Chapter 1 Campaign to Destroy the Warp Base

More than half a month had passed since the battle to destroy the warp base. The War Realm seemed to have become wary, and neither side had launched any large-scale conflicts for the time being, only engaging in minor skirmishes. The Purple Crystal Civilization didn't assign Han Xiao any new missions, so he wandered around with his fleet, waiting for orders.

During this time, Han Xiao had been studying his spoils of war: a satellite fortress.

There had been a total of nine satellite fortresses at the time. After the base was destroyed, the other satellite fortresses were seized by the fleet. Han Xiao received one from Morid as his share, and he brought it back to study.

The blueprint for this kind of large mechanical satellite was worth a lot. This model was the "Aegis" Military Satellite Fortress.

Han Xiao had been slowly deducing the blueprint for the past half month. Although he lacked the necessary cutting-edge knowledge, which prevented him from obtaining the complete blueprint, he did obtain useful branch technologies. For example, the stellar-grade shield generator used in the warp base—this shield structure could also be applied to psionic shields.

Although he couldn't recreate the complete satellite fortress, Mechanic Han merged the existing technologies to create a shrunken version of the fortress. Although smaller in size, it had the same functions as the original, just not as powerful.

Satellite fortresses were essentially strategic equipment and not considered combat weapons for Espers. Han Xiao planned to turn some of the Black Star bases on the administrative planets into satellite fortresses, so they would at least have some degree of mobility.

Han Xiao had also seized the War Realm's elite troops' Beserkers' special armor, turned it into his own blueprint, and made preliminary improvements.

...

In the mechanical modification room, Han Xiao stood in front of a row of display cases, gazing at the various styles of mechs inside.

"Berserker armor, Sunire soldier-level and general-level armor, my Snake series mechs, and various other standard mech blueprints... If I combine them, I should be able to obtain some high-quality intermediate mech blueprints."

Han Xiao stroked his chin, pondering to himself.

He planned to create a special armor series exclusively for the Black Star Army to serve as the new standard equipment for the legion.

This wasn't a sudden whim, but something he had planned for a long time.

Because of his two stunning battle records, his reputation throughout the entire Star Field had skyrocketed, which was beyond his expectations. Originally, Han Xiao thought that with the players gone, the Black Star Army could only seek steady development. But war was indeed the greatest opportunity. This recent wave of Super-A seed hype made him keenly aware that he had encountered a good opportunity, and some tentative development goals could be brought forward ahead of schedule.

He had always wanted to improve the legion's type of organization, from a mercenary group to an armed force like the War Realm. A series of armor belonging to their own faction was equivalent to uniform tempt—culture, which would help improve faction cohesion, better than a simple legion logo.

However, most people who became mercenaries were used to being free and undisciplined, and all of them were talents in circulation. If he forcefully transitioned the business, he would lose some talents who were unwilling to be loyal. After all, mercenaries never had to worry about finding a new employer, so they wouldn't easily dedicate their loyalty to a mercenary group.

However, his recent battle records had created the image of "very likely to become a Super-A," and the upper limit of an armed force depended on the strength of its leader. The cohesion of an ordinary Calamity Grade organization and that of a Super-A seed organization simply could not be compared.

For example, the War Realm—assuming it had developed to its current scale without the Overlord, it would definitely be full of contradictions. Internally, all the Calamity Grades were in power, and they would not be convinced by each other, which would lead to internal conflicts and factional struggles. Externally, without a Super-A Grade leader, even if the force was so large, no one could keep things under control. Without any cohesion, it would be a complete mess and would inevitably split.

Therefore, a leader who could suppress everything determined the upper limit of an armed force.

Han Xiao had been in the limelight recently, and his reputation had already exceeded the scope of a normal Calamity Grade. Through his connections, he learned that many intelligence organizations even called him half a Super-A, and countless interstellar forces were optimistic about him truly becoming a Super-A. The interstellar forces were not blind, and he had battle records as evidence, so no one would underestimate him for no reason.

The status of the faction leader rose, and as a result, the Black Star Army's appeal underwent a complete transformation. Even mercenaries knew that following a strongman who was likely to become a Super-A would lead to a brighter future, so the loss of talent during the faction transition would be greatly reduced.

