by <unknown>
“Now that we have a common enemy, let’s not talk about the past for the time being. We’re just doing our own thing.” Oulou sighed and looked at Han Xiao with a complicated expression.
“Heh, don’t confuse us with you guys. You guys have masters, but we don’t. It’s all for ourselves.” Sun Hunter curled his lips.
Oulou was silent for a few seconds before changing the topic. “I saw that the members of your association are not here yet. Why aren’t the others here?”
“They’re still considering it.” Kasuyi shook his head.
“You guys are participating in the battle, and they’re watching from behind and taking advantage of us? You guys can accept this?” Oulou raised his brows.
“So, you should kneel down and be grateful to us… Damn it, just thinking about it makes me feel so noble,” Sun Hunter cursed. Kasuyi helplessly explained, “Someone has to set an example. If not for Black Star, we might not have come.”
This time, Clotti, who was resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and slowly said, “Then, do you have the resolve to die in battle?”
Hearing this, everyone paused and looked over.
Clotti was expressionless as he calmly continued. “We, the direct descendants, are all participating in the battle with the determination to sacrifice our lives. Aren’t you self-serving people afraid of losing your lives? Even if there’s the Sanctum Revival, I’m sure none of you are willing to spend your chance to revive and give the initiative of your life and death to others.”
“…You’re right. Of course, no one is willing to sacrifice themselves if they can survive. However, they have to personally experience the strength of the enemy before they know what they’re doing,” Secret Master replied calmly. “Therefore, don’t expect us to fight to the death for you. We’re just fulfilling our end of the bargain. We’ve already done our part by coming to help.” This time, Oulou looked at Han Xiao, who did not participate in the conversation, and asked, “Black Star, if we die, you will help us revive, right?”
Hearing this, Han Xiao turned around and gave a brief reply.
He was not familiar with Oulou in the past, but after interacting with him for the past few days, this person was indeed not difficult to deal with.
“Yes.”
“Ha, then I’m relieved. If I can leave my body behind when I die in battle, please use the Spacetime Amber and preserve me as a specimen to let me take it away when I revive. I don’t want others to covet my handsomeness and steal my body for their collection.”
Oulou made a joke, but no one laughed.
Sun Hunter rolled his eyes. “Do you think you’re funny?”
Han Xiao could not be bothered with the people who were chatting. He looked away and continued to browse the forums.
At the moment, more than ninety percent of the players in the universe had arrived at the frontline. Most of them were rubbing their hands in anticipation of the war.
This kind of large-scale war operation had always been a good opportunity for the players to accumulate experience. Most of the army players participated in the operation, which would allow Han Xiao to gain experience more efficiently.
However, the players had yet to reach the level limit of the version. The first choice for EXP was to level up on their own. After reaching the level limit, they would then have a lot of extra EXP to do other things.
This meant that when most of the players reached the maximum level, his efficiency in harvesting EXP would increase by a lot. This was not his fastest harvesting speed.
It’s a pity that the usage of the players in this scenario is not as good as it was in my previous life…
Han Xiao felt helpless.
The World Tree War was supposed to be a later version, but due to the butterfly effect, it had been brought forward to Version 5.0. In his previous life, this would only be considered a middle version. The players were lacking a few extra versions to accumulate, and the upper limit of their levels would be a few dozen levels lower. Thus, they would not be as useful in the main battlefield as in his previous life.
In his previous life, the players had very high strategic value. The Immortals who were formed by high-level Supers had contributed a lot to many battlefields. Now that this force was gone, it would definitely affect all aspects of battle.
Fortunately, the fate of Hila and Aurora had been rewritten by him, and the Underworld should be able to fill this gap.
Beep beep beep…
While he was pondering, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from Oathkeeper.
Han Xiao took it out to take a look, and his expression changed.
“The World Tree is recruiting an army, estimated to be in the tens of billions, ready to launch an attack!”
Hearing this, the chatter in the room disappeared. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. There were all kinds of expressions such as seriousness, surprise, and fear. Han Xiao immediately walked out of the cubicle to share information with Simon and the others. The other Beyond Grade As also stood up and followed behind Han Xiao.
Simon and the other commanders had been monitoring the situation outside the cubicle the entire time. Upon hearing the intelligence that Han Xiao had shared, their expressions changed, and they hurriedly opened their long-distance communication to report the situation to the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.
The figures of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders appeared on the remote communication screen. The three of them listened to the report with solemn expressions and nodded.
“Is the World Tree Civilization preparing to launch an attack? Got it. We will send the order to gather the various armies to the frontline and prepare for a tough battle.”
As he spoke, Marbruce heaved a sigh of relief.
