but land on the surface instead. Why is that so?"
Hearing this, the commander's eyes flashed, and he abruptly slammed the table, bellowing, "I understand now. They obviously know that we're here, but they chose not to attack because their manpower is insufficient, and they are not confident about getting rid of us! To actually not even put us in their eyes, swaggering before us to collect intelligence, they're too arrogant. We have to make them pay the price!"
Pausing briefly, the commander rose up and shouted, "Order the fleet to encircle the enemy. Don't let a single one of them escape!"
From his side, the Vice Commander added, "Commander, with all due respect, we should try to capture a few of them alive. The upper echelons wish to research them. This is a chance for us."
The Commander's eyes lit up, and he added with a joyous expression, "That's right. I almost forgot. The upper echelons want these supers, and now that they have sent themselves up to us, we can just capture them and bring them back with us!"
In the abandoned military base, Nero's troops were in the midst of exploration. The power supply had been disconnected for a long time. Thus, the area was dark and completely silent. Everyone could only hear each other's breathing and footsteps echoing. The atmosphere reeked of horror and suspense.
Nero released several small mechanical pathfinder bees, which radiated a strong light, leading the way in front and illuminating the underground base.
Without electricity, the access control of the base was rendered invalid, and doors could only be forcibly opened. A few high-energy ray guns were enough to turn the closed metal door into a pile of red molten steel, so they were unobstructed throughout.
After walking with the team for a while, Nero's bad feeling grew stronger, and he could not help but open his mouth.
"Commander, I feel that something is amiss here."
"Which part?" the captain asked.
"I can't put a finger on it."
"In that case…" The captain frowned before giving out the order. "Take a few men with you to follow us from a short distance behind. Take care of our retreat route. I'll go with some others to check out the abnormal energy source."
The captain picked a few members to follow Nero while he led the rest to continue ahead.
Nero waited at the same spot for a while before the voice of the captain was heard from the communicator.
"We've arrived at the area of the strange energy source, but there's nothing here."
Nero's heart constricted, and he immediately opened his shared vision. He saw through the captain's eyes an empty warehouse, without even a single hair.
However, the signal marked by the radar referred to that area. The coordinates were exactly the same, so they could not have turned into a wrong area.
"Is it a false alarm by the radar?" Nero swallowed. "Or…"
Boom!
Before he could react, a violent shock burst out!
"Warning! High-energy strike detected! Please avoid it!"
Boom!
The sound of artillery bombardment rang near his ears, and the support columns of the underground base suddenly collapsed!
The structure of the base disintegrated in an instant, and the floor tiles shattered, turning into a bottomless pit leading deeper down.
Nero only had enough time to open his shield to protect himself before being blown out by the shockwave of the explosion and smashing through the walls of the hallway, falling straight down.
From the communicator came exclamations from his teammates, but he could not care less when he could not even take care of himself. He was filled with anxiety.
Why were we ambushed‽
We clearly confirmed that this planet had no troops stationed!
At this moment, Nero could not think of any other explanation. In his eyes, there was only one possibility.
Dammit, this colonial planet was a trap! The enemy must have deliberately planned for this ambush! We've fallen for it!
Just as this idea flashed past his head, Nero hit the bottom with a heavy thud.
Bang!
A human shaped pit was formed, and a large cloud of smoke appeared.
Si!
The huge impact reverberated in his body, and he could not help but grit his teeth in pain.
But before he could stand up, a large piece of metal dropped toward him!
Nero only had the time to raise his hands and reactivate his shield, protecting himself.
Boom boom boom!
Debris rained down, covering every inch of Nero's sight and burying him directly.
At this moment, in an abandoned city not far away, the Kunde fleet who had realized there were enemies had begun to exchange fire with the troops that had remained behind.
Rumble!
On top of the abandoned military base, there were several Kunde battleships docked. Their weapons were brought out, and they launched a bombardment at the base.
Boom!
Only when the entire base was reduced to ruins did those battleships finally stop firing.
The hatch opened, and a squad of Kunde armored soldiers jumped out of the cabin, landing on the ground and carrying their weapons to the base.
The life signals of Nero and his team were exposed to their radar, and the goal of the soldiers was to capture this small group of supers who were without the protection of their fleet.
"Good! The combat operation is a success!"
At this moment, the commander of the Kunde floating base smiled with satisfaction from the command room.
He, however, was unaware that a group of camouflaged mechanical soldiers was hovering outside the window, silently watching his every move.
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Chapter 975 Mission Generated
When the bombing stopped, the abandoned military base had turned into a mess, with the collapsed gravel blocked off countless roads. The terrain had become much more complicated, and the gravel fell from time to time with a clacking sound.
The bottom of the base was filled with smoke and dust. The falling debris had piled up into a hill, beneath which Nero was firmly buried.
Suddenly, there was a sound akin to a slimy liquid flowing in the darkness.
Whoosh!
An area of two square meters within the debris below gradually turned red as it shone brighter and brighter. The metal beams and stone pieces melted together to reveal an empty hole.
Nero crawled out of the hole, his hands continuously casting heat rays as he limped. The high temperature around him caused the very air to warp.
"Cough cough cough…"
A dull cough escaped the mechanical suit as Nero took gasps of air. He focused, activating the mechanical suit to do a full body scan.
"Left leg is slightly misaligned. Awaiting permission for mechanical suit to autocorrect bone alignment."
"Go ahead."
His armor on the left leg tightened a little, and the misaligned bones were set. Nero snorted in pain before relaxing. Previously, a few tons of debris had hit his body, and although his mechanical suit was fine, the shock had given him a slight injury. After all, he was an ordinary, fragile mechanic.
The radar displayed that the enemies were above him. Nero knew that this was not the time for him to relax, and he immediately opened the communicator to contact his teammates.
"Captain, Nero here. Where are you guys, and how's the situation?"
Static sound buzzed, broken by intermittent screams of pain. Nero shouted for quite a bit before he received news from them.
"We're not doing good here!" His teammate's face popped up on his tactical display, filled with bruises and cuts. His tone was hurried. "I was beside the captain just now, and when the base collapsed, the captain was stunned. An artillery shot penetrated through the ground and hit us, and many of us are now injured and scattered. No matter who hears this news, save them, and bring everyone to gather. We have to escape immediately!"
Nero immediately opened the team's health monitoring subprogram and was shocked when he saw the red on the screen.
Everyone's injuries were worse than his, and there were several people, including the captain, who were already on the verge of death. Because he had fallen to the bottom of the base and was buried, he had managed to escape the subsequent bombing from the battleship, so he was the least injured.
It was because of his Luck Glow.
"My condition is the best…" Nero immediately felt the pressure on his shoulders.
He gritted his teeth, opening the position locator for his team. The position of each teammate was marked on the tactical screen of the mechanical suit, and the artificial intelligence within operated at a high speed to map out the fastest rescue route.
From behind his back jetted out a tail flame, and Nero flew out of the big pit at the bottom of the base to rescue the scattered members.
The terrain was complex, but there was no time for him to make a detour. His palm continuously shot out heat rays, melting through all the obstacles in front of him, saving one teammate after another before the arrival of the Kunde ground troops. Finally, he reached the position of his captain.
Blasting aside an obstructing metal plate, Nero flew into the messy room and landed with a loud thud. He saw the captain and a group of members there, all with varying injuries.
The captain was lying paralyzed on the ground, his upper body leaning against the wall. His armor was scorched black, revealing large holes. Looking up at Nero's entrance, he squeezed out a smile, saying in a weak voice.
"Nero, you're here. You… cough cough… you did well."
"Captain, don't talk anymore."
Seeing this, an intravenous needle shot out from Nero's finger, and he pierced it into the captain's chest.
Aurora's special life potion was injected into the captain's body through the needle, and his serious injuries were cured in an instant.
The captain's state recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, causing him to let out a comfortable groan. He got up full of energy, clicking his tongue. "This is the special life potion of Her Excellency Aurora? What good stuff!"
Aurora would occasionally activate her ability to produce such life medicines, but the quantity was limited after all, and there was even a shelf life for the potions, so not all warriors from Black Star Army could have them. The normal members would all use the typical store bought medicines, but with Nero's background, he naturally had Aurora's life potions.
"Those with major injuries come over. I still have a few more of the life potions, and it will recover your combat capabilities," Nero shouted.
One of them could not help but say, "Leave some for yourself. There'll be another bloody battle ahead. What will happen if you're injured?"
"It's ok. I still have other medicines." Nero did not seem to care.
Everyone glanced at each other before shrugging. Having a descendent with a powerful background in their team was not too bad a thing. The backer had already offered, so why were they hesitating?
Nero healed up all his teammates, and they discussed their options.
"Everyone, we're in an unfavorable situation. We've been caught in an ambush, and the entire fleet is being attacked by the enemy," the captain explained in a serious tone. "The others are too busy to respond to us, so we can only break through by ourselves. There are three Kunde battleships above us, but we have no vehicles, so it will be dangerous…"
"If the enemy continue to bomb the fleet, it will be a desperate situation for us, but now the enemy has stopped attacking and has sent their ground troops to approach us instead." The eyes of the vice captain flashed. "This means that they intend to capture us alive. This is perhaps our only chance to escape."
"That's right!" The captain nodded. "If we wish to escape, we must obtain control of the airspace. The fleet can't meet up with us, so we can only grab a spaceship. The chances are slim but not impossible.
"This debris is our barrier. If we rush out, the enemy spaceships can bombard us unscrupulously. Thus, we can only wait for the enemy soldiers to enter the base and fight with them directly. In order to prevent friendly fire, the spaceships will not open fire at random, so we need to approach this with a two-pronged strategy. One team will deal with the enemy soldiers, while the other will go to steal a spaceship…"
The captain paused. Everyone looked at each other.
This was something that would affect everyone's survival. Out of ten paths, only one would lead them out alive.
So, the question was, who should grab the spaceship? It stood to reason that the strongest person should be the one performing this task, and the strongest in the team was Nero with the biggest background.
But to ask someone from such a huge background to accept such a huge responsibility, and only a young teen at that… Everyone was a little hesitant.
Seeing this, Nero gritted his teeth and set his resolve.
"Let me go. There's no one more suitable than me."
The captain looked at him, but in the end, he did not try to dissuade him, only solemnly saying, "We're relying on you. We'll be engaging the enemy to earn time for you… Remember, everyone's life is in your hands."
"I understand."
Nero took a deep breath, regaining his calm. He controlled his mechanical suit to enter stealth mode, casting one last glance at his members. He then separated, vanishing into the darkness.
The captain breathed out heavily and turned to the rest with a severe expression, "You guys don't need me to tell you what to do. No matter what, lure down every single enemy."
"We understand." The vice captain had a complex expression and nodded.
Other than Nero, everyone else understood what the captain's tone implied. In actual fact, they had two plans. The first was to allow Nero to capture the spaceship and then escape with him.
But if this level failed, they would unhesitatingly invoke the hidden level… which was to turn themselves into suicide warriors, allowing Nero to abandon them and run off by himself.
It was not just because of Nero and his relationship with the Army Commander, but everyone also knew that the future of this young man was immeasurable. Only by allowing a person with potential to escape could they then obtain their revenge in the future.
After sneaking around in the dark for a moment, the commotion of his teammates fighting the Kunde soldiers came from Nero's communicator.
At this moment, he was no longer on the battlefield but had arrived in front of a collapsed area leading to the ground level. He remained hidden, using the radar to lock onto the spaceship closest to him in the air.
His palms were slick with sweat as he carefully released a unique-looking hovering guard. It was painted in black and gold, and it looked completely different from all of Nero's other equipment. There was an unparalleled sense of quality in it. After being released, it smartly started to circle around Nero's head.
"I'm relying on you, brother." Nero patted the hovering guard, his heart firm.
"Relax, kid. With your big brother here, no one can hurt you!" The hovering guard actually replied!
This was Nero's final card. This hovering guard was a present from Han Xiao when they first met.
It was high-grade equipment personally built by a Beyond Grade A Super, driven by dark energy. In addition, it had the blessings of [Emperor's Gift] and [Machinery Fusion]. After Han Xiao obtained the skill of [Mechanical Life Tinder, he had also transformed it into an intelligent mechanical life form, with its independent consciousness and chance to grow. He had named it 'Sky Guardian'.
Even when Nero was a kid, the Sky Guardian without any Mechanical Force could fend off Grade C Supers.
Now, with Nero as a Grade C Super, along with Perfect Mechanical Sense, the Sky Guardian could unleash even more force. Even when compared to Grade Bs, Nero did not lose out at all.
Nero had never taken out this trump card of his, especially when sparring in school. Even if a pugilist rushed up to his face and beat him black and blue, he had never taken out this killing machine.
His true combat capability was unknown, even to Mia who was the closest to him.
Within the school compound, Mia had often sparred with him, but she did not know how strong he could be if he went all out.
Staring at the radar on his screen, Nero breathed in and out to stabilize himself, allowing his energy to fill every cell of his body.
"Hu, I can do this…"
Nero did not hesitate any longer and activated his thrusters.
Boom!
His entire body shot forward, blasting through the rocks at the entrance and rushing into the sky!
The three battleships immediately set their guns and fired at Nero.
The power of the battleships' cannons were deadly to a Grade C, but the Sky Guardian accompanying Nero shook, and rays of light shot out from it, forming a golden protective shield to surround Nero.
Boom boom boom!
All the artillery cannons bombarded the area in a burst of fireworks, but the shield only showed a slight crack, which instantly repaired itself. It forcibly endured an entire round of firepower.
At the same time, the Kunde battleships above understood Nero's intentions and activated their shields, preventing external entry.
"Open a pathway for me!"
With a thought, the Sky Guardian released a blinding ray of Mechanical Force, which quickly reformed into a hexagonal shaped muzzle. An all-consuming black beam burst out, carrying immense penetrative force.
Pew pew pew!
The rate of fire was incredible and resembled the actions of someone who was rushing urgently toward the toilet.
The target battleship's shields were blasted apart, and Nero seized the chance, rushing into the gap created.
Pa pa pa…
Compressed orbs were thrown out from his hands and transformed into laser cutting drills with electromagnetic bases. They attached themselves to the spacecraft, quickly cutting through its hull to create an entrance to the internal compartments.
Nero did a barrel roll in midair, slamming into the spaceship. Without a word, he threw out a large number of mechanical soldiers and activated his weapons, cutting through the ship's members as if he was chopping vegetables.
Because this spaceship was the one that had sent the ground troops to capture Nero's team, its strength on board was insufficient, and this made it more convenient for Nero.
Firing without any reserve, Nero did not take much time to kill his way into the main control room, and he immediately took out a Virtual Intrusion chip manufactured by the army. He inserted it into the core of the spaceship's artificial intelligence. He was not a Virtual Mechanic yet, but the army provided such virtual intrusion aspects.
At this moment, Nero stumbled because the spaceship had suddenly begun to tremble violently!
Rumble!
Looking outside the window, Nero saw that the other two spaceships had turned around, facing him to concentrate their fire without caring about the lives of their comrades.
"To actually fire at your own teammates, how vicious." Nero clicked his tongue but did not slow down, killing his way into the command room and seizing the authority of the spaceship.
He immediately poured the majority of energy into the battleship's shields, controlling it to slam into the nearest enemy.
Bang!
The shields of both spaceships collided, creating firework-like sparks. The other spaceship lost its momentum, careening off course.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, the direction it was sent flying was precisely where the second enemy spaceship was. Both enemies collided toward each other, and they lost control momentarily as they attempted to steady their spaceships.
Taking this opportunity, Nero piloted the spaceship, directly sliding below the two spaceships, parallel to the ground.
"Come out quickly! I've got the spaceship! Meet me at the coordinates that I'm sending over. I'll beam you guys up!" Nero shouted into the channel.
"Beautiful!"
His teammates exclaimed in joy. They then used their strong bodies to withstand the pressure, breaking out of the Kunde Race soldiers' encirclement.
Bang!
The next moment, a portion of the rubble exploded, and the team members rushed out, with the Kunde soldiers chasing close behind.
Nero's face lit up, and he shouted, "Captain, don't stop!"
This was a race against time, so Nero had no time to control the two enemy ships that had adjusted to fire at him. He immediately used the traction beam to attract his team members, at the same time releasing a large number of turrets to fire at the pursuing soldiers, providing cover.
Nero did not dare drag out the battle, so after rescuing the team, he immediately rushed into the sky, fleeing into the universe.
Soon, the rest of his team joined him in the command room, rushing up to rub Nero's head frantically.
"Kid, good job!"
"Haha, we're saved. I thought we were gonna die this time!"
"To get it so smoothly, it seems like luck is on our side!"
Everyone had on a joyous expression, continuously praising Nero.
"Don't count your blessings too soon. We're not out of danger yet." Although the captain tried to dampen their spirits, he was grinning from ear to ear himself.
While there were still spaceships after them, their situation was much better compared to before.
After celebrating for a while, they remembered the rest of their comrades who were still trapped, and their joyful expressions quickly faded.
"We've managed to escape, but what about those in our unit that have been surrounded?" someone asked.
"There's no way. We cannot help them because there are too many enemies. If we try to help, we will only get surrounded again."
His captain shook his head in response. He understood the current situation clearly. Going with just their one spaceship was as good as sending themselves to their graves. It would only waste their chance of escaping.
This should be the best time for them to separate and run; they should not engage in further battles.
At this time, Nero recalled something, and his heart began pounding rapidly.
That's right. I don't know how Mia's team is doing…
Having thought of this, Nero could no longer sit still, he immediately passed the spaceship to his teammates to operate while he took out his communicator.
The time that it took to connect was akin to him being boiled alive; it was excruciatingly long.
Nero's heart was burning with anxiety as he waited, but the call never got through. He called every single one of Mia's teammates, but no one answered as well.
The call only connected when it reached Mia's captain. From it came the sounds of battle.
"Cough cough… Nero? You guys have escaped?"
"That's me. You guys got ambushed too? How's the situation? We have a spaceship that can save you!" Nero spat out quickly like bullets.
"Don't… don't come over. You guys must take the chance to run. My entire team has already been captured, and I'm the only one still left resisting. I will not be able to hold on for long as well. You guys can't save us. Quickly go cough cough…"
While speaking, the communication was suddenly cut.
Nero's expression tightened, and he turned to walk toward the hatch of the spaceship.
Having witnessed the previous scene, his teammates immediately leapt up, swarming over him as a mob and restraining him.
"Nero, don't be suicidal," the captain shouted.
"I have to save her!"
Nero was tackled by the seven or eight blokes, and he could not move at all even if he struggled. However, his attitude was firm.
"Don't be a fool. I told you just now, but going over to save them is as good as suicide!" the captain roared in anger.
"I know. That's why I'm not intending to ask for help!" Nero gritted his teeth. "This is my own choice. I will not let you guys get involved. You can pilot this spaceship, and I'll go down alone. Don't stop me!"
"Going solo will make it even more impossible. There's no point sending yourself to die!" The captain was set on holding Nero down.
Nero struggled for quite a while before he finally calmed down. He sat down on the ground, his hands covering his face as he kept silent.
Empathizing with Nero's situation, the captain could not help but sigh, patting Nero's shoulder. He also did not know what to say, and he could only mutter in a depressed tone, "She has only been captured. She's not dead yet. There may still be a chance for their survival. We can only escape for now and think of ways to save her later."
The moment he spoke, Nero raised his head and spoke in a low tone with reddened eyes.
"You're right. I was too rash. Thanks for stopping me… I cannot allow Mia to fall into the enemy's hands, not knowing what they will do to her. I still have one last hope."
As he spoke, Nero stood up, taking out his communicator. Taking a deep breath, he mustered the courage to dial Han Xiao's number on the communicator.
He had originally decided not to rely on Han Xiao during his service so as not to disappoint him, but he did not have a choice…
The communicator rang three times in total. The interval between each ring seemed like eternity to Nero. After three rings, Nero heard the familiar voice.
"Oh, Nero. What have you called me for?" Han Xiao's face wore a slight smile as he answered.
"Godfather, I've disappointed you." Nero rubbed his eyes, softly speaking. "I've met something I cannot solve, and I hope you can help me."
"Go on," Han Xiao simply replied.
Nero quickly explained the situation with his head lowered, waiting for a reply.
Seeing his expression, Han Xiao stroked his chin as he smiled. "I refuse."
Nero jerked his head up with an expression of shock and surprise.
"Very surprised?" Han Xiao kept his smile. "Your identity now is different. You're no longer my godson but also an ordinary soldier. While I indeed give you preferential treatment, I cannot give you special care forever."
"But… but…" Nero's eyes turned red.
"It's not that I cannot help. Putting aside our relationship, let's look at this from a business perspective. What can you give me to hire me?" Han Xiao indifferently continued.
"I… I don't know."
"Then, how can you expect me to help?" Han Xiao blinked. "My relationship with you is not fake, but I cannot help you without a reason. Rules are set like this, so what you desire must be exchanged for something else. Throwing away your identity, what else do you have to offer me?"
Nero's emotions were a mess, and he muttered, "I… I have nothing…"
Looking at Nero covering his head with both hands, his expression despondent, Han Xiao spoke softly as he smiled. "What? Are you feeling despair now? Think about it, how long have you not expressed your thanks toward me?"
Hearing this, Nero's figure shivered, and he lowered his head.
"I'm sorry… I beg you…"
"Let me ask you again. Have you felt this despair yet?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, emphasizing on his words.
Nero was silent for a long time before raising his head. His lips were bleeding due to his biting, and his eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Han Xiao and nodded.
"Good. Remember this feeling, and don't ever experience it again." Han Xiao straightened himself up before laughing. "Relax, I'll agree to your request this time and save your little girlfriend."
Nero's emotions seemed to have risen back up after being thrown into the depths of hell. He stared stunned for a while before he recovered his spirits, grasping the communicator with both hands tightly.
"Thank you… thank you…"
"Don't rejoice so early. I never act without a price." Han Xiao propped his head with his hands. "You don't know what you can offer me, but in reality, you are not worthless. At the very least, you have a strong gift for machinery. How about using that as a bargaining chip?"
"What does this mean?" Nero could not understand.
"If I really must explain, you can understand it as me not wanting you to waste your gifts. You don't need to fully understand this now, and you only need to say whether you accept or reject this arrangement." Han Xiao spoke with a smile that was not really a smile at the same time.
Nero was still befuddled, but he had no choice. He could only grit his teeth and nod his head.
"I agree. Please help me!"
At the same time, Han Xiao received a notification on his interface while seated in his Black Star Palace.
You have triggered the Special Character Mission: Nero's Request!
Mission Introduction: Nero has agreed to your transaction and is willing to use his own talents and abilities in exchange for your help.
Mission Requirements: Save Mia Moretto.
Reward: Select one of Nero's Abilities or Talents.
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Chapter 976 Great Director Han
"It really appeared, and to think I get to decide what to learn. I thought it would be a random draw…"
Looking at the mission description, Han Xiao's eyes lit up with an expression of joy.
This type of mission was similar to seeking employment. In his previous life, when players received missions from NPCs, they could negotiate to obtain certain mission rewards from the particular NPC, such as increased pay, better skills, or rarer items. There was even a type of non-combat class named [Lobbyist, which had the opportunity to improve one's success rate when communicating with NPCs. This effect was similar to the amount of favorability given to players based on personal reputation.
However, the task of specifying the ability to learn had the lowest probability, and it required a lot of luck. Most of the time, it was just a random reward.
Han Xiao had merely copied the words of the players in his past life to influence the reward after the mission was generated. It was not guaranteed that this would succeed.
