939 Scheme in the Dark
I always meet unexpected events when I bring a protagonist level character out with me. I only want to train my energy in peace. Is that really that difficult?
Han Xiao let out a helpless sigh and waved his hands.
“Since there is someone creating trouble in the dynasty, just help them stop it. I will hand this matter over to you to handle. You can mobilize my Black Star Guards if you meet any difficulties. Also, let me give you another mission. You and Aurora should hide your ident.i.ties to enter that Punisher Alliance and help me find information regarding an item.”
The Blood Hammer Church and Punisher Alliance was too many levels beneath him. If it was during ordinary times, Han Xiao would have been willing to interfere personally. But now, he only wanted to train his energy in peace and was not interested in joining such a matter. As such, he might as well get Feidin to help him find clues on whether that sealed item was currently in the Punisher Alliance.
He could just one hit the boss when the time came. It would save him a great deal of effort, and he would still be able to gain the talent easily.
He was at ease handing a mission like this to someone like Feidin.
“Alright then,” Feidin said. “Then, about the problem of concealing our ident.i.ties…”
“I will get Phillip to forge both of your resumes, and there won’t be any loopholes. It will be enough to gain their trust,” Han Xiao said. “Since both of you are going to conceal your ident.i.ties, don’t perform too outstandingly. You can just work together with that Raymond guy, and there’s no need to show too much initiative.”
“This… alright then.” Feidin hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you help us use your Virtual Technology skills to trace the whereabouts of the Blood Hammer Church?”
Han Xiao shook his head. “Without any clues, I will need to infiltrate the main system, or even control the quantum network node, of Enya Hub if I want to investigate this matter. This is a huge matter, and this planet belongs to another Beyond Grade A ally. They will have their own defense troops, and there’s no need for me to intervene. Didn’t I just say that there isn’t a need to be too outstanding? It wouldn’t be good if you attract Raymond’s attention.”
Searching for a few targets by spying on the entire planet required a large amount of calculations. Although Han Xiao was able to do so, it was very troublesome.
The Blood Hammer Church was at too low a level, and he did not wish to waste his effort on this matter. Enya Hub’s security forces should also have a similar method to track any suspicious characters. Han Xiao would rather hand the matter over to them than poke his nose into this matter.
“Alright.” Feidin thought for a while and realized that what Han Xiao said made sense. Troubling a Beyond Grade A for such a small matter was like making a mountain out of a molehill. As a member of the Black Star Guards, how could he get his superior to help him do everything?
Raymond and the others were only at Grade B, and a Calamity Grade like him should be enough to deal with the situation. Even if things took a turn for the worse, he could still mobilize Hadavy and the other guys, who were bored to death.
As things stood, those Black Star Guards would really become sloths.
Closing his communicator, Feidin explained the matter to Aurora, and Aurora’s eyes lit up immediately.
“He got us to take care of the matter? Great! I finally have something to do!”
Feidin smiled and contacted Raymond. He then agreed to Raymond’s invitation and said that he was willing to join the Punisher Alliance.
Raymond was overjoyed upon hearing that.
“Great! I welcome both of you on behalf of the Punisher Alliance. I will inform the rest immediately and arrange for both of you to enter the alliance!”
Upon seeing that Raymond was about to hang up, Feidin could only stop him and say with a sigh, “We’ll need to fill an application if we want to join, right? Did you forget about that?”
“Right right right.” Raymond slapped himself on his forehead and said, “I was too excited. You need to fill in a form to join the alliance. I will send it to you immediately.”
Feidin shook his head and received the doc.u.ment that Raymond had sent. After looking at the form, it only needed them to fill in their names, abilities, Grade, and past employment.
He then filled in the ident.i.ty that Phillip had forged for him. His new ident.i.ty was only a Grade B Super. This was to make him seem more ordinary. If others knew that he was a Calamity Grade, his status would be completely different, and it would not be good for him to sneak into the organization. Although the Calamity Grade percentage in the Central Galaxy was higher, Calamity Grades were still a rare sight.
