Chapter 547: The Time Has Arrived
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the few days after the second outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, there was an obvious increase in the number of beasts lurking around the Sanctuary. In order to prevent a beast tide from being formed, Herlous and the other officers finally had something to do. They led the players who had just joined the mercenary group to wipe out the beast nests and set up different defense strongholds in various locations around the wilderness.
The players were the main force in wiping out the beasts, and the strongholds quickly became locations for the players to form parties and sell items.
The majority of the beasts were much more easily controlled than humans. According to Han Xiao’s understanding of the Mutation Source, after entering into the second phase, the Mutation Source would consciously control the beast tide to attack the various Sanctuaries, resulting in the attack of the beasts becoming more organized.
This was a form of retaliation from the Mutation Source, but Han Xiao was not too bothered by it.
The Mutation Disaster was only a huge threat to Planet Aquamarine, but his own level had already exceeded the upper limit of Version 2.0, so the Mutation Disaster could only pose a limited threat to Han Xiao.
Han Xiao did not treat the Mutation Source as an important opponent. After all, he had the trump card to deal with the Mutation Source. His aim was to make use of this opportunity to complete his recruitment plan; any other matters such as dealing a blow to DarkStar and resolving the Mutation Disaster were not as important.
But from the players’ perspective, the Mutation Disaster was the first Main Storyline Mission after the launch of Version 2.0, and it was extremely challenging.
For the progress of the Main Storyline Mission, the players took on plenty of missions every day. The Sanctuary, Black Star Mercenary Group, and G.o.dora did not lack missions and opportunities.
During Version 1.0, players developed a basic understanding toward Planet Aquamarine, and during the Mutation Disaster, they all worked together for the [Mutation Disaster] mission. For once, there was this strange feeling of a collective community. The players were usually in a compet.i.tive relations.h.i.+p with one another, but this time, they were required to work together as one. It was a strange feeling.
Han Xiao did not need to personally take part in the disaster relief operation. On the contrary, the players stood on the frontlines for the operation. They met many different events and characters every day, and their lives were extremely plentiful.
The various actions of Black Star and G.o.dora were no more than a part of the storyline in the players’ eyes.
At this moment, the players of Planet Aquamarine still could not partic.i.p.ate in the events at Han Xiao’s level.
Apart from recruiting players, Han Xiao would not pay too much attention to the overall situation of the players. He understood the players. Regardless of how things were, the players would always be able to find the s.p.a.ce to display their strengths and create enjoyment for themselves. They were the most proactive bunch, and there was no need for Han Xiao to worry at all.
…
A few days later, just as Nagakin had told him, G.o.dora set up the Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station and connected all the calamity planets. As long as DarkStar dared show themselves, they would be faced with a thunder like strike.
However, DarkStar suddenly retreated and no longer launched any ambushes. The storm in the Garton Star System seemed to have calmed down… but this was only a misperception.
Not too long later, a piece of news shocked the entire Star System!
“G.o.dora’s colony planet, Long Arc, suffered from a large-scale a.s.sault by DarkStar. The enemy sent out three DarkStar mothers.h.i.+ps and over four thousand battles.h.i.+ps. The local G.o.dora forces fought an intense battle with the enemy and suffered heavy losses. Long Arc was bombarded with cannon fire, and over forty cities were flattened with the other cities being severely damaged. The estimated death toll may exceed three hundred million.
“According to the report, the a.s.sault began when a DarkStar member unleashed his destructive Esper abilities. This person has the ability to reduce a human’s body to dust, and thousands of individuals perished under his abilities. The G.o.doran Civilization responded to this a.s.sault immediately and sent three waves of reinforcements. They finally managed to destroy more than a thousand enemy battles.h.i.+ps and one DarkStar mothers.h.i.+p.
“G.o.dora’s colony planets have suffered from many probing a.s.saults historically, but this is the only time when a colony planet has almost been wiped out. DarkStar’s actions have been seen as an extremely sinister terrorist attack, and this is the most frightening event over the past ten years in the Garton Star System. We have reason to believe that this is the signal for DarkStar to start a war again. Tracing this incident to its root, it is likely that the cause of this incident is the dozens of civilizations that suffered from a calamity at the same time. G.o.dora’s reaction to the matter still isn’t clear at the moment…”
After watching the news broadcast, Han Xiao let out a long breath.
