Meanwhile, the other the First Ones were remotely monitoring the fleet were all stunned, their faces filled with disbelief, and their eyes revealed displeasure.
"Hey, did I hear that right? He wants to challenge all five of Pangon's men?" someone asked, looking puzzled.
"Isn't that a bit too arrogant? Judging from his words just now, I thought he had enough self-awareness."
"Ha, it seems he's quite ambitious, trying to give us a taste of his own medicine." Someone sneered.
"How could he even think of that? I remember he had a Battle of Deification feat, supposedly defeating over a dozen Beyond Grade A warriors. Could it be that this made him overconfident?"
"It's possible. He might think our combat strength is on par with modern Beyond Grade A fighters... Hey, just because we bully kids who grew up in peacetime, he thinks he's so great? He probably hasn't seen a real top-tier expert."
"Such an arrogant tone has angered Pangon and his men. They definitely won't let this go easily. This is going to be good." Someone gloated. "Just wait, they'll teach this guy a lesson, especially Pangon... he has a terrible temper."
"Hopefully he can maintain this arrogant attitude later," someone said with a playful tone.
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but reveal smiles of anticipation, their faces full of mockery.
These words were directed at all the First Ones and provoked them. Most of the people present pretended not to care, but in reality they were indignant and couldn't wait to see Han Xiao suffer a setback.
On the other side, the Oathkeeper and the six others, Pangon, immediately changed their expressions upon hearing Han Xiao's words.
To say we're outdated, clinging to past glories? That's a bit harsh!
"Overestimating yourself!"
Pangon's face was grim, his eyes flashing with explosive anger.
In their era of traversing the Galaxy, how could they have ever been so underestimated?!
This is the first time anyone has ever spoken to them like this!
Even the Oathkeeper felt somewhat embarrassed, as if they had been insulted as well.
Sensing the increasingly tense atmosphere in the arena, he couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for Han Xiao.
The Oathkeeper hoped that Black Star would teach his friends a lesson, but Black Star's decision to fight five at once was unexpected and startled him, making him worry that things might go wrong.
' Black Star is being way too arrogant, is he even capable...?'
The Oathkeeper regretted his decision, thinking that Black Star didn't fully understand the strength of these the First Ones, which was why he made such a request.
In his Tu Shu, Black Star was powerful, but not to this extent. Although he had caught up on the news from that period, his impression of Han Xiao was still based on what he had seen before entering the Sanctuary.
I should have tipped off Black Star beforehand and given him some information. These five guys aren't your average Beyond Grade A...
At this moment, Baigel narrowed his eyes and repeatedly asked, "Are you sure you want to fight the five of us?"
"What, you're not willing?" Han Xiao's gaze swept across each person's face, taking in their expressions.
"There's no need for that." Mysterious Lady frowned, then spoke calmly, "Even if all five of you attack together and win, it's nothing to brag about... You're not afraid of a one-on-one fight, are you? I can promise that our sparring will stop short of a draw. We just want to test your skills. Whatever the outcome, we'll call it a draw. Are you satisfied now?"
"You guys are quite considerate of me." Han Xiao smiled.
"No matter what, you are our benefactor, I..."
Before Mysterious Lady could finish speaking, Pangon interrupted her, coldly saying, "Don't speak for me. I'll deal with him alone."
Hearing this, Han Xiao remained unchanged. "Let's attack together. Taking them down one by one is a waste of energy. I don't like a war of attrition."
Everyone froze, then became furious.
I gave you a way out, but you refused and even pushed your luck.
He's fucking asking for a beating!
Baigel gave Han Xiao a deep look. "This is your own choice."
"I told you, I'm enough on my own." Pangon turned to look at his companions, looking ready to fight amongst themselves at the slightest provocation.
"Just consider us as someone watching from the sidelines," another person said, trying to ease the tension, knowing Pangon's nature well.
Pangon thought for a moment, then did not object. He stomped his foot hard on the ground, and a tremendous force radiated outwards from him, causing ripples of sand to spread across the earth.
Bang!
He soared into the sky, eager to fly towards outer space.
The other four were unsurprised and followed. Martial artists are known for their stubbornness and sometimes lack of sharp minds. They were used to Pangon's style and didn't bother to argue with his attitude.
Han Xiao glanced at the worried Oathkeeper with a half-smile, then took off as well. Just then, the control panel showed some activity.
[You have triggered the hidden quest "[Might Makes Right]!"]
[Mission Brief: The First Ones of Resurrection are grateful for your help, but they are not convinced of your abilities. You decide to demonstrate your strength and earn the First Ones respect.]
[Task requirement: Earn the respect of the First Ones through action]
[Reward: Determined based on your actions and the results; the higher the evaluation, the better the reward.]
