Arrival, Going Home

At the same time.

Zichen Star, Seventh Star Ring, East Blade Mercenary Corps headquarters.

It was less a mercenary headquarters and more a small military fortress.

The towering alloy main building featured cold, sleek lines, its surface covered in composite armor capable of absorbing detection waves and partial energy attacks. At the top, the East Blade Emblem refracted a cold, metallic luster under the illumination of the artificial star.

It occupied the plot with the best view and most abundant energy in the Seventh Star Ring, one of the concessions proactively granted by the Purple Gold Star Alliance Executive Committee when Irelia returned to Zichen Star to begin rebuilding East Blade.

Inside the grand auditorium on the top floor, a giant light screen hovered, broadcasting the live feed from the official Purple Gold Star Alliance news channel.

The camera was aimed at the dedicated VIP passage of the Zichen Star First Spaceport, where a dense crowd had already gathered. A group of high-ranking officials, led by Alliance President Ming Luo, stood solemnly, while media ships hovered at a safe distance like a swarm, their various imaging devices trained on the entrance.

Liu Yuan, Elizabeth, Zhou Yuxuan, and other core members from the earliest days of the East Blade Mercenary Corps stood before the screen.

Five thousand years of war had left their mark; the faces that were once slightly green back on Blue Star were now etched with the weathering of time.

Liu Yuan's aura was unmistakably Star Vortex Rank, specifically the fifth stage.

He stood with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the calm, emerald-green figure standing beside Ming Luo on the screen.

Elizabeth stood beside Liu Yuan, wearing the new dark blue uniform of the East Blade Mercenary Corps. Her posture remained upright, but as she watched