The Legendary Mechanic, page 488
For Hila, who was standing by the corner with a passive expression, the corners of her mouth curled up into a barely discernible smile.
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, leisurely saying, “In that case, I’ll formally extend an invitation to you. Hadavy, my legion requires your strength. Are you willing to come under my banner?”
Hadavy found it hard to open his mouth at this time. His mouth seemed to be glued shut, and he applied all his Grade A level strength just to unlock his jaw.
“I… I am willing…”
After saying those three words, Hadavy felt as though his entire body had gone soft. The feeling was as though he had just finished ten consecutive gladiator matches.
“Good.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile. “On behalf of my army, I welcome you.”
Seeing that Han Xiao was no longer fooling around with him, Hadavy finally breathed a sigh of relief, putting down the embarrassment in his heart. “What role do you require me to take?”
Han Xiao thought about it before pointing to Hila. “You can join the Black Star Guards, which is under Hila.”
With Hadavy having a well-known reputation, him joining the Black Star Guards would also increase their renown.
“Black Star Guards?” Hadavy stroked his chin before replying, “That’s fine, but I have a request. I hope that you will be able to impart some of your experience in achieving Beyond Grade A to me…”
Han Xiao nodded before shaking his head. “Every Beyond Grade A has a different method for their promotion, and everyone has their own path. I’m unable to pass down my experience to you, but what I can do is spar with you, allowing you to feel the difference between your level and that of a Beyond Grade A to give you more inspiration.”
“This…” Hadavy shook his head helplessly. “That works as well.”
While this was a little different from his expectations, being able to spar with a Beyond Grade A was also what he wanted. He originally loved to squeeze his potential out through battles.
The average person could not give him much pressure, but facing Black Star would remind him of his fear of the beasts when he was young and weak. This sort of fear would be a catalyst for growth.
Han Xiao waved his hand, allowing Hila to take Hadavy to meet his new colleagues.
He now had a total of five guards, of which Hadavy, Feidin, and Hila were the strongest, all high-level Calamity Grades. The other two were Marian and a Pugilist named Deluno. Both of their combat capabilities were average, not extraordinary in the Calamity Grade, but it was good enough to be a mini-boss. In this manner, all his guards were actually elites.
After dealing with Hadavy, Han Xiao called Sylvia over to talk about the expansion of the Black Star Army.
Since he had personally announced the matter of reaching Beyond Grade A, he would have to start making some big moves, increasing his influence, and making more allies in the Star Field. His plan was to make the Black Star Army reach the level of a true Beyond Grade A force.
But before that, there was still another matter he needed to address.
“Sylvia, help me prepare a fleet. I’m going out.”
“Noted. Where are you going, Teacher?”
Han Xiao paused, his tone strange.
“Floating Dragon.”
…
The countless interstellar news outlets released the article about Han Xiao personally acknowledging that he had broken into the Beyond Grade A class. At its peak, ninety-five percent of the entire news channels in the Shattered Star Ring were occupied by news about this matter, setting off a new storm of public opinion.
Most of the official news sources had acknowledged this matter, making it a sure bet. During this period, almost all the media outlets in Shattered Star Ring were covering the topic. With so many media channels, this was far larger than compared to the rumor and word-of-mouth influence that had spread earlier. As long as the citizens had internet, there was no one that would not have heard of Han Xiao’s name!
Similarly, this sensational news had also been shared by the media of other Star Fields, and their organizations had also learned that the Shattered Star Ring had given birth to yet another Beyond Grade A Super!
The player forums almost detonated from this situation. Although Han Xiao’s name often dominated the forums, it was because of the players’ discussion. That day, even the players from other Star Fields could also see their news channels commenting on Han Xiao’s name!
Those belonging to other Star Fields were shocked. At Version 3.0, players had yet to cross between Star Fields. In their eyes, each Star Field was currently an independent server. Now, the NPC character from the Shattered Star Ring had actually ‘broken’ this barrier due to his fame!
Since the previous versions, Han Xiao had constantly established his main storyline character position in the Shattered Star Ring. The players from the other Star Fields also knew of his name. This wave of public opinion had generated a strong interest within the player base. Not only was Han Xiao filling up the screen in the Shattered Star Ring news channel, his name was also within the forum channels of the other Star Fields. On all channels, he was within the top three topics.
The official news channels also had their own rules, and the various great organizations of the Shattered Star Ring responded appropriately.
…
The Purple Crystal Civilization was extremely happy now.
They had seen the potential revealed by him more than seven years ago and decided to hedge their bets on him. Finally, Black Star had stepped into the realm of the Beyond Grade A, and the Purple Crystal Civilization now had a Beyond Grade A Super just like Klent. Within the seven Star Cluster level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, only two of them had such powerful allies.
Their bet had truly paid off!
Furthermore, Black Star had only spent around twenty years to reach the Beyond Grade A rank, with his total age not even being close to fifty yet. With the lifespan of a Beyond Grade A Super, he was considered an infant, and this spoke volumes of his potential.
