Chapter 173 Something Fishy

The Six Nations declared war without warning, seemingly intent on eliminating Bennett's seventh nation. Bennett spent an entire day trying to confirm this, making dozens of personal calls to the leaders of the Six Nations, all of which were rejected. He had no idea why the Six Nations had suddenly gone insane. Such a major event was beyond him to handle alone, so he ultimately notified Han Xiao.

If the third stage of the mission hadn't appeared, Han Xiao felt he would have most likely assumed that the Six Nations had grown too confident. Perhaps they had obtained technology from an interstellar consortium, leading to an inflated ego and a desire to reclaim their power… But even that possibility seemed unlikely. The Six Nations weren't stupid. The more they interacted with the interstellar community, the more they would realize their own insignificance. The gap was plain to see, and it would be difficult for the Six Nations to develop such arrogance.

It was because of his and Longtan's reputation that interstellar consortia invested in Aquamarine. He had single-handedly driven Aquamarine's rapid development. In Han Xiao's understanding, the Six Nations should be well aware that they were riding his coattails. Declaring war on him was tantamount to digging their own graves.

And now, the collective insanity of the Six Nations was entirely irrational.

"When things act strangely, there's usually something fishy going on. I can basically confirm that there's another force involved behind the scenes, most likely a new batch of hunters." Han Xiao frowned slightly. "This group is even more troublesome. They're actually targeting Aquamarine. Are they trying to lure me back?"

If he hadn't received the warning, he would have been shocked upon learning of the Six Nations' betrayal. He would have also felt that something was amiss, but he wouldn't have been as wary as he was now. He definitely would have gone back to investigate the cause.

Subverting the Six Nations was the bait, while the real enemy was hiding in the shadows. The enemy had the power to directly destroy Aquamarine, but that would be pointless for them. Once they revealed themselves, he would become wary. The enemy's real target was him.

Destroying Aquamarine would be like destroying the last of Black Star's "weaknesses." How would they scheme against him then? The enemy chose to use this as a trap, secretly laying an ambush on Aquamarine, waiting for him, the "prey," to willingly fall into it.

"Thankfully, the mission reminded me…"

Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had to admit that this enemy was more cunning than the previous one. If he hadn't been warned, this trap could very well have snared him, and he would have been at a severe disadvantage.

"So, this is my current advantage. The enemy thinks I'm completely unprepared, but in reality, I already know of their existence. It was supposed to be the enemy in the dark and me in the light, but now it's the enemy in the light and me in the dark."

Han Xiao pondered. He didn't know how the hunters had managed to subvert the Six Nations, but it was a kind of overt scheme. Aquamarine had significant strategic importance. It was a giant chive farm that he couldn't allow the enemy to disrupt. Therefore, he couldn't sit idly by as the enemy ruined the situation he had worked so hard to build. He definitely had to deal with the Six Nations' problem.

The enemy targeted Aquamarine because they were certain of this point.

"Hiding from the enemy will only lead to increasing losses. Only by facing them head-on can I solve the problem… Fortunately, I have an advantage. I have time to find a way to break their trap… The enemy's strength is a mystery, but there should be no fewer than six Heavenly Disaster grades. Relying on myself alone will probably be difficult. I need to find some helpers."

Han Xiao stroked his chin, somewhat troubled. Dragon Emperor had said he wouldn't help, and the Zero Organisation was at war. Distant allied forces were too far to provide timely assistance. After thinking it over, it seemed that the only ally who could help him at the moment was Godora.

"The Crystal Race might also work…" Han Xiao hesitated. The Crystal Race naturally had many Heavenly Disaster grade combatants. As official warriors, they weren't involved in the secret war.

But Han Xiao wasn't sure if the Crystal Race would help him. They might not be interested in it, only caring about the war.

"Let's try it first anyway. It doesn't cost anything."

Han Xiao steeled his resolve and took out his communicator.

Asking for help was a certainty. Unless no one was willing to support him, he wouldn't return alone. That was a last resort.

Having connections is also a form of strength!

…

On the front lines of the secret war, the main force of the War Realm arrived in the Xifeng, Charda, and Kaya border star systems, resuming their expansion. The Zero Organisation's forces were suffering immensely, forced to harass and engage in guerrilla warfare. In the rear, warship factories worked around the clock, churning out main battlecruisers to bolster the fleet's strength.

The war situation was passive, and countless problems arose every day. Logistics, allied support, counterattack routes, tactical planning, and other matters left Leif frustrated. He was particularly troubled by the high-level combatant situation.

