"Beyond Grade A?!"
Tolain was horrified and deeply moved!
All the newly born Beyond Grade A in recent years have been recorded by the advanced civilization, and he knows each and every one of them. However, Hila is not in this data, which immediately threw him into disarray!
Hila had just entered Beyond Grade A and was making her first public appearance, so naturally, advanced civilizations didn't have any information about her.
Only today has the Goddess of Death truly been born!
Nero was visibly shaken, overjoyed.
"Hila has actually reached Beyond Grade A!"
Although it had been many years since they last met, Nero had always remembered Hila's kindness in giving him the Death Mark. Seeing Hila finally take that step, he felt genuine excitement and joy, and could hardly contain himself as he shared the news with the Legion's officers.
"Is she the Hila you all talk about...?" Mia asked quietly, pulling Nero aside, her face full of surprise.
Mia joined the Legion after Hila left. She often heard Hila's name from Nero and other important Legion officers. In her mind, Hila, the elusive captain of the Royal Guard, was extremely mysterious.
As the saying goes, even though she's not in the game, her legend lives on. Today, Mia finally got her wish and met Hila in person. She felt that seeing is believing, and Hela gave her a huge surprise.
Seeing the aura of power emanating from Hila, Mia was instantly captivated; she almost perfectly matched all her expectations of a strong female warrior.
In her past life, she was a follower of Hila. Now, at their first meeting, it was a classic case of "like attracts like."
Han Xiao felt a surge of heartfelt satisfaction as he sensed Hila's imposing presence.
--The Goddess of Death I know and love has finally returned!
You didn't disappoint me!
Austin was also taken aback for a moment, then a genuine smile appeared on his face—the smile of a spectator watching a good show.
"The sixth Beyond Grade A from the Shattered Star Ring? Hey, this is going to get interesting..."
Just as everyone was shocked and amazed, Tolain's face fell, and his expression turned slightly unpleasant.
The situation was somewhat unexpected. He had thought his opponent would be Ames, but a new Beyond Grade A suddenly appeared, leaving him in a bind.
Although Ames is a veteran Beyond Grade A and may be stronger, the data records her detailed abilities, which is very important. Now that his opponent has changed to a new Beyond Grade A with unknown abilities, he thinks she is even more difficult to deal with.
He had seen Hila's file, but it was over twenty years old. Now she was Beyond Grade A, and who knew what new abilities she might have gained? The intelligence hadn't been updated, and Tolain wasn't confident of a sure win, so he hesitated.
"You..."
"Don't waste my time, do you dare to fight or not?" Hila's eyes gleamed with a fierce red light, her body swirling with overflowing energy, her aura intimidating.
She ignored the surprise of those around her, focusing only on her goal. She was always decisive and efficient, disliked idle talk, and preferred action to words.
"Alright!" Tolain decided to stop thinking about it and agreed.
Since they're all Beyond Grade A anyway, winning against either one is a record. It seems he can only fight Hila, so he won't be picky anymore.
At this moment, Han Xiao stood with his arms crossed and spoke calmly:
"If you're going to fight, stay far away from Planet Aquamarine. If it affects any of Planet Aquamarine's plants or flowers... Tolain, you're not leaving today."
"Hmph, I wouldn't dare." Tolain snorted coldly, his tone cowardly and cool.
He knew his place and didn't dare to attack Han Xiao's home planet. Otherwise, even if Han Xiao chopped him to pieces on the spot, the Arcane Church wouldn't have any reason to retaliate.
Both sides reached a consensus, and the group quickly separated, choosing a piece of space in space slightly farther away from Planet Aquamarine as their battlefield.
Only Hila and Tolain remained in the arena, facing each other from a distance, their momentum steadily rising.
All eyes were on the two, watching the battle with bated breath.
The next moment, the two of them moved instantly!
Tolain's body suddenly swelled up, muscles bulged, bone spurs protruded and broke through his skin, a pair of curled demon horns grew on his head, two pairs of Bat Wing unfolded from his back, and his tailbone continued to lengthen, branching into three bony tails.
