The current situation in the Flickering World was extremely tense, like a volcano that was about to erupt.
Ever since Gaud was attacked, the dynasty's investigation had attracted the attention of the entire galactic society. It had been almost a month, and the dynasty had made such a big move, but there was still no result. Voices of doubt gradually appeared in the outside world.
While the rumors in the outside world were getting more and more intense, the dynasty, which had attracted the attention of countless galactic residents, finally made a new announcement, showing a complete chain of evidence. The target was the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and the words were fierce, setting off a heated discussion.
This official announcement claimed that after rigorous evidence collection, they found that three Supercluster Civilizations were suspected to have planned the attack on Gaud. Therefore, the dynasty demanded that these three Supercluster Civilizations open up their databases and cooperate with the investigation unconditionally. Otherwise, they would take further measures.
The Supercluster Alliance originally wanted to make Manison the scapegoat, but their measures against Manison were neutralized by a mysterious force time and time again, which led to the dynasty being one step faster. Facing such a blatant attempt to divide them, the Supercluster Alliance firmly denied it and refused to cooperate with the investigation. They also made an announcement, claiming that the Red Empire was just using this as a pretext. Since they had already shed all pretense of cordiality, they simply pointed out the unfair suppression of the Supercluster Civilizations by the three Universal Civilizations over the years, trying to gain the upper hand in public opinion.
Radiance and Ethereal also joined in the fun and supported the dynasty.
The war between the two sides caused a huge uproar in the galactic society. Most people trusted the three Universal Civilizations more, and a small number of people saw through the dynasty's tricks. However, even if they knew that something was wrong, they could not change the overall situation.
No matter how much was said, in the end, it still depended on strength. After a few days of fermenting, the dynasty took the next step. They claimed that since the Supercluster Alliance had already attacked the Beyond Grade As, the original agreement was invalid. They also announced that the dynasty would mobilize their direct Beyond Grade As to participate in the Flickering War. Radiance and Ethereal followed closely behind.
The Beyond Grade A Association, which had already reached an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations, expressed their support, claiming that the Supercluster Alliance was the one who broke the rules first.
Very soon, the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations left for the frontlines one after another.
With the addition of Beyond Grade As, the intensity of the war escalated rapidly. The three Universal Civilizations destroyed one stronghold after another, and the Supercluster Alliance lost territory at an even faster rate.
The outside world originally thought that the Supercluster Alliance would also send their direct members to fight, but things did not develop that way. The Supercluster Alliance only relied on their current forces to resist the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations. Even though they were losing, they did not take out any hidden Beyond Grade As.
Related questions spread on the quantum network at the right time, secretly leading more galactic residents to be curious. When this question attracted widespread attention, a mysterious person released the so-called 'internal information' to explain the reason.
Intelligence showed that there might be members of the Supercluster Alliance hiding in the Beyond Grade A Association and committing the crime of attacking Gaud. Originally, the dynasty planned to strictly investigate all neutral Beyond Grade As, but after Black Star learned of this, he did not hesitate to offend the dynasty and went to argue with the Ruler, wholeheartedly protecting the interests of the members. He claimed that unless they found concrete evidence, they could not implicate the other association members.
In the end, after days and nights of negotiations, the dynasty was finally convinced by Black Star and gave up on this idea. Because of Black Star's efforts, the Beyond Grade A Association was not subjected to a compulsory search. Everyone guessed that the pawn of the Supercluster Alliance was able to hide because of this, so the Supercluster would rather take a beating than expose the pawn.
This news shocked countless organizations. Facing the search warrant issued by the dynasty, almost everyone obediently cooperated, but Black Star dared to reject it. Furthermore, the dynasty knew that the culprit might be hiding in the association, but they still agreed to Black Star's request. What kind of dignity was this?
The galactic residents were shocked.
He was indeed the first consultant of the three Universal Civilizations. Even the furious dynasty had to give him face!
…
In the remote conference room of the Supercluster Alliance …
The leaders of many civilizations gathered together, and the atmosphere was gloomy.
"We guessed right. The three Universal Civilizations are indeed targeting us … It's like everything was planned!"
The leader of the Star Arc Civilization clenched his fists tightly. He was furious and could not calm down.
