Chapter 1 A Great Victory

It was no secret that the three great civilizations were resisting the first wave of foreign enemy invasion at the interception circle. The mobilization of the various group armies and armed forces of the civilizations had already made it known to interstellar society. Because the operation was not broadcast live, no information had been sent back. After several days of fermentation, countless interstellar citizens who had traveled to the central region of the explored universe were worried all day long, fearing that they would wake up the next day to see news of the defeat of the three great civilizations.

Just as the entire interstellar society was in a state of panic, the foreign affairs departments of the three great civilizations, which had been silent for many days, finally broadcast the results of the front-line battle to interstellar society, declaring a great victory.

The three great civilizations claimed that the offensive of the foreign enemies had been repelled, and released a more detailed battle report, disclosing the battle damage ratio of multiple troops. Among them, the battle results at the high-level combat power level were the most eye-catching. At the cost of only six people, they killed hundreds of enemy Super A Grades. The record brightened the eyes of countless people and secretly surprised them.

It should be known that although the three great civilizations had won the battle, they had also lost fleets in the hundreds of billions. Even so, it was a victory worth praising, and the losses were far lower than those of the enemy. However, the battle damage ratio at the Super A Grade level was several times better. They were the troops with the lowest loss rate, standing out from the rest.

Successfully annihilating the foreign enemy expeditionary army, this great victory greatly boosted morale. The vast majority of frightened interstellar citizens breathed a sigh of relief, and the panic and fear that had been entrenched in their hearts gradually faded away, replaced by excitement and agitation, cheering and jumping for joy.

The public opinion, which had been filled with various worries and fears, unanimously turned into a trend of praising the three great civilizations, as if overnight, there were loyal and staunch supporters everywhere.

The amazing record of the Super A Grade group was naturally a popular topic of discussion, and it was almost unanimously praised. Many interstellar citizens praised their own individual power as being quite reliable, as if they had forgotten their various hateful remarks criticizing the association. The association seemed to have transformed overnight from "an opposing class that abused its privileges at will" into "a trustworthy guardian of interstellar society," with its image undergoing a 180-degree change.

During internal strife, many interstellar citizens disliked the Super A Grade group and never stopped nitpicking. However, when faced with a great victory against foreign enemies, interstellar citizens were proud of the excellence of their own high-level combat power. The long-standing resentment and hatred seemed to have been selectively forgotten, and the attitude change was very smooth.

Of course, there were also groups with deeply rooted grievances, but they were all cowering now, not daring to express their usual opinions, shrinking their necks, and comfortably accepting protection. With the foreign enemies not yet repelled, they dared not put down their chopsticks and scold their mothers.

However, for most interstellar citizens, when danger came, they would cheer for whoever protected them from invasion, and the sentiment of unanimous resistance to foreign enemies temporarily suppressed the internal class contradictions.

...

"A great victory, huh..."

Di Erlong was unimpressed.

The huge virtual screen played the news battle report of the three great civilizations, and the room was full of Resurrected Ones who had joined the association, with various expressions.

Due to the previous differences, many Resurrected Ones had not responded to the call and had not participated in this battle. They had all stayed in the explored universe and did not know how intense the front-line battle was. They could only watch the battle report through the news.

"Six people sacrificed in exchange for hundreds of deaths and injuries. It's normally impossible for this to happen. It seems to be Aurora's ability. She has reduced the battle damage to a very, very low level," Bai Ge'er nodded.

"Even if the battle damage is low, the six people who died are still dead. There are also members of the association among them. They believed Hei Xing's nonsense and lost their lives. They deserved it!" Di Erlong curled his lips.

Everyone shook their heads, speechless.

In a war of this intensity, it was impossible for no one to die. The sacrifice of Super A Grades was also inevitable, but from an emotional point of view, everyone still felt regret.

"Don't say that. They sacrificed themselves to resist foreign enemies, and besides, with Hei Xing's Sanctuary Resurrection, they can still be reborn," Bai Ge'er sighed.

