"Hahaha, I escaped!"
Within the spatial storm resembling thunderclouds, a green orb of light floated up and down; it was the Traveler whose body was enveloped in a magical shield.
At this moment, he was no longer in the frenzied mode of the Fel Energy Aggregation affecting his mind. Although his skin was still pale, the evil aura had disappeared, and his expression had returned to normal, leaving only lingering fear and resentment on his face.
In order to ambush Clottey, the Traveler gathered friends he had made in the Secondary Dimension over the years, fully expecting that with the addition of himself, there would be a total of four Beyond Grade A, and with the home advantage, they could at least force the Dark Emperor to retreat.
However, reality slapped him in the face.
Clottey was too strong. He possessed an extremely high-risk superpower, which he had developed to a very high level. His wide-range attack power was off the charts. He used dark energy to simulate a phenomenon similar to a miniature universe explosion, annihilating the entire Fel Energy Aggregation Secondary Dimension and bursting through the spatial walls from the inside.
If it were just a matter of individual strength, that would be one thing. Although the Beyond Grade A were no match for him, they still had a chance to escape. However, what made the Traveler most desperate was that Clottey possessed several Universal Treasure!
As a member of the Empire's elite and the head of state's personal guard, Clottey never lacked Universal Treasure, and he didn't need to exchange them. In order to facilitate his missions, the Empire would take out different Universal Treasure from its warehouse and give them to Clottey to use, just like the weapons he was issued.
During this mission to the Secondary Dimension, Clottey retrieved five Universal Treasure from the Empire's treasury, which greatly enhanced her combat power. With all her might, she directly killed three Beyond Grade A assistants who had not yet reached the 52,000 energy level limit.
Only the Traveler, due to his connection with the Secondary Dimension, managed to Escape with Your Life while his wife was destroyed, by randomly traversing the invading spatial turbulence.
With the Fel Energy Aggregation gone, he could no longer summon it, causing his combat power to plummet back to his original level of Beyond Grade A. All his years of hard work had been for nothing, and he was heartbroken beyond measure, as if his heart had been twisted into a knot.
But this misfortune turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The enemy could no longer track him using his Fel Energy Aggregation, so as long as he hid well, he would be safe.
"Being alive means there's still a chance."
The Traveler was filled with gratitude for surviving the ordeal.
And it's not that there's no hope of a comeback...
The Traveler lowered his head, opened his palm, and an irregularly shaped purplish-green fragment lay quietly in his hand, its texture like glass.
This is a fragment of the source energy of Fel Energy Aggregation. If planted in Secondary Dimension World using special methods, it has a chance to grow into a new Fel Energy Aggregation, but it will take a very long time.
"As long as I evade the Crimson Dynasty's Pursuit and wait until they give up, I'll have ample time to recover my strength. It seems I'll have to hide in the Secondary Dimension World for decades or even centuries... Fortunately, I still have a long lifespan."
The Traveler secretly breathed a sigh of relief, shaking off the gloom of failure and picking himself up again.
Those who survive a great calamity are sure to have good fortune in the future!
Just then, three spatial rifts suddenly appeared within the spatial storm, leading to unknown Secondary Dimension.
Inside a spatial storm, encountering a rift in the spatial wall is equivalent to finding an exit; otherwise, one can only get lost in the spatial turbulence.
"We've found the exit so quickly! Looks like my luck is about to change." The Traveler's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he chose one of the rifts and flew straight in.
The next moment, the world before them changed, transforming into a Secondary Dimension riddled with holes, filled with countless broken black floating islands, utterly desolate.
The Traveler passed through the spatial wall and fell into this Secondary Dimension. Before he could even rejoice at escaping death, he saw a man and a woman staring blankly at him, neither of them wearing mech helmets.
Upon seeing the two people clearly, the Traveler's smile froze on his face, and he was suddenly horrified.
Black Star and Dragon Emperor!
Holy crap, what are those two doing here?
I just dodged one bad one, and now I've run into another one?!
The Traveler's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Without time to think about the reason, they immediately stopped their falling body and quickly returned along the same path, rushing towards the spatial turbulence above.
