In the Federation of Lightâs Central Galaxy territory, a small spaceship with the armyâs symbol was slowly moving in the cosmic space. The people of the Black Star Armyâs Abyss of Stars division were onboard.
This was the Federation of Lightâs territory. The Black Star Army had been invited to build a subdivision there long ago. However, the market was already split up by the various organizations, and given the sensitive relationship the federation and the dynasty had, this subdivision had experienced very limited growth in the region.
The Black Star Army was not popular everywhere, at least not here. The subdivision members there could not enjoy the reputation of the army, so they could not feel the benefits that came with the influence of the Black Star Army. Instead, they were even bullied by some local Beyond Grade A organizations, so their time there was not the best.
That day, however, everything changed.
At this time, inside the hall of this small spaceship, all the crews gathered and watched the virtual screen in the hall, which was playing the news.
âAccording to reliable sources, an incident erupted in the Flickering World yesterday. A total of twelve Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light attacked the Black Star Armyâs frontline stronghold in the free competition zone, attempting to kill the Black Star Armyâs deputy captain, âGoddess of Deathâ Hila. After the event occurred, Black Star quickly arrived at the scene and fought the twelve Beyond Grade A enemies alone. In the end, all enemies were exiled, and five were captured, one from the Arcane Church and three from the Federation of LightââRed Devilâ Tolaen, âEnergy Soulâ Womre, âLone Rangerâ Jackornitz, and Hades. After that, Black Star traveled far to capture another Beyond Grade A who was suspected to be involved in this incident, âBeast Ancestorâ Gorutan. What Black Star has done has shocked the entire world. The reason behind this incident is still being investigated...â
As soon as this ended, the cabin was filled with cheers of triumph!
âWoo!â
All the crew members present raised their hands and cheered. They were visibly overjoyed.
âHahaha, the federationâs people have finally been taught a lesson!â
âOur Army Commander is invincible!â
Many of them had come because of Black Starâs name to begin with. Now that they saw what a shocking feat their leader had achieved, they were filled with burning passion and respect.
This news was a gigantic morale boost and had become the hottest topic within the army, even more so for the subdivision crew present. They were stationed in the Abyss of Stars and had faced a lot of difficulties. Now that their boss had captured three Beyond Grade As of the federation, one of whom was the leader of an organization that had been causing a lot of trouble for them, they felt that their army commander had given them justice.
The joy lasted quite a while before dissipating. In this festive atmosphere, this spaceship arrived at its destination. This was a transfer planet. The spaceship had gone there many times before. Following the instructions, it safely parked at the port.
As soon as the various subdivision members disembarked from the spaceship, they felt the difference. They looked around and saw that the passersby had all stopped to greet them with nods and looks, and their eyes were filled with complicated emotions such as surprise, fear, and curiosity.
This time, the portâs registration point approached. Compared to the formal manners they had always displayed, the attendantâs face was filled with passion and a fawning smile. This was something these subdivision members rarely saw.
âHaha, look at these guys. They never knew to respect us, but now theyâre afraid.â
Seeing the change in attitude of the people around, a sense of pride appeared in their hearts. They felt honored and glad that they had joined the Black Star Army.
The reason for these changes, of course, was the world-shaking achievement the army commander had made recently. The reputation of his faction had rocketed to the peak in the entire universe!
With a leader like him, the future of the organization was as bright as ever.
This was not an isolated event. Scenes just like this could be seen everywhere across the universe.
...
Currently, almost all the players were in the World Server. When the players at the frontline stronghold uploaded the battle recording, everyoneâs attention was immediately absorbed by the news.
On the forums, this incident had filled up the entire Flickering World panel, and countless people were discussing it.
The players did not know the details. All they paid attention to was Black Starâs terrifying achievement.
With his exceptional performance, Hila was completely ignored. It was assumed that Han Xiao had fought twelve enemies alone.
Although they knew that Black Star was among the strongest in the entire universe, this absolutely exceeded the imagination of the players. They were not too familiar with the difference in strength between Beyond Grade As and were full of disbelief.
âThis is absolutely bonkers!â
âI remember that he was also surrounded during the Planet Lighthouse battle, but back then, the army commander had the help of the dynasty allies. This time, he needed no help, yet he still defeated twelve Beyond Grade As alone, capturing four!â
âPaging Bun-Hit-Dog, wake up and make your video, quickly!â
âI heard that the army commander sacrificed a lot in exchange for such strength, all to protect Hila.â
âThis is probably what love is.â
âIâm getting on that ship!â
âOur captain is the best!â
Other than expressing shock, the various players were also speculating about the influence this incident would have.
