156: discipline

Iron Dome Galaxy, Free Trade Star, Dark Annihilation base.

Five voyager generation iii starships slowly landed.

"Xiao Yu, Randy... are you all alright!"

Before the hatch could fully open, Lord An Lin and Qin Mie, who had been waiting for a long time, anxiously stepped forward and shouted.

"We're fine, Father, Uncle Qin."

An Yu lightly floated down from the starship, gestured behind her with a smile, and said, "Thanks to Zhang Huaiyuan arriving just in time. Look who those people are."

"This is..."

Their eyes instinctively shifted over, and their pupils suddenly constricted.

They saw the leaders and high-ranking members of mercenary groups like Wild Lightning and Poison Wasp, who had caused them countless troubles and humiliations over the years, looking like a group of slaves being sent to the mines.

Each one was disheveled, bound with Energy-suppressing Locks, and strung together in a line.

Especially those leaders; each had lost an arm, and their eyes held uncontrollable fear, completely devoid of the demeanor of Double A-Class powerhouses.

"Hey, behave! I just told you to lead with your right leg when walking, and you still dare to be stubborn with me!"

Saide and Reis were grinning from ear to ear, swinging their heavy rifles to smash them over the head.

"I was wrong, I was wrong... It was all that guy who ordered us to do it; we were forced into it."

The people whose abilities had been sealed immediately cried out in pain, repeatedly begging for mercy.

"Insolence!"

On the other side, the S-Class man in black was instantly enraged upon hearing this.

It was one thing to be captured by a powerhouse like Kols, but these ants, who usually bowed and scraped before him, dared to speak to him like this?

"You... Argh!"

But before he could finish, the thick butt of a heavy rifle had already smashed into him.

Energy-suppressing Locks were ineffective against S-Class and above, but Kols had personally stepped in to seal all the Psionic Circuits in his body; if he tried to use his power, it would be crushed by the power of the wind element.

"Behave! Did I tell you to speak!"

Saide and Reis were full of smiles; ever since they had recovered under the effects of the healing robots a few days ago, they had volunteered to watch over this group.

They never dreamed they would one day be able to tie these enemies together like dogs, let alone scold an S-Class Transcendent; for a moment, they felt they had reached the peak of their lives.

They couldn't help but cast grateful glances at Zhang Huaiyuan behind them.

Seeing this, Zhang Huaiyuan smiled and nodded, then said somewhat apologetically to the two leaders of Dark Annihilation:

"Lord An Lin, Lord Qin Mie, I'm sorry. Because of some of my mistakes, Dark Annihilation has had a hard time these past few years."

"We wouldn't dare... we wouldn't dare, Head of State Zhang. My real name is An Lin; you can just call me by my name. I really don't deserve the title of 'Lord'."

Lord An Lin waved his hands repeatedly upon hearing this.

The person before him was now the Star Alliance Head! A figure millions of times higher than that Imperial Star Mechanic Association vice president who had made their lives a living hell!

Although he had recruited the other party back then, his level of familiarity and relationship was nowhere near as deep as that of the people from Dark Destruction Legion; how could he dare to accept such a form of address?

Although Qin Mie on the side had always been arrogant, facing such a great figure, he couldn't help but echo the sentiment awkwardly.

"Alright."

Zhang Huaiyuan did not insist.

After all, when the difference in status was too great, forcing a humble posture would instead put more psychological pressure on people.

His gaze swept over the somewhat dilapidated base, and he frowned slightly, saying:

"Mr. An Lin, I wonder if you are willing to go to the Star Alliance to develop. I can't guarantee anything else, but at least within the limits of the law, I will give you the maximum preferential treatment."

"This... naturally, it's more than we could hope for. Thank you, Head of State Zhang."

The two leaders looked at each other, both showing a hint of joy on their faces.

After their experiences over the years, they knew all too well the benefits of having a background.

"You're welcome, it's only right."

Zhang Huaiyuan smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze toward the group of mercenaries whose eyes were filled with regret and fear, and said indifferently:

"But before that, the accounts that need to be settled must still be settled properly."

He brushed his right wrist and said, "Statue of Liberty, mark the locations of all forces and personnel in this area who have made things difficult for Dark Annihilation."

"Sailos, I'll give you 30 minutes to capture them all. Can you do it?"

"Of course, Excellency."