"Don't run!" Ames reacted immediately, reaching out and pulling sharply. A powerful force field grabbed the Traveler's body, which was trying to escape, and pulled him towards her.
The Traveler was already severely injured and had lost his Fel Energy Aggregation, suffering a backlash. His condition was extremely bad, and he was unable to break free from Ames's grip.
"I can't fall here!" the Traveler thought fiercely, recklessly using a secret technique to stimulate his exhausted spirit, causing his magic to circulate at high speed as he quickly cast spells.
A rudimentary portal rapidly took shape beside him, taking shape at breakneck speed.
However, before he could finish casting the spell, a sudden binding force interrupted his magic.
Below, Ames's usually languid gaze suddenly sharpened as she stared at the Traveler, a ripple of force field erupting from between her brows.
Buzz!
Force Field - Dragon's Gaze!
The Traveler's body froze in mid-air!
Before he could react, everything went Void Travel, and Ames teleported in front of him, raising her hand and gently pressing it against his forehead.
The next moment, Berserk force field erupted from Ames's palm and poured into the Traveler's body.
Force Field - Stress Tear!
The force field within the Traveler's body suddenly stretched in all directions, creating countless interacting forces in different directions.
Click, click, click--
The Traveler heard the sound of countless bones and tendons being torn apart inside his body. Intense pain erupted, sweeping through every nerve, making him unable to control his contorted facial expression of agony.
Puff!!
Blood burst open from every part of the Traveler's body, turning him into a blood-soaked figure, his mouth agape as he let out a silent scream.
The already serious injury was further aggravated.
At this moment, Ames' eyes flashed with a cold light. She raised one of her long legs high, and a highly concentrated force field condensed into an incomparably sharp cutting force on her calf, which she then slashed down fiercely.
Force Field - Dragon Axe!
Brush!
Ames's long leg slashed diagonally across the Traveler's right shoulder, like a hot knife cutting through butter, severing the Traveler's arm in one fell swoop!
She gave the Traveler no chance to resist, taking advantage of the situation to step on the Traveler's neck and crash down onto a broken black floating island below, crushing the dying Traveler under her feet.
At this moment, Han Xiao leisurely flew over, glancing in surprise at the ferocious-looking Ames:
"Why have you suddenly become so cruel? This isn't like you at all."
Ames didn't turn around, but stared at the Traveler at her feet, and said calmly, "He came to attack Black Star Palace when Hila was under siege. At the time, I didn't understand why, but later I guessed that he wanted to lure out your Dominion avatar to divert your energy from rescuing Hila. But you had the foresight to have me stay at the Black Star Palace, which prevented him from succeeding."
Ames showed no mercy to the Traveler, not only because he was in league with the enemies who plotted to the Dead Sea, but also because these people forced Han Xiao to pay the price of burning his potential. In her view, Han Xiao's silence on this matter was to avoid making Hila feel guilty. Ames understood Han Xiao's actions, but she would not truly forget and would keep this matter in her heart.
This trip to the Secondary Dimension World was mainly to help Han Xiao relax (in her opinion), but she also harbored the intention of settling scores with the Traveler.
At this moment, both old and new grudges erupted, and Ames's attack was Thunder, without the slightest hesitation.
Han Xiao clicked his tongue twice, squatted down, looked at the seriously injured Traveler, and said with a smile:
"Hey, what a day! You're having such a lucky day. I was planning to settle a score with you, but you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep."
The Traveler's face was flushed, veins bulging, revealing a sense of frustration and resentment.
Having barely escaped the clutches of the Dark Emperor, they ended up running right into Black Star's gun again.
Emerging from the tiger's den, only to fall into the wolf's lair!
After experiencing extreme emotional highs and lows, the Traveler is now completely dejected and doesn't even have the energy to complain about the unfairness of fate.
Unfortunately, he was out of luck and had nothing to say but to sigh inwardly.
This is fate, it's heaven's will to destroy me!
Han Xiao glanced at the Traveler's injuries inflicted by the Dark Emperor and asked curiously, "Who did you encounter that caused you to be so seriously injured?"
