Chapter 1 The Abyss of Stars

Central Star Sea, territory of the Glorious Federation, the Abyss of Stars.

A small spaceship bearing the legion's insignia traveled slowly through the vast sea of stars. It was a detachment of the Black Star Army stationed in the Abyss of Stars.

This was the Glorious Federation's territory. The Black Star Army had been invited to establish a branch here more than twenty years ago, but the market here had long been divided up by various forces. In addition, due to the sensitive relationship between the Glorious Federation and the Crimson Dynasty, the branch's development had been limited over the years, and its business share was very small.

The Black Star Army was not popular everywhere. At least here, it had no prestige. The branch members dispatched to the Abyss of Stars did not enjoy the army's reputation aura and could not feel the benefits of the Black Star Army's influence. They were even often squeezed out by some local Beyond Grade A forces, and their lives were not good.

But today, everything had changed.

At this moment, in the hall of this small spaceship, all the crew members gathered and silently watched the virtual screen in the hall, which was broadcasting a news report.

"...This station has learned that a sudden incident broke out in the Flickering World yesterday. The Arcane Church and the Glorious Federation dispatched a total of 12 Beyond Grade As to attack the Black Star Army's front-line stronghold in the Free Competition Zone in an attempt to kill Hela, the deputy head of the Black Star Army, also known as the 'Death Goddess'. Black Star rushed to the scene quickly after the incident, fighting against 12 Beyond Grade As, and finally drove away all the enemies and captured four people, one from the Arcane Church and three from the Glorious Federation, namely 'Red Devil' Tolain, 'Valor' Wormel, 'Lone Wanderer' Jack Gonitz, and Heidith. After that, Black Star traveled a long distance and captured another Beyond Grade A suspected of being involved in the incident, 'Beast Ancestor' Gorutan, showing the world a shocking performance. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation..."

As soon as the voice fell, cheers suddenly rang out in the cabin!

"Woah—"

All the crew members present raised their hands, cheering and expressing their excitement and joy.

"Hahaha, we finally taught those Glorious bastards a lesson!"

"Army Commander is invincible!!"

Many people had come for the Black Star's reputation, and now that they saw their leader achieve such a shocking record, they couldn't help but feel a surge of fervent admiration in their hearts.

This news boosted morale and had become the most popular topic within the army. The branch crew members present were even more delighted. They were stationed in the Abyss of Stars and had been squeezed out a lot. Now that their boss had captured three Beyond Grade As from the Glorious Federation, including the leaders of the forces that had been squeezing them out, everyone felt that the Army Commander had given them a good vent.

The excited emotions lingered for a long time. In this atmosphere, the spaceship arrived at its destination. This was a transit planet, and the spaceship had been here many times before. It approached according to instructions and safely docked at the spaceport.

As soon as the many branch members stepped off the spaceship, they noticed something was wrong. Looking around, they saw that the pedestrians coming and going at the dock had stopped at the same time, and everyone turned to look at these Black Star Army members, their eyes revealing complex emotions such as surprise, fear, and curiosity.

At this time, the spaceport visitor registration staff came up to them. Compared to their previous perfunctory politeness, their attitude had taken a 180-degree turn, and their faces were full of enthusiasm and flattering smiles. This was a treatment that the Abyss of Stars branch members rarely encountered.

"Haha, look at these guys. If you don't scare them, they won't know how to respect us."

Feeling the change in the attitude of others, a sense of pride suddenly welled up in everyone's hearts. They only felt elated and honored, and they regretted their choice to join the Black Star Army even less.

The reason for these changes was naturally the Army Commander's recent world-shaking achievements, which had established his prestige throughout the universe and suddenly raised the army's prestige to its peak!

—With such a leader, the organization had a bright future.

And similar scenes were frequently staged in various regions throughout the universe.

...

Now, almost all the players were on the World Server. The players at the front-line stronghold uploaded the battle videos, and everyone's attention was immediately attracted by this explosive news.

On the forums, this incident had already dominated the Flickering World section, suppressing the popularity of all other topics. Countless people were excitedly discussing it.

The players didn't know the ins and outs of it all. All they cared about was the result of the battle, which was Black Star's terrifying record.

Under his brilliant performance, Hela was directly ignored by everyone and was defaulted to being a one-on-twelve fight for Han Xiao.

Even though they had long known that Black Star was now a peak figure, this performance still exceeded the imagination of many players. They didn't know much about the power divisions above Beyond Grade A and only felt that it was unbelievable.

"This is too awesome. I'm just asking, who else is there!"

"I remember that the Beacon Star battle was also besieged, but at that time, the Army Commander had allies from the Crimson Dynasty to help. This time, he had almost no helpers and actually repelled twelve Beyond Grade As and captured four. I'm cracking up."

"Calling Roubao, wake up and make a video, hurry up!"

"I heard that the Army Commander used his life force to protect Hela, which is why he was able to unleash such combat power."

