Everyone gave Secret Master a look that said, “It’s your showtime.”
However, Secret Master was not affected at all as if he did not hear what Han Xiao said.
Sierron could not take it anymore. He walked to Secret Master and whispered, “Why aren’t you rebutting him like you did earlier? Aren’t you an expert?”
Secret Master glanced at him. “I’m giving him face.”
“I see…” Sierron nodded and then suddenly it occurred to him. “Wait a minute, then why didn’t you give me face just now?”
“That isn’t necessary.”
Veins popped up on Sierron’s forehead.
We’re all peak Beyond Grade As. How dare you so openly treat us differently!
“So, you’re saying you’re afraid of offending Black Star but not of offending me. Is that it‽”
“Yes.” Secret Master looked confused. “Where did you get the confidence to ask this question?”
He was confused. Black Star could not be unluckier, so I can’t reduce his luck anymore, but don’t you know how extremely lucky you are?
Sierron pointed at Secret Master and was at a loss for words.
Can’t you just comfort me even for the sake of it‽
The few of them chatted a while. Very soon, it was time for the meeting to start. The people swarmed in and sat down.
Manison’s remote projection arrived right on time. He did not look at anyone after he arrived. He ignored everyone’s strange looks and walked right into the venue.
He arrived right on time because he did not want to meet Han Xiao before that—he could guess with his feet just how boastful Han Xiao would be in front of him.
When passing by Han Xiao’s seat, Manison purposely ignored him. He thought Han Xiao would insult him, but to his surprise, Black Star did not say anything at all as if he was someone else.
Already mentally prepared, Manison felt somewhat uncomfortable, so much so he almost spoke to Han Xiao first.
Noticing Manison’s vision, Han Xiao did not even look at him… You thought I was going to insult you, but I’m going to deliberately ignore you, and that’s an insult too.
Suppressing his impulse to talk to Han Xiao, Manison coughed and said, “Let’s begin the plenary, everyone…”
Before he finished, Han Xiao stood up and slowly said, “I have something to tell all of you.”
Everyone looked over.
Han Xiao leaned forward, pressed his hands on the table, and said, “About my experience some time ago, some of you here might not know the full story, so let me explain. I have personal beef with the Modo Civilization. The origin of that is the Kunde Race incident in the second exploration phase. Modo tricked a native civilization into attacking the Crimson Dynasty, causing unnecessary losses. My Black Star Army took part in the war, and I lost some men. After that, the Kunde Race joined my command for protection, so I took over the responsibility to find out the one who’s behind this.
“Originally, this war could be completely avoided, but Modo’s plots caused us to lose the chance of coexisting peacefully. One reason for the beef between Modo and I is the damages my forces suffered, and another is out of morals.
“Modo and I are enemies, so it’s understandable for us to attack each other, and I accept the damages Modo has caused to my troops in the frontlines. However, Modo used conspiracies… never mind that they used conspiracies. After all, it’s one way of attack in wars. But what they shouldn’t have done is drag an unrelated Beyond Grade A into this. ”
Then, Han Xiao pointed at Ames. Seeing that everyone was listening quietly, he said, “Dragon Emperor originally had nothing to do with this, but Modo wanted to threaten me through kidnapping her adoptive father. Someone here even assisted Modo in that…”
Then, Han Xiao glanced at Manison. He quickly continued before Manison said anything.
“This is very contemptible and despicable, so the Dragon Emperor decided to join the battle and teach Modo a lesson. I’ve also decided to take part personally…”
Han Xiao paused, looked around, and said with a deep voice, “I’ve finished speaking. Who approves? Who objects?”
The entire place was silent. People exchanged looks with strange expressions.
Before the Flickering War, the agreement everyone made in this very room was that Beyond Grade As had to stay out of the war. Their subordinates could join, nor could they take revenge except in some exceptions, but not participating in it personally was clearly stated. Black Star’s request now, however, clearly showed that he was going to be the first one to break this rule.
Manison narrowed his eyes. He deliberately objected and said, “I don’t think that’s good. You’re the vice president. If you take the lead on disobeying the agreement we made, won’t the principles of the shared battlefront lose its restraint? If you make an excuse to personally participate and we approve it, will you have to approve it if tomorrow I find a reason to fight you too? If everyone can do whatever they want as long as there’s a reason, what’s the point of the association existing?”
“Tsk, older people are indeed inflexible.” Han Xiao tutted. “How long has it been since our association was formed, and the system is already showing signs of rigidness? That sure suits your style as the leader.”
Manison’s brows twitched, but he was secretly relieved.
Familiar recipe, familiar taste. Black Star is still that Black Star, classic double faced.
Han Xiao then looked around and said, “I made this suggestion not just because of personal reasons but more for the principles and prestige of the association and the shared battlefront.”
“What do you mean by that?” Kant continued the topic.
