"No Matter How Many Underlings I Have, It's Still a One-on-One"-From the classic quotes of a Mechanic

Sisko was scared away by Black Star, the Secret Master was held back by the Dominion, and Ravenlaude teleported to Pursuit the mechanical forces. The situation changed dramatically several times in a short period of time, and it was a battle of gods. The other fleets present were completely relegated to the sidelines.

Having observed the situation for a while, the other forces present also realized that the Chaos Mysterious Energy was no longer available to them.

The group was somewhat disappointed, but not surprised. They had known their hopes were slim when they discovered the Empire and the Arcane had intervened a few days earlier.

However, being able to confirm the emergence of the Chaos Mysterious Energy in the Emerald Star Cluster and witness several Beyond Grade A battles made most people feel that the ticket price was worthwhile and the trip was worthwhile.

So even though Black Star took away the Chaos Mysterious Energy, the crowd didn't immediately disperse. Instead, they took out snacks and watched with great interest as Black Star and the Secret Master wrestled, almost shouting "Pulling hair and tearing clothes!"

Only a few relentless forces attempted to pursue the direction the Chaos Mysterious Energy had taken, but they were stopped by the mechanical legion. Faced with the dense array of Psionic Energy cannons, these people had no choice but to remain. There was nothing they could do; they couldn't fight against the overwhelming power of Black Star.

While the Dominion's avatar led the mechanical legion in a fierce battle against the Secret Master, the Imperial Fleet also reacted, quickly reporting that Black Star had also intervened in the struggle. This immediately alarmed the highest-ranking person in charge of the operation, Bekorodi, a hardliner in the Empire.

"Black Star is here too? And he succeeded?!"

At the remote command post far within the empire's borders, Bekorodi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, filled with shock and rage.

"Ravenlaude has caught up and is likely to have Head-On Conflict with Black Star... What should we do?" the fleet commander asked cautiously.

Upon hearing this, Bekorodi's brows furrowed almost into a knot, and he hesitated.

He felt things were very troublesome. Black Star was an important ally of the Empire, and in principle, the two sides should have tried to avoid conflict as much as possible.

However, before this, the Empire was unaware of Black Star's involvement, a situation that made Bekorodi somewhat wary.

--Given the Empire's control over the Shattered World, the fact that they didn't discover Black Star sending a force here shows that the Black Star Army, with the Empire's support, has been secretly operating quite a bit in the Shattered World.

Bekorodi believed that Black Star should have been the one to back down in this situation. However, Black Star clearly saw the Empire was there, yet he still participated in the struggle. In his personal opinion, this was disrespectful to the Empire and showed no intention of mending the relationship between the two sides, which greatly displeased him, a hardline high-ranking official.

Without a doubt, he believed that his current predicament was all Black Star's fault, and he was caught in a dilemma.

Should they continue their actions, risking a rift with Black Star, or should they proactively back down and abandon the plan?

"... Sir? Should we contact His Majesty the Führer?"

While deep in thought, the sound of a subordinate calling out to him brought Bekorodi back to reality. After a pause, he spoke in a deep voice:

"Don't notify the Führer. Contact Black Star first; I'll negotiate with him."

He knew that Urranrell favored Black Star, so he didn't want to inform the leader and wanted to handle the situation himself to maintain control of the operation.

The command center dialed Black Star's number. After three rings, the call was connected, and Han Xiao's face appeared on the screen with a meaningful smile.

"Great, great, you contacted me 37 seconds earlier than expected."

Bekorodi's veins throbbed. Suppressing his anger, he forced a smile and said, "Black Star, do you remember me? I'm Bekorodi."

Hello, it's nice to see you again. Have you eaten yet?

"I just had dinner."

"You look great! You've been sleeping well lately, haven't you? You're getting older, so don't work so hard. Get some rest."

"I'm used to being overworked and can't stand being idle. I've gotten used to working every day for so many years, but I've actually been sleeping better lately, I..."

Bekorodi stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

He then realized that he had been led astray by Han Xiao without realizing it, and had subconsciously started chatting, almost forgetting what he was supposed to say on the phone.

Besides, we're not even familiar with each other. You Black Star, are you just stalling for time?

