The Arcane Church had a diplomatic embassy on the mother planet of the Red Empire. The ambassador visited the political core of the Red Empire, Tarunamir Palace, to discuss the ransom of Dylan and Mercer with the relevant officials of the dynasty.
The negotiations had been going on for a few months. The dynasty officials were initially stubborn, but now, they were gradually accepting some of the conditions. The ambassador of the Arcane Church knew that he was gradually making progress.
"Regarding the ransom clause number 53, we have something to add …"
The ambassador spoke, and the dynasty officials nodded and listened. Occasionally, they would ask a question or two. They did not have the authority to make their own decisions. In fact, they were only the mouthpieces of the upper echelons of both sides. Their attitude was the attitude of the upper echelons.
After listening for a while, the communicator of the dynasty official suddenly rang. After receiving the message, the ambassador tactfully stopped talking and signaled that he would continue after the matter was settled.
The dynasty official opened the communicator, glanced at it, and then put it away.
Seeing this, the ambassador was about to continue when the dynasty official raised his hand and signaled for him to stop.
"Let's end it here for today. The previous conditions are all overturned. Go back and make a new ransom agreement."
The ambassador was shocked. "Didn't we already discuss the previous agreement? Why did you suddenly …"
The dynasty official waved his hand and interrupted the ambassador. He stood up and looked down at the ambassador. A smile appeared on his face, and the smile contained a sense of pride and superiority that made the ambassador feel uneasy.
"Go back and wait for the news from your upper echelons. Or you can look at the news today. You'll know why."
…
After three months, the situation between the Red Empire and the Arcane Church had new developments.
On this day, the dynasty made a new announcement to the entire universe, announcing that they had successfully captured two Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church. So far, the dynasty had four captives in their hands.
The dynasty's counterattack was like thunder, and many organizations in the universe were shocked. Seeing the Arcane Church suffer such a huge loss, some were gloating, some were secretly happy, and some were united against a common enemy.
In more than ten Star Fields, among the galactic residents of countless civilizations, this news caused a huge commotion. In the eyes of ordinary people, Beyond Grade As were like gods, as far as legends were concerned. However, this time, a total of four high and mighty Beyond Grade As were beaten into the mortal world and became prisoners.
Ever since the start of the Galaxy Calendar, it had been many years since a group of Beyond Grade As had been captured. Countless galactic residents felt as though they were witnessing history. This sensational incident would definitely be recorded in history.
On the forums, the players' views on this incident were focused on a different perspective.
The mission of searching the area had been completed, and the players who provided the clues were equally rewarded. In the army program, Philip issued a message to all of them, praising them for their contributions. This proved that they had contributed greatly to the dynasty capturing the two Beyond Grade As.
The few players who first discovered Sagman's unusual behavior posted on the forums about their rewards. This made many players realize that they had inadvertently changed the direction of the storyline of this huge incident. Their participation in this storyline had caused quite a bit of impact.
From Version 1.0 to the current Version 3.0, the players gradually realized that they had more and more influence on the storyline and were more and more involved in the galaxy. Usually, the players would only feel the influence of their actions when they were carrying out side missions on weak planets. However, this time, they had changed the storyline of a huge incident related to the battle between Universal Civilizations, which was several levels higher.
Realizing the importance of their actions brought them a sense of accomplishment and joy that made them happier than just the mission rewards.
This incident was also recorded in the annals of the Shattered Star Ring by the players.
Every player could write their own annals, which resulted in a lot of redundancy. The officials would filter the incidents and organize them. Some trivial matters would be placed in the appendices, and only such huge incidents would be placed in the main post. The players who wrote the annals could sign their names and receive rewards. Many people were proud of this.
…
In another Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring, a long fleet was lined up in front of a public stargate. Among them was an ordinary spaceship.
Inside the spaceship, the virtual screen was showing a piece of news. The dynasty's news channel announced the results of the pursuit. Two Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church were captured alive.
Beep.
The virtual screen was turned off.
Ninjia put down the remote control and held his forehead with one hand. His expression was complicated.
"Sagman and the others have been captured by the dynasty …"
Of the four people who had escaped from the Flickering World, two had already been captured. Psyker's situation was also very bad, and it seemed like he was the only one who could escape from the Shattered Star Ring unscathed. Ninjia could not help but feel pity for him.
