"Such immense energy! What is this thing? It seems to be aimed at me?" Gorutan was secretly astonished.
Within their perception, Han Xiao and Silver Shadow's energy fluctuations overlapped, radiating a powerful aura that sent shivers down one's spine.
A silver meteor streaked across the sky, clearly with no friendly intent.
Gorutan's expression changed slightly. He didn't sit idly by and watch this strange thing approach him. While dealing with the mechanical troops of the Mechanic Emperor, he freed up his hands and shot out a series of dark brown External Wave towards the silver meteor.
However, this silver meteor, like a vehicle driven by an experienced driver, took advantage of its speed, maneuvering with great flair, like a drifting car, and dodged the equally swift dark brown beam of light with a series of twists and turns.
Seeing that his ranged attacks were ineffective against the Silver Meteor, and that the opponent had locked onto his back, Gorutan's expression hardened. He suddenly unleashed his power, breaking free of the entangled Apostle Weapon. He then compressed his martial arts aura, increased his physical strength, and turned to face the Silver Meteor.
Two streaks of light of different colors rapidly closed the distance between them, and in the next instant, they collided violently.
In an instant, the detectors on every Beast Ancestor faction spaceship present simultaneously activated, and the displayed energy fluctuations broke through their peak values!
At the point of impact, a blinding light suddenly shone, as if a shimmering halo had appeared out of nowhere.
The solid, dark brown martial arts aura, like a stone struck heavily by an iron hammer, instantly shattered.
Gorutan's figure spun out like a top, the splattered blood instantly evaporated by the energy shockwave from the collision.
At the moment of impact, Gorutan's mind seemed to freeze for a second. He felt a blur before his eyes, and when he came to his senses, he found that his body was out of his control and he was sent flying.
Since reaching the Peak Beyond Grade A, he has rarely encountered anything he couldn't stop. However, the terrifying kinetic energy contained in this silver meteor made him feel like he was trying to stop a chariot with his bare hands.
Martial artists are used to enduring the recoil from head-on collisions, but the power of this impact still exceeded Gorutan's expectations. He felt every nerve in his body twitching, constantly sending signals of excruciating pain to his brain, and his heart was shaken.
What terrifying power!
"Who exactly are these people?!"
Gorutan was shocked and uncertain. He flew a long way before regaining his footing. He quickly checked his body and found that the collision had caused him serious injuries. His mood became very solemn.
He looked closely and, upon seeing the true form of the stopped silver meteor, his expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in astonishment:
"Black Star?!"
After hitting Gorutan, Han Xiao braked and had Silver Shadow open the window, revealing his handsome face as he stared calmly at the shocked Gorutan.
"We meet again, Beast Ancestor."
"How could it be you? Weren't you staying at the Black Star Palace?"
Gorutan filled with doubt and uncertainty, various possibilities flashing through his mind. Could it be that the operation against Hila had gone wrong?
Seeing Han Xiao's strange silver exterior, Gorutan was filled with doubt. The situation seemed to be deviating from his expectations, and he desperately wanted to know what had happened.
What's Sorokin doing? Why hasn't he informed me of what happened yet?
"I know what you've been doing behind the scenes," Han Xiao said slowly. "Hila is safe. Your plans have failed. Stop clinging to illusions."
Upon hearing this, Gorutan frowned.
Although he didn't know exactly how the matter was resolved, Black Star had no reason to lie about it. Seeing how calm the other party was, he knew that the situation was probably true.
Gorutan was immediately unhappy that he hadn't managed to the Dead Sea; he felt like his expectations had been dashed.
So you came all this way just to see me?
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, "Back then, you provoked them and suffered a loss. Then, through some channel, you leaked information to Glory and Arcane, intending to use them as pawns and the 'Book' to kill them. Now that things have been exposed... you know what will happen next, right?"
Gorutan's face immediately darkened.
His secret scheme failed, and the person in question confronted him directly. Even though he now considered Han Xiao an enemy, he couldn't help but feel somewhat ashamed.
Gorutan wasn't one to make excuses; what's done is done. Since the enemy had seen through him, there was no point in hiding it. Suppressing his emotions, he coldly snorted:
"What, are you looking to settle scores with me?"
"I've said it before, if you want to play, I'll play with you to the end. Judging from your appearance, you're not someone who can't take a beating, so there's only one way to solve this problem now, and I'm sure you understand that." Han Xiao said calmly.
"Hmph, in the end, it's all about fists."
Knowing that a battle was inevitable, Gorutan's aura surged forth once more.
--Intrigue and schemes are definitely not for me; a direct confrontation is the most straightforward approach.
Although he had just suffered a loss, Gorutan wasn't intimidated at all. They were both at the Peak Beyond Grade A, and everyone had their trump cards. Who was afraid of whom?
He took a deep breath of energy, using his strength to stimulate cell proliferation, rapidly healing his injuries and quickly replenishing his lost blood—martial artists have extreme control over their bodies, and at the Peak Beyond Grade A, their recovery ability is not low.
"I didn't get to fight you last time, but today is the perfect opportunity. Your exploits are legendary throughout the universe; let me see your true abilities." Gorutan's eyes gleamed, his tone filled with intense fighting spirit.
