In small-scale ground warfare without the involvement of Calamity Grade, thousands of Grade B players are enough to dictate the course of a battle.
Although the Ursa Minor Civilization's resource base had four or five times more superhumans and a large number of defensive measures, in the face of the self-destructing players who transformed into destructive huskies, these were nothing more than sacrifices to art, together heading towards the end of matter and spirit in dazzling light and heat, ultimately merging into one (turning to ashes together).
Extreme Aberration and self-destruct tactics are considered two of the most ruthless killer moves by players. In the eyes of these players, life is nothing more than a moment of brilliant bloom, as if they were transformed into a match, burning themselves to warm the Volkswagen (referring to the explosion), a noble act that makes people weep (referring to the enemy).
With an overwhelming numerical advantage in Grade B combat power, coupled with the assistance of the Crescent Financial Group's forces, the battle was a foregone conclusion. The resource base was quickly captured by the players, Handgabu and some of the officers who remained in the base were all captured alive.
At this moment, the base was littered with traces of explosions, and the ground and buildings were covered in charred marks. Some peripheral players from the Crescent Financial Group and the guild were cleaning up the battlefield and counting the spoils of war. In the base's plaza, Handgabu and a group of prisoners squatted there, their hands covering their heads, their faces ashen, surrounded by a group of players.
"So, are we going to wipe them all out?" Jiangcheng Team vice-captain Xie Xiaojian turned his head and looked at Frenzied Saber beside him, eager to try.
"Hmm..." Frenzied Saber hesitated, "Let me think about it."
The combined forces of these guilds split up to attack different resource bases; this time, the Jiangcheng Guild of Frenzied Saber was leading the attack.
During battles, there's no time to worry about giving up kills, but now that the enemy has been dealt with, it's the professional players' turn to gain experience. Providing resources for professional players is one of the guild's missions.
Maple Moon glanced at Handgabu and the others, then blinked. "How about we ask their names first, and see if we can trigger a quest?"
Upon hearing this, neither Frenzied Saber nor other professional players had any objections.
Seeing this, Maple Moon went straight to the group of prisoners and asked, "Who is the officer in charge here?"
A stir ran through the crowd. Many hesitated, wondering whether to betray their superior. However, Handgabu spoke up, his face contorted with resentment, gritting his teeth, "I am the person in charge of this base, Handgabu. You're mercenaries from the Crescent Financial Group? What's your background?!"
Even now, the shock in his heart has not subsided. These are thousands of Grade B superhumans! Where did they come from?! They dismantled what he thought was an impregnable defense in no time. How could they be nobodies in the mercenary world!
Maple Moon smiled inwardly, but feigned indifference, and said, "We are the Jiangcheng Guild, formerly the Immortal Troops of the Black Star Army, and currently an affiliated armed organization of the legion."
Click!
The news came like a bolt from the blue. Handgabu was stunned, his face filled with disbelief. He had never expected to hear the name "Black Star" from this group of people.
The Crescent Financial Group has actually made connections with the Black Star Army?!
Handgabu was stunned and his mind was in turmoil. The anger he had felt earlier vanished, leaving only panic.
His first reaction was disbelief, but then he remembered the unusual situation on the battlefield that he had noticed earlier and suddenly realized what was going on.
No wonder some enemies seemed to have reappeared even though they were dead. He didn't understand it at first, but now he realized that it was the infamous Black Star Army's Immortal Troops. So the origin of this group was real!
"You, you all..."
Faced with the power of Black Star, Handgabu could no longer stand up for himself; all the confidence that the galactic civilization had given him had vanished.
Even he looked so dejected; the other prisoners were trembling with shock.
After thinking for a moment, Maple Moon decided that she should take the initiative to trigger the quest and asked, "Is there anything you need us to do?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, and immediately despair ensued.
Oh no, they're asking us if we have any last wishes!
Sensing the atmosphere filled with fear, Handgabu gritted his teeth, turned around, and roared, "No one is allowed to beg for mercy! As soldiers, dying in battle is our Glory!"
He was mentally prepared to sacrifice himself when he was defeated, and he recovered at this moment.
Maple Moon scratched his head and said sincerely, "Beg me, and maybe we'll let you go."
"Dream on! Even if it means death, I won't let you play me for a fool!"
"Um... really shouldn't we give it a try? Maybe we can succeed."
"Devil! Demon! You're delusional!"
A scene unfolded that left the Crescent Financial Group members completely bewildered: the captured enemy was determined to die, displaying unwavering resolve, while it was the ones who had captured him who were desperately trying to persuade him to surrender.
However, at that moment, the Crescent Financial Group members noticed strong hesitation and conflict on the faces of many prisoners. They were immediately shocked, thinking they had guessed the intentions of these Immortals, and a chill ran down their spines.
--I see, this is an attempt to divide the enemy... They want shrimp and pig's heart, what a terrifying group of people!
Not everyone is as fierce as Handgabu. Soon, some people gritted their teeth and stood up, begging for mercy under Handgabu's angry glare.
Maple Moon glanced at the panel and saw a quest pop up, formatted as "[XX's Plea for Mercy]". The condition was that letting them go would earn her a small amount of experience. She then turned to Frenzied Saber and asked, "Should we do this quest?"
"I may lack experience, but every little bit helps. Let's do it." Frenzied Saber nodded.
Upon hearing this, Maple Moon told those who were begging for mercy to squat to one side. Seeing that someone was taking the lead, many wavering prisoners also rushed to beg for mercy.
Some people could trigger the quest, while others couldn't. The numerous players picked and chose like they were buying vegetables at a market, filtering out the prisoners and dividing them into two groups.
"The rest are unassigned, let's get started."
Without hesitation, numerous professional players transformed into executioners, wiping out the die-hards like Handgabu. Although most of them were weak, their status provided a significant boost in experience points and improved their rating on the Planet Hake mission.
