Two fleets with the same Beast Ancestor symbol stood against each other in space. The atmosphere was tense.
The situation was clear—the smaller fleet wanted to leave the stronghold and was stopped by the guarding fleet.
Inside the command ship of the guarding fleet, Byram looked at the fleeing fleet in front of him that was prepared to start a fight anytime with complicated feelings. He then said in the public channel, “Jotina, do you know what you’re doing? This is defection!”
As soon as his sentence ended, a female creature appeared on the screen before him. She had light-brown skin, a lustful face, and black beastly patterns at the tips of her eyes and her temples, as well as white lines on her cheeks in a pattern like cat whiskers. She looked similar to a leopard. Her clothing was wild and unrestrained, showing her astonishing body shape and beauty.
At this point, the face of this woman was filled with a firmness.
“Gorutan is done. We’ve made up our minds. If you want to stop us, you can try.”
Looking at the woman on the screen, Byram sighed in his mind.
This person’s name was Jotina. She had some beast bloodline and was one of the Four Admirals under Beast Ancestor’s command, like the Vanguard Officials and Black Star Guards. She was an ace combatant who stood at the top among her brothers and sisters. She was also a Beyond Grade A seed. Given her wild personality, quite a number of brothers and sisters were afraid of her.
However, a lot of people knew that Jotina was in the rebel faction and had always hated Gorutan. Gorutan, however, did not care if his children hated him. His offspring were just tools to him. As long as he was alive, he did not fear anyone escaping his control.
He had maintained control of his organization with his own strength, and once he was gone, it instantly started cracking up like rats leaving a sinking ship.
On this day, Jotina brought a big batch of rebel faction members and planned to leave the Beast Ancestor’s organization, hence this confrontation.
Byram was in the neutral faction, so he did not have overwhelming loyalty for Gorutan. He sighed and said, “We’re all brothers and sisters. Why fight each other? Father is only captured. He might return in the future. Why not stay and work through this difficult time together?”
“Shut up!” Jotina yelled. “I’ve been waiting for this day for way too long. If you don’t let us go today, don’t blame me for not having mercy.”
Byram stayed silent. He turned and looked at the enraged expressions of the loyalists, shook his head internally, and ordered, “Let them go.”
Without the overwhelming strength of the Beast Ancestor that kept this many people in their place, his organization had absolutely no unity, and everyone had their own plans. Byram was not willing to fight with them.
However, the loyalist faction was not having it. From the way they looked at it, immediately leaving when their father was in trouble was an act of total betrayal that needed punishment.
Although Byram was the commander, many officers did not obey him and suddenly fired, starting a battle.
Battleships were sunk one after another, creating fireworks in the comic space. Calamity Grades dashed about in between the battle and fought each other with no mercy.
After a very long time, the battle finally ended. Tons of battleship wreckages were floating in the cosmic space.
After paying a hefty price, the betraying fleet finally broke away. The loyalist faction also suffered a huge loss. Many officers were killed by Jotina on the spot, so none continued chasing after her.
Without father, there will be other Beyond Grade As who come to get us. These loyalists will be cleaned up sooner or later. I’d better find a way out as soon as possible.
Byram looked at the wreckages and sighed in his mind. He knew that the Beast Ancestor’s organization was no more.
Meanwhile…
“We finally got out. They didn’t chase us…”
Inside the command ship that was covered in battle scars, Jotina sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. She was exhausted and covered in wounds, blood pooling under her.
She was surrounded by many officers who were defecting with her. After the intense battle earlier, everyone had wounds and was bandaging each other up.
A Calamity Grade officer turned to Jotina after stitching a comrade up. “Big sis, where do we go now?”
Since Jotina was the initiator of this operation and was also the strongest, she was recognized by all as the leader of this defecting team.
“Escaping was just the first step. Don’t forget our target. We can’t rely only on ourselves; we have to go to a big organization,” Jotina said while gasping for air.
“Who should we go to?”
“Whoever that beat up Gorutan.” Jotina struggled to get up, looked outside the porthole, and murmured, “Black Star is worth depending on…”
…
A few days later, outside Black Star Palace…
“I’ve already disturbed you guys for quite some time. I’ll leave today. Thanks for your help.”
Silver Shadow stood before his spaceship, nodding to express his appreciation for Han Xiao.
Some time ago, he had used the Evolution Cube and stayed as a guest in the Black Star Army, bonding with Han Xiao. The relationship between them improved quite a bit, from familiar faces to good friends.
After staying for a few days, he still had other things to attend to so he decided to bid farewell today, Han Xiao came to send him off.
“Okay, I won’t keep you then. Feel free to come here to play in the future.” Han Xiao smiled.
Silver Shadow nodded, shook Han Xiao’s hand, led a group of his subordinates onto the ship, and closed the hatch.
The spaceship’s thrusters fired up as it sped up and dashed out of the dock, turning into a stream of light and quickly disappearing into space.
Watching the spaceship leave, Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
The time he had spent with Silver Shadow over the past few days had sped up the progress of winning Silver Shadow over. With the favors he owed him, he would be able to at least ride him three more times.