In his plan, he thought that it would at most be a random draw reward. This was an unexpected boon.
"If that's the case, I don't need to rely on luck."
Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.
He had worried that he might not obtain the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] from Nero, so he had planned many 'scenarios' for him. He did not expect himself to succeed in one try.
With this, there was no need to continue 'torturing' Nero.
At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly made a weird hypothesis, and his expression froze up.
Could it be… that even his mission rewards were affected by Nero's Advanced Luck Glow, such that he would obtain what he wanted in one try so that Nero could avoid further torture? It seemed very likely!
"How terrifying, truly terrifying…"
Han Xiao's lips twitched, not knowing what expression he should make.
In actual fact, this whole scenario deviated slightly from his script. In his original plans, Han Xiao wanted Nero to fall into despair before calling for help. But he did not expect the kid to be so good at fighting, to be able to kill his way out and nearly escape, foiling his plans.
If not for the fact that he had prepared a backup plan and had lured that little guy's lover in, Nero would probably not even have sought help from him.
As such thoughts flashed by, Han Xiao recovered, and seeing Nero still nervously awaiting his answer, he gave a smile.
"Okay, the deal is completed. Leave everything to me."
Nero nodded quickly, drying his tears. He could not help but urge, "Godfather, when will you arrive? I'm afraid that if you are too late, Mia will…"
He did not know about Han Xiao's mechanical troops being hidden within the team's cabin and thought that it would take several days for Han Xiao to come over and save Mia, which would be too late.
Hearing this, Han Xiao laughed out loud and shot him a meaningful look. "Relax, it won't take too long."
With this, he hung up, not allowing Nero to understand his meaning.
Breathing out a contented sigh, Han Xiao turned his attention back to the mechanical host carrying his avatar and nodded.
"Time to act."
"Urgh, where is this place?"
Mia's brain felt like it was filled with chaos, and her eyelids were incomparably heavy. She struggled to open her eyes a little and took in the sight before her.
A few meters in front of her was a transparent glass window, where a few Kunde soldiers stood. They were looking toward them, whispering, but the glass blocked off the sound, so she could not hear a single word.
Her body was filled with fatigue and could not be controlled. It was as though a ghost was pressing down on her, making it difficult to even move a finger. Her body seemed to have been injected with an extremely potent sedative, and all she could feel was that her body was fixed to a device.
"What's this? Why am I here?" Mia racked her brains, trying to recall what she had experienced before losing consciousness.
Her brain seemed to be filled with lead, her thinking speed slow and torturous. The memory fragments slowly emerged within her mind, and she thought for more than ten seconds before she pieced everything together.
She had followed the team into the wilderness to check for the abnormal signals, but they had encountered several enemy ships that suddenly attacked them. She was seriously injured and fell to the ground, losing all combat ability. Her brain received a huge shock, and before she went into a coma, she saw that the Kunde soldiers had approached and squatted down in front of her.
"Then I've been captured? What about the others?"
Mia wanted to turn her head, but her head was locked in position, so she could only strain her eyes to the corners, glancing about with the corners of her vision. She saw that there was a row of fixtures beside her, with all her teammates fastened on them. Most of them were still unconscious.
At this moment, a weak voice sounded beside her.
"Mia, you're awake?"
Mia hurriedly swept her eyes over and discovered it was her captain. "Captain, you were captured too?"
"I had no way to go against the battleships. Still, the enemies didn't kill us but captured us alive."
"It's good that we're not dead." Mia breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ah…" The captain let out a bitter laugh. "You're wrong. Dying is better than falling into enemy hands."
Mia was still a little fuzzy and unconsciously asked, "Why?"
"Think about it. Why would the enemies want to capture us? If my hypothesis is correct, they want to treat us as research material. What's awaiting us is all sorts of inhumane experiments, where we will be drained of every single drop of blood and muscle in our bodies to aid in the development of our enemies. Dying is considered nothing in comparison." The captain's voice was laced with despair. "The others from our unit are also fending for themselves, so they have no time to come save us."
Hearing this, Mia was stunned silly.
While she was a Super, she also had the identity of a young teenager, and she had never experienced such a despairing scenario.
At this moment, her mind subconsciously thought of Nero's figure. Her heart ached, and her expression was miserable.
"I'm sorry… I may have to eat my words. I can't continue walking down this path with you…"
Tears formed in Mia's eyes and trailed down her cheeks, forming two long tear tracks.
At this moment, the door opened, and a few of the Kunde Race soldiers walked in. They went to a cabinet, taking out a few syringes before advancing toward them.
While the other party did not speak, based on their movements, Mia knew that they wanted to inject them with more tranquilizers to keep them unconscious.
Mia struggled, but all the cells in her body were asleep, and she could not generate any form of energy.
She could only watch as the Kunde Race drew near, her eyes reflecting hopelessness.
Boom!
At this moment, a strong shock ran through the entire spaceship, and several of the Kunde Race soldiers lost their balance.
Before Mia could recover to her senses, the few Kunde Race soldiers turned into smashed meat paste, and a mechanical soldier appeared in front of her, hovering in the air. It was so quick that she could not follow its movements with her eyes.
Ka la ka la…
The mechanical soldier then crushed the device that was imprisoning Mia and her team before taking out the life potion of Aurora and injecting it in everyone.
Everyone recovered quickly, checking their bodies with joy on their faces.
Their gazes landed on the mechanical soldier, with traces of joy and suspicion. They did not expect someone to have saved them in such a desperate scenario.
Mia's mood was tumultuous, staring blankly for a few seconds before she recovered. She stared at the mechanical soldier, asking, "You… are you from the army?"
"What, can't you recognize me?" Han Xiao's voice travelled out from the mechanical soldier. "I'm Black Star."
The eyes of everyone present turned into saucers.
The Army Commander personally came to save us‽
What is he doing here‽
Mia gaped, and she suddenly realized the truth.
For someone of Black Star's caliber, the only reason he could appear here was that… he had been secretly protecting Nero all along!
Everyone soon recovered their senses, rejoicing at their second chance at life. Fortunately, they were in the same unit as Nero. Otherwise, there would be no turnaround for them. Their lives were, in part, saved by Nero.
"Alright, my machines have taken control of the battlefield. Follow me."
The mechanical soldier controlled by Han Xiao waved its hands, placating the excited crowd. Thinking about it, he then patted Mia's shoulder as he warmly spoke.
"After this battle, come with Nero to meet me. I'll introduce you to a few Calamity Grade pugilists for them to take you in as a student."
Mia opened her eyes wide, her expression incredulous. Only after a while did she realize that Han Xiao was giving her the opportunity to go under a Calamity Grade teacher, and she was extremely moved.
Excitement and pride filled her heart. She did not imagine that she would receive preferential treatment by Black Star and hurriedly nodded in return.
"Ok, thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency Black Star!"
"It's nothing. I just felt that you have the potential to reach the Calamity Grade."
Han Xiao smiled before turning back to look at the other team members. He thought for a while before saying, "As for the rest, you can report to Herlous when you return. I'll ask him to raise your team's authority, allowing all of you to promote, form a new team, or choose a new position. The material reward will also be given fairly."
Unexpectedly, there was such a benefit in being caught.
Outside the floating base, the mechanical army that had been hovering quietly suddenly exposed their fangs.
Against such strength, there was no room for resistance. The floating base was instantly virtually invaded, with all their armed forces disintegrated, and the base fell under the control of Han Xiao.
The Kunde Race soldiers and commanders fell from the heavens into the abyss, turning into captives.
On the battlefields, the invisible mechanical army finally revealed themselves, joining the battlefield out of nowhere. Under the astonishment of the troops, all the battleships of the enemy were destroyed.
Nero and his team were still running when a mechanical troop appeared in front of them, firing behind them.
When they turned back to look, they saw the energy beam passing by their spaceship and piercing through several of the Kunde Race battleships chasing after them.
Bang bang bang!
The glow of flames was seen as the various spaceships imploded, turning into fireworks that filled the sky.
Seeing this, Nero stopped in shock.
How did it happen so quickly?
From the time he requested the call to his godfather acting, it had only been a couple of minutes!
He suddenly remembered Han Xiao's meaningful eyes toward him when the latter cut the call.
While godfather wanted me to experience hardship alone, he sent troops to secretly protect me. I'm sure that the majority of his machines were hidden together with the troops and would appear to help when I'm in danger.
So, his words just now were purely to educate me?
Godfather… he is harsh with his words, but he's actually a softie inside…
Nero was moved upon realizing Han Xiao's 'good intentions' and praised Han Xiao's character as he wiped his eyes.
This was the exact opposite of the Great Mechanic Han's true nature.
Nero's thought process was also carefully calculated by Han Xiao beforehand, and the progression was still quite in line with the script that the Great Director Han had written.
The battlefield soon fell under the control of Han Xiao's mechanical army, with the Kunde Race's small and medium sized fleets unable to overturn the scenario at all. With his mechanical army quickly ending the battle, Han Xiao allowed all the soldiers to land and gather before bringing Mia's team to rendezvous with the rest.
Seeing that Mia was safe and sound, Nero's taut nerves also relaxed, and he let out a bright smile.
"That's great. You're fine."
Mia immediately noticed Nero when she landed and ran over to him. She wanted to hug him, but seeing so many people around them, she got a little shy and only lightly hit his mechanical suit with her fist, whispering, "Thanks. If not for you, I wouldn't have been able to return."
Nero's smile got wider. "I said I would protect you."
Looking at his silly smile, Mia could not help but roll her eyes at him, grumbling, "It was clearly His Excellency Black Star who rescued me."
"Cough, cough." Han Xiao dryly coughed by the side, interrupting them. "I've saved them for you. The next time you do things, you should be more cautious and attentive. Your luck won't always remain so good, and I cannot always be there to protect you."
"I understand." Nero turned to him with a solemn expression as he seriously spoke to Han Xiao. "Thank you very much. I'll carve today's lesson into my mind and will not act recklessly in the future. I will not waste my talent."
Han Xiao smiled and nodded before turning to the other soldiers on the battlefield. He nodded slightly and spoke.
"Although I interfered in this battle, the captives were mostly caught by you guys. I will not steal your credit, so you will be in charge of taking this group of captives back. Head to Herlous afterward, and he will arrange additional compensation for you."
This time, in order to 'rob' Nero, his colleagues had all been included in Han Xiao's plan, so he had long prepared some compensation. Since he had used them and they were his people, he would definitely give them benefits in return. From Planet Aquamarine till now, this was now he had acted.
The mechanical troops had been observing the battle in stealth mode, and this frightening yet undeadly battle, alongside an opportunity to achieve a promotion or an additional monetary reward, was quite a good exchange for them. However, Han Xiao had profited the most from this.
"It's done!"
Letting out a sigh, Han Xiao hid his excitement as he collected his mission reward.
Nero's Request has been completed.
You have received: The option to learn a specific skill of Nero's (Ability/Talent).
Please select one from the following options below as the reward.
A list of skills popped out, and all the abilities and talents of Nero were listed.
Glancing at Nero's skills, there were only two on his priority list, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and [Advanced Luck Glow].
However, he could only choose one, and between both skills, Han Xiao needed [Perfect Mechanical Sense] more, which was the model talent for Mechanics, a must-have for every strong Beyond Grade A.
[Advanced Luck Glow] was something he wanted, but it was not high on his list. After all, the ability did not help in combat capabilities and would also weaken his mutually assured destruction card of reducing the Luck of others.
Moreover, because his Luck was low, this ability would only play a limited role. He was afraid that if his luck was too high, it would be difficult to draw more Mission Completion Cards.
Furthermore, with Feidin at hand, there was no need to increase his luck.
[Perfect Mechanical Sense] was his goal, and now that he had gained it, Han Xiao decided to reward Nero by not letting him suffer any pain for the time being.
As for [Advanced Luck Glow, he would think of an opportune time to obtain it.
Halting his devilish thoughts, Han Xiao selected his target on the interface.
The next moment, a strong current of Mechanical Force flowed out within his brain!
Selection Completed!
Your Talent [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense] has disappeared.
You have received the talent: Perfect Mechanical Sense!
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Chapter 977 The Concept of Superimposed Mechanical Senses
The sound of crackling electricity suddenly sounded on the Divine Mechanical Throne as thick jagged bolts of Mechanical Force lashed out like chains on the floor, leaving blackened scars.
His brain tingled slightly, as though undergoing an electrical stimulation.
With a dazzling glare in his eyes, Han Xiao could feel that the cells in his body were running at full power, with energy constantly being released.
After just a few more minutes, the phenomenon began to fade. The world in his eyes had changed subtly. There was now a clearer mechanical perception, and his field of vision penetrated deeper into microstructures.
"How miraculous…"
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he appreciated the changes.
The usage of the Character Summon Card was different from actually possessing the talent. Right now, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] has resulted in a complete change within his body.
His basic personal attributes had not changed, but what was strengthened was his Machinery Affinity, as well as his Mechanical Force strength. Through his sense organs, the machinery felt closer and more familiar to him.
The core effect of Perfect Mechanical Sense was an improvement of his total Machinery Affinity by x1.4 coefficient, and this brought him an additional two to three thousand Machinery Affinity. This was enough to allow him to leap through several tiers!
There were two secondary functions to this. One was the increase in his machinery quality, improving it by one or two tiers, which was capped at Pink Grade. At present, Han Xiao's equipment was basically all Orange Grade, and this bonus was not too important to him. The other function was more important, which granted 4 to all mechanic skills, which could break through the upper limit. This gave him more slots for his Apostle Weapons.
Mechanical Sense was classified as a personal talent, and the difficulty in improving it varied from person to person. Some geniuses easily understood it, while some could not learn it even if their personal strength was incredible. Han Xiao's [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense] was a drawn reward, so his chances of improving it to the level of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] were nil.
Generally speaking, such talents were either passively awakened or actively cultivated from a young age. As one grew older, the learning difficulty of talents would increase.
"Finally, I've got Perfect Mechanical Sense, and my normal combat capability is now the same as when I use a Character Summon Card."
Han Xiao was satisfied. He had looked forward to this ability for a long time.
He would no longer appear as an embarrassment!
Possessing power of his own was the best assurance, and turning those trump cards that he relied on to blitz during battle into actual combat power gave him higher stability. Now, his qualification as a peak level Beyond Grade A Mechanic had completely stabilized, and the gap between him and the Mechanic Emperor had shortened once more.
However, it was still too early for him to arm wrestle against Manison. The other party also possessed Perfect Mechanical Sense, and right now, he had only filled up his missing gaps.
Han Xiao was not in a hurry, however. Although he had also reached the peak Beyond Grade A realm, he was different from everyone else as he still had ample room for growth.
Before the next major update, Han Xiao did not wish to entangle with Manison. He wanted to take this chance while Manison thought that he had consolidated his position to develop himself within the shadow he cast, lest the other party were to notice his strength once again and challenge him.
Although Han Xiao was not afraid of Manison acting against him, he did not wish to act before he had established his foundations within the Flickering World. After all, Manison had the backing of the Federation of Light, and Han Xiao had no way of acting against the other party.
"However, although Perfect Mechanical Sense has become part of my combat power now, it does not mean that my trump card is lost."
The Character Summon Card usage was not related to his abilities, and activating similar effects would give rise to a stacked bonus rather than the usual effect bonus.
In other words, the Character Summon Card of Perfect Mechanical Sense was still useful to him.
Since he had already obtained Perfect Mechanical Sense, this would lead to his bonuses superimposing upon one another.
The superimposition of two skills, just how terrifying would it become? It would probably be the only double Perfect Mechanical Sense in the entire universe. Just thinking about it gave him the chills.
If he used this in front of Manison, the latter's entire worldview would most likely shatter.
"It's better for me to leave any blank Character Summon Cards to use on Reynold and Nero, and whether or not I can get the skill depends on my luck."
After experiencing the skill a while longer, Han Xiao finally closed the talent description.
He went back to his skill list, pulling down the blueprint column, and looked for a new blueprint that he had recently obtained.
Spacetime Splicer: Using peculiar spacetime technology, open a branch timeline temporarily that is outside of the main timeline. By specifying a complete action plan, one can form a time chain with a beginning and an end, breaking through the spacetime continuum by performing a temporal jump through different points of the timeline. It can be used for any arbitrary objects.
Usage of this device will bring about an irreversible negative effect. Objects spliced by time and space will suffer from correction by the main timeline, and once completely corrected, the object will be annihilated alongside the branch time chain that was cut out.
Remarks: If you're a fan of suicidal attacks, this device is perfect for you. While the technology is not yet mature and perfected, since it's still a suicide operation, there's no need to care about the nitty gritty details!
Han Xiao had stolen the Spacetime Splicing Technology from the Kunde Race, learning it and investing some experience to better understand the technique before finally obtaining the new blueprint identified by the interface. After spending some time on it, he had finally also finished a prototype.
The completed product resembled a three-story building.
Over the last few days, he had conducted simple tests and debugged the Spacetime Splicer. Its operation was very normal, but the startup time was a little long. It also could not be used as and when he liked; rather, it needed to be connected to a special target pipeline before it would be effective on objects.
Naturally, Han Xiao would not use such a dangerous device on himself, but after thinking about it over the last few days, he had concluded that this item would be helpful for the mechanic class.
The most suitable object to use the Spacetime Splicing Technology on would be the mass-produced machinery!
The wastage of the mechanical army would no longer bring him heartache, and with this additional function, he could even perform some war strategies that were not possible before. This sort of qualitative improvement of one's combat capabilities was akin to exchanging one's life for a sudden assault of tremendous strength. However, for a mechanic utilizing the Army Wave Tactic, it was naturally cost-effective.
Secondly, this could also be used as a new type of strategic killing weapon. Compared to portable psionic bombs, biochemical genetic weapons, and the like, the Spacetime Splicer was more concealed and difficult to detect, suitable for assassination and destruction missions.
Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered.
"However, I should minimize its operation as much as possible. When the dynasty discovered the power of Spacetime Splicing Technology, they also began to hide and monopolize this technology. While the dynasty will not force me to hand over the technology in my hands, they will also request for me to keep it a secret."
He did not hide the matter of him obtaining the Spacetime Splicing Technology from the dynasty. He had only seized a copy of the technology before the dynasty monopolized it. There was no need to hide it.
Allowing the dynasty to know that he possessed such technology would also increase his authority, and since he had obtained the technology before the dynasty placed any importance on it, it was a legitimate excuse and not a shameful matter. Furthermore, if he were to utilize this technique in front of others in the future, he would reveal the fact that he possessed this technology. By that time, maybe the dynasty would even protect him and hide this matter.
No matter what, he would not spit out whatever he had eaten.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao took out his Spacetime Amber and hung it in midair before connecting to the external interface of the Spacetime Splicer.
He was prepared to test if the Spacetime Amber could be affected by the Spacetime Splicing Technology. This was also his first experiment.
The operation of the Spacetime Splicer was complicated, and Han Xiao took a while before he got it started.
Ohm!
The whole device began to vibrate, and rainbow-colored beams shone on the Spacetime Amber from the pipeline.
He stepped back a little, waiting in silence until the vibration of the device gradually stopped.
"Splicing is complete…"
Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he disconnected the nanoparticles that suspended the Spacetime Amber. The Spacetime Amber dropped down, its surface still smooth and unblemished, as though it had not undergone a timeframe change.
Narrowing his eyes, Han Xiao stepped forward to pick up the amber. He realized that there were no changes after examining it for a while.
"Seems like the Spacetime Splicing Technology has no effect on the amber."
Having arrived at this conclusion, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. This was good news to him.
Since even the Spacetime Splicing Technology could not crack this Space Wonder, it represented that the Spacetime Amber was still an unsolvable means. Even if the dynasty or other organizations obtained this technology, the spacetime amber in his hands still possessed an irreplaceable role.
Thinking about it, Han Xiao conducted a new experiment.
He spliced a normal machine before using the Spacetime Amber to encase it in order to determine if the effect of the Spacetime Splicing Technology would be effective.
The principle of the Spacetime Amber worked as a solidified piece of spacetime, and the machinery wreathed in it did not experience the side effects of the Spacetime Splicing, ignoring the correction force of the timeline.
But at the same time, the normal effect of the spacetime splicing would not take place.
However, after removing the restriction that was the Spacetime Amber, the machinery was still corrected by the timeline and was annihilated, releasing a huge amount of energy and almost exploding the warehouse.
In this case, this means that the Spacetime Amber can only temporarily isolate the object and not completely offset the side effects of the Spacetime Splicing Technology… so it can only serve as a coffin? Really suits its name 'amber', Han Xiao thought to himself as he brushed off the dust on his body.
There might be another way around it, such as starting the action of the Spacetime Splicing in advance, then sealing it. By borrowing the effects of the amber, I can first send it to the target location before unlocking the amber and activating the effect of the splicing… well, this is akin to a delayed detonation.
After thinking about it, Han Xiao felt that this was a promising direction to apply, and he would need more time to explore the various possibilities.
After testing a few more times to ensure that this was no fluke, he put away the Spacetime Splicer and took out his communicator, contacting the Commander of the Dynasty Exploration Army, Tarrokov.
When the call connected, his huge face appeared on the screen, with the background of a tactical conference room.
"Oh, Black Star, what's the matter?"
"You're in a meeting? I can call back later."
"Just a regular update, it's not as important as you. Just say what brings you here."
Han Xiao smiled. "The enemy's movements have been weird recently. I believe you have also discovered that, right?"
"Yes, the enemies seem to want to lure us deeper in. Do you have intelligence in this area?"
"Kind of. I sent some troops a while ago and broke into the enemy's database. I found out that they intend to use the Scorched Earth tactics, planning to devour these star systems with the Primordial Psionic Energy to cause damage to the dynasty fleet. I have the coordinates of their buried energy as well as the movements of all their fleets."
"Good job." Tarrokov's eyes lit up, and he felt relieved.
The majority of Beyond Grade As took a laid-back stance for this battle. Firstly, they had their pride and did not wish to stoop to bullying an indigenous civilization without Supers. Secondly, they were afraid that their opponents would throw out Primordial Psionic Energy bombs, thus they only sent their men to respond to the call to arms.
However, Black Star had personally gone into the battle. He was worthy of being the talent favored by the dynasty. Two words came to mind, 'reliable' and 'steady'!
"I'll forward the intelligence to you later. Don't forget to give me my credit," Han Xiao joked.
"Haha, rest assured, this credit will be recorded down for you." Tarrokov was in a good mood, and he felt as though Han Xiao was extremely pleasing to his eyes, always bearing good news.
Han Xiao smiled before hanging up.
With [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and the Spacetime Splicing Technology at hand, he planned to end the war as soon as possible in order to resume the normal exploration work.
The other purpose for providing the information was to improve the evaluation of the Kunde Race War Mission Rating. Since all his other goals had been completed, he might as well help the dynasty finish its battles faster.
Because he did not intend to conceal the Spacetime Splicing Technology, Han Xiao did not hesitate, taking out all the intelligence and sending it directly.
Tarrokov was efficient and made arrangements immediately after receiving Han Xiao's intelligence.
Several frontline troops were secretly sent to the coordinates shown by the intelligence to foil the enemy's Scorched Earth plan.
In the intelligence given by Han Xiao, the coordinates and movements of all Kunde Race fleets were marked. This was equivalent to the dynasty gazing upon the battlefield without the fog of war, grasping the enemy's every move.
The army no longer slowly proceeded in caution but purposefully dispersed and targeted the main fleets of the Kunde Race.
The Kunde Race did not yet realize that all their plans had been exposed and that they were under the gaze of the dynasty. At this time, they were still implementing their battle plans.