He still remembered that when they first set out, the six of them were filled with confidence and felt that they had a ninety percent chance of success. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, they would be completely annihilated and flee in defeat. Many of them were captured, and only the aftermath was left.
He heard that the upper echelons of the Arcane Church were negotiating with the Red Empire to discuss the issue of ransom. Now that the dynasty had two more bargaining chips, the Arcane Church would have to pay an even greater price. Furthermore, he did not think that the Red Empire would allow the Arcane Church to ransom everyone. Among the four who were captured, some would probably be imprisoned for a long time.
"At least … I brought the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back …"
Ninjia shook his head lightly. At this point, he could only use this excuse to comfort himself and the Arcane Church.
…
"Luckily, Ninjia brought the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and didn't let the dynasty snatch it away …"
In the meeting of the Arcane Church's Bishops, many of the Bishops were frowning. Someone said this in a relieved tone, but it only attracted a glance of helplessness from the others.
A Bishop sighed. "We activated the spy network in the Shattered Star Ring, but we didn't manage to bring back all the Beyond Grade As. The price we paid is far greater than the benefits. Sagman and Taylor have fallen into the hands of the dynasty, increasing their bargaining chips. We need to pay more ransom, and the dynasty won't be polite with us."
The ransom between two Universal Civilizations would not be as simple as money but political, military, and economic conditions.
The round table of the conference was filled with worry. The bishops looked lost, but they had no time to be angry.
Dylan, Mercer, Taylor, and Sagman did not only represent themselves. The four of them each had their own Beyond Grade A organizations, and they were extremely powerful. Now that their leaders had been captured, these Beyond Grade A organizations were in an uproar, and everyone was anxious. The Arcane Church had to stabilize these allied organizations, so they were under immense pressure.
Coupled with the attention of the other Beyond Grade As, not only did the Arcane Church have to ransom them, but they also had to do it as soon as possible. They could not disappoint their allies, or it would be difficult to attract new Beyond Grade As to work for them in the future.
There would always be old Beyond Grade As dying and new Beyond Grade As being born. The time scale of a civilization was very long, and the Beyond Grade As under them would be constantly updated. From a long-term perspective, the reputation and reputation of a civilization in this regard were more important than the four captured individuals themselves.
In terms of updates and iterations, the Red Empire currently had an absolute advantage …
As the holder of the record for being the fastest to reach the Beyond Grade A realm, Black Star was undoubtedly a stock with great potential. After this battle, Black Star, who had only reached the Beyond Grade A realm not long ago, had already begun to show his edge, faster than countless organizations had expected.
In the foreseeable future, with the ability Black Star displayed, he would definitely become an expert that the Red Empire relied on. The most frightening thing was Black Star's age. He was the youngest Beyond Grade A and could serve the dynasty for hundreds or even thousands of years.
In other words, they would probably have to deal with this guy continuously for the next few hundred years.
Thinking that the Red Empire had such a stock with great potential, the upper echelons of the Arcane Church were extremely jealous.
They also wanted to kill Black Star, but this attempt had caused them great losses. The Arcane Church was forced to temporarily give up on the Evolution Cube.
Before the impact of this incident was resolved, the Arcane Church did not plan to find trouble with Black Star anymore. They did not even want to look at him.
The Arcane Church admitted that they had failed this time.
They would remember this debt for now.
They would settle it in the future.
The days were still long!
…
"Sagman and the others have failed this time."
In a dark room, the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church gathered here through remote projections. There were six seats above the round table.
Because of this incident, all the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church gathered together to discuss this incident.
"Back then, when the Arcane Church was planning this operation, they came to find me. They only saw the difference in strength and felt that it was impossible to fail. However, I felt that there was a risk, so I rejected the call. That brute Mercer replaced my position. Now, it seems like it's a good thing I did not agree back then." Someone could not help but speak in hindsight.
"It's a pity that I'm being watched by many organizations and can't be secretly mobilized. Otherwise, with me participating in this operation, the result would have been different," someone else said calmly.
