Chapter 178 The Black Star Legion's Exploding Popularity

The Black Star Legion's recruitment notice detonated more than half the Star Field, drawing countless respondents!

In just ten days, Phillip received countless applications from all regions of the Shattered Star Ring.

Riding this wave of explosive publicity, the number of applicants far exceeded any previous recruitment. The targets were not limited to mercenaries; as long as they were not wanted, all walks of life were treated equally.

Phillip eliminated a massive number of weaker applicants, selecting the first batch of high-quality talent, totaling 1.4 million. This was more than the total number of Black Star Legion members, directly multiplying the Legion's formal manpower!

More than a million people was only the first batch of carefully selected recruits and not the final result. Han Xiao didn't plan to control the scale this time. With his strength and reputation, he was qualified to build a super-large organization, intending to seize the opportunity to get rich.

Now was not the time to consider whether large-scale expansion would cause indigestion. This recruitment was not only for talent but also for momentum. The more sensational the response, the more it would elevate the Black Star Legion's position throughout the Star Field, combining the recruitment results with its own reputation to engrave its existence in the minds of countless forces, soaring to become a famous major power in the Shattered Star Ring!

Compared to star cluster-level organizations, the Black Star Legion still lacked in power and foundation, but this didn't prevent it from promoting its own camp's reputation first. This would greatly benefit future development. In Han Xiao's view, this wasn't wasting this wave of publicity.

Most of the first batch of recruited talent had some small fame in their respective regions and were not ordinary people. At least sixty percent were seasoned and elite interstellar warriors, with a minimum strength of Grade C. Although there were fewer Supers, the base was still huge across the Star Field.

Recently, the Secret War was entering a stalemate, with no major actions from either side, leaving time to handle the organization's affairs. The Crystal Race valued Han Xiao's potential and was happy to see the Black Star Legion develop. Moreover, this would also strengthen the Zero Organisation, which the Crystal Race was happy to see happen.

More than a million new members traveled from star clusters far and wide to the Black Star Legion base in the Garton Star System to complete the procedures. Han Xiao also returned to his territory to deal with various issues after the Legion's rapid expansion.

...

Black Star Legion Headquarters, reception room.

Sylvia led three new Legion members of different races and appearances into the room, and Han Xiao stood up from the sofa to greet them.

"Your Excellency Black Star." The three were respectful, quickly walking up and shaking hands with Han Xiao.

"Please sit."

Han Xiao gestured, and they sat down and chatted.

Han Xiao didn't have time to meet all the million-plus new Legion members. The private meeting with these three new Legion members was because they were all Calamity Grades!

Grade A Supers wouldn't easily submit to other experts of the same grade. Before his reputation as a Super-A seed spread, Han Xiao had tried to recruit Calamity Grades many times, but everyone except Ra.Ham.Gil had refused.

But now his status was different. As a highly anticipated Super-A seed, he was enough to make some Calamity Grades put aside their arrogance and take the initiative to join him. If they won the gamble, they could become core members around a Super-A.

If breaking through to Super-A was like an emperor ascending the throne, then they would be the ministers who followed him to power, a win-win situation with a bright future!

Unfortunately, Ames was too laid-back. Even though she was a genuine Super-A, her appeal to experts might not be as great as Han Xiao's. Few experts were willing to follow a leader without ambition, especially since Ames almost never actively recruited subordinates.

These three Calamity Grades were the ultimate chives, even more so as they had legs and delivered themselves for him to harvest.

Status and strength matched, and Calamity Grade experts were destined to be senior cadres. They were here for this purpose and couldn't be made to start from the bottom like Grade C Supers. So, Han Xiao personally received the three to show his importance and take the opportunity to observe them.

Before the meeting, Han Xiao had already seen their resumes:

Kampe, Grade A Pugilist, male, an extremely pale and tall man, seemed to have some vampire bloodline. He was once a senior lecturer at an official Super academy of a certain star system civilization. Later, he resigned and traveled to multiple star systems, taking on many private freelance jobs.

Marion, Grade A Mechanic Warrior, male, his entire body wrapped in heavy dark gray armor, always wearing a helmet, rarely showing his true face, looking like a heavy knight from some fantasy civilization. His reason for coming was similar to Leonard's, eyeing Han Xiao's Mechanic skills.

