Hadavy grabbed a Calamity Grade thug by the neck, squeezing him like a chick. The enemy, covered in wounds and unable to break free, attacked wildly in terror, all of his blows landing on Hadavy's unguarded pectoral muscles, tearing his uniform apart, yet failing to leave a single mark on his skin.
"Useless, useless, useless--" Despite the Berserk attack, Hadavy remained unmoved, instead comfortably squinting his eyes.
The next moment, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly increased the pressure on his hand, crushing the enemy's neck and throat bones.
Click!
The assailant's head slumped down, his spine was broken, and his nerves were disordered. This kind of injury was not fatal to Calamity Grade assailant. The assailant hurriedly forced the tired cells in his body to squeeze out fresh energy to repair his nerves.
Hadavy wasn't going to give him a chance to recover. He punched him to the ground, and his bodyguards rushed in and tore the enemy to pieces.
Hadavy enjoys taking on powerful enemies one-on-one to put pressure on himself, but when faced with this group of ordinary Calamity Grade who are full of tricks and schemes, he has no interest in bullying the little guys one-on-one. He prefers a righteous gang fight to quickly end the battle.
Black Star's guards are all elite Calamity Grade officers handpicked from the Legion. Hadavy, as Beyond Grade A Seed, has an overwhelming advantage over ordinary Calamity Grade. He was famous for his defense in the Shattered Star Ring, and these younger brothers couldn't even break through his skin.
The moment the Black Star Army intervened, the fate of these thugs was sealed. Of the four Calamity Grade enemies, only one survived—a survivor deliberately left alive by Hadavy.
Seeing that the enemy had been dealt with, the two guards finally relaxed. Ignoring their own injuries, they hurriedly removed Ludwell's grandson's protective shield to check if he was hurt.
After confirming that he was alright, the two approached Hadavy to express their gratitude.
"On behalf of His Excellency Ludwell, I thank you all for your help, and we will report your contributions to him truthfully."
"Ludwell, who's that?" Hadavy asked, puzzled.
Unlike Fording, he was unfamiliar with the structure of the Imperial officials and had only the pure goal of becoming Beyond Grade A, with little interest in anything else.
"A high-ranking financial official of the Crimson Dynasty..." The guard listed Ludwell's long list of titles, then pointed to the young man beside him and said, "And this is a relative of Lord Ludwell. Our duty is to protect him. If it weren't for you, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"Oh, so we rescued the child of a high-ranking Imperial official?" Hadavy glared and muttered, "Hey, you guys are really lucky, you just happened to run into Lord Black Star on vacation here... or rather, these enemies are just unlucky. Anyway, it's a small matter for us. As allies of the Empire, we can't just stand by and watch others cause trouble on Imperial territory."
"That's true, but we won't forget this friendship." The guard with the severed hand finished speaking, then turned to the only survivor and said coldly, "I have another request. I hope we can conduct the interrogation together later. I need to see who exactly is plotting against Lord Ludwell."
"We'll talk about it later. My companions are still fighting over there. I need to go help them first."
Although Hadavy was straightforward, he knew he wouldn't easily agree to such a request. He waved his hand, led his men, and took to the air, heading towards the main battlefield.
Seeing this, the two guards had no choice but to protect Ludwell's grandson and follow behind to prevent him from being attacked again, and also to report what had happened.
"The Empire's economic situation this year is not ideal, and trade has been significantly affected..."
In a huge conference room, all the high-ranking officials in charge of finances were gathered for a routine meeting, and Ludwell was among them.
Many officials in the finance department held neutral political views, and Ludwell was one of the leaders of the neutral faction, wielding considerable power in the finance department.
In the middle of the meeting, Ludwell's communicator vibrated. He glanced at the message, put the communicator aside, and continued the meeting without changing his expression.
After concluding the meeting, Ludwell returned to his office.
As soon as the door closed, he slammed his hand on the table.
Bang!!
The metal tabletop dented. Although Ludwell was pampered, he was not without fighting ability; most of the imperial officials were not weak scholars.
"Investigate this thoroughly! Who exactly is targeting my people!"
Ludwell's face turned ashen. He activated the internal circuitry, roared, and his pent-up anger finally erupted.
He was shocked when he saw the news, but he held back his anger during the meeting until now, when he finally unleashed it with Thunder fury, determined to use his power to investigate thoroughly.
Fortunately, it was a close call. Ludwell was both angry and relieved, though still somewhat shaken.
--Luckily, we encountered the Black Star Army, otherwise...
