“What do you want?” Han Xiao thought that this was odd.

He had only met Martin once—a month ago when Martin tried to recruit mercenaries personally. Han Xiao had somewhat of a bone to pick with this blue-skinned shorty as the latter had turned his mercenary group down due to their lack of an impressive resume.

Martin rubbed his hands together awkwardly and said in a sincere voice, “Uhm… Are you interested in accepting a job? It’s the same one as before. Our research team is going to investigate a barren planet…”

“It’s already been a month, and you still haven’t found anyone to go with you?”

Martin did not know what to say to that. Recruiting personally like he did would normally only attract the weaker no-name mercenaries. After a long time, he finally could not wait anymore and posted this job onto the Mercenary Alliance’s job board. However, there were still no willing recruits due to the laughably poor pay, so the investigative operation was still on hold.

A few days ago, after the mercenaries who had participated in the Sunil missions returned, news of a Mercenary Group full of people capable of revival spread around and piqued the interests of many other mercenaries, causing them to become somewhat famous in the Juberly Hub.

Martin heard about this news by chance and realized that the group that he had rejected earlier was actually very powerful and that he had missed out on a good opportunity. He was full of regret and so had sprinted over the moment that he saw Han Xiao in the lobby.

“It’s still the same price. 400 Enas per person. Let’s hurry and go now.” Martin had a face full of expectations. Han Xiao had registered once earlier, and he thought that he would not reject the offer.

“Go look for someone else.” Han Xiao shook his head and turned to leave. He had only wanted to take on the job last time because he could make some quick bucks on the way to the Sunils’ planet. Now that the moment had passed, why would he even care about this meager pay? He even had to travel to some faraway planet for it.

Martin held on to Han Xiao’s arm and hurriedly said, “Is it because of the price? We can pay more! 500… no, how does 480 sound?”

Martin had firmly latched himself onto Han Xiao’s arm, leaving the latter speechless. Martin turned around to be the one doing the begging this time.

The trip to Planet Sunil had earned Black Star Mercenary Group a decent amount of fame, which was the only reason this scene was even happening. A Mercenary Group with reviving soldiers that was also decently powerful would of course be paid a certain amount of attention.

The two pushed and pulled until another voice came from the side. “Oh, so you’re Black Star?”

Han Xiao turned around and saw the owner of the voice walk over, clad in a pure white battle suit with a surface so smooth that it was undoubtedly made out of some special alloy.

“Sky Ring’s people?” Han Xiao focused his eyes and plucked Martin off of him.

This person was wearing the Sky Ring Army’s battle uniform and was a mercenary from Sky Ring.

The Sky Ring Army was among the mercenary groups at the top of the food chain in the Shattered Star Ring. They had over ten thousand members, and the Army head was even a Calamity Grade Class A Super. They did business across numerous clusters such as the Colton Star Cluster and the Gelock Star Cluster.

He should not have had anything to do with Sky Ring at the moment, so Han Xiao was curious. “What does Sky Ring want with me?”

“You have a decent team. My Division Captain would like to discuss cooperation with you. Are you free now?”

Han Xiao blinked. Cooperation… Doesn’t sound too bad…

However, with Sky Ring’s power, there truly was no reason to look for a small team like his. Unless Sky Ring was interested in something special of their group. Han Xiao was able to guess the general reason for Sky Ring’s interest in them.

No doubt. They were probably interested in the fact that we don’t die… Han Xiao smiled in his mind. Looks like the gossiping between fellow mercenaries has done its job.

He was curious as to what kind of cooperation Sky Ring wanted to discuss with him. A force as big as theirs would definitely not have something simple up their sleeves.

“I am free. Let’s go.” Han Xiao threw off Martin and left with the Sky Ring mercenary.

Martin sat on the ground with a dumbfounded expression. The Sky Ring Army’s name was known in all corners of the Shattered Star Ring. He could not believe that the Mercenary Group he had turned away just a month ago had been able to gain their interest and even receive an offer for cooperation.