"I'm so touched. Maybe this is love."

"It's confirmed that he's a wife-protecting maniac. I've locked this CP!"

"Army Commander is awesome!!"

Many players were discussing it. In addition to being shocked by Han Xiao's record, more people were excitedly speculating about the impact of this incident.

Now that the competition in the Flickering World was fierce, the Black Star Army had also suffered turmoil. At this juncture, such an incident had an invincible deterrent effect. Even the Glorious Federation and the Arcane Church had been taught a lesson by the Army Commander. This result was enough to scare away countless lurking monsters and snakes.

Moreover, the Army Commander also showed a firm attitude of pursuing and killing enemies no matter how far away they were, and he brazenly captured Gorutan, who was behind the scenes.

In this way, the Black Star Army's faction advantage would climb to the top. During the competition in the Flickering World, who would dare to easily touch the Black Star's whiskers?

In the eyes of Chinese players, there was a saying that could well describe the results of Black Star's actions:

—Beat one to keep a hundred at bay.

In contrast, the forces that were warned by the Black Star Army during the faction war incident some time ago formed a more distinct contrast.

Due to the decision of these forces to only be beaten and not fight back, the innocent casual players under their command had a deeper understanding of the importance of the faction. They were already dissatisfied with their respective factions, and now that they saw the big news made by the Black Star Army, many people were even more determined to switch allegiances.

As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them. The first choice for these people to defect was naturally the Black Star Army.

And the players from various countries who had recently joined the army had different feelings about this matter.

In the previous versions, players from various countries mixed in different star fields and could only watch the news about the Black Star Army. Now that they had joined the army, they could finally participate and discuss Black Star from the perspective of a faction member, which immediately gave them a novel experience.

In the past, they had only seen others praise Black Star, but now they could finally personally go on stage and shout "Army Commander is awesome" together, and the feeling was indeed different.

These new army players deeply felt how refreshing it was to have an awesome faction leader. The "Army Commander is awesome" shouts were even louder than those of the old players. The forum section was dominated by army players and fell into a carnival atmosphere.

The old players saw that the new players were so excited and only felt that these newcomers were inexperienced and couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority of "you are still too young", which also brought them fun.

The impact of the incident spread on multiple levels.

...

In the Arcane Church, many Beyond Grade As and high-level figures gathered remotely to discuss how to deal with this matter.

Although the mission failed and they lost Tolain, there was not much heaviness or seriousness on the faces of the people present. In fact, they were even a little happy.

"This operation failed and we didn't kill Hela, but we are not disappointed with this result." An Arcane Church high-level figure said, "Your Excellency Ksyuje, you did a good job. You ruined the Glorious Federation's plan and used a borrowed knife to kill, causing Black Star to lose three Beyond Grade As. The higher-ups are very satisfied with your temporary decision."

Ksyuje's face remained unchanged. "I only made a small contribution."

"Hehe, there's no need to be humble. Compared to Hela, stopping the Glorious Federation from obtaining the bargaining chip to unlock the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is more important."

The high-level figure smiled, feeling good about tricking the Glorious Federation.

"However, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in the hands of the Glorious Federation, so it's best to negotiate with Black Star or the Crimson Dynasty to see if we can exchange the Glorious Federation's prisoners from them and let us exchange the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter."

Ksyuje nodded lightly. "Although the operation was not successful, we have also offended the Black Star Army. The success rate of the negotiation is not high, but we can try."

"Hmm... By the way, you said that Black Star showed a power similar to the High Dimension Apostle's Transmission in front of you, sending Hela back to the headquarters in a space blockade. Is this true?"

"Of course it's true. I won't be mistaken."

Hearing this, the Arcane Church high-level figure couldn't help but ponder. "In that case, we can only cancel all plans against Hela..."

Since Black Star had a transmission technology that ignored the space blockade, then targeting Hela was meaningless. She could escape at any time.

The function of the Emperor Mechanic that Han Xiao demonstrated completely dispelled all of the Arcane Church's attempts against Hela, and her situation could now be considered safe.

Seeing the reaction of the high-level figure, Sargman and the other "former cellmates" exchanged glances and saw complex emotions in each other's eyes. It was the helplessness of knowing that revenge was difficult, as well as the joy of escaping this time.

"Let's not worry about Black Star's technology. Anyway, it's the Glorious Federation that has a headache. I just want to ask, what do you think of Black Star's strength?" At this time, another Arcane Church high-level figure spoke. It was a member of the Bishop Council.

The many Beyond Grade As looked at each other and finally looked at Ksyuje.

