Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came, which was the center of the War Realm, the location of Heber Palace.
Ames's eyes flickered a few times. She glanced at the Hila sisters, sighed softly, and lowered her fair hand, which was hidden by her sleeve. She was not going to make another move, and the force field she had been preparing quickly dissipated.
The tense atmosphere immediately eased.
She turned away from Kailo and looked at Mazaks, who had also blocked her attack earlier, and said calmly, "Don't just stand there, lead the way."
When she decided to accept the Tyrant's invitation, Ames had anticipated encountering something similar. Her previous attack had already demonstrated her stance. Since the Tyrant had intervened, she didn't want to escalate the conflict on someone else's turf, after all, she wasn't there to cause trouble.
Mazaks nodded and led the way, with the others following him.
Han Xiao glanced at Kailo one last time.
Watching Ames and the others leave, Kailo didn't stop them. He suppressed his smile and shook his head at the two Vanguard Officers, "I thought she would ignore the warnings and continue attacking. Although I was careful, knowing Ames as I do, this level of action was enough to enrage her."
One of the Vanguard Officers sighed, "The Dragon Emperor has changed too. The rumors were true; she has ambitions for expansion."
The Black Star Army also represents the expansion of Dragon Calm, a situation that has long attracted the attention of many forces, and the War Realm is also paying close attention to Dragon Calm's development.
Kailo's mission was to test Ames's attitude. His words were mostly directed at Black Star, without directly insulting Ames. Through Ames's reaction, he could obtain a lot of information. If she had bigger ambitions, she wouldn't provoke a bigger conflict.
Meanwhile, at the Heber Palace.
Only Heber and Krent's envoy were in the room; the surveillance footage of Ames and her group was displayed on a virtual screen.
The Krent Empire valued the gatherings of the Tyrant, regarding them as diplomatic events. The envoy was a high-ranking official who personally attended, demonstrating the good cooperative relationship between the Krent and the Tyrant.
The Krent were rather slender, and standing next to Heber, who was seven or eight meters tall like a small giant, they appeared very thin and short.
"Tyrant Excellency, you remain as assertive as ever. You didn't even need to appear in person; a single sentence was enough to deter the Dragon Emperor. I had hoped to witness Your Tyrant's heroic prowess in action."
Krent senior official spoke with respect and a smile.
"Hmm." Heber swirled the specially made giant wine glass, remaining noncommittal.
"It's a pity, it would have been better if she had made a move," the high-ranking official Krent said with a shake of his head and a smile.
"This gathering is of great importance. If she causes trouble at this time, she will offend many important figures. Since she wants to expand, she won't make a move," Heber said calmly.
"Aren't you afraid she'll retaliate against you after the party?" Krent chuckled. "She's the kind of person who would do that."
"Isn't that exactly what you want to see?" Heber said calmly.
"Haha, you're right, this will give you an excuse to attack Dragon Calm." The high- Krent official, Krent, laughed; he was the one who most wanted to see Ames act recklessly. "Even the Amethyst Civilization won't stop you from launching a large-scale invasion of Colton under this pretext."
Heber glanced at him, too lazy to respond. Although they were allies, his goals were different from the Krent '.
"Ames... tsk tsk, with the halo of Beyond Grade A, any woman who can achieve such a status would pale in comparison to all others." The high-ranking official from Krent admired Ames's figure on the virtual screen, his eyes quite unrestrained, and said to himself.
He holds a high position of power and has countless partners, so his aesthetic focus is no longer on appearance. It is the added value of status and identity that makes women more attractive in his eyes, and as the only female among the four Beyond Grade A- rank women in the Shattered Star Ring, Ames is clearly the most difficult woman to tame in the Shattered Star Ring.
Galaxy-level civilizations dare not provoke Beyond Grade A powerhouses, but while Beyond Grade A beings are powerful, they are not as fearsome as galaxy-level civilizations.
Only Beyond Grade A beings with immense power, like Tyrant, will receive more attention from star cluster-level civilizations.
Therefore, the high-ranking Krent officials didn't care about expressing their covetousness for Ames; it was just a thought anyway.
Heber said slowly, "I dislike overly willful women; her personality still needs some work."
Upon hearing this, the high-ranking official Krent shook his head. He could only dream of Ames; only Heber had the ability to put his ideas into action.
Meanwhile, Han Xiao and his group were on their way to their guest rooms.
After the minor incident, the atmosphere in the group became somewhat subdued.
"Black Star, don't overthink it. Kailo did it on purpose," Ames suddenly said.
"I know." Han Xiao shrugged.
"This must have been at Heber's behest. I wonder what his intentions are. Iso had a feeling this gathering was unusual, and he told me not to act impulsively if anything happened," Ames explained.
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat. So Ames had already asked Iso to predict this gathering. Could it be that her insistence on coming was also due to Iso's suggestion?
