Chapter 788 Migration and Negotiation
Boom!
Two huge wooden barrels clashed together, and amber-colored liquid splashed out from the edge.
Harmon raised his head, gobbled it down, and exhaled with satisfaction.
Han Xiao shook his head with a smile and drank some too. The spicy alcohol flew down his throat. The ethanol was broken down as soon as it entered his body. To him, this was no different from water.
They were sitting in the Rockfall Tribe’s flags.h.i.+p on the way back. Harmon had invited Han Xiao and the others to visit his home.
Usually, battles were unavoidable in the process of fighting to become the chief. However, because of Han Xiao’s appearance, the other candidates had given up in despair. The chief position had gone to Harmon without question. Overjoyed, Harmon hosted a party on the s.h.i.+p.
They were old friends, so Han Xiao, of course, gave him face.
“Congratulations to the next Rockfall Chief.” The other chiefs of the Luhan Beastman Civilization came to congratulate Harmon one after another, all looking at Han Xiao with envy.
They had no idea how Harmon had such a good relations.h.i.+p with a Beyond Grade A. The War League of the tribe’s chief signified his network. With a Beyond Grade A friend, those chiefs knew very well that the Rockfall Tribe would rise after Harmon took on the position.
Watching Harmon be congratulated by his people, Han Xiao pondered. In his previous life, this storyline mission had been simple and rough—fighting from the start till the end. Harmon would then obtain the chief position through battle. Now, due to his interference, there was no battle. Therefore, he did not think any Dungeon Crystal would be created.
However, this did not matter to Han Xiao—he was not interested in such a little mission reward. He had gone to help because of his more than a decade long friends.h.i.+p with Harmon. Harmon had joined him when the Black Star Army was still the Black Star Mercenary Group. Han Xiao was never petty in helping an old friend such as Harmon, just like how he had treated Herlous.
On the table beside them, as Hadavy stuffed a huge chunk of Beastman-style burnt meat into his mouth, his eyes kept drifting toward Harmon. He moved his b.u.t.t over to beside Hila and said softly, “Black Star has quite a good relations.h.i.+p with that Beastman. Is he always so caring about his officers?”
Hila was frowning and staring at the object that looked somewhat like an eyeball of a beast at the bottom of her cup. Hearing Hadavy’s question, she glanced at him. Her eyes seemed to be saying, Get away from me.
Ignored, Hadavy moved his b.u.t.t to beside Feidin and softly said, “Brother Feidin, is Black Star always this good to his subordinates?”
Feidin rolled his eyes.
“Go away, I’m Chen Xing.”
Not far away, a group of players gathered and chatted while looking around at the many famous Black Star Guards.
“I heard Black Star is heading to the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters this time. Could he be going there to make trouble?”
“No idea. But Black Star is going to meet the Tyrant again. There’ll definitely be a good show.”
After Harmon’s War League mission was completed, Han Xiao gave these players new missions through the faction interface to make them follow him.
Although he initially did not plan to take players along to the Tyrant’s party, leaving these people halfway in the Seoul Star Cl.u.s.ter was not suitable. He did not want to lose this stack of leeks. Therefore, he gave them a following mission with a rich reward so that they would not run around.
Bun-Hit-Dog was not there, but there were still people posting his whereabouts on the forums. Now all the players knew that Ames and he were going to the Bloodshed Land headquarters together. Some even said that they were on a honeymoon trip to fight with Heber—which was very Beyond Grade A like.
Ever since Han Xiao and Ames formed an alliance, there had always been discussions about them being a couple on the forums. The players felt they were perfect for each other, and there was definitely something going on between them. Someone even wrote an adult novel about Black Star rising in position to conquer this capable woman, and it was rather popular.
“Your Excellency Black Star…”
While drinking, Han Xiao heard someone call his name at the side. Han Xiao looked over. It was Faleta, who looked like he had something to say.
“What is it?” Han Xiao smiled. He was Harmon’s elderly father, after all, so Han Xiao’s tone was very friendly.
Faleta coughed and said, “Can we talk in private?”
Han Xiao nodded, put down the cup, and walked out of the party hall with Faleta. They came to an empty corridor on the flags.h.i.+p.
“What is it?”
“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m wondering… what’s the exact relations.h.i.+p between you and Harmon?” Faleta asked cautiously.
“He joined under my command more than a decade ago and has given me a lot of help. When my mother planet faced a disaster, he was there to help me. I agreed to join his War League before I was even a Calamity Grade. Therefore, you don’t have to worry. I don’t have any ulterior motive.” Han Xiao smiled. He knew very well of Faleta’s worries.
After all, a Beyond Grade A personally helping someone fight for the chief position of a branch force within a Star System civilization looked suspicious in every way.
Faleta looked hesitant. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, I have a request… Does the Black Star Army accept race migration jobs?”