The moment Han Xiao admitted his promotion in person, the Purple Crystal Civilization had adopted a variety of measures such as adding a huge investment to the Black Star Army as well as putting out more favorable policies and resource conditions for them. They were committed to building a more stable relationship with Han Xiao as an alliance.
At the same time, the Purple Crystal Civilization also issued announcements to the entire Star Field through their media channels.
“In the name of the Civilization, we congratulate Black Star for reaching the Beyond Grade A rank!”
This sort of behavior expressed their attitude to the entire Star Field and conveyed a message that their relationship was extremely stable. Those outside parties who wanted a share of the pie should just save their energy and get lost.
Godora was unwilling to be left behind and followed suit by having Serbia The Fifth coming out to explain Han Xiao’s role in saving Godora, as well as emphasizing that he was the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge. Finally, he represented all Godorans in congratulating Han Xiao on his advancement before revealing that he was planning to add a celebratory festival named Black Star Day to thank Han Xiao for all that he had done for them.
Were it any other civilization that had done this, it would have sounded very much like boot-licking. However, Godora was different, as their ties with Han Xiao ran extremely deeply. Be it the eradication of DarkStar or the Discrimination Transformation Movement, it had a huge impact for their entire civilization. Thus, a festival to thank Han Xiao was nothing extraordinary.
Purple Crystal and Godora quickly took their stand, and to jump on the bandwagon, hundreds of civilizations began to congratulate Han Xiao. This was as though they were attempting to form a trend. Most of these galaxy-level civilizations were half-allies that had chosen the Black Star Army, and they had allowed the army to set up bases on their planets. At this moment, they scrambled to speak up, as though afraid that others would not know they were in an alliance with Black Star.
The behavior of these civilizations was actually understandable. Purple Crystal was the boss of this Star Cluster and thus got the ball rolling. The other civilizations jumped on the bandwagon in order to have a good relationship with this Beyond Grade A faction, but this crazy chain left those on the sidelines speechless and shocked.
The entire Colton Star Cluster was basically standing behind Black Star, shouting and congratulating him. An entire Star Cluster was celebrating for one man!
In such a situation, those on the sidelines could not even reply due to their shock.
The reputation of Black Star in the Star Cluster was so shocking!
Even when the other Beyond Grade As had advanced, they did not receive such a resounding celebration!
At this moment, the entire Star Field remembered the name Black Star. Just like the other four, he turned into an icon of the Shattered Star Ring in everyone’s minds, the Fifth Beyond Grade A Seat!
However, it was at this juncture that unexpected events started to appear, allowing the public opinion to skyrocket to unpresented levels.
The Tyrant Heber and Star Pupil Psyker both openly made a declaration of battle toward Black Star!
Heber’s reason was because of the secret war. Since the Purple Crystal also possessed a Beyond Grade A now, he would personally act. Because both Beyond Grade As were fighting for different sides, there was no problem with that.
However, Psyker’s reasoning caused a huge outburst.
He openly admitted the existence of the Evolution Cube, announced that Black Star had taken the Evolution Cube from his hands, and requested for Black Star to return it!
The Evolution Cube is now in Black Star’s hands? Two elder Beyond Grade As are challenging a newborn Beyond Grade A‽
Those two pieces of news caused a stir.
The entire Star Field burst into an uproar!
The Beyond Grade As… were going to fight openly‽
How long had it been since that last happened!
…
Just as the major organizations and those on the sidelines were shocked at all the ongoing news, Han Xiao had taken his spaceship and arrived on Floating Dragon Island.
Chapter 770. Independence |
A large fleet appeared not too far away from Floating Dragon Island with Han Xiao’s spaceship being at the very front.
Aurora was seated in the pilot’s seat with Han Xiao standing behind her with his arms crossed.
Floating Dragon now had three different islands and a second field team in charge of guarding Floating Dragon. Looking out at the scenery, Han Xiao could not help but lament to himself.
“I haven’t been back for quite some time, and the changes are truly great. So many years have gone by in just a blink of an eye. I still remember the first time I came to Floating Dragon…”
Du! Du!
Vilna’s face appeared on his communicator, and she said, “Your Excellency Black Star, Her Excellency Dragon Emperor is waiting for you.”
It seems like she knew that I would come and meet her… Han Xiao nodded.
The second field team opened a path and allowed the Black Star Army fleet to land on Floating Dragon Island.
“Black Star Guards follow me. The others remain here and await my orders,” Han Xiao instructed and led Hila and the others onto Floating Dragon.
On the dock, Jenny and the other officers were already waiting for him.
“Your Excellency Black Star.”
The various officers saluted him.
Although they had once been colleagues with Han Xiao, Han Xiao was now a Beyond Grade A Super, and his status in the galaxy far exceeded theirs. He was a figure who stood at the same level as the Dragon Emperor, and they could only look up to him.
Even Jenny, who had a terrible relationship with Han Xiao, also had her head lowered with a respectful appearance.
Aesop stepped out from the crowd and said with a complicated expression, “I knew that you would return. This day had to come eventually.”
Han Xiao then looked around at the faces of his colleagues before looking back at Aesop. Shaking his head, he said, “Didn’t you already start making preparations?”
