Chapter 862 - A Devastating Number

The dynasty’s Beyond Grade As returned to the Shattered Star Ring from the Flickering World through the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. After another period of flying, Han Xiao returned to the Colton Star Cluster together with Milizaus and the others.

During the period that they were travelling, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were in a confrontation in the Central Galaxy, and the situation was extremely tense.

On the Shattered Star Ring’s side, the dynasty’s forces located at the borders of the Flickering World had thoroughly investigated the secret stargate exit coordinates provided by Han Xiao, but it was already empty.

When they heard this news along the way, everyone knew that the following job belonged mainly to the intelligence personnel, and they would not be able to do much.

In the spaceship, Han Xiao, Milizaus’ avatar, Beyoni, and Maximiler were gathered together, looking out at the Black Star Army headquarters outside the window.

Gigantic battleships were taking off and landing on the gigantic planetary grade fortress, and metal buildings loomed everywhere.

The officers present at headquarters had also received news of their arrival and came forward to receive them.

As the hatch opened, Han Xiao and the others disembarked from the spaceship and were greeted with a sea of people. The warriors of the army were lined up neatly and gave a salute in unison.

“Army Commander!”

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and slightly confused.

Why did they arrange for such a grand ceremony? While it was a spectacular scene, he did not remember giving such an order.

In front of the soldiers, Sylvia pushed Lagi forward.

As the vice commander, Lagi had no choice but to step forward. He then cleared his throat and said with a less monotonous voice, “Cough cough, we welcome the Army Commander’s return.”

Han Xiao’s face contorted slightly, and he asked, “What are you guys doing? It has only been a few months since we last met each other. Why bother with such a solemn ceremony?”

“Sylvia said that the entire universe now knows that you have defeated a Beyond Grade A head on, and we can make use of this opportunity to foster the cohesiveness within the army,” Herlous said softly.

There was another reason that he did not mention. Sylvia knew that Han Xiao was inviting the allies of the dynasty over as guests and thus created such a scene to build up Han Xiao’s image.

Of course, Lagi felt that this was completely pointless but couldn’t convince Sylvia otherwise.

Han Xiao did not really like such a display and did not feel that it was necessary for the army to boost his image. However, he would not nitpick something so small. Since he had given his subordinates authority, he would allow them to have their own thoughts. He then instructed, “Arrange a room for these three Excellencies.”

“It has already been arranged,” Sylvia said.

Right at this moment, Lagi sighed. “I heard that Austin joined in the battle, and this resulted in huge losses for the Forbidden Sorcerers. Is this true?”

“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Sigh, another few familiar faces have disappeared. Thankfully, I switched sides…” Lagi shook his head weakly. “However, it is meaningless to talk about this. In a few more years, all our bodies will rot, and we will become…”

“Alright, I know that we will all become dust. You can keep quiet now,” Han Xiao interrupted.

After stopping Lagi from embarrassing himself, Han Xiao turned around to look at Milizaus and the others.

“I have some matters to handle. You guys can go and rest. You can inform my men if you have any needs. I will go and find you guys later.”

“Okay.”

Milizaus’ group of three had no issues with that. Since they were in the territory of another, they would listen to Black Star’s arrangements.

Watching the three enter the headquarters, Han Xiao walked toward his office to meet all his officers and asked them about the recent situation.

The army was already on track, and together with him having sufficient prestige, no one in the Shattered Star Ring would dare provoke them.

Furthermore, the galactic pirates and scavengers had begun avoiding the territories of the Black Star Army, which improved the security of many regions.

It was time for the logistics report, and Reynold gave his report calmly. After listening to his report, Han Xiao did not ask about the matters of the army but about Nero’s studies.

“He is extremely talented, and his learning speed is extremely fast. He finished reading all the theory books that I gave him.”

He was probably forced to read them by you, right?

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly, and he asked, “Where is he?”

“Right outside.” Reynold then brought Nero in.

After not meeting him for a while, Nero had already grown up. He now had thick eyebags around his eyes and looked extremely sleepy.

Nero was no longer as energetic as before, and he greeted Han Xiao weakly.

“Hello godfather.”

“You…”

Seeing his pathetic appearance, Han Xiao felt a tinge of pity.

Reynold, you are truly a demon! Look at how you tortured this kid.

It seemed like he must hide Nero well from the players. If not, those darn players might end up triggering an ‘assassinate Reynold’ type mission.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao got Nero to stand in front of him. He then pricked Nero slightly to activate the battle notification and viewed Nero’s attributes.

