Chapter 799 "Dynasty Ruler" Urranrell and "Dark Lord" Clotti
This chapter is updated by Wuxia.Blog
The interior reception center of Tarunamir Palace had multiple independent villas.
Han Xiao and the others followed the receptionist into one of them. This would be the temporary accommodation for them.
After settling down, Han Xiao locked himself in his room and pondered about the next day.
"I will be meeting the dynasty's leader and those Beyond Grade As tomorrow. I wonder what the dynasty's leader will talk to me about... Hmm, other than the customary welcome of me being a new ally, the dynasty's leader might request to use the Evolution Cube here on a large scale, as well as invite me to some events...
"As for those Beyond Grade As, they will take me into their circle as an ally. Since we're all on the same side, we will have to help each other..."
He knew the Beyond Grade A members list of the dynasty very clearly, and he knew some of their personalities and likings. However, at this moment, he did not know who the seven who had come were.
"Many of the Beyond Grade As of universal civilizations are seniors who have lived a very long time. They have a ton of talents, abilities, energy, and are very strong..."
He felt that his meeting with the Beyond Grade As tomorrow would most likely not be just a simple meeting.
Beyond Grade As were all individuals with extreme power; strength was their fundamentals. When a newcomer joined their circle, some people might want to test him. If he was weak, even if he would still be accepted into the circle, he would be marginalized-only the strong would be respected.
The three strongest individuals were at the top among the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty. Han Xiao wondered how many of them were in attendance this time.
"Although I'm not weak, I'm just barely over the Beyond Grade A doorstep, and some of my attributes are not high enough. The Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation is already halfway done, which gave me close to 10,000 energy... as for the machinery aspect, it's also more complete..."
Lately, other than dealing with the army's matters, Han Xiao had spent a lot of time building machinery and had stocked up quite a lot of inventory.
Through all the Cutting-Edge Knowledges he obtained, Han Xiao had fused many new machinery blueprints. Other than adding new units into the mechanical army, he also built many other high-level machines that could be used for multiple purposes. He had been increasing his strength through the Mechanic way.
Han Xiao's eyes lit up suddenly.
"Since I know some information about these Beyond Grade As... maybe I can make use of that tomorrow."
...
After sleeping for the night, in the early morning the next day, one dynasty emissary came to Han Xiao's doorstep.
Hila opened the door. The emissary was standing outside with a respectful expression.
"Greetings, the Dynasty Ruler has invited His Excellency Black Star to a meeting."
"Let's go." Han Xiao walked out of his room and nodded.
Hila and the others wanted to follow, but Han Xiao waved his hands and told them to stay. Seeing this, the emissary, who was about to stop them, swallowed the words he wanted to say.
Flying was not allowed above Tarunamir Palace, so the two of them boarded the long-awaited land carrier and drove toward the city center.
The city center was the office area for the people at the highest positions in the dynasty. It was a marvelous and enormous palace.
The closer they got to the center, the tighter the security was. The areas were covered with all kinds of mechanical detection devices and teams of dynasty elite patrols. With just a brief feel, Han Xiao could sense the presence of more than ten Calamity Grades, and that was just from one direction. The defense of the dynasty's capital was extremely powerful.
Not only did universal civilizations control the Central Galaxy-they also controlled some other Star Fields to a certain extent. They had rich talents and resources, as well as all kinds of high-level Super schools to raise talents within. Their ratio of Calamity Grades far exceeded anywhere else in Galaxy. With those factors, the universal civilizations had plenty of powerful members.
The carrier stopped outside the palace, and Han Xiao followed the emissary inside. They passed by checkpoint after checkpoint before boarding the hovering lift inside to the top floor. This entire floor was the office of the dynasty's leader.
After passing by the guard and secretary area, the emissary pushed a door open and gestured for him to enter.
Han Xiao nodded and walked right in. The room entered his sights.
This was a wide office. The room was rectangular, the walls were deep red, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows on every wall.
The floor was covered in a red carpet, and at the edge was a green potted plant. It looked like it was carefully looked after and was giving off a calming aroma. A filled bookshelf stood against one side of the wall, and on the other side was a white stone circular coffee table and a red sofa used to seat guests. There was no furniture in the middle of the room. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. Further in, there was an office desk, and a person sat behind it. Another person stood beside the desk.