Originally, Manison alone would not have been able to stop so many Supercluster Civilizations from blaming him together. However, they discovered that there was a mysterious force secretly destroying the plan and constantly supporting Manison, causing their actions to be slowed down by a few steps.
The mysterious force secretly helping Manison could only be the three Universal Civilizations!
"The three Universal Civilizations have long planned to make us take the blame, so after discovering our plan, they secretly destroyed it to prevent us from having a chance to escape the blame and have no choice but to be targeted by them!" a leader said angrily.
The Supercluster had guessed the plan of the three Universal Civilizations and was afraid of taking the blame, so they framed Manison. Manison had guessed the plan of the Supercluster, so he countered and protected himself. The three Universal Civilizations had guessed that the Supercluster had guessed their plan, so they helped Manison. Their ultimate goal was still to target the Supercluster. In their eyes, the stakes were just like that.
Everyone's hearts were filled with strong anger and a deep sense of powerlessness. They felt that the three Universal Civilizations had woven a huge net, leaving them nowhere to escape or struggle.
"What do we do now? The three Universal Civilizations have sent their direct members, and the intensity of the war has increased. Our fleet reinforcements are limited. If we don't take out our direct members, we'll definitely lose," someone said worriedly.
Everyone looked at each other with a conflicted look on their faces.
"Forget it. Can't you guys see the situation clearly? Even if we take out our direct members, we won't have a chance to turn the tables. We'll only be exposing ourselves for nothing."
Someone sighed and said what was on everyone's mind.
"Instead of that, we might as well let our direct members continue to hide their identities … The situation is different now. Black Star is protecting the Beyond Grade A Association. As long as our people aren't exposed, they won't be implicated."
Everyone nodded.
If there was no Beyond Grade A Association, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely thoroughly investigate most of the neutral Beyond Grade As, and no one would dare do anything about it. The result would most likely be another Tragedy of the Pinnacles. They would rather kill the wrong people than let them go and wipe out the hidden members of the Supercluster Alliance.
Now that the Beyond Grade A Association had been established, the three Universal Civilizations could not do whatever they wanted. Because of Black Star's existence, the dynasty could not act recklessly against the neutral Beyond Grade As. This way, their spies in the Supercluster were also protected.
"Black Star …"
Many civilization leaders had complicated expressions.
They did not like this guy, but Black Star's actions had indirectly protected their people. This was an indisputable fact.
The Star Arc Civilization leader sighed and said helplessly, "The situation is hopeless.
Don't do anything irrational. The three Universal Civilizations are forcing us to take out our direct members. Once we fall into their trap, they will have a reason to thoroughly investigate … Don't waste the safety that Black Star has indirectly fought for for us. Let them continue to hibernate in the association. "
…
Beyond Grade A Association headquarters, Planet Finn …
"This time, it's all thanks to Black Star. Otherwise, we would all be implicated."
In the large round-table conference room, the atmosphere was joyous. Many ordinary Beyond Grade As had relieved smiles on their faces.
Ever since the incident happened, many neutral Beyond Grade As had been worried that they would be implicated. Now that the dust had finally settled, if not for the intelligence, they would not have known that Black Star had once argued with the dynasty and successfully protected their interests.
This touched many Beyond Grade As. A leader who sought benefits for his subordinates was a good leader. Although they did not have a superior-subordinate relationship, it was precisely because of this that they respected Han Xiao even more, and their sense of identity toward the association increased greatly.
Facing everyone's enthusiasm, Han Xiao waved his hand and put on his signature Sorokin -style smile.
"I'm the vice president after all. I just did what I should have done. You don't have to be so polite with me."
"That won't do. I have to thank you properly!" Lucie suddenly stood up, bowed respectfully to Han Xiao, and said gratefully, "If not for you, I don't know when I would have regained my freedom. You don't have to be so humble."
Because he had been discovered following Gaud, the dynasty had captured him. Lucie had been worried for many days and was only released not long ago.
With such an experience, Lucie knew better than anyone that if not for Black Star's operation and the association's protection, he would have most likely died in the hands of the dynasty and would not have regained his freedom. Therefore, although he was a spy of the Supercluster, his gratefulness was not fake. He still had lingering fears.