Wait a moment, this…

Looking at the interface, a look of surprise could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

In Nero’s talent section, a new talent that had not been there before appeared. It was [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense]!

My guess was correct! Nero has an Advanced Luck Glow and has the right to obtain a Molding Talent. He can even learn a talent like Mechanical Sense!

Although it was only [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense] at the moment, he had a chance of learning Reynold’s [Perfect Mechanical Sense] if he continued!

There was finally a new point to break through to Reynold, and Han Xiao was truly excited!

Thinking about that, Han Xiao stroked Nero’s head and said with concern, “Your appearance looks extremely poor. Are you too tired from studying?”

Nero then glanced at Reynold, and his body trembled slightly. “No… not tired at all…”

“Don’t need to be afraid. You can just tell the truth with me around.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s compassionate eyes, Nero felt a sense of courage welling up in his heart. He then began to openly complain about Reynold’s crimes.

“Godfather, he doesn’t even treat me as a human. The sheer amount of homework that he gives isn’t even meant for a human! I have less than three hours of sleep every day, and it is interfering with my development. I… I am still a kid!”

Han Xiao then looked at Reynold and snorted. “Is this the truth?”

“Since the Army Commander handed Nero over to me, I will not let you down,” Reynold said with a strict appearance. “I will definitely groom him to become a great Mechanic!”

“Sigh, I know that your intentions are good, but you must pay attention to your method.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Upon hearing that, a glimmer could be seen in Nero’s eyes, and he felt a trace of hope in his heart.

Godfather is speaking on my behalf!

Does this mean that my hellish life will end today‽

His body trembled with excitement, and he was like a man dying from thirst in the desert who saw an oasis.

At this moment, Nero suddenly felt as though a sacred halo could be seen on Han Xiao’s body.

Han Xiao took out a bottle filled with dragon’s blood. This was Milizaus’ blood that he had gathered from the battlefield. He then said to Reynold, “Give this dragon blood to Emerald Grass and get her to research a body strengthening medicine.”

The next moment, Han Xiao turned around and looked at Nero with a smile.

“Reynold didn’t think things through. How can you learn properly without a strong body? Medicine developed from dragon’s blood will be able to replenish your energy, and your development won’t be affected no matter how late you sleep. Don’t worry and follow Reynold. You must learn properly.”

Nero’s smile froze in place, and his eyes widened.

In his eyes, the sacred glow on Han Xiao’s body seemed to have become a demonic aura, and his godfather’s smile was like a demon’s grin.

Tears welled up in his eyes and were about to burst forth.

Nero cried his heart and lungs out.

Godfather is also a demon!

Wuwuwu… father, mother, I don’t want to live in space anymore. I want to return home!

As Reynold heard that, his eyes lit up, and he nodded with praise.

You are indeed the Army Commander that I respect. You are also a demon.

Han Xiao then got Sylvia to comfort Nero. It was a pity that Rossellin had gone to become a revolutionary. If not, she would have been able to easily fix this mental damage.

Following which, he then used a blank Character Summon Card on Reynold to replenish the number of times he can use Perfect Mechanical Sense. The blank Character Summon Card was slightly different to the previous reward, and he only had a single chance to use it.

Who knew how long it would take for Nero to learn the [Perfect Mechanical Sense]? Han Xiao had always kept his guard up ever since the Planet Lighthouse battle and was worried that the Arcane Church might become desperate. As such, he had to keep a trump card prepared.

…

After settling his internal affairs, Han Xiao went to find Milizaus and the others and led them on a tour of his headquarters. He also contacted Tarrokov to discuss the dynasty’s pursuit mission.

The dynasty’s forces present in the desolate universe belt near the Shattered Star Ring were smaller than their forces in the Flickering World. Together with the fact that the enemy had made use of a secret stargate, the dynasty was not able to set up a defensive line in time. By making use of that small opening, Sagman’s group had successfully avoided the dynasty’s surveillance and escaped into the Shattered Star Ring.

“According to the spatial fluctuations left behind, we believe that Sagman’s group of four have decided to split up. This has increased the difficulty of our search.” Tarrokov’s projection floated beside them and walked together.

“It will be akin to a drop of water entering the ocean when they enter the Shattered Star Ring. It will be incredibly difficult to find them,” Beyoni said.

“That’s right. Her Excellency also thinks so.” Tarrokov nodded. “According to reliable intelligence, the Arcane Church has activated many of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring to save these four Beyond Grade As. Every Universal Civilization has many spies located in the various Star Fields disguised as workers from various occupations, and it is incredibly difficult to see through them. It is an important source of information, and it will be much easier for Sagman and the others to escape with their help.”

