The noise of the building collapsing startled pedestrians, and a crowd gathered in the distance, pointing and discussing the ruins with expressions of shock and disbelief.
In the sky, passing vehicles turned around and stopped in mid-air, looking down at the mess on the ground and observing it with great force.
The two men destroyed a building. Although the commotion wasn't as great as three Grade A fighters blowing up several city blocks, the passersby in Noriosse were paying close attention to such incidents because of the recent example.
"How's Black Star? Who won?" Several mercenaries who had detonated the explosives had already fled the stronghold and were flying in the air in their aircraft, hurriedly searching for the two figures among the rubble and steel debris.
Splash...
The mecha's hands slowly pried aside the massive, multi-ton fragments. Its bio-mechanical muscles expanded, providing power, and Han Xiao struggled to climb out, supporting himself on his knees and panting heavily.
"Ouch, I have a few broken ribs..." Han Xiao felt a dull pain in his chest. An entire building had crashed down on him. Even though the Void Dragon Mechanical Suit had strong protective capabilities, its durability, which was originally around 60-70%, dropped to about 30%. The bone-white armor was covered with gray-black scratches, and some gaps were still flashing with short-circuit sparks. However, it did trigger the equipment passive [Undying Toughness], doubling the mech's resistance.
Some of the damage penetrated the mech's armor. Han Xiao glanced at the panel; messages about terrain damage were flooding the screen. He had lost over 4,000 health points, along with minor fractures and slight dizziness. He'd really had a bad fall.
The main source of damage was the collapsing debris; thousands of tons of heavy objects pounded all over him. He was focused on attacking while falling, letting Phillip take over control of the machine so he didn't need to be distracted. Upon landing, he and Ashes were bounced to different locations. Phillip had the Halo Array form a shield, blocking most of the heavy objects; otherwise, the damage would have been much greater.
Due to the collapse, most of the machinery was buried under the rubble, but he still had more than seventy compressed spheres on his body, maintaining his combat capability. Aroshia separated from the mecha, her light dimmed considerably, having had much of her energy used up by Han Xiao, and floated to the side.
Thick smoke billowed, limiting visibility. Han Xiao looked around, searching for traces of Ashes.
Calamity Grade powerhouse isn't so easy to kill, but this combo is enough to give Ashes a run for his money. Everyone has their own specialty. Ashes doesn't have the formidable physique of a martial artist of the same level or someone with body-enhancing abilities. When he doesn't use his abilities for defense, his resistance won't be very high.
rustling...
At this moment, a familiar friction sound rang out. Han Xiao's expression changed, and he hurriedly jumped away. He saw three thick black spears strike the spot where he had been standing, piercing through the ruins and easily drilling a hole more than ten meters in diameter. These black spears were actually made of carbon particles.
The smoke and dust dissipated in the gale, Han Xiao looked closely and saw that the black tide, several times larger than before, covered an area of two to three hundred meters. Its shape was unpredictable and it was still growing. Outside, the Ashes could absorb a continuous supply of carbon particles.
Suddenly, the black tide condensed into a single mass, and carbon particles formed a lifelike black python, twenty or thirty meters thick and a hundred meters long. It coiled up, its head facing Han Xiao, flicking its tongue, as if it were a real living creature. On the top of the snake's head was a figure, none other than Ashes.
He should have looked majestic, but Ashes was in a sorry state. His nanomaterial clothes were torn all over, though they looked quite avant-garde. Blood was streaming down his forehead, and half of his face was covered in crimson. The skin from the back of his head, the back of his neck, to the front of his neck was completely torn, leaving obvious scars from twenty or thirty Void Jet. Ashes looked pained and glared angrily.
Han Xiao's attacks were all aimed at the head. Ashes concentrated on activating his power, which forced him to endure excruciating pain as if his brain was being torn apart. This also affected his control over his power, making it difficult for him to perform subtle operations. He could only keep increasing the size of the carbon particles.
"That Calamity Grade enemy is seriously injured!" Several mercenaries in the sky looked on in disbelief.
They had all witnessed Ashes's strength, and one of the dead even experienced it firsthand. However, Black Star not only did not fall into a disadvantageous position, but also severely injured this Grade A superhuman who was considered a high-level combatant even in the Galaxy.
That's a bit too aggressive!
The Ashes immediately drew the attention of the onlookers. In fact, it was hard to miss such a large black snake.
"This isn't good." Han Xiao knew the situation had turned unfavorable. The fact that the fight had turned out this way was largely due to their prior planning. Although he had severely injured Ashes and affected his combat power, he was still far from killing him. Now that they were outside, Ashes could fully utilize his abilities, and the difficulty of inflicting further damage on Ashes had increased several times over. There wouldn't be the same good opportunity as before.
"He's already caught up in it, his attention has shifted to me. I just need to stall him until Nagokin succeeds..." Han Xiao thought to himself.
He wouldn't lose his calm judgment of the situation just because he had a temporary advantage. He knew very well that if the fight continued, he would be the one to suffer losses.
Without lingering in battle, Han Xiao deployed mechanical jet wings on the back of the Void Dragon Mechanical Suit, soared into the sky, turned, and flew away into the distance, taking advantage of the situation and running away.
