This wasn't Han Xiao's first time fighting against Mage Class superhumans. Each Beyond Grade A mage had their own specialization and unique fighting style.
Ravenlaude is an Ancient Ones One. Although he has reached his growth ceiling due to limited potential and is unable to advance to the Peak Beyond Grade A, he has learned countless spells over the long years. His Arcane Research Institute is a magical research force used to develop new spells. In the current battle, he has demonstrated extremely broad magical knowledge.
Compared to Milizaus, Ancient Ones Dragon King, the two have very distinct styles. To use a martial arts novel from his previous life as a metaphor, the Old Dragon is like a master with extremely strong internal energy, mainly using the powerful dragon magic inherited from his race. His fighting style is wide-open and sweeping, sweeping across the land, and overwhelming all techniques with sheer force. Ravenlaude, on the other hand, is the kind of fighter with ordinary internal energy, but extremely exquisite and varied moves, and a profound ability to counter any move.
Beyond Grade A are not simple. Facing an extremely unfavorable situation, Ravenlaude was overwhelmed by the Apostle Weapon such as the Dark Emperor and fell into a disadvantageous position. However, he gradually used his rich spell combinations to give himself a chance to catch his breath. Without saying a word, he launched a well-prepared combo.
With a flash of the staff gem, ribbon-like rune rings appeared around it. Purple arcane energy surged like a whirlwind, rapidly expanding into a tornado. The Berserk energy flung away the Apostle Weapon engaged in melee combat, creating a brief window for attack. Ravenlaude, positioned in the Wind Eye, changed his gesture, and the arcane storm rapidly condensed, transforming into thousands of magical arrows that hovered around him. The high-density arcane energy seemed to materialize, transforming into crystal-clear amethyst.
"Secret Technique: Arcane Nova Barrage!"
With a flick of the runes, amethyst-like arrows shot out in all directions, flying into the mechanical troops and exploding into bursts of bright purple arcane energy.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Rings of arcane shockwave spread outwards, blasting away large swarms of mechanical soldiers. At the same time, the magical particle vibrations brought about by the arcane energy also caused many mechanical soldiers to be briefly stunned. This move combines wide-range output with control effects.
Ravenlaude continued his actions without pause, and with a flick of his hand, a materialized magic book suddenly scattered. All the glowing pages fluttered and danced, transforming into a hazy, rotating ring of light, which became a white, Secondary Dimension passage that rapidly expanded behind him, its diameter heading towards ten thousand meters.
Buzzing--
A massive, square spire, seemingly cast from crystal, peeked out from the passage, gradually revealing its full form. It was clearly a magnificent magical structure.
High-level Arcane Spell: Summon Mage Tower!
"He's summoning a mage tower, stop him!" A glint flashed in Dark Emperor's eyes as he stopped his backward flight, brandished his spear, and charged forward once more.
The Mage Tower is the core equipment of high-level Mage Class users. Whether or not it is used makes a complete difference. Only when a mage is one with the tower can he reach his full potential in battle.
For example, Austin's Palace of Hidden Spells is a gold-level mage tower, which not only provides him with a strong combat power boost, but also gives him superhuman flexibility.
Mage towers that can be stored in Secondary Dimension and summoned at any time are very expensive to build. When a normal mage summons a mage tower, it basically means that he has entered a positional warfare mode, because most mage towers do not have the powerful teleportation ability of the Palace of Hidden Spells.
The Mage Tower was his trump card; summoning it now meant he was going all out, leaving nothing to chance.
"Black Star, you are indeed stronger than me... but defeating me won't be so easy!"
Ravenlaude pursed his lips tightly, his Beyond Grade A arrogance provoked, and his fighting spirit ignited.
The mechanical troops immediately activated the spatial stabilization device; however, within the Deep Purple Duel Arena, the dense magical energy weakened the device's effectiveness. Ravenlaude also cast spells to resist, trying his best to keep the summoning channel stable.
The mage tower extended segment by segment, and the Silver Flash and mechanical troops shifted their focus of fire, bombarding the mage tower that was teleporting. The large arcane defense runes protecting the mage tower then appeared, like a semi-transparent pale purple energy shield, constantly resisting the concentrated fire, vibrating incessantly, and exploding into rings of light waves and arcs of electricity.
Ravenlaude unleashed his full mana, a deep purple Glory rising around him. As he summoned the mage tower, his mobility was greatly reduced, and a thick arcane shield protected him from being interrupted while casting his spell.
Suddenly, the space behind him began to fluctuate. The Heavenly Wild Hunt, who had the ability to jump short distances, teleported into the shield. His sharp blades and teeth, crackling with electricity, drew out a sharp, cold light.
At the critical moment, Ravenlaude hurriedly turned around, and Heavenly Wild Hunt brushed past him, leaving a trail of blood.
The arcane energy surged, sending Heavenly Wild Hunt flying. Only then did he look down and see deep gashes on his ribs and legs, the wounds wriggling and closing instinctively.
Before he could make any other move, Dark Emperor had already charged forward, leaving a trail of afterimages as he moved at high speed, thrusting out his spear with ferocious speed, as fast as a shooting star.
