BOOM!!
The silver fist collided with the dark brown fist, unleashing a shockwave. Gorutan was once again sent flying by Han Xiao's Infinite charged attack.
Han Xiao did not use the Mechanical Deity, but instead engaged in close combat with his main body. Once [Charge - Endless Charge] was off cooldown, he moved around frantically to accumulate steps and build up the power of Iron Head Kung Fu.
Even if Gorutan wanted to stop it, he would be blocked by the massive mechanical legion.
Without the constraints of spatial anchors, Han Xiao's forces poured out continuously from the Secondary Dimension Army Box and Dimensional Factory. At this time, the mechanical legion bore the main combat responsibility, and under the leadership of the Apostle Weapon and Mysterious Energy Envoy, it did its best to restrain and attack the enemy.
Peak Beyond Grade A martial artist possesses astonishing individual combat power. While Gorutan wasn't completely surrounded and unable to move an inch, he was still being entangled by the mechanical legion, not to mention the hanging man beside him who would occasionally nudge him with surprisingly great force.
His current situation is like being in a Musou game, on a high difficulty, and then suddenly finding himself alone in a sea of enemies—the soldiers have long health bars and deal significant damage, while the Apostle Weapon are like minor generals in the enemy ranks, and there's even Han Xiao himself nearby, acting as a nuisance like an environmental attack. Therefore, although Gorutan's individual combat power overwhelms the mechanical troops, he can't just go on a rampage at will and can only deal with them cautiously.
Amidst the crisscrossing artillery fire, wherever Gorutan went, dark brown flames sprayed, blasting away swarms of mechanical warriors. As he charged left and right in battle, he simultaneously activated cell proliferation to heal the ever-growing new wounds.
Feeling the burning pain of his tendons, which had been torn by the impact, healing, Gorutan was extremely annoyed.
For a martial artist fighting a mechanic, rushing in head-on is the most correct tactic. However, he gets annoyed whenever Han Xiao gets close, as [Charge - Endless Charge] is making him uncomfortable and unable to control the rhythm of the battle.
Now, whenever Gorutan sees Han Xiao wandering around nearby, he can't help but roar in his heart:
Don't come any closer!
On the other side, although Han Xiao held a slight advantage, he wasn't particularly optimistic.
Although martial artists don't use fancy techniques and their fighting style is very pure, when they reach the Peak Beyond Grade A, this purity undergoes a transformation, as if they have undergone countless trials and tribulations to finally forge themselves into an indestructible force.
"Among mechanics, I am the toughest, mainly due to my strong recovery ability. However, the recovery ability of Peak Beyond Grade A martial artist should not be underestimated, and their health is even higher than mine."
The Martial Artist possesses a plethora of feats that increase stamina, along with unique class bonuses. At the pinnacle of the Beyond Grade A tier, no other class can match the Martial Artist's health, not even myself or the Old Dragon. Moreover, a pinnacle Martial Artist might possess a similarly overpowered healing ability, making them a true heavy tank—the epitome of being both durable and capable of dealing significant damage.
Previously, Seraon had been fighting and running away, hampered by his teammates. Now, this is Han Xiao's first time fighting against a peak martial artist going all out. Even though he is currently in his peak state, it is absolutely impossible for him to easily defeat Gorutan as he did with an ordinary Beyond Grade A martial artist.
The two fought fiercely, rolling and tumbling endlessly, while not far away, the Beast Ancestor's fleet hesitated.
"Father is fighting, should we help?"
On the bridge of the command ship, the eyes of many crew members were focused on one of the Calamity Grade officers.
This man, named Beyram, was one of Gorutan's direct descendants and served as the commander of this fleet.
"That's a Beyond Grade A battle; it's not appropriate for us to get involved," Beyram hesitated.
"Black Star is here for revenge, not for a friendly sparring match. Father is in a tough fight, and it's not appropriate for us to just stand by and watch him get beaten up," said another Calamity Grade officer.
"But we're not very effective on this kind of battlefield. The aftershocks of their fighting alone can cause us losses," Beyram frowned.
"At least we are also a fighting force. Every little bit of help we can offer is a help. Father might need us."
Beyram turned and glanced at him, and sure enough, he read fanaticism in the other man's eyes.
Gorutan's methods of raising offspring were not universally accepted, and the faction was not united. Although everyone's father was Gorutan, many brothers and sisters had different mothers, resulting in varying degrees of closeness and affection, leading to complex internal factions and undercurrents.
Broadly speaking, they can be divided into three categories. Beyram himself is a neutral person who simply does his job and calls him "father" but doesn't actually have any sense of belonging to any faction. The cadres who keep urging him to get involved in the battlefield belong to the die-hard loyalists.
As Beyram pondered how to deal with the situation, a massive fleet sailed in from afar, its outer armor painted with the insignia of the Beast Ancestor —this was the force that had been waiting for a response for a long time, realized something was wrong, and rushed from its stronghold to support the Beast Ancestor.
"They've finally arrived." Upon seeing this, Beyram's spirits lifted.