With Han Xiao's help, the dynasty had saved countless soldiers, easily crushing the Kunde Race due to the overwhelming intelligence.
The balance between victory or defeat had been completely tilted toward the dynasty's favor.
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Chapter 978 No Retrea
Han Xiao's intelligence had torn apart the fog of war for the dynasty, and they swept across the entire Kunde Race territory in just a month.
Each army legion split their operations up, intercepting the Kunde Race main fleet at different coordinates, launching a fierce fight in the starry universe. The battleship fleet advanced as it swept across the galaxy.
Under the firepower of the dynasty, the Kunde Race was caught off guard, losing ground and a large number of their battleships.
In a certain Star System, a dynasty fleet was fighting against one of the Kunde Race fleets. The enemy was in a state of defeat, constantly being slaughtered mercilessly. Yet another battleship of the Kunde Race was shot through by a cannon and transformed into fireworks.
The enemy's flagship had already been completely surrounded, with the weaponry of the countless dynasty battleships aimed on it. Once they made any movement, the dynasty would fire and destroy it. The reason they had not done so was because they wished to capture them alive.
A small spaceship flew out of the dynasty's fleet, carrying the officers of the dynasty who were responsible for taking over the flagship.
The enemy withdrew their shield, as though indicating their surrender. The small spaceship thus approached smoothly and docked itself into the enemy's flagship. The comparison was just like a sesame seed against a grape.
Whoosh!
The sound of the valves decompressing was heard, and the main door of the flagship overed, revealing a dynasty with pale skin. It was Gaud.
The aide-de-camps of the various dynasty officers all possessed certain functions. Some were used more as secretaries, while some aide-de-camps worked part-time during dangerous wars. Gaud belonged to the latter.
In front of them was a large group of Kunde Race soldiers, surrounding them completely as they tightly gripped their weapons, strongly signaling their readiness for battle.
Gaud swept them with a look before ignoring them, reaching out to adjust the universal translator in his ear before speaking.
"Who is the commander? Please come out."
The Kunde troops immediately went into turmoil, and one of them, dressed smartly in uniform, stepped out. His tone was heavy. "Intruder, why do you understand our language?"
Both sides had been fighting from the start and had not exchanged any information. To this Kunde Race officer, this was the first time they had communicated with the other party, so they were surprised that he knew their language.
"It's just an insignificant piece of technology." Gaud's tone remained calm.
The intelligence that Han Xiao had passed to the dynasty was the full package, even including their languages. Thus, the dynasty did not need to crack the nuances behind their languages. Rather, they simply imported the language into the universal translator for easy communication.
The Kunde Race Commander did not ask further, instead saying, "Please stop your killing of our comrades. We have already surrendered."
"Ok. As long as you surrender and hand over the command to the fleet, we will stop attacking."
"Good. Please follow me."
The Kunde Race's commander turned around, and his men left a path for him to walk through. Gaud eyed them, a ridiculing smile on the corners of his mouth as he strode to follow.
The entourage walked down the passages. Along the way, the atmosphere was oppressive, and no one made a sound.
After a period of walking, Gaud suddenly let out a snort as he leisurely said, "After bringing us on so many twists and turns, is your ambush ready yet? Don't make me wait too long."
Once this sentence was spoken, the commander in front halted in his footsteps, jerking his head back with shock flashing through his eyes.
Had they been exposed‽
But since he had discovered it, how could he remain so calm‽
While they had already been seen through, they had come too far to retreat now. The tone of the commander grew harsh as he snarled, "After wantonly massacring my troops, you still want me to surrender? Dream on! Let's die together!"
His words had just been said when heavy trembling came from below them. As Gaud glanced down, he saw the alloy deck quickly swelling up, the seams breaking apart. A dazzling blue light shone through the cracks.
"To place the Primordial Psionic Energy onboard your own flagship, it seems like you've long decided to sacrifice yourself…"
Before Gaud could complete his sentence, a huge shock reverberated across the entire flagship.
Boom!
The next instant, the psionic energy blasted out, instantly swallowing the bodies of everyone present, including Gaud and the Kunde Race Commander as it filled up the entire area!
At the same time, the dynasty fleet stationed outside discovered the anomaly and saw the surrounded enemy flagship implode, turning into an expanding Primordial Psionic Energy sphere. The energy mass quickly approached the dynasty's encirclement, and this was precisely the plan of the Kunde Race's commander—detonate and bury the dynasty fleet with him!
Within the commanding flagship, the commander on the dynasty's side coldly snorted.
"Indeed, they decided to do a suicidal attack. Psionic handling team, take action!"
Once the command was given, one of the spaceships detached from the dynasty fleet. From the head of the spaceship came out a circular device, which shook slightly and resonated, forming an invisible bubble that enveloped the entire psionic energy sphere. An obvious distortion could be seen within the space.
The dynasty had long made preparations for the self-detonation of the Psionic energy. This device was specially designed to deal with the pollution caused by the psionic energy. It would wrap up the entire psionic energy sphere, and the energy mass that had just formed was still considered small and easy to handle.
The expansion of the energy cluster immediately slowed down, and reverted, slowly contracting inward instead of expanding outward, continuously shrinking.
The entire process lasted for over 10 minutes, and the Primordial Psionic Energy cluster gradually shrank from the size of the flagship to a sphere with a diameter of two of three meters, and still continued to compress rapidly.
The most common way to control the psionic energy's pollution was to use a special equipment to compress its volume, increasing its energy density until it turned into an energy seed, before stabilizing this energy. This method was considered relatively eco-friendly, with the least side effects, and the only issues was that it took a long time, and could not be used when the energy had expanded to a certain extent.
At this moment, a figure stepped out of the psionic energy cluster, which turned out to be Gaud. Not only was he unscathed, not even his hair style had gone out of place, and he even carried with him the Kunde Race commander who was still alive.
The entire flagship was engulfed by the Primordial Psionic Energy, and only the two of them were still alive.
"You, you…" The Kunde Race commander stared with wide eyes incredulously at Gaud.
He had already made the preparations to die with the enemy, but at this moment, he could not believe what his eyes were showing him.
Gaud only glanced at him, before knocking him out, and stretching out his hands toward the energy cluster.
Whoosh-
Misty traces of the psionic energy moving could be seen in the surroundings as the cluster turned into a small seed the size of a rice grain, shining with a bright blue light.
This was a freshly formed psionic energy seed, akin to a blue gemstone. It fell between Gaud's fingers, dyeing his fingers and face with a bluish tint.
Despite holding an unstable energy source in his hand, Gaud had a calm expression on his face. He flipped his hand, taking out a spherical containment device before tucking in the energy seed.
He then gestured to the dynasty fleet, asking his colleagues to turn off the control device that was suppressing the Psionic energy cluster before returning to the commanding flagship with the Kunde Race commander to meet his superior.
"Good job, I'll personally record this merit for you."
The dynasty's commanding general personally welcomed Gaud back and patted his shoulder. It was precisely because of this ability of Gaud's that he had allowed Gaud to board the enemy's flagship.
The Primordial Psionic Energy was an extremely domineering substance; even a Beyond Grade A would suffer if unprepared. But Esper Abilities had unlimited possibilities, and a rare few abilities allowed the user to survive within Primordial Psionic Energy.
Gaud's ability was one of them, and the meaning behind it was extremely special.
Before Gaud appeared, the whole universe was speculating about the existence of such a Super High Risk Esper Ability, but there was never a case to prove their point. Gaud was probably the only case of an owner possessing a Super High Risk Esper Ability to be discovered since the ancient times, or at least his ability was the most similar to this Super High Risk Esper Ability.
On the surface, he was just a Super from the dynasty military who had just entered the Calamity Grade, but due to the special nature of his power, he had received a lot of attention from his superiors and had entered the list of key Supers under observation. The dynasty regarded him as a potential Beyond Grade A seed and had high hopes for him.
Hearing the praise, Gaud smiled lightly and recollected himself, standing by the side. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, and no one knew what he was thinking.
The dynasty started warring on multiple fronts, fully moving into battle.
The Kunde Race armies were defeated one after another, the dynasty's sudden full-scale offensive disrupting their momentum.
"Everyone, we are losing this war."
In the conference room of the Kunde Race flagship, the Kunde Race leader placed his palms on the table as he glanced coldly at the upper echelons present.
"Our defeat was expected, but this process has spiraled out of our control," one of the senior officials said solemnly. "Our fleets, which were hiding in different positions, were all accurately attacked by the enemy, suffering heavy casualties. This is strange, as though the enemy seems to have knowledge of our coordinates."
The battle strategy of the Kunde Race was to slowly lure the enemy deeper into their territory, bringing them into the hinterlands before using their main fleet to attack the stargate and cut off any paths of retreat of the enemy. They would then use the Scorched Earth plan to wipe the area of as many enemies as possible.
However, the precise attacks of the Crimson Dynasty had disrupted their battle strategies completely and made them wonder if their own intelligence had been leaked.
"There's no way for us to judge now whether the enemy is utilizing special observation methods to locate our hidden main fleets or have stolen our internal intelligence. If it's the former, it's still ok, but if the latter situation has happened, our situation now is grim. The enemy likely has insight on our Scorched Earth plan, and they might even have grasped the coordinates of all our troops, including our location." One of the officials had an uneasy tone as he spoke.
The Kunde Race leader said, "No matter what, we have to prepare for the worst case scenario. We have yet to properly master the quantum network technology in application, and the enemy's technology is better than ours. We should first temporarily give up on this convenient communication technology."
"But in that case, we'll become even more passive…"
"Forget about it. Now that the big picture is already gone, it's time for us to evacuate and pray for the Scorched Earth plan to take effect." The leader spoke in a commanding tone. "The problem remains, does the enemy have any information about our Scorched Earth plan? If even that is exposed, we need a remedy."
"How do we remedy this problem?"
"The troops implementing the Scorched Earth plan have been out for a long time. Even if the enemy has gained their coordinates, it will take some time to catch up. Thus, as long as we cut off the link between them and the headquarters, closing the quantum network, we will cut off all information exchanges with the outside world, so the enemy will lose sight of their coordinates."
Hearing this, everyone could not help but nod.
This was a method to turn the troops involved in the plan into a blind and deaf ghost fleet.
"Since the enemy know of our plan, they will have prepared to deal with it," someone said. "Even if they do not know the location of the Primordial Psionic Energy explosion, they can identify by observation and quickly manage it. In this manner, the effect will be greatly reduced."
"That's right. Our strategy could be considered, to a certain extent, to have failed." The Kunde Race leader's tone was decisive. "But we must leave as few resources as possible for the enemy. In any case, we must cause a certain degree of loss to the enemy."
Among the upper echelons, no one objected.
Seeing that there were no objections, the leader then opened the virtual screen of the conference room, entering his own permissions before accessing a confidential interface that monitored the location and status of all Scorched Earth plan troops in real time.
At this point, the interface showed that all troops were rushing to their destination, proceeding as normal.
Confirming that the plan was still running as normal and had not been destroyed by the enemy, everyone was relieved. This was their last hope.
Everyone quickly connected to the representative of the Scorched Earth plan, and his figure soon appeared on the virtual screen.
"There is an order from the upper echelons. Change all psionic energy bomb locations and cut off the quantum network links. Close all channels of information completely, and only reconnect to report the results when you have changed all locations."
"Understood."
With a few instructions, the leader ended the call.
Less than a minute later, the real-time monitoring on the virtual screens slowly dimmed one by one as the links were disconnected.
Seeing this, one of the officials sighed. "While this is not the best solution, at least it's more secure."
The Kunde Race leader nodded. Surveying his surroundings, he spoke in a heavy tone.
"Since it has been properly deployed, we can start to evacuate. Remember to bring all the Super captives with us."
As matters had reached this point, the Kunde Race decided to recall their troops and evacuate.
They had profited by catching a few Supers during their past few battles, and planned to experiment on them, so they were taking them back to study.
At the same time, within one of the borders of the Kunde Race territory, one of the fleets of the Scorched Earth plan was being attacked by the dynasty fleet.
The Kunde Race battleship was being boarded, and the dynasty Supers cleared the soldiers within the battleship.
The captain barricaded the command room, immediately sending communication requests to the headquarters again and again. However, all of them seemed to sink into the sea without any sort of movement.
"What's going on? Why aren't the upper echelons answering the emergency call‽" the captain screamed in exasperation.
At this moment, a cold beam pierced through the metal doors of the command room, penetrating the captain's body.
Whoosh!
"Argh!" The captain screamed and fell, and blue blood spilled out.
A dynasty officer who was holding onto an alloy knife walked in, and glancing at the communication call on the virtual screen, he smiled and turned it off before looking at the unwilling captain's eyes.
"Don't waste your energy. You cannot contact anyone right now."
Hearing this, the captain's eyes grew wide. "Don't tell me…"
Swoosh!
The knife swung, and a huge shrimp head flew up into the air. Blood splashed everywhere, forming a poor representation of some abstract art.
Sheathing his weapon, the officer turned away, not bothering to explain his plan to the enemy. This was one of the lessons all military personnel had to undergo.
In fact, Han Xiao had not just delivered intelligence to them but had pulled out all the stops. Since he had decided to help, he had conveniently handed over the loophole program that left him in control of the Kunde Race quantum network, to improve his task evaluation.
The entire command system of the Kunde Race was completely reduced to a plaything for the dynasty, where the latter could manipulate them as they liked.
All the pictures seen by the Kunde Race headquarters, including their communication targets, were illusions created by the dynasty.
The Kunde upper echelons thought that their troops had received all their orders, but in actual fact, nothing had gotten through to the soldiers on the battlefield.
The Kunde Race had already turned completely deaf and blind and mistakenly thought that the situation was proceeding according to plan. This was just an illusion that the dynasty had arranged. Since their system was paralyzed, the troops could not call for assistance and could only be slowly eaten by the dynasty.
Without the support of an interstellar society, the Kunde Race was akin to a crippled Star Cluster civilization. Their quantum network technology was bad and completely vulnerable to Han Xiao. If they were a true Star Cluster Civilization in the explored universe, Han Xiao would not have been able to gain control of their quantum network so easily.
Virtual Mechanics were originally considered a strategic weapon in the intelligence department, and Han Xiao stood at the peak of the Beyond Grade A level. Furthermore, with the recent addition of his [Perfect Mechanical Sense, his role in wartime far outstripped that of the other classes.
It was enough to let the enemy die without knowing how they died.
Within a starry sky far away, the migration fleet carrying all the civilians of the Kunde Race turned around without anyone sensing, returning along their original path.
There was no display on the star map, so everyone in the ship was unaware.
The dynasty did not have a habit of letting its enemies go and had already set up a web to capture them all.
The Kunde Race had practically no way to retreat.
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Chapter 979 Certainties and Uncertainties
At a certain place in the borderlands of the Kunde Race, the remainder of a Kunde Race fleet was slowly cruising through space.
Not long ago, this fleet with the code name of 'Sea Flag' had gone through a rough fight. They were attacked by a dynasty admiral's fleet, which forced their command ship and guard ships to break away with their lives and escape with their tails tucked between their legs.
Currently, there were only twenty or so guard ships around the command ship. The rest were either eliminated or scattered somewhere else.
The Sea Flag fleet belonged to the Third Cosmic Army of the Kunde Race. The commander of their fleet was the renowned general of the third army, Oliert, who was praised to be the 'Star of Tomorrow'. When the Marshal of the third army reached his retirement age a few years ago, Oliert was seen as the top candidate to take on the position of the Marshal.
However, due to the fact that the data of a destroyed ship was received a few years ago, the upper echelons made the decision to prepare for war. This led to the retirement of all army officials to be delayed, so this matter was put aside for the time being.
At this time, the Sea Flag fleet was moving in stealth mode while waiting for the next order from command.
Inside the bridge of the command ship, the atmosphere was grave and silent. Everyone was immersed in the pain and agony of losing the battle and losing their comrades.
Oliert stood before the most front porthole in silence, only showing his back to everyone in the room. The color of the carapace on his body was a mixture of sorrowful green and raging red.
In the battle earlier, almost everything he did was expected by the enemy commander. He was partially responsible for the loss of that battle.
Everyone knew that the commander was the one facing the most pressure, so none dared bother him.
After hesitating for a very long time, the aide-de-camp finally found the courage to walk to Oliert and said quietly, "Sir, we…"
"Say no more." Oliert turned around as his body gradually turned into the color of calming blue. He then said slowly, "This was not just my personal failure but a failure on the level of civilization background. I did not lose to the opponent but the enemies' entire civilization."
Oliert knew that his talent as a commander was no match for the dynasty's admiral, but he felt that this was not just the issue of individual ability and that the main difference came from the civilization backgrounds.
During the battle, he made the most detailed and careful decisions he had ever made in his life. To him, his performance this time could even be placed in the curriculum of military schools as a crucial case study. However, to his absolute shock, the response of the enemy was unbelievably quick. His plans were seen through almost instantly.
Meeting such an opponent was a heavy blow to his confidence as a commander.
This did not mean that Oliert was incompetent. In fact, he was already considered top-notch by the Kunde Race's standards. On the surface, this situation happened because the ability of the dynasty admiral was far superior to his, but the deeper reason lay within the difference in civilization backgrounds.
The rise of the three Universal Civilizations was accompanied by the wails of countless races. As they experienced the flames of war, all the battles were recorded in the curriculum of their military schools. Therefore, no matter what situation their commanders faced, they were able to come up with the respective solutions almost instantly.
Comparatively, the Kunde Race had experienced way too few galactic wars. All the strategies they were using had been abandoned by the explored universe long ago for being too behind. This was what the difference between backgrounds meant.
After the battle, Oliert was pessimistic. He saw completely no way of winning even parts of the battle, and the continuous crumble of the various fleets right now was the best proof for that.
He was not the only one that felt this one; all the soldiers fighting on the frontlines basically had the same pessimistic view of this war.
They were furious that their home was coveted by the enemies, but they did not think that the sacrifices in this war were necessary. However, as soldiers, they had to follow the orders.
Oliert sighed in his mind, put these pessimistic emotions away, looked at the aide-de-camp, and asked in a deep voice, "Has an order from command arrived?"
"Er… It has just arrived. They've told us to standby and retrieve the scattered fleet, then rendezvous with the main fleet of the third army to plan for the attack on the enemy stargate."
Oliert slammed the table and said with rage, "Bullsh*t! Why aren't we retreating now? Have command lost their minds‽"
We were just defeated and forced to scatter. How can we stay in this dangerous area to recover the rest of the ships? Do they think that the enemies won't chase after us‽
Furthermore, the main fleet is already in shambles, yet we're being asked to rendezvous and attack the enemies' stargate. This is basically asking us to commit suicide!
Many of the officers in the room felt that this strategy was problematic, but they did not dare speak. They all stared at Oliert and waited for the decision of their commander.
Oliert took a few steps back, suppressed his rage, and said, "Contact the Marshal. I'm going to ask him personally about what's going on with this decision!"
The aide-de-camp nodded and immediately made the arrangements. A communication interface popped up on the virtual screen. After a few seconds, the other side picked up the communication, and the third army Marshal appeared on the screen.
"Oliert, I heard you were attacked. Glad to see you're still alive."
"Luck was part of the reason." Oliert tried his best to speak as calmly as possible. "I have received the order from the command department. Are we planning to attack the enemies' stargate?"
"Yes, that's the order."
"Don't you think that's problematic? The battle has already deviated from our initial plan. We shouldn't linger now. It will only cause more meaningless sacrifices."
"I know. I think it's time to retreat, too, and I'm talking to the upper echelons. For now, let's follow the order."
Oliert became silent for a moment before ending the call.
The aide-de-camp asked cautiously, "Sir, what should we do now?"
Oliert glanced at him and suddenly said, "How many battleships do we have left?"
"Er, twenty-four."
"Gather all the captains into the communication channel."
As this order was executed, Oliert stood in place with hands behind his back and waited for a while. The images of the remaining captains then appeared one after another on the screen.
This time, Oliert made a hand sign and said slowly, "Remember what I'm going to say next. I'm only going to say it once…"
He then went on to say a ton of standard encouraging words and repeated the order of the command department, during which, he kept making several hand signs. All the captains stared at him very closely.
"Alright, that's all. Let's do it."
Finally, Oliert placed his hands down and completed his speech.
The images of the captains disappeared on the screen one after another.
This time, the aide-de-camp who was looking at the other command screen suddenly said with shock, "Sir, all the captains have turned off their artificial intelligence cores and blocked all outside information. We can't contact them anymore!"
Oliert, however, expected this. He nodded calmly and said, "Very good, go turn off the artificial intelligence core of our spaceship."
The others were shocked to suddenly understand what was going on. They were in disbelief.
This means that… we're going to be deserters‽
"Th-this…" The aide-de-camp was stunned.
Oliert glared at him and said with a stern tone, "What are you waiting for‽"
The aide-de-camp hesitated for a moment before making the arrangements. Very soon, the artificial intelligence core of the command ship was turned off.
This way, the remnants of this Sea Flag fleet became a ghost fleet that had lost contact completely to the outside world.
Only now did Oliert heave a sigh of relief. He looked at the others who were still lost and explained, "Sorry, this is all to be as cautious as possible. If I'm not wrong, our quantum network has already been completely infiltrated by the enemies."
With these words said, everyone was shocked.
Oliert glanced around and said slowly, "I know the Marshal very well. He's a stubborn soldier who would never question orders from the superiors. Although this is a difficult time and everything could change, we can't ignore any suspicious behavior. I suspect that what I just spoke with was not the Marshal at all.
"The enemies have very likely infiltrated our command system. All of you are experienced, so I don't have to emphasize the consequences of that. Therefore, the war is already over. I can't possibly follow their orders anymore. The only thing we can do now is save ourselves. The hand signs I made earlier were a special code that very few people know. I told the captains to cut off all external connections. From now on, we have only ourselves to rely on."
Everyone was completely stunned by these words and could not process this much information shortly. Their minds went blank.
The aide-de-camp clenched his teeth and said, "Sir, what we're doing is making us deserters!"
Oliert was not insulted or furious at all. He calmly glanced at him and said, "This is a war that we're destined to lose. No matter what you think, I will not send my troops to the battlefield to die. Deserters? Now, we might be… the last survivors of the Kunde Race.'
"Then, where should we go?"
"As far away from here as possible."
Oliert looked outside the porthole into the depths of the galaxy.
"I think that there might be a problem with the route we're taking."
Inside an extremely narrow room on a spaceship, a few members of the Kunde Race in ordinary clothes gathered around.
This was one of the spaceships of the migrant fleet; everyone on board was civilians. Most people on the ship felt uneasy and lost about the future. The atmosphere was depressing.
Due to the high population, many civilians had to squeeze in one room on all the spaceships. Those in this room happened to be blood-related brothers.
"Big brother, what did you discover?" a short brother asked.
The buff and muscular elder brother among these brothers said with a deep voice, "I have a friend who's a crew member on the guiding ship. He told me a piece of inside information. According to the schedule, the fleet should have arrived on one planet for a short rest. However, we did not come across any planets yesterday, and the fleet has been moving nonstop."
"Could it be that they've changed the plan? How about asking your friend again?"
"I've been unable to contact him," the elder brother said. "I think there's something wrong."
"Bro, could you be too sensitive? If something happened, the people above would have notified us."
"I have a very bad feeling about this. I can't quite describe it." The elder brother shook his head.
"Hey, what's the point of thinking so much. It's not like we can do anything about it. Let's just follow the arrangements of the fleet," one of the brothers said casually.
