Another difference was that Aroshia’s shapeshifting was different from those of a single element. Although it looked like she turned into light energy, when she sent energy into the Car Ball energy core, it automatically changed into the compatible electric energy. This meant her energy form could change. Han Xiao was knowledgeable, so he realized Aroshia’s potential very quickly.
This was a walking battery and a universal energy source!
Being able to change energy property meant that there was a chance for her to change into very high-level energy, such as particle energy or psionic energy. As for the strength, range, energy limit, and other matters, these would require her to train her power to increase. As soon as Aroshia awakened, her starting point was close to grade C, and her power potential was very high. Part of the reason for that was because her blood contained energy, and she had activated a small part of it.
“You’re a Super now. Although Herlous and I are not Espers, we can still guide you on how to use your energy. With your potential, your strength should increase very quickly,” Han Xiao said. He did not guide Aroshia to become stronger just because of the related mission requirement—it was also to have another person with combat power in the mercenary group.
This time, Goa and Porter brought their teams along and walked over. Cerleni was covered in bandages and was holding two crutches under his arms. He was limping toward Han Xiao with his subordinate’s support.
“If not for you calling the Dragon Emperor, the pickup teams would have been stalled from the start to the end, and none of us would have been able to escape. You saved us all, please accept our appreciation,” Goa said with a solemn tone. The hundreds of mercenaries were very thankful.
When the alliance fleet was being stalled, she had already lost all hope, but the Dragon Emperor had appeared and completely turned the tables. The support that Han Xiao had called for was the key.
“Sorry I did not listen to your suggestions back then. That’s why I was captured by DarkStar. They tortured me for a very long time and asked me if I have seen a bead. It was very weird. If we were not saved, we definitely would have been killed,” Cerleni said with shame. He wanted to put down the crutches, ignore the dozens of fractures on his body, and hold Han Xiao’s hand to express his appreciation but was stopped by Han Xiao.
Han Xiao sized him up and praised him. “DarkStar tortured you so badly, but you hung on, good job.”
“You mean these wounds?” Cerleni looked down at the bandages all over his body and said, “You misunderstood, these are from the mothership’s crash.”
“…” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched, speechless.
“By the way, about that…” Goa intercepted and pointed at the sky. “Because Holy Stone’s fleet sent a fake message, that’s why you were caught. What are you planning to do?”
“You reminded me, they almost got me killed!” Anger appeared on Cerleni’s face. He turned to his subordinate and yelled, “Contact them!”
A mercenary took out his communicator and tried to contact Holy Stone’s fleet. The other side picked up the request very quickly, and Shivate’s face appeared on the screen.
Shivate knew that his decision back then would bring blame, but he did not think that it was a bad decision. All he could say was that he made the wrong bet, so he had no choice but to deal with the consequences.
After receiving the communication request from mercenaries, he told the operator to direct it to him immediately. He was prepared to personally give an explanation and fake some sincerity. He adjusted his shirt and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation Commander Shiva…”
Before he finished introducing, Cerleni yelled at the communicator, using his local language. After being translated through the translator, it was easily understood…
“You moron!”
Han Xiao felt much livelier when he heard that.
NPC cursing isn’t muted, nice!
Chapter 403 - Rocketing Renown, Transferring to Godora.
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Cerleni was cursing like a machine gun. The words that he used were very descriptive and lively, including various positions. The nouns included Shivate’s ancestors, parents, wife, descendants, and so on. Han Xiao was enjoying listening to it on the side—he felt a sense of familiarity.
Shivate was stunned by the curses. He could not even interject. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his entire body was trembling furiously.
I am the high-level commander of Holy Stone Civilization. Other than my boss and my wife, who dares to shame me like this? I… will endure it!
Seeing Han Xiao at the side, Shivate pressed his rage down. This time, we have the moral low ground, so I will give you face!
Porter’s face was filled with surprise. He had thought that he was rough enough, but he had never expected Cerleni, who was usually very sensible, to be grumpier than him.
After he vented out his anger, Cerleni took a break and asked, “Why did you set us up‽”
Shivate was expressionless. He explained with a very stiff tone, “You misunderstood. We did want to pick you up, but plans can’t keep up with changes. DarkStar set up a blockade, and there was no chance to break through. That’s why the pickup team did not arrive at the indicated location on time. This was an accident.”
“When we wanted to contact you after arriving at the location, but you did not reply at all. How are you going to explain that!”
“DarkStar forced our pickup team back. Seeing that the situation was not good, we did not fight them and retreated first. We initially wanted to contact you to change the pickup location, but DarkStar used the short-range communication signal disrupter on us and blocked the communication. It was to not let us inform you of the changes to the situation. Then, DarkStar used this message to capture you. It’s not strange for you to misunderstand us.”