Not only that, but with his current status, he could even attract more new talent.

"The Black Star Army's influence is growing day by day due to my own reputation, and this is an excellent opportunity to carry out a large-scale expansion."

Han Xiao was in a good mood. He originally wanted to develop his forces with the support of the Purple Crystal Civilization, but he didn't expect to have an unexpected surprise. Relying on the reputation he had built up himself, it seemed that he could overfulfill the blueprint for the development of his forces during the update period.

As expected, strength was still the most important thing!

"This expansion is an opportunity to raise the level of the Black Star Army. There are many goals to be completed. The first is the transition of the faction, the second is to expand the number of personnel on a large scale, the third is to increase the armed forces, and the fourth is to become a long-term partner of the Purple Crystal Civilization... Well, as long as the first three are completed, the fourth goal should be completed smoothly."

"Of course, the most important thing is still my own strength. After solving these trivial matters, I have to take some time to obtain the Silver Inheritance blueprint, complete the class advancement mission, and then complete the Level 200 advancement as soon as possible. The stronger I am, the faster the legion will develop."

Han Xiao pondered and quickly set a list of goals in his mind.

He didn't expect that he could perform so overwhelmingly before the war, and that it would be able to detonate public opinion. Now it seemed that the development plan he had set at the beginning was too conservative.

This wave of public opinion frenzy discussing him was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he didn't take advantage of this storm to take off, he would be letting down his codename.

Knock, knock, knock!

Just then, someone suddenly knocked heavily on the door of the modification room.

"Who is it?" Han Xiao came back to his senses, wiped his saliva, and opened the door.

Hairy, thick abdominal muscles came into view. Han Xiao looked up and saw Hamel standing outside the door, who was more than three meters tall.

"Laki is back. He wants to see you," Hamel said in a muffled voice.

"Oh, I thought he would give me an excuse that the warp engine of his spaceship was broken and drag it out until the end of the war before returning," Han Xiao said with amazement.

Hamel scratched his hairy head and grunted for a long time, as if the muscles in his brain couldn't process the meaning of the sentence.

"By the way, why did you come to deliver the message? Where's Melos?" Han Xiao suddenly remembered this.

Generally speaking, as long as Sylvia wasn't around, Melos would be his male secretary. He was more efficient and a reliable adult male.

"He wants me to lie to you and say that he's training," Hamel said in a straightforward tone, and his entire aura revealed the word "reckless."

"Hmm..." Han Xiao's mouth twitched, speechless. "Then what is he actually doing?"

"He's playing cards."

Han Xiao supported his forehead. Playing cards every day—was this the legendary Hu Shi spirit?

"Alright, I got it. I'll go see Laki now."

Han Xiao closed the door and walked a distance before remembering something. He turned around and asked Hamel, "By the way, how many years are left until your tribe's chief election battle?"

Hamel was one of the heirs of the Boulder Rock Tribe of the Luhan beastmen civilization. The side quest on him was to join his war alliance and help him become the chief.

If he remembered correctly, this should be a side quest from version 3.0, but in case the plot changed, Han Xiao still planned to ask again.

Hearing this, Hamel counted with his fingers for a while and said hesitantly, "I think there are still eleven years minus three days."

The average lifespan of a Luhan beastman was around 250 years, which was quite long. The chief election was a grand event, and the candidates were usually given more than a decade to form a war alliance, because an election would often determine the chief for the next two hundred years.

Han Xiao was helpless. "Fortunately, you have companions, or else I suspect you would miss the election battle and lose your inheritance rights..."

Hamel glared and blew his lips in dissatisfaction, and his thick lips trembled with afterimages.

"Purulu—"

...

Without appreciating Hamel's oral skills, Han Xiao went straight to the bridge and saw Laki waiting for him. He immediately smiled, walked forward, and patted Laki on the shoulder.

"You're back."

"Yes, I didn't die on the way," Laki muttered. "I think this has used up all the luck I have left in my life."

Han Xiao's smile froze.

You're such an unlucky person!

