Just as the Arcane Church was considering retreating, Seraon, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the Mechanical Deity, also received advice from others.
"Lord Seraon, let's retreat. The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable for us. There's no point in fighting Black Star, who has burning potential, here." Hedis said urgently in the group chat channel.
"That's right. Although it doesn't look good that more than ten people were forced back by Black Star alone, considering the situation, this is the best solution at the moment. Since he paid such a high price, we'd better not get entangled with him anymore," Mornisa agreed.
Seraon clashed with the Mechanical Deity for a few moments, then withdrew, his expression grim.
Although he was all too willing to admit it, Black Star's current combat power was enough to rival his own, and neither could defeat the other. The Mechanical Deity's consumption was terrifying, just like Ultraman's three minutes. An ordinary mechanic could not maintain it for long, but Black Star's recovery ability was amazing and could be maintained for a long time, which meant that even if the two could determine a winner, it would take a very long time.
It seems the Arcane are considering retreating. If they stay and continue to fight Black Star, all the pressure will fall on Glory.
Seraon himself wasn't afraid, but unlike a mechanic, he couldn't fight on multiple fronts and couldn't take care of others, putting him at a disadvantage professionally.
Glory had never intended to engage Black Star in a direct confrontation. Since the plan to capture Hila alive had failed, continuing the fight would be futile. Seraon made a decisive move and spoke in a deep voice:
"Retreat, let the High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter guide the preheating."
Having said that, Seraon stopped entangled with the Mechanical Deity, turned around and broke through to clear a path. Martial arts fluctuations burst out again and again, creating a blank space in the midst of thousands of troops.
On the other side, while leading her teammates to escape, Kasuyi stopped pretending and unleashed her telekinetic powers, sweeping away all the mechanical troops blocking her path.
The two groups took different escape routes. The Glory brought a fleet, and the High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter served as their escape route. The Arcane, on the other hand, had a small force, and only Beyond Grade A individuals needed to escape alone. As long as they left the area of the spatial stabilization device, they could use teleportation scrolls to escape.
Han Xiao immediately noticed the change in everyone's fighting objective. The two sides were trekking through the black tide of the mechanical legion, breaking out in two different directions.
Both Glory and Arcane were eager for the other to keep Black Star occupied, so they naturally wouldn't continue to help him. Arcane was even less likely to hitch a ride on Glory's coattails, otherwise it would be like escaping one tiger's den only to fall into another.
"... The alliance has been broken."
Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he controlled the Mechanical Deity to set off, chasing after the Glory army without saying a word.
Under his command, the mechanical legion split into two groups, while the Apostle Weapon and Mysterious Energy Envoy Users abandoned the Arcane ' Beyond Grade A and turned their attention to Glory.
It's more effective to concentrate forces to deal with a single group. The reason for targeting the Glory is partly due to Kasuyi's favor, and partly because Pursuit the Arcane is too difficult.
Once Kasuyi stops acting, his ability to hold off enemies will be unparalleled. If I were to chase after the Arcane at this moment, it would be virtually impossible to stop anyone— Kasuyi is just an avatar, and he can completely sacrifice himself to cover the retreat. His telekinetic abilities are enough to hold off all my troops for a period of time... That's how much mana he has and how much he can do whatever he wants.
In contrast, Seraon is only a powerful individual martial artist with limited large-scale AOE abilities. He is not good at protecting his teammates, and he is also the main body of the enemy. He cannot miss the Glory's bus. With all these factors combined, the Glory side is naturally easier to deal with.
Once he decided on his target, Han Xiao didn't hesitate and immediately locked onto a Glory Beyond Grade A, unleashing his skill.
[Supreme Virtual]!
"Lone Walker" Jack Gonitz was using various mechanical weapons to fight against the Apostle Weapon when suddenly his body froze. His soul was trapped in the virtual world by Han Xiao, and he lost control of his body.
In this perilous situation, even the slightest negligence could be fatal, let alone a control period of more than ten seconds.
As a mechanical warrior, his physical defense was no match for Pugilist Class muscle-bound warrior, and he also lacked the special ability to True Damage Immunity. The surrounding mechanical legion and Apostle Weapon swarmed him, causing Jack Gonitz's health to plummet precipitously.
Han Xiao chose him precisely because he was fragile enough; the Meeting of the Gods allowed him to obtain information on the vast majority of Beyond Grade A abilities.
Brush!
Without a word, the Mechanical Deity stretched its arm across the sky, grabbed Jack Gonitz, and sucked him into its body.
When Jack Gonitz broke free from the control of the Supreme Virtual and his spirit returned to his body, he immediately felt a strong sense of weakness. He was left with a battered and bruised body, and was still controlled by the ubiquitous trap devices within the Mechanical Deity's body.
"How could this be...?"
