After the start of the Secret War, the Black Star Army expanded its recruitment several times. Some of the trainees in the training camps matured, and many free mercenaries were also recruited. Now, the Black Star Army has been replenished with a lot of fresh blood, and the number of official mercenaries has exceeded 200,000. The number of personnel stationed at Number One Base is sufficient.
Three masked mages in black hooded robes strode into the main hall of Number One Base, attracting the suspicious glances of numerous mercenaries along the way. The Secret Church of the Red Robe renowned throughout the star system, and "Sorcerer" Austin's Forbidden Sorcerer unit was famous; they were easily recognizable.
What were the people from Austin doing visiting the leader? Many people knew that the leader was Dragon Emperor official, so seeing Han Xiao in contact with another Beyond Grade A person made them suspicious.
The three Forbidden Sorcerer arrived at the reception room and bowed to Han Xiao upon seeing him.
Han Xiao waved for Sylvia to go back to her studies, then looked at the three of them and asked in confusion, "Austin's Forbidden Sorcerer, what do you want with me?"
The short, Forbidden Sorcerer in the middle, the leader of the three, named Desoro, began with a brief self-introduction, then went straight to the point, stating his purpose:
"The Sorcerer ordered us to find someone who is your subordinate; we are to bring him back."
Han Xiao was taken aback; this was unexpected. A thought flashed through his mind, and he tentatively asked, "Are you talking about Lagi?"
Among the cadres, only Lagi's origins are unknown, and as an A+ level mage, he is the most likely target the other party is looking for.
"Yes, his full name is Lagi Schwarz, and he used to work under Sorcerer." Desoro's tone was indifferent, his statement ambiguous, as if he didn't want to reveal any details.
Han Xiao was secretly amazed. Lagi had been imprisoned for ten years without anyone rescuing him, but now that he was free, the people from Austin immediately came looking for him.
Although I knew Austin wouldn't be that cunning, it did seem like he was trying to reap the benefits.
He thought about it again and felt something was amiss. If Lagi was Austin's man, how could he have been captured so easily? Before he was captured, Lagi seemed to be a lone wolf. If that was true, it meant that he had already broken away from Austin's influence. So why would Austin send someone to retrieve Lagi?
"What are you going to do with him when you take him back?" Han Xiao asked.
Desoro shook his head, refusing to answer, and said, "These are the Sorcerer's orders; we are merely following them."
"What if I refuse?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and asked tentatively.
Desoro's tone was calm and unwavering, "The Sorcerer said you owe him a favor and will give him face."
Han Xiao's lips twitched, and he immediately felt a headache coming on. He was only responsive to gentle persuasion, not force. During the Tyrant's Gathering, Austin had given him a Void Archduke's core for no reason, so he did owe him a favor. There really is no such thing as a free lunch.
At this critical juncture, Han Xiao would be crazy to fall out with Austin, with whom he had a fairly good relationship. Besides, he had accepted gifts from Austin before, and it's hard to refuse someone who's given him a gift. After all, connections are reciprocal; if I help you, you should help me in return, otherwise, I might ruin the hard-won relationship.
However, Han Xiao was still a little reluctant to part with him. Lagi was the second strongest fighter in the Black Star Army, second only to himself. If he left, the level of the legion's high-level combat power would drop significantly.
After frowning and thinking for a while, Han Xiao had an idea and came up with an excuse. He said, "Discussing his whereabouts here is actually meaningless. I think we should ask for his opinion. If he is willing to go back with you, I naturally can't force him to stay. If he doesn't want to leave, then there's nothing we can do."
"Okay." Desoro nodded, his eyes lowered, offering no further comment.
In fact, on the way, Desoro had considered various scenarios. If Black Star found various excuses to obstruct him and did not even give Austin face, he would not rule out taking Lagi away by force.
Unexpectedly, Black Star suddenly became popular during this period, becoming Beyond Grade A Seed. His feat of fighting eight opponents by himself was reported, which startled him.
