The aftershocks of the collision between the two Mechanical Deity stirred the planet's atmosphere, forming a massive vortex. The silver thunderclaps from the clash of weapons distorted the spatial perception of the witnesses.
Mechanical Force, like a neural network, permeates the bodies of Mechanical Deity, making the massive mechanical constructs as responsive as human bodies.
The Star Slaying Blade, resembling a Guan Dao (a type of ancient Chinese halberd), clashed repeatedly with the trident of the Mechanic Emperor, unleashing visible energy shockwaves that swept across the planet's sky and stirred up endless gales.
The earth was engulfed in sand and stones, cracking inch by inch, and the Mechanic Faith settlement, covered by the protective shield, appeared to be on the verge of collapse.
The Mechanical Deity's body was too enormous to maneuver freely on the planet. The two fought as they ascended into the air, breaking free from the atmosphere of the Cloud Magnet Planet and turning outer space into a battlefield. Meanwhile, their Secondary Dimension Army Box continued to send out troops, with countless carrier-like mechanical units clashing against each other, and the scale of the battle constantly expanding.
Clang!
The silver-purple trident thrust straight at him, but Han Xiao blocked it with his sword. The powerful Psionic Energy emanating from the trident pierced his shield, causing large areas of arcing electricity to flash incessantly.
"Star Slaying Blade? That's a weapon I've long since discarded." Manison's voice rang out in the wide-area channel.
"That depends on who's using the weapon."
Han Xiao's gaze sharpened. He gripped the blade tightly and twisted it, a flash of energy emanating from it, forcefully deflecting the trident.
However, the trident suddenly vibrated and created an afterimage. With the assistance of the force field traction device, the force of the deflection was converted into propulsion. The halberd blade stopped halfway and changed direction, slashing back at an even faster speed. Its power was even stronger, and it could not be shaken off.
Han Xiao adopted a defensive stance, resisting Manison's relentless attacks while his mind raced, analyzing the current situation.
'My Star Slaying Blade blueprints come from the Federation of Light, so the Mechanic Emperor must be very familiar with the characteristics of this weapon. I, on the other hand, have limited knowledge of the weapons they possess. For now, I need to focus on defense and conduct more probing...'
The destructive power of Universal Treasure -level weapons far exceeds that of ordinary equipment, so the two Mechanical Deity unanimously chose to engage in close combat, as this was the only way to break through the opponent's thick shield with half the effort.
Old Manison is very wealthy. Han Xiao doesn't know if he has any Cosmic Wonder or other treasures, but he certainly doesn't lack Universal Treasure- level mechanical weapons, and his equipment is definitely more luxurious than his own.
This trident, along with the cloak and armor worn by the opponent, are clearly Universal Treasure- level equipment, and who knows how many other weapons Old Manison hasn't shown.
The summoning of the Mechanical Deity signifies that Manison is finally going all out. Han Xiao has no doubt about the opponent's endurance; if he couldn't use the Mechanical Deity for a long time, he wouldn't be able to unleash such a powerful move right away.
'Both the Mechanic Emperor and I are present in clones. Both sides have Mechanical Deity, so it's impossible to easily destroy each other's clones. Therefore, it will become a war of attrition, a battle of resources, wearing down the opponent over time...'
With this in mind, Han Xiao glanced at the panel.
Just as the two rolled up their sleeves and got to work, a new quest was triggered on the interface—["Mechanic Emperor" Manison: War of the Mechanical God]!
The mode is the same as other Beyond Grade A challenges. As long as you survive for a period of time, you can complete the task. The rewards are the same as before: a character card and the ability to draw one skill.
This was exactly what Han Xiao had expected. With Three Universal Civilizations and so many Beyond Grade A observers, the impact of this battle was bound to be significant. It was highly likely to trigger a mission, and since the two were unlikely to be able to determine a winner in the short term, completing the mission was practically a certainty.
'Last time it was just a virtual match, this time I'll face him in real life, finally I can see what Manison looks like when he goes all out and goes on a rampage...'
