Phillip quickly went online to search for the man in front of him.
The legion commander who spoke Justin, a Mage Class superhuman. The "Expeditionary" legion he led was a large mercenary group from a star system in the Colton Star Cluster, and a collaborator brought in by the Purple Gold Legion.
The top mercenary groups in the Shattered Star Ring have their own circles. Han Xiao had paid special attention to various well-known legions, but had never dealt with the Expeditionary Army before.
As a field armed force of Dragon Calm, Black Star has gained a place in this circle thanks to the Dragon Emperor. Justin has also heard of Black Star's reputation and knows that it is a mercenary group that is small in scale but has a special status.
Other large mercenary groups were willing to win over Black Star in order to curry favor with Dragon Calm, but he had no interest in that. Having been in the mercenary world for so long, he had seen it all. So what if Dragon Emperor was powerful? Justin felt that their businesses were different, and he didn't want to provoke Dragon Emperor or bother getting involved.
To him, Han Xiao was just a colleague he had heard of. Justin had no prejudice against Han Xiao, but he couldn't help but question the scale of Black Star based on the facts.
Black Star may have extensive connections, but this is a war-level mercenary mission with great risks. As a seasoned mercenary, Justin is concerned about whether his companions are capable of fighting alongside him.
If a substandard player arrives and causes a frontline to collapse, it will affect the entire war effort.
In Justin's view, Black Star was just a bunch of charlatans who came to join the fun. Each of them had to take on a part of the tactical tasks, but what responsibility could Black Star, with such a small force, possibly shoulder? Their rewards were earned by risking their lives, and if Black Star could just sit back and do nothing and still get paid, he felt uneasy about it.
Justin said in a deep voice, "We are about to enter a war. Each of the legions here has committed hundreds of warships and tens of thousands of mercenaries. How many troops can you contribute?"
The dozen or so legion commanders glanced at Justin, then at Han Xiao, who was still standing, but none of them said a word.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the war that followed was instigated by Han Xiao. Due to the information asymmetry, Han Xiao's arrival did indeed lead some legion commanders to believe that Black Star was there to use his connections to freeload off war-related pay.
Although they didn't say it aloud, they all had this suspicion in their hearts.
"Commander Justin, your question is very reasonable, and I understand your confusion."
Han Xiao remained unfazed. Everyone present was a respectable person of high status, and there was nothing wrong with raising any questions directly.
Perfect timing! He was already planning to change these legion commanders' perception of the Black Star Army. Since they were going to fight side by side, he needed to demonstrate his strength to put their minds at ease.
"Your perception of me is still stuck in the past. Our Black Star Army has expanded significantly and is no longer what it used to be. Now, the Black Star Army has hundreds of thousands of mercenaries, all of whom possess Grade C strength."
"Hundreds of thousands of superhumans?!"
Justin's eyes widened suddenly, and the other legion commanders immediately looked surprised.
Even they found the scale terrifying.
Not long ago, Black Star was just a small to medium-sized mercenary group. How did its power suddenly expand so much?
Many people doubted the authenticity of the information, Han Xiao had Phillip retrieve the Black Star Army's alliance registration file to show the actual number of members. This immediately dispelled everyone's doubts, and they swallowed their words.
Justin was speechless; with so many men, they certainly deserved to participate in the war.
At this moment, Han Xiao glanced around and a smirk appeared on his lips. "Everyone knows I have some undead under my command, right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement; it was no secret that Black Star possessed dozens of undead mercenaries.
Han Xiao smiled slightly, "These hundreds of thousands of people are all immortals."
In an instant.
The hall fell silent.
"They're all undead?!"
Gurega suddenly stood up, breaking the silence in disbelief.
The dozen or so legion commanders snapped out of their daze, their expressions changing drastically.
Everyone realized the significance of this: it meant that these hundreds of thousands of mercenaries would not be lost, Black Star would maintain its massive size, and could carry out extremely dangerous missions without hesitation, without worrying about casualties or having to pay compensation!
This is exactly the kind of member they've been dreaming of!
Hundreds of thousands of low-level superhumans are enough to elevate a mercenary group to the top tier. If these hundreds of thousands of people were also immortals, they could imagine the upheaval this would cause throughout the entire mercenary world.
This would be the best cannon... oops, collaborator!
Many people thought of Han Xiao's other identity.
The Black Star Army... is also a field armed force of Dragon Calm.
These hundreds of thousands of undead are the power of Dragon Calm after its expansion!
Justin was speechless when he suddenly heard Han Xiao's voice.
"Commander Justin, this is the unit I've deployed to this war. I wonder if you're satisfied?" Han Xiao shrugged.
Justin's lips twitched; he was speechless.
"Or do you also have doubts about my personal abilities? If you do, we can spar." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. He wasn't angry at Justin's questioning, but since he was going to demonstrate his strength, it was best to be firm.
Gurega coughed, quickly trying to smooth things over, "Black Star recently repelled three Calamity Grade and even withstood the main cannon's attack. The news may have exaggerated some things, but I believe most of it is true. Black Star, no one here doubts your personal combat prowess."
Justin stood up with a serious expression. He was only up to Han Xiao's waist. He reached out to the sofa and gestured for Han Xiao to "please" in a solemn tone.
"I apologize for my earlier questioning. Please have a seat."
Just now, when Han Xiao was about to sit down, he interrupted Han Xiao by questioning him. Now that he realized the new look of the Black Star Army, Justin was not a petty person. He readily admitted his mistake and took the initiative to invite Han Xiao to sit down, showing him full respect.