The thought of that possibility filled him with dread.
After pacing back and forth in the room for a while, Ludwell gradually calmed down, sat down heavily, leaned back in his chair, tapped his fingers on the table, and muttered to himself:
"Black Star, I owe you a favor this time..."
He wasn't particularly fond of Black Star, after all, it was an ally of the Empire. He wouldn't say he was hostile, but there was some conflict between their positions on the Empire's interests.
Work aside, this time he had accepted a favor from someone, and his personal opinion of Black Star improved considerably; he felt grateful.
Although he wouldn't bring personal feelings into his work, he remembered this favor.
With Hadavy and others joining the battle, the chaos was immediately quelled. Those who tried to escape when things turned bad were caught off guard and were either killed or wounded; they were all subdued.
The garrison cleaned up the chaotic battlefield and put all the survivors into restraint devices.
The criminals lay dejectedly to one side, looking like the scene of some kind of crackdown on organized crime.
"Lock them all up and interrogate them thoroughly." Gabura strode confidently, loudly directing his subordinates. Arriving before the Punisher Alliance, he glanced at them and said indifferently, "You've done well. I'll have someone give you your reward later. Thank you for your help."
Although he expressed his gratitude, his tone was rather indifferent and somewhat perfunctory. This was mainly because the Punisher Alliance was of a low level and could not be of much help, only dealing with some lackeys in his eyes. However, since they had helped him out of a sense of justice, he had to express his gratitude to these superheroes.
Raymond and the others nodded. They didn't expect the Beyond Grade A boss's subordinates to be extremely grateful to them; this attitude was already good enough. Anyway, they would still get paid, which could replenish the guild's funds. This kind of Calamity Grade boss who guarded a region would definitely not be stingy with his money.
However, Gabura didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Aurora, a smile on his face, and said, "Would you be interested in working for me?"
Raymond frowned, disregarding the other person's status, and stepped in front of him, saying in a deep voice, "What do you mean by this?"
"Your healing abilities seem quite good. Joining our Beyond Grade A force will give you a brighter future," Gabura said calmly.
During the battle, Aurora's healing abilities caught his attention, so he decided to try and poach her.
Upon hearing this, the members of the Punisher Alliance all looked at Aurora, their eyes revealing tension. They didn't want such a good partner to be poached, but they couldn't answer for her.
Aurora shook her head. "No, I'm a hero for fun."
Gabura frowned, wanting to try again, when he heard footsteps behind him. Hadavy led his Guard Squad over.
Gabura immediately abandoned the Punisher Alliance, turned to Hadavy and the others, his face beaming with smiles, and laughed heartily:
"Hahaha, brothers of the Black Star Army, thank you so much for your support! You've really helped me a lot!"
When facing the Royal Guard, Gabura's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn. He was aloof in front of the Punisher Alliance, but extremely enthusiastic in front of the Royal Guard.
Although he was also a subordinate of Beyond Grade A, Gabura's boss was just an ordinary pillar of the empire, while the exceptionally promising Black Star had a high chance of replacing Dark Emperor and others in the future, becoming the empire's strongest ally. Therefore, his tone carried a subtle hint of flattery.
"We're all allies of the Empire, helping each other is only right," Hadavy said politely, then continued, "Lord Black Star has ordered that he join in the interrogation of these prisoners. Are you available?"
"Convenient, convenient, of course it's convenient," Gabura laughed.
"Hmm." Hadavy nodded, glancing at Aurora out of the corner of his eye. His eyes flashed, and he stared at Gabura, speaking with interest, "You're very capable. Would you be interested in joining the Black Star Army? A position as a guard officer is guaranteed."
Upon hearing this, everyone present adopted a strange expression, especially the members of the Punisher Alliance, who secretly smiled to themselves.
You were just trying to poach our people, and now someone else has poached them. Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp; the wheel of fortune really does turn.
Upon hearing this, Gabura's face stiffened, and he coughed to cover his embarrassment.
"This... isn't appropriate. I don't plan to leave my current faction for the time being."
"Okay, if you change your mind in the future, remember to let us know."
Hadavy smiled faintly and secretly gave Aurora a smug look.
Aurora's lips twitched.
You're really vengeful.
Just then, a mechanical soldier returned with the stolen Evolutionary Totem. Gabura rushed over to take a look and was overjoyed.
Alright, the last problem is solved, and I don't have to worry about it anymore.
Black Star is such a good person!
With this incident, Gabura lost interest in poaching people. After exchanging a few words, he turned to direct his men to clean up the battlefield.