This time, the youngest brother suddenly said, "Big brother is right. There's something wrong with the route the fleet is taking. We're going right back in the direction we came from."
Everyone looked at him.
"Don't speak nonsense. How did you realize that?"
The youngest brother pointed at the porthole, and everyone looked over. On it was a simple drawing of circles, from small ones to larger ones. This time, a planet outside the porthole had perfectly aligned with the circle in the middle.
Seeing this, the expression on everyone's face changed.
Having lived in one room, they kept no secrets from each other. Some time ago, a planet had appeared outside the porthole, so the youngest brother had drawn the outline of the planet on the porthole, and he had been doing the same thing every day. The size of the circle changed every day from smaller to larger, then to smaller again, which represented how far away they were.
At this time, this planet's outline perfectly aligned with the drawing from a few days ago, and everyone knew what this meant.
"I'll go ask about it!"
Seeing this, the elder brother could no longer sit still. The rest hastily followed behind him.
They quickly passed by the crowded cabin that looked like a refugee camp, came to the middle cabin, found a few soldiers, and explained the situation.
"There's something wrong with the route?" A soldier picked his ears and said impatiently, "That's not something for you to worry about. What are you being so concerned for?"
"It's true. I can show you the evidence. I…"
"Alright, alright." This soldier waved his hand. "The guide ship has the star map. If we really have deviated from the route, it will definitely be adjusted immediately. Just go back and wait."
Speechless, the elder brother had no choice but to lead the rest of his brothers back to their room and wait.
However, three days passed, and they looked at the drawing on the porthole every day, only to realize that the fleet was still going back in the direction they had come from. The route was not adjusted at all.
The elder brother tried to contact his friend who had given him the inside information every day and only was able to do so on the third day. However, his friend's reply made him even more disheartened.
"We've deviated from the route? No, no, no, our star map shows that the route we're taking is completely accurate… We didn't run into the supply planet I spoke of? Oh, that's an error made in the long-range observation, so the star map was a little inaccurate. I have already reflected this to those above, and our star map has been updated, so there's no problem now… What drawings? Hmm, you guys are probably mistaken. That's a new planet, not the one we saw earlier. Anyhow, the navigator here shows we have been advancing all this time."
After turning off the communicator with a grave expression, the elder brother stayed silent for quite some time.
Suddenly, as if he finally had the resolve to make a decision, he said, "Do you trust me or the people above?"
The brothers exchanged looks with hesitation.
The youngest brother could not help but ask, "What do you want to do?"
"My bad feeling has become stronger and stronger. There's definitely something wrong with this. Maybe the people above are sending us into the pit of fire." The elder brother lowered his voice. "I don't want to stay on the spaceship anymore. I'm planning to steal supplies and a lifesaving cabin for us to escape."
"Have you lost your mind‽" Appalled, one of the brothers said, "That's suicide! The fleet will definitely capture us. Even if we succeed, the supplies we steal will run out sooner or later. What are we going to do when we have no food and no fuel? Also, do you have a star map? Without a star map, how are we going to escape?"
"I can obtain the star map and the authorization for the lifesaving cabin from my friend. As for supplies… the medium lifesaving cabin has a full set of facilities. As long as we arrive on that planet, we can use the devices to refill the fuel, which will last us many years. Food-wise, we will need greenhouse incubators, crop seeds, and nutrition fluid makers, which can all be obtained on this ship. When the crops are being produced, we can rest in the cryogenic chambers," the elder brother said quietly. "I've been thinking about an alternate plan for the past three days. This was not a sudden decision."
The others still shook their heads.
Leaving the main fleet of their people to survive in the unknown universe with just a few of them?
This plan was too crazy to think about it!
"I'm going with you." This time, the youngest brother stepped forward and shrugged. "You know me. I don't like to be restricted by rules. Since we've left our home, I'm not planning to continue living a peaceful lifestyle of following what everyone else does. I want to explore the vast universe myself. You can say I like adventures, or you can say I love to seek excitement. No matter what, count me in."
The elder brother nodded, looked at his other brothers, and said, "I know you all have concerns. The universe is way too big. With just a few of us, we will be facing the deepest loneliness and fears. Maybe I'll be proven wrong in the end, but I'm not willing to sit and wait passively. I won't force everyone to go with me."
The second oldest brother hesitated for a while before saying, "Bro, I'll go with you, too. You're the person I trust the most. I trust your judgment."
Seeing two of them making up their minds, more people were shaken.
One of the brothers shook his head with resignation and said, "Sigh, alright, let's do it. From the moment we left our home, I already considered myself to be dead. What's the worst that can happen with being more adventurous? We're brothers; we can't separate from each other.
These brothers had grown up together and were used to sticking together. After some hesitation, in the end, all of them agreed to the eldest brother's plan. The amazing thing was after they had made up their mind, the hesitation and unease disappeared, replaced by incomparable excitement and anticipation.
"Big bro, I have a suggestion. We should at least bring one woman, right?"
Everyone burst out laughing. The heavy atmosphere disappeared, and the room was filled with a joyous spirit.
"That's right. Not just one, we should bring a few more."
"Haha, we might become a stray civilization in the future."
For the days to come, these brothers used their own network and connections to quietly prepare for their plan. As the migration spaceships had a large number of daily supplies, they were able to find what they needed easily. The only question was—how were they going to obtain those supplies?
With courage, money, connections, and a little bit of luck, they used several methods to obtain most of the supplies they needed.
Very soon, the day to execute the plan came. It went smoother than they could have ever imagined. According to the intelligence they collected, they secretly entered the ejection point of lifesaving cabins and stepped into a medium lifesaving cabin. They then turned off the artificial intelligence core and switched it to manual control mode.
The eldest brother's hand stopped above the eject button but did not press it instantly.
"Have you guys made up your mind? As soon as I press this button, there's no going back. If we're captured, we'll become prisoners."
"We're not much different from prisoners now. We're more like manual labor to the people above. It's just that we're given a different name as population resources. I have been wanting to get rid of this identity for a long time," the youngest brother said with a carefree smile.
"Nonsense." The eldest brother shook his head and chuckled before pressing hard on the button.
Whoosh!
The lifesaving cabin suddenly descended and was shot into the cosmic space.
As they left the spaceship, they subconsciously looked outside the porthole and were stunned.
What they saw was many lifesaving cabins also being shot out like fireworks from other spaceships of the migration fleet before leaving in different directions.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
On the other side of the Kunde Race territory border, the core fleet that the Kunde Race command department was in came out from the stargate. They turned around and dismantled this stargate used for retreat.
"Alright, we have arrived at the target area. According to the coded order sent before, the surviving fleet will be gathering here."
Inside the command department, the upper echelons of the Kunde Race gathered and browsed the message that they had received from the other fleets before they cut away their network connection.
"The Scorched Earth Team has sent their report. The psionic bombs in various places have been detonated successfully, and the plan is complete. The other fleets have also sent the report that they're retreating toward the location we have designated. Hoo, the situation is still manageable."
The Kunde Race leader heaved a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, everyone else was also feeling slightly better.
Things were finally going according to their plan.
As they were worried about their information being leaked, command did not dare maintain a long-term network connection. Therefore, they had given up live communication and did not even dare transmit orders the ordinary way, worrying that it would be intercepted by the enemies. The orders were all in special codes.
However, before they could catch their breath, the alarm suddenly rang!
"Attention, attention! Unknown large fleet discovered ahead!"
Everyone was stunned.
"How have we met a fleet here‽ Is there an ambush‽"
"See if it's the enemies!"
The various upper echelons quickly executed the order. Within just a few seconds, the report came from the fleet captain.
"Everyone, we have already confirmed it. They're not enemies but our own fleet."
The upper echelons were immediately relieved. They almost had a heart attack.
"Phew, that scared me."
"It should be teams who have received the order to rendezvous here arriving in advance, even quicker than us."
At this time, the fleet captain spoke again with a weird tone.
"Guys, you have misunderstood me. They're not our armed fleet but the migration fleet we sent away a long time ago. For some reason, they have all returned!"
The entire place became dead silent.
The upper echelons were stunned for a second before freaking out!
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Chapter 980 Settlemen
"Didn't I get them to leave already? Why'd they appear here? Who asked them to come back‽"
The Kunde Race leader jumped up and flew into a rage.
The other upper echelons could only longer sit still and were filled with trepidation. The situation had already evolved out of their control.
The civilian fleet was the final hope of their Kunde Race and their weakness. They dared to wage a war in their homeland because they had sent all the members of their race away. Upon seeing the members of their race return, the upper echelons were flustered.
Buzz!
Right at this moment, a holographic screen appeared in the middle of the conference table, and a figure dressed in a military uniform appeared before them.
Everyone's gaze was attracted by the figure, and they were in shock.
This figure cleared his throat and slowly said, "Let me introduce myself. I am Tarrokov, the Crimson Dynasty Marshal. I am the one fighting all of you."
Upon seeing this scene, everyone present understood what was going on.
They originally thought that the enemy was only tapping into their communication channels, but it seemed as though it was not as simple as an intelligence leak. The enemy was actually able to initiate a call and probably controlled all of their networks.
This was the worst-case scenario, and everyone blanked out.
Tarrokov's gaze swept past everyone present as he calmly said, "All of your intelligence has been grasped by my side, and we have already cut off all your communication with the outside world. All the intelligence reports that you have received during this period were forged by us. In truth, less than ten percent of your troops are still alive. They are as good as wiped out.
"Do not have any more fantasies. Your Scorched Earth plan has been seen through by us, and we completed our final attack a few days ago. You no longer have the strength to fight back."
These words crushed the belief of all the upper echelons present, and they slouched back in their chairs in a daze.
"You, you…" The Kunde Race leader began trembling.
Tarrokov did not even blink. "On behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, I am initiating a final negotiation with all of you. Our long-distance psionic weapons have already locked onto your civilian fleets. I give all of you five minutes to consider. If you choose to fight back, your race will be wiped out. If you attempt to contact your civilian fleet, your race will be wiped out. If you cut off from the quantum network, your race will be wiped out. If you do not give us a reply in five minutes, your race will be wiped out. I will promise not to open fire if you choose to surrender and disarm yourselves."
He spoke as though he was only going out for grocery shopping. Wiping out an entire race was something that an experienced commander like him had no qualms about doing.
The words were extremely bloody in the ears of the Kunde Race upper echelons.
The dynasty had secretly recalled these civilian fleets to dissolve the enemy's battle intent. When the survival of their entire race was at stake, the enemy would definitely collapse. The dynasty had plenty of experience in this regard.
Compared to the exploration era, the three Universal Civilizations no longer massacred civilians. If not, they would not have given the other party a choice.
After saying those words, Tarrokov's figure disappeared, and a countdown timer was shown on the screen.
"We're finished!"
"We shouldn't have started a war back then! Look what we've done!"
Upon seeing the timer countdown, many of the upper echelons fell into despair.
Many of them present had already considered such a scenario but still held onto a trace of hope in their hearts before this.
The upper echelons in the conference room had already lost their cool, and the conference room fell into chaos. The Kunde Race leader then said, "We no longer have any hope. Let's surrender."
"Now you know how to surrender? What were you doing before this‽" All the usually respectful upper echelons started cursing. "If it wasn't for your stupidity and brashness, would we have fallen to such a state‽"
"That's right! If we didn't choose to fight but escape instead, we wouldn't have been reduced to such a state!"
"That's right. It is all thanks to your mistake! You are a sinner of our race!"
Looking at these upper echelons who usually fawned over him venting their anger, the Kunde Race leader let out a self-mocking laugh.
The one who chooses to escape will always be the smartest.
Not only did they have to give up their homeland to the invaders, they even had to run far away and not trouble their invaders. How generous.
Their entire race was forced to leave their homeland, and everyone was living in fear. If they chose to escape without fighting, the pride of their race would be destroyed, and it would be difficult to construct it again. If they had killed enough enemies or sacrificed sufficient soldiers, their race might have been able to come out from this loser mentality and face a common enemy. This way, there would have been a possibility of welcoming a golden era. It was a pity…
In the end, he chose to say nothing.
The war came to an end with the surrender of the Kunde Race. From the start to the end, it only took a short three to four months.
Compared to his previous life, the Crimson Dynasty ended this war in less than half the time.
The reason for this was because of Han Xiao's contribution. The coordinates that he provided could reduce the effort that the dynasty had to put in to find the enemy's main camp. Seizing the enemy's quantum network resulted in a crushing defeat for the enemy. These two factors greatly sped up the process of the war.
In his previous life, the Kunde Race managed to create some trouble for the dynasty, but with Han Xiao's help, the Kunde Race did not create any trouble. They were crushed under the dynasty's might and did not even have the ability to fight back.
The dynasty then took over the Kunde Race's remaining fleet.
Great Mechanic Han, who was slacking off far away, received a notification on his interface.
[Flickering World – Kunde Race War] Mission Completed!
Mission Rating: Perfect
You have received 4,500,000,000 Experience, x4 Random Reward, 7500 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and 1 Legendary Point.
Star Cluster Legendary Point (Dust Light Star Cluster): Kunde Race War Contributor. You participated in the war with the Kunde Race and rendered huge merits.
The milestone [Civilization Destruction] is now activated.
Milestone Activation Requirements: Participate in three large scale galactic war missions related to the life and death of a civilization (Star System level and above) and aid your faction in defeating the enemy. Mission Rating cannot be less than 'Excellent'. Current Progress: 1/3.
30 Tarrokov Favorability, 5 Urranrell Favorability, 10 Teny Amenos Favorability…
Dungeon Creation: [Kunde Race War]
"The war is finally over. Their efficiency is pretty high." Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.
Although he did not personally participate in the war, the intelligence he provided gave him a 'Perfect' Mission Rating.
The rewards were not too bad either. Although it could not be compared to a Beyond Grade A boss mission, it was basically impossible for players to complete the Beyond Grade A challenge missions. 4,500,000,000 experience was also plentiful to the players in the later versions. Han Xiao would not be too picky with his food. In any case, he was only slacking off in his headquarters. The experience was like a freebie to him.
Receiving four Random Reward chances was also a good thing.
7,500 Dynasty Contribution Points was also a bountiful reward. The Kunde Race was a native civilization after all and did not pose much of a threat to the dynasty. Han Xiao felt that it was probably due to him sharing information about the Spacetime Splicing Technology with them.
Although he had already learned all the Ultimate Knowledge, the Contribution Points were still useful. He would be able to use them to obtain precious resources or military support. Furthermore, if he had a Beyond Grade A Super willing to remain in his army, he might have to exchange for the Ultimate Knowledge of other classes.
Ultimate Knowledge was guarded by the various advanced civilizations, and they usually would not allow Beyond Grade As to claim the Ultimate Knowledge of another class without a good reason. Making use of the Ultimate Knowledge to attract talent was akin to snatching business from the dynasty. As such, they dynasty would not agree to it, and the various Beyond Grade A allies also would not share Ultimate Knowledge with each other.
The only exception would be if they had a Beyond Grade A officer in their organization. Of course, this was a rare scenario. After all, most Beyond Grade As would not be willing to serve under someone else.
Han Xiao had some memories of the [Civilization Destruction] milestone. The civilizations above the Star System level were all protected by the Peace Treaty, and it was rare for a civilization to be wiped out. Only the players belonging to the various evil factions had a chance to trigger such a milestone.
The effects were not too bad. Wearing the [Civilization Destruction] milestone would increase his damage by six percent and his range by twenty-five percent.
However, the price to pay for obtaining such a milestone was also extremely high. He would need to participate or incite a life and death battle between Star System civilizations, and they were extremely rare. Furthermore, there would be a chance for him to become a wanted individual after the matter.
As part of the Lawful Faction, it would be even harder for him to obtain such a milestone. However, the benefit was that he would not become wanted.
Han Xiao was not too surprised that there was not a Political Asset reward. The Kunde Race was still lacking, and destroying them was not that important to the dynasty. However, he had managed to gain a series of favorability increases.
Apart from Tarrokov and the Ruler, all the various commanders including Teny had their favorability increased.
The dungeon formed was similar to the secret war and Germinal Organization dungeons; he would be able to form various different dungeons.
Because the Kunde Race was not too powerful, the dungeon created also would not be too difficult, but the reward would not be low.
After looking at his rewards, Han Xiao closed the interface and let out a long breath.
Spacetime Splicing Technology, Perfect Mechanical Sense, and the Mission Reward… my rewards this time were plentiful. The Kunde Race is the only obstacle, and the second exploration phase can go back on track after this…
Because of his interference, the outcome of the Kunde Race was changed.
In his previous life, the dynasty spent a long time finding the Kunde Race territory, which gave the Kunde Race enough time to move their civilian fleet. At the same time, the Kunde Race fleet also had sufficient preparation time and was not caught off guard like this time.
Understanding the map gave the Kunde Race a strategic advantage and the chance to analyze the dynasty's battle tactics. As such, the Kunde Race was not kept in the dark when the dynasty infiltrated their main system but managed to put up a fight.
As such, the Crimson Dynasty did not choose to negotiate but wiped out the Kunde Race.
However, a portion of their civilian fleets were able to escape and were not caught by the dynasty.
What Han Xiao did not know was that the Kunde Race's new homeland in his previous life was still within the Flickering World. After all, they did not understand what a Star Field was. The dynasty managed to discover the Kunde Race's new homeland in the exploration process. The dynasty had already placed huge emphasis on the Spacetime Splicing Technology by that time. As such, the Kunde Race's new homeland was reduced to dust, and they were secretly wiped out.
This time, destiny took a different path.
Han Xiao stroked his chin and entered the quantum network. He was prepared to see how the dynasty planned to deal with the Kunde Race.
In the Planet Lighthouse office, there were two figures. The one standing was Tarrokov, and the one seated was Urranrell's long distance projection.
The dynasty now had to worry about how to deal with the Kunde Race. Should they kill them or rear them? The Ruler and upper echelons had to make such a decision.
Tarrokov was currently giving a report to Urranrell, and they were talking about the problem regarding the captives.
"… It will be seven days before the arrival of the captives. Your Excellency, how should we deal with them?"
Urranrell then stroked her chin and said, "The upper echelons have already discussed this matter. Some support the idea of pulling up the weeds by the roots while others feel that we should rear and educate them. We have not come to a final decision. Do you have any suggestions?"
"The battle went smoothly, and since the enemy chose to surrender, I don't feel that there is a need to kill them unnecessarily," Tarrokov said. "We can choose to let them stay on a few planets within the dynasty's territory and keep a close watch over them. We shouldn't allow them to enter the Galactic Society temporarily and educate a few generations.
"If the outcome is good, we can make them into a vassal civilization. At that time, we can let them into the Galactic Society."
During war, he killed without any hesitation and would kill without even batting an eye. But outside of war, he was not a bloodthirsty individual.
"If this is the case, we will have to divide them out, and we need their leader to help us," Urranrell said.
"Yes, I am preparing to interrogate their leader later. Right, we conducted a series of tests on the upper echelons of the Kunde Race and detected some oddities within their mental state. They seem to have been affected by a Psychic Current to enlarge the regions of their brain in charge of anger and rashness."
Upon hearing that, a cold light flashed in Urranrell's eyes.
"Ah, it's the actions of those Star Cluster Civilizations again. They not only threw a bag of technological knowledge but also made use of a Psychic Current. If not, the other party might not have been so aggressive. Who was the one most affected by the Psychic Current? It should be their leader, right?"
"Wrong. The Kunde Race leader was the least affected."
Urranrell shook her head with resignation. "That's interesting. Is this something unique to their species?"
Beep beep.
Right at this moment, the communicator on the table rang. Tarrokov pressed a button, and his secretary's voice could be heard.
"Chief commander, Black Star is on the line. Should I connect his long-distance projection?"
"Why is he here now?" Tarrokov muttered before shaking his head. "I am giving a report to the Ruler. Ask him to wait for a while."
Right at this moment, Urranrell waved her hands. "It's alright. Let him in. He isn't an outsider."
"… Alright then."
Since the Ruler was willing, Tarrokov did not mind.
Very quickly, Han Xiao's projection appeared in the room, and he immediately saw Urranrell.
"Your Excellency, you are also here."
"Black Star, I heard of your contributions during this war. Good job." Urranrell nodded.
"My contributions were negligible," Han Xiao said humbly. "What are both of you talking about?"
"Nothing much. We are talking about how we should deal with the Kunde Race. A decision hasn't been made yet…" Urranrell then repeated the conversation simply before asking, "Black Star, do you have any suggestions?"
"I don't have any opinions. I am also here to ask the dynasty about how they plan to deal with this matter." Han Xiao raised his brow.
"Not having opinions is also a type of opinion." Urranrell then did not say anything.
She then looked at Tarrokov and got him to continue the report.
After listening to the report, Urranrell praised both of them before going offline.
After sending the Ruler away, Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao with a smile.
"I am going to interrogate the Kunde Race upper echelons. Do you want to join me?"
"Er, I am actually very busy." Han Xiao stroked his chin and said with a joking voice, "But since you invited me, I shall reluctantly go with you."
Perhaps he could trigger a special mission like with the DarkStar leader.
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Chapter 981 Interrogation and Wish
All the divisions were gathered to form a massive fleet to escort all the Kunde Race spaceships over to Planet Lighthouse.
The dynasty's fleet was in the periphery with the thousands of Kunde Race spaceships surrounded.
Their weapons had already been disarmed, and the energy cores were restricted to only allow the spaceships to fly. The entire fleet had lost the ability to fight back and was under the control of the dynasty. The spaceships of the Kunde Race fleet had already been transformed into a prison.
The main flagship of the Kunde Race fleet was the most heavily modified with the cabins of the spaceship being modified into jail rooms.
The command room was taken over by the dynasty soldiers, and two projections appeared in the command room. They were Tarrokov and Han Xiao.
"Paying our respects to the chief commander."
The moment both of them came online, the sound of the soldiers greeting their commander could be heard.
Tarrokov had already given notice of his visit, and the soldiers were waiting for him.
The various commanders of the different divisions were there with their aide-de-camps in the form of a long distance projection.
"It has been tough on everyone." Tarrokov smiled with a friendly attitude.
These young elite commanders would be the future stars of the dynasty, and Tarrokov was truly gratified at the sight of the talents before him.
As Han Xiao looked at the commanders present, he could not help but be slightly startled.
Woah, they're all bigshots!
A group of future commanders and bigshots were standing before him as though it was an inspection parade.
Because he knew the future identities of these commanders, Han Xiao found the scene to be a memorable one and almost wanted to take a picture of it.
"Your Excellency Black Star, you're also here." Teny was also within the group, and he greeted Han Xiao with a smile on his face.
"We meet again." Han Xiao nodded, and upon seeing the other commanders look over, he said, "I congratulate all of you for winning the war. Having such talented commanders is the honor of the dynasty."
The effect of an AOE flattery was not too bad at all!
Even though he was only an ally of the dynasty, his status exceeded these young elites who had yet to reach the height of their careers.
Everyone liked to listen to nice words, and everyone revealed a smile upon hearing Black Star's praise.
"Your Excellency Black Star was the true cornerstone of our victory by providing key intelligence."
"We only performed some manual labor. Your Excellency Black Star's contribution is the main reason for us winning the war."
Some of the commanders present immediately responded politely. Of course, there were a few commanders who did not say a thing but only nodded with respect.
Han Xiao replied with a smile, but his gaze was suddenly fixed on Gaud.
"Eh, you are…"
Han Xiao squinted and realized that he did not recognize the person before him.
Upon seeing that, Gaud smiled and took the initiative to say, "I have long heard of your great name, Your Excellency Black Star."