Han Xiao blinked, signaling for him to go on.
“The origin of us Luhan Beastmen is a stray civilization. Today, although we formed a Star System civilization, every tribe is still an individual nation. In terms of the development direction of the civilization, we have a lot of disagreements. I hope to migrate the Rockfall Tribe out of the Seoul Star Cl.u.s.ter.”
“Why?” Han Xiao was curious.”
“The Seoul Star Cl.u.s.ter is Klent Kingdom’s territory. They have a very strong desire to control everyone. There are a few Star System civilizations in their Star System; us Luhan Beastmen are just one of them.
“The other few civilizations are more or less connected to Klent. They have been marginalizing us, squeezing our resources to force us to become Klent’s va.s.sal too. Our territory was three Star Zones wide more than a hundred years ago. Now, we only have one and a half. The Luhan Beastmen are brave and capable in combat. The faction of Supers in our people is very high. Klent has always had an interest in us.
“Our Rockfall Tribe hopes to maintain independence, and we are unwilling to become a va.s.sal, but the majority of the tribes want to compromise with Klent. Our people who prefer independence are the minority, and we are all looking for a way out.”
Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered. This was common in the universe. When a civilization had more than one government, there would always be disagreements when it came to the overall future direction of the entire race.
Such a political structure was not suitable for Star System civilizations. In Galaxy, where there were organizations everywhere, the decision of a civilization had to be made with the entire race in mind. However, having multiple governments meant they would have different interests, so conflict would occur very easily. Sadly, due to the Luhan Beastmen’s past, they were forced to use this structure. It would be very difficult to change it even though they knew what the problem was—no tribe was willing to voluntarily give up their power.
The Luhan Beastmen Civilization was considered a comparatively weak Star System civilization. Every tribe ruled a few colonial planets, and they only had around a hundred planets in total, spread about different places.
A Star System usually had more than ten Star Zones. For example, a powerful Star System civilization like G.o.dora would be able to rule an entire Star System and all the Star Zones. On the other hand, multiple Star System civilizations existed in some Star Systems. They all ruled some Star Zones and fought for resources. Of course, those Star Systems were weaker in comparison.
“You want to make the Rockfall Tribe independent, leave the alliance civilization, and develop in another Star Cl.u.s.ter as a branch of the Luhan Beastmen?” Han Xiao nodded.
“That’s right.” Faleta quickly agreed.
“Do you know the consequences of that? If you do that, a lot of your people will choose to stay and not migrate with you.” Han Xiao raised his brows.
“I will settle that. There are quite many who are displeased with Klent in the other tribes,” Faleta replied with a deep voice.
Han Xiao then stopped asking questions and slowly said, “Okay, when you’ve made up your mind, contact me anytime.”
He only cared about carrying out the job in exchange for money. Someone else’s tribe would be someone else’s responsibility. With the Black Star Army’s ability, taking care of a tribe’s migration was no difficult task.
In the universe, it was not rare for a civilization’s government to seek independence, so he was not surprised by this.
Faleta nodded continuously. The migration process would be very dangerous, so they needed guards. Initially, he had been hesitant. Once he saw Harmon and Black Star’s relations.h.i.+p, he felt that the Black Star Army might be able to make this plan work.
The migration matter had to be discussed with the next chief, Harmon. However, with Harmon’s personality and experience, he would most likely refuse to be Klent’s va.s.sal as well.
They arrived at the Rockfall Tribe’s planet and stayed as guests for three days. Then, Han Xiao bade farewell to Harmon and continued to head to the Bloodshed Land.
Harmon went to be a chief, but if the Rockfall Tribe decided to migrate, they would still have the chance to meet in the future.
…
Ten days later, a thick blue stream of light dashed across the universe.
Planet Heber appeared in their sights. The blue stream of light stopped, and a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p appeared, slowly flying toward Planet Heber. At this time, there were already many s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps landing on and leaving Planet Heber.
“It’s been more than ten years since I last came.” Looking at Planet Heber, it still had the same old look. Han Xiao turned to look at Ames and said, “I came with you last time too.”
“You were much cuter back then.” Ames smiled.
“Time sure pa.s.ses fast.” Han Xiao sighed and told Phillip to land the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p.
This was his second time stepping onto the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters. More than ten years ago, he had been Ames’ follower. Today, he had received an official invitation as someone that stood at the top of the Shattered Star Ring.
The s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p had already reported their ident.i.ty and flew into the port following instructions. As the s.h.i.+p landed, Hila and the Black Star Guards led the way at the front and disembarked from the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p first. Han Xiao and Ames then stepped onto the dock.
Both of them were wearing black. Han Xiao wore his black windbreaker, as usual, and a few mechanical hovering guards swam around him mischievously.