Hadavy glanced at the Punishers, gave them a strange smile, and then turned and walked away with his men.
The members of the Punisher Alliance finally relaxed; they had been somewhat tense after being surrounded by a large wave of Calamity Grade.
After calming down, everyone looked at Fording and Aurora with even more enthusiasm.
This new partner actually refused a poaching offer from Beyond Grade A organization and stayed with them!
Recalling how Fording and Seli had fought side by side just moments before, all the Punishers present, including Seli, now acknowledged these two new partners in their hearts.
Seeing this, Fording smiled slightly.
Meanwhile, in another unaffected urban area, two people were quietly moving in a secluded place; they were the disguised man and his companion.
When they discovered the Black Star Army's involvement, the two knew very well that the plan had failed. All the resources they had invested had gone down the drain, so it was impossible not to be angry.
But there was no use in being angry. Could he possibly go head-to-head with Beyond Grade A expert? He could only silently swallow his anger, quietly leave the observation point, and hide.
"Sigh, the plan has failed." One person shook his head helplessly.
"This was an unexpected factor. Who knew the Black Star Army was hiding on this planet? The team leader shouldn't blame us."
"The team leader won't be in any serious trouble, but with such a huge loss of resources, the hidden networks on this planet will definitely be thoroughly investigated and eliminated. According to the rules, we will be punished and demoted."
"If we can use this opportunity to leave this plan and be transferred to a safe place, it might be a blessing in disguise. Those forces are all hired by the black market; we weren't directly involved, so it's difficult for them to trace us."
"Yeah?"
"Yes... um?"
The two men abruptly stopped, their expressions filled with horror—these were not words they had uttered.
Looking up suddenly, they saw a ghostly black figure hovering above them, looking down at them. It had been following them for an unknown amount of time, yet the two remained completely unaware.
Upon seeing this figure, the two were terrified, frozen in place, their minds blank, with only one thought running through their heads:
How did Black Star find us?
Those people clearly didn't know they were the masterminds. Even when they helped those wanted criminals with Calamity Grade crimes to spy on their targets, they were disguised!
Han Xiao landed slowly, and seeing the two men's ghost-like expressions, he raised an eyebrow. "I was able to find you... what's so surprising? You didn't really think you could escape from me, did you?"
During the interrogation of the thieves, Han Xiao discovered that they had also been hired on the black market. Their employer's goal was to steal the Evolutionary Totem. From this, Han Xiao realized that these thieves and the Blood Hammer Church members were most likely being manipulated.
Connecting this with Fording's report on the descendants of high-ranking imperial officials, he roughly guessed the whole picture of the conspiracy.
These forces that came to cause chaos were all hired by the black market; they were just pawns, unaware of the overall plan and only responsible for their own part of the work. The real goal of the forces controlling these pawns was to eliminate the descendant of that high-ranking imperial official.
Although the Aynia Hub is not a direct descendant of the Empire, security is still tight. This group was able to smuggle contraband in by means of local power, and it is very likely that they used channels provided by behind-the-scenes forces.
Few forces are capable of establishing a presence within the Empire, with the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church being the most suspicious, as they have the strongest motives.
Recently, there have been numerous robberies involving Evolutionary Totem within the Empire. These robberies were mostly committed by people hired from the black market. The employers were not the Glory or the Arcane, so they must have been using other forces as fronts. The real purpose of these chaotic incidents was not actually for the Evolutionary Totem, but rather to deliberately create security problems within the Empire.
There may be multiple considerations involved, such as causing trouble for the Empire, letting the Empire know that such a situation can occur if the purchase of rights is not made public, or perhaps taking the opportunity to express the attitude of other civilizations. In short, there is something else going on, and this should be just the tip of the iceberg of a huge plan.
Having guessed that there was a mastermind behind it all, Han Xiao had no reason to let it go. So, he went to great lengths and used his precious Phillip to hack into the main AI of the Aynia Hub, opened a backdoor, and extracted all the data from it.
They searched for all those involved in the chaos, discovered the existence of the imposters through satellite surveillance, and then compared hundreds of millions of entry and exit records with facial recognition data to find faces that shouldn't exist on this planet at any given time. This allowed them to pinpoint the locations where the imposters appeared and connect their trajectories. After a tedious data sifting process, they finally located the two individuals' current positions.
If I weren't a virtual mechanic, I would have let those two suspected masterminds get away today.
What a pity...
Han Xiao shook his head.
Meeting me is bad luck for you.