Once Justin softened his stance, the other legion commanders nodded in agreement, easing the tension and filling the hall with a cheerful atmosphere.
Han Xiao then plopped down next to Youyu, with Melos and the other cadres standing behind his seat.
Just then, Youyu from next door casually handed over a bag of snacks.
"Want some or not?"
"What's this?" Han Xiao glanced at it; the bag contained a pile of dark, dried meat.
"Dried lizard, I made it myself." Youyu raised an eyebrow.
Han Xiao hesitated for a moment, then picked up a piece of jerky with his fingers, put it in his mouth and chewed. Surprisingly, it tasted quite good. Curious, he asked, "What kind of lizard is this made of?"
"Last time I did a mercenary job, killing an entire lizardman tribe." Youyu grabbed a handful of jerky and put it in her mouth, eating it with relish.
Han Xiao silently put down the second piece of jerky he had just picked up.
That's too intense, I can't handle it!
Youyu is a female dark elf with the typical dark elf appearance: large breasts and a curvy bottom, sexy and beautiful. She looks agile, like a lazy cheetah. Her personality inherits the cold-blooded cruelty of dark elves. Although she looks seductive, no one in the room underestimates her; she's a female tyrant.
The "Nether" legion she commands has a civilized background; its master is a magical side star system in the Colton Star Cluster, ruled by elves.
In the universe, the elves are also known as the long-eared people. They are skilled at listening to the sounds of nature and have many different Bloodline, such as the Children of the Forest, high elves, and dark elves. The elves are not very common in the Galaxy, but they are not rare either.
The semi-official nature of these large legions is easy to understand. Due to treaties between civilizations, the movements of regular armies are very sensitive, while privately supported armies are more free. Mercenary groups serve as a disguise, secretly carrying out some tricky operations for civilizations.
Many civilizations secretly cultivate such private armies. There are many examples in the top mercenary circles of the Shattered Star Ring. Even Han Xiao's Black Star Army is nominally Dragon Calm armed force.
The higher you climb in the interstellar space, the more complex and intertwined the relationships become. The universe is too vast for any single individual or force to dominate.
Gurega presided over the pre-battle meeting, where everyone discussed their respective tasks, such as who would launch the attack, who would hold off the enemy, and who would launch a frontal assault. Han Xiao remained silent throughout.
"Black Star, which aspect are you going to be in charge of?" someone asked.
Han Xiao thought for a moment, "If there's any close combat, leave it to us."
He had no desire to participate in spaceship battles; damaging them would require repairs, which was not worthwhile. Moreover, he only had about twenty spaceships at his disposal, with limited combat power, mainly used for transporting personnel.
Since the players aren't afraid to die, it's a good opportunity to deal with the DarkStar warriors.
After discussing for a while and determining the responsibilities of each legion, the legion commanders dispersed.
Returning to his own formation aboard the Blacklight Stealth, Han Xiao glanced out the porthole. More than twenty ships were following the Allied Fleet through space, carrying hundreds of thousands of players.
The players have just entered interstellar space and are finding everything new and exciting, but Han Xiao knows that if they successfully eliminate DarkStar, much of the subsequent storyline will be lost.
In the past, players on Planet Aquamarine either joined Goddora or DarkStar. After entering interstellar space, the two sides fought each other in opposing camps. Now, this opposing structure has been broken by themselves, which means that for players, this main storyline has been completely cut off.
In Han Xiao's view, the mission could be disregarded; eliminating the threat of DarkStar was more important.
"I've replaced the DarkStar and Goddora storyline. For players, joining the Black Star Army is now the main storyline. This is the best time to build a sense of belonging to the faction, expanding the player's power while letting them feel honor. Therefore, some major events are needed to add to the Black Star Army's achievements, making players feel that these are their own accomplishments. This all-out attack on DarkStar can be the beginning..."
Han Xiao pondered to himself. He cared deeply about building the players' emotional connection to the game, and the accumulation of experience in version 2.0 was crucial; it could be said to be a stage of laying a solid foundation.
Players are his focus in version 2.0, because the next version update will take more than ten years. Although it is still a long time before version 2.0 ends, Han Xiao is used to preparing in advance.
However, the immediate priority is to resolve the upcoming counter-offensive.
Han Xiao turned on his communicator and looked at the message sent by Resta.
The DarkStar forces are distributed across different regions of the Garton Star System. The largest force consists of six motherships, possibly planning another attack, while the other motherships drift alone in space.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the six motherships should be the main battleground for their mercenaries.
War is about to begin.
Meanwhile, on a certain DarkStar mothership.
Degulish and the others held another meeting to discuss their next objective. This time, the leader announced that they would launch a surprise attack on Rainbow Light Prison.
The first two operations failed, neither escalating the damage to Goddora nor eliminating Black Star. Until a way to kill Black Star is found, DarkStar decides to temporarily refrain from attacking the disaster planet and instead seize the opportunity to breach Rainbow Light Prison, rescuing his former comrades, some of whom are Calamity Grade members, to replenish his manpower.
DarkStar's actions were unbridled; Goddora was in the open, while they remained in the shadows. This was the source of DarkStar's confidence in launching attack after attack.
However, the people of DarkStar were unaware that they had lost their advantage of concealment, their location had been exposed by Han Xiao, and a catastrophic disaster was brewing for DarkStar without warning, something they knew nothing about.
Degulish and the others were discussing the arrangements for the next operation when Ashes suddenly frowned and pressed his hand to his chest.
For some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.