by <unknown>
“Hide aside,” Han Xiao said as he pushed Aroshia away. He swung the scythe and slashed at the wall, but it did not even leave a scratch.
He frowned. The wall was too hard, and there was no way to break through.
The only choice left was to fight.
This time, the seven DarkStar warriors struck. Three Pugilists covered in flames surrounded Han Xiao in a triangle shape.
Bang!
With a swing of the scythe, they clashed!
The aftershock echoed in the prison cell!
Aroshia was forced to the edge and could only watch.
Ember was very curious about Han Xiao’s ability to resist his powers. Anyway, the signal disruption device was already set up, and Black Star could not call for backup, so there was plenty of time to find out.
As Han Xiao was attacked and having a tough fight, all the players far away on the other side of the floating island who were doing their duty in aircrafts triggered a new mission.
_____________
[Urgent Mission – Backup]
Mission Introduction: Your captain has been ambushed and is engaged in a tough fight. As a member of the mercenary group, you are his backup.
Mission Requirements: Arrive at the scene quickly and provide backup for Black Star. The coordinates are…
Reward: Depends on the speed and number of the backup.
Rejection Consequence: -300 Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability
_____________
All the players became spirited.
…
The Esper’s power was very strong. Not only was it strong in close-quarter combat, but it could also control countless dust particles and turn them into spears to strike or tentacles to constrain Han Xiao’s mobility. The most dangerous threat of that ability was the dust infiltrating into the gaps of the mechanical suit that changed their form inside the suit to destroy Amphiptere’s interior. At least one-third of the damage came from Ember.
The seven DarkStar warriors had very good cooperation—three Pugilist to limit Han Xiao’s mobility at close range through exchanging hits, one Esper that could secret acid, and another that could inject energy in the galaxy into specially made metals and turn them into bombs. These two Espers were hiding at the side while throwing acid and metal balls at Han Xiao.
There was one more Mechanic who was good at electromagnetic disruption and smart hacking, connecting to Amphiptere through his own combat suit and disrupting Amphiptere’s system through the hacking program that he wrote. He was even trying to take control of Amphiptere. Han Xiao’s smart technology was still within the bounds of basic knowledge, so he had no choice but to turn off most auto functions and leave only the nerves connection controls on, to stop detection and analysis as well as to prevent Amphiptere’s system from being taken over. This Mechanic was also controlling numerous shield generators to block attacks for his teammates.
The last one was an Electric Mage. His cooperation with Ember was the closest, unleashing his electric sorcery by using the carbon dust as a bridge. Ember turned them into graphene, which was more conductive, to increase the power, attacking Han Xiao from all directions and burning the internals of Amphiptere.
Boom boom boom!
Attacks rained down on Amphiptere, and the number of wounds gradually increased. Facing seven enemies of the same grade and one whose grade was even higher than his own, Han Xiao was like facing a terrifying tsunami—he could hardly fight back.
Even with [Snake—Devil] activated, he could just barely hold on.
The mechanical suit’s durability dropped very quickly. After only a few minutes into the fight, it was already at sixteen percent, close to being completely destroyed.
Han Xiao took a deep breath. He poured all the energy into the mobility device, and with a sharp arc, he escaped from the close-range battle and headed straight for the Esper who could secrete acid. He closed in extremely quickly while firing a shot at the Mechanic to make sure he could not control the shield to protect his teammate. Then, with a swing of the scythe, he was about to slash at the Esper.
“Burst!” Ember yelled as he clenched his fist. Before Han Xiao could land the attack, Ember could give the wounded Amphiptere one last attack to destroy it!
Countless spikes formed inside Amphiptere within a second!
The mechanical suit became covered in holes and was on the brink of shattering.
At this moment, a blurry white light bloomed. Amphiptere, which was about to shatter, came back together like a miracle, and its energy level recovered to its prime.
Machinery Continuation!
“What!” Ember was shocked and surprised. The attack that he had been so confident in could not break Han Xiao’s suit, and it was now too late to stop him.
