Chapter 588: Award Ceremony
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Boom!
The guard of honor squad opened fire toward the sky, and ceremonial fireworks burst open.
In the capital of the Godoran mother planet, the plaza in the center of the city was filled with splendor.
This was the most prominent landmark of the capital. The plaza was large and grand with the statues of various historical figures in the center of the plaza. Those statues were enchanted with magic to make the statues glow with a golden light. Many large scale Godoran events would be held in this plaza.
At that moment, the sky above the plaza was a no-fly zone, with many Godoran patrols making the rounds. On the ground, the center of the plaza was cordoned off, and only those who were granted access could enter. A large platform was situated at the center of the plaza with seats being placed on the platform. These were the seats for the upper echelons of Godora. At that moment, the various leaders were there yet, and their seats were still empty.
Below the platform were rows of neatly arranged seats that were there for the various members of society invited to participate in the ceremony. At that moment, the seats were already filled up.
Outside the plaza, golden-skinned individuals were packed like sardines as they watched the ceremony from afar. In truth, they did not need to be present physically to watch the ceremony as Godora would project the entire ceremony into the sky. A holographic screen was currently floating in the sky of the capital, and they only needed to raise their heads to be able to watch it.
Everyone in the streets and alleys of the capital stopped and looked up at the screen as they waited for the ceremony to begin.
“The screen in the sky looks like a gigantic theatre. This effect is truly stunning.”
Many of the players also went onto the streets, and this sight was truly a fresh one for them.
Over the past few days, all the players had been freely exploring the capital, and they could experience a new culture of a different race. This fresh experience was like tasty candy for them all.
Apart from the prices of goods being frighteningly high, everything else was extremely interesting to them.
The players who had followed Han Xiao into space in the previous version were used to the various sights in the galaxy. Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but describe the significance of being brought to Godora’s mother planet to others. According to their experience, their Black Star Army being on the mother planet was significant.
Maple Moon made a conjecture. “I think that a new Storyline may be waiting for us here. Think about it, the Mutation Disaster has just ended, and the organization behind it has also been wiped out. The players are starting to enter the galaxy on a large scale, and I think that there will be a new goal for us.”
Frenzied Sword shook his head and said, “No. I think that the Black Star Army itself is a Main Storyline Mission. Don’t forget that we accepted many different missions previously and went to many different planets with different races. Every planet had their own storyline, so the next Main Storyline Mission should be an exploration one. With the Black Star Army as the guide, we will be able to encounter more planets and races to allow the players to get used to the galaxy.”
“Makes sense. If the Black Star Army is the next Main Storyline Mission of Version 2.0, then the significance of this ceremony is to create an impactful beginning.”
“This is the smell of wonderful material!” Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes lit up.
...
A military aircraft stopped outside the guest house, and this was the vehicle that was going to take all the Army Commanders to the ceremony.
Everyone got onto the aircraft, and Han Xiao picked a random spot to sit in.
“It is finally time for the ceremony to begin.”
None of the Army Commanders were too excited about the ceremony. They had personally participated in the war and were extremely clear about what had happened. The ceremony would just be for Godora to announce the process of how they ambushed all of DarkStar’s motherships and defeated DarkStar in one fell swoop.
This would definitely result in people questioning how Godora locked onto DarkStar’s location. However, this had come from one of Godora’s top secret sources, and it was impossible for them to reveal it.
All the Army Commanders understood this, so the ceremony did not interest them greatly. All of them only intended to make use of the ceremony to spread the fame of their Army.
All of them chatted casually, and while they had intentionally restrained their aura, the pilot who was in the same aircraft as ten or so Calamity Grade Supers had a pale complexion with his entire back covered in sweat.
Although he had known that this was an aircraft full of bigshots in advance, it was still frightening!
Underworld Feather sat beside the pilot and asked in a gentle tone, “Are you afraid?”
The pilot gulped hard and stammered, “No... not at all.”
“Don’t be nervous, eat something.” Underworld Feather took out some suspicious looking dried meat and fed it to the pilot with a friendly look.
The pilot gritted his teeth and ate the piece of dried meat and was surprised to find out that it was actually pretty tasty. He thus asked curiously, “What kind of meat is this?”
Just when Underworld Feather was about to reply, Han Xiao interrupted helplessly. “Don’t ask if you don’t want to puke.”
Over the past few days, he had come to understand Underworld Feather’s personality.
She would pretend to share her snacks warmly but intentionally fed people strange items so as to satisfy her sadistic urges. This little lass was still extremely good at feigning innocence.
“Tsk.” Underworld Feather turned around.
...
Han Xiao and the others arrived at the ceremony grounds and sat in their seats. Their arrival immediately resulted in a huge wave of commotion from the galactic reporters.
“They seem to be the captains of the various large-sized mercenary groups, right?”
“That’s right. They are all famous mercenaries. They should have joined the war as well.”
Below the platform, the reporters chatted among themselves.
After a short while, a couple of aircrafts flew over from the direction of the government buildings. The leaders of Godora were finally there, and they all got into their seats.
Serbia the Fifth was the last to appear, and the moment he made his appearance, the entire crowd burst into loud cheers with the citizens watching from afar also cheering at the top of their lungs.
