A blazing beam of light erupted, like a golden spear piercing the darkness, blasting into the Ashes' face!
Boom!
Flames burst forth!
Before the shards of light had even dissipated, a figure swiftly rushed out. Han Xiao reacted extremely quickly, a scythe handle popping out of his arm armor, sliding into his palm, and then swung it in a crescent-shaped trajectory, unfolding into a huge black scythe in mid-air.
The scythe clashed with the human figure.
Clang!
Sparks flew, and metal clashed!
A translucent, crystalline hand gripped the sickle blade; the two struggled, trembling incessantly, emitting a teeth-grinding sound.
Han Xiao looked closely and saw that the skin exposed by the Ashes had transformed into a diamond-like shape, impervious to sharp blades and extremely hard.
The ground beneath their feet surged, and carbon was separated out, turning into dust particles that clung to their legs like a tornado, quickly Hardening.
Han Xiao was startled and quickly jumped back, dodging before the soil Hardening and tearing off the diamond's nascent, unformed shape.
"Controlling carbon? A troublesome ability..." The mech's built-in analyzer detected the composition of the manipulated substance, which was entirely composed of carbon. Han Xiao, with his rich experience, immediately guessed the other party's ability and found it troublesome.
This ability to manipulate basic atoms is rare, and its effects are usually comprehensive, encompassing offense, defense, control, and even material creation. Since many natural substances contain carbon, this ability is precisely the nemesis of carbon-based monkeys...
Han Xiao was secretly alarmed. Luckily, he had the special ability to True Damage Immunity, otherwise he would have been in deep trouble.
[Tough Body] comes from the Germinal Leader. Of course, by today's standards, the Leader's strength is insignificant, but that old guy is still a protagonist-type character and a BOSS. This feat is a template, and its effect is powerful—you can hit me, you can even crit me, but don't even dream of dealing true damage. You should know that true damage ignores resistance and is extremely dangerous. Even a tough martial artist will suffer greatly from a single hit of true damage. Having this feat is like having an insurance policy for your life.
Templates can significantly widen the gap in combat power between characters of the same level. So far, Han Xiao has earned two template feats. The other one, [Low-Level Tough Life], boosts his health. His health as a mechanic is even comparable to that of a martial artist of the same level, making him so tanky that enemies find him disgusting... At least Ashes is disgusted by it now.
[Carbon Atom Deconstruction] is a new ability that Ashes mastered after breaking through to Grade B. It is a trump card against lower-level superhumans. The principle is to directly destroy the molecular structure of the opponent's body. It requires judging the difference in strength and rank. Only when the target fails to judge will it suffer real damage. Generally speaking, those with a rank lower than Ashes cannot pass the judgment. However, Han Xiao is such an exception. Although his rank is lower than Ash's, he is True Damage Immunity.
"Walk!"
Ashes suppressed his shock. His trump card had failed, and his other abilities were all conventional combat methods, lacking sufficient lethality. Now was clearly not the time to linger in battle, and he had no time to think further.
Buzz--
The supernatural energy field spread, causing the ground and walls to ripple like water. Countless carbon elements were stripped away and reshaped. Powdered particles, like fluttering black ribbons, surrounded Han Xiao, rapidly Hardening into diamonds of various shapes—spiky, barrier, cage, and so on—entangled Han Xiao.
Kerala--
The entire area was filled with floating and swirling carbon dust particles, resembling undulating waves, occasionally turning into solids, and the ever-changing forms of matter were quite spectacular!
Han Xiao grinned secretly. Dust ribbons, dense and unpredictable, incredibly agile and relentless, gave him the feeling of being in a bullet hell shooting game, which was extremely challenging to his reflexes.
The Flying Serpent Mecha intelligently and swiftly planned its evasive routes. Master Han skillfully dodged and weaved, narrowly missing the mark each time, performing movements of extreme difficulty. It was like an epileptic patient performing a stylish street dance while suspended by wires—in short:
--Greedy!
However, the results were also remarkable; seemingly Danger at Every Turn, it was actually as stable as a rock!
Taking advantage of Han Xiao's predicament, Ashes escaped out the door with Silver Spirit People Silver Spirit People. Han Xiao was about to give chase when the mech suddenly issued a warning, indicating a high-energy reaction behind him!
He dodged with a swift slide!
Boom!!
Various attacks landed where Han Xiao had been standing, blasting a large hole. Han Xiao looked back and saw that the pirates had also retreated with their slaves, raising their guns and opening fire. Dozens of superhumans surrounded them, their killing intent palpable.
"Hurry, kill the witness!"
"He's alone, attack him together!"
Han Xiao was immediately surrounded and unable to escape. Ashes and the others disappeared from sight. He frowned and had no choice but to deal with the thugs for the time being.
Facing a situation where he was fighting alone while his opponents were overwhelming him with sheer numbers, Han Xiao decided to use the mech's built-in communication system to call for help.
After fighting for a short while, these groups of space pirates realized that they had no way to deal with Han Xiao, and that Han Xiao had even cut several of them in half. They gradually became anxious.
"This guy's got some nerve, let's not waste time, let's get going!"
"No, he saw our identities. If he informs the guards, we'll be exposed immediately!"