The acid Esper initially believed that Ember could stop Han Xiao, but now he was horrified and could only watch the scythe growing in his vision.
Flaming Will!
Swoosh!
With a flash of light, blood spilled all over. A ferocious wound extended from the acid Esper’s head to his chin, spitting his face in half.
His health dropped a large chunk in an instant.
“Ahhh!”
The acid Esper fell to the ground and writhed in agony as blood gushed out from his face. Ember hastily moved him away before Han Xiao could land another hit.
The next moment, Amphiptere crumbled into pieces.
Machinery Continuation made Amphiptere last for five seconds longer, and in this time, Han Xiao landed this hit and heavily injured one of the enemies even while he was under siege.
Han Xiao was breathing heavily. He had wanted to get rid of that guy a long time ago—it was so disgusting to have him keep spitting acid at him.
Ember had a very gloomy expression. His subordinate was heavily injured, and his mistake was partly to blame. Anger arose from inside his heart.
This was a pure accident, and it was not going to happen again. Black Star had reached his limit after lasting for so long. From the moment his mechanical suit shattered, he was a sheep waiting to be butchered and would not have any chance to fight back anymore.
A Mechanic that lost his machines was at most half as strong!
“This is it for you. I’ve said before, you can save yourself a lot of pain if you don’t resist, and I am a man of my word…”
Ember then said with freezing cold eyes, “Are you ready to feel pain?”
Amphiptere shattered, and the backup mechanical suit could not be summoned. Han Xiao’s body had no more protection. He glanced at the broken parts all over the floor, but his expression did not change at all. He did not seem to be bothered about his current situation. He casually placed the black scythe on his shoulders and said, “Don’t celebrate too soon. The fight only ends when I can’t fight anymore.”
The Great Mechanic Han was never one to back away from a fight.
Chapter 389. What Monster Are You‽ |
Broken parts were all over the floor, including the Sonic Spheres and the Hovering Shield Shuttle. The scythe was a melee weapon, so it was very hard. Its blade was quite wide and could be used as a shield. This was the only weapon that Han Xiao was left with.
Zoom!
The hovering carbon dust in the cell transformed into sharp cones pointing at the ground, which then fell down like rain. The area covered was very large, so every dodge direction was locked down.
If the target had a mechanical suit, this kind of large area attack would not be so much of a threat. However, Black Star’s mechanical suit had already been destroyed by him. A Mechanic without protection was fragile.
Ember did not want to kill Han Xiao—they had to capture him alive after all—but he was very willing to make Han Xiao suffer. He was only aiming at non-lethal spots.
Swoosh!
The scythe deflected the approaching sharp cones, but they were endless with Ember’s control. Han Xiao deflected and shielded himself from whatever he could, and he was left with no choice
but to let the rest hit him.
Electric shaped energy covered his body and formed a layer of protection. The sharp cones shattered upon hitting his body, only causing scratches.
Ember controlled his power casually and said with a cold voice, “As a Mechanic, you never learned close range tactics. You don’t have as much energy as a Pugilist, and your attributes are totally different from a Pugilist’s. Yet, you want to fight like a Pugilist. If you were a Mechanical Pugilist maybe you’d stand a chance, but you’re just a Mechanic. How long do you think you can last? Your resistance is futile. Are you still not giving up?”
Attacks were coming from every angle in the battlefield. The other DarkStar warriors left the area and stopped fighting. They stood aside and waited for their captain to defeat Black Star. After all, Ember could easily defeat an enemy without his fangs, so there was no need to help.
The result was certain.
Boom!
Suddenly, with a stomp that cracked the ground, Han Xiao dashed toward the DarkStar Mechanic like a flash of lightning. He was not deflecting the attacks anymore, and he let the countless sharp cones hit his body. With a flick of the wrist, the blade of the scythe split open and turned into around eight pieces of electromagnetic blades covered in electrical sparks, spinning and forming a drill shape!