Desoro knew he couldn't accomplish such a feat, so he was greatly wary. Black Star had shown potential at the Beyond Grade A, and although he had Austin as his backer, he didn't want to antagonize Black Star. Therefore, he abandoned the idea of using force, which is why he was being so agreeable now.
Han Xiao sent a message to Lagi. A while later, Lagi pushed open the door and entered, accompanied by a complaining voice.
"What dangerous mission is it now? Let me tell you, you're exploiting me. I'll die sooner or later... wait, what?!"
As Lagi entered, he immediately saw the three Forbidden Sorcerer. His complaints abruptly ceased, his expression instantly falling, and he muttered to himself:
"No wonder I kept getting distracted while meditating yesterday; sure enough, something bad happened today. Sigh."
"Long time no see, Lagi." A cold glint flashed in Desoro's eyes, his tone indifferent.
Can you pretend you didn't see me?
Lagi looked bitter.
"What do you think?" Desoro scoffed.
Lagi looked helplessly at Han Xiao, his eyes filled with sorrow, as if he had come to a banquet in high spirits only to be met with a cup being smashed as a signal, and then encountered three hundred axemen.
Han Xiao's eye twitched. "Don't look at me like that. They came to us themselves, saying they wanted to take you back. So you used to be Austin's subordinate? Why didn't you tell me? I was quite familiar with him."
Lagi looked annoyed. "How was I supposed to know you knew Austin...?"
Having once been Austin's subordinate is an impressive resume, making one stand out in most factions. Lagi didn't tell Han Xiao because he wanted to be a low-key, unambitious person. Besides, he thought Black Star and Austin shouldn't have any connection. However, he never expected that Han Xiao and Austin had chatted and laughed together.
"You seem very reluctant to see people from Austin. What exactly is your background? You don't need to hide it anymore."
Han Xiao frowned slightly.
Desoro glanced at Han Xiao but did not stop him.
Lagi sighed, his expression melancholy, a look of "I don't want to talk about the past anymore" on his face. Han Xiao's obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in, and he wished he could stuff a cigarette into Raki's mouth, making sure he was puffing out smoke, that would be the right look.
"Alright, I'll tell you. Decades ago, I was Forbidden Sorcerer Chief of the Secret Church of the Red Robe, the fourth disciple of the Sorcerer Austin."
Han Xiao's eyes widened immediately upon hearing this.
Wow, you're pretty awesome, kid!
The position of the Forbidden Sorcerer Lord was roughly equivalent to the chief Vanguard Officers under the Tyrant, while the fourth disciple of the Sorcerer meant that he was one of Austin's personal disciples. With these two titles combined, Lagi's former position was equivalent to Austin's right-hand man.
Lagi waved his hand, as if to say, "It's all in the past," and sighed, "But then, I made a mistake. Austin expelled me from the Secret Church of the Red Robe, I left Austin and became a lone wolf, then I was captured, and then you rescued me. You know what happened after that."
Han Xiao was astonished. Given Lagi's status, what terrible mistake could he have made to cause Austin to personally fire his right-hand man?
At this moment, Desoro couldn't help but cough. "Lord Black Star, it's better if you don't know."
Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and he became even more curious. Turning his head, he saw that Lagi's face was full of vicissitudes, as if he had suddenly grown a full beard.
"Sigh, everyone has their youthful and impetuous moments. The Sorcerer was a good person. It's a miracle I'm still alive..." Lagi clicked his tongue, his tone filled with reminiscence and nostalgia.
Han Xiao's lips twitched. He found it hard to imagine what Lagi would be like when he was young and arrogant. It felt like someone with that name was born to be a lazy and decadent person, and it was impossible to associate him with the adjectives "young" and "arrogant".
"Alright, let's get back to the point." Han Xiao said helplessly, "I respect your opinion. If you want to go back with him, I won't stop you. If you want to stay, I'll help you refuse them."
Desoro frowned, thought for a moment, and didn't speak immediately.
Lagi rubbed his face and sighed, "I'll go back with you."
Upon hearing this, Desoro breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Lagi was sensible enough to prevent him from making an enemy of Black Star.
