Chapter 175 You Are Here to Poach Me?

Han Xiao looked strange, sizing up Mazakus from head to toe.

"Are you here to poach me?"

He hadn't expected to encounter a headhunter. After all, he was now a cadre of Longtan, and ordinary forces wouldn't dare to act so recklessly. For a core cadre of the War Domain to invite him, and with such high benefits, joining would immediately make him one of the vanguard officers, a very high-level position.

The War Domain and Longtan were forces of two different levels. Longtan had always relied on Ames's deterrent power alone, while Overlord Herber was also a Beyond Grade A powerhouse, possessing a transcendent status. Moreover, he was the oldest of the four well-known Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. The martial arts system tempered the body and sublimated life, giving him a very long lifespan, so the War Domain also possessed Longtan's greatest advantage.

Moreover, the War Domain was an important ally of a Star Cluster-level civilization, rich in resources, with vast connections, and a wealthy foundation. Its armed forces were extremely powerful, and it had established many branches in various galaxies in another Star Cluster. It was a behemoth in the Shattered Star Ring based on its power alone, and unlike Longtan, which was indifferent to the world, it was still constantly active and expanding.

A direct example was that in the previous version of the Wayne Card Shattered Star Ring deck, the Longtan camp had three cards: the power card [Longtan Floating Island], the powerhouse card ["Dragon Emperor" Ames], and the mercenary card [Black Star Mercenary Group], while the War Domain camp had a full fourteen cards!

'I've been in the limelight a lot recently, showing my abilities. It must be because of this that I've entered the sights of higher-level powerhouses.'

Han Xiao nodded secretly. Although such things were rare, they weren't unprecedented. When fame and legend reached a certain standard, there was a chance of encountering similar events. After making a name for yourself, all kinds of people would take the initiative to come to your door.

The War Domain coming to poach him proved that the level he was involved in was also subtly improving.

"I'm a little curious, aren't you afraid of Ames getting angry?"

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Mazakus smiled faintly, exuding powerful confidence.

"Do you think His Excellency Overlord is afraid of Ames? Besides, this isn't the first time."

Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and he immediately became curious.

"Have you poached people from Longtan before? Is that person still alive?"

"Of course, he's alive, and he has a very high status now."

"Ames didn't make trouble for you?"

"Heh, you know her well. Indeed, she dragged the Longtan Floating Island and attacked our headquarters. So, His Excellency Overlord took action."

"What was the result?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

Mazakus pursed his lips, a fanatical look in his eyes, and said with a dark laugh, "The original Longtan Floating Island was half again as large as it is now."

Ames suffered a loss... Han Xiao's heart stirred.

This was a secret that players didn't dig up in his previous life. It turned out that there was a long-standing feud between Longtan and the War Domain. No wonder they came to poach Ames's people.

Wait, if I refuse, maybe the War Domain will see me as an enemy?

Han Xiao became vigilant and asked in a deep voice, "Thank you for your invitation, but what if I refuse?"

Mazakus put away his smile, stared at Han Xiao, his tone becoming unquestionable, and said slowly, "Consider it again."

Black Star's hundreds of thousands of Undead had already aroused the interest of the War Domain, but Herber disdained slowly poaching people. If he was going to poach, he would go straight for the leader, so Han Xiao had become the target of recruitment.

Mazakus didn't want to return empty-handed from the task personally ordered by the Overlord.

This is a threat...

Han Xiao frowned, secretly weighing the pros and cons.

If he switched to the War Domain, he would incur the wrath of Longtan. Almost all the connections established by Longtan would disappear. The Black Star Mercenary Group and Aquamarine Star would lose Longtan's preferential treatment. Ames valued him quite a bit. Once he betrayed, she would be even more furious, and the consequences would be very serious.

As for the benefits... they seemed to be great as well. Risks came with benefits. The power of the War Domain was much, much greater than Longtan's. Losing the east and gaining in the west, he could use the War Domain to re-establish a broader network of contacts. At the same time, with the resources of the War Domain, he could give the Black Star Mercenary Group greater support, and all the losses could be made up... The only problem might be that he would need to go to the Star Cluster where the War Domain was located to develop.

Since Herber dared to poach me, if Ames successfully retaliated, he would lose a lot of face, so Herber should do his best to protect me...

