Chapter 841 The Approaching Storm
Once everyone was seated, the meeting started. Tarrokov explained the current exploration situation.
After listening for a while, Ravenlaude was overjoyed. He was going to explore the Garu Star Cluster, and the long distance stargates built by the Black Star Army gave him many more choices, which was beneficial for him.
Who knows what Black Star was thinking? Ravenlaude gloated in his mind.
For someone like Heber who explored the Renault Star Cluster step by step, the exploration teams that came after would have no choice but to slowly hyperdrive over the already explored areas. The Black Star Army, however, did not seem to care about their own gains at all. They were basically setting themselves aflame to warm the ones who came after. How selfless of them!
The mockery in Ravenlaude’s eyes increased even more as he glanced at Han Xiao.
Having noticed Ravenlaude’s gaze, Han Xiao turned and smiled at him, also with mockery in his eyes.
Although the long distance stargates would undoubtedly make Ravenlaude’s exploration easier, the biggest reward, the Spacetime Amber, was already in his hands.
Furthermore, Han Xiao had already occupied all the known rich planets from his previous life, and there were very few quality planets left for Ravenlaude. Of course, Ravenlaude had no idea.
As their eyes clashed, it was as if they made a silent exchange, both having deep meaning in their eyes.
Hehe, you’ve made such a loss, Ravenlaude seemed to say.
Tsk tsk, you have no idea what you’ve lost, Han Xiao mocked back.
...
The meeting ended very quickly, and the people left one after another. As the first batch of the exploration teams including Han Xiao and Heber had already built the stargates, the second batch of the exploration could reach their respective Star Clusters immediately and had no reason to waste time on Planet Lighthouse. They departed very soon.
Milizaus and Beyoni’s teams left as well, while they themselves stayed and accompanied Han Xiao as temporary guards of the Evolution Cube.
As Beyond Grade As of the dynasty, neither of them minded bonding with their colleague, Black Star.
Inside a wide room, the three of them sat opposite each other. Three glasses of hot and red liquid were on the table. This was a specialty that Beyoni had brought from his home. It was said to be a special drink that the Pyre Demon Tribe loved.
Han Xiao took a large sip. It had a thick and dense texture, extremely hot and spicy, and rolled down his throat like flames. His stomach felt warm, and a bunch of ‘-0’s popped up on his head.
“Not bad, what is this?” Han Xiao asked.
“Hehe, this is lava from the Land of the Fire Core, mixed with condensed alcohol. It tastes quite good, right?”
Damn it, you actually gave me lava to drink... Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.
Land of the Fire Core was the only Universal Treasure the Pyre Demon Tribe had. It seemed to be something that could speed up the growth of young Pyre Demons. Han Xiao recalled that the Extinguish Army always wanted to destroy it.
After some hesitation, Han Xiao did not put the glass down in the end and took another sip.
“... Another round.”
It really tasted quite good.
He had already stayed in a Fixed Star before, so drinking some lava was nothing.
Milizaus looked at the cup in front of him and wondered if he should drink it since this was just his energy apparition. He shook his head and asked, “Black Star, what was the deal you spoke of earlier?”
Han Xiao put the glass down and said with a smile, “The Dragonblood Nation’s many kinds of Dragonblood Potions are renowned across the universe. I want to exchange the allocation of the Evolution Cube for Dragonblood Potions. You’re the leader of the Starry Spiritual Dragon Race, so I suppose you want some of your exceptional people to evolve, right?”
Milizaus pondered for a while and nodded. “Sure, how are we exchanging specifically?”
The Dragonblood Potions were a specialty meant for selling to start with, so of course, Milizaus was not going to reject it. The Dragonblood Nation consisted of hybrid dragons that he created with Dragonblood. It was merely an armed force under his race. The Starry Spiritual Dragon Race was what was important to him.
“Two tons of common Dragonblood Potions plus a hundred kilograms of Condensed Dragonblood Potions in exchange for a hundred Evolution Cube allocations.”
Milizaus was stunned in place.
Tons?
The Dragonblood Potions are usually sold in bottles you *sshole!
“It takes more than ten tons of Dragonblood from Grade C individuals to produce one ton of Dragonblood Potions, and the Condensed Dragonblood Potion requires much more,” Milizaus said with a displeased tone. “Why don’t I just give you a few dragons and you can drain blood from them yourself, huh?”
Han Xiao pondered with a serious face. “That’s not unacceptable...”
“You’re way too greedy!” Milizaus said angrily.
“I’m not asking you to purchase all the allocations at once. You can do it slowly.” Han Xiao chuckled. Friendship was one thing, and greed in business was another.
Of course, he would not be able to finish such a large amount of Dragonblood Potions. They were mainly going to be used to strengthen capable officers and sold to players at high prices.
Selling specialties from other factions to expand the Black Star Army’s range of products and indirectly increase the faction’s appeal had already become Han Xiao’s habit.
Milizaus was speechless. Although we have large sizes and a lot of blood, you can’t just drain the hell out of our blood!
“If you have worries, I can let your people experience the actual effect of the Evolution Cube once for free,” said Han Xiao.
“Sure, let’s find an empty space. I’ll call a dragon here.” Milizaus nodded.
Han Xiao looked at Beyoni, and Beyoni said that he had no objections—he wanted to see its effects as well.
The three of them left the room and came to a wide metal field.
Han Xiao looked up and saw an enormous dragon descending.
Whoosh!
With its wings stirring up howling winds, this Starry Spiritual Dragon landed on the field with a loud bang, and the ground slightly trembled.