Jack Gonitz was utterly horrified, unable to believe he had been defeated so quickly.
Even when facing the forces of the Mechanic Emperor, he could hold out for much longer. I only knew Black Star was incredibly tanky, but how come he also deals so much damage?!
Han Xiao wasn't surprised by this; his mechanical legion's output was by no means low.
[Legendary Combat Technique] As expected of the template's specialty, even Beyond Grade A Beyond Grade A without true damage resistance cannot withstand such a terrifying rate of health loss once his mechanical legion breaks through the shield and focuses fire on the main body.
At this moment, Jack Gonitz was transported to Han Xiao's side by the torrent of nanoparticles within the Mechanical Deity's body. Han Xiao turned to look at him and slowly said:
"Once you're inside me, you can't escape. If you don't want to suffer more, just behave and don't resist."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless cannons extended from the inner walls of the surrounding Mechanical Deity, aiming at Jack Gonitz.
Beneath his mech helmet, Jack Gonitz couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
Fine, I was never going to beat Black Star anyway, and now he's risking his life. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle, so I'll just have to accept it.
Meanwhile, the Glory Army outside was filled with shock and anger. They had clearly witnessed the entire incident, seeing Black Star easily capture Jack Gonitz as if he were a chick.
"Your Excellency Seraon, this..." Wormur couldn't help but speak.
"Ignore him, he can't be saved." Seraon's expression was gloomy, and he was secretly annoyed.
Unlike Kasuyi, he came in his true form and didn't have the luxury of being reckless. If he stayed behind to cover the retreat and try to rescue his teammates, he would miss the Glory Teleportation and would probably perish here once the Imperial reinforcements arrived.
Even though he was furious, Seraon could only suppress his anger.
At the same time, the Arcane who broke through from another direction also witnessed the Glory Spirits' casualties, and their spirits were lifted.
Sagman and the others were initially upset about Tolain's capture, but seeing that Glory was also in trouble, they immediately felt better.
As a famous person with the surname Lu once said, when a person is down on their luck, the best comfort is not for others to pity them, but to see that others are just as unlucky as they are. Now, Arcane thinks this way, and feels much more at ease.
At this moment, Kasuyi's eyes flickered slightly. After thinking for a while, he suddenly stopped and said, "You all go first. I'll stay and do some things."
"What are you going to do?" Sagman asked curiously.
Kasuyi turned to look in the direction of Glory, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Glory hasn't given up on the Scepter of All Gods. Let's teach them a lesson and take this opportunity to recoup some interest."
Everyone suddenly realized that only Kasuyi, who had come in a clone, could easily do such a thing.
Kasuyi was thinking was precisely to use the past to restrain the Glory forces and help Black Star capture more of the Glory's Beyond Grade A.
He hoped Black Star would capture some prisoners to vent his anger and in exchange for compensation from a cosmic-level civilization. Of course, it would be best if Black Star didn't betray his allies, and Glory was the best alternative.
Moreover, this reason is quite legitimate. If he becomes an actor, the Arcane will praise him for his good performance, thus mitigating the losses caused by the mission failure and the capture of his teammates. It's a win-win situation, showing he's a veteran actor.
With this in mind, Kasuyi left Sagman and the others without saying a word, and went straight to attack the Glory forces, while also setting up a private chat window with Han Xiao.
"Remember the deal I just mentioned? How about we work together?"
Han Xiao was chasing and entangling the people of Glory. When he saw Kesuye rushing towards the battlefield here, he originally planned to stop him. But when he heard these words, even he couldn't help but became speechless. Thousands of words of complaints surged in his stomach, all merged into one sentence:
--I really thank you on behalf of Glory!
With his participation, the situation immediately changed. One by one, the members of the Glory Army were swept away by Kasuyi's psychic power, suffering a strong mental shock, their bodies trembling violently, and numerous openings appearing. The mechanical legion took advantage of the situation, trapping the enemy in an even tighter encirclement, and their breakout speed suddenly slowed down.
Upon seeing this, Seraon flew into a rage.
"Kasuyi!!"
When I invited you to cooperate against Black Star, didn't you say you were out of mana, you bastard?!
You're fucking impersonating me!
He never expected the Arcane Church to be so unscrupulous, actually coming to sabotage him and helping Black Star fight against them.
"Don't look at me like that," Kasuyi said calmly. "During the Battle of Lighthouse Star, you stabbed us in the back just like we did now. The situation then is so similar to this now. I've simply done the same thing as you."
During the Battle of Lighthouse Star, the Arcane were put on the defensive because of Glory's opportunistic actions, and Glory even killed one of their Beyond Grade A units and stole the Scepter of All Gods.
As the saying goes, don't be too happy today, or you'll be held accountable later. Therefore, Kasuyi felt no guilt about this, as it was only right to return the favor.
