Read The Legendary Mechanic - Chapter 1048 - Movements online free - Novel Full
1048 Movements
Outside Black Star Palace, Traveler crossed his legs in midair with his staff floating in front of him. He looked at the heavily guarded Black Star Palace from afar, and before him was the highly alert defense fleet.
Seeing this, Traveler's eyes narrowed slightly. "I've come at the right time."
According to the information provided by the Super Star Cluster alliance, Black Star was someone who loved accepting challenges. Yet, he was not coming out, not even sending out his Lord's Avatar to fight him. This meant that Sorokin's information was right. Hila was being attacked at this very moment, and Black Star had to protect her with his Lord's Avatar. He could not focus on too many fights at once.
Apostle Weapons and mechanical armies could fight multiple battles at the same time, but one could only descend onto one Lord's Avatar at a time.
"Black Star isn't even using his Apostle Weapons to fight me, so it looks like Sorokin guessed correctly. Black Star has taken his main army away and has been pretending to be in his base.
"Since Dragon Emperor will be the one accepting the challenge, I'll have to quickly deal with her and force Black Star to fight me. Even if he only sends a mechanical army to fight me, I'll still have achieved my goal and divided his attention."
In order to be done with the battle quickly, he had to use special tactics that would not be considered inside the perimeters of sparring. He would definitely offend Black Star by doing this.
However, Traveler did not care much about it. His relationship with some Super Star Cluster Civilizations was very special, exceeding the importance of his personal interests. On the surface, he was accepting a mission and doing his job. However, the truth was that as long as this would help the Civilization he belonged to, he would do everything in his power to succeed.
The Super Star Cluster alliance hoped that the church or the federation's mission would succeed. They wanted these Beyond Grade As to fight each other and did not want to see them united. The Beyond Grade As being united looked like it was problematic for the three Universal Civilizations but beneficial for the Super Star Clusters, but that depended on the timing of it. For now, this was not what the Super Star Cluster civilizations wanted to see.
In the eyes of the Super Star Cluster civilizations, Beyond Grade As were important tools they could make use of, but there were not enough Beyond Grade As in this era. Therefore, even if they were united, they had very limited value to these Super Star Cluster civilizations.
The Super Star Cluster alliance hoped to find a more suitable timing where the universe had more than enough Beyond Grade As. By then, they would even encourage and aid the Beyond Grade As to be united. Therefore, they did not want this opportunity to come this soon when the timing was not right.
Other than to balance the power dynamics, there was another reason the Super Star Cluster alliance wanted to do this—they were worried that if the Beyond Grade As became united too early, it would force the three Universal Civilizations to carry out another elimination, another 'Tragedy of the Pinnacles'. If and when that happened, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely deal with the outsiders first. Therefore, the allies of the Super Star Cluster alliance would be massacred with an excuse once again, and they would be the ones suffering from it.
Traveler silently waited for a while. Finally, Ames flew out from the base.
"You want to challenge Black Star? What's your motive?" Ames narrowed her eyes.
"It's nothing but respect for the strong. I want to challenge those standing at the peak. There's no motive to speak of." Traveler remained calm.
"You're related to what's happening to Hila, aren't you?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Traveler shook his head.
"Humph, chat sh*t."
A green light flashed past Ames' eyes, and a Force Field erupted from her body, grabbing onto numerous satellite tiles to bash onto Traveler.
Traveler remained calm and held his staff with both hands. Fog-like magic energy splashed out and turned into rune arrays of different sizes, fusing together and forming an enormous rune shield that looked as complex and exquisite as the mechanical parts of a mechanical watch, blocking the path of the satellite tiles.
Ka-cha!
Multiple satellites clashed onto the rune shield, creating cracks, but could not go further. At the same time, Ames extended her arm forward from afar, aimed at Traveler, and pulled heavily. A powerful force of absorption suddenly appeared and pulled Traveler toward her.
While being dragged through midair, energy sprayed out from Traveler's body as he stabilized himself. He then cast a string of powerful spells instantly. Multidimensional energy turned into spells that quickly dashed past where Ames was standing but missed.
With a space ripple, she had already changed her location using Void Hyperdrive and approached Traveler's back. She raised her brows, glared at Traveler's back, and shot a shockwave from between her brows.
The next second, Traveler's body was fixed in midair, and he could not move.
Force Field: Gaze of the Dragon!
The moment she locked the enemy's movements, Ames's long leg whipped horizontally, sending out a wave of Force Field right toward Traveler's back.
Force Field energy that was sent out from her own body was the most powerful, and she had condensed this wave of Force Field into a thin line, rendering it dangerously sharp. It looked like she used her leg to launch a blade shockwave.
Force Field: Sweeping Blade!
Swoosh!
The blade Force Field slashed right across and actually cut Traveler in two.
However, the next moment, the two halves of Traveler suddenly shrank and turned into mojo puppets, while further away, a small puppet that looked to be made of clay appeared out of nowhere and quickly shapeshifted into Traveler.
"Puppet Replacement Spell, a simple little trick," Traveler said calmly.
Ames, however, was slightly frowning. She had known Austin for a very long time and had some knowledge about magic.
The Puppet Replacement Spell was a little known spell of the Alchemy and Curse Branch, but it had a massive side effect. When reflected in the interface, every time someone cast the Puppet Replacement Spell, their health and energy would decrease by fifty percent, and all their attributes would also decrease by twenty percent. This was an extremely costly spell.
Due to its limited value, usually, only low-grade Mages would use it to save their own lives, while high Grade Mages had many defensive methods and would not use spells like this at all.
For example, a Beyond Grade A would have dozens of methods to dodge or block that attack earlier, and even getting hit by it would not be as horrible as the side effects of the Puppet Replacement Spell. Therefore, Ames felt that Traveler had done this for a reason.
As she observed more carefully, she realized that Traveler was strangely giving off a different vibe. He seemed to have a very faint creepy smile on his face, and she felt he became more corrupt and eviler.
"Tsk, Force Field Control is one of the most common Esper Abilities. It's very rare for someone to be able to become a Beyond Grade A with it. You're really talented in controlling your Esper Ability. One day, maybe you can improve this Esper Ability to its extreme form, the Super High Risk Esper Ability—Force Control. Although the difference is only one word, its meaning is a world of difference." As Traveler gave off a different vibe, he became more talkative too.
"Something's off." Ames became more cautious and alert. She clenched her fist, shattering a corner of a satellite tile, and then controlled the broken pieces to fly out like a meteor rain.
Force Field: Dragon's Breath Shooting Star Fist!
While using spells to block the attacks, Traveler was also observing a faint mark on the back of his hand. There was a faint purple evil glow inside his crystal yellow eyes.
"There's not enough life force. More is needed…"
The two of them fought intensely outside Black Star Palace. Traveler's way of fighting was extremely strange. He occasionally seemed to purposely get hit by Ames' attacks. Ames showed the multiple uses of Force Field, including restraining, explosions, and slashes.
While training with Hila around the universe, Ames had improved as well. She had better control of her Esper Ability.
While the two of them were fighting, Herlous, who was watching in the watchtower, secretly commanded the fleet to leave in different directions and form an enormous encirclement.
"Everyone focus," Herlous said with a deep voice. "Preheat the spacetime stabilization device. When I give the order, activate it and trap Traveler here."
When the matter involved their Deputy Army Commander, no one cared about nobility anymore. Even Ames did not want to fight Traveler by herself.
It did not matter whether this was a misunderstanding; it was best to deal with Traveler first. Ames' main goal in fighting him was to force all his attention on her so that the fleet would be able to deploy traps secretly, in case he opened a teleportation gate and escaped.
At the same time, the dynasty received Han Xiao's message and started moving instantly. The Beyond Grade As who were in the dynasty's territory received their missions, departed from their own territories, and headed toward the stargate stations.
Inside Kant's ship, the few Beyond Grade As who had gathered urgently this time were all discussing their mission.
"The church really doesn't learn. During the Planet Lighthouse battle more than twenty years ago, I… and Black Star taught them a lesson, and less than thirty years later, they're here causing trouble again." Beyoni curled his lips. A few fire sparkles jumped out between his teeth.
"This movement by them is very sudden. Their target is Hila, and we're the only ones close by. It's best for us to quickly head over." Kant was serious about the matter.
Most of the dynasty's allies were given territories in the Flickering World and were taking part in the free competition. They were too far away and would not make it in time.
Currently, the Beyond Grade As remaining in the dynasty's territory would be able to reach the battlefield the quickest, and they were Kant's Lord's Avatar; Ravenlaude, who was recovering from his injury; the slacker, Beyoni; and Kohler, who had nothing to do.
"I heard Kasuyi's doppelganger is there too. Isn't that a little dangerous?" Kohler whispered.
Kant's huge eyes glared at him and said, "Don't be such a coward. With me here, what's there to be afraid of? I can fight the entire church on my own!"
"Really?" Kohler's face was filled with doubts.
"Of course not, but can you just let me say it?" Kant rolled his eyes. "If I were that capable, even Clotti would be my follower."
Ravenlaude stayed silent with a conflicted expression.
Not long ago, he had been beaten up by Han Xiao, so he was not very willing to help.
However, the dynasty would give very generous rewards and merits for every reinforcement mission…
So…
Forget it, I heard the Black Star Army is in a dire situation this time. If I help him get through this, he'll owe me a favor. Then, I can ask Black Star to get me a Universal Treasure…
Having thought of this possibility, Ravenlaude was suddenly very motivated.
At the same time, after the dynasty had sent out the reinforcements, the upper echelons continued paying attention to this matter.
Inside the conference room of the political building on the dynasty's mother planet, Ruler Urranrell was watching the broadcast of the battle provided by the Black Star Army. Beside her were the remote projections of the dynasty's upper echelons, who were also watching silently. The atmosphere was very serious.
"The church has yet to give up, and they have now assaulted our ally once again." Urranrell looked around with a cold expression on her face. "What do you all think about this?"
The people exchanged looks. After a while, Bekorodi raised his hand and slowly said, "Your Excellency, according to the data, the church's target is Hila, and Hila isn't one of our Beyond Grade A allies."
"Hila is the Black Star Army's Deputy Army Commander, and the Black Star Army is our ally."
"But she has personally rejected joining the dynasty… Your Excellency, I suggest drawing a clear line. Matters involving Black Star and matters Hila should be treated differently. Now that Black Star has requested help personally, and we have agreed to help because of our agreement, this means that he's using the dynasty's power to benefit his own faction. My thoughts are that… we can help our allies, but we can't be used by them without any cost. Protecting Black Star is what we should do, but protecting a Beyond Grade A who isn't our ally? I think we need to bring up the terms and not provide support without any compensation." Bekorodi's reasoning was logical.
"So, what ideas do you have?" Urranrell frowned slightly.
"If Black Star only gets through this with our help, I think we need to make one demand—Hila has to join the dynasty. Of course, she can remain in the Black Star Army, but she has to be the dynasty's ally too."
"Hmm… makes sense." Urranrell pondered for a while. "What if Hila is killed?"
"It's a loss to the dynasty, but there are benefits to it too. If Hila dies, Black Star will undoubtedly be on the opposite side of the church, the Meeting of the Gods will basically be completely meaningless, and the Beyond Grade As won't be able to unite. This means that one threat is eliminated. At the same time, with a shared external enemy, it's beneficial to building a closer relationship between the dynasty and Black Star. His loyalty will be firmer. Therefore, whether the rescue ends up successful or not, it will be beneficial for the dynasty one way or the other," Bekorodi analyzed.
Many of the upper echelons nodded. Logically speaking, they felt that Bekorodi had analyzed it very well.
Urranrell did not express her stand on this issue. She tapped her fingers on the table, and seeing that no one else had anything to say, she said, "No matter what, provide full support to the Black Star Army first. We'll deal with the rest later."
"Understood."
The remote projections disappeared one after another.
Urranrell left the conference room, and 'Dark Lord' Clotti, who had been waiting outside the door, draped her coat over her and followed behind.
After walking for some time, Urranrell suddenly said, "Clotti, how likely do you think it is that Hila will survive this?"
"Very unlikely," Clotti said with a poker face.
"Even with the dynasty's help?"
"That's right."
"Why?"
"The federation won't watch and do nothing."
"How do you know that?"
"The Mechanic Emperor told me."
Urranrell had no response for that.
Okay, that's one powerful and good reason. I have nothing to say about it.
"Looks like the Mechanic Emperor takes the shared battlefront of Beyond Grade As very seriously."
Urranrell stopped in place and turned to look at Clotti.
"You're a Beyond Grade A, too. Don't you have any thoughts about this?"
"My identity as a member of the Crimson Dynasty comes first, the dynasty ruler's Guard Captain comes second, and the Beyond Grade A part comes only third," Clotti replied with a calm expression.
Urranrell shook her head and turned back around.
She stayed silent for a moment and then softly said, "You've spent too much time as my personal guard by my side. Go take a break from your job. Go out and kill a few Beyond Grade As before coming back. Don't let the universe forget the name of Dark Lord."
"Okay," Clotti replied calmly.
At the same time, in Beast Ancestor's stronghold…
"Hahaha, they've made their move as expected!"
Inside the palace, Gorutan laughed loudly. His lungs were so strong that his laughter formed almost solid sonic waves, causing the entire base to tremble.
Just now, he had heard from Sorokin that the information he had exposed had put Hila in a desperate situation.
As his plan succeeded and he got his revenge, Gorutan felt very satisfied.
Sorokin's manifestation stood before him with a smile on his face. "Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, your territory isn't far from the battlefield. Why not go watch it live?"
Hearing this, Gorutan's laughter stopped. His sharp eyes stared right at Sorokin as he said with rage, "Are you trying to trick me again?"
"I wouldn't dare." Sorokin quickly waved his hands.
"Humph." Gorutan snorted. He then lifted his specially made enormous alcohol glass and gulped it down. "No matter what, I'm going to stay here to wait for the news of Hila's death. I'm not going anywhere."
"Don't worry. I'm not trying to convince you to join the battle. The dynasty will have already sent reinforcements. If the dynasty's reinforcements arrive, Hila might be able to escape her doom. Therefore, rather than staying here and doing nothing, it's better to secretly provide some help."
"What kind of bright idea do you have then?"
"Hehe, according to my estimates, the church will prioritize destroying the stargate stations when attacking Black Star's stronghold, activate spacetime stabilization devices, and eliminate Hila's path of retreat. Therefore, if the dynasty reinforcements want to come, they can only use the nearby stargate… Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, if the nearby stargate stations are turned off or destroyed, the dynasty's reinforcements will have to take a detour. This way, Hila will have to remain alone for an even longer time, and the possibility of the plan succeeding will increase drastically."
A flash of light appeared in Gorutan's eyes. He put down the glass and said, "Hmm, what you're saying does make sense…"
Sorokin smiled faintly.
In the Primeval Star River, Manison slowly opened his eyes and sent a message in the encoded secret communication channel.
"Mornisa, have you guys departed?"
"Teacher, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device has already started preheating. We can depart any time."
"Okay."
Manison nodded, swapped the channel, and spoke to his Apostle Weapon team.
"Keep your eyes on Beast Ancestor. He might make a move. No matter what he wants to do, stop him."
"Understood."
After a few more orders, Manison closed his eyes again and softly murmured, "Black Star, that's all the help I'll give you today. Don't disappoint me."
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Chapter 1049 Cultural Talen
Boom!Like a crimson tsunami, the death energy swept across the ground and clashed with an energy shield, creating countless electrical sparks.
'Mechanical Catastrophe' Francisco's Lord's Avatar opened his arms to maintain the shield against the death energy. All the patterns on his mechanical body were glowing with psionic light, and the thruster on his back was working at full capacity, shooting out six deep blue flame trails. But he still could not stop himself from moving backward.
He turned around and saw that 'Red Devil' Tolaen and 'Desolate Beast' Mercer were hiding behind his shield while occasionally shooting ranged Shockwave Blasts or spells, then quickly running back behind him right after. Francisco was infuriated.
You guys are the melee warriors, yet you hide behind me?
Are you two using me as a cover?
Stop messing about!
Francisco was very annoyed.
The battle had already lasted for quite some time. The situation in the various battlefields had all changed. Black Star and Kasuyi were still having an 'intense battle', and mechanical soldiers continued to 'penetrate' Kasuyi's defenses to help Hila.
As Hila gained more help, she could focus more on her attacks, which led to Tolaen and Mercer acting more cautiously. Originally, the three of them had the firm upper hand, but now, the situation had shockingly started to move toward a stalemate. The main reason for that was the mechanical soldiers that Kasuyi let past. They were enhanced by Black Star's Mechanical Force, so they were quite powerful and made the battlefield very chaotic.
The fleet battlefield in outer space was not looking too good as well. The mechanical army controlled by Francisco was being attacked by Han Xiao's Virtual Intrusion, so mechanical soldiers were turning into traitors here and there, fighting their ex-teammates. This led to part of the fleet being able to provide help to Hila using ranged attacks, further diverting the energy of Mechanical Catastrophe and the other two.
'Mechanical Catastrophe' Francisco had to be the one dealing the damage, taking the damage, restraining the fleet, and even guarding his army on the virtual field, all at the same time…
My life is so difficult. I can't even serve my sentence in peace!
Only Sagman's side could give him some comfort, as they were almost done destroying all the stargates.
When the two of them are done, they'll be able to come over and help. Then, the stalemate will be broken, and Hila will be completely overpowered, doomed to die! Francisco thought.
He knew that the Arcane Church had given Taylor a special trump card secretly that would be able to restrict Hila's movements. According to the plan, when the five of them gathered, they would use it to launch a lethal attack on Hila.
This trump card was a few one-time use magic scrolls that stored extremely powerful church special forbidden spells, fused with the powers of Divine Spells.
Among them, the strongest was [Forbidden Spell—Wailing Nun's Embrace]. This forbidden spell normally needed multiple people to use it together and took a long time to activate, but it could be activated instantly when stored in a magic scroll.
The Arcane Church once had a stage where their Mages were blooming, so there were many Beyond Grade A forbidden spell scrolls that got passed down. This scroll had been created by four Beyond Grade A Mages. One of them was even a peak Beyond Grade A Mage, so the strength of this spell was extremely high.
Only Taylor, Sagman, and Francisco knew about these scrolls; the rest had no idea, even Kasuyi. The Arcane Church knew Kasuyi's personality very well, that he was not willing to bully a new Beyond Grade A with so many teammates. If he knew that the church planned to use this kind of one-time mass destructive weapon, it might lead to something unpredictable. Therefore, the church did not tell him about it, and their request to Kasuyi was only to stop Black Star's Lord's Avatar.
As for why only Taylor, Sagman, and Francisco knew, it was because the three of them were the most trustworthy and shameless, so they would work together the best. Anyway, once they activated the scrolls, the other teammates would follow up with more attacks as well.
On the other side, Crimson Snake had already turned into combat mode and shrouded Hila's face. She swiftly moved around the battlefield, shooting out death energy while trying to hide her anxiety.
She understood her situation. Although she could last some time against the three enemies with the help of the mechanical army, she knew that this stalemate would be broken very soon. As soon as Sagman and Taylor joined the battle, she would not be able to last for sure.
If I don't do anything, it'll just be a slow death.
Although Han Xiao had sent a message to her earlier saying that his main body was on the way, due to her personality, Hila did not expect to rely on others in times of despair. Instead, she would do her best to save herself.
The reinforcements have yet to arrive, my means of retreat has been cut off, and there are two other powerful enemies who will soon join the battle. In order to survive, I have to hold on while facing the attacks of five of them. That's a desperate situation even with the help of the mechanical army and the fleet. I'll have to rely on myself one way or another. What other trump cards do I have here?
Hila remained calm and quickly thought about how to resolve this situation.
Ideas were born and filtered out one after another. Very soon, there was only one idea left in her mind.
I'll have to do my best to try this…
Hila clenched her teeth.
An enormous beam penetrated the last stargate station. Debris flew everywhere, and shockwaves from the explosion made the shields of the defense fleet nearby flicker.
"The stargate stations have been destroyed, let's go!"
Sagman did not hesitate. He quickly turned into a mass of bright, golden light, which shrouded Taylor, and instantly sped up, turning into a stream of light and leaving the battlefield, heading right toward Hila.
As they knew that the spacetime stabilization device would be activated, they knew that summoning type spells would be affected too. Taylor had made preparations in advance; he had prepared a ton of summoning scrolls, which he started tearing open right after the teleportation gate appeared, forming an army of summoned creatures. Taylor himself, however, swapped from summoning style to artillery style to adapt to the environment.
He was good at summoning spells, but that did not mean he did not learn other types of spells. He was just not as good at those in comparison.
A Beyond Grade A would have multiple combat styles. This was especially true among Mages, who were known for their versatility. No matter what style they were good at usually, they could all switch to a different style when needed.
With Kasuyi holding back, a small number of mechanical soldiers were also let past, trying to stop the two of them.
However, Sagman was extremely mobile in light form. He made countless turns to avoid fighting the mechanical soldiers head-on, showing how experienced he was. Luckily, Taylor was a Beyond Grade A as well, or he would have been vomiting his guts out.
Sagman's Esper Ability was related to light energy, so his turning speed was extremely fast. He went in a huge circle to get rid of the mechanical troops and entered Hila's battlefield, floating in midair above the planet.
"You guys are finally here. Quickly, help!"
Francisco was done with his teammates and was exhilarated to see help arrive.
Sagman and Taylor exchanged looks and saw what each other meant.
Create an opportunity to use the forbidden spell scrolls!
The two of them joined the battle without saying anything.
Light energy shockwaves and magic spells were thrown out like they were free, exploding everywhere.
Boom!
The sound of explosions never stopped. Mechanical soldiers were being destroyed one after another. Hila was in a dire situation once again, so much so that she had to stop all her attacks and focus on defending herself.
After the two of them joined the battle, it became completely one-sided.
At the same time, Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar scanned through the difficult situation Hila was in. He then said in the chat window with Kasuyi exclusively, "Hila won't be able to fight against five of them. Stop blocking me and let me past."
"How do you want to act that out?" Kasuyi replied.
"Give me a powerful hit, throwing my Lord's Avatar and part of my mechanical army over."
"The church wants me to stall you. I can't possibly throw you into that battlefield. Plus, if you join that battle, I'll have to follow too, and then, I'll have to fight Hila as well. She'll be in an even more dangerous situation." Kasuyi shook his head slightly.
The acting was one thing, but he did not want to offend the church. No matter how much he was holding back, there was no way he could make it this obvious.
"How about… you use a large attack when you're in a dire situation, and that stops your teammates' attacks? Just say it's collateral damage."
"I have complete control over my psychic power. There's zero chance something like that would happen."
"Then… might as well let me destroy this doppelganger of yours. That's the easiest way."
"No, not mentioning whether your Lord's Avatar has the ability to defeat my doppelganger, I have to stay here to prevent accidents. That old man, Mechanic Emperor, said the federation wants to make a move. I'll have to act like I'm fighting with them for Hila to keep some of them busy."
Han Xiao did not even know what to say.
What's the courtesy of an actor? This is!
You're so passionate about your job that even the church would be touched!
"No this, no that, what should we do then?"
"The federation might appear at any moment. When they do, I'll turn to fight them, and her situation won't be so dangerous. If Hila can still hold on for now, it's best to wait for the change that's certainly going to come," Kasuyi said.
"I'll have to think about it…" Han Xiao pondered.
While these two actors were going through their script together, a change suddenly happened!
Swoosh!
Under the nonstop attacks of five enemies, Hila finally showed a flaw. 'Mechanical Catastrophe' Francisco captured the opportunity, clapped his hands, and released an extremely condensed plasma electromagnetic field that passed through the gaps between the death energy.
Buzz!
Electric sparkles appeared all over Hila's body, and her movements showed even more flaws.
Sagman and Francisco then continued throwing out more powerful controlling abilities to restrain her.
"Weird. Ever since we joined the battle, she's seemed less focused…"
This doubt flashed through Sagman's mind. Before he had time to think about it carefully, he yelled at Taylor in the mind communication channel, "Use the scrolls!"
"Ready long ago!"
Taylor tore open a white magical scroll with black words, the scroll then suddenly glowed extremely brightly.
Swoosh!
As if a prison was finally opened after a thousand years, countless white magical runes shot out from the scroll like wild dragons, all landing on Hila.
The next moment, the surface of Crimson Snake was crawling with eerie pale-white runes, which had an overall shape of a seductive woman. The woman-shaped pattern slowly opened its arms and did a hugging posture.
Buzz!
An unknown power appeared as Hila realized that she could not move her body. She was locked in midair. The boiling energy in her body quickly calmed down, and she was completely unable to move.
Forbidden Spell—Wailing Nun's Embrace!
"Focus fire!"
The duration of this scroll was limited. Sagman did not dare waste any more time. He yelled in the communication channel to tell everyone to use all their attacks and throw them at Hila.
Tolaen and Mercer responded instantly. Although they did not know what happened, they would not let such a good opportunity pass.
Boom!
Hila's silhouette was instantly buried by colorful energy explosions.
It looked beautiful, but it was extremely powerful as well!
Kasuyi's doppelganger suddenly turned around.
"A forbidden spell scroll‽"
The church hid this and did not tell me about it‽
Seeing this, he did not want to discuss the script any longer. His psychic energy grabbed onto the mechanical army, including Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar, and threw them to the battlefield Hila was in.
"Damn, what a decisive man."
Flying in midair, Han Xiao rushed toward Hila's position with the help of Kasuyi's push, but he was not in a hurry.
Kasuyi did not know much about Hila and thought Hila was in danger. However, Han Xiao knew that Hila had the ability to be able to 'revive' herself. This wave of focus fire looked powerful, but it could not kill Hila. It would only trigger her reviving ability.
However, if that's the case, I'll have to use the backup plan. Han Xiao frowned slightly.
If Hila's one-time reviving ability was not triggered, he would take more risks. Now, however, Han Xiao felt like he needed to change the plan.
However, before he arrived at the battlefield, a powerful life force energy erupted in Hila's location!
Wu!
The gold life energy shot into the sky like a fountain!
The liveliness of this energy startled everyone.
Sagman and the other four suddenly realized, although they had been dealing heavy damage to Hila all this time, those injuries seemed to have recovered within seconds!
With the effect of the forbidden spell ending, Hila escaped. Crimson Snake was already worn out, showing large portions of her sky that was covered in opened wounds with visible flesh.
However, with vital energy regenerating her body, those open wounds closed in the blink of an eye, not even leaving any scars, turning back to her smooth skin.
Sagman and the others' eyes widened as they were astounded.
Impossible!
Such a powerful regenerative ability…
Why does she have this kind of power?
Also, why does this look familiar?
The next moment, everyone turned around and looked at Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar with a shocked expression.
Isn't this… Black Star's ability‽
Why does Hila have it too?
In terms of the similarities between the two of them…
Could this be the people of Planet Aquamarine's cultural talent‽
This time, Kasuyi's voice appeared.
"Black Star, are you people of the Planet Aquamarine… all unkillable?"
"That's really not true. We don't have that kind of talent…" Han Xiao smiled awkwardly.
If his main body was there instead of his Lord's Avatar, he would probably have taken a very deep breath.
What Hila did was successfully building a vital link with Aurora. How else could so much vital energy erupt out of nowhere‽
Being able to obtain a new ability during battle, sis, are you a protagonist type character too?
That doesn't make sense. You're supposed to be on the evil side.
With this vital link activated, Hila became drastically stronger. Her basic combat capability did not increase, but she basically had an extremely powerful healer with her at all times. As long as Aurora still had stamina, Hila's regeneration ability would be terrifying!
Han Xiao's heart was hurting so badly he almost wanted to report this to the officials.
I thought I was powerful enough, but I never expected you to cheat!
If Hila had this 'external software' in his previous life… Han Xiao could not even imagine what would have happened.
Sadly, before Hila's cheat finished installing in his previous life, the Germinal Organization's leader had already destroyed it.
"Again!"
Hila's will to fight was boiling.
Currently, Aurora was already able to fight along her side in this way, which helped her escape lethal danger. Hila's mindset was different from before; she did not reject Aurora using her abilities to help her.
Beyond Grade As needed more vital energy to regenerate, but Aurora was now a Calamity Grade as well, so she was more than able to be Hila's healer.
Hearing Hila's yelling, Sagman and the other four were hesitant as to whether they should continue fighting Hila.
Han Xiao, however, stopped in midair and did not continue approaching. Kasuyi was watching from afar as well.
Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and exchanged looks. The situation became awkward.
However, everyone suddenly felt something and looked over in that direction.
Buzz!
Not far from the stronghold, a Federation of Light fleet penetrated the limitations of the spacetime stabilization device and suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
At the front of the fleet, seven Beyond Grade As stood in a row, looking at everyone there.
Kasuyi looked up and said calmly, "They're here."
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At Black Star Palace, the battle between Ames and Traveler was reaching the climax.
