Chapter 1 Commander of the Expeditionary Force Beheaded

"Ugh, the commander of the expeditionary force has been beheaded, but Black Star has given up on continuing the attack. It's obvious he wants to gradually nibble away at our army. What's the point of the Three Kings stubbornly refusing to give up the competition for the Shattered Star Ring and continuing to pour in troops? Without Super A-level participation, it's just throwing lives away. Black Star has already proven that he has the ability to behead commanders at any time."

In a private, small reception room, several high-ranking officials with real power sat on the sofa, complaining incessantly.

Just now, the intelligence of the expeditionary force commander's sacrifice had been transmitted back. The Modo Three Kings had convened a meeting of senior officials. In addition to expressing their anger, they swiftly promoted a new commander directly within the expeditionary force and ordered the military to send more troops to support them.

Many officials present at the time expressed no disagreement on the surface, but the degree of opposition in the hearts of many people gradually increased. So, after the meeting, several powerful officials with dissenting opinions met in private.

In the room, Marco was the highest-ranking official. He was the number three figure in a major political faction within Modo and wielded considerable influence. He slowly opened his mouth, saying:

"This can't go on. With an opponent like Black Star, Modo has almost no chance in the Shattered Star Ring. It's a rational choice to give up as soon as possible. Continuing to drag on will only increase the pressure on Modo, and eventually it will become overwhelmed."

"That's right. These days, the country isn't stable either... Multiple unofficial organizations from the three great civilizations have launched so-called peace movements on multiple colony planets, using armed marches, organizing strikes, and other forms to incite anti-war sentiment in society, forcing us to withdraw. Many industries have been deeply affected. There are also guys with ulterior motives spreading racial divisionist ideas, criticizing the system, and promoting hatred. They have actually managed to reverse our years of ethnic harmony education, successfully instilling discriminatory thoughts into some of the people. Given time, it will definitely give rise to new rebel armies... Furthermore, some important figures from all walks of life have even been assassinated by mysterious forces. We're facing internal and external troubles."

Someone sighed and muttered.

Marco shook his head. "Modo has been strategically planning for the Shattered Star Ring for decades, investing countless resources. The Three Kings are understandably reluctant to give up immediately. It's just that the situation has changed now. Adjusting our strategy is our primary choice. Since we can't deal with the Black Star issue, continuing to invest resources in the Shattered Star Ring is a meaningless waste. We should be determined to cut our losses."

"That's right. The Three Kings' idea is to stubbornly hold on, hoping to get a piece of the pie if the Star Cluster Alliance succeeds. But to hold on until the day the Star Cluster Alliance achieves a turning point... the hope is too slim. Black Star can't possibly sit back and watch that happen. Don't look at him dragging things out with us now. If we don't keep feeding him with reinforcements, he will definitely launch a general offensive and drive us out." Another person spoke.

Marco took a sip of deep amber liquor and lowered his voice:

"Actually, from the beginning, I didn't think the Star Cluster Alliance could complete the Shattered Star Ring strategy. I figured it was eighty percent likely to fail. They were just banding together with other Star Cluster civilizations to take a gamble. In that case, it would be wiser for Modo to disengage as soon as possible, get rid of the pressure from the three great civilizations and the Black Star Army, and restore our national strength as soon as possible."

"That's right, that's right."

The few people in the room all deeply agreed.

Marco narrowed his eyes. "The greater the losses Modo suffers, the more opposition there will be. Perhaps we should start preparing impeachment proceedings now..."

Hearing this, the others were taken aback. They were just complaining here; they hadn't expected Marco to actually have plans to take action.

But on second thought, this wasn't a bad idea.

Modo was a civilization regime formed by the union of three civilizations. The supreme leaders, the Modo Three Kings, each represented a race, but their thoughts and political views transcended race. So Modo's political environment was very complex, and it was similarly filled with factions.

Due to the special nature of the political system, Modo naturally had to engage in a balance of power. The Three Kings couldn't do as they pleased; they were also restrained by institutions similar to parliaments and congresses. If the development path during their term didn't conform to the interests of the majority, or if they personally had some scandal, they could be impeached and removed from office, replaced by a new leader.

However, this situation rarely occurred in Modo's history. As long as each term's Modo Three Kings didn't do things that were outrageous, they could safely complete their terms.

"If the Three Kings insist on having their way, Modo will be gradually hollowed out, and its future will be bleak. If they really go down a dark path, then we can only impeach them."

Marco said in a deep voice.

The others exchanged glances. Some were firm, some were hesitant. They all lowered their voices and discussed the operational methods in whispers.

