If that’s the case, it’s not as if I can’t attack. I just have to control the time taken for battle… Oh, but to be safe, I had better look for a stronger partner…
At this time, his communicator rang. Taking it out, Han Xiao saw that it was from Sylvia, who was manning the helm at the main headquarters. There was a photo attached.
In the picture, a dark red spaceship was dragging dozens of spaceships through a traction beam into the dock. A memorable flash of dark red hair leaped into his gaze; it was Hila and Aurora who were standing at the dock, showing contrasting cold and warm expressions.
Hila’s back?
Han Xiao looked at the photo, and the corners of his mouth rose.
At that moment, he had the best candidate in mind.
“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, the ladies have already arrived at the headquarters of Black Star Army.”
In the palace of Floating Dragon Island, Vilna had her head lowered as she reported the status of the two sisters to Ames.
Ames had squeezed her force field into tiny little green spheres and was playing with them on her fingers. She smiled when she heard the news. “Did they meet into any problems?”
“Well, I sent out a fleet in secret, and there were eight small bandit groups that tried to attack them, but all of them were easily killed by Hila.” Because Vilna was afraid that they would meet with unforeseen circumstances, she had sent out someone to follow them for protection.
Ames nodded in response. “You’ve done well. Since they have successfully reached Black Star’s territory, recall the troops. Black Star will naturally take care of them.”
She cared more for the siblings than herself. She did not feel that normally, but now that the two sisters had been gone for more than half a month, she began to feel as though she was lacking something in her life.
By the side, Aesop shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about them at all. By following Black Star, they will grow quickly.”
Looking over, Ames seemed a little unhappy. “Do you mean to say that I didn’t teach well?”
Aesop waved his hands in helplessness. “Hila can absorb the dead’s remaining spiritual powers to strengthen her own. She did not have an opportunity to use the ability here, but Black Star is participating in the war, with countless dying every second. For Hila, the best place for her to grow and practice is the battlefield. Even I can’t imagine the pace of her growth beside Black Star.”
“That’s right. Black Star, that b*stard, will definitely make them join the battlefield. It’s so dangerous. What if Black Star doesn’t take care of them?” Ames murmured to herself, obviously focusing on a different direction. She resembled a worried parent, treating her two disciples who had followed her for more than a decade like her children.
Aesop and Vilna had a bad feeling upon hearing those words.
After spending yet another half a month travelling, Han Xiao’s group finally arrived back at the headquarters and met the two sisters who had been away for a long time.
In the office, Aurora ran head first into Han Xiao’s arms, squirming non stop. Although they were already old, she still felt the same familiarity and closeness to Han Xiao.
“Based on the contract, we’re here to work for you.” Hila was expressionless.
“We’re all old acquaintances. There’s no need to talk about an agreement or contract. I’m happy that you guys are here to help.” Han Xiao stroked Aurora’s hair as he laughed. “To think that a decade has passed just like that. You’re all grown up.”
The emotions in Hila’s eyes fluctuated slightly.
They had once been puppets under the control of the Germinal Organization, but now, Black Star had become a great figure in the Universe, while Hila had also become a Calamity Grade Super. Things were different.
Thinking back to the past, Hila felt moved. The man in front of her had changed her entire life. Without Black Star, she would have grown old with guilt and hatred for the planet and would likely never have been able to enter the magnificent universe.
“The last time we fought side by side was more than a decade ago. At that time, I could not help out at all.” Hila’s eyebrows rose, and she was full of spirit. “But I’ve finally caught up to you!”
“I’ve already waited ten years for today.” Han Xiao patted Hila’s shoulders as he smiled. He then took two steps back, raising his hands as he said out loud, “Welcome to the Black Star Army!”
Chapter 732 - Cultivation Plan
In Han Xiao’s previous life, Hila strength had earned her the title ‘Goddess of Death’.
Ever since Han Xiao saved these two sisters from the Germinal Organization, he had always seen Hila as a very important aid in the future. After waiting for so many years, Hila had finally grown and was now a Calamity Grade. She was now starting to be helpful.
Han Xiao knew about Hila’s ability very well. Being able to become stronger by absorbing the souls of the dead was something that only she could do. In his previous life, she had slaughtered countless planets and grown faster than even the players.
In his eyes, although Hila did not have the Luck Glow, she was undoubtedly a legendary character… of course, a villainous character.
Although Hila was not walking the evil path, it just so happened to be in a time of war. All the dead soldiers could become the source of her power. This was a once in a thousand years opportunity that could make Hila live up to her true potential.
He needed someone that could fight in his place, and Hila was the perfect candidate.
As for Aurora…
Han Xiao turned to look at her, smiled kindly, and said, “How’s the development of your Esper ability?”
Aurora chuckled. She flipped her hand, and a golden light appeared above her palm.
“I’m not good at battles, but I can cure any physical damages, and I can also stimulate the vital forces of others and make them stronger. Try it…”
As she was speaking, a cluster of golden light landed on Han Xiao. Han Xiao felt energized as if an electric current passed through his entire body, and many buffs appeared on the interface.