Mischek, Grade A Esper, male, his resume was unremarkable. Besides being a Calamity Grade, he had no other highlights. He had worked for many armed major forces, but not for long, a typical opportunist.

The guys who took the initiative to join wouldn't be too strong, but at least they were Calamity Grades. The Legion originally only had three Calamity Grades. With these three new recruits, the number of Calamity Grades doubled to six, making the Legion's high-end combat power slightly more abundant.

The experts who came to join during this opportunity were basically "office workers," accustomed to job-hopping, coming for profit, and naturally not loyal. Han Xiao knew this very well and didn't expect them to work hard. It was enough if they could complete regular tasks within the scope of a Calamity Grade's abilities.

After chatting for a while, both sides had observed each other enough. Han Xiao stood up, extended his hand, and smiled, "Then, on behalf of the Black Star Legion, I welcome the three of you to join."

"It's our honor."

Mischek was the first to answer eagerly, and Kampe followed with a sentence, while Marion was more taciturn and simply nodded.

"I need time to consider the positions for the three of you. I won't mistreat you."

"Haha, we don't have high requirements." Mischek said with a flattering smile, very cunning.

After saying the polite words, Han Xiao sent the three out and asked Sylvia to take them to complete the procedures.

Then, Han Xiao immediately went to another reception room without resting.

There were dozens of people waiting in the room. When they saw Han Xiao, they stood up and greeted him warmly.

"Please, everyone, sit down."

Han Xiao waved his hand and glanced at everyone present.

This reception room was full of envoys from star system civilizations in the Colton Star Cluster, taking the initiative to seek cooperation.

The Black Star Legion's influence was originally limited to the Garton Star System and its surroundings, but now, other star systems in Colton had also recognized Han Xiao's potential and the Black Star Legion's development momentum, coming to seek opportunities for common development and mutual benefit.

"Your Excellency Black Star, I am the envoy of the Black Crow Civilization. We hope that the Black Star Legion can establish a branch base within our civilization's territory. To this end, the Black Crow Civilization is willing to pay an annual cooperation fee, open up internal resource trading channels, and grant the Black Star Legion the right to massively exploit resource planets within a certain area."

"I am the envoy of the Holy Stone Civilization. We offer the same conditions as the Black Crow Civilization, and we can further increase the cooperation fee."

"I am..."

Everyone introduced themselves and gave their prices, only seeking the Black Star Legion to expand their business to their territory, equivalent to taking the initiative to come to help Han Xiao expand his power.

These star system civilizations could see clearly that Black Star had connected with the boss of this star cluster, and he himself had the hope of becoming a Super-A. Then, the Black Star Legion was likely to become a Super-A force in the Colton Star Cluster in the future. It was most worthwhile to woo him in advance.

Now, the Black Star Legion's base was in the Garton Star System. Seer Five didn't know how many times he had laughed in his dreams, as it meant that Godora might have a Super-A sitting in the future. Other star system-level entities wanted the Black Star Legion to expand its business to their territories, also out of such considerations. Who wouldn't want a Super-A force to sit in their territory?

Some star system civilizations that originally didn't have this idea also became restless when they saw their competitors doing so. So, this room almost gathered eighty percent of the star system civilization envoys in the entire Colton Star Cluster.

Han Xiao listened, nodding silently, without any expression on his face, but secretly excited.

The conditions given by these star system civilizations were extremely generous. Not to mention the cooperation fees and resource channels, the most valuable thing was the right to massively exploit resource planets.

Resource planets were very different from uninhabited barren stars. The former were rich in resources, while the latter were very barren. Resource planets were all recorded, and only the ruling civilization in the area had the right to massively exploit them. If private forces did not obtain authorization and exploited resource planets without authorization, they would face accountability from the civilization in the area, and even be hunted down by official troops.

Every civilization attached great importance to resource planets. Although star cluster-level civilizations had the technology of planetary mining ships to decompose an entire planet, they rarely used it—even big spenders paid attention to sustainable development.

Private mining of uninhabited barren stars was allowed, because the profits were completely incomparable to resource planets. The cost performance was too low, and the ruling civilization didn't want to waste manpower and resources. So, it sold the mining rights of barren stars to allow some private mining companies to purchase them—the profits that civilizations didn't care about were rich in oil and water in the eyes of some private mining teams.