"Don't even think about escaping!!" Ashes roared, and the black python beneath him soared into the air, carrying him as they flew close behind Han Xiao, relentlessly pursuing him.
Han Xiao curled his lip. Run away? Bullshit, this is called a strategic retreat!
One after another, black spears shot out, and Han Xiao dodged them all while flying at high speed. He glanced back and breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, Ashes had caught up. That guy was indeed enraged.
By avoiding Head-On Conflict and letting the Ashes Pursuit him down, Han Xiao could buy himself more time; he didn't have a penchant for head-on clashes.
The two chased each other, weaving between buildings. The black python, hundreds of meters long, rampaged wildly, attracting attention. Its size continued to grow, and the vehicles that could not dodge it hurriedly tried to avoid it. Those that could not avoid it were all sucked in and crushed. Even the buildings that grazed past it had a large chunk of their structure bitten off.
The momentum is astounding!
Compared to the black snake, Han Xiao was only the size of a flying insect.
Waaah--
An alarm sounded in the distance, and the security team's shuttles rushed to the scene. The damage caused by the Ashes was seriously affecting the city's stability, and the security team certainly wouldn't stand idly by.
"Beep beep... You have a call request..."
A notification sounded in the helmet, Han Xiao approved the communication. Nagokin's glittering golden basin appeared on the built-in tactical screen.
"Owenn's clone is safe now. Anur was blown up two city blocks. A Calamity Grade Traveler happened to be passing by and got caught in the crossfire. He tried to help, but Anur was too fast, and we could only force him back..."
A superhuman with Calamity Grade power just passing by?!
This news came as a surprise. Han Xiao had thought it would be delayed for a while, and his face twitched involuntarily as he sighed – Noriosse was truly a place where all sorts of people were hidden.
He couldn't help but think back to when he first met Owenn in the car; this guy seemed to have even better luck Melos. This time, he must have gotten incredibly lucky.
"Black Star, hold on! We're coming back to support you right away!"
Nagokin spoke urgently, believing that Han Xiao was in too much danger by holding off the Ashes alone, and was probably being utterly crushed by the enemy.
After shutting down the communication, Han Xiao's eyes flashed. Nagokin was done, and he wasn't going to get entangled with Ashes anymore. He glanced back, then suddenly turned on the helmet's megaphone and shouted loudly at Ashes:
"You really think you can take me down? Have you forgotten my other abilities?"
Upon hearing this, Ashes's expression suddenly changed.
He remembered that back in Dragon Calm, Han Xiao had demonstrated the ability to instantly recover to his peak condition.
This means that the battle is unlikely to end anytime soon!
"The security team is on its way, and the Grade A guards hired by the Noriosse Financial Group won't let you run wild. My companions have already repelled Anur and are coming to support you soon. If you still want to play around, I'm happy to oblige," Han Xiao said deliberately in a smug tone.
Ashes's expression shifted between anger and despair, his teeth clenched, filled with extreme resentment; he was caught in a dilemma.
Continuing to fight would be a waste of time; not only would it be difficult to eliminate Black Star, but he would also be surrounded. However, retreating like this was extremely frustrating. He had been brutally beaten, gained no advantage, and now he had to retreat—it was too much!
As the alarm grew closer, Ashes noticed that Han Xiao had reduced his flight speed, adopting a confident and suicidal attitude as if he were luring Ash into a trap. Ashes's face turned ashen, and the scars on his back and neck throbbed with pain. The dizziness in his head constantly reminded him of how bad his physical condition was.
The confidence and arrogance they displayed when entering the Calamity Grade have vanished completely after this battle.
The name Black Star was etched more deeply into my heart than ever before; the impression, accompanied by pain, was almost ingrained in my bones.
"I was wrong. I underestimated you. Next time, no matter your skill level, whether you have a machine or not, whether you're at your peak or badly injured, I won't be careless with you again."
His anger subsided, and his expression became complicated.
After giving Han Xiao a deep look, Ashes decisively turned around. The black snake shattered, transforming into black clouds, and like a demon from Black Mountain, it swept away in a gust of demonic wind.
"We're finally safe."
Han Xiao hurriedly stopped and let out a long sigh of relief. He seemed relaxed on the surface, but he was under a lot of psychological pressure. If he were to engage in a head-on battle with Ashes in unfavorable terrain, he would be at a significant disadvantage. If all the machines were destroyed, Aurora's character card's [Life Returns] would become a desperate measure, as it could only be used a maximum of six times. He had already used it once before, when he was forced to use it by Ashes.
Instead of waiting for Nagokin to return and launch an attack, he warned and forced Ashes to retreat, because if Ashes tried to escape, it would be difficult for them to stop him, and the other mercenaries and officers would be at risk of being instantly killed.
Glancing at the approaching security team, Master Han, not wanting to be questioned, sped around the building to avoid them.
At the same time, Nagokin arrived at the stronghold with his men and immediately saw the building reduced to ruins. The recruited mercenaries' eyes widened in shock.
On the way, the group of mercenaries were pessimistic. They were worried that Black Star, who was holding off Grade A superhuman on his own, would be brutally beaten and tortured.
However, upon returning, they were stunned to see the ruins that were clearly the result of a fierce battle, including Nagokin.
What happened here while we were away?!
Where did Black Star go?!