Chapter 4 The Fourth Exploration

The exploration target for the fourth phase is four star clusters, geographically located in the heart of the Glittering World.

Opening up new star systems is the empire's way of diluting construction costs. The territories in the first three phases were basically divided, with high control and high security. These four star clusters, however, are a free competition zone for all forces, where the empire does not restrict external forces from vying for territory, making it a low-security zone.

External forces choose one or several star clusters to explore, charting the maps while competing for territory. In the early stages of exploration, various forces primarily focus on occupying land, with the common goal of securing a foothold and then slowly exploring the unknown areas beyond.

Currently, countless external forces have arrived in the fourth phase, but the exploration area is still limited to the edges of the four star clusters. However, the situation already shows signs of complexity. If one were to meticulously map out the current territories occupied by various forces, it would undoubtedly be the most complicated map in the entire universe.

Most forces have long foreseen the intensity of the competition and have formed alliances to varying degrees. Generally speaking, the main camps active in the free competition zone can be divided into several categories.

The first are the local overlords, referring to the empire and its allies, who have occupied early territories on the edges of the four star systems. Their position is somewhat detached, as most external forces do not want to clash head-on with them. The forces belonging to the empire are not making much effort to explore and have not joined the intense competition.

The second is the alliance of different civilizations. The Super Star Cluster Alliance is a prime example, and others are star cluster-level civilization alliances divided by star systems, exploring and expanding aggressively. They have all occupied bridgeheads, and their territories are adjacent to their allies, appearing as blocks on the map, making their areas quite prominent. This type of force is the mainstream in the free competition zone.

The third is the consortium forces, mainly composed of various mercenaries, whose primary goal is profit, and the territories they occupy are relatively scattered. The fourth is the external Super-A Grade forces, which are also very competitive but small in number. The fifth is various folk organizations, which have the most complex composition and the most scattered territories. They frequently change hands in the previous life and are the main areas where conflicts erupt.

As for Guanghui and Xuling, both are very low-key, staying in their corners and not intending to expand aggressively, merely allowing their allies to freely participate in the competition.

The three major civilizations have a tacit understanding, clearly giving up the stage for other forces to compete and fight, just like raising gu (a type of poisonous insect).

However, currently, there are occasional frictions within the free competition zone of the four star clusters, but no large-scale military conflicts have yet erupted. The exploration has just begun, and there are still many unknown territories. Everyone is burying their heads in exploring the interior from the edges of the star clusters, and the power structure is far from saturated.

Currently, these forces are mainly wary of the empire's attitude, but fighting is only a matter of time. With the Black Star Army firing the first shot in the Glittering World, this process will be greatly accelerated.

Emerald Star Cluster, one of the fourth-phase free competition zones.

The vast Black Star Army exploration fleet sailed out of the empire's military stargate and arrived at the border of the star cluster.

In the command room, Hela stood expressionlessly in front of the console, carefully looking at the holographic virtual star chart.

She has now changed her attire to a nanometer-material battle suit specially made for her by Han Xiao: a double-breasted black uniform, styled after the luxurious version of the army officer uniform, clinging to her skin and outlining her enchanting figure. The collar bears the army logo, and she wears a wide, high-collared cloak, black and gold on the outside with ornate patterns, and red on the inside. This outfit, combined with her unique temperament, gives Hela a powerful aura.

The battle suit model is "Red Serpent · First Generation," a Super-A Grade equipment containing a large amount of cutting-edge technology. In normal mode, it looks like ordinary clothes, but in battle mode, it displays the powerful performance of a Super-A Grade mech equipment.

This set of battle suits was not made on a whim. Han Xiao had already prepared this equipment long before Hela's return. Although Hela did not say anything on the surface upon receiving this gift, she has been wearing it ever since, clearly liking it very much in her heart.

"Vice Commander, where are we going now?" the female adjutant beside her asked.

Hela stretched out her finger and tapped on the holographic star chart, zooming in on an area. This was a planet on the edge of the Emerald Star Cluster called Philis Star, and it was a bit out of the way, not yet occupied by anyone.

"Go here and establish a bridgehead," Hela said.

She is now the commander of the exploration fleet, and Han Xiao has given her extremely high autonomy, only limiting the army's exploration target to the Emerald Star Cluster. The specific actions are to be commanded by Hela.