The Traveler remained silent, his expression one of resignation to death. Before his thoughts were affected by the Fel Energy Aggregation, he was quite normal. Now that he knew he had no chance of survival, he did not beg for mercy.
"Wow, you've got quite the backbone."
Han Xiao's eyes darted around, and he chuckled softly, "I just wonder how the Star Arc Civilization will react if you die. You don't need to deny it; since I can accurately name the civilization you serve, I naturally have irrefutable evidence."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Traveler's expression suddenly changed drastically. He looked at Han Xiao in disbelief and horror.
He operates outside the guise of being neutral, accepting employment from different civilizations to conceal the fact that he belongs to a certain supercluster civilization. His true identity has always been a secret, and the Star Arc Civilization is the supercluster civilization he secretly serves, a fact unknown to the outside world.
In this way, whatever he does will not Implicated the civilization, which is why he can cause trouble with peace of mind.
But now, his hidden identity has been suddenly exposed by Han Xiao, leaving the Traveler shocked and in a state of panic.
He instinctively wanted to deny it, but judging from Han Xiao's confident expression and tone, it was clear that Han Xiao had evidence and wasn't bluffing him.
"Why... why..."
How do I know?
Han Xiao picked up the conversation, a sly smile playing on his lips, and teased:
"Sorokin told me all of this."
He was just habitually shifting blame, but the Traveler's reaction surprised him.
"It was him after all!" the Traveler gritted his teeth. "He discovered our weakness; the higher-ups shouldn't have cooperated with him!"
Huh? Is Sorokin really involved here? Han Xiao was taken aback.
He thought it was the Supercluster Civilization acting on its own initiative, trying to stir up trouble and escalate the conflict Three Universal Civilizations, but he didn't know that the Traveler' attack on the Black Star Palace was really related to Sorokin.
It seems I've accidentally discovered something interesting...
Han Xiao's mind raced, but he remained outwardly calm, and smiled, "Since I know your background, you'd better obediently explain what happened. Otherwise, you know the consequences; you'll be held accountable for your actions against the Star Arc Civilization, and perhaps I can help you."
If the Traveler were alone, he would be willing to die for the cause. However, according to information from his previous life, the Traveler was extremely loyal to the Star Arc Civilization. Now that his attachments have been exposed, Han Xiao has seized on this weakness.
Moreover, the Traveler deeply resented Sorokin for telling Black Star about this, and was even more worried that he would tell more people, so he simply confessed the cooperation agreement with Sorokin.
This was not just a compromise; he was also trying to incite Black Star's hatred for Sorokin in this way, perhaps so that he could use someone else to kill Sorokin.
The Traveler recounted everything in detail, and only then did Han Xiao understand the hidden story behind the incident. His eyes flickered, and he stroked his chin, muttering in a low voice:
"Sorokin... So it was you who persuaded the Super Star Cluster Alliance. You're the one trying to fish in troubled waters, and you're standing on the opposite side of the Beyond Grade A united front..."
Connecting the inside story revealed by the Traveler with the limited information from his previous life, Han Xiao sneered inwardly, roughly understanding Sorokin's true intentions.
Maintaining cosmic balance, the idea that Beyond Grade A beings should know how to be content, and the notion of standing on the side of the collective—these are all high-sounding bullshit, nothing more than the banners of ambitious individuals.
There are two paths to advancement: one is to develop to a higher level, and the other is to reduce competitors. Sorokin is the latter. In Han Xiao's opinion, this guy would love to have only a handful of Beyond Grade A left in the entire universe, simply because he wants to monopolize privileges.
The fewer advanced combatants there are, the less obstacles he will face. So, naturally, he wants to reduce the number of Beyond Grade A. Therefore, he takes advantage of the faction differences set up by advanced civilizations to provoke conflicts between Beyond Grade A soldiers.
Han Xiao had always been wary of Sorokin, but he wasn't sure what Sorokin was up to. Now that he knew Sorokin's target, it was like exposing a powerful enemy lurking in the shadows plotting a conspiracy. He could then make targeted preparations. Thinking of this, he felt much more relaxed.
Putting aside these thoughts, Han Xiao pointed to the Traveler's wound and asked, "What happened to your wound? Who was Pursuit you?"
