The flames of war raged in the outer space of the Cloud Magnet Planet, where two Mechanical Deity, one black and one white, fought back and forth, their weapons exploding with energy shockwaves of astonishing size.
Psionic Energy bombards Psionic Energy, metal collides with metal!
All around were swarms of mechanical armies, tirelessly and frantically fighting. Molten metal melted by high-energy rays was constantly spewing out from the field, rapidly cooling and solidifying into irregularly shaped metal blocks. Some fell to the planet's surface, while others turned into space debris and moved around the orbit of the Cloud Magnet Planet.
This scene resembled two all-powerful deities leading their respective armies of servants in a divine war across the cosmos.
Han Xiao's burst of power significantly boosted his combat strength, increasing his intelligence by about two-fifths and causing his Mechanical Affinity to surge. The 20% intelligence bonus from the [Ancient Ones] character card further amplified the improvement.
According to calculations, investing these tens of thousands of attribute points into intelligence has a far greater enhancement to mechanical abilities than Hila Rescue Battle. It can be said that Han Xiao's current state represents his peak performance to date.
Because he didn't have time to familiarize himself with his increased combat power, Han Xiao's control over his strength wasn't as precise. However, he also gained strong confidence. As the saying goes, "one effort, one breath," he took advantage of the surge of power throughout his body and adopted a wide-ranging fighting style.
The blade flashed, Star Slaying Blade spun rapidly in his hand. Every slash was powerful and unstoppable, exuding ferocity. He truly had the style of Second Master Guan, fighting with all his might.
The surge of Mechanical Force controlled the divine body, making the Mechanical Deity's movements more agile and flexible. The Star Slaying Blade in his hand became much more powerful, repeatedly breaking through the upper limit of the white shield's mana regeneration from being hit. The sweeping blade light left ferocious slits in the opponent's mechanical body.
Although Manison was surprised by Han Xiao's burst of combat power, it did not affect his performance. With the support of the six divine equipment, the trident continued to counterattack, constantly poking holes of all sizes into Han Xiao's Mechanical Deity body.
Both sides suffered damage and were evenly matched. Two figures traversing the starry sky moved swiftly and agilely in the cosmic battlefield, their great halberds and tridents clashing dozens or even hundreds of times in an instant, unleashing bursts of lightning and fire.
What appears to be a simple close-quarters brawl is actually a mix of advanced weaponry and technology, with force fields, electromagnetic induction, energy conversion, and other techniques employed in rapid succession. Beyond mere attacks, countless control devices are constantly at work, with various invisible force fields and radiations continuously enveloping the opponent's massive, Tu Shu body, like a spiderweb restricting their movements.
At the same time, both sides maintained long-range artillery fire at all times, with countless cannons emerging from their bodies, spewing out high-energy beams like Rainstorm, blasting each other's shields into arcing explosions and flashing incessantly, like clusters of fireworks.
On the other side, the mechanized forces engaged in combat while unleashing a barrage of firepower at the enemy behemoth. Multicolored beams of light formed a grid-like light screen, and the artillery fire turned into large shards of light after hitting the shield, as if a hazy dust of light was floating in the battlefield.
The visuals are beautiful, but they are filled with destructive energy.
The dozens of Apostle Weapon of the Mechanic Emperor are formidable in combat and have a huge advantage in the legion battlefield. Han Xiao was entangled by Manison and could only keep pulling out troops from the Secondary Dimension Army Box to make up for the gap in high-level combat power with numbers.
The battle was fierce, with countless mechanical bodies being destroyed every second, and countless parts being reassembled under the omnipresent Mechanical Force to continue the fight.
The battle reached a fever pitch. Under the watchful eyes of countless people, some excited and some shocked, the two fought fiercely in space for a long time, their battle proving to be evenly matched.
Brush!
The blade flashed, the Star Slaying Blade sweeping across, slicing into Manison's neck, cutting three-quarters of the way in, nearly beheading his opponent.
The halberd flashed swiftly, the trident piercing through Han Xiao's head, sending countless broken mechanical parts flying in all directions.