The reason for choosing the Emerald Star Cluster is because it is also the main field of exploration for the Modo Civilization, and it was also a very prosperous area in the previous life. He remembers that there are still some hidden elements here. The remains of an old civilization were unearthed in this star cluster, with a high level of civilization and a large amount of technical data preserved, which once caused countless forces to compete in the previous life, but the specific location is unknown.

Most importantly, the Emerald Star Cluster is one of the coordinates where the Chaotic Arcana will be born.

In the inheritance of the Hetero-God, there are several coordinates predicted for the birth of the Chaotic Arcana. Han Xiao could not judge which one was real, because the Hetero-God did not cool down in the previous life, and the data was not leaked. Therefore, the Hetero-God quietly settled the Chaotic Arcana without causing much attention from the outside world, and the players did not know about it.

However, Han Xiao has been secretly monitoring Evans's whereabouts. After this previous host of the Chaotic Arcana was released from prison, he found a job as an ordinary ground crew member in a consortium's exploration fleet, responsible for cleaning and repairing spaceships. The fleet he was in came to the Emerald Star Cluster.

Therefore, Han Xiao is quite certain that the Emerald Star Cluster is the place where the Chaotic Arcana will be born. After all, after the Chaotic Arcana had its chicken cut off by the Hetero-God, it must have found a host nearby, so the area where Evans is located is the most likely.

Of course, Hela does not know these things at the moment. She casually ordered the fleet to head to Philis Star.

And some player guilds did not follow, but separated from the main force and acted separately.

These registered guilds have the right to move freely and do not want to follow the main force in order to establish their own strongholds. This is something Han Xiao has acquiesced to, and he has prepared a lot of special tasks for players in the army interface with generous rewards to encourage guilds to act independently and expand their leading advantage.

…

Somewhere in the Emerald Star Cluster, the Beast Ancestor Gorutan's fleet was stationed on a planet, feverishly building this bridgehead.

Although he is the backer of the interstellar black market, Gorutan also has his own power. If there is anything special about it, it is that most of the members are his descendants.

Gorutan stood on a towering solitary peak, overlooking the gradually metal-covered earth. Above him was the dark and deep starry sky, and the aurora brought by atmospheric ionization flowed across the sky.

He was stark naked, his majestic body naked in the world, his lion's mane-like fur fluttering in the corrosive wind, and starlight lingered around his body, each star being a highly concentrated martial arts flame.

The training method of a peak Super-A Grade martial artist has been sublimated to a higher realm from simply tempering the body, requiring every inch of the body to feel the operation of the universe. It is very mysterious, and Gorutan no longer practices the training method of soaking in stars like Herber.

At this moment, meteors flew from the sky and landed behind Gorutan, all of them Calamity Grade cadres, more than forty in total.

"Father!"

Everyone lowered their heads and spoke in unison, their tone respectful.

These cadres are all descendants of the Beast Ancestor, and their appearances are different, as if they belong to different species.

Gorutan is worthy of the word "Ancestor" in his nickname. He also has a folk nickname called "Starry Sky Seed Spreader."

After he evolved into a Super-A Grade species, he gained strong fertility, and his genes have extraordinary adaptability. In front of him, there is almost no problem of reproductive isolation. He can give birth to offspring with most species, and he expands his tribe in a very rough and simple way, which is to capture females of different races to mate and give birth to various hybrid species.

If there are excellent variants among his descendants, he will also turn his descendants into his own breeding machines to create stronger descendants. This approach has impacted the ethics of some races, so Gorutan has always been excluded by many civilizations, who believe that he is a beast-like barbarian. However, a considerable number of races do not care about this, after all, the ethics of each species are different.

Gorutan turned around, not caring about being naked in front of his descendants, and said in a muffled voice, "What's the matter?"

One of his descendants stepped forward, looking like a spider-like insect, but with a human-like outline of his face, and held a communicator with six jointed arms to show respect. "Father, Sorokin is looking for you."

Gorutan snorted from his nostrils, picked up the communicator, and Sorokin's virtual figure appeared in front of him.

"What do you want from me?"

Sorokin smiled faintly, "Do you remember my plan for the Black Star Army? Now is the time. Once the Infinite Consortium gains a foothold, it will start targeting the Black Star Army's territory business. Before that, we can first curb the army's exploration."

"Need my help?"

"That's right. The Black Star Army exploration team is heading to Philis Star, which is not far from you. I hope you can occupy Philis Star first. The team is led by Hela. Test her out and, if possible, force the Black Star fleet to retreat, delay their exploration progress, and undermine their prestige."

"Why don't you do it yourself?"