At this moment, the anti-war faction within Modo gradually raised its head and began plotting how to stab the Three Kings in the back. The root cause was Black Star's strength, which made some Modo high-ranking officials feel desperate, unable to see any possibility of a turnaround.

...

Within the territory of the Modo civilization, a silver-white stealth high-warp spacecraft hovered in a nebula, slowly sailing. The outer armor had no markings.

Inside the cabin, Rother and several executives of the Assassin Confraternity sat around a virtual screen, browsing the information on the screen. It listed densely packed portraits, all influential figures from all walks of life in Modo civilization. Some people's heads already had red crosses drawn on them, indicating successful assassinations.

"Modo is already in chaos. The assassination of big figures in some industries has led to the near-paralysis of local management systems on a few colony planets. The effects of our work are remarkable," said one of the executives coldly.

"Mm."

Rother kept staring at the screen, seemingly searching for the next prey.

The Assassin Confraternity had been working in Modo for several months, already causing considerable chaos, being hunted and wanted by official personnel, and continuing to commit crimes while hiding and dodging.

"The actions these days have been too aggressive. We've also lost a lot of people. It's time to lie low for a while," an executive advised.

Rother nodded, then shook his head, saying: "Hide temporarily, then do something big."

As he spoke, he stretched out his finger and pointed to one of the portraits on the screen.

The expressions of the executives present froze on their faces. Extreme horror and disbelief gradually appeared in their eyes.

The target Rother had chosen was actually one of the Modo Three Kings!

"You want to assassinate the supreme leader of a Star Cluster civilization?" one of the executives widened his eyes and said in horror. "Are you crazy?!"

"They have three leaders. Losing one isn't a big deal," Rother said calmly. "I'll do it myself."

"Do you know what kind of behavior this is? If you succeed, the Modo civilization will definitely be at odds with us forever. And there's absolutely no possibility of success. The Modo Three Kings are heavily guarded, so there's no chance of getting close. Besides, they don't leave the homeworld, so it's impossible to assassinate them," someone said urgently.

Rother rarely explained: "First, Modo is already at odds with us anyway. Second, the Modo Three Kings have many guards around them, but there are no Super A-level personal guards on the surface. At most, they are Calamity Grade, not exceeding my ability limit. Third, the Modo homeworld doesn't have the psionic restriction rings of the three great civilizations' homeworlds, so infiltration is entirely feasible."

Assassinating the Modo Three Kings, at first glance, seemed like an impossible mission, but after carefully analyzing it in his mind, it wasn't as if there was no chance at all. After all, although the Three Kings were leaders, they weren't possessors of personal power. Especially since he had the [Godslayer Spear] in his hand, even if the Three Kings had magical defense runes bestowed by Super A-levels, this weapon could penetrate them. The main problem was that whether the assassination succeeded or failed, it would be difficult to escape unscathed.

The others were incredibly astonished, as if they were seeing Rother for the first time. Even though they were all assassins who had assassinated some important figures, in their eyes, this was still an incredibly audacious plan.

"It's easy for you to say, but in actual operation, it's basically suicide!"

"Anything is possible. Sometimes, you just need a little luck." Rother narrowed his eyes. The others present didn't know what he was thinking, and he had no intention of explaining.

Because of Lothaire's and the three great civilizations' operations, the trend of racial division within Modo was gradually rising. At this time, if he could assassinate one of the three Kings from one of the races, and try to pin the blame on the radicals of the other two races, perhaps it could intensify the conflict and cause this trend to erupt rapidly. The result was not difficult to imagine.

The method was a bit insidious, but as a spy-style assassin, Rother didn't care whether the method was moral or not, only whether it was easy to use and whether it could accomplish the goal. It could be said that he was unscrupulous.

He had been operating for decades, and he was no longer a simple assassin. He was gradually learning to analyze the overall situation. Although Black Star hadn't explicitly instructed him on what to do, Rother was very clear about Black Star's goal. He was very happy to use a more flexible method to inflict greater damage on Modo, which was more powerful than a simple assassination.

Of course, assassinating Modo's supreme leader and blaming it on racial hatred was just an idea. It was extremely difficult, and it was impossible to accomplish it with the Assassin Confraternity alone.

However, the forces of the three great civilizations within Modo were a natural aid. Rother intended to create a fuse so that they could use it as an excuse to make a fuss, just as the trend they had incited had given him the idea of assassinating the Modo Three Kings.

...

Boom!