Lucie's words were widely agreed by everyone. Everyone had a scale in their hearts. If they compared the role of the president and vice president, they would realize that the benefits that Black Star had brought to the association far exceeded that of the Mecha Empire.
Putting aside those slogans, everyone joined the association for self-protection and benefits. They were willing to let whoever could bring them more benefits be their representative.
However, in this incident, not only did Manison not do anything, he even implicated the association. The contrast was too obvious. The way everyone looked at him became more and more subtle.
"Alright, alright. Don't get too excited. It's a good thing that you're not implicated. At least Manison's name has been cleared. Don't target him today. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Han Xiao coughed and could not help but interrupt.
Although this was an action to increase his reputation, it was enough. These members were too excited. He was worried that if this continued, he would be in trouble.
Hearing this, everyone's face suddenly looked like they had seen a ghost.
Black Star actually spoke up for Manison?!
Our youth is over!
Everyone held their heads in disbelief. Manison turned his head and glanced at Han Xiao. His expression was a little complicated, but there was less hostility.
Others might not know, but how could he not know? After the Supercluster took the blame, he guessed that the mysterious force that secretly helped him was most likely from Black Star.
'He did this for the sake of the big picture.'
Manison sighed.
During the Battle of Hella, he helped Black Star. Now, Black Star helped him.
The two had been at odds for many years. At this moment, Manison could not help but feel an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Han Xiao also noticed Manison's gaze. He turned his head and glanced at him. "What are you looking at?"
"… Nothing."
Manison retracted his gaze, closed his eyes, and hid his emotions.
Han Xiao ignored him. He looked over and saw Sorokin on the other side.
Sorokin did not wear his signature fake smile today. Instead, he looked like he had a lot on his mind and was distracted from time to time.
'Looking at his ghostly appearance, I reckon the Empire has secretly taken action.'
Han Xiao chuckled.
Taking the blame for the Supercluster was just a temporary measure. His mission was not shown to be completed, but he did not really care about this.
The dust had settled, and the storm of secretly killing Gaud had finally come to an end. Overall, he was quite satisfied with the current situation. The hidden danger was eliminated, and he was not implicated. This was already a good result.
After everyone discussed for a while, Han Xiao suddenly said with a serious expression, "Don't be too happy.
The situation is clear now. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely win. The Supercluster Alliance won't be able to hold on for long. Once they lose, they will have to lay low for at least a few decades. When the three Universal Civilizations are free, their next target will be us!
"Don't forget, the three Universal Civilizations already had this plan, but it was delayed by the Flickering War. We've been developing smoothly all these years because the real difficulty hasn't arrived yet. Everyone, be prepared … The suppression of the three Universal Civilizations won't be far away."
Hearing this, everyone's expression became serious, and they nodded.
…
The participation of the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations was like the last straw that broke the camel's back. The battle quickly turned from a stalemate to a one-sided victory.
Most people originally predicted that the war would last another two to three years, but due to Gaud's incident, this process was greatly shortened.
In only eleven months, the three Universal Civilizations wiped out the Supercluster Alliance's army in the fourth phase of the Flickering World and took back all the territories they occupied.
The Flickering War ended with the Supercluster Alliance's crushing defeat. They invested countless resources, but in the end, they still could not change their fate and could only lick their wounds silently.
The Crimson Dynasty redistributed the territories of the fourth phase. The territories that the participants on their side had obtained were kept, and the remaining territories would be developed by themselves. The remaining territories would be rented out, sold, or rewarded to other organizations. This time, none of the Beyond Grade A allies would be rewarded with any territory.
Han Xiao, on the other hand, successfully bought Planet Milton, the venue of the player national war, and had the army move in. He did not make any large-scale changes, so the terrain left behind by the players was still preserved.
The flames of war were extinguished, and the Flickering World temporarily returned to peace. The three Universal Civilizations started to deal with the aftermath of the war, restoring law and order everywhere.
However, the impact of Gaud's incident did not disappear with the defeat of the Supercluster Alliance. It only settled down, fermenting in a place that no one could see.
The stars moved and time flew by. In this atmosphere, more than half a year passed in the starry sky.
On this day, the Red Empire finally welcomed the big event that they had been preparing for a long time.
Uranril stepped down, and the Ruler was replaced!
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