"My main body is not in the Emerald Star Cluster, and I can't beat Hela," Sorokin smiled.

"Humph, we trade with you because we don't want to deal with the Black Star Army ourselves. How can you turn around and ask me, the employer, for help?" Gorutan snorted coldly. As a peak Super-A Grade, he was not afraid of provoking Black Star, but he didn't want to work for nothing.

Sorokin said unhurriedly, "My abilities are limited, and I am only good at business. If you don't help me, I won't be able to limit the Black Star Army's exploration, and the effect will be discounted. Don't blame me for not putting enough pressure on Black Star... and I can give you some information, Guanghui and Xuling plan to get rid of Hela."

"Oh? Are they not afraid of angering the empire and having another Calamity of the Apex?"

"You don't know this, Hela belongs to the Black Star Army but did not agree to join the empire. Getting rid of her will only anger Black Star. Hela becoming a Super-A Grade was an accident, but it also gave us a new direction to attack the Black Star Army."

Gorutan narrowed his eyes, "You forgot what Black Star said at the Council of Gods. There are too few Super-A Grades, and the death of one is not good for us."

"Haha, is that really the case?" Sorokin smiled faintly, "The Mechanic Empire has great ambitions. He hopes to gather the forces of all Super-A Grades to gain more... but conversely, isn't this being used by him? My ideas are exactly the opposite of his. If the number of Super-A Grades decreases, the remaining people will be safer and more valued by advanced civilizations."

Gorutan frowned, "Are you going to betray the united front of Super-A Grades?"

"There is never any so-called betrayal. What do other people have to do with us? Isn't the current situation of Super-A Grades good enough?" Sorokin didn't care, "Trying to covet things that don't belong to us will only lead us to destruction."

"...Don't say such things to me again, I'll pretend I didn't hear it." Gorutan waved his hand irritably, "For the sake of our old friendship, I'll help you once. I'll go to Philis Star. Double my share of the next dividend, otherwise it's off the table."

"Okay," Sorokin smiled.

After hanging up the communication, Gorutan looked back at his many descendants and said in a deep voice, "Prepare the spaceship and follow me."

At this time, one of his descendants couldn't help but say, "Father, isn't it not cost-effective for us to provoke the Black Star Army in the Glittering World..."

"Do you think Sorokin is the first person to ask me to do this?" Gorutan snorted, "Heh, there are many organizations that want to deal with the Black Star Army in the current Glittering World... Black Star is too high-profile!"

…

The Black Star Army exploration fleet was on its way when it suddenly received a message.

"Vice Commander, there's a situation," the female adjutant rushed into the room in a hurry.

Hela, who was meditating, opened her eyes and frowned, "What's the matter?"

"Philis Star has been occupied first. The other party is Beast Ancestor Gorutan's fleet. Do, do we need to change to another planet as a base?"

"Gorutan?" A cold glint flashed in Hela's eyes, "We didn't hide our tracks, and the outside world knows our goal, but he deliberately snatched Philis Star. This is a provocation to the army! If we detour, it will weaken the prestige that the Commander has worked so hard to establish."

"But Gorutan is a peak Super-A Grade, you, you..." the adjutant hesitated, not daring to continue.

"Your commander is also a peak Super-A Grade, there's no reason to back down!" Hela stood up and said in a deep voice, "Maintain the course and give me full speed ahead!"

So what if he's a peak Super-A Grade, it's not like I've never been beaten!

She is not like Garoze, whose potential has been exhausted. Call it the fearlessness of a newborn calf, she is never afraid to challenge the strong.

Only by fighting the strong can one stimulate one's own potential. This is Hela's creed.

…

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was happily counting experience points in the Black Star Palace every day, also received a message from Filip, and was slightly stunned.

"Gorutan? When did I provoke him?"

Han Xiao scratched his head, feeling a little helpless.

Although he didn't know the reason, he was not a nobody now, and there was no reason to back down and let the other party take an inch.

This is you running to shorten your life, it has nothing to do with me.

——

(Recommend a book, 《我能提取熟练度》(*Wo Neng Ti Qu Shulian Du* - I Can Extract Proficiency), a martial arts online game novel by the author Yun Dong Liu, synopsis: "Party up to kill Boss? Equipment is divided equally, the corpse is mine!" Night Without End, wearing a flying fish suit, has the Heaven Reliant Sword in his right hand and a coffin board in his left hand, looking at the Boss with extremely kind eyes.)