The person's appearance transformed into a red creature resembling a demon, with bulging muscles, bone spurs, and strange patterns on its skin, making it look extremely ferocious.
"He's a martial artist?"
Upon seeing this, Ames raised her eyebrows slightly.
No, he's a magician.
At this moment, a voice sounded from the side, and Han Xiao's clone leaned closer, slowly reading out Tolain's information:
"He possesses demonic Bloodline, and his bloodline was sublimated during his journey to becoming Beyond Grade A. He just used the True Name Liberation unique to the demon race, and this crimson appearance is his true form, hence the nickname ' Red Devil.' He is a melee mage specializing in transformation and amplification, and his species-specific talents grant him extraordinary resistance and powerful regeneration, making him a relatively rare tanky mage. In comparison, his fighting style is somewhat similar to Milizaus of the Empire."
"I see."
Ames nodded, turned to look at her, smiled gently, and said in a playful tone, "Long time no see, how have you been?"
"I'm perfectly fine." Han Xiao nodded, then joked, "Did you miss me?"
Why would I think about you if there's nothing wrong?
Ames smiled, turned her head away, and continued to watch the battlefield.
On the battlefield, Tolain completed his transformation and charged forward head-on towards Hila. At the same time, dense, deep blue mana surged from his body, transforming into a series of amplification spells that empowered him, causing his body to grow stronger. Meanwhile, colorful magical circuits appeared on his body, continuously boosting his attributes.
He didn't know what new abilities Hila had, but the ability itself wouldn't change. According to information from twenty years ago, Hila was a mid-range combat type of ability user who could manipulate some kind of energy, so he chose to use his best close-range assault tactic.
The Demon race's True Name Liberation grants him powerful resistances and regeneration, along with various magical shields typical of a mage tank, all contributing to his tankiness. When necessary, he can also act as a long-range magical artillery turret.
Ames's force field ability is mainly for control, and its destructive power is not particularly outstanding. In his opinion, his own fighting style is a counter to Ames, and his chances of winning are not low. That's why Tolain has the confidence to challenge Ames.
The opponent came on fiercely, but Hila did not retreat but advanced instead, protecting her entire body with dark red death energy and meeting the attack with a long, fiery tail.
Bang!
The sound of the impact seemed to resonate in everyone's hearts as the two figures collided violently, creating a dark red energy shockwave at the center!
In a contest of strength, Tolain, enhanced by amplification spells, held a decisive advantage, sending Hila tumbling and flying.
However, despite the opportunity that presented itself, Tolain did not press his advantage. Instead, he suddenly froze in place, as if he had noticed something strange.
Hila didn't stop. She steadied herself instantly, pointed forward, and the death energy exploded, transforming into a red sea of light that shot out countless beams of death energy, overwhelming Tolain.
"Shield!" Tolain snapped out of his daze, his hand gestures shifting rapidly as he cast layers of tortoise-shell-like magical shields around himself.
Countless arrows of death energy slammed into the shield, causing it to crumble and shatter instantly!
Bang bang bang bang!
Each shot that hit the shield unleashed a mental shockwave, causing every spectator to be jolted. The explosions didn't need a medium; they resounded directly in their minds, making their brains tremble.
Hila's death energy possesses multiple layers of damage, encompassing both physical and mental attributes, and now also includes some true damage, making it extremely difficult to defend against.
Tolain did not passively take the beating, but kept charging towards Hila. Although Hila was good at mid-range attacks, she did not adopt a sneaky hit-and-run style, but instead launched an extremely tough head-on attack.
The two figures flashed past each other, crashing into each other and flying away time and time again. They exchanged blows hundreds of times, fighting fiercely and evenly matched.
Hila always goes all out and never holds back, and the intensity of the fight gradually went beyond the scope of a friendly spar.
"Godfather, it seems like Sister Hila is in a bad situation?"
Han Xiao was focused on watching the match when Nero suddenly approached with Mia, his voice tinged with concern.
"You're overthinking it." Han Xiao laughed upon hearing this.