A red figure rolled and crashed into a barren planet like a shooting star, creating a circular mountain on the surface.

Hela's mouth was bleeding, and her body was embedded in the earth. She had just pulled herself out when Han Xiao suddenly appeared above her and slammed a heavy whip kick into her abdomen.

Bang!

The bit of death energy she had just condensed was scattered by the kick, and the shockwave burst open with a loud bang.

Her abdomen was struck hard, and Hela arched her body like a shrimp, shooting out rapidly, kicked dozens of kilometers away, dragging out a long gully.

"Still fighting? I've already beaten you for eleven hours. If I remember correctly, you've been near death three times and unconscious five times."

Han Xiao stood with his arms crossed, his face helpless.

"Hmph, are you asking me to praise you for being so powerful... Forget it, let's call it a day, but don't forget, this is only the third spar." Hela wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stood up, rubbing her stomach.

Hearing this, Han Xiao couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.

He was currently fulfilling the original agreement, which was to spar with Hela thirty times. Now there were still twenty-seven times left. Just thinking about this number made Han Xiao feel a little pain in his waist.

This was a place near the Black Star Palace. He had been back from the Free Competition Zone for several days.

Modo didn't send a Super A-level to deal with this beheading operation, and they probably wouldn't take the risk later. Furthermore, Han Xiao had already left enough mechanical troops and Sovereign's Avatar behind, so he didn't stay on the front line and instead returned to the base camp directly using the Emperor.

Han Xiao had originally planned to concentrate on researching the Criminal and Undying Mechanical Soldier technologies at home, but Hela was dissatisfied and insisted on dragging him into sparring.

Because there was an agreement, he couldn't refuse, so he had to accompany Hela to have some "pa pa pa" fights for a few days. Although Hela, this sandbag, was very durable and felt good to hit, Han Xiao couldn't stand it after hitting for too long.

With the exclusive [Virtual Technology Innovation - Maynard], the research on the Criminal and Undying Mechanical Soldier technologies was still smooth, but there were still many key technical points to overcome before they could be completely cracked. It would take time, so Han Xiao didn't use any Awakening Points to push the research progress. He was just relying on the bonuses from his various skills and talents, which should be enough to deduce the blueprints.

At this time, Hela flew back from afar and asked, "How do you think my progress is?"

"Not bad," Han Xiao said casually.

"Tsk, your tone is so perfunctory. You're very patient when you're with the teacher, but you're so casual with me. Do you not want to be with me that much?" Hela raised her eyebrows.

"What do you think?" Han Xiao glared.

You masochist, don't you know your limits? You find me to fight every day, forcing me to beat you up. I'm very tired too, okay!

Because she was enthusiastic about fighting, Hela's strength improved quickly, especially after obtaining the Underworld, which gave her more room for growth.

When Aurora reached the Super A-level, the Underworld would be able to exert the ability of "Heroic Spirit Rebirth". At that time, Hela would be able to reach her peak strength.

Han Xiao also learned from the Underworld's Land God that if Aurora's life ability reached the Super A-level, it would undergo qualitative changes and could create bodies with life but no souls to serve as carriers for the Underworld Heroic Spirits to be reborn.

Coincidentally, this ability could be used with the Soul Transfer Device. Han Xiao relayed this to Fording, promising to have Aurora create a physical body as Morningstar's new body.

Hela snorted softly and changed the topic, saying, "There are still twenty-seven spars left. I want one the day after tomorrow. Remember to make time."

"Are you too hard to satisfy? Can the interval be longer?" Han Xiao's balls hurt.

"No! I finally snatched you back from the teacher, and I want you to keep me company enough."

A hint of a smile flashed in Hela's eyes as she turned around, returned to the spaceship, and drove the spaceship back on her own.

Han Xiao shook his head helplessly. He was increasingly certain that Hela was a masochist.

Sparring was originally to verify strength, but knowing that the gap was so big, she still insisted on fighting me. Isn't this deliberately looking for a beating!

Hadaway is still good. As someone who also looks for a beating, this guy knows his limits much better. He can still greet you with a smile after being beaten, unlike Hela, who always has a cold face, as if I owe her money...

Speaking of which, it's been a while since Hadaway licked me. I'm starting to miss it.

Han Xiao wasn't in a hurry to go back. He had the mechanical troops collect some of the shattered battle soldiers and took the opportunity to open the forums while cleaning up the battlefield, preparing to browse the jokes of the silly netizens and relax.

But as soon as he opened the Shattered Star Ring section, his eyes were drawn to a pinned post.

《World Server War Invitation》!