As night fell, the palace was brightly lit. Invited, everyone changed into exquisite formal attire brought by the officials and attended the banquet. Palace attendants led the way to the garden courtyard, which had been transformed into an open-air banquet hall. Bright, warm firelight dispelled the darkness of the night. Long tables were laden with exquisite food: emerald green, bright yellow, and vibrant purple fruits and vegetables; fragrant roasted meats from unknown animals; sweet pies overflowing with fresh milk; and pale blue, clear wine brewed with the Source Water. Attendants carried trays among the guests, while musicians sat in the center playing strangely shaped instruments, each note dancing merrily on the strings. Meanwhile, pale blue-skinned Veyn nobles chatted and raised their glasses in the courtyard. The banquet had only just begun. In a corner of the courtyard was a pavilion where the Vein king and high-ranking nobles sat, frequently glancing towards the courtyard passage. Upon seeing the warriors from the upper realm arrive, the king cleared his throat and led the way to his feet.
"Welcome to the royal banquet, everyone. I am Jiale Mio. Thank you all for your generous assistance..." the king said. "Mio" means "king" or "leader" in the Vein language, and it is also the king's self-designation.
King Jiale, a robust middle-aged man, spoke words of gratitude as he descended from the pavilion to personally greet them, showing no airs whatsoever. The other nobles stopped their conversations and bowed in unison to Han Xiao and his companions. In the presence of guests from the Upper Realm, they knew their noble status was meaningless; it was a difference in social standing, somewhat like a tribal chief facing guests from a civilized metropolis, but the gap was even greater. Warriors from the Upper Realm were powerful dragons capable of disregarding local bullies.
Linge seemed to follow Han Xiao's lead blindly, so Han Xiao, as the leader, had to step in and say a lot of polite things, like it was just a small favor and a trivial matter. Then, King Jiale tried to Jiale on their good side by telling a few jokes that weren't funny at all, and the nobles burst into laughter as if it were some extremely funny joke.
A group of guardian mages emerged, carrying interstellar communicators with such care, as if they were sacred artifacts. After a few maneuvers, a virtual projection of an "Ascension" appeared in the center of the courtyard, eliciting gasps of amazement from the Veyn. Han Xiao overheard an old nobleman beside him say to his offspring, "Cherish this moment. Only when important guests arrive can we witness such a miracle."
Volga's Eldest, curled his lip. "These guys are really naive."
The second son gave him a cold glance. "Weren't we like this when we were kids?"
The eldest brother was speechless, grunted, and stopped talking. He turned his head and saw that the third brother was already happily gnawing on a beast's leg, his mouth full of oil.
King Jiale exchanged a few words with the ascendant, who thanked everyone for their help and transferred the rewards to their accounts. He then ended the communication, Jiale chuckled, saying, "Please enjoy the food and drinks; it's a wonderful evening."
The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely, immersing themselves in the banquet atmosphere. Different civilizations and races had their own cultural customs, and everyone adapted to local customs. From time to time, nobles would come over to chat, their attitude both reserved and curious. The banquet also included entertainment, and before long, a group of dancers came on stage, weaving through the crowd, twirling and leaping, their eyes wanton.
Han Xiao felt nothing for these blue-skinned Veyn. He took a few sips of the Source Water, then turned to see Aroshia staring at the dining table, seemingly hesitating whether to eat.
Han Xiao walked over, habitually put his arm around her shoulder, leaned in for a look, and chuckled, "There haven't been any battles lately, so you don't need to use your powers. Want something to eat?"
Aroshia ignored Han Xiao's actions, picked up a purple fruit, bit her lip, and hesitated. She didn't need to eat to survive; she automatically absorbed free energy from the environment to sustain herself, a characteristic of energy-based life forms. However, Han Xiao had been curious about what it would be like for her to eat, so he had coaxed her into eating some food. Although Aroshia didn't feel hungry, she found the food delicious and thought eating was quite interesting. Eating became her form of entertainment. Compared to her naive and extremely calm personality nine months ago, Aroshia now possessed more human-like characteristics.
Aroshia's digestive system was incredibly powerful; all food was broken down into energy without leaving any residue, so she didn't need to excrete. However, a bizarre accident occurred: the Energy Transformation only worked on herself and couldn't be applied to external objects. Before the food was fully digested, the Energy Transformation, losing its physical form, caused the undigested residue in her stomach to spray out in a splattering manner. At that moment, everyone was about to engage in battle with a group of enemy soldiers, and this scene stunned both sides. Everyone stared at the splattered food residue beneath the Energy Transformation orb, falling into a deep silence.
From then on, Aroshia would count the days before eating, calculating whether she needed to use her power before the food was digested. Oh, her power level increased rapidly, rivaling even the players, and had already reached C+, only half a rank away from the Grade B required for the mission.
After picking it up and putting it down several times, Aroshia finally took a bite of the fruit, a happy expression on her face. She then handed the half-eaten fruit to Han Xiao, saying, "It's delicious, you should try some."
Han Xiao took a bite, his face immediately scrunching up. He pushed Aroshia's hand away. "Ugh! It's sour! You have such a strong palate. Keep it for yourself."
Han Xiao guided her in training her strength. As they spent more time together, Aroshia grew closer to Han Xiao. Their interactions were intimate, but there were no improper thoughts between them. Han Xiao did not regard Aroshia as a normal female creature at all. In his eyes, she was an energy being without gender distinction, very pure. Aroshia herself did not feel like she was female, and it was natural for them to put their arms around each other's shoulders.
