Death energy ravaged the fleet, eroding and penetrating shields, tearing apart outer armor, and exploding into clouds of smoke and fire in space, with Hila's figure moving among them.
Countless of Gorutan's subordinates were killed by a combination of physical and mental damage. The death energy stole their life force, replenished Hila's health, and absorbed fragments of the dead's souls to enhance Hila's power.
The fleet was momentarily thrown into disarray by the attack, but quickly launched a counterattack, unleashing a concentrated barrage of gunfire. Some of the fire was dodged or blocked by the death energy shield, and only a small portion caused damage to Hila.
However, given Hila's highly efficient Life Drain ability, this injury healed almost instantly.
Gorutan's eyes seemed to spit fire, filled with extreme rage. He suddenly increased his speed, almost instantly piercing through the surging death energy around Hila and approaching her body. This time, he held nothing back, his fists and feet, imbued with killing intent, leaving Infinite afterimages as he rained blows upon Hila like Rainstorm.
Bang bang bang!
Rings of energy burst forth, the force of the punches continuously shattering Hila's internal organs and bones. The power of Peak Beyond Grade A martial artist's furious attack almost turned her into a pulp.
However, Hila, having received a large amount of Life Drain feedback, experienced a significant increase in endurance. Her health plummeted and then surged repeatedly, barely managing to hold on.
Hila constantly dodged and defended, never forgetting to counterattack time and time again, even trading injuries for injuries, showing extreme ferocity.
"You're asking for it!"
Enraged, Gorutan beat Hila while glancing back at the Black Star Army fleet in the distance with murderous intent.
Hila dared to slaughter his subordinates in anger, so he could retaliate against the Black Star Army, resulting in mutual harm.
Just then, Gorutan's eyes narrowed as he saw a mechanical legion fly out from the Black Star Army fleet, blocking the front of the ships. The leader was radiating astonishing energy fluctuations; it was the Black Star Dominion's avatar that was traveling with the ships.
Han Xiao's mechanical troops remained on standby, showing no intention of rescuing Hila. Gorutan knew that if he attacked the Legion fleet, he would be facing a two-on-one situation.
"I'm alone and can't be in two places at once. If I attack the Black Star Army's fleet, I'll end up facing Black Star himself. If he holds me back, Hila can freely slaughter my subordinates."
The thought flashed through his mind, and Gorutan had to abandon the idea of turning around and attacking the fleet, feeling even more annoyed.
I, a Peak Beyond Grade A player, seem to have been used as a sparring partner by the other side?
Black Star, do you really think I wouldn't kill your officers?!
Fine! If you won't interfere, I'll beat your deputy legion commander to death right in front of you!
The conflict escalated after Hila slaughtered his subordinates. Gorutan no longer harbored any intention of testing the waters; he was now determined to kill... Black Star is not to be trifled with? So what! We're all Peak Beyond Grade A. Do you really think I'm afraid of you? I have a temper too!
Gorutan intensified his offensive, channeling his rage into destructive power, unleashing it all upon his opponent.
A relentless attack means an opening is easily created. Hila was covered in blood, but she ignored the pain and remained calm, staring intently at the increasingly dense death energy emanating from Gorutan. Suddenly, her eyes flashed.
Suddenly, Gorutan's fist, swirling with Berserk flames, struck out with a deafening roar. He had activated a skill, causing the power to surge dramatically, and the very space seemed to distort around the center of his fist.
Brush!
The fist pierced through Hila's chest, as if it had punched her through, the force of the punch radiating outwards and splitting the red ocean of death energy.
However, Gorutan's eyes narrowed; he didn't feel like he had hit anything.
The next moment, Hila's body suddenly transformed into a ball of death energy, binding Gorutan's arm. Meanwhile, in the distant ocean of death energy, a humanoid energy rose up, rapidly deforming and solidifying into Hila's true form.
[Dead Sea Stealth]!
Hila can semi- Energy Transformation her body and teleport within areas covered by death energy. The cooldown time is not short, making this one of her few movement skills.
Gorutan frowned. After beating his opponent for so long, he hadn't thought Hila had any dodging abilities.
Just as he was about to continue his pursuit, Gorutan found his fist sinking. The energy residue left behind by Hila when she teleported enveloped his palm, releasing a huge suction force that pulled his arm down, as if trying to suck him into the sea of death energy beneath his feet.
At the same time, the number of [Death Erosion] stacks on Gorutan's body suddenly soared from 10 to a full 15!
[Extradition of the Dead]!
Hila's methods of stacking [Death Erosion] layers are not limited to basic attacks. She has a skill that can instantly stack multiple layers of marks, and this move is one of them. It is a semi-control skill. As long as it is successfully activated, it can give the target 5 layers of [Death Erosion].
She had been holding back her skills, intending to launch a surprise attack, stacking all the marks on Gorutan in one fell swoop, and detonating 15 stacks of [Death God's Harvest] before he could dispel the negative status effects.
The attack on Gorutan's fleet served two purposes: first, to Life Drain their own resources by choosing a battlefield advantageous to themselves and increasing their endurance; and second, to attract their hatred.
