"Ashes, you're the only one who escaped? How are things now?"
The projection of the DarkStar Leader appeared, his tone filled with surprise and uncertainty. Not long ago, he had received urgent messages from many high-ranking DarkStar officials, informing him that all mothership fleets had been ambushed by Goddora.
This news surprised him greatly. If Goddora had locked onto their coordinates through unknown means, the DarkStar Fleet's reliance would be gone, and the situation would definitely be dire. He was anxious to find out how things were developing and kept contacting his high-ranking subordinates, but many of their numbers went unanswered.
After a long while, the DarkStar Leader finally got through to Ashes and immediately inquired about the situation.
"All the motherships were destroyed, and only a very few people escaped. Our fleet is gone..." Ashes described the situation in detail. When he mentioned the complete annihilation, he couldn't help but clench his fists and grit his teeth.
The DarkStar Leader fell silent, and after a long while, he exhaled, calming his complex emotions, and silently calculated the losses.
The organization had no fixed industries; these motherships served as mobile bases for DarkStar, combining combat, production, breeding, scientific research, and other functions. The power accumulated over many years was completely wiped out in this battle, suffering extremely heavy losses and losing all its resources.
Now the entire organization has lost its armed forces, leaving only the DarkStar Leader himself and a few escaped members—just a handful of them.
The DarkStar Leader's eyes flickered. When the Mutation Disaster was thwarted ahead of schedule and the plan had to be changed, the situation spiraled out of control. Even if the plan was halted, Goddora would still be the loser. But now, Goddora had turned the tables and prepared a counterattack that completely crushed them.
In this way, Goddora's loss became worthwhile, making her the real winner.
Unexpectedly, the plan to Mutation Source became the organization's final battle.
After a pause, the DarkStar Leader composed himself and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Ashes hesitated for a moment before revealing his plan to carry out a massacre at the Goddora ceremony.
"Nonsense." The DarkStar Leader dismissed the suggestion indifferently. "The fleet has been completely wiped out. We'll need to plan this carefully. You should leave the Garton Star System first, and contact me later to regroup."
So, is this a signal for me to run away?
"... All right."
Ashes was unwilling, but had no choice but to endure it, adjust the spaceship's course, and head towards the nearest edge of the Garton Star System.
However, as long as the leader is still around, there is still a chance to make a comeback... Ashes thought to himself.
In the Colton Star Cluster, somewhere in the galaxy, the DarkStar Leader's personal spaceship slowly travels through the stars.
After ending communication with Ashes, the DarkStar Leader tapped the spaceship's control panel, deep in thought.
After thinking for a long time, he stood up, left the driver's seat, went to a metal passageway, walked to a specific spot, and knocked on the alloy wall a few times. This spot looked no different from the surrounding walls.
Click.
The alloy plate suddenly slid open, revealing a hidden compartment containing a strangely shaped communication terminal.
There are many styles of interstellar communicators, including portable watch or glasses models, minimalist spherical models, and civilian models with two handles that can be pulled together to open a virtual screen in the middle. However, the communicator hidden in the secret compartment looks like an antique from many years ago, appearing rough and bulky.
Upon activating the communicator, layers of encryption locks appeared on the screen, making it extremely complex. The DarkStar Leader carefully entered various passwords and verified his DNA information before successfully opening the communicator. Almost all functions were restricted; he could only access the address book, which contained only one number.
Beep beep beep...
The wait for communication permission to be granted seemed to stretch on forever.
beep.
The notification sound for establishing communication rang, the screen suddenly went black, and a blurry face appeared on the screen, like a facial outline drawn out by white noise and mosaic.
The other party remained silent, so the DarkStar Leader spoke first.
"Goddora destroyed my fleet, and almost all of my men are dead. At this point, only Ashes is confirmed to be alive."
The blurry figure moved, and the communicator emitted a mechanical, synthesized voice.
"I see."
"I need funding to build a new fleet," the DarkStar Leader said in a deep voice.
"It's not the right time. Now that you've failed, go lay low for a while. You haven't been caught yet, Goddora will be wary of you. You can't restore DarkStar to its former size in the short term, otherwise your source of funding will be exposed."
"... How long will it take?"
"When the people of Goddora begin to forget the name of DarkStar, that will be the time for your return."
"I don't want to wait any longer," the DarkStar Leader said in a low voice. "I've been driven by you for too long. You know very well when this will end. I can only cause destruction; I can't truly destroy Goddora. What will it take to satisfy you?"
You'll find out then.
"Hmph, you were so quick to give me aid before, but now that my power is almost destroyed, you're starting to shirk your responsibilities. Do you think I've lost my value and want to break our deal?" The DarkStar Leader subconsciously raised his voice.
"You... are you threatening us?" The blurry figure's tone turned serious. "You've got the wrong target."