“Take my Electric Dragon Drill!” Han Xiao yelled. The drill penetrated the shield that the DarkStar Mechanic urgently generated and sent him flying. The DarkStar Mechanic’s combat suit turned burnt black from the electric, and the broken parts were flashing with electrical sparks. His suit was malfunctioning due to the damages.
“You maniac, you’re looking for death!” The face of the other DarkStar warriors changed in an instant. They were shocked that despite facing such concentrated attacks from Ember, Han Xiao still dared to give up on his defenses and chose to attack instead. Although Han Xiao was able to succeed due to them having their guard down, this attack did not cause much of a problem. They were all Supers of the same grade, so they would not be killed this easily. On the other hand, this act caused Han Xiao to get hit by a lot more attacks.
“Looks like you’re not going to compromise, quite the spirit you have,” Ember complimented sincerely, then shook his head expressionlessly. “But resistance is futile, and it shows you have nothing up your sleeves anymore. Yet, you’re dreaming of fighting a way out… My patience is limited. Since you can’t comprehend your situation, we’ll have to beat you to near death for you to figure it out.”
This time, Ember decided to not use his large area attacks anymore. The DarkStar warriors received Ember’s order and joined the fight, surrounding Han Xiao.
Without the aid of his suit, Han Xiao was instantly placed in a precarious position. Facing the storm like attacks, he could only passively defend himself. Any movement or dodge was stopped by the enemies’ tacit cooperation. He was forced to remain in one place and unable to fight back.
Boom!
Attacks blasted onto Han Xiao like a tsunami, the continuous explosions stirred up the dust and blocked their vision.
Aroshia, who was standing at the side, could only see the lightning, bombs, spears, and energy enter the thick dust countless times, but she could not see Han Xiao. Endless explosions and clanking sounds filled her ears, but there was no growl or scream of agony. Other than the sound of the battle, she could not hear Han Xiao making any sound at all.
Seeing this, Aroshia suddenly had the urge to stop everything. An unknown impulse drove her to take action. However, at this time, Ember suddenly raised his hand, and they stopped attacking.
“That’s enough, he should be heavily injured by now. Cuff him and let’s get out of here immediately…”
Bang!
Before Ember finished his sentence, the sound of the ground cracking came out of the dust!
Han Xiao shot out like a cannon, covered in wounds and dragging a tail of dust behind him. Even after taking so many attacks, his wounds were all light wounds, and none of them penetrated deeply.
With energy flickering around his body, his scythe slashed down in a flash!
Clank!
Ember’s diamond arm and Han Xiao’s scythe clashed, and the sparks lit up Ember’s stunned expression.
“How can you be okay‽”
They were shocked.
After receiving so much damage, even if he was a Pugilist of the same level instead of a Mechanic, he would have been heavily injured. Yet, Han Xiao was still so alive!
How are you more tanky than a Pugilist‽
“Hehe…” Han Xiao looked up. Half of his face was covered with blood, but his face was full of mockery. He laughed with a husky voice and said, “Is this all you have? Are you scratching an itch for me?”
Ember’s face was filled with rage. He activated his power, and carbon atoms turned into a snake, hitting Han Xiao’s chest heavily, pushing him back in the midst of dust, and pressing him on the floor.
“Continue!” Ember yelled furiously.
So what if you’re tanky? You’re nothing but a living target. We’re the ones that have the upper hand!
The DarkStar warriors took a deep breath and raised their focus level once again. Attacks submerged Han Xiao for the second time.
This time, the attacks were more violent. Dangerous attacks came from Ember continuously, and his eyes were vicious. He had no intention of holding back.
Seeing this, ripples formed in Aroshia’s eyes. She took a few steps forward, picked up an electromagnetic handgun that Han Xiao had dropped earlier, raised her hands, and fired at Ember.
Ding ding ding!
The needle bullets were deflected by Ember’s diamond skin.