Sometimes, private mining teams would be lucky and discover that a barren star was actually a hidden resource planet. Then, the civilization would assess the value of the resource planet and re-offer a price to buy it back. In this regard, most interstellar civilizations were still reliable and wouldn't let private mining teams hand over resource planets to the country for free.

Han Xiao was quite clear about these basic concepts. In the later versions of his previous life, even player-built forces could purchase mining rights from civilizations.

With a clear comparison, Han Xiao was very clear about the value of the right to massively exploit resource planets, equivalent to the star system civilization taking out the cake and dividing a small piece for him. This was a huge profit of billions at every turn!

This was fertile ground!

"Tsk, I worked so hard to get so little money. Just mining a resource planet can earn back thousands or tens of thousands of times more. Why be a mercenary at all?" Han Xiao couldn't help but slander.

Sure enough, building a civilization was the most profitable business!

Calming his mind, Han Xiao's expression became solemn, and he said seriously, "Everyone is too sincere. To be honest, the conditions you offer are very tempting to me, and I am very willing to cooperate with you. However, the Black Star Legion is currently recruiting manpower. Only after the recruitment work is completed can we free up time to go to your territory to establish a base."

Everyone heard this and hurriedly replied, talking at once.

"No problem, we can afford to wait."

"Of course, we believe in your reputation. Let's sign the contract first."

Han Xiao smiled. "Since everyone has no objections, then it's settled."

Everyone handed over the contracts, and Han Xiao signed them all the way, feeling a little emotional in his heart.

In the past, there would not have been so many good opportunities, but now the opportunities were delivered to his door. Han Xiao couldn't help but think of what Isyore had once said to him—as long as you become a Super-A, many forces will take the initiative to share the cake, and you can ascend to heaven in one step and directly enter the highest level of the table!

Now he had only shown a little sign of a Super-A, and this trend had appeared. Old Man Isyore didn't deceive him.

Seeing that things were settled, the envoys present breathed a sigh of relief. Now they could report back.

After sending away the satisfied star system civilization envoys, Han Xiao didn't stop and came to a new reception room again. He still had affairs to deal with.

The impact of this expansion was too great, and he had to meet all kinds of chives every day, so busy that he couldn't touch the ground.

He would py all the connections he made, even with tears.

However, what he got was all rich oil and water, and Han Xiao felt more and more satisfied the busier he got.

Pushing open the door of the new reception room, the people inside turned their heads and looked over, smiling and saying hello.

This room was full of old acquaintances with closer relationships, all big figures in the Shattered Star Ring mercenary industry, You Yu, the leader of the Underworld Legion, Gulejia, the leader of the Heavenly Ring Alliance, and the leaders of several other large legions.

"Brothers, long time no see."

Han Xiao said hello and asked curiously, "You guys were mysterious on the comms. What exactly do you want to talk to me about in person?"

Several legion leaders looked at each other and smiled.

Gulejia, the leader of the Heavenly Ring Legion, pinched his steel needle-like beard, blinked, and said, "We are here to invite you this time."

"Invite me to do what?"

"You also know that the Shattered Star Ring is turbulent recently, with opportunities everywhere. It is difficult for a single legion to monopolize the war employment. I have discussed with some large legion leaders and decided to integrate the Shattered Star Ring mercenary organizations to establish an Allied Army Group. This will facilitate our participation in star system civilization battle missions. In such chaotic times, we need to join hands to seize the opportunity!"

Before Han Xiao could reply, You Yu stroked his slender eyebrows and lazily added, "Black Star, you've been so active recently. Why don't you take the lead in establishing the Shattered Star Ring mercenary alliance? Anyway, you definitely don't mind more things."

Gulejia coughed and hurriedly said, "Ahem, she means that your appeal now far exceeds any of our mercenary legions. We came to you this time to recommend you as the founder of the Allied Army."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, a little surprised.

This was the branch plot of Version 3.0 in his previous life—[Shattered Star Ring Allied Army]. The major mercenary legions joined forces to integrate the scattered mercenary forces in the Shattered Star Ring, established a super-large mercenary joint group, developed together, and became a very popular large camp for players.

He didn't expect that these legion leaders would want to push him as the leader, and he actually intervened in this plot in this way.

"You guys are really..." Han Xiao grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Too discerning!"