He turned to Han Xiao and said calmly, "Lord Black Star, he is willing to come with us. Please keep your promise."
"... All right."
Han Xiao pursed his lips. The capable helper he had finally found was abandoning him like this. It felt like a neighbor had reached out and plucked a jade-like leek from his vegetable garden. He felt terrible.
At this moment, Lagi suddenly spoke, his tone unusually serious.
"Black Star, you saved me, you're my benefactor. Don't doubt my loyalty to you. I went back to explain things to Austin, otherwise they won't let it go. I don't want to cause you any trouble..."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. After hearing these words, he immediately realized that he had misunderstood Lagi. All his displeasure vanished, and he was even a little touched.
--This guy is actually pretty reliable; he's always thinking of me. It wasn't for nothing that I saved you.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lagi returned to his dejected state, muttering, "Anyway, you can't beat Austin, so there's no point in me refusing. It's better for everyone if I go back with them. Sigh."
Hey, why are you speaking such blunt truths!
Han Xiao couldn't help but ask Desoro, "What was Austin thinking, making him the leader of the Forbidden Sorcerer? Isn't he afraid that under his leadership, all the Forbidden Sorcerer will become autistic?"
"Uh, he wasn't like this before."
Desoro sounded embarrassed.
After exchanging a few more polite words, Desoro rose to take his leave, saying solemnly, "My mission is complete, so I'll take him with me now."
Han Xiao was about to nod when he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out to the group who were turning to leave.
"Wait a minute, I need your help with something."
Desoro turned around, puzzled, and said, "Please speak."
"Well... I'd like to spar with you guys," Han Xiao said, forcing himself to speak.
With Lagi in tow, there were four powerful individuals in front of him, all likely more than 20 levels higher than him. This was a great opportunity to complete the advancement quest. If he could defeat them all, he would gain 24 trial points, directly completing half of the quest's progress. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so even though it seemed abrupt, Han Xiao still spoke up.
As expected, Desoro and the others were all stunned, feeling completely bewildered and confused.
Strange, why did Black Star suddenly make this request?
Desoro paused for a few seconds before replying, his tone odd.
"Uh... why is that?"
"Actually, I'm a warlike person. When I encounter a formidable opponent, I can't help but want to fight them. The reputation of the Forbidden Sorcerer is quite prestigious, and I want to experience your strength and, incidentally, test my new weapon." Han Xiao quickly made up a reason.
"This..." Desoro was still hesitating.
Seeing this, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and pulled out his tried-and-true, all-powerful trump card:
"Just have some fun, we're already here anyway..."
The trump card truly lived up to its name; once it was used, Desoro was left speechless, unsure how to refuse.
He originally thought it was better to avoid trouble and just wanted to take Lagi back and complete the mission as soon as possible.
However, upon receiving the challenge, he suddenly felt a strong urge to compete!
Everyone is saying that Black Star is a future Beyond Grade A Seed, and only a handful of people in the entire star field have this honor.
Although Desoro is just an executive under Beyond Grade A, he also dreams of becoming Beyond Grade A himself.
Desoro wanted to gauge what made the Beyond Grade A Seed so special and to see just how big the gap was between him and the opponent.
With this in mind, Desoro stopped refusing and instead became somewhat eager to try. He stared at Han Xiao and said in a deep voice, "Alright, you pick the place."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao immediately revealed a simple, farmer-like smile of harvest, looking at Desoro and the others as if they were a few walking leeks.
"Oh, right, I also want to spar with you." Han Xiao pointed to Lagi, who thought it was none of his business.
Lagi was stunned, his face immediately turning bitter. He muttered, "I understand, am I going to be 'accidentally' killed in this sparring match...?"
Meanwhile, in the Garton Star System, on Planet Aquamarine.
"This is Black Star's hometown..."
A Stealth spaceship hovered in outer space. Stefan gazed at the blue planet through the porthole, a playful smile on her face.
"Albert is such a fool, having such an obvious weakness and not knowing how to exploit it... Ha, everything is proceeding according to plan."