Chapter 860 Invitation and Announcemen
The remaining soldiers of the Arcane Church were all captured by the dynasty.
The stubborn Mercer and Heber were locked in an intense battle with their fists raining down on each other and Pugilist flames shooting out in all directions like the sparks from the clash of weapons.
A Beyond Grade A Pugilist had grasped the true essence of speed and strength, and their movements were like lightning, which came with numerous afterimages behind them. Milizaus and the others rarely fought in close range, and they admired the battle from the side.
Both of them fought until they were tired and riddled with injuries all over. Heber’s situation was slightly better, and he held onto Mercer tightly, bringing him onto the spaceship.
Bang!
Mercer’s dense body was thrown onto the ground, and the half unconscious Mercer could not get up again.
Heber then took a deep breath to stabilize his surging blood. He then pointed at Mercer, who was by his feet, and said, “I took care of him.”
Clapping could then be heard in the room, and Tarrokov gave him a round of applause with a polite smile on his face.
With Black Star one-shotting Dylan during their most desperate moment right before this, none of them thought highly of Heber defeating an opponent who was already defeated before this in a carefully engineered one-on-one fight. In fact, they all felt that it was truly too slow. However, none of them dared say it, afraid that they would offend Heber.
Han Xiao was different, and he was not afraid of Heber. With his drink in his hand, he said while sucking on the straw, “How slow, Little Ty-Ty. Why did you take so long?”
The Pugilists had spent quite some time fighting each other, and the battlefield had already been cleared up. The spectators had already gone to find some drinks and snacks while watching the battle between the two Pugilists.
“Humph.” Heber could not be bothered with him.
No matter what, the achievement of defeating Mercer belonged to him, and no one would remember the details of how it happened. They would only know that he defeated another Beyond Grade A, and having the title was sufficient.
Tarrokov then got everyone to come over and said, “Now that Heber is here, let me repeat myself again. I have already informed Her Excellency Urranrell about the battle results, and Her Excellency is extremely satisfied with our results. The Arcane Church fleet has been wiped out, and the dynasty has two Beyond Grade As in their hands.
“With such chips in our hands, the dynasty will have the upper hand, and Her Excellency will announce this matter to the universe and inform all the large and small organizations about the Arcane Church’s actions and also the price that they had to pay.”
The battle in the Flickering World did not last too long, and the dynasty was still locking down news about it. The outside world was clueless about it, but announcing it to the entire world was only a matter of time.
If the Arcane Church managed to escape safely after the ambush, the dynasty’s prestige would be heavily hit. However, things were different now, and not only was the Arcane Church’s fleet completely wiped out, two of the six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church had been captured. The dynasty’s prestige had gone up another level, and the upper echelons were extremely satisfied with the actions of Han Xiao and the others.
The dynasty would not miss such an opportunity to promote their own Beyond Grade As. Han Xiao would be the main focus of the promotion, and the dynasty was prepared to spread news about how he single-handedly turned the situation around.
Increasing the prestige of their allies was akin to increasing the dynasty’s prestige. This was a win-win situation.
When they were watching Mercer and the Tyrant have a wrestling match, Tarrokov had already informed Han Xiao about the matter. As such, Han Xiao only nodded slightly to indicate that he acknowledged those words.
The chief commander then said, “On the other side, there are still four Beyond Grade As who escaped into the Shattered Star Ring, and the dynasty will chase after them. However, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring is different from the Flickering World. The dynasty hopes that all of you will temporarily head to the Shattered Star Ring to hold the fort so that you will be able to respond quickly.”
The Flickering World was currently the dynasty’s territory, and the other organizations did not have any foundation in this place. Thus, the dynasty was able to cast a large net to chase the enemy down without any interference.
However, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring was different, and the various organizations had complicated relationships. The Arcane Church also had various spies in the Shattered Star Ring, and the four Beyond Grade As no longer only had a single escape route. They could easily choose to split up and disguise themselves as ordinary galactic residents.
Furthermore, with the sheer size of a Star Field, searching for the enemy was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Of course, as the ones being hunted, Sagman and the others would face danger at every turn, and they would be experiencing much more pressure.
Because the enemy opened the gap with the stargate, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As were unable to continue giving chase and could only choose to hold down the fort in the Shattered Star Ring. After all, the enemy would definitely try to hide themselves, and they would only be able to fight back after discovering the enemy’s tracks. If not, they would just be wasting their time.