In her view, only by turning herself into bait and provoking Gorutan's anger would the opponent have a chance to reveal a weakness. Once the opponent gets carried away and intensifies his offensive, he will have less energy to defend.
Hila remained calm, and the instant her skill took effect, she gave Gorutan no time to react, seamlessly connecting with [Death God's Harvest] to detonate 15 stacks of marks.
Boom!
A dazzling red light erupted from Gorutan's body!
Hila took the opportunity to back away and create distance.
However, in the next instant, a beam of dark brown martial arts energy External Wave from the red light, evaporating the death energy blocking its path and striking Hila directly, propelling her straight toward Planet Ferry.
The brown rays pierced straight through Planet Ferry, like a toothpick through an orange.
However, in the next second, the hole appeared at both ends of the planet, began to expand rapidly, and emitted the blazing red light of the star's core.
Buzz!
In an instant, all that was left for everyone was a white blur. They instinctively closed their eyes. If it weren't for the warship's portholes having the function of adjusting the spectrum and brightness, this level of light would have been enough to burn the eyes of many people present.
"Warning! Detection! Energy burst detected! Burst level: Planetary annihilation!"
A piercing alarm sounded on every ship, and when everyone opened their eyes again, the enormous planet had vanished without a trace.
Only a tiny speck of dust remained in the original spot. The entire planet collapsed and was annihilated, countless substances were evaporated, and Hila was nowhere to be found.
At this moment, the death energy orb Death God's Harvest Reaper quickly dissipated, revealing Gorutan's figure. He had many corrosive wounds on his body, which were slowly scabbing over and healing.
His level was too high, so the instant-death judgment failed, but it still evaporated 20% of his health in one hit!
Since reaching the Peak Beyond Grade A, Gorutan had rarely suffered such serious injuries. In his mind, dealing with Hila, a newly promoted Beyond Grade A, would be a piece of cake. He never expected to suffer such a loss.
In a fit of rage, Gorutan unleashed one of his trump cards, a martial arts technique he created himself: Beast Ancestor Style - Light of Annihilation. This was not merely a simple martial arts fluctuation; it also contained the laws governing the universe as perceived through his body.
What appears to be merely a ray of martial arts energy actually stirs up the energy of the universe along its path, generating terrifying radiation that multiplies its power. If it hits a star's core, it will cause a chain reaction of collapse, resulting in the destruction of the star. Its destructive power to life forms is equally terrifying.
Hila's health was already low, and with one hit, she seemed to be instantly vaporized and killed.
Gorutan's murderous gaze turned to the distant Black Star, and his aura gradually intensified.
He didn't think Black Star Black Star would remain indifferent after he killed the enemy's vice commander in front of him; he was already prepared to face a powerful foe.
However, to his surprise, Han Xiao's mechanical troops did not rush up to seek revenge as he had imagined, but instead turned around and went to the area of the planetary debris.
Just as he was wondering, a gray light shone from the ruins of Planet Ferry, and wisps of faint gray energy gathered to form a whirlwind. Hila's spiritual form appeared and disappeared within it, drawing Gorutan's attention.
The next moment, Hila's body reformed in the whirlwind, death energy draped over her like a robe, covering her body and revealing only her face, which looked slightly pale.
A mech soldier tossed out a legion insignia, Hila casually caught and activated. Countless nanoparticles flowed out, transforming into a new "Red Snake - First Generation" battle suit, which automatically donned her body. Immediately afterward, the Aurora Potion built into the suit was injected into her body, Hila's slump from near death rapidly rebounded. Her complexion became rosy, and her health and mana were restored to more than half.
"Not dead?!" Gorutan's eyes narrowed, and his face immediately darkened.
If he hadn't wanted to kill Hila, that would have been one thing, but he had gone to great lengths to kill her, and Hila was still alive. This gave Gorutan a completely different feeling, and he immediately became unhappy.
However, Black Star had already intervened, and pursuing them at this point would be futile. Gorutan frowned and ordered the fleet to regroup, while he remained in place to recover his strength—in his view, since Hila was not dead, Black Star would definitely give him an explanation.
On the other side, Hila flew back to the Dominion's avatar. Han Xiao turned and glanced at him, a half-smile on his face, "So, want to keep getting beaten up?"
"I couldn't beat him, but I did manage to inflict some damage on him."
Hila shook her head, feeling that she had gained a lot, accumulating more experience and lessons learned from fighting against Beyond Grade A enemies, while also taking down a considerable number of their troops, and her superpower strength had slightly improved.
In particular, the fact that several Calamity Grade officials were killed by her provided her with a considerable boost, far exceeding the benefits she received from slaughtering wild beasts during her training.
Hila paused, a rare moment of hesitation in her voice, "This time... I've caused you trouble, haven't I?"
In an attempt to reverse its own decline, it attacked the enemy's fleet. This tactic was too likely to make enemies, and it probably deepened the enmity between it and Gorutan.
