In the Black Star Palace, in the Legion Commander's office, Rotel's remote projection stood in the center of the room. Han Xiao circled around him, looking him up and down, occasionally letting out a click of his tongue in admiration.
"Young man, although you've successfully escaped this time, don't be too happy yet. I still need to settle accounts with you."
"What are your instructions?" Rotel calmly accepted the reprimand.
"Although the operation was successful, it was ultimately your own decision, which forced me to handle the aftermath. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were the boss. For something this big, you should have asked for my consent before taking action. Remember that?" Han Xiao stood in front of Rotel, hands behind his back, and began to reprimand him.
"Next time for sure." Rotel was sparing with his words.
Han Xiao snorted, paused, and said, "The impact of this assassination is enormous. The Modo Civilization has abandoned the Shattered World Battle to focus on its internal affairs, and they will certainly not let this go. Therefore, all activities of the Assassins Mutual Aid Society must be temporarily suspended. You must all stay hidden until the storm passes, at which point I will allow you to emerge again."
How long will it take?
"It'll be several decades. You should make good use of this time to train," Han Xiao said.
"Okay." Rotel didn't complain and calmly agreed.
Coincidentally, this high-profile assassination attempt gave him new insights, and he wanted to quietly process these experiences.
Assassinating the leader of a high-level civilization was undoubtedly a legendary feat, bringing about subtle changes in him, like a catalyst for advancement, increasing his chances of reaching the Beyond Grade A. However, Rotel didn't have a data panel and couldn't clearly know all this, only having a vague feeling.
After giving a few more instructions, Han Xiao ended the call, his feigned serious expression relaxing and revealing a smile.
The assassination attempt by Rotel, which was carried out without prior notification, startled him. However, the outcome was excellent. With the Modo Civilization's compromise and withdrawal, the second requirement of [Kunde Leader's Last Wish] was now displayed as a golden completed status.
Without Rotel's assassination, there wouldn't have been such a major upheaval in the leadership of Modo. In that case, I would probably have had to spend much more effort and pay a higher price to defeat Modo. Moreover, the chain of chaos caused by the assassination of the leader was also included in the mission's progress, dealing a heavy blow to Modo and delivering the final blow.
Although Rotel acted on his own initiative this time, the result was still reliable. Han Xiao had always thought highly of Rotel; in his eyes, Rotel possessed the potential of Beyond Grade A, with far more room for development than a good-for-nothing like Hadavy.
Freezing the Assassins Mutual Aid Society's operations serves two purposes: firstly, to avoid the limelight, and secondly, to give Rotel more time to explore opportunities for advancement.
Putting those thoughts aside, Han Xiao opened the task list on the panel and looked at the two golden tasks.
[Escape from the Birthplace] and [The Kunde Leader's Last Wish] are both in a "settlementable" state. One of the latter's two quest requirements has been completed, and the three abilities [The Oath of Vengeance], [The Proof of Leadership], and [The Kunde's Wrath] can be extracted.
Han Xiao thought for a moment and temporarily suppressed his desire to complete [Kunde Leader's Last Wish], because the first task required "providing shelter during the Kunde Race's transformation," which had not yet been completed.
This S-rank mission is a single, integrated task, not a series of interconnected missions. Therefore, once the settlement is completed, all mission requirements will be calculated together. If the mission is completed now, the reward for the first requirement will not be obtained. He really wanted the 4 Political Asset that were the reward for the first requirement. Anyway, he had the initiative in the settlement now and could get the three abilities at any time, so he wasn't in a hurry.
"Let's collect the rewards from Rotel's quest first."
Han Xiao went out, turned left, and went to the cadre lounge to soak up some good luck. When he returned, he quickly started operating on the control panel.
[Escape with Your Life] Completed!
[Modo Civilization Favorability -3000, Current Relationship: [Mortal Enemies]]
[You have gained 80e experience, 2 random rewards, and the milestone [Civilization Leader Assassin]]
[[Civilization Leader Assassin]: Reduces the favorability of all civilization leaders by 10. Your declarations are more likely to be taken seriously by major civilizations. At the same time, for civilizations that are hostile to you, any fleet or superhuman under your command will have its defense and various resistances reduced by 3% to 7% when fighting against you or your forces or allies.]
"This milestone is probably only for wanted criminals from the evil faction," Han Xiao's eyelid twitched.
For wanted criminals, the favorability of the civilized leader is worthless, but for us, who have status and position, the favorability of the civilized leader is still useful.
However, he didn't care too much. Among the leaders of the higher civilizations with whom he had a good relationship, there was only one, Urranrell. The other two, the Glory President and the Arcane Cult Leader, were people he disliked, yet they still chose to cooperate. As long as the benefits were realized, the influence of a leader's personal favorability was negligible.
Moreover, the 10 points of favorability towards the civilization leader are not comparable in value to the effect of a milestone. Although the increase is not high, the scope of influence is extremely exaggerated, covering an entire civilization and weakening the resistance of all enemy civilization's troops.
Han Xiao immediately realized that this ability could give the entire Explored Universe an innate advantage when facing the World Tree Civilization!
Compared to that, the loss of personal goodwill is nothing.
"This is what they mean by 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' I'm truly great."
Han Xiao was almost moved by his own words.