“What Manison said sure makes some senses, but in order to see this problem in detail, we first have to understand the nature of this incident. In order to cause problems for me, Modo plotted against an unrelated Beyond Grade A, who is also a member of the Beyond Grade A Association… What does that mean? Let me state an example. Hmm, let’s take the Limitless Financial Group as the example. Let’s say I want to take over the Limitless Financial Group’s assets, and I know Manison is one of the big shareholders. I kidnap Manison, torture him in all ways possible, and use that to threaten Sorokin to sign unfair agreements. How will you react, Sorokin?”
Being suddenly named, Sorokin was a little stunned.
You guys can chat all you want. Why bring me in it?
If that really happened, I’d probably be overjoyed to have one fewer person to share my profits with…
“Ahem, I’d be furious.”
Han Xiao then looked at Manison and said, “And if you escape… I mean if, since everyone knows if you end up in my hands, you’ll undoubtedly have no way of escaping… anyhow, if you escape, you’ll definitely take revenge afterward, right?”
“…Right.” Manison’s lips twitched slightly.
“See, this is completely understandable and very similar to what happened to me.” Han Xiao clapped and said with a deep voice, “But why is the association going against it and forbidding this kind of action? Wasn’t the purpose of founding the association to provide the Beyond Grade As a better future and higher positions? Why are we putting shackles on our own feet?”
Then, Han Xiao walked to behind Manison, pressed on his shoulders, and said, “The principle of the shared battlefront is, of course, when one member gets in trouble, everyone else helps. The Modo Civilization targeted an unrelated Beyond Grade A and broke the rules first. If we don’t deal with it, what will the others think? They’ll think that the association is preventing the Beyond Grade As from taking revenge, so they’ll be more daring and target Beyond Grade As. What the hell is that‽
“We want higher positions. Other than following rules ourselves so that galactic society will feel safer, we must make others maintain respect and fear for the Beyond Grade As even more. The latter is the way to obtain higher positions, not the other way around.
“Therefore, a
lthough the purpose of the association is mainly to defuse conflicts, when facing this kind of provocative action, we must punish them! Otherwise, the prestige of the entire Beyond Grade A society will be damaged. This is the true purpose of the shared battlefront!
“We’re now a collective, a group. If the others don’t want to be affected out of nowhere like the Dragon Emperor, not only should they approve this, but they should even provide assistance and target Modo together. Don’t forget how the Tragedy of the Pinnacles began. Having unity is crucial, the association should give Modo a serious announcement and retaliate with thunderous forces. This way, the entire universe will know that the Beyond Grade A society is now different. We’re united.”
Although something felt off, most could not deny it. Black Star said what they truly felt in their hearts; it really did make a lot of sense.
“Of course, our association has to have freedom. I won’t force anyone to fight Modo, but I’ll certainly help Ames because I’ve never forgotten where I started. Now, let me ask what I asked earlier one more time…”
Han Xiao looked around and said word by word,
“Who approves? Who objects?”
The venue was silent for two seconds. Then Beyoni raised his hand and broke the silence.
“I approve!”
“Me too.” Kohler followed.
With someone taking the lead, the people of the Crimson Dynasty all voted to approve other than Heber, who was still putting on a cold front. Some of the neutral Beyond Grade As in the association who stood on Black Star’s side also voted to approve.
Ames looked at this with eyes filled with joy—she loved seeing Han Xiao confidently talk in front of everyone.
The people on the side of the Mechanic Emperor looked at Manison. As Manison remained silent, they did not object. Seeing this, the directors such as Kasuyi also cast their votes.
“Black Star is right,” Milizaus added. “His personal beef with the Modo Civilization isn’t our concern, but even wars have rules. Methods that are too dirty can’t be used without any restrictions. Modo’s action of plotting against the family of another Beyond Grade A who’s not a part of this matter has crossed the line.”
“That’s right. I totally agree with the true purpose of the shared battlefront as Black Star said. If I get captured by the Mechanic Emperor one day, you guys had better come and save me,” Sun Hunter joked.
Manison glanced at him. “Don’t worry, you’re too weak. I’m not interested.”
The people messed around for a while. At this time, a neutral Beyond Grade A who had been silent all this time suddenly said, “Black Star said he wants to attack Modo, but the Mechanic Emperor is an accomplice too. Why aren’t you taking revenge against him? I think you should be fair.”
Hearing this, the room went silent again. Many people had a strange expression on their face.
This is definitely deliberately starting a fire! Damn kid, you got balls!
Han Xiao glanced at him and thought it was quite funny.
Yo, I remember that this guy was one of the ‘mercenaries’ of the Super Star Cluster Alliance in my previous life. He might actually be a direct member of a Super Star Cluster civilization like Traveler.
Attempting to shift the hatred and mix things up here, could this guy be the secret direct member of Modo?
This thought flashed past. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Han Xiao waved generously, purposely sighed, and said, “Well, after all, one of the purposes of our association is to resolve conflicts between Beyond Grade As. Although Manison was unethical, I can’t be immoral. I’ll take it as I made a small loss and won’t chase after him for it.”
As soon as he said that, Manison’s entire body shook. His mental state that had finally calmed down almost exploded once again.
