Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 226 - 146: The Rise of a New God

Chapter 226: Chapter 146: The Rise of a New God

That night, at the headquarters of the Shanqi Commerce Association.

Accompanied by a fading stream of light, Earth Wolf Twelve arrived at this long-missed space station—since the "Cocoon" transformation of Flashing Star, it had become the new home star of the Shan Clan.

"Cowboy, I heard you hit a wall on Blue Star."

Someone had already been waiting here in the Fold Jump core.

"I’m in a good mood right now, don’t make yourself unwelcome."

Earth Wolf Twelve glanced indifferently at the woman taking pleasure in his misfortune, speaking coldly.

This was the Shanqi Commerce Association headquarters, where one naturally often encountered renowned experts whose fame reverberated through the Universe.

The woman in front of him, with her hulking frame and bodily modifications no less extensive than his, was one of them. She was famous for leading the indigenous troops on her home planet against Universe Company in armed conflict that had persisted intermittently for nearly ten years. Due to the valuable resources on the planet’s surface, the company couldn’t use large-scale destructive weapons, and despite sending three Imperial Guards one after another, they had failed to gain any advantage over the local self-defense forces.

For this reason, the woman and her troops were regarded as one of the most valiant and skilled fighting groups in the cosmos.

"I’m just showing concern for you—it’s the warmth of the Eastern Battlefront people."

The woman laughed heartily and opened her mechanical arms towards Earth Wolf Twelve, "Come on, let my embrace console your wounded soul."

"Piss off; keep away from me."

Earth Wolf Twelve cursed irritably, but threw a cigar at her, "What whim has the Shanqi Commerce Association taken this time, summoning so many people back to headquarters as if gearing up for an interstellar war?"

He, too, had been urgently recalled.

The Shanqi Commerce Association seemed indifferent to the loss in Siyang City, with the main members of the underground exchange all one after another Fold Jumping back to headquarters, evidently writing off Blue Star as a lost cause.

However, Earth Wolf Twelve thought this was a sensible decision; who knew if there were other experts like Duan Mingyuan still on Blue Star.

"You’re right, interstellar war is indeed about to arrive."

The woman drew contentedly on the cigar, always appearing eager for chaos.

"You crazy woman, you’ve finally found your opportunity," Earth Wolf Twelve remarked, knowing there was only one reason she could be so excited, "Is the Chamber finally going to fight it out with the company?"

The woman had quite a score to settle with Universe Company; although the nearly ten years of conflict had made her troops famous throughout the universe, it had also cost her countless separations and deaths. Reportedly, she had lost over twenty lieutenants, not to mention her parents, siblings, relatives, and friends who had all perished on the battlefield.

By the time she accepted the invitation to join Shanqi Commerce Association, only she and her troops were left.

Earth Wolf Twelve knew that if the day came for the Chamber to clash with the company, this woman and her troops would definitely be the first to charge.

"The Chamber has its own term for this—it’s called internal evolution."

"Internal evolution?"

"After the ’Cocoon’ transformation of Flashing Star, the surviving Shan Clan People split into two groups. One joined Universe Company, the other established this space station, founding the Shanqi Commerce Association. But that wasn’t a split; it was a diversification of strategies."

On this point, she had to admire the Shan Clan.

After centuries of trials, even though generations had passed, the original goal had never wavered, "The other faction has already secured enough wealth, power, and resources within the company. It seems they’ve finally decided to bring the divided Shan Clan People back together again."

The merger of the two largest powers in the universe was bound to become a sensation that rocked the cosmos.

The woman said, "And we owe it all to Blue Star."

"Blue Star? What happened to Blue Star?"

"Haven’t you heard? The Blue Star People shot down the flagship of the Cosmic Relations Coordination Department. Their cultivated individual was put on trial yesterday, meaning Huagang Consortium won’t be making waves anytime soon. Furthermore, with Bai Kou’s death, the entire Mandala Consortium has fallen into the hands of Shan Clan People."

"Heh, internal struggle."

Earth Wolf Twelve had always been uninterested in such affairs, which was also why he hadn’t wanted to become a Long Branch Guard in the first place.

Being a Guard meant he’d have to act as the personal bodyguard to important company officials every day, attending various functions with them, listening to them devise conspiracies and schemes.

With that much trouble, he’d rather spend his time in a bar, calling over a few hot babes, and knocking back a few strong drinks—that’s what life should be like.

"Gathering so many people, do you plan to directly storm the company headquarters?"

"I’ve said it’s an internal evolution, there won’t be large-scale flagship exchanges or defections, only localized warfare will occur,"

"Who’s the opponent?"

"Company-trained falcons, and they reportedly don’t take kindly to outsiders directing affairs in front of the company."

"Playing it so big? This doesn’t sound like any localized warfare; the Chamber of Commerce is eyeing the toughest bone to pick in the Consortium."

"Indeed tough, but as long as the company’s hounds are removed, there will no longer be anyone who can stop the Chamber of Commerce’s advance... By the way, guess what flag they’re flying this time?"

"It’s bound to relate to their god of trade anyway."

Earth Wolf Twelve had seen many Shan Clan People, even if planets perished, they would still be preoccupied with the god of trade.

"Wrong guess, having settled for a few hundred years, it seems they’re waking up, ’The old gods are dead, new gods must rise,’ I heard this is an internal motto of the Shan Clan."

"New gods? Where did those come from?"

"Wealth and power—that is the only creed of the Shan Clan People now."

As long as they possessed absolute wealth and power, everything in the universe could be set right.

However, for an interstellar mercenary like her, what the motto was didn’t matter; what mattered was that war was erupting, and there had to be a way to land a strike on the company.

A single orbital cannon could flatten the company’s strategic command center, just as the company had once done to their planet.

She did not hide the excitement in her eyes, "Cowboy, go get ready, we’re preparing for war."

...............

On the other hand, Duan Mingyuan was explaining to Xing why the old hunter had crawled out of the ground.

The old hunter’s relics were buried underground, and the retrieved Life Energy was attached to them.

"I think I understand."

The old hunter, who usually seemed so serious, was sitting in his home with his arms crossed.

On the table were three cups of brewed tea.

"The structure of transmutation, that is your Ability, to bring the dead back to life."

No doubt, this newly appointed leader of the Royal Hunting Court was much more powerful than his "predecessor" who had perished, even incomparable to any hunter he knew of.

But he had absolutely no idea where Duan Mingyuan had come from, or why he wanted to rebuild the Royal Hunting Court.

But that didn’t matter; what was more pressing now was the urgent mission that required Duan Mingyuan’s completion.

"If that is the case, only you can undertake the next task."

The old hunter crossed his arms, and the atmosphere in the room grew unprecedentedly solemn.

Xing Ping held her breath, quietly and obediently looking at her mentor.

And...

At her mentor’s collapsed nose bridge.

She was the one who had stepped on it.

She had thought it would return to normal soon, but several hours had passed, and her mentor’s face was still flattened.

Every time she saw the collapsed nose bridge of her mentor, she felt guilty.

"My nose, can you think of a way to fix it?"

The old hunter, with a stern face, pointed at his own face and seriously spoke of the most pressing issue at hand.