Chapter 604: The Art of Clinging to a Thigh

He truly believed in Celestial Technology; this was a level of science that humans needed to look up to...

Gasimi and Kuta pried the table apart and crawled up, one pair of small eyes and one pair of large eyes staring blankly at Li Hao, this...

Bang...

Gaia fell down from the ceiling with a scream; the core energy crystal of the Celestial Armament on his body exploded directly, followed by the shattering of the Tianwu Armor, and the greatsword in his hand snapped into two pieces.

Gaia, sprawled on the ground, also stared with eyes as wide as a bull's, gasping for breath like a frog whose belly had been squeezed; he completely forgot his injuries, his mind filled only with that sword strike—what an incredible sword strike that was.

If he could possess such a sword strike, any Haosen, any Council of Elders, would have to kneel down and call him daddy; he would be the most handsome cub of the Rastaya Family, and the entire family would hold him in the palm of their hands.

"Daddy... Li Ge, oh my..." Gaia, wanting to stand up, squatted back down, only then discovering that his abdomen was injured; the Tianwu had not completely blocked that sword strike, the power was simply incredible.

"Li Ge, teach me!" Gaia covered his stomach and rushed up, his eyes filled with a burning light; to hell with the Ruling Anthem, there was a big shot right beside him—if he learned this sword strike, his life would be a counterattack.

"Gaia, you Rastaya brat, first come first served!" Kuta was unhappy; how could he snatch his position?

"It seems I was the first one," Gasimi reminded him in a low voice; last time, he had already felt that Li Hao was unfathomable.

Li Hao looked around, "What should we do about this broken thing?"

"It's fine, just fix it up. Li Ge, for a big shot like you, you can leave such small matters to your little brother!" Kuta said, shaking his head; the Jincancan Family possessed a talent for clinging to powerful figures. Why were they the premier wealthy family of the Sea Race? It was because they had enjoyed continuous good luck during the family's growth: in the early days, they obtained the help of the Star-Casting Dragon Race to rise, they took the right side in wars, and during the great development of the Star River Alliance, they were the first to respond to the Galasta Galactic Core commercial alliance strategy. Thus, they had always been reaping the dividends of the Star River's development. The family's vision and luck in all aspects were quite good, and recently they had made a huge profit by monopolizing human goods. The prices for humans were very low, but after the Jincancan Family's packaging and monopoly, the prices became astonishing. Of course, the monopoly itself was also a manifestation of ability and strength; connecting upper-level power, channels, and downstream demand resulted in massive wealth.

As the child of destiny for a family of fortune, Kuta had been lucky since he was small. Lazy as he was, the long-lost legendary Imperial Artifact—the Time Gift of the Sea God—suddenly appeared when he was 6 years old. The Jincancan Family immediately spent a huge sum and used significant connections to acquire it. Everything indicated that Kuta was a lucky baby. To put it this way, apart from finding his sister annoying, Kuta had no regrets in his life. Of course, he occasionally fantasized about one day becoming a great Star River hero, continuing to write the glory of the Jincancan Family, and one day being recorded in the annals of Star River history.

Upon seeing Li Hao, he felt that this was a gift from the heavens.

"Cough, cough, Kuta, don't cling to my leg!" Li Hao hurriedly pulled Kuta off, "I'll teach you, I'll teach all of you; this isn't some big deal, what's the big deal? We weren't polite when we were drinking and eating meat."

In fact, since arriving at the Ruling, the brothers had all taken good care of him, and he also wanted to give back. Having more friends meant having more paths; fighting alone had no future.

Sure enough, strength was the hard truth. After Li Hao showed a little bit of his skill, he gained three little fanboys. This was also after getting familiar over this period; Li Hao felt there was no need to keep pretending.

Humans needed development now; besides the technology of advanced civilizations, they also needed friends. It was the same for Li Hao and the others. Even if friends brought enemies, it didn't matter. A great man once said, one must always unite a portion and eliminate a portion.

