The many powerful beings of the World Tree were invigorated and suddenly understood.
No wonder this civilization showed some understanding of the World Tree when they first made contact; Hyperion, who knew about the invasion of his homeland, was the best source of information, which makes sense.
The members of World Tree vividly remember every battle. Although the Kama Republic Alliance was not a formidable opponent, Hyperion left a deep impression on many World Tree powerhouses. Some of them even participated in the siege. It was a rare prey that slipped through their fingers. After the fall of the Kama Republic Alliance, it disappeared into the vast universe.
After the initial shock, Anchor Tree King quickly recovered from the surprise of seeing a familiar face, activated his body's protective gear to withstand Hyperion's enraged attack, and spoke coldly:
"A defeated civilization whose civilization has been destroyed doesn't hide away and eke out a living, but dares to continue opposing us. You survived last time, but you won't be so lucky this time. The Mother Tree has always wanted to devour you. Why don't you just merge with us and reunite with your brethren!"
"As long as I live, the Glory of the Kama Republic Alliance will never fade!"
Hyperion plunged his scalpel into the Anchor Tree King's thick shield, embedding it inside. Suddenly, two new mechanical arms sprouted from his shoulders, forcefully gripping the Anchor Tree King's body and fixing it directly in front of him. Then, the flesh and machinery on his chest slid apart, revealing a large energy vent that instantly shone with a bright light.
Boom!!
A massive, dark red beam of light shot out and vanished in an instant, piercing through the chest of the Anchor Tree King's mech, leaving a huge hole with torn edges, and broken mechanical parts flying everywhere.
The injury was quite severe. Anchor Tree King hurriedly activated the hydrodynamic field and output structure of the machine at high load, generating a huge force. He immediately slashed off the mechanical arm that was holding him with a backhand, kicked Hyperion away with a leg kick, leaving a deep and huge footprint on the opponent's abdominal armor, and created some distance between them.
A portion of the surrounding mechs, like weary birds returning to their nests, turned and surged into the Anchor Tree King's body. A large amount of mechanical structure flowed within its body, quickly filling the wound in its chest.
Hyperion's massive machine halted its retreat, raising its hand to unleash an invisible, special force field that enveloped the Anchor Tree King. The Anchor Tree King's movements froze, as if it had been frozen in place.
Just as the Anchor Tree King's built-in decryption device was analyzing the operating principle of the high-speed force field, Hyperion gripped his weapon with both hands, his muscles and machinery twisting and contorting, accumulating a continuous stream of power. Streams of dark red light emerged from his body, and his energy reaction surged!
The next moment, Hyperion's massive body suddenly became ethereal, transforming into a streak of red lightning that surged forward, instantly passing by the Anchor Tree King, as if it had teleported behind him in a flash.
"Divine Maneuver!"
Wow!
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and a huge gash was ripped open in the waist of the Anchor Tree King, almost severing it in two. Energy continued to damage the body's interior along the wound, which continued to widen.
The space around Anchor Tree King trembled, abruptly breaking free from the force field's control. He clutched the wound on his waist and simultaneously turned sharply to block Hyperion's renewed charge. The force traveled along the colliding weapons to his arms, causing a violent shock. Large numbers of internal components in both of them malfunctioned again.
"A troublesome fellow..."
The Anchor Tree King, locked in a stalemate with Hyperion's weapon, glanced at Han Xiao and realized that the guy had abandoned him. He then turned to face the Heart Tree King.
He wanted to help, but couldn't get away. Although he called Hyperion a loser, he had to admit that the guy had the ability to keep him occupied.
On the other side, Han Xiao finally escaped the two-on-one situation. With his black tide-like mechanical army, he chased after the Heart Tree King and unleashed a barrage of attacks. His telekinetic barrier clashed with the rain of light, like fireworks exploding endlessly.
The Heart Tree King slid away, dodging Han Xiao's Psionic Energy slash. The World Tree that came with his transformation acted like tentacles, shielding him from the concentrated fire from all directions. He said calmly:
"It must be said that in our conquest of the universe, you are almost the most troublesome super-powered life form we have ever encountered. There are few who are qualified to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Because of your existence, our vast group of powerful alien races has almost no place to use their strength. Otherwise, your advanced combat forces would not be able to contend with us at all."
Han Xiao ignored him, clapped his hands, and the anti-psychic device released waves of energy. The psychic barrier seemed to have been attacked at a weak point, and shattered one after another, forcing the Heart Tree King to increase its efforts to stabilize the intensity of the psychic energy.
Seeing that Han Xiao remained silent, the Heart Tree King was not discouraged and continued:
"I can make you a promise: if you are willing to leave, the World Tree will not pursue you and your companions, nor can it. You are free to stay away from this doomed battle. The universe is vast; you can live anywhere. Living is more important than anything else."
"You haven't won yet, don't be too confident."
Han Xiao responded calmly, ignoring the pain in his brain from the repeated mental attacks, and unleashed another slashing wave that collided violently with the Heart Tree King's telekinetic power.