Bekorodi coughed loudly to cover his embarrassment, quickly regaining control and taking the initiative. "You know why I'm here, right? I didn't expect you to be eyeing Chaos Mysterious Energy too. This intelligence comes from the legacy of the Sorokin; you should have notified the Empire, or at least reported your actions. If you had, today's accident could have been completely avoided. Why didn't you say so?"

Han Xiao's expression was strange, his surprised look as if to say, "What kind of silly question is this?"

"Not informing you means I want it myself... It seems I have no obligation to hand over all intelligence to the Empire, let alone report private actions. We are allies, not superiors and subordinates."

Bekorodi's face hardened, his features hardening to exude the aura of a domineering CEO. He stated decisively, "In short, this matter is not up for discussion. Listen to me, the Empire does not want the outside world to see us in conflict with our allies. This matter needs a solution."

"That's simple. You just give up the fight and Chaos Mysterious Energy, and that's it." Han Xiao smiled.

"Impossible." Bekorodi blurted out instinctively, but then realized his tone was a bit off, softened it slightly, and said in a deep voice, "The Empire also desperately needs Chaos Mysterious Energy and won't give it up so easily."

"What do you want the Chaos Mysterious Energy?" Han Xiao asked curiously.

Bekorodi immediately shut up.

We can't exactly tell Black Star the truth, that we're planning to target your Evolution Cube.

The purpose of Chaos Mysterious Energy is to allow Gaud to grow rapidly and enter the Beyond Grade A realm as soon as possible (https://www. hetushu. com. com). The goal of doing so is to analyze the Evolution Cube. Only Beyond Grade A Gaud can use his special ability to analyze Evolution Energy.

After hesitating for a long time, Bekorodi finally blurted out, "This is classified."

"Fine, don't tell me then." Han Xiao shook his head. "I'm not going to give in like this. We're allies, that's true, but there's no reason why I should give you West Capital just because you reveal your name. I have to earn those ultimate professional knowledge by doing good deeds. You can't expect me to be selfless."

Bekorodi nodded. "Alright, let's make a deal. We're willing to offer our bargaining chips in exchange for Chaos Mysterious Energy. What do you want? Intelligence? Knowledge? Resources? Or perhaps Universal Treasure? I see you're eyeing Chaos Mysterious Energy, probably to turn it into Universal Treasure. Why don't you just exchange it with us? Choose one Universal Treasure from the list we had last time, and I can approve the deal."

Hiring Ravenlaude would normally require paying with a Universal Treasure, but now that the Chaos Mysterious Energy is in Black Star's hands, Bekorodi simply transfers the deal to Black Star.

Ravenlaude's agreement was naturally not honored; he was kicked out of the game and at most received some compensatory resources...

Ravenlaude, who was in pursuit of the mechanical forces, was unaware that his employer had given up on him, and the Universal Treasure he had been longing for had essentially gone down the drain.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "What if you change your mind?"

"If you agree, I'll have Ravenlaude withdraw, leaving the Chaos Mysterious Energy with you first. Then you can issue a public statement to mitigate the negative public opinion surrounding this conflict, and then use it to exchange for Universal Treasure with us. So don't worry about us not fulfilling the deal."

Bekorodi had no intention of playing any tricks in this regard; as a high-ranking official of the empire, he possessed that much magnanimity.

Unfortunately, Han Xiao wasn't planning to agree immediately...

--If my teammates run away, who am I supposed to beat up?

"We'll talk about that later. I haven't decided whether to give it to you or not. I need to think about it. So for now, let's have a fair competition... Since you don't want the outside world to know, let's find a secluded place to make our move." Han Xiao's tone was calm, leaving room for maneuver and not completely rejecting the deal.

Bekorodi's face stiffened, and he was secretly annoyed.

They're really clueless! They won't listen to reason, so they'll have to suffer the consequences!

Having said that, he didn't want to waste any more words. He simply replied "okay" and hung up the communication. He then turned to his subordinates and told Ravenlaude to make sure he got his hands on the Chaos Mysterious Energy.

In his memory, Han Xiao's main body was still in the Black Star Palace. This time, only a Dominion's clone and a group of mechanical troops came. At this moment, the Secret Master had restrained the Dominion's clone, so Ravenlaude should still have a chance to succeed.

Amidst the dazzling nebula, Ravenlaude and the mechanical army engaged in a chase, constantly moving away from the battlefield where the Dominion's avatar was located, disappearing from everyone's sight.

