"Steel Headbutt... and that's just the first move? Could there be a combo?"
Looking at the panel prompts, Han Xiao couldn't help but twitch his lips, his gaze unable to leave the first option.
He had always thought that being stubborn was just an adjective describing the temperament of martial artists, but he never expected it to be a skill.
After glancing down and taking in the other options, Han Xiao pondered for a moment before making his choice.
The two feats are decent, but he doesn't really want them. As his level increases, the effect of [Indomitable Challenger] diminishes, and at his current level, he won't trigger it often. Furthermore, he won't stop leveling up, so this feat will only become less and less useful. [Combo Amplification] is practical, allowing mechanical units to easily reach maximum combo counts, but the boost is a bit low. His current strength is already quite solid, so he doesn't lack such general passive bonus feats.
In contrast, Han Xiao currently desires abilities with special tactical applications that can have a more significant effect in combat.
[Murder of Crows Cannon] can increase the burst damage of focused fire, and the increase is much greater than [Combo Amplification]. However, in Han Xiao's opinion, his damage is already quite high. What he lacks is the hit rate. Focused fire must hit people.
In fact, Han Xiao wasn't too eager for [Azure Dragon Bind], since the restrictions for triggering it at close range are quite high, and both sides can't move after using it. He mainly valued its rare characteristic of at least two seconds of strong control.
This is only the effect at level 1. If you upgrade it to the maximum level, and add some of your own feats that further increase skill levels, the minimum duration of the strong control effect can likely be extended. It's worth choosing one to try.
[You have gained a new skill, [Azure Dragon Bind]!]
"I have to say, it actually sounds pretty good, much more impactful than a ridiculous name like 'Steel Headbutt '..."
Han Xiao clicked his tongue, muttered something, opened the attribute panel, quickly found the newly acquired gold-plated skill, and invested experience to upgrade it continuously. Although he was aiming for level 360 and didn't want to waste his experience reserves, the cost of upgrading a skill to the maximum level wouldn't affect his plan.
Soon, [Azure Dragon Bind] went from level 1 to the maximum level 10, with a minimum control time of 2.6 seconds. It also provided additional strength and stamina bonuses, increasing the difficulty for the target to break free.
Han Xiao hadn't specifically allocated any points to his Strength attribute, so it was just average at his level. However, his Endurance was decent. He was currently focusing on Intelligence as his primary attribute and Endurance as his secondary attribute, and every time he reset his stats while crafting Universal Treasure, a portion of it was allocated to Endurance.
"The Strongman Lock-Up Man finally has a skill boost; if he had this move before, he wouldn't have been so easily broken free by the Tranquil Tree King."
Han Xiao rubbed his chest muscles, just about to find someone to test his moves, when his communicator suddenly rang. It was a call from Ames, saying she wanted to come to the front lines and asked Han Xiao to activate the Sovereign to pick her up.
Seeing that Ames was determined, Han Xiao stopped forcing her to stay in the rear and took her back to the interception circle base along the way.
And it's also a good opportunity to test the new moves with Ames and see how effective they are in actual combat.
Central Galaxy, Desolate Universe Belt.
A small fleet was slowly sailing through the boundless starry sky, seemingly aimlessly.
Inside the main ship's command center, a group of operators dressed in various ragtag suits of armor were piloting the spaceship, looking like a Stars pirates.
On the foremost observation and command platform stood several imposing figures, all dressed in hooded robes to conceal their forms.
"Because of the invasion of foreign enemies, the armies of the Three Universal Civilizations have been deployed to various border star regions, leaving the heartland vulnerable. Moreover, a large number of interstellar citizens are seeking refuge and are currently hiding in the Central Galaxy. This is a good opportunity..." a hooded man said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, a slight commotion arose among the hooded figures. The hooded figure at the very front let out a long breath and slowly said:
"Forget it, let's not do it now."
"Why? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" another person exclaimed excitedly, full of bewilderment.