"Isn't that right? Hila was being knocked away time and time again. Her close combat skills are clearly inferior to her opponent's, yet she didn't resort to hit-and-run tactics. Isn't that a bit..." Nero asked cautiously.
Han Xiao shook his head and smiled, "Take a closer look at Tolain's body; his condition isn't as good as you think."
Upon hearing this, Nero hurriedly observed carefully. The speed of Beyond Grade A was too fast for him to see clearly. After a while, he finally managed to see the abnormality on Tolain's body, and his spirits immediately lifted.
All that could be seen was that Tolain's body was now covered in dark red death energy, which was extremely corrosive and like a malignant sore that it was constantly eroding his magic and body, and could not be removed.
"Although they entered the Beyond Grade A a few years apart, for Beyond Grade A, it's difficult to make much progress in just a few years, so their actual strength is actually at the same level... Don't look at me, I'm an exception."
Han Xiao patted Nero on the shoulder and offered his commentary. "At this level, Hila's powers hold an absolute advantage."
He remained calm and composed, showing no concern for Hila whatsoever, because among everyone present, only he knew just how powerful the Beyond Grade A Hila truly was!
Controlling death—that's an ability listed among the most dangerous superpowers!
He knew very well that Hila's powers would undergo a qualitative change after reaching Beyond Grade A!
Han Xiao knew all about Hila's abilities from his previous life, all of which were tested by players who sacrificed many lives.
First, upon reaching Beyond Grade A, Hila possesses a unique passive ability—each time death energy strikes a target, it applies a special status effect called [Death Erosion].
[Death Erosion] has 15 layers. The effect of the first layer is to reduce the effectiveness of all enemy healing skills by 20% and reduce their defense by 15%.
Upon reaching level 5, recovery ability decreases by 40%, defense decreases by 25%, and one buff is randomly removed from the opponent every 10 seconds.
Upon reaching level 10, recovery ability decreases by 60%, defense by 35%, all attributes by 10%, buffs are randomly removed, and cells begin to collapse, losing 0.8% of health every 20 seconds.
Upon reaching level 15, recovery ability is reduced by 80%, defense by 45%, all attributes by 20%, all buffs are removed, and 1% of health is lost every 12 seconds.
Upon reaching level 15, Hila can unleash a special skill with no cooldown—detonating all [Death Erosion] stacks, instantly inflicting a death penalty!
The judgment conditions are very strict, and it generally cannot be effective on targets whose level exceeds that of the user. However, even if the judgment fails, there is a special effect: it can directly evaporate 20% to 30% of the enemy's health, while temporarily reducing the target's maximum health by 8% to 12%.
After detonation, with just a short cooldown period, it can apply another round of [Death Erosion] to the same target, making it extremely terrifying.
To interrupt the stacking of [Death Erosion], one must dispel the death energy within the body. Without a similar skill, one must rely on their own resistance to withstand it.
The duration of [Death Erosion] depends on the target's resistance. The higher the layer, the longer it lasts. For example, the first layer only lasts for 3 seconds, the second layer may last for 5 seconds, and the third layer may last for 8 seconds. If you try to withstand it, you can only gradually reduce the number of layers. For example, if you drag it out past the 8-second duration of the third layer, the condition will not completely disappear, but will drop back to the second layer, and the duration of that layer will be recalculated. This process decreases layer by layer, making it extremely difficult to completely remove.
In addition to this core skill, Hila's death ability also has the passive attribute of "Life Drain". Every time she hits a living target, she can convert 10% to 20% of the damage into her own health, which is equivalent to plundering the life energy of living beings. She is powerful in group battles, and the more enemies there are, the faster she can recover health.
Furthermore, each time death energy hits an opponent, it inflicts follow-up damage over 3 seconds, amounting to 50% to 70% of the initial damage.
Furthermore, after Hila's transformation, she possesses a special power that is of little use to players but poses a significant threat to others...
That is, she can use her death powers to strip the living of their cellular vitality, reduce the upper limit of cell division, and shorten their lifespan!