With just one look, Han Xiao recognized the dynasty's leader who was sitting down.
Her long and white hair was coiled up. The dignified vibe and her serious eyes could make people ignore her looks.
Urranrell Shin Rybet, the Crimson Dynasty's ruler!
Yes, the dynasty's current leader was a woman!
The Crimson Dynasty only admired the strong; sex was not a factor.
The succession of the dynasty's leader had nothing to do with the bloodline. During the term of the previous leader, the training for the candidates for the next leader would have already started. There was more than one candidate. They were all top-notch elites that the upper echelons and the various factions selected through negotiations.
The emissary closed the door from outside.
"Black Star, I'm the Crimson Dynasty Ruler, Urranrell. Please, take a seat." Urranrell stood up, approached him, and reached out her hand.
The man behind her followed tightly after. His sharp eyes were fixed on Han Xiao as if no movement could deceive his eyes.
"Hi." Han Xiao shook her hand. The two of them then sat opposite each other on the guest sofa, while the man behind Urranrell still stood behind her.
"This is Clotti, the captain of the Dynasty Ruler Personal Guards." Urranrell introduced the man behind her.
Clotti raised his head a little with an expressionless face as a greeting.
Han Xiao looked calm, but he had a lot of thoughts in mind.
In his previous life, the leaders of universal civilizations changed quite a number of times throughout the versions. Urranrell was the Crimson Dynasty Ruler during one stage. During her term, to the players, the most famous achievement she made was the battle and the development of the Flickering World. She obtained a new Star Field for the dynasty.
The players in his previous life did not know much about this Dynasty Ruler. That was because, during her reign, the main stage of the players were the Flickering World and their own Star Fields. They had yet to have much contact with the upper echelons of universal civilizations. To them, the leaders of universal civilizations were just a few lines of words in the background introduction.
Now, however, Urranrell was right before his eyes. This woman was one of the three most powerful people in the entire universe. It could even be said that they ruled the universe. What she represented had completely overshadowed her appearance or sex.
Clotti, who was behind her, was her bodyguard, a senior Beyond Grade A nurtured by the dynasty. He was an Esper, and his ability was the control of dark energy and dark matter. Among his nicknames were 'Dark Emperor', 'Lord of Dark Matter', and 'Cosmic Distorter'.
This person was one of the three strongest Beyond Grade As in the dynasty!
"Firstly, on behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, we welcome you as an ally." Urranrell cut to the chase and stared at Han Xiao's eyes.
"This is my honor," Han Xiao replied.
"For the initial stages of the Flickering World exploration, the dynasty needs Heber and your power," Urranrell said slowly. "According to our agreement, other than the resources the dynasty gives you as support, after everything is done, you will receive an area in the Flickering World..."
Han Xiao nodded. "I know."
"You're the dynasty's ally. As long as you make contributions to the dynasty, the dynasty will certainly not hold back on our resources," Urranrell said with a very serious tone. "The more tasks you're willing to take on, the more resources the dynasty will provide you. Sometimes, the dynasty might send out an announcement to dispatch the Beyond Grade As including you and carry out some missions. Of course, if you encounter difficulties, you can also request backup from the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty. Remember, you're one of the dynasty's National Pillars. At the same time, the dynasty has your back."
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and was quite satisfied. Duty and power were associated. By becoming the Crimson Dynasty's ally, he became their power, and they became his. The various Beyond Grade A allies were not just the dynasty's resources, but he had the right to borrow them as well.
"As for the Evolution Cube in your hands, you don't have to worry. By all means, we welcome you to hand it to us willingly, but even if you're not willing to, the dynasty will certainly not snatch it away from you. However, I have a request. The dynasty doesn't oppose you to use the Evolution Cube to negotiate with other organizations, but the evolution allocation for the dynasty must be unlimited. We will send people to the Black Star Army anytime for evolution."
"Of course." Han Xiao nodded. He limited allocations for the other civilizations, but he would not set a limit for his biggest ally, the Crimson Dynasty.
Furthermore, the Crimson Dynasty's population was way too high. There was no way they would make the outrageous request of having their entire race go through evolution. They would not do that even if they had the Evolution Cube themselves.
"Since you've come to the dynasty's mother planet, you might as well stay here for a few days and transform the teams on the mother planet," Urranrell said.
