Planet Fawn-122.
call--
An old-fashioned small spaceship slowly landed on the ravaged, gray-black earth. The jets of air from its bottom created ripples on the ground, and the engine made a buzzing noise. The propulsion system was very rudimentary, and its speed, noise reduction, and shock absorption were all extremely poor. It was a technology that was about to be phased out. In the interstellar trade market, only the poorest people with no money would buy such a rudimentary spaceship.
However, this ancient relic was equipped with top-of-the-line Stealth equipment, including optical invisibility, sound insulation, gravitational wave penetration, and quantum network shielding. Several members of the DarkStar, disguised as travelers, stepped off the spaceship and placed a special signal diffuser on the ground. Invisible radio waves passed through the cracks in the planet's surface at incredible speeds and seeped into the ground.
As one ventures deeper into the winding fissures in the earth, in a dark and narrow space, a pair of long-dormant eyes suddenly open. The back of his hand glows Glimmer, revealing a microchip implanted there. Receiving a signal, it emits a subtle vibration that travels through the blood vessels and bones, awakening the sleeping man.
"It's finally here..."
After a while, the surface ships finally saw their target appear. From a distant crevice, a man crawled out and slowly approached. It was Ashes, his face gaunt and covered in soot. He was the sole survivor of the Sarota fleet. Before the Dragon Emperor arrived, Sarota had issued a retreat order, but Ashes, knowing the enemy was Ames and that the mothership was likely doomed, risked staying underground. He went deep into a cave, used his powers to form a carbonaceous substance that enveloped him, and manipulated his heartbeat and blood flow to enter a state of suspended animation. Sure enough, his companions who boarded the fleet to retreat were all blown up by the mercenary fleet and the Black Raven Holy Stone, turning into brilliant fireworks in space and reduced to ashes.
After the Sarota fleet was destroyed, the mercenaries captured Sarota, the highest-ranking officer on the mothership. They had no time to search the entire planet for any remaining survivors. The DarkStar force was basically wiped out, so there was no need to waste any more time. Ashes survived. As a valued officer, he had a tracking chip implanted in him, and a rescue ship came to pick him up after everyone else evacuated the planet.
At the time, Han Xiao also leaned towards Ashes being dead, but he still had a slight doubt in his heart. After all, a legendary character like Ash shouldn't die so easily. However, he couldn't search the entire planet. The other mercenaries were rushing to Goddora and wouldn't help. With just his manpower, exploring the entire planet would take an unknown amount of time, which was unnecessary and, from a probability standpoint, not worth the effort. So he didn't delve into it. Whether Ashes was dead or alive, Han Xiao could accept it.
Several DarkStar warriors stepped forward to help him, but Ashes waved them away. He needed no assistance; his face was cold and stern as he said in a deep voice, "Tell me the situation! Are Sarota and the others all dead?"
"Ames shot down Sarota's mothership. We were attacked from both sides by Holy Stone and Black Raven, and our fleet was completely wiped out. Some of the crew members on the mothership survived, including Sarota. They were handed over to Goddora by the mercenaries. Colton News reported on this a few days ago, and they have all been sent to Rainbow Light Prison."
Each mothership is a mobile base for DarkStar; losing any one of them would be a devastating loss.
Ashes gritted his teeth, "What about the Whispering Bead?"
"We've received rumors that the Whispering Bead was picked up by the Dragon Calm's Guard and given to the Holy Stone Civilization, who then handed it over to Goddora..."
Ashes swayed, then hissed, "So, our sacrifices were meaningless, all in vain... How can we let this go after such a huge loss? Even if we can't defeat the Dragon Emperor, we'll make her pay! She attacked us to rescue Black Star, so let's find an opportunity to kill Black Star and show her we're not to be trifled with..."
At that moment, a deep, resounding shout, heavy as a mountain, cut off Ashes's words.
"At this crucial moment, it's not wise to provoke a powerful enemy. Remember, Goddora is the real foe."
A virtual image appeared before Ashes, a half-Golden Goddora with pale golden skin covered in strange scales and animal-hide-like wrinkles. His forehead was adorned with a series of mysterious patterns that extended down to his eye bags and nose, resembling the war paint of a barbarian. The man was older, but his features were sharp and his aura was imposing, like Mountain.
Upon seeing him, the anger in Ashes's eyes subsided, and he lowered his head, respectfully saying, "Teacher."
Several DarkStar members nearby also bowed their heads in trepidation, "Anur."
