Han Xiao’s arrival stirred up a storm.

Lord of Runes was the ruler of City of Runes. He had gone to sleep early but was awakened by this news. As soon as he heard, he quickly put on his formal clothes and hosted an emergency meeting.

The high officials in the city hurried to the hall in the central tower. They were all awakened from their sleep, and some were even wiping the sleep from their eyes.

Outside the balcony of the tower was the night sky. The moonlight passed through the stone railings and left a shadow on the floor.

The hall was illuminated by runes. Lord of Runes was an old and wrinkled man, but he was wearing a luxurious, elegant robe and holding a staff. The expression on his face was strange.

“Everyone knows the situation. An alien who calls himself a mercenary has landed and is looking for an outer space object in our hands. According to the intel, he used some kind of mechanical beasts and defeated two hundred Rune Guards with ease. He’s now in the forest outside waiting for our response. What do you guys think of this?”

“Aliens have a lot of information about the universe. He’s saying that he’s willing to exchange for the statue with some information. I think we can consider it…” an official said. His position was similar to the King’s Hand. “However, the object that the alien wants is definitely valuable. From his perspective, maybe he is making use of the fact that we don’t understand its value and wants to exchange it for some simple information. I feel that we can’t give in easily; it’s best to check the statue first.”

“You’re right.” The Lord of Runes nodded.

Very soon, a guard brought the statue over from the inventory. It had landed on the planet many years ago and had existed since the last Lord of Runes. As they could not figure out the statue’s secrets, and most of the researchers had mental issues after being in contact with it for too long, it had been sealed in the inventory and listed as an unsolvable outer space object.

Due to the alien’s request, they took the statue out once again.

This object was definitely not ordinary. The Lord of Runes was not very willing to give it up this easily, despite not being able to uncover its secrets. This was a treasure that the alien crossed unimaginable distances to retrieve after all.

“The alien gave us till tomorrow. We only have one night to consider.” The Lord of Runes squinted.

“If we can capture the alien, not only will we be able to analyze the body of a space race, but we can obtain all of his knowledge. This is an opportunity to rise above all the other organizations.” This man was the general of the army. He was wearing heavy armor and his tone was very aggressive. “He’s just one man.”

“He might have friends. Plus, he could land on our planet, which means he’s not easy to deal with. I don’t think we should fight with him,” someone else said.

The officials were divided into two sides. One side felt it was better to accept the alien’s request; the other side was very greedy and wanted to capture the alien to garner all the benefits. The latter side had more supporters. As they had seen a lot of objects from outer space, they were not completely ignorant of the outer world; therefore, they did not have a lot of respect but more curiosity.

The technology involved in these outer space objects was too advanced for Planet Secret Blue to figure out, so they could only learn the tip of the iceberg. However, ignorance often caused arrogance. Furthermore, the entire Planet Secret Blue did not have any idea of the strength level of the galactic warriors. Han Xiao coming alone gave them meaningless courage.

The supporters of conflict suggested tactics against the alien.

“We have one night, which is more than enough to gather about ten thousand guards and quietly surround that area. We can use the forbidden Runes; these most elite warriors will be able to endure it. Combined with the large rune weapons, it is more than enough to defeat the alien. He definitely will not expect us to attack him.”

The Lord of Runes’ eyes flickered as he swayed between peace and greed. In the end, he made the decision—reject the alien’s request. If they could capture the alien, all the benefits would belong to them.

He looked around the officials and said, “Gather the troops and bring out our strongest weapons. This is a once in a thousand years opportunity. Being too careful will only waste it. We have to capture the alien no matter what.”

…

The first beam of sunlight appeared in the sky, penetrating the forest, and landed on Han Xiao, who was sitting still like a rock.

Han Xiao’s eyelashes moved, and he opened his eyes. The refreshing, cooling morning fog landed on his skin and left a tint of wetness, making Han Xiao feel slightly energized after not sleeping for the night.

“It’s almost daytime. The enemies should arrive soon.”

A few droplets of water landed on his face. He looked up at the sky and raised his eyebrows. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Rain poured very soon, pitter-pattering on the leaves.

Han Xiao stood up and looked around the forest. The swaying trees gave out a strange atmosphere. In the dark forest, he sensed a faint, murderous intent mixed with the dampness.

Suddenly, a pressure landed on his body and slowed his movements. Han Xiao realized that he had to use more strength to remain at his usual speed, which was the effect of some kind of gravity rune.

“Just as I expected, they chose war.”

Han Xiao nodded in his mind. The organizations on that planets were all like calves that would not learn their lesson before receiving a heavy beating. People with no idea of the situation would dream of controlling and gaining every benefit before them.

Fear made people cautious. Normal civilizations would make contact with the aliens carefully, but that did not mean all natives would. There were some that were humble and some that were greedy. Some savage native civilizations would even think that the aliens were demons and choose to fight them with their entire nations, which had happened countless times before.

The greedier they were, the more they liked to play with fire.

The enormous Rune Guard army appeared from the forest in all directions. One thousand rune bows were aimed at him, and one thousand melee guards were slowly approaching. These two thousand troops were just the frontlines; the majority of the troops were still deeply hidden in the forest. The City of Runes had sent out seventy percent of all their troops.

“Alien, you should be able to understand our language. I’m the commander of the City of Runes Guard Army, Backzas. You’re surrounded. We will not harm you, provided you don’t resist meaninglessly and follow us.”

The expressionless commander in gorgeous rune armor stood in the middle of the army and spoke in a cold tone. He was the general that had strongly suggested to fight the previous night. The whole night, he had been gathering the army and approaching the forest quietly. The encirclement had formed, and even the founder of the War Runes would not have a chance—that was the strongest person in the history of the City of Runes.

The soldiers looked at the alien with curiosity. He did not seem very terrifying.

“Apparently, I have no choice but to take a trip to your city personally, such an unwise choice.” Han Xiao was regretful on the surface but delighted in his heart.

Hearing this, the rune warriors became nervous. However, when they looked at the countless comrades around them, they felt confident again.

Backzas’ face became stiff.

Is the battle starting?

After gathering suggestions the previous night, they had designed many tactics for the possible methods that the alien might have. They were very prepared. Backzas recalled these tactics and felt assured.

The forest terrain was a little bit disadvantageous for Han Xiao. He looked around and faced at the City of Runes’ direction.

I shall… head there directly!