Ames wore her high-cut black dress as always. The dress complemented her long and beautiful legs, making her look royal and gorgeous.
“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Dragon Emperor.”
The Vanguard Official captain, Fosters, was waiting at the dock to welcome the two of them. He greeted them with a stiff tone.
“Yo, isn’t this an old opponent?” Han Xiao chuckled. “I remember you were saying you’re going to kill me during the war. Why aren’t you saying that now?”
Fosters clenched his teeth tightly and glared at Han Xiao, but he did not dare to respond. It was clear that the Tyrant intended to make peace with Black Star by inviting him this time, which actually made the Bloodshed Land officer feel quite resentful.
However, this was Heber’s order, and they could not disobey it. They had no choice but to swallow their rage.
“Please. Follow. Me!” Fosters squeezed out one word after another between his teeth, turned around, and led the way, making up his mind about not responding to Han Xiao.
Seeing this, Han Xiao did not want to make fun of him anymore. He walked beside Ames and followed Fosters into the guest castle.
He attended a Tyrant Party before, so he knew the procedure. They would usually stay a few days in the guest castle, communicate with the representatives of the other organizations, and expand their network while waiting for all the guests to arrive. The party would then start officially.
The players who followed behind were filled with curiosity. This was their first time in the Bloodshed Land headquarters, so it felt refres.h.i.+ng. They secretly wondered what Han Xiao’s intentions were. The Tyrant Party was an activity for those in high positions, so the players did not know about this at all.
After a peaceful walk, they arrived at the guest castle. There were already many representatives of large organizations inside. They were surprised to see Han Xiao and Ames, and the atmosphere became strange.
Many people looked like they could not wait to talk to them.
With the Evolution Cube in his hands, everyone wanted to get close to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao did not walk in immediately and asked, “Is the Tyrant not planning to see us now?”
“Don’t know, don’t ask me,” Fosters replied with a stiff tone.
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly stopped and looked at Hadavy. “You’re now a member of the Black Star Army, huh?”
“Hmm?” Hadavy realized that Fosters was talking to him and nodded. “Yes, I’m now a Black Star Guard. The treatment’s quite good. Do you want to come too?”
Fosters felt as if he was being ridiculed and was furious.
Hadavy had once worked with the Bloodshed Land, but it had ended after Jorde used him. He had then joined Han Xiao.
However, in Fosters’ eyes, this felt like Hadavy had ‘walked into the light from the darkness’. He was already enraged, and now he was furious and needed to vent it. “As a Bloodshed Land Vanguard Official, I challenge the Black Star Army’s Black Star Guards. Who dares fight me?”
Hearing what Fosters said, Ames and Han Xiao’s expressions became strange. They looked at each other’s eyes and realized that they thought of the same thing as if they had communicated with their eyes.
Haven’t we seen this before?
Isn’t this similar to when you challenged that traitor, Carroll?
Han Xiao smiled with resignation.
In the past, he had taught Floating Dragon’s traitor a lesson for Ames. Now, the Bloodshed Land’s officers had become the side that were displeased and wanting to challenge his guards. How the tables had turned.
Fosters was loyal to the Tyrant. Heber had failed in establis.h.i.+ng power, so Fosters wanted to try to earn some pride back. Hence, he targeted Han Xiao’s officers. Although Han Xiao was an invited guest, the relations.h.i.+p between the two sides was odd. He was not willing to show friendliness to an enemy that had killed more than three digits of Bloodshed Land high-level combatants.
It was a just challenge, so it would be difficult even for a Beyond Grade A to stop it. Furthermore, the Bloodshed Land did not stop Han Xiao from challenging Carroll more than ten years ago.
Like thunder, his voice attracted the attention of the various representatives in the hall.
Hila narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. “Where are we going to fight?”
“Who are you?”
“Captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila!”
A murderous intent flashed through Fosters’ eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a shadow suddenly shrouded him. A deep voice came from behind him.
“Get back.”
The crowd looked up and their expression changed. It was the Tyrant, Heber.
Hearing Heber ordering him to stop the challenge, Fosters clenched his teeth and turned around and left, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Hila took a few steps, too.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked up at the tiny mountain-tall Heber. Heber looked down at him with an expressionless face.
The atmosphere around seemed to become heavy. Other than Ames, everyone in the hall felt that it was difficult to breathe.
As the atmosphere kept getting tenser, Heber suddenly spoke and shattered the uptight atmosphere.
“Black Star, Dragon Emperor, follow me. Let’s have a chat between us five Beyond Grade As.”
Then, he turned around and walked into his palace.
It seemed like how the two of them treated each other in the future would be decided this time. Without hesitation, Han Xiao told Hila and the others to rest in the guest room while he followed Heber into the palace.
“All five?”
With a faint smile on her face, Ames followed him into the palace as well.