He was unaware of the details of the Hila Rescue Battle and knew nothing about Han Xiao's recent achievements; his impression of Han Xiao was based solely on his past combat prowess.
At that moment, Gorutan remembered Manison standing nearby, and his heart skipped a beat.
If the only opponent is Black Star, Gorutan isn't afraid, but if the Mechanic Emperor also joins the war, things will get complicated.
He couldn't help but turn his head to look, and was delighted to see that Manison's troops were no longer entangled and were withdrawing, clearly showing their unwillingness to get involved in the battle.
Han Xiao glanced at the receding Mechanic Emperor troops and muttered to himself:
"That guy, Manison, sent me Gorutan's coordinates but then wouldn't answer my calls. Is he trying to show goodwill while simultaneously hoping I'll take over Gorutan's role as his opponent so he can stay out of the fray?"
Han Xiao shook his head. Regardless of what director Manison was planning, he was determined to fight this battle and wouldn't let the instigator get away with it.
The character card's effect is still active and will last for quite some time. With this burst of power, dealing with Gorutan should be no problem.
Brush!
The Secondary Dimension Army Box opened, and massive mechanical legions poured out, sweeping across the galaxy.
Undeterred, Gorutan charged alone into the vast army of machines.
The moment they engaged, the pressure was overwhelming, and Gorutan immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Wait, how strong are you...?"
Gorutan's eyes widened suddenly, his face filled with astonishment.
He had once experienced the energy level of Black Star firsthand and had a rough estimate of Han Xiao's combat strength. However, at this moment, the actual combat strength that Han Xiao displayed far exceeded his expectations, which greatly surprised him.
That doesn't make sense! How could Black Star's combat power have increased by a whole level in just one or two months?!
At that moment, Han Xiao's true form advanced instead of retreating, and instead of activating his Mechanical Deity, he took the initiative to engage in close combat.
Their fists clashed violently, the immense force traveling up their arms, creating a stalemate. Gorutan's expression of shock deepened.
"How come your power is also..."
You ask too many questions!
Han Xiao's movements were so fast they seemed to float away, and he suddenly kicked the stunned Gorutan away.
Just as cavalrymen can unleash greater combat power by leveraging their horsepower, Han Xiao can also gain attribute bonuses from Silver Shadow when riding it.
Silver Shadow is a martial artist with high strength and agility, as well as unique defensive advantages.
A continuous stream of power emanated from Silver Shadow, temporarily granting Han Xiao's true form an attribute boost comparable to that of a Tu Shu artist. Combined with his own attributes, his close-combat ability was greatly enhanced. Although he still couldn't match a peak martial artist, it was more than enough.
In his previous life, a martial artist like Carrot would be greatly enhanced by using Silver Shadow, while he himself relied more on Silver Shadow's speed and defensive advantages, as close combat was not his primary means of attack.
Meanwhile, the Imperial support fleet departed from a stargate station in another location.
"We've finally reached the vicinity of the Black Star frontline outpost. Let's hurry over there. We don't know how the fighting is going yet. Every second we delay could put Hila's life in danger," Ravenlaude urged.
At this moment, Kant closed his eyes briefly, as if receiving some news, then opened them again, his expression a mixture of amusement and exasperation, and said:
"No need to rush over, Black Star has already taken care of it."
Upon hearing this, Ravenlaude had been eagerly anticipating the challenge, was immediately stunned.
"How is that possible? How did he manage to overcome such a dangerous situation?"
"Here, this is intelligence from the Black Star Army." Kant showed the message, which recorded the course of the battle.
After reading the intelligence, Beoni, who was standing next to him, looked shocked.
"Black Star actually had such a trump card up his sleeve! His unleashed form can actually take on more than ten Beyond Grade A opponents—it's unbelievable!"
"The main reason is that Glory and the Arcane had to flee, and they were also hindering each other, giving Black Star the opportunity to pick them off one by one... But to be fair, his record is indeed excessively frightening to laymen."
Kant sighed, "However, burning his potential is too much of a waste for someone with such a promising future; it will inevitably affect his growth... Alas, Black Star has been wronged this time. The Empire will surely compensate him, won't it?"
At this moment, Beoni couldn't help but think of the joke Kant had made earlier, and his expression turned strange.
On the way, Kant said he could take on everyone by himself, which was originally a joke, but it turned out to be true for Black Star.
"Amazing..." Beoni said with genuine admiration.
On the other side, Ravenlaude froze upon seeing the news.
He had originally planned to turn the tide and make Black Star owe him a favor, but he never expected that Black Star would resolve this near-certain crisis all by himself without any reinforcements.
... Doesn't that mean I made a wasted trip and didn't even gain any favors?
Ravenlaude instantly lost all motivation, wanting nothing more than to become a lazy bum, slumped in a corner until the end of time.
"Now that the matter is resolved, what do we do now? Should we go check out Black Star's base, or go straight back?" Kohler asked.
Kant shook his head.
"No, Black Star seems to be fighting Gorutan... Anyway, since we're already here, let's go see if we can help."
Meanwhile, in the Beast Ancestor's stronghold palace, Sorokin's possessed body paced back and forth, clutching a communicator and muttering to itself:
"That's strange, why hasn't Gorutan replied to my messages yet? Has something happened?"
Sorokin suddenly had a bad feeling about Gorutan's situation.