As expected, this is one of the main reasons you called me here, Han Xiao thought.
Compared to selecting elites and sending them to the Shattered Star Ring for evolution, it was clearly more convenient to call him over to the Crimson Dynasty.
Furthermore, the mother planet's troops could not casually be moved around, so summoning him there to use the Evolution Cube was the best solution. This way, the various factions also would not have to negotiate for allocations.
Chapter 800 Pressure
This chapter is updated by Wuxia.Blog
After the two of them talked about business for some time, Urranrell changed the topic. "One more thing. The dynasty is willing to help the Black Star Army build a division in the Central Galaxy to aid communication between both sides. I know you already planned to do this since you brought your portable base here. The dynasty supports this."
"That would be great." Han Xiao nodded.
"As for the details, I will let someone settle them with you," Urranrell said. "If you have any other requests, you can tell me now."
Han Xiao caressed his chin. "I hope to obtain the Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic class as soon as possible. I'm wondering if there are any chances."
Without changing her expression at all, Urranrell said, "The resource rewards of the dynasty are given to allies who've made contributions. If you want to obtain it as soon as possible, I suggest you help the dynasty do some things. I will have someone make a list of the matters that the dynasty requires aid with and notify you."
Then Urranrell stood up, extended her hand, and signaled the end of this meeting. Han Xiao did not continue to speak. He stood up as well and shook her hand before bidding farewell and leaving.
The emissary had been waiting outside the door. He guided him out of this palace.
After Han Xiao left, Urranrell leaned on the chair and said slowly with her eyes closed, "Crowell, when you guys meet him later, remember to keep the situation under control."
Clotti grunted in assent and left.
...
Han Xiao boarded the ground carrier. The driver did not head in the direction they had come from but toward another direction.
"Your Excellency Black Star, the National Pillars have been waiting. I'm taking you to meet them," the emissary explained.
Han Xiao did not reply and was still thinking of his meeting with Urranrell earlier.
The meeting was short. Urranrell had plenty of matters to deal with every day, so she would not have time to have a casual chat with him. Hence, everything they had talked about was business. The terms and agreements of the Flickering World partnership were mentioned. After the pioneering of the entire Star Field was complete, as the leading exploration team, he would receive one area that he would be able to develop freely. It was like land awarded by the government.
He would rule that area and own all kinds of rights to it as long as he paid taxes to the dynasty every once in a while.
This was one of the most important terms in their agreement, it would make the Black Star Army even stronger. This was also something very important to Han Xiao. As for the location and size of that area, it would depend on his achievements during the development of the Star Field.
The use of the Evolution Cube and creating a new division of the Black Star Army were his rights and duties as an ally of the dynasty. If he wanted to obtain Ultimate Knowledge personally, he would have to do some dynasty missions. With Urranrell having already spoken about this, he would not have to trigger them himself. The dynasty's men would make a mission list and give it to him, which was much more convenient.
Urranrell... Dynasty Ruler... doesn't show her emotions, not easy to read...
Through the conversation earlier, the image Urranrell gave to him was filled with prestige and the vibe of someone in a high position. Compared to an individual with flesh and blood, this Dynasty Ruler felt more like a symbol, making people ignore her personal traits. Han Xiao basically gave up on wanting to farm her Favorability.
The ruler represented the dynasty. Urranrell had most likely cut off all her personal desires, so she would not have any weaknesses, would be able to maintain rational at all times, and would never let her emotions take over. Her personal feelings would never affect her decisions.
To someone like this, farming Favorability was basically a high-cost, low-reward act, so Han Xiao did not want to waste his efforts.
Comparatively, it would be easier to bond with the Beyond Grade As.
Very soon, the carrier stopped before a villa. This was not a villa in the reception center but the residential area of the internal members.
Clotti stood in front of the door with an expressionless face. He nodded and said, "Black Star, follow me. Everyone's waiting."
Han Xiao walked out of the car and looked at Clotti with a strange expression.
The two of them had just met back at Urranrell's place not long ago. He had traveled there by carrier, while this guy had sprinted over so that he could be waiting for him in advance. Although Beyond Grade As' speed would be much quicker than land carriers, visualizing that image in his mind still felt quite comical.
They opened the door and entered.
As soon as they entered the house, the eyes of six different Beyond Grade As all looked over and stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.
