Chapter 50: Chapter 50, Battle Group?
The movement within the [Hero] interface was something Gu Hang had anticipated beforehand.
After such a brutal battle had ended, he should be able to level up, right?
Indeed, upon checking, he was the only one in the Hero panel who met the criteria to level up.
But the cost of upgrading made him furrow his brows.
50 points.
The price to advance to level 2 was simply too expensive.
However, after this ordeal, his desire for personal strength had grown considerably.
Leveling up would not only provide him with greater safety but also, a powerful wielder of Spiritual Energy could have a tremendous influence on battles below a certain scale.
Even though it was pricey, he was ready to grit his teeth and upgrade himself.
But there was no rush.
There were some other changes inside the [Hero] panel.
He saw that there were two more characters eligible to be activated as Heroes.
One was Perbov.
This mine foreman from the Abandoned Cave Society, following this battle, seemed to have been recognized by the system as a person of talent, capable of being activated as a hero.
And the other one was named Osenia Qinko.
Who is this person?
Gu Hang was completely baffled.
Did he have such a person under his command?
Oh, it seemed that he did.
Gu Hang remembered skim reading the list of literates among the refugees who had recently moved from Revival City, and it seemed that this name had appeared there.
What had this person done to make the system believe she had the capability?
Gu Hang’s curiosity was piqued.
It wasn’t that he wanted to promote her to a hero right away, but if the system had identified her potential, then even if she wasn’t upgraded, she could be pulled out and entrusted with an important task.
Gu Hang felt like he had discovered another way to use the [Hero] function.
He could find capable people without upgrading them.
Satisfied, Gu Hang closed the [Hero] panel and opened the newly-appeared [Event] panel.
[An unknown event is occurring, and you can steer the event in a direction related to you.]
[Initiating this event will cost 50 grace points.]
[Event countdown to the end: 1 day and 06 hours]
Is that it?
They want to swindle 50 grace points from me without any information?
Without a second thought, Gu Hang closed the [Event] function.
Then, after pondering for a bit, he reopened it.
He just couldn’t contain his curiosity!
The allure of the unknown was just too strong.
“Generally, the quality of the system’s products strongly correlates with the number of grace points spent. The more you pay, the better the stuff you get. Except for those two draws of the technology card, where I had a 40% chance but missed twice in a row, it seems it hasn’t duped me yet… Hiss? But wouldn’t drawing an unknown event card also likely be a scam? What if there’s some hidden probability?”
In just this short while, Gu Hang’s mind wavered, and many thoughts surfaced.
He wasn’t usually one to agonize over decisions, but what could he do?
Too poor!
All problems are problems of poverty.
If Gu Hang had enough favor, wouldn’t he have immediately activated this event to see what it was all about?
But if he activated the unknown event, the remaining 36 favor would not be enough to upgrade.
After thoughtful deliberation, Gu Hang decided to trust the system once more.
Although it was a gamble, he still upheld the belief that “system products are worth their value” and made his choice.
Of course, another important reason was that he had a fallback plan.
In a couple of days, a month would go by. By then, the fixed monthly income would come in. With the development trend of the forces under Gu Hang’s command, it should be possible to earn thirty or forty points by then. Adding them up, it should be enough for him to upgrade to LV3.
By comparison, the unknown event might be a bit more precious. After all, it had a countdown, and once time expired, the event would disappear.
Limited-time lottery, got to win something, right?
With that mindset, Gu Hang made his final decision.
The 50 points of favor were gone in a snap, and what replaced them was the new information that appeared before his eyes:
[Event Activated: Phoenix on the Brink of Death]
[A Starfighter Battle Group that is on the verge of annihilation ended its century-long penance expedition and is approaching Rage Owl Star, which seems to have what they’re seeking: redemption and hope.]
[Please make your decisions cautiously. Your actions will determine the next phase of this event.]
[Event Branch: Unknown.]
…
Seeing new event prompts that mentioned a Starfighter Battle Group nearing Rage Owl Star, Gu Hang nearly couldn’t control his facial expression.
If a Starfighter Battle Group was offering help, what was there to worry about? Any difficulties on Rage Owl Star would not be able to halt an entire Battle Group’s progress.
The term “Starfighter” symbolized glory, greatness… and death within the Empire.
They are the Death Angels of The Emperor.
It is said that thousands of years ago, the Divine Emperor used himself as the template to create many different genetic seeds. He selected the finest people, implanted them with these genetic seeds, and formed the initial Starfighters.
Each of them was extraordinary, possessing bodies that were countless times stronger than ordinary people, wearing specially made power armor connected to their nerves. Their solo combat power was extremely formidable; fighting against a hundred was just standard procedure for them.
Often, just a few Starfighters in a squad could slice through tens of thousands of soldiers, behead generals, and that was just their routine duty.
They were true killing machines, and the Death Angels lived up to their name.
During the founding era, the various Starfighter legions were the sharpest swords in the hands of The Emperor, and they made indispensable contributions to creating the Empire’s boundless territories.
Latter, about ten thousand years ago, after The Emperor ascended to divinity, all Starfighter legions were divided into smaller Battle Groups. According to the holy scriptures, the size limit for the Starfighter Battle Groups was set at a thousand members.
Typically, a Battle Group would have a home planet. The home planet of a Battle Group did not need to pay taxes to the Empire; all its manpower and resources were at the Battle Group’s disposal. A Battle Group could establish a Mortal Auxiliary Army and a Battle Group Fleet, possessing immense autonomy. They would respond to the highest calls to arms from the Empire and engage in the most terrifying of battles. Aside from that, their actions were often whimsical and enjoyed high freedom.
In Gu Hang’s understanding, it was like a combination of warlords and feudal lords.
Such a Battle Group was coming to Rage Owl Star?
Gu Hang quickly became calm again.
It’s that same old phrase, system products are worth their value. 50 points of favor likely couldn’t even exchange for a single Starfighter, let alone a Battle Group.
It couldn’t be that good of a deal.
He also noted the information provided in the event interface – this was a dying Battle Group.
That’s good.
If it were a thriving Battle Group, he wouldn’t have any say. The status of a Battle Group commander might even be higher than that of a Star Sector leader.
Gu Hang realized that this event could be a blessing or a curse. He truly had to be as cautious as the system prompt suggested, or the consequences would be dire.
But overall, this also meant opportunity.
If a Starfighter could provide him with help, he would have an absolute guarantee in terms of military power on Rage Owl Star.