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao finally spoke.

"I've thought about it..."

He frowned and smiled at Mazakus.

"I refuse."

Although he had habitually analyzed the pros and cons, it was just a habit. From the very beginning, Han Xiao had no intention of leaving Longtan. He wasn't the kind of guy who would be fooled by a few words.

Ames had provided so many conveniences, and these were all favors. The relationship between the two had been warming up. If he switched to Herber, he would have to re-establish his relationship with his immediate superior. Moreover, the name Overlord sounded difficult to get along with, and the rules of the War Domain were much more numerous than those of Longtan. It was impossible for them to be as tolerant of him as Ames was.

Most importantly... I'm the only leader of the outer operations troops in Longtan. I'd have to be out of my mind to run over and be your number nine!

Mazakus's smile disappeared completely, his face cold and expressionless as he stared straight at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao didn't back down either, glaring back, secretly adjusting his condition.

The atmosphere gradually became tense.

Just when he thought they were about to fight again, Mazakus suddenly snorted heavily, turned around, and left.

Han Xiao's face relaxed, and he let out a breath.

It seemed like they wouldn't be fighting. At this critical stage of the Black Star Mercenary Group's development, it was best not to be enemies with the War Domain.

At this moment, a spaceship with the War Domain's emblem flew over from the horizon. This was Mazakus's own ship, which had been hidden on the back of the planet.

Mazakus stepped onto the gangway and suddenly pressed a hand on the closing hatch, looked at Han Xiao, and said in a low voice.

"Black Star, we'll be meeting again soon."

After saying that, he ignored Han Xiao's reaction, let go of his hand, and let the hatch close. The War Domain's spaceship quickly took off and disappeared without a trace.

Meeting soon... What does that mean? Does he want to find a chance to deal with me? Or does it have another meaning?

"Forget it, anyway, the War Domain's territory isn't in the Colton Star Cluster. It's unlikely that they'll come to deal with me. Since Longtan and the War Domain are at peace right now, they definitely won't start a war over me."

Han Xiao shook his head. After figuring it out, he wasn't too worried.

"Oh yeah, I'm here to hand over the hostages." He suddenly came back to his senses.

He had been messing around with Mazakus, and he almost forgot the goal of his trip.

Returning to the side of the star pirate's pillaging ship, Beverley was lying on the ground like a corpse, surrounded by several lightly injured star pirates, who glanced at the Blacklight Stealth hovering in the sky, seemingly hesitating whether or not to take Beverley away.

Hearing footsteps, the group of star pirates turned their heads, saw Han Xiao walking over, and shuddered at the same time. A look of horror floated into their eyes, and they stood frozen in place, not daring to move.

Originally, the handover of hostages didn't require meeting, there was security. But now, the victim, Han Xiao, was right in front of them. They were afraid of losing their lives. Moreover, Beverley's emaciated appearance also made them tremble with fear. They didn't know what kind of torture Beverley had suffered during this period to become like this, but they definitely didn't want to follow in his footsteps.

Han Xiao glanced at them, casually grabbed a star pirate, and then stepped onto the pillaging ship. The star pirate trembled and pointed the way. The two quickly arrived at the prison cell.

However, the prison cell was empty.

"Where are the people?!"

Pressing down on the star pirate's crown, tightening his fingers, Han Xiao's tone was unkind.

"I, I don't know... They disappeared a day and a half ago!"

The star pirate felt his head about to explode and hurriedly defended himself.

Disappeared?

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, then suddenly understood and let go of his hand.

Damn it, these sons of bitches logged off!

They probably went to sleep.

"Disappeared a day and a half ago, hmm, that means they're almost about to log on. I can wait a bit..."

Han Xiao realized a problem and squeezed the star pirate's head again.

"The hostages disappeared, and you still want to make a deal? Are you trying to play me?"

The star pirate was about to cry.

Sir, we're being controlled by that demon. How can we notify you!

And can you stop squeezing? It hurts!

Just then, a burst of white light flashed in the prison cell. Several players from the Divine Clan Guild logged on and suddenly saw a big Black Star. They suddenly became excited.

"Quickly notify the guild leader, we've finally found the hidden plot!"

