Chapter 609 New Cadre

On the central island of Longtan, inside Ames' palace.

At this moment, two people were standing outside the palace gate, one in front of the other. One of them was Izo, followed by a tall, purple-haired human beauty with blue-tinged skin and delicate features, wearing bewitching eye shadow. She was blinking her watery eyes, looking up at the palace with apprehension.

"Verna, you don't need to be so nervous. You're just meeting Ames."

Izo glanced at the purple-haired beauty and spoke helplessly, his voice aged.

"I... I'm meeting a living Beyond Grade A for the first time. What kind of person is Her Excellency Dragon Emperor? Rumors here say she has a strong desire for control. Is that true?"

Verna bit her lip lightly, pressing her hands together and twisting her fingers nervously.

"Of course it's false! These are rumors that have been spreading in recent years, specifically to slander Ames. The source is Black Star... Alas, let's not talk about that for now."

Izo seemed to think of something upsetting, shaking his head and sighing.

"In short, Ames is very easy-going. This is your first time seeing her since joining Longtan, so leave a good impression."

"I... I'll try my best."

Verna still lacked confidence, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

Walking into the palace, Izo asked the guards and learned Ames' location, leading Verna all the way to an open space. From afar, they could hear the sounds of qi colliding.

Getting closer, Verna realized that two people were sparring in this open space, with a third person watching from the sidelines.

She looked toward the field, her gaze immediately captured by the two combatants.

In the field, Ames was personally guiding Hela, her fingertips manipulating light green force field barriers, which spun and danced in the air. Her black dress was like a blooming lotus, her pair of white legs faintly visible.

Hela, with a cold face, was surrounded by a dense, dark red aura, repeatedly bombarding Ames' force field, creating loud bangs.

Ames maintained the strength of the force field at Grade B level. Even so, the control was still extremely precise, putting Hela in precarious situations.

"Stop for a moment, someone's coming."

Ames suddenly withdrew her hand, landing gracefully.

Hela glanced at Izo and Verna, her stern brows furrowing slightly, displeased that the sparring had been interrupted. She retracted her ability, the dark red energy sinking into her body. Then, along with Aurora, who had been watching from the sidelines, she followed Ames, sizing up Verna.

"Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, I am..." Verna hurriedly tried to introduce herself.

Ames raised her hand to interrupt her, taking the initiative to speak.

"I know your name. Since you're Izo's friend, just stay here. See what you can do. I don't have many requirements here."

"Okay... okay."

Verna looked flattered.

"You seem a little nervous." Ames raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Uh, you're the first Beyond Grade A expert I've ever met. I'm your idol... ptooey, I mean, you're my admirer..." Verna's face flushed red, her words jumbled.

"Don't be nervous, Beyond Grade A is nothing special. I don't eat people."

Ames smiled noncommittally, her tone gentle, reaching out to touch Verna's cheek. Her sleeve slid down her forearm, revealing a wrist as white as frost.

Feeling the touch of Ames' hand on her cheek, Verna stiffened, unsure what to do with her hands.

Aurora, who stood to the side, tugged at Hela's sleeve and whispered, "Sister, is this woman a new cadre of Longtan?"

"Mm."

Hela was concise with her words.

Izo coughed and interjected, "Then we won't disturb you any longer. I'll take her to familiarize herself with the work."

Saying that, he pulled the dazed Verna away, disappearing from the three's sight.

Ames' smile faded, looking in the direction Verna had left, silent, her eyes complicated.

"I heard that this new cadre was brought here from other star systems by Izo, and seems to be highly valued. I wonder what she's here to do," Aurora said curiously.

Hela brushed aside a strand of red hair, saying lightly, "Izo is cultivating a new cadre to take over Han Xiao's position in the future."

"Black Star wouldn't leave, would he? Sister Ames is so good to him," Aurora couldn't help but say.

"Hmph, these past few years, rumors have been flying, and I don't know how many people are secretly spreading rumors, trying to break up Black Star and Longtan."

Hela pursed her lips. "And don't I know him? If he really becomes a Beyond Grade A, he will definitely advance his own forces further, so he can't continue to bear the label of Longtan. He will inevitably set up his own shop…"

Ames turned around, giving the two a faint glance, and said calmly, "There's nothing to talk about. At least he's still my man right now, Hela, continue attacking."

Three years had passed, and Ames no longer dwelled on it. She was waiting for Han Xiao's choice.

The three stopped chatting and continued their combat training.

On the other side, Izo pulled Verna out of the palace.

Only then did Verna come back to her senses, exclaiming, "The Dragon Emperor is so approachable! It's completely different from what the rumors say."

