Chapter 1 The Convoy

The group's vehicles, escorted by the Star Pupils God Race fleet, departed the border and rendezvoused with the main Imperial force. Under the Star Pupils God Race's guarded and hostile gaze, the main force turned around and left, transforming into streaks of light disappearing into the starry sky.

As the border哨所 receded into the distance, the Imperial envoy turned to look at the two people beside him, smiling and nodding.

"Thank you both. Sisko was very cooperative, and the operation went smoothly."

Heber was expressionless and waved his hand, indicating that it was a minor matter.

Demonstrating power to other Beyond Grade As also allowed him to boost his prestige. Moreover, the Star Pupils God Race had promised compensation, which would undoubtedly be recorded in history. As a participant, he too would leave a new mark on history, which he considered a decent reward.

"Sisko has really taken a tumble this time, he should be quiet for a long time," Han Xiao said with a smile.

With the threat of the Evolution Cube finally removed, he was in a rather cheerful mood.

"Indeed, Sisko will have to deal with the aftermath, cope with the Star Cluster civilizations competing with them, and develop discreetly. It's estimated that there won't be any activity from them for the next twenty or thirty years."

The Imperial envoy echoed before glancing at his wrist device and saying, "I need to return and report to Envoy Su Yi. Gentlemen, let us bid farewell here."

Han Xiao and Heber nodded, noting the envoy's contact information before returning to their respective factions' spaceships, watching the Imperial main force turn and depart.

"I'm leaving as well." Heber sent a message to Han Xiao before leading his troops from the War Realm away. He intended to return to the Shattered Star Ring and continue his work as a supervisor.

The rift between the two had never been resolved, and it was unlikely they would ever reconcile. Their private relationship remained strained, but after experiencing this incident together, their alliance as allies on the same front had strengthened slightly compared to before.

Han Xiao put away his communicator and ordered Phillip, "Fleet, accelerate and let's return to the Black Star Army headquarters first."

"Understood, hum."

The Black Star Army's warships' tail flames shone brightly, energy surging into the engines, increasing the warp speed.

It was time to settle the evolution quota for this year with the cooperative civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring. Furthermore, the Empire would also be sending a new batch of elites to undergo modification soon. Han Xiao planned to return to headquarters to handle these matters before heading back to the Shattered Star Ring to continue exploration.

The impact of this incident was extensive. He had achieved a shocking Beyond Grade A record in the universe, increasing his deterrent power. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he shouldn't have any trouble coming to him for a long time, which should last until the end of Version 3.0.

The only lingering threat in his mind was the issue of the Heterogeneous God.

The spatial coordinates of the World Tree Civilization's location were like a time bomb. At least high-level civilizations that possessed the coordinates knew how to probe and protect themselves, but with the Heterogeneous God, the consequences were unpredictable, and no one knew what the guy would do.

Unfortunately, this guy had taken advantage of the situation to muddle through, gaining the transformation of the evolution energy, making him even stronger. Han Xiao reckoned that without finding some helpers, it would be really difficult to deal with the Heterogeneous God.

However, as far as the Crimson Empire was concerned, the Arcane Church was the competitor that needed to be focused on. Han Xiao figured that only after the Empire reached a solution with the Arcane Church would they be able to spare manpower to deal with the Heterogeneous God.

The Heterogeneous God was not easy to provoke. Sending too few people might not be enough to defeat him, while sending too many would not make him stay and fight head-on. The Empire had dealt with the Heterogeneous God countless times but had never managed to kill him. This time, they were probably just aiming to eliminate the Heterogeneous God's followers. Han Xiao pondered that he could only seize the opportunity to act in accordance with the circumstances.

Moreover, the intelligence from the Empire showed that the Heterogeneous God had left this Star Field through the wormhole clusters in the Shattered Star Ring. There were no sightings of him yet, so he was probably teleported to the desolate universe belt. It would take time to find his tracks, so there was no use trying to deal with the Heterogeneous God now. He could only wait.

As for now, Han Xiao decided to first get through the experience penalty period and level up a bit. With a stronger foundation, the probability of success in his actions would increase.

"The penalty period has less than half a year left, soon, soon..."

Han Xiao secretly looked forward to it.

...

A few days later, Sisko finally made a public appearance within the clan. As soon as he showed up, he convened a government press conference, personally attending to explain the actions of the past period.