The Traveler glared at Han Xiao with indignation and gritted his teeth, saying, "It's your Crimson Dynasty's Dark Emperor!"
"Oh, he's here too?"
Han Xiao was surprised, but then he remembered the information that the Dark Emperor had stepped down as the head of the presidential guard, and suddenly realized what was going on.
It seems that the Imperial Head of State is dissatisfied with the renewed cooperation between Glory and Arcane, coupled with the issues of the Shattered World and the Evolution Totem. Therefore, he wants to establish his authority in terms of high-level combat power, so he sent the Dark Emperor to Pursuit the enemy as a warning to any organization with ill intentions... Speaking of which, for Peak Beyond Grade A like the Dark Emperor, the position of personal guard is actually a shackle.
Hearing that Clottey had easily dealt with the Traveler's ambush, Han Xiao couldn't help but secretly admire her.
--As expected of members of the "Shadow Guide" trio, one of the Three Universal Civilizations, they are indeed sharp.
Han Xiao thought for a moment, activated the communication system of the Sovereign Mecha, located the Crimson Dynasty's Outpost A000, and dialed it.
Unlike the main universe, the Secondary Dimension lacks quantum network coverage, and many areas are signal-free zones. However, Han Xiao possesses a massive quantum base station, while Clottey's Secondary Dimension mech is an Imperial-specific model equipped with specialized directional communication devices, allowing her to contact Imperial outposts to prevent disappearances. Therefore, Han Xiao simply calls the Imperial base in the Secondary Dimension, using it as a relay to relay Clottey.
Since the Traveler was the Dark Emperor's target, Han Xiao felt it necessary to inform Clottey, otherwise she might mistakenly think the Traveler had escaped and waste energy searching for him in the Secondary Dimension World.
After a while, the communication was finally connected, and Clottey's remote projection appeared in front of him, frowning.
"Black Star? What do you want with me?"
Despite being pillars of the empire, the two had very limited communication over the decades due to differences in their duties and status. Their relationship was merely that of ordinary colleagues with no other connections.
"The Traveler is with me, I've captured him..."
Han Xiao briefly explained the situation.
After listening, Clottey replied succinctly, "I'll go there right away and confirm it with my own eyes."
"Okay." Han Xiao paused, then sent the coordinates to Dark Emperor.
Clottey nodded and said slowly, "By the way, when the Traveler escaped, he took a fragment of Fel Energy Aggregation energy. Look carefully; it should still be in his possession."
After saying that, his remote projection disappeared, he hung up the communication, and made no attempt to exchange pleasantries.
"So aloof," Han Xiao muttered, then turned to the Traveler and held out his hand, saying, "Give me the Source Energy Fragment."
The Traveler gritted his teeth, unwillingly pulling out the fragment of source energy Fel Energy Aggregation, his face turning ashen green as if he were handing over his wife.
Han Xiao took it and examined it carefully in his hands.
This is the key that allows Traveler to summon the Fel Energy Aggregation, like the wick of Shadow Lantern, using the shard of source energy as a medium to unleash the special energy of its respective Secondary Dimension.
Unfortunately, the Fel Energy Aggregation is gone now, and this fragment of source energy can only serve as a spark. However, considering the frenzied state after the Traveler's possession, he had no intention of becoming the groom of the Fel Energy Aggregation.
Han Xiao put away the spoils of war and secretly pondered how to deal with the Traveler.
According to him, sealing him in the Space-Time Amber would be the best option, but the Dark Emperor's mission was to kill him, and Ames didn't seem willing to let the matter rest.
Buzz!
As he was pondering, the senses of the three people present simultaneously stirred, and they detected an unfamiliar signal.
The three of them turned their heads at the same time and saw a spatial barrier in the distance burst open, spitting out a small fleet.
Before Han Xiao and his companions could even wonder what was going on, the fleet quickly determined its location and then turned and charged towards them with menacing intent.
In the main ship's command room, Luo stared intently at Han Xiao, who looked completely bewildered on the screen, and said in a deep voice:
"This time it's definitely Black Star! All ships, listen up! Lock onto target, prepare to fire!"