Roddick's eyes flashed, and he said, "Tell me your thoughts."
"What weaknesses do you think Black Star has?" Lagos looked around.
Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.
"Black Star possesses astonishing power, a resilient body, a vast empire, and unparalleled prestige..." Roddick's expression was grim. "I can't think of any weaknesses he might have."
"So in other words, what does Black Star care about?"
"His legion? But we can't shake their foundations... His homeworld? It's heavily protected, we have no chance to strike, and this minor issue isn't enough to keep Black Star occupied... His officers? As far as I know, key members of Black Star's legion are equipped with teleportation devices similar to High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter, we can't block them, and trying to threaten Black Star with that won't work... As for other things, Black Star doesn't seem to care much."
Roddick grew increasingly desperate as he spoke. In his view, unless the higher-ups disregarded casualties and used an army group to encircle and annihilate Black Star, there was nothing they could do about it.
Lagos shook his head.
"Black Star is indeed powerful, but we shouldn't exaggerate his abilities. Let's set aside our inner fears and re-examine him. There are actually some ways to achieve our goals, which can be divided into direct and indirect routes."
Roddick felt a glimmer of hope. In the years he'd spent in the Free Competition Zone, Black Star had become a major concern for him. Hearing this, he eagerly asked, "Tell me quickly!"
"The direct approach is simple: start with Black Star himself. Although we can't destroy his physical body, his soul isn't as resilient as Undying Body."
Upon hearing this, Roddick immediately deflated. "So what? Even if Black Star's mental strength is relatively weak, it's not something we can target. At least Peak Beyond Grade A would be qualified."
"No, no, no, look at this file."
Lagos swiped his finger across the virtual screen, revealing a confidential file.
Roddick looked over and muttered to himself, "Marvell Project file, Project Number - 023, Project Name - [Soul-Switching Twins]... What is this?"
"This is a top-secret document that was sent to me by higher-ups not long ago. I don't know much about Marvell Project either. According to the higher-ups, this project is one of the civilization's secret programs for cultivating special superhuman talents."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone nodded in agreement, seemingly unsurprised.
Because they coveted the dominant position among the Three Universal Civilizations, the Supercluster Civilization had always known how to conceal its trump cards and had formulated many plans to secretly cultivate special talents. After the Tragedy of the Pinnacle, similar plans became even more numerous, and some of the direct descendants of Beyond Grade A beings hidden in Secondary Dimension World were products of different secret cultivation plans.
This matter is a semi-public secret among advanced civilizations, Three Universal Civilizations are also aware of it, although they are unaware of the details of each plan.
"You think these two can handle Black Star?" Roddick expressed strong skepticism. "Impossible! These twins aren't even Beyond Grade A. How could they possibly harm a single hair on Black Star's head?"
"You've subconsciously fallen into a misconception too. It's not only Beyond Grade A beings who can harm Beyond Grade A beings! Although these twins are weak, they are the only two qualified individuals who can use a special Universal Treasure. This Universal Treasure belongs to the category of Cosmic Wonder and has miraculous effects on the soul level. It has never appeared before, and it might work on Black Star."
Roddick hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "Anyway, there's no other way. Let's request the higher-ups to send the twins to help... What's this other indirect route you mentioned?"
"The indirect route is to start with those close to Black Star. Looking at his past experiences, he doesn't seem to care about many people. His relationship with the Dragon Emperor is particularly delicate. If something happens to the Dragon Emperor, it might make him temporarily abandon everything, thus restraining the Black Star Army."
Roddick was taken aback. "Why target the Dragon Emperor?"
"Legion officers like Hila are under heavy protection; by comparison, those on the Dragon Emperor have a much better chance."
"Didn't you say that Black Star equipped those he values with special teleporters? Dragon Emperor can't be unprepared, so how do we deal with it?"
"By 'dealing with,' I don't mean using force to kill her. After all, she's a Beyond Grade A, not someone you can easily subdue..." Lagos pondered. "But imagine if the Dragon Emperor suddenly changed her personality and committed a heinous crime. Black Star wouldn't just turn a blind eye, would he?"