Walking to the side, Han Xiao figured it was about time, so he approached King Jiale and expressed his desire to speak. King Jiale invited Han Xiao into the pavilion and asked with a smile, "Commander Black Star, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?"
Han Xiao lowered his voice, "It's like this, I wanted to ask you about something. To be honest, I have a special intuition. When I arrived, I sensed that some kind of interstellar virus existed on Planet of Dusk."
King Jiale was startled and sat up straight. "You mean our planet has been infected with some kind of disease?!"
"No, no, that's just a feeling. To be sure, you need to check if there's been any large-scale outbreak of the same symptoms recently. Only then can we determine if there's a virus."
King Jiale took this very seriously and ordered his officials to compile intelligence on the various territories. The Veyn Kingdom had existed for many years and had a vast intelligence network. Every so often, the lords would submit reports on their territories, making the information easy to collect.
Not long after, the official returned to the banquet courtyard and compiled a few pages of report. King Jiale glanced at it and shook his head, saying, "These are all normal infectious diseases; there doesn't seem to be a large-scale outbreak of new symptoms..."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "It might not be an illness; it could be unusual behavior, like... excessive sleepiness?"
King Jiale was taken aback. Who would bother to check sleep patterns? Everyone closes their doors and sleeps. Who would go around telling everyone how well they slept the night before? There's no record of the people's sleep.
"Hmm..." King Jiale suddenly thought of something, "This year, the mineral output of the various territories of the Tu Shu Land has decreased by 16% compared to last year, but the mineral veins have not been depleted, and the number of miners is no less than last year. The only factor that can affect the output... seems to be working hours. Could it be related to this?"
"Perhaps." Upon hearing this, Han Xiao glanced at King Jiale again. The fact that this king could discover a potential connection from seemingly unrelated matters suggested that he possessed some ability.
The incubation period of the Mutation Virus is very long, and it has many transmission routes. The early symptoms of infection are drowsiness, which becomes increasingly easy to fall asleep. The symptoms continue to worsen, and the Mutation Virus is about to break out. The higher the growth rate of the virus, the shorter the incubation period will be, and the more severe the symptoms will be. It may even skip drowsiness and directly enter the next stage. According to the version time, the current Mutation Virus is still in its infancy and is very insidious.
"I wonder how Planet Aquamarine is doing now," Han Xiao thought to himself.
King Jiale was somewhat worried and pressed for a solution. Han Xiao shook his head, saying he didn't know what it was either, but they had better be careful. He then took his leave. Han Xiao had obtained the information he wanted and had given King Jiale a heads-up so that Planet of Dusk wouldn't be caught off guard, since this planet was also one of the mission objectives.
During the incubation period of the Mutation Virus, Han Xiao had no way to solve the problem unless he was willing to give up the [Mutation Disaster] mission that had not yet begun, and face enormous risks. He would have to hand over the Seventh-Generation Mutation Virus Progenitor to Goddora to create an antidote before the disaster occurred, and he would also have to face Goddora's suspicion and questioning... Doing so would be too much of a loss. Only when the disaster broke out and caused a sensation, and Goddora and DarkStar officially clashed, could the value of what he had in his hands be brought into play.
"The only preparation I can make for the Mutation Disaster is to increase my own combat strength; other measures must wait for the right opportunity."
The next day, Han Xiao declined King Jiale's invitation again, bid farewell to the capital, and called a nearby partner's spaceship in the wilderness to pick up Melos and Rezar, and set off back to the Juberly Hub.
Linge obtained Han Xiao's contact number and happily left with his men.
The Black Star Mercenary Group is now quite a celebrity in the Juberly Hub, and they finally got to enjoy the same treatment they received from the Sky Ring Alliance when they first came to the Juberly Hub a year ago. They didn't have to queue, and many services were given priority. As the group walked along the road, many mercenaries and passersby cast kind glances at them and nodded in greeting.
Back at the base, they knocked Rezar unconscious, placed him in an empty room as a prison cell, and left him there for the time being. There was something more important to attend to right now.
The international league will kick off in three days!
The international competition is divided into two stages. The first round is the regular season, in which all participants are divided into groups and take turns playing against each other. The top eight teams in total points advance to the international finals. In the individual competition, the top sixteen teams in points advance to the finals.
The second stage, the final, is a best-of-five series of head-to-head matches to determine the international champion.
On the Huaxia side, the teams qualified to participate are the Dynasty of Kings and Generals, the Long Sky of Hao Tian, and the Temple of Li Ge, while the individual contestants are Kings and Generals, Snow-Dyed Blossoms, and Frenzied Sword.
Other professional players who didn't make it to the finals trained with them day and night, generously lending them their equipment. At this crucial moment, everyone put aside their usual conflicts and united as one. Clubs from all countries did the same, giving their best equipment and skills to the participants, and each participant embodied the best of their abilities.
This was their first appearance in an international competition. Apart from the most Kings and Generals, the other participating players were more or less nervous. And it wasn't just them; professional players from all countries shared the same feeling: nervous yet expectant.
With the grand event approaching, players' enthusiasm has been reignited. The forums are filled with information on clubs from various countries, and all sorts of analysis posts and ranking predictions have appeared. Compared to regional events, the international events are even more exciting, with players from different countries discussing together, making the forums incredibly lively.
Taking advantage of its proximity, Meat Bun temporarily halted the sixteen-episode Black Star arc and instead produced a special episode featuring interviews with Huaxia players from the mercenary group before the competition.