Shivate described it without blinking, as if it had really happened, which showed how experienced he was. With his position, he did not have to explain so much to a group of mercenaries, but Black Star was an exception—his background was too strong. Shivate only explained because of Han Xiao. He faked his sincerity and said, “Our mistake has led to a bad result. I am very sorry about that. No matter what, I have explained the truth, and hope you can understand…”
Cerleni was about to say something, but Han Xiao stepped forward and spoke first. He smiled and said, “So, that’s what happened. We really misunderstood you. This is a misunderstanding caused by intel difference. Don’t have to apologize, this was not your fault.”
Shivate’s eyes sparkled, and he said with a very pleased tone, “It’s really great that you can understand… Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, I shall not stay any longer. Do whatever you want with these DarkStar people.
As Shivate finished his sentence, the Holy Stone fleet retreated, and Black Raven retreated from the other side as well. The fleets that covered the sky had left, and the exterior space of the planet became empty again.
“You didn’t actually believe that, did you? That Shiva-something commander is looking for excuses,” Cerleni said.
Han Xiao shrugged and said, “A lie that can’t be proved, how can I believe it?”
Goa walked forward and sighed. “Don’t hold a grudge for it. Even though we know it’s clearly an excuse, we can’t do anything to him. He’s Holy Stone’s border commander after all.”
Factions were different, and knifing each other back and forth was very normal.
However, mercenaries believed peace was required to make money. The opponent represented a large civilization that was very strong, and he had just been affected by a shady play—it was not enough to make them enemies. At the same time, it was not worth doing. The higher ups of the various armies would definitely not agree on that, and they could not take revenge personally. Everyone knew what the truth was, but they still acted peaceful toward each other and acted as
if it did not happen.
They were all quite upset, but they sighed and moved on.
Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything. On the surface, he took a step back, but he secretly wrote Holy Stone Civilization’s name on his notebook. He was not going to just forget it—violence was not technical enough and not worth it.Since you did me dirty, it is only fair for me to do the same.
Hmm… When I’m free, I shall find an opportunity to kidnap their main character type of person. No one will know, and I’ll get a new officer, two birds with one stone.
Han Xiao rubbed his chin, and an evil smirk appeared on his face.
Far away on Stream Light, Shivate suddenly felt a chill up his spine just as he was being proud of himself.
The cleaning for the battlefield was completed. The parts and broken pieces had been recycled by the mercenaries. Sarota and a few other DarkStar members were tied in one place, and a few deputy army commanders surrounded the captives and discussed quietly.
Han Xiao walked over and asked, “Are these all the captives?”
“Hmm, all the escaping spaceships were destroyed, so these are the only ones alive.”
After taking a closer look, Han Xiao realized that Ember was not one of them.Looks like he exploded when in a spaceship—he should be dead.
He felt that it was a pity. It was not easy to meet someone with legendary characteristics. Plus, that person’s power was countered by him. If he could kill Ember with his own hands, he would most likely get a Molding Talent. Ember had died in someone else’s hands, so Han Xiao did not receive any reward from it.
“What are you planning to do with them?”
“It’s best to transfer the DarkStar people to Godora. We have contacted Godora, and they are very happy to take over the captives. They are even willing to pay a reward for it,” Sky Ring’s Deputy Army Commander said.
It was actually more suitable to let Holy Stone or Black Raven take the captives, but neither of them wanted to be involved. Just now, Shivate acted as if letting them deal with the captives was an act of generosity, but he was actually just not wanting to take this hot potato.
Sarota heard this and started to struggle violently. He growled with rage and said, “Kill me!”
If the people of DarkStar ended up in the hands of Godora, there would only be one place for them to go—to be imprisoned in Rainbow Prison for life.
Rainbow Prison only imprisoned captured DarkStar members. The inside of the prison was very mysterious. All the DarkStar members who were locked in there for some time would lose their faith for DarkStar, turning their loyalty to Godora. DarkStar thought that this prison was brainwashing its prisoners continuously, twisting their minds and turning them into betrayers, making them Godora’s dogs and tools.
The organization was rather fearful of the Rainbow Prison. Rumor had it that the reason for Godora not executing DarkStar’s war prisoners was that they wanted to make DarkStar’s people fight and kill each other through brainwashing. It was an extremely vicious intent!
Sarota was not afraid of spending his life in prison, but he was afraid of having his mind twisted. If he had to betray his belief, he would rather die!
A mercenary kicked Sarota on the back of his head and knocked him out, silencing him.
“I’m going to Godora’s colony as well. It’s along the way, so how about giving me a ride?” Han Xiao said.
“Haha, no problem.”
The mercenaries tidied the place up for a few hours, recycled everything valuable, then the fleet took off. The alliance fleet left and headed toward the neighboring Garton Galaxy.
The incident had ended. Peace was restored on this planet. Only the devastated planet surface reminded people that a tragic battle had once happened there.
