A cosmic-level civilization that fully utilizes the weapon of public opinion has ample right to use the platform of interstellar media across the entire universe to make its voice heard. The influence of a cosmic-level civilization extends to every star field, far surpassing that of a star cluster-level civilization that is limited to a region.
Urranrell addressed the entire universe, detailing the events. Subsequently, the Imperial News Channel released official documents, documenting the incident and making it public.
The document emphasizes that the Arcane Church, driven by greed, disregarded the Empire's sovereignty over the Shattered World in its pursuit of the Evolution Cube, openly joining forces with the infamous Fallen Ark to attack Imperial military forces, causing immense losses to the Empire. The Empire strongly condemns this behavior, reserves the right to pursue accountability, and announces a temporary suspension of all diplomatic activities with the Arcane Church, entering a state of wartime alert.
The Empire's wording was very serious, leading the interstellar citizens to believe that they had suffered great losses. However, after reviewing the detailed account of the events in the documents, they were surprised to find that the Empire had not lost much strength in the attack. On the contrary, it had launched a counterattack and repelled the enemy, and even captured two Beyond Grade A powerhouses as prisoners in the Shattered World.
The Empire emphasized Black Star's contributions and publicized his achievements extensively. On one hand, the Empire wanted to help Han Xiao increase his deterrent power, and on the other hand, it wanted to strike at the Arcane Church. The Arcane Church was the backdrop for Black Star's achievements. Black Star gained fame through the Arcane Church, and the wider the fame of this feat, the greater the blow to the Arcane Church's prestige.
Black Star's achievement of capturing Dilun alive spread, causing a huge uproar. Han Xiao had recently become a new Beyond Grade A, which had caused a sensation not long ago, so the interstellar citizens were all familiar with him.
Unexpectedly, less than a year later, Black Star, who is still a relatively newcomer among the Beyond Grade A, was able to capture a strong person of the same level.
The achievement of killing or capturing Beyond Grade A has extraordinary significance in the universe. Most people have some degree of individual heroism and yearn for their own strength. Beyond Grade A is the pinnacle of individual power. If someone conquers a pinnacle, the people will elevate him to an even higher altar.
Han Xiao had previously fought against Sisko and Heber, and only managed to draw. Although this was Beyond Grade A achievement, it was still somewhat lacking.
This time, however, he truly defeated a powerhouse of the same level. It can be said that only after this battle was Han Xiao's prestige and status in the universe truly consolidated.
The document also points out that Heber captured a Beyond Grade A, but this pales in comparison to Black Star's achievement. After all, most interstellar citizens can understand the difference in environmental factors revealed in the intelligence: one of them fought back from an absolute disadvantage, while the other created a one-on-one situation after surrounding an enemy, making them completely incomparable.
Besides being surprised by the Empire's fierce counterattack, many were worried about the impact of this event. The Head-On Conflict between the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church had once again strained the interstellar situation that had just eased.
For the past decade, the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty have been locked in a standoff. Now, the Federation of Light has kept a low profile, while the Arcane Church, which was just a bystander in the Crimson Tide, has taken center stage.
Since the discovery of the Shattered World, the interstellar situation has been in constant turmoil.
Even the most oblivious interstellar citizens could see that the struggle Three Universal Civilizations had always revolved around this new star system. This was the "thread" and the "main contradiction" in the complex interstellar situation, and most of the regional chaos in various star systems was related to it.
After the Empire issued its statement, the major supercluster and star cluster-level civilizations were informed. Shocked, they hurriedly used their intelligence networks to gather information and organized personnel to analyze the intelligence revealed in the Empire's official documents word by word.
Black Star has become the most watched target of these forces, arousing the fear of countless forces. In the internal databases of various groups, the threat level of Black Star has been significantly increased.
The three cosmic-level Beyond Grade A allies have always been the focus of research for various forces. Unlike those Beyond Grade A members who have been with the Empire for decades or even centuries, Han Xiao has only been with the Empire for about a year, and his information is extremely limited. His seniority and status among the Empire's Beyond Grade A members are not high. However, now, these forces have no choice but to adjust the threat level of Black Star to the same level as the Empire's three pillars, making it a primary focus.