Because of this ability, the vast majority of Beyond Grade A beings in the entire universe avoid her like the plague, and very few people are willing to fight her... If you hit me, I lose a second of my life, so who would dare to play with you!
However, apart from Han Xiao, no one in the entire universe knows this yet.
At this moment, Tolain, who was fighting Hila, was also completely unaware of this.
Bang bang bang!!
The two combatants on the battlefield fought increasingly fiercely, their surging magical power clashing repeatedly with the chilling death energy, creating shockwaves of energy.
Tolain may have originally intended to spar, but under Hila's powerful offensive, he could no longer hold back and could only increase his strength. Now the situation was out of his control, and it had almost turned from a spar into a life-or-death duel.
If it weren't for the fact that this was their first meeting, onlookers would probably have assumed they had some deep-seated grudge, a fight to the death.
"What a crazy woman!"
Tolain was furious, and his attacks became increasingly fierce and driven by anger.
Even though his magical shield could block most attacks, his body would occasionally be hit. As [Death Erosion] continued to stack, he felt more and more uneasy.
Not only was his recovery ability suppressed, but the amplification spells applied to him also seemed to be getting weaker and weaker, and his body was finding it increasingly difficult to accept the transformation of magical energy.
Moreover, after stacking more than 10 layers, he found that his cells were constantly being damaged, and his injuries were rapidly worsening. He could only barely maintain his current state with his suppressed regenerative abilities.
"Her powers are too strong!" Tolain's mood grew increasingly heavy.
Although he had also inflicted some damage on Hila, those injuries healed almost instantly. On the other hand, his condition was deteriorating due to the rampant death energy within him. The contrast between the two was stark, and he found himself in a passive position!
This newly emerged Beyond Grade A fighter is incredibly powerful?!
"Since that's the case..."
Tolain's eyes turned cold as he condensed magical energy in his hand. Then, clumps of blood gushed from his fingertips, mixing with the blood to form a strange purple flame.
Austin, who was watching the battle, suddenly narrowed his eyes. As a master of magic, he recognized what kind of spell it was.
The Demon Race's unique high-level forbidden technique— Deteriorating Tainted Blood!
"This is bad." Austin's heart skipped a beat.
This magic is a forbidden art. It uses a special method to modify the blood of demons, turning it into filthy, invasive, and inferior genes. This pollutes the bloodlines of others, causing irreversible damage to their genes. The power is not strong, but it is extremely insidious and is a unique method of the demon race.
He knew very well that Tolain's use of this forbidden technique would not help the battle at all, but it could corrupt Hila's genes with the Book of Diagrams, which was a very insidious move—a sneak attack!
Hila sensed the danger and quickly retreated. Tolain, wielding his purple flames, gave chase, moving even faster, and the distance between them continued to shrink.
"Don't blame me..."
Tolain's expression was fierce.
Because Hila was a cadre of the Black Star Army, he was worried about provoking Han Xiao and originally did not intend to do so. However, now that the fight had really escalated, he could no longer hold back and was determined to use dirty tricks. As a former wanted criminal who had slaughtered many surface civilizations for amusement, he had no moral standards whatsoever.
Seeing that she couldn't shake off Tolain, Hila narrowed her eyes, suddenly spun around, and unleashed a highly concentrated burst of death energy that pierced through the magic shield and slammed into his chest.
At that moment, Tolain's body suddenly released a large amount of magical energy. His cells, which were severely Death Erosion, could not withstand any amplification effects, and all the buffs shattered and disappeared!
"Varied..."
Tolain's expression changed drastically.
Before he could react, Hila suddenly reached out her hand, aimed it at him, and clenched her fist tightly.
[Death God's Harvest]!
A full 15 layers of Death Erosion, detonated instantly!
Tolain's heart clenched suddenly, a life-threatening instinct screaming in his mind. He felt the death energy within him surging, like a bomb with a lit fuse, rapidly exploding within his body!
The next moment, intense pain pierced through his body and soul in an instant!
Boom!
Before anyone could even touch Hila, his attack exploded into a cloud of blood mist!