Sailos glanced at the markings fed back to his Integrated Device, and his figure blurred as several identical clones stepped out and flew to various parts of the planet.

Only twenty minutes later.

Densely packed figures were suspended in the void as if their necks were being held by invisible ropes.

Their faces were flushed red, full of terror and confusion.

Several clones returned to Sailos, and with a wave of his hand, the figures in mid-air suddenly dropped to the ground, filling the empty base square as they knelt.

"This is... the Wild Lightning mercenary group, the Heartless Trading House... and..."

One by one, the arriving Dark Annihilation warriors blinked their eyes in shock.

"Isn't that the symbol of the chamber of commerce that bought our base before... Haha, they have their day too!"

"And that guy, he deliberately stole my target during a mission before. I went to argue with him and even got beaten up. Look at how he's kneeling, tsk tsk."

For a moment, everyone couldn't believe their eyes until they had confirmed it, and then they began to discuss it with relief.

"Zhang Huaiyuan, this is Imperial territory after all. Will this cause trouble for you? Maybe we should just let it go."

An Yu blinked and said with some concern.

"No matter, you should trust the decision-making of a professional leader."

Zhang Huaiyuan seemed to think of something, turned around, and smiled. "Wait a bit longer; two more guys are coming soon. We'll settle it all together then."

Hearing the somewhat familiar tone, An Yu was slightly stunned, and her expression immediately calmed down. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she said:

"Um... then I'll leave it to you."

Ten minutes later.

The roar of engines sounded in the sky as two vehicles, clearly far superior to other passing starships, broke through the clouds and descended.

The two parties were clearly stunned when they met.

"Master Diels?"

"Mr. Carlton? Why are you here..."

"Wasn't it you..."

But before they could exchange more than a few words, two powerful forces suddenly descended. The two only felt their vision go dark.

In the next second, they were dragged to the ground.

"Mr. Diels, Master, save me!"

Seeing the two, a hint of joy appeared on the man in black's face, and he hurriedly shouted.

Carlton's expression changed, and he instinctively tried to control his ability to resist. However, he found that the wind element power, which was usually as docile as a sheep, was now like a violent lion, completely refusing to follow his commands; his entire power felt as if it had been crippled.

"Tsk... a mere SS-Class Transcendent dares to call himself the 'ruler of wind'. Simply nonsensical."

Kols had a playful smile on his face as he lightly pressed a hand on the other's shoulder.

On the other side.

Diels was also equally bewildered. "What's going on? Didn't you tell me you captured them all and wanted me to come over..."

"You're Diels."

Zhang Huaiyuan interrupted coldly.

"Who are you... you... wait, you're that new Head of State of the Free Star Alliance. Why are you here?"

Diels stared at the other's face and suddenly remembered the announcement he had seen earlier, and he blurted out.

"What do you think? Haven't you always wanted to avenge your son?"

Zhang Huaiyuan said with a half-smile.

"Wait... Zhang Huaiyuan... it's you! This... how can this be!"

Diels finally reacted, looking at him in disbelief.

When he had heard the name before, he hadn't made the connection at all.

Who would have thought that a guy from a tiny, ant-like force, who was supposed to have been dead for over ten years, would become the leader of a power on par with the Empire?

"You... what do you want? Even if you are the Star Alliance Head, this is the Empire! If you move against an official in the service of the Empire, aren't you afraid His Majesty will be enraged and send troops to destroy your Star Alliance?"

Diels roared with false bravado.

"That's not for you to worry about."

Zhang Huaiyuan waved his hand, signaling Sailos to act.

Immediately, invisible spatial power suspended him and then slammed him fiercely into the ground. Just like those people before, he knelt on the square with a face full of humiliation.

"Head of State Zhang, I've been wronged!"

On the other side, Carlton, who finally understood the situation, didn't care about his dignity and hurriedly shouted, "I didn't participate in anything! It was that wicked disciple who wanted a Transcendent Weapon and went to Diels on his own. It has nothing to do with me; I've never made things difficult for them!"

"Whether you did it or not isn't for you to say."

Zhang Huaiyuan smiled faintly and looked at the already stunned people of Dark Annihilation.

"Alright, everyone should be here. Those with grudges, take your revenge; those with grievances, settle them. Don't worry about the consequences."

"I'll take care of everything."

...