[Note: This is a series of tasks; your actions will affect the subsequent course of events. Please act with caution.]
"Hey, the item dropped! This should be part of the same quest chain as [Return to the Historical Stage]."
Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
As he browsed the missions, he flew to outer space and immediately saw that the group had already taken up positions. The four of them were far apart, located in different directions, defining the battlefield area, while Pangon remained in the center, facing off against them from afar.
"Are you ready to make a move?" Pangon asked impatiently.
"I'm always..."
Han Xiao had only spoken half a sentence when Pangon lost his patience. His body burst forth with golden-red flames, and he transformed into a shooting star as he charged forward.
Generally, when martial artists and mechanics engage in friendly sparring, they will proactively maintain some distance, allowing the mechanic to deploy a portion of their legion first. However, Pangon has experienced countless large-scale interstellar wars and has long since developed a habit of expanding his advantage Infinite, even in sparring, without making any concessions.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, Stay Where You Are and opened the Secondary Dimension Army Box. Before the first batch of mechanical troops could even show themselves, Pangon crashed into his solid chest.
Bang!
The fist struck Han Xiao squarely in the chest. Pangon's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He hadn't expected Han Xiao to not dodge. He immediately changed his normal attack into a martial skill, injecting powerful martial energy into it. The energy flowed through the fist into Han Xiao's body, transforming into a shockwave that exploded with a bang.
This is a control-type skill that uses martial arts aura to cause molecular vibrations within the opponent's body. As long as the power overwhelms the opponent, it can temporarily deprive the opponent of control over their body.
Pangon was very experienced in dealing with high-level mechanics and knew that the opportunity to rush in was rare. He would not let this opportunity slip by. A series of well-practiced combos flashed through his mind. In an instant, he selected the most explosive combo. His body immediately followed muscle memory to make the move. He was just waiting for Han Xiao to be controlled so that he could unleash a combo to maximize the damage.
However, before Han Xiao could lose control, just as he was about to unleash his combo attack, a slap suddenly swept across his face.
Snap!!
The slap was powerful and heavy. Pangon's eyes bulged out, his head buzzed, and he seemed to hear the sound of his facial bones cracking.
Before he could recover from the momentary dizziness, a barrage of close-range attacks suddenly struck. Countless Heavy Strike landed on him every second, shattering the protective golden-red flames that rippled through his muscles, leaving indentations. The excruciating pain surged through every nerve like Tide.
Pangon instinctively raised his hand to defend himself, protecting his vitals, his mind still a little dazed.
Wait a minute, the mechanic was caught in close combat by me, a martial artist, and instead of retreating to create distance, she actually fought back and started hand-to-hand fighting with me?
Fighting back is one thing, but what's with the force? It's ridiculously strong!
After being relentlessly beaten by Han Xiao for several seconds, Pangon finally found an opening. He grabbed Han Xiao's arm with a Grappling, pulled him into his arms, and wrapped his arms around him, forming a locking technique.
"Don't even think about running away!"
Pangon spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. His martial arts aura stimulated his body, causing his muscles to bulge and his size to expand, resulting in a surge of power.
He was prepared for a struggle, intending to prevent Han Xiao from breaking free of his grappling technique.
If he can lock onto the target for just two seconds, he can prepare a powerful martial skill and unleash an even more Berserk combo.
For a high-level martial artist, every part of their body is a weapon. Although Han Xiao's counterattack had left Pangon somewhat bewildered, once he reacted, he would have an unparalleled advantage in close combat thanks to his countless martial arts skills and expertise.
However, the next moment, his expression froze, and a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes. Not only did he not feel Han Xiao struggling, but he also found that Han Xiao wrapped his arms around his waist and formed a lock in the opposite direction.
"What kind of fighting style is this?" Even with his extensive experience, Pangon was somewhat dumbfounded.
"You want to learn? Too bad you won't be able to learn even if I teach you." Han Xiao chuckled.
Just then, the first batch of mechanical troops that had just flown out of the Secondary Dimension opened fire on the two people who were embracing each other without hesitation. In their preset program, the highest priority tactic was to open fire on the master unconditionally as long as the master captured a target, without needing to be actively controlled.
Upon seeing this, Pangon's expression changed.
Isn't this a suicidal attack? Damn, this guy's even more ruthless than me!
As the saying goes, the tough fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear the reckless. Although his physique was tough, he didn't want to take Psionic Energy bath with the enemy, which would wash away a layer of his flesh!
The roles that should have been struggling were suddenly reversed. Pangon hurriedly let go and tried to retreat to avoid it, but his waist was tightly held by Han Xiao's arm, which was incredibly strong, and he couldn't break free for a while.