After filling up the form, Raymond sent it out to the members of the Punisher Alliance without any hesitation.
…
Two Star Zones away from Enya Hub, there was a small s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p in hyperdrive heading toward Enya Hub. There was a logo outside the armor of the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p that belonged to the Punisher Alliance.
A group of individuals were in the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, either sitting down or standing up. Some of them were wiping their weapons, while others were cleaning their firearms. There were some who had their eyes shut in meditation, while others watched variety shows. They were all the superheroes of the Punisher Alliance.
They did not have an actual leader, and they were all comrades of equal level who had their own jobs. There were a few nominal leaders within the organization who were the old members with greater fame. This was a common structure within superhero organizations.
A holographic screen suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, and Raymond’s message was displayed.
“Raymond sent news!”
Everyone immediately looked at the screen, and the temporary captain of the team read it out.
Raymond talked about what he had experienced and emphasized heavily on Aurora’s ability. He also indicated that he hoped that they would be allowed to join the alliance.
“It is actually a powerful healing Esper Ability.” The captain was surprised and immediately understood the value of such an ability.
A superhero alliance like theirs found it difficult to recruit new members. Every time a superhero died, they had one less member. If there had been such a comrade among them in the past, they would have been able to receive timely healing, and the death rate would have been lowered greatly.
“Is there any problem with their resumes?”
“I checked it before, and it is all true,” one of the Mechanic superheroes said.
“Then we can be at ease. I support them joining us.”
“Wait a moment,” a skinny looking man said. “We have to be careful and ensure that this isn’t a scheme of the Blood Hammer Church. Perhaps they are the spies that they want to place in the alliance. Don’t forget that they also have their evil healing ability. Ask Raymond if he personally witnessed the other party healing him.”
“Slade, you are thinking too much. Although Raymond is a little rash, he is still reliable.” The captain frowned.
“I trust Raymond, but I don’t believe in such a coincidence,” the skinny man said coldly.
He was called Slade and was an old member of the alliance. He was extremely suspicious of the people around him, and no newbie would be able to obtain his trust from the start.
The captain knew that it would be impossible to persuade the other party and changed the topic. “Let’s not talk about this now. It is more important for us to foil the schemes of the Blood Hammer Church.”
“That’s right.”
Everyone’s face turned dim.
However, none of them knew that they had only witnessed the tip of the iceberg. The background behind this matter was not as simple as they thought.
A conspiracy was brewing in the dark.
…
In the temporary stronghold of the Blood Hammer Church on Enya Hub, the few priests that had ambushed Raymond returned to the stronghold, and the other members in the stronghold immediately knew that something was wrong.
In the room, a tall man stood up. He was dressed in a set of luxurious robes and held onto an even larger hammer. He was the head bishop of the Blood Hammer Church and had an unfriendly gaze in his eyes.
“There’s the smell of blood. You guys met an enemy?”
“It’s a member of the Punisher Alliance. He followed us, and we used a magical barrier, wanting to get rid of him. However, he broke the barrier and escaped.”
“It’s them again! They’ve wrecked so many of our missions and are truly like flies!”
The head bishop was enraged. He hated these old nemeses of his.
Raymond thought that the Blood Hammer Church was planning to carry out a blood sacrifice, but this was not the truth.
It would not matter if this was an ordinary blood sacrifice mission. But this time, they had received an important employment mission that was related to the future of the Blood Hammer Church. As such, the head bishop was truly incensed.
“We cannot stay in this stronghold anymore. We have to change locations immediately,” the head bishop said with an ashen face. “We cannot afford anything to go wrong during this mission. Pack up your things quickly.”
Upon hearing that, everyone in the stronghold got to work and packed up the items in the room.
The head bishop then walked in front of a table and looked down on the paper map placed on it.