A dozen seconds later, a series of white lights flashed, and Jupiter and the others all logged on. Seeing Han Xiao, they all became happy.

"You're back?!" The star pirate rubbed his eyes, confirming that he wasn't hallucinating.

Han Xiao opened the prison cell, led the crowd out of the spaceship, and threw the star pirate in his hand to the ground.

"Contact Slayke, our deal continues."

As soon as these words came out, the terrified expressions on the faces of these star pirates froze and turned into astonishment.

The hostages had been taken away, and they had fallen into Black Star's hands again. They had nothing to threaten him with. In this situation, Black Star still wanted to hand over Beverley as agreed and let them go?

"You, you still want to continue the deal now?" A star pirate couldn't help but repeat, finding it a little unbelievable.

"What, are you going back on your word?" Han Xiao asked back.

"No, no, no, you've misunderstood. Let's do it as agreed." Several star pirates hurriedly denied, their faces filled with the joy of escaping death.

A star pirate hurriedly contacted Slayke and told him the situation.

Slayke was immediately shocked that his subordinates had been controlled by people from the War Domain. This was something he never expected. It was purely bad luck.

However, the deal had gone wrong, and Black Star hadn't gone back on his word...

Could it be that his threat was really that effective?

Slayke could only attribute the reason to this and suddenly felt comfortable in his heart.

——Haha, a well-known interstellar powerhouse was scared by him.

Ignoring the star pirates' negotiations, Han Xiao led Jupiter and the others to the side, let the Blacklight Stealth land, and opened the hatch.

"Get on the ship, Reisda will take you to the nearest city planet."

Jupiter's eyes flashed, and he said enthusiastically, "We want to help you deal with the enemy, please let us lend you a hand."

They had finally encountered a hidden plot, such a good opportunity, he felt that he could definitely trigger a hidden mission.

Han Xiao saw through Jupiter's intention at a glance and felt quite helpless. He directly wrote a mission and released it to the group of players.

[You have triggered hidden mission [Evacuate]]

[Mission Introduction: You have been caught up in a storm, but with your current strength, you have no way to intervene in this event, so what you have to do is evacuate this place as soon as possible]

[Mission Requirements: Board the Blacklight Stealth and leave]

[Reward: 350,000 experience, Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability +200]

"Let's go!" Jupiter said without hesitation, turned his head, and walked into the hatch.

The players of the Divine Clan Guild followed behind, all boarding the Blacklight Stealth.

Poseidon approached Jupiter and gave a thumbs up, "As expected of the guild leader, if we had boarded the ship immediately, we wouldn't have been able to trigger this mission."

Jupiter smiled smugly and pointed to his temple, "This is experience, learn from it."

Although this mission was a little different from what he had imagined, after reading the mission introduction, Jupiter felt that this might be a high-level event, but they hadn't reached the trigger standard, so it had become the [Evacuate] mission. Although it was a pity, he could only do it first, it was better than nothing.

Han Xiao was still standing outside, waiting for the star pirates' reply.

After a while, a star pirate jogged over and said cautiously, "Lord Black Star, if there's nothing wrong, we'll take Beverley and leave."

"Go ahead, don't provoke me again in the future, I won't let you go next time." Han Xiao waved his hand, turned around, and boarded the spaceship.

The star pirates finally breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly went back to call their companions, started the pillaging ship, and the thrusters spewed out flames. The pillaging ship floated up.

Just as the pillaging ship was about to accelerate and take off, behind the hatch of the Blacklight Stealth, Han Xiao's eyes burst out with gray light. He activated his racial talent, transformed into a Chaos Body, and his entire body lost its physical form, turning into a gray mist.

High Void Shuttle!

Entering the void vision, outside time seemed to stand still. Han Xiao controlled the Chaos Body to leave the Blacklight Stealth. Because the duration of [High Void Shuttle] was longer, he had plenty of time to cross a large distance and approach the pillaging ship.

Void Shuttle had the function of penetrating walls. The Chaos Body directly passed through the pillaging ship's hatch, found a remote cabin to hide in, and then released the Void Shuttle. He didn't trigger any alarms, and no star pirates discovered him.

Whoosh—

In the next moment, the pillaging ship quickly took off and disappeared into the sky.