Han Xiao casually glanced at the VIP seats below the platform. Apart from the reporters, those in the VIP seats were the various leaders of the Godoran planets. Almost all of them were purebloods, and even the few mixed bloods were not too different in appearance.
Serbia the Fifth raised his hand, and the entire crowd became silent. He then began his speech, which was projected far and wide by the magical loudspeaker.
This was the official beginning of the ceremony, and it was broadcast live.
The ceremony would naturally begin with some usual pleasantries like thanking the citizens of the various planets for their contribution, emphasizing on the efforts of the government, and so on.
After a long speech, the Godorans were still sat up straight as they listened with seriousness. However, Han Xiao did not have the same patriotism as the Godorans and almost fell asleep from that long speech. At this moment, Serbia the Fifth finally changed the topic and got to the main point.
“I have something important to announce. DarkStar was a terrorist organization that made use of discrimination as an excuse to create chaos and destruction. For years, DarkStar committed many atrocities, and their hands were covered with blood! We will never be afraid of any provocation and have always done our best to stop DarkStar. Thirteen days ago, we finally made a huge breakthrough and wiped DarkStar out!”
Boom!
Despite Godora releasing a simple report of the matter before this, the Godoran citizens still could not hold in their excitement upon hearing it from Serbia the Fifth personally. The Godoran citizens burst out with excitement upon hearing the news.
The cheers were deafening to the point one could not help but feel one’s body shake.
Right at that moment in the VIP location of the platform, Underworld Feather looked at Han Xiao and softly said, “Can you hear me?”
Han Xiao turned around and replied, “Yes I can. What’s the matter?”
“I am just making sure that you aren’t deaf,” Underworld Feather said expressionlessly.
Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up. Underworld Feather then ignored the cameras around her and took out a bag of melon seeds to munch on. She even shot out the shells of the melon seeds onto his back like a machine gun. Han Xiao’s mouth could not help but cramp up even more.
The Dark Elves truly are a petty bunch...
After cheering for a long time, the Godorans gradually quieted down. The reporters knew that it was time for Godora to announce the process of the raid. They all became extremely attentive and focused their attention on Serbia the Fifth. Their pens were gripped tightly in their hands, and they were prepared to write down everything that he said.
“This time, we received help from a key individual and locked onto the location of DarkStar, thus allowing us to deal with the DarkStar fleet in one fell swoop...”
Serbia the Fifth described the battle slowly. The content of his speech was as the mercenaries had expected. He briefly narrated what had happened and emphasized greatly on their victory.
All the Godorans listened carefully, and the reporters jotted down the details in their notebooks. When this speech was broadcast across the Shattered Star Ring, many galactic residents were extremely curious about this ‘key individual’ that Serbia the Fifth talked about.
This ‘key individual’ should probably be their intelligence source!
After Serbia the Fifth finished his speech, he indicated that he would take questions. The hands of the galactic reporters all shot up extremely quickly.
One of the reporters was then chosen, and he said, “Your Majesty, I would like to ask if the identity of this key individual can be revealed.”
Upon hearing that, viewers across the Star System all rolled their eyes. While they were also interested in the source of the intelligence, this was obviously top secret, and Godora definitely would not be willing to reveal it.
At that moment, Serbia the Fifth smiled and suddenly changed topics. “In truth, there is another major event planned for the ceremony. I will be performing an award ceremony for an individual to award him with the Golden Gal Badge!”
Golden Gal Badge‽
The Godorans and the majority of the reporters present were completely dumbfounded. Their minds blanked out from this piece of news.
Compared to those from other Star Systems, who were puzzled by this announcement, they understood the significance of the Golden Gal Badge.
The Golden Gal Badge was the badge of highest honor in Godora, and it had only been given out a total of thirty-two times. This was despite the millions of years of Godora’s history! This badge was extremely rare!
Only those who made a significant contribution—such as world-renowned scientists, triumphant generals, or wise and peerless rulers—would be able to receive this badge. All the recipients of the badge could be called heroes.
Furthermore, at least half of the recipients had only received the badge after they passed away.
It had been an extremely long time since the badge was last given out. Who would have thought that someone would receive the badge of utmost honor again that day?
This was truly earth-shattering news!
All the reporters regained their cool, and their faces were flushed red from excitement.
Serbia the Fifth turned and looked at the VIP area, and many heads turned to follow his vision.
Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he had no choice but to stand up. In the face of Serbia the Fifth’s friendly gaze, he gritted his teeth and walked over.
It was not because he was nervous.
But because his back was still covered with the shells of melon seeds...
“Let me introduce to all of you the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge, Black Star!”
All of a sudden, everyone took a deep breath.
Everyone was stunned!
All the Army Commanders were completely dumbfounded, and Underworld Feather was shocked to the point her jaw dropped.
The players that were watching the live broadcast were dumbfounded.
The Black Star Army Officers who were playing cards while they watched the broadcast were also dumbfounded, with many of them dropping the cards in their hands.
In fact, there were many Godoran officials who had not been made aware of this matter who also revealed looks of shock.
This was the Golden Gal Badge! This was the first time that it was to be awarded to an outsider who was not a Godoran!