by <unknown>
“Whatever.” Retrieving the Evolution Cube was Psyker’s only target; everything else was none of his concern.
As the communication ended, Sardeem did not delay any longer and started to pack up and leave, chasing after Han Xiao with the coordinates sent by Psyker.
While gathering his mechanical troops, Sardeem ended the lockdown.
At this time, Sardeem suddenly recalled something and immediately contacted the upper echelons of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.
“Where’s Barne?”
“Your Excellency Sardeem, Barne was out the whole night last night and has yet to appear.”
Sardeem narrowed his eyes. This Calamity Grade with unknown origin was the first person he suspected.
“I remember he has three friends, where are they?”
“Er… they’re missing as well.”
“They’re most likely the attackers!” Sardeem heavily slammed the table with a vicious look on his face. He had thought that Bame was there to steal blueprints, but it turned out that he had something to do with this Psyker incident. This guy had prepared his ambush for more than twenty days!
Having thought of that, Sardeem immediately entered Barne and his friends’ faces into the control center and made all the surveillance facilities notify him as soon as they discovered their whereabouts.
After that, Sardeem took along a ton of elite Giant Soldiers, boarded his spaceship, turned into a stream of light, and chased after Han Xiao.
At the same time, in a mechanical stronghold in a certain mountain in the wilderness of Planet Macipher, three people were waiting.
Han Xiao had secretly left the planet through Void Dimension Jump while leaving the stronghold behind for Feidin and the sisters to hide, as well as to monitor Sardeem’s movements.
“Sis, the lockdown has been lifted, and Sardeem has left.”
In front of a few virtual screens, Aurora was controlling the machines swiftly with her fingers.
As her Esper ability lacked combat power, she had learned a lot of other knowledge during the time she was on Floating Dragon Island. She had gained a ton of subclasses and was developing toward an all-round commander.
“Black Star guessed right. Sardeem left the planet and is going after him,” Feidin said with resignation.
“And we’re left behind…” Hila clenched her fists with a frustrated expression.
In order to protect the three of them, Han Xiao had left alone to lure out Psyker, who might appear. It was clear that the three of them were a burden.
Hila wanted to fight alongside Han Xiao, but Han Xiao had rejected her because she was not strong enough to deal with a Beyond Grade A Super.
She was irritated with herself for not being able to help him.
She had trained ten years with Ames and become a high-level combatant in the universe, so she had thought that she could finally help Han Xiao, but it turned out she was still a burden.
Hila clenched her teeth tightly and felt frustrated. She had ended her training to help Han Xiao, but now she had become someone that needed his protection once again. She was not willing to be protected by Han Xiao all the time; she wanted to fight alongside Han Xiao. Otherwise, how could she repay him for what he had done for her and Aurora?
Seeing that she was not looking too good, Feidin said in a worried tone, “Hila, don’t overthink…”
Hila returned to being expressionless and said coldly, “Don’t worry, I won’t disobey his orders. Even if I insist on going after him to help, I’ll only cause more trouble to him and become even more of a burden.”
Feidin breathed a sigh of relief. After spending so much time together, he knew how stubborn Hila could be. He did not worry anymore and said with a smile, “You don’t have to undervalue yourself. Black Star sees you as someone very important to him, and you still have a lot of room to grow. In the future, you will definitely be of great help.”
Hila curled her lips and tightened her fists.
“You don’t have to worry about him. After all, we’ve all undergone the effects brought by the Evolution Cube, which you should know about. Black Star is definitely even stronger,” Feidin said.
Hila nodded. She knew very well of the Evolution Cube’s effects—they were so significant that it almost felt like she had been reborn.
“Don’t worry, I made many life force potions for him on the spot. He will be fine.” Aurora chuckled. “Don’t you trust my ability? You were just telling me to make more potions earlier.”
Before Han Xiao left, Aurora had made many life force potions for him on the spot. She had learned pharmacology from Emerald Grass in the past and studied it further on Floating Dragon Island, so the level of her subclass was very high. Combined with her Esper Ability, every one of those potions was equivalent to full health recovery.
When Aurora was making the potions earlier, not only did Hila not stop her younger sister as usual, instead, she agreed to Aurora using more life force to make potions for Han Xiao.
Recalling that, Hila blushed a little bit and turned away to avoid Aurora’s eyes while changing the topic.
The planet lockdown has been lifted, and Sardeem has left. What should we do? Stay here or leave in a spaceship?”
Feidin thought about it then said, “We shall leave Planet Macipher after Sardeem is further away. It’s safer that way.”
Hila and Aurora nodded. As long as Feidin was the one that made the decision, it might not result in a profit, but it would definitely not result in a loss.
Outside the Shattered Star Ring edge, in the desolate universe belt, a light suddenly appeared. Han Xiao left the Void Dimension and appeared with his skin a little red from the universe’s radiation.
Before him was a gray desolate planet. Han Xiao slowly landed on the cracked ground, crossed his legs, and hovered about a meter above the ground, waiting for his Army Boxes to arrive in hyperdrive.