Anur is the mentor who discovered the potential of Ashes's supernatural abilities and guided his growth. He is a high-ranking officer of DarkStar and one of the few Grade A combatants in the organization. His status is highly respected, second only to the leader.
He looked down at the Ashes and said in a deep voice, "I can see you're resentful. Tell me, who is it that angers you? And the book."
"... Black Star, he's a mercenary leader under Dragon Emperor. I've failed against him twice... no, three times. Since officially joining the organization, these are the only three times I've failed. He shamed me, and he possesses a special ability that counters my superpowers... Only his death can wash away my shame!"
Anur interrupted, coldly saying, "Naive! Narrow-minded! The organization has invested massive resources in you, training you into a powerful warrior, not to deal with insignificant people. The organization has high hopes for you; the responsibilities you bear far exceed your imagination. A mere mercenary is not a target for you. Focusing your attention on him is a waste of time!"
He paused, then added, "Furthermore, Black Star is under the Dragon Emperor's command. Now is not the time to provoke them. We'll deal with them slowly once things have taken shape."
Ashes lowered his head and asked, "What should I do?"
"Anger clouded your judgment; this is an unforgivable mistake. You are not allowed to go on missions for a year. Stay at the base and focus on training. Reflect on your actions."
"Understood." Ashes nodded. He respected Anur greatly, calmed down, and accepted the arrangement. He suppressed his hostility towards Black Star... His teacher was right. He was destined to become the organization's ace, plotting something big, and shouldn't waste his energy on unimportant people.
After thinking for a moment, Ashes asked one last question, "Teacher, what about the Whispering Bead?"
"Once Goddora gets her hands on the Whispering Bead, she'll eventually find out what's inside. With the latest seventh-generation Mutation Source in Goddora's hands, the organization's plans risk being exposed. This matter needs careful consideration. In a few days, the leader will hold a high-level meeting to discuss this issue, and future strategic plans will be adjusted based on this reason."
Having obtained the answer, Ashes did not delay any longer, boarded the ship, took off, and the spaceship disappeared into the distance.
Juberly Hub.
Ten days passed in a flash. Players had nothing to do while waiting at the stronghold, spending most of their time grinding dungeons.
After trying [Campaign: The Might of the Dragon Emperor] many times, exchanging experiences and brainstorming, they found a possible way to complete the game.
First, you need to choose a support faction. The countdown is the same as the DarkStar faction, three hours. Compared to the other two, this is the easiest faction. Then, you need good luck to encounter a key character— Goya of the Sky Ring Alliance —within the first twenty minutes. Meet up with him, then don't do any side quests. Follow Goya for two hours. Next, time your escape perfectly and leave before encountering the next wave of formidable enemies that could wipe out the entire party. This will allow you to survive for two hours and twenty minutes. The difficulty lies in the last forty minutes. If everything goes smoothly, there should be six to eight players left. By selling out teammates one by one, there's a chance that only one person will survive to complete the game. Doing so will reduce the rewards by 90%, but at least you can complete the game.
However, although there are theoretical methods, most of them rely on luck, and no one has succeeded so far.
These professional players initially thought that choosing the mercenary faction would guarantee their survival if they encountered Han Xiao. However, they were mistaken. Regardless of their faction, encountering Han Xiao meant certain death. The DarkStar faction was safe, but mercenaries and support factions could survive for a long time after encountering Han Xiao. However, they would inevitably encounter Ashes in the end, and everyone would be instantly killed. Even if they left Han Xiao's side beforehand, they would still encounter Ashes.
Professional players have shifted their focus to the level 60 Germinal dungeon, which is a suitable level and much easier. Even if the level 90 dungeon has high rewards, they can only look at it but not touch it.
Meat Bun couldn't record any footage of the Dragon Emperor, he had to make a sequel to his previous series, recording footage of the level 60 Germinal dungeon, continuing the previous Black Phantom series. Fortunately, this series wasn't finished yet, and players had only heard of Han Xiao's deeds but had never seen the footage.
Meat Bun's video recorded the dungeon's progress. The Germinal dungeon is a large-scale raid where Han Xiao infiltrates the Germinal headquarters and Germinal is eventually destroyed, progressing step by step and full of grandeur.
Meat Bun originally intended to use this episode as a transition, but the response to the video exceeded his expectations. The level of enthusiasm was comparable to that of the Black Star episode, which greatly surprised and delighted him.
Following the influence of the Black Star arc, more players from other planets became familiar with Han Xiao, the first NPC to lead players away from their Number One. Players from other regions were quite curious about his past experiences, and since the Black Phantom series is basically a solo story by Han Xiao, many new viewers were attracted to it.