The fortune teller held the crystal ball and chanted incantations, while the Silver Spirit People and mercenaries watched from the sidelines, staring at each other in bewilderment.
"Is divination useful?" Melos couldn't help but ask. Could a target that various detection devices couldn't find be locked down by divination? Sunil was, after all, a technologically advanced civilization with limited understanding of magic. He had only heard about it but didn't understand the principles, so it was normal for him to be skeptical.
Han Xiao stroked his chin. "It depends on the situation. The vast universe is full of wonders. Some things that technological equipment can't do, magic can, and vice versa. Of course, as technology advances, different knowledge systems gradually have more in common, leading to the same goal and complementing each other. Divination in the Mage Class is still very useful."
"Can't you use your precognitive abilities?" Melos suddenly remembered that there was a precognitive person standing next to him.
"I was passive, passive..." Han Xiao coughed dryly, brushing it off.
After chanting for about ten minutes, a blurry image appeared on the crystal ball. The diviner stopped chanting, stared at the crystal ball for a while, rubbed his eyes, and said uncertainly, "I saw a Void Dragon Race..."
Everyone was taken aback.
Void Dragon Race?
What are you talking about?!
The clarity of a divination result depends on the number of clues; most of the time it's ambiguous, but it's always related to the facts. The diviner said helplessly, "This is all the result I can see. Do you have any ideas?"
The mercenaries huddled around the crystal ball, discussing it endlessly. Goya frowned and suddenly said, "Could it be... Floating Dragon Island?!"
Upon hearing this, the noise ceased abruptly, as if a mute button had been pressed. The mercenaries instantly fell silent, exchanging bewildered glances, a hint of fear creeping onto their faces.
"Very likely... If there's any force in the Shattered Star Ring that isn't afraid of retaliation, Floating Dragon Island is one of them."
Noticing the stiffness in everyone's expression, Maple Moon tugged at Han Xiao's sleeve and asked curiously, "What place is that?"
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly. "Wanted criminals cannot obtain supplies on planets with established civilizations. However, some neutral territories dare to accommodate all sorts of people, including space pirates and scavengers. Floating Dragon Island is such a neutral territory."
"Isn't that just a gathering place for criminals? Why don't those civilized places just round up all the criminals?" Meat Bun squeezed in and interjected.
"Not pursuing past crimes in neutral territories is an unspoken agreement among the major civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring. There's only one reason: these neutral territories, which have stood for so many years, all have a powerful ruler." Han Xiao seemed to have thought of something interesting, a smirk playing on his lips. "The ruler of Floating Dragon Island... is a powerhouse surpassing even the Calamity Grade!"
Beyond the Calamity Grade... which means it's above Grade A?!
The players' expressions changed slightly; they finally understood why the mercenaries had such bitter looks on their faces.
They knew nothing about experts of this level, nor how powerful they were, but Han Xiao knew everything.
If Grade A is a planetary-level Calamity Grade, then anything above Grade A is a new level, enough to become a dominant force in interstellar space. Few civilizations are willing to provoke such a powerful being. Take Hila at her peak as an example; she could harvest the souls of all life forms on an entire planet in a matter of seconds, plunging a planet into death!
Individuals with this level of strength are no longer afraid of many rules. Even the combined power of some galaxy-level civilizations might not be able to defeat them. It is truly terrifying... Fortunately, there are not many monsters of this caliber in the entire universe. In the vast Shattered Star Ring, there are only four Beyond Grade A powerhouses known to the world. They are renowned and lonely.
One of the controllers of Floating Dragon Island was Han Xiao, who happened to be very familiar with him. In his previous life, Master Han had had some contact with him due to a mission...
Void Dragon Race are interstellar beings, thousands of meters tall, living in the universe. The omnipresent dark energy acts as a medium, much like air is to humans or water is to fish. The bodies of Void Dragon Race contain special powers; upon death, their flesh transforms into ice shards and dust, leaving only a massive skeleton drifting in space, eventually becoming a comet.
When their lifespan is nearing its end, the Void Dragon Race wait for death beside the corpses of their companions, thus forming comet-shaped burial grounds. Floating Dragon Island is a huge burial ground, rumored to contain the skeletons of twenty-four Void Dragon Race. These skeletons were captured by the current rulers and embedded in the surface of a barren planet. The rulers then used their immense power to tear off landmasses, equipping them with various anti-gravity stabilizers, ecological maintenance devices, and so on, to sustain interstellar travel, thus transforming it into the present-day Floating Dragon Island.
When Han Xiao first learned about this incident, besides being amazed, his biggest feeling was—being rich is really something else!
After much deliberation, based on the divination results, it was deemed most likely that the scavengers would go to Floating Dragon Island to sell their stolen goods, causing many mercenaries to consider backing out.
"Sorry, I'm withdrawing from this mission." The leader of a medium-sized mercenary group hesitated for a long time before making his decision. With him taking the lead, more mercenaries echoed his words, turned around and left. One after another, the spaceships took off and disappeared without a trace.
Floating Dragon Island is a prisoner's quarters, extremely dangerous, and not a place that welcomes mercenaries on missions. You might suddenly run into an enemy. And if you try to rescue someone in such a place, and accidentally break the rules and offend the controller, it's questionable whether you can leave alive. Most mercenaries chicken out.
The Silver Spirit People were shocked and furious; the mercenaries' treachery infuriated them.
Only the members of the three major mercenary groups, Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold, remained. These three groups were large and powerful, and at least the criminals on Floating Dragon Island dared not mess with them. Having connections and backing made all the difference.
"The opportunity has arrived!" Han Xiao's eyes lit up. The Silver Spirit People must be short-handed now. He stepped forward and asked with a smile, "Do you need any mercenaries?"
The three major mercenary groups immediately turned their attention to each other. The Silver Spirit People captain nodded immediately. This was truly a godsend. Those famous mercenaries had previously promised to rescue the prisoners, but they cowered as soon as they heard the location. What good was their accumulated reputation? They were not as good as this uninvited mercenary group!
Goya frowned and said, "Floating Dragon Island is full of thugs, pirates, and scavengers. It's extremely dangerous. Even if you are our partner, the name of Sky Ring cannot protect you. If you are killed, it will be a pointless death. That place is too dangerous for you. You'd better reconsider."
In her opinion, the reason this small mercenary group dared to apply for the mission was probably because they were partners of Sky Ring, but she felt it was necessary to clarify things.
If a direct descendant is killed, Sky Ring will retaliate with all its might, so the thugs are hesitant to act. However, although collaborators can follow along, Sky Ring will not stand up for them if they encounter misfortune. This is the difference.
"It's alright, my people aren't afraid of danger." Han Xiao smiled. This female mage had improved his impression of her considerably. She could have simply hired their group of combatants, but she had proactively mentioned the danger. Although she had a cold demeanor, she was actually quite kind.