Han Xiao left the dock and returned to his office.
“Phillip, any news from the three Universal Civilizations?”
“Not yet, hum…”
“It’s been so many days. It should be time for them to contact me.”
Han Xiao shook his head. Over the past few days, he had been waiting for the federation and the church to contact him. It seemed that these two were still considering what attitude they were going to present when contacting him, so no one had called him yet.
During the Planet Lighthouse battle, he had handed over the captives to the dynasty, and the dynasty had negotiated with them. This time, however, he had basically caught all the captives by himself. Plus, he was much stronger. Therefore, Han Xiao told the dynasty that he wanted to negotiate with the federation and the church personally.
At this time, Phillip suddenly paused and reported, “Master, hum… there’s a new communication request. It’s from the Arcane Church.”
Speak of the devil… Han Xiao told Phillip to pick it up.
Very soon, a remote projection appeared in the room. This was a high-ranking official of the church who was in charge of diplomatic matters. He took a bow as soon as he appeared, looking very respectful.
“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m the diplomat of the Arcane Church. First, on behalf of the church, I would like to apologize for this incident…”
“Hmm, let’s skip all that and cut to the chase.” Han Xiao glared at the church diplomat in front of him and said with a deep voice, “If you want Tolaen back, it depends on how sincere you guys are. I have to emphasize one thing though: the compensation must include a public apology on your side.”
The church diplomat blinked a few times and said softly, “That won’t be a problem, but we can put aside Tolaen’s matter first. I want to talk about the federation’s captives…”
Han Xiao raised his brow.
What a surprise. The Arcane Church is in no hurry to bail Tolaen back but instead wants to gain a federation captive first.
Although he could understand the reason behind this, Han Xiao still thought it was quite tragic… for Tolaen.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao said, “The church wants to buy a Beyond Grade A captive of the federation, huh?”
“Not one. The more, the better. I’m sure Kasuyi has spoken to you about this as well. The church wants something to regain the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Your Excellency Black Star, we come with a lot of sincerity this time, and we’re willing to pay a high price.”
“How high?” Han Xiao raised his brows.
“These are our initial terms.”
The diplomat brought up a list and displayed it.
Han Xiao quickly scanned through the list. Not only did the terms include tons of resources compensation, but the church was even willing to use non-strategic Universal Treasures to acquire the captives. The terms were quite generous.
However, he was not going to easily agree. He purposely acted like he was considering for a while. Then, he said slowly, “I’ll have to endure pressure from the federation if I sell their captives to you, and this is all you’re offering? It doesn’t seem sufficient.”
“How about you propose the terms, and we can…”
Han Xiao snorted and interrupted him. “Go figure, change the terms till I’m satisfied.”
By not being the one stating the terms, he would be able to give the federation and the church a hard time. Otherwise, the two of them might not learn the lesson. Also, it would not be beneficial to public opinion if he easily agreed to their terms.
“Okay then, we’ll go back and change the terms. Can I assume that you don’t object to selling the federation’s captives?” the church’s diplomat asked.
“Depends on my mood.” Han Xiao did not make a guarantee.
Seeing that Han Xiao was not taking a clear stance, the church diplomat had no choice but to go offline and report the situation to his superiors.
As soon as he disconnected, the communication request from the federation came.
“How coincidental,” Han Xiao murmured and picked up the communication.
“Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star, I’m the Federation of Light’s…”
“Alright alright, I know who you are. Cut the crap. Show me your terms for bailing the captives.”
The federation’s diplomat’s words were forced right back down his throat, and he had no choice but to obediently show Han Xiao the terms.
After looking through the list, Han Xiao shook his head in his mind.
The price the federation gave was not as high as the church. After all, this was just ordinary bailing for them.
Tsk tsk, cheeky as always, you lost three people, but you don’t want to pay a huge price?
In your dreams!
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, tapped the table, and said slowly, “Just now, the Arcane Church contacted me and made an interesting proposal.”
“What proposal?”
“They want to buy the Beyond Grade A captives of the federation from me… and they’re willing to pay a high price.”
Han Xiao gave him a meaningful look.
The federation diplomat was startled and quickly said, “D-Did you agree?”
“Hmm, I’m still considering it. However, the price the church gave was quite tempting.”
“You can’t just decide to sell the federation’s important ally to the church, or…” The federation diplomat was just about to threaten Han Xiao when he suddenly realized that he was facing Black Star, who had just cost them a huge loss, so he quickly changed his tone. “Anyhow, as long as you don’t agree to the church’s proposal, we will definitely do something.”
“That will depend on your sincerity and how high a price are you willing to pay to make me reject the church’s offer.” Han Xiao smiled.
“Understood… Understood. I’ll relay your thoughts to the upper echelons immediately and change the compensation terms.”
The federation diplomat wiped off the sweat on his forehead and hastily disconnected.
He knew that Black Star was driving the price up, but there was nothing he could do. Even though he thought he saw through Black Star’s intentions, the only thing he could do was to obediently follow it.
After getting rid of these two, Han Xiao leaned back in his chair and smirked.