Currently, the competition was intense in the Flickering World, and the Black Star Army had been affected as well. For something like this to happen, its impact would be incomprehensible.
Furthermore, the army commander also expressed his stand to hold all the people involved responsible no matter how difficult it would be by capturing Gorutan, who provided assistance.
This way, Black Star Armyâs faction advantage would climb to the peak. Who would dare mess with Black Star during the Flickering World competition period?
To the Chinese players, one saying explained the impact of this achievement Black Star had made perfectly...
When you make one amazing punch, youâll avoid a hundred punches.
Comparatively, this had made a more obvious contrast to the organizations that the Black Star Army had warned during the faction war incident earlier.
Due to the âno fighting backâ policy these organizations took, the innocent casual players in these organizations had a much stronger opinion about how important factions were. They were already unsatisfied with their factions to start with, and when they saw this news, many people were convinced to switch factions.
Of course, their top choice was the Black Star Army.
The players of the various countries who had only recently joined the army had another perspective about this incident.
In the previous versions, the players of the various countries could only watch the Black Star Army from afar. Now that they had joined the Star Field and could finally be a part of it, they had a brand-new experience when discussing it as members of the faction.
In the past, they could only watch others praise Black Star, but now they could join in and do it together, which felt completely different.
Some new army players immediately experienced how amazing it was to have a powerful faction leader. They were sending out even more âcaptain is the bestâ messages than the senior members. The forums were almost completely occupied by the army players. The atmosphere was festive.
On the other hand, the senior members were also enjoying the sense of superiority, thinking, You guys are too young. This is no big deal.
...
In the Arcane Church, the various Beyond Grade As and the upper echelonsâ remote projections had gathered to discuss how to deal with this incident.
Although their mission had failed and they had lost Tolaen, the people present did not look too unhappy. They were even somewhat secretly glad.
âThis missionâs failed. We could not kill Hila, but weâre not disappointed with the results.â An upper echelon of the church spoke. âYour Excellency Kasuyi, youâve done a great job, shattering the federationâs plans and causing them to lose three Beyond Grade As. We are very satisfied with the decisions youâve made.â
âIâve only made a few contributions,â Kasuyi replied calmly.
âHehe, donât be so humble. Compared to Hila, itâs more important to prevent the federation from obtaining a chip to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.â
The upper echelons were smiling. Thinking that they had made the Federation of Light suffer such a big loss, they were all in quite a good mood.
âNonetheless, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in the federationâs hands, so itâs best to negotiate with Black Star or the dynasty to see if we can get one of the federationâs captives from them so we can exchange for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.â
Kasuyi nodded. âAlthough the operation has failed, we still offended the Black Star Army. Odds of the negotiation succeeding are not high, but itâs worth a try.â
âHmm... By the way, you said Black Star showcased an ability similar to Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation and sent Hila back to his headquarters despite the spacetime being sealed. Is that true?â
âOf course, Iâm certainly not mistaken.â
Hearing this, the man pondered and said, âSince thatâs the case, weâll have no choice but to cancel all plans directed at Hila...â
Since Black Star had the ability to ignore spacetime stabilization, there was no point in targeting Hila since she would be able to leave any time.
The ability of the King mechanical suit that Han Xiao had displayed had completely shattered all plans the church had for Hila. She was now finally in a safe spot.
Seeing the responses of the upper echelons, Sagman and the other âformer prison matesâ exchanged looks and saw complicated emotions in each otherâs eyes. It was the resignation of knowing that they would not be able to take revenge and the delight that they had escaped this time.
This time, another church upper echelon spoke. This was a member of the Bishops. âPutting Black Starâs technology aside, the federation is going to be the one with the biggest headache. I just want to ask, what do you guys think of Black Starâs strength?â
The various Beyond Grade As exchanged looks before all looking at Kasuyi.
Kasuyi pondered for a while and said, âWhat Black Star has achieved in this battle is very shocking, but since weâre involved in it and know the details, we know that although Black Star is not as strong as the outside world says he is, heâs still very strong. His raw strength is not the main issue; itâs the fact that his combat strategy almost has no weaknesses. His indestructible body made up for the biggest weakness of a Mechanic, and with the help of the Spacetime Amber, his actual combat capabilities far exceed the level heâs at. Itâs tough to judge... From this incident onward, weâll have to look at Black Star in a new light. He has two states, normal and explosive, the latter being on an entirely different level to the former.
