"Thanks, Tutor," Varian said with a smile, glancing at the unconscious Han Nial.

The compartment needed level 7 strength to destroy it, which he couldn't do. And even if a level 7 broke the compartment, those level 8 attacks would've killed him away in no time.

'Putting level 8 bodyguards, the Nial family really values him.' Varian thought, looking at the young man whose disguise was removed.

If not for Seth's prowess, grabbing this young master would've been impossible.

Even then…

"Don't worry about the next things. I'll take care of them." Varian said, hinting that Seth should rest.

His hand was charred and dripping blood. Taking two attacks head-on without defense wasn't easy. But thankfully, Body awakeners could take beatings.

"I'll leave it to Mr. Dreamer then." Seth chuckled and sat on a comfy chair. He took a healing potion and kept looking at the ghost ship's interior with curiosity.

After learning of ghost ship, being dumbfounded was an understatement. After learning of the AI, and the timing Varian got it, he connected it to Dreamer.

The facilities, the stealth all kept surprising him.

But he didn't have any thoughts of attacking Varian and keeping the ship to himself. It wasn't because of the neutralizer, but because the owner was Varian.

Having recognized Varian's specialty for a long time, Seth was more than happy that Varian found the ghost ship.

With his current speed, Varian would probably be a Sovereign in a decade or less. Having ghost ship ensure his safety was the best decision in his opinion.

Learning that Varian was about to use the ghost ship to kidnap Han Nial and save the cluster cities only strengthened his conviction.

And now, he was going to watch Varian 'save' the cluster cities.

"Nice to meet you, Han Nial." Dressed in all white, with a mask covering his face, Varian greeted the groggy young master.

"H-uh?" Han Nial was back on his feet in the next moment and was about to attack Varian when he suddenly froze.

A suffocating pressure locked him in place. The aura that used to flow freely like wind turned into iron chains and sealed him.

Han Nial's eyes moved and he saw a bald man looking at him with an appreciating smile.

'Aura lock…' His heart sank. 'It's less than level 9, but more than level 7.' Han Nial was trained by his elders, so he knew the extent of this aura lock.

But that didn't mean he could escape it.

"Calm down. I wish for a peaceful talk." The voice came again and Han Nial looked up at the mysterious man.

Seated in a golden throne above a platform, he crossed his legs and propped his chin, gazing at him with pitch-black eyes.

Those eyes…they had a terrifying conviction. The men who had such convictions would either be the greatest of heroes or the deadliest of villains.

"Gulp." Han Nial gulped and felt the aura lock on him loosen. It didn't disappear though.

"I, no, the federation needs your help," Varian said with a serious expression and snapped his fingers.

"Check the evidence. Everyone is deceived by abyssals. There is no Sequoias army. There is only…" Varian relayed the ins and outs of the matter.

Han Nial was dumbstruck.

While the videos all showed him a truth he very much wanted to believe, how could Athena agents be wrong?

Should he trust an unknown man or the federation's intelligence agency?

"We need to contact Sovereign Irene. But currently, she is out of reach. I think you have the means. So—"

"This is no evidence." Han Nial cut him off, clenching his fist and glaring at the man in white.

Varian sighed deeply. Anyone could create videos these days. The only way to verify their authenticity was to have a technocrat check them.

But even if he let a technocrat check them, Han Nial wouldn't believe him. 'How can I believe your technocrat?'

Taking his silence as acceptance, Han Nial's anger rose. "You want me to mislead my grandmother for nefarious purposes! Are you working for—"

"Shut up."

The aura lock on him increased, causing him to stiffen.

"I'm asking you nicely. You have the ability to save people." Varian said, but Han Nial simply scoffed.

"Do you really think I don't dare to kill you?" Varian's eyes turned cold and the room fell silent.

Han Nial didn't flinch. "My father and mother died on the battlefield. My grandmother is shedding blood every day to keep Uranus safe. I looked up to them all my life. Do you really think I'd be scared of death?"

Varian looked at Han Nial who was still glaring at him, showing no sign of weakness. To be honest, he would admire such courage.

But now, he hated it.

It was clear that neither death nor torture would convince this guy.

Varian rubbed his forehead.

What should he do?

*** *** ***

"Sovereign Irene, we are 5 minutes away from the location." The AI announced.

"Good." Irene Nial nodded and took a deep breath.

She took out a white armor from her space ring and with a thought, the armor covered her by itself.

Irene felt her strength surge.

"Any emergencies on planetoids?" She asked the AI.

"No. The deployments are dynamically changing, but no conflict yet." The AI announced, causing her to sigh in relief.

"If there's no trap, I can finish everything in a few minutes." Irene clenched her fists.

"But if this is a trap…" Her eyes narrowed. "It will take an hour at least."

Preparing for the worst, she closed her eyes and adjusted her mood.

"5 minutes left."

"Yes. She's almost here." Despair Queen informed Abrax. "I'll give a signal right after she enters, you can start the attack right then."

"We are all ready," Abrax said and tapped his alpha orb.

Three separate holograms popped up.

Each one of them showed a secret realm filled with armies of chaos families and shadow order.

These secret realms were very close to the three target cluster cites. Right after her signal, they'd strike the city with full force.

Not only that, they've invested a lot of sleeper cells. These hidden terrorists would wreak havoc in the city and create chaos from within.

In the military region too, they've bribed a few officers who would do their bidding.

Of course, it wasn't exactly a bribe. Most were threatened like Colin.

Even though their number was small, the chaos they would create would be the perfect opportunity for an invasion.

Abrax felt his blood boil.

In a few minutes, three cities would be invaded and destroyed and seventeen cluster cities would blow up.

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