The two sides quickly met up, and a large group of officials got together.
"Reinforcements have arrived; it wouldn't be right to continue watching the show," Beyram shook his head and changed his words:
"Our current strength is enough to qualify us to intervene in this battle. We don't need to kill many mechanical troops; just holding off a portion of them will relieve Father's pressure. Let's begin."
The fleet dispersed and gradually approached the battlefield.
Han Xiao noticed this, turned his head to look, and frowned slightly.
During the exploration era, it was not uncommon for Beyond Grade A beings to be killed by fleets. Even if Beyond Grade A possessed great power, it could not ignore a large-scale fleet. If the forces of the Beast Ancestor intervened in the battle, it could indeed cause some trouble.
Even if one is a virtual mechanic, one must gradually infiltrate the enemy. This will divert attention, and the mechanical legion will also need to spare some resources to engage the fleet, immediately relieving Gorutan's pressure. This wouldn't matter for ordinary opponents, but Gorutan is an opponent of equal strength, so every detail will be magnified.
Most of the fleet at the Black Star frontline outpost was cleaning up the battlefield. When Han Xiao set off to find Gorutan, he also issued an order for a portion of the fleet to follow and provide support. However, Silver Shadow flew fast and outpaced the main force, while his own fleet was still halfway there.
Suddenly, a burst of magical energy erupted.
Buzz--
Just as the Beast Ancestor's forces were about to intervene, a massive magical portal suddenly appeared in the field, unleashing warships bearing the imperial insignia that blocked the Beast Ancestor's troops from entering.
"The people from the Empire have finally arrived." Han Xiao's eyes lit up.
Although the Empire missed the Hila Rescue Battle, it has come in handy now. Better late than never, and at the very least, it can act as a police force to cover up the mess.
Soon, the entire Imperial support force arrived on the battlefield. Ravenlaude was the last to fly out of the portal, waved his staff, and dispelled the large-scale teleportation spell.
Having grasped the situation, Kant laughed:
"It seems we've arrived at just the right time."
This unexpected event was a pleasant surprise for Han Xiao, but a shock to the Beast Ancestor's subordinates.
Stop right now!
The ship's radar alerted that several new Beyond Grade A energy sources had appeared. Beyram was immediately alarmed and quickly ordered the fleet to stop, not daring to approach any further. It simply stood in a stalemate with the Imperial forces from a distance, becoming hesitant once again.
Kant and the others ignored the Beast Ancestor's fleet and turned to look at the battle. They were amazed by the combat power that Han Xiao was displaying.
"As expected of Black Star in its burst form, its combat power is clearly a level above its regular form," Kohler remarked. "Unfortunately, the price for this power is a bit too high."
Kant, who was standing nearby, contacted Han Xiao, smiled, and asked:
"How are you? Do you need any help?"
"Just cover for me, don't let him get away," Han Xiao replied quickly.
This was a personal grudge, but also a rare opportunity to establish his authority. Han Xiao planned to deal with Gorutan alone. The arrival of the imperial allies would allow them to stand guard nearby, preventing others from interfering, creating an undisturbed one-on-one duel, and also preventing Gorutan from escaping.
"Since we don't need to lift a finger, we respect your decision."
Kant had no objection to this and, as Han Xiao requested, ordered the troops to disperse and form an encirclement, with one side providing cover.
Seeing himself surrounded by a powerful enemy, Gorutan's face darkened, knowing there was no way out.
Do I regret it?... A little bit.
But he didn't dwell on it. Since the deed was already done, he wouldn't go back and speculate about what might have happened.
With things having come to this point, further words were pointless. Gorutan simply intensified his attacks, unleashing all his power without reservation.
"Let me see all your skills, Black Star!"
Meanwhile, Beyram's fleet dared not attack the Imperial forces, watching helplessly as the Empire set up a defensive line right under their noses. They could only watch from the outside as their leader was brutally beaten and surrounded by enemy troops.
Seeing the Empire put on such a show, many cadres, including Beyram, felt a strong sense of unease and a bad premonition that their backing was about to collapse.
"Father has nowhere to escape; the Empire is determined to capture him."
"We can't just stand by and watch our father be captured by the Empire!"
"How can we help? They have several Imperial Beyond Grade A on the other side. If we go to help, we'll just be throwing our lives away."
"Is there any way to break this situation? Who can help? Are the protectors of the Interstellar Black Market any useful?"
"With something this serious happening, they'd be trying to avoid it, how could they possibly get involved?"
As the protector of the Interstellar Black Market, Gorutan is his own backer. Now he is all alone and vulnerable. At this critical juncture, it is natural that he will not receive help from the Three Universal Civilizations Beyond Grade A allies of the three civilizations.
At that moment, a sense of dread arose in the hearts of everyone, including Beyram:
"Oh no, the weather's about to change..."
Thinking about this possibility, some cadres and crew members secretly harbored ulterior motives.