Clotti looked for a seat and sat down, leaving Han Xiao standing alone.
Han Xiao scanned around. He was not unfamiliar with all six of them. They were all known Beyond Grade A allies of the Crimson Dynasty. There was even a member of the Ancient Ones.
However, among the three strongest people in the dynasty, only Clotti was present.
The seven people there all had different looks in their eyes. Some were filled with anticipation, some were cold, and some were curious. These Beyond Grade As all had different dynasty factions behind them, so their personal stand was not the same.
"So, you're Black Star from the Shattered Star Ring?" One of them sized Han Xiao up. When his eyes looked past the Evolution Cube, a tint of hostility seemed to have flashed for an instant.
"Who else did you think I was?" Han Xiao raised his brows and did not respond politely. Everyone there was a Beyond Grade A; he did not plan to keep a low profile. He would only be respected if he showed his strength.
"Of the four... oh, five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, both you and Heber have joined the Crimson Dynasty. Which one of you is stronger?" someone beside asked with curiosity.
"If you're so curious, why don't you try it out yourself?" Han Xiao shrugged. He did not want to be questioned while standing up, so he found a random seat and sat down.
These Beyond Grade A had no idea that although this was their first meeting, Han Xiao knew about them quite well and had a very clear idea of the situation in this room.
Among the seven people, Clotti was above all and looked calm and cold. He represented the ruler's confidant faction, so he only watched but did not interfere. Another Beyond Grade A who was close to the dynasty military's Youngsters Faction looked very interested in him and seemed to have the intention of wooing him. The other five more or less wanted to test him.
Seeing how Han Xiao did not take any steps back at all, they exchanged glances and saw a little bit of surprise in each others' eyes.
In the past, the newcomers came with the intention of making friends with them. These newcomers thought that everyone would be talking calmly and politely, while the older members would make this meeting into somewhat of a review and questioning section. They would keep asking provocative questions and watch the new Beyond Grade A suppress their anger and answer every question. Most people there had experienced this and left a dark history. Therefore, this became a tradition in accepting the newcomers.
If someone could not take it, they would speak with fists to determine their position in the future.
If it was a previously renowned neutral Beyond Grade A becoming an ally, only then would they give the newcomer face and restrain themselves.
Of course, Black Star, who had just become a Beyond Grade A, was not on that list.
However, this was only the start, and they had yet to even start the real provocation, but Black Star had already retaliated. It was clear that this newcomer was not planning to follow their plan.
It's probably because Heber shared his experience with him...
In their eyes, it looked like Han Xiao knew about their tradition, and Heber, who also left a dark history there, was from the Shattered Star Ring. Therefore, it was most likely that Black Star knew about this from him and did not want to let their plan succeed by speaking in this manner.
"Not going to happen..."
They secretly exchanged looks and made a plan.
"Hehe." The person who spoke first said coldly, "Black Star, I don't think you've realized what your position is."
"Oh? Mr. Star Slasher, what do you mean?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
Viru, a Beyond Grade A Pugilist of the War Soldier Branch. Among his nicknames were 'Star Slasher' and 'Fixed Star Splitter'. He came from the Primeval Star River, now an ally of the dynasty, and was operating tens of thousands of galactical Pugilist dojos in the Central Galaxy.
"This is the center of the universe, the Central Galaxy. Do you think this is the Shattered Star Ring that only has five Beyond Grade As? How dare you speak to us that manner..."
Boom!
Before he finished his sentence, Viru suddenly released his energy, which slashed the villa in two. The thick aura and his cold stare pressed onto Han Xiao. As if he was furious, he said word by word, "A newbie who has just entered the Beyond Grade A stage, who gave you the right to be this arrogant in front of us‽"
"Tsk." Expressionless, Clotti waved his hands and told the patrols who rushed there not to get close. Viru restrained his energy and did not let it spread out. Clotti did not stop Viru's action.
Other than the Beyond Grade A close to the Youngsters Faction who was shaking his head and did not speak, the others all had unfriendly expressions on their faces and stared at Han Xiao, pressuring him.
Even if Heber had told him the rules earlier, they did not believe that Black Star would not be afraid of offending all of them at once.
If Black Star continued to not step back, they did not mind teaching him a lesson. As for if that would anger Black Star... they all had Beyond Grade A organizations, so it did not matter.