Overall, he had gained a certain understanding of the maturity stages of individuals from various civilizations in the Ruling Anthem. How to put it? Some were truly hothouse flowers. Gaia and the others all counted as such, though Gaia was slightly better, and Dasha was much more mature and had more experience. Li Hao had also been observing the behavioral patterns of others in the Ruling Anthem. Of course, it was still relatively superficial at the moment; he felt they were not as complex as humans, or rather, the Warriors of the Ruling Anthem were not that high in maturity. Therefore, he believed that although the brothers from Tianqi would endure a period of suppression and discrimination from the rankings of various civilizations, these were nothing. Whether it was Basta, Maxis, or the ants, they were all very mature. The tempering of Tianqi and the growth of the S Tournament were one thing, but the true maturity was the battle of Kepler; experiencing life-and-death in a great war was the mark of a warrior's maturity. Li Hao believed they would handle these superficial trifles well and find a way to grow that suited them within the existing order.

A strong person was not just about singular power; comprehensive quality was true strength. Being able to adapt to various environmental disadvantages and gradually turn things around was strength.

He believed that everyone else could do it; this was the conviction they had built together along the way.

At this moment, on the distant Kepler Planet, in the Governor's mansion.

A Giant Insect was placed in the hall. Not long after, the lying Giant Insect suddenly stood up, human emotions appearing in its eyes; this was the time they had agreed upon.

Standing in front of the Giant Insect were Kevin, Romero, and Polina, who had an eager look on her face. Before full communication was established on Kepler's side, this was the most convenient way to communicate.

"Second Brother," Kevin asked, waving his arms.

The Giant Insect nodded. The first time this ability was used, it had truly given Kevin and Romero a fright. They were considered to know Li Hao relatively well, and Kepler had joined the Star River Alliance for some time, so they were considered to have seen the world, but they had never heard of such an ability.

"Li Ge, long time no see, I've missed you so much." Polina also smiled happily, but the Giant Insect subconsciously leaned back.

Romero seized the time. On one hand, the Giant Insect couldn't hold on for long; on the other hand, this form also had certain risks in the Ruling Anthem. There were many powers of Li Hao that were still in an unknown stage; he shouldn't let their base be raided, or they would be left with no tears to cry.

Kevin briefly stated the current situation...

"Overall, it's still a bit troublesome. Those few councilors in the Solar System Council are particularly jumpy. On the list, there are those who have already defected to the Orcs, those who suggest selling out Kepler to gain protection, and those who suggest that humans should obey the arrangements of higher civilizations, saying that we originally belonged to higher civilizations, belonged to the Celestial..." Kevin said. Don't think this was crazy talk; this was really what those high-level councilors said. They even incited a portion of the people; some had problems with their brains, and some had interests behind them. They spoke of morality and righteousness on the surface, but behind the scenes, it was all interest exchanges.

"Li Ge, do something. If we let them continue to make trouble like this, Kepler will be very passive." Polina said, "Kepler is waiting to be rebuilt. It's one thing that our army has no equipment, but they even want to interfere."

This was not to say there were no clear-sighted people in the Solar System Council—Wu Fa, Elena, and others were clear-sighted. It was just that when it involved interests, the other side could be unscrupulous, picking fights and criticizing in various ways.

Kepler's strategic position was so important that some people actually wanted to "sell" Kepler.

To put it bluntly, it was about interests. As they slowly discovered that the Star River Alliance had not yet directly taken over Kepler, their minds became active. They wanted to scrape what they could for a day at a time, wanting to arrange people in the Governor's mansion while helping with construction, but the conditions were of the commanding type. The council discussed various proposals every day, and more than half were aimed at Kepler—for example, Kepler should be like this, the Governor should be held by a human, and all foreign exchange created should be uniformly collected and managed by the Solar System Alliance.

At the same time, they demanded that Kepler, as a bridgehead for humans, needed to set an example, handle diplomatic relations well, and so on.

When trouble happened, not a single one could be seen; now that things had stabilized slightly, a whole bunch were waiting to pick the peaches and reap the benefits. Moreover, there was a group of people specifically responsible for criticizing this and that, pointing fingers at the country.

Because Kepler's current treatment was very good, especially for warriors who had participated in the Kepler War and their relatives, as long as they were willing to come to Kepler, they would be given the best resident treatment. This also made many people willing to head to Kepler; after all, this was the place where they had once fought.

