Chapter 1 What?!

"What? Black Star has secretly reached a cooperation with the three major civilizations to jointly develop the Sanctuary?!"

The Star Arc leader's surprised voice echoed in the Super Star Cluster Alliance's joint conference room.

A civilization leader nodded with a grave expression. "I've heard some rumors that Black Star seems to have really shared the Sanctuary data with the three major civilizations."

"Is the news accurate?" The Star Arc leader's expression turned serious.

"Highly credible."

Hearing this, the complexions of many Super Star Cluster leaders present changed.

The three major civilizations did not conceal Black Star's sharing of the Sanctuary, which was not a secret that could not be inquired about. However, they did not publicize it either. After learning of their current situation, they temporarily did not have the mind to do so. Otherwise, they would have promoted it to enhance their prestige in the past.

As for the composition of the three Sanctuary keys that Han Xiao sent, as well as their purpose for entering the Sanctuary and the way they entered the Sanctuary, these were secrets that the three major civilizations strictly guarded. Outsiders could not find out. Therefore, the Super Star Cluster Alliance currently only knew the surface appearance of the two sides cooperating to develop the Sanctuary, and did not know the specific reasons and details.

"It's really strange. Now the situation is already a three-legged balance between the three major civilizations, the Arcane Sanctum, and us. The Sanctuary is the core competitiveness of the Arcane Sanctum. Isn't Black Star's move helping the enemy? What exactly does he mean?"

The Star Arc leader's face was full of confusion, and he couldn't figure it out.

"Indeed, I also don't understand why Black Star needs to share the Sanctuary with the three major civilizations?" Another civilization leader said in confusion, "In the past, when the Super A Grade was still an association organization, it never shared the Sanctuary data in the face of the suppression of the three major civilizations. Now that the Arcane Sanctum is already a behemoth-level force, and it's completely unafraid of the three major civilizations, why is it giving out the Sanctuary data instead? Could it be that some weakness has fallen into the hands of the three major civilizations?"

"I don't think it's possible for Black Star to be threatened by the three major civilizations. There must be other reasons. Black Star may have other plans… It's even possible that they have reached a deep strategic cooperation."

"The World Tree has been resolved, so what strategic cooperation can they still have? Could it be to fight the so-called Third Party Infiltrators? But is there a need for that? Whether it's the three major civilizations or Black Star himself, they can deal with that Star Alliance alone."

At this time, a civilization leader hesitated for a moment and said cautiously:

"…Have you ever thought about the possibility that they are cooperating to deal with us?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

After a long time, the Star Arc leader swallowed hard and tentatively said, "That… I don't think the possibility is high, right? We are the lubricant between them. They shouldn't join forces to deal with us, right…"

"I don't think so…" Someone sang a contrary tune with concern: "Could it be that our attitude of waiting for a better price is too blatant, and it has annoyed both sides?"

Hearing this, everyone suddenly panicked and felt a little at a loss.

After the establishment of the post-war situation, they had been maneuvering between the three major civilizations and the Arcane Sanctum, jumping back and forth to maintain balance.

Originally, according to the initial analysis, the three major civilizations needed to ally with them to jointly contain the Arcane Sanctum, so they would definitely "correct their mistakes" and offer a lot of benefits to win them over. The initial trend was also like this. They finally no longer suffered suppression and had the space for free development, achieving their initial motivation to migrate in an alternative way.

Logically speaking, if it weren't for the rise of the Arcane Sanctum, the Super Star Cluster wouldn't have gotten its wish. Black Star had contributed to this. However, due to the balance of power, they couldn't lean too closely to the Arcane Sanctum, otherwise the three major civilizations would definitely explode. So, they had to temporarily shelve the deep alliance agreement with Black Star and instead turned to a shallow cooperation.

The Arcane Sanctum didn't say anything about this. They even made a special call to Black Star to apologize, and the other party said that he didn't care. So, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had always been very relieved, thinking that this route was fine, and hoping to maintain a good cooperative relationship with both sides… But now that Black Star and the three major civilizations had pulled this stunt, they immediately felt uneasy.

This feeling was like having two rivals who were at odds with each other, while they maintained a good relationship with both of them, acting as the glue of the trio, letting everyone play together. But suddenly one day, the two rivals inexplicably reconciled, hooking their shoulders and backs, and actually didn't include him in the fun. Instead, he became the isolated third person, which was very uncomfortable.