"This is Gaud, one of the Supers that the dynasty is grooming. I heard that he survived a Primordial Psionic Energy explosion and is extremely outstanding." Tarrokov laughed and made the introduction.
"Hello Gaud."
Han Xiao then continued greeting the other commanders while secretly entering the quantum network to check on Gaud's records.
Checking a person's background was something that he was used to doing.
With his current status, checking the information of some commanders would not be a problem.
The next moment, Gaud's resume appeared before him, and the resume seemed extremely simple without a problem.
However, when he wanted to view more detailed information, a notification popped up and warned him about a lack of clearance.
"I can't see it? It seems like they truly place great importance on him."
Han Xiao would not bother breaking through the firewall of the dynasty for no good reason to invoke their dissatisfaction.
Tarrokov said that Gaud was a Super that the dynasty was grooming. The dynasty would only groom two different kinds of Supers—those with a special ability or superior potential. This fellow was only a Calamity Grade Super at most, and since he was able to survive in the Primordial Psionic Energy explosion, he should belong to the first group.
In his previous life, the Great Mechanic Han belonged to the Crimson Dynasty faction and was extremely familiar with the various bigshots of the dynasty. If Gaud was truly a Super groomed by the dynasty, he should have some impression of the other party.
However, he could be sure that he had never heard of such a character before, and he did not have any memory of Gaud. There was not such a character in his previous life.
Has the storyline been changed again? Han Xiao thought to himself. I wonder where this new guy came from.
Although he was in doubt, he did not find the matter too strange.
After doing so many things, he should have already caused the butterfly effect, and it would not be strange for a few new characters to show up.
Not to mention the others, even the current manager of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus, was a leek that he had dug up.
Upon looking at Han Xiao's suave appearance, Gaud's lips curled up slightly.
"Your Excellency Black Star, perhaps we may become comrades in the future."
Han Xiao snapped out of his thoughts. "Are we not comrades now?"
"Ah, you understand what I mean," Gaud said with a calm smile.
"… How ambitious, I shall wait for you then." Han Xiao raised his brows.
Does he mean that he will become a Beyond Grade A like me? This fellow is pretty confident.
He then committed Gaud to his memory before shifting his gaze away.
After chatting with the others casually, he brought out his universal 'I will treat you to a meal next time' ending phrase, and the various commanders went offline.
Only Han Xiao and Tarrokov were left behind, and they continued to patrol the entire spaceship under the guide of the soldiers.
The Kunde Race civilians were all held in the same place while the upper echelons were locked up separately. Han Xiao first patrolled the civilian region with Tarrokov.
It was just like a refugee camp.
Countless Kunde Race civilians were gathered together with fear and unease in their eyes.
Before the start of the war, many of them were unwilling to leave and felt that the enemy was only imaginary.
But now, the civilians were filled with fear in their hearts. They were like prey awaiting the descent of the butcher's knife.
Before this, they were the race ruling over the entire Star Cluster. However, they were now reduced to captives.
After patrolling the civilian district, both of them went to the district where the upper echelons were locked up. They stood outside the interrogation room of the Kunde Race leader and looked at the other party through the window.
Although he was already a captive, the Kunde Race leader still stood up straight and maintained his cool. His eyes were currently shut in meditation.
"I will just listen by the side when you are interrogating him," Han Xiao said to Tarrokov.
The main interrogator was Tarrokov; he was only there to watch. Besides, the Kunde Race leader probably would not recognize him.
Tarrokov then nodded and said to the soldier beside him, "Open the door."
In the interrogation room, the Kunde Race leader was seated down and trying his best to sit up straight.
He was not as calm as he looked, but he needed to maintain his cool. In his eyes, he was the final representative of the Kunde Race.
Swoosh!
The door opened, and the Kunde Race leader opened his eyes to watch two figures walk in.
One of them was the military commander Tarrokov, whom he had seen before, and the other was extremely foreign to him. He was dressed in a black windbreaker and looked like a bigshot.
"This is the second time that we have met," Tarrokov said with a poker face. "Our party has already fulfilled our side of the promise and didn't massacre your race. You now have to tell me everything that you know, including your thoughts and logic when deciding to attack us, the reason for your attack, and everything related to this attack. Remember that your answer will determine our attitude toward how we choose to deal with you. You'd better not hide anything, or the one to regret it definitely won't be me."
Virtual Technology could steal information for them, but they would not be able to understand the other party's thought process through it. This was the main point of their interrogation today.
The Kunde Race leader knew that it was only a matter of time before he was interrogated and did not dare hide anything. At the same time, he did not have any intention of hiding anything and said everything that he knew with a heavy heart.
Upon hearing the other party narrate his story, Tarrokov typed out a report. From time to time, Han Xiao looked over and saw a few negative terms such as 'xenophobic ideology', 'native arrogance', 'vengeful culture', and 'unsuitable for living together'.
These aren't good terms… Han Xiao blinked.
This interrogation report would definitely affect the decision of the dynasty, and these words were dangerous.
After a while, the Kunde Race leader finally finished what he had to say.
"Your existence would take away our room for growth, and we are thus willing to find a new homeland that won't be disturbed. We aren't willing to live together with all of you as it will only limit our growth and development."
Upon hearing that, Tarrokov nodded and said without hiding anything, "You are right. We will never allow you to rise up."
None of them were saints, and the Crimson Dynasty did not explore the Flickering World so that they can live harmoniously with the natives. They were not planning to let the natives develop and only planned to give them some space to survive.
For most of the natives, it was not a bad thing. The three Universal Civilizations would educate them, and they would receive advanced technological knowledge. However, to the Kunde Race, which had a certain scale, it was a calamity.
The three Universal Civilizations were not interested in having more civilizations eyeing their positions and would definitely restrict their growth.
The Crimson Dynasty did not hate the actions of the Kunde Race. After all, that gave them the best excuse to subdue the other party with military might.
"However," Tarrokov added, "I think that you understand that the spaceship wreckage that you obtained was provided by one of our competitors. They were only making use of you to deal with us.
"They armed you with technology to strengthen your military but fed you false information about the dynasty. They did not tell you the strength of the Crimson Dynasty, which made you think that you had the strength to retaliate.
"The spaceship wreckage was like a poisonous fruit. The technological skill was the sweetness of the fruit that hid a deadly poison.
"As such, all of you thought that the psionic energy, hyperdrive, stargate technology that you received would fill up the gap between both parties. You thought that you had received the weapons that we had. However, the truth is that our weapons are generations ahead of the ones that you received.
"You have already seen the outcome. We had the chance to live together. Although you would have lost the opportunity to develop, you would have retained your independence. At times, losing something may not be a bad choice."
Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader shook his head and said, "Doing nothing as we watch our road to development get blocked isn't the style of the Kunde Race. We would rather take a gamble."
"Well said. A civilization without ambition has no future. I can understand your actions." Tarrokov nodded with agreement before saying, "However, your only mistake was that you chose the wrong opponent."
The Kunde Race leader then lowered his head.
He did not regret his choice, but he was still filled with hatred.
However, he did not hate the Crimson Dynasty the most but the masterminds who had made use of them!
They were the true people who had caused their destruction!
"Alright, we shall stop here today. Thank you for your cooperation."
Tarrokov then stood up and was prepared to leave the interrogation room.
"Wait a moment!" the Kunde Race leader suddenly said. "You guys won't wipe us out but plan to rear us, right?"
"There is such a possibility. However, we will not follow your actions and limit your intelligence. We will only educate your race with our culture."
The Kunde Race nodded with understanding and took a deep breath. "So… I will have to die for sure, right?"
Tarrokov paused for a moment and chose not to hide the truth. "You will become the target for your race to vent their anger and go down as a lesson in history. You will be the best tool."
Han Xiao shook his head upon hearing that.
These people liked to speak in riddles. Thankfully, he understood what they said.
If the dynasty wanted to educate the Kunde Race, they needed to choose a puppet leader. However, this puppet leader definitely would not be the current leader.
This Kunde Race leader would be treated as a puppet to put on a show.
The end of this show would definitely end in his execution.
"I understand. There needs to be someone to shoulder the blame, and I don't mind leaving behind a name of shame." The Kunde Race leader was already prepared to die. "I can work together with all of you to put on a show, but I have two requests… Don't look at me like that. I know that I do not have the right to bargain, but I can only say these words to you. You can just treat it as a wish of mine."
"… then please speak."
"First, we have already surrendered, and it won't matter if you kill me. I hope that you will take care of my race and not kill anyone else. Second…" The body of the Kunde Race leader suddenly began trembling, and he said with a malevolent voice, "I want the people who made use of us to pay the price!"
Tarrokov then walked out as though he did not hear anything.
Upon seeing that, the Kunde Race leader lowered his head silently.
He knew that the other party would not accept his request, but this might be the last time he could say such words.
Right at this moment, a black figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
The Kunde Race leader looked up, and it was the black figure who had not said a word since he entered.
The words he heard then shocked him.
"I agree to your request."
The Kunde Race leader was shocked.
Tarrokov paused and looked back with a puzzled look.
Han Xiao continued with a calm expression.
"I will write a petition to the dynasty for the members of your race to be placed in my territory. As for making the masterminds pay, it isn't a difficult matter."
He would not do this if there were no benefits for him. When the Kunde Race leader said his final wish, a new mission had popped up on his interface.
Upon seeing the Mission Requirements and reward, he decided that he had to accept this mission!
"Who are you‽"
Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader finally could not help but ask about Han Xiao's identity.
"You can call me Black Star. As for who I am… you just need to know one thing."
Han Xiao smiled.
"I am someone who can get rid of your entire race single-handedly."
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Chapter 982 Proof of Leadership
"You…" The Kunde Race leader was stunned as he looked at Han Xiao.
You would be able to get rid of my entire race alone? This was the first time he had heard such a tyrannical introduction.
Just what kind of a background did this stranger have‽
His reaction was disbelief, but he quickly remembered that the other party came from an advanced civilization that had Supers. Everything was possible, and he had to throw away his old-fashioned thoughts.
He did not understand Han Xiao's identity in the dynasty, but since the other party dared to say something like this, he was definitely a bigshot!
Thinking about it this way, this self-introduction of his was truly fantastic. Han Xiao immediately got the other party to understand his identity.
Why would a bigshot that he had never met agree to his final request?
Why‽
Was it pity?
Or was the other party only pretending to agree to ensure that he played along?
He was filled with doubts.
When he first raised the request, he did not have much hope and never expected the other party to truly agree.
All of a sudden, the Kunde Race leader was filled with disbelief and did not know what to say.
"Are you worried that I am joking?" Han Xiao looked at the Kunde Race leader. "There isn't a point for me to lie to you. Since I promised you, I will definitely complete my promise."
The Kunde Race leader then could not help but ask, "Why do you want to help me?"
"Good question." Han Xiao chuckled. "I am a person full of care and concern. I enjoy helping others and am a benevolent individual. Just treat it as me pitying the Kunde Race. This matter isn't a big deal to me."
By the side, Tarrokov's face twitched slightly.
Brother, can you be less shameless?
You have at least half the responsibility for the defeat of the Kunde Race! You are making it sound as though we are the evil ones!
His skin is probably thick enough to tank a psionic cannon… Oh, it seems as though it really is possible.
Tarrokov cursed in his heart while the Kunde Race leader was extremely moved.
It was as though he had come to the end of the road and descended into pitch black darkness. However, a sudden ray of light came into the world, and a helping hand was extended to him.
"Thank you…" The Kunde Race leader clenched his fists and said with agitation, "It is a blessing to have met someone like you at the end of my life. It is a pity that I don't have anything to pay you back with."
"Ah, it's nothing. I don't need any payment." Han Xiao chuckled and could not even believe his own words.
Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader was even more moved.
This individual called Black Star was truly the best person in the universe!
Pa!
Tarrokov face palmed and was completely speechless.
The scene before him was truly too ridiculous.
The other party is responsible for your race's defeat, but you are still full of gratitude toward him‽
I am truly resigned. After committing murder, you are actually able to let the victims be grateful toward you.
At this moment, Tarrokov came to a conclusion.
Black Star is indeed perverse.
I'd better stay far away from him. I am going to retire soon. I don't want to be led astray by him.
Han Xiao chuckled and left the room together with Tarrokov.
Walking out of the room, Tarrokov turned around and asked with doubt, "Black Star, why did you agree to him?"
He truly never expected this to happen. He originally thought that Black Star was only there to kill time but never expected the other party to do something like this. He also could not understand Black Star's motives.
Han Xiao then waved his arms and said, "I am in a good mood and wish to be a good person."
"So, you weren't teasing him just now?"
"Of course not. I am being very serious. Wait a moment, are you misunderstanding something?"
Ignoring Han Xiao's words, Tarrokov began to frown.
"But didn't you just say that you won't interfere in the way the dynasty deals with the Kunde Race? Are you trying to say that you are prepared to change your attitude and support keeping these captives?"
"Ha, there are no constants in the universe. Can't I change my mind?" Han Xiao raised his brows.
"Alright." Tarrokov nodded. "I will convey your wishes to the Ruler. As for whether your face is useful, that isn't something that I can consider."
"This is enough." Han Xiao smiled.
At this moment, Tarrokov looked around and suddenly said in a hushed tone, "Tell me the truth. What is your intention?"
"Hmm? Didn't I say that it was because I am in a good mood?"
"Ah." Tarrokov had a 'don't try to bluff me' look on his face.
Upon seeing that, Han Xiao shook his head with resignation and said, "Alright then, I shall be honest. The population of the Kunde Race is at the level of a Star Cluster. Although it will take a long time to educate them, their population will be a treasure chest after the education. If I can arrange for them to stay in my territory, they will be my manpower for the future. The dynasty doesn't need the population of the Kunde Race, but it is an opportunity for my development."
Upon hearing that, Tarrokov revealed a smile that said, 'I knew it!'
That's right, this is the Black Star that I know. How could he possibly have such a good heart?
You truly live up to your reputation.
After thinking for a while, Tarrokov felt that Han Xiao's plan was not bad. If the dynasty wanted to keep the Kunde Race, they would have to think about where they should arrange for the race to stay. The size of the population would be an important resource, and many allies would eye on this piece of meat. The way he saw it, Black Star was only asking beforehand.
As for agreeing to his so-called wish, he understood Han Xiao too well and felt that it was probably no more than an excuse.
Han Xiao took a peek at his interface while Tarrokov was in thought.
You have triggered the mission [Kunde Race Leader's Last Wish].
Mission Introduction: The Kunde Race lost in the war, and their entire race is now the captives of the dynasty with their future unknown. The Kunde Race leader is prepared to die and has told you his final wish.
Mission Requirements: 1. Settle the Kunde Race down and provide them with protection during the education period. 2. Take revenge against the mastermind that made use of the Kunde Race to deal with the Crimson Dynasty.
Failure Condition: Population of the Kunde Race less than 80% of the population at the start.
Complete the first requirement. Reward: 6,000,000,000 Experience, 10,000 Kunde Race Favorability (Current Favorability: -1500, Relationship: [Hatred]), 2 Random Rewards, 4 Political Assets (Kunde Race)
Kunde Race will enter into the [Awakening Era, 10% chance of becoming a Super.
Complete the second requirement. Reward: 12,000,000,000 Experience, 15,000 Kunde Race Favorability, 1 Designated Character Summon Card, talent [The Enemy, talent [Proof of Leadership, and special skill [Kunde Rage].
[The Enemy: The greater the loss of your health, the higher your damage. Maximum bonus 25%. Effects will be refreshed after leaving combat state. You can use summoned creatures and machinery during the effect.
[Proof of Leadership: You will receive an all-round bonus when you are the leader of a race. The bonus will be dependent on the size and level of the faction. No upper limit.
[Kunde Rage: After activating the skill, -5% health/s for a maximum of 40s. x2.0 Psychological Resistance, 5% damage, -5% INT, -20% CHA, -10% LUK. You will also be immune to all mental status effects apart from [Rage]. Cooldown: 5 min. Let rage fill your head!
The instant Han Xiao saw the mission, he knew that he had to do this mission. The rewards were truly out of his expectations and a huge surprise!
It was far too plentiful!
Han Xiao remained expressionless but was truly overjoyed in his heart.
Although the Kunde Race leader was not a Super, he was the leader of a Star Cluster Civilization and thus could give extremely good rewards.
The experience and Random Reward for the first mission requirement were pretty normal. Han Xiao only placed a huge emphasis on the Political Asset reward. Apart from obtaining experience more efficiently, it would also give him a bigger say in the Kunde Race.
The dynasty wanted to make the Kunde Race into a vassal. But even if they were weakened, they still had the foundation of a Star Cluster Civilization.
The excuse Han Xiao gave Tarrokov was not false. If the Kunde Race remained in his territory, the benefits from their large population size was not something to underestimate.
After completing the mission, the Kunde Race would enter a new generation. There would be an increase in the chance of them becoming a Super. While ten percent did not seem like much, ten percent of a few billion was no small amount. Furthermore, it also gave him a large amount of Favorability with the Kunde Race, and his relationship with them would be increased to [Reverence] directly. This meant that the Kunde Race would be his strength to a certain extent.
However, most of the Grade S mission introductions were pretty simple. The first mission only said that he had to provide protection but did not mention when it would be completed. Han Xiao estimated that his mission would only end when the dynasty unsealed the Kunde Race. Thus, the mission would probably take a long time to complete.
The second mission, however, would be different.
According to the request of the Kunde Race leader, his target was to take revenge on the masterminds behind the scene.
The rewards for the second mission requirement were what made Han Xiao take the mission.
Not to mention a designated Character Summon Card, he would still be able to obtain three abilities.
[The Enemy] was a practical talent and suitable for him.
To a normal individual, by the time he accumulated enough damage to reach the upper limit of the talent, he would probably be left with a sliver of health.
However, Han Xiao would be able to easily recover his health, and this twenty-five percent additional damage was like a cookie that dropped down from the sky!
Furthermore, it would also be effective with summoned creatures and machinery. This meant that the damage of his entire mechanical army would be increased!
[Proof of Leadership] was the most powerful of the three abilities and had great fame among the players in his previous life.
Players could also obtain this ability!
Only the leader of a faction would be able to activate the effects of this talent, and it was similar to a Molding Talent. Players could also form their own armed organizations and hire NPCs.
In the future versions, the players would definitely have a fixed channel to obtain the [Proof of Leadership] talent. In order to activate the talent, a large number of players would form their own factions, and it would be the start of a new era.
The bonus of the talent was determined by the size of the faction. To the players without any fame or money, this talent was completely useless. However, the workshops and guilds were able to fully utilize the benefits of this talent.
In his previous life, as a lone wolf, Han Xiao had never activated the [Proof of Leadership] talent. However, he was extremely clear about just how powerful the [Proof of Leadership] can be!
"If I am able to obtain this talent now, the effects will be unimaginable!"
Han Xiao was truly excited. He was extremely passionate about the abilities that could increase his strength.
The final skill, [Kunde Rage, also made his eyes light up.
Double Psychological Resistance was extremely powerful!
Han Xiao's Psychological Resistance had always been his weakness, and he was interested in any skill that could increase his Psychological Resistance.
Furthermore, it would also allow him to be immune to all negative mental statuses during a short period of time. It was almost akin to a skill that would give him immunity to all mental control abilities.
The skill required him to exhaust his health, and it required five percent of his health every second. His health would run out in twenty seconds, and this skill can only be maintained for forty seconds maximum. Most people would only be able to activate this skill for a few seconds.
However, Han Xiao's recovery was overpowered, and he would be able to recover ten percent of his health every second. Activating it for a full forty seconds would not be a problem.
The only thing that Han Xiao did not understand was the name of the skill.
Since you're angry, shouldn't your attack be increased? Why would your resistance be increased instead?
In any case, these three abilities are very useful. As long as I can complete the mission, my strength will be greatly increased. Especially [Proof of Leadership]. It is best for me to obtain it as quickly as possible.
The second mission requirement was for him to take revenge on the mastermind. However, the mission did not explain what was considered revenge. He would have to figure that out on his own. In that regard, it was similar to Godora's [Bloodline] mission.
However, the mission rewards were truly tempting, and Han Xiao would try his best to complete it.
Han Xiao was extremely satisfied with the unexpected reward.
After deactivating his long-distance projection, Tarrokov immediately gave a report to Urranrell. He sent over a record of the interrogation and Han Xiao's previous actions.
"You are saying that Black Star decided to change his mind after observing the captive? He feels that we should educate them instead?"
"Yes."
"Hmm…" Urranrell fell into deep thought. "What's the reason?"
"He said that it is for their population…" Tarrokov then briefly explained what Han Xiao had said.
Urranrell then nodded and said, "Since it is the opinion of our ally, we will have to consider it carefully."
Black Star's value was much higher than the defeated Kunde Race. After all, a National Pillar was not common, but there were plenty of vassal civilizations.
On top of that, Black Star contributed greatly in this war, and his opinion was highly regarded by the dynasty.
In truth, dealing with the Kunde Race was an ordinary matter to the dynasty, and it was not of great importance. Placing them in the territory of the Black Star Army was not an issue. It would not only increase the population of their ally's territory, and their ally would also be able to help look after the Kunde Race.
However, Black Star was not their only ally, and they had to balance the various opinions before deciding whether to give this piece of meat to Black Star.
As for dealing with the mastermind, the Kunde Race leader was not the only one who wanted to do so. The dynasty also had such intentions.
Although their opponent was the Kunde Race, the Star Cluster Civilization that had thrown out the bag of technology was the true culprit, and the dynasty did not plan to let the culprit go.
Furthermore, the exploration of the Flickering World had not been completed yet, and if they incited a few more native civilizations to create trouble, it would impede the dynasty's progress greatly.
As such, it would be impossible for the dynasty to allow the people creating trouble to get off scot free.
Han Xiao's intention was in line with the dynasty's plans.
"If that's the case, we should investigate which organization threw the spaceship into the Kunde Race."
A cold glint could be seen in Urranrell's eyes.
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Chapter 983 Mastermind
The Kunde Race war happened in the Flickering World, and the dynasty kept the process of the war confidential. As such, this matter did not create a huge storm in the explored universe, with few paying attention to it.
Only a few special organizations had paid close attention to the war.
In the Primeval Star River, Planet Three Kings was an iconic planet and the capital planet of the Modo Civilization.
Modo Civilization was also known as the Modo Three Kings Alliance, and they were in charge of one of the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Primeval Star River.
The Three Kings Alliance referred to the political situation in the Modo Civilization.
During the exploration era, the ruler of the Modo Civilization was a member of the Modo Race. The Modo Race attempted to swallow two other powerful civilizations during the exploration era, but they did not have sufficient strength to swallow up the enemy.
As the war dragged on, there were many parties eyeing the three civilizations. As such, the three civilizations could only choose to ceasefire and negotiate. The most powerful Modo Race did not need to return all the territory that they conquered. The borders of the three civilizations became joint. As trade returned to normal, the three races began mixing with each other and showed signs of merging.
After that, the war in the exploration era became even more terrifying. The Modo Race and their two old opponents felt threatened by their opponents. Since the three of their territories were near each other, they covered each other's back, and after a long period of working together, they decided to form an alliance to survive.
As the flames of war expanded and time went on, the three parties gradually expanded and their territory, technology, economy, and military gradually reached the level of a Star Cluster. During the long period of the war, the signs of the three races merging together grew even more obvious with political marriages being held among the upper echelons.
If things went on normally, the three civilizations might have ended up like the three Universal Civilizations and schemed against each other. However, they were not the winners of the exploration era and could only listen to the rules of the three Universal Civilizations.