At the beginning, the council didn't care much, but later the immigration bureau started collecting head taxes. The main handler of immigration was Ma Long's Kepler Interstellar Trading Group. Originally, it was profitable, but one had to know that many people had no conditions to go to Kepler at all, which meant they bore the entire cost. Now that taxes were being collected, life was indeed difficult. If it weren't for making a profit on tobacco and alcohol, they wouldn't have been able to hold on at all.

"Because our protection period is about to end, more and more spaceships have appeared near Kepler recently. Some have interstellar navigation treaties, and some clearly don't; they are very likely reconnaissance ships of space pirates." Romero said.

"Damn pirates, I highly suspect they are regular troops in wolf's clothing." Kevin said, "Annie has analyzed it. Once the protection period ends, we will inevitably face small-scale conflicts, and the Star Alliance won't care. To be precise, this is also a way for higher civilizations to generate revenue."

Annie was the Annie who was Zuo Xiaotang's girlfriend. Kevin and the others also knew that Annie was Venus. The collapse of the massive Meraphis Family happened in an instant, and now it had been carved up to the point of being almost forgotten. Venus had discovered this point in the Nimeier Ruins and began her own choice. Whether she was the first, he didn't know, but she was definitely the strongest intelligent virtual life form among humans. Having lost her master, she chose to start her own life, and in her consciousness, the one who treated her best was Zuo Xiaotang. So she transferred herself into an Artificial Human, then headed to Tianjing, met Zuo Xiaotang by chance, and became Zuoge's girlfriend.

Li Hao discovered it at the first glance; an Artificial Human couldn't fool him. But so what? Venus liked Zuo Xiaotang, and Zuo Xiaotang liked Venus; two people in love was none of anyone else's business. As for what Annie wanted to say, that was her business. Romero and Polina were also living very well, and there would be more cross-species romances in the future.

Many matters of the Kepler Interstellar Trading Group were now handled by Annie. At first, she would ask Zuo Xiaotang for his opinion, but Zuo Xiaotang didn't have any ideas. As a result, Annie started giving ideas. Ma Long and the others soon discovered that Annie was the real big shot; many complex things didn't need to be asked of others, she knew everything. They got used to it, and that was that.

"What's the solution?" Li Hao asked.

"If only we humans could have our own Anthem, because once an Anthem is established, Star River Warriors will intervene, and pirates generally don't have the guts to attack the location of an Anthem." Kevin said, "Moreover, we have studied the operation of the Star River Alliance's power rules for a long time; most of it is manifested through the Anthem, especially for our low-level stage. Establishing an Anthem is the primary task!"

"I have applied to the Star River Alliance, but I feel we are not qualified enough yet, or rather, they have other plans." Romero said. Once the protection for new members was gone, Kepler would inevitably be looted. "I have already told all Kepler trade groups to be careful."

Besides the big one from the Jincancan Family, in fact, both the Solar System and Kepler had many trade groups, as well as many exploration teams, just not on such a large scale. There were pitfalls, but they were still within the bearable range. However, Romero and the others had already felt that once this protection period ended, there might be unpredictable changes.

"How is the army building going?" Li Hao asked.

Before leaving Kepler, building Kepler's own Elite armed forces had been put on the agenda. Without the ability to protect themselves, Kepler, with its rich natural resources, would become a colony sooner or later. Whether it was Romero and the other Insectoids wanting to find a place to settle down, or those who had settled in Kepler and completely fallen in love with this place, plus the addition of more and more warriors who had left the army due to the Star River Alliance's policies...

"There is absolutely no need to worry about the personnel structure. Everyone's willingness to defend their home is very strong. Eighty percent are our own people, the composition of warriors is very high, and manpower is not a problem. I have contacted everyone from Tianqi back then; except for those who went to various Anthems, everyone who could come has come. The trickiest problem is the lack of equipment. As for food, the land here is fertile, and the Giant Insects are great at production, so food and clothing are not a problem. Other things can come slowly, but equipment, especially warships, is too lacking. Let alone the Star River Alliance's, we can't even buy them from the Solar System side." Kevin said.