The few of them secretly looked at Han Xiao's expression, hoping to find a tint of panic or fear on his face.
The sharp and aggressive aura was like a knife in Han Xiao's face. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly chuckled. "Alright, let's make things easier. We're all Beyond Grade As. If we have any conflicts, we can settle it by fighting."
Then, before everyone could respond, Han Xiao pointed at Viru. "You and I will fight, how about that?"
The others were surprised and even more interested.
This newcomer is deliberately issuing a challenge? How confident. Doesn't he know we're all seniors who've fought a very long time for the dynasty?
They initially wanted to bring sparring up to provoke Black Star into fighting, but they did not expect this guy to propose it first.
"Okay." Viru's expression looked irritated.
He had already showcased his energy, yet Black Star still wanted to challenge him. Did Black Star think that he had a chance of winning?
Viru would not allow his position to be threatened.
Han Xiao was calm. He had already guessed that only strength would earn him respect in the Beyond Grade A allies circle, so he had mentally prepared to fight long ago.
In order to befriend Beyond Grade As, he first had to show strength worth befriending.
This time, Clotti spoke slowly.
"Go fight outside the Psionic Seal Ring. Don't fight near the mother planet."
...
"Your Excellency, Black Star's meeting with the National Pillars was not pleasant. He challenged His Excellency Star Slasher to a spar. Clotti and the other National Pillar have gone along as well."
Hearing the report from the internal communicator, Urranrell said, "Clotti will take care of this. You guys don't have to worry about it."
"Understood."
"Hmm... go and notify Black Star's friends."
Then, Urranrell hung up the communicator and shook her head.
She did not like the tradition of bullying the newcomer between the Beyond Grade A allies, but she also did not want to force these Beyond Grade As to do anything unless absolutely necessary.
However, the private relationship between the dynasty's allies being bad might not be a bad thing. It would not affect their partnerships with the dynasty, and profit was the priority.
...
"What? He's fighting with those allies?"
After hearing what the emissary came to their doorsteps to say, Hila and the various guards' expressions changed drastically.
This time, Aesop spoke and comforted them. "Don't worry, it's just a test of strength between Beyond Grade As. Sparring is very normal. I've seen them do it before."
Sadly, not many people took what he said in.
"Let's go take a look." Ames did not say much and stepped out of the door.
Chapter 801 Spar
This chapter is updated by Wuxia.Blog
Outside the Psionic Seal Ring, Han Xiao and Viru floated in the cosmic space. A spaceship was looking there from not very far away.
The spaceship carried Clotti and the other Beyond Grade As, as well as Ames, Aesop, and the rest who had arrived later.
"It's been a long time, Aesop," that Ancient Ones member greeted with a fake smile.
"Ravenlaude, you're still alive," Aesop replied.
"Ever since you were kicked out of the Ancient Ones, I have yet to hear from you. So, it turns out you went to the most rural area, the Shattered Star Ring. Why, you couldn't make a living in any other Star Fields?" Ravenlaude said with a mocking tone.
"You've lived so long that your memories are failing you. Why do I remember that I left the Ancient Ones?" Aesop gave him a faint glance.
Among the Ancient Ones, Aesop did not have a good relationship with this person.
Back when Aesop left the Ancient Ones, other than because he did not want this title to prevent him from looking for trouble, it was also because he did not have a good relationship with some of the other members. As a powerful Oracle, he did not like to use his ability for unrelated people. When the times he rejected them started to pile up, it became the source of their conflict.
Ames did not know anyone, so she stood at the side and watched alone.
This was a chance to observe Black Star's strength. Other than Clotti, who was not very interested, everyone else was focused and looked forward to the two of them to start the fight.
They knew how strong Viru was; his combat capability had been tested countless times through battle. Therefore, the only question was-how long could Black Star hold on?
They had heard that Black Star had the 'Indestructible Body' nickname and that the toughness of his physical body seemed to be on par with the Tyrant's. They wondered if he would be able to stop Viru's sky splitting blade.
Han Xiao activated his mechanical suit. The helmet covered his face and hid his expression. Then, he opened the secondary dimension gate. The mechanical army swarmed out and filled the battlefield instantly.
Quite a lot, but in front of me, these are all minions. Viru snorted in his mind. His muscle violently expanded, and a light blue flame burned on the surface of his body.
