The loss of hope, increase of fear and panic were always accompanied by rage. Wuornos’ act of admitting defeat caused public opinion to explode. They had been looking forward to the three Universal Civilizations sending someone to break Black Star’s arrogance. However, reality shattered their illusion. No one could defeat Black Star. The many galactic residents were both afraid and angry, then their humiliation turned into rage.
Okay, you’re strong as a person, no one in the three Universal Civilizations can match up to you. But we still have fleets; we still have armies! I don’t believe we can’t deal with you! Since the three Universal Civilizations had lost in terms of individual power, tons of galactic residents turned to believe in the three Universal Civilizations’ collective strength. They found a new excuse to convince themselves and took it as a new source of confidence.
It was already the last day of the warning period. The public opinion had become extreme in supporting the three Universal Civilizations to wipe out the association.
“The Beyond Grade A Association is nothing but a civilian organization. How dare they fight with the three Universal Civilizations? It’s clearly a criminal act. Think about it, the government wants to control you, and if you don’t obey, isn’t that violating the law? What, just because you founded a civilian organization, you can ignore the law? What makes you think you can do that? Just because you are strong?” “All things aside, the Beyond Grade As have always been unstable factors. They enjoy the privileges but don’t take the laws of the galaxy seriously. They should either all be monitored by civilizations or killed! That way, they won’t endanger society; today will be a lesson!”
“Hehe, Beyond Grade As are just representatives of the Supers. All Supers should be monitored and controlled; only then can order be maintained. Just think about how many crimes are related to the Supers. Without them, society would be a much better place!”
Ever since the appearance of the Sanctum Revival, the three Universal Civilizations had been guiding the public opinion and deliberately inciting the conflicting emotions between the ordinary people and the Supers. This had lasted for more than a year. These suppressed emotions kept getting tighter. At this turning point, the dissatisfaction the tons of civilians had toward the Supers finally erupted.
Countless galactic residents vented their rage without restrain, hoping all the Beyond Grade As and Super would just die.
Although this was very extreme, it was the true feelings of some galactic residents. Their genes dictated the fact that they would be ordinary their entire life, which was more depressing and impossible to cross than the difference between the rich and the poor. Almost all of them had a certain amount of hatred and frustration toward their destiny. When given the chance, most people would not mind expressing their hatred toward Supers.
However, the raging comments online meant absolutely nothing to Han Xiao; it had zero impact on what he was going to do.
Han Xiao sat in the middle of the battlefield and looked at the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet. After Wuornos admitted his defeat, the other direct members seemed to have gone silent. Shockingly, they did not meaninglessly fight him again on this last day of the warning period.
“Looks like they’ve finally got a grip of the situation.”
Han Xiao let out a deep breath.
All things considered, this was quite a successful decision. After keeping a low profile for many years, he had shocked the world once again and showed the universe his overwhelming strength, not only giving the association members confidence but also affecting the enemies’ morale.
At this time, the mechanical suit’s communicator rang. It was a call from Manison.
“… Your growth always exceeds my expectations.”
Manison felt complicated. He was shocked by Han Xiao’s strength and could not help but feel sour.
“It’s alright, nothing extraordinary.” Han Xiao took a humble approach.
Uh huh, still as shameless as always.
Manison was speechless for a moment. He then adjusted his emotions and said curiously, “Your Mechanical Deity is a little different. Is it new technology? There seem to be signs of the Felon technology in it.”
“Uh huh, I did use some of the Felon technology.” Han Xiao nodded and admitted
Manison fell silent.
Ah, another trump card got stolen by Black Star…
My heart hurts!
He wanted to get angry, but to his complete despair, he realized he was used to his abilities being stolen… Taking a deep breath, Manison stabilized his mood and said with a low voice, “What’s the principle of this technology? Can you share it with me?”
“Sure, I can, but you won’t be able to learn it…” Han Xiao shrugged. “This technology was tailor made for me. You need to have an extremely strong physique to learn it, but you’re too fragile.”
Isn’t it normal for Mechanics to have a fragile body? You’re the only exception.