"After Theseus died, the decline of the Giant Insects also accelerated, and they probably won't be able to maintain it for long." Romero said. Although he had control, he couldn't make the Giant Insects produce and evolve continuously like Theseus and Nangong Yuhang.

The Solar System Alliance still had an arms embargo on Kepler, and the negotiations were very difficult. After experiencing the Orc incident, Kepler had completely seen clearly. With everyone united, relying on others' charity would never bring freedom and peace. If they had to fight, then they would fight.

"Calm down. I believe there are still clear-sighted people in the Solar System, it's just that we need to deal with those clowns." Li Hao said.

Romero immediately perked up, "I will personally lead people to solve them, I guarantee it will be foolproof!"

"Use your brain! Are you trying to start a civil war!" Polina knocked on Romero. They were both angry and frustrated, but that group of people occupied the moral high ground, inciting people with selfish motives, as if sacrificing Kepler could let them sleep soundly. They even felt that Kepler wasn't part of the Solar System anyway, so there was no loss.

Kevin rolled his eyes, "Then what should we do? Reasoning is useless. Those people just want to trample us to death. What are we afraid of? We survived the Kepler War. If we don't erupt in silence, we will perish."

"In a while, a Sergeant Major of the Ghost Race should arrive, named Dasha Talan. Kevin, give the list to her; the Ghost Race is best at assassination." Since Dasha had already recognized him as the "Oracle," she had to do something, and by the way, take the blame, otherwise how could he live up to their good intentions.

Although Romero and Kevin were mentally prepared, they were still stunned. Kevin picked his ears, "Second Brother, what the hell, a Sergeant Major of the Ghost Race???"

One had to know that when humans were accepted into the Star River Alliance back then, they only sent one Sergeant Major, and now how long had Li Hao been at the Ruling, and he could already dispatch a Sergeant Major?

Romero, Kevin, and Polina had all been dealing with the Star River Alliance for a long time. For a low-level civilization, a Sergeant Major was an existence like an emperor.

"Hmm, a 39th Level Sergeant Major, although he is a Chant Sergeant Major, his deterrent power is enough. Let their dear alien masters send them on their way; this will also give Long Danni and the others room to maneuver—killing two birds with one stone." Polina laughed, "What did I say? Li Ge always has a good way. How long has it been, and he can even drive a Sergeant Major? How did he get this person?"

Romero and Kevin were also speechless. They had been living in fear during this time. The reason Kepler still dared to be tough was entirely because they felt Li Hao would have a way. Otherwise, Kepler, caught in the cracks, would just be a colony, waiting to be slaughtered—at most, they would be slaughtered after a batch died, or they would just kneel directly. What they worried about most was that Li Hao would be unable to adapt to the Chant.

It seems... I thought too much.

"This person is problematic, he is a blade, but he can be used. You all keep your wits about you. As for the rest, give me some time. You continue to bring up the Chant issue to the Alliance, and I will find a way to solve the others," Li Hao said. Feeling that the Giant Insect's body was also reaching its limit, he bid the two farewell and left his Star Swift number so that when communication was established, everyone could get in touch immediately.

He was only dealing with a part of it. He knew Kevin and the others faced more problems in governing a planet; things that could be solved by force were not even considered problems.

In the room, Li Hao's body recovered from a strange, grayish state back to normal, becoming solid. Li Hao opened his eyes in the darkness and patted his head. After being lectured by Romero and Kevin, his head was throbbing, and he had completely forgotten that Xilian was still alive.

Defatandisi—regardless of whether there was a direct conflict, Li Hao did not want to touch them right now. If one were to say Xilian was broad-minded and had gained a blessing in disguise or something, even Li Hao himself would not believe it. Clearly, Xilian was still wary of him, and likewise, he was wary of Xilian. A noble of the Seventh Art coming to Aozier—what did he want to do?

(Three big chapters delivered, have a happy holiday ^_^)

There are five more chapters in the early morning; for May Day, I will try the mode of writing for 12 hours a day.)

(End of this chapter)