A surging flame concentrated on his palm and kept extending, forming a hundreds-of-meters-long blue energy sword so dense that it almost looked like it had a physical form.
Pugilists had different branches. The War Soldier Branch focused on fighting with blades, but it was different from being a Mechanical Pugilist. Mechanical Pugilists completely relied on weapons to fight and used Mechanical Force to enhance their weapons, while Pugilists only used weapons to better their own skills. Their damage source was still their own Pugilist flame.
With a deep breath, the flames gushed into the hundreds of meters long blade. Viru slashed multiple times consecutively. Blue blades of light shot out and created empty areas within the formation of the mechanical army. The power of those blades of light dropped as they destroyed mechanical soldiers, from completely shattering the first ones to only heavily damaging the ones after.
Han Xiao immediately activated various bonus abilities and controlled his mechanical army to join him in the battle.
Viru was surrounded by tons of mechanical soldiers. His sword danced so quickly that it formed a sphere. Blades of light continuously shot out from it and destroyed the formation of the mechanical soldiers, causing tremendous damage. It was as if a tornado had appeared in the cosmic space.
As the combat information kept refreshing, Han Xiao tutted in his mind. This guy's damage is indeed high. Maybe even Heber is weaker in this respect.
Compared to Heber's heavy and firm offense, Viru mainly focused on swiftness and sharpness. His area attacks were not bad, and his individual target damage was even more horrifying. Earlier, when colossal defense-focused Giant Soldier turned its shield to full capacity in an attempt to stop Viru's attack, Viru still easily slashed it in two without stopping.
Nonetheless, Han Xiao did not randomly pick this opponent. Viru's attack damage was indeed high, but he was inferior compared to Heber in one aspect... his tankiness!
Although this guy was also a Pugilist and had a ton of damage reduction talents, he did not have a very essential core tanky talent... he was not immune to True Damage!
Viru had a fifty-percent True Damage reduction talent, which was way weaker than True Damage Immunity. True Damage was still much more terrifying than normal damage even when halved!
When comparing Heber and Viru, Han Xiao could only fight head-on with the former, but for the latter, he just so happened to be the type of enemy Han Xiao indirectly countered!
The blades of light shot out in all directions. The mechanical army formation took quite a lot of damage, so the mechanical army dealt with it by spreading and attacking from further distances.
Under the focus fire of psionic cannons, Viru's blade formed a complete sphere. He used a certain ability, turning the blades of light around him into a special kind of shield, blocking most of the psionic attacks. The explosions were blocked by the sphere of light.
However, the mechanical army was too large, and their attacks were too concentrated. Viru's defense could not stop all of them. Occasionally, psionic attacks would pass through the blade shield and land on his body, shaking his protective energy flames.
Feeling the obliteration of the cells in his body, the look in Viru's eyes changed.
So powerful... prolonged battles are not suitable for me. I need to attack his physical body.
Having realized that, Viru's energy flame vibrated. The shield around his body expanded and turned into an impact wave, blowing away the mechanical soldiers around him.
Then, he held his sword backhand. His entire body turned into a blue phantom and charged toward Han Xiao, leaving countless afterimages behind. When he reached the frontline of the mechanical army, he turned from holding his sword backhand to front hand, striking forward. It was like all the afterimages were concentrated on this attack.
Star Slasher Style Technique-Blade Shadow!
Thousands of blades of light erupted at the same time and spread outward in all directions, instantly shattering the formation of the mechanical army in one direction and penetrating many layers of defenses. The shattered mechanical parts splashed everywhere.
Han Xiao immediately clenched his fist. Blue-gold Mechanical Force shot out from the Void Dimension, grabbing all the parts like a lightning net and connecting them together.
[Waste Modification]!
[Advanced Machinery Construction]!
The shattered parts became mechanical soldiers again.
However, in just this short instant, Viru disappeared. As if he had teleported, he passed through the layers of defenses and appeared right in front of Han Xiao. The sword in his hand returned to normal size from hundreds of meters long. With the more concentrated Pugilist energy sword in his hand, he slashed right down!
"It's not my first time fighting a Mechanic," Viru said with an expressionless face. It was not a secret that Mechanics had the Waste Modification ability. Being very experienced, he knew that a Mechanic would definitely use it. Using that opportunity, he used a special mobility ability and instantly got close to Han Xiao. He was a Pugilist focused on speed, so he had more ways of closing the distance than Heber.