Under the Force Field, the satellite tiles shattered Traveler's magic shield time after time like enormous fists, slapping him around everywhere like he was a baseball.
It looked like Ames had the complete upper hand and was totally overpowering Traveler, but not only was she not relieved, she was even more cautious.
There was a reason Traveler was getting beaten this badly—for unknown reasons, he used the Puppet Replacement Spell multiple times, decreasing his attributes, health, and energy time after time. It was like he was looking to be tortured.
At the same time, that uncomfortable evil vibe he was giving off gradually became stronger too.
"I can't keep doing this." Ames looked at the base far away and nodded.
The officers in the watchtower saw this action of hers, which was a hint to activate the spacetime stabilization device to cut off Traveler's path of retreat.
Herlous instantly gave the order.
"Ambush team in position. Everyone, activate…"
Before he finished, the situation suddenly changed! A purple and green energy wave as thick as flowing liquid erupted from Traveler's body. It had suction cups and looked like the tentacles of an octopus. It also looked like a boiling and bubbling potion that kept expanding.
The energy condensed into almost solidified translucent green and purple energy tentacles. Instead of saying that Traveler released them, it was more like these energy tentacles tore Traveler's body open and forced their way out!
Ames did not have a habit of waiting for someone to finish transforming. Without saying a word, she focused her Force Field once again.
Circular Force Fields spun around her like small tornados, quickly turning into the shape of drills. They then stopped for an instant before rocketing toward Traveler.
However, the next moment, the purple-green energy on Traveler's body moved and covered Traveler completely, forming a coating around him. The Force Field landed on it but was shockingly not able to penetrate it, only pushing him back slightly.
"Hahaha. Useless useless useless!"
Traveler laughed maniacally like he was a different person, giving off an indescribable sense of evil from all over his body.
Tons of army soldiers felt their legs tremble just by looking at him… In the interface terms, all of them had undergone a will judgment.
Ames kept attacking, but the purple-green energy around Traveler was extremely tough and blocked all her attacks. It was unknown what kind of energy this was.
At this time, Traveler suddenly held both his hands up, and a strong sense of passion appeared in his eyes.
"This powerful person here is the sacrifice I, your husband, have given to you. Answer my call, my lovely wife!"
Boom!
The energy around his body suddenly bloomed and spread out like it was infinite, painting the black cosmic space purple and green.
The properties of this area changed in this instant.
"Alert! Alert! Spacetime coefficient is fluctuating drastically. The wave peak has exceeded the reality safety line!"
"Spacetime stabilization device overloading… Alert! Stabilization anchor broken! Stabilization failed. Requesting more spacetime stabilization devices!"
"Analyzing event model… Analysis complete. 100% match. Event: Advent of a secondary dimension!"
If the spacetime was a piece of paper, the spacetime coefficient would be the extent to which this piece of paper was folded. The more stable it was, the neater and flatter this piece of paper would be. At this moment, this piece of paper was crushed into a ball, and another piece of paper representing a secondary dimension was wrapped around it.
Secondary dimensions were dangerous yet amazing. They were all born due to various reasons. If they appeared in the main universe, they would change the spacetime properties of a certain area and turn it into the secondary dimension. Most of the time, this would be a disaster.
Han Xiao had once seen an item called the Shadow Lantern in the dynasty. Its core was the fragment of the Shadow Dimension, and it could summon the Shadow Dimension. What Traveler was doing now was similar to that.
This evil filled secondary dimension gradually expanded outside Black Star Palace. Ames and the various fleets were all inside this dimension as if they were swallowed into its stomach.
Countless energy tentacles extended and appeared out of nowhere, each one at least a hundred thousand meters long, flapping and moving around randomly. The fleets' formations were immediately broken, and their shields were attacked continuously.
Ames frowned as she controlled her Force Field to keep shattering one tentacle after another. However, new tentacles appeared in this secondary dimension like there was no end to them. Seeing this, she had no choice but to keep aiming her Force Field at Traveler himself.
Boom!
Traveler did not even dodge. He just hovered in the same place and kept waving his hand that had the purple mark on it. Following the movements of his hand, purple green energy tides appeared out of nowhere like it was infinite, easily shattering Ames's Force Field attacks.
"I once lost to Oulou and witnessed his terrifying abilities, which motivated me to take the path of searching for secondary dimensions." Purple and green patterns extended on Traveler's face as he became more and more excited. He laughed like a lunatic and said, "Eventually, I found a new power! Let me introduce you. This secondary dimension is called Evil Convergence. It's my wife! Inside its body, I can absorb an infinite amount of energy! Call Black Star out. You're no match for me!"
"You haven't beaten me yet."
Ames narrowed her eyes slightly.
Traveler looked around and saw that countless fleets were rising from the Black Star Palace to deploy more spacetime stabilization anchors around.
Seeing this, he did not care and smiled coldly.
After causing such a big fuss, Black Star would definitely have to do something. He had already achieved his initial goal. All that was left was when would Black Star come.
However, he had to add more flames and give Black Star more pressure.
Having thought of that, Traveler looked at Ames and licked his lips.
"I shall chew you up into pieces first then."
In the Emerald Star Cluster, the arrival of the Federation of Light attracted the attention of everyone present. They all stopped moving with different looks on their faces.
There were six Beyond Grade As who appeared there, while 'Defender' Romo, who was providing ranged support, did not come.
"One, two… six Beyond Grade As."
Hila's heart sank. The excitement from creating a vital link that ignored distance quickly dissipated.
If all those people were there to kill her, she felt that there was no way she would survive.
Aurora's stamina was limited; it would run out sooner or later. With so many Beyond Grade As working together, they would be able to kill her countless times over.
To her, no matter how strong her regeneration ability was, being killed was just a matter of time. Furthermore, regenerating fast did not mean that she would not be captured by the enemies.
"Sis…" Aurora's anxious call came through the mind link.
Hila felt the vital energy that kept flowing out in her body. The sharp look in her eyes gradually softened as she subconsciously turned to look at Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar floating in midair.
When she was surrounded earlier, she had analyzed the situation and felt that the only way to survive was to successfully link with Aurora. Hence, she had diverted her attention during the battle to keep trying to build a link with Aurora.
Whether it was her potential exploding in a time of life or death or some other unknown reason, that obstructing secondary dimension gradually stopped absorbing the vital energy. With this obstacle gone, the link between the two of them was built smoothly, and Aurora could finally share her energy with Hila through the blood and soul connection between them.
While everyone was observing the situation, the federation's fleet moved.
A ton of unmanned spaceships and mechanical troops headed to attack the defense fleet of the planet stronghold, while the other spaceships quickly changed formation. The engineering ships came to the edge of the formation and released arc-shaped machinery that connected with each other, starting to assemble the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.
The six Beyond Grade As of the federation quickly approached the battlefield Hila was in. Sierron crossed his four arms and looked down at Hila, Sagman, and the rest from above.
"Looks like we arrived at just the right time," he said coldly.
Kasuyi's doppelganger slowly flew over. "The federation is going to be involved in this too?"
"Humph, you people of the church really are useless. You still haven't killed Hila," Sierron said coldly.
"Since the federation is here, I suppose you have the same goal as us. Why not work together to kill Hila?" Sagman said with a deep voice. "She has just exposed that she has a similar regeneration power to Black Star. We will only have a higher chance of killing her by working together."
Hades suddenly said, "Okay, since everyone's goal is the same, let's form an alliance."
Sierron paused, thought about it for a second, and did not explain their true goal.
There were quite a number of people from the church as well; it was not a suitable time to show all his cards. Working together was the best choice.
Hearing this, Sagman and the others were overjoyed, but Hila's heart sank.
Looks like today is the day I die.
This time, Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar landed beside her and stood by her side. He took out a compressed orb for a new Crimson Snake, instantly expanded it out, and helped Hila change her mechanical suit.
Hila turned and looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and said softly in their communication channel, "Black Star, if I die today, take care of my sister for me."
"You won't die today." Han Xiao shook his head.
"You don't have to comfort me. There are ten or so Beyond Grade As here… This is more terrifying than what you faced back then. You won't be able to save me even if you come in person… Don't bring your original body here. Go, don't save me. You'll be in danger too."
"You won't know till you try it," Han Xiao replied.
Hila shook her head, paused, and said softly, "I owe you too much. You've been taking care of us all these years. I really appreciate you a lot."
Han Xiao looked at her. "Why are you suddenly saying your will? It's not like you."
"Hehe, don't worry, I won't give up resisting. Even if I die, I'll hurt my enemies as much as possible. I've always been chasing after your shadow, and before I die, I can finally fight alongside you. I'm already satisfied."
Hila subconsciously reached out her hand but stopped halfway. She hesitated and changed it into a pat on Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar's shoulder before softly sighing.
The next second, her face returned to her cold ice-like expression. Energy erupted from her body as she charged fearsomely toward the Beyond Grade As before her!
She just hoped that Han Xiao's main body was not the one standing beside her now.
However, before I'm killed in a battle, I should be able to see you one last time…
"Know your place." Sagman snorted and brought his teammates to once again fight Hila.
Just as Sierron was about to bring his teammates and join the battle, they suddenly felt a sense of danger.
"Boom!"
An extremely powerful psychic energy wave swept over them. The members of the federation were shocked as they quickly activated their defense measures but were still blown away. The attack also contained a powerful mind attack. Many of them shivered and felt an overwhelming painful headache.
This made everyone shocked. Sagman and the other four stopped as well and looked up. The attacker was their leader, Kasuyi's doppelganger.
Aren't we temporary allies now? Why did His Excellency Kasuyi attack the federation's men?
Hila's movements paused as well. She was confused too.
That's weird. Why are they suddenly fighting each other?
Sierron got rid of the slight headache, stared at Kasuyi's doppelganger, and yelled, "What is the meaning of this‽"
With hands behind his back, Kasuyi said, "The federation's goal isn't just to kill Hila, is it? You people want to capture her and use her as a chip to force Black Star to do something for you."
Sierron's expression changed. Given how certain Kasuyi was, he definitely knew about this from somewhere or someone, so there was no point faking it anymore. He did not deny it and said coldly, "How did you know that?"
"According to how you people do things, I could've easily guessed," Kasuyi said calmly. "You people only came into the battle midway and even brought a Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. Compared to killing someone, this is more like a kidnapping. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in your hands. If I'm not wrong, you want Black Star to open the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in exchange for Hila."
Suddenly, the psychic energy around Kasuyi's body erupted like he was furious.
"If it was something else, it would not be a big deal. However, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is the church's treasure. It definitely needs to be prioritized before Hila. Even if I must give up my mission today, I'll stop you people from kidnapping Hila. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter can't be used by the federation no matter what!"
Feeling Kasuyi's skyrocketing presence, Han Xiao was astonished.
Damn, are you an Oscar winner? How are you able to act this well?
Even if what he did now was reported to the upper echelons of the church, they would only compliment him for doing a good job.
Han Xiao suddenly thought that maybe this was not acting but his real thoughts…
What a pro! This was the highest level of acting—even the actor himself believed it!
If you don't receive the tiny gold man, it's definitely rigged!
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Chapter 1051 Main Body"s Arrival
The federation wants to capture a hostage to force Black Star to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter?
As expected, upon hearing this, the expressions on Sagman and the others' faces changed. They looked at the federation's men with more hostility and caution.
They did not doubt Kasuyi's judgments at all, not only because he was the leader of this mission but also because his speculation made sense.
The Arcane Church's people always had problems with the Federation of Light. If not because the federation jumped back and forth on the side they were on during the Planet Lighthouse battle, the church would not have lost Ninjia and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Now that Kasuyi said the federation wanted to take a captive, Sagman and the others were reminded of how the federation did things and agreed with Kasuyi's speculation. They felt that this was totally something the federation would do.
On the issue of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the church and the federation had been arguing about it for a very long time. The church could only endure it all this time because they knew that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed and the federation could not use or study it as well. Thus, they could put up with the federation possessing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter for the time being.
However, if the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was unsealed, the church would definitely not take it any longer.
Compared to Hila, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was clearly more important. They could not let the federation have their way!
Of course, Kasuyi did not guess this; the Mechanic Emperor had told him about it.
Although the federation was the Mechanic Emperor's long-time boss, in terms of his plan, he naturally would not want something that was especially powerful against Beyond Grade As such as the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to be used by any civilization. In his eyes, being sealed was where it belonged.
"Since that's the case, let's talk with our fists." Sierron's expression turned cold, and powerful Pugilist flames blasted out as his voice echoed like thunder. "You guys go deal with Hila first; I'll deal with Kasuyi. This is just a doppelganger. When I'm done with it, I'll help you guys."
Then, he released a thick and blinding Shockwave Blast from his fist like a mini sun.
Like his nickname, Star Shatterer, his Pugilist style was known for overpowering his enemies head on.
Kasuyi also fired powerful psychic energy to take on the attack.
Boom!
As the two attacks clashed, it was like the sky shattered!
In a blinding light, the world seemed to have turned white entirely.
Boom!
Sierron and Kasuyi fought head-on for the first attack, then turned into two phantoms entangled together. Pugilist flames and Void psychic energy clashed hundreds of times every second, emitting waves of aftershock as they fought at higher and higher altitudes, creating another battlefield in outer space.
At the same time, the five federation Beyond Grade As quickly descended and stood opposite Sagman and the others, while Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar and Hila stood on the side.
The three sides stood in a triangle shape.
This could turn into a battle between three sides at any time.
"So, these are the five sent by the federation…"
Han Xiao sized the federation's people up and nodded in his mind.
He had a rather clear understanding of the strength of these people. Not only did he remember what they had done in the previous life, but he also had the detailed data of them collected during the Meeting of the Gods.
The five people from the federation there were all mid-level combatants. Among them, the strongest should be Crystal Soul, who had a Universal Treasure named 'Star Crown' and had a similar position as the church's Sagman. The weakest among them should be Hades, who had only joined the federation recently. He had similar strength to Tolaen.
What was worth paying attention to was Mornisa. Han Xiao remembered that she was once the Mechanic Emperor's student and followed alongside the Mechanic Emperor to study machinery before she became known. She had only become a Beyond Grade A later. Han Xiao was wondering if she was an actor as well.
While Han Xiao was secretly analyzing the situation, Sagman and the others were in a dilemma as well. They did not know if they should fight Hila or the people of the federation first.
If they fought Hila first, the federation's people would disturb them, and the federation might achieve their goal if they were not careful.
However, if they fought the federation first, they would feel stupid for leaving Hila on the side after fighting her half way, only to help her fight others.
At this time, the federation's Hades suddenly spoke in the public channel.
"People of the Arcane Church, although we have different goals, we can't waste our trips here. If you turn to fight us, we will all become a joke. So, we might as well first get rid of Black Star's Lord's Avatar, then beat Hila till she can't fight back, control the situation, and then discuss what to do with her."
In Hades' eyes, Sierron would definitely be able to handle Kasuyi's doppelganger. If they got rid of Black Star's Lord's Avatar, they would still have Sierron while the church would not have Kasuyi. With the two sides no longer balanced, they would be able to control the situation and take Hila away.
Hearing this, Sagman was a little hesitant. He then looked up at Kasuyi, turned to look at Black Star's avatar and Hila, and made up his mind, nodding with clenched teeth.
"Okay, take down Hila first."
At this moment, he made the decision not to listen to Kasuyi's order from earlier.
Just as Hades said, if they suddenly turned to help Hila right after they were beating her up, he would indeed feel stupid, and they would become a joke throughout the universe.
Another reason was, unlike Kasuyi, Sagman was not willing to waste all this effort. Therefore, he wanted to take a gamble—if they could kill Hila while working together with the federation, they would also shatter the federation's plans. If they killed the hostage, they would never have to worry about the enemies taking her hostage. Perfect.
This was also partially personal. Being locked inside the Spacetime Amber did not feel good. He could still remember it vividly even now, and he was ashamed of it. He had always hoped to hurt Black Star deeply, so from the bottom of his heart, he was not willing to give up this opportunity to kill Hila and hurt Black Star.
Earlier, Hila had shown her powerful regenerative ability, so dragging the fight out was not optimal. If ten Beyond Grade As worked together, their explosive damage would counter Hila's regenerative ability to a certain extent. This was also why Sagman thought about killing Hila while working together with the federation.
He knew that both sides had ulterior motives. Even if they worked together, they would still secretly hold each other back. However, he was confident that he could create an opportunity to kill Hila right under the federation's nose—he had a few powerful forbidden spell scrolls that were yet to be used!
With a little bit of discussion, the two sides barely came to an agreement. The next second, the ten Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church turned around, their hostile sights focused on Hila.
A horrifying pressure arrived like a tsunami!
Hila's face turned slightly pale, but her expression remained cold.
At this time, the broad back of a machine stepped before her and blocked away all the eyes filled with hostility, as well as all the pressure.
"Don't worry. I'm here beside you." Han Xiao's calm voice appeared.
Hila almost dazed.
It was this familiar scene once again, this back that protected her every time. Her emotions were difficult to soothe.
"Black Star…"
"What?"
"… When will your main body arrive?"
Han Xiao turned and gave her a glance. He then said with a meaningful tone, "No hurry, let me fly for a while."
Inside the palace of the Beast Ancestor's stronghold, Gorutan drank while chattering with Sorokin's manifestation, waiting for good news.
After waiting for quite some time, Sorokin placed the glass down and asked, "Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, how far have the troops you sent gone?"
"What's the hurry? Do you not trust my subordinates?" Gorutan replied impatiently.
After experiencing Sorokin's confident words, he was persuaded. As long as he was not in danger, Gorutan was more than happy to make the situation worse for Hila.
Not long ago, he had given the order for some of his officers to take a fleet and destroy the stargate stations nearby, attempting to cut off the route that the dynasty's reinforcements would arrive in so that they would not reach in time and Hila would not have reinforcements.
"It's an important issue. If the dynasty's reinforcements arrive, the situation will become more complicated. Killing a Beyond Grade A that's in the Black Star Army but not an ally of the dynasty isn't a problem as long as it's done quickly, but the church and the federation might not be willing to commit to it if they had to face the dynasty's forces head-on," Sorokin said.
"Tsk, you have a lot of interesting ideas as always."
With an impatient expression, Gorutan placed the glass down, took out the communicator to contact his officer, and asked, "Where are you? Have you arrived at the stargate station?"
"F-father… " The officer on-screen was shivering. "We were intercepted by someone."
"Hmm?" Gorutan's expression suddenly changed as he yelled, "Who dared intercept my men‽"
"It's the Mechanic Emperor's mechanical army, and he brought his Apostle Weapons along. We weren't able to win him…"
Gorutan suddenly stood up, accidentally toppling the glass and spilling the alcohol.
"Why did he suddenly intercept my men?
As a peak Beyond Grade A as well, Gorutan was not afraid of Manison. There was just a difference in class styles. He was not willing to mess with someone with such an enormous army like the Mechanic Emperor. They had intercepted his men, which did not look friendly at all.
Sorokin was surprised as well. He softly tapped the table and had an idea.
"I have a rough guess. From the Mechanic Emperor's attitude during the Meeting of the Gods, he definitely does not support this mission targeting Hila, so he probably guarded against it earlier. As you're the first one to let this message spread, it can be said that you started this. Hence, the Mechanic Emperor must have targeted you long ago, and by fighting you now, it should be to stop you from destroying stargates."
Having thought of that, Sorokin frowned as he felt a slight headache.
The Mechanic Emperor had also interfered in this event, which meant that a lot of things might be different. Initially, he felt that the federation or the church would most likely succeed, but now, he was uncertain.
Sorokin had known the Mechanic Emperor for a very long time. He knew that this guy was also very cunning. Once Manison decided to interfere, it would definitely be more than just dealing with Gorutan's troops. If he guessed correctly, Manison would have made other arrangements.
"I thought he would be just watching and not doing anything, but he actually secretly restricted the movements of the federation. He's got guts. I'm afraid the chances of this mission succeeding…"
Sorokin started pondering. Among the hundred or so Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, very few were strong enough for him to take seriously, but the Mechanic Emperor was one of them.
While he was pondering, Gorutan directly contacted the Mechanic Emperor and questioned him.
"Manison! Why did you hold up my men‽"
Manison's face appeared on the screen. "Did you forget the agreement we made in the Meeting of the Gods?""
"Hila reduced my life span and killed quite many of my subordinates. Are you telling me to just let it go?" Gorutan said coldly. "The agreement is all you talk about. Am I, a peak Beyond Grade A, less valuable than Hila? You don't want the others to totally offend Black Star, but are you not afraid of offending me?"
"She's already facing a dire situation because of you. I hope you can stop here. If she really dies, it won't be beneficial for you." Manison shook his head.
Gorutan snorted. "Humph, are you saying that Black Star will take revenge? You think I'm afraid of him? He's the one who messed with me first. If he wants to play, I'll play with him till the end! I'll get rid of one of his most important comrades and teach him a lesson."
Every time he thought of how big a loss he had taken and how he had been threatened by Black Star, he became more furious.
"I hope you can think of the bigger picture," Manison said with a deep voice.
"I'm not the one that's making the move right now. Plus, that's your big picture, not mine," Gorutan sneered coldly. "I'm giving you face by playing along with that shared battlefront thing. This is between Black Star and me; it has nothing to do with you. Yet, you're here to interfere… What, you really think you're the leader of the Beyond Grade As and have the right to control what I do? Let me tell you, don't get ahead of yourself!"
Manison narrowed his eyes, giving him a deep look before hanging up.
Gorutan snorted, shattered the communicator, and threw it aside as he walked to the door.
Sorokin regained focus and hastily asked, "Where are you going?"
"Humph, the Mechanic Emperor is holding up my men. I'm not going to wait here for him to let them go. I'm going to bring my men back, and if I have time, I'll destroy a few stargate stations on the way." Gorutan walked out directly.
At the Black Star Army's stronghold, the battle had lasted quite a while and become a fight between three sides.
After the Federation of Light's fleet and Mornisa's mechanical army joined the battle, the defensive fleet of the stronghold was once again restrained. The two sides fought intensely around the planet. The scale of the battle could already be considered a galactic battle.
Sierron and Kasuyi's doppelganger were still fighting. Kasuyi was strong. Relying on his enormous mana pool, he temporarily stalled Sierron with just a doppelganger while dividing the battlefield at the same time.
This award-winning actor was the most important part in helping Han Xiao to stall the federation. He was of great use.
Han Xiao was secretly glad about this. If both parties had focused on Hila, the situation would have been close to impossible to get out of alive. In that case, he would have had no choice but to execute the final plan.
However, even though there was an actor on the enemy's side, Hila's situation was still extremely tough. The attacks from a total of ten Beyond Grade As filled her vision. It was horrifying.
Despite having successfully linked with Aurora, Hila still could not fight back. It had nothing to do with her regeneration ability; she was just completely overpowered. If not because she was absorbing Aurora's vital energy, her one-time reviving ability would have been used long ago.
And this was with Han Xiao forcefully taking on part of the pressure that she was facing without considering his losses.
With so many Beyond Grade As working together, the power of their attacks would not just be additive. Han Xiao's mechanical soldiers were destroyed countless times and reaching the limits of [Waste Modification]; he would not be able to rebuild them if this kept going.
'Mechanical Catastrophe' Francisco had set up a space stabilization anchor and wormhole disrupter, and the Federation of Light fleet had set up another layer after they arrived. The spacetime of this area was way too stable, so Han Xiao could not open his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory. All he could use was the troops stationed in the stronghold. Hence, he had no choice but to deal with the spacetime stabilization device through Virtual Intrusion.
However, both the federation and the church had measures against this. That was especially so for the federation. Not only did they have Mornisa, they also had another Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic who was providing ranged assistance and protection for their artificial intelligence.
If the mechanical army was destroyed, just one Lord's Avatar would not be able to fight ten Beyond Grade As.
Fortunately, they're not so united. The church and the federation are cautious of each other, which somewhat decreases the power of their attacks, Han Xiao thought.
He turned around and glanced at Hila. Currently, he was separated from her, and not far away, countless attacks were being thrown at Hila. The situation she was in was extremely dire. She was receiving tons of damage every second. The glow of vital energy never disappeared and kept regenerating her health.
Aurora won't be able to hold on for long even though she's at the Calamity Grade now. It won't be long before she gets completely exhausted.
At the same time, Sagman and the others surrounded Hila to attack her while he reminded his teammates, "Later, when the next round of the federation's focus fire heavily injures Hila, Taylor, use all those scrolls, some to stop the federation's people and some to aid our following full power attacks. We will eliminate Hila before she can regenerate and shatter her soul!"
"Got it."
Taylor nodded and prepared to use the scrolls.
While everyone was highly focused, suddenly, an enormous energy source rocketed into the senses of everyone present and quickly approached at an astonishing speed.
"Someone else is here‽"
Everyone was shocked. Their movements paused as they looked up.
A mass of light streams were approaching at an extremely high speed from afar, dragging trails of flames behind. It was a mechanical army that was extremely huge, dozens of times larger than all the mechanical troops that were present there!
At the front of it was a silhouette shrouded in deep blue flames, heading right toward Hila's location like a meteor.
"Who is that? They're so fast! Are they here to help Hila?"
Sagman was confused. He looked around and realized that the federation's people had the same confused looks.
At this time, they suddenly saw that Sierron had left his opponent behind and headed right toward that quickly approaching dark blue meteor, attempting to stop it and not let whoever had arrived reach Hila.
The two silhouettes clashed into each other, but the next moment, everyone present watched on with disbelief!
Boom!
A blood fog exploded!
It was Sierron who was blown away like a baseball. He flew out while spraying blood, together with… a shattered arm covered in blood!
Sierron had a total of four arms, and one of them had been blown off!
"What‽"
Everyone had a look of disbelief on their face.
Heavily injuring Sierron with one hit? Who is this guy‽
This time, the silhouette was also forced to stop in midair after clashing into Sierron. The flames around them disappeared, exposing the man inside, whom everyone there was familiar with. He was looking down at the ten Beyond Grade As who were surrounding and attacking Hila.
At this moment, other than Kasuyi, all the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church were completely astounded.
Black Star!
How can he be here‽
Isn't his main body in his base? How did he arrive here‽
Many Beyond Grade As there did not notice that the moment they saw Han Xiao's main body arrive, more than half of their confidence in this mission instantly vanished.
They would happily bully Han Xiao's Lord's Avatar, but many were instantly afraid to face Han Xiao's main body.
Han Xiao had an extraordinary combat history. He had proved his strength as a peak Beyond Grade A long ago through battles.
Seeing Han Xiao's arrival, everyone felt a strong sense of pressure and became hesitant. Hila made use of this opportunity to flee from the encirclement and gasped for air.
"This is not good…" Sagman was reminded of how it felt to be sealed by the Spacetime Amber, and he shivered.
At this time, facing everyone, Han Xiao slowly spoke.
"I'm here." He coldly looked around at the Beyond Grade As who had extremely uncomfortable expressions on their faces and said with a calm but pressurizing tone, "Now… it's your turn to run."
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1052 Explosion
The expressions on the Beyond Grade As' faces changed. They remained silent and did not respond while quickly analyzing the situation in their minds. They all felt that the situation had become truly difficult.
The reason they had surprise-attacked the stronghold was because they wanted to eliminate Hila when Black Star's main body was not present. They did not want to fight Black Star's main body face to face.
Black Star had peak Beyond Grade A strength, and his Indestructible Body was extremely tough to deal with. Plus, his position was very special. He had the Evolution Cube, so he was very important to the dynasty. At the same time, since his main body was there, he had definitely brought along the Spacetime Amber.
It would be drastically more difficult to kill Hila with Black Star's main body present.
"There's probably no chance now. To think that his main body actually came…" Sagman stared at Han Xiao with fear.
If it was any other Beyond Grade A Mechanic, the main body arriving would have been a risk. However, Black Star had proved long ago that he was a breath of fresh air among the paper Mechanics.
For the time being, everyone was hesitant and did not know what to do.
Sierron finally stopped his body from being blown away. His face was filled with rage, as well as a tint of shock. He pressed on the cut on his arm and glared at Han Xiao.
As a peak Beyond Grade A, I could not even block the charge of a Mechanic and was heavily wounded in one hit‽
Thinking of the power of that attack, Sierron was filled with shock.
Such a powerful single target attack was rare even for him.
At this point of time, Sierron only had one thought in his mind.
What kind of martial art did Black Star use?
He's been hiding this trump card all this time…
Han Xiao's threat in Sierron's heart increased several levels.
He turned to look at his missing arm, controlled his muscles and veins to instantly stop the bleeding, and used his Pugilist energy to speed up cell generation. A new arm grew out in no time. Compared to the rest of his body, though, its skin tone was visibly lighter.
Sierron casually blasted his broken arm that was floating in the cosmic space into atoms before slowly flying back to the battlefield. He suppressed his shock and rage and did not act immediately. Instead, he observed everyone's expression and pondered.
Kasuyi was floating quietly on the side while looking at Han Xiao. He did not look like he wanted to speak either.