After the war, it was time to split up the benefits of the war. The various advanced civilizations finally established proper laws, and every advanced civilization became extremely active in foreign diplomacy to solidify their position.
At that time, there were three Super Star Cluster Civilizations that were the most powerful. The Modo Civilization and the other two parties were only Star Cluster civilizations and did not have the rights to manage the Star Field.
Since the three parties already had plenty of marriages with each other and were almost like a big family, they decided to just merge together so that they could become a Super Star Cluster Civilization and obtain greater rights.
It was extremely rare to see the merger of civilizations, but there were a few examples in the exploration era.
There needed to be a foundation behind the merger, and the three civilizations had sufficient foundations. The three parties had been in an alliance for a long time, and their races got along pretty well. Furthermore, their economy and culture had already been merged into one, and many outsiders already treated the three as one civilization.
As such, the Modo Civilization managed to gain the approval of the three Universal Civilizations and became the fourth Super Star Cluster Civilization in the Primeval Star River.
After many years of development, the Modo Civilization had already solidified their place as a Super Star Cluster Civilization and was a top notch civilization in the explored universe.
At this moment, the three kings of the Modo Civilization were gathered on the capital planet and listening to a report.
"The report shows that the dynasty has already recalled their forces. This means that those natives have been taken care of. The dynasty's losses are almost negligible."
A figure could be seen in the conference room. It was a mixed blood upper echelon dressed in military attire.
He was skinny and had an eerie aura around him.
His name was called Madison, and he was an upper echelon of the Modo Civilization. He was in charge of intelligence and stealth missions.
The Modo Civilization had also sent stowaways to the Flickering World like the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations, and Madison was the one in charge of the operation.
He was the one who had come up with the idea to make use of the Kunde Race to injure the Crimson Dynasty.
"These natives are far too useless. They weren't even able to injure the dynasty's fleet." One of the leaders shook his head.
"Natives will be natives, after all; we cannot have too high expectations of them," Madison said expressionlessly.
The life and death of the Kunde Race was not even within his consideration. They were no more than a tool to him.
"What are your plans?"
"I have already gotten the stowaway fleet in the Flickering World to continue their exploration and find the next native civilization that we can make use of," Madison said calmly. "With this native civilization as an example, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations will also mimic our actions. Not only will it create trouble for the dynasty, we can also borrow the dynasty's strength to get rid of our future competitors."
"You'd better not let the dynasty find out that we are the ones behind this," another leader said with a deep voice.
"Don't worry, Your Excellencies." Madison's lips curled up with a sneer. "I have already made the relevant arrangements. It is impossible for the dynasty to find out who the culprit is."
A couple of days later, the dynasty's fleet finally escorted the Kunde Race back to Planet Lighthouse. The dynasty had also decided on how they should deal with the Kunde Race and informed Han Xiao.
"The dynasty decided to settle the Kunde Race down in your territory and educate them. During this period, you must cut off their connection from the Galactic Society, and they will be in your charge."
Tarrokov brought this piece of good news to Han Xiao.
"Alright then, just leave the matter to me. Please thank Her Excellency for me."
Urranrell's words must have played a huge part in the dynasty's decision.
This way, the first mission requirement would probably be fulfilled.
"Hmm, there will be people meeting up with your Black Star Army later." Tarrokov nodded before changing the topic. "There is something else. The dynasty is currently investigating the mastermind behind this matter. However, there are few clues, and the spaceship wreckage is of a very common model. We aren't able to find its serial number, and we have to first trace the spaceship to the stowaways first. We may need your help for this."
"I would be happy to help." Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. Since this matter was related to the mission, he would naturally be willing to help.
Finding the identity of the mastermind was the first step to completing the mission. However, the stowaways would have definitely escaped into the unexplored region. It was no different from finding a needle in a haystack, and it was a challenging task.
He would probably have to seek Aesop's help for this.
The mission introduction was extremely vague, but he was certain that relying on the dynasty's punishment would not complete the mission requirement. He would still have to rely on himself in the end.
This means that I will have to clash with a complete Super Star Cluster Civilization…
Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.
There would definitely be dangers, but he still had some advantages. After all, the three Universal Civilizations enjoyed bullying these Super Star Cluster Civilizations the most.
Thus, it shouldn't matter even if I go overboard.
"Right, the direct broadcast of the Kunde Race upper echelons will be starting soon. You will be mentioned. Do you want to watch it together?" Tarrokov said.
Han Xiao nodded. "Okay."
At the same time, on the Kunde Race flagship, a dynasty intelligence officer threw a document to the Kunde Race leader.
The Kunde Race leader, who had his eyes shut, picked up the document and read it slowly.
After reading it carefully, he slowly said, "This is the outcome that you have prepared for me? I will work together with you."
"I know, but we still need some insurance," the dynasty intelligence officer said expressionlessly and held onto the Kunde Race leader's head to plant a Psychic bomb.
This would not influence the Kunde Race leader's independent thought, but they would be able to control his thoughts remotely.
"I have already made a deal with His Excellency Black Star and will not make a silly move. This is a pointless action." The Kunde Race leader shook his head.
The intelligence officer did not reply and said with a deep voice, "Follow me. It is time for the live broadcast."
Letting out a long breath, the Kunde Race leader stood up and tidied up his clothes.
After a full minute and ensuring that there were no creases or dust left behind on his clothes, he departed and welcomed his death.
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Chapter 984 Punishmen
A large number of Kunde Race civilians were held in the Kunde Race flagship. A simple carpet was laid out on the ground, and the civilians were all cramped up together like refugees.Swoosh!
The door opened up, and a butler-type robot walked in with a push cart with boxes of food stacked on it.
"It's time to eat!" the dynasty soldiers who were currently on duty cried out.
Ever since they became captives, these Kunde Race civilians had lived in fear toward their unknown future. However, they were not abused in any way. The dynasty gave them their meals every day, and the civilians had calmed down greatly because of this. None of them made any irrational moves.
The butler-type robot then weaved through the crowd to pass out food. These captives all sat up straight and began devouring their food as they chatted with each other. The atmosphere was still pretty calm.
In the crowd, an adult and a child were eating their meal. The female adult then poured half of her food for her child.
"Mummy, aren't you eating?" Upon seeing that, this child raised his head.
"You eat first. I will eat after you are done."
The adult female looked at her son lovingly.
"No, let's eat together." The child shook his head and mumbled, "If only daddy was here. Mummy, where did daddy go?"
Upon hearing that, the mother fell silent. She then looked at her son and forced out a smile. "Your father may be on another spaceship and is unable to visit us. He will come and visit us after everything is over."
"Hurray! I really miss him," the child said with excitement. "When will everything be over?"
"It should be soon…"
She obviously was not confident, but she still had to force herself to look calm.
Upon seeing her child engrossed in his meal, she turned around and wiped her tears away.
She knew full well that her husband would probably have met with misfortune… because her husband was a military officer.
She had been sent away at the start of the war but brought back again as a captive because of the dynasty. Although the dynasty had sealed off all information, she could imagine the losses in the battlefield since the Kunde Race had lost.
Since she could not communicate with the outside world, she did not know if her husband was dead or alive, and she was still holding onto the last bit of hope in her heart. In front of her child, she had to suppress her fear and unease, and she was enduring a huge pressure in her heart.
After her child went to sleep at night, her face would be washed in tears as she wept silently.
She did not know how the Crimson Dynasty would treat them and could only lie to her own child.
Beep beep beep…
Right at this moment, a holographic screen popped out and attracted everyone's attention.
A familiar figure then appeared on the screen.
"It's the leader!"
A commotion broke out immediately with some of them standing up.
The same scene happened on all the Kunde Race prison spaceships. Most of them were completely clueless about what was happening on the outside after the dynasty sealed off all news. This was the first piece of news that they had received ever since they became captives and also the first time that they had seen their leader on the television since.
This mother placed down her food and pulled her child to watch the screen.
On the screen, the Kunde Race leader faced the camera and slowly said, "Members of my fellow race, I have a piece of news to announce. We have lost the war completely, and around seventy percent of our military strength has been wiped out. The fleets that are lost or destroyed are as follows…"
He then began reading out the long list of units that had been lost or destroyed. The family members of the soldiers all had their attention focused on the screen, afraid that they might miss a number.
As the list was read out, there would be some who collapsed on the ground with their hearts shattered and heart-wrenching crying from time to time.
This little child did not really understand what was going on. However, he suddenly felt his mother's body swaying, having almost collapsed. He hurriedly turned around to hold her hands.
"Mummy, what's wrong?"
This mother's body was trembling slightly. If she was a human, her face would definitely have been pale at the moment. She stabilized her body and tried to speak calmly. "I'm alright."
She had heard the name of the fleet that her husband was serving, and her final trace of hope had been shattered. Her vision blacked out, and she almost fainted.
But upon thinking about her son beside her, she suppressed her emotions and could not even cry.
Sobbing sounds could be heard everywhere, and grief filled the entire room.
After finally reading out the entire list, the Kunde Race leader said with a deep voice, "I have to take responsibility for the loss of the war. This wrong decision made by the upper echelons resulted in the loss today.
"In truth, this war could have been avoided. The enemy wasn't the one who started the war; I was.
"The dynasty came from afar to explore the unknown. They are actually a peace-loving civilization, but my arrogance and enmity blinded my heart. A third party made use of me to view the Crimson Dynasty with enmity. We then attempted to take the initiative to attack the Crimson Dynasty, which incurred the rage of the dynasty.
"We originally had the chance to live together peacefully without any war or bloodshed. We would only have had to change our culture. It is a pity that my mistake resulted in us losing this option.
"My arrogance destroyed the bridge for both parties to communicate. I take responsibility for everything that has happened, and my mistake has pushed the entire civilization into the pits of despair."
He then took out a document, which was the confidential report of the first psionic explosion trap and the dynasty's casualty tabulation to prove that he was not lying.
Following which, the Kunde Race leader stood up and bowed to the screen.
"I was the one who destroyed many families in this war, and I apologize for that."
Everyone now understood the reason for this speech. It was for him to own up to his mistakes and explain the reasons for the war.
Looking at this scene, many people flew into a rage.
I'm sorry?
You caused such great harm to the entire race. Is apologizing even useful‽
If not for you starting the war, all those soldiers wouldn't have died, and we would still be leading a normal life. How would we have been reduced to captives‽
It is all because of you that our civilization has met with such a crisis! All of these could have been avoided!
A single sorry is enough‽
The Kunde Race leader then returned to his seat and continued speaking expressionlessly.
"I know that everyone is very concerned about how the Crimson Dynasty will deal with us. Rest assured, the Crimson Dynasty is a civilization far more advanced than us, and they will not massacre commoners or take away our intelligence. They have decided to let go of us and settle us down in another Star System. They will return our freedom to us and help us construct our new homeland…"
Upon hearing that, everyone began to calm down slightly. This was the problem that they were all worried about.
It was already extremely lucky for them to emerge alive, and the other party was still willing to let them go and return their freedom.
It seems like the Crimson Dynasty is a peace-loving civilization indeed… Many people had such a thought.
Their race had provoked the war and was in the wrong, but the dynasty still treated the captives with mercy and behaved benevolently. After making such a comparison, everyone's enmity toward the dynasty weakened.
Of course, there was no such thing as rationality for such a matter. As the party who started the war, there were still many people in the Kunde Race who harbored hatred toward the dynasty, especially the family members of the soldiers.
However, after this explanation, their anger was mainly directed toward the Kunde Race leader.
At this moment, the Kunde Race leader took out another document with Han Xiao's resume written on it. This was provided by the dynasty.
"Our new homeland will be in the territory of a bigshot in the Crimson Dynasty. His name is Black Star, and he will provide protection for us. He is a respected figure, and it was because of his request that the dynasty decided to return us our freedom."
Looking at Han Xiao's picture on the document, everyone remembered this individual who had spoken up for them.
In the office on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao's projection was currently watching the Kunde Race leader's speech together with Tarrokov. Upon seeing that scene, Han Xiao looked at Tarrokov and laughed.
"You guys are truly the best. You didn't only give me the resources of the Kunde Race population but also helped me build up my image for free."
Tarrokov took a sip of his tea and smiled. "You're welcome."
The speech continued, and the Kunde Race leader introduced their new homeland to them but did not mention anything about the propaganda and lockdown of news that they would be subjected to.
"The outcome today is a result of poor strategies, and the upper echelons will have to take responsibility for this matter. The upper echelons will all be punished, and I will keep this lesson in mind to lead our race with wisdom in the future to build up our new homeland."
Boom!
As these words were said, the crowd immediately broke out in a huge uproar.
"What right does he have to lead us after making such a huge mistake?"
"He punished all the upper echelons but didn't suffer the slightest punishment? Too hypocritical!"
"Does he plan to hold on to the position of leader until he dies‽"
Everyone flew into a rage.
The entire race was harmed by you to such an extent. What right do you have to continue leading us‽
Did we agree‽
All the other upper echelons are to be executed, but your only explanation to us is a simple 'sorry'‽
What's the meaning of this‽
Even if you aren't executed, you should step down at least!
Your desire for power is too strong!
The entire race has been defeated, but you are still sitting in such a position. On what basis‽
Although you seem to be blaming yourself, you are actually making the other upper echelons the scapegoat!
At this moment, the Kunde Race leader stood up and revealed a smile. "I will head to every spaceship to comfort and encourage all of you personally. I hope to bring all of you the courage to start off again. Defeat isn't scary, and I… will be able to make the Kunde Race great again."
These words should have encouraged the Kunde Race greatly, but almost everyone was furiously glaring at the Kunde Race leader on the screen.
The Kunde Race leader then stood up and walked out with a floating camera floating behind him.
At this moment, the door opened, and a member of the Kunde Race walked in. The civilians all looked over and began whispering among themselves.
"Who is this person? Why is he able to move around freely?"
"I know who he is. He is one of the secretaries by the leader's side. He's appeared on television before."
This secretary then clapped his hands and got everyone to keep quiet before speaking.
"Everyone, this will be the leader's first stop, and I hope that everyone can pretend to be full of gratitude to increase the leader's prestige."
Everyone was enraged.
You still want us to put up a show at this moment‽
All of our family members have just died in the war, and we still have to work together with you and appear grateful‽
Many individuals clenched their fists with their bodies trembling.
They did not even know how to describe their own feelings. Their anger toward the leader had reached its peak.
Very quickly, footsteps could be heard from the outside, and the door opened again.
The Kunde Race leader then walked in with his secretary and a group of followers with a consoling smile on his face.
Upon seeing his smile, many people could not hold in their anger any longer.
You're still smiling‽
However, upon seeing the followers beside the Kunde Race leader, many of them no longer dared act up and could only glare at him furiously.
The Kunde Race leader then said with a smile, "Everyone, how have all of you been during this period? I know that all of you must be at a loss. Don't worry, you can tell me about any of your problems, and I…"
Whoosh!
Someone threw out a black sticky substance from within the crowd at the Kunde Race leader as he was talking.
It was the bowl that they were eating from, and the food inside it spilled out on the Kunde Race leader's clothes.
"Scram!" A furious voice could be heard from within the crowd.
With someone taking the lead, everyone immediately began throwing their bowls at the Kunde Race leader.
Pa pa pa…
The Kunde Race leader was showered with food, and he looked extremely pitiful.
"Stop! Stop!"
The followers of the leader immediately stepped forward to block the bowls and protect their leader.
At this moment, the people from the back who wanted to throw something at the leader but were too far away began squeezing forward. This resulted in the entire crowd moving closer and closer to the retreating Kunde Race leader's entourage.
"Stop pushing! Everyone, back off!" one of the followers shouted and tried to resist the crowd that was approaching him ferociously. All of a sudden, he overexerted his strength and pushed down a female individual.
A childish roar then sounded from within the crowd.
"You hit my mommy! I will fight you!"
This follower then felt a sharp pain on his leg and saw a little child biting down on his leg.
"Scram!" He could not help but slap this child flying.
Everyone in the crowd erupted upon seeing such a scene.
"You guys actually hit a kid‽"
"Beat them up!"
Everyone could no longer control their anger.
They had abandoned all rationality and began to attack with their fists, teeth, and shells.
The entire situation went out of control.
Bang!
The Kunde Race leader was pushed onto the ground with people beating him up from all directions.
Right at this moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his neck as it was bitten by someone. Sharp teeth sank down into his throat, and his throat was bleeding incessantly.
The Kunde Race leader's body trembled, and he looked over. The one biting down on his throat was a female member of his race, the mother of the child who was beaten.
The gaze in the other party's eyes was imprinted into his head.
This was a gaze filled with anger, hatred, and despair…
Ka-cha!
"Ah!" She then tore out the Kunde Race leader's throat with her teeth and let out a loud roar.
As blood spewed out from his throat, the Kunde Race leader's body became weak, and his consciousness became muddled.
He looked at the members of his race beating him up, and he was extremely calm.
"My show is finally over…"
Boom!
His consciousness then faded away.
The soldiers on duty then took action to control the situation but intentionally slowed down their actions to let the mess continue for a while longer.
Finally, this bloody incident was stopped by the soldiers, and only puddles of blood were left behind. The corpse of the Kunde Race leader was battered and deformed.
The floating camera had recorded the entire scene, and the Kunde Race members on the other spaceships could also see what had happened.
"They actually killed him? Good job!"
"This sinner of our race shouldn't be kept alive!"
"Only such a method would be able to punish him!"
Many individuals were extremely satisfied with the outcome.
In a walkway not filmed by the camera, a dynasty intelligence officer had his back against the wall with an emotion agitating device.
Upon hearing that the situation had calmed down, he turned off the device and walked away.
"The show is over." Tarrokov turned off the holographic screen.
"You guys truly made full use of him," Han Xiao said. "Not letting the dynasty punish him but having the Kunde Race execute their own leader. This will definitely be a lesson that the Kunde Race will never forget. This incident will be imprinted in the minds of the Kunde Race, and their mental state will be greatly weakened to facilitate your education process."
"This is much gentler than wiping them out," Tarrokov said expressionlessly and looked into Han Xiao's eyes. "Black Star, find the mastermind."
Han Xiao then nodded and said, "Of course, leave this matter to me."
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Chapter 985 Migration and Clue
Around ten days later, the dynasty's fleet and the Black Star Army escorted all the Kunde Race civilians to the Odoran Star System in Garu. This was one of the territories of Black Star.
Han Xiao chose to settle the Kunde Race down in this Star System.
With abundant territories in his hands, he generously lent over a hundred planets to the Kunde Race. After splitting them up, every planet had about ten billion inhabitants.
With the Galactic Society's production capacity, housing ten billion people on a planet was an easy task, and their living conditions were not too bad. However, compared to the original living conditions of the Kunde Race, it would definitely be a lot more densely populated.
Before they received the stargate technology, the Kunde Race's mobility in the universe was extremely poor. As such, their transportation efficiency was low. Despite the Kunde Race having a few Star Systems and over a few thousand colonial planets, there were few migrants, and those who migrated to a new planet would usually stay there permanently.
The Black Star Army fleet had rapidly constructed a simple city on the planet with the dynasty's planet modification package before sending the members of the Kunde Race to their respective planets.
Countless Kunde Race migrants then obediently exited the spaceships and stepped onto their new homeland.
Many of them looked around curiously as they explored their new homeland.
At the same time, in the command hall of Black Star Palace, there were many uniformed personnel monitoring the situation of every single planet.
Han Xiao stood in the center of the hall and overlooked the entire operation.
"Migrating an entire Star Cluster is truly a huge project." Aurora lamented by the side.
Herlous nodded. "After the death of the Kunde Race leader, they can only listen to the dynasty's orders and are extremely obedient. Thus, the migration has been smooth."
He had also followed the fleet over. After not seeing Han Xiao for a long time, he truly missed his boss and would steal occasional glances at Han Xiao's back.
"There aren't many accidents. Good job," Han Xiao replied.
"How are we going to make use of this sudden increase in population?" Sylvia's long-distance projection asked.
Han Xiao then stroked his chin and slowly said, "We won't be able to make use of them immediately. The dynasty will have some plans to educate and reform them. During their reformation, they won't be allowed to come into contact with the Galactic Society or develop their technology. The dynasty will only impart the relevant Super knowledge to allow them to slowly grow.
"It isn't time for us to make use of them yet. We need to rear them for now until the dynasty releases the seal. At that time, they will be an important source of soldiers.
"As such, all of you must include something extra in the dynasty's reformation process to brainwash them to join the army as well…"
The size of the Kunde Race was even larger than the entire Black Star Army. If he wanted to harvest good crops, he would first have to fertilize the soil. Thus, he needed to emphasize the importance of the Black Star Army to the Kunde Race.
Although the mission reward contained a large amount of Faction Favorability points, it was still important to mold their thoughts.
Han Xiao then paused for a while before continuing.
"Also, spread the Machinery Faith in the Kunde Race and try to get more of them to believe in the Machinery Faith."
During the reformation period, the Kunde Race would not be able to go online, and it would be akin to being separated from the world. This was the best environment to convert them into the Machinery Faith and also erode the beliefs of the Kunde Race.
Without any disturbance from the outside world, their only target of worship would be himself. As such, the Kunde Race would become a treasure chest for the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].
To other Mechanics, developing a new batch of believers would be the best option for them to trigger the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. Although the efficiency was extremely low, it was better than nothing.
Manison wanted the current believers to worship him as that was the biggest piece of meat. Apart from that, he was extremely glad to see others spread the faith. With the cake being bigger, he would only receive benefits. There would definitely be some believers flowing toward him, and he would not lose out.
To Manison, when other Mechanics tried to spread the faith, it was akin to planting crops for him. All he had to do was harvest them when the time came.
As such, Manison would not make an appearance as long as no one challenged his position.
Everyone then chatted casually for a while before one of the operators said, "Army Commander, the migration is complete."
Han Xiao then looked at the screen. All the Kunde Race civilians were already on the planets.
"Alright, display the virtual sky screen."
The spaceships hovering around the various planets then projected a screen, and all the Kunde Race civilians looked up.
Han Xiao's figure appeared on the screen, and he said with a smile, "My friends of the Kunde Race, I am Black Star, and I will be in charge of settling all of you down. Thus, you will frequently see my face on the television for a long time to come.
"Today, all of you have moved into your new homeland, and all these planets are a part of my territory. All of you can seek assistance from the members of the Black Star Army located on every planet at any time, and there is no need to worry about your safety.
"I can empathize with what's happened to all of you, and the dynasty is currently tracking the mastermind behind this entire affair. We will definitely find them and punish them, seeking justice for all of you.
"In any case, I hope that all of you can walk out from your pain and embrace your new life."
Han Xiao did not say much. He still did not have the influence for the Kunde Race to feel gratitude toward him. As such, he only made a simple speech.
The screen in the sky then disappeared.
Compared to the dynasty, most of them still had an impression of Black Star. However, they were not exactly friendly toward him.
Seeking justice on our behalf? Who knows if he is serious about it?
After everything that they had gone through, it was difficult for the Kunde Race to believe the promise of an outsider.
After the end of his speech, Han Xiao nodded toward Herlous, and Herlous left the hall.
After a while, a cluster of footsteps could be heard from the outside of the hall. Herlous then brought Nero and the other graduates in. They had returned with the fleet and were scheduled to meet Han Xiao.
"All of you are here."
Han Xiao's gaze swept over these students.
After four months of training on the battlefield, most of their auras had changed greatly.
After Nero fell into the 'enemy's trap', he learned from his mistake and reflected on it. He now had a sturdy aura around him, and Mia was also obviously better trained.
