The Legendary Mechanic

"Where did you hear about the Sanctum?" Han Xiao asked with a shocked tone.

"The Underworld told me…" Hila briefly repeated what Onicelu had said. Seeing Han Xiao's reaction, she said, "Humph, so you knew about the Sanctum long ago but didn't tell me."

"Ahem, that's because I didn't know everything about it either, and I'm still privately investigating." Han Xiao coughed and quickly worked his brain.

Hila's message gave him a surprise. He initially only wanted to ask the Underworld Hero Spirits about Soul Emperor, but he was also able to acquire new information about the Sanctum.

According to Hila, someone once invited the two sisters to participate in an operation targeted at the Sanctum. This meant that some Primordial Ones possessed more information about the Sanctum, only that those two sisters did not go in the end. After that, for some unknown reason, the information about the Sanctums seemed to be cut off. Fewer and fewer people knew about it.

Furthermore, Han Xiao also acquired an important piece of intelligence from Hila—one of the Sanctums' functions was reviving the dead. This was the first function of the Sanctums he had discovered, and it finally opened the mysterious curtain for a bit.

The Holy Accord organization, revived Primordial Ones, the Sanctums…

Han Xiao finally felt like all these things were connected.

No wonder Oathkeeper was acting that way…

Previously, he did not connect the two of them because he did not know the exact use of the Sanctums. Now, he finally had a clearer image of the Holy Accord organization.

One of the rewards of My Primal Esper Ability Collector Milestone Mission was the Third Sanctum Ability Fragment, which means these two are connected in some way. Then the true goal of the Holy Accord organization in collecting Primal Esper Abilities should be to open the Sanctum and revive people from the past…

Seeing that Han Xiao looked like he was deep in thought, Hila frowned and asked, "Was this information useful to you?"

"Useful, very useful." Han Xiao regained focus and said, "Actually, I've been secretly collecting information about the Sanctums, and you've helped me a lot this time. Great job."

"As long as it's helpful for you." Hila stopped frowning and nodded. She then asked, "Then what were you going to tell me earlier?"

"Haha, I happen to want to ask the Underworld Hero Spirits some questions, and now I have one more question to ask."

"Do you need me to awaken the Hero Spirits right now?"

"That'll affect your growth, won't it?"

"As long as you need me to, I don't mind it." Hila did not hesitate at all.

"You don't have to do that. The Underworld is inherited by you after all. Don't only think of me." Han Xiao shook his head, sighed, and said, "Let's not rush. We'll talk about it when the Underworld recovers."

"Alright, just tell me when you need it. I'll help you anytime," Hila said softly.

"We'll talk about it then." Han Xiao nodded, changed the topic, and smiled. "By the way, I brought you a present this time. You should like it."

Hila's eyes sparkled. "What is it?"

"I've made an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations, and I can now acquire three Esper Ultimate Knowledges for you. I brought one for you this time. I'll let Phillip send it to you later."

"Okay." Hila smiled faintly. She was very satisfied with this present, even more glad that Han Xiao still remembered about her even when he was out on business.

…

Han Xiao only logged off after chatting for quite a while more.

His sight returned to his body, which was in the main ship's command room.

The fleet was advancing in the Dawn Star Cluster of the Flickering World. They would reach the edge of the Garu Star Cluster in a few days and return to the army's territory.

Standing beside the enormous floor-to-ceiling porthole, Han Xiao looked at the stars passing by outside and thought back to the meeting earlier.

Manison's risky actions caused him to lose support in the association, and his connections were damaged. Without any accidents, during the next election in fifty year's time, it's going to be very tough for him to have two consecutive terms.

However, that old man Manison isn't one to wait for doom to arrive. He's now busy dealing with the three Universal Civilizations' pressure, but he won't stay passive like that. He'll certainly come up with other plans to improve the situation he's in. Given his philosophy, it's impossible for him to admit he was wrong and go back to the arms of the federation. That would only cause even more problems. The situation can no longer go back to what it was before for him.

He might regain his position as an independent faction like he did in my previous life, but this time, the duration of that will not just last throughout the Calamity of the Supers versions. He will become completely alone. Even if the alliance he had with the federation was not dismantled on paper, the three Universal Civilizations would not give him any more important responsibilities.

Manison's actions caused him to no longer have a Universal Civilization backing him up. However, he could back himself up, so he had the confidence to do this.

If not because Han Xiao had told the three Universal Civilizations about the virus core to reduce the damage caused by the disaster, Manison would not have taken the risk and would still be a comfortable ally of the federation.

Thinking of that, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].

The impact of their battle was clearly visible. As the Machinery Faith believers on Planet Magnetic Cloud spread this news as much as they could, the news of him fighting Manison that ended up in a tie was spread in the Machinery Faith very quickly. This had shaken a small part of people's faith in Manison, and Han Xiao attracted a new group of believers.

After the recent events, the bonus of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] had increased by quite a lot. The range of bonuses provided by this talent was comprehensive, basically covering all bases of mechanical abilities. Currently, his Machinery Affinity was about 600%, and he also received hundreds of Attribute Points other than in Luck. Furthermore, his ability in the armed, virtual, and many other classifications also improved depending on the believers' preferences. Other than that, his efficiency in building, repairing, and enhancing machines was also improved by a lot. He could also use various machines more efficiently.

The bonuses of the talent were so comprehensive, and the bonuses were still increasing as his believers increased. Han Xiao did not know if there was even an end to it.

"The bonuses I'm receiving aren't the most important part…" Han Xiao chuckled.

His [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] receiving more bonuses meant he had taken away the Mechanic Emperor's believers, so the Mechanic Emperor's bonuses from this talent decreased.