The battlefield became strangely silent. Han Xiao, Sierron, and Kasuyi, these three peak Beyond Grade As, formed a triangle while the rest of the Beyond Grade As fixed their attention on the three of them.
Everyone knew that what happened next depended on the discussion between the three of them.
Black Star's main body had made a threatening comment right after his arrival, but he did not do anything after. The various Beyond Grade As were not surprised by this. After all, they had the complete advantage in numbers. Even if Black Star had finally arrived, he would not dare act recklessly.
He was alone and had no help, so he was probably not willing to face the ten or so Beyond Grade As on the two sides at the same time. Thus, he probably had no choice but to endure his rage and solve the problem through negotiations.
Having understood this, the Beyond Grade As present all looked much more relieved.
Now that the Black Star's main body had arrived, they did indeed have to retreat. However, that was not because they were afraid of Black Star but because there was no need to stay there anymore as the success rate of the mission had decreased drastically.
Although they feared Black Star's main body and his Universal Treasure, there was no need to be afraid of him given how many Beyond Grade As were present. In the eyes of Sagman and the others, Black Star alone would be sufficient to protect himself but not enough to cause much trouble.
While everyone was secretly speculating, Han Xiao waited for the mechanical army behind to catch up with him while looking at the interface.
When Hila was attacked, an Urgent Mission had been triggered on the interface. It was similar to the mission for the Planet Lighthouse battle.
Urgent Mission—[Rescue Hila]
Mission Introduction: Hila's Esper Ability is seen as a threat by multiple Beyond Grade As. With powerful talent comes disaster. The church and the federation have decided to eliminate this threat.
Mission Requirements: Hila surviving in the attack.
Reward: 75 – 92 billion EXP, 1 Legendary Point, 4 Random Rewards, 4 Unknown Character Summon Cards, 1 Blank Character Summon Card.
Bonus Mission Requirements: Working together with the dynasty's reinforcements, capture the enemy Beyond Grade As.
Bonus Reward: For every Beyond Grade A captured, draw one ability from the target.
This is the most difficult mission I've ever seen… Han Xiao was amused.
The number of Beyond Grade As present was similar to the Planet Lighthouse battle, but Han Xiao now only had Hila on his side, and they had to face more than ten Beyond Grade As. The last guy to face this kind of situation was EsGod, and he ended up receiving a free 500 years lease for a luxurious single person cell inside the dynasty's prison.
Nonetheless, the mission rewards were the best he had ever seen. For every person he captured, he would be able to draw an ability from that person. The more he captured, the more abilities he would be able to draw.
Now that my main body is here, there's not a high chance the church and the federation will try to forcefully kill Hila in front of me. They'll probably retreat very soon, and it's still unknown when the dynasty's reinforcements will arrive. Therefore, in order to complete the bonus requirements, I'll have to rely on myself.
Han Xiao had already made plans when he was on the way, and he did not change his mind now.
He focused his thoughts and was reminded of something else.
On the way there, he had received a report from Black Star Palace; there was a Beyond Grade A who arrived on his doorstep to challenge him, and Ames had accepted the challenge. This incident was strange in every way.
The Great Mechanic Han always maintained connection with the base and knew the situation of the battle over there. That Traveler guy was showcasing his true powers and maintaining the upper hand, but there could only be one Lord's Avatar at a time. If Han Xiao diverted his attention to what was happening at his base, his main body would have a tough time.
"Interesting, deliberately diverting my attention so that the church and the federation will have an easier time… Hmm, Traveler."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
Traveler was a neutral Beyond Grade A on the surface but actually had a very close relationship with Super Star Cluster civilizations, which only very few people knew.
However, to him, Traveler's identity was no secret. It had been exposed long ago in the previous life.
Did the church and the federation work together with the Super Star Cluster civilizations on this matter?
"No, it can't be." Han Xiao overthrew this speculation.
Traveler's identity was a secret to the outside world. Even if the federation and the church worked with the Super Star Cluster civilization, they would not have sent Traveler, or his identity would have been exposed.
"Looks like there's more to this…" Han Xiao slightly frowned.
He was not concerned about the truth for the time being. What he knew for sure was that the Super Star Cluster behind Traveler definitely had something to do with this.
The others did not know Traveler's background, but he knew it clearly. There was no need to even investigate it; it would never be wrong to blame the civilization behind Traveler for this, and it would be simpler and easier.
Causing trouble at my house, they've got guts. The Throne is still on the way. When it arrives at the base, I'll deal with you.
Hila flew to Han Xiao's side.
The other Beyond Grade As did not stop her but only followed her over and waited beside their captains.
"You… shouldn't have come." Hila had a complicated look in her eyes.
From the way she looked at it, in order to save her, Han Xiao's main body had deliberately rushed here into this trap, gotten surrounded by more than ten Beyond Grade As, and taken so many risks.
Hila knew that compared to her, the church and the federation wanted to get rid of Black Star even more. Plus, he had the Evolution Cube and the Spacetime Amber with him. If these enemies changed their plan to make Black Star the target… she would be the reason.
Originally, Hila thought that she would definitely die and really wanted to see Han Xiao one last time, but when he really came, Hila could not help but worry about Han Xiao's safety.
All this time, Hila always lived by being straightforward and direct. Very rarely was she ever caught between such conflicted thoughts.
"If I didn't come, who'd save you?" Han Xiao turned to give her a gentle smile. "You're safe now. Why? Because I'm here."
Hila softly bit her lips and suddenly held Han Xiao's hand.
Han Xiao raised his brows and was about to say something when he suddenly felt waves of vital energy being sent into his body through Hila's hand. He received a ton of enhanced statuses on the interface.
After holding his hand for a few seconds, Hila let it go, adjusted her hair, and coolly said, "Aurora's ability can now enhance the strength of living beings. I can't do much, only share the vital energy with you."
"…Thanks."
At this time, Sierron said with a deep voice, "Black Star, since you're here, I'll give you face. I have come up with a deal. Are you interested?"
He felt that Han Xiao was stalling time to wait for reinforcements, so he did not plan to continue waiting and started the conversation.
Hearing this, Han Xiao turned to look at Sierron, wiped the smile of his face, and said coldly, "Go on."
"If you agree to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter for the federation, not only will we retreat, but we can even fight these people from the church with you." Sierron's hostile sights moved around Kasuyi.
Han Xiao's hit earlier had combined [Charge—Endless Potential] and Silver Shadow's Character Summon Card [Comet Rush].
In fact, he had arrived around the battlefield long ago but had been farming distance travelled to make this initial hit stronger. Originally, he wanted to first eliminate a more ordinary Beyond Grade A, but Sierron unexpectedly came to stop him, so he had no choice but to vent all this power on that thick-skinned Pugilist.
Although the power of this attack was far from being enough to make a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist lose his combat capability, it still made Sierron feel threatened. Seeing that the plan would be very difficult to pull off, he had given up on capturing Hila as a hostage and attempted to reach his goal through a deal.
Sierron did not know that Kasuyi was an actor yet; he felt that Black Star needed help.
Kasuyi did not mind at all, "Then, our church will definitely retreat instantly, so you won't achieve your goal. In the end, Black Star will still be the one benefitting from it."
Then, Kasuyi suddenly said, "Since the federation has an idea, I shall suggest a deal on behalf of the church as well."
"Go on." Han Xiao gave him a calm look.
"Black Star, I know your Spacetime Amber is very magical and can even imprison Beyond Grade As. How about this? We work together and capture these Federation of Light Beyond Grade As, then you sell them to us, and we will have chips to exchange for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. What do you say?"
Sierron's expression became grave as he glared at Kasuyi.
While the two of them faced off with each other, Han Xiao took a deep breath and said, "No need to make things so troublesome. I'm rejecting all of your deals… You came to beat up my men, yet now you want to make a deal with me? Don't even think about it! All of you, come at me together."
Sierron's eyes widened with disbelief as he looked at Han Xiao.
Kasuyi was surprised too. This was not in the script.
Not just the two of them, all the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church were shocked and stared at Han Xiao in disbelief.
Has this guy… lost his mind‽
He wants to fight more than ten Beyond Grade As alone, including two peak Beyond Grade As? Is he looking to be killed?
After extreme shock, wrath followed.
You think us Beyond Grade As are all made of glass‽ Don't underestimate us!
Are you not clear of the situation? Sure, your main body has arrived, but do you really think you can fight us all alone and that we took a step back because we're afraid of you?
"Are you serious?" Sierron's expression sank completely.
"You destroyed my stronghold, tried to kill my Deputy Army Commander, but want to retreat right in front of me… Do you think that's possible?"
Boom!
Han Xiao's tone was firm as his energy increased gradually.
Hearing this, the look in everyone's eyes became even more hostile.
Sierron was completely furious. "Think about this clearly! Given the current situation, we won't hesitate to make you the target!"
Hila tensed up and quickly stepped in front of Han Xiao. Death energy spread out once again as she was on full alert.
No matter what decision Han Xiao made, no matter what strong enemies they had to face, she would always fight alongside Han Xiao without any hesitation.
This time, Han Xiao held onto her shoulder and pulled her behind him. "Don't have to be so nervous. I alone am enough."
Before anyone could vent their rage, a sky trembling energy impact exploded from Han Xiao's body.
Buzz!
Violent golden Mechanical Force flickered and danced like lightning whips. Han Xiao's energy seemed to be increasing infinitely.
Facing so many Beyond Grade As, even Han Xiao did not dare hold back. He instantly used the trump Character Summon Cards in his inventory!
[Mechanic Emperor Character Summon Card—The Ancient Ones]!
[Tyrant Character Summon Card—Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive]!
[Dragon Emperor Character Summon Card—Force Field—Dragon Body]!
[Nero Character Summon Card—Perfect Mechanical Sense]!
With the stacked effects of multiple Character Summon Cards, the energy Han Xiao was giving off looked horrifying even for peak Beyond Grade As. It even stinged everyone's senses.
Sagman and the others' expressions changed drastically from rage to shock!
The strength Han Xiao was displaying at this moment far exceeded what they knew about him!
Even Kasuyi, who had always remained calm, was moved at this moment!
Han Xiao's eyes glowed brightly like two mini blue suns.
"Let me see how many of you can escape!"
Before the Beyond Grade As could regain their focus, Mechanical Force lightning shot out from Han Xiao's body, instantly connecting to the mechanical army like an endless web of lightning.
The next moment, the metal tsunami formed by the mechanical army came crashing down!
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1053 I, Black Star, Am Not Cheating!
Sagman and the others were stunned by Han Xiao's extraordinary energy levels. They did not expect Black Star to really strike. Shocked, they quickly took defensive measures.
Boom!
The next moment, the opposing Beyond Grade As were submerged under the sea of mechanical army.
As the battle started, they became even more astonished. They felt an incomparable level of pressure even from the mechanical army.
If it was the army of a normal Beyond Grade A, they would have been able to easily move in and out of it while destroying everything in their way. However, Han Xiao's mechanical army made them feel like they were trapped in a swamp and could hardly move, not to mention breaking out of it. Only Kasuyi and Sierron were able to move freely.
This was not only because the mechanical army Han Xiao's main body brought was dozens of times larger than the two other Mechanics' armies present but also because the mechanical army's strength far exceeded what they could imagine. The Mechanical Force gave the mechanical soldiers incredible levels of enhancements!
Han Xiao already had the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] talent, and now he activated Nero's Character Summon Card as well, stacking the two Perfect Mechanical Sense talents, increasing his Machinery Affinity to a completely new territory.
Facing such crushing pressure, the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church had no time to think about anything else other than to subconsciously work together to fight the mechanical army.
Boom!
As soon as the battle erupted, it entered the climax and became a huge war.
Inside the endless mechanical army, there were over ten spheres of light moving within. Countless beams and attacks were gathering toward these light spheres, and these light spheres were the battlefields where each of the Beyond Grade As was under intense fire.
"How can he be this strong‽" Sagman said with a shocked tone.
"The last time Black Star went all out was during the Planet Lighthouse battle. After more than two decades, this is the second time he's used his full strength. It's shocking to think that he's become this much stronger!" Taylor was both panicking and jealous.
More than two decades ago, the few of them who had taken part in the Planet Lighthouse warfare still had a vivid impression of Han Xiao's performance back then. Now that more than two decades had passed, they knew that Black Star had definitely become stronger, but they never expected him to become so much stronger!
"This level of pressure is starting to feel similar to the Mechanic Emperor…" Kasuyi's expression was grave.
He was within Han Xiao's attack range as well, and he was mainly dodging attacks and slacking while thinking about the rest of the script.
He could understand the reason behind Black Star's sudden attack—being the party that was being attacked, Black Star could not just let them retreat easily and had to, at the very least, display his intention to counter-attack. However, the strength Black Star was displaying now exceeded Kasuyi's expectations.
At this time, Sierron said with a dumbfounded tone, "This is… Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive!"
Hearing this, everyone was shocked.
Isn't this one of the explosive abilities of the Pugilist class. Why can Black Star use it too? Isn't he a Mechanic‽
"I'm definitely not mistaken. The aura Black Star is giving off feels exactly like this ability. By squeezing out his own future potential, he's exchanging it for higher power!" Sierron said with a firm tone. "Not thinking about how Black Star can use this ability, its concept remains the same!"
This was quickly accepted. Everyone's expression became complicated. Their sights passed through the mechanical army and looked at Han Xiao with shock and astonishment.
This means that… in order to keep us here, Black Star is willing to burn his own potential‽
He could have totally made us retreat. Did he really have to do this much‽
If that was the case, they were not surprised as to why Black Star became this much stronger. After all, it was only temporary.
Nonetheless, such explosive power was still quite horrifying!
Seeing how firm Han Xiao was, many people intended to retreat.
Kasuyi sighed in his mind.
Initially, when he saw Han Xiao suddenly taking the spotlight and going off-script, he was a little unhappy and wanted to stop him. However, when he saw Black Star's firm attitude, he decided not to go all out.
Since Black Star had given his all, he planned to give him face and cut him some slack. After all, he believed that Black Star knew where to draw the line.
On the side, when Hila saw Han Xiao displaying his incredible power, she was excited and shocked, but when she heard this explanation, she was stupefied.
The next second, Hila's eyes turned red, with burning rage and murderous intent!
She did not think that Black Star would burn his own potential. Looking at the reason behind all of this, was Black Star not doing this just to save her‽
A stinging pain suddenly struck her heart and flooded her entire body.
Hila turned around stiffly. The way she looked at Han Xiao was different now. There was only remorse and apology deeply embedded in her bones.
"I…"
Hila was just about to say something, but Han Xiao waved and interrupted her.
"You don't have to say anything. I'm fine."
"… I'm so sorry."
Hila bit her lips, clenched her fists, and charged into battle without saying anything else.
Death energy rushed toward the church's Beyond Grade As together with her like a tornado. Her burning rage was all vented on the enemies!
Looking at Hila's uncontrollably murderous intent, Han Xiao did not know what to say.
The side effect of using Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive was a seven-percent permanent increase in the cost of leveling up his character and abilities, which was equivalent to burning his potential. However, what these people did not know was that Han Xiao was using the Tyrant's Character Summon Card. Although it only had one usage, the Character Summon Cards had zero side effects.
Sierron's misjudgment made everyone misunderstand the situation.
Let it be. Not like it's a bad thing. In fact, it's actually beneficial for me. Han Xiao shook his head. Of course, he was not going to explain this to anyone.
Some of these Character Summon Cards could only be used once to grant him extraordinary strength, and using them in exchange for permanent abilities was definitely worth it.
He was filled with a sense of power he had never felt before. The Tyrant's Character Summon Card made his basic attributes and energy strength far beyond the normal, reaching the standard of the next Promotion. While the double Mechanical Sense talents made the power of his mechanical army skyrocket. With these two together, he became terrifyingly strong.
Those that received the most enhancements were elite combatants such as the Apostle Weapons.
Swoosh!
Red Devil Tolaen's leaned back and barely dodged Psionic Prime's ordinary spear strike, which slashed his thick magic shield in half and opened a deep wound on his bone-spike-covered chest, exposing his dark brown chest bone.
Tolaen hastily swung the bones on his tail toward Psionic Prime's mechanical body, which Psionic Prime calmly blocked with his spear.
Bang!
As the bones and the spear clashed, a shockwave exploded!
Tolaen was a powerful melee combat mage with tons of spells that enhanced his various combat capabilities, yet Psionic Prime, who was covered in gold Mechanical Force, fought him head-on without even taking a single step back.
"Help! Quickly! His Apostle Weapons are too strong!" Tolaen yelled.
With the enhancements of two Perfect Mechanical Senses, just Psionic Prime alone gave him enough pressure.
Plus, Psionic Prime was not the only one fighting him—Heaven-Suppressing Banner, Purple Sky Spirit, Silver Flash, Scarlet Flame, and many other Apostle Weapons were all focusing their fire on Tolaen.
The strategy Han Xiao used was to restrain others with his mechanical army while focusing his elite troops on one target to defeat them one by one.
"Useless!" Sagman was heavily surrounded as well. He was frustrated to hear Tolaen's cry for help.
However, he could not possibly ignore his ally. He had no choice but to squeeze out some energy to provide assistance, launching some powerful light shockwaves toward the Apostle Weapons who were attacking Tolaen.
Buzz!
At this time, countless nanoparticles swarmed out in the middle and suddenly turned into an enormous fortress, splitting Tolaen's battlefield away from the others.
This enormous mechanical fortress was surrounded by streams of light that quickly merged into a light gold translucent curtain that stood in the path of Sagman's attacks.
Boom!
Sagman's attacks were all stopped by this light-gold curtain, and countless blinding light arcs erupted!
Very soon, the blinding light dissipated, showing the absolutely unaffected flickering light curtain, leaving the mechanical fortress completed undamaged.
"Such strong defenses!" Sagman was shocked.
This mechanical fortress was one of Han Xiao's Apostle Weapons. His name was Heaven's Wall. This light curtain was somewhat similar to the Psionic Prime Spear; it was also a weapon that was created together with the birth of the Apostle Weapon. This light curtain's name was 'Wall of Defense', and as its name suggested, it focused on blocking attacks.
Heaven's Wall had more than one weapon. He also had 'Ion Green Flame', which was used to attack.
Suddenly, a large number of barrels extended from this fortress, shooting out beams of green light at Sagman and the others. This was a special type of ion energy attack. It was not only destructive but also had many other attributes.
"Sh*t, I'm isolated." Tolaen was frustrated by this situation. Just as he was about to attempt to escape, he felt a chilling sense of danger.
In the blink of an eye, a tiny beam of light crept through the gaps between the mechanical troops around and easily penetrated his magical shield. Tolaen hastily tried to dodge it, but it still ended up landing on his shoulder.
Boom!
The next moment, an enormous wound suddenly appeared on Tolaen's shoulder. This attack had dealt True Damage to him.
He quickly pressed on his wound and dodged around the other attacks. In moments of panic and horror, he looked in the direction that the beam of light came from, where he saw a human-shaped Apostle Weapon aiming a special firearm at him.
The moment Tolaen looked over, this Apostle Weapon suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Dark Shadow was a sniper-type assassin Apostle Weapon. His weapon was 'Godly Camouflage', which gave him extremely powerful stealth and infiltration abilities. The firearm in his hands was also a highly condensed sniper that could deal a ton of damage to single targets.
"Damn it, what weapon is that? My regeneration ability is suppressed…"
Before Tolaen could catch a breath, Mysterious Energy Host arrived. He launched a huge beam of light at Tolaen from far away, and Tolaen could only barely activate his magical shield to block it.
However, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had psychic attributes as well. Although Tolaen blocked the physical attack, his mind was shocked, and his channeling was interrupted.
With this golden opportunity, Hila did not hold back at all. She bombarded death energy beams on Tolaen like a thunderstorm. Tolaen was soon covered in wounds and bathed in blood.
"Why are they all attacking me?" Tolaen was frustrated.
Looking around at the entire battlefield, the one in the worst situation was none other than him.
I'm just a young new Beyond Grade A. This is bullying!
As Tolaen was in grave danger, Sagman and the others were also troubled and discussing what they could do.
"Black Star's mechanical army is way too large and powerful. We can't be restrained by him here. We have to make moves on Black Star himself. Taylor, use the forbidden spell scroll on him."
"He has an indestructible body. Will that be able to damage him?"
"It's not like we have any better choices. Let's focus our fire together with the forbidden spell," Sagman said furiously.
Taylor then tore open an attack-type forbidden spell scroll without any further hesitation.
Whoosh!
Magical meteors dashed out from within the scroll one after another, penetrating the multiple layers of psionic shields in their path, heading directly toward Han Xiao. This spell had an excellent penetrative ability. It was originally planned to be one of the trump cards to heavily wound Hila.
At the same time, Sagman and the others focused their fire at Han Xiao together with the forbidden spell. Light energy shockwaves, Pugilist Impacts, spells, psionic cannon beams, and other forms of attacks formed a tide of attacks thrown right toward Han Xiao.
The enormous energy here attracted the attention of the people of the federation not far away. They all looked over at this wave of attacks and were shocked. When facing attacks like this, most of the Beyond Grade As would have no choice but to try to escape.
With the ferocious attack dashing right toward him, Han Xiao, however, was not affected at all. All he did was raise his hand, and many sphere-shaped mechanical discs quickly gathered and formed two layers of shields that stacked on top of each other in front of Han Xiao. There was a piece of the Spacetime Amber on each and every one of those discs.
Swoosh!
Like a river stream hitting a reef, all the energy attacks slid away on the surface of the Spacetime Amber, not dealing any damage to Han Xiao at all, making the others feel both grave and jealous.
The existence of the Spacetime Amber was no secret. The fact that Han Xiao's main body was there meant that this Universal Treasure was there too.
It could even block the attack of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so the threat of this wave of attacks was negligible to Han Xiao. Furthermore, even without the Spacetime Amber, he was tanky enough to take on all these attacks.
It was way too difficult to hurt Black Star's main body!
"We can use psychic attacks on his main body," Hades said hastily.
Both Crystal Soul and Hades were Psychics. They quickly summoned their maximum psychic energy output and attacked Han Xiao. Kasuyi thought about it for a moment. He then decided to do his job on paper as well and used psychic energy attacks on Han Xiao while holding back.
Psychics were professionals in terms of psychic attacks. They could attack the target's soul from afar, which was very difficult to guard against.
"I fixed my weakness long ago."
Unaffected, Han Xiao immediately activated Psyker's Character Summon Card, [Wall of Mind]!
The result of that was, he was completely unaffected, while Crystal Soul and Hades were both suddenly heavily wounded mentally. Their body shivered, and they became much weaker.
Psyker's Character Summon Card could reduce the attack damage dealt by psychic attacks while reflecting some of its damage. Hades and Crystal Soul did not hold back at all, so they ate their own attacks. On the other hand, Kasuyi, who deliberately held back, was not so unlucky.
It was not too horrible for Crystal Soul, as he was stronger and even had the psychic type Universal Treasure, Star Crown, so he was only a little wounded.
"He can even reflect psychic attacks‽"
Hades' face was pale. He was horrified.
Does this guy not have any weaknesses‽
Unconvinced, the two of them continued to attack. However, the more they attacked, the more damage they took from Han Xiao's damage reflection. Han Xiao remained at ease while the two Psychics kept receiving damage.
With the Great Mechanic Han's Psychological Resistance, he could actually block a lot of those psychic attacks. However, reflecting the damage was clearly much better than him just enduring the attacks. In the face of more than ten enemies, he was not going to give up any opportunity to weaken them.
As the fight lasted for a while, the many members of the federation and the church still had yet to get out of their difficult situations. Moving inside the mechanical army was extremely difficult.
The impact of such an enormous mechanical army, which continuously procced Han Xiao's True Damage talent, was much larger than being able to merely restrain Beyond Grade As. If they did not deal with it cautiously and got focused on, they would die right on the spot. Therefore, everyone was on edge.
If they were facing an ordinary Mechanic, they would have rushed to him long ago. However, there was absolutely no point in doing that when facing Black Star.
He was too tanky, so much so that they did not even think about closing the distance on him!
However, Sierron was the exception. As a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, he could easily be unstoppable in the midst of the mechanical army.
Just like the Tyrant, he also had a True Damage immunity talent, so he could ignore the focus fire of the mechanical army. However, the damage he could deal to the mechanical army was nothing given the sheer scale of the mechanical army.
The muscles on Sierron's arms expanded as he sent a Pugilist shockwave strong enough to obliterate an entire planet right toward Han Xiao, but it was still reflected by the Spacetime Amber. Seeing this, he clenched his teeth, suppressed his anger, and spoke with Kasuyi.
"Let's work together. You restrain the mechanical army to help me get close to Black Star. I'll try to restrain him instead of killing him.
"I'm out of energy," Kasuyi replied.
Sierron was speechless.
You were so energetic earlier when you fought me as if you had infinite energy, but now you're saying that you're out of energy? Who the hell are you trying to fool‽
Sierron was furious, so he left Kasuyi alone and charged toward Han Xiao alone, destroying the mechanical soldiers in his path. All four of his arms were covered in highly condensed Pugilist flames like they were coated with black paint.
"Humph, I knew you were going to do this."
Han Xiao was prepared. He activated his ability instantly. Some of the mechanical soldiers flew toward him and quickly assembled.
In the next moment, the Mechanical Deity descended!
As soon as it appeared, the Mechanical Deity swung its arm and launched its fist toward Sierron. It was shrouded in a white light energy field that was created by psionic energy and force fields.
Four black fists clashed with the mechanical fist that was millions of times larger.
Boom!
A gigantic shockwave exploded and expanded in the cosmic space!
The Mechanical Deity's arm quickly shattered, and tons of mechanical parts exploded. Sierron, on the other hand, due to his size disadvantage, was sent flying at a speed even faster than before.
Shockingly, the two sides' strength was on par.
"This punch of mine would have even destroyed the core of a planet, yet Sierron took it head-on. That's the power of a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, I suppose."
At this time, 'Mechanical Catastrophe' Francisco saw the Mechanical Deity and quickly contacted the federation's 'Mechanic Empress' Mornisa.
"He has used the Mechanical Deity. This is our chance. You, me, and Romo, the three of us shall use Virtual Mechanic on the Mechanical Deity right now. Even though Han Xiao is a Virtual Mechanic, he still has to deal with that carefully."
"Okay." Mornisa nodded.
At this crucial point, the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church had no choice but to work together temporarily to fight Black Star, who was 'burning up his future potential'.
The three Mechanics quickly formed an alliance and attacked Han Xiao's virtual firewall.
Han Xiao noticed this instantly and smiled with mockery.
"Oh, they're trying to hack me?"
With all the bonuses plus the fact that he was a Virtual Mechanic, Han Xiao's ability in the Virtual Technology field was extremely high.
Among the three enemies, only Romo was a Virtual Mechanic, and he did not even send a Lord's Avatar.
In the virtual world, Han Xiao confronted the three of them. The three of them kept trying to break through Han Xiao's defenses, while Han Xiao's firewall stood strong.
Instead of being attacked, Han Xiao even followed the connection to use Virtual Intrusion on the three of them. The two members of the federation could barely stop Han Xiao's hacking with the help of their main artificial intelligence, but the same could not be said for Francisco.
Francisco was alone, and he was not even a Virtual Technology professional. His defenses were weak and were shattering by the second.
His machinery became traitors one after another and turned on their former teammates.
"I'm going to lose!" Even the movements of Francisco's Lord's Avatar started to stagger.
At this moment, an enormous mechanical hand appeared and grabbed Francisco's Lord's Avatar before he could dodge.
Ka-cha!
Francisco's Lord's Avatar turned into a pile of trash instantly.
Han Xiao curled his lips.
"Hehe, paper."
Mechanics who were using Lord's Descent could deactivate their ability any time they wanted, so there was no way to catch them. In order to get rid of them, one just had to destroy their Lord's Avatar.
After all, not every Mechanic's Lord's Avatar was as tanky as his.
Seeing this, Mornisa reluctantly gave up on the idea of trying to hack into Han Xiao's army and focused on strengthening their defenses to not let Han Xiao break through.
Suddenly, the situation of the battle took a turn.
Under the focused fire of many Apostle Weapons and Hila, Tolaen could not hold on.
The damage output of the mechanical army around him was the main source of damage he received. After all, he was not immune to True Damage. His health plummeted under the focus fire of the mechanical army, and his teammates had no way of helping him.
Bang bang bang!
"Ahhh!"
Tolaen was flooded by bullets and cannons once again. This time, he was at his limit.
Not one area on his body was unharmed. His demon horns were broken, and his mind was fuzzy from the attacks of Hila and Mysterious Energy Host. He had lost the ability to fight.
Just as Hila was about to end him, Han Xiao's Mechanical Deity stopped her.
"Don't."
"Why? They made you…" Hila clenched her teeth and dared not complete the sentence.
"He's more valuable alive."
Han Xiao shook his head and grabbed Tolaen, who had almost lost all his senses. He absorbed him into the Mechanical Deity and brought him to where his main body was.
Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and sealed Tolaen right away.
Looking at the agony on this guy's face that was now fixed, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction like a farmer counting the harvest of an entire year.
"That's one."
"Tolaen's been captured!"
Sagman was enraged. He looked at the Mechanical Deity, which had captured his teammate, and a sense of panic appeared in his mind.
He did not even have to think to know that Tolaen was definitely going to get a taste of the Spacetime Amber, and he felt bad for him.
Due to how uniquely tanky Black Star's main body was, they could not deal with Black Star the same way one would deal with other Mechanics. There was only one path in front of them, which would take the most effort—to eliminate Black Star's mechanical army.
However, Black Star was fighting on his own grounds. He had even burned his future potential. Given the unique combat style of Mechanics, he was extremely powerful at this point, which was due to three key components—his Mechanical Deity, his elite Apostle Weapons, and his enormous mechanical army.
The strength of Mechanics in the later stages depended on their ability to fight multiple battles at once, creating a numerical advantage in one or more battles through the suitable distribution of their troops. In this battle, the Mechanical Deity had fought Sierron on even ground, restraining a peak Beyond Grade A; the mechanical army had restrained the many Beyond Grade As; and the Apostle Weapons had focused their fire on one target at a time to defeat them one by one.
If this lasted any longer, he could not even estimate how many of them would be left there.
In the past, Black Star's only strength was his regenerative ability. Now that his attack had become this strong, Sagman's impression of him became someone who was on a completely different level that gave him nothing but despair!
"Your Excellency Kasuyi, what should we do now?"
Sagman looked at his captain.
In times like this, the person he trusted most was the leader of his team… but he did not know how much Kasuyi was holding back.
"Black Star only obtained this strength through burning his potential. It won't last long. The operation has failed. There's no point to continue fighting. We're retreating," Kasuyi said slowly.
"What about Tolaen?"
"Even you might not even be able to walk away. Why are you thinking about others?" Kasuyi shook his head.
Although he was the leader, he did not mind Black Star capturing some of them to vent his anger. The way he looked at it, since Black Star had burned his potential, the Universal Civilizations should give him some compensation. He was not the one paying for it anyway.
All these Beyond Grade As coming to kill Hila had already insulted Black Star. If he could not vent his emotions, it would not align with Kasuyi and the Mechanic Emperor's plans.
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Chapter 1054 Retrea
While the Arcane Church was tempted to retreat, Sierron, who was fighting intensely with the Mechanical Deity, received the same suggestion from his side.
"Your Excellency Sierron, we should retreat now. The situation will only become worse for us. There's no point in fighting Black Star here while he burns his potential." Hades' tone was hasty.
"That's right. Although more than ten of us being forced to retreat by Black Star alone will damage our reputation, by analyzing the current situation, this is the best plan for now. Since he's paid such a huge price, it'd be best if we don't continue to fight with him." Mornisa agreed as well.
Sierron and the Mechanical Deity's attacks clashed a few more times before he backed away with a long face.
Although he was not willing to admit it, the explosive power Black Star was displaying now was more than enough to match up to him. They would not be able to do much to each other any time soon. The Mechanical Deity's energy consumption was terrifying, so normal Mechanics would not be able to make it last this long, but Black Star could keep it running for a very long time. This meant that even if the battle between the two of them came to an end, it would take a very long time.
The church's side seemingly intended to retreat as well, so if they remained there to fight Black Star, they would receive all the pressure.
Sierron was not afraid, but he could not fight in multiple areas like a Mechanic could, so he could not help his teammates.
The federation never planned to fight Black Star head-on. Since the plan to capture Hila alive had failed, continuing to fight would only be a waste of effort. Sierron made the decision instantly and said with a deep voice, "Retreat. Preheat the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device."
After he said that, he no longer continued fighting the Mechanical Deity and headed into the mechanical army. Using continuous Pugilist shockwaves, he created an empty area within the countless mechanical soldiers.
On the other side, Kasuyi stopped his act as well while helping his teammates to escape. His psychic energy swept all the mechanical army in his way to the side.
The escape routes of the two sides were different. The federation had brought their fleet along, so the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was their way out. The church had a small team, so only the Beyond Grade As had to escape themselves. As soon as they left the area affected by the spacetime stabilization device, they would be able to escape with teleportation scrolls.
Han Xiao instantly noticed the shift in the targets' goals. Both sides were heading out of the mechanical army in two different directions.
The federation and the church both hoped that the other side would hold Black Star back, so of course, they would not be helping each other. There was also no way the church would take the federation's Uber, or they would basically be leaving the wolf's den just to enter the tiger's cave.
"Their alliance is broken."
Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. He controlled the Mechanical Deity and chased after the federation's people.
The mechanical army split in two, while the Apostle Weapons and Mysterious Energy Host left the church's Beyond Grade As behind and focused on the federation.
Gathering all the combatants to focus on one side would have a better effect. One reason he chose to chase after the federation was due to Kasuyi's favor, and another was because it would be too difficult to chase after the church.
If Kasuyi stopped acting, his ability to restrain him would be incomparable. If he headed to chase after the church's people, he would most likely not be able to capture anyone at all. Kasuyi was just a doppelganger, so he could totally secure his teammates' escape without having to worry about his own safety, and his psychic energy would be more than enough to stop his entire army for some time.
Comparatively, Sierron was just a Pugilist who was powerful as an individual but had very limited AOE skills. He was not good at protecting his teammates and was there as his main body, so he could not miss his ride. With these factors all adding up, the federation was clearly easier to deal with.
Once the target was decided, Han Xiao locked onto a federation Beyond Grade A and threw out an ability without hesitation.
[Virtual Paramount]!
'Lone Ranger' Jackornitz was using all kinds of mechanical weapons to fight the Apostle Weapons when his body suddenly became stiff, and his soul was trapped in the virtual world by Han Xiao. He had lost control of his body.
In such dire situations, even the slightest carelessness would be fatal, not to mention being defenseless for more than ten seconds.
As a Mechanical Pugilist, the defense of his physical body could not match a true Pugilist, nor did he have any True Damage Immunity talents. When the mechanical army and the Apostle Weapons swarmed toward him, his health plummeted.
Han Xiao had chosen him because he was paper according to his data from the Meeting of the Gods.
Swoosh!
The Mechanical Deity extended its arm and grabbed Jackornitz. It then absorbed him into its body.
When Jackornitz escaped from the control effect of Virtual Paramount and returned to his body, he instantly felt a strong sense of weakness. What he came back to was a body that was heavily wounded and completely controlled by the traps inside the Mechanical Deity, unable to move.
"Impossible…"
Jackornitz could not believe how quickly he had been defeated.
He would be able to last longer even against the Mechanic Emperor's army. He knew that Black Star was extremely tanky, but why was his damage output so high too‽
Han Xiao was not surprised. The damage output of his mechanical army was definitely not low.
Being a Molding Talent, [Legendary Battle Technique] could tear through any Beyond Grade As without a True Damage Immunity talent once his mechanical army could penetrate the shield and focus fire on the target. Even with how much health Beyond Grade As had, they would still not be able to handle this much damage.
Jackornitz was sent beside Han Xiao's main body inside the Mechanical Deity. Han Xiao turned and glanced at him. "You won't be able to run now that you're inside here. If you don't want to suffer more, don't resist."
As soon as his sentence ended, countless barrels extended from the interior walls of the Mechanical Deity and aimed at Jackornitz.
Under the mechanical helmet, Jackornitz could not help but smile bitterly.
Alright then, I couldn't beat Black Star to begin with, and now he's even sacrificing his potential for all this. I'd better accept my fate.
At the same time, the federation's Beyond Grade As outside witnessed the entire process, seeing Black Star easily capture Jackornitz like catching a newborn chick.
"Your Excellency Sierron, this…" Womre could not help but say.
"Leave him. We can't save him." Sierron's expression was gloomy. He was seething with anger.
Unlike Kasuyi, his main body was right there, so he could not afford to ignore his own safety. If he tried to save his teammate, he would not make it in time for the federation's teleportation. And when the dynasty's reinforcements arrived, he would probably be done for.
Therefore, no matter how furious he was, Sierron could only put up with it.
At the same time, the church's members who were fleeing from the mechanical army in another direction also saw this.
Initially, when Tolaen was captured, Sagman and the others were all quite unhappy. So, when they saw that the federation was suffering just as much, they felt much better.
Like a great man once said, when something unlucky happens to someone, the best way to comfort him is not to pity him but to make him see others just as unlucky as him.
This was exactly how the church was feeling.
This time, Kasuyi's eyes flickered slightly. He contemplated for a while but suddenly stopped and said, "You guys go first. I'm staying to do something."
"What are you going to do?" Sagman was curious.
Kasuyi turned to look in the federation's direction, smiled faintly, and said, "The federation has yet to return the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This is a good chance to teach them a lesson and take some interest from them."
The others understood immediately. This was something only Kasuyi's doppelganger could do.
What Kasuyi wanted to do was restrain the federation's people and help Black Star capture even more Beyond Grade As of the federation.
He hoped that Black Star would capture more captives to vent his anger and get more compensation from the Universal Civilizations. Plus, it would be best for him not to sell out his teammates. Hence, the federation was the best target.
Furthermore, this was a very justifiable reason. He had been acting the whole time, but the church would still compliment him for doing a great job, while at the same time, it would cancel out the loss they suffered through failing the mission and having one of them be captured. It was killing multiple birds with one stone. This was clearly the move of an experienced actor.
Having thought of that, Kasuyi left Sagman and the others and headed right toward the federation's people. At the same time, he privately communicated with Han Xiao.
"Still remember the deal I suggested earlier? How about we work together?"
Han Xiao was chasing after the federation's people when he saw Kasuyi charging toward this battlefield. He was initially planning on trying to stop him, but when he heard this, even he was stunned and almost speechless. He had tons of things he could say, but he did not know what to say, so it all fused into one single sentence.
On behalf of the federation, I thank you!
With Kasuyi joining the battle, the situation changed instantly. Kasuyi's psychic energy swept past the members of the federation one after another. Having been hit by such powerful mind attacks, many of them trembled all over, allowing the mechanical army to create an even tighter encirclement around them. The speed of them pushing through the mechanical army suddenly slowed down.
Seeing this, Sierron was furious.
Kasuyi!
When I invited you to work together with me to fight Black Star, didn't you say you were out of energy, you piece of sh*t‽
You goddamn actor!
He did not expect the Arcane Church to play this dirty and help Black Star.
"Don't look at me like that." Kasuyi's tone was calm. "During the Planet Lighthouse battle, you also stabbed us in the back. The situation back then was so similar to now. I'm simply doing the same thing you lot did."
During the Planet Lighthouse battle, due to the federation, the church had been left in a passive situation. The federation had even killed one of their Beyond Grade As and taken the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.
Hence, Kasuyi felt no guilt doing something like this.
Sierron's expression was raging. With a furious roar, he headed back. Highly condensed Pugilist flames appeared all around his body as he forced open a path. No mechanical soldier could stop him.
He blew away countless mechanical soldiers and made his way to Crystal Soul. He then grabbed him and turned around to leave instantly, not caring about his other teammates.
Sierron clearly knew that with Kasuyi helping Black Star, the federation would undoubtedly suffer a huge loss, so he could only take damage control measures.
Crystal Soul was a Crystal Life, so he was tiny. Plus, he had a Universal Treasure, so he was prioritized. Sierron brought Crystal Soul along and escaped right away. As for the others, there was nothing he could do.
Mornisa saw this and stopped fleeing. She controlled her mechanical army to secure the retreat instead. Although she could not match Han Xiao's army at all, it still more or less slowed down Han Xiao's mechanical army's speed.
This way, those facing the most pressure became Hades and Womre, who were left behind.
"Damn it…"
Hades was bleeding from his every orifice. He was also a Psychic, but he was completely powerless in front of Kasuyi. He could no longer maintain his cool, and his face was filled with resentment.
At this time, the Mechanical Deity's palm suddenly slammed down. Hades looked up. His vision was covered by this metal sky.
It had not been long since Hades became a Beyond Grade A, so he was not very clear about the strength levels of the Beyond Grade As. When he saw this, he only had one thought in his mind.
This is what true power looks like!
The next moment, he blacked out and lost all his senses as the mechanical palm landed on him.
"Third."
Han Xiao absorbed the unconscious Hades into the Mechanical Deity, then looked at Womre.
At this point, all the Apostle Weapons were attacking just Womre.
This Pugilist's style was different from Sierron and Gorutan. It did not look rough and powerful but very smooth and natural, like a martial arts master. Instead of melee combat, he seemed to be better at mid-ranged shockwave attacks. His Pugilist flames never stopped burning, as if they had no end.
The light-blue flames circled around him like a shield, continuously repelling the Apostle Weapons' attacks. His movements were neither fast nor slow. Every move he made launched a shockwave. Even in such a dire situation, Womre did not look like he was being overpowered. However, with no chance of turning the tables, his defeat was just a matter of time.
Seeing that Sierron and Crystal Soul were escaping further while he had no way out, he decided not to escape and stay there to secure their way out with Mornisa.
The Mechanical Deity waved its hands, shattering tons of enemy mechanical soldiers and the unmanned fleet of the federation, quickly destroying Mornisa's fragile Lord's Avatar.
Womre was left alone, and not long after, he was also captured alive due to the attacks of the Apostle Weapons, Mysterious Energy Host, and Hila.
Nonetheless, them staying there was not meaningless. Sierron and Crystal Soul had already escaped into the Federation of Light's fleet, and the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device's preheating was complete.
Hu!
Two enormous mechanical rings span at an extremely quick speed, faster and faster, till the afterimages formed a sphere that shrouded the area around the fleet.
Sierron turned back one last time, glared at Kasuyi, and then looked at Han Xiao.
"Black Star, you captured our people. The federation won't let this go easily! Just you wait!"
Buzz!
The speed of the two rings suddenly stopped, and the fleet inside the sphere area disappeared, leaving only the unmanned fleet and the mechanical army behind.
The next moment, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device activated the self-destruction sequence and exploded.
As the federation's people left, the atmosphere became much quieter.
"Only two escaped on the federation's side." Han Xiao stopped. His eyes sparkled as he looked in another direction, where the few Beyond Grade As of the church had already fled.
This time, Kasuyi's voice sounded in his mind. "What, after capturing three federation Beyond Grade As and one church Beyond Grade A, are you still not satisfied?"
Han Xiao looked at Kasuyi and saw his calm expression.
"Thanks." Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity and nodded at Kasuyi.
Without Kasuyi's help, he would have captured three Beyond Grade As at most. He had managed to capture four and destroy two Mechanic avatars, meaning he basically defeated half of all the enemies.
The main reason he had achieved this was the Character Summon Cards he used, but other than that, Hila's help and the Spacetime Amber were also crucial factors. That was especially so for the Spacetime Amber, which blocked a ton of long-range attacks, so he could put more effort into attacking, at the same time discouraging everyone from rushing his main body. Furthermore, he also had to rely on it to seal Beyond Grade As. Basically, at least twenty to thirty percent of the battle merit belonged to the Spacetime Amber.
He had to say, Ravenlaude's should-be treasure was really very useful.
Although two of the four Beyond Grade As captures were newborn noobs and the other two were not particularly strong, they were still Beyond Grade As. They all had Molding Talents, so it all depended on Feidin this time.
All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. As Han Xiao saw that Kasuyi had been staring at him, he retrieved the mechanical army that was chasing after the church's people.
The spacetime stabilization device was already gone by this point, so he directly activated the secondary dimensional army box and stuffed his remaining mechanical army in. He then used Dimension Factory to collect the parts all over the place to do repairs.
While doing this, Han Xiao casually asked, "What are you going to do next, continue to escort the church's people out?"
"Hmm, when they arrive at a safe place with teleportation scrolls, I'll release this doppelganger. You won't chase after them anymore, will you?"
Kasuyi smiled faintly while sighing in his mind.
When was the last time anyone achieved something this incredible in this entire universe?
When the results of this battle spread, god knows how much of a sensation it will cause.
"I've promised you, so I won't go back on my word… By the way, let me show you something."
Han Xiao waved and called Hila over.
"Are you okay?" Hila stared at Han Xiao's face and did not bother looking at Kasuyi at all.
Although Kasuyi had come to help earlier, from the way she looked at it, the people of the church were still enemies. She did not know this was an Oscar-winning best actor.
"I'm fine." Han Xiao shook his head and said with a serious tone, "Ames is being attacked in Black Star Palace. Go back to help her and then send Silver Shadow over."
Hila was confused. "What do you mean? How am I going to go back to help her?"
"I have some new technology that can teleport you back."
Han Xiao's entire body started to glow. The King left his body with loud clanks and attached itself automatically onto Hila while still being connected to Han Xiao's Mechanical Force.
After many private tests, Han Xiao knew the mechanics of the King like the back of his hand. The King itself was a Mechanic-only equipment, and the teleportation function of the Throne was targeted at the user who was wearing the mechanical suit. However, if he maintained his Mechanical Force link to the King through the Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel, even if someone else was in the mechanical suit, Han Xiao would still be able to activate this function and teleport the wearer of the mechanical suit to a fixed location.
The Throne was about to arrive at the Black Star Palace, so Hila would be teleported right back to his base.
Han Xiao turned around and realized that Kasuyi was looking at this with interest. Hence, he purposely activated a spacetime stabilization device to cover the area.
Then, Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and the King disappeared without a trace right under Kasuyi's nose.
Kasuyi's expression suddenly changed into shock. "This is… Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation? When did you learn the federation's technology?"
"It's not Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation. It's another technology, but the results are similar. It can also penetrate the restrictions of spacetime stabilization devices and disruptors," Han Xiao said calmly.
"Why didn't you use this earlier?" Kasuyi said with resignation. If we knew you had this technology before, why would we even come to attack Hila?
"I only recently obtained this technology." Han Xiao nodded. Looking at Kasuyi's expression, he knew that he had achieved his goal.
He deliberately showcased the teleportation ability of the King to let others know that he had this technology. Otherwise, if the federation and the church did not give up, they might attack Hila again in the future, and he could not possibly always keep Hila hidden.
Showing this trump card at this time would let the outside world know that Hila could escape anytime when attacked by enemies she could not win against. This way, the federation and the church would give up on this plan, and this incident would not repeat itself.
In that case, Hila would be in a much safer situation, and no one would want to target her.
Swoosh!
At this time, the King appeared once again. The mechanical suit opened, showing Silver Shadow, who was still lost.
"Hmm? Black Star? What is this place?"
Silver Shadow was still confused as to what was happening.
"Stop talking. I don't have much time, and I need to borrow your body. When I'm done, I'll let you use the Evolution Cube."
Han Xiao patted Silver Shadow's shoulders, dragged him away, and was about to leave.
Kasuyi was a little surprised.
"It's all over. Where are you going now?"
"It's not over for me yet. While my explosive powers are still here, I have another target I need to deal with."
"Who?" Kasuyi was curious.
Han Xiao turned his head sideways and said with a deep voice, "Beast Ancestor, Gorutan."
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A few minutes prior…
Evil Convergence had appeared outside Black Star Palace, gradually changing the properties of the space around while continuously expanding.
Within the affected area, the defense fleet continuously fired at the countless tentacles around, destroying one after another, only for more to appear again like they were endless.
According to some studies that supported the energy conservation theory of all energy in the universe, the conservation of energy operated between multiple dimensions. In many tests in galactic civilizations, there would be examples of energy suddenly disappearing or appearing out of nowhere, and most of those were caused by the energy shift between the main universe and other dimensions.
There were many ways a secondary dimension could be projected into the main universe. The method that Traveler used treated the secondary dimension like a bucket of water, and he opened a hole at the bottom of it to let the water inside flow into the main universe, causing corrosion.
Traveler did not put much effort into it; he only opened a hole. The rest came naturally from the secondary dimension itself and exceeded the capabilities of individual power. Therefore, this was extremely difficult to stop, and the fleet at Black Star Palace would not be able to solve this problem very soon.
In the middle of the battlefield, Ames was fighting intensely with Traveler. Powerful Force Fields clashed with the energy of Evil Convergence time after time, creating enormous aftershocks.
The Force Field Esper Ability was good with defense and controlling. Together with her Void Talents, despite Traveler having the upper hand, he could not penetrate Ames' defenses. However, Ames was not happy about it at all.
The Evil Convergence is his territory. He has infinite energy here and can make me use my energy without fear. Dragging the battle out isn't beneficial for me, Ames analyzed. She had to admit that Traveler was quite strong. He would be among the upper-middle tier even in the three Universal Civilizations.
Although she had also become stronger in the past twenty years, she was still not strong enough to fight someone this powerful alone.
"Your resistance is futile; your defeat is just a matter of time." With increased corrosion of the Evil Convergence, Traveler's aura became more and more evil.
Ames ignored him and focused on controlling the force field to deal with the purple-green energy tentacles everywhere.
In Black Star Palace's watchtower, the various officers had serious looks on their faces. With the defense measures of Black Star Palace, they were not worried about the damage the Traveler might cause. What they were worried about was how Ames did not look like she was in a good situation. They kept commanding more fleets to join the battle to provide support.
Silver Shadow had a poker face but was very tempted deep down. Although the Black Star Army's officers did not ask him for help, seeing that Ames was at a disadvantage, he felt that it was time for him to put on a show.
At this moment, a few spaceships with the Black Star Army's symbol appeared from afar and approached.
"Have these transport ships steer away from the battlefield and return from another direction," Herlous said.
These returning spaceships had been marked as transport ships long ago. Everyone's attention was focused on the battlefield at the moment and did not bother with the transport ships. They only glanced at them and went back to watching the battle between Ames and Traveler.
However, the next moment, an alarm rang on the radar!
"Alert! Alert! Beyond Grade A energy source detected!"
"What‽"
The various officers present were shocked. They quickly looked at the radar and realized that the energy source was in the transport ships.
"Another enem…"
They were instantly nervous.
However, before they could respond, what happened next stunned all the officers.
Buzz!
The familiar death energy gushed out from the transport ship like a tsunami. Hila stepped on the tide and quickly approached Black Star Palace.
"Deputy Army Commander Hila!"
"Sis‽"
They were stunned, and Aurora was even stupefied.
Aren't you at the frontlines? How did you suddenly appear here?
If not because of the mind link, Aurora might have thought that this Hila was a fake.
However, the most stunned person was Traveler. When he saw this, the maddened laugh he had on his face stiffened instantly.
What the hell, why is Hila here‽
His mission was to divert Black Star's attention and help those who were attacking Hila to restrain Black Star… But since Hila was there, what were those people attacking? Air?
What am I even trying to restrain here‽
He could not figure out what was going on at all, so in the end, he blamed it all on Sorokin…
What a scam! Giving me false information!
Since Hila had appeared there, there was no point continuing the mission. He did not want to continue fighting the Black Star Army.
Traveler decisively gave up on attacking Ames and instantly fled. Of course, Ames was not going to let him leave easily. Her focus shifted from defense to attack instantly.
Hila glared at Traveler but did not instantly join the battle.
She remembered Han Xiao's words and quickly entered the watchtower. She had no time to talk to the confused officers and headed right to Silver Shadow.
"Wear this mechanical suit. Black Star wants to see you."
"Huh?" Silver Shadow was at a loss.
"No time to explain, get in."
Hila deactivated the King, and it automatically attached itself onto Silver Shadow.
The next moment, Silver Shadow disappeared without a trace.
After this was completed, Hila finally had the time to take a deep breath.
The officers around approached her immediately.
"Why are you here? Where's His Excellency Black Star?" Hadavy asked.
When this matter was brought up, Hila felt a pain in her heart, and her expression sank.
The impression she gave to the army officers had always been cold, proud, and powerful. Therefore, when she looked this hurt, the officers were all shocked and started guessing with a pessimistic mindset.
Did… something horrible happen to their commander‽
"Sis…" Aurora noticed Hila's sorrowful emotions and held her hand with a worried look on her face.
"I owe him… too much." Hila closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as if she was talking to herself. "How can I ever pay you back for what you've done for me?"
At this time, Han Xiao led Silver Shadow away from the wrecked frontline stronghold. The players and the other warriors would take care of cleaning up the battlefield. He wanted to make some trouble for Gorutan while the effects of the Character Summon Cards still lasted.
Hila was attacked, and the information had come from Gorutan. Although, given how unique Hila's ability was, she would have experienced this sooner or later, this did not mean that Han Xiao would let Gorutan off easy.
On the way to Gorutan's territory, Han Xiao gave Silver Shadow his request…
"You want to use my body?"
Silver Shadow's face was filled with dismay.
He could not understand the King's effects, nor did he dare ask. He was originally confused as to why he had been summoned there by Black Star. Now, when he heard what Han Xiao said, he panicked completely.
So, this is the kind of person you really are, Black Star! My body is what you wanted!
"That's what I meant, but I feel like you've misunderstood something," Han Xiao said with resignation. "I just want you to help me. Treat it as a deal to use the Evolution Cube."
"You startled me. I thought you wanted to capture me and make me a special weapon like the Mechanic Emperor does." Silver Shadow was relieved.
"Oh, that's not entirely wrong." Han Xiao coughed, changed the topic, and said seriously, "Your body has a hidden characteristic. When you awaken it, you can turn yourself into a special Universal Treasure. This is exactly what I need you to do, to transform and help me."
"How do you know that?" Silver Shadow was curious. Even he did not know about that himself, so how did someone else know more about his own body than him?
"Remember the first time we met? When we sparred, I controlled your body and did a detailed scan. Back then, I noticed that there's a secret hidden in your body. You might have undergone some kind of mutation when turning into a Beyond Grade A." Han Xiao started to use his talent for deception without breaking a sweat.
The truth was, he had poked Silver Shadow long ago and seen his attributes, which already had the ability to become a Universal Treasure inside.
However, normal people did not have the interface, so they could not know all their own abilities like the players, and Silver Shadow was one such example. He did not know that he had such an ability.
In a situation like this, as long as he guided him to make him notice this hidden ability, he might be able to use it straight away.
"Alright then, what should I do?" Silver Shadow barely accepted this explanation.
"Try to sense while thinking about it?"
Han Xiao did not have an exact method. In the past, Silver Shadow did not think about anything related to this at all, but now that he made him realize that, he might be able to awaken this ability instantly.
Doubtful, Silver Shadow held on to the thought of transforming into a Universal Treasure and controlled his body to slowly change shape.
His silver body quickly turned into a pile of liquid metal that constantly changed shape as he looked for the right feeling.
After some time, the pile of liquid metal suddenly gave off a strange energy. Silver Shadow actively crawled up Han Xiao's body. The silver liquid metal shrouded Han Xiao's entire body and turned him into a silver man.
"I really do have this ability!" Silver Shadow was shocked by himself.
Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. He looked at the notification on the interface and smiled with satisfaction.
"Didn't I tell you? You did have hidden potential."
The interface was showing that Silver Shadow had already turned into Universal Treasure grade equipment and he was wearing it, which allowed him to share Silver Shadow's incredible defense and speed, while at the same time giving him quite a few new abilities.
Furthermore, wearing Silver Shadow felt very comfortable, like sitting inside a luxurious car.
On the other side, experiencing this new feeling, Silver Shadow made a decision.
He had to become closer to Black Star. This guy easily saw his potential, which he did not even see himself. If he could get Black Star to help him explore the mysteries of his body, his growth would definitely be much quicker.
Having found his hidden potential, Silver Shadow was very content. He did not mind lending his body to Han Xiao and letting him control it as he wanted.
The two of them practiced for a while. Han Xiao gradually familiarized himself with the controls of this luxurious car, and he loved it.
"Let's go!"
Then, he dashed right forward.
Bang!
Silver Shadow's speed up ability erupted. Han Xiao speed increased as if it had no limits as he turned into a silver meteor and disappeared into cosmic space.
Somewhere in the Star Cluster, a teleportation gate formed in the cosmic space and spat out three people.
"Hu, we've finally escaped."
Sagman's tense body finally relaxed. He looked toward the battlefield with a complicated expression.
Black Star's explosive strength was really scary. If I ran only a little slower, I would have been captured…
They could not help but be glad that Black Star had chased after the federation instead of them.
He turned around and exchanged looks with Taylor and Mercer. The three of them had the same thought.
That was close to being captured a second time.
"His Excellency Kasuyi is so wise. He turned around to help Black Star deal with the federation, which not only restrained Black Star but also caused more damage to the federation. Although the mission failed, His Excellency Kasuyi definitely made a huge contribution," Taylor said.
Every time they thought of how tragic the result was for the federation, the three of them felt joy in their hearts and more respect for Kasuyi's wise decision.
"But… Tolaen has been captured by Black Star too, which is a problem." Sagman shook his head.
"Hehe, that's nothing. He'll just suffer a little. When he's released, we'll have something else to talk about."
"Haha, you're right."
Although they had lost a teammate, the three of them did not mind it too much. The atmosphere was lively and uplifting.