Han Xiao then smiled and said, “The Shattered Star Ring is the Black Star Army’s main camp, so I sincerely welcome all of you to be guests in the Black Star Army. All of your food and accommodation shall be taken care of by me during this period.”
Heber immediately said after hearing that, “The Shattered Star Ring is also my territory. The Black Star Army has only been around for a few years, and there is nothing fantastic about them. All of you can come to my Bloodshed Land instead.”
Everyone present was a Beyond Grade A Super and had incredible influence. As locals, both Han Xiao and Heber wanted to pull them into their own territory as guests and increase their prestige.
Milizaus then chuckled. “Since Black Star has invited me, I shall go over to his place.”
Beyoni also nodded, “Alright, you promised to host me back when we were in the Central Galaxy. Let’s make use of this opportunity.”
They had spent one month with Han Xiao on Planet Lighthouse and also fought together in a desperate battle a while ago. They were naturally much closer to each other.
“Black Star, I shall also go over to your place,” Maximiler, who only had his projection around, said. “We can make use of this opportunity to have an exchange in Mechanic skills.”
“Sounds good.” Han Xiao agreed.
Maximiler was a Mechanic and would naturally be more interested in someone of his own Class rather than a muscular man.
Everyone ignored Heber’s invitation, and Heber felt a little embarrassed. He then turned around to look at the remaining Ravenlaude.
Ravenlaude’s mouth cramped up, and he said helplessly, “Then... I shall go to Bloodshed Land.”
Since everyone was going to the Black Star Army, he also wanted to join in the fun and see if he could find an opportunity to borrow the Evolution Cube. However, he felt his head ache upon seeing Heber stare at him and could only go against his own wishes.
Heber’s expression became slightly better. At least not everyone had ignored him.
He then looked at the three people beside Han Xiao and felt a little defeated.
He had held the Tyrant Party in the Shattered Star Ring for many years and felt that his network was pretty large. However, the experts of the same level in the other Star Fields did not think too highly of him, and he felt that he lost out to Han Xiao in this respect.
Tarrokov then coughed and interrupted the conversation.
“Because of the increased difficulty in searching for the enemy, the dynasty has decided to cut off the enemy’s path of retreat and ambush the Arcane Church’s stargate stationed in the Shattered Star Ring.
“The Shattered Star Ring envoy Zoel is already mobilizing our forces, and he will launch an attack after the dynasty makes an announcement regarding this matter.”
“It seems like we won’t be able to arrive in time for this.” Han Xiao nodded. “Neither party has any Beyond Grade As to help. Can the dynasty deal with the Arcane Church’s forces?”
“You’re wrong. We have a Beyond Grade A combatant.” Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. “Could it be that the dynasty invited Beyond Grade A allies from the other Star Fields? Wouldn’t it take too much time? The Arcane Church will also be able to send out Beyond Grade A combatants if this is the case.”
“No, our Beyond Grade A combatant is a local in the Shattered Star Ring.”
“Local? Heber and I are in the Flickering World. Austin is still rushing back and won’t be able to make it in time. There’s no need to talk about Psyker...”
As he said that, Han Xiao suddenly realized something, and his face darkened.
“Did you guys seek help from Ames by using my name‽”
“Black Star, don’t misunderstand us. We didn’t do that. The Dragon Emperor took the initiative to approach Zoel and requested to participate in the operation,” Tarrokov said. “I only found out recently, and Zoel has already agreed to it. With all of you absent, she is the only Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring and will be able to aid us greatly.”
“How did she find out about the matters over here?”
“This... I don’t know about that.” Tarrokov shook his head.
Han Xiao frowned and walked to the side to contact Ames.
Ames’ figure floated up on his communicator, and she sized Han Xiao up upon seeing him before saying with a smile, “Eh, the busy man is finally willing to call me.”
Han Xiao did not bother beating about the bush and asked, “Let me ask you, did you contact the dynasty to enter this storm?”
“Why? Do you have an issue?” Ames smirked.
Han Xiao nodded and said, “You shouldn’t have. This isn’t a good thing for you.”
“How long have you known me?” Ames asked with a calm voice. “To me, there are only things that I wish to do and those that I don’t wish to do. You are my ally, and since you were ambushed, what kind of ally would I be if I don’t help? Humph, you still tried to hide the matter from me. If not for Austin informing me about the matter, I wouldn’t have known that you encountered such danger in the Flickering World.”