"Kailo was one of the earliest members of Dragon Calm, but he betrayed me and joined the Tyrant, where he holds a high position in the War Realm."
Han Xiao stroked his chin. "The Tyrant has the guts to appoint a traitor to an important position."
If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them. When poaching someone, you must offer generous terms. When Mazaks poached him, he also offered him the position of Vanguard Officers.
"Because he is Tyrant, he is not afraid of betrayal."
How so?
"Kailo betrayed me, Tyrant can protect him. If he betrays the Tyrant, no one can protect him even if the Shattered Star Ring."
Ames sighed, "And I have to admit, the Tyrant's personal charisma in the eyes of his subordinates far surpasses mine."
"You're wary of him?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were fearless."
"Of course I'm not afraid of him, but even if I hate him, it doesn't change the fact that he's very powerful." Ames shook her head, paused, and then said, "So, in the territory of the Tyrant, try to keep a low profile. Don't get angry because of what Kailo said; he did it on purpose."
Ames valued Han Xiao and took the initiative to explain, precisely because she was afraid that Han Xiao harbor resentment.
Han Xiao felt a warmth in his heart. He hadn't taken Kailo's words to heart, but he hadn't expected Ames to consider his feelings.
Based on his understanding of Ames, it seemed that Ames didn't seem like the type to consider other people's feelings.
I feel like you've changed.
Han Xiao almost blurted out the word "dog".
"What's changed?" Ames asked with a half-smile.
You're more patient than before.
Ames smiled slightly, but did not answer. She turned her head and glanced at the Hila and her sister.
Iso said that only children are willful and reckless, and he told me to change, saying that I would suffer the consequences sooner or later.
Han Xiao rolled his eyes. "That old bastard Iso, how can he be so shameless? What right does he have to say that?"
I think so too.
Ames's beautiful eyes curved like crescent moons as she covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
The building providing guest rooms is located next to Heber Palace. It is a huge castle, and the entire castle is filled with guest rooms. Some of the party participants have already checked in, and the treatment is naturally very high-class, ensuring that the guests are not neglected.
A few days before the gathering officially begins, many factions arrive early, as the days leading up to the gathering are an opportunity to expand their networks and make friends. It's rare for important figures or representatives from various factions to gather together.
Led by Mazaks, Han Xiao and his companions entered the castle.
At this moment, there were small groups of guests in the hall, of various species, from different factions in the Shattered Star Ring, socializing.
Hearing someone walk in, all the guests in the hall turned to look. After recognizing Ames, their expressions were somewhat strange. They seemed to want to come up and greet her, but hesitated and remained where they were.
They had heard the deafening roar of the Tyrant. Ames and Heber had a conflict, and after weighing their options, they felt that pleasing the Tyrant was more important, so they didn't come up to talk to him.
Ames didn't mind, and the group left the hall and went straight upstairs.
Rooms were arranged in the War Realm: one for Ames, one for Han Xiao, and one for Hila and Aurora.
Back in his room, he closed the door, leaving Han Xiao alone.
He activated a compressed sphere, which transformed into a detector, and checked the room, but found no listening or surveillance devices.
Han Xiao nodded, then took out another piece of mechanical equipment and placed it on the ground.
Buzz--
A flash of light released an illusion that covered the room. Even with the magical monitoring equipment, they could only see the illusory projection and couldn't see what he was actually doing.
Although many important figures live in this castle and there should be surveillance and listening devices, Han Xiao is used to being cautious.
"Kailo..."
Han Xiao's eyes flickered as he transformed into his Chaos Body and activated his Void Vision. His gaze suddenly traversed distances, allowing him to observe Kailo's every move.
Just as Ames decided to back down, Han Xiao seized the opportunity to throw an Observation Mark at Kailo, replacing a space pirate in his place.
Observation Mark just in case, and monitor Kailo's actions; they might come in handy later if needed.
Moreover, as the logistics director in the War Realm, Kailo probably frequently comes into contact with important equipment and handles a lot of blueprints and technologies. Han Xiao felt that there must be a lot of money to be made from him.
"It seems we can gather intelligence from this gathering by Observation Mark."
Han Xiao thought to himself.
In his previous life, no player had ever discovered the gathering of the Tyrant. Without reaching that level, one could not enter the circle of important figures. This was the first time he had heard of this event.
Although there were some unpleasant incidents, overall the gathering was quite safe, at most a close call without any real danger.
Ames's idea was probably to focus on participation, but this was indeed a good opportunity to gather information. Han Xiao decided to take advantage of it. The participants were all important figures, and some of the information they revealed might seem ambiguous to others, but with his memory of the plot and a little inspiration, he could connect many things.
The intervals between version updates have always been a serious issue for Han Xiao. After all, the events during version updates in his previous life were just general records for players, and he needed more details. Perhaps he could get some clues from this gathering.