However, on the federation's side, it was the complete opposite.
After the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device brought the federation's fleet back to their territory, the upper echelon who was waiting at the location to receive Hila was stunned to see the state of the returning team.
"Six Beyond Grade As left, but only two of you returned‽"
Hearing the outraged question from the upper echelon, Sierron was extremely ashamed.
If he had fought Black Star head-on without considering the consequences, he was certain that he could have matched up to Black Star even in that state. Sadly, Pugilists were like sharp blades. All their strength was condensed in their bodies, so protecting his teammates was something he really was not good at.
Thinking of the fact that so many Beyond Grade A teammates had been lost under his lead, Sierron was trembling with rage.
This is beyond embarrassing!
Manison will surely laugh about this!
The upper echelons will definitely feel that my ability to lead a team is much weaker than Manison's, so they will have to rely more on him…
And that *sshole Kasuyi. If not for him, the federation would not have suffered this much of a loss.
Sierron clenched his teeth.
Kasuyi, just you wait. Manison will certainly come for you!
Near a certain stargate station in the Emerald Star Cluster, a fleet was fighting a mechanical army. The most conspicuous thing on the battlefield was a silhouette that was covered in dark brown Pugilist flames. It was 'Beast Ancestor' Gorutan.
His opponents were more than a dozen Apostle Weapons of the Mechanic Emperor that had various appearances and were quite powerful. When working together, they were able to stall Gorutan.
Ever since Gorutan came to rescue his fleet, the two sides had been embroiled in a bitter fight.
"Mechanic Emperor, there's no point trying to stop me!" Gorutan said while fighting with the Apostle Weapons. "Black Star's frontline stronghold was attacked. Hila might already be dead. Even if you don't let me destroy the target stations, the dynasty's reinforcements won't make it in time. Hila's death is certain."
At this point, he still did not know what had happened, and his impression of the situation there remained at when Sorokin told him Hila was in a dire situation.
Destroying the surrounding stargate stations felt unnecessary to him. He still did not think Hila would have any chance of getting through this disaster.
Manison did not respond at all. The Apostle Weapon simply did their job and fought Gorutan.
Seeing that Manison did not respond, Gorutan was even more irritated. "Are you going to let my men go or not‽"
Again, Manison did not respond.
"You really don't know when to give up, do you? Just wait, the news of Hila being killed will get here very quickly. By then, you'll know that everything you're doing now is meaningless." Gorutan was extremely annoyed.
Manison still did not respond, but he quietly blocked all information sent to Gorutan from the outside world using his virtual technology.
It was not that no one had told Gorutan what happened, but he could not receive any messages from the outside world!
The abilities of a Virtual Mechanic were extremely difficult to notice, so Gorutan had no idea at all. He was still submerged in the joy of having successfully gotten revenge.
Manison ignoring Gorutan made him clench his teeth. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly had a feeling. He looked into the distance with a confused expression.
A silver meteor entered his sights at an unbelievable speed and quickly approached!
A strange sense of danger appeared in Gorutan's mind.
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Chapter 1056 The Roo
"Such powerful energy, what is that? It seems to be coming for me?" Gorutan was shocked.
This silver meteor clearly did not come with friendly intentions.
Gorutan's expression changed slightly. He did not want to allow this strange object to get close to him. While dealing with the Mechanic Emperor's mechanical army, he was able to send a dark brown Shockwave Blast toward the silver meteor.
However, this silver meteor dodged the shockwave easily using its speed advantage like a race car with a professional driver.
Seeing that ranged attacks did nothing to this silver meteor and that it was still locked onto him, Gorutan suddenly released energy around him, blowing the Apostle Weapons around him away. He then compressed his Pugilist flames to increase his strength and charged toward that silver meteor.
Two meteors with different colors got closer at an extremely high speed, colliding.
In that instant, the radars on all the Beast Ancestor's spaceships reacted to it, showing that the energy impact had exceeded the peak!
At the location where these two clashed, a blinding light appeared like a flickering sun.
The thick, dark-brown Pugilist flames suddenly exploded like a rock that was shattered by a hammer.
Gorutan's body then flew out, spinning like a gyroscope. The blood he spat out was evaporated by the energy aftershock created from the clash.
The moment of the clash, Gorutan's mind seemed to have stopped working for an instant. All he could feel was a blinding light, and when he regained focus, he realized that his body was being pushed out uncontrollably.
Ever since he became a peak Beyond Grade A, he had rarely come across anything that he could not stop. However, the terrifying kinetic in this silver meteor made him feel as if he was an ordinary man trying to stop a train.
Pugilists were used to enduring direct hits, but the power of this clash still exceeded Gorutan's expectations. He could feel every nerve in his body trembling and sending the signal of pain to his brain. He was appalled.
Such terrifying strength!
"Who is this guy‽"
Gorutan had no idea. After flying quite far, he finally stabilized himself and quickly checked his condition. He realized that this clash had dealt him some damage, which made him very serious and cautious.
As he looked over and finally saw the appearance of the silver meteor after it stopped, his expression changed drastically.
"Black Star‽"
After ramming Gorutan away, Han Xiao had stepped on the breaks and told Silver Shadow to open the car windows to show his handsome face. He was coldly looking at Gorutan's astounded expression.
"We meet again, Beast Ancestor."
"How can you be here? Aren't you in Black Star Palace?"
All kinds of possibilities flashed through Gorutan's mind. Could it be that something happened to the mission targeting Hila?
Seeing Han Xiao's strange silver shell, Gorutan was filled with questions. The progress of the matter seemed to have deviated from his expectations. He was dying to know what had actually happened.
What's Sorokin doing? Why has he still not notified me of what happened?
"I know what you've done," Han Xiao said slowly. "Hila is safe now, and your plan has failed. Stop fantasizing about it."
Gorutan frowned.
Although he had no idea how Hila had managed to survive, Black Star had no need to lie to him about something like this. Plus, seeing how calm Black Star was, he knew that this was most likely true.
Gorutan instantly became unhappy. Knowing that Hila was not dead, he was disappointed.
"So, you came just for me?"
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. "Back then, you provoked us to start a fight. Then after you realized your life span was reduced, you leaked this information to the federation and the church, hoping to borrow their power to aid in your goal. Now that this is exposed… you know what's going to happen, don't you?"
Gorutan frowned.
His secret plan did not succeed, and now he had been completely exposed. Even though he saw Han Xiao as an enemy, he still felt embarrassed.
Gorutan was not one to explain. Since the enemy had found out, he did not plan to hide it any longer. He suppressed his emotions and snorted. "What, have you come to make me pay?"
"Like I said, if you want to play, I'll play with you all you like. You don't look like someone who doesn't have the balls to play, so there's only one way to solve this problem, and I'm sure you know what it is." Han Xiao's tone was calm.
"Humph, so it still ends up being a conversation with fists."
Gorutan knew that a fight was unavoidable, and flames appeared once again on his body.
In the end, conspiracies and plots just aren't my thing as I expected. Fighting enemies head-on is still the best.
Although he had taken some damage earlier, Gorutan was not afraid at all. They were both peak Beyond Grade As. They all hand trump cards, so there was no reason for him to be scared.
He took a deep breath and used his energy to enhance the production of cells, quickly healing his wounds. Pugilists had extreme control over their bodies, and when they reached the peak Beyond Grade A level, their regenerative ability could not possibly be horrible.
"I did not fight you last time. Today, I can make up for it. What you've done has spread throughout the universe. Now, show me what you're really capable of." Gorutan's eyes were glowing as he spoke in a tone that was overflowing with his will to battle.
He still did not know about how Hila was rescued and had no idea of what Han Xiao had just been able to achieve, so his impression of Han Xiao remained as Han Xiao's strength in the past.
This time, Gorutan suddenly recalled Manison, who was at the side, and his heart sank a little.
Gorutan was not afraid if the enemy was just Black Star, but if the Mechanic Emperor participated too, it would not be good for him at all.
He uncontrollably looked over and was glad to see that Manison's troops were retreating, clearly expressing he had no intention to interfere with this battle.
Han Xiao also looked at the Mechanic Emperor's army that was gradually leaving and murmured in his mind, "This Manison sent me Gorutan's coordinates but didn't pick up my call. Is he trying to show a friendly gesture while at the same time letting me deal with Gorutan for him so that he can remain uninvolved in all this?"
Han Xiao shook his head. It did not matter what Director Manison planned to do. He had to fight this battle. There was no way he would let the root cause of all this off easy.
The effects of the Character Summon Cards could still last for quite some time, so he should be able to deal with Gorutan in his current state.
Swoosh!
As the secondary dimensional army box opened, the sea-like mechanical army swarmed out.
Gorutan was fearless as he charged into the endless mechanical army.
As soon as the battle started and the overwhelming pressure came, Gorutan immediately felt that something was wrong.
"Wait, why is your army…"
Gorutan's eyes opened wide with surprise.
He had once felt Black Star's energy level personally and had a rough estimate of Han Xiao's strength. Now, however, the actual strength Han Xiao was displaying far exceeded his estimate and shocked him.
How can this be? How has Black Star become this much stronger in just one or two months‽
At this time, Han Xiao's main body advanced instead of backing off and went into melee combat range.
Fists clashed with each other, and a powerful force was transmitted through Gorutan's arm. Feeling the energy that was almost as strong as his, Gorutan was even more shocked.
"Why is your strength also…"
"You have too many questions!"
Han Xiao's movements were so fast, as if he had become a phantom. While Gorutan was shocked, he whipped his leg and kicked Gorutan, sending him flying.
Just as riders could become stronger using their horses, Han Xiao also received attribute bonuses while riding Silver Shadow.
Silver Shadow was a Pugilist, so both his Strength and Dexterity were high. He also had a special defensive advantage.
Boundless power came from Silver Shadow's body. Han Xiao's main body temporarily received attribute bonuses that were comparable to a Pugilist. In addition to his own attributes, his melee combat capabilities were dramatically enhanced. Although still not as strong as a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, it was more than enough.
In his previous life, Pugilists like Karlot became much stronger when using Silver Shadow, while he used Silver Shadow to enhance his speed and defenses. Melee-range combat was not the main damage method of his main body.
At the same time, the dynasty's reinforcement fleet flew out from a stargate station at another location.
"We've finally arrived near Black Star's stronghold. We have to hurry. Every second we waste puts Hila's life in more danger. " Ravenlaude hurried the others.
This time, Kant closed his eyes as if he had received a message. He then opened his eyes with a strange expression and said, "We don't have to hurry there anymore. Black Star has solved the problem."
Hearing this, Ravenlaude was stunned.
"Impossible, how did he solve such a dangerous situation?"
"There. This is the intelligence the Black Star Army sent." Kant displayed the information he had received, which recorded the battle process.
After finishing looking at the intelligence, Beyoni was filled with shock.
"To think that Black Star actually had such a powerful trump card that allowed him to fight more than ten Beyond Grade As at once. It's unbelievable!"
"It's mainly because the federation and the church had no choice but to escape while dragging each other back, which gave Black Star an opportunity to defeat them one by one… Nonetheless, this achievement is indeed way too horrifying."
Kant sighed. "But burning his potential is not worth it for someone like him with such a bright future. This will definitely affect his growth. Alas… the dynasty will compensate Black Star for the loss he has suffered this time."
This time, Beyoni was reminded of the joke Kant made earlier.
On the way, Kant had said that he would be able to fight all the enemies alone. That was supposedly a joke, but Black Star had done just that.
"Incredible…" Beyoni respected Black Star from the bottom of his heart.
On the other side, when Ravenlaude saw this news, his entire body stiffened.
He initially wanted to turn the tables when he arrived and make Black Star owe him a favor, but to his absolute shock, Black Star solved an almost certainly lethal situation like this all by himself.
Doesn't this mean I've wasted another trip and got nothing for it?
Ravenlaude lost all motivation instantly. All he wanted to do was turn into a slime and cower in the corner till the end of the world.
"Since the matter is already solved, what should we do now? Shall we go take a look at Black Star's stronghold or return right away?" Kohler asked.
Kant shook his head. "Neither. Black Star seems to be fighting Gorutan now. Since we're here, let's go and see if we can be of any use."
Inside Beast Ancestor's stronghold palace, Sorokin's manifestation held a communicator in his hands and walked back and forth while mumbling.
"Weird, weird, why hasn't Gorutan replied to my messages? Did something happen?"
Sorokin suddenly had a bad feeling about Gorutan's situation.
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Chapter 1057 A VIP
Boom!As silver and dark brown fists clashed, shockwaves exploded. Gorutan was once again blown away by Han Xiao's [Charge—Endless Potential].
Han Xiao did not use his Mechanical Deity but his main body to fight in melee range instead. Once his [Charge—Endless Potential] was off cooldown, he would back away and farm the distance traveled for the next powerful attack.
Despite trying to stop him, Gorutan was still held back by the formidable mechanical army.
Without the restriction of the spacetime stabilization anchors, Han Xiao's soldiers continuously swarmed out from his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory. Currently, the mechanical army's main task was to restrain and damage the enemies.
The combat capability of a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist was exceptional, so Gorutan did not have too hard a time being surrounded. Nonetheless, he was quite troubled by the mechanical army. Not to mention the fact that there was someone on the side who came charging at him every once in a while.
In the chaotic encirclement, everywhere Gorutan went, tons and tons of mechanical soldiers were destroyed.
Feeling the pain of his muscles healing from the wounds suffered earlier, Gorutan was irritated.
Originally, closing the distance was the best strategy for a Pugilist when fighting a Mechanic, but in this situation, he did not even want Han Xiao to get close to him. The [Charge—Endless Potential] was way too annoying for him. It caused him to be unable to control the tempo of the battle.
Every time he saw Han Xiao lurking around on the side, Gorutan would uncontrollably yell in his mind, Don't come any closer!
On the other side, despite having a slight advantage, Han Xiao's situation was not too optimistic.
A Pugilist's way of fighting was not flashy; it was pure and direct. However, when they reached the peak Beyond Grade A level, this pureness would transform and make their body indestructible.
"My tankiness is at the top among Mechanics, which is mainly thanks to my strong regenerative ability. Nonetheless, I can't underestimate the regenerative ability of a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist. Plus, his health is even higher than mine."
Pugilists had a ton of talents that gave them Endurance. Their own class gave them more bonuses as well. At the peak Beyond Grade A level, no class could compete with Pugilists in terms of sheer health. Even Han Xiao and Milizaus were no exception. Furthermore, peak Beyond Grade A Pugilists might also have overpowered regenerative abilities like his. They were the true official tank warriors.
Before this, Sierron had to fight while running, and he was burdened by his teammates. This was Han Xiao's first time fighting a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist toe to toe. Even though he was at his peak, defeating Gorutan as easily as defeating normal Beyond Grade A Pugilists was absolutely impossible.
The two of them fought intensely, while far away, Beast Ancestor's fleet was hesitating.
"Father is fighting. Should we help?"
Inside the bridge of the command ship, the crew's eyes all focused on one of the Calamity Grade officers.
This person was one of the direct offspring of Gorutan, the captain of this fleet. His name was Byram.
"That's a battle of Beyond Grade As. It's not suitable for us to interfere, I think," Byram said hesitantly.
"Black Star is here for revenge. It's not a one-on-one spar. The battle is looking tough for father. We shouldn't just watch him get beaten up," another Calamity Grade officer said.
"But we won't be of much use in battles like this. Just the aftershocks of their battle will cost us huge losses." Byram frowned.
"We would at least be of some help. Every little helps. Father might need us."
Byram turned to look at him. As he expected, he saw burning passion in this person's eyes.
Naturally, not all of Gorutan's children agreed with his way of raising his offspring, and their faction was not completely united. Although Gorutan was their father, they had many different mothers, which led to the internal structure of the faction being unstable.
The stand Gorutan's children had could be classified into three types. Byram was neutral; all he did was follow the rules and orders. He called Gorutan father, but he did not have much, if any, sense of belonging to the faction. The officer who kept persuading him to interfere with the battle was one of the loyal ones.
While Byram thought about what to do, a huge fleet arrived from afar. Their exterior armor had the symbol of Beast Ancestor. This was the fleet that had come from the stronghold to back up Beast Ancestor after realizing that something was wrong.
"Finally." Byram was relieved.
The two sides quickly gathered, and the various officers met.
Since the reinforcements had already arrived, Byram could no longer just watch on the side. He shook his head and said, "Now, we have enough strength to interfere with this battle. Our goal won't be to destroy the mechanical troops, just hold back some of them to reduce the pressure on father. Let's go."
The fleet split up and gradually approached the battlefield.
Han Xiao noticed this as well. He glanced at the fleet and frowned.
During the exploration era, Beyond Grade As getting killed by fleets was nothing new. Even though Beyond Grade As were extremely strong, they could not completely ignore large fleets. If Beast Ancestor's troops stepped into this battle, it would indeed cause some trouble for him.
Although he was a Virtual Mechanic, he still had to gradually hack the enemies, which meant that his focus would be diverted. At the same time, he would also have to send some of his mechanical armies to fight the fleet, so Gorutan would immediately face much less pressure. It would not be a problem if it was just an ordinary enemy, but Gorutan was the same Grade as him, so any tiny change in the situation would be enlarged and made use of.
Most of the fleet from Black Star's stronghold was still cleaning the battlefield, and Han Xiao had given an order for them to send part of the fleet there to back him up when he left to go to Gorutan. However, Silver Shadow was too fast; the others were left behind and were still on their way.
Suddenly, magic energy appeared out of nowhere.
Buzz!
As Beast Ancestor's fleet was about to interfere, an enormous teleportation gate suddenly appeared, followed by a stream of battleships with the dynasty's symbol, stopping Beast Ancestor's fleet in its path.
"The dynasty's people are finally here." Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.
Although the dynasty could not make it to rescue Hila, they ended up being useful now. Better late than never.
Very soon, the reinforcements of the dynasty had all arrived. Ravenlaude was the last to fly out of the teleportation gate. He swung his staff and deactivated this huge teleportation spell.
Having seen the situation, Kant smiled.
"Looks like we've arrived just in time."
This accident was a surprise for Han Xiao but a shock to the Beast Ancestor's subordinates.
"Stop immediately!"
Numerous Beyond Grade A energy sources appeared on the radar of the spaceships. Byram was horrified and quickly told his fleet to stop, not daring to continue advancing. The fleet stopped against the dynasty's fleet. He became hesitant again.
Kant and the others did not care about Beast Ancestor's fleet. They all turned to look at the battlefield. Seeing the strength Han Xiao was displaying, they were all appalled.
"Black Star during his explosive state is on a much higher level compared to his usual state," Kohler said with a sigh. "Sadly, the price of such power is too huge."
Kant contacted Han Xiao, smiled, and asked, "How is it? Do you need help?"
"Not letting him escape will do," Han Xiao replied very soon.
This was a private matter, as well as a rare opportunity for him to build a reputation, so Han Xiao planned to fight Gorutan alone. Since the dynasty's allies had arrived, they could prevent others from interfering and create an undisturbed one-on-one battle, as well as prevent Gorutan from escaping.
"Since you don't need us to interfere, we will respect your wishes."
Kant had no problem with this decision. Following Han Xiao's request, he ordered the fleet to split up and form an encirclement.
Seeing that he was surrounded by enemies, Gorutan's expression turned grave—he knew there was no backing away now.
Did he regret it… a little bit.
However, he did not dwell on it. What was done was done; he was not going to think about the 'what if's.
There was no point in overthinking anything. Gorutan just continued to launch even more powerful attacks, using all his strength without holding back.
"Let me see all you've got, Black Star!"
At the same time, Byram's fleet on the side did not dare attack the dynasty's fleet. They could only watch while the dynasty set up the encirclement right under their noses and do nothing as their boss got beaten up and surrounded.
Seeing the dynasty's stand on this matter, the various officers including Byram all felt uneasy. They had a feeling that the person they depended on might collapse.
"Father has nowhere to run. The dynasty has made up their mind on capturing him."
"We can't watch father get captured by the dynasty!"
"But how can we help? There are many dynasty Beyond Grade As here. Us going in is just suicide."
"Is there even a way to solve this situation? Who can help us? Can the protectors of the Galactic Black Market help?"
"Impossible. They're definitely not looking to interfere in something this big."
As a protector of the Galactic Black Market, Gorutan had to rely on himself, and now he was alone. In situations like this, there was not going to be anyone like the Beyond Grade A allies of the three Universal Civilizations appearing to help him.
The same thought hit all of them, including Byram, simultaneously.
We're done for…
Having realized this possibility, some of the officers and the crew started to have other thoughts.
Other than the loyal ones and the neutral ones, the rest were the rebels… Some of the offspring of Beast Ancestor hated their identity and their 'father' Gorutan. They felt that they were offspring on paper but actually just slaves. They had always been following the Beast Ancestor's orders on the surface but would be more than glad to see Beast Ancestor killed in their hearts.
Seeing that Gorutan was now facing the revenge of such a powerful enemy, these people were overjoyed. The ambition in their hearts kept expanding.
A teleportation gate suddenly appeared in a rural area of the Flickering World, and Traveler stepped out from it.
"I've finally got out." Traveler heaved a sigh of relief. He was quite wounded.
He had flown for a very long time till he finally got out of the range of the Black Star's fleet's stabilization anchor. On the way, he had been chased by Ames and Hila and was heavily wounded. Luckily, in the end, he escaped Black Star's territory through teleportation.
Traveler took out his communicator and contacted the person in charge of the Super Star Cluster alliance.
"The developments of the situation have deviated from the plan. Hila somehow returned to the Black Star Palace. Our plan has failed."
"We expected that. Black Star burned his potential in exchange for astonishing strength. Not only did he force the troops of the federation and the church to retreat, he even captured many Beyond Grade As. This message has yet to spread to the outside world; only high-level organizations know about it now. Your Excellency Traveler, it's fine as long as you're okay."
"I see…" Traveler shook his head. As he retrieved the Evil Convergence, the evil vibe he gave disappeared, and he became easy to look past again. "I've already offended the Black Star Army, so I'm going to make a trip to the secondary dimension and won't be appearing in the main universe for a very long time. Don't call me to do things for now."
"Understood. Since we could not start another conflict between the three Universal Civilizations, we won't step foot in things like this for the time being and will slowly gather our strength for the next big move."
"Humph. Black Star doesn't know my identity yet. He'll just be unhappy about me at most. You guys won't be affected. As long as I disappear, he'll stop caring. By the way, Sorokin thought I was hired, so he might notice something. That guy is suspicious. Pay more attention to him."
"Understood."
Traveler said a few words before hanging up and sighed.
I wonder how many years I'll have to spend hiding in the secondary dimension this time…
He silently looked at this universe one last time before casting a spell and stepping into the secondary dimension, disappearing without a trace.
Time passed quickly.
The two people fought for a very long time, and before a large audience, the situation finally came to an end.
Tons of mechanical troops were damaged and became many Grades lower. Three Apostle Weapons were completely scrapped, and four Apostle Weapons were unable to fight for the time being. The Mechanical Deity got shattered once, and Silver Shadow's health fell below the danger line… After paying a huge price, Han Xiao was finally able to push Gorutan to his limits.
Although peak Beyond Grade A Pugilists recovered energy very quickly, they did not have close to infinite energy like Kasuyi.
Looking over the battlefield, it was filled with machinery debris. The Dimension Factory was still tirelessly recycling it all.
In the middle of the battlefield, Gorutan was covered in wounds that were healing much slower than before and still spraying blood. His face was filled with exhaustion.
"You've lost. Anything you want to say?"
Han Xiao faced him, opened the helmet of the mechanical suit, and stared at him.
Although part of this was thanks to the fact that he was in an explosive state, this was still the first time he had defeated a peak Beyond Grade A alone.
"Ahem… a loss is a loss. There's nothing to say." Gorutan grinned, showing his teeth that were dyed red with blood. "What, you thought I would beg for mercy?"
"There's always a price to pay when messing with someone. Since you decided to do that, you should have thought of the possibility of this happening.
"Humph, no need to say such nonsense to me. I knew what I was in for. At least I forced you to burn your potential. Your growth limit is now forever reduced, and you will never recover from it."
Han Xiao shook his head but was laughing in his mind.
Even if he explained it, Gorutan would not believe it. Plus, he was not planning to explain it to anyone.
He paused, changed the topic, and slowly said, "You provoked me back then. If you'd taken a step back, today would not have happened. Compared to the life span you lost, you're going to lose much more now."
"If I did, that wouldn't be me," Gorutan said with a deep voice. "If I can't do whatever I want, what's the point of becoming so strong?"
Some chased after strength itself, while some chased after what came with it. Every Beyond Grade A was the former. They only became the latter afterward.
Not only Beyond Grade As, this was also the same for all Supers.
"No matter what, I shall have your body with a smile." Han Xiao raised his hand and pressed on Gorutan's chest.
"Humph, take it then. Don't ever let me find the chance to turn the tables."
Gorutan stood with a straight back, unafraid.
Begging for mercy was the act of a loser, but he was mentally prepared long ago. Even with this loss, he still remained graceful.
The next moment, this expression was fixed, and the spraying blood stopped moving.
'Beast Ancestor' Gorutan was sealed in Spacetime Amber!
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"Hu… Finally caught this guy."
Gorutan, who was covered in wounds and sealed in the Spacetime Amber, looked like he was made into a specimen.
Looking at the fixed expression on his face, Han Xiao finally relaxed.
A peak Beyond Grade A fighting for his life had almost endless trump cards. If not because of his Spacetime Amber, the King, Silver Shadow, and his double Mechanical Senses, he might not have been able to beat him.
After all, this time, he did not have a perfect trump card like the Esper Silence he had when facing EsGod, so the only choice was to fight head-on. Therefore, his mechanical army suffering huge losses was unavoidable. A huge number of mechanical soldiers had to be sent to the factory to be remade.
Both sides were peak tanks. There was no situation where one attack would decide the results. The battle was basically countless repetitions of the same process, and whoever lasted longest would win.
If not because the dynasty's allies were on the side, this would have definitely turned into a chase, which would have lasted much longer, and Gorutan might even have escaped. Nonetheless, the result of capturing Gorutan was ideal.
"The goals have been achieved. Hila is protected, and the King's functions have been showcased, which is more than enough to discourage others from thinking about attacking Hila. Even Gorutan is captured. The results of this event are going to be very beneficial for me."
Venting his anger was just one reason he had gone to fight Gorutan head-on. The main reason was to express his firm stance and instill fear in others.
Due to how strong an impression he made as a very sociable and friendly person, plus the fact that he had kept a low profile for more than two decades, there were always people trying to test him, thinking that he was easy to mess with.
This time, he did not depend too much on the dynasty. It was basically his own achievement. Since he had done this, it was certain that the other organizations would have to think twice before trying to mess with him in the future, weighing up whether it would even be worth it.
The only problem was, this achievement was too terrifying, almost unbelievable.
Although the church and the federation's people were not fighting for their lives and could not go all out due to many reasons, which gave him the opportunity to make full use of this flaw, the outside world would not care about all that. All they would see would be his achievement of fighting against twelve enemies all by himself. In front of this achievement, even capturing another peak Beyond Grade A was not as shocking.
This was more than enough to be listed as one of the most shocking achievements of any Beyond Grade A in history!
However, too much of something would never be good. He had achieved something that he was not supposed to achieve with the strength he had now, which was not without drawbacks. What Han Xiao was glad about was, Sierron had made it that all this way because he had 'burned his potential'.
This way, it would be much more acceptable for the various organizations, including the three Universal Civilizations, and the other Beyond Grade As.
With that reasoning, as well as the Beyond Grade A united front, Manison would most likely not test him after seeing this astonishing achievement, which would eliminate a huge problem for him.
At the same time, people saying that he was burning his potential would also not reduce the effects of his achievements.
Although this explosive state was made possible with many Character Summon Cards, some of which could only be used once…
Others would not know that this was the case!
Han Xiao knew clearly what those high-level organizations would be thinking—they would have a false assumption that as long as he was willing to pay the price of burning his potential again, he would be able to draw up this strength again!
And even if he explained the truth to others, no one would believe him!
Therefore, following this thought, the various organizations would all come to one conclusion…
Don't push Black Star too much!
This way, the influence of this event could be understood without saying.
As Han Xiao thought, a smile appeared on his face.
"Since I've now planted fear in them, I can continue to develop myself slowly. It's going to give me a big fortune…"
At this time, he only had one thought.
Sierron really is such a good friend!
Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Han Xiao quickly told Phillip to clean up the battlefield and take away the Gorutan amber specimen.
Having seen that the battle had ended, the dynasty allies finally came forward.
"You've really outdone yourself this time. When this gets out, it's definitely going to make a huge impact," Kant said. "Sharp and brave, as one would expect from youngsters. When I was making a name for myself in the universe, I was young too. But now, I have to think of the pros and cons before making every single move. I've lost that courage."
"You're being humble." Han Xiao smiled.
"Well, defeating Gorutan is just a small matter. The problem is, what do you plan to do with him?"