"That's too brutal..." The Crescent Financial Group members watching nearby couldn't help but avoid the players' gazes and nervously swallowed.
They wouldn't have dared to provoke the Ursa Minor Civilization; they might have let them go. But these Black Star Army were so brutal, killing without blinking an eye or changing their expressions.
The Black Star Army members are indeed dangerous individuals!
The prisoners, begging for mercy, watched this scene with trepidation. Frenzied Saber told them to leave at their leisure, and the group, feeling as if granted a pardon, scrambled to run out of the base.
Just then, the professional players, including Frenzied Saber, suddenly paused and glanced at the panel.
The moment these prisoners stepped out of the base, all those little tasks of begging for mercy were completed in one fell swoop.
"The completion criteria are so lenient? Well, it's just a small task with a few thousand experience points." Frenzied Saber scratched his head in confusion, turned to look at the other players, exchanged a glance, and nodded.
Three minutes later.
The released prisoners squatted neatly in the square once again, looking completely bewildered.
They released us, then brought us back—what does that mean?!
"Try again." Maple Moon coughed. "Does anyone else want to beg for mercy? We'll let you go then."
His tone was sincere, but to the prisoners it sounded sarcastic, and many were furious.
They really were just playing us!
Can you just give me a straight answer?!
A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. If I had known, I would have died on the spot with dignity, together with Handgabu!
Most people remained silent, but a small minority, having crossed the line once, went back a second time, clinging to hope as they begged for mercy once more. However, this time, no quest popped up on the players' screens.
"It seems this kind of quest can only be triggered once and cannot be repeated." Xie Xiaojian shook his head, somewhat regretfully.
"I knew it already, there's no way you can do it repeatedly." Maple Moon rolled her eyes.
Frenzied Saber sighed helplessly, drawing his blood-stained alloy battle blade. "Since that's the case, there's nothing we can do."
Thirty seconds later, everyone gained another experience point.
Many professional gamers dusted themselves off and joined the ranks of those cleaning up the battlefield.
Only a group of Crescent Financial Group members remained, having witnessed the entire process of "teasing and killing prisoners." Their eyes revealed terror, their hearts were filled with coldness, and their bodies were frozen.
They give people hope only to shatter it again, making the enemy feel even deeper despair. These people are too ruthless!
Everyone shuddered, looked at each other, and reached a consensus.
--Never mess with these people, they're a bunch of devils!!
Several guilds launched separate attacks on several resource bases and won all of them. This victory immediately enraged the other six forces on Planet Hake, who hurriedly inquired about the origins of the powerful reinforcements brought in by the Crescent Financial Group.
The attack was successful, and there was no need to keep it a secret. The player's background quickly spread, and after verification, all the other factions were terrified.
The Black Star Army? Damn it, we can't afford to mess with them!
Moreover, not only is their background terrifying, but the strength of this group of Immortals is also terrifying. With more than 5,000 Grade B superhumans, they can completely roam freely on Planet Hake!
As the saying goes, a person's reputation precedes them. Once the news spread, coupled with their impressive battle record, three forces immediately backed down, realizing they had no hope. They retreated without a word, reclaiming their resource base and abandoning Planet Hake, directly intimidated by the legion's reputation.
The remaining three are two star system civilizations and one conglomerate. Unwilling to give up on Planet Hake outright, they quickly took countermeasures, reducing their bases, consolidating their forces, and preparing for a major battle.
However, instead of launching an immediate offensive, the players, with the help of the Crescent Financial Group, seized several of the captured resource bases and resumed resource gathering.
In the largest base, key members of guilds such as Long Sky, Jiangcheng, and Rainstorm stood in front of the warehouse door, watching batches of resources being delivered inside by transport vehicles. Everyone's eyes turned to the symbol of Enas.
"This is a gold mine that never runs dry!" Azure Sky beamed with joy. "Our guild has gained another stable and huge source of income, and our finances are even more abundant now."
"It seems this approach is indeed correct." Hao Tian nodded steadily, silently calculating in his mind how much combat equipment and items could be exchanged for the resources produced here in a day.
Everyone was in high spirits, and most of the legion players were very keen on making money.
There's no way around it. While the Legion's items are high-quality and inexpensive, the subsequent costs are also high—weapons need to be upgraded, mechs need to be repaired, ammunition needs to be replenished, Evolution Badge need to be charged, and spaceships need to be bought, not to mention equipment upgrades... All of this costs a lot of Enas!
My wallet has been drained dry by that slutty, cheap woman at the Black Star Supply Department. Legion players have everything they need except money!
Now the guild is choosing a location in the legion's territory to establish its main base, while these core members are establishing bridgeheads in the Free Competition Zone, doing quests to grow and make money, gradually getting on the right track.
For many guild players, a bright future seemed to be beckoning them.
Guilds like Long Sky established strongholds on Planet Hake, while other legion players' guilds also found different opportunities, branching out and flourishing in multiple locations within the Emerald Star Cluster.
After the destruction of Planet Ferry, Hila found another planet as her base and joined the wave of free exploration. Now, most people are actively exploring maps and mining, and Gorutan has not had time to pay attention to Hila for the time being.
The influence of the Legion's affiliated player guilds is slowly spreading throughout the Emerald Star Cluster. Now, the Black Star Army's actions are attracting a lot of attention, and this movement has been noticed by many other factions.
Many factions were quite curious about the fact that the Immortal Troops had become a series of semi-independent affiliated organizations, wondering what Black Star was thinking, and silently observing.
As various guilds in Huaxia gradually established strongholds in the Free Competition Zone, the first batch of foreign players, mainly from Southeast Asia, finally arrived in the Black Hole Edge Shattered World.