He had used Void Dimension Jump to leave Planet Macipher, so his Army Boxes were still on the spaceship. He would only be at his peak as a Mechanic once his mechanical army arrived. As the Emperor Mechanic’s [Secondary Dimension Army] was still unactivated, his army was not with him at all times.
That’s a point. This is my first time actually leaving the Shattered Star Ring.
Looking up at the sky, this thought suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.
In the last twenty odd years, he had always been in the Shattered Star Ring.
There were desolate universe belts between Star Clusters, as well as between Star Fields, where the latter was much bigger than the former. He had once fought in the desolate universe belt between Klent and Purple Crystal, which paled in comparison as compared to now.
The desolate universe belt that separated two Star Fields had extremely sparse resources and very low value. The planets were scattered, and it was deadly silent. Even if a civilization was born there, it would have no future because of the vile environment. In the entire known universe, desolate universe belts made up to more than sixty percent of the area. In the unexplored universe, desolate universe belts consisted of even larger areas.
After feeling nostalgic for a while, Han Xiao got back to business. He opened the faction interface and started a discount event for all the Knowledges in the faction store. The reason he did this was to reward the army members for having participated for many months in the secret war. The Contribution Point cost of learning Knowledges was sixty percent off!
In order to quickly make up the experience that he needed for the last two levels, Han Xiao used the promotion to stimulate purchases. Knowledges were a necessity for players, and the only difference was when they would learn it. Han Xiao needed the players to learn them right now, so having a promotion was the best method to encourage that. He was willing to earn fewer Enas for that.
This way, even with the forty percent experience penalty, it would not take long.
Before the enemies caught up, Han Xiao had quite a lot of confidence that he could
level up to level 240.
Beep beep!
At this time, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from Hila.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he read it.
Sardeem has left Planet Macipher? He set off as soon as I left, so it seems although their locating method is not accurate enough, they are able to remotely locate the Evolution Cube.
This means that my whereabouts are transparent to them, and Sardeem and Psyker are heading right toward me.
As Han Xiao finally figured out the enemies’ detection method, Han Xiao felt more confident.
The ability to locate the Evolution Cube should be where their confidence came from!
He did not wait for his Army Boxes anymore and once again used Void Dimension Jump, turning into a stream of light and heading further away.
Since he was being chased, he could not stop. This battle was unavoidable; all he could do was make detours to meet up with his Army Boxes while stalling for the time.
While in hyperdrive, Han Xiao pondered.
I have quite a number of trump cards. Aurora’s potion, Dragon Emperor’s Character Summon Card, the rarely used [Painful Revenge] and [Luck Curse]… I must use everything I have that’s effective against a Beyond Grade A. It’s been very long since an opponent that required me to use my full strength. However, the Psychic class counters me for quite a bit. Psyker also has powerful AOE abilities. As a Beyond Grade A, he will be able to easily destroy a ton of my mechanical soldiers. Sadly, I don’t have the time to strengthen my mechanical army now…
As he had already tried in the stronghold, the Evolution Cube had no effects on his mechanical soldiers. After all, they were objects and did not have genes that could be improved. Maybe it would only be effective after they turned into real mechanical lives.
Sadly, [King’s Mentor] was still unactivated, so he would only be able to test that in the future.
Without any machinery that was useful at the Beyond Grade A level, he would not be able to reach his peak performance right after his Promotion. If only he could increase the power of his machinery before fighting Psyker…
Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.
Oh, that’s right, Sardeem…
Chapter 758. Like Rain Pouring on a Field |
With a flashing stream of light, Sardeem’s spaceship stopped outside an asteroid belt.
He had been chasing Han Xiao, following the directions that Psyker gave, for a whole day. He had noticed that the target did not head directly into the desolate universe belt but traveled in an arc around the edge of the Shattered Star Ring at a slower speed than his spaceship.
He finally caught up with the target at this asteroid belt. The coordinates given by Psyker showed that the target was hiding in the asteroid belt right then.
The target has stopped here… Sardeem had a serious look on his face.
Countless asteroids floated in the universe like a river. Some were tens of thousands of meters wide, and some were just a dozen meters wide. They blocked Sardeem’s view, and he could only use the radar on his spaceship to slowly scan the asteroid belt.
Given how large the asteroid belt was, it was indeed a great place to hide. Scanning through it was undoubtedly a troublesome task.
However, the moment Sardeem had this thought, the radar responded.
“Alert! Abnormal energy target detected!”
The vision on the porthole of the spaceship expanded. At the top of an enormous oval-shaped asteroid, a man was sat with his legs crossed. His face was hidden under his helmet, and his body was covered by the streamlined mechanical suit, with dark blue patterns evenly distributed across the surface of the armor. He was facing Sardeem’s spaceship, clearly aware of Sardeem’s arrival.
Sardeem narrowed his eyes. He stopped the spaceship, opened the hatch, and walked out. Red and gold armor extended from his chest over his entire body, forming heavy armor around his body.
Sardeem spoke first and sent a message to Han Xiao with an unfriendly tone. “Barne? Is that you?”
Han Xiao smiled faintly. “You can continue to call me that.”
Sardeem snorted. He knew that the name ‘Barne’ was just an alias. As for his true identity, he did not ask back then, and he had no idea now.