“Can your power be stored?” Han Xiao asked.
“Yes, I’ve tried to inject the vital energy into potions. These can be stored for a long time. But I’m not as hard-working as my sister, so I’m not a Calamity Grade yet. Thus, the expiration date is a little short. The healing effect of these potions will diminish over time and can last for two months at most.”
Aurora scratched her head, a little embarrassed.
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He looked at Aurora as if he was looking at a treasure. He saw the hope of expanding the army’s business into the galactic medicine industry.
Aurora’s Esper ability made her a born healer. When she was still very weak, her healing abilities were already extremely strong. Now that she was a Grade B Super, her healing ability would most likely have increased many times.
“Also, although I can’t fight very well, I can regenerate very quickly.” Aurora pulled out an explosive pistol from the belt of her battle suit, spun it a few rounds on her finger, and suddenly fired at her other hand.
With a bang, the beam penetrated her palm. Before Han Xiao could even be shocked by her actions, her wound healed up extremely quickly and disappeared. Her palm became white and smooth once again. no signs of it being wounded could be seen anywhere.
“See, I can protect myself now!” Like a child showing off, Aurora’s face was filled with anticipation. She wanted to be praised by Han Xiao.
In the training that lasted more than ten years, other than cultivating her Esper ability, Aurora had also learned quite many shooting and fighting techniques to make up for her combat capability. As she had once been tortured by the Germinal Organization, although she looked weak and soft, she was extremely resilient and had a very high pain tolerance. She did not even frown the slightest when she casually shot through her hand.
What a tough girl… Han Xiao smil
ed and praised her. “That’s an amazing ability.”
The name (Life Return) sure was not an exaggeration. Aurora was only Grade B now, so when she reached Grade A, her regeneration power would probably be even stronger than his. Sadly, her Esper ability did not have a high combat capability. However, her ability and Hila’s ability definitely made up for each other’s weaknesses.
After the three of them chatted for a while, Hila said with a serious face, “How do you plan to arrange us?”
“I shall bring you to meet the officers of the army first.”
Hila shook her head. “Before you came back, Sylvia took us to meet all the high-ranking officers. She said that when you’re back, you’ll personally decide our positions.”
During the Mutation Disaster in Version 2.0, the most senior members of the army had all met Hila. They knew that her relationship with Han Xiao was not usual, so they definitely treated them well.
“Since that’s the case, let’s get down to business then,” Han Xiao said. “The two of you will follow me as my bodyguards first. After you know more about how the army operates, I’ll then arrange official high-ranking positions for you.”
“No problem.” Hila nodded.
Han Xiao thought for a moment then said, “Rest a few days, then I will bring you guys along.”
Hila, however, shook her head and rejected that. “There’s no need; we have rested enough. Give us missions as soon as possible. I want to test my true strength.”
Why are you in more of a hurry than me? Han Xiao smiled, contemplated for a while, and then nodded. “Okay. We shall head out tomorrow. I’ll take you guys to war.”
He planned to keep a low profile for some time while reaping the players’ Experience and cultivating Hila’s potential personally.
In the West Wind Star System, Star Zone 11…
This was the border Star System that had been invaded before any others. The forces of the Bloodshed Land stationed there were the largest. They had built around a hundred strongholds spread across the various Star Zones in the West Wind Star System. Section Zero had set up perimeters at some strategically important places to prevent the Bloodshed Land from invading the areas around West Wind.
Perimeter 027 was one of them, with numerous Section Zero members garrisoned there throughout the year. The Black Star Army’s fleet was in it as well, and the people stationed here rotated in shifts.
Other than the occasional large-scale military operations, perimeters were where battles occurred the most regularly. The Bloodshed Land tried to penetrate the perimeters time after time. The troops at the perimeters also sent small fleets to disrupt and attack the Bloodshed Land strongholds regularly. Those perimeters were the ‘frontlines’ of the war.
After the Kant Star System battle ended, the players started to explore freely. Han Xiao had yet to cancel the fifty percent off sale for those taking part in the war. The requirement to enjoy this benefit was to continue participating in the war. Hence, in the more than a month Han Xiao took to travel back and forth, most of the players were scattered across the various perimeters where there were countless battles. This was also the usual way of taking part in the secret war main storyline.
There were also players that did not take part in the main storyline. Some went to do mercenary missions, some went to explore around, and some guild players bought mining devices and small carrier ships and went to become miners on the resource planets under the Black Star Army.
More than 20,000 players gathered at Perimeter 027, participating in the daily combat missions.
Not long ago, a Bloodshed Land fleet had attacked the perimeter but failed. The stationed troops were now cleaning up the battlefield. In the military space station office, the commander of Perimeter 027, Rexson, was looking at the troops outside the window cleaning the wreckages while listening to his deputy report the result of the battle.