After various ideological efforts and promises of benefits, the Zero Organisation's high-level combatants no longer avoided battle, but they still refused to exert their full strength. They reserved seventy percent of their strength for self-preservation, only using thirty percent to fight the enemy. At the high-level combatant level, the Zero Organisation was still in a state of defeat, being slaughtered and routed by the War Realm's reckless war fanatics. Leif missed the reliable Black Star every day.

Although Black Star alone couldn't change the overall war situation, only Black Star would go all out. That was what a person who did things for money was like! What were all the others?!

Leif was dealing with affairs when his communicator suddenly received a communication request from Black Star. His weary spirits suddenly perked up.

"Black Star! You've finally contacted me! Is your leave over? Hurry back to the battlefield, we need you!"

As soon as he answered the call, Leif eagerly spoke.

Han Xiao coughed. "I'm sorry, I can't go back for the time being. My hometown, Aquamarine, has experienced internal strife. Someone wants to overthrow my proxy. I must go back and deal with it."

Leif was immediately disappointed.

"You called just to inform me of this?"

"No, no, I wanted to seek the Crystal Race's help."

Hearing this, Leif looked puzzled. "Is that necessary? It's just internal strife in a surface civilization. Can't you handle it yourself?"

"There's something fishy about this…"

Han Xiao didn't hide anything, directly mentioning the existence of the new batch of hunters, concealing the source of the information and changing some details.

Currently, only Han Xiao, Yi Su, and a few others knew that the true master of the hunters was the Ancient Ones. When he eliminated Albert's group last time, Han Xiao didn't stop Albert from blaming Klent. Many forces in the Shattered Star Ring believed that Klent was the mastermind, and the Crystal Race was no exception.

Han Xiao was implying that Klent had sent the hunters to deal with him.

After listening, Leif connected the dots, and his brain instantly went into overdrive, guessing Klent's "motives."

'Black Star fought eight Pioneer Officers and showed the potential of a Super-A grade. Klent is planning ahead. Even if there's only a one in a billion chance, he can't allow a new Super-A grade to appear in the Colton Star Cluster, not giving our Crystal Race a chance to invest. So, he instructed a group of experts to secretly infiltrate the Garton Star System to eliminate Black Star, this Super-A grade seed, to prevent future troubles and reduce the variables in the secret war!'

Leif was suddenly shocked, feeling that he had seen through the truth. Klent's motives were too reasonable. He couldn't find fault with his own guess. If it were the Crystal Race, they would also choose to assassinate the enemy's potential rising stars, not giving them a chance to grow.

Leif's expression immediately became serious, and he said in a deep voice, "I understand. There's a deeper reason behind this. Black Star, we have high hopes for you. We won't let Klent easily threaten you. I will immediately report your request. The higher-ups should send some official high-level combatants to assist you."

Han Xiao's face lit up with joy. This was going more smoothly than he had expected. Was Leif so easy to fool?

He didn't know that the Crystal Race's higher-ups had already held a private meeting and decided to invest heavily in him, this Super-A grade seed. Han Xiao still thought that his position was just an ordinary member of the Zero Organisation. In fact, as long as his requests weren't excessive, the Crystal Race was willing to help him, even the more the better. This was already an attitude of wooing him.

"By the way, to be on the safe side, I'm also planning to ask the Godorans for help." Han Xiao added.

"Godora is the ruler of the Garton Star System, right? I remember they're your allies. Okay, they're also under our jurisdiction. Do you need me to say something to them?"

"…That would be great."

Han Xiao was secretly surprised. Why were the Crystal Race people so easy to talk to?

After hanging up, Han Xiao contacted Godora again.

Godora was already his old acquaintance. Caesar V agreed without hesitation upon hearing his request.

If Black Star had only requested their help, the Godorans might have hesitated, but since the Crystal Race had already decided to intervene, the Godorans had nothing to fear, and they were even eager to agree.

In the eyes of the Godorans, Black Star was giving them an opportunity to communicate and build relationships with a Star Cluster-level civilization, bridging the gap between the two sides and deepening their connection.

Specific countermeasures still needed to be discussed in detail. Han Xiao chose an uninhabited asteroid near Aquamarine as a meeting point, then started his spaceship and headed toward the meeting point.

—

PS1: (Had to discuss things with someone tonight, so this chapter is a bit shorter)

PS2: Recommending a new book, "Turns Out I am a Second Generation Demon". It's a book by an old author selling newspapers, so the quality is guaranteed. I basically read it as an erotic novel (smirk). It will be released on October 1st. Interested brothers can go check it out.