However, that did not matter. He would have more than enough time to find out after he captured and interrogated him.
Having this thought, Sardeem’s eyes started sparkling, and he came up with a plan.
Initially, Psyker only asked him to follow the target. However, since he had caught up, he was not afraid of fighting. Maybe he could pry out Psyker’s secret from ‘Barne’ before Psyker arrived. He had no idea why this person was running and why Psyker was chasing after him, so he was in a rush to find out.
“I have one more question,” Sardeem said with a low voice. “Your real goal was attacking these people, wasn’t it? That’s why you hid on Planet Macipher beforehand. Yet, you tried to steal blueprints while working in my business under a disguise. Weren’t you afraid of getting exposed?”
From the way he looked at it, ‘Barne’ came and stayed on Planet Macipher to kill the group of people including Colin. Hence, he could not figure out why ‘Barne’ was so daring to be exposed right under his nose. Would waiting in a hotel in the city not have been stealthier?
“Will you believe if I say it’s all because of luck?” Han Xiao smiled with resignation.
At the start, he just wanted to obtain a talent, then he discovered Eternal Light’s blueprint, so he focused on stealing it. After that, Orozen suddenly came right before him. He then simply wanted to kill a wanted criminal but was dragged into the storm around the Evolution Cube…
Could this be because of the great Feidin?
“Luck?” Sardeem narrowed his eyes and found that very suspicious. He shook his head and said, “Never mind, I know I won’t get anything from you now. You will learn to speak later when you’re in my hands.”
Right after his sentence ended, Sardeem’s Mechanical Force erupted. The cabin of the spaceship opened. Red and gold Army Boxes shot right toward Sardeem like rockets and opened on the way. His mechanical army quickly formed a formation and hovered behind Sardeem.
With a brief look, there were about two to three million machines. Their models were very different from Han Xiao’s; they were bulkier and more ferocious.
As an Armed Mechanic, Sardeem knew more blueprints for war machinery. The mechanical army under his command mainly consisted of heavily armored and large machines. There were five-meter-tall heavy mechanical soldiers everywhere and a few thousand conspicuous Giant Soldiers. The biggest was more than a thousand meters tall, even larger than many asteroids around them.
Other than all kinds of mechanical soldiers, there were also many combat devices that were often used in galactic wars.
Sardeem launched a ton of compressed orbs, which then expanded into huge parts that connected with his armor, forming a several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier. He backed away into the center of his army. Many defense fortresses and hovering guards moved to surround him, forming multiple layers of defenses. There were also space stabilization devices around him, preventing the enemy from using hyperdrive to close the distance on him.
This was the authentic Army Style of fighting—the Mechanic was the commander in the middle of the army, focusing on utilizing the troops and formation to defeat the enemy step by step.
Seeing that Sardeem had summoned his army, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. As he scanned through Sardeem’s army, he could not help but lick his lips.
“So much heavy machinery, good stuff.” Han Xiao’s fingers moved around slightly in anticipation.
The millions of mechanical soldiers simultaneously aimed at Han Xiao. Seeing Han Xiao did not even respond, Sardeem frowned slightly.
“You’re a Mechanic too. Where’s your army?” Sardeem said with a mocking tone. “Or have you decided not to embarrass yourself and are willing to surrender?”
Han Xiao smiled. He pointed behind Sardeem.
“Isn’t my army arriving?”
Shocked, Sardeem turned around immediately.
Behind his army, streams of light rocketed from far away. It was the Black Star mechanical army that had arrived through hyperdrive!
As the Army Boxes opened one after another, more than ten million mechanical soldiers swarmed out like a black tsunami. It was more than three times bigger than Sardeem’s army!
“How is this possible‽”
Sardeem’s expression changed drastically with fear.
Suddenly, he realized that this ‘Barne’ was not just an ordinary person but someone well known from somewhere.
The size of the mechanical army represented the wealth of the Mechanic. Even maintaining the army required money. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, very few Mechanics could afford such an enormous mechanical army.
Names flashed through his Sardeem’s mind, and he finally stopped on one.
Panicked, Sardeem hastily turned around and stared at Han Xiao with disbelief.
“You’re… Black Star‽”
“That’s correct. Here’s a green hat as a reward.” Han Xiao chuckled.
With the Evolution Cube in hand and breaking through to Beyond Grade A around the corner, there was no need to continue playing the ‘Barne’ role.
“Fire!” Sardeem’s cool shattered instantly as he hastily ordered his army to start firing. The back of his army faced the approaching mechanical army, and the front of his army fired on Han Xiao.
Facing millions of light beam attacks, Han Xiao did not want to take it head-on. Like pulling on a cloth, his hands pulled down strongly. [Strengthened Void Distortion] caused chaos in the time-space around.
Countless light beams’ courses deviated. Countless asteroids around him were penetrated and shattered by the light beams, turning into dust. Even the enormous asteroid under Han Xiao crumbled.
After the initial round of fire, the tens of thousands of meters area around Han Xiao became an empty space in the asteroid belt, while he remained unharmed. He was covered in an azure psionic energy shield that was rippling brightly, blocking all the stray attacks.