Ksyuje pondered for a while and said, "Black Star's record this time is very amazing, but we were participants and know the inside story. Although Black Star's combat power is not as terrible as the outside world claims, it is still powerful enough. Hard power is secondary. His almost flawless combat style is the most troublesome thing. The Undying Body makes up for the biggest weakness of a Mechanic, and with the assistance of the Time Amber, his actual combat ability far exceeds his own realm level. It is difficult to judge... And from this incident, we have to look at Black Star from a new perspective and divide him into two forms: normal and burst. The latter's combat power is one level higher than the former.

Although Black Star burned his potential this time, he can burn it once, and he can burn it a second time. Among all the Beyond Grade As, not many can guarantee a stable victory against Black Star in burst form, so it is best not to push him to this point again."

After hearing these words, the Arcane Church high-level figures looked at each other.

The meaning behind these words was to tell them not to provoke Black Star again.

...

On the other side, the Glorious Federation also held a similar meeting. The atmosphere was completely different from the Arcane Church's relaxed atmosphere. It was very serious and heavy.

President Badr looked around the room and said solemnly, "A total of three Beyond Grade As have fallen into the hands of the Crimson Dynasty. Who can tell me why things have turned out like this? Who can give me an explanation?"

The many Beyond Grade As present in remote projection were speechless and couldn't help but look at the empty seats.

Badr's mood at this time was as uncomfortable as suddenly stepping on dog shit while walking down the road.

Before the dispatch, he thought that this operation was foolproof. Even if he couldn't catch Hela, with the mobility of six Beyond Grade As and the High Dimension Apostle's Transmitter, it was not a problem to retreat unscathed. But how could he have imagined that the losses would be so great.

This result made him wonder which link had gone wrong.

Badr turned to look at Sierraon and said in a deep voice, "You were the leader of this trip. I had high hopes for you. Now, do you have anything to say?"

Listening to the blame in the President's tone, Sierraon's face turned ashen, and he angrily said, "It's all Ksyuje's fault!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the Glorious Federation's high-level figures were not good.

Back during the Beacon Star battle, the Glorious Federation took advantage of the situation and severely tricked the Arcane Church, and now they had been tricked back by the Arcane Church.

When you come out, you always have to pay back. Many people felt that the tables had turned and finally understood the feelings of the Arcane Church at that time.

At this time, Mannison said lightly:

"The Arcane Church's intervention is an important reason, but the root cause is that Black Star expected it and deliberately used false information to mislead the outside world. His true self was secretly hiding nearby, catching Sierraon and the others off guard. In addition, due to the fact that they were in enemy territory and could not fight recklessly, they did not exert their full strength, which is why they were defeated by Black Star one by one. Don't underestimate a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic."

Badr narrowed his eyes and looked over. "I heard that you also participated in this matter and had a fight with Gorutan."

"That's right." Mannison nodded, not denying it.

Taking a deep look at him, Badr did not continue to question him in person. He changed the topic and said coldly:

"The most urgent task is to negotiate with the Crimson Dynasty and redeem the three Beyond Grade A allies. Don't provoke Black Star during this time."

After saying that, he directly disconnected and prepared to take a few quick-acting heart-saving pills. He didn't want to see these annoying allies within the day.

...

On the Crimson Dynasty's home planet, in the Tyron Hamir Palace conference room.

"The matter is over. Everyone already knows the specific process. Let's talk about your opinions."

In the main seat, Ulan Riel rested her chin on her hands and scanned the high-level figures present.

Everyone was silent for a while before one of the high-level figures spoke:

"Black Star handled this matter very well and completely exceeded our expectations.

Now that we have Beyond Grade A prisoners in our hands as bargaining chips, we have the initiative in the negotiations. Black Star has shown his trump card in burst form, and we have to raise our assessment of his strength again... In my opinion, although this matter was not caused by us, we can give Black Star a certain amount of assistance as compensation for burning his potential, in order to show our importance to him."

"Hmm, that's right."

While responding, Ulan Riel glanced at the hardliner Bekredi out of the corner of her eye, but found that Bekredi's eyes were slightly closed at this time, as if he didn't intend to speak.

Originally, Bekredi thought that Black Star would have to rely on the Dynasty's support to get through this difficulty, so he insisted on asking Hela to join the Dynasty, but now Black Star had basically solved the problem on his own, and the Dynasty had hardly helped, so this suggestion was a bit untenable.

Moreover, Han Xiao's record this time also secretly shocked Bekredi. The entire Dynasty's high-level figures had raised their level of importance to him. Under this environment, Bekredi had nothing to say and simply remained silent.

Seeing that no one objected, Ulan Riel continued, "Regarding compensating Black Star, I plan to implement a plan... to temporarily open up the sales rights to the Evolution Totem."

As soon as these words came out, many of the high-level figures present widened their eyes and showed surprised expressions.

Only a few people had expected it and made an expression of "as expected".

Because of the Evolution Cube, the Crimson Dynasty and Black Star had actually had some unpleasantness and created a rift.

After this incident, seeing Black Star's abilities, the Dynasty finally decided to take a step back and actively mend the relationship between the two parties.