No matter when or where, seeing Laki's strong aura of a loser, Han Xiao felt that it was an eyesore.

"Ahem, do you remember what I said before you left?" Han Xiao said helplessly.

"I remember."

Laki nodded. "You said you would cancel my workload and give me a raise."

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!" Han Xiao gritted his teeth. "I said that when you come back, you will be my vice president!"

"Oh, then I remembered wrong," Laki said calmly.

"... Really?"

Han Xiao was suspicious. I think you're doing it on purpose.

Hearing this, Laki's face became disappointed, and he muttered to himself, "You actually don't trust me... Sigh, I should have thought of it. Someone like me has no credibility at all."

"Enough."

Han Xiao had a headache and his cheeks hurt. He said helplessly, "Since you have no objections, then I will announce to the entire legion that you are the first vice president. By the way, I'm also going to announce your previous resume. You used to be the Forbidden Witch Commander of the Red Robe Monastery. This achievement can improve your status. No one will not be convinced by you. Do you have any questions?"

Laki nodded, indicating that he had no objections, and emphasized, "Don't forget, you promised that my vice president position is a nominal position, and the amount of work will not increase."

You remember this very clearly!!

Han Xiao couldn't wait to pull out a gun and shoot Laki to death. Let you be naughty, let you be naughty!

...

The appointment of the vice president was quickly issued and sent to the communicators of hundreds of thousands of official members of the Black Star Army.

Opening the mercenary group resume page of the Black Star Army, under the "Leader" column, the position of vice president, which had been vacant, finally had its first name—Laki Schwore.

Laki had only joined not long ago, and many of the legion's middle and lower-level mercenary members didn't know him. They couldn't help but open Laki's resume with curiosity, doubt, surprise, and other emotions, and were immediately shocked.

This new vice president was not only an A+ Esper, but had actually been the Forbidden Witch Commander of the Red Robe Monastery and the fourth disciple of "Sorcerer" Austin?!

Laki's past resume was indeed very impressive. Basically, not many outsiders knew about Laki's entanglement with Austin. In everyone's eyes, this was clearly a core member of a Super-A Grade force defecting to the Black Star Army!

Han Xiao was at the height of his fame, and every move he made was attracting countless eyes. Not only were the legion members shocked, but the major forces that were paying attention to him were also amazed by this.

The Sorcerer's core member was the vice president of the Black Star Army. Was this a strong alliance?

Including the legion members, countless people's perception of the Black Star Army had undergone subtle changes—the Black Star's recent battle records and the Black Star Army's expansion momentum seemed to show an unstoppable rise.

Everyone could see that the Black Star was using his soaring influence to give back to the Black Star Army and wanted to join the ranks of the Star Field-level big shots!

A question that followed suddenly aroused the interest of all forces:

—If the Black Star is going to rise, what will Longtan do?

After all, the Black Star Army was nominally Longtan's foreign armed force. Now that the Black Star had shown Super-A Grade potential, if he really realized his potential, then with the ambition shown by the Black Star, would he continue to be subordinate to Ames?

Although it was still unknown whether the Black Star could become a Super-A Grade, ambition was not so easy to take back. The soaring status would always change the Black Star's thoughts and make his ambition begin to swell. This was called killing with praise.

Thinking of the various possibilities in the future, countless people were full of interest.

If the announcement of the vice president had attracted attention, then the news announced by Han Xiao next caused an earthquake.

—The Black Star Army publicly issued a large-scale recruitment order to the entire Shattered Star Ring Star Field!

Han Xiao was preparing to take advantage of the "Super-A Grade seed" craze to recruit a large wave of talent.

He believed that there were many guys who were willing to bet that he could become a Super-A Grade strongman.

Joining at this time would be more valued than joining an existing Super-A Grade force, which was equivalent to a partner in the early stages of entrepreneurship. In the future, they might become core members of a Super-A Grade force. Even if they lost the bet, they would only lose some time, and the loss was within an acceptable range.

This was a sure-win gamble!

As the Black Star Army raised its arms and shouted,

In more than a dozen star cluster regions in the Shattered Star Ring,

Countless strongmen, countless forces,

Were tempted.