Chapter 874 - Isolation (1/2)

Han Xiao did not contact the Gulal Civilization immediately. The banquet was still ongoing, and it would be rude to ignore the guests.

Returning to the banquet, Han Xiao collected more communication numbers. The relaxing time passed in a flash, and the banquet quickly approached the end. The guests all bade their farewells and left the venue.

Han Xiao saw Ceselin among the throng of people leaving, his footsteps hurried but nothing strange from his expression. His display toward Han Xiao this time had brought nothing but ruin.

However, Han Xiao did not intend to snitch someone to such a small star system civilization. He was a Beyond Grade A and had no obligation to report to such people.

As the guests left, the mechanical waiters appeared to clear up the messy venue.

This was the first year of holding the evolutionary banquet, and both the scale and influence were limited. It would need a few more years before its reputation would sound in the Shattered Star Ring and become a practice.

After leaving the venue, Han Xiao did not idle but met up with the elites of the Crimson Dynasty separately. These people were more important, so they received special treatment. They did not talk about business but rather just chatted idly to improve their relationship.

All these people in the Crimson Dynasty had varying levels of influence, and making more contacts would allow him to help expand his network in the dynasty, as well as his speaking rights.

Because of the battle at Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao’s fame and status in the Crimson Dynasty had increased, and he found that the elites’ attitude was now even more awed than the previous batch; they no longer treated him as a normal Beyond Grade A ally.

Everyone had a great chat, and only after Han Xiao sent them off did he return to his room and got Phillip to contact the upper echelons of the Gulal Civilization.

He did not disclose Ceselin’s backstabbing but indicated that Ceselin had offered him war employment and completed his mission, leading him to call to discuss this matter.

The Ancient Emperor Party did not suspect anything and offered a price for his war employment efforts, including remuneration, military supplies, machinery materials, and long-term mining rights for their resource rich planets.

Normal mercenary groups would only obtain remuneration, military factory borrowing rights, procurement channels, and other rewards, but due to the nature of the Black Star Army being vastly different, they were able to obtain resources such as mining rights.

Unsurprisingly, the Gulal Civilization civil strife turned out to be a mission series. After he contacted the Ancient Emperor Party, a similar S-ranked mission appeared, the only difference being the name of the mission titled ‘Protect the Orthodoxy’. The mission objective was to aid the Ancient Emperor Party in suppressing the other two parties and reclaim their territories.

Without giving the Ancient Emperor Party confirmation, Han Xiao cut the call, stroking his chin as he contemplated.

“Both are S-ranked missions, so the reward should be the same… Oh, there should be some minute differences. Because the Ancient Emperor Party is the strongest, suppressing the other two will be the easier option. If I help a weaker party ascend, the reward should also be higher.”

After thinking about it, Han Xiao had Phillip search for the leader of the Pioneer Party’s number. Ceselin was just an unexpected factor, and Han Xiao was prepared to just leapfrog ranks and talk straight to the leader.

With the military division within the Gulal Civilization, the Pioneer Party had a clear territory, so it was easy to find the required number.

The call was quickly connected.

“Hello, may I know who you…” The leader’s secretary appeared on the screen, but in mid speech, the person exclaimed upon seeing Han Xiao’s face. “Black Star‽”

With Han Xiao’s current fame, only bumpkins would not recognize him. As someone who was an official of a star system civilization, they would not fail to recognize this face.

“Connect me to your leader.” Han Xiao calmly spoke.

“Oh oh, I’ll divert the call now, you… no, sir, please hold on,” the secretary stammered. While they were not the ruling party, the leader of the Pioneer Party was not someone that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could meet as and when they liked. However, Black Star was obviously an exception.

Not long later, the leader came online. He found it difficult to hide the surprise in his eyes. He was waiting for an important call, but he suddenly received news that Black Star was on the line, which gave him quite the shock.

How come Black Star, who had never had any dealings with them, suddenly called and asked to speak with him?

“Your Excellency Black Star, may I ask… what business do you have with me?”

“I’ve heard about the situation in your Gulal Civilization, and not too long ago, the Ancient Emperor Party requested me for a war employment, wishing to borrow my strength to annihilate the other two parties. Are you aware of this?”

“Is this true‽” The leader’s expression changed. While he did not know this, he had been waiting for a report from his spy, who had reported some movements from the side of the Ancient Emperor Party. He had guessed that they would seek aid, but this report was now directly confirmed by Black Star.

The Pioneer Party leader also knew the importance of such a matter and immediately panicked. He quickly recovered though. If Black Star had accepted the employment, then there would have been no need to inform them. Black Star must have a reason for calling them.

In a flash, the leader understood Black Star’s thinking. “Your Excellency Black Star, no matter what price the Ancient Emperor Party offers, we’ll double it and will not go back on our word.”

Since the other party had already made his intentions clear, there was no need for pleasantries. The Pioneer Party immediately gave his offer. In fact, he also wished to receive the aid from the Black Star Army, but it was nigh impossible since the Ancient Emperor Party had long forged a connection with the Black Star Army through their business dealings.

What a good fellow, he actually treated me like a warmonger… Han Xiao’s brows twitched, but from the perspective of the Pioneer Party, this was natural since he did not know about Ceselin.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao did not choose to reveal the existence of Ceselin. After all, he had provided him with this mission. Before he took the initiative to jump over, his merits and fame would be hidden.

After pondering for a while, he nodded to the nervous expression of the Pioneer Party leader.

“Good, then it’s settled. When the time comes, I’ll look for someone to allow you to sign the employment contract.”

He ended the call.

Staring at the darkened screen, the leader of the Pioneer Party slumped in his chair, looking out of sorts, as though he had just woken up from a dream.