“Things have finally developed to such a state…”
The damage that DarkStar had caused by targeting a colony planet was far greater than them targeting all of the calamity planets. Furthermore, DarkStar went all out this time and sent out three DarkStar mothers.h.i.+ps. According to the information revealed in his previous life, even at their peak, DarkStar had no more than fifteen mothers.h.i.+ps.
Furthermore, there was the little b*stard Ember who aided them from within.
Ember’s Esper ability was truly perverse when dealing with ordinary individuals. With a single thought, he was able to reduce his surroundings to ash. He was the sharpest ‘ma.s.sacre tool’ in DarkStar’s eyes, and this was the first time that Ember had displayed his abilities to the entire Star System.
DarkStar did not have thousands of military factories like G.o.dora. Every mothers.h.i.+p that they lost was definitely a large blow, and they could only fill the gap by spending an enormous amount of money. Attacking Long Arc had cost them a mothers.h.i.+p, definitely a huge loss.
However, Han Xiao knew that DarkStar had achieved their goal.
The terrifying Long Arc incident shook the entire G.o.doran Civilization. After the incident, a theory was quickly formulated. There were those who believed that DarkStar was only attacking the calamity planets to draw G.o.dora’s attention. Their true motive was to attack the various colony planets.
As such, the G.o.doran citizens from the other colony planets began to feel threatened. The support for disaster relief operations on the calamity planets fell to rock bottom in a single night. Many of the citizens even strongly requested for G.o.dora to pull out the troops sent to protect the calamity planets to protect them instead.
Because this matter was related to their own safety, almost all of the G.o.doran citizens could accept such an explanation, and their sympathy toward the calamity planets was thrown out of the window.
In truth, the Long Arc incident was not related to the disaster relief squads. The reason for G.o.dora’s defeat was because DarkStar displayed superior military strength. They brought out three mothers.h.i.+ps, and such a force was not something that a Grade B colony planet could resist. The Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station was not connected to the colony planets, and it would take a large amount of time for them to set it up again.
While G.o.dora was a powerful civilization, their troops were scattered among more than a hundred colony planets. It was impossible for every single planet to have a powerful defense. If DarkStar really went all out, they would definitely be able to destroy a few colonies. If not, G.o.dora would not view them as such a huge threat.
This time, DarkStar also suffered the loss of one mothers.h.i.+p. However, the majority would not focus on the loss of a terrorist organization. Instead, their focus would be drawn to the destruction that DarkStar caused and the G.o.dora’s losses.
The G.o.doran citizens were not able to maintain their rationality, and many of them were consumed by their fear. Furthermore, DarkStar was still fanning the flames in the shadows.
Not only was chaos being created, conflict between the pureblood and mixed blood was incited again. Many G.o.dorans had their friends or relatives living in Long Arc, and since their deaths had been caused by DarkStar, this hatred was directed to the mixed bloods living among them.
DarkStar had always fought under the banner of the mixed bloods. Under such circ.u.mstances, the mixed blood G.o.dorans who were living in G.o.dora became subst.i.tutes for the purebloods to vent their anger. The conflict among the citizens was a result of their deeply entrenched discrimination toward the mixed bloods, and this was almost a part of their tradition. As such, even the government was helpless against it.
The Hutt Civilization always paid attention to G.o.dora. Upon realizing that G.o.dora was having a huge headache because of their internal affairs, Hutt willingly played the role of an ‘external threat’.
The Hutt fleet that was stationed in the Hyde Star System began to take action. They began sending out probing attacks on the G.o.doran borders and continued to apply pressure on them.
The blows that came one after another made it difficult for G.o.dora to catch their breath.
DarkStar’s shadow could be seen behind all of these incidents, but this was only the start. The Long Arc incident was only the spark to a full series of schemes.
However, Han Xiao did not intend to let DarkStar continue with their plan.
G.o.dora is probably feeling the disgust of eating sh*t.
Han Xiao shook his head. While he did not like G.o.dora, he would not gloat over their misfortune. After all, DarkStar was their common enemy.