“Black Star, your intel this time is still very timely and bought us quite some time.” The World Tree Civilization was still in the recruitment phase, and the fleet had yet to be gathered, but Destiny’s Child had already detected it and sent it to Han Xiao. This was a huge advantage, and the other party would not arrive so quickly, so they had plenty of time to prepare. Knowing the other party’s next move ahead of time, the three Universal Civilizations would be able to deal with it ahead of time. Black Star’s intelligence network had already made contributions more than once, and every time, the three Universal Civilizations felt like they had been given coal during a harsh winter.
Han Xiao nodded. “A fleet of tens of billions is not easy to deal with. Although I have provided intelligence, you are the main force.”
The World Tree Civilization had sent out tens of billions of battleships, which was indeed quite a large force. However, in terms of a Universal War, this was not an all-out attack. The scale of tens of billions was not at the level where they were invincible.
The mobilization capacity of the two civilizations could not be compared in the same breath for internal and external battles. When there were no external enemies, the three Universal Civilizations would control their military strength to an appropriate standard. They would not expand their army on a large scale to avoid excessive military expenditures, instead mainly focusing on accumulating strategic resources. However, once they fully entered the state of war, they would quickly turn into a militaristic mode. All the military factories under their flag would explode with soldiers day and night, and their military strength would increase every day.
The scale of the World Tree’s assault was not enough to make the three Universal Civilizations give up on intercepting them. Unless they could not stop them completely, it would not be the time to use their rear strategic strength to exchange for more time.
At this moment, a staff officer touched his chin and said, “Since the other party is still recruiting troops, should we take the initiative to harass them?”
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at him before looking away.
Simon glanced at him, shook his head, and said, “The World
Tree’s information state warning network is spread all over the territory. If we encounter it, we’ll be exposed. What can we do to disrupt it? Furthermore, any army can move quickly in the territory, almost instantaneously. Their mobility is far beyond ours. It’s a natural ambush circle. Once exposed, we’ll be surrounded by countless fleets. We’ll be devoured no matter how many we send.”
Another commander on the side brought the topic back on track and said with a deep voice, “The wormhole reinforcement base already covers the current intercepting area. No matter which blockade area the World Tree hits, we will be able to start the battle and stop the other party.”
The intercepting circle was divided into many levels, and there were strategic zones of different depth between the different levels. The reinforcement base station was the connecting channel, which ensured that the various regional troops in the horizontal longitudinal area would look out for each other. Regardless of whether it was the observation level or the garrison level, they had completed the allocation. No matter where they met a strong enemy, they would be able to quickly send their main force.
As for whether the World Tree’s assault team would hit the intercepting circle, it was not a big problem. Although the intercepting circle was still under construction, it would still be effective even if it was not fully formed. It was similar to running a race; as long as their expansion speed was slighter faster than the enemy, it would remain effective. At the same time, the intercepting team was also constantly setting up spatial anchoring orbits to eliminate the coordinates of the exploration teams’ routes, constantly moving the enemy’s starting point backward as much as possible to return to its original position, causing them to only be able to resume their usual voyage and remain in the intercepting circle. “It seems like the World Tree doesn’t plan to only give us appetizers. It’s preparing to give us a proper meal… This is the first time I’ve experienced a Universal War of this scale.” Oulou’s eyes flickered. At this time, Secret Master pinched his fingers and calculated in his mind before saying with an expressionless face, “My death omen is flashing.” With that said, he changed his hand gesture, and magical waves spread out.
Everyone sensed something and looked over curiously. “What did you just do?”
“I shifted my bad luck,” Secret Master said calmly.
“Who did you transfer it to?”
“Him.”
Secret Master pointed at Han Xiao.
Han Xiao looked at the Luck Reduction status on the interface with a face full of question marks. “Do we have a grudge?” “No.”
“Then why did you push your bad luck on me?”
“Anyway, you’re not afraid. There’s no room for your luck to decline.”
Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.
Are you treating me like a trash can? If not for the fact that I have enemies now, I would let you know why one’s anus is called a chrysanthemum!
Chapter 1335: The World Tree's Strongest |
In the territory of the World Tree Civilization, a multitude of wormholes were maintained in the starry sky, and the roots of the World Tree extended out from them. Fleet after fleet shuttled back and forth, continuously adding to the size of the expedition army. There were all kinds of battleships.
There was a floating lookout tower made of pale green roots nearby. The Subduing Tree King and the Heart Tree King stood there, scanning the expeditionary army’s lineup.
The Heart Tree King calmly said, “The high-level combatants this time include Executive Officers Three Leaves to Nine Leaves, seven high-level Holy Tree Envoys, the Thirteen Ancestral Spirits who are ranked from second to sixth, four army leaders, and other experts. There are 107 of them. This size is enough to test the strength of the opponents and see how well developed they are.”
“Pretty good.” The Subduing Tree King nodded.