The magic-breaking and energy-breaking effects of the Dark Emperor War Spear were very effective against him. At this moment, the summoning was coming to an end. If he wanted to withstand this attack, he would have to cast a spell to deal with it and force the summoning to stop... Ravenlaude gritted his teeth and simply decided not to dodge or evade. He would risk getting injured if he had to pull out the mage tower.
Wow!
The shield was like paper before the Dark Emperor; the spear cut through it as easily as tofu, piercing through Ravenlaude's chest in a flash.
A metallic taste surged into his throat, but Ravenlaude ignored it, completing the final incantation of the summoning spell, his eyes wide with rage.
"Descend!"
Boom!
The entire mage tower was finally summoned, its light blazing brightly, and an immense amount of magical energy was released with a bang, like a hurricane rising from the ground. All the mechanical warriors in the arena, including the Apostle Weapon, were blown away and slammed against the inner wall of the Deep Purple Duel Arena, causing secondary damage.
This is a crystal tower with a huge disc at its base. It looks like a chess piece magnified countless times. Colorful magical Glory flows in the crystal, and countless runes form a spherical dome that envelops the mage tower, which is slowly rotating.
Ravenlaude coughed twice, casually conjured a pale green healing orb, and inserted it into the penetrating wound inflicted by the Dark Emperor to stop the bleeding. He then flew into the mage tower, connecting his mana with the tower's energy core, becoming one with the tower.
The next moment, rows of dark holes appeared at the base of the mage tower, from which countless magical puppets and alchemical golems poured out. Teleportation channels opened up all around again, summoning massive numbers of monsters to meet the mechanical army.
The spear shaft spun in his palm as Dark Emperor wielded the spear like a stick, unleashing slicing beams of light that easily cleaved the demon puppets and monsters blocking his path in two, clearing patches of empty space in the enemy ranks, a scene resembling the slicing of leeks.
Just then, Ravenlaude's mental fluctuations filled the domain, as if his thunderous voice echoed throughout the heavens and earth.
"Since we're after battle, let's see it through to the end, Black Star, come on!"
"A fully-fledged Beyond Grade A mage... cannot betray the Dominion's trust!"
A glint of electricity flashed in Dark Emperor's eyes as his data neurons calculated the massive flow of information. Undeterred, he led his adjusted mechanical forces forward.
The two armies collided like two torrents, creating towering waves!
Much later, when the Imperial fleet arrived at the scene, it found it in complete disarray.
Countless gems, Mithril, flesh, and mechanical debris floated in this area. The space still retained the scorching radiation left by countless high-energy reactions. A mage tower, riddled with holes, floated there. Its crystal was covered with charred pits and spiderweb-like cracks. The swirling magical light was completely dimmed, clearly indicating that it had experienced an extremely fierce battle.
The Imperial fleet found no trace of the mechanical troops, so they quickly sent men into the mage tower. They found Ravenlaude sitting against the wall, his clothes torn, looking disheveled and weak, with multiple wounds all over his body. There were pools of congealed golden blood on the ground, and his broken staff lay at his feet, the broken edges smooth as a mirror.
"You... cough cough... finally arrived."
Ravenlaude's voice was weak as he leaned against the wall to stand up, and several Imperial soldiers quickly stepped forward to help him.
"How did it get like this?!" Bekorodi, who was giving remote commands, was shocked.
The opponent was just Black Star's mechanical forces. Even if they couldn't take it back, Ravenlaude, a Beyond Grade A, shouldn't have been beaten to this state, right?!
"Could it be that Black Star's true form has arrived?" Bekorodi asked curiously, considering this possibility.
Ravenlaude shook his head, panting, "No, he didn't come."
"Oh... so you must have annihilated the mechanical forces and retrieved the Chaos Mysterious Energy?" Bekorodi asked tentatively. No wonder he couldn't find any trace of the mechanical forces; he felt this was the most likely guess.
"No, I was defeated." Ravenlaude shook his head again, his expression complex.
Bekorodi's face stiffened. "So, you, a Beyond Grade A, personally came and even used a mage tower, yet you were ultimately defeated by Black Star's mechanical army, which didn't even have Dominion clone?"
Hey bro, what's wrong with you?
That's so lame!
Seeing Bekorodi's expression, Ravenlaude knew the other man was looking down on him, and feeling ashamed, he said in a deep voice, "You know nothing about Black Star's power!"
As he spoke, he recounted the entire battle, describing the situation in detail, and provided an accurate analysis of Han Xiao's current strength level:
"I've fought against the Mechanic Emperor before, and the memory is very clear. Black Star must have reached the level of Divine Transformation, which is why his Apostle Weapon and mechanical troops possess overwhelming combat power!"
As he listened to the report, Bekorodi's expression had become extremely serious without him even realizing it.
He remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking:
"Black Star's strength has stagnated for about twenty years. I originally thought he would need even longer to break through his bottleneck... but I didn't expect him to grow so quickly again."
During the version update, Han Xiao didn't upgrade much, which made it seem like he had hit a bottleneck, which relieved the outside world, who thought he had finally reached his temporary limit.