"Hmph, what's the use of Sanctuary Resurrection? There's only one chance, and they foolishly wasted it themselves. When they come back to life, they will eventually become the same as us," Di Erlong sneered.

Bai Ge'er couldn't refute and shook his head helplessly, "Isn't there still the Underworld as the final guarantee?"

"Tch, do you like losing your freedom? I even suspect that Hei Xing instigated us to participate in the war, and another goal is to let us die in battle and enter the Underworld, indirectly enriching his forces. Hmph, what a bad egg!" Di Erlong clicked his tongue.

"Hei Xing shouldn't be that kind of person," Bai Ge'er shook his head.

"Are you very familiar with him? How can you guarantee what he's thinking?" Di Erlong said impatiently, "Which side are you on anyway? You like to speak for Hei Xing so much, why don't you roll behind his ass? Would you obediently catch whatever shit he pulls out?"

"What are you saying? Besides, Hei Xing doesn't need to shit..."

Bai Ge'er's mouth twitched, but he wasn't angry. He was used to Di Erlong's foul mouth.

Di Erlong withdrew his gaze and snorted, "This is just the first wave of attacks. The enemy will invade again, and more Super A Grades will die in battle. If we participate in the war, we will end up like this sooner or later... I finally got a new life, and I don't want to sell my life for the three great civilizations."

"Are you determined to sit idly by while foreign enemies invade?" Bai Ge'er frowned.

"Hmph, I won't wade into this muddy water. If the three great civilizations can win, I'll stay. If they can't win, the universe is so big, where can't I go? My Elf Holy Kingdom is gone, and my concubines have been divided up. What do I have to miss?" Di Erlong picked his nose.

"Okay, okay, you're amazing."

Bai Ge'er was speechless, shook his head, walked out of the room, hesitated for a moment, took out the communicator, and dialed the oath-keeper's number.

A few seconds later, the communication was connected, and the oath-keeper's face appeared on the screen.

"What's the matter?"

Bai Ge'er hesitated for a moment and said, "Regarding Hei Xing's call, I want to ask for your opinion."

He was actually a little confused. After all, Di Erlong was not without reason. For the Resurrected Ones, it was not a bad choice to take care of themselves now. However, Bai Ge'er was still unsure, so he wanted to ask for the oath-keeper's opinion. The oath-keeper's persistence over the years had earned the respect of all the Resurrected Ones. After all, he was a former like-minded companion and an old friend for many years. He held a very important place in his heart, far more trustworthy than Hei Xing.

The oath-keeper also knew about the Resurrected Ones not responding to Han Xiao's call. As soon as he heard it, he understood what Bai Ge'er was asking. He pondered for a moment and slowly said:

"I suggest you participate in the war, and go all out."

"..."

Seeing Bai Ge'er not speaking, the oath-keeper continued, "I know you are worried about the risks, but Hei Xing has his own plans and is not treating you as sacrifices. The Underworld is not all of his trump cards. He has prepared other escape routes for you... And you have a misunderstanding. The compromise of the three great civilizations does not mean the end of the Super A Grade's struggle. Hei Xing is still working towards this goal, and the foreign enemies are an opportunity."

"I don't quite understand," Bai Ge'er frowned.

"I'm not able to say too much about this matter for the time being. If you are willing to believe me, I will give you a word of advice: do not be afraid of death. Hei Xing always has a way to make you open your eyes again," the oath-keeper shook his head.

Without Hei Xing's permission, he was not able to reveal the truth of the unlimited Sanctuary Resurrection. Moreover, it would be suspicious to say it. Facts speak louder than words.

The oath-keeper had heard Han Xiao talk about the plan and knew that Hei Xing needed a Resurrected One who dared to die in battle as a "model." If all the Resurrected Ones did not participate in the war, Hei Xing would lack "material" to show the truth of the Sanctuary Resurrection.

But it was not appropriate to directly tell the Resurrected Ones to go to their deaths. After all, even with the Sanctuary Resurrection, their strength would decline after rebirth, and not many people would be willing. People's hearts were always changing, so he had to instigate them to participate in the war. Anyway, as long as they went to the front line, the oath-keeper believed that Hei Xing's operations would definitely be able to "kill off" the Resurrected Ones.