Seraon's face turned ashen. With a roar, he suddenly turned back and charged back, his entire body surging with highly concentrated martial arts aura. He smashed straight through a blank area. The single-sword charge ability of Peak Beyond Grade A martial artist was fully unleashed, unstoppable and invincible. No mechanical troops could stop him.
He smashed through countless mechanical soldiers, charged straight to Crystal Soul, grabbed her, and then turned and left, ignoring his remaining teammates.
Seraon knew that once Kasuyi intervened, the Glory would definitely lose many people this time, so he could only try to minimize the losses.
The Crystal Soul was small in size, a crystalline life form, and possessed a Universal Treasure, so it had the highest priority. Seraon simply took the nearest Crystal Soul with him and fled. As for the others, he was powerless to help them.
Seeing this, Mornisa decided not to flee anymore and ordered her mechanical troops to cover the rear. Although they were being driven back in disarray, they slowed down the pace of Han Xiao's mechanical legion's pursuit.
As a result, the people under the most pressure became Hedis and Wormur, who were lagging behind.
"Hateful..."
Hedis coughed up blood from all seven orifices. He was also a telekinetic, but he was powerless against Kasuyi. He was so shocked that he was dizzy and weak, unable to remain calm, and his face was full of resentment.
Just then, the Mechanical Deity's hand suddenly descended, Hedis stared blankly up, her vision completely covered by this steel dome.
Hedis hadn't been Beyond Grade A for long and wasn't very clear about the divisions within that Beyond Grade A. Seeing this scene, only one thought remained in his mind:
This is true power!
The next moment, the mechanical hand struck his head, everything went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.
The third one.
Han Xiao absorbed the severely injured and unconscious Hedis into the Mechanical Deity's body, then turned to look at "Aura" Wormur.
At this very moment, all the Apostle Weapon are besieging Wormur alone.
This martial artist's style is different from that of Seraon and Gorutan. His every move exudes the aura of a grandmaster. He doesn't appear fierce, but rather very smooth and natural, as if he contains some kind of natural law. Compared to close combat, he seems to be more skilled in mid-range martial arts wave attacks. His martial arts aura is inexhaustible, as if it never runs dry.
The pale blue aura acted like a rotating shield, constantly deflecting the attacks of the Apostle Weapon. His fists moved at a steady pace, each strike unleashing a wave of energy. Even when on the defensive, Wormur did not appear disheveled. However, lacking any way to turn the tide, he was merely clinging to life, and defeat was only a matter of time.
Seeing that Seraon and Crystal Soul were escaping further and further away, while he himself was surrounded with no way out, Wormur decided not to run anymore and stayed behind with Mornisa to cover their retreat.
The Mechanical Deity swung its arms, tearing apart large swathes of enemy mechanical forces, as well as the unmanned fleet sent by Glory, and quickly destroyed Mornisa's fragile Dominion clone.
Wormur found himself fighting alone, and before long, he was captured alive by the combined attack of the Apostle Weapon, Mysterious Energy Envoy, and Hila.
Their rearguard action was not without purpose, as Seraon and Crystal Soul had already escaped into the Federation of Light's fleet, and the High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter was already fully operational.
Whoosh—Two large, perpendicular mechanical rings spun rapidly, their speed increasing until they became a blur. The trajectories of the two rings formed a sphere, enveloping the area where the fleet was located.
Seraon turned back one last time, glaring fiercely at Kasuyi, then turned his gaze to Han Xiao, his teeth itching with anger.
"Black Star, just you wait! Glory won't let this go after you captured our people!"
Buzz!
The two rings suddenly stopped moving, and the fleet within the spherical area had vanished without a trace, having broken through the limitations of the space stabilization device and been teleported away. Only the unmanned fleet and mechanical troops remained in the arena.
The next moment, the High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter initiated self-destruction, exploding section by section.
With the Glory figure gone, the scene immediately became much quieter.
"Glory only managed to get two kills."
Han Xiao stopped, his eyes flickering as he looked in another direction. He saw that several Beyond Grade A members of the Arcane had already escaped far away.
Just then, Kasuyi's voice echoed in his mind:
"What, you've captured three Glory Beyond Grade A and one Arcane Beyond Grade A, aren't you satisfied?"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao looked at Kasuyi, only to see that he remained calm.
"Thanks." Han Xiao composed himself, deactivated the Mechanical Deity, and nodded slightly to Kasuyi.
Without Kasuyi's help, capturing three people would have been the best they could manage. Now, with four Beyond Grade A enemies captured and two Mechanic clones destroyed, it's like wiping out half of the invading enemy.