"Don't bother. I'm really confused. You knew I was coming to visit two weeks ago, yet you didn't bother to research me online. If you had even studied my combat footage once, you wouldn't have been so stupid as to charge at my face... Are you really that arrogant? Or did the Oathkeeper cut off your internet?"
Han Xiao was speechless.
He had no intention of using this tactic, because he felt that once the First Ones had researched his information online, this traditional technique would be ineffective. At the very least, seeing the nickname "Undying Body" would give them some reason to be on guard.
Unexpectedly, right at the start, a stubborn kid came looking for him to elope. Even he himself didn't underestimate his opponent and had already built a data model of his opponent in advance, which only proves that these the First Ones didn't take him seriously at all.
Then don't blame me; you delivered yourself right to my doorstep.
"Take my old trick, reimagined—and we'll go to the Yellow Springs together!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
The light from the concentrated fire and explosion of the Psionic Energy cannon instantly engulfed the two of them.
The bombardment lasted for two or three seconds. A golden-red meteor hurriedly escaped the blast zone, tumbling a great distance in space before coming to a stop.
Pangon was ragged and disheveled, with large patches of charred black on his body, and some parts of him were glowing with intense heat, showing signs of carbonization.
At this moment, Han Xiao also flew out of the explosion area, glanced at Pangon, and sighed regretfully.
The legion's assembly time was too short, and the first batch of arriving mechanical warriors was too few, resulting in insufficient damage. After being reduced by various shields and resistances, the concentrated fire could at most inflict minor injuries on Pangon.
Han Xiao had already seen Pangon's stats from the battle information. The opponent's energy level was around 71,000, and his attributes were roughly equivalent to his own when he was level 300. Before advancing, he might have had to put in some effort to deal with him, but now he could easily beat him up with various techniques.
However, he also understood that these the First Ones were not at their peak. The period of weakness and the loss of some abilities were only one factor. Another important reason was that although these people had recovered, their equipment would not reappear. For example, Pangon's nickname was partly derived from the suit he wore when conquering the Galaxy. It was also called "King of War," and it was crafted by his civilization. It contained three Universal Treasure: a shield, a spear, and armor. Without this equipment, his strength would decrease by about 20% to 30%.
Especially for the resurrected mechanics, all their resources were gone, and they had to start building from scratch, which was extremely miserable. Not everyone has the terrifying production capacity like themselves and the Mechanic Emperor.
Upon seeing this, the four people who had been watching from the sidelines were taken aback, abandoning their nonchalant attitude and becoming serious.
"Did you see that? The power that guy just displayed!"
"Hmm, for a mechanic who should be physically weak to possess such strength and agility, either his energy level is far higher than Pangon's, resulting in astonishing basic abilities, or modern mechanics follow a very unconventional path, abandoning mechanical studies in favor of physical training!"
"I think the latter is quite likely..."
While the group was exchanging information over the communication channel, the situation on the field changed again. Pangon had suffered a minor setback and was now hesitant to act rashly. Before figuring out what was going on, he didn't dare to continue charging in and was at a loss for what to do.
However, Han Xiao did not pursue the attack. Instead, he shot out a net of golden Mechanical Force, which enveloped the mechanical troops present like a fish, pulling them all toward him. Amidst the dazzling lightning of Mechanical Force, a colossal Mechanical Deity appeared out of nowhere.
The next moment, the Mechanical Deity, dragging the Star Slaying Blade, circled once and then swung out a ring of silver-blue Psionic Energy waves horizontally.
Brush!
The blade light spread rapidly, and the four people at the edge of the battlefield became targets as well. With flashes of light, magic circles, supernatural abilities, and telekinesis appeared simultaneously. Baigel, Mysterious Lady, and the others used their unique abilities to block the powerful blade wave.
At the same time, Han Xiao's mocking voice rang out in the wide-area channel, "I said I'd take on five, and I'll take on five. You guys want to just watch the show from the sidelines? Dream on!"
Baigel and the others exchanged glances, then without further hesitation, joined the battle.
Having witnessed Black Star's methods, the group no longer minded joining forces for a five-on-one fight. If Pangon were to fight one-on-one, he would most likely lose. Moreover, since Han Xiao had initiated the attack, forcing them to take action, it wouldn't be appropriate not to retaliate.
The group didn't mind teaming up for a fight. During the Exploration Era War, it was perfectly normal for one to fight another. Being too particular would only result in being killed by the enemy. The First Ones were used to a group of people taking on one person at a time, so they didn't have any psychological barriers to it.
"You've finally stopped being so dramatic. Come on, let me give you a loving beating to help you face reality!"
Seeing this, Han Xiao grinned, and the Mechanical Deity spun the Star Slaying Blade, stirring up surging dark blue energy, and rushed towards the five people.