"You mean..."
"I have two plans. One is to have the [Soul-Switching Twins] plot against the Dragon Emperor and twist her mind. This has a higher success rate than directly confronting Black Star. The other is to find a way to entangle the Dragon Emperor in a vortex, causing her to incur public wrath, such as violating the Peace Treaty and massacring civilians. This way, Black Star will have to divert her attention."
"The first option is self-explanatory, but how do we proceed with the second option?"
"It could be a frame-up, or it could be to incite the Dragon Emperor to go mad. According to the data, she has a very obvious weakness..." Lagos's eyes flickered, "We still need to discuss this further."
Roddick's eyes lit up after hearing these words.
This seems to make some sense!
Of all the war zones in the four star clusters, the Ferdinand Star System war zone in the Emerald Star Cluster is particularly noteworthy, precisely because the Black Star Army has made unstoppable progress, tearing apart the outer defenses formed by the proxy forces and heading straight for the important territory of the Modo Civilization in the central region.
Although the Black Star Army claims to be targeting only the Modo Civilization, its actions have far-reaching consequences, profoundly impacting the overall war situation in the Emerald Star Cluster and creating a breach in the outer defense perimeter constructed by the Super Star Cluster Alliance.
Using the Black Star Army's offensive direction as a breakthrough point, many forces standing on the Three Universal Civilizations camps chose to follow the legion and attempt to break into the territory of the Modo Civilization along the gap, which is one of the heartland locations of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.
The Super Star Cluster Alliance, in an attempt to fill the gap, had no choice but to call in reinforcements. Even if the proxy forces were unwilling, they had to come and curb the advance of the Three Universal Civilizations alliance forces led by the Black Star Army.
The Modo Civilization had no choice but to send a portion of its regular army to join forces with the Northern Front and other player guild alliances to block the Black Star Army, barely managing to keep them tied down on the front lines between the Fifth and Seventh Star Sectors.
This battlefront has become a vortex of war in the Emerald Star Cluster, attracting a large number of armed fleets and turning it into a meat grinder. The Ferdinand Star System war zone has become the most intense area of fighting.
The war in the Shattered World is raging, and the Three Universal Civilizations are not idle either. They have issued multi-faceted sanctions against all supercluster civilizations, and have begun to erode the national strength of each supercluster civilization from political and economic aspects, preventing them from focusing on the war.
Therefore, a large number of the Germinal Financial Group's business personnel boarded the fleet returning to the Explored Universe and headed to various star systems.
Inside the spaceship, Enterprise, the current vice president of the Germinal Financial Group, gazed out the window, his eyes reflecting the dazzling exhaust flames of the fleet, and murmured to himself:
"Unbeknownst to us, more than twenty years have passed..."
He stroked the small mustache on his lip, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.
The scene of being half-forced away by Black Star is still vivid in my mind. In the blink of an eye, many years have passed. Enterprise has transformed from a young man with some business talent into a shrewd and experienced middle-aged businessman, and his position has risen all the way to president.
At first, I was reluctant, but then I accepted it and worked hard to achieve good results in order to get promoted. Now I'm used to serving the legion, working diligently, and striving for the legion's interests.
Whenever Enterprise thinks of the past, he feels as if he's in a dream.
He was originally just the head of a small conglomerate, never imagining that he would become an important civilian cadre under the Black Star Army and ascend to the top stage of the universe.
Seizing opportunities amidst turmoil to destabilize the economy of an advanced civilization not only yields enormous profits but also influences the shifting landscape of the universe—this is one of the pinnacle achievements of an interstellar merchant!
Those who can do this are invariably business giants in the universe.
Without Black Star as his guide, he would probably only be able to make a name for himself in a small pond in a star system, and he could not even imagine the life he has now.
While there was some gratitude towards Black Star, Enterprise felt more a sense of lament about how his own fate had been altered.
Just then, the secretary walked in, holding a virtual document.
"Vice President, the Infinite Financial Group has drafted a cooperation agreement, and we need your signature."
"Okay, give it to me."