The more I get, the less Manison has.

As this carried on, Manison's advantage over everyone else would decrease.

I might not have earned the most, but Manison definitely lost the most.

…

After travelling for several days, Han Xiao and the fleet finally arrived at the entrance of the army's territory, Planet Black Gate. He planned to rest there for half a day and then head to the venue of the Black Star Cup.

While he was not around, the construction in the army territory had carried on steadily. The Black Star Cup was going smoothly. The members who were eliminated went back to their posts, and the eliminated players returned to the fourth stage free competition zone in the Flickering World to continue to occupy strongholds… Everything was going well.

Currently, most of the matches of the Black Star Cup had already ended. Only the last two most popular matches were left. They were the duel finals of the Calamity Grade group and the square group finals of the players group.

The two contestants of the former were both elite Black Star Guards. One was the old bootlicker Hadavy, and other was the newbie bootlicker Jotina. Both were Beyond Grade A seeds, and they stood out from the various Calamity Grades of the army.

Not considering Han Xiao and Hila, these two were recognized as among the strongest in the army.

Originally, both Lagi and Lothaire would also be qualified enough to fight for the top place among Calamity Grades, but Lagi, being Lagi, had already given up in the qualifiers.

As for Lothaire, it was not suitable for him to appear in front of the public due to his job, so he did not participate in the Black Star Cup.

As for other Calamity Grades, none were a match for Hadavy and Jotina. Even Feidin and Nero could not make up for the difference in direct strength with their Advanced Luck Glow.

As for the square groups contestants on the players' side, they were Frenzied Sword's Team Rivervale, King Admiral's Team Dynasty, Rainy Kim's Team Thunder Storm, and a group of very highly skilled players' Gold Team.

Only one of the Chinese clubs entered the finals of the Pro League, but this was different because the rules of the Black Star Cup were less strict, more random, and more dramatic compared to the official league. Usually, the big clubs would always face attacks from the other three sides at the same time in square scrimmages. Hence, Long Sky, Temple of God, and Fried Eggplants with Fish all got eliminated by their passionate fans.

The fleet docked at Planet Black Gate.

As soon as Han Xiao walked down from the spaceship, he saw Sylvia welcoming him on the dock. A security perimeter was set up. The crowd watched from behind it with curiosity, including some army warriors and players.

Not only that, they even held up a set of banners. The left one said "Holding loyalty with iron shoulders", the right said "Carrying lives with a merciful heart", and the middle said "Welcome home, hero of the universe"!

"What the hell…" Han Xiao's eyes opened wide with shock. He turned around, walked back to the cabin, closed the hatch, and opened it again, making sure he was not seeing things.

Did I open the hatch wrong?

While he was being stunned, Sylvia approached him, saluted with the officers, and yelled as if they were afraid the others could not hear them, "Welcome back, Army Commander!"

Han Xiao's mouth twitched. He did not even have to ask to know that this was definitely Sylvia's idea.

Never mind when others praised him, but his own subordinates doing it was too embarrassing, not to mention the fact that this was a public area.

Han Xiao dragged Sylvia aside and whispered with a speechless expression, "What's with the welcome?"

"This welcome ceremony is necessary so that the entire army knows you've returned victorious. It's beneficial for enhancing the members' sense of recognition," Sylvia said with a serious tone, but her barely-suppressed grin sold her heart out.

Speechless, Han Xiao quickly dragged Sylvia toward the dock exit and changed the topic.

"The Black Star Cup is coming to an end. How are the preparations for the closing ceremony?"

As this was a business matter, Sylvia wiped the smile off her face and said, "It's all been settled. When the time comes, you'll have to make a speech and compliment the winners of every contest."

"There are so many items. How many people is that going to be?"

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "You asked for this, hero."

"Alright, I'll be there," Han Xiao said with resignation.

"Also, I suggest that you watch the last two matches live at the venue. Since you've returned, it's best for you to show up at the finals to show how much you care about the competition."

"Well, I'm in no hurry. Might as well."

The group hastily left the dock. In the crowd, a group of players were looking at Han Xiao with extended necks. Many people around them recognized that these people were the Gold Team, which had entered the finals of the square scrimmage. They were all highly skilled players, and their excellent performance during the Black Star Cup attracted quite a lot of fans.

After watching Han Xiao leave, the members of Gold Team all turned to look at their Mechanic teammate, who stood in the middle.

"We actually really got to meet Black Star by waiting here."

"How was it? Were you able to create the Character Summon Card?"

"What ability did you get?"

Their goal of gathering there was to get their Mechanic teammate, who had a Blank Character Summon Card, to copy Black Star's ability. It would be a trump card for the finals.

As Beyond Grade As were very difficult to find, they were initially planning to just copy from a Calamity Grade. However, the army commander coincidentally returned, and no one was a better target for the Blank Character Summon Card than Black Star.

"Don't be so impatient. It's still randomizing."

This Mechanic teammate displayed his interface and looked at it nervously with everyone else.

After about two to three seconds, a notification finally popped up on the interface. The group hastily looked at it.

_____________________

You have received [Character Summon Card—Black Star].

Ability: [Billion Mechanic Empire—Manison]

Uses: 0/1

_____________________

Everyone was at a loss.

What's going on?

Wasn't the target Black Star? Why is the ability from the Mechanic Emperor?

At this point, the few of them suddenly trembled. They exchanged looks and saw horror in each other's eyes. They felt they had just discovered a gigantic secret.

There was only one explanation for this situation!

The army commander had been swapped!

That Black Star must be fake!