“Hidden spies… If we can get a list of the spies, we will be able to track them.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

“That’s impossible.” Tarrokov shook his head. “Such a list will be stored in the main database of the Universal Civilization and protected by a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic. The firewall will be extremely powerful, and it will be impossible to infiltrate them.”

“Will those spies contact the higher ups?”

“The spies of a Universal Civilization will report directly to the intelligence agency, and a single encrypted command can allow them to willingly remain hidden for ten years. They do not have any higher ups.”

“I see. Then forget it.” Han Xiao shook his head and decided to forget about this matter.

Tarrokov then said, “Although it is incredibly difficult to capture them, we cannot give up halfway. We may have some unexpected rewards as well and uproot some of the Arcane Church’s spies. We can attempt to completely wipe out all the hidden pieces that the Arcane Church has in the Shattered Star Ring! If they want to plant new spies, it will take them a few decades for sure.”

“Hmm, this is fine as well. Rather than attempt to chase after four extremely nimble Beyond Grade As, we might as well uproot the Arcane Church’s spies,” Maximiler said.

Capturing two Beyond Grade A captives was already a satisfactory battle result.

They were worried that the Arcane Church might truly become desperate after losing even more Beyond Grade As and end up in a large-scale assassination attempt toward each other’s Beyond Grade As.

There was an example of such an incident. During the exploration era a thousand years earlier, there was a historical incident called the Saint Menason Incident.

At that time, the leaders from the three Universal Civilizations were not the present ones, and an important Beyond Grade A called ‘Saint Menason’ from the Federation of Light was ambushed by two Beyond Grade As from the dynasty. Their target was to snatch the Universal Treasure in Saint Menason’s hands. However, the Federation of Light called even more Beyond Grade A combatants to counter-ambush the two Beyond Grade As and snatch the Universal Treasure back.

The two dead Beyond Grade As had many friends, and a huge chain reaction was created.

Because of this, the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty began to push the blame onto each other politically.

Nine months later, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As worked together and washed the organizations that belonged to three Beyond Grade As from the Federation of Light with blood. They also got rid of two of the Federation of Light’s Beyond Grade As, and only one managed to escape. During this period, the biological brother of an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A also died in the battle because he was a guest at the ambush site.

Because of this, the Arcane Church was dragged into the matter, and another series of assassinations unfolded. The three Universal Civilizations began to assassinate each other’s Beyond Grade As, and more and more people died. In the eyes of a civilization, a Beyond Grade A combatant was a strategic weapon, and they would not allow other Beyond Grade As to live if their own had died. As such, the conflict between the civilizations grew deeper and deeper.

During this incident, the three Universal Civilizations sacrificed many Beyond Grade A Supers, and the turning point of the incident was what the civilizations called the Saint Menason Incident. There was actually a mastermind behind the scene, and it was a Super Star Cluster civilization at that time. The three Universal Civilizations then claimed that they found solid evidence to believe that these Super Star Cluster civilizations were fanning the flames from behind the scenes and wanted to make them lose some Beyond Grade As.

Following which, the three Universal Cis then wiped out all the Beyond Grade As of that Super Star Cluster civilization and their allies before the entire incident came to an end.

At that time, around half of the Beyond Grade As in the known universe were killed. A few neutral Beyond Grade As were unable to avoid the matter and were forced to join the three Universal Civilizations.

As for whether the mastermind behind the matter was truly the Super Star Cluster civilization, only the three Universal Civilizations knew. In any case, that was how it was written in history.

Although their Beyond Grade As were dead, the civilization was still around. While the three Universal Civilizations were much more peaceful in the Galaxy Calendar era, the majority did not wish to see history repeat itself. After that incident, the number of Beyond Grade As being sacrificed was reduced greatly.

“Don’t worry, even if we can’t catch Sagman and the others, there is a target that won’t be able to escape,” Tarrokov said with a smile.

“Psyker right?” Han Xiao also smiled.

The Star Pupil Holy Race was in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was impossible for Psyker to escape. Even if the dynasty adhered to the Peace Treaty and did not attack the Star Pupil Holy Race, it would be impossible for Psyker not to return forever.

If he had killed Han Xiao successfully and snatched the Evolution Cube back, Psyker would have had the protection of the Arcane Church and would not have been in such a passive state.

For now, however, Psyker was truly in a pathetic state.

Han Xiao only had a single thought toward Psyker’s current situation.

There’s no hope. Let’s move house.