âAlthough Black Star burned his potential this time, since he can burn it the first time, he will be able to burn it again. Among all Beyond Grade As, not many can guarantee a win against Black Star during his explosive state. Therefore, itâs best not to push him into that situation.â
After hearing this, the church superiors exchanged looks.
Well, youâre basically telling us not to mess with Black Star, arenât you?
...
On the other side, the Federation of Light also hosted a similar conference. The atmosphere was completely different from the Arcane Churchâit was extremely serious and grave.
President Bader looked around and said with a serious tone, âA total of three Beyond Grade As are in the dynastyâs hands. Who can tell me how it ended up like this? Which one of you can give me an explanation?â
The remote projections of the various Beyond Grade As present had no words. They all uncontrollably glanced at the three empty seats.
Baderâs mood was as if he had stepped in dog sh*t on the sidewalk.
Before the mission, he felt that this mission would almost certainly be a success. Even if they would not be able to capture Hila, with the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device and six Beyond Grade As, retreating safely would not be a problem at all. However, he had never expected to suffer such a huge loss.
This result made him suspect that something had gone wrong along the way.
Bader turned to look at Sierron and said with a deep voice, âYou were the leader of this operation. I had high hopes for you. What do you have to say now?â
Noticing the blame in the Presidentâs tone, Sierron said furiously, âItâs all because of Kasuyi!â
Hearing this, none of the various federation upper echelons had good looks on their faces.
Back during the Planet Lighthouse battle, the federation had plotted against the church, and now it became the other way round.
Many people felt that they could finally understand how the church felt back then.
This time, Manison calmly said, âThe churchâs interference is an important factor, but the main reason is that Black Star expected this and deliberately used false information of his whereabouts to misguide the outside world, while his main body hid nearby and surprised Sierron and the others. Plus, thereâs the fact that they could not linger around in enemy territory and could not maximize their strength, which led to them being defeated by Black Star one by one. Donât underestimate a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic.â
Bader narrowed his eyes and looked over. âI heard you were involved in this too, and you fought with Gorutan.â
âThatâs right.â Manison nodded and did not deny it.
Bader gave him a meaningful look, but he did not continue asking more questions. He changed the topic and said coldly, âThe most imminent issue is to negotiate with the dynasty to bail the three Beyond Grade A allies out. Donât mess with Black Star for the time being.â
Then, he left the conference immediately. He did not want to see these troubling allies of his at least for today.
...
In Tarunamir Palaceâs conference room, Urranrell supported her chin with her crossed hands and looked around at those present.
âThe incident has come to an end, you all know the details, tell me your thoughts.â
They stayed silent for a while before one upper echelon spoke. âBlack Star has dealt with this very beautifully. He exceeded our expectations completely. Currently, we have Beyond Grade A captives as chips, so we have the upper hand in the negotiation. Black Star has displayed his trump card, so we have to judge his strength at a higher level. In my opinion, although we did not start this incident, we should still give Black Star some compensation for him burning his potential, to show him how important he is to us.â
âHmm, not bad.â
While responding, Urranrell secretly glanced at the hawk factionâs Bekorodi, only to realize Bekorodiâs eyes were half-closed. It looked like he did not plan to speak.
Originally, Bekorodi thought that Black Star would have to rely on the dynastyâs help to get through this, so he insisted on demanding that Hila join the dynasty. Now, however, Black Star had basically handled the problem all by himself, and the dynasty barely helped at all, so this proposal would no longer make sense.
Furthermore, Han Xiaoâs achievement had shocked Bekorodi too. All the dynastyâs upper echelons valued him much more. In this environment, Bekorodi had nothing to say, so he stayed silent.
Seeing that no one opposed the idea, Urranrell continued. âAbout compensating Black Star, I plan to carry out a plan... to temporarily open up the selling rights of the Evolutionary Totems.â
Many upper echelonsâ eyes widened in surprise when they heard this.
Very few had expected this and had knowing looks on their faces.
Due to the Evolution Cube, the dynasty was not on good terms with Black Star. There were some cracks in their relationship.
However, through this incident, the dynasty saw Black Starâs abilities and decided to take a step back to fix this.