"...I'll consider it."

Bai Ge'er hung up the communication, thinking about the oath-keeper's hints. After pondering for a long time, he made up his mind.

--The oath-keeper's advice must have a reason. It's better to go to the front line and take a look. Even if I participate in the battle, Aurora is sitting in the battlefield, so the danger shouldn't be too high.

...

In the large conference room of the main base of the interception circle, many participating Super A Grades gathered together. Simon and other commanders were sitting on the conference table, as well as the remote projections of the leaders of the three great civilizations.

After many days of fighting, this batch of World Tree expeditionary force had been defeated. The three great civilizations only had the work of cleaning up left. The three leaders had descended to reward these Super A Grade meritorious officials.

The direct Super A Grades had internal rewards, but the rewards for many association members were different. They were basically direct material rewards. This was an agreement that Han Xiao had negotiated with the three great civilizations early on. The association would not provide high-level combat power for free.

"...Everyone's merits have been recorded. According to the agreement negotiated with His Excellency Hei Xing, we will pay sufficient remuneration. These are the scheduled resource lists..."

Mabrus summoned a virtual screen and opened a list interface, which displayed various exchangeable items for everyone present.

Han Xiao glanced at it and nodded slightly. Many of the items inside were strategic resources that were not open to the public under normal circumstances, but this time they were all open for exchange, without hiding anything.

This form was basically the same as the players' behavior of exchanging equipment with camp contribution, except that the difference was that many Super A Grades did not have a panel showing contribution.

At this time, Louis pondered for a moment and said, "To show sincerity, you can choose different universe treasures from our inventory as rewards according to your respective merits. This will be the case in the future."

Hearing this, many Super A Grades' eyes lit up with joy.

Many people did not even have a universe treasure, but now they had a channel to exchange for them, and they were immediately surprised. Even those who had universe treasures did not mind having more equipment in their hands.

"Yo, they're bleeding heavily."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

Participating Super A Grades had at least one item per person, which was not a small amount. Moreover, they would provide exchange qualifications for each battle in the future. Even if the three great civilizations had a lot of universe treasures in their inventory, they couldn't stand such extravagance. After all, Super A Grades could choose for themselves, and they would definitely choose from the best first.

But after thinking about it, Han Xiao understood the small calculation of the three great civilizations. Anyway, they had to distribute universe treasures to the participants in each battle, so they might as well give away the ownership, while also stimulating the Super A Grades' desire to fight. After all, if the Super A Grades were gone, it would be meaningless to keep some individual-specific universe treasures.

In addition, the three great civilizations may also have a small thought, that is, to use heavy rewards to attract the Resurrected Ones of the association to participate in the war. Han Xiao knew what kind of feces they were holding back with a twitch of his butt.

But there was no need to stop them. Han Xiao was happy to see the three great civilizations bleed. It was impossible to ask other Super A Grades who had made contributions to refuse this reward. That would be too unpopular.

Everyone rubbed their hands and chose their favorite universe treasures from the list.

However, there were also a few Super A Grades who made different choices, surrounding Aurora, showing kind smiles:

"We owe you a favor this time. Do you have any universe treasures you want? I can help you choose."

"Huh?" Aurora was stunned and waved her hands repeatedly, "There's no need for that."

"Don't be modest. You deserve it."

Milizaus's mana incarnation showed a loving smile. As a huge living target, both the enemy's hit rate and his own healer's hit rate were very high for him. This time, Aurora healed him the happiest.

"Ah, I really don't have any needs," Aurora said helplessly.

This was the truth. With the Underworld, such a perverted treasure, and a boss who wholesale universe treasures, what else did she need? She really didn't need the universe treasures of the three great civilizations.

The surrounding Super A Grades looked at her enviously, and they could understand this approach.