“The enemy lost eighty-six small battleships and nineteen heavy frigates. We lost thirty-eight battleships. As for casualties… ahem, it’s unknown for the enemy. The casualties on our side are being calculated right now. The initial estimate is that the damage is very small…”
“All thanks to the Black Star Army again?” Rexson said with a relaxed expression.
“Yes. The Immortals of the Black Star Army destroyed many of the enemy battleships through close-quarter battles. Since they don’t need any retreat plans, we did not suffer any extra casualties…”
The deputy swallowed his saliva. It was written on the battle report that after landing on the enemy battleships through the charge cabin, many of them instantly detonated the charge cabin and did not consider retreating at all. Some even landed while carrying nuclear bombs. These people were extremely brave.
“Ever since the Black Star Army sent a few dozen thousand Immortals, the combat pressure on our side decreased tremendously. These people are born warriors.” Rexson took a deep breath.
It had been two months since the version started. A lot of players had reached level 100 and completed their Promotion Missions one after another, getting the opportunity to experience Race Evolution. The versatility of the players increased once again. The first batch of players had finally entered Grade B.
Although they were just the weakest kind of Grade Bs, the increase in their Grade still made a powerful impact. The mid-tier combatant standard of the Black Star Army instantly increased an entire level. As more than a million of those Supers were sent into the various perimeter battlefields, the situation of many of those perimeters immediately became much better.
For Perimeter 027, the twenty thousand or so Grade B players secured victories for all the recent skirmishes at the perimeter. Rexson could not have been more satisfied with the Black Star Army’s players.
The first batch of Black Star Army players were no longer disposable forces like before; they had the ability to make decisive impacts to small scale skirmishes. The players discussed this on the forums. Bun-Hit-Dog mentioned Frenzied Sword’s theory during his video and said that as the players became stronger with the version updates, their influence on the world would grow bigger as well, and they would be widely recognized.
Real-time feedback was an important source of fun for the players. If the attitude of an NPC was the same toward max level players and new players, it would be way too boring. The factor that attracted the players the most in Galaxy was that immersive experience as if they were living in a real world.
This time, Rexson suddenly received a notification. He glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically.
“What happened?” the deputy hastily asked.
“Quickly, make the preparations. His Excellency Black Star will be coming personally, and he’s almost here.” Rexson quickly walked out of the room.
Rexson summoned the high-ranking officers and went to the dock. After a while, the Blacklight Stealth entered.
Han Xiao brought along the two sisters and Feidin. Feidin had come of his own volition. He was worried about Han Xiao’s mental state, so he planned to always be around Han Xiao till Han Xiao recovered, just in case.
As soon as they disembarked from the spaceship, Rexson approached them respectfully. To him, Han Xiao was someone that he would have no chance of coming into contact with usually. Han Xiao had gained the respect of all the Section Zero members through his battle results.
“No need to be so formal. I would like to know about the situation of the Bloodshed Land strongholds nearby,” Han Xiao said with a smile.
Rexson was flattered. He hastily invited Han Xiao and the others into the battle conference room, opened the tactical star map, and explained the situation.
Han Xiao stared at the star map, nodded, and said, “Got it, I’m planning to attack Stronghold W-58.”
Stronghold W-58 was the biggest hostile stronghold around Perimeter 027, and one Calamity Grade was stationed there. Rexson had never thought of attacking it, but once he heard what Han Xiao said, he was secretly content.
Rexson nodded continuously and said, “I will send the perimeter fleet to work with you.”
Although Han Xiao was not his direct boss, Rexson was not willing to give up this opportunity of gaining Han Xiao’s favor, not to mention that the merit of eliminating an enemy stronghold would all go to him.
“Okay, we act in one day’s time.”
Han Xiao nodded. He had gone to the perimeter this time to let Hila test her abilities, so of course, he was going to strike.
Manudo was the Bloodshed Land Grade A Super stationed in Stronghold W-58. He was not very worried.
Not long ago, he had received a message from spies that Black Star had appeared at Perimeter 027. He was the only Calamity Grade in the strongholds nearby. Since Black Star was already there, Manudo felt that he would not mind getting rid of a usual Calamity Grade like him on the way. His heart was half-frozen in fear.
Manudo hastily reported this to the headquarters. To his surprise, the overall commander proactively contacted him.
“There’s a very high chance that the Black Star will be attacking the stronghold you’re in now. However, don’t panic. I’m going to give you a mission.”
“Is it retreat?” Manudo saw hope.
“Of course not!” Jorde said with a deep voice. “I need you to do one thing-lure Black Star into fighting and battle with him.”
“You can just tell me if you want me to kill myself…” Manudo felt the utmost despair.
“Ahem, I will deploy the Calamity Grades around to support you. You’re not going to fight alone.” Jorde was practically speechless. The fearful name of Black Star was deeply carved into the hearts of the high-level combatants of the Bloodshed Land. There was nothing he could do about it. He could only explain, “Not long ago, Black Star fell into my trap. He’s not at his maximum strength now. I need you to test him.”
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