Martin could only think about his previous decision of turning them down with regret and pain.

“But I was the first one here…”

…

Han Xiao walked into the Sky Ring mercenaries’ stronghold and immediately saw around twenty to thirty of their members around the place. They were all of various species and races, and all eyes turned onto him when he walked in.

“I am Gashley. The captain of this small division.” A mercenary with golden eyes stepped out. He had an impressive physique, with a muscular body that stood over two meters tall. His species came from a region in the Gelock Star Cluster.

Gashley’s battle suit was a little different from the other members. There was a golden ring that circled a triangular crystal at the center of his chest. Although a mercenary group as large as this offered its members a good amount of freedom, they still had their own hierarchy. The more rings that circled the crystal on the suit, the higher the wearer’s rank. Rank was decided based on one’s strength.

The Division Captain had one ring, and there were four more ranks above that, with the Army Commander having one more than the highest rank.

“Black Star, Han Xiao.” After the simple self-introductions, Han Xiao cut right to the chase. “What do you want to cooperate on? What’s the situation?”

“Sky Ring is devoted to recruiting capable warriors,” Gashley said slowly. “You have a great team, and we would like to invitation to you and your team—join Sky Ring.”

Recruiting other mercenary groups was a crucial step for mercenary groups to grow. The Sky Ring Army was a relatively free organization that consisted of many individual teams that were all originally from other mercenary groups. Successfully recruiting strong members would earn the recruiters quite a reward, making all Sky Ring mercenaries pay great attention to potential new recruits, like part-time scouts.

Gashley’s team just so happened to be stationed at the Juberly Hub and had heard news about the ‘undead Black Star Mercenary Group’. After validating the authenticity of this information, Gashley had immediately decided to extend an invitation to Han Xiao, as he wanted to take in the whole Black Star Mercenary Group.

He was mainly interested in the ‘revival’ ability. Otherwise, with their average class C combat ability, they would not even have entered the sights of the Sky Ring mercenaries. Of course, Gashley also did not bother paying Han Xiao himself any extra attention. This was because, in Sky Ring, the average members were all class C, while they had several hundred class B officers. They even had two Calamity Grade Supers, which entire civilizations feared.

The sudden invitation surprised Han Xiao. However, after some thinking, Han Xiao also thought that it was not too unreasonable. Mercenaries that could revive as much as they wanted would be able to become the best vanguard and cannon fodder. Even a large organization like Sky Ring would not ignore this ability.

He calculated the losses and gains in his mind. Joining Sky Ring would guarantee them special privileges, and they would be able to enjoy Sky Ring’s influence, which had been built up over the centuries. He could also gain access to many new shop items…

But if the Black Star Mercenary Group worked under Sky Ring, they would cease to be their own faction. The long-term losses were too much to bear, and he was not willing to give up on having his own faction just for some short-term gains.

“Your offer is very attractive, but I’m not really interested in becoming part of another organization,” Han Xiao declined politely.

The onlooking Sky Ring mercenaries all started to whisper among themselves after hearing that.

“He actually declined.”

“There’s only benefits to receive, so why wouldn’t he accept? I didn’t even hesitate when I was recruited.”

Gashley had a face full of surprise, and he thought that Han Xiao did not understand the benefits they would be receiving after joining. Thus, he then went on to patiently explain. “You might not be too knowledgeable about the benefits that Sky Ring can offer. Firstly, we do not confine our members with strict rules. You can even choose to become an individual mercenary, or you can also join a team, as long as you complete a minimum of two job assignments every year. Also, there are many other benefits enjoyed by Sky Ring members such as…”

“Sorry.” Han Xiao interrupted him and shook his head. “Sky Ring is indeed very nice, but I’m a man who believes that benefits always come with risks. Acting with my own faction suits me more, but I would still like to thank you for the invitation.”