Han Xiao then could not help but notice the two of them holding hands.
"Cough cough." Upon noticing Han Xiao's gaze, Mia let go embarrassedly.
Both of them were originally close friends with a little bit of romance between them. After the previous event, the romance between them had increased greatly. Although they had not officially acknowledged the relationship, they were much closer than before and behaved like a real couple.
Why do I feel like a matchmaker?
Han Xiao's mouth contorted slightly. He pushed those thoughts aside and addressed the graduates.
"I am gratified to see your transformations. All of you are now qualified warriors of the army."
Upon hearing that, the students could not help but raise their heads proudly.
After encouraging them, Han Xiao looked at Mia and said with a smile, "I promised to find you a Calamity Grade teacher, and Herlous will be your teacher from today on. He will do his best to teach you."
Herlous had already been informed of this beforehand. He was the most loyal toward the army and did not have any complaints.
"Although I am usually very busy, I will try to find time to teach you. Don't worry, I am different from Reynold, and I like to adopt a more carefree teaching style."
"Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star!" Mia immediately thanked Han Xiao before greeting Herlous. "I pay my respects to you, Teacher!"
Upon seeing that, all the students could not help but be filled with envy.
Who was Herlous? He was an upper echelon of the army and a top character who had followed Black Star from the very start!
Becoming his student meant that Mia would definitely be a pillar of the army in the future.
However, all of them were not the most envious. The most envious individual was definitely Nero.
I also want a normal teacher! Why do I have to have Reynold‽
Han Xiao then looked at Nero and said with his brows raised, "What's with that expression of yours?"
"…Nothing."
Nero felt bitterness in his heart but did not wish to say it.
He then remembered something and said, "Godfather, I obtained a weapon from the enemy during the battle, and I feel that it is a little strange. Can you take a look at it?"
"What's so strange about it?"
"This is a weapon that I obtained from a Kunde Race officer during the battle. I got my teammates to help me identify it…" Nero then rubbed his head. "It seems to be a high-grade enchanted weapon."
Han Xiao was stunned.
Enchanted weapon?
This item was extremely common in the galaxy, but the Kunde Race did not have any Supers and was a pure technological civilization. They did not know any magic at all.
Just where did the weapon come from?
"Let me see it." Han Xiao was slightly interested.
"It is in my room; I didn't bring it with me. I will bring it over later."
Just when Han Xiao was about to reply, his communicator rang and interrupted him.
He took out his communicator to take a look; the person calling was actually Aesop.
Why is this darn old man taking the initiative to contact me?
Han Xiao then walked to the side and picked up the call.
"Aesop, why are you calling me?"
"It's what you want," Aesop said with impatience. "I foresaw that you would contact me and thus took the initiative to contact you to ask if you want anything."
Han Xiao's mouth contorted slightly.
This ability of yours is truly useful…
"That's right. I do indeed need your help. I need you to help me find some people…" Han Xiao then briefly described the situation of the Kunde Race.
Aesop was also very straightforward. "Send me the information later. The more information, the more accurate the prophecy."
"Alright." Han Xiao nodded and paused for a while before asking, "How are Ames and Hila?"
"Taking risks everywhere. How else can they be?" Aesop rolled his eyes. "It isn't as though you can't contact her. Why are you asking me? Alright, I will hang up if there is nothing else and inform you about my prophecy."
As he said that, Aesop hung up immediately.
Han Xiao then put his communicator away helplessly.
He was not planning on relying solely on Aesop. He then left the hall and walked to one of the hangars in the dock.
A severely damaged spaceship was placed in the hangar. This was the spaceship that the stowaways had intentionally placed within the Kunde Race. The dynasty had confiscated it a while ago.
Han Xiao had requested that Tarrokov send this item to him.
The dynasty had already made use of every method up their sleeves but could not find any clues from it. Thus, they did not mind letting Han Xiao try as long as they could find a clue.
Aesop's prophecy could only see the future, but Han Xiao's special [Bold Explorer] skill would allow him to see the past of an item.
He felt that he would be able to find something.
He then placed his palms on the charred exterior of the spaceship.
Let me see what I can find.
Han Xiao let out a deep breath and activated [Bold Explorer].
Hu!
His vision suddenly spun around, and the scene before him seemed to have been shattered like glass.
All of a sudden, these glass fragments joined back together, and his entire world changed.
The scene of a workshop could be seen with the skeleton of the spaceship floating in midair and mechanical arms assembling the various parts.
Han Xiao observed the surroundings and memorized everything that he saw.
The next moment, his vision shattered again, and he could see a spaceship crashing down on a planet like a meteor.
The images then stopped at this moment.
He regained his original sight, and he was still in the hangar.
[Bold Explorer] has ended.
-60% LUK
Duration: 14 days
Han Xiao was used to ignoring the side effects of the skill. There was no difference to him even if his luck was lowered.
He then recalled the scene that he had seen.
"The scene of the workshop and spaceship crashing down seem to be a pretty good clue…"
He then realized that every worker in the workshop had the same insignia on their clothes.
Entering the dynasty's database to take a look, he managed to find his target. This was a spaceship factory located in the Primeval Star River.
"The supplier of the spaceship has been located…" Han Xiao's eyes glowed.
The factory would usually keep a record of all spaceships produced, and although they did not know the serial number of this spaceship, it was still a clue.
"It seems like I need to send my mechanical army to the Primeval Star River."
At this moment, Han Xiao remembered something.
"Right, the Primeval Star River is Manison's territory."
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Chapter 986 Deity Assassinator, Gold Grade Par
After memorizing the name of the spaceship factory, Han Xiao left the hangar and returned to his room. He then activated his mechanical army located in the headquarters at the Shattered Star Ring to make their way toward the Primeval Star River.
As soon as he gained [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] and [Lord's Descent, he had garrisoned his mechanical army in many different bases so that he could activate Lord's Descent in emergencies.
Manison had the largest Beyond Grade A faction in the Primeval Star River, and the Black Star Army did not have much strength in that region. Currently, his relationship with Manison was not too good, and he had to be careful when he was in Manison's territory.
After sending out his long-distance mechanical army, Nero came to find him with the strange enchanted weapon.
"Godfather, this is the item that I was talking about."
Han Xiao accepted the weapon from Nero and studied it carefully.
The weapon was in the shape of a spear, and it was broken in the center. The body of the entire spear was dark green, and it felt like bronze. There was a golden fog flowing on the surface of the spear.
The instant he touched the broken spear, a notification popped up on his interface.
Deity Assassinator (Damaged)
Type: Close Combat Enchanted Weapon
Grade: Legendary (Orange)
Equipment Requirements: Lv.230, 830 STR, 1,000 DEX, 600 MYS
Attributes Bonus: 146 STR, 171 DEX, 223 MYS
Basic Stats: 21,000 – 24,000 Basic Damage, 3755/9000 Durability, 744/15,000 Energy
Enchantment: [Deity Assassinator (Damaged)] When the target is above Lv.200, 240% damage.
Enchantment: [High Grade Enchantment – Rapid Phantom] 60% attack speed, 1.5% chance of releasing two phantom attacks (75% damage) with every attack.
Enchantment: [Divine Lock – Double Layer Energy Restriction]. 20% chance of inflicting [Energy Restricted] status when hitting the target. The target will not be able to circulate or activate energy. 30s cooldown after being triggered.
Enchantment: [Spiritual Energy Surge]. Rune capable of absorbing different forms of energy to replenish the Energy Value and sustain the effects of the various enchantments. When Energy Value is above 50%, your attacks will have AOE damage.
Enchantment: [Molecular Penetration]. 1,600 Armor Penetration.
Enchantment: [Berserk Magical Energy]. 33% Critical Rate, 20% of Critical Damage will be turned into True Damage.
16 other Enchantments (Expand/Collapse)
Remark: This weapon is currently damaged. Equipment Requirements, Basic Stats, and Enchantment effects will be greatly reduced.
"This…" Han Xiao was startled.
Even in its damage state, the equipment requirement was still level 230. If it was in its complete state, would it not mean that only a Beyond Grade A would be capable of using this weapon?
All the enchantments were high grade runes, especially the [Deity Assassinator] enchantment. When the target was above level 200, the damage would be 2.4 times the original!
What kind of a concept was this‽
The greater the number of enchantments, the greater the load. For this weapon to be able to endure so many enchantments, its material must be extremely sturdy.
Why would the Kunde Race have such an item?
"Tell me how you obtained this weapon," Han Xiao said.
"Alright."
Nero then began narrating what had happened.
"It was an ordinary battleship battle. My teammates and I killed our way into the hold of the spaceship and exchanged fire with the enemy's forces. I charged straight at the enemy's commander, and his armor was shattered by my attack. I remembered your teachings and didn't forget to deal a killing blow. However, the ground exploded before I could do so, and we all fell down.
"We then landed in a pitch-black warehouse, and this weapon was placed in a transparent vacuum container. That commander then opened up the container and charged at me with this weapon. I tried to avoid the weapon, but he exploded midway. That was how I obtained this weapon."
Exploded? Oh, it should be because the other party's level was too low, and he couldn't endure the enchantments on the weapon, Han Xiao thought to himself.
The more powerful the weapon, the greater the strength required to control it. If one did not reach the equipment requirements of the weapon, one would not be able to unleash the true might of the weapon. However, a small portion of weapons had the risk of causing the user to explode, and it was commonly seen in enchanted equipment.
"Deity Assassinator… it should probably be a Beyond Grade A weapon. Since it is a weapon with a name, will it be recorded on the web?"
Han Xiao then entered into the dynasty's database and searched for the Deity Assassinator. A large amount of information immediately popped up before him.
He then clicked on the top file.
The Deity Assassinator was forged from a Beyond Grade A dwarf Mage called 'Divine Craftsman' Thorne. He was a grandmaster at forging magical weapons and died in the year 79 of the Galaxy Calendar. He had crafted numerous magical equipment during his lifetime and made a huge contribution to the study of forging magical weapons. He was a character that one would definitely see in the textbooks of enchantments and crafting.
The Deity Assassinator was a Beyond Grade A weapon that Thorne forged for his friend, and it was only a part of the [Deity Butcher] set.
The [Deity Butcher] set was a legendary product left behind by Thorne. It was ranked third in the 'Grandmaster Thorne: Hundred Legendary Products' list. On their own, the individual parts were only of the orange grade, but the entire set was a Universal Treasure at the gold grade!
Throughout history, there had only been a single owner of the [Deity Butcher] set. It belonged to a Beyond Grade A Pugilist who had the title of 'Divine Spear'.
Divine Spear had disappeared in year 103 of the Galaxy Calendar, and the set had also disappeared with him.
At this moment, Phillip suddenly appeared.
"My lord, hum… I detect weak multi-dimensional energy from this weapon. Should I conduct a detailed scan?"
Han Xiao nodded and took out various equipment to scan the Deity Assassinator.
The results were out very quickly, and the composition of the multi-dimensional energy was displayed. The amount of negative energy was the highest, and it was the most obvious at the location where the spear was broken. This weapon was obviously destroyed by negative energy, and such energy was commonly seen in the secondary dimension.
"It means that Divine Spear was most likely killed in the secondary dimension," Han Xiao muttered under his breath.
Exploring the secondary dimension was filled with plenty of risks. For a Pugilist that did not have any doppelgangers, teleportation spells, or mechanical soldiers, he could only use his body to brave the dangers of the secondary dimension, putting his life on the line.
According to history, there were two common ways for a Beyond Grade A Super to die. The first was being killed by another Beyond Grade A, and the second was dying in the secondary dimension.
Han Xiao had a guess as to what was going on.
This weapon was probably drifting in the secondary dimension and encountered a wormhole or dimension crack. It then fell back into the main universe and dropped into the Dust Light Star Cluster. It was then discovered by the members of the Kunde Race.
However, it seemed like the Kunde Race was not able to research the mysteries of magic from this item.
Thinking about this, Han Xiao looked at Nero with resignation.
You were actually able to pick something like this up?
It seems like I was being too kind!
Having a conscience is probably pointless when dealing with you!
"Godfather, did you discover anything?" Nero asked.
"Cough…" With a solemn expression, Han Xiao said, "According to my identification, this is a dangerous enchanted weapon. You will not be able to endure its load with your strength and will be in danger if you use it. Thus, this item shall be kept with me temporarily."
"It can't be right," Nero immediately said with a look of doubt. "Why didn't I feel anything when holding it? Are you trying to fool me?"
"Holding it is one thing; using it is another. Would I joke about something like this? Who do you think I am? Do you think that I would lie to you?" Han Xiao said righteously.
Just when Nero was about to say something else, Han Xiao covered his mouth and pushed him out of the room.
Bang!
Before Nero could even react, the door closed.
Han Xiao's voice could then be heard.
"If you don't have anything else to do, go and walk around more. If you find something else, remember to bring it to me so that I can take a look at it."
"Dream on! I won't be back again!"
Nero puffed angrily like a child whose red packet had been taken away.
Han Xiao then opened a safe and placed the Deity Assassinator inside.
He was interested in the entire Deity Butcher set. However, a single part was not too useful to him.
But to a close combat fighter, the Deity Assassinator was a treasure.
A level 230 requirement was about peak Grade A, and he did have such an expert. Hadavy was an example.
However, Hadavy was an Esper. Although he was tanky, he would not receive any bonuses when using a weapon and was only good for receiving hits. He was like a pure meat shield, unlike Han Xiao, who could tank and deal damage all while looking extremely suave.
The way Han Xiao saw it, Lothaire was most suitable for the Deity Assassinator. It was a weapon that Thorne had made for a Pugilist, and only a Pugilist would be able to fully maximize its potential.
Although Lothaire had not reached the peak, his assassination skills would definitely increase a few levels if he received this weapon.
Furthermore, he would probably have to use this assassin grandmaster to deal with the mastermind.
The Kunde Race incident came to an end, and the Crimson Dynasty began their exploration again.
The war delayed the exploration for a few months. However, the dynasty's progress did not slow down, and they received plenty of rewards.
Taking over the Kunde Race's territory was akin to receiving a few stargates connecting a few Star Systems in the Dust Light Star Cluster. It would save them a great deal of time as they did not have to construct new stargates.
Furthermore, the Kunde Race database also had plenty of information about the various planets and narrowed down their scope of exploration.
Without any obstructions, the second exploration phase continued smoothly.
The dynasty did not announce the battle in the explored universe, but they had secretly sent out many intelligence officers to search for the mastermind.
Aesop also made a prophecy and foresaw that the stowaways who sent out the spaceships would pass by a certain region. However, the region was far away from the explored regions and did not have any stargates. The dynasty's spaceship could only travel by hyperdrive and might not be able to catch up to the other party.
Thankfully, Han Xiao had made other preparations, and his long-distance mechanical army had reached the Primeval Star River.
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Chapter 987 Primeval Star River Mechanic Emperor
On Planet Three Kings, two individuals were walking down an alley.
One of them was Madison, and the other was a high official of the Modo Civilization who was Madison's leader.
Both of them walked and chatted at the same time.
"You are in charge of the plan to make use of the natives and can report to the three Kings directly. This is a good opportunity," the high official said with his arms behind his back. "Madison, I have always believed in your abilities, but can you ensure that the dynasty will never discover the truth? The three Kings will definitely remember you if something goes wrong, and your future will be over."
"Ah, I've said this many times, but it will be impossible for the dynasty to discover us," Madison said coldly but confidently. "I got rid of any traces many years ago. The serial number of that spaceship has been cleaned up, and I also washed the spaceship in magic many times to prevent prophecies. The dynasty won't be able to find any clues from the spaceship, and what other clues can they find?
"Even if the dynasty manages to find the spaceship factory, I got an intelligence officer to clean up all our transactions with the factory, so the dynasty won't be able to find anything. That intelligence officer is now living under a disguise, and everyone will think that he is dead. His personal file has also been temporarily deleted from the database, and he has been sent away. No one will be able to find him.
"Furthermore, we weren't the ones to purchase the spaceship. It was purchased by a civilian financial group, and the spaceship changed hands many times. It was even robbed by galactic pirates. This spaceship was only secretly acquired by us many years after it went missing. Not a single trace was left behind. The dynasty won't be able to find us if they try to track us through the spaceship.
"I also made some other arrangements along the way, and if the dynasty attempts to investigate this matter, they will only be misled to believe that the culprit is another Super Star Cluster Civilization."
It had been many years since he sent the spaceship to the Kunde Race, and he had already begun cleaning up all traces a few years ago. As such, he was confident that the dynasty would not be able to find anything.
Upon hearing that, the high official nodded. "I feel assured if that's the case."
A silverish-blue planet was slowly moving in the universe like a gemstone floating in the darkness. Light was reflected off the surface of the planet and onto the smooth silver armor of a Lord avatar. A group of black mechanical soldiers were following behind the avatar silently.
This was a manufacturing planet of the Primeval Star River, and many different financial groups had operations on this planet.
The clue that he had found from [Bold Explorer] pointed to a factory located on this planet.
This factory produced only ordinary spaceships in large quantities without modifying them at all.
There was a certain market for such spaceships in the universe, and the other high-grade factories would not invest a large amount of resources to produce such spaceships without any core competencies.
Before sending out his mechanical soldiers, Han Xiao had already checked the background of the factory. They were a small business and did not have any backing.
"The mastermind will have erased all traces by now."
Although he knew that this would most likely be the case, he still had to verify the matter.
Entering the quantum network, the entire planet before him suddenly became translucent with only their quantum network nodes being left behind.
Locking onto the quantum network node of the factory, Han Xiao infiltrated it immediately. The firewall of a small company like this would not pose any difficulty to him.
In an instant, Han Xiao had already obtained all the information in the factory's database.
He first opened the production journal and sales record. He then realized that the earliest record was only three years ago, but it was impossible for this factory to be so young.
"Indeed, the mastermind cleaned up all traces."
He checked the other records, and the records indicated an unexpected explosion three years ago.
There was an issue with the power supply during production, which resulted in the entire factory exploding. The main system was fried, resulting in the loss of all past records. All the hard copy files were also destroyed in the explosion, and even the surrounding factories were somewhat affected.
An investigation of the matter later found it to be due to a natural malfunction, but Han Xiao did not believe that. It was definitely a man-made disaster to destroy all evidence.
If he was the mastermind, he would clear up the factory's records and ensure that the spaceship had changed hands many times before going missing. This would be the best way to ensure that all tracks leading to him were destroyed.
"Without any records, I won't be able to find out the serial number of the spaceship, and this clue won't be too useful…"
Han Xiao's eyes gleamed.
"However, there's still some payoff."
At the very least, this clue revealed the production location to be in the Primeval Star River.
This meant that the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations running the Primeval Star River were the most suspicious. The scope of his investigation had already been narrowed greatly.
Of course, it was possible that a civilization from another Star Fields had intentionally purchased the spaceship from the Primeval Star River to frame someone else. However, Han Xiao would first analyze the suspects with the highest possibilities.
Although he did not have any clues currently, he knew that the dynasty also met with another event similar to the Kunde Race war during the later parts of the exploration phase in his previous life. After experiencing the Kunde Race war, the dynasty was better prepared and managed to find some suspicious characters.
The most suspicious civilization in the Primeval Star River was the Modo Civilization!
Their shoes would definitely be wet if they walked by the side of the river. The dynasty was not easily trifled with.
The mastermind would be able to clean up all the clues of the past, but they would not be able to clean up the clues of the 'future' in Han Xiao's memories!
This was akin to saying, 'Although you haven't committed a crime yet, I know that you will in the future.'
He did not know if the Kunde Race incident was done by the Modo Civilization, but since the other party had a 'past record', they would be the most suspicious.
Because his clue had led to a dead end, Han Xiao had two ideas.
Since the accident at the factory was deliberate, he could attempt to check the entry records of the planet three years ago and try to find the culprit behind the accident.
It would be extremely easy to tamper with the database of a small factory, but it would be far more difficult to do so for the surveillance system of an entire planet. If the other party was capable of doing so, this path would be cut off as well.
The second method would be to make use of an elimination method. There were only a few possible culprits within the Primeval Star River, and Han Xiao could choose to investigate them individually, starting with the most suspicious Modo Civilization.
He preferred to have different methods up his sleeves and immediately infiltrated the surveillance system of the planet.
With his powerful calculation abilities, he came to a conclusion quickly. There were no suspicious characters who approached the factory on the day of the accident.
"It wasn't done by an outsider? There are two possibilities. First, the mastermind altered the records of the entire surveillance system. Second, it was an inside job."
He would be helpless if it was the former, and Han Xiao could only attempt to investigate the latter.
If it was not done by an outsider, it could only be an inside job.
"If I was the culprit and was ordered by my superior to infiltrate into the factory, there would be no need for me to remain in the factory after completing my mission. Thus, I'd need an excuse to leave. If that's the case…"
Han Xiao searched the list of workers who had died in the accident three years ago.
After the accident, all the workers that were still alive went through a strict check, and many of them resigned. However, Han Xiao was certain that there was a higher possibility of a spy pretending to die. It was a much 'cleaner' way of cleaning up their presence. After all, an outstanding intelligence officer would definitely have different identities, and dying would be akin to destroying the identity.
As such, it was likely that the culprit was on the list of workers who died.
It would not be difficult for Han Xiao to check the resumes of these individuals, but it would be impossible for him to find anything strange in their resumes.
Instead, he needed to confirm if any of their resumes had signs of being forged.
It was easy to forge a resume, but checking it was not too difficult either. It was just a little troublesome. One only had to follow the resume to ask the previous organizations and relatives of the individual if such a person existed.
If there were traces of forgery on any of the resumes, it would mean that the individual was suspicious. Then, he just needed to make use of the elimination method by comparing the resumes of the individuals to the files of the intelligence officers of the Modo Civilization and other Super Star Cluster civilizations.
If the culprit had snuck into the factory, they must have used a false identity, and even their appearance might be fake. However, this was not a dead end.
The factory's data was destroyed, but the planet's surveillance record was still around. Han Xiao would be able to write an algorithm to analyze the footage and compare them with the intelligence officers of the various organizations.
This way, he would be able to match the culprit to the right organization.
The next problem would be… just how could Han Xiao obtain the files of these intelligence officers.
The Black Star Army did not have any organizations in the Primeval Star River.
Han Xiao scratched his alloy head.
He did not know about the rest, but a possessive jerk like Manison would definitely have plenty of information on the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations.
Even the Federation of Light had to guard against the Mechanic Emperor's Virtual Intrusion, so he had probably done so before. If that was the case, how could the Super Star Cluster Civilizations be safe?
"Alright then, it seems like I'll have to go and meet the Mechanic Emperor."
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Chapter 988 Decisive Action.
On the topic of Manison's organization, it was usually referred to as the Mechanic Empire or Mechanical Race.
Manison's territory was located within the Primeval Star River, and although it was the territory of a Star System Civilization on the surface, Manison was actually the one in charge of the place.
Han Xiao had his Lord avatar visit Manison. He had already sent a message before that, and Manison had agreed to meet him. They had set the meeting location on a planet inhabited by the Mechanical Race. Manison had many planets under his charge, and this was one of them.
Han Xiao's avatar arrived at the location, and he could see a mechanical planet. It was covered by a gigantic psionic shield with a large number of mechanical soldiers patrolling outside the atmosphere of the planet.
"An old man is an old man indeed. He is truly rich."
Han Xiao shook his head.
Manison's territory was extremely wide, and he had many different factories and armies in the various Star Fields. Furthermore, he had his own developed mechanical civilization, and the exact size of his army was unknown. The various organizations only knew that he had a terrifying number of soldiers.