Without the limitations of the spatial stabilizer, Ravenlaude's teleportation spells were faster, and he could catch up with the mechanical troops in an instant, no matter how fast they ran. However, the reason he obediently followed behind was to stay as far away from the Dominion's clone as possible, so that the Dominion's clone could not interfere in the battle on his side.

After all, the presence or absence of the Dominion's avatar makes a world of difference in the combat strength of the mechanical troops. He didn't want to end up like the Secret Master, using his own physical body to withstand the Dominion's avatar's onslaught, because...

I'm a proper mage! Very fragile!

Long-range turrets are the epitome of elegance for us. Roll up your sleeves and engage in melee combat? You dare call yourself a mage?!

The Secret Master, that guy who paints himself all sorts of colorful things, has decent melee abilities. Ravenlaude, on the other hand, is an old-school mage who plays pure arcane magic. Sending him into melee combat is no better than having the Mechanic charge at the Martial Artist from the opposite direction; they'd die much faster that way... well, not counting Black Star.

"That's far enough."

Ravenlaude steadied himself, cast a teleportation spell, and stood directly in front of the mechanical troops. With a wave of his hand, a top-tier staff popped out, hovering above his head, the gem at the tip of the staff shining with dazzling magical light.

The next moment, thick magical books materialized from mana appeared around Ravenlaude, slowly rotating around him like a star ring, radiating surging arcane energy.

With a whoosh, the magic book opened, and as the pages flipped rapidly, a thick purple magical Glory suddenly spread out, transforming into a vast domain, like a deep purple spherical energy shield that enveloped the entire mechanical force in front of it.

From the inside, the inner wall of the domain is a deep purple base, with streaks of bright blue and incandescent magical light flowing across it, like arcane comets. The whole thing looks like a purple curtain adorned with blue stripes.

"The Wall of Tragal - Deep Purple Duel Arena, this is a new forbidden spell created by my spell development team."

Ravenlaude unleashed the spell with a confident smile, as if he already possessed the Chaos Mysterious Energy.

The Mechanical Force lightning on the mechanical troops suddenly dimmed considerably, and they opened fire in all directions. The Psionic Energy cannons disappeared into the inner wall of the domain, as if they had been absorbed. Meanwhile, some of the mechanical soldiers flew towards the edge, and the moment they touched the deep purple inner wall, the wall exploded with a dazzling burst of arcane energy, repelling the mechanical soldiers.

Ravenlaude was certain that the mechanical troops were trapped. In this situation, the villainous soul deep within him couldn't help but stir, and he began to perform his traditional skill—narration!

"This is a forbidden-level barrier magic. It can transfer internal energy attacks to the outside while preventing physical entities from passing through the barrier. Your mechanical troops cannot escape. Moreover, this barrier can weaken the spatial connections and energy conduction efficiency of the outside world. You've noticed that the Mechanical Force bonus on this force has weakened."

He spoke enthusiastically, but the mechanical troops ignored him, relentlessly attacking the inner wall of the area with physical attacks, constantly being repelled.

Seeing this, Ravenlaude shook his head and smiled, saying slowly, "Don't bother, Black Star. I know you can hear my telepathic spells. Let's talk this over."

After a few seconds, the mechanical troops gave up their attempt, turned to look at him, opened the wide-area communication channel, and transmitted Han Xiao's message:

What are we discussing?

"Black Star, I respect your strength, but your Dominion isn't here. Fighting me will only be a waste of this force. Why not just hand over the Chaos Mysterious Energy to me voluntarily? I'll remember this favor and give you ample compensation. You know we're allies; there's no need to resolve this with force."

Ravenlaude smiled faintly, feeling that he had already given Black Star a lot of face.

However, only young people would give up their interests just because someone said a few nice words. Han Xiao was just a fresh-faced baby among the Beyond Grade A, but in terms of absolute age, he was a handsome and dashing uncle. He was unmoved by this and ordered the mechanical troops to start moving without saying a word.

Rat-a-tat-tat!!

The mechanical troops immediately surrounded Ravenlaude and focused their fire on him, but he was prepared. Layers of arcane shields protected him, and he moved at high speed to dodge the attacks. He unleashed a barrage of offensive arcane spells, bombarding the mechanical troops.