Aside from loyalty and neutrality, the last faction in the Beast Ancestor's camp is the Rebels... Some of the Beast Ancestor's descendants hate their identity and secretly resent Gorutan, their "father." They are descendants in name only, but slaves in reality. These people have been feigning compliance with the Beast Ancestor's orders, but in their hearts they wish they could kill him as soon as possible.
Seeing Gorutan suffer retaliation from a powerful enemy, the rebels felt immense pleasure, and their ambitions swelled ever higher.
In Shattered World, a portal appeared out of nowhere, unleashing the figure of Traveler.
"Finally escaped." The Traveler breathed a sigh of relief, bearing considerable injuries and looking quite disheveled.
He flew a long distance before escaping the range of the Black Star fleet's spatial anchor. During the journey, he was pursued by Ames and Hila and suffered numerous injuries. Fortunately, he managed to escape Black Star's territory using teleportation magic.
The Traveler took out his communicator and contacted the leader of the Super Star Cluster Alliance:
"Things have gone awry. Hila has inexplicably returned to the Black Star Palace headquarters. My operation has failed."
"We had anticipated this. Black Star's burning potential unleashed astonishing combat power, not only forcing back the forces of the Glory and Arcane, but also capturing several Beyond Grade A prisoners. This news hasn't reached the outside world yet; currently, only high-level forces know the details. Traveler, as long as you're alright, that's all that matters."
"So that's how it is..." The Traveler shook his head, and after withdrawing his Fel Energy Aggregation, his sinister aura disappeared, and he returned to his unremarkable appearance. "I've offended the Black Star Army this time, so I'm going to travel to Secondary Dimension to lay low for a while. I probably won't be appearing in the main universe for quite some time, so don't ask me for anything during that time."
"Understood. You can go and seek refuge without worry. Since we haven't provoked another conflict between the Three Universal Civilizations, we won't get involved in such matters again in the short term. Just focus on development."
"Well, Black Star doesn't know my identity yet. At most, he'll be dissatisfied with me, but it's not your fault. As long as I disappear and go into hiding, he'll quiet down... By the way, Sorokin thinks I'm hired, but it's hard to say he's noticed something. This guy is unreliable; we need to be careful."
"Clear."
The Traveler gave some instructions before hanging up, sighing inwardly.
This time, I've hidden myself in Secondary Dimension; who knows how many years it will be before I can return...
Silently taking one last look at this universe, the Traveler cast a spell, stepped into Secondary Dimension, and vanished without a trace.
Time flies.
After a long and fierce battle, the situation finally came to a close with onlookers watching.
A massive number of mechanical troops were lost, their quality dropped several levels, three Apostle Weapon were completely destroyed, four Apostle Weapon were temporarily paralyzed, the Mechanical Deity disintegrated once, and the mount Silver Shadow's health dropped below the danger line... Han Xiao paid a heavy price to bring Gorutan was fighting with his back against the wall, to the brink of exhaustion.
While peak martial artists recover their energy quickly, they ultimately cannot possess the near- Infinite energy of Kasuyi.
Looking around, the entire area was littered with the wreckage of machinery, Dimensional Factory tirelessly recycled the parts.
In the center of the battlefield, Gorutan looked exhausted, his wounds slowly healing, still gushing hot blood, no longer recovering at the rapid pace they had at the beginning.
"You've lost. Is there anything else you want to say?"
Han Xiao faced him, opened his mecha helmet, and stared intently at him.
Despite the boost from his burst form, this was still his first time defeating Peak Beyond Grade A opponent in a head-on one-on-one fight.
"Cough cough... Loss is loss, nothing to say." Gorutan grinned, revealing a mouthful of bloodied teeth. "What, you thought I'd beg for mercy?"
"There's always a price to pay for scheming against others. If you provoked someone, you should have expected such consequences."
"Hmph, don't waste your breath on me. I can afford to play this game. At least I've pushed your potential to its limits, lowering your growth ceiling forever, beyond repair."
Han Xiao shook his head, secretly amused.
Even if I explained, the other party probably wouldn't believe me, and besides, he wouldn't explain it to outsiders.
He paused, changed the subject, and slowly said:
"You were the one who provoked me. If you had just swallowed your pride and suffered some losses, things wouldn't have turned out this way. You've lost far more than the years you've lost."
"If I tolerated it, I wouldn't be myself," Gorutan said in a deep voice. "What's the point of a person's great power if they can't do what they want?"
Some people pursue power itself, while others pursue the added value that power brings. Every Beyond Grade A was once the former, and only gradually became the latter after the conditions were met.
This applies not only to Beyond Grade A, but to the entire superhuman class.
"Anyway, I'll gladly accept your body." Han Xiao raised his hand and pressed it against Gorutan's chest.
"Hmph, take it. Just don't give me a chance to turn the tables."
Gorutan stood tall and proud, showing no fear.
Hysteria is the behavior of a nobody, but he was mentally prepared for it. Even in defeat, he maintained his composure and accepted the outcome with equanimity, regardless of victory or defeat.
The next moment, his feigned stubbornness froze, and the gushing blood stopped flowing.
--Grutan, the Beast Ancestor, is sealed within a spacetime amber!