The two Mechanical Deity seemed oblivious to their injuries, each raising their hands to grab the weapons stuck inside their opponent's body, pulling them apart with force. Then, amidst the barrage of artillery fire, they simultaneously raised their legs and kicked each other in the groin, their synchronization rate at least 90%!
The immense force created a white, noisy energy reaction on the protective shields around their bodies, sending them flying backward.
During their retreat, both sides simultaneously raised their hands and threw their weapons.
Two enormous weapons shot through the air like two towering mountains, collided violently mid-air, and bounced off each other.
The trident tumbled and crashed towards the planet's surface, slamming into the wilderness with a thunderous roar, leaving a deep outline on the ground.
The Star Slaying Blade swirled and crashed into the mechanical legion's battlefield, indiscriminately crushing countless mechanical soldiers and clearing a blank area.
Just then, Manison's figure suddenly flickered and disappeared, space shifted, and the next moment he appeared behind Han Xiao, a clear light suddenly shooting out from his waist and abdomen.
A silver dagger was drawn from its sheath, slicing diagonally upwards in an arc. The blade flashed past Han Xiao's lower back, instantly severing the Mechanical Deity in half, leaving a perfectly smooth cross-section.
Han Xiao reacted quickly, immediately turning his upper body around. His arm, wrapped in Psionic Energy and a force field, lashed out like a whip, breaking through the shield and unleashing a large arc of electricity. His fist, still powerful, slammed heavily into Manison's head, sending his severed head flying like a baseball shot towards the fleets of the Three Universal Civilizations, only to be torn to pieces by the fleet's concentrated fire halfway through its flight.
At the same time, Han Xiao's severed lower body immediately disintegrated, transforming back into countless mechanical warriors, which dispersed and merged back into the Mechanical Deity's body.
He raised his hand and the Star Slaying Blade, which had been sent flying, stopped in mid-air. It flew backward as if pulled by an invisible rope, circled once, and forced back the opportunistic attack of Manison, before returning to Han Xiao's hand.
"Another Universal Treasure."
Seeing that Manison had pulled out another new weapon, Han Xiao felt a pang of envy.
His Great Emperor's Robe reinforced the Mechanical Deity's internal structure, yet this short sword sliced him in two, clearly a piece of equipment exclusive to gold-level Mechanical Deity.
It's already frustrating enough that they can't compete with each other in terms of resources, but after fighting for so long, the Mechanic Emperor is still full of energy and shows no signs of weakening. Their strength is unfathomable, and their endurance is equally surprising to Han Xiao.
Logically, once you've consumed a significant amount of energy, the energy bonus will drop, causing a temporary decline in stats and attributes.
Because of his ability to exchange blood and mana, he was able to maintain his peak condition, while Old Manison was like someone who had taken an aphrodisiac, able to maintain his form as well.
Although Old Manison had developed a battle armor that restored mana upon being attacked, after some battles, Han Xiao figured out the limitations of this golden equipment. Each absorption required a certain cooldown time, unlike his own specialty which was effective anytime, anywhere. Imitation was still not as good as the original.
So... perhaps Old Manison possesses a special ability that allows him to reduce his strength without affecting his bonuses? This ability is quite rare, but Han Xiao had seen it in his previous life.
However, that wasn't the main point. Han Xiao was surprised to discover that Manison's power not only hadn't diminished, but was even slowly increasing, growing stronger with each battle and showing no signs of weakness.
"I reckon he, like me, possesses the ability to continuously gain boosts in battle... No wonder he's one of the strongest in the universe; he's just as troublesome as I am."
Han Xiao gritted his teeth inwardly.
After fighting for so long, he could only maintain a stalemate at best. Countless times he tried to further expand his advantage, but it was like hitting an indestructible wall. He was repeatedly blocked by the Mechanic Emperor, as if the opponent was a spring that had been compressed to its limit and could not be compressed any further.
Fortunately, the same was true for Manison, who was also unable to continue suppressing him, resulting in a back-and-forth battle.
The battle lines on the virtual level are quite stable. With [Intelligence Affinity], the opponent's AI all attributes decrease by 5%. Although the magnitude is not large, it is considered a weakening of the basic aspects. Assuming the original attribute was 1, it becomes 0.95 after the reduction. If the bonus is 100 times, then the difference is also magnified by 100 times. The larger the bonus, the more significant this difference will be.