Due to the recent public opinion, the citizens of the Star Pupils God Race had been waiting anxiously. Almost every household was staying in front of the screen, paying attention to the news.

Under the eyes of billions, time seemed to pass very slowly.

Finally, the time for the press conference live broadcast arrived. The screens in every household flickered, and finally, there was a broadcast picture. Everyone's attention was highly concentrated, and their heartstrings were also tightened.

Sisko's figure appeared on the screen, his expression heavy and serious, as he slowly began to speak:

"Fellow citizens of the Star Pupils God Race, colleagues in the government, hello, I am Sisko. Regarding the recent disturbances, I will make a formal explanation and statement here...

"In the past few months, information about me has been circulating widely in the universe and has also gained everyone's attention.

"First of all, I would like to extend my deepest apologies to everyone. Due to some decision-making errors on my part, I have personally fallen into a difficult and dangerous situation, implicating the clan. I feel deeply guilty and ashamed about this. This is my blemish. A mistake is a mistake, and I will not make excuses.

"A few days ago, the Crimson Empire visited and questioned me. I did not evade as the false rumors on the Internet said, but immediately rushed back and consulted with the envoy of the Crimson Empire. After the meeting, we reached a preliminary agreement.

"Here, I, on behalf of myself and the Star Pupils God Race civilization, apologize to the Crimson Empire for this incident and will fulfill the compensation agreement, the details of which are..."

Sisko read out the various terms of the compensation agreement, then said in a deep voice:

"On the other hand, I also extend my sincere apologies to the victim, Black Star, for which I am willing to make compensation.

"There is a fact that cannot be ignored: the Evolution Cube is the legacy of a certain civilization and is not the exclusive property of the Star Pupils God Race. Due to some unexpected factors, we lost the Evolution Cube. The one who should be condemned is the Heterogeneous God, not Black Star... We have already enjoyed the dividends brought by the Evolution Cube. Here, I will give up all ownership of the Evolution Cube and transfer it to Black Star as compensation.

"Citizens, in the past many years, the Star Pupils God Race has achieved brilliant achievements in economy, culture, and other aspects. Now we have fallen into a low ebb. In our culture, every disaster is followed by new opportunities and resources. I hope that everyone can uphold this spirit, cooperate sincerely, maintain enthusiasm, overcome difficulties together, and get through the difficult period together.

"I hope everyone understands our choice, and I hope everyone does not forget today's humiliation.

"Finally, I wish everyone a happy life."

As the voice fell, the screen went black.

Sisko's speech ended, but it caused strong aftershocks in all sectors of the Star Pupils God Race society.

Countless people were shocked and enraged, causing an uproar!

A civilization publicly admitting defeat was simply a loss of face, and now they even had to pay compensation, everyone felt humiliated.

For the entire Star Pupils God Race, this was an unprovoked disaster, completely implicated by Sisko's own mistakes.

Moreover, Sisko actually publicly abandoned their "treasure of the clan" and gave it to the villain Black Star who had taken it away?

In everyone's eyes, this was simply a scene of empty talk about not being able to take back the Evolution Cube, like the feeling of "You took my things, I don't have the ability to take them back, so I don't want them"!

Shameful!

This statement caused an uproar. For a time, all sectors of the Star Pupils God Race society were condemning Sisko. His prestige accumulated over the years rapidly declined, and some radical and blind people even directly called him the "shame of the clan", with extremely strong reactions.

In the inner hall of the 機事閣, a group of confidants stood in front of Sisko, with embarrassed expressions.

"Your Excellency Sisko, now the Internet is full of public opinion that is unfavorable to you, is there really no need to control it?"

Sisko shook his head, "No, this is a humiliation. The people need a channel to vent, so let them vent, so as to channel the anger in their hearts. When they are done venting, they will remember my past achievements. At that time, we only need to guide some public opinion trends in secret."

"This is very detrimental to your prestige..." someone said worriedly.

"When something reaches an extreme, it will inevitably cause a rebound." Sisko sighed, "Whether it is worship or hatred, when it reaches the extreme, it will start to slide to the other end. When unfavorable public opinion reaches its peak, there will naturally be more and more people speaking for me. This is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than simple control."

"Is this really okay?"

"There's nothing wrong with it." Sisko took a deep breath, "Past achievements cannot be used as an excuse for mistakes. The larger the shadow cast by a radiant person, the larger the blemish will also be magnified. I don't want everyone to sing praises to me. Only by having a group of haters as the opposite of the people can I maintain long-term prestige. Humiliation can also bring motivation to the people."