"I said I won't move, and I mean it!"
The hooded man at the front emphasized his words, slightly raising his head to reveal his face beneath the hood. It was none other than the elusive Pangon, and this group was the Revenge Takers who had left the Sanctum.
"Pangon, you wouldn't have had a change of heart, would you?" a Beyond Grade A coldly asked. "You've backed down because of the invasion? You're unwilling to affect the so-called 'big picture'? Don't forget our goal is Revenge against the Three Universal Civilizations. Our aim is to wreak havoc on the world. The foreign enemy is a godsend for us. There has never been a more opportune time to destroy their rule, giving us the chance to use their power to achieve a great victory with a small force. Otherwise, do you really think that a few of us can shake the foundations of the Three Universal Civilizations ' rule?"
Are you teaching me how to do things?
Pangon's expression was equally cold.
The man remained unfazed, glaring back and saying in a deep voice, "Then tell me why we should let this opportunity slip by. If we're on different paths, it's better to part ways sooner rather than later and go our separate ways."
The others also focused their attention on Pangon.
Their civilization was destroyed by Three Universal Civilizations during their exploration, and they harbored deep-seated hatred. Driven by Revenge, the group had already disregarded life and death. The invasion of the World Tree surprised them more than it surprised them, as they believed that heaven was on their side.
Pangon paused, took out a thick, handmade cigarette, lit it, and took a drag; the smoke silently filled the air.
"Speak!" his companion demanded coldly.
Pangon glanced at him, flicked his cigarette ash, and slowly began, "The Great Migration should have been a time of rampant space pirate activity, but the militaries of all the major civilizations are escorting their own citizens to the Central Galaxy for refuge, leaving fewer and fewer interstellar citizens wandering outside... This has made it increasingly difficult for space pirates in various regions to survive; not only are they lacking prey, but they are also being wiped out by the military..."
What are you trying to say?
"What I'm saying is, even if we wanted to seize this opportunity to shake the rule of the Three Universal Civilizations, we wouldn't have enough manpower. We might as well take this opportunity to unite the space pirates from all over the world and obtain sufficient armed forces. Otherwise, even if we go to the heartland of the Three Universal Civilizations to cause trouble now, we won't be able to stir up any waves."
Then, Pangon paused, and said calmly:
"Besides, if we hinder the Three Universal Civilizations ' plan to resist the enemy at this critical juncture, Black Star will definitely come and kill us. Do you really want to see him?"
Upon hearing this, a look of fear flashed in everyone's eyes, and they fell silent.
Pangon glanced at them, puffed on his cigarette, and said nothing more.
This was both the truth and an excuse. To be fair, while the invasion of foreign enemies was a good opportunity to shake the Three Universal Civilizations, Pangon did not want to take advantage of it, partly due to the threat from Black Star and partly due to the Sanctum.
This is, after all, the homeland of the Oathkeeper and many of his Sanctum companions. He owes the Sanctum a tremendous debt of gratitude for his new life, and he has also gained his freedom. Now that some of his old friends are fighting against external enemies, he is unwilling to hold them back at this time.
Although he was determined to dedicate his life to Revenge, he did not want to lose his sense of loyalty in the process.
Foreign invasion may be the only chance to destroy the Three Universal Civilizations, but Pangon does not regret abandoning this path; he firmly believes there are other ways.
The Three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree were still locked in a tug-of-war on the front lines. After some time, the stalemate was finally broken with the production of the first batch of special observation devices.
Beyond-the-horizon detection technology from another iterative ultimate civilization broke through the concealment and camouflage of World Tree outposts, marking the densely packed camps one after another on the wide-area radar, almost like opening the entire map, and finally regaining the initiative.
The entire interception command was greatly encouraged and immediately organized a large number of players into a Space-Time Shearing force, which was divided into thousands and advanced towards all the company camps, attempting to wipe out all enemy strongholds in one fell swoop.