“I just didn’t think that it would be so sudden…” Aesop let out a sigh before turning around to lead the way. “Follow me. Ames is already waiting for you.”
Han Xiao followed behind Aesop and entered the palace, only to see Ames seated on top of a floating throne with a calm expression on her face.
“You’re here. Black Star, I have been waiting for you,” Ames said as though she had already expected his arrival.
Han Xiao stood a few meters away, and Aesop’s group walked behind Ames. At this moment, there seemed to be an invisible barrier separating the two groups.
Neither of them spoke immediately; they looked at each other silently instead. The Black Star and Floating Dragon officers who were by the side all could not help but gulp as their hearts tensed up.
The officers of both sides were aware of Han Xiao’s intentions and could not help but feel nervous upon seeing the tense atmosphere. They were afraid that the two Beyond Grade A Supers would start fighting because of some disagreement.
The new member of the Black Star Guards, Hadavy, was probably the only exception. He was currently sizing Ames up carefully, looking as though he was eager to test her strength.
After a silent standoff of over a minute, Ames shifted her gaze toward Aurora and Hila, who were beside Han Xiao, and asked, “How have both of you been over the past few months?”
Aurora did not dare face Ames’ gaze at this moment and lowered her head with guilt.
“Fine,” Hila replied.
Ames showed care and concern for her two disciples but ignored Han Xiao completely. Han Xiao was not too bothered by this and watched silently by the side.
The teacher and disciples chatted for a while before Ames changed the topic. “Are you two going to stand on his side?”
Hila and Aurora’s expressions changed slightly, and everyone felt their hearts tightened up slightly.
Before waiting for them to reply, Han Xiao waved to his Black Star Guards and said, “Hila, leave with them. Let me talk to Ames alone.”
Hila heaved a sigh of relief. She was not afraid of facing powerful enemies, but she did not wish to be sandwiched between her teacher of ten years and Han Xiao.
Ames tacitly approved of the departure of the Black Star Guards, and upon seeing this, Aesop had no choice but to take the officers of Floating Dragon away as well.
Aesop felt that it was extremely normal for Black Star to seek independence. If he was Ames, he would not stop Black Star but provide his support instead. However, Ames was not like him and tended to act in a willful manner. Furthermore, Black Star was the subordinate who she placed the greatest importance on, and Aesop was worried that Ames’ willfulness would ruin matters.
Only Han Xiao and Ames were left behind in the main hall. Ames controlled her floating throne to land, and she walked forward to face Han Xiao with a complicated look in her eyes.
“When I first saw you, I never imagined that you will be standing at the same height as me one day.”
Upon hearing that, the scene of how he met Ames floated up in Han Xiao’s mind.
Ames had been high above at that time, capable of controlling his life and death with a single thought. In comparison, he had been a small grain of sand in her eyes. Ten or so years later, he was now able to stand face to face with her as equals.
“Anything is possible in this world,” Han Xiao replied.
Ames smiled and said, “I know this feeling. A long time ago, I never imagined that I would become a Beyond Grade A Super either.”
Han Xiao stroked his chin and did not say a word.
Pausing for a moment, Ames then asked, “Why are you here today?”
“There are three things.”
“Three things?” Ames raised her brows. “What’s the first?”
Han Xiao took out the Evolution Cube and said, “This treasure is in my hands. I am prepared to allow you and all the officers of Floating Dragon to enjoy the Evolution Cube.”
Ames was a little surprised but did not reply immediately. She asked instead, “What’s the second matter.”
“I request to leave Floating Dragon and allow the Black Star Army to gain independence,” Han Xiao said without the slightest bit of awkwardness.
“Humph, this is probably your true motive, right?”
Ames let out a soft sigh but wasn’t angry. She was already mentally prepared for this day to arrive but still felt a tinge of discomfort when Han Xiao said it. She then said expressionlessly, “I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Were you planning to leave me from the first day you joined Floating Dragon?”
Ames’ gaze was locked firmly on Han Xiao. Ever since she viewed the Black Star Army headquarters a few years ago, she had known that she was not suitable to be Han Xiao’s leader. She just wanted to be certain of Han Xiao’s thoughts.
“Yes,” Han Xiao replied honestly. From the very beginning, he had treated Floating Dragon as a jumping board. Even if saying so would make Ames angry, he did not intend to lie.
“I thought so.” Ames shook her head, and a tinge of sadness could be seen in her eyes. “I am not a leader worth following for someone like you.”
She had not felt this during the initial development of the Black Star Army, but as the prestige of the Black Star Army overshadowed Floating Dragon, she had understood that a legendary character like Han Xiao was not someone she could keep.
Ames did not hesitate in the slightest and did not bother trying to keep Han Xiao. She was not that weak and said with a resolute voice, “Alright. I understand. From today onward, Floating Dragon is Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army is the Black Star Army. You are no longer my subordinate.”
A notification immediately popped up on his interface indicating that he left the Floating Dragon faction.
Han Xiao let out a deep breath.
From this moment on, the Black Star Army was no longer a subordinate of Floating Dragon and was now an independent organization.