"I think we still need to analyze it, but we can't rule out the possibility that such factors are playing a role… We need to take a long-term view of our attitude towards the Arcane Sanctum and the three major civilizations, and we can't be too cold." The Star Arc leader's tone was heavy.

The Super Star Cluster executives present became more and more uneasy as they thought about it, becoming suspicious and scaring themselves.

…

Unexplored universe, Star Alliance capital.

"Since the full-scale invasion of the World Tree, the situation of the three major civilizations has become increasingly difficult. In nearly two years, they have lost nearly six percent of their territory. I originally thought they could hold on for decades, but it seems I overestimated them. The three major civilizations can't resist the World Tree's offensive at all. At this rate, the three major civilizations will definitely be completely defeated in five or six years at the earliest, and thirteen or fourteen years at the latest!"

In the conference room, the Star Alliance leader and the leaders of many allied civilizations had springlike smiles on their faces. The room was filled with joy and a lively atmosphere.

In the year or so since the World Tree invaded the interstellar society, their lives had been extremely comfortable. They even walked with a light gait. Every time they finished reading the "war reports" sent by the undercover agents, they would look forward to the next issue, because every time it was full of surprises.

The more miserable the interstellar society was, the happier they were!

The Star Alliance leader tapped the table and said with a smile, "In the past year or so, the three major civilizations have almost been completely defeated by the World Tree. Black Star was ambushed and severely injured, exceeding the limit of his Undying Body, and had to fall into hibernation and slowly recuperate. So, the Sanctuary recovery has also been temporarily terminated. The intelligence says that he is now the spiritual pillar of the interstellar society in resisting foreign enemies. Once Black Star falls, the morale of the Interstellar United Army will collapse like a chain, and they will retreat step by step on the battlefield… So, it's obvious that without Black Star, the Interstellar United Army is just a rabble."

"Hehe, not bad, not bad." Sayvinis, the leader of the Lor civilization, said cheerfully, "Moreover, the war reports from the previous two issues just said that the home planets of the three major civilizations were frequently attacked, forcing many high-level officials to take refuge. And during the voyage, the Crimson Dynasty's spaceship was ambushed on a large scale, and the current leader, Mabrus, was cut in half, leaving no complete body. And the previous Imperial Head of State, Ulan Riel, was captured by the World Tree members. It is said that the Pillar of the Nation, Klotti, was furious and went to rescue him alone, but was finally captured. However, his will was firm, so the World Tree tortured Ulan Riel in front of him again and again, destroying Klotti's will before the World Tree devoured him and transformed him into a slave…"

"Speaking of which, the peak Super A Grades of the interstellar society are either dead or injured. The Mechanic Emperor, Mennison, had his main body exposed and was transformed into a slave by the World Tree, and all his assets were given to the enemy. Klossuyeh had his mind shattered and became an idiot. Urnos was forced to participate in the war, and even the Void Spirit's National Treasure was almost shattered…"

These war reports were all fabricated by the group of undercover agents who had already betrayed the Star Alliance under Han Xiao's orders, and a lot of private goods were added, which was quite "wonderful"… As for the parties involved in the war reports, they were completely unaware and didn't know that Han Xiao was seriously arranging them.

The members of the Star Alliance talked about the good news in the past war reports one after another, chatting with relish, wishing they could see the suffering lives of the interstellar society with their own eyes, and then laugh heartily.

After everyone talked and laughed for a while, the Star Alliance leader slightly restrained his expression, tapped the table, and said solemnly:

"Although the defeat of the three major civilizations is a foregone conclusion, and we have finally eliminated a hidden danger and a competitor, the World Tree is a new threat. When the war ends, we still need to pay attention to the World Tree."

Sayvinis immediately echoed, "That's right. The failure of the three major civilizations has already proven how terrifying they are. Even if we develop to the height of the three major civilizations, we won't be their opponents."

"Well, but time is on our side. As long as we continue to develop, sooner or later…"

Just as the Star Alliance leader was about to look forward to the future and cheer everyone up, the conference room was suddenly broken open.

Bang!

A secretary rushed in in a hurry, with an extremely anxious expression and a strong look of panic in his eyes.

"Leaders, something bad has happened. Traces of the World Tree army have been discovered within our territory. The World Tree is attacking!!"

"What?!"

Crash—

All the Star Alliance executives present suddenly changed their expressions and stood up abruptly!