Swoosh!
The blade slashed right through Han Xiao's body without any resistance, as if it had cut him in half. However, Viru did not feel like he had slashed through anything. His expression changed instantly.
The halved 'Han Xiao' suddenly disappeared. His real body was little more than ten meters away.
Earlier, Han Xiao had used some kind of illusion device and misguided Viru's senses. Deceiving a Beyond Grade A Pugilist who could lock the target with his energy was very difficult, but this special illusion device was one of the high-level machines that Han Xiao had built that could be used in Beyond Grade A battles. It could create an illusion that perfectly simulated even his own energy presence, and it had a quite long cooldown.
Having missed one attack, Viru's movement did not stop. He turned and attacked another time, quicker and swifter. His blade extended and slashed onto Han Xiao's chest like a whip.
Star Slasher Style Technique-Whip Slash!
This attack was initially targeted at Han Xiao's chest, but Viru changed its direction and targeted Han Xiao's head.
However, Han Xiao's response shocked him-he did not dodge at all and went toward it directly.
The blade cut Han Xiao's mechanical suit right open, slashing across his forehead. Blood gushed down from his head.
Viru was shocked. Before he could withdraw his blade, he saw Han Xiao grab onto his arm like he was completely unharmed and punched right onto his chest.
Boom!
The vibration echoed in Viru's body. Tons of cells were destroyed and quickly born through Viru's energy. As the process repeated, he felt a strong pain in his body.
[Machinery Apostilization] and [Mechanical Force-Emperor's Power] gave Han Xiao a lot of attributes, so his attacks were much stronger.
Then, Han Xiao's bloody wound recovered right under Viru's nose. The nanoparticles of the mechanical suit fixed the broken part as well.
This recovery speed... Viru's pupils constricted.
This time, the mechanical army behind Viru turned their barrels and fired at the two of them.
Just as Viru was about to back away, two enhanced Oathkeepers appeared beside Han Xiao and held him back.
With a swing of his blade, he slashed an Oathkeeper's body but met a tremendous force of resistance. He could not cut it in half with one slash. The blue-gold Mechanical Force flashed inside the wounds of these two Oathkeepers.
These two Oathkeepers were elite mechanical soldiers that had received bonuses from the [Emperor's Gift]. Even Beyond Grade As would not be able to destroy them in just one attack.
Unable to break the Oathkeepers into pieces in one slash, Viru reacted quickly and hastily blew them away with an energy impact wave. However, he was attacked by the Oathkeepers at the same time. Psionic cannon shots landed on his chest, and his movement paused for an instant again.
The psionic cannon fired from behind him. Chains of shots landed on his back. Viru was not willing to give up on the opportunity of being able to attack Han Xiao at such a close distance, so he released a defensive shield behind him that barely blocked the focus fire for an instant before attacking Han Xiao violently.
The battlefield left its original area and kept shifting.
The two of them fought at close range. Viru's blade slashed through Han Xiao's body time after time, cutting away parts of his mechanical suit and his flesh again and again. However, he recovered at a visible speed, and his wounds healed in seconds.
The longer Viru fought, the more shocked he was. He had heard about Han Xiao's 'Indestructible Body' nickname, but he had never expected it to be so powerful.
Since some time ago, Clotti, who was watching from afar, had stopped being uninterested. He was now focusing on their battle with a serious look on his face.
Han Xiao's recovery speed shocked even him.
He had never seen any Mechanic with a physique so strong that it could match up to even a Pugilist.
"A newbie who has just advanced shouldn't have such combat capability," one of them said with shock. He voiced the thought that was in everyone's mind.
Han Xiao used [Repel - Thorns] and [Void Dimension Jump] consecutively to guard against his opponent's attacks. The two of them fought at close range for a short period of time before the enormous mechanical army finally held Viru back again. Han Xiao finally got out of the close-range battle.
After taking Viru's chain of powerful attacks, Han Xiao was close to unharmed. At least the others could not see what damage he had taken on the surface.
Han Xiao patted his chest and opened his arms.
Before Viru could respond, the mechanical army's attacks became stronger. With the help of all kinds of traps, Viru temporarily became passive.
At this time, many enormous mechanical barrels appeared behind Han Xiao. Psionic energy started to concentrate and gave off a powerful energy reaction.