Kant was not surprised by this result. Black Star was in an explosive state, and the battlefield favored him. Plus, he was also a peak Beyond Grade A. Therefore, defeating another peak Beyond Grade A seemed very normal, nothing compared to the absolutely shocking fact that he had forced twelve Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church to retreat.
"Hmm, Gorutan has no one to rely on, and no one will come to bail him, so I'm going to keep him as part of my collection."
Beast Ancestor was one of the protectors of the Galactic Black Market. He did not have any background like the three Universal Civilizations. Therefore, there was, of course, no need for him to give Gorutan up. This was also one of the ways the three Universal Civilizations appealed to the Beyond Grade As. After all, no one could guarantee that they would never lose, and having one of the three Universal Civilizations backing them would make them feel much more assured.
Kant nodded and said, "This incident was too sudden, so we couldn't help much. Luckily, the results did not turn out too bad. The dynasty will help you to deal with the aftermath of this, and the dynasty's upper echelons will probably come to negotiate with you very soon."
"I know."
At this time, Silver Shadow turned back to his normal appearance, which attracted the attention of everyone.
Han Xiao nodded at him.
"You were of great help this time, thanks. Follow me back later and be a guest at my place. I'll keep my promise."
"I should be the one thanking you. If not for you, god only knows when I would've discovered this new ability I have."
Although Silver Shadow was quite heavily injured, having discovered a new ability made him quite happy.
Kohler could not help but ask curiously, "Silver Shadow, what ability is that? Can you show it again?"
"It's one of the special forms I have, which Black Star had helped to discover…"
Silver Shadow chatted passionately with the others, and Han Xiao nodded in his mind.
With my influence, this guy is probably going to start his Uber life much earlier…
However, with the help I gave him, it will probably be quite much easier for me to make him my private Uber.
This time, Han Xiao turned to look at Ravenlaude, who was staying silent and looking like he wanted to say something but did not, so Han Xiao started the conversation.
"How you doing? Have your wounds healed?"
"Pretty much…" Ravenlaude thought of his experience of getting beaten into a pulp not long ago, resignation appeared in his eyes.
"Haha, thank you for letting the past be the past and coming to help this time." Han Xiao smiled.
"I didn't help much."
"Don't say that. If not because you relayed the message, the dynasty's reinforcements would not have arrived here so soon. I owe you one for this."
A hint of a smile finally appeared on his face. He felt much better.
Aiyo, although Black Star is irritating sometimes, he's quite a good guy overall.
Sorry Ty-Ty, I probably won't be able to join your anti-Black Star alliance. Hang in there!
Suddenly, they all felt something and turned to look at the source of it. Beast Ancestor's fleet, which had been watching from the side, was now quickly retreating.
Kohler shook his head and said sarcastically, "They watched on as their leader was attacked. Such wise subordinates."
"With Gorutan gone, his organization will split up very soon." Beyoni snorted. "But that's a good thing. I've always disliked the things this guy did. If he did not buy tons of females from the Galactic Black Market, he would not have been able to make so many offspring. With his organization gone, the slavery business of the black market will take a hit."
"You're probably the last person here who has the right to say that…" Han Xiao remembered that Beyoni also had a huge harem.
"That's completely different. I chose mine from my people and never forced anyone. I'm not spreading my seed all over the universe."
Beyoni was quite proud, and he felt that he had the moral high ground.
Among the Beyond Grade As, there were actually quite a number of people who did not like Gorutan's way of doing things, but no one messed with him because of how strong he was. Now that the dynasty's allies present had seen Gorutan get defeated by Han Xiao, they were all glad.
Han Xiao did not bother entertaining him and silently opened the interface.
Including Gorutan, he had captured a total of five Beyond Grade As, which far exceeded the requirements of the mission. The mission was now shown as 'completed'.
"Five chances to draw abilities. I'll have to make full use of them."
Han Xiao was very excited.
He decided that he had to pray and touch Feidin before drawing the mission reward, or it would be a huge waste if he received some useless abilities.
Beep beep!
The communicator suddenly rang. He glanced at it. It was a call from Urranrell.
He picked it up and said, "Your Excellency Urranrell."
"I've understood the situation. The dynasty will negotiate with the federation and the church, now tell me the details of what happened."
"Okay, so it started…" Han Xiao explained the situation and skipped some details in between.
"To think that Hila has such an ability…"
After Han Xiao finished, Urranrell kept silent for a while. She then suddenly changed the topic and asked, "What about you? What price did you pay? Did you really burn your potential?"
"Yes," Han Xiao said without any change of expression.
"How big is the impact of that exactly?"
"I don't know."
"Sigh… You were too headstrong this time. You could have shrouded Hila in Spacetime Amber, and we could've bailed her afterward. This was avoidable. You have the highest potential in history. It's not worth doing something so unwise just to vent your anger."
"No, if I did that, I would have helped the enemies to take away Hila's ability to fight back. Plus, there are too many uncertainties to bailing someone out. The church might not be willing to make the deal and might keep Hila forever, and the federation would demand that I unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Furthermore, Hila isn't the dynasty's ally, so the dynasty is in no position to bail her."
Urranrell frowned slightly.
"What you're saying is, despite this incident, you still aren't willing to let Hila join the dynasty?"
"Hila has her own will. You're saying it like I can force her," Han Xiao joked.
"Joining the alliance will help to avoid something like this from happening again. Do try to convince her. I'm sure she won't want to see you burn your potential for her again," Urranrell said.
"… Got it."
If the dynasty used this to persuade Hila, given her personality, she might really agree to it. Urranrell indirectly gave him a reminder.
Han Xiao shook his head. Just as he hung up the call, another communication request came.
He looked at it. This time, it was from his headquarters.
The scene of the Black Star Palace command room appeared. Hila stood at the front, and beside her were Ames and Aurora. Around them were the many officers of the army. They were all looking at Han Xiao on the screen with concern.
"Black Star, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's been dealt with. I've captured Gorutan. Hila, he's the person who leaked the information to get revenge on you. You don't have to worry about him anymore." Han Xiao smiled.
Hila bit her lips.
Black Star did everything to protect her. He even got rid of the root of this incident. Looking at Han Xiao trying to look like it was no big deal and thinking of how tough of a battle Han Xiao had gone through for her, all the words of appreciation were stuck in Hila's throat.
Words were too light, not enough to express how touched and thankful she was.
Seeing this, Han Xiao joked and said, "Say something if you want to. Being this hesitant doesn't fit the impression I have of you."
Hila took a deep breath, stared into Han Xiao's eyes, and said, "You will forever be my… army commander."
There was no thank you. It was more like a promise, a declaration.
Hearing this, Han Xiao wiped the smile off his face. He looked into Hila's eyes with a serious expression and slowly nodded.
"Okay."
"I heard from Hila that you burned your potential?" Ames softly said from the side.
"Don't worry, that's all fake. I actually did not suffer any losses at all."
Ames nodded lightly. To her, this was clearly a white lie that Han Xiao said to comfort them.
She did not deny Han Xiao of his 'kindness' and only remembered it.
Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. "By the way, where did Traveler go?"
"He ran away, but we injured him," Hila said. "Before he left, he said that the Black Star Army disobeyed the rules and fought someone who came to challenge as a group. Is he really related to this incident?"
"Humph, this guy is such a drama queen… Leave him alone. He's a sh*t-stirrer at most. There's no time to deal with him now. That's for later."
Han Xiao exhaled and said, "I'll be going back first. We'll probably be quite busy for some time…"
The entire universe was paying attention to the Flickering World, and this huge news erupted all of a sudden, spreading like wildfire through all channels, ignoring the restrictions of distance.
Every single person who saw the news was shocked.
The federation and the church had gathered twelve Beyond Grade As to kill the Black Star Army's second in command, but they were forced to retreat by Black Star's main body, who even captured a few of the attackers. Not only that, even the Galactic Black Market's Gorutan was held responsible for this by Black Star because he was involved and was captured alive.
This means that… Black Star had fought twelve Beyond Grade As alone and won!
Are you kidding me‽
All the news after the Flickering World opened combined would probably not be as shocking as this!
The entire universe was driven into a frenzy!
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Chapter 1059 Impac
In the Federation of Light's Central Galaxy territory, a small spaceship with the army's symbol was slowly moving in the cosmic space. The people of the Black Star Army's Abyss of Stars division were onboard.
This was the Federation of Light's territory. The Black Star Army had been invited to build a subdivision there long ago. However, the market was already split up by the various organizations, and given the sensitive relationship the federation and the dynasty had, this subdivision had experienced very limited growth in the region.
The Black Star Army was not popular everywhere, at least not here. The subdivision members there could not enjoy the reputation of the army, so they could not feel the benefits that came with the influence of the Black Star Army. Instead, they were even bullied by some local Beyond Grade A organizations, so their time there was not the best.
That day, however, everything changed.
At this time, inside the hall of this small spaceship, all the crews gathered and watched the virtual screen in the hall, which was playing the news.
"According to reliable sources, an incident erupted in the Flickering World yesterday. A total of twelve Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light attacked the Black Star Army's frontline stronghold in the free competition zone, attempting to kill the Black Star Army's deputy captain, 'Goddess of Death' Hila. After the event occurred, Black Star quickly arrived at the scene and fought the twelve Beyond Grade A enemies alone. In the end, all enemies were exiled, and five were captured, one from the Arcane Church and three from the Federation of Light—'Red Devil' Tolaen, 'Energy Soul' Womre, 'Lone Ranger' Jackornitz, and Hades. After that, Black Star traveled far to capture another Beyond Grade A who was suspected to be involved in this incident, 'Beast Ancestor' Gorutan. What Black Star has done has shocked the entire world. The reason behind this incident is still being investigated…"
As soon as this ended, the cabin was filled with cheers of triumph!
"Woo!"
All the crew members present raised their hands and cheered. They were visibly overjoyed.
"Hahaha, the federation's people have finally been taught a lesson!"
"Our Army Commander is invincible!"
Many of them had come because of Black Star's name to begin with. Now that they saw what a shocking feat their leader had achieved, they were filled with burning passion and respect.
This news was a gigantic morale boost and had become the hottest topic within the army, even more so for the subdivision crew present. They were stationed in the Abyss of Stars and had faced a lot of difficulties. Now that their boss had captured three Beyond Grade As of the federation, one of whom was the leader of an organization that had been causing a lot of trouble for them, they felt that their army commander had given them justice.
The joy lasted quite a while before dissipating. In this festive atmosphere, this spaceship arrived at its destination. This was a transfer planet. The spaceship had gone there many times before. Following the instructions, it safely parked at the port.
As soon as the various subdivision members disembarked from the spaceship, they felt the difference. They looked around and saw that the passersby had all stopped to greet them with nods and looks, and their eyes were filled with complicated emotions such as surprise, fear, and curiosity.
This time, the port's registration point approached. Compared to the formal manners they had always displayed, the attendant's face was filled with passion and a fawning smile. This was something these subdivision members rarely saw.
"Haha, look at these guys. They never knew to respect us, but now they're afraid."
Seeing the change in attitude of the people around, a sense of pride appeared in their hearts. They felt honored and glad that they had joined the Black Star Army.
The reason for these changes, of course, was the world-shaking achievement the army commander had made recently. The reputation of his faction had rocketed to the peak in the entire universe!
With a leader like him, the future of the organization was as bright as ever.
This was not an isolated event. Scenes just like this could be seen everywhere across the universe.
Currently, almost all the players were in the World Server. When the players at the frontline stronghold uploaded the battle recording, everyone's attention was immediately absorbed by the news.
On the forums, this incident had filled up the entire Flickering World panel, and countless people were discussing it.
The players did not know the details. All they paid attention to was Black Star's terrifying achievement.
With his exceptional performance, Hila was completely ignored. It was assumed that Han Xiao had fought twelve enemies alone.
Although they knew that Black Star was among the strongest in the entire universe, this absolutely exceeded the imagination of the players. They were not too familiar with the difference in strength between Beyond Grade As and were full of disbelief.
"This is absolutely bonkers!"
"I remember that he was also surrounded during the Planet Lighthouse battle, but back then, the army commander had the help of the dynasty allies. This time, he needed no help, yet he still defeated twelve Beyond Grade As alone, capturing four!"
"Paging Bun-Hit-Dog, wake up and make your video, quickly!"
"I heard that the army commander sacrificed a lot in exchange for such strength, all to protect Hila."
"This is probably what love is."
"I'm getting on that ship!"
"Our captain is the best!"
Other than expressing shock, the various players were also speculating about the influence this incident would have.
Currently, the competition was intense in the Flickering World, and the Black Star Army had been affected as well. For something like this to happen, its impact would be incomprehensible.
Furthermore, the army commander also expressed his stand to hold all the people involved responsible no matter how difficult it would be by capturing Gorutan, who provided assistance.
This way, Black Star Army's faction advantage would climb to the peak. Who would dare mess with Black Star during the Flickering World competition period?
To the Chinese players, one saying explained the impact of this achievement Black Star had made perfectly…
When you make one amazing punch, you'll avoid a hundred punches.
Comparatively, this had made a more obvious contrast to the organizations that the Black Star Army had warned during the faction war incident earlier.
Due to the 'no fighting back' policy these organizations took, the innocent casual players in these organizations had a much stronger opinion about how important factions were. They were already unsatisfied with their factions to start with, and when they saw this news, many people were convinced to switch factions.
Of course, their top choice was the Black Star Army.
The players of the various countries who had only recently joined the army had another perspective about this incident.
In the previous versions, the players of the various countries could only watch the Black Star Army from afar. Now that they had joined the Star Field and could finally be a part of it, they had a brand-new experience when discussing it as members of the faction.
In the past, they could only watch others praise Black Star, but now they could join in and do it together, which felt completely different.
Some new army players immediately experienced how amazing it was to have a powerful faction leader. They were sending out even more 'captain is the best' messages than the senior members. The forums were almost completely occupied by the army players. The atmosphere was festive.
On the other hand, the senior members were also enjoying the sense of superiority, thinking, You guys are too young. This is no big deal.
In the Arcane Church, the various Beyond Grade As and the upper echelons' remote projections had gathered to discuss how to deal with this incident.
Although their mission had failed and they had lost Tolaen, the people present did not look too unhappy. They were even somewhat secretly glad.
"This mission's failed. We could not kill Hila, but we're not disappointed with the results." An upper echelon of the church spoke. "Your Excellency Kasuyi, you've done a great job, shattering the federation's plans and causing them to lose three Beyond Grade As. We are very satisfied with the decisions you've made."
"I've only made a few contributions," Kasuyi replied calmly.
"Hehe, don't be so humble. Compared to Hila, it's more important to prevent the federation from obtaining a chip to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter."
The upper echelons were smiling. Thinking that they had made the Federation of Light suffer such a big loss, they were all in quite a good mood.
"Nonetheless, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in the federation's hands, so it's best to negotiate with Black Star or the dynasty to see if we can get one of the federation's captives from them so we can exchange for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter."
Kasuyi nodded. "Although the operation has failed, we still offended the Black Star Army. Odds of the negotiation succeeding are not high, but it's worth a try."
"Hmm… By the way, you said Black Star showcased an ability similar to Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation and sent Hila back to his headquarters despite the spacetime being sealed. Is that true?"
"Of course, I'm certainly not mistaken."
Hearing this, the man pondered and said, "Since that's the case, we'll have no choice but to cancel all plans directed at Hila…"
Since Black Star had the ability to ignore spacetime stabilization, there was no point in targeting Hila since she would be able to leave any time.
The ability of the King mechanical suit that Han Xiao had displayed had completely shattered all plans the church had for Hila. She was now finally in a safe spot.
Seeing the responses of the upper echelons, Sagman and the other 'former prison mates' exchanged looks and saw complicated emotions in each other's eyes. It was the resignation of knowing that they would not be able to take revenge and the delight that they had escaped this time.
This time, another church upper echelon spoke. This was a member of the Bishops. "Putting Black Star's technology aside, the federation is going to be the one with the biggest headache. I just want to ask, what do you guys think of Black Star's strength?"
The various Beyond Grade As exchanged looks before all looking at Kasuyi.
Kasuyi pondered for a while and said, "What Black Star has achieved in this battle is very shocking, but since we're involved in it and know the details, we know that although Black Star is not as strong as the outside world says he is, he's still very strong. His raw strength is not the main issue; it's the fact that his combat strategy almost has no weaknesses. His indestructible body made up for the biggest weakness of a Mechanic, and with the help of the Spacetime Amber, his actual combat capabilities far exceed the level he's at. It's tough to judge… From this incident onward, we'll have to look at Black Star in a new light. He has two states, normal and explosive, the latter being on an entirely different level to the former.
"Although Black Star burned his potential this time, since he can burn it the first time, he will be able to burn it again. Among all Beyond Grade As, not many can guarantee a win against Black Star during his explosive state. Therefore, it's best not to push him into that situation."
After hearing this, the church superiors exchanged looks.
Well, you're basically telling us not to mess with Black Star, aren't you?
On the other side, the Federation of Light also hosted a similar conference. The atmosphere was completely different from the Arcane Church—it was extremely serious and grave.
President Bader looked around and said with a serious tone, "A total of three Beyond Grade As are in the dynasty's hands. Who can tell me how it ended up like this? Which one of you can give me an explanation?"
The remote projections of the various Beyond Grade As present had no words. They all uncontrollably glanced at the three empty seats.
Bader's mood was as if he had stepped in dog sh*t on the sidewalk.
Before the mission, he felt that this mission would almost certainly be a success. Even if they would not be able to capture Hila, with the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device and six Beyond Grade As, retreating safely would not be a problem at all. However, he had never expected to suffer such a huge loss.
This result made him suspect that something had gone wrong along the way.
Bader turned to look at Sierron and said with a deep voice, "You were the leader of this operation. I had high hopes for you. What do you have to say now?"
Noticing the blame in the President's tone, Sierron said furiously, "It's all because of Kasuyi!"
Hearing this, none of the various federation upper echelons had good looks on their faces.
Back during the Planet Lighthouse battle, the federation had plotted against the church, and now it became the other way round.
Many people felt that they could finally understand how the church felt back then.
This time, Manison calmly said, "The church's interference is an important factor, but the main reason is that Black Star expected this and deliberately used false information of his whereabouts to misguide the outside world, while his main body hid nearby and surprised Sierron and the others. Plus, there's the fact that they could not linger around in enemy territory and could not maximize their strength, which led to them being defeated by Black Star one by one. Don't underestimate a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic."
Bader narrowed his eyes and looked over. "I heard you were involved in this too, and you fought with Gorutan."
"That's right." Manison nodded and did not deny it.
Bader gave him a meaningful look, but he did not continue asking more questions. He changed the topic and said coldly, "The most imminent issue is to negotiate with the dynasty to bail the three Beyond Grade A allies out. Don't mess with Black Star for the time being."
Then, he left the conference immediately. He did not want to see these troubling allies of his at least for today.
In Tarunamir Palace's conference room, Urranrell supported her chin with her crossed hands and looked around at those present.
"The incident has come to an end, you all know the details, tell me your thoughts."
They stayed silent for a while before one upper echelon spoke. "Black Star has dealt with this very beautifully. He exceeded our expectations completely. Currently, we have Beyond Grade A captives as chips, so we have the upper hand in the negotiation. Black Star has displayed his trump card, so we have to judge his strength at a higher level. In my opinion, although we did not start this incident, we should still give Black Star some compensation for him burning his potential, to show him how important he is to us."
"Hmm, not bad."
While responding, Urranrell secretly glanced at the hawk faction's Bekorodi, only to realize Bekorodi's eyes were half-closed. It looked like he did not plan to speak.
Originally, Bekorodi thought that Black Star would have to rely on the dynasty's help to get through this, so he insisted on demanding that Hila join the dynasty. Now, however, Black Star had basically handled the problem all by himself, and the dynasty barely helped at all, so this proposal would no longer make sense.
Furthermore, Han Xiao's achievement had shocked Bekorodi too. All the dynasty's upper echelons valued him much more. In this environment, Bekorodi had nothing to say, so he stayed silent.
Seeing that no one opposed the idea, Urranrell continued. "About compensating Black Star, I plan to carry out a plan… to temporarily open up the selling rights of the Evolutionary Totems."
Many upper echelons' eyes widened in surprise when they heard this.
Very few had expected this and had knowing looks on their faces.
Due to the Evolution Cube, the dynasty was not on good terms with Black Star. There were some cracks in their relationship.
However, through this incident, the dynasty saw Black Star's abilities and decided to take a step back to fix this.
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1060 The Godlike Battle
Bright starlight reflected in Sorokin's pupils through the floor to ceiling windows of the top floor. He stood before the window and looked up at the starry night.
"Gorutan is done for…"
To think that just a few days ago, he had been chattering and laughing with Gorutan in his palace. Sorokin mourned for three seconds.
Although he was mostly just the messenger in this incident, he had still secretly intended to shift the direction of how things played out. However, all plots were shattered by Black Star with pure power. Even he felt a sense of resignation.
"Wasn't able to use Hila to start a conflict, what a shame." Sorokin shook his head. "However, considering that Gorutan is no more, it's not too bad."
Gorutan was a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, and Sorokin had used his own identity as a shareholder to gain protection while strengthening his connection with the Galactic Black Market through Gorutan's routes.
After so many years, Sorokin had already infiltrated the Galactic Black Market using Gorutan's connections. Even if these connections were broken, his business would not be affected much. However, he could not possibly kick Gorutan away after using him.
Due to this incident, he would have one less shareholder to share the dividends with, which would actually save Sorokin some money. Some of his businesses that he had given to Gorutan in the past could now be retrieved and developed as usual. At the same time, he would also be able to slowly chip away Beast Ancestor's organization's main business and their market share.
"Hmm, Gorutan being gone isn't a bad thing for me. Maybe I can use the shareholder position he left behind as a bargaining chip to gain the support of other protectors of the Galactic Black Market and make me a new protector of the Galactic Black Market."
Sorokin narrowed his eyes as he thought about how he could benefit from this.
Although he did work together with Gorutan, business partners were not really on his side in Sorokin's eyes. To him, the relationships he had with these people were purely built on mutual interests. Therefore, he was not sad about Gorutan being gone at all. Rather, he was happy with the fact that he now had one less person to share profits with.
"Nonetheless, Black Star's strength is indeed quite incredible…
"After this, the Crimson Dynasty will likely reevaluate their relationship with Black Star. There's a sixty percent chance they will temporarily put aside any arguments regarding the ownership of the Evolution Cube. They'll then compensate Black Star by opening up the purchasing rights of the totems, bribing his heart and displaying their clear intention of wooing him… Hmm, then my deal with the federation, the church, and the dynasty's hawk faction can be put aside. It's time to stop interfering with the Black Star Army's businesses."
The Limitless Financial Group had made deals with multiple parties before starting to disrupt the Black Star Army's businesses. The core reason was the Evolutionary Totems.
The federation and the church wanted to pressure the dynasty in various ways to force them to open the purchasing rights of the totems, so they wanted to influence the dynasty through Black Star. The dynasty's hawk faction's goal was to pressure Black Star and convince him to exchange the Evolution Cube for other Universal Treasures. If the dynasty opened up the purchasing rights of the totems, this problem would be solved instantly. Thus, the Limitless Financial Group would have no reason to continue pressuring the Black Star Army.
Other than these considerations, Sorokin also planned to stay low for some time.
Black Star had achieved something that was more than enough to be written down in history; now would be the time his influence was at its peak. If the Limitless Financial Group acted too out of line, Black Star would most likely target them even more. Hence, keeping a low profile would not be bad.
Sorokin did not want to make things ugly. After all, Black Star was the local dragon of the Flickering World. Small conflicts would still be fine, but it would not be pretty if things escalated.
If Black Star used his explosive abilities again, even he would have to face him with all his strength. He did not want to expose his strength and lose his camouflage as someone 'weak' and 'fragile'.
"Hmm, Traveler too…" Sorokin's eyes flickered. "It's best to get rid of him."
"Didn't expect Black Star to eliminate Gorutan so decisively. Looks like my reminder was part of the reason…"
Somewhere within the free competition zone, Secret Master looked at the news playing on the communicator and frowned.
Like Gorutan, he had been a protector of the Galactic Black Market for many years. The two of them had many conflicts both on the surface and secretly. He understood Gorutan's strength and knew that he was no match for him, or the one taking the position as the Limitless Financial Group shareholder would not have been Gorutan.
Seeing that Gorutan had been eliminated by Black Star, Secret Master was shocked while at the same time felt complicated about losing an old rival.
Of course, feelings were one thing. If anyone wanted to bail Gorutan out, he would be the first to oppose it.
After some time, Secret Master adjusted his mindset and started thinking about how he could benefit from this.
"The organization left behind by Beast Ancestor is a huge chunk of meat. It's best to share it to make my own organization stronger. Hmm, among those offspring of his, there seem to be some who are quite talented. I can make them work under me… If I take them to see the Beast Ancestor's specimen, it will probably be very fun…"
Thinking about that, Secret Master could not help but smile.
"Black Star did something huge this time. It'd be best to keep in contact with him in the future. Black Star will lead the shared front of the Beyond Grade As. I should pay more attention to this matter."
Somewhere in the Constellation Corridor, a dynasty patrol ship was slowly moving.
In a cabin, a dynasty male wearing a low-grade officer uniform leaned on the railing. He held a communicator and watched it with a naive smile.
This person was very muscular. He looked ordinary and friendly, without the special position marking on his uniform. It would be very hard for someone to think that this was a Grade C Super combatant of the Pugilist class.
This time, a few colleagues doing the daily patrolling walked over and saw this buff man. Someone yelled, "Yo, Karlot, what are you watching that made you smile so brightly?"
"Ah, I'm watching the news." Karlot turned around and smiled.
This person was the Beyond Grade A potential stock Han Xiao had once paid attention to, a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist of the dynasty in his previous life.
More than twenty years ago, he was still a child who was studying in the dynasty's Super Academy and had yet to even awaken his class. Now that more than twenty years had passed, he had turned from a frank child to a frank adult who was just Grade C. His growth could not be considered fast; it was mediocre.
Due to Han Xiao's interference, his growth took a different path from before but still had the same overall effect. Karlot still joined the dynasty military after graduating, and after ten years or so, he was still a low-grade combatant who was rarely promoted if at all.
This time, a few colleagues of his approached and saw the news about Han Xiao on the communicator.
"His Excellency Black Star? Ha, as expected!" a colleague joked. "Sigh, sadly, you know Black Star, but Black Star doesn't know you, his top fan."
"He does know me. When I was young, His Excellency Black Star once personally tried to recruit me. He…"
Before Karlot finished his sentence, his colleagues were already laughing out loud.
"Hahaha, you're at it again!"
"Keep going, don't stop."
"The legendary man with so much talent that even Black Star personally tried to recruit… Poah, haha, I can't do this. Let me laugh a while longer!"
Seeing this, Karlot was not angry at all. He only scratched his head and smiled with resignation.
Ever since he came into contact with Han Xiao when he was a kid, he had been paying attention to anything related to Han Xiao in the news. In time, Han Xiao had become his idol. A colleague had once asked him the reason, so he told the truth. However, to his surprise, no one believed him, which made him the king of jokes among his colleagues.
Black Star would personally try to recruit an ordinary Grade C dynasty officer?
Who would believe that?
Position depended on strength. Even though Han Xiao had once personally tried to recruit him, more than twenty years had passed, and Karlot's growth had proved to not match the word 'genius'. This incident also got forgotten and not written in his resume. He had no intention of proving it to his colleagues. He did not care if others believed him, and he did not mind being made fun of.
At the start, due to Black Star, the school had high hopes for him. However, after they realized he had ordinary talent, they gave up on him. Nonetheless, Karlot was not affected by it, nor was he in a hurry to prove himself. All he did was slowly and patiently train while enjoying the process.
Throughout the years, even Karlot occasionally wondered if Black Star had made a mistake back then. However, this did not trouble him.
The disappointment and derision of others had little effect on him, and he did not think it was something worth getting angry over.
If he was destined to be ordinary, he would embrace it. He focused on the things he wanted to do; there was no need to force others to look up to him. This had always been the way Karlot lived his life.
Shaking his head with resignation, Karlot ignored his colleagues who were laughing and looked at the communicator again. Seeing Han Xiao in the papers, he smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Galaxy Calendar Year 730, February 18th. This was a day noted in history.
On this day, Black Star fought a battle in the Flickering World that could rarely happen even every hundred years. Initially, the church and the federation's assassination mission for Hila might have become the fuse to cause the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations to erupt, but Black Star singlehandedly extinguished its flames and caused a sensation!
This news even surpassed the Flickering World. Even the competition and fighting stopped temporarily. The various organizations inside the free competition zone all maintained a low profile to see how things would go from there.
Countless galactic residents knew that Black Star was a top tier individual in the universe, but as a 'newbie' who had only appeared a few decades prior, Han Xiao did not achieve a lot of notable things. In terms of his reputation, there was still quite a difference between him and Manison, Kasuyi, and those senior peak Beyond Grade As.