The Arcane Church also had existences similar to the three National Pillars of the Red Empire. However, the strongest Beyond Grade As did not participate in this operation. Because of their strength, they were more closely monitored, and any movement would attract attention. The Arcane Church felt that with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and the advantage in numbers, they were more than enough to crush the dynasty. Thus, they found Sagman and the other six Beyond Grade As. The strongest Sagman and Ninjia were still a distance away from the strongest Beyond Grade As.
"However, no matter what, Sagman and the others did not manage to snatch the Evolution Cube despite having the advantage in numbers. The ability Black Star displayed this time was an unexpected factor. It seems like we have another strong opponent."
"Hmm … in a few decades, the dynasty's Three Pillars will probably become the dynasty's Four Pillars …"
Seeing their allies on the same side suffer at the hands of Black Star, the Beyond Grade As present could not help but have a deeper impression of Han Xiao.
"How is it? What do you guys think? Should we wait for the Arcane Church to ransom them, or should we intercept the dynasty's fleet and rescue them midway?"
"Let's just wait and see. If the Arcane Church can solve the problem, we should not complicate the situation. Furthermore, according to the information from the Arcane Church, Black Star can seal Beyond Grade As. Although we don't know what kind of Universal Treasure it is, it's obviously not that easy to break."
Everyone nodded. They were all wary of the second mysterious Universal Treasure in Han Xiao's hands.
Normally, when the dynasty escorted four Beyond Grade A captives back, the important condition for them to rescue them midway was to cooperate with the outside.
However, the Arcane Church said that Black Star could seal Beyond Grade As. With the intelligence of a Universal Civilization, this was definitely not baseless.
Without cooperation from the inside, the difficulty of rescuing them midway would increase exponentially. Although it seemed like a small change, it would affect the entire situation.
The Beyond Grade As present all had a relationship with Sagman and the others, but this relationship was not enough for them to take the risk.
…
The deep blue space energy swirl raised ripples that looked like tides. An overwhelming fleet of the Imperium, spurting out orange propulsion flames, slowly sailed out of the space gate, leaving trails of fading exhaust flames. Among them was an enormous dragon that was as large as a warship.
The light of the stargate sprinkled on the hull of every battleship, leaving mottled shadows on the mechanical structure of the battleship, illuminating the cracks and dents in the armor. The damaged outer armor was filled with battle scars.
A few Black Star Corps spaceships hovered not far from the stargate and slowly approached the heavy armed main ship of this fleet. The damage of the main ship was especially terrifying. A large area of the armor plate was torn apart, and there were dozens of holes filled with nano-repair materials. All of these showed how intense the battle was.
The spaceships docked with the main ship, and the mechanical structures around the hatch locked together, completing the connection.
Chi!
The hatch slid open, and Han Xiao walked into the main ship through the tunnel. Under the lead of the dynasty soldiers, he arrived at the prison area that was heavily guarded. There were two restraining cabins placed there.
The inner walls of the restraining cabins were made of an extremely tough alloy material, making it extremely difficult to escape from the inside. The internal structure would automatically adjust according to the size of the prisoner and fix them in place. The interlayer was equipped with various devices to provide high voltage and electromagnetic fields to restrain them and weaken the transmission of energy. The two restraining cabins were holding Sagman and Beyonder respectively.
The restraining cabins could not completely restrain a Beyond Grade A, but the two of them were already heavily injured and could not break free. Heber, Beyoni, and the other Beyond Grade As of the dynasty were guarding by the side.
Han Xiao's main body had come over to use the Spacetime Amber to completely seal the two of them.
"Lord." Psionic Prime and the other Apostle Weapons greeted him.
"You've worked hard." Han Xiao nodded and retrieved the mechanical shell.
The mechanical shell carried his [Lord's Descent], and it would not be able to escape unscathed while fighting against Sagman and Beyonder.
Sagman and Beyonder had nowhere to run, so they fought with all their might. The strength they displayed was not to be underestimated, especially Sagman. His Esper Ability was extremely destructive and caused some damage to the fleet. However, he was still suppressed by the dynasty's Beyond Grade As in the end.
Tarrokov's remote projection greeted him and nodded. "You're here. We've been waiting for you."