The Mutation Disaster is key to this incident. It is taking up far too much of G.o.dora’s energy, and G.o.dora will quickly realize that time is running out. The best way to solve this problem is to deal with the Mutation Disaster at its roots. This way, they will be able to pull their disaster relief squads back, and the internal conflict will slowly be resolved…
I have a copy of the Mutation Source in my hands, and as long as I provide it to G.o.dora, they will be able to come up with the antidote quickly, and the Mutation Disaster will be solved.
As long as he solved the most pressing matter at hand, G.o.dora would be able to catch their breath and focus on dealing with DarkStar.
The more urgent their needs, the more benefits the Mutation Source in his hands could be exchanged for.
It is almost time. While G.o.dora will be willing to offer a much higher price if I drag this matter on, there isn’t a need for me to wait until DarkStar reaps a huge harvest before taking action. As long as G.o.dora understands how important time is to them, they will understand the consequences of not stopping DarkStar.
Han Xiao then sent a communication request to Nagakin. After waiting for half a day, the other party still did not pick up his call.
Han Xiao was puzzled and decided to personally visit the G.o.dora camp to find Nagakin. However, he was stopped by Nagakin’s a.s.sistant.
“Black Star, Officer Nagakin instructed me not to let anyone disturb him if there isn’t anything important. Please return.”
“What happened?”
“He is in a meeting with the upper echelons and does not have the time to meet you,” the a.s.sistant said with a stern tone.
Nagakin would not have rejected him outside of the door in the past. After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao immediately understood what was going on. With G.o.dora facing both internal and external troubles, a high-grade officer like Nagakin naturally had many things to do. In Nagakin’s eyes, Han Xiao was not that important anymore.
Han Xiao stroked his chin and suddenly thought about something. He did not insist on seeing Nagakin but left the G.o.doran camp instead.
He realized that even if he wanted to hand over the Mutation Source, his timing could not be too right. If not, he would be suspected of having the Mutation Source beforehand but not taking it out earlier.
Thus, it was best that he put on a show.
Since my excuse will be that this Mutation Source came from Floating Dragon, why don’t I take a trip back to put on a show?
Han Xiao then mentioned the matter to his Officers and left Planet Aquamarine on the BlackLight Stealth.
After two hours, Nagakin ended the meeting and heard that Han Xiao was looking for him.
“Black Star didn’t manage to find me and left on a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p?”
Nagakin frowned for a moment before shaking his head. Since Black Star did not insist on seeing him, it should not have been anything important. He did not wish to waste his time on such a small matter.
The various departments were in a complete mess because of the Long Arc incident, and the higher ups wanted to pull him out from Planet Aquamarine. Nagakin was also extremely busy, and he did not have the time to bother about Han Xiao.
…
“The plan is being implemented, and we will definitely be able to greatly exhaust G.o.dora’s strength this time.”
In the DarkStar’s headquarters, the vice head was giving his speech in a conference, and his tone was filled with delight.
“We created quite a huge trouble for G.o.dora, and it will naturally be impossible for them to pull out their disaster relief squads. Since they have already begun their disaster relief operations, giving up halfway will only shake their reputation in the galaxy. However, if they insist on carrying on with the disaster relief operation, the conflict within their nation will only become more intense.
“If they choose to give up, we can go all out and easily wipe out these few calamity planets. Not only will we be able to get rid of the civilizations that submitted to G.o.dora, we will be able to create the misunderstanding that their destruction was a result of G.o.dora giving up on them…”
“This is only a simple example,” the person in charge of intelligence said. “In other words, regardless of what G.o.dora chooses, we will still be the winner and hold the initiative.”
“The Mutation Disaster, Hutt Civilization, and internal conflict will occupy G.o.dora’s strength,” Degulish sneered, “and we have sufficient opportunity to prepare our next plan. The Mutation Disaster has stalled a large portion of G.o.dora’s troops, and the longer this matter drags, the more serious the matter will become. If this matter can persist for one to two years…”
“The exact time is difficult to estimate, but with G.o.dora’s research abilities, they won’t be able to solve the Mutation Disaster anytime soon.” The person in charge of intelligence also laughed. “My men have already confirmed that G.o.dora haven’t obtained the Mutation Source that we lost previously. They only managed to get an empty Secret Message Bead. The Holy Stone Civilization should have s.n.a.t.c.hed it in secret, and G.o.dora is still in the dark about what was hiding in the bead.”