After all, this battle had already proven that if you wanted to survive on the battlefield, the healer was the most important. Some Super A Grades would rather give up the opportunity to exchange for universe treasures in order to please Aurora.

Moreover, this healer's healing power was limited. If they didn't have a good relationship with her, the amount of healing they received in a battle would probably be less than others.

Han Xiao glanced at Aurora, who was surrounded by stars, and his mouth twitched:

"Tsk, so this is what it means to be a mother as long as she has milk..."

After muttering in his heart, Han Xiao withdrew his gaze and casually looked at the list, without any psychological fluctuations.

He now had a deep foundation and didn't care too much about the universe treasures provided by the three great civilizations. His mind had already drifted away.

The main storyline branch mission of this battle had been settled. Although it was a drop in the bucket for him, by the standards of the players, the experience reward this time was very generous. Countless legion players had gained a large wave of experience, which was the greatest benefit for him.

The sooner the players reached the full level, the sooner they could spend more experience elsewhere and increase their experience acquisition speed.

Han Xiao's eyes flickered, and he secretly thought in his heart:

"This time, the enemy has been repelled, and a large number of high-level combat powers need time to resurrect. With me here, it is estimated that the World Tree will not dare to send foreign strongmen over, so their next wave of attacks will not come so quickly... Should I take this opportunity to go to the Sanctuary?"

The time flow rate of the Sanctuary was different from that of the main universe. Last time, it took three months to enter the Third Sanctuary. Even if he had higher authority in the First Sanctuary, it was estimated that it would take a lot of time. Taking advantage of the fact that the World Tree did not launch an invasion was an opportunity to enter the Sanctuary, and he would probably not miss anything.

Han Xiao's plan to enter the Sanctuary this time was not just to resurrect the six who sacrificed. There were also many Super A Grades waiting to be resurrected in history, such as the direct descendants of the three great civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance. These were all agreed-upon transactions--when the World Tree resurrected high-level combat power units, he also had to expand the scale of his own strongmen.

"It's a pity that the Resurrected Ones did not participate in this war, otherwise, I would have been able to show the truth of the Sanctuary Resurrection... But it doesn't matter if I don't expose it now. The war is still in the early stages. If I expose it too early, it may make the three great civilizations have other ideas. Perhaps the best time to expose it is when the two sides are fighting and can't spare any energy..."

Han Xiao's thoughts turned.

However, he still had to use the Son of Destiny to monitor and confirm that the World Tree had no further actions in the short term, so that he could enter the Sanctuary with peace of mind.

...

On the other side, in the territory of the World Tree civilization, in the Tree King's Palace.

"Four high-level combat powers have been captured alive. The Mind Network is disconnected. Although the World Tree connection still exists, we can't monitor their status..."

The Two-Leaf Executive Officer reported the situation of the four World Tree strongmen who were sealed by Amber without expression.

The Heart Tree King narrowed his eyes, revealing an interested look.

"Interesting, does the enemy have this kind of method of capturing alive? It's not simple, maybe it's a special item of the universe spectacle class... Can you track the location?"

"Yes, the Mother Tree's connection power is still transmitted to the individuals, but it is isolated by unknown things and cannot penetrate. We can't sense the situation of the four people. Along the interrupted information state trajectory, we can confirm that the coordinates of the four people are near the battlefield of this expeditionary army."

"Well, try to take them back next time and see what they were captured by, and put them into the Mother Tree for analysis," the Heart Tree King waved his hand.

"Then when will the next action begin?" the executive officer asked.

"Don't worry, the opponent's recovery-type Esper is very troublesome, which led to the ineffective exchange of this time, but even if the battle results are less, it is still an exchange. The enemy has permanently lost several high-level combat powers. We still have the advantage."

The Heart Tree King stroked the armrest, paused, and continued:

"Let's wait for our high-level combat powers to be reborn first. Now let's plan how to get rid of that recovery-type Esper. If we don't kill this person, our tactics will be greatly reduced... If the exchange is not effective, then don't entangle. Launch a general attack directly. As long as we enter their territory, the Mother Tree can eat to its heart's content!"