The main reason for his power surge was his use of character cards, but Hila's help and the role of the Space-Time Amber were also important factors. In particular, the Space-Time Amber formed a shield wall that blocked a large number of ranged attacks, freeing him up to focus on offense without having to worry about defense or being hit. It also discouraged the others from attacking his main body, and it was also used to seal the Beyond Grade A monster. Its tactical role was extremely important, and at least 20-30% of the success was due to it.
--I must say, Ravenlaude's treasure from his previous life was truly useful.
Although two of the four Beyond Grade A captured were newbies and the other two weren't particularly strong, Beyond Grade A tiers are still Beyond Grade A, each possessing a template specialization. It remains to be seen how well Fording will perform this time.
Various thoughts flashed through Han Xiao. Seeing that Kasuyi was staring at him, Han Xiao simply recalled the mechanical legion that was chasing the Arcane Centaurs.
The space stabilization device had disappeared by then, so he directly activated the Secondary Dimension Army Box, stuffed the intact mechanical troops inside, and then used the [Dimensional Factory] to collect all the parts available for repairs.
While doing this, Han Xiao casually asked, "What are you going to do next? Continue escorting the Arcane away?"
"Okay, I'll deactivate the clone once they reach a safe area using the teleportation scroll. You won't chase after them then, right?"
Kasuyi smiled faintly, inwardly sighing.
How long has it been since the universe witnessed such an impressive feat?
Once the results of this battle are announced, who knows how much of a sensation it will cause.
"Since I promised you, I won't go back on my word... Oh, by the way, I have something to show you."
Han Xiao beckoned, calling Hila over in front of Kasuyi.
"Are you alright?" Hila stared intently at Han Xiao's face, not even glancing at Kasuyi.
Although Kasuyi had come to help earlier, in her view, the Arcane were still enemies at heart, so she naturally didn't know that this was a master of deception.
"I'm fine." Han Xiao shook his head and said seriously, "Ames was attacked at the Black Star Palace. Go back and help her, and while you're at it, bring Silver Shadow over."
Hila was stunned. "What does this mean? How can I go back and help her?"
"I have a new technology that can send you back."
A flash of light appeared all over Han Xiao's body, and the Sovereign Karara left his body, automatically attaching itself to Hila's body, but connected to Han Xiao's Mechanical Force.
After numerous private tests, Han Xiao had a thorough understanding of the Emperor's operating mechanism. The Emperor itself was an exclusive piece of equipment for mechanics, and the Throne Teleportation function was for the user inside the mecha. However, if a mechanical connection to the Emperor was maintained through the Quantum Distance Transmission Channel, Han Xiao could still activate this function even if there were other people inside the mecha, allowing the mecha wearer to teleport to a fixed location.
The Throne is about to arrive at the Black Star Palace; once teleported back, it will return to the main camp.
Han Xiao turned his head and found that Kasuyi was watching this scene with great interest, so he deliberately activated the spatial stabilization device, once again enveloping this area.
Immediately afterwards, Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and right under Kasuyi's nose, the Sovereign vanished without a trace.
Kasuyi's expression suddenly changed, his face filled with astonishment. "This is... High-Dimensional Apocalyptic Teleportation? When did you learn the technology of Glory?"
"It's not a higher-dimensional apocalypse; it's a different technology, but the effect is similar. Both can break through the blockade of space stabilization anchors and disruptors," Han Xiao said calmly.
"... Why didn't you use it sooner?" Kasuyi said helplessly. "If we had known you had this technology earlier, none of us would have attacked Hila."
"I only recently developed this method myself."
Han Xiao nodded, and seeing Kasuyi's expression, he knew that his goal had been achieved.
He deliberately displayed the Sovereign's teleportation ability to let others know that he had a way to teleport without ignoring spatial stabilization devices. Otherwise, if the Glory and the Arcane were still up to no good, they might attack Hila again in the future, and he couldn't keep Hila hidden away forever.
Revealing this trump card now is to let the outside world know that Hila can escape from the siege at any time, thus dispelling the ideas of Glory and the Arcane and preventing today's incident from happening again.
In this way, Hila's situation became much safer, and no one would dare to target her again.
Brush!
Just then, the Sovereign reappeared, his mech opened, revealing a bewildered Silver Shadow.
"Huh, Black Star? Where am I?"
Silver Shadow looked puzzled and hadn't come to her senses yet.
"Don't say anything more, I'm short on time and need to borrow your body for a bit. After we're done, you can use the Evolution Cube."
Han Xiao patted Silver Shadow on the shoulder, pulled the bewildered Silver Shadow along, and turned to leave.
Upon seeing this, Kasuyi was quite surprised.
"Everything's over, where are you going now?"
"For me, it's not over yet. While I still have the potential to unleash my full potential, there's another goal I need to achieve."
"Who is it?" Kasuyi asked curiously.
Han Xiao turned around, gave Kasuyi a side profile, and said in a deep voice:
"Beast Ancestor, Gorutan."