"Release them." Han Xiao told the dynasty soldiers to open the restraining cabins, took out the Spacetime Amber, and sealed Sagman and Taylor within.
"This is much safer. There won't be any risk of them escaping." Tarrokov knocked on the amber ball with satisfaction.
Ravenlaude could not help but look at Han Xiao. He felt more and more that the Spacetime Amber was extremely useful.
Tarrokov told the soldiers to move the two amber balls away while he brought Han Xiao and the others to the conference room.
After everyone was seated, he looked at Han Xiao and said, "Her Excellency the Ruler is very satisfied with our progress. She has already learned of Black Star's contribution and has specially rewarded him."
Han Xiao nodded. He had contributed quite a bit during the pursuit and provided a lot of intelligence. After capturing the two of them, his interface had notified him that he had received 4,500 dynasty Contribution Points.
Not only that, Tarrokov had also privately revealed to him that this contribution would cause the dynasty to favor him when it came to dividing the territories of the Flickering World, and he would have a chance to obtain a bigger and better territory.
Not only did this sudden incident avert danger, but it also turned the tables around. The dynasty's upper echelons had a very good impression of Han Xiao.
"The pursuit operation of the dynasty has ended. We will be searching for the Arcane Church's spies, but this task will be taken over by the intelligence department. The dynasty has another mission for you guys."
Tarrokov then changed the topic. "Next, the dynasty needs you guys to escort four captives to the Constellation Corridor to prevent being intercepted by the Arcane Church on the way."
Everyone nodded. It was necessary to be more cautious. They could not lose these bargaining chips because of carelessness.
"However, Black Star and the Tyrant are not included in the escort."
Everyone looked over. Han Xiao and Heber were both surprised.
"What do you want us to do?" Heber asked with a deep voice.
Tarrokov opened the star map and enlarged his field of vision. His finger pointed at the territory of the Star Pupil Holy Race.
"I need the two of you to lead some of the dynasty's fleets to the territory of the Star Pupil God Race."
"To capture Sisko?" Heber frowned.
"No, you guys are only there to pressure them." Tarrokov shook his head. "Sisko's situation is different from the others. He is the leader of a civilization, and his base is in the Shattered Star Ring. The dynasty originally planned to deal with him, but after you guys captured Sagman and Taylor, Her Excellency canceled this plan. You guys can treat it as a form of compromise."
"Hmm, that's not bad." Maximiler interrupted. "We have four captives in our hands, and Sisko is someone who has nowhere to run. It might not be a good thing for the dynasty to continue chasing after him."
The others did not have any foundation in the Shattered Star Ring, so they could only blame themselves for not being able to escape. Sisko could run, but his temple could not. However, if the dynasty went to the territory of a quasi-Star Cluster civilization and forcefully took away the leader of their civilization, it would cause a huge backlash. The Arcane Church could not sit by and watch the organization under their protection be bullied like that, or they would lose the trust of their allies.
The dynasty was not afraid of these consequences, but since they had captured new captives, they did not need Sisko as a backup option. If it was not necessary, the dynasty did not want to cause a huge backlash. Thus, they changed their original plan and decided to act according to the circumstances.
Of course, not capturing Sisko did not mean that they would not pursue his actions. It was necessary to suppress the development of the Star Pupil Race. If they could chase an organization that was close to the Arcane Church out of this Star Field, it would be the best.
The Red Empire had mobilized hundreds of millions of battleships in order to develop the Flickering World. Now that they had moved a portion of their fleet to the Shattered Star Ring, the armed forces that they could mobilize in this Star Field exceeded the combined forces of the other two organizations. Even if the Radiant Federation was the ruler of this place, it was useless.
There was only one word — they could do whatever they wanted.
"What a pity." Han Xiao raised his brows. He could not help but feel that it was a pity that he could not capture the other party. He had always been very interested in Sisko's body structure. Every time he saw Sisko, he would want to poke his eyes out.
However, he had taken away the 'Race Treasure' in the eyes of the Star Pupil Race. The two of them were like fire and water. Now that he wanted to go to someone else's territory to pressure them, it seemed a little too arrogant.
It seems like I have to bring more people with me. I don't want to get beaten up … Han Xiao thought.
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