An important location of Enya Hub was outlined on the map, and a detailed plan was marked out with various arrows pointing toward the middle of the region.
This place was the location where Enya Hub’s Evolutionary Totem was placed!
…
A couple of streets away, there was a secret stronghold of another organization.
In the room, a few people were surrounding a table, and the structural layout of another Evolutionary Totem location was on the table.
This group was a bandit group famous in the black market that specialized in stealing important items for their employers. They had also received employment for a job on Enya Hub.
“We are going to steal the Evolutionary Totem located on Enya Hub. This item is protected by many layers of defenses, and it will be a difficult mission to complete. It isn’t too far away from the appointed date by the employer. Do you guys have any ideas?”
“I’ve received enough intelligence after scouting the place out a couple of times. There is plenty of advanced surveillance equipment that is constantly monitoring the location. I already have a rough idea, but my plan needs to be perfected.”
“It would be impossible for us to steal the item alone. We will only have a chance if we have helpers like our employer said.”
The few of them then suppressed their voices and discussed their strategy.
…
At Enya Hub Dock One, the main hall was crowded with people, and the pa.s.sengers leaving or entering the dock needed to pa.s.s through there. In a beverage shop near the door of the main hall, an ordinary looking woman was reading a book with a drink in front of her.
She had been sitting there for quite some time as though she was waiting for someone.
A commotion suddenly arose from the entrance of the dock, and a group of bodyguards surrounded a young man.
Two of the bodyguards were different from the others. They did not conceal their auras, and the strength of a Calamity Grade Super emanated from them. They stood on the left and right of the young man. It was obvious that this young man had a huge background.
As the people in front witnessed such a scene, they immediately opened up a path for them.
After watching the group leave the main hall, the ordinary looking woman then paid for her drink and left the harbor, with her book under her arm, going in the opposite direction that the group had left in.
After walking through ten or so streets, the crowd became thin, and she walked into the shadow of a building. However, the individual who emerged from the shadow was a burly man, and the book in her arms had disappeared as well.
This individual had a disguise Esper Ability and altered her appearance many times before taking a carrier to another region of the city. He then walked into a rundown inn and returned to his room.
There were another three individuals of different races in the room. All three of them were notorious wanted Calamity Grade individuals who were once members of Fallen Ark. After Han Xiao captured EsG.o.d, they had left Fallen Ark and led a low-profile life.
After closing the door, the disguised individual said, “The intel is accurate. The target has arrived, and he has two Calamity Grade bodyguards. His two bodyguards are the ones in the intelligence report.”
“Very good. Proceed according to the plan,” one of them said with thick killing intent in his eyes.
…
On the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, a meeting concerning the present circ.u.mstances of the Crimson Dynasty was coming to an end in Tarunamir Palace.
Ever since the Federation of Light and Arcane Church implemented their plan to suppress the Crimson Dynasty, the Crimson Dynasty had suffered plenty of pressure from the various regions. Because the dynasty had invested a large amount of resources into the Flickering World, the other regions were neglected slightly, and the other two parties had an opening to seize.
Because of their miserable plight, there had been plenty of such meetings recently.
“The Federation of Light and Arcane Church are targeting us in these few regions and have created pressure for us in many areas. Their goal is obvious, and it is because they want us to allow the public sale of the Evolutionary Totem. What are your thoughts?” Urranrell said with a solemn tone.
The upper echelons all nodded with some of them expressionless. The only thing in common was that they all remained silent.
They were not in the faction of the Ruler, and there were some who were important members of other factions. Urranrell placed greater importance on the opinions of these people.
Urranrell then looked at an old official and said, “Ludwell, what are your thoughts?”
Ludwell was an official in charge of finances and also the head of the neutral faction. His status was extremely high, and he replied slowly, “Your Excellency Ruler, there will be benefits and losses regardless of our choice.”
“Share your thoughts.”