Manison pressed on his heart, calmed himself down, and did not want to continue discussing this subject.
He then changed the topic and said with a serious tone, “Today is the last day of the warning period. I’m ready for a war. How are things on your side?”
Han Xiao nodded. “The association’s members are already stationed at the key strategic areas of the various Star Fields. Some people might have already started making moves.”
“War is a shortcut toward peace. After today, let’s hope the generations will extend in our hands.” Manison sighed.
Han Xiao curled his lips.
After a few words, Manison was about to hang up the communication when he suddenly thought of something.
“Erm… my spear broke, but the other Universal Treasures I lent to you didn’t. You put them all away. When will you be returning them to me?”
“Hey, come on, what’s our relationship? Would I just take your Universal Treasure like that? What kind of person do you think I am?” Han Xiao complained.
Manison snorted instantly.
You don’t do anything that’s related to being a person, yet you ask me what kind of person you are?
You’re not a person at all!
“Just tell me when you’ll return them.”
“When I’m done… ahem, after the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet retreats, I’ll give them back to you when I have the time.”
Excuse me, you were going to say you’ll return them after you’re done studying them, weren’t you!
Manison snorted and turned off the communication.
His temper was already depleted by Han Xiao, and after knowing him for so many years, he was mentally prepared for this long ago.
Just what I expected from you, Black Star!
Han Xiao turned off the communication. Seeing that the three Universal Civilizations were not making any moves, he opened the interface and looked at the mission reward.
Fighting the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations did not trigger individual Challenge Missions but instead triggered the sparring kind of mission like when he sparred with Joey and his friends. The mission reward relied on how long he lasted. The highest Mission Rating gave seven Character Summon Cards and five chances to draw abilities or talents from a target of his choice.
As for the duel with Wuornos, it triggered the regular Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission. The rewards were one Character Summon Card and one chance to draw his ability or talent.
“Looks like I won in the end.”
Han Xiao felt much better.
With a war around the corner, he was quite tempted. However, after thinking about it, he still suppressed his impulses.
His goal of intimidating the enemies was already achieved. If a war were to break out the next day and the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet attacked, all the direct members would most likely strike too. Of course, Han Xiao would not be facing them alone. Therefore, he was not in a hurry to accept the mission rewards.
“If only I could make the three Universal Civilizations take a step back…”
Han Xiao shook his head and thought of an idea he had some time ago. He caressed the communicator, hesitating on whether or not to call the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and tell them about the World Tree Civilization, shifting the conflict away.
The most ideal situation would, of course, be the three Universal Civilizations believing what he said, temporarily lowering their hostility and working together with him against the external enemy. Although this would cause the World Tree war to arrive in advance, it would save a huge portion of the explored universe’s strength… However, given the current uptight situation and the relationship between the two sides, he felt there was an extremely low chance the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders would believe him. They would most likely think it was an excuse to avoid admitting defeat or a made-up reason for both sides to take a step back.
If he could not convince the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders, a war would still break out, and the three Universal Civilizations would very likely secretly investigate the authenticity of the information about the World Tree Civilization. Not only would the explored universe lose a ton of military power, but the World Tree war would still arrive in advance, meaning the three Universal Civilizations would have close to no time to recover before facing such a powerful enemy. Therefore, Han Xiao was hesitating. It was almost impossible for him to predict the butterfly effects this move might cause.
“Sigh, tough.”
In the online chat room of the Beyond Grade A Association, the remote projections of a group of Beyond Grade As gathered. Shock still remained on some of their faces.
“Even Wuornos can’t defeat Black Star… It’s hard to believe how strong he’s become after not showing his strength for just a few decades.”
“Black Star is really an unbelievable guy. I thought he would lose this time. Who could’ve predicted he would actually hold on?”
“Fighting the three Universal Civilizations alone, suppressing all direct members. I would never have believed this is true if I didn’t see it with my own eyes!”
The many Beyond Grade As discussed excitedly.
