Chapter 1309 - A Gamble (1/2)

The three Universal Civilizations’ sudden retreat right before the warning period ended completely shocked the entire galactic civilization. Everyone was lost.

The comments supporting the war on the quantum network disappeared, and all kinds of sarcastic comments started to appear instead.

“Yo, weren’t the three Universal Civilizations unshakably firm? What happened?”

“Tsk, looks like that’s what the three Universal Civilizations are. Their dominance is only an act.”

“Y’all still supporting the war? Why don’t you take a look at how much the three Universal Civilizations care about you people?”

Public opinion shifted once again. Looking at these sarcastic comments, the tons of galactic residents were frustrated but had nothing to say.

These sarcastic comments came not just from some Supers who could finally vent their emotions but also from some organizations that were secretly inciting the public opinion. The Super Star Cluster Alliance had always been keeping a low profile, and once they saw the chance, they immediately jumped out to display their traditional skill, sh*t-stirring.

Compared to the galactic residents, the players were even more dumbfounded.

“Is that it?”

“I watched ten days of cutscenes, and now you’re saying there won’t be a war?”

“What happened to full-out war? Coward!”

Under the fearful sights of the other crews, the many army players yelled, shouted, stomped the floor, and bashed their chests, hating the fact that a war did not break out.

The three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet turned into closely packed streams of hyperdrive lights and retreated hastily. Seeing this, Manison flew out from the fleet, stood beside Han Xiao, and watched the three Universal Civilizations leave.

“That’s weird. They just left without saying anything?” Manison was confused.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and mumbled, “There’s definitely something wrong with this. The three Universal Civilizations did not bring this many forces here just to put up a show to intimidate us. It’s absolutely certain they were really prepared to start a war. However, they are now retreating even when it means they’re going back on their word, knowing this will cause their reputation to plummet. Something huge must have happened.”

“Hmm… or maybe they really got scared?” Manison said, the shook his head, knowing clearly that the possibility of that was extremely low. “Maybe the three Universal Civilizations thought it through and believe that having an all-out war with the association has more cons than pros? So, they changed their mind… Does that mean the strategic goal of leaking the virus technology worked out?”

“No idea. The three Universal Civilizations should give a response to the galactic society, so let’s just see what they have to say. I’ll try to find out some inside information too… or maybe the three Universal Civilizations will actively contact me after some time.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

Hearing this, Manison turned to look at him.

“Do you know something?”

“Just some guesses that can’t be confirmed without enough information.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

At this time, the communicator rang. It was from the communication channel of the Beyond Grade A Association. “Black Star, what’s going on over there? Do the three Universal Civilizations not want to fight anymore?” “What do they mean by this?”

“Are we going to continue our plan?”

As soon as the call was picked up, the many Beyond Grade As started questioning continuously.

The many association members were confused too. They were all mentally prepared for a bloody war, yet their opponents fled at the last second. It felt like they had bought a sports car and were just about to test it when they saw a cop car beside them, leaving them no choice but to suppress their urges.

“Standby for now. We’ll have to see what the three Universal Civilizations are going to do next. But don’t let your guard down. It might be a trick. If they really are going to attack, they might use the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device to launch surprise attacks on key strategic locations directly…”

Han Xiao said a few words, telling the association members to stay on alert, and then hung up the call.

The three Universal Civilizations surrounding the Mechanical Race territory was only a signal; attacking this place was actually not useful at all except for declaring war. He still could not find out what the three Universal Civilizations were planning at this point… Retreating on the surface but charging back later using the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was possible, so he had to consider it.

Seeing that Han Xiao had finished the call, Manison said, “What now? The three Universal Civilizations retreated, so should we dismiss the troops here?”

Han Xiao thought about it but shook his head. “Don’t dismiss them. Shrink the defense circle, and continue to guard the Mechanical Race territory. Only dismiss the troops when the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet is confirmed to have left this Star Cluster. I need to make a trip back.”

Manison nodded, flew back to the main ship, and sent down the orders.

Han Xiao changed into the King and disappeared.

Swoosh!

The next second, he returned to a secret army base. This was a hideout for some officers who were not participating in battles.

Some army officers and the many members of the Floating Dragon sat in the room, including Ames who was there in case of anything. They were all watching the news broadcast.

Seeing Han Xiao suddenly appearing, the sights of the various officers all focused on him. The admiration and respect in their eyes were not just a little bit stronger than before; it was as if they were looking at a god.

Ames crossed her legs, leaned slightly forward, and pressed her elbows on her knees and her hands under her chin. She tilted her head slightly, letting her soft hair down, and said with a faint smile and a joking tone, “You’ve been very manly the past few days.” “Don’t you know best how manly I am?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

Ames smiled and said, “You should have a lot of things to deal with. What are you doing here?”

“Just came to take a look and make sure everything’s okay here.”

Han Xiao casually made up an excuse, looked around at the officers, and accurately stopped at Feidin. He immediately smiled, took a few big steps forward, and rubbed him.

With a speechless face, Feidin did not resist at all.

Seeing this, Aesop coughed and said, “You defeated all the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members, and even Wuornos could not defeat you. So, they definitely gave up fighting you with individual strength. I don’t know if this is part of the reason the three Universal Civilizations retreated, but they don’t seem to want to start a war anymore. What are you going to do next?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao said with a serious tone, “I’ll first have to figure out what happened. Anyway, don’t celebrate yet. If I guessed correctly, things might get even worse from now on.”

The ten-day confrontation between the three Universal Civilizations and the association attracted the attention of the entire universe, but not many expected it to end as it did. After the joint fleet retreated, the three Universal Civilizations went completely silent. Not only did they pull back some of the armies they had sent earlier, but they did not even publicly explain the reason for their retreat yet. The public opinions got more and more intense; all kinds of speculations surfaced one after another.

Originally, they all thought this would be the fuse of an all-out war. However, the three Universal Civilizations extinguished this war at the last second, so this confrontation elevated Black Star’s reputation. He was now firmly recognized as the strongest Beyond Grade A. If one had to define who the winner was, only Black Star could be considered.

Some were glad that a war did not break out; some furiously condemned the three Universal Civilizations for being cowards; some laughed at the galactic residents for thinking their opinions actually mattered. There were all kinds of opinions, but they all shared one thing in common. They were all curious as to what made the three Universal Civilizations choose to take a step back.

Due to the three Universal Civilizations’ silence, no one knew the answer to this question. Even the Beyond Grade A Association did not make an announcement; they were watching silently too. Countless people were intrigued.

The three Universal Civilizations’ Joint Conference Room…

“… We’ve already checked the authenticity of this report multiple times. Through the wormhole detection needles, we did indeed discover signs of activity of an unknown civilization. The data itself is completely legit. Only the conclusion is not fully definitive.”

The remote projection of the dynasty’s upper echelon in charge of the scientific research stood in front of the three leaders and reported with a serious tone.

“So, we can’t confirm that this unknown civilization is a Universal Civilization for the time being?” Marbruce confirmed.

“That… is right. However, they definitely are an advanced civilization. The extensive data collected by the multifunctional spacetime detection needles we have been frequently sending over proves their advanced technology level.”

“… Got it. Continue to collect data while keeping yourselves hidden. I need to know the details of this civilization.”

After a few more words, Marbruce ended the communication. The other two civilizations’ leaders and him were the only ones left in the room.

“Looks like our decision to retreat back then was correct,” the pope said with a deep voice.

“Hmm, or we’d be beleaguered by now. This report came way too timely,” Louis added, a little relieved.

On the last day of the confrontation, they were originally going to strike as planned, but this wormhole report from the dynasty’s Science Institute had shaken their decision.