The Heart Tree King shook his head. "Advanced combat power can hardly determine the course of a cosmic war. Even if you can withstand our advanced combat power's attacks time and time again, you cannot change the general trend of a direct war. You are destined to perish. Actually, you have another option: simply join us, become a member of the World Tree, and fight alongside us in the universe. With your abilities, you are more than capable of replacing the Anchor Tree King."
"Trying to turn me against you?" Han Xiao sneered inwardly. "Putting aside whether I'd like to become a puppet without free will, my status as a powerful outsider makes it impossible for me to become the Tree King. Save that for fooling others."
The Heart Tree King remained unperturbed. "Even if you kill me, depriving our fleet in this war zone of the World Tree's power, we can still break through your defenses through normal combat. Is it worth sacrificing a large number of high-level combatants for such a tiny chance?"
Han Xiao didn't bother to respond. He activated another legion tactic skill, which provided agility and ranged attack speed bonuses, making the mechanical legion more flexible. The continuous energy weapon beams were like a torrential Rainstorm, crackling and pounding against the World Tree, peeling off piece after piece of fragments.
Seeing this, the Heart Tree King persisted, continuing with his conversational tactics, "You and I are evenly matched. I've witnessed your battle with the Tranquil Tree King; you won't fall into the same trap."
Wow, you're such a chatterbox! You're almost as good as me!
Han Xiao's eye twitched.
However, upon further reflection, he realized that what the Heart Tree King said made sense. If the opponent was prepared, it would not be easy to replicate the tactics used to defeat the Tranquil Tree King.
In a normal fight, I do have the upper hand, but in a critical moment, the Heart Tree King has options such as self-destruction or retreating to receive fleet protection, so the chance of killing it is very small.
With a change of heart, Han Xiao opened the private chat channel and contacted Hila.
"Hila, you withdraw from the battlefield first and wait for orders from Aurora's side."
"Um?"
Hila's tone carried a chilling killing intent, but it was directed at the enemy.
After Aurora lost consciousness, Hila immediately went into Berserk state, slaughtering indiscriminately on the battlefield. She even stopped sending the fallen to the Netherland, instead crushing them all and turning them into soul power to strengthen herself. Her presence on the battlefield was extremely strong, and she had already killed two Sacred Tree Envoy.
The dead have only one soul. If they are sent to the Netherland as heroic spirits, the rapid growth characteristic of the Power of the Dead cannot be triggered. The interstellar battlefield is like a meat grinder. Hila mostly follows Han Xiao's philosophy, sending the soldiers who sacrificed their lives from the Three Universal Civilizations to the Netherland, and only uses them to enhance herself on rare occasions.
Even so, due to her enormous numbers, Hila's combat power has been increasing day by day, and her progress has been astonishing. She is completely different from before the war. Even without the life-shortening characteristic, there are not many people in the association who are confident that they can defeat her.
"I have a plan, let's see if we can deal with this Tree King that Aurora. You will follow my instructions."
"... good!"
Hila's most pressing desire right now is to kill the Heart Tree King. Upon hearing that Han Xiao has a plan, she quickly regained some composure, glared hatefully at the wounded Ancestral Spirit before her, suppressed her killing intent, and unleashed a sea of death energy, retreating towards the direction of the Three Universal Civilizations ' fleets.
Having managed to shake off the entanglements of numerous powerful World Tree warriors, Hila finally returned to the spaceship where Aurora was. In order to escape the battle, she sustained many new injuries. Although her healer had temporarily collapsed, her own Power of the Dead possessed remarkable self-healing abilities, and her wounds gradually healed.
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in the cabin, and a mechanical warrior clad in Sovereign armor teleported over, handing something to Hila.
"Hmm? This is..."
Hila glanced down at the object in the mechanical soldier's hand, a hint of surprise appearing on her usually expressionless face. She coldly swept her gaze over the surrounding crew members, and seeing that no one made a move, she took the object into her own hands.
At this moment, Han Xiao's voice rang out in the private channel:
"I'll give this to you for now. I had you practice with it before, so you know how to use it, right?"
"Hmm," Hila said in a deep voice, "What is your proposal?"
"I'll try to create an opportunity later. If it succeeds, you immediately use the Sovereign's Teleport on that mechanical soldier, then follow up with your Dead Sea Stealth, teleport to the target and use it..." Han Xiao quickly explained.
"I see."
Hila nodded, glancing at the object in her hand. It was a white mineral crystal, only the size of her palm.
This item is the very essence of the Space-Time Amber!
Han Xiao doesn't usually give this thing to others to use, but this time he probably needs someone else to do it for him.
Over the past few months, he had given Hila intensive training on how to use this Universal Treasure, in order to coordinate with [Azure Dragon Bind] and develop new tactics.
Through Phillip's combat simulations, he discovered that in most cases, simply using the "Heaven and Earth Share the Same Lifespan" technique could only kill the Tree King or force it to self-destruct. Currently, it seems that this new tactic is the method with the highest success rate in sealing.
Maintaining a clear private channel, Han Xiao gazed at the Heart Tree King, who was easily maneuvering and dodging amidst the mechanical legion's siege, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Hopefully this trick will work..."