“Tsss…” Han Xiao felt a sense of numbness on his scalp.
This guy was still remarkable at fawning, and he had learned new tricks. Han Xiao could guess what this video would be like just by watching the start.
As expected, Bun-Hit-Dog used self-narration at the start to create a mysterious atmosphere. Then, the image changed as he began to describe his history since Black Phantom era. Although the Galaxy Times episode was similar, Bun-Hit-Dog had a completely different style. He used first-person narration most of the time, using material from many older episodes to create a strong sense of storytelling.
The first-person narration made the video strongly immersive. Bun-Hit-Dog described Han Xiao’s past using his perspective, creating a sense of personal experience, making the audience feel as if they were there.
Another specialty of the first-person narration was that through speaking his thoughts as ‘Black Star’, the audiences would have an even stronger impression of him.
Han Xiao always kept his distance when interacting with the players—he only expressed his surface thoughts. Therefore, the players could never understand his true thoughts. Bun-Hit-Dog wanted to use this episode to give ‘realness’ to the players’ impression of Black Star.
His goal was to strengthen his position as the official and authentic Black Star Army video series creator, making this episode a must-watch for anyone that wanted to know about Black Star in the future. Through deduction, analysis, imagination, and the strongly immersive narration, he created a lively image for Black Star, making this character more real in the eyes of the players.
To the players, a character-focused episode like this was not a new concept. They loved giving NPCs more direct personalities. After all, they could portray the NPCs any way they wanted, and the NPCs would never see it.
The basis of Bun-Hit-Dog’s analysis was what Han Xiao had done throughout the years. He deduced the reasons and motives for Black Star to do those things through his own perspective, beautifying Black Star’s image. A larger portion of the personality was based on speculation and guessing, but the players loved this.
From the Black Phantom era until now, it was as if the players experienced Black Star’s thoughts from the first-person perspective. Bun-Hit-Dog used Han Xiao’s very few public speeches, giving him a ton of positive personality traits—such as ambitious, loving his mother planet, wise, loyal to his friends, a man of his word, decisive, daring but careful, and many more.
“Damn, that’s way too much fawning.”
Bun-Hit-Dog made him sound like he was the essence of all virtues. Even Han Xiao himself was embarrassed.
But it felt good indeed…
The image that Bun-Hit-Dog had built was far off from him, but the benefits were obvious. Only players themselves could create a clear image of him this way. With such loyal paparazzi, it was beneficial in increasing his personal charm to the players. There were clearly more comments on this video than on the Galaxy Times video. Tons of people were praising their captain.
In the later part of the video, Bun-Hit-Dog emphasized on the future of the Black Star Army and made a new speculation.
“The secret war is the main storyline in our eyes, but the way I see it, this might just be the surface. The true hidden storyline is the rise of the Black Star Army!
“The secret war is actually the background of Black Star’s journey to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super and the rise of the army within the Star Field!”
This speculation gained approval from most of the army players. They remembered when the Black Star Army was far smaller than what it was today. When Version 3.0 started, the Black Star Army became completely different after the war and grew at an astounding speed.
Now that Black Star had ended the secret war, the rise of the Black Star Army felt more like the real main storyline that had snatched the attention from the secret war.
Seeing that most of the army players agreed with this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
This was an opportunity to carry out his plan to make the history of the secret war into Dungeons.
…
The next day, the army players received a surprise gift.
For the players that had participated in the secret war, their army assistant in the communicator notified them that due to their involvement in the secret war, they had received the honorable title [Secret Warrior]. This was a title that was displayed on the army resume. It was a form of recognition from the army.
This was a title that was linked to the faction and had nothing to do with their interface. However, all players with this title would forever enjoy a ten percent discount when spending in the army!
The players that participated in the war were overjoyed, not just because of the discount but also because of the honor this title represented. There would only be one secret war, so this title would only be granted once, which meant that it was a faction title that would never be awarded again. This represented that they had witnessed the rise of the army; it was an honor that proved their position as seniors in the army.
At the same time, the faction store put up a ton of [Secret War] Dungeon Crystals that included many wars that spread across the ten years that the players did not experience.
The Dungeons had always been one of the players’ favorite activities, and this had piqued their interest. These secret war Dungeons clearly belonged to the same series. Just like the [Six Nations and Germinal Organization], it was suitable for their current level. The players considered this as one of the specialties of a growing faction. After every main storyline, the Black Star Army would create a corresponding Dungeon series. The players were used to it.
Other than farming rewards in Dungeons, the secret war Dungeons could help the players learn about the Black Star Army’s journey during the ten-year version update period. Personally experiencing it in the Dungeons was much more enjoyable than words recording the story.
Han Xiao had another motive for doing this. The secret war had ended, so the players had entered the free exploration stage. By giving out a ton of Dungeons at this time, it would give them new things to do to fill the time between the main storylines. When the Crimson Dynasty’s order to develop the Flickering World arrived, he would take the Black Star Army to explore the Flickering World. Then, there would be more than enough things to do.
The Flickering World was the storyline of the next version. After the Crimson Dynasty finished their early-stage development, only then would they let the various organizations of the Star Fields take part in the exploration. To players, this would be like a ‘World Server’. They would gather there, explore the unknown, and fight for resources. For him, however, he could take the army players into it in advance in Version 3.0.
Currently, all Han Xiao could do was wait and focus on expanding his army, grabbing as much profit from his sudden increase in influence. He kept the Evolution Cube exclusive for the time being, filling the various civilizations of the Colton Star Cluster with temptation.
With the ton of new members joining in, the matters within the army became complicated and more numerous. These matters were dealt with by Phillip and Sylvia, so he did not have to worry.
…
As half a month passed, most of the members that were willing to join were recruited. The expansion of the Black Star Army gradually started to slow down.
All the departments of the Bloodshed Land returned to the Seoul Star Cluster through stargates.
“Your Excellency Tyrant, what are you going to do?”
Hearing Jorde’s careful and cautious question, Heber turned around.
After what had happened to the duel, he had been keeping a low profile, quietly watching the Black Star Army’s expansion.
His ‘Tyrant’ name became Han Xiao’s stepping stone, and his reputation had been reduced tremendously. This result was too far from his expectations.
However, Black Star had become his ally on paper, so it would be impossible to make him a target for building his reputation. The Crimson Dynasty had ordered them to make peace.
Heber stayed silent for a while before saying, “On my behalf, send an invitation to the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring. I’m going to host a new party.”
“Then, Black Star…” Jorde’s heart beat quickly.
“Since he’s the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, of course, he deserves to be invited.” Heber did not look at Jorde’s expression and turned around.