The group of thugs split up, and half of them decided to retreat. Just then, the roof of the Tu Shu Slave Market exploded, startling everyone. They looked up in surprise to see several butterfly dragon aircraft hovering in the air, their searchlights flashing. The sky was a backdrop of a mesmerizing starry river, and more aircraft were approaching in the distance.
The guards were all players. Han Xiao summoned them with a simple communication and used his position to quickly arrive as reinforcements. Melos waved to them through the high-density glass.
The rioters were terrified! It was like a thief caught red-handed by the police!
Han Xiao withdrew and retreated, leaving the range of the firepower, a smirk playing on his lips.
Have you ever heard of an arrow piercing the clouds, summoning a thousand armies?! Want to gang up on me? Keep dreaming, I have allies too!
All aircraft opened fire, unleashing lasers at the rioters.
Bang bang bang!!
Golden lasers rained down like Rainstorm, and the pirates fell in droves, slaughtered like leeks, filled with horror and fear!
"It's the Dragon Calm Guard! Run!"
"Run in different directions!"
They panicked and no longer cared about Han Xiao. They scattered like birds and beasts, running away in all directions, Pursuit by the flying vehicles.
Han Xiao did not immediately give chase. The Dragon Calm Guard had a superior vantage point, Pursuit more efficient. He did not want to operate on the ground and was waiting for his "Bat Wing" to arrive. Ashes was the first to escape and had already disappeared from sight, but Han Xiao did not just watch helplessly; he secretly marked the other party.
"Melos, a group of Mysterious Person have kidnapped the Silver Spirit People. I've marked them on the radar and sent the information to you. Don't let them get away!" Han Xiao drew a glowing route on the map and sent it to Melos, saying seriously, "One of them is a superhuman, also Grade B- rank, who can manipulate carbon. Be careful, maintain your shields, and don't fight him before I arrive!"
"I understand, I've spotted them, they're following us," Melos replied.
At that moment, Wilsander received a call and asked in a deep voice, "What happened?!"
Han Xiao recounted the events, emphasizing that the enemy's attack on Dragon Calm's property was malicious, and that he himself was a hero who thwarted the enemy—how arrogant these enemies were, daring to shit and piss on your head, the captain of the guard! If you didn't go up and kill them, how could you have the nerve?!
Fearing that Wilsander might not have grasped the key point, he repeated the passage three times.
"Alright, alright, I understand." Wilsander hurriedly hung up the call, afraid that Han Xiao would do it a fourth time. However, Han Xiao had achieved his goal. The content from earlier was automatically looping in Wilsander's mind, and he couldn't forget it even if he wanted to. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Yeah, everyone knows our Dragon Calm Guard protects the entire city. These guys dare to break the rules, they don't even respect the Guard. Are they challenging me?! Today they dare to steal slaves, tomorrow they'll dare to blow up the floating island! This is outrageous! If I don't wipe you out, what's the point of being a Guard Captain?!
Wilsander pondered for a moment, then flew into a rage and ordered his guards to move out.
With Ames absent, the guards were on standby at all times, on high alert, and extremely efficient, with aircraft streaking across the sky with a whooshing sound.
The residents and outsiders on the ground all looked up in surprise. They had never seen such a grand spectacle as the entire imperial guards appearing. What was going on?!
Han Xiao surveyed the mess, then his eyes lit up when he saw the unconscious Horlade. His mood instantly improved, and he clicked his tongue, saying, "Serves you right. Trying to rip me off? You'll lose everything."
When Horlade wakes up and sees all the slaves taken away, and his house filled with light and air, Han Xiao wonders what his expression will be. Thinking of Horlade's smug and arrogant look before, Han Xiao can't help but feel a little smug.
Looking at the panel, there was a new message indicating that he had uncovered a criminal activity, provided intelligence, and caught the enemy red-handed. The Dragon Calm faction's favorability increased by 400 points, and the relationship finally improved from indifferent to neutral.
Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. Taking advantage of the waiting time, he entered the underground prison, went to the location of the secret door, and forcefully smashed the wall to reveal Aroshia's cell.
The thugs didn't discover the secret door; Aroshia was still locked inside. Ashes had actually noticed the door's existence, but his target was only the Silver Spirit People, and he didn't bother telling the others.
Han Xiao ripped open the cell door and reached out his hand to Aroshia.
He remembered that he had a mission called "[Visitor from Afar]", which required him to take Aroshia away for six days. He hadn't bought it before because Horlade was so greedy for money, but now this was the perfect opportunity!
At this point, if Master Han doesn't resort to his old trick of profiting from the chaos, he won't be able to get over his own conscience!
He didn't leave Horlade a single hair!
Aroshia looked up at Han Xiao's hand, a look of confusion on her face, but she didn't move.
"By the way, she has no memory and not much curiosity." Han Xiao thought of Horlade's introduction, so he simply stepped forward, unlocked her shackles and collar, grabbed Aroshia's hand, and walked out.
As expected, Aroshia showed no intention of resisting, remaining calm as Han Xiao pulled her along, like a small boat drifting with the current, step by step.
She stared at Han Xiao's profile the whole time. Although she acted like a puppet on a string, her eyes were bright and lively, as if she were deep in thought.