Just as he was thinking, Han Xiao suddenly realized that his strength had vanished. He saw that Manison had suddenly stopped his combo, pulled back, and assumed a posture of gathering power.
The trident was placed at his side, its blade spinning rapidly like a drill. Golden arcs of Mechanical Force were highly compressed at the tip, flashing with dazzling light, like a small sun. As the blade rotated, surging Psionic Energy wrapped around it, looking like swirling blue waves.
A sense of foreboding arose in Han Xiao's heart, and his mechanical troops opened fire on Manison. However, layers upon layers of diamond-shaped Psionic Energy shields appeared on the Mechanical Deity's body. The shields were extremely thick and blocked all the concentrated fire from the mechanical troops.
Wow!
Manison only paused for a moment before his figure suddenly blurred, accelerating instantly. His gleaming trident shot out at such a speed that it became almost ethereal, as if it had transformed into a beam of gold and blue light.
Han Xiao parried with his sword, and simultaneously raised his Great Emperor's Robe to generate a powerful shield.
Crack! The trident Star Slaying Blade.
However, the blue-gold spike of light still had momentum, shooting out from the main blade of the trident, piercing through the Great Emperor's Robe's robes and striking the Mechanical Deity's abdomen.
Brush!!
The beam of light pierced through his body in an instant and disappeared into the distance, leaving a huge through wound in the abdomen of Han Xiao's Mechanical Deity. The wound was completely annihilated into molecular-level fragments, and the edges of the wound showed traces of blazing red melting.
"Such strong penetrating power!"
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly made a judgment.
In terms of sheer power, this trident is superior to the Star Slaying Blade, not only because of the blueprints themselves, but also because the Mechanic Emperor's creations are of higher quality and have stronger Mechanical Force enhancements, resulting in a multi-faceted suppression.
With a thought, some of the mechanical soldiers around him stopped fighting with the Mechanic Emperor's forces, turned around and flew over, transforming into parts to fill the gaps in the Mechanical Deity's defenses.
The Mechanical Deity is a construct composed of a large number of machines. It does not have any fatal injuries. As long as the mana and mechanical troops are sufficient, it can continuously recover from its injuries.
Just as Manison was about to press his advantage, a sudden change occurred.
Dense beams of dark energy shot out from the side, bombarding the ranks of Manison's troops, causing countless mechanical soldiers' shields to flicker and tumble, instantly throwing their formation into chaos.
The two men paused simultaneously, looking towards the source of the attack. The third party firing was the Crimson Dynasty fleet, with countless shipborne weapons firing incessantly, bombarding the forces of the Mechanic Emperor.
The Empire has come to our aid?
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat, but he wasn't surprised.
With the example of the Mechanic Emperor before them, destroying the virus's core was seen as a good deed by the Three Universal Civilizations, instantly elevating their image considerably. Although they wouldn't obtain the virus technology, everyone could accept this outcome.
Under these circumstances, the Empire, seeing that it had become enemies with the Mechanic Emperor, naturally had to make a statement. Both morally and logically, it could not stand idly by and watch an ally who had just accomplished a feat beneficial to cosmic peace fight alone. Therefore, the probability of the Empire intervening in the battlefield reached over 90%.
The other two companies had a more ambiguous attitude, remaining on the sidelines and showing no intention of intervening.
The Glory leadership was not entirely unaware of Manison's stance and attitude, but openly expressing it was a different matter. After Manison had just revealed his intention to hoard the virus and oppose the Three Universal Civilizations, the Glory could not offer protection at this time, so they simply sat idly by while the Empire attacked their own "ally."
As for the Arcane, they remained aloof and indifferent, happily watching the drama unfold from the sidelines.
The troops stationed at the trap nodes by the Three Universal Civilizations are mainly there to prevent the Beyond Grade A from taking away the virus, and naturally they have combat capabilities.
Although the spacetime anchor has now been broken, allowing mechanics to summon troops on a large scale, and only the Empire is taking action, Manison cannot ignore them; they still exert some restraining influence.
"Annoying guy."