Han Xiao's troops did not wait for too long before an opening was created in the protective shield. A mechanical soldier squad then led the way for him.
He followed the guide, and his Lord avatar landed on the planet.
He could see many different cities scattered around the planet and many pedestrians roaming the streets.
Manison was the second Beyond Grade A in the Mechanical Race, and although he had transformed into a new species, he still treated the Mechanical Race as his kind and took on the position of leader.
However, he was different from Psyker. To him, the Mechanical Race was only an important resource, and he did not feel too responsible for them.
As the race that had the lineage of a Beyond Grade A, the Mechanical Race had outstanding natural talent, which provided Manison with many useful skills. Many of the Mechanics under his charge came from the Mechanical Race. Furthermore, at least eighty percent of the Mechanical Race population were part of the Machinery Faith.
A large floating island could be seen. This was one of Manison's palaces.
The Lord avatar then landed on the floating island together with the other mechanical soldiers.
Clank clank clank…
The sound of metal rang out as the mechanical soldiers landed.
The moment he landed, Han Xiao heard someone calling out to him.
"Ah, to think that you'd take the initiative to find me. This is truly out of my expectations."
Manison's Lord avatar walked over. It was not Manison's main body who had come to meet him.
Upon seeing that, Han Xiao sneered in his heart.
Tsk, so cowardly.
After cursing Manison in his heart, Han Xiao said, "You invited me over to be a guest a few years ago. Since it was convenient for me, I came over to take a look."
He did not mention the conflict between the two. The mechanical voices of the two avatars also had no emotions.
Manison smiled and also did not mention their previous skirmish.
He had defeated plenty of Divine Throne Mechanics, and to a bigshot like him, this was not considered significant enmity.
At his level, even if the other party was his competitor, he could still sit down and have a calm conversation with them.
"If that's the case, then follow me. I will give you a tour of my base." Manison turned around and led the way.
Because of their previous face off, both parties had a strained relationship. However, Black Star was a peak Beyond Grade A Super after all, and Manison naturally would not be rude if the other party came to visit him.
Both of them toured around the base for a while, and Han Xiao saw many ordinary facilities. He did not see anything special. After all, Manison would not reveal his trump cards to a competitor of his. It was just like when Han Xiao was not willing to show Manison his Spacetime Amber.
Han Xiao had already expected this. Manison was not an individual who liked to show off his trump cards and thus did not expect to see much.
After touring around the place for a while, he entered the conference room with Manison, and they began chatting.
"Since we are both using avatar, there's no need for drinks." Manison leaned back calmly. "Why are you here?"
"I wish to borrow some intelligence," Han Xiao said calmly.
"In what way?"
"I wish to borrow the files on the intelligence officers of the four Super Star Cluster and other Star Cluster Civilizations."
Manison was a little surprised, and he sat up straight.
"Why do you want this?"
"To find someone," Han Xiao replied succinctly.
He had already searched through the information and found a forged resume. He only needed to compare it to the files of the intelligence officers. Asking the Mechanic Emperor for help was the best choice.
The gangsters of the Primeval Star River were not like the Kunde Race natives. Their technological capabilities were only second to the three Universal Civilizations.
It would require a great deal of effort for him to personally infiltrate their system, and it was likely that he would be discovered as well.
Furthermore, he needed to infiltrate more than one of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. Even if he could find the culprit in one of them, he would offend the other three in the process. Han Xiao did not want to create enemies for himself for no good reason.
On the other hand, Han Xiao felt that it was likely for the other party to have deleted the files of the culprit so that he would not be able to find anything.
The Mechanic Emperor was different in this regard. As a bigshot of the Federation of Light, he had always been collecting intelligence.
With these four good neighbors of his, he would definitely run around in their backyard once in a while and steal a large amount of confidential information. As such, it was more likely for him to obtain a complete file from the Mechanic Emperor.
Manison pondered for a while before shaking his head. "It is impossible to lend it to you. I will only do a trade."
"Alright, what do you want?"
"Spacetime Amber," Manison said.
"Impossible." Han Xiao rejected him without hesitation.
Are you dreaming, old fool?
You want a Universal Treasure in exchange for an intelligence report? You are truly a business wonder.
"Not even a single drop?"
"Haha."
Upon hearing that, Manison folded his arms and remained silent. His meaning was obvious. Since you aren't willing to accept my price, what are you prepared to give?
After thinking for a while, Han Xiao said, "I can openly admit that you are the strongest Mechanic."
"I already am the strongest. Why do I need your admission?" Manison asked.
"Isn't it a good thing to stabilize your foundations?"
"I don't need it." Manison waved his arms.
I am the Mechanic Emperor. Do I need your support? What a joke!
Han Xiao then stroked his chin and said, "Perhaps we can come to an agreement. I will not challenge your position within fifty years."
Upon hearing that, Manison said with interest, "You mean to say that you will be able to exceed me within fifty years?"
"Everything is possible," Han Xiao said.
Manison smiled and calmly replied, "It's alright. I don't need such a method to secure my status."
Han Xiao then leaned forward slightly and said, "Why don't I owe you a favor?"
"Only a favor that can be repaid is worth something. Do you think your favor is worth anything to me with our relationship?" Manison shook his head.
After pausing for a while, Manison did not wait for Han Xiao to reply and said, "Forget it. I can give you the intelligence that you want, but you won't be able to give me what I want. Get the Crimson Dynasty to talk to me."
Han Xiao pretended to fall into deep thought. "If that's the case, why don't I persuade the dynasty to provide you with some Evolutionary Totems?"
Manison was not interested. "Why not you give me the Evolution Cube instead?"
"Are you asleep or awake?" Han Xiao asked.
Manison had thick skin and said, "But the totem isn't useful to me."
"Are you sure?" Han Xiao knocked on the desk. "You will not be able to use the totems, but the Mechanical Race that you are leading will be able to make use of them. It is still useful to them, right?"
Upon hearing that, Manison fell into thought.
Han Xiao then shrugged his shoulders and said, "I will not give you anything more. You should know that the other organizations will also have such information. It is just that the information in your hands is more complete. However, it isn't unique. If you can't agree to this, the deal is over."
Manison nodded. "Alright, I agree."
He could easily obtain as much intelligence as he wanted. It was an extremely easy matter to him and did not cost him anything. For him to be able to gain the Evolutionary Totems in the process, Manison felt that it was acceptable.
Although he did not think too much about this trade, the totems were pretty useful to the Mechanical Race.
"Alright, it's settled. I will communicate with the dynasty regarding this," Han Xiao said.
Although he was breaking the rules, as long as he controlled the number of totems that he sold, the dynasty would not be bothered about something so small.
Because of the pressure of the federation and church, some of the totems were sold on the black market. Although the dynasty did not sell the totems openly, they would not be too stubborn if it could be used in exchange for some important intelligence.
He originally planned to use the totems to exchange for the intelligence report.
Han Xiao was not like Heber who cared a great deal about his face. He still had huge potential for growth according to his plans and was not planning to fight the Mechanic Emperor any time soon. Thus, he would not be bothered with such useless promises. If Manison had agreed to his promise, he would have been able to save his Evolutionary Totems.
Manison only knows that I have a great potential but does not know exactly how fast I can increase my strength. His impression of me is kept at the previous time we fought, and he isn't aware that I have now grasped [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. As long as I do not fight him, it would be difficult for him to realize that.
Manison probably thinks that I am only running an errand for the dynasty but does not know that I am able to strengthen myself from this mission.
After coming to an agreement, Han Xiao made an application to the dynasty. After knowing that he was pursuing the identity of the mastermind, the upper echelons discussed the matter for a while before agreeing.
Since they were only going to provide a little more than a hundred totems, it would not affect the big picture.
Manison then sent the intelligence report over to him.
With the intelligence report in his hands, Han Xiao stood up and said, "The totems will be sent over soon. I will make a move first."
"Alright."
Manison then looked at Han Xiao leave before exiting from the quantum network.
Despite winning against Black Star previously, this did not mean that Manison was not wary of Han Xiao at all. He was worried that Han Xiao had come with bad intentions and had thus prepared a trap for Han Xiao just in case.
For Virtual Mechanics at their level, they would have to attack the other party head on if they wanted to infiltrate the other party's system. It would be impossible to remain undetected by the firewall.
If Black Star wanted to infiltrate his system, Black Star definitely would not have been let off easily.
However, he never imagined that Han Xiao would come and go quickly without any ulterior motives, meaning all his preparations went to waste.
"It seems like he no longer has any plans to fight me. The dynasty should have influenced his thoughts slightly."
Manison had a guess based on Han Xiao's actions.
As Han Xiao's spaceship left the territory of the Mechanical Race, he took out the algorithm that he had prepared and began the matching process.
The matching process was completed very quickly, and a target was found.
"The Modo Civilization? It is them!"
Han Xiao raised his brows.
"If it's the Modo Civilization…"
Han Xiao then searched for a few famous individuals in the Modo Civilization in his memories before taking out his communicator to make a call.
After ringing for a while, someone picked up the call but did not say anything.
"Lothaire?"
"I'm here."
"Come to the Primeval Star River. I have a mission and present for you."
"Okay."
Lothaire then hung up.
What a reliable middle-aged man. Han Xiao was certain that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind the Kunde Race incident.
However, Han Xiao still was not aware about who planned the operation.
However, that did not matter. He only needed to take revenge against the mastermind.
Since that was the case, he should just take decisive action.
All the famous individuals now and in the future shall all be executed!
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Chapter 989 Record It in the Little Book
Of course, Han Xiao would not go overboard.
Although his mission was to take revenge against the entire Modo Civilization, most of them were innocent. If it was not for his mission, he would not want to do something like this either.
The masterminds were mainly the leaders of the Modo Civilization, and Han Xiao planned to deal with the important officials of the Modo Civilization. As for the other members of the Modo Civilization, Han Xiao planned to observe the situation first before deciding. There was no need to be so extreme at the start.
It would still be fine if he assassinated some individuals with high potential who had yet to grow up. However, there would definitely cause a backlash if he assassinated an individual with high authority.
Furthermore, if a large number of officials within the Modo Civilization were assassinated, the Modo Civilization would not be the only party being enraged. The other Star Cluster Civilizations would also feel threatened and work together to deal with the threat.
As such, the advantage of having a backer was immediately shown. Although the dynasty would not carry out large-scale assassination operations, they did not mind their allies doing the dirty work. That was especially so since the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind the Kunde Race affair. Although the losses of the dynasty were not large, they still suffered some losses. How would they be able to give an answer to the warriors who died in the Kunde Race war if they did not cause a storm of blood?
Furthermore, it would always be politically correct for the three Universal Civilizations to suppress these Super Star Cluster Civilizations. If not for him having the dynasty's support, he would attract trouble to himself even if he was a local tyrant.
Assassinations had never been something that could be openly admitted, but they had always been effective. However, some things could be proven by history. Regardless of whether an individual died, the wheels of history would not stop rolling forward. The only difference was whether it rolled quickly or slowly.
If the dynasty attempted to suppress the Modo Civilization in the various domains, while it would cause a Super Star Cluster Civilization to suffer, it would be difficult to cause great damage to them—unless the dynasty was willing to ignore their own losses and pay a huge price.
As for assassinations, it was an extremely cost-effective method.
Han Xiao decided to take on the dirty job. It was both for the mission reward and because the dynasty wanted to punish the mastermind.
As such, he was not afraid of the assassinations being discovered. In order to warn the other party, not only must the assassinations be known, the other organizations had to suspect that the dynasty was behind it.
This way, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations would know that this matter would not affect them. Even if they were dissatisfied, they would not make a move.
The Modo Civilization took the initiative to create trouble, and the other party was a civilization even more powerful than them. Who can they blame but themselves for suffering the other party's revenge?
As for whether or not assassinations were breaking the rules set by the civilizations… what can they do about that?
Unless they are strong enough for others to listen to them obediently, it's a joke to think that they can get others to submit through virtue.
Han Xiao then opened the intelligence report that the Mechanic Emperor had sent him and confirmed his assassination target.
The ones in charge of the Kunde Race plan would definitely be an officer of the intelligence department. Their information was recorded in the intelligence report that Manison had given him, and Han Xiao decided to take care of these individuals first. They were not kind individuals, and getting rid of them would definitely cause some loss to the Modo Civilization's intelligence department.
"I can be considered a famous bigshot right now, and it isn't suitable for me to personally carry out assassinations. Lothaire is the most suitable choice." Han Xiao nodded.
This was not only a mission but also a form of training.
He had high expectations of Lothaire and felt that Lothaire was an individual worthy of being groomed.
Not too long later, Lothaire met up with Han Xiao's mechanical soldiers.
"Your Excellency Black Star." Lothaire greeted Han Xiao's Lord avatar.
Han Xiao sized Lothaire up from head to toe. Lothaire was currently dressed completely in black with his face being covered with a black scarf. Only his cold eyes can be seen.
After many years of training, Lothaire's aura had become concealed, and he could move without making any sound. When he intentionally restrained his aura, his presence would be greatly reduced.
He was an agility-focused Pugilist and had the subclass [Assassin]. Furthermore, he also had various talents to conceal himself and was a genius in this regard.
Lothaire had already accepted a new batch of assassins into the newly established Assassin's Society. He personally trained these assassins and developed them secretly.
"It has been a long time since we last met. There is a name list and some information over here."
Han Xiao knew Lothaire's personality and did not bother exchanging pleasantries with him.
After accepting the name list, Lothaire looked through it carefully, and a ball of flames burst out from his palms.
Hu!
The name list was then reduced to ash.
He is a professional assassin indeed, Han Xiao commented in his heart.
"This list is pretty long, and I will need some time to get rid of them all," Lothaire said.
"There's no need to rush. I will provide you with intelligence."
Han Xiao waved his arms before handing a long box over to Lothaire.
"This is a present for you. Take a look."
Lothaire opened the box, and a gold light flowed out from it. Lothaire looked carefully at the item in the box—the Deity Assassinator.
While waiting for Lothaire to arrive, Han Xiao had sent the Deity Assassinator over from the Flickering World.
Lothaire then studied the spear and grabbed it.
The next moment, his eyes narrowed.
A gold light burst forth from where he touched the spear.
Hum!
Golden strands of energy stretched out from his arms and very quickly approached his heart. Lothaire's eyes also began glowing with a golden light.
"Eh? This is…" Han Xiao was surprised upon seeing such a scene.
Nothing had happened when he and Nero touched the Deity Assassinator. Could it be that this weapon gave Pugilists a special bonus?
However, that was not stated in the item details, and there were other Pugilists that had come into contact with the Deity Assassinator before as well. Why was it such that this strange occurrence only happened with Lothaire?
Han Xiao waited patiently for a while before the golden light receded from Lothaire's body, and his eyes returned to normal.
"What's going on?" Han Xiao asked.
Lothaire did not reply but used his actions to answer. He let go of the Deity Assassinator, and the Deity Assassinator floated beside him. He did not make use of any Pugilist flames to control it at all.
All of a sudden, the Deity Assassinator disappeared with a golden flash, and Lothaire rolled his sleeves up to reveal a tattoo on his wrist in the shape of the Deity Assassinator. The tattoo then transformed back into a spear with a flash. This was one of the enchantments on the Deity Assassinator. It was able to be transformed into an enchantment for storage. However, it was in an unactivated state in Han Xiao's hands.
Upon seeing that, Han Xiao understood what was going on.
"You set up a soul connection with it?"
"Yes. For some reason, this weapon resonates with me."
Lothaire nodded. Stretching out his arms, the Deity Assassinator returned to his hands.
Han Xiao immediately felt his heart turn sour.
Nero's one thing. But even you aren't a human anymore, huh‽
Touching an equipment and forming resonance with it? Why can't something good like that happen to me?
In order to make the Spacetime Amber and Evolution Cube fall in love with me, I spent so much effort…
Right at this moment, Han Xiao thought about something.
"Deity Assassinator… this name…"
He suddenly realized that the name of this weapon was similar to Lothaire's experience in his previous life.
Lothaire went to assassinate EsGod in his previous life and did not return after that… As for the individual who assassinated EsGod… was he not a Deity Assassinator?
Thinking about this, Han Xiao's eyes changed.
F*ck! Nero actually dug this thing out for him?
Then, aren't I like Santa‽
"Do you like it?" Han Xiao weakly said.
"Thank you," Lothaire said emotionlessly. But looking at him play with the Deity Assassinator enjoyably, it could be seen just how much he liked the gift.
"As long as you like it. In any case, I shall leave the mission with you," Han Xiao said.
Lothaire recalled the Deity Assassinator and nodded.
Two months later, in a rundown bar on one of the Modo Civilization's colonial planets, the customers were in groups of twos and threes, chatting with each other casually.
Even in the interstellar era, social interaction was still a must, and bars like this were extremely common.
All of a sudden, the chattering in the bar became softer, and everyone looked at the holographic screen floating in the bar.
At this moment, the news was being played on the holographic screen, and the entire bar became silent.
"Yesterday, an assassination took place, and the victim is an important intelligence officer called Madison. He suffered an ambush when out on a business trip. He had plenty of bodyguards with him during the incident, but a spear appeared from nowhere, nailing him to the ground. The spear then disappeared, and the culprit was not seen.
"This is the fifth intelligence official that has been assassinated in recent times, and the rage of the upper echelons is at its peak. The three Kings personally signed a bounty to catch the culprit.
"The murderer always uses a spear, and we do not have much intelligence on him. Although many organizations have taken responsibility for the assassinations, we aren't clear about which organization the assassin belongs to or his motives. For the assassin to be able to grasp the whereabouts of the intelligence officers and avoid records when entering the various planets, he must have a special organization behind him. Before the exact reason is…"
After listening to the news, everyone had an ugly look on their face.
Someone said with fear in his eyes, "Just what is going on recently. Why are there so many assassinations? Plus, the targets are all the high officials. This is truly too unbelievable!"
"That's right. How many years has it been since we witnessed something like this? Even the officials have been assassinated. This is truly too much!"
Many of the customers in the bar growled with furious indignation. They could not hide the fear in their hearts.
This was not as simple as just a few officials dying. This was a matter that would cause fear to spread within society and cause social unrest!
When meeting such an incident, the Modo Civilization should have thought about locking down information. However, while they were able to control their local media organizations, they could not control the foreign media organizations.
The first report of the assassinations was made by these foreign media organizations. Furthermore, the evidence was solid, and there was nowhere to hide. As such, the entire Star Field became aware of the event, and a huge commotion was caused. Without even thinking, the Modo Civilization knew that this was the method of organization behind the assassin.
The bartender shook his head in resignation. Just when he was about to continue wiping the cups, he found a few coins on the bar counter. It was rare for individuals to still use physical cash, but it was still an acceptable method of payment.
"This is…"
The bartender scratched his head with doubt.
"Was there someone sitting there? Why can't I remember anything?"
At the same time, Tarrokov called Han Xiao over for a discussion.
In the office, Tarrokov showed Han Xiao some information.
"According to Aesop's prophecy, we intercepted a group of stowaways in that unexplored desolate region. After our interrogation, we verified your intelligence, and the mastermind is indeed the Modo Civilization. I will have to thank you for your aid this time."
Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that.
He had already reported his findings to the dynasty, but the dynasty had chosen to tread cautiously. The dynasty had only given tacit approval to his assassination operation but did not conclude that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind. They only confirmed the matter after interrogating the stowaways.
"We also found out who's in charge of this operation," Tarrokov said with a deep voice. "He is an intelligence officer of the Modo Civilization, and we need your help to get rid of him."
"Er… That might not be possible."
"Why?" Tarrokov asked with doubt.
"Because someone who has died cannot die again." Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. He then showed a screen of the news broadcast from the Primeval Star River. "I have already taken care of that fellow. You're too late."
"You are truly quick." Tarrokov was stunned.
"This shouldn't be your only reason for arranging to meet me, right?"
"I really can't hide anything from you." Tarrokov chuckled. "I am here to convey the intentions of the Ruler and the upper echelons."
"Good news or bad news?"
"Er, I don't know," Tarrokov said slowly. "We have already confirmed the mastermind, and the dynasty will take action. The Ruler agrees with the assassination operation to create some destruction to the Modo Civilization. You can be assured about this. If the Modo Civilization has any objections, we will protect you. However, the dynasty will not provide you with any help, and you shouldn't go overboard. It won't be good if you force the Modo Civilization into a corner."
"I know. I won't go too far." Han Xiao waved his hand. If not, I would have even assassinated the three Kings.
"Hmm, the dynasty is also going to suppress the Modo Civilization economically. However, you shouldn't be too hopeful as we won't invest too much in this. You should also know that the federation and church are still suppressing us. Furthermore, we still need to pay for the expenses of exploring the Flickering World and won't have too much energy to take care of the Modo Civilization. Thus, we are only putting up a front to warn the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations."
Han Xiao frowned. "If the warning isn't sufficient, the outsiders may see through the dynasty's weakness and exploit the situation."
The dynasty wanted to send out a warning but did not wish to pay a huge price. This was not in line with the dynasty's benefits.
The requirement of his mission was to damage the Modo Civilization. Although his assassination operation might be effective, this Grade S mission was too vague and did not display any mission progress. He did not know how far away he was from his target.
He would have to put in more effort if the dynasty did not help him.
"I understand," Tarrokov said with resignation. "However, the dynasty is facing too much pressure.
If the target was an ordinary Star Cluster Civilization, the dynasty would be able to easily take care of the other party. However, things were not so simple when dealing with a Super Star Cluster Civilization.
Han Xiao shrugged. "If the pressure is too big, you can just open up the Evolutionary Totem sales."
The Federation of Light and Arcane Church were pressuring the dynasty for the Evolutionary Totems. Since the dynasty refused to budge, the pressure that they faced would naturally increase.
In fact, it could be said that the dynasty was blocking his benefits. If he was allowed to openly sell the totems, he would be able to receive a new batch of orders and receive a never-ending stream of resources.
The individual who had the Evolution Cube in his hands would be able to grasp this huge business opportunity. As such, there were still upper echelons within the dynasty that wanted to snatch the Evolution Cube from Han Xiao so that they could receive the huge pie.
The Limitless Financial Group had not remained idle during the second exploration phase and continued to compete with the Germinal Financial Group.
"Ah, this isn't something that I can participate in." Tarrokov was not willing to talk about this and changed topics. "However, you don't have to worry about the Modo Civilization. Just because the dynasty has its hands full right now doesn't mean that we won't punish the Modo Civilization. The dynasty plans to settle the scores in the fourth exploration phase."
Hearing that, Han Xiao was excited.
The fourth phase would be when the Flickering World opened up to the outside world. This would be a good chance to settle the scores.
All the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were creating so much trouble so that they could receive more benefits from the Flickering World. However, when the Flickering World was opened to the outside world, would the Modo Civilization not be at the mercy of the dynasty when they were in the dynasty's territory?
If the dynasty was even more vicious, they might be able to make the Modo Civilization return with nothing.
The Modo Civilization would have a bleak future if they were recorded in the dynasty's little book.
Thinking about that, Han Xiao did not have any issues with their plan and thought to himself, The Primeval Star River is the other party's territory, and it won't be easy for me to take revenge on them. Things will be much easier when they are in the Flickering World.
This means that it would be likely for me to complete the second requirement during Version 4.0.
Han Xiao planned to remain low profile during this period to fortify his foundations. He could afford to wait.
Han Xiao then smiled at Tarrokov.
"Alright, I shall 'take good care' of them when they come to the Flickering World."
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