They had watched the broadcast of Black Star fighting the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members alone from the start to the end, feeling more astonished each day. After Wuornos admitted his defeat, all of them were dumbfounded.
Even Wuornos, who was recognized by all as the strongest cheater, could not defeat Han Xiao, astounded the entire Beyond Grade A circle. In their eyes, this crown no longer belonged to Wuornos and was shifted to Black Star’s head…
Not only was he the president of the Beyond Grade A Association, but he was also undoubtedly the strongest Beyond Grade A, which made his position as the president even more deserved.
“Seeing how strong Black Star is, I’m less concerned.” Kasuyi relaxed.
Many people nodded and smiled.
The three Universal Civilizations had tons of trump cards. Many association members had been worried that something might happen to Black Star, which would lead to no one being able to use the Sanctum Revival, and that would be very unfortunate for them. Seeing that Black Star was unbelievably strong, many people were relieved.
Kasuyi looked around, wiped the smile off his face, and said with a serious tone, “Alright, don’t get too relaxed. Today is the last day of the warning period. Everyone, be ready and standby. Wait for Black Star to teleport us over for war!”
Hearing this, the expressions of the others also became serious. Sun Hunter pulled the bolt of his gun, snorted, and said, “Finally, my big cannon is thirsting for blood!”
In the three Universal Civilizations’ joint conference room, Marbruce, Louis, and the church pope looked at the screen. Their expressions were furious.
Marbruce hit the table heavily and said with a tone filled with dissatisfaction, “Ridiculous! All of our direct members can’t even take down one Black Star. How are we going to deal with the other Beyond Grade As?”
“Their loss has embarrassed the entire civilization! We’ve become stepping stones for Black Star’s reputation!” Louis was furious.
“We can’t really blame them. Black Star is illogically strong.”
The pope frowned tightly. He was very unhappy with Wuornos’ act of admitting defeat, but what was done was done. There was no use in blaming Wuornos now. He was a little bit regretful of forcing Wuornos to leave the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods to participate in this.
Looking at Black Star, who sat in the middle of two sides, the three of them suddenly felt powerless, angry, and frustrated.
In terms of individual strength, they really had no ways of dealing with Black Star. Even the three of them were out of ideas.
“The only way to deal with him now is through armies and war weapons…” Louis looked at the other two with a serious expression. “Once the warning period ends, we’ll start a war instantly. Are you two absolutely sure about this?”
“This day would’ve come sooner or later. I only regret how late we made up our minds to do this. We’ve let the Beyond Grade As roam and grow freely for too long. That’s how they’ve turned into such huge threats,” the pope said slowly.
“We’re already here. There’s no way we’re going to go back on our word.” Marbruce nodded.
“Okay. Pass the order down to your armies at the various locations to execute as planned…”
Before he finished, the sound of an urgent alert from a communicator suddenly rang in the room.
Louis stopped and looked at Marbruce. It came from his communicator.
Marbruce took out the communicator and looked at it. It was an urgent report from the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence, Heroic Soul.
The reports of the various departments were all analyzed by the main artificial intelligence, then given to different departments to take care of depending on their priority level. Given how the main artificial intelligence sent this to him even during his meeting with the other two leaders, it meant that from the main artificial intelligence’s judgement, this message was extremely urgent.
“What report is th… hmm?”
Marbruce’s expression changed drastically the moment he saw the title of the report. He then finished reading it in silence.
He pondered for about half a minute before turning to look at the other two.
“You guys might need to take a look at this…”
On this last day of the warning period, the timer passed in an extremely uneasy atmosphere. Seconds felt like years to all the soldiers present and countless galactic residents watching the broadcast.
As the last moment of the warning period got closer, the fleets of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association started to fidget. The atmosphere kept getting more and more intense.
In the Black Star Army’s fleet, the tons of army players were filled with anticipation.
“It’s here! It’s here! War!”
“I’ve seen more than enough cutscenes. The main storyline is finally about to begin.”
“For the army!”
The army players could not wait for the two sides to start fighting.