The things that had happened there were all detailed in Shattered Star Ring Express News. One day later, the other news stations used Shattered Star Ring Express News’ material and did another report. The impact of this event was gradually fermenting.
The most compelling part was, of course, the scene in which the Dragon Emperor showed her power. It was repeated many times on various channels. The one who received the second most attention was Han Xiao; he attracted more attention than the fact that DarkStar had suffered a huge loss in this incident.
Countless viewers came to know of the mercenary called Black Star. He was the only team under the Floating Dragon faction that was acting outside Floating Dragon Island, which meant that he was the executor of the Dragon Emperor’s thoughts, which had a much higher influence than himself. The name Black Star and his data was rapidly spread among various large organizations in Shattered Star Ring, becoming one of the targets that they paid attention to.
Everywhere around the Shattered Star Ring, regardless of race, as long as they watched the news, they all remembered Black Star’s name. Naturally, all kinds of rumors spread out.
Someone passed out a new message—the three large armies and their partners actively requested to form a partnership with Black Star. Black Star, who was previously unknown, was suddenly famous in the mercenary industry, and the number of connections and the size of the network that he had made a lot of mercenaries envious.
In a few days, Black Star’s name became renowned!
In these few days, notifications of Renown increasing kept popping up on Han Xiao’s interface. It increased across various areas, covering many Star Clusters in Shattered Star Ring. In terms of raw numbers, it grew by a total of thirty-seven points, and it was still growing.
He was a little surprised by this, till he saw the galactical news.
No wonder his Renown rocketed after that; it turned out that he was on television. This fame was a bonus benefit brought by Ames’ influence, and it at least saved him a lot of time that would have been spent grinding his Renown. This was very important for the growth of a faction—because of this, his starting point was higher than others’.
…
A few days later, in Garton Galaxy. The alliance fleet stopped at Godora’s colony planet, Golden Palace.
Godora’s structures had beautiful styles. They liked curves and arcs—curved surfaces and fan shapes could be seen everywhere. The color theme was mostly gold and white, beautiful and pure. Godorans did not like the tight feeling of having too many tall buildings, nor did they like the seriousness of symmetry. The city was made up of short, curved, and more “ancient” buildings. The only tall buildings were the Mage Tower, the Tower of Gal, the government building, and the army stations.
There were no metal transport tools on the road. Instead, there were magic tunnels covered in streams of light. The people walking on it would have increased speed, not any slower than cars, and there would be no traffic jams or anything of the sort. Other than that, some people rode on weird looking mounts, which were more expensive and rarer. The flying carriers had something to do with magic as well. There was a facility called ‘Flying Emblem Station’, where one could spend some money and rent a magic item with several fixed flying magics. There were quite a number of people flying on the sky. With one flap from the translucent wings behind their backs, they would be able to fly a very far distance.
The people on the street wore many kinds of robes. Most of them were Godorans whose skin looked like they were covered in gold powder. A city’s pace could be seen from how fast the people on the street were walking. Godorans walked slowly. Their life was relaxing and casual, adhering to the style of ancient Godora. Usually, magic civilizations would not develop as fast as technological civilizations, and that affected the pace of their lives, the shape of their society, their aesthetics, and their culture.
Han Xiao walked on the street alone. He had gone to Golden Palace to find that master of identification to open the Secret Message Bead. He wanted to see what was inside it that was so important to DarkStar.
The spaceship was still waiting at the dock. Han Xiao did not waste any time and headed directly toward the target.
Chapte
r 404 - Triple Trigger, Origins of Large Events!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The identification mage was staying at a small villa far away from the city. Han Xiao found the place easily and pressed on the doorbell.
After a while, the door opened. An old Godoran walked out and looked at Han Xiao puzzled.
“Who’re you?”
“Hello, Master Angleton. I have come to you for help after hearing about you. I hope that you can help me open an item with magic security measures.” Han Xiao recognized this person as the target, so he went straight to the point.
To his surprise, Angleton was confused. “It has only been three months since I moved here. I did not notify anyone yet, how did you find me?”
Han Xiao was stunned for a second, then he realized. At this period, the players in his previous life were still in their novice planets. He was too ahead of time. Luckily, Angleton had moved here this early, or it would have been awkward if he could not find him.
Angleton could not figure out why but did not dwell on it. He invited Han Xiao into his house and said while he was walking, “You’re the first customer after I moved house. It has commemorative significance. I think I should write this day in my diary. Uninvited surprise guest, what do I call you?”
“Call me Han Xiao.”
“Today is the official opening. To celebrate my first business, I will help you as much as I can…” Angleton smiled.
The inside of the villa was very luxurious. The two of them came to the basement, and there were many magic tools here. Quite a number of magic arrays were embedded on the wall and the floor. There were also many precise instruments to research and analyze magics.
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 231