The area was vast, giving Ravenlaude ample space to kite, and coupled with his teleportation-based flexibility, he could maintain the battle in a mid-range combat mode, exchanging firepower and magic.

"Annihilating the mechanical troops isn't the goal; it would be best to seize the Chaos Mysterious Energy and leave." While exchanging fire with the mechanical troops at the center gate, Ravenlaude kept an eye on the position of the mechanical warriors escorting the Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Suddenly, a flaw appeared in the mechanical troops' formation, a gap appeared in their defenses against the Chaos Mysterious Energy, which he spotted at a glance.

"Chance!"

Ravenlaude unleashed a spell he had prepared beforehand, sending out invisible shockwaves that separated the mechanical forces. He then cast a teleportation spell he had been preparing for a long time, instantly emerging from beside the Chaos Mysterious Energy Escort. A purple mage's hand, shaped by arcane energy, reached for the Chaos Mysterious Energy Sealing Container that was within reach.

In that instant, a cold, eerie blue light flashed in Ravenlaude's peripheral vision, its sharp aura making the hairs on his body stand on end.

In an instant, Ravenlaude hurriedly pulled in his abdomen to dodge, but a white spear with gold patterns and a bluish aura easily tore through his protective magic shield, grazing his lower abdomen and vital area, sending a chill down his spine.

--That was close, I almost choked!

Having been lying in ambush in the army for a long time, Dark Emperor suddenly twisted his spear shaft, unleashing a shockwave that sent Ravenlaude flying horizontally!

The Dark Emperor War Spear is a "companion weapon" that appeared when he transformed into Apostle Weapon. It is of silver-orange quality and its power increases along with the Apostle Weapon.

Now, the Dark Emperor War Spear has many more new characteristics than it did initially, including multiple sharpness enhancements, super penetration, magic penetration, aura penetration, shield penetration, bleeding, cell regeneration inhibition, and so on. When used by the Dark Emperor himself, these characteristics are further enhanced, making it a terrifying mid-to-close range weapon in his hands. It can easily penetrate most shields, and Ravenlaude's protective magic shield is almost as fragile as paper in front of the Dark Emperor War Spear.

With Dark Emperor's streamlined body surged forward, seizing the opportunity gained from the sneak attack. He unleashed a series of fluid mechanical warrior combos, giving Ravenlaude no time to catch his breath.

Before Ravenlaude could even react, a strong sense of danger surged from behind again. Several hidden Apostle Weapon rushed up to engage in combat. These were all close-combat specialists like Heavenly Wild Hunt, Heaven Suppressing Flag, and Purple Sky Spirit, who held Ravenlaude tightly, preventing him from using his teleportation ability to create distance.

Except for the Apostle Weapon with special sizes like the Giant King Kong, which didn't come, almost everyone else was here, lying in ambush among the mechanical troops. Now, they finally made their move. Dark Emperor led a group to engage in close combat, while Silver Flash led another group to deal ranged damage. Their division of labor was clear, and their cooperation was excellent.

Because of the successful surprise attack, Ravenlaude was immediately put on the defensive.

With Han Xiao's Mechanical Force enhancement, each of these Apostle Weapon possesses combat power at the Beyond Grade A level. Now that Han Xiao has advanced, his mechanical abilities have been further strengthened, and the combat power of the Apostle Weapon has also increased accordingly. Even a single one of them is enough to fight against an ordinary Beyond Grade A weapon for a long time... I won't repeat who I'm talking about, everyone knows.

Ravenlaude was struggling to keep up with the demands of fighting against more than a dozen Apostle Weapon of similar strength.

There was no room for trickery; it was a complete and utter domination based on superior strength, and the situation quickly turned into a one-sided rout.

"I can't even defeat a medium-sized mechanical army without Dominion avatar? His strength has progressed to this level?!"

Ravenlaude gritted his teeth and endured the fierce attacks of more than a dozen people. His mana was being drained away like a flood, and his heart was filled with an unbelievable sense of absurdity and a deep-seated sense of powerlessness.

Feeling his own chaotic state, Ravenlaude was absolutely certain of one thing— Black Star had gotten even stronger!

At this moment, he suddenly recalled his experience facing the Mechanic Emperor many years ago...

That's the feeling!

It was so powerful that even he, a Beyond Grade A, felt fear!