This news, however, refreshed the image countless people had of him once again. His reputation universally skyrocketed.
What happened on this day was given a nickname by the outside world—Black Star's Godlike Battle—which surpassed all his past achievements and became the most notable deed on his resume.
At the same time, the Wayne Card company once again made an announcement to drastically buff Black Star's card in the next version, while at the same time introducing the memorial card sets with the 'Black Star's Godlike Battle' theme. They were quick and familiar with benefiting from what was popular at the time.
The other neutral Beyond Grade As were shocked by Black Star's achievements. Thinking of what had happened to Gorutan, more people further confirmed the strategy to not become Black Star's enemy but become his ally…
While the incident was brewing and countless people were paying attention to the Black Star Army, Han Xiao returned right back to Black Star Palace and announced to the outside world that he would be resting for some time.
Within Black Star Palace, Han Xiao did not chat much with the various officers, only greeting them simply before he quickly hurried back to his personal training location. He then closed the gate and locked himself inside.
Feidin and Nero had been present earlier, and Han Xiao had already rubbed them.
Inside the room, he opened the mission list with his hands covered in luck, took a deep breath, and prayed.
After praying silently for some time, Han Xiao then clicked the 'complete' option on [Rescue Hila].
[Rescue Hila] completed!
You have received 92 Billion EXP, 4 Random Rewards, and 1 Blank Character Summon Card.
You have received 1 Universe Legendary Point.
Universe Legendary Point: Godlike Battle—You single-handedly fought twelve enemies and achieved a result that shocked the entire universe. From this point onward, your name shall be written into history and mentioned along with the strongest group of people in history. Your name will get passed on even if stars shift and seas dry up, as one of the symbols of peak individual greatness!
Han Xiao was not surprised. He rubbed his hands and looked at the following notification.
There were four Unknown Character Summon Cards. Given the fact that so many people participated in the battle, he did not know what he could get either.
If he got those weak ones, it would clearly not be good, but if he got a Character Summon Card of someone strong, the chance of it having a powerful ability would also be much greater.
Having looked at the notification, Han Xiao's eyes sparkled with surprise.
You have received [Character Summon Card: Kasuyi]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Sierron]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Gorutan]!
You have received [Character Summon Card: Hila]!
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Character Summon Card—'Void Overlord' Kasuyi: [Artificial Psychic Current—Frenzy Tide]
By using Psychic attack on a large area, creates a long term aggressive Psychic Current that can be controlled in simple ways. Deals damage instances to all living creatures in the affected area. Damage taken will be judged three times every second. Basic damage each damage instance: (INTMYS)*1.8. 170% Psychological Resistance penetration, a chance to give the target a random negative mind state. Uses: 0/2.
Character Summon Card—'Star Shatterer' Sierron: [Sixteen Arms—Shattering Fists]
Single target melee range ability. Through quick consecutive attacks, send highly condensed Pugilist flames into the target's body through a special method, shattering the target's atom structure instantly. The target's body will be annihilated. One Lethal Judge will be carried out, depending on the difference between the user and the target's level, health, Energy Level, STR, END, and LUK. If the judgement fails, deals 500,000–800,000 True Damage to the target. Uses: 0/2.]
Character Summon Card—"Beast Ancestor" Gorutan: [Body of the Beast Ancestor]
20% STR, 20%DEX, 40% END, 300% Pugilist Flame damage. Regenerates 2.5% of maximum health every second. Duration: 30 minutes. Uses: 0/2.
Character Summon Card—"Goddess of Death" Hila: [Death Rejection—Awakening]
When your health reaches zero, you will be immune to this death and instantly recover 25% – 50% of your health while refreshing your status. This can be gifted to another being, but it is only effective once on the same target. Uses: 0/6
"Woah, these are nice!"
Han Xiao was overjoyed after reading through all the effects of these Character Summon Cards.
The quality of them was extremely high. They certainly matched up to those peak Beyond Grade As and the owner of a Super High Risk Esper Ability.
Kasuyi's Character Summon Card was a pure attack ability with good base damage. Han Xiao's Intelligence and Mystery totaled about 30,000, so the basic damage every instance would be about 50,000. Three instances every second meant that this ability would deal about 150,000 damage every second. The 170% Psychological Resistance penetration meant that it would drastically reduce the effectiveness of the target's psychological barrier. If it was used on a weaker target, the damage might even be close to becoming True Damage.
If it was just a one-time attack, it would not be too big a deal. The powerful part of this Character Summon Card was that it would create a Psychic Current that would not easily dissipate. With good enough control, it would become a large-area AOE attack that dealt constant damage over time, which would add up to an enormous amount of damage.
Sierron's Character Summon Card was also an attack ability. Unlike Kasuyi's AOE ability, this was a single target ability. Not mentioning how powerful the Lethal Judge mechanic was, the True Damage dealt even if that failed was still very high. If this dealt the maximum 800,000 True Damage every single time, just two to three hits would send Psyker to see God.
However, this would not be effective against targets who had True Damage Immunity. If Sierron used this on Han Xiao, it would be the same as a tickle.
Han Xiao nodded. "The single target damage a peak Pugilist can deal is still quite incredible for normal Beyond Grade As."
Gorutan's Character Summon Card was an overall powerful buff that was very suitable for Pugilists. It was also quite good for Han Xiao, since it gave attribute bonuses and bonus health regeneration.
The one that surprised Han Xiao the most was Hila's Character Summon Card. This was the upgraded effect of the [Death Immunity] talent, which was basically a chance to revive. Even though he was already extremely tanky, this Character Summon Card still gave his life another layer of security.
The shocking part was, this could be gifted to someone else, so that person would be immune to death one time as well.
Character Summon Cards were created from the characters, meaning that Hila had this ability. However, Han Xiao had seen her interface before, and she did not have the ability to give others a one-time use Death Immunity in the past.
"Could it be that this battle forced her potential out and made her awaken a new way to use her Esper Ability?"
This seemed quite possible.
During this battle, Hila had built a link with Aurora that ignored distance. Maybe this was partly the reason this ability appeared, which would explain why Hila did not have this ability in his previous life.
Outsiders could only accept this ability once and could not be revived by Hila indefinitely. Nonetheless, it would still mean one extra life, which was amazing for the Black Star Army's officers.
"I used quite a number of Character Summon Cards. There're still uses for Psyker, Ames, Mechanic Emperor, and Silver Shadow. The ones that are finished are only Perfect Mechanical Sense and Polar Channel Flow. I shall use the Blank Character Summon Card this time to restock the Perfect Mechanical Sense, so in the end, all I spent was Heber's Character Summon Card. Receiving four more has made up for that."
Han Xiao had a joyful expression on his face.
Character Summon Cards were just the appetizers, yet those already made him gain back the cost of the explosive power he used. The chance to draw abilities from the bonus mission was the main dish.
He suppressed his excitement and looked at the notifications on the interface.
Bonus mission requirements have been completed.
You have received bonus reward: Randomly draw an ability/talent from each Beyond Grade A captive.
He had captured five people this time—Tolaen, Womre, Jackornitz, Hades, and Gorutan—who were spread across Mage, Mechanic, Pugilist, and Psychic.
Although their average strength was not as high as those whose Character Summon Cards he had received, the abilities he would obtain would be permanent.
There were two noobs among these five, but at least they were Beyond Grade As, so there was a chance he would get something good.
"I have to leave the best to the last."
Han Xiao decided to start drawing from the weakest.
He hesitated between Tolaen and Hades for a while before going with Hades.
Note: Hades is a Psychic. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.
Randomizing… complete.
Please select one from the five options below as the reward:
1. [Will Resistance]—Ability: 35% Abnormal Psychological State Resistance. Cost: 0. Cooldown: 160s.
2. [Calm and Relaxed]—Talent: 200 INT, 200 MYS.
3. [Energy Control Proficiency]—Talent: -25% Energy Cost.
4. [Psychological Barrier Enhancement]—Talent: 120% Psychological Resistance, 50% Abnormal Psychological State Resistance.
5. [Squeezing Style Energy Recovery]—Ability: By spending 20,000 – 50,000 health, recover the same amount of Energy and temporarily reduce Energy Cost by 15%. Cooldown: 330s.
Hades was a Psychic, so most of the options were related to psychic, which was expected.
Not receiving any powerful talents, Han Xiao was not discouraged and took it as a consolation prize.
He picked [Psychological Barrier Enhancement] without hesitation, which was not too bad.
Throughout the years, Han Xiao had been consciously making up for his weakness in the psychological field and had already obtained quite a high resistance. However, when he saw Kasuyi's Character Summon Card earlier, he knew that his current Psychological Resistance was far from enough for someone like Kasuyi.
Since he had obtained a decent new Psychological Resistance talent, it was like filling up a gap for him.
After adjusting his thoughts, Han Xiao then continued to draw the next ability.
Note: Tolaen is a Mage. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.
Randomizing… complete.
Please select one from the five options below as the reward:
1. [High Level Energy Senses]—Talent: Increase your senses of all kinds of energy. You will be able to see more details the others aren't able to see.
2. [Magic Insulation]—Ability: When receiving magic attacks, the actual damage you receive will be decreased by 22%. Magic type controlling abilities last 17% shorter on you.
3. [Super Overload]—Talent: Your body can endure an even greater load. Some buffs will last longer on you. 1,500 END, 15% maximum health.
4. [Skilled Melee Combat Techniques]—Talent: You know a ton of melee combat techniques. Your attacks will occasionally deal damage in an area. 34% Melee Damage, 20% Critical Rate, 28% Block Chance, 23% Dodge Chance, 300 DEX.
5. [Lightning Control]—Ability: Drastically increase Lightning and Electromagnetic Affinity.
"… Well, I guess a Demon Race Mage who doesn't put points into melee combat isn't a proper Mage."
Han Xiao's mouth contorted slightly.
Among the five options, [High Level Energy Senses] was basically an ability all Beyond Grade A Mages had to have, which was what made them able to capture any strange movements of energy. [Magic Insulation] and [Super Overload] were abilities only buff-type Mages like Tolaen had. His body had to endure the load from a large number of enchantments so that the buffs applied on him would last longer.
Without much hesitation, Han Xiao picked [Super Overload] directly. This was the most suitable for him, and its numbers were quite impressive.
The 1,500 Endurance points made up for the shortage in his Endurance. He just had to put some of his Free Attribute Points into Endurance for it to be above 15,000, and he would be able to receive one more God's Trait Transformation Point every Promotion.
After this battle, Han Xiao had noticed that the important factor that made the difference between peak Beyond Grade As was the extent of their God's Trait Transformation. Although his way of leveling up was different from the others, more God's Trait Transformation Points would always be better.
Han Xiao drew from Womre third, which gave him something quite great.
[Cell Activity Expansion]—Talent: Through training, you have enhanced the activity of your cells, increasing the quantity of energy your cells can contain and efficiently make use of. With your character's level increasing, your energy will gradually increase.
Lv1 – Lv100: 0.5% maximum energy, -1% Energy Cost, 2% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency every 10 levels; Lv100 – Lv200: 0.8% maximum energy, -1.5% Energy Cost, 4% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency every 10 levels; Above Lv200: 1.2% maximum energy, -2% Energy Cost, 6% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency every 10 levels.
Current total bonus: 27.4% maximum energy, -49% Energy Cost, 132% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency.
Han Xiao had his eyes on this ability instantly, mainly because of the increase in maximum energy.
His current energy was about 180,000, so his maximum energy would increase by about 50,000 instantly with this talent, and this was something he was short of.
Not only did this increase the limits of his health-energy conversion, it also increased his Energy Level by one rank, giving him a new level of bonus, which was basically the same as a few thousand Attribute Points.
This talent was a percentage bonus, so it had growth potential. To him, this was as powerful as half a Molding Talent.
Furthermore, cell activity was related to life span, so maybe this talent had the hidden effect of increasing his life span by one second.
The fourth target was Jackornitz. With the same class, there would be more abilities to choose from.
Mechanical Pugilists preferred to fight using supportive machinery, and they were good at the techniques of using those 'tools', so they had quite a few special talents.
The five options he got all had quite high quality. Most gave Machinery Affinity bonuses. Han Xiao hesitated for a while and made his choice.
[Machinery Control Master]—Talent: Machines that are enhanced by your Mechanical Force will receive the following bonuses: 120% Melee Damage, 24% Ranged Damage, 35% mechanical suit performance.
Although this talent was a Mechanic class talent, only Mechanical Pugilists would be able to awaken it usually, but Han Xiao had now obtained it.
Many Mechanical Pugilists' abilities directly increased their efficiency in using their machines. This ability gave him a huge boost, and the melee damage of his mechanical army rocketed.
Furthermore, Han Xiao had tested it before and found out that the Mechanical Deity was a special assembled machine, but as its core had to be his main body or his Lord's Avatar, it was considered a mechanical suit by the interface. This meant that it would receive mechanical suit related bonuses.
This way, the actual power of the Mechanical Deity would be increased drastically. It would have strength close to having two Perfect Mechanical Senses stacked together!
"This is good stuff. If I can get all those special talents of Mechanical Pugilists and Cannon Masters, the power of my mechanical army will probably multiply many times." Han Xiao was drooling at the thought of it.
He then adjusted his emotions, took a deep breath, and clicked on the last target.
Tip: Gorutan is a Pugilist. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.
Randomizing… complete.
Please select one from the five options below as the reward:
1. [Energy Shock]—Ability: By using energy, shock the target and make the target enter a short stunned state.
2. [Micro-Molting]—Ability: Refresh yourself, dispel all debuffs. Cooldown: 400s.
3. [Energy Recycle Stream]—Talent: When melee attacks land, while dealing the same damage, you can recycle 40% of the energy used in your attacks.
4. [Block Penetration]—Talent: Even when the target has blocked your melee attack, they will still receive 30% – 80% damage.
5. [Polar Channel Flow—Blood Rage]—Ability: Through burning your health, you turn it into a special kind of blood energy. This increases your basic attributes, attack, Critical Rate, and ability strength, depending on the health you burn after every judgement. Duration equals the amount of time you burn your health for. After this ability ends, you'll enter a state of weakness that lasts three times the duration of this ability.
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Having seen the five abilities drawn from Gorutan, Han Xiao was slightly stunned.
"Polar Channel Flow?"
There were infinite Pugilist styles in the universe, and the Polar Channel Flow style was mainly focused on explosive abilities, which reflected the horrible and harsh environments in the past. Of course, it might also be that the creator of Polar Channel Flow simply liked the style.
High-level Pugilists all mastered multiple styles, so it was normal for Gorutan to know Polar Channel Flow.
Back then, the ability from Heber's Character Summon Card was [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive, while this ability from Gorutan was Blood Rage. The effects of the two were quite similar, but the former exchanged potential for strength while the latter burned current health.
To others, although the explosive state given by Cellular Overdrive would damage one's potential, it did not have any immediate side effects and only made one stronger for the time being.
Comparatively, Blood Rage would burn up one's health continuously. If the user's regenerative ability could not keep up, the user would be heavily injured if this ability was activated for an extended period. This was not great for long duration battles, and the enemies might notice its side effects and deliberately play for time.
Han Xiao thought that this was probably the reason Gorutan did not use this on him. After all, he was known for being amazing at drawn-out battles.
"All things considered, this ability is perfect for me."
Han Xiao's eyes were sparkling.
His regenerative ability could even be considered everlasting. Even Beast Ancestor could not compare to him. Therefore, burning his health was nothing. If he used it well, this ability could totally become a stable method to obtain explosive strength.
In comparison, [Micro-Molting] and [Block Penetration] were good but not as valuable as Blood Rage.
"I've used up the one-time Character Summon Card for Cellular Overdrive, but now I've obtained a method to gain explosive strength stably. Tsk tsk, nice…" Han Xiao was overjoyed.
Even though the explosive strength granted by Blood Rage was slightly lower than Cellular Overdrive, it was completely acceptable.
At this time, all Han Xiao wanted to do was raise his arms and praise Feidin.
… Oh, and Nero too.
You have received [Polar Channel Flow—Blood Rage]!
The new abilities obtained from the five Beyond Grade As immediately took effect on Han Xiao's body, changing every one of his cells.
Hu!
Immense pain flooded his entire body, only dissipating after quite some time.
Han Xiao had already gotten used to this pain. He took a deep breath and sensed the changes in his body.
Hmm, I clearly have more energy, which is the effects of Womre's [Cell Activity Expansion]. My physique is stronger too, like I've taken off some invisible weights. This should be thanks to Tolaen's [Super Overload]. My mind feels slightly stronger, thanks to Hades' [Psychological Barrier Enhancement]. My Mechanical Force feels sharper and easier to control. This is Jackornitz's [Machinery Control Master] taking effect…
Han Xiao sorted out the changes in his body and felt refreshed.
A new notification popped up on the interface, a new dungeon was created from [Hila Rescue Warfare]. Without even having to look at it, Han Xiao knew that the level of this was much higher than even the Planet Lighthouse battle, which was far beyond the players' capabilities at the moment.
Han Xiao then looked at the mission list. [Rescue Hila] had already disappeared, meaning that all the rewards were given.
Out of curiosity, Han Xiao tried using [Polar Channel Flow—Blood Rage]. This ability gave him the freedom to decide how much health he wanted to burn without an upper limit, only a minimum of 0.1% of maximum health every second. Therefore, he turned it on with the lowest requirement.
Boom!
A blood colored ring of light suddenly blossomed in front of Han Xiao's chest and expanded like ripples before him.
The next moment, he felt that all the blood in his body started boiling!
Bright red vapor sprayed out from all over his body like flames made of blood. The reactions were very drastic. By just roughly looking at it, one might mistake it to be red Pugilist flames.
This blood red vapor was the blood energy obtained from burning his health. In Han Xiao's senses, it was as easy to control as his limbs. Masses and masses of new energy kept appearing in his body as his health burned.
He took out a mirror and looked at himself. The vibe he gave off was completely different compared to the calm and tough vibe he usually exuded. With the blood vapor surrounding him, he looked fearsome, evil, and savage. However, his emotions were unaffected.
Han Xiao then looked at the interface and pondered.
"The bonuses of Blood Rage are mainly focused on damage output and ability strength. It's a more aggressive bonus compared to the comprehensive bonuses Cellular Overdrive gave."
He then turned off Blood Rage, and a sense of weakness immediately appeared, lasting for a little while before disappearing.
In order to familiarize himself with the new abilities, he tested them one after another before stopping and nodding with satisfaction.
"Tons of EXP, four Random Rewards, one Blank Character Summon Card, four powerful Character Summon Cards, and five great abilities and talents. Excellent."
Han Xiao was very pleased.
The difficulty of the mission was over the top, but the rewards were rather generous as well. His strength increased by quite an extent, and he obtained a few new trump cards.
Suppressing his excitement, Han Xiao started thinking about the real impact of this incident.
The change in impression the various organizations had of him would be none other than to take him more seriously. During his trip back, there were more organizations that had come to fawn over him. Some organizations that had been plotting secretly against him had also stopped, such as the Limitless Financial Group.
Overall, the goal of establishing fear and respect was greatly achieved. Han Xiao's reputation was at its peak, and the Black Star Army's position became even firmer. Han Xiao's planned goal was achieved.
Including the players, more people requested to become allies of the Black Star Army. The officers who were in charge of this department had been working overtime continuously to settle these matters. The number of members of the army was projected to see a sharp growth in the time to come.
Han Xiao nodded. "The federation and the church are probably discussing the matter of exchanging captives now. I'll obtain a large amount of resources very soon."
Of course, he had no plans to keep these four Beyond Grade A allies of Universal Civilizations himself. They were hot potatoes that he could not make use of, so giving them away in exchange for more profit was the best solution. However, this time, he was not going to easily give them away. He had to make things difficult for the church and the federation, to make them publicly apologize before he even considered giving those Beyond Grade As back.
"Speaking of which, Kasuyi's proposal is not completely out of the question. Should I sell the federation's people to the church and let the two of them fight with each other?" Han Xiao scratched his chin and pondered.
Gorutan, of course, did not receive such a treatment. Han Xiao planned to keep him as part of his collection.
He also paid attention to Beast Ancestor's organization. After their boss was done for, as expected, the organization became chaotic, splitting into many factions. The internal conflict was at its peak. At the same time, there were also many organizations outside that had their eyes on the 'inheritance' of Beast Ancestor, prepared to take a bite of it anytime.
"Should I participate too? After all, I'm the one who eliminated Beast Ancestor."
The possible responses the various organizations might have appeared in his brain one after another, quickly getting analyzed and classified. This time, a flash of insight crossed his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was doable.
Han Xiao's eyes slowly became brighter as a smirk appeared on his face.
"If the dynasty's response is just as I expect, I should be able to look for Sorokin after some time and get some things from him…"
Earlier, Han Xiao had announced to the outside world that he would be resting. One reason was to make the so-called 'burned of his potential' more convincing, and another was to spare some free time to do some stuff.
There were quite a few things he had to do. First, he had to deal with the impact of this incident—dealing with the captives, negotiating with the dynasty, splitting up Beast Ancestor's inheritance, and so on all fell under this classification.
Second, he planned to use the time to repair the mechanical army, which would take quite a lot of time. He planned to build Emperor's Cape's too, as well as improve the Mysterious Energy Host.
Then there was the kindness Manison and Kasuyi had shown during this incident. Using the enormous force of the Black Star Army in the Flickering World, he would start building a communication channel for the united front of the Beyond Grade As.
Last but not the least, he needed to also make a trip to the secondary dimension with Ames and capture Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy's old buddy, Holy Light Particle.
"Looks like I'm going to be rather busy. The good thing is, after this battle, I won't have to worry about the growth of the Black Star Army for quite a long time, which will give me a lot of time to do my own things."
After doing some planning, Han Xiao arranged his thoughts and walked out of the room.
After returning and touching Feidin, he had headed right to the training ground to receive the reward and had yet to talk to his many officers. He now walked toward his office and told Phillip to gather the core officers.
When Han Xiao walked into his office, everyone was already there, including Ames.
Technically, this was an internal affair of the army, and outsiders should not be allowed. However, Ames was an exception, so no one was stupid enough to stop her from doing so.
"You've finally decided to come back?" Ames leaned on the wall and looked at Han Xiao with a faint smile.
"Ahem, I had important matters to deal with," Han Xiao replied with resignation.
He had invited Ames to the Black Star Palace only as an insurance. He did not expect it to force Traveler to back away.
"Don't forget what you promised me." Ames' brows rose slightly.
"When I'm done handling the matters on hand, we'll go travelling." Han Xiao nodded.
"Hmm, I shall not disturb you guys then."
Ames glanced at Hila before leaving the room. Although no one had chased her away, she knew that it was not polite to stay there and listen to the internal affairs of the Black Star Army.
Han Xiao sat on his seat, looked at Hila first, and said, "After some time, you'll have to return to exploring on the frontlines. I'll build something new for you, the mechanical suit that sent you back here. With that, you won't have to worry about getting ambushed or surrounded."
"Okay." Hila had no objections.
"Has the dynasty contacted you recently?"
"No." Hila shook her head.
"Then let me say this first. If they use me as a reason to convince you to join the dynasty, come and discuss with me first. Don't agree right away."
"Don't worry, I know."
"By the way, how's your connection with Aurora?" Han Xiao asked curiously.
"It's stable." Hila paused for a moment. "But I can still feel the existence of that special secondary dimension… Can you take me along to travel the secondary dimension this time too? I want to take a look at it."
"Probably not this time. Someone has to be with the army while I'm gone." Han Xiao shook his head. "I'll go with you next time."
Hila nodded in agreement with a slight smirk. She seemed to be in a good mood.
After chattering for a while, Han Xiao looked at the other officers. He glanced at Feidin with eyes filled with satisfaction, and he only stopped smiling after Feidin became clearly uncomfortable. He then told the others to give their reports.
Sylvia, Herlous, Reynold, and the others summarized the recent business situation. During the reporting process, quite a number of Calamity Grade officers secretly sized Han Xiao up. Han Xiao's recent achievement had shocked many officers too. Many of them had even more respect for him.
After listening to the reports, Han Xiao nodded. "The situation is going extremely well right now. After this, the Black Star Army will have an even easier time in the Flickering World. There won't be anyone casually testing us. You guys, go do some recruitment. The army might see some excellent business opportunities in some time, be prepared…"
Han Xiao talked about the things to pay attention to and do for a while. Seeing that everyone nodded while listening, he suddenly thought of Evans.
Evans had also come back with the spaceship that transported the Throne. Han Xiao had told Phillip to sort his accommodation and had kept him hidden.
Before Evans, his secret weapon, grew to a certain point, Han Xiao was not going to expose him to others.
Han Xiao leaned back in his chair. "That's all. If there are no questions, you guys can get back to your tasks."
"By the way," Sylvia said, "there's one thing that needs your attention. A star director hopes to see you."
Han Xiao was surprised.
Star director? Who? Manison?
Seeing Han Xiao's confused expression, Sylvia explained, "He's the renowned master-level director, Beny Travol. He is hoping to get your permission to shoot a documentary about you."
"… That's new."
Han Xiao immediately became interested.
In the galactic society that had no shortage of material supplies, the influence of the entertainment industry was humongous. A famous galactic celebrity might have quintillions of fans. For example, Feidin had been considered a local celebrity before.
Galactic star directors such as Beny Travol had extremely high popularity and influence, as well as extraordinary positions in the industry. They were all important people even on the scale of the entire universe.
However, the people in the entertainment industry and someone in the military industry like him were in two completely different worlds that hardly had any connections, which made Han Xiao wonder why this person came asking to shoot a documentary of him. Could this be the effect of his Universe Legendary Points?
Han Xiao contemplated for a while. "Okay then, I'll meet him."
"Okay, I'll contact him personally." Sylvia nodded.
Han Xiao then glanced at everyone. Seeing that no one spoke, he said, "If there's nothing else, we'll call this a day."
At this time, Hila suddenly thought of something. She took out a small box, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Han Xiao with her beautiful fingers.
Han Xiao looked down at it. This was a red box with ribbons, like a gift. Confused, he looked at Hila.
"This is…"
"Today is your birthday. This is your birthday present, an amulet. Remember to wear it," Hila said softly.
Han Xiao was surprised.
This is only February. Today isn't my birthday. It's October… Oh, I get it. This should be the birthday of my original identity. Back on Planet Aquamarine, the Germinal Organization definitely investigated me. Hila probably saw the birth certificate of my original identity.
Understanding that, Han Xiao swallowed the words he was about to say back down. He accepted the gift and said with a smile, "Thanks, didn't think you'd remember."
"I remember everything about you."
Hila closed her eyes and left the room before Han Xiao could reply.
The officers around looked back and forth between the two of them with meaningful looks in their eyes. They then left one after another.
Han Xiao was the only one left in the room. He carefully opened the gift box and looked at what was inside.
A tiny dark gold coin lay quietly in the box, hooked on a thin silver chain. It was a necklace.
Han Xiao picked up this coin and suddenly felt a special kind of energy on it. It had both Hila's Power of the Dead energy and Aurora's Esper Ability energy.
With a flash of insight, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at Hila's Character Summon Card.
If I'm guessing correctly, this coin is a carrier of some kind of ability, and this ability is probably the reawakening ability that Hila just obtained… No wonder she called it an amulet. Basically, she gave me a revive token.
The Character Summon Card did not display the limitations and cost for Hila to use this ability, but Han Xiao was certain that Hila would not be able to casually just gift this ability to anyone. It was most likely quite costly.
Han Xiao wore the amulet on his neck, stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the scenery outside Black Star Palace.
If not because Hila suddenly brought it up, he would totally have forgotten the meaning of 'birthdays'. In all the years he had spent in Galaxy, this was the first time someone had given him a birthday present.
Although the birthday of this body was not the same as his own birthday, Han Xiao still felt nostalgic and emotional.
Memories often would not stop coming up once reminded. The images of the past kept appearing in his mind like it was lifetimes ago.
"Birthday…"
A soft sigh sounded in the room.
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In the Emerald Star Cluster was one of Beast Ancestor's stronghold planets.
Two fleets with the same Beast Ancestor symbol stood against each other in space. The atmosphere was tense.
The situation was clear—the smaller fleet wanted to leave the stronghold and was stopped by the guarding fleet.
Inside the command ship of the guarding fleet, Byram looked at the fleeing fleet in front of him that was prepared to start a fight anytime with complicated feelings. He then said in the public channel, "Jotina, do you know what you're doing? This is defection!"
As soon as his sentence ended, a female creature appeared on the screen before him. She had light-brown skin, a lustful face, and black beastly patterns at the tips of her eyes and her temples, as well as white lines on her cheeks in a pattern like cat whiskers. She looked similar to a leopard. Her clothing was wild and unrestrained, showing her astonishing body shape and beauty.
At this point, the face of this woman was filled with a firmness.