There were more than a hundred World Tree experts participating in the expedition. Normally, such an expeditionary force would have a rather low survival rate. However, when the Heart Tree King sent out these members, he was already prepared to sacrifice all of them.
Sacrifices did not mean that they would be given for nothing. Using high-level combatants to kill each other was their usual method of fighting against strong enemies. If the enemy’s high-level combatants died, they would be gone, but their high-level combatants would only return to their seed form after dying. They would be able to reawaken after waiting for a certain amount of time in their bodies, which was undoubtedly beneficial to the World Tree. They opted for a war of attrition to disintegrate the enemy’s strength step by step, reducing the strength of both sides.
The World Tree had used this method to defeat one enemy after another. Up till now, it had never been defeated by anyone, so there was no reason not to use it.
The Heart Tree King turned around to look at the Subduing Tree King and said, “They lack a leader. You will go with them this time.”
“I want to go too? Three Leaf Forest, Four Leaf Amrein, and a few commanders are enough to lead the troops. There’s no need for me to take the risk.”
The Subduing Tree King frowned. He was not too willing to participate in this expedition. The experience of returning to the seed form was not comfortable, and the recovery time of a Tree King was longer than others.
The Heart Tree King shook his head. “The other party’s information gathering has not been interfered with by our side. The Mother Tree’s authority will not be able to penetrate the area covered by their information gathering. It will require the level of a Tree King to allow the Mother Tree’s projection to descend, so you have to go.” “…Okay.”
The Subduing Tree King nodded and did not ask why it was not left to the other Tree Kings.
Among the five Great Tree Kings, he was the only one who had no other abilities other than fighting. From a pragmatic point of view, sacrificing him was the most cost-effective. He was already used to being the vanguard.
“We might meet that outsider on this trip. You’d better accept a baptism before setting off, or you might not be his match,” the Heart Tree King instructed.
“I’ll go and prepare.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, the Subduing Tree King turned to leave.
After receiving the intelligence that the World Tree was preparing to launch an attack, the three Universal Civilizations quickly reacted. The highest-level military order was passed down like an electrical signal through a neural network, controlling the limbs of the ‘giant’ Universal Civilization. All the armies rushed to the front line like they were gathering strength with clenched fists.
Every few minutes to a few hours, a fleet would arrive at the intercepting zone. Other than transferring the main army, the three Universal Civilizations also recruited the troops of the other advanced civilizations, mobilizing the entire explored universe. As a result, the strength of the intercepting zone increased rapidly, increasing by one billion per day.
While staying near the teleportation point, Han Xiao had seen almost all the main battleships of the various civilizations in the past few days. The three Universal Civilizations had all kinds of battleships, and the top-class battleships that represented the strongest units stood out like cranes among chickens.
At the same time, the transportation troops of the three Universal Civilizations continuously sent over all kinds of Universal Treasures. All the equipment used for individual strength was temporarily lent to the Beyond Grade As, and even the members of the association could distribute them according to their needs. The other strategic Universal Treasures were given to different fleets.
Atop the temporary base’s lookout tower, many Beyond Grade As stood in front of the window and looked out.
The surroundings had already become a sea of battleships, almost blocking out the starry sky. It was as if there were only countless battleships glowing with a metallic luster. If one looked far away, this scene was like the scales of a gigantic beast.
“What a h
uge army. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
Many people gasped. It was rare to see the three Universal Civilizations mobilize so many troops. Internal conflicts did not have such intensity, and only the exploration era war could be compared to the current one.
This was the first time that many of them had experienced a Universal War. Seeing this, they had a new understanding of the mobilization of the three Universal Civilizations.
Although they did not know what the World Tree Army was like, just the sight of the three Universal Civilizations’ army was enough to raise their morale.
“There’s not much we can do in such a fierce war. Strangling the high-level combatants on the other side is our mission,” Kasuyi said with a deep voice.
“The enemy has many high-level combatants, so it won’t be easy for us. With their style, they will surely think of a way to deal with us,” a Beyond Grade A beside him said with concern.
Hearing this, Aurora interrupted with a gentle tone. “As long as you don’t leave my healing range, I should be able to ensure your safety.”
Many people immediately replied politely.
“I’m counting on you this time.”
“Luckily, you’re here.”
“Sorry to trouble you.”
Through the mechanisms of the World Tree, it was not difficult to guess that the other party was good at fighting. Everyone present knew very well that in such a fierce battle, the healer was the one who could increase their chances of survival. Many people gathered around Aurora as though they were her bodyguards.
Hila, on the other hand, was watching coldly from the side.
Manison ignored the noisy crowd and walked to Han Xiao’s side. “Black Star, you seem a little nervous. Are you worried that your Indestructible Body won’t be able to withstand such a fierce battle?”