Ember turned around and snorted. With a casual swing of his hand, he controlled the carbon element in Aroshia ‘s body and slapped her into the floor, immobilizing her.
When the ambush was launched, Ember had already felt Aroshia ‘s presence—she was just an ordinary person. So, Ember did not care about her and left her on the side. Now that she had fired at him, Ember was not bothered at all. He kept her under control casually and continued to focus on dealing with Han Xiao.
After a rather long period of continuous attacks, even the terrain had changed. The ground where Han Xiao was standing became a near-one-meter-deep hole, covered in a thick dust that blocked the vision.
“Stop.”
Ember’s breath was a little rapid, his power caused him a lot of energy. The DarkStar warriors backed off with a few beads of sweat rolling down their forehead, tired as well. It became quiet as they stopped.
“Is he still alive?” The DarkStar warriors looked at the hole.
“Not dead yet. I can feel his presence. It’s very weak—he’s really almost dead this time,” Ember said with confidence.
However, the next moment, Ember’s face suddenly changed dramatically. The weak presence that he felt became stronger in a very strange way and was recovering at an unbelievable speed.
In the midst of the dust, the outline of a person slowly stood up. Like there was an unknown magical force, everyone’s eyes were staring at that outline.
Ta, ta, ta!
Every sound of footsteps felt like they were stepping right on Ember’s heart.
A black scythe extended out of the mist first, filled with cracks. Just as it appeared in everyone’s sight, it shattered into pieces and turned into a pile of waste.
Right after, Han Xiao walked out, everyone’s eyes turned to look at him. The next moment, disbelief filled their eyes.
Han Xiao was covered in dust, but all his wounds were nowhere to be found. He cracked his neck, looking livelier than ever.
“Are you done?” His tone was laid back, sounding like he had just woken up.
Ember was dumbfounded.
How could Han Xiao’s wounds heal themselves? Did he have a regeneration power?
Even the alloy scythe shattered, yet the person was unharmed. Han Xiao was very much alive—he was harder than the alloy s
cythe!
The people doing the beating were tired, whereas the one taking the beating was still very alive. How the hell were they going to continue‽
Han Xiao stared at the people of DarkStar and stretched his body.
“If you’re not done, I will continue playing with you.”
He had given out the mission to the players long ago, so he was not panicking at all. Furthermore, he had Aurora’s Character Summon Card, with only one effect—Full recovery, simple and powerful, six usages. Just now, when his health was lower than fifteen percent, he used it.
Han Xiao was very tanky to start with, and with this ability, these DarkStar warriors would not be able to kill him even by exhausting themselves.
Ember’s expression changed from surprised to shocked, horrified, then stopped at fear!
His posture became lower and not casual anymore. It became very serious.
This was the sign of him facing a dangerous enemy!
When facing Han Xiao, Ember had taken it very lightly and casually in the beginning. Only when he realized that Han Xiao was immune to his power did he take him more seriously. He had thought that he was serious enough, but he realized that he had still underestimated Han Xiao.
In the short time since the start of the battle, Han Xiao had surprised him continuously. His impression of Han Xiao was completely overthrown!
Ember stared at Han Xiao and said word by word, “What monster are you‽”
Chapter 390. Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (1) |
The DarkStar warriors looked at Ember with the questioning gazes.
Ember stared at Han Xiao. He was in a dilemma. The time that they had spent there was beyond their expectations. They had thought that they could capture Han Xiao in no time, but they had never expected him to have such tough abilities to deal with. Furthermore, they were not sure how strong Han Xiao’s regeneration ability was and how many more times he could recover.
Ember was confident that Han Xiao definitely had a limit. The problem was, how long would it take for him to reach that limit? Han Xiao’s toughness drastically exceeded the average of a Mechanic. They had heavily wounded him once, but their energy and endurance were limited. Their breathing was faster than usual, and their hearts were pumping fast. The nonstop attacks made the DarkStar warriors tired and unable to reach their maximum performance.