The Arcane Church revealed Han Xiao's methods through secret intelligence channels, and all forces now know that Black Star is suspected of possessing two Universal Treasure. The Evolution Cube, needless to say, is the cause of this battle.
Another item, suspected to Universal Treasure, is capable of withstanding the Scepter of All Gods and sealing Beyond Grade A. Possessing such abilities, Black Star holds a special strategic position in intelligence reports from various parties, going beyond mere Beyond Grade A combat power.
Greed was certainly present. The Arcane Church leaked the information to make many forces covet the Universal Treasure in Han Xiao's possession, and they did succeed. However, even the Arcane Church suffered a crushing defeat, and other forces dared not take any action.
Black Star's victory in this battle deterred many covetous forces.
Several days later, the Empire launched a military counterattack. The Arcane Church was ambushed by the Imperial garrison at its military stargate station in the Shattered Star Ring, resulting in fierce fighting. It is said that the energy reactions of the battlefield could be observed from across a star sector.
After Sagman's raid fleet failed, the Arcane Church guessed that the Crimson Dynasty would cut off their stargate passage in the Shattered Star Ring, so they dispatched reinforcements in advance and even used another Beyond Grade A combat force to prepare to go to the Shattered Star Ring to garrison it.
However, the Arcane Church secretly dispatched six Beyond Grade A for the surprise attack, while the other Beyond Grade A stayed in their respective bases to attract attention. It would take some time to mobilize them, and the Empire took advantage of this time difference.
Ames is currently the only Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring. She participated in the attack before the arrival of the Arcane Church's reinforcements. Her force field is a powerful weapon in interstellar warfare, easily disrupting and breaching the formation of the garrison at the stargate station. She also crushed the stargate with her force field, cutting off the enemy's retreat and helping the Empire eliminate the Arcane Church's military stargate stations one after another, catching the Arcane Church off guard.
Immediately afterwards, the Empire dispatched troops to monitor all public stargates and planted informants in the Shattered Star Ring to monitor the movements of the Arcane Church forces.
However, as a cosmic-level civilization, the Arcane Church also has various countermeasures.
Shattered Star Ring, an interstellar transit station.
The Old Medal Bar is located in the planet's seventh junkyard. On the surface, it's a slightly outdated and dilapidated bar catering to workers, but it's always packed with customers. In reality, it's the hideout of a black market merchant nicknamed "Night Bat."
There is no absolute order in the universe; there is always shadow beneath the light, and the Interstellar Black Market is the biggest shadow in interstellar society.
Where there are people, there is demand; and where there is demand, there are smugglers willing to take risks. Black markets exist in every region of the universe. Some are products of local governing civilizations turning a blind eye, while others take root in gray areas unchecked by any civilization and grow unchecked.
In the Interstellar Black Market of the Shattered Star Ring, Night Bat was not a big shot. On the contrary, he was virtually unknown. His main business was collecting scrap metal and smuggling non-military machinery through this disguised method.
He didn't try to hide it; basically, the locals knew that the Old Medal Bar was his black market base. However, because it was so small and the West Capital safe, it didn't attract the attention of any powerful forces. There were at least eight hundred to a thousand Enderman market merchants like him in this interstellar transit station.
On this day, the Old Medal Bar welcomed a cargo captain, a long-time partner of the junkyard, who sold some junk to Night Bat, mixing in some smuggled goods. Night Bat personally invited him to his hideout in the bar's basement.
After dismissing everyone around, only Night Bat and the cargo captain remained in the old, dimly lit office.
Snap! The cargo captain lit a cigarette, took a full drag, exhaled a cloud of smoke that curled and dissipated, smacked his lips, then took a piece of paper from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and pushed it toward Night Bat across from him, saying:
"This time's scrap list."
Thanks.
Night Bat was a thin man with a fawning smile on his face; anyone who saw him would only associate him with the word "shady businessman."
"The goods have been delivered, I'll be going now." The cargo captain stood up.
"Why don't you stay and have some fun? I heard the Red Widow in Gray Shed Street recently acquired some elven-blooded hybrids..."