"I'm just afraid that you will be disappointed in us..." a confidant said in a low voice.

Sisko was the leader of the Star Pupils God Race, but after becoming a Beyond Grade A, Sisko himself was no longer a member of the Star Pupils God Race. This was a potential gap in trust and a lingering haze in some people's hearts.

"Don't worry, I won't forget my mother clan."

Sisko shook his head. As a Beyond Grade A, his beliefs would not be so easily shaken.

"The world is very complicated, I know, so I never mistake a one-sided corner for the whole picture of the world. The opinions of a few people cannot replace the entire group. In the end, these people who vent will find that no matter how they condemn me, I am still their leader, they have no choice."

"As for the current public opinion storm..."

Sisko smiled, although he saw it clearly, but the smile still revealed weariness.

"The flames will eventually die out, and the storm will always stop. Let's do what we should do, and the rest, let it subside naturally."

...

"The Star Pupils God Race has yielded."

On the Arcane Church's home planet, the virtual screen in the conference room finished playing Sisko's speech, and the council of bishops fell into a brief silence.

After a long while, a bishop spoke, his voice low, "In this way, the Empire's attitude will be eased a bit, right?"

Sisko had cut off his connection with the Evolution Cube, losing the ability to locate it. The Arcane Church had also basically given up on the Evolution Cube, severing the last bit of hope.

"How is the work of redeeming people going?"

"The Empire is currently only willing to let us redeem Metes and Dillon, and they are asking for a high price."

"Well, let's redeem two first, which can temporarily satisfy those allied forces who are watching and maintain morale. As for the remaining Sagman and Taylor Dee... the Empire won't let us redeem everyone so quickly, and those allies will understand."

"Where is Niger?"

"He has already escaped the Shattered Star Ring through a spy's secret star cluster and will be back in a while."

"Fortunately, the Allfather's Staff is on him."

Speaking of this matter, the council of bishops secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Six Beyond Grade As were sent out, four were captured, one had nowhere to escape, and only one escaped back to the Central Star Sea. And it happened that the one who escaped back was the one with the Allfather's Staff, his luck was really too good.

In the eyes of these high-level executives, the Allfather's Staff was more important than the Beyond Grade A themselves. Over the long years, new Beyond Grade As would continue to be born, while there might only be one of different cosmic treasures.

The most important Allfather's Staff was not lost, which was really a blessing in disguise.

...

At the same time, outside the Shattered Star Ring, somewhere in the desolate universe belt.

Due to the Crimson Empire's full-scale search in the Shattered Star Ring, the Arcane Church spies could only establish the stargate station in the desolate universe belt.

A spaceship was heading to the stargate station marked on the star chart. The person on board was Niger, the only one who escaped.

Soon, the stargate station appeared in sight, and Niger finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Passing through this long-distance military stargate, he could directly cross several Star Fields and return to the Central Star Sea. After fleeing in embarrassment outside for so long, he could no longer endure this kind of life.

Hum!

At this moment, the spaceship suddenly shook, the engine stalled, and it stopped abruptly.

"What's going on?"

Niger was shocked and hurriedly operated the spaceship, but any instructions were like a clay ox entering the sea, and the spaceship did not respond, as if it had malfunctioned.

At this moment, the hull shook violently.

Rumble rumble rumble—

A huge external force squeezed down from all directions, and the spaceship instantly turned into a pile of scrap metal, like a crumpled ball of paper.

Bang!

A spherical white shield broke through the armor and shot out from the wreckage of the spaceship. Niger was covered in a magic shield, holding the Allfather's Staff wrapped in Temporal Amber, and vigilantly scanned left and right. His intuition was frantically warning him.

He was attacked here, could it be that the stargate station was discovered by the Empire and an ambush was set up?!

At this moment, a voice sounded in his mind.

"It's really not easy to find you, 'Divine Art' Niger. Hand over the Allfather's Staff, and I can let you go."

Along with the voice transmission, countless warp flashes lit up the surrounding space, and figures appeared rapidly, the number soared wildly, quickly filling the area.

Pairs of indifferent and ruthless electronic eyes stared at Niger, with scarlet glows trailing behind them.

In the front was a tall figure, shining with electric light, with a lifelike face. The lines on his body showed that this was a mechanically manufactured body.

The moment he saw this person, Niger's face changed drastically.

"The Machinery Country?!"