With a flick of Manison trident, the mechanical troops emerging from the Secondary Dimension Army Box split into two groups: one remained to fight Han Xiao, while the other formed an array to engage the Imperial fleet.
Legion-style mechanics are the most suitable superhumans for interstellar warfare. Other classes would inevitably be tied down by the fleet, but mechanics can minimize the interference from the fleet by sending out a portion of their combat troops to fight independently.
To cause considerable disruption to the fully-fledged Mechanic Emperor, the size of the participating fleet would need to be at least dozens or even hundreds of times larger.
Taking advantage of the brief opportunity presented by the Empire's creation, Han Xiao repaired the Mechanical Deity's damage.
At this moment, Manison turned his gaze to Han Xiao.
"Black Star, you seem to have improved again. I've been watching you for a long time. The more battles you experience, the faster you grow. Is that your source of confidence?"
"Have you been out of action for too long? Have you forgotten that empty talk gives the enemy an opening?"
Without hesitation, Han Xiao unleashed a devastating slash with his Star Slaying Blade- Slaying Blade.
The Psionic Energy coalesced into a sharp blue blade of light, slashing towards Manison's body. The highly concentrated energy had a solid texture, resembling a dazzling crescent-shaped sapphire.
Manison remained motionless, but his Universal Treasure -level cloak armor suddenly trembled, releasing a spherical white shield that covered his entire body. It had a hazy texture, like a wisp of flowing white smoke, or a bubble filled with mist.
The slashing wave from the Star Slaying Blade struck the white shield, and the white smoke on the surface of the shield suddenly accelerated its flow, turning into vortex-like patterns. The sapphire-like blade of light paused in mid-air, then suddenly shattered into countless specks of light.
The next moment, these energy points seemed to be drawn in and absorbed by the shield, instantly turning the white shield Glory. Then, the now-discolored shield, carrying the absorbed energy, abruptly returned to the Mechanical Deity's armor, converting the absorbed attacks into nutrients to replenish the Mechanical Deity's energy consumption.
Absorb damage and replenish energy?
Han Xiao's eyes narrowed.
"I've always been interested in your Undying Body. There are many spells and superpowers with similar functions in the universe, but none can match the effect of your Undying Body. So I conducted some research, analyzed your combat videos, and explored the principles behind your abilities. Finally, I created this Universal Treasure equipment specifically for Mechanical Deity, mimicking some of your abilities..." Manison flicked his mechanical battle armor and said calmly, "Now it seems to be performing well in actual combat."
Han Xiao had a slight toothache and secretly felt envious.
The Mechanic Emperor can develop its own Universal Treasure, unlike me, who had absolutely no clue before obtaining Awakening Points.
Build whatever you need, that's the style of a proper mechanic!
Just then, Manison slowly said:
"Black Star, you're still too young. I've seen many talented mechanics who, before learning their lesson, always think that their talent can compensate for a lack of foundation. I've taught many people a lesson, and now I'll teach you one too... Mechanics need time to mature and accumulate experience; time is our true source of strength!"
The voice was still echoing in the wide-area channel when, at the same time, a rather unusual force suddenly emerged from Manison's Secondary Dimension Army Box.
This special unit consists of many different individuals. Some are well-equipped special mechanical soldiers, while others are glowing energy life forms. Each individual possesses astonishing combat power. They charge into the battlefield fearlessly, constantly sweeping away Han Xiao's mechanical forces.
When these individuals are killed or destroyed, they do not need to use abilities such as [Waste Modification]; their bodies will automatically regenerate on the spot and rejoin the battle, without any loss of strength.
When this unit entered the battle, it instantly turned the tide of the battle against the mechanized forces, gaining an absolute advantage.
Han Xiao's pupils contracted as he recognized the origin of this unit.
Manison's elite force— the Immortal Mechanic Emperor!
Before he could observe carefully, Manison's Apostle Weapon led the vast army of mechanical civilization and suddenly descended, sweeping into the battlefield from another direction and causing heavy casualties to Han Xiao's troops.
Han Xiao almost gasped.