"Half-elf... never mind, we'll talk about it later. Have you heard? The Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church are fighting in the Shattered Star Ring. The situation outside is too volatile and dangerous. I'm going home after this trip. I'll come back to work after they've finished fighting."
The cargo ship captain seemed somewhat tempted, but waved his hand and left the room.
Night Bat followed, gathered his men, unloaded the containers from the cargo ship, and moved the waste inside.
In the midst of their busyness, people don't pay much attention to the subtle changes around them. No one noticed that the Night Bat, who was personally directing operations on-site, suddenly grew a centimeter or two taller, undergoing a slight change in size. Meanwhile, one of the workers under the cargo ship captain experienced the opposite change.
After a busy day, the unloading was finally completed, and the cargo spaceship took off, leaving the planet.
The cargo ship captain had set up automatic flight, had just taken off his survival armor and changed into civilian clothes, and was about to go back to his room to rest for a while when he received a report from his workers that parasitic iron-eating worms had appeared in the warehouse area.
This is a common interstellar parasite that can damage the structure of a spaceship and must be eliminated immediately upon discovery.
When the cargo ship captain arrived at the warehouse area, more than 30 workers had already set up high-intensity flamethrowers, burning the brown beetles, which were several tens of centimeters long, into Ashes.
"Captain, we have the situation under control and are checking the extent of the iron-eating beetle infestation. Some cargo shows signs of being eaten," a worker reported.
Upon hearing this, the cargo captain looked anxious. The goods he was transporting were all orders from customers, and if they were damaged, he would have to pay compensation.
He was just an ordinary person, nothing out of the ordinary in the universe, doing this small business to make a living, and he couldn't afford to lose the goods he was transporting.
"Take me to see this right away!"
The two hurried deeper into the warehouse area, the firelight behind them growing farther and farther away.
Just then, the worker suddenly pulled out a silenced pistol from his pocket, turned around, and aimed it at the cargo ship captain's forehead.
"You..." The cargo ship captain froze, his face filled with astonishment.
Before he could speak, the worker decisively opened fire.
Puff puff puff!
A muffled, silenced gunshot rang out, and three bullets pierced the cargo ship captain's head—a fatal wound for an ordinary person.
The cargo ship captain collapsed onto the deck with a thud, blood slowly seeping out.
The worker wiped his cheek, kneaded off a thin, gossamer-like mask, revealing the Night Bat's true form.
At this moment, Night Bat had a cold and stern expression, and there was not a trace of cunning merchant about him; it was all a disguise.
He retrieved the captain's authorization card and communicator from the cargo ship captain, then hoisted the corpse and swaggered back to the area where the workers were burning iron-eating worms.
Night Bat emerged from the darkness and saw that the situation had changed drastically. Of the original thirty-odd workers, only five were still standing, each holding a silenced pistol. More than twenty workers' corpses lay scattered on the ground, all of them shot dead.
"Captain." The group looked at Night Bat and nodded in greeting.
They were all spies trained by the Arcane Church. Night Bat had been posing as a black market merchant for years, running a low-profile smuggling operation, while some of the team members had disguised themselves as workers and worked for this cargo ship captain for a long time.
These people have been smuggling for years, secretly transporting mechanical parts for various important equipment in batches. Night Bat has stockpiled several sets of stargate equipment. Not long ago, when unloading, he had these workers tamper with the cargo and secretly send the stargate equipment onto this cargo ship.
Having been lying low for so long, they had been waiting for the organization's call. At this critical juncture, the Arcane Church activated these agents. Their mission was to seize an inconspicuous spaceship with a disguised identity, secretly rendezvous with the Beyond Grade A, and use the stargate to help Sagman and the others evacuate.
Night Bat's team was not the only spy; at the same time, similar scenes were unfolding in various regions of the Shattered Star Ring.
Countless insignificant figures who were usually invisible suddenly began to take action.
Beyond Grade A represents the pinnacle of individual power, but no one can be considered the protagonist of the universe. The universe is too vast, and every small person has their own role. Even some insignificant characters can influence the overall situation.