"The character card's time limit is ultimately limited, and I can't maintain this state indefinitely. Meanwhile, Manison's attributes are still slowly increasing. If the battle continues, the situation I've finally managed to stabilize will be reversed by him again... Hey, I usually wear down my enemies through prolonged battles, but now I've finally met someone who can outlast me."
Han Xiao analyzed the situation, feeling quite relaxed.
Finding no opponent is a lonely thing. But when he finally faces a formidable enemy who requires him to go all out, he fights with equal gusto and enjoyment, wishing he could unleash all his energy on the Mechanic Emperor.
Moreover, this time they witnessed Manison's direct combat capabilities, understood the gap in strength, and gained a lot.
In fact, the direct attack and decapitation tactic is still effective against Manison. Although the opponent's clone is a bit tougher, its durability is still far inferior to his own. The problem is that it is hidden inside the Mechanical Deity. Without destroying the Mechanical Deity, the opponent's clone cannot be damaged. Next time, we need to pay attention to this aspect... In other words, this can be considered as accumulating experience in dealing with the Mechanic Emperor.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Han Xiao spoke in the wide-area channel:
"Mechanic Emperor, we've met our match. This kind of fighting won't yield a result even in ten days or half a month. Do you still want to continue?"
"You're overthinking it. You can't last that long," Manison replied calmly. "This should be your current peak level, but at best you can only hold your own against me. And how long can you maintain your explosive power?"
"I haven't calculated it, but I should be able to hold out until the end of the battle."
Since no one knew his background, Han Xiao just blurted things out.
"So you want to wage a war of attrition against me?" Manison let out a emotionless laugh, as if lamenting Han Xiao's overestimation of his abilities. "How many mechanized troops do you have to wear down? Are they even a fraction of what I have?"
"Tch, look at you, so capable. It's just money, as if nobody else doesn't have it."
Han Xiao curled his lip.
Despite saying that, Master Han admitted that Old Manison's financial power is stronger now.
He wanted to go toe-to-toe with Manison, but he had no intention of revealing his true strength here.
Moreover, Han Xiao hadn't forgotten that Manison possessed some Beyond Grade A "collectibles" that he wasn't using, presumably because the occasion wasn't right and he didn't want to bring them out in front of the Three Universal Civilizations.
In other words, what they have now is probably not the full strength of Manison.
Although their growth patterns are vastly different, Han Xiao agrees with one point: one's background and experience have a tremendous impact on a mechanic.
The Mechanic Emperor's attributes are several levels above mine? Not necessarily. It's just that their machines are too numerous and too powerful, all accumulated over many years.
The Mechanic Class is different from other professions. When everyone reaches a bottleneck in their growth, the Mechanic can continue to ignore the bottleneck and improve their combat power through manufacturing and researching machinery. Therefore, spending money is the root of the Mechanic's strength!
The gap is still quite large...
Han Xiao shook his head secretly.
He was quite wealthy, but compared to Manison, who was dressed in full regalia, he suddenly looked rather shabby.
'Looking at it this way, beating Manison now is still too difficult. If Manison wants to defeat me and get revenge, I'll at least have to fight him to a draw. Running away is out of the question, otherwise it'll look bad...'
Han Xiao's mental state was sharpening as he pondered what trump cards he still had up his sleeve. Just then, the situation on the field suddenly changed.
Suddenly, different mechanized units stormed onto the battlefield, attacking the Mechanic Emperor's forces simultaneously, separating the battlefield and stopping the fighting between the two sides.
More than a dozen streaks of light shot in from a distance, stopping between the two, facing Manison, and protecting Han Xiao behind them.
Han Xiao and Manison immediately stopped and looked at the dozen or so figures, who were the other Beyond Grade A mechanical clones who were watching the show from the sidelines.
"The Mechanic Emperor, let's end it here," Kant said.
Manison scanned the crowd, speaking slowly, "You want to help him?"