He glanced around and counted about forty or fifty Apostle Weapon present!
This means that Manison's [Apostle Creation] skill has at least exceeded its maximum level, reaching around 40 or 50!
In this wave of troop buildup, the forces that Manison brought in accounted for nearly 70% of the total, and all of them received the Mechanical Force buff. The Mechanic Emperor was still able to operate with ease, and the scale of the Mechanical Force splash damage was terrifying.
Assuming Han Xiao's 1 point of Mechanical Force can boost 10 mechanical units, then Manison's 1 point of Mechanical Force can boost at least 25 or more!
This difference is caused not only by hard skills such as specialization, skills, and attributes, but also by the gap in equipment.
Han Xiao witnessed Manison pull out four more Universal Treasure specifically designed for Mechanical Deity from the Secondary Dimension Army Box. These treasures were of different types, not only arming the Mechanical Deity to the teeth and causing it to swell in size, but also significantly increasing Manison's Mechanical Force strength after he used Universal Treasure.
Some specialized Universal Treasure and equipment provide certain enhancements to the user. For example, Han Xiao's Sovereign provides an additional Mechanical Affinity bonus, and the same is true for Manison's equipment, which comprehensively enhances his Mechanical Force and physical body.
At the same time, Han Xiao sensed something and realized that the virtual layer had been invaded on a large scale. Manison summoned Finit, the ancestor of the AI Civilization, and had it lead a large group of AI life forms to invade, engaging in a tug-of-war with Han Xiao in the virtual layer to fight for control of the mechanical forces.
"Old man, your methods are really fancy..."
Just as Han Xiao had this thought, his vision blurred, and he saw the Mechanical Deity in the six-piece divine armor of Manison suddenly increase its speed, slashing down with its halberd, drawing a golden arc of Thunder.
He hurriedly raised his knife to block, but the shockwave penetrated his body and exploded in his ears.
Clang!!
A terrifying force traveled along his arms, instantly destroying countless built-in shock absorbers and cracking large sections of the outer armor. Han Xiao's Mechanical Deity was shaken into numerous cracks.
If it weren't for extracting the [Mechanical Control Master] from Jack Gonitz, and without the 35% efficiency bonus for mecha-type equipment, Han Xiao doubted that the Mechanical Deity's arms would have been shattered into several pieces by Manison's head-on halberd strike.
At this moment, without stopping, taking advantage of Han Xiao's Manison moment of stiffness, the newly equipped Universal Treasure -level wing-type airborne planet-destroying rapid-fire cannon automatically aimed and sprayed out thick beams of Psionic Energy with a diameter of over 100 meters.
BOOM!!
Han Xiao was blasted away by a series of planet-destroying bombardments. His shield was shattered on a large scale under the barrage. Manison followed closely, relentlessly pursuing him. His trident spun rapidly, the blades sending up streaks of light that continuously sliced through the Mechanical Deity, dismembering pieces of its body.
The Mechanic Emperor unleashed its full power, displaying its true capabilities, and achieving comprehensive success on all fronts, including Mechanical Deity, mechanical troops, and the virtual realm!
Seeing this, the numerous Beyond Grade A mechanical clones watching from the sidelines dodged the aftershocks, feeling the overwhelming power of the Mechanic Emperor filling the entire arena, and began chatting quietly in the channel.
"It's been a long time since I've seen the Mechanic Emperor go all out; they're still as terrifying as ever..." Kant recalled some unpleasant memories.
"The Mechanic Emperor is still the same Mechanic Emperor," the Sun Hunter said in a low voice.
Francisco the Mechanical Catastrophe shook his head. "Unlike the siege of the Shattered World, this time it's an internal battle between two top-tier mechanics. Black Star is completely suppressed; he's in trouble. Fortunately, it was just an avatar that came."
Han Xiao, who was busy doing his old job of being the one to get beaten up, was naturally unaware of the discussion among the onlookers.
He struggled to withstand Manison's relentless attacks, gritting his teeth inwardly.
Damn, old people are really good at fighting!
You're forcing me to "go into overdrive"!