One reason was that they loved to see a chaotic world and hoped to participate in the main storyline. Another reason was that many people saw the comments online too and realized that there were so many people insulting, condemning, and scolding them, the ‘Immortals’.
Of course, many players were quite enraged by that.
However, at the same time, they also had a deeper understanding of the ‘Calamity of the Supers’ mission name, as well as the conflict between the ordinary and the Supers.
As Supers, the players who had a lot of interest in the storyline were exhilarated. They felt like the curtains of the new era were unfolding right in front of their eyes.
“All crews, prepare for combat!” The voice of the commander spread in the battleships. Countless warriors tightened their body and looked at the clock.
In this apprehensive wait, time passed seconds by seconds as it got closer to the end of the warning period. The hearts of the soldiers of both sides and countless galactic residents were all at their throat.
In this extremely intense atmosphere, the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet suddenly moved.
Without any warning, the entire joint fleet suddenly moved back, leaving the conflict area batch by batch.
This stunned the Beyond Grade A Association’s armies and all the galactic residents. They were lost.
The warning period is almost here. Why did the three Universal Civilizations suddenly retreat? Plus, without saying anything?
Didn’t they firmly say they’ll never give in? Why did they go back on their word all of a sudden?
On the quantum network, the comments calling for the three Universal Civilizations to wipe out the association suddenly went silent. As they realized that things did not go as they imagined, they suddenly did not know what to do.
Is it because Black Star defeated all direct Beyond Grade As single-handedly and the three Universal Civilizations are afraid?
It was difficult for them not to think this.
At the same time, a similar speculation also appeared in many people’s minds.
“Could it be that the three Universal Civilizations only wanted to intimidate the association, scare them, and pressure them into compromising to begin with? And once they realized this method is useless against the association, they could not continue the show and retreated like a coward on the last day of the warning period that was claimed by themselves!”
Many galactic residents did not know what to say and felt very complicated.
We all supported you guys in wiping out the Beyond Grade A Association and defusing the source of the instability of the galactic society, yet you guys are afraid?
Although not starting a war was fortunate, many people felt embarrassed. Their all-out support for the three Universal Civilizations now felt like a slap to the face, by the three Universal Civilizations themselves.
Han Xiao was also confused by the three Universal Civilizations’ neat retreat too.
After a bit of hesitation, Han Xiao actively called the dynasty ruler. However, it was not picked up, which made him wonder even more.
“They’re retreating just like that? Doesn’t fit them at all. The three Universal Civilizations shouldn’t be this cowardly… or did something happen?”
A few days ago, at the dynasty’s Science Institute, the team members of the wormhole analysis team all gathered in the activity room, watching the fight between Black Star and Clotti’s group on the screen with worried expressions. In the past few days, they had stopped all projects on hand and focused on the developments of this event. This was closely related to their everyday life.
In the crowd, someone softly whispered, “Looks like a war is going to break out…”
Sighs sounded in the room one after another, filled with worries.
All the researchers present opposed starting a war. One reason was that they were worried that their project would be stopped once again when the war started, meaning they would have nothing to do. Another was because as people with virtue, they intuitively opposed wars. “Only if someone could stop this war…” someone softly mumbled.
Hearing this, the project director’s eyes suddenly gleamed. He clenched his teeth, turned around, walked out of the activity room, and returned to his office.
He searched through the database and brought up a special wormhole detection report that he did not have time to submit lately due to how much attention he paid to the recent events.
“I hope this works…”
The project director swallowed his saliva and modified this report, changing the ‘suspected existence of an unknown advanced civilization’ included in the report conclusion into ‘confirmed existence of an unknown Universal Civilization’.
After doing all this, the project director did not send it to the audit department but directly skipped this procedure and submitted it to the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence’s database. He knew that skipping the fixed procedures would definitely get him into trouble.
“No idea if this will work…” the project director mumbled with a worried expression.
In order to stop the possible universal war that might break out, he was willing to do whatever he could in his power.
He was not sure if this trick would work, but he felt that if everyone only watched and did nothing, no change would come.