What the f*ck are you talking about‽
You took the Soul Swapper and my two Felons, and you call that making a loss‽
I’ll make ‘losses’ like that any day!
Seeing Manison’s twitching face, many people hastily rubbed their whiskers to cover their mouths and hold back their laughter.
Manison closed his eyes, took a few seconds to suppress his rage, and said with an expressionless face, “Black Star, even if you took my samples, you won’t be able to grasp my technology.”
He was this confident. Be it the Felon technology or the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology, he had fused his own unique technology within both of them. This was the essence of what he had mastered after secretly making innovative breakthroughs in Virtual Technology.
Without making any innovation in the Virtual Technology area, he was completely certain that even if Black Star was able to learn something from it, he would at the very most only be able to imitate it but never completely master all of its details.
“Don’t worry, I won’t stop you from comforting yourself.” Han Xiao giggled.
“Humph, nonsense. If I’ve guessed correctly, you’ve already met obstacles you can’t break through at the start of the research, haven’t you?”
Han Xiao hesitated for a moment and did not reply.
Seeing this, Manison smiled slightly. Thinking he had guessed right, he was finally in a better mood. He slowly said, “I guessed right, so you’re not going to respond?”
Han Xiao shook his head and hesitantly said, “I just feel that you’re old. You don’t have many good years left, and I’m worried that if I tell you the truth, you’ll have a heart attack right here. If that happens, the merit of getting rid of you won’t be from me. Wouldn’t that be a huge waste?”
“F*ck off…”
Chapter 1174 - Arriving at the Frontlines
The day after the meeting, the Beyond Grade A Association made an announcement.
The announcement claimed that the Modo Civilization had conspired against Black Star through targeting the family of other Beyond Grade As, and this kind of action violated the association’s rules. In order to protect its members’ interests, the association strongly condemned Modo’s actions and approved of Black Star’s retaliation. Furthermore, the association did not deny the possibility of stepping in to protect its members.
As soon as the announcement was made, it attracted strong responses in the Flickering World. The various organizations in the frontlines of the Flickering World reacted to it the strongest. They were all shocked.
Ever since the start of the war, most of the Beyond Grade As had just been watching and observing it without interfering. Was this a sign of them personally participating in the
war?
Although the association claimed to target only the Modo Civilization, the armed forces on the side of the three Universal Civilizations did not feel happy about it at all.
Everyone knew that Beyond Grade As were undoubtedly the ceiling of single unit war weapons. Once the Beyond Grade As participated, they would certainly become the main forces in the war. It seemed like once that happened, the others would not even have a chance to gain any merit at all.
The Super Star Cluster Alliance was the most furious—if not because the Modo Civilization was their ally, they would even have turned around to attack the Modo Civilization.
The Super Star Cluster Alliance only wanted Modo to hold off the Black Star Army’s invasion and not do anything extra. However, due to different stands, Modo had to plan for themselves, which led to this situation.
Unlike in the past, the Beyond Grade As had founded a collective association, becoming a barely operational group with extraordinary influence. If not because the association was not on the side of the three Universal Civilizations, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would probably have no chance in this war.
Aesop being someone completely unrelated was not fully true. He had helped the Black Star Army find the secret transportation routes of the Modo Civilization time after time, but this part was deliberately not mentioned by the association. They only emphasized his relationship with the Dragon Emperor and the fact that
Dragon Emperor did not take part in this matter. From the perspective of sensible standards, the Modo Civilization did not cross the line. Aesop had clearly helped Black Star against them first. However, using this to argue with the association would only lead to them embarrassing themselves. At the root of it, Black Star’s power was what caused this. In order to overcome someone with power, the only way was through using even higher power. Arguing based on what was reasonable and what was not reasonable would not work.
The current Super Star Cluster Alliance did not have the power to overcome the Beyond Grade A Association. Throughout the entire universe, the three Universal Civilizations were the only ones who could for the time being, but this matter was beneficial for them, so there was no way they would step up to interrupt it. Hence, they gave their silent approval. The situation seemed to be heading in a direction that was beneficial for the three Universal Civilizations. However, other than being content, the three Universal Civilizations’ upper echelons were also feeling somewhat complicated. “Black Star… his power is growing even stronger.”
On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, President Bader let out a long exhale while looking at the report. The direct Beyond Grade As had given him the details of the meeting. Although the main focus was Ames, based on this woman’s personality, she would not seek help from outsiders. The attitude change of the association this time was single-handedly led by Black Star.
Right after the Black Star Army made an announcement, Black Star influenced the association to make a response too. Using his identity and position, he deployed his resources in a direction that benefitted himself. Most of the time, the materialization of one’s power was presented in one’s ability to influence and deploy others. If he could make many people act based on his will, he would be considered as powerful.
The advanced civilizations did this kind of thing often too. As long as the method was effective, no one cared if it was immoral or not.
Before the founding of the Beyond Grade A Association, if Black Star wanted to use his power, the only method would probably be to complain to the Crimson Dynasty.
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