If this had happened in the past, the risk of doing something like this would have been very high. However, after this battle, he had showcased more than enough strength to be noticed. Only then would the church and the federation be willing to negotiate with him calmly instead of continuing to plot against him.
With these captives in his hands, he had enough leeway to ask for over the top prices. Even though he had made it clear that he wanted the federation and the church to compete with each other, they could do nothing but put up with it.
This feeling of having the upper hand is indeed great… Han Xiao smiled.
While he was pondering, his communicator rang again. It was Sylvia.
“Army Commander, the galactic star director I told you about a few days ago has arrived at Black Star Palace.”
“So soon?”
“They were in the Flickering World to begin with. I’ve already sent someone to receive them. Should I bring them right to the guest room?”
“Hmm, I’ll go see him now.” Han Xiao stood up.
…
A civilian spaceship parked at the exterior dock of Black Star Palace, and a group of people walked out from it.
At the front was an old man with a large beard and round head. He clearly gave off a vibe of being wealthy. Like a true artsy type, his long hair was swinging. He looked like a boiled egg with hair.
This person was the Crimson Dynasty-born galactic great director, Beny Travol.
As soon as they disembarked from the spaceship, they looked left and right cautiously and chattered among themselves.
“So, this is the Black Star Army’s base. Are all these people mercenaries?”
“They’re all looking at us. Keep it down…”
Having heard his assistants were chattering behind him, Beny Travol frowned and softly yelled, “Keep your mouth shut. If you insult Black Star’s men, you know what the consequences are.”
The others quickly became quiet, looking very cautious.
They had been following Beny Travol for a very long time and were seniors in the entertainment industry. There were people everywhere who wanted to fawn over them. Although they were not considered arrogant, they were still quite proud of themselves.
However, these people did not dare act arrogantly here. The Black Star Army was a top tier armed force that was on a completely different level compared to them. Now that they had entered the headquarters of such a powerful armed force, they naturally felt intimidated.
They knew full well that their influence was nothing compared to someone like this who held real power. Every one of them tucked their tail between their legs and acted humble.
Not long after, a receptionist of the army came and said with a bright smile, “Greetings, Director Beny Travol. Please, follow me. The army commander is waiting for you.”
“Okay, thanks for leading the way,” Beny Travol replied with a smile.
Seeing this, the assistants around were surprised. They knew their own boss all too well. He was always proud; very rarely did he show such a passionate and fawning smile.
They went all the way to the guest room, walked in, and saw Han Xiao sitting at the main seat. Out of panic, they hastily greeted Han Xiao.
Beny Travol quickly walked toward Han Xiao and extended his hand. “Your Excellency Black Star, thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
“You don’t have to be so formal, sit.”
Han Xiao shook his hand and invited everyone to sit down.
The group sat down one after another with their back straight and butt only taking up the edge of the seat, looking very cautious.
At the same time, they all stared at Han Xiao with respect and obedience, as well as a stiff and fawning smile on their faces. Many of them were quite important people, but now they could only smile.
Han Xiao shook his head. Position meant power. Even though he did not do anything, others would still uncontrollably feel nervous.
He turned to look at Beny Travol, smiled, and asked, “Great director Beny, I heard you want to shoot a documentary about me?”
“That’s right. I’ve seen your files from the beginning to your astonishing rise in the galaxy. You’re a living legend. What you’ve done stimulated my desire to innovate. It will be my honor to shoot a documentary for someone like you…”
Beny Travol cut right to the chase and started explaining the motivation behind all this.
When he came to the exciting parts, his face even became red, and he stood up to make gestures.
Han Xiao observed for a while and realized that this great director was not there just to praise him but really wanted to create an adapted documentary. This was probably one of the effects of his Legendary Points.
This was not strange. To others, what he had achieved was indeed legendary, so having a director want to shoot his life story was not exactly a surprise. After all, many films were adapted from true stories to begin with.
After being continuously praised for a while, Han Xiao felt quite good. Then, he waved and interrupted the saliva-filled speech of the director.
“So, you’re just here to ask for my permission to allow you to shoot a film about me?”
“Not just that.” Beny Travol suddenly became anxious. “I have another request. I hope you can be part of this film as an easter egg…”
These words required courage. He knew that Black Star’s position was way too high. For someone with so much power, Black Star could basically be considered a political figure. This was like a request for the dynasty’s ruler to guest star in his film—it was almost a daydream.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and tapped the table slowly but did not immediately reply.
As his expression changed, the atmosphere instantly cooled to a freezing point. Everyone’s heart started beating faster and faster. No one dared take big breaths. The room became dead silent.
Just as Han Xiao was about to speak, a mission notification popped up on the interface.
_____________________
Invitation from a Director
Mission Introduction: A universally known star director hopes to have you take part in the shooting of a film.
Mission Requirements: Star in the film.
Reward: 1,800,000 EXP, random increase in Renown of various Star Fields.
Bonus Reward: Talent – [Celebrity Effect]
[Celebrity Effect]: Others will feel close to you and forgive you more easily.
_____________________
Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.
What’s this? Forcing me to become a celebrity?