Bekorodi had thought so too, but seeing Ravenlaude's disheveled appearance, he knew that Black Star had once again found a way forward... Twenty years is not a short time, but compared to the growth rate of Beyond Grade A, it's too fast!
Letting out a long breath, Bekorodi said gravely, "Report the operation to His Majesty the Führer, and file this intelligence in a classified archive. No information may leak. And the book."
At this moment, he made the right choice: to conceal the information about Black Star's renewed growth in strength. It wasn't that he wanted to, but that he knew that President Urranrell would definitely give such an order.
Although Bekorodi disliked Black Star, he knew that concealing the strength of allies was beneficial to the Empire. Even if his beloved Chaos Mysterious Energy stolen, he had to grit his teeth and clean up Black Star's mess.
"Let's retreat." Bekorodi was depressed and abandoned the plan.
"Then our deal..."
Ravenlaude spoke, gesturing with his eyes to the mess on the ground, his meaning clear: we've all given it our all, even if we haven't achieved anything, we've still put in the effort.
Bekorodi remained expressionless. "The Empire will cover the repair costs of your mage tower and the loss of your magic puppets. As for the Universal Treasure... I'm sorry, your mission is incomplete, I cannot give it to you, that's the rule."
After saying that, he didn't want to discuss the matter any further and hung up the call.
Ravenlaude gritted his teeth in hatred.
Not only was the mage tower destroyed and the golems defeated, but I also got beaten up and lost the coveted Universal Treasure reward... What a huge loss!
Ravenlaude rubbed the bruises on his face, looking resentful and on the verge of tears.
This poisoning was all for nothing!
Black Star, you bastard! We're allies, yet you're so ruthless!
Remember this, I'll get my revenge sooner or later!
'Perfect timing! Even the Tyrant was bullied by Black Star before, let's go find him!' Ravenlaude indignantly.
He was angry only because Han Xiao had given him a beating. As for missing out on the Universal Treasure, he didn't entirely blame Han Xiao. If it weren't for Black Star, the one who got it would most likely be the Secret Master. After all, every wrong has its perpetrator, and in this respect, he was still rational...
But I'm still so annoyed!!
Back on the initial battlefield, the Dominion's avatar, leading the mechanical legion, was still locked in a fierce battle with the Secret Master, tumbling and rolling for three thousand rounds.
Just then, the Dominion's clone suddenly paused, abruptly ordered the troops to cease fire, and withdrew.
"Hmm?" The Secret Master frowned, holding the magic Battle Axe in his hand without throwing it. "Why did you stop fighting?"
Han Xiao waved his hand, "I've succeeded. There's no need to fight anymore. If you're still not satisfied, I can keep you company a little longer."
Upon hearing this, the Secret Master fell silent.
He had been held up for too long and had no idea where the Chaos Mysterious Energy had been taken by Black Star. He couldn't catch up with it. He originally wanted to teach Han Xiao a lesson with the Qi Luck Secret Technique, but this guy was the unluckiest person he had ever seen. His Qi Luck was beyond redemption. According to fortune telling, he was destined to die young. Logically speaking, he should have died long ago. Who would have thought he could become such a big shot today?
To be honest, the Secret Master was actually quite impressed. To have survived such a tragic fate and bad luck to this day was simply amazing; you had to admire him.
Since the methods of luck and destiny were ineffective against Black Star, the Secret Master had no choice but to swallow his anger. After all, even if the Dominion's clone were destroyed here, it wouldn't cause Black Star much loss... and besides, it couldn't even be destroyed.
"You win today." The Secret Master gave Han Xiao a deep look and sent out a one-on-one mental wave. "Considering your pitiful bad luck, I'll give you a heads-up: Gorutan might be plotting something against you."
Han Xiao was taken aback. "You're being so kind as to remind me?"
"Snort."
The Secret Master did not answer, but turned back to the spaceship and led the fleet away.
Watching the departing the Sight of Father's Back of the Secret Master, Han Xiao felt a slight stirring in his heart.
Han Xiao remembered that the Secret Master and the Beast Ancestor Gorutan were both protectors of the interstellar black market, and should logically be on the same side. Yet, after he had ruined Gorutan's plans, Gorutan had actually offered a warning, betraying him...
'It seems there's infighting among the protectors of the Interstellar Black Market... Could it be that the fewer protectors there are, the more profits one can get?' Han Xiao pondered to himself.
After the fight between the two ended, the other forces who had been watching the spectacle dispersed, seeing that there was no more excitement to be had.
For most factions, although the trip was ultimately in vain, they had personally participated in a major event, making it a worthwhile experience. They gained firsthand information, which they would have plenty of opportunities to boast about later.
The Modo Civilization may be the biggest loser in this incident.
Before they could even touch the Chaos Mysterious Energy, dozens of Calamity Grade elites were almost all killed.
"How tragic..."
Han Xiao expressed his sympathy.
The struggle for the Chaos Mysterious Energy has come to an end. With all the bystanders gone, it's finally time to examine the treasure we've acquired.