"Black Star doesn't need our help. He and you are evenly matched. Even if you fight for a month, your battle won't end." Kant deliberately used the wide-area channel to speak, chuckling, "We and the fleets of the Three Universal Civilizations can't possibly watch you fight for a month, so let's call it a draw today."
"A draw?" Manison's tone turned slightly somber.
"Isn't that so?" Kant chuckled and countered.
Manison glanced at everyone. "What if I want to continue?"
"We're people who care about our reputation too; we always keep our word." Kant chuckled. "If you're not going to give us that face, then I'm sorry, we'll just have to play along for a few rounds."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the Beyond Grade A clones present stepped forward in unison. Although they didn't say it explicitly, their intention to protect Han Xiao was obvious.
Want to mess with Black Star?
Then we'll just have to have a righteous brawl!
Upon seeing this, Manison fell silent.
The battlefield was the domain of the Mechanic Faith, and he naturally wanted to gain the upper hand over Han Xiao. Although Black Star's burst mode was powerful, it was only temporary. As long as the fight continued, he was confident of victory.
But the current situation has thwarted his plans.
The fight between the two was stopped by a group of people. Manison understood perfectly well what these Beyond Grade A people meant: they wanted to create a draw, not give him a chance to win in a one-on-one fight, and force him to accept the fact.
After a moment's thought, he understood the reason.
Manison looked up at Han Xiao, his tone somewhat complicated:
"You really are... blessed with many supporters."
Having said that, Manison showed no hesitation, shoving the troops back into the barracks, retrieving his clone without a word, dispelling the Dominator's Descent, and leaving immediately.
Even with his confidence, he had no intention of challenging all the Beyond Grade A present.
Seeing this, Kant chuckled twice and turned to look at Han Xiao.
"Alright, the matter is resolved."
Han Xiao was somewhat surprised. "I thought you guys would just watch the show, why are you suddenly helping me?"
He could understand the help from the Empire's allies, but why were the Glory and Arcane mechanics also stepping forward?
Could it be that my heroic act of destroying the virus's core subdued even these vengeful fellows?
Sigh, it's my fault. I wasn't careful enough and let my inner charm shine through too much.
Don't flatter yourself, we're not here to help you.
Francisco the Mechanical Catastrophe sneered:
"If you fight like this, it will take at least ten days to half a month. How can the leaders of the Three Universal Civilizations keep watching? So they gave orders for us to intervene and end the battle."
"That's strange. Couldn't you have done this much earlier? Why did you have to wait until we were halfway through the fight?" Han Xiao clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Heh, it's not just an order; we're all happy to see the Mechanic Emperor suffer a setback."
Kant answered, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.
Okay, I get it...
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately understood.
Most of the people present had been bullied by the Mechanic Emperor before, and could only swallow their anger because they were outmatched. But now, seeing Black Star's heroic performance, they felt they could take this opportunity to strike back at the Mechanic Emperor, so they decided to intervene.
The deliberate promotion of a draw was a small act of revenge by this group. They were happy that the Mechanic Emperor had been holding onto the position of the chief god of the Mechanic Faith, and this move was to create momentum for Black Star, who was delighted to see the Mechanic Emperor suffer a setback.
Once the outcome of the battle is decided, Black Star can divert the faith of the Mechanic Faith and cause losses to the Mechanic Emperor... Of course, the premise for doing so is that Black Star can withstand the Mechanic Emperor. If Han Xiao keeps getting beaten, this group of people will not deliberately choose this best time to help him.
Intervening in the battle was not just due to orders, but also a decision made from the bottom of everyone's hearts. They nominated Black Star to fight against the Mechanic Emperor, to make things difficult for Manison.
... Whether there was an element of admiration for Black Star's destruction of the virus's core was something only each individual could know for sure.
Once Han Xiao understood this, he felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, without the help of these bystanders, he really wouldn't have had a chance to force the Mechanic Emperor to back down, and the outcome would have been uncertain.
Indeed, having more connections has many benefits.
Despite his long life and wide circle of Mechanic Emperor, Manison's image in the eyes of fellow Beyond Grade A mechanics isn't great—he's offended far too many Beyond Grade A- level industry peers!
This is the meaning of "those who act justly gain abundant support, while those who act unjustly find little support."