The DarkStar Leader's expression changed slightly. He pursed his lips, bowed his head humbly, and said, "I apologize, I misspoke."
"We will assess whether the transaction is complete on our own. Don't rush us. Remember, this is a voluntary transaction, not because we value you." The blurry figure said calmly, "Even without you, there will be another DarkStar. In that case, the transaction will be automatically cancelled."
So watch your attitude, and don't question us...
If I tell you to wait, then you wait.
"I understand," the DarkStar Leader said in a low voice.
The blurry figure paused, then said, "In short, now is not the time for us to intervene. You should leave the Shattered Star Ring and rebuild your power in another star system."
The DarkStar Leader nodded.
"Hmm... We can secretly introduce you to a powerful figure from another star system. If you get his help, you might not have to remain hidden for too long. However, you'll need to prepare a sacrifice to offer him."
"Offerings?"
"A sufficiently powerful supernatural ability," the blurry figure said slowly. "You understand what I mean, right?"
The DarkStar Leader was startled.
He understood what the offerings meant, and from this characteristic, he vaguely guessed the identity of the "important person" the other party was referring to.
I heard that he's a madman who wants to compile a list of "Ultra-High-Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty"!
The blurry figure said, "Recently, there have been rumors that the Crimson Dynasty seems to have some disagreements about the Peace Treaty. Although it is far away, given the power of the Crimson Dynasty, any future actions will have an impact on the Shattered Star Ring. If that really happens, it may be your best chance to make a comeback... and also our chance to fulfill our agreement. Only when the situation becomes chaotic can we achieve your conditions."
The DarkStar Leader's eyes suddenly lit up. This might be a deliberate excuse to reassure him, but he did regain some confidence.
"Don't contact us again until everything is ready."
The communication was lost. The DarkStar Leader closed the hidden compartment, returned to his room, and calmed himself down. Every time he contacted the other party, he felt a heavy pressure, stemming from the other party's power, status, and authority.
Hopefully they will eventually honor the deal...
The DarkStar Leader shook his head, realizing he was essentially asking a tiger for its skin.
Even with his worries, he had no choice but to make the deal. He had embarked on this path long ago, and no one within DarkStar knew about it. In his eyes, this was the only hope for the hybrid race.
Many years ago, he realized that the so-called overthrow of pure-blood rule and the making of hybrids the Goddora was just an empty vision and an exciting slogan. It was beautiful but impossible to achieve, and Bloodline discrimination would never be eliminated.
No matter what policies the Goddora government implements, hybrids with scales or tails are seen as grotesque deformities by purebloods, much like how ordinary people see deformed children. No matter how much psychological preparation or refinement one undergoes, the subconscious rejection will never disappear as long as hybrids are different. Since most pureblood Goddora belong to the upper-middle class, the consequences of this discrimination go far beyond the discrimination itself.
The future of hybrids does not lie in Goddora.
If I weren't DarkStar spreading terror, but instead dedicated myself to sheltering hybrids and building a hybrid nation, bringing positive change to the hybrid race...
That would make you die even faster.
Because this is a division, without a powerful backer, the resistance they face will not only be from the Goddora army, but also from many more political allies.
The only way out is with the support of a higher level of power; DarkStar alone cannot accomplish all of this.
Just then, this group approached, bringing with them the temptation of falling into the abyss, but also hope.
Ultimately, he, the supreme leader of the DarkStar, chose to become someone else's pawn, to gamble on another possibility.
The DarkStar Leader asked the other party why they had approached them. The other party replied that pure destruction and destruction supported by ideology and slogans are two different things. In most cases, the latter is more threatening to the group, which is why they chose DarkStar.
An organization's initial principles must be clear, but as it accumulates experience, it deviates from its original path. In order to follow the deal, the DarkStar Leader's focus has long since shifted to how to cause greater damage to Goddora and constantly incite hostility and conflict between purebloods and hybrids, pushing hybrids to the opposite side of Goddora. This not only disrupts Goddora's internal harmony but also replenishes its own manpower and aligns with its ultimate goal.
DarkStar became a tool in someone else's hands, but apart from himself, all the other members of the organization were kept in the dark.
But the DarkStar Leader believed that the path he had chosen was the only way to establish a home for hybrids, and that to reap the rewards, one must first make sacrifices.
Goddora's home planet.
This is a massive planet. Even in outer space, obvious signs of artificial modification can be found on this planet. The higher the level of civilization, the greater the degree of modification to the parent planet.
One spaceship after another landed at the airport dock, and mercenaries from various legions disembarked. The Black Star Army mingled in the crowd, while the players formed the largest group, a sea of people following behind Han Xiao and his officers, curiously looking around like a sightseeing tour group, just missing a flag and a hat.
Han Xiao walked ahead, chatting and laughing with the legion commanders around him. Everyone had been invited to participate in the victory celebration, and officials from Goddora were waiting at the dock to welcome them.