Of course, Hila felt no remorse towards Gorutan. Once she entered combat mode, the lives of her enemies were nothing more than walking blood bags in her eyes. She only felt remorse towards Han Xiao.
'My personality seems to make me prone to making enemies. Perhaps staying with the Black Star Army is a mistake; it might cause him trouble...'
Hila couldn't help but let the thought cross her mind, and she pursed her lips.
She remains the same Goddess of Death from her past life, treating human life as worthless; her indifference to life is ingrained in her very being... or perhaps it's a trait brought about by her superpowers. The only improvement over her past life is that she no longer indiscriminately kills ordinary people; her cruelty is only directed at her enemies.
Han Xiao knew that Hila wasn't good at networking; she was straightforward and reckless, so expecting her to hold back was out of the question.
"We'll talk about that when we get back." Han Xiao shook his head, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You get on the ship first, I'll handle the rest."
Upon hearing this, Hila opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally nodded silently before boarding the spaceship.
Han Xiao, meanwhile, controlled the Dominion's avatar, slowly approaching Gorutan's troops.
Upon reaching the central area, the mechanical troops launched compressed spheres, forming a small, floating space base. The base was only about 1,000 square meters in size, with its entrance wide open. Han Xiao waved to Gorutan, making an inviting gesture.
Gorutan narrowed his eyes and flew into the base. The base was filled with air, and there was a long table in the center with a seat at each end.
Han Xiao sat at one end and nodded to Gorutan.
Please have a seat.
Gorutan plopped down and sneered, "Black Star, your vice-legion commander is incredibly audacious. I've never seen such a suicidal freshman Beyond Grade A. Does she think she can do whatever she wants just because she has you as her backer?"
"Hehe, not at all. She's always been very bold; it has nothing to do with me." Han Xiao shook his head.
"I'm not going to waste my breath on you." Gorutan waved his hand. "For your sake, I'll spare her life, but she slaughtered my descendants. That debt must be settled. Tell me how you want it resolved."
"I think it's simple." Han Xiao, controlling his Dominion clone, stroked his metal chin. "You lead the troops away, and I won't pursue the matter further. How about it?"
"What did you say?! Say it again if you dare!" Gorutan's eyes widened, his martial arts aura blazing.
"Don't get excited, don't get excited."
Han Xiao raised his hand and pressed down, calmly saying:
"I don't think Hela agreed to a one-on-one Hila with you, so who can you blame? Besides, you've probably noticed that she attacked your fleet not out of spite, but to utilize her abilities and create a favorable environment for herself. After all, she's no match for you, so naturally she has to take advantage of the battlefield conditions... And in my opinion, it was clearly you and your fleet ganging up on her alone, wasn't that even more outrageous?"
"... I haven't had much contact with you before, and sure enough, seeing is believing. You're just as shameless as the rumors say," Gorutan sneered.
"Is that so?" Han Xiao clicked his tongue. "Is it glorious for a Peak Beyond Grade A to bully a freshman Beyond Grade A? I have no grudge against you, yet you actively provoked my people and bullied my deputy legion commander. Of course, she is no match for you in a one-on-one fight, but you wouldn't allow her to choose a battlefield that was advantageous to you. It's obvious that you deliberately bullied my people, and you still have the nerve to say that?"
Gorutan paused for two seconds, then said in a deep voice, "In any case, many of my subordinates are my descendants, and several carefully trained Calamity Grade officers have died at her hands. She attacked my fleet first; she started this, and it can't be left like this!"
Han Xiao chuckled, "Weren't you the one who started this? How did it become us causing trouble? Besides, you were the one who first came looking for trouble with me, and now you're complaining that my men went too far. I think you're even more shameless than me."
Bang!
Gorutan slammed his fist on the table, stood up abruptly, and was filled with rage.
"Black Star, watch your attitude!"
"Alright, alright, assuming you're in the right, what do you want me to do?" Han Xiao shrugged.
Gorutan said coldly, "Of course it's compensation! I won't force your men to pay with their lives. I want you to make up for my losses, and also, make Hila apologize to me."
"Hmm, a very reasonable request." Han Xiao smiled. "But I refuse."
"Black Star!!"
Enraged, Gorutan slammed his fist on the table, shattering it, and roared, "You really want to make an enemy of me?!"
At this moment, Han Xiao's tone turned cold. "You think you're the only one who's angry? You bullied my old friend and tried to poach my girlfriend. I haven't settled that score with you yet! And... what gave you the illusion that I can't afford to mess with you?"
The Dominion's avatar slowly rose into the air and floated in front of Gorutan. Their eyes met, colliding as if sparks were about to fly. Their auras rose steadily, and they confronted each other head-on. Lightning mixed with gale-force winds echoed in the narrow space.
Looking directly into Gorutan's eyes, Han Xiao slowly spoke:
"My people are none of your business!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed his finger at Gorutan's chest, his tone firm and unwavering.
"You all keep trying to test me, do you really think I have no temper? I'll kill your people! You want to play? I'll play with you to the end! Can you handle it?!"