"Gorutan is done. We've made up our minds. If you want to stop us, you can try."
Looking at the woman on the screen, Byram sighed in his mind.
This person's name was Jotina. She had some beast bloodline and was one of the Four Admirals under Beast Ancestor's command, like the Vanguard Officials and Black Star Guards. She was an ace combatant who stood at the top among her brothers and sisters. She was also a Beyond Grade A seed. Given her wild personality, quite a number of brothers and sisters were afraid of her.
However, a lot of people knew that Jotina was in the rebel faction and had always hated Gorutan. Gorutan, however, did not care if his children hated him. His offspring were just tools to him. As long as he was alive, he did not fear anyone escaping his control.
He had maintained control of his organization with his own strength, and once he was gone, it instantly started cracking up like rats leaving a sinking ship.
On this day, Jotina brought a big batch of rebel faction members and planned to leave the Beast Ancestor's organization, hence this confrontation.
Byram was in the neutral faction, so he did not have overwhelming loyalty for Gorutan. He sighed and said, "We're all brothers and sisters. Why fight each other? Father is only captured. He might return in the future. Why not stay and work through this difficult time together?"
"Shut up!" Jotina yelled. "I've been waiting for this day for way too long. If you don't let us go today, don't blame me for not having mercy."
Byram stayed silent. He turned and looked at the enraged expressions of the loyalists, shook his head internally, and ordered, "Let them go."
Without the overwhelming strength of the Beast Ancestor that kept this many people in their place, his organization had absolutely no unity, and everyone had their own plans. Byram was not willing to fight with them.
However, the loyalist faction was not having it. From the way they looked at it, immediately leaving when their father was in trouble was an act of total betrayal that needed punishment.
Although Byram was the commander, many officers did not obey him and suddenly fired, starting a battle.
Battleships were sunk one after another, creating fireworks in the comic space. Calamity Grades dashed about in between the battle and fought each other with no mercy.
After a very long time, the battle finally ended. Tons of battleship wreckages were floating in the cosmic space.
After paying a hefty price, the betraying fleet finally broke away. The loyalist faction also suffered a huge loss. Many officers were killed by Jotina on the spot, so none continued chasing after her.
Without father, there will be other Beyond Grade As who come to get us. These loyalists will be cleaned up sooner or later. I'd better find a way out as soon as possible.
Byram looked at the wreckages and sighed in his mind. He knew that the Beast Ancestor's organization was no more.
Meanwhile…
"We finally got out. They didn't chase us…"
Inside the command ship that was covered in battle scars, Jotina sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. She was exhausted and covered in wounds, blood pooling under her.
She was surrounded by many officers who were defecting with her. After the intense battle earlier, everyone had wounds and was bandaging each other up.
A Calamity Grade officer turned to Jotina after stitching a comrade up. "Big sis, where do we go now?"
Since Jotina was the initiator of this operation and was also the strongest, she was recognized by all as the leader of this defecting team.
"Escaping was just the first step. Don't forget our target. We can't rely only on ourselves; we have to go to a big organization," Jotina said while gasping for air.
"Who should we go to?"
"Whoever that beat up Gorutan." Jotina struggled to get up, looked outside the porthole, and murmured, "Black Star is worth depending on…"
A few days later, outside Black Star Palace…
"I've already disturbed you guys for quite some time. I'll leave today. Thanks for your help."
Silver Shadow stood before his spaceship, nodding to express his appreciation for Han Xiao.
Some time ago, he had used the Evolution Cube and stayed as a guest in the Black Star Army, bonding with Han Xiao. The relationship between them improved quite a bit, from familiar faces to good friends.
After staying for a few days, he still had other things to attend to so he decided to bid farewell today, Han Xiao came to send him off.
"Okay, I won't keep you then. Feel free to come here to play in the future." Han Xiao smiled.
Silver Shadow nodded, shook Han Xiao's hand, led a group of his subordinates onto the ship, and closed the hatch.
The spaceship's thrusters fired up as it sped up and dashed out of the dock, turning into a stream of light and quickly disappearing into space.
Watching the spaceship leave, Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
The time he had spent with Silver Shadow over the past few days had sped up the progress of winning Silver Shadow over. With the favors he owed him, he would be able to at least ride him three more times.
Han Xiao left the dock and returned to his office.
"Phillip, any news from the three Universal Civilizations?"
"Not yet, hum…"
"It's been so many days. It should be time for them to contact me."
Han Xiao shook his head. Over the past few days, he had been waiting for the federation and the church to contact him. It seemed that these two were still considering what attitude they were going to present when contacting him, so no one had called him yet.
During the Planet Lighthouse battle, he had handed over the captives to the dynasty, and the dynasty had negotiated with them. This time, however, he had basically caught all the captives by himself. Plus, he was much stronger. Therefore, Han Xiao told the dynasty that he wanted to negotiate with the federation and the church personally.
At this time, Phillip suddenly paused and reported, "Master, hum… there's a new communication request. It's from the Arcane Church."
Speak of the devil… Han Xiao told Phillip to pick it up.
Very soon, a remote projection appeared in the room. This was a high-ranking official of the church who was in charge of diplomatic matters. He took a bow as soon as he appeared, looking very respectful.
"Your Excellency Black Star, I'm the diplomat of the Arcane Church. First, on behalf of the church, I would like to apologize for this incident…"
"Hmm, let's skip all that and cut to the chase." Han Xiao glared at the church diplomat in front of him and said with a deep voice, "If you want Tolaen back, it depends on how sincere you guys are. I have to emphasize one thing though: the compensation must include a public apology on your side."
The church diplomat blinked a few times and said softly, "That won't be a problem, but we can put aside Tolaen's matter first. I want to talk about the federation's captives…"
Han Xiao raised his brow.
What a surprise. The Arcane Church is in no hurry to bail Tolaen back but instead wants to gain a federation captive first.
Although he could understand the reason behind this, Han Xiao still thought it was quite tragic… for Tolaen.
Shaking his head, Han Xiao said, "The church wants to buy a Beyond Grade A captive of the federation, huh?"
"Not one. The more, the better. I'm sure Kasuyi has spoken to you about this as well. The church wants something to regain the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Your Excellency Black Star, we come with a lot of sincerity this time, and we're willing to pay a high price."
"How high?" Han Xiao raised his brows.
"These are our initial terms."
The diplomat brought up a list and displayed it.
Han Xiao quickly scanned through the list. Not only did the terms include tons of resources compensation, but the church was even willing to use non-strategic Universal Treasures to acquire the captives. The terms were quite generous.
However, he was not going to easily agree. He purposely acted like he was considering for a while. Then, he said slowly, "I'll have to endure pressure from the federation if I sell their captives to you, and this is all you're offering? It doesn't seem sufficient."
"How about you propose the terms, and we can…"
Han Xiao snorted and interrupted him. "Go figure, change the terms till I'm satisfied."
By not being the one stating the terms, he would be able to give the federation and the church a hard time. Otherwise, the two of them might not learn the lesson. Also, it would not be beneficial to public opinion if he easily agreed to their terms.
"Okay then, we'll go back and change the terms. Can I assume that you don't object to selling the federation's captives?" the church's diplomat asked.
"Depends on my mood." Han Xiao did not make a guarantee.
Seeing that Han Xiao was not taking a clear stance, the church diplomat had no choice but to go offline and report the situation to his superiors.
As soon as he disconnected, the communication request from the federation came.
"How coincidental," Han Xiao murmured and picked up the communication.
"Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star, I'm the Federation of Light's…"
"Alright alright, I know who you are. Cut the crap. Show me your terms for bailing the captives."
The federation's diplomat's words were forced right back down his throat, and he had no choice but to obediently show Han Xiao the terms.
After looking through the list, Han Xiao shook his head in his mind.
The price the federation gave was not as high as the church. After all, this was just ordinary bailing for them.
Tsk tsk, cheeky as always, you lost three people, but you don't want to pay a huge price?
In your dreams!
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, tapped the table, and said slowly, "Just now, the Arcane Church contacted me and made an interesting proposal."
"What proposal?"
"They want to buy the Beyond Grade A captives of the federation from me… and they're willing to pay a high price."
Han Xiao gave him a meaningful look.
The federation diplomat was startled and quickly said, "D-Did you agree?"
"Hmm, I'm still considering it. However, the price the church gave was quite tempting."
"You can't just decide to sell the federation's important ally to the church, or…" The federation diplomat was just about to threaten Han Xiao when he suddenly realized that he was facing Black Star, who had just cost them a huge loss, so he quickly changed his tone. "Anyhow, as long as you don't agree to the church's proposal, we will definitely do something."
"That will depend on your sincerity and how high a price are you willing to pay to make me reject the church's offer." Han Xiao smiled.
"Understood… Understood. I'll relay your thoughts to the upper echelons immediately and change the compensation terms."
The federation diplomat wiped off the sweat on his forehead and hastily disconnected.
He knew that Black Star was driving the price up, but there was nothing he could do. Even though he thought he saw through Black Star's intentions, the only thing he could do was to obediently follow it.
After getting rid of these two, Han Xiao leaned back in his chair and smirked.
If this had happened in the past, the risk of doing something like this would have been very high. However, after this battle, he had showcased more than enough strength to be noticed. Only then would the church and the federation be willing to negotiate with him calmly instead of continuing to plot against him.
With these captives in his hands, he had enough leeway to ask for over the top prices. Even though he had made it clear that he wanted the federation and the church to compete with each other, they could do nothing but put up with it.
This feeling of having the upper hand is indeed great… Han Xiao smiled.
While he was pondering, his communicator rang again. It was Sylvia.
"Army Commander, the galactic star director I told you about a few days ago has arrived at Black Star Palace."
"So soon?"
"They were in the Flickering World to begin with. I've already sent someone to receive them. Should I bring them right to the guest room?"
"Hmm, I'll go see him now." Han Xiao stood up.
A civilian spaceship parked at the exterior dock of Black Star Palace, and a group of people walked out from it.
At the front was an old man with a large beard and round head. He clearly gave off a vibe of being wealthy. Like a true artsy type, his long hair was swinging. He looked like a boiled egg with hair.
This person was the Crimson Dynasty-born galactic great director, Beny Travol.
As soon as they disembarked from the spaceship, they looked left and right cautiously and chattered among themselves.
"So, this is the Black Star Army's base. Are all these people mercenaries?"
"They're all looking at us. Keep it down…"
Having heard his assistants were chattering behind him, Beny Travol frowned and softly yelled, "Keep your mouth shut. If you insult Black Star's men, you know what the consequences are."
The others quickly became quiet, looking very cautious.
They had been following Beny Travol for a very long time and were seniors in the entertainment industry. There were people everywhere who wanted to fawn over them. Although they were not considered arrogant, they were still quite proud of themselves.
However, these people did not dare act arrogantly here. The Black Star Army was a top tier armed force that was on a completely different level compared to them. Now that they had entered the headquarters of such a powerful armed force, they naturally felt intimidated.
They knew full well that their influence was nothing compared to someone like this who held real power. Every one of them tucked their tail between their legs and acted humble.
Not long after, a receptionist of the army came and said with a bright smile, "Greetings, Director Beny Travol. Please, follow me. The army commander is waiting for you."
"Okay, thanks for leading the way," Beny Travol replied with a smile.
Seeing this, the assistants around were surprised. They knew their own boss all too well. He was always proud; very rarely did he show such a passionate and fawning smile.
They went all the way to the guest room, walked in, and saw Han Xiao sitting at the main seat. Out of panic, they hastily greeted Han Xiao.
Beny Travol quickly walked toward Han Xiao and extended his hand. "Your Excellency Black Star, thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
"You don't have to be so formal, sit."
Han Xiao shook his hand and invited everyone to sit down.
The group sat down one after another with their back straight and butt only taking up the edge of the seat, looking very cautious.
At the same time, they all stared at Han Xiao with respect and obedience, as well as a stiff and fawning smile on their faces. Many of them were quite important people, but now they could only smile.
Han Xiao shook his head. Position meant power. Even though he did not do anything, others would still uncontrollably feel nervous.
He turned to look at Beny Travol, smiled, and asked, "Great director Beny, I heard you want to shoot a documentary about me?"
"That's right. I've seen your files from the beginning to your astonishing rise in the galaxy. You're a living legend. What you've done stimulated my desire to innovate. It will be my honor to shoot a documentary for someone like you…"
Beny Travol cut right to the chase and started explaining the motivation behind all this.
When he came to the exciting parts, his face even became red, and he stood up to make gestures.
Han Xiao observed for a while and realized that this great director was not there just to praise him but really wanted to create an adapted documentary. This was probably one of the effects of his Legendary Points.
This was not strange. To others, what he had achieved was indeed legendary, so having a director want to shoot his life story was not exactly a surprise. After all, many films were adapted from true stories to begin with.
After being continuously praised for a while, Han Xiao felt quite good. Then, he waved and interrupted the saliva-filled speech of the director.
"So, you're just here to ask for my permission to allow you to shoot a film about me?"
"Not just that." Beny Travol suddenly became anxious. "I have another request. I hope you can be part of this film as an easter egg…"
These words required courage. He knew that Black Star's position was way too high. For someone with so much power, Black Star could basically be considered a political figure. This was like a request for the dynasty's ruler to guest star in his film—it was almost a daydream.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and tapped the table slowly but did not immediately reply.
As his expression changed, the atmosphere instantly cooled to a freezing point. Everyone's heart started beating faster and faster. No one dared take big breaths. The room became dead silent.
Just as Han Xiao was about to speak, a mission notification popped up on the interface.
Invitation from a Director
Mission Introduction: A universally known star director hopes to have you take part in the shooting of a film.
Mission Requirements: Star in the film.
Reward: 1,800,000 EXP, random increase in Renown of various Star Fields.
Bonus Reward: Talent – [Celebrity Effect]
[Celebrity Effect: Others will feel close to you and forgive you more easily.
Han Xiao's mouth contorted slightly.
What's this? Forcing me to become a celebrity?
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1064 An Overly Difficult Mission
Han Xiao did not reject the idea of guest-starring in the film. He was not the lead star, so it would not take him too much time.
Furthermore, with how developed the technology was, it would not take long to shoot one film. Plus, they could be watched in many different ways, such as the classic third-person screen, an immersive watching experience where one could step into the environment, or even take over the perspective of the character in the movie. With the development of technology, the expression of films had also become richer.
The [Celebrity Effect]'s effects were not quantified. Feidin had it too, and it was related to the Charisma attribute. Not only would it make gaining Favorability easier, it would also make losing Favorability more difficult even if he offended someone. The name suited the effects it gave quite well.
The effects of the talent looked ambiguous on the surface, but Han Xiao knew that this was actually quite useful. It would help in many situations. Be it business negotiations or daily socializing, it was an excellent ability for networking.
Even if the mission rewards were not considered, this proposal itself was beneficial for Han Xiao. Currently, his reputation was at its peak, but the heat of the news would reduce with time. Furthermore, having such an astonishing achievement as a comparison, the more ordinary deeds would hardly increase his influence and fame.
Therefore, using the entertainment industry to continue to increase his Renown was a great path to take. After all, the entertainment industry had a unique advantage in terms of the attention it received. This would also not damage his reputation while helping the outside world understand him more.
Furthermore, this seemed very suitable for increasing the number of believers.
Hehe, that old man Manison definitely wouldn't be willing to do the same.
Under the nervous stare of Beny Travol and his assistants, Han Xiao purposely acted like he was pondering for a while. He then nodded and said, "Sure."
"That's great!"
Beny Travol was overjoyed. He initially thought he would most likely be rejected, but Han Xiao turned out to be surprisingly friendly.
The nervous atmosphere disappeared instantly. Everyone felt relief followed by excitement—being able to have someone like Black Star cameo in their film was like a dream.
"When do you guys plan to start the project?" Han Xiao asked.
"We'll have to finalize the script first. Since this will be adapted from your real experience, if possible, we hope you can provide some details. We might even have to organize a few interviews," Beny Travol said softly.
"That's easy, as long as I'm free." Han Xiao smiled.
"Okay okay. When we've done the script, we'll show it to you for you to audit. We'll only start the shooting after you agree with the script."
"Hmm." Han Xiao nodded. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "Do you have any funding issues?"
"Don't worry, the entertainment industry is quite influential. Plus, this will be your story. There will definitely be a lot of people fighting to fund it. Even the Crimson Dynasty's ministry of culture might." Beny Travol was quite confident.
"Alright, come to me if you have any funding issues. I'll sponsor you."
Beny Travol was very touched.
Whoa, what a generous man.
He decided that he had to make sure this film turned out amazing. It not only had to be filled with artistic factors but also had to make a great sale.
Having been a director for many years, Beny Travol had both excellent productions and failed ones. While using the noble reason of 'pursuing art' to get funding, some projects had not even been able to break even.
It would not be a problem if those films sponsored by ordinary people did not turn out great. He would lose his brand image and money at most. However, if the film sponsored by the Black Star Army turned out not good enough… he might even lose his life. He did not dare slack.
Given the population of this era, the profit in the entertainment industry was beyond imaginable. Occasionally, there were even some films that the entire universe liked and loved, and the profit gained from just one of those would surpass the total value of many small financial groups. It was absolutely bonkers. Han Xiao had no reason not to gain profit from it.
Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and said, "By the way, I want to put someone in the cast."
"Please do tell."
Han Xiao brought up Feidin's image, smiled, and said, "This person. He's one of my guards, a Calamity Grade Super. He was once a local celebrity. Just give him a character to play."
"This person…" Beny Travol's eyes widened.
He did not mind Black Star putting someone in the cast. He had seen this kind of thing happen way too many times. What surprised him was that Black Star was sending him a treasure.
This body! This appearance! This vibe! He's a born superstar!
Scanning the stunned expression on everyone's face, Han Xiao chuckled in his mind.
He knew very well how powerful Feidin's charming aura was. Having Feidin star in the movie would be more than enough to attract a ton of attention and make the promotion multiple times smoother.
Furthermore, Han Xiao did not forget about what Feidin had achieved in his previous life, [The Legend of a Singer, where he used his psychic singing to stop an entire war.
Therefore, to maintain the love and peace of the universe, he decided to make Feidin an idol again!
This was not a sudden thought. He had wanted to use this opportunity to make Feidin the image ambassador of the Black Star Army to gain more popularity, which might even attract more talents. At the same time, he hoped to increase the stock price of the Germinal Financial Group.
After so many years, the Germinal Financial Group was already listed thanks to the help of the army. Its funds at this point were huge.
Many thoughts flashed through Han Xiao's mind, but he did not reveal them. Maintaining a smile, he chatted with the others in an uplifting atmosphere. In the end, Beny Travol and the others decided to stay awhile in Black Star Palace to gain some insight and material before leaving with joy all over their faces.
After sending them away, Han Xiao told Sylvia to follow up with the matter and then went to chat for some time with Ames to make sure his old friend was receiving enough attention.
Ames, however, was very understanding. She knew that he had many things to deal with, so she did not hurry him. Both Han Xiao and Hila had returned, so she had company there and lived so comfortably she almost did not want to go back.
I don't have anything to do on Floating Dragon Island. What should I go back for?
What? Jenny?
Who's that? Never heard of her.
Han Xiao returned to his room and bathed out of habit. He came out surrounded by hot water vapor. Without drying himself, he wrapped himself in a bathing robe and lay on his bed while humming. Water droplets slid down his hair and wet his pillow.
Of course, Beyond Grade As' bodies were pure and free from dirt, so they did not have to bathe. However, Han Xiao enjoyed this feeling of adjusting his senses to have the temperature sense of a normal person. Only then would he be able to have a hot water bath. Otherwise, even lava would feel cold to him.
A few mechanical pets climbed up and circled around Han Xiao. They kept rubbing their bodies on him in an adorable way. There were both cats and dogs, even snakes. They were all mechanical lives with their own independent minds. Their metal bodies had no edges; they were smooth and round. They did not have to eat or excrete and were very easy to take care of.
Ever since Hila gave him a birthday present, Hila had suddenly thought of getting some pets to give his usually cold and quiet bedroom some life.
Han Xiao casually petted his pets for a while. He then leaned back on the bed and opened up the player forums.
The 'Black Star's Godlike Battle' topic had yet to cool down. It even became hotter instead. The Flickering World panel was still filled with it.
There were not only discussions. Many players also took action and left their original faction to join the Black Star Army, giving the player count of the army a boost.
The one-sided faction war had lasted a while. Due to the factions that were named admitting their inferiority, the army's opponents were powerless. Not only did the shady plan of those foreign clubs not work, they even shot themselves in the foot. The factions they were in had lost a huge number of normal players. This indirectly increased the unity of the army players and shortened the distance between the new and old army players from different countries.
The atmosphere in the Black Star Army had become much better. Although the players from different countries could not be considered friendly toward each other, they had grown to accept others.
On the forums, there was another thing that sparked discussion. After Han Xiao created the [Rescue Hila] Dungeon Crystals, he had placed them in the faction store.
In the following few days, a ton of players had bought the Dungeon Crystal to watch their Army Commander with their lives.
After nonstop effort and hard work, there were already famous dungeon raiders who increased the survival time record to a whopping twenty-nine seconds, earning the respect of countless players.
[Rescue Hila] and [Planet Lighthouse] were now known as the two film-type dungeons, which meant… there was nothing they could do, only watch.
Han Xiao was still browsing the forums with joy when Phillip sent him a message.
"Master, hum… A fleet that has defected from the Beast Ancestor's organization has arrived at our frontline stronghold in the free competition zone. Onboard are seven Calamity Grade officers previously under the Beast Ancestor's command, led by one of Gorutan's Four Admirals, 'Claw Empress' Jotina. She has mentioned that she wants to see you by name."
"See me?"
Han Xiao raised his brows and closed the player forums. He then quickly brought up Jotina's data and browsed through it. He then started pondering.
He did not know much about Gorutan's subordinates. Most of them were Gorutan's tools. Only a few had left an impression on him in his previous life, including Jotina, but not because of the achievements she made.
In his previous life, Jotina secretly worked with other organizations and gave out missions to players that involved destroying all the offspring production warehouses of the Beast Ancestor's headquarters when Gorutan was not home, releasing all the females that were imprisoned as reproduction machines. Although the plan did not end up succeeding, it still brought the Beast Ancestor a humongous loss. She initially wanted to die together with Gorutan using a psionic energy bomb but failed. In the end, she was torn apart alive by Gorutan.
Knowing that, Han Xiao had a rough guess as to why she was there.
"Okay, I'll meet her."
In the Emerald Star Cluster, the Black Star frontlines stronghold had already repaired the damage suffered from the Hila Rescue Warfare. The fleet was now patrolling as usual.
At this time, Jotina and the gang were welcomed into the dock. Due to the Beast Ancestor symbol on their spaceships, they attracted the attention of all the army members they passed.
The spaceships parked steadily, and the hatches opened with a swoosh. Jotina led her friends out of the spaceship, ignoring the strange looks on the army members around, and headed toward the guest room following the mechanical receptionist.
"We're finally here. I wonder if Black Star will keep us. After all, we were his enemies not long ago."
"Black Star isn't petty."
"I'm just not sure if we're strong enough for him to be interested…"
Jotina did not join the discussion. With a tense expression, she followed the receptionist into the guest room. It was empty.
Hum!
This time, Han Xiao's remote projection appeared in the room with his hands behind his back. He looked at everyone with coldness as he slowly spoke.
"You wanted to see me?"
"That's right. We were all under Beast Ancestor's command. We have been unhappy with him for a very long time but never had the strength to resist. Now you've defeated him, so we came to join you, hoping to work for the Black Star Army.
Jotina cut right to the chase while staring at Han Xiao. Clearly, she was very direct.
Although Han Xiao had already guessed, a saying still appeared in his mind…
This is them abandoning evil to take the righteous path, isn't it?
Han Xiao did not plan to reject them. After all, there were seven Calamity Grades, which was quite an amount of power. Furthermore, Jotina was a rare Beyond Grade A seed with extraordinary potential. She could be of company to Hadavy and Lothaire.
High-quality leeks uprooting themselves up and entering his vegetation field was always something Han Xiao loved to see. However, he could not agree with it too easily. The routine questioning was still needed.
"Why were you unhappy with Gorutan?"
Jotina took a deep breath. Sorrow and anger appeared on her face as she said, "In order to produce high-quality offspring, Gorutan bought countless females of different races from the black market. These females weren't even granted the freedom to die. The only thing they could do was become a tool of reproduction.
"My mother was one of them. With my very own eyes, I watched her give birth to one offspring after another for years. She died of exhaustion in the end. The high-quality offspring were given a lot of resources and trained well, while the low-quality ones became slaves. Although we're all related by blood, most people have no emotional connection to others. That place was like a cold and freezing graveyard. Everyone had no choice but to fawn over Gorutan. Not a single day spent there was not filled with hatred and disgust."
Jotina closed her eyes as she was flooded by the sorrowful memories, only reopening them after a while. Then, she said with a deep voice, "My friends have had the same experience as me. We hate everything Gorutan has created, but we had no choice but to be manipulated by him and assist in his evil deeds. We lived every day in agony and frustration. We're not afraid of dying. Only through enduring this pain and keeping ourselves alive can we find the chance to change everything. And when you defeated him, we were finally liberated."
Then, Jotina kneeled onto the ground. The people behind her followed. The entire group kneeled as a gesture of respect.
"We hope you can take us in!"
Jotina pressed her forehead onto the ground and growled emotionally.
"Please take us in!" Everyone else shouted simultaneously as well. The shouting echoed in the room.
Seeing this, Han Xiao pondered a while and nodded. "Since that's the case, I shall accept you to become members of the Black Star Army."
The group exhaled with relief and finally stood up.
A smile appeared on Jotina's face again. Her expression relaxed. It was beautiful. Like her wild personality, her emotions were also directly displayed.
Han Xiao nodded. His tone became friendly as he smiled and said, "Then, we're all family now. Come to Black Star Palace. I want to see you guys with my own eyes and arrange roles for you. Also, if you want to visit Gorutan's specimen…"
This time, Jotina interrupted Han Xiao. She wiped the smile off her face and said with a serious tone, "Black Star, I also have a gift as well as a request."
"Do tell." Han Xiao raised his brows.
Jotina nodded. "The Beast Ancestor's organization is in shambles now. It's a great opportunity to split it up. I'm willing to help you obtain the Beast Ancestor's inheritance. This is my gift to you."
"And your request?"
"I hope you can destroy the Beast Ancestor's headquarters and all of the offspring production facilities, releasing all the females and taking in all the young offspring of Beast Ancestor. This is both my request and my gift. Although I hate Gorutan to the core, these young offspring are innocent. Their worldviews have yet to take shape and can still be adjusted. If raised properly, they can become new blood for the army."
Jotina then looked up and stared at Han Xiao, as if she wanted to see the answer she had been hoping to see for a very long time in Han Xiao's eyes.
Han Xiao opened the interface, and as he expected, this triggered a mission. However, it was not one mission but two.
The first mission was [Liberate Beast Ancestor's Organization]. Just like Jotina said, it required him to destroy the Beast Ancestor's headquarters and free those within. The rewards were Jotina's Favorability and her Character Summon Card.
The second mission, however, shocked him.
Ending the Darkness
Mission Introduction: Life form trafficking is the source of countless tragedies. Jotina hates it with everything she has. Destroying the practice has always been her dream her entire life.
Mission Requirement: End the life form trading industry in Galaxy.
Reward: 1 Trillion EXP, 15 Random Rewards, 3 Universe Legendary Points, 5 Blank Character Summon Cards.
Bonus Reward: [Slave Liberator] Milestone.
[Slave Liberator: Your relationship with all Lawful Factions will forever be fixed at [Reverence].
One trillion experience… Han Xiao was stunned.
This was the craziest mission he had ever seen, as were its rewards, and of course its difficulty.
Eliminate the life form trading industry of the entire universe?
Looking at the population of the entire Galaxy, this was a mission that was impossible to complete. If there was no demand for it, it would never have started in the first place. Even the three Universal Civilizations could not do this, so who else could?
No wonder Jotina only requested that he liberate Beast Ancestor's organization. She most likely knew that this wish of hers would never be achieved.
Of course, Han Xiao would not expose her. He shook his head, put this matter at the back of his mind, and did not mention it.
"About liberating Beast Ancestor's organization, you have my word."
"Then, I'll be willing to serve you till the end of time."
Jotina lowered her head, and admiration appeared in her eyes.
Ever since Han Xiao defeated Gorutan, she had viewed Black Star as her idol.
Before she came into contact with Black Star, she had been anxious, afraid that the truth about her idol might disappoint her.
Also, she was afraid that Black Star might mistake her for someone who went whichever way the wind blew, seeing her actions as betraying her old master and going to the winner. She would have been very sad if that was the case.
Now, however, all those worries were gone. Black Star was totally worth her admiration.
Like electricity running through her entire body, she suddenly felt something in her heart. She was a very direct person, and her emotions were easily affected. At this moment, she felt she was in love.
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