So, it was that darn old man Austin... Han Xiao then said helplessly, “It isn’t that I am hiding the matter from you. I just haven’t told you yet. I don’t need to inform you at the very first moment, right?”
Ames snorted. “... I really wish to beat you up sometimes. It is a pity that you are much stronger than before, and I’m not confident that I can beat the current you.”
Han Xiao stroked his chin and said helplessly, “Don’t change the topic. The dynasty will be able to attack the stargate even if you don’t participate. There’s no need for you to do so. You are not a member of the dynasty and do not have the dynasty’s protections. Your situation will be tough if you anger the Arcane Church.”
“Really? What about Austin? You don’t seem to think about him,” Ames said with a mocking tone.
“Is that even the same?” Han Xiao shook his head. “Austin owed me a favor, but you don’t. Instead, I am the one who owes you a favor. Besides, both of us are allies, and I have to think on your behalf.”
“Tsk, it turns out that you still know how to speak like a human.” Ames teased him a little before getting serious. “Alright, you don’t need to continue. You should know that even Aesop wouldn’t be able to convince me otherwise if I make a decision.”
“Alright then...”
Han Xiao was a little helpless but also touched. When he was weak, Ames had also stood up for him like this. Now that they were already on the same level, she still chose to do so, and those memories surfaced in his head.
“Then take care of yourself.”
After hanging up, Han Xiao contacted Zoel.
Zoel’s face appeared, and he said with a friendly expression, “Haha, Your Excellency Black Star. It has been quite some time. I have heard about your merits in the Flickering World. Good job!”
Zoel was the one who had introduced Han Xiao to join the dynasty. Now that Han Xiao had rendered merits to the dynasty, he would also receive some reward and was in a good mood.
“Zoel, I have something to ask of you...” Han Xiao then said his request.
“It’s nothing much. Don’t worry, I will inform the garrison commander to prevent the Dragon Emperor from fighting at the most dangerous location.”
“Alright, I will return to the Shattered Star Ring soon, and we can have a gathering at the headquarters of the Black Star Army. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Maximiler will also be around.”
“They are all bigshots.” Zoel’s eyes lit up. With his current position, he would only be able to meet the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and there was no chance for him to meet the Beyond Grade As of the other Star Fields. This was a good opportunity for him to get to know them.
After ending the call, Han Xiao returned to Tarrokov’s side and used the Spacetime Amber to seal the struggling Mercer with the aid of the others.
Following that, the fleet changed directions and headed toward the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. It would take them a few days to return to the Shattered Star Ring.
Han Xiao had originally thought that he would have to remain in the Flickering World, but never had he thought that he would be able to return to his main camp because of this interlude.
In truth, his physical location did not matter as the Black Star Army would continue their exploration of the Flickering World.
Opening the forums to take a look, the player’s [The Crimson Dynasty Order: All Out Pursuit] had not ended yet. There were still many Arcane Church troops scattered all around and also plenty of Fallen Ark troops that had not escaped.
Compared to Sagman’s group of four, Han Xiao would rather deal with EsGod. However, the dynasty’s attention was currently on the Arcane Church.
Without aid from his teammates, Han Xiao was not confident about killing EsGod.
I can only wait for the Crimson Dynasty to announce this matter to the universe and carry out a large scale counterattack before trying to persuade them about my previous suggestion, Han Xiao thought to himself. The Political Asset should have some influence on this, right?
...
The day after catching Mercer, the dynasty called for a press conference, and Ruler Urranrell personally revealed the entire incident to the universe.
Countless galactic media groups broadcast the press conference, and the scene of the press conference spread throughout every Star Field.
Regardless of whether it was a variety channel or family channel, every channel showed the press conference of the dynasty.
The captains of various spaceships, customers of bars, travelers in transit stations, and many others all had their eyes glued to the press conference.
Many galactic residents were listening to the Crimson Dynasty’s announcement at the same time.
The galactic residents only knew that the Flickering World was a new Star Field that was currently being explored and did not know anything else. However, a battle between eleven Beyond Grade As had actually broken out in this unexplored Star Field with the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty fighting each other head on! Both Universal Civilizations also simultaneously announced that they were entering war time alert!
This announcement was like the explosion of a psionic bomb!