He composed himself and continued looking at the ability extraction interface behind him.
[You have received a reward: Draw one of Rotel's abilities (skills/feats)]
[Note: Rotel's profession is martial artist. Some of his abilities do not match your profession, and some of his extractable abilities have been adjusted.]
[Randomly selecting... Selection complete!]
[Please choose one of the following five abilities as a reward]
[1. [Master of Stealth] - Specialty: Greatly reduces your presence in the eyes of outsiders, greatly reduces the chance of enemies discovering you, greatly reduces the clues left behind during your activities, and you can easily find all elements in an area that might expose you (including but not limited to various surveillance devices and various detection spells)]
[2. [Assassination Mark] - Skill: Mark a target. Your next attack on the target will deal 75%~100% more damage, have a 45% higher critical hit rate, and deal 100% more critical hit damage. Costs 150 Qi, 48s cooldown.]
[3. [One-Hit Kill] - Skill: When your next attack successfully hits the target, an instant-death check will be performed immediately. The check is based on the target's health, stamina, instant-death resistance, luck, and the level difference between the two parties. If the check succeeds, the target will die instantly. If the check fails, an additional 280% of the damage from this attack will be dealt. It consumes 500 stamina and has a 1200s cooldown.]
[4. [Assassin's Way - Critical Hit] - Skill: Injects energy into the next attack, accumulating additional attack bonus. 10 points of energy are converted into 1% attack bonus, stacking up to a maximum of 300% attack bonus. Cooldown: 150s]
[5. [Fearless Heart] - Feat: When fighting powerful enemies, you gain an additional attack power bonus. This ability does not trigger when the enemy's rank is below Grade B; when the enemy's rank is Grade B, you gain a 5% base attack power bonus; when the enemy's rank is Grade A, you gain a 15% base attack power bonus; when the enemy's rank is Grade S, you gain a 25% base attack power bonus; when the enemy's rank is S+, you gain a 35% base attack power bonus; when the enemy's rank is Grade SS, you gain a 45% base attack power bonus.]
"Wow! This young man!"
Han Xiao's eyes lit up.
What is an Assassin Master? This is an Assassin Master!
With Rotel not around for years, Han Xiao hadn't looked at his panel for a long time. He remembered that, apart from the second option, the other four were abilities that Rotel didn't possess back then.
"Looks like this kid hasn't been idle these past twenty years; he's mastered quite a few new moves."
Han Xiao was overjoyed with the picture book.
With such a powerful learning ability, he seems to rival Nero; we've truly struck gold.
After a careful glance, Han Xiao decided he wouldn't choose the second or third option. Although the instant death judgment of [One-Hit Kill] was quite tempting, he immediately ruled it out as soon as he saw that the judgment base included the luck attribute.
Even our nickname has the word "black" in it, so how could we not know our own limitations?
The fourth ability, [Assassin's Way - Critical Hit], is quite powerful, but Han Xiao considered it and ruled it out. This ability only provides a bonus to the next attack. The Mechanic is all about firepower coverage, and attack frequency is king. Although the "Iron-Headed Charge" he got from Silver Shadow can be used in conjunction with this ability, it's too unorthodox and there aren't many opportunities to use it.
Han Xiao hesitated mainly between the first and fifth options. [Master of Stealth] is a functional and Tu Shu- type specialty that greatly enhances concealment abilities. It can be of great use in activities such as espionage, infiltrating behind enemy lines, and stealing intelligence. Although it cannot increase combat power, it can provide a unique kind of support.
But the bonus from [Fearless Heart] is just too good to pass up!
This is not a single-attack bonus, but a passive ability; any attack by the user and mechanical units will benefit from the feat effect.
Moreover, it's not an external enhancement algorithm, but an increase in base attack, meaning the percentage increase can be directly treated as an actual damage bonus!
"Those qualified to be my opponents now are all at the Peak Beyond Grade A level, and this specialty is best suited for someone of my caliber!"
Han Xiao was filled with excitement.
[Fearless Heart] becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents, but for Rotel, the amplification above the third level is useless, because with his current abilities, he cannot defeat Beyond Grade A. Only Beyond Grade A can fully unleash the power of this specialty.
After pondering for more than ten seconds, the desire to output ultimately prevailed. Han Xiao composed himself and made his choice.
[You have gained a new specialization, [Fearless Heart]!]
"That feels good."
Han Xiao exhaled, feeling a surge of heat in his brain that quickly spread throughout his body.
After savoring it for a while, his expression suddenly turned strange, and he realized something.
This specialty lived up to its name, bringing a strong sense of confidence. Han Xiao found that most of his awe of the strong had vanished instantly, replaced by disdain.
Manison? That little rascal, let's get him!
Three Universal Civilizations? You brat, let's get him!
World Tree Civilization? What the hell? Let's take them down!
He wants to mess with whoever comes to mind, his heart filled with a fearless spirit of "I'm second to none" and "I don't submit to anyone," giving him the illusion that he can recklessly overcome anything.
He quickly suppressed his emotions, took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, and then suddenly realized something.
"No wonder Rotel dared to assassinate the Three Kings of Modo; it was a side effect of this specialization. Case solved..."
Han Xiao rolled his eyes.
What Fearless Heart? That's bullshit, it's clearly the heart of a reckless fool!