Planetary Obliteration Cannon!
The expression on Viru's face changed drastically.
Come on, using this kind of war level weapon has exceeded the context of sparring!
Suddenly, from the mechanical army around Viru, hundreds of electromagnetic chains dashed out and tied onto Viru from all directions.
Viru tried to escape, but to his shock, he realized that he could not escape from it in an instant. It was as if these chains were tentacles. They could direct his strength away.
Extreme Electromagnetic Locked Catcher, single target control type mechanical trap. This was equipment that Han Xiao had built with the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Activation Theory]. It could temporarily control even Beyond Grade As and was considered as a high-level machine. It hid within the mechanical army and activated at a crucial moment, capturing Viru right away.
The next moment, the teams of mechanical soldiers fired on Viru, and psionic attacks rained like a thunderstorm!
The light illuminated Viru's drastically changed expression. Flames all over his body immediately erupted, turning into blades of flames, and quickly spun around his body, forming a layer of shield-like defenses.
Blade Control-Energy Barrier!
The sphere of light expanded. Han Xiao fired the Secondary Sky Planetary Obliteration Cannons that had completed their energy charge. Enormous dark-blue beams of light gushed out and headed right to Viru.
When the beams were only halfway through, clusters of dark energy suddenly appeared on the attack route and clashed with the psionic energy beams. The two forms of energy caused chains of explosions, continuously expanding in the cosmic space.
On the other side, dozens of dark energy barriers stopped the focus fire of the army and gave Viru time to breathe.
Viru hastily escaped from the trap, activated some kind of mobility ability, turned into a stream of blue light, and escaped the battlefield. He hovered at the side with a pale face, looking like he was more than slightly injured.
If it were Heber, these attacks would just have been tickles. However, Viru's health had been reduced quite a lot by the True Damage attacks.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and made the mechanical army stop attacking before looking at the spaceship.
Clotti was standing behind the porthole and had one hand raised. He was the one who had controlled the dark energy and interfered with their battle earlier.
"The spar has ended," Clotti said in the communication channel. "This shall be... considered a draw."
Draw?
The others had different looks on their faces.
They knew exactly that this was just a way of saying it so Viru would not be humiliated. Just from the situation earlier, Han Xiao had won undoubtedly. Han Xiao had showcased his combat strength.
With his powerful recovery ability and enormous mechanical army, as well as his oddly powerful attacks, a Mechanic like him had close to no weaknesses. They were shocked, and they put away the slight underestimation they had for Han Xiao because of him being a newcomer and his Shattered Star Ring origin.
Han Xiao had earned their respect with his strength.
Viru's expression was not looking good. As the one that had been challenged, he had initially been completely confident. However, he had instead become the target for the newcomer to showcase his strength. He felt very embarrassed and displeased.
However, the opponent had gained the upper hand with valid ways, so he had nothing to say and could only feel unhappy inside.
Hearing what Clotti said, Han Xiao did not deny it and withdrew his mechanical army.
The result did not matter. As long as the goal of showcasing his strength was achieved, it was enough for him.
Furthermore, if Viru had gone all out, his explosive power would only have been higher than Heber's. It would not be easy for Han Xiao to deal with even with his powerful recovery speed.
One reason he had gotten the upper hand in the spar was because of the combat style counter; another was the nature of the battle. It looked like he had completely overwhelmed Viru, but if it had been a real battle, Viru might not have made the same mistakes.
I have to become stronger.
Among Beyond Grade As, he was very strong in long-duration battles, but his raw strength was not high enough.
He had accumulated a large sum of EXP. When the EXP penalty was over, he would be able to level up again.
He estimated that only then would he be able to obtain a higher position among the Beyond Grade As.
He returned to the spaceship and walked into the cabin. The others approached him.
Han Xiao noticed that there was no longer inspection in their eyes, and now there was some respect. Han Xiao nodded in his mind.
Through this spar, his strength had been recognized. Now, he had officially been accepted into this circle.
Viru walked in after Han Xiao. With a long face, he turned around and said with a deep voice, "If there's a chance in the future, we have to spar again."
"Then I guess there won't be any chances." Han Xiao raised his brows. With no benefits, why would I fight you? It's not like I'm a battle maniac.
Speaking of which, it seemed like most Pugilists were battle maniacs...