Han Xiao sized it up. This enormous dragon’s body was long and streamlined. It was about a thousand meters long. It had two pairs of broad wings on its back and a pair of dragon claws below its body at the front, middle, and back, three pairs in total. It stared at the three of them with its cold golden dragon eyes.
This was a normal Starry Spiritual Dragon. Compared to Milizaus, its size was not as big. This Starry Spiritual Dragon did not have a habit of running around naked. Most of its body was covered in specially made black heavy metal armor.
Its armor was even equipped with mechanical weapons, such as artilleries and battleship shields. It was basically fully armed. Such a heavily-armed enormous dragon could basically be seen as a battleship. The machinery and its body formed a bulky sense of beauty.
Its armor and its body also had a lot of magic circuits on them that were illuminated. They were clearly Enchants.
“This is one of my Armed Dragon Guards. Let him try the effects of the Evolution Cube first,” Milizaus said. As a Beyond Grade A, he also had his own elite team. The Armed Dragon Guards were just like Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers.
Wow, this guy looks really cool... Han Xiao’s eyes were flashing. This style of large creature armed completely with machinery was perfect for his taste.
Temporarily unsealing the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao activated it. Black Evolution Energy poured out and covered this Armed Dragon Guard, forming a black cocoon.
Ka ka...
Not long after, the black cocoon shattered like a newborn coming out of its shell. Under the sharp senses of three Beyond Grade As, the aura of this Armed Dragon Guard became considerably stronger. Its size was visibly larger, and its heavy armor became a little tight on its body.
Roar!
This Armed Dragon Guard looked up and roared, emitting bright silvery-purple dragon breath that expanded like a sea of light and shattered like fireworks in the sky.
“Looks quite effective.” Beyoni was a little jealous. If he could let the females of the Pyre Demon Tribe receive such enhancements, they would be able to endure more of his hot essence, which would definitely be beneficial in the reproduction of his descendant race.
Milizaus was also satisfied.
“Alright then, I accept this price. I shall first buy... two thousand allocations.”
“How is two thousand enough? The population of the Starry Spiritual Dragon is not high, sure, but there should at least be a million dragons. Come on, buy more.” Han Xiao tried tempting him.
Milizaus snorted. “I’ll think about it in the future.”
If he bought tens of thousands of allocations at once, his Starry Spiritual Dragon Race would have to change their name to the Anemic Dragon Race.
“I have another request.” Han Xiao chuckled. He sized the Armed Dragon Guard up and said, “I think that you Starry Spiritual Dragons are quite magnificent...”
“What do you want now?” Milizaus was alarmed.
“Do you mind if I recruit a few Starry Spiritual Dragons as my allies...”
“Don’t even think about it!” Milizaus was so angry that he could barely maintain his energy apparition.
Allies? You think I did not see the overflowing desire in your eyes? You want my people to be your mount, don’t you‽ Outrageous, you might as well mount me!
Milizaus had read about Han Xiao before coming and knew about how thick skinned he was. However, after actual contact, the thickness of Han Xiao’s skin still exceeded his expectations. Never mind him raising the price so directly, he even wanted to mount his dragon offspring right in front of him. How could there be such a shameless Beyond Grade A!
However, Milizaus did not dislike it and somewhat liked Black Star’s style. Most of the Beyond Grade As in the universe took their image very seriously and always maintained a cold attitude as if they were afraid others did not know how important they were. He was quite happy to meet someone with a different demeanor.
Having lived for so long, one would either become careless about everything or develop more interests in new and fresh things. In this respect, Milizaus shared quite a lot of common traits with Aesop.
...
On the Arcane Church’s mother planet, inside a large temple, the Bishops sat around the round table, discussing the Evolution Cube.
Dispatching so many Beyond Grade As at once was no small matter. It required decisions from the highest members of the Arcane Church. However, due to what had happened with Psyker, the opinions of the Main Church were divided.
“We should give up this plan!” a bishop said calmly. “We have lost the ability to locate the Evolution Cube and now are stuck. According to the latest intel, the dynasty has noticed our intentions. Black Star has returned to Planet Lighthouse and is hiding behind multiple layers of protection. The dynasty even gave him two bodyguards, ‘Incineration’ Beyoni and ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus. If we continue with the plan, we will be facing three of the Crimson Dynasty high level combatants, and that’s considered direct conflict, which goes against our original intentions.
“The security around Planet Lighthouse is tight. As soon as our secret fleet appears near it, it will be discovered by the dynasty. By then, we will have to face the garrison of Planet Lighthouse, who are fully war-prepared. The risk is too high.”
The others looked at him silently.
“More importantly, without the ability to locate the Evolution Cube, if Black Star hides it, we will have no way of finding it. Capturing Black Star is an extremely difficult task. The reward is not worth the risk. We...” After a pause, this bishop sighed and said, “We should give up the Evolution Cube.”
The others could not object. They subconsciously looked at the main seat. That was supposed to be the seat of the pope. It was not occupied now, but they knew that the pope had been listening to the discussions.
The discussion had come to a stalemate. It was all up to the pope’s decision.
After waiting for a while, a 3D projection suddenly appeared above the round table. There were a few sentences. It was the pope’s reply.
“First, God has said that the Evolution Cube is still with Black Star.
“Second, change the plan and directly attack Planet Lighthouse.
“Third, new mission target, Milizaus. The [Ten Thousand Deity Scepter] can be used to kill him.
“Fourth, the Federation of Light has agreed to provide assistance.”