Chapter 1003 - Double Beyond Grade As (1/2)
As time passed, Hila pondered in silence. Han Xiao waited with a smile on his face; he was in no hurry.
After quite some time, Hila slowly breathed out.
“I choose to be independent.”
Han Xiao’s brows rose. “Alright, then I shall have Sylvia…”
Before he finished, Hila cut him off and added, “But not now.”
Han Xiao’s face twitched. Seeing the teasing look in her eyes, he felt funny and speechless.
Kiddo, you dare tease me?
If you enjoy not finishing your sentences, why not go write a book?
Hila sighed before speaking from the bottom of her heart.
“In the past, I lacked a sense of security. I always wanted to keep up with you, so my only goal was to become stronger and stronger till I had enough power to protect myself. Now that I’m finally a Beyond Grade A and can protect myself in most situations, I haven’t really thought about what I should do next. So, I might as well stay in the army for now. If I change my mind in the future, I’ll think about it by then.”
Hila had already thought about this matter on the way back. What should she do after she had the power of a Beyond Grade A? She had no idea.
In the past, in order to become stronger, most of her time was spent in battle; she never stopped to appreciate the beauty of the universe. At least for now, Hila did not want to form her own organization.
Furthermore, thinking back on the path she had taken to get there, Han Xiao had given her way too much help. Without his referral, there was no way Ames would have taken her as her student. God only knew when would she have been able to become a Beyond Grade A.
After owing Han Xiao so much for so long, feeling like what she did in return was almost trivial, she absolutely did not want to split off as soon as she became a Beyond Grade A. Her personality would not allow her to always owe Han Xiao so many favors.
Back then, Black Star did indeed form his own organization as soon as he became a Beyond Grade A, but he had already made huge contributions to Floating Dragon, so he was in a good position to do so. Hila felt like her contribution to the army was far from what Han Xiao contributed to Floating Dragon in the past, so she could not shamelessly do the same as Han Xiao.
Most importantly, Hila knew how to kill and how to fight, but not how to form and operate an organization, nor did she want to waste her energy on such things. She had really inherited Ames’ ‘talent’ in this respect. She would rather use these times to strengthen her power. She was not interested in forming an organization right now.
From the way she looked at it, with her strength and her close relationship with Han Xiao, her position in the Black Star Army would basically be above all but one. If she wanted a force of her own, staying in the already enormous Black Star Army was better than spending time building a new organization. Furthermore, the Black Star Army was now at the top of the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring, so it was not suitable for her to create a new Beyond Grade A organization since she would not be able to obtain too many resources.
After hearing Hila’s explanation, Han Xiao laughed and said, “Okay, then stay in the Black Star Army for now. My promise will always be effective. If you want to split off and become independent one day, I will still help you.”
“Hmm.” Hila nodded.
“You’re already a Beyond Grade A, so it’s no longer suitable for you to be one of my Black Star Guards. Let’s see, I shall officially make you the Vice Army Commander of the Black Star Army. Your position will only be below mine and no one else, including Lagi. You will be involved in the most important decisions made in the army, and you will manage some of the daily functionalities such as mining of resources, arming the divisions, and so on. You will be given the power to command part of the army’s fleet, as well as have the position of the Commander of the Black Star Guards. However, you will not be part of my personal guards.”
With just a few sentences, Han Xiao promoted Hila and gave her a lot of power within the Black Star Army.
After all, her value was now different. Even if Hila did not need it, he had to give it to her. One reason for this was to show that Hila was very important to him and to emphasize the relationship between her and the army. Another was to prove to the outside world that he followed the rules of this industry.
Han Xiao was very content about keeping Hila.
He had thought of multiple scenarios, and Hila choosing to stay was the best outcome.
This was the first Beyond Grade A Officer in the army. Having one or two Beyond Grade As in one organization were two completely different concepts.
In the past, the army only had me to hold the ceiling. With Hila, she will be able to take care of many things for me, and it’s also beneficial to increasing the influence of the army…
“Vice Army Commander? Whatever.” Hila did not care about positions much. Suddenly, she pressed onto the edge of the table, leaned slightly forward, and said with a passionate look in her eyes, “We’ll talk about these things next time. I have a request. Let’s have a fight.”
“Sure,” Han Xiao agreed. “But not today. You have only just returned to the headquarters. Let’s get to that after you rest. Spend some time with your sister. I’ll need to take care of some matters too. In a few days, I will beat… ahem, fight with you.”
“Okay.”
Hila nodded and suppressed her heart that was filled with anticipation for the time being. Ever since she became a Beyond Grade A, she had been eager to discover how large the difference between the two of them was.
After chatting for a while longer, Hila left the room and went to see Aurora—the two of them had endless things to talk about after not seeing each other for quite many years.
Watching Hila leave, Han Xiao smiled. This time, the communicator suddenly rang.
He looked at it, and it was from Urranrell.
For the dynasty to contact me now, it’s probably about Hila… Han Xiao pondered for a moment before picking up the call.
“Your Excellency, what made you call me with your extremely busy schedule?” Han Xiao smiled as Urranrell appeared on the screen.
“I heard one of your Officers became a Beyond Grade A. Congratulations.” Urranrell nodded.
“Haha, her name is Hila. She’s not just my Officer but also an old friend. Her and I…” Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “Oh, almost forgot, you guys definitely have her information.”
“Hmm, have you spoken with Hila?”
“Coincidentally, I was just done speaking with her.”
“And how did it go? What’s her plan?”
“She doesn’t want to form an organization because she thinks it’s too troublesome, so she’s decided to stay here and assist me.”
“I see…” Urranrell paused, stayed silent for a moment, before slowly saying, “I have something to ask of you.”
“Go on.”
“If possible, I hope you can convince Hila to join the dynasty.”
As expected… Han Xiao smiled and did not speak.
His relationship with Hila made the dynasty feel that they had a very high chance to obtain a new Beyond Grade A ally, so they looked for him directly to make the first move.
Seeing that Han Xiao did not reply, Urranrell then asked, “What do you think?”
“No problem, I will try to convince her, but I can’t promise I’ll succeed,” Han Xiao replied.
“I understand.” Urranrell nodded. She would not force it.
This time, Han Xiao changed the topic and said, “By the way, since you contacted me, I have something to report to you. You asked me to maintain the order of the Shattered Star Ring, and I have an idea that can be used during such times. However, it’s quite an impactful one, so I need the dynasty’s support.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Due to the Flickering World, the Beyond Grade As of the various Star Fields will gather in the Shattered Star Ring, which will make up to at least ninety percent of all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe,” Han Xiao slowly said. “Since that’s the case, I might as well take the lead and invite these people to gather in one place, hosting an enormous party for the Beyond Grade As of the entire universe and having a chat with everyone. This way, I can come to an agreement with all of them at once to not cause problems in the Shattered Star Ring.”
Hearing Han Xiao’s idea, Urranrell started thinking.
This would basically be equivalent to inviting all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, which would indeed be way too impactful. These people were all symbolic individuals of their various Star Fields. If this succeeded, it would be more than enough to cause a sensation throughout the universe.
It might even be written in history as a memorable major event.
As for what Black Star would gain from it, it was rather clear. First, it would save him time and energy to resolve the matter of Star Field stability at once, be it with negotiation or showcase of power.
Furthermore, if he could really gather all the Beyond Grade As together, as the host, Black Star’s influence would increase tremendously. It would be proof that all these Beyond Grade As were willing to give him face.