Hearing this, Izo shook his head helplessly.

In the past three years, many interested parties had been manipulating public opinion, slandering the Dragon Emperor, wanting to shape Ames into a strong and controlling figure, with the aim of sowing discord and trying to break up Black Star and the Dragon Emperor.

In the past three years, Black Star's reputation had become more and more solid, and the Black Star Army had digested its expanded forces and gradually stabilized. Its business scope had spread to most of the star systems in the Colton Star Cluster, becoming a large star cluster-level force.

At the same time, a year ago, the Black Star Army became an official long-term partner of the Purple Crystal Civilization, receiving a massive amount of resource support, with unlimited prospects.

The Black Star Army was nominally expanding for Longtan, but Ames had always been indifferent, her attitude clearly letting things take their own course. As long as the conflict between the two sides was provoked, Black Star would inevitably leave with the Black Star Army. If Black Star and the Dragon Emperor fell out because of this, that would be the best thing.

The other star cluster-level civilizations and major forces in the Shattered Star Ring were unwilling to see two Beyond Grade As unite or form an alliance. Enmity and opposition between the two was the way to achieve mutual restraint, which was in line with the interests of these forces, so they spared no effort in spreading rumors, believing that as long as they said it often enough, they could always influence the thinking of both sides.

Izo trusted Han Xiao's potential extremely, so he believed that Han Xiao's departure from Longtan was almost inevitable. He decided to prepare for the future.

Therefore, Izo brought Verna. She was a friend he had met when he was mixing with other star systems. Although her personality was a little soft, she was very reliable. He introduced Verna to the Shattered Star Ring to join the Dragon Emperor, with the goal of cultivating Verna to become Black Star's successor.

"You don't need to work in Longtan locally. You are responsible for forming a new field force. Pack your things and leave immediately," Izo said.

Verna nodded, curious. "How exactly should I start?"

"You go find someone, state your origin, he will provide assistance, you just listen to his arrangements."

"Who am I looking for?"

"Black Star."

Verna's eyes widened. After coming to the Shattered Star Ring, Black Star's name had been like thunder in her ears, and he was also her senior, being the current first cadre of Longtan.

"But, I heard that Black Star's contact with us seems to be nominal now. Are you sure he will still help me..." Verna was worried, fearing that Izo was sending her into a tiger's den.

"Stop talking about rumors. Those are all rumors. Black Star is still a backbone member of our Longtan. He will only provide assistance and will not harm you," Izo emphasized.

He deliberately sent Verna to Black Star's side, so that Han Xiao could personally cultivate his successor. This was a signal of goodwill, expressing an attitude of parting on good terms.

He let Verna form a new field force, meaning that he had no intention on the Black Star Army. In this way, he believed that Black Star would be willing to support Verna, using the Black Star Army to help Verna develop, leaving Longtan with a new field force.

If Black Star didn't actually plan to leave, then there would be even less of a problem. It would just be considered as expanding the scale of Longtan's field force.

"I understand."

Verna nodded, unable to resist feeling curious about Han Xiao. What kind of person was this legendary predecessor?

…

At the same time, in the barren universe zone adjacent to the Soror Star Cluster and the Colton Star Cluster, a fierce battle was taking place.

The Klent Empire had established multiple transfer stargates in the barren universe zone as logistical channels, which had always been key facilities that Purple Crystal wanted to remove.

In the past three years, the situation of the secret war had continued to evolve. Finally, the war situation in the three border star systems of West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida had entered a stalemate. The war domain had expanded to a certain extent, and was finally contained.

Han Xiao's strength could sweep away most of the Calamity Grades. After several major losses of high-level combat power, the war domain had also learned to be good, occasionally taking avoidance measures.

The core members of the war domain learned about the Overlord's idea, and regarded Black Star as a dangerous challenge to hone themselves, treating him with caution and no longer stubbornly facing him head-on, which led to fewer and fewer battles that required Han Xiao to take action.

A protracted war rarely needed Han Xiao, so it was a waste of talent to let him continue to stay in Colton. Therefore, Purple Crystal let him lead a surprise attack force to operate in the barren universe zone, searching for and removing the war domain's logistics transit stations.

This operation had been going on for half a year, and Han Xiao had gained a lot, constantly weakening the advantages of the war domain, and had basically blown up all the transit stations.

At this time, he was leading the fleet to attack the last logistics transit station…

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ps: (I recently got post-holiday syndrome, my brain is stiff, my thoughts are not smooth, constipation can be cleared with a stick, but a writer's block… )