The long-range joint camp of mutual support quickly suffered a devastating blow. The hidden stronghold was caught off guard and destroyed one after another by the players' fearless Space-Time Shearing self-destruction charge. A large number of "nails" planted by the World Tree near the interception circle were removed one after another.
After about half a month of fierce fighting, the World Tree finally abandoned its ineffective long-range chain attack tactics and stopped deploying new strongholds, allowing the Three Universal Civilizations to clear the obstacles to expanding their interception zone and establishing spatial anchoring orbits.
Without the obstruction, the stagnant expansion speed of the space anchoring orbit thawed and resumed its advance into the distance, continuously forcing the World Tree jump point away from the interception circle line.
In the following months, the frequency and intensity of small-scale clashes between the two sides continued to increase, and the fighting became increasingly fierce.
During this period, the World Tree launched two more major attacks, each with a fleet size of tens of billions, triggering two large-scale battles.
Both battles were large-scale battles, and the World Tree did not send high-level combat forces to exchange for them, but simply depleted the military strength of the Three Universal Civilizations. It seems that before finding a way to restrain Aurora, the World Tree will no longer allow individual powers to participate in the war. Moreover, not all the powerful beings who died in the last battle have been resurrected and cannot be put into the battlefield.
Although replenishing fleets and combat personnel also consumes resources, due to the inherent characteristics of the World Tree World Tree, its resource utilization rate, resource development rate, resource regeneration speed, and resource reserves far exceed those of the Three Universal Civilizations, giving it a huge advantage. Furthermore, both sides and the World Tree can rapidly produce troops, so the World Tree's plan is to wear down the national strength of the Three Universal Civilizations.
Numerous Beyond Grade A participated in these two major battles. With Aurora's support and the World Tree not dispatching Beyond Grade A, both battles ended without serious incident, and no one was killed in action so far.
Within a few months, Han Xiao provided some more war technologies from the First Sanctum, mass-produced them, and deployed them to multiple units. These technologies proved highly effective in group army operations, significantly reducing the fleet losses of the Three Universal Civilizations and enabling them to defeat the World Tree's assault army at a lower cost.
Meanwhile, the Child of Destiny' monitoring channels detected the mobilization signs for these two major attacks in advance, allowing the Three Universal Civilizations to take precautions and further reduce battle losses.
However, with the special beyond-visual-range detection device provided by Han Xiao, the monitoring range and intensity of the Three Universal Civilizations underwent a qualitative change. They could detect most of the World Tree's activities near the interception zone without the Child of Destiny. This important technology forced the Three Universal Civilizations to change some of their strategic plans, no longer feeling troubled by their weakness in detection.
Therefore, the Three Universal Civilizations have once again increased their attention to Han Xiao, wishing they could keep Han Xiao in the base without him participating in any battles or encountering any risks.
Black Star seemed to pull out one strategic technology after another as if it were free, almost every one of which was capable of becoming a trump card for an advanced civilization. This astonished the research departments of the three parties, who felt that Black Star's research capabilities alone were more impressive than their entire departments, leaving them in awe.
However, brute force overcomes skill. Although the Three Universal Civilizations repelled two waves of attacks, their interception zones and spatial anchoring orbits were extensively damaged during the World Tree's advance, indirectly curbing their expansion.
Since the outbreak of the war, the two sides have been locked in a stalemate in this meat grinder for more than half a year, constantly exhausting each other's forces. The World Tree has always been blocked outside and unable to break through the interception circle. It seems that it has finally run out of patience. The Child of Destiny's monitoring channels have captured important intelligence, showing that the World Tree Civilization is mobilizing troops within its territory and planning a new offensive.
This is the largest offensive launched by the World Tree to date, exceeding the combined scale of the previous three offensives, already surpassing 200 billion, and it's unknown how much it will last!
Such a massive offensive, even if the interception circle could repel the enemy as it had done before, would certainly be severely weakened. Upon receiving the news, Han Xiao immediately notified the command center and convened an emergency meeting.