Enterprise gathered his thoughts, quickly glanced at the terms of the document, and then signed his name.
He kept in mind that he had a mission on this trip.
The apparent reason for cooperating with the Infinite Financial Group to get a share of the economic sanctions is just that; the real mission is twofold.
First, we will focus on cracking down on Modo in the economic sphere; second, we will help intelligence agents to infiltrate and monitor the movements of the Supercluster Civilization's resources and military.
The Super Star Cluster Alliance's lifeline for sustaining the war lies in logistics and transportation. Without a continuous stream of aid, the forces in the Free Competition Zone would be nothing more than a defeated, isolated army. Therefore, the Legion Commander privately gave him a task: to figure out the transportation lines of the Supercluster civilizations by observing their resource movements.
As long as the supply lines of the Super Star Cluster Alliance can be controlled or cut off, the forces in the Free Competition Zone will be nothing more than turtles in a jar.
After more than 20 years of contact, he had come to believe that Han Xiao was a man of deep thought and foresight. He knew very well that his own legion commander was making a strategic move, and he was just one of the pieces that needed to be placed in the right position.
On the other hand, the Black Star Army's forward exploration base.
A group of players gathered in a private room, the room bustling with activity and creating a great deal of noise.
"We've been here for almost twenty minutes already, what do you want from us?"
"Were you also notified by Phillip?"
"Yes, I don't know what I'm doing here."
Many players are discussing it.
Everyone present had just arrived at the exploration base, preparing to join the next fleet to attack the Modo Civilization. However, upon arriving at the base, they suddenly received a notification from Phillip, instructing them to come to this room and wait for orders.
This situation is usually a sign that a mission has been triggered. Few people refused, and most people came. There are about two thousand people in the room now, mostly veteran players who joined the legion early on, and some are even members of certain Huaxia club guilds.
Just as everyone was chattering and discussing, a strange noise suddenly came from inside the room.
Buzz--
A virtual projection appeared in front of the crowd, immediately attracting everyone's attention, and many people stared wide-eyed in surprise.
"Black Star!"
The projection that appeared before everyone at this moment was Han Xiao.
Han Xiao looked around, gazing at the curious faces, and nodded in greeting:
"Gentlemen, I am the one who notified you to come here. You are all veterans who have fought alongside the legion for many years and are trustworthy. I have chosen you from among all of you to carry out a secret mission."
Upon hearing this, everyone present widened their eyes.
Were we specially selected by the guild leader?
Ah, the aroma of the hidden quest!
"What do you want us to do?" a daring player in the crowd shouted excitedly.
Han Xiao smiled slightly:
"I need you... to act as spies!"
After saying that, he released the "secret mission" that he had already prepared to the players present. Everyone's eyes went unfocused, and they all looked at the panel.
Many foreign clubs have planted spies in his camp, so Han Xiao plans to fight fire with fire by sending some legion players to feign joining those guild alliances to gather information. He also plans to plant spies in the Modo Civilization to investigate the transport routes.
To this end, he would conceal these players' records of serving in the legion, "whitewash" their identities, and play a double agent game, which would be no difficult task for a Beyond Grade A virtual mechanic.
Discovering the supply lines was not intended to completely destroy the hopes of the Modo Civilization, but rather to better encircle and ambush reinforcements. He grasped the Modo Civilization not to easily give up its ambition to Shattered World. As long as the enemy could survive, the Modo Civilization would continue to commit troops, continuously throwing soldiers into this meat grinder.
Not only can it meet its own mission requirements, but it can also keep the Black Star Army in a state of constant intervention—after all, if Modo is gone, the Black Star Army will have no reason to intervene in the war.
This is just one aspect of the strategy. Han Xiao is secretly making arrangements in many ways, preparing to weave a large net to cover the Modo Civilization, making it a prey in the spider web with no way to escape.
To this end, he even secretly contacted an old acquaintance he hadn't seen in a long time, a dangerous antisocial individual, a powerful manipulator, and a tool he considered extremely useful...
Lothaire!
With such a powerful weapon unleashed, he could easily imagine the changes that would occur within the Modo Civilization...