“Alright.” Ludwell nodded. “The benefit of not selling the totems openly is that it will increase the number of va.s.sals and earn us more allies. It will also improve the potential of our races in the long run, and we will be able to produce more talents in the future to slowly overtake the other civilizations. The downside is that the other two civilizations will target us.
“Selling the totems openly will reduce the pressure on us and stabilize the status of the three Universal Civilizations. We can still obtain political benefits by limiting the sale. However, we won’t be able to enjoy the advantages of the Evolutionary Totem alone and will lose an opportunity to surpa.s.s the others in terms of potential.”
Right at this moment, Ludwell suddenly changed topics, raised up a finger, and said calmly, “However, there will be a problem that cannot be avoided if we want to openly sell the totems. The equipment to manufacture the totems isn’t controlled by us, and this is an unstable element. We are now enduring such huge pressure, but the majority of the benefits are given to Black Star. This isn’t a good thing. We must consider this aspect if we want to sell the totems openly. If we cannot receive all the benefits from the totems, enduring so much pressure will be a huge loss.”
“Alright. I know your opinions already.” Urranrell raised up her arm but did not disagree with those words.
Ludwell knew that Urranrell did not wish for him to continue, and thus, he kept his mouth shut.
Urranrell could not help but sigh upon witnessing such a scene. Ludwell was the leader of a faction, but he would not go against her orders. He only had some differences in political opinions in some areas. The problem of the Evolution Cube was one of them.
Ludwell belonged to the party that strongly believed in Black Star handing over the cube. He was an official in charge of finances, and he would usually see things from an economic or political aspect. He was not well versed in military affairs.
He was not satisfied with their dynasty enduring the pressure from two other civilizations but not being able to enjoy the benefits of the Evolution Cube. He had always believed in taking back the Evolution Cube from Black Star, regardless of whether they had to use resources or force. In any case, he felt that the dynasty should be the ones to hold onto the Universal Treasure.
Urranrell placed great importance on Black Star, and they had a difference in opinion in this regard. It was because of her presence that the faction who wanted Black Star to hand over the cube could not succeed.
“Let’s end the meeting here today.” Urranrell shook her head.
The projections in the conference room disappeared.
Ludwell bowed before turning off his communicator. His viewpoint then returned to his own office. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, and the creases could be seen at the corner of his eyes.
Du du du!
The phone on his table rang, and Ludwell immediately picked up the call.
“Your Excellency, your grandson is calling. Should I connect the call?”
“This brat. How many times have I told him not to call the number in my office!” Ludwell frowned. “Patch the call through.”
A while later, the voice of a young man sounded on the phone.
“Grandfather? I am already on Enya Hub. I am telling you beforehand lest you send people to find me again and cause the people from my company to think that I am missing.”
“Humph.” Ludwell snorted and was slightly embarra.s.sed.
“Right, you said that you liked to eat the delicacies on Enya Hub. I will bring some back for you this time.”
“That’s more like it,” Ludwell said. “Take care of yourself. The universe is no longer calm, and there have been many attacks within the territory of the dynasty. Humph, they all want to s.n.a.t.c.h the Evolutionary Totems. Are the two bodyguards that I sent beside you?”
“Sigh, these two are looking at me as though I’m a prisoner. They even want to follow me to the toilet. Grandfather, can you please take them back? With them beside me, everyone thinks that I am the superior, and even my boss doesn’t dare reprimand me. If things go on like this, I will probably be fired soon.”
“That won’t do. You are my only grandson, and your safety comes first. I will only be a.s.sured with both of them beside you,” Ludwell said with a solemn tone before realizing that his tone was not good. He then spoke with a gentler tone and sighed. “Sigh, take care of yourself. Also, you aren’t an official of the dynasty and shouldn’t call the internal channel. There are some members of the internal department who have complained to me about this matter.”
“Alright, alright. I shall hang up now.”
The line was then cut off, and a doting look could be seen on Ludwell’s face.