The Section Zero Fleet was far from its base in the War Realm. News of Black Star's stunning performance in the recent battle quickly spread throughout the entire fleet. The other teammates located in local battlefields were all taken aback. Only after watching the video did they dispel their doubts.
Han Xiao reunited with Lagi and others. The intensity of the local battlefield where his troops were located was not high, and the casualties were very light, even less than the losses in the first battle.
After leaving the battlefield, a prompt appeared on the panel.
[You have gained 1 Legend Points]
Han Xiao's heart stirred, but he wasn't too surprised. Back when he wasn't even Grade A yet, he faced an attack from three Calamity Grade warriors from DarkStar. He fought them all alone and earned a Legend Points for the [Battle of the Three Calamities]. Now, facing eight more renowned Vanguard Officers, obtaining Legend Points was within his expectations.
[Star Cluster Legend Points (Colton Star Cluster): Undying Body - You fought against the eight Vanguard Officers of the War Realm, proving with an impeccable record that the nickname given to you by the world is well-deserved. This battle will be passed down by word of mouth and become an enduring legend!]
"Undying Body..."
Han Xiao was astonished. This was originally just a nickname given to him by various forces, but now it had become an official Legend Points. He couldn't help but feel a strange sense of excitement.
This time, they've finally made a name for themselves!
The reward for increasing Star Cluster Legend Points by 20% is higher than that for Star System Legend Points; this is his first Star Cluster Legend Points.
"If we can defeat the eight Vanguard Officers head-on, the impact will likely reach the Star Field Legend Points."
Han Xiao shook his head. This was beyond his capabilities. The Vanguard Officers were all muscular and tough, and the eight of them worked together seamlessly, firmly controlling the rhythm of the battle. His current limit was that he could only manage to retreat unscathed. Only Beyond Grade A could easily handle this situation.
On the panel, the tactical mission was marked as completed. Han Xiao was about to contact Laifer to have him fulfill the deal when Laifer's communication request arrived first.
As soon as the call connected, Laifer couldn't wait to speak, "Black Star, your combat power exceeded my expectations, you really did it! Although we didn't win this time, you stopped our decline..."
Laifer spared no praise. Because the members of Section Zero were wary of the War Realm's lethal tactics against high-level combatants, even the Calamity Grade was unwilling to fight. At this critical juncture, Han Xiao was the only one who could stand up and restrain the opponent's high-level combatants. In his eyes, he was a lifeline. He praised him endlessly, spitting as he spoke, making Han Xiao feel a bit uncomfortable.
Han Xiao couldn't help but interrupt him.
"Stop for now, forget the pleasantries, it's time to finalize the deal. Give me the cutting-edge knowledge, I need to temporarily withdraw from the battlefield."
This statement has a strong sense of "Give me the ball, I want to go home."
Upon hearing this, Laifer's excited expression froze on his face, and he asked in astonishment, "You're withdrawing from the Secret War?"
"It's only temporary. As you saw, the entire mechanical legion was wiped out while I was holding off the eight Vanguard Officers. I'm a mechanic, and without machines, my combat effectiveness drops drastically. Besides, I actually suffered severe internal injuries. I can barely stand up now; my limbs are unresponsive, and I'm just barely holding back from vomiting blood."
Han Xiao remained calm and composed, without even blushing or panting.
"Really?" Laifer looked at Han Xiao suspiciously.
He doesn't look injured at all.
"What, do you want me to vomit blood for you?" Han Xiao opened his mouth as if to vomit.
"Alright, alright, I believe you." Laifer quickly stopped him, thinking that Black Star might really be seriously injured.
On second thought, after all, he had withstood the attacks of eight notorious Vanguard Officers and endured attacks of Beyond Grade A quality, so it was normal to pay a price.
Han Xiao paused for a moment, then explained, "I need to rest for a while. Cutting-edge knowledge is extremely complex; I'll need half a month... um, a month to learn it."
Laifer nodded, agreeing that cutting-edge knowledge was indeed very complex.
"Furthermore, I need time to rebuild the mechanical legion. It's a massive undertaking; otherwise, I won't be able to unleash my full potential, and participating in battle would be pointless. Don't you agree?"
"Uh... right?"
Laifer hesitated, "But if you withdraw, then at the high-level combat level, we really won't have any power to fight back. You know, the other members aren't putting in any real effort."
Han Xiao shrugged, conveying a sense of helplessness that said, "I've done my best," and shook his head, saying:
"As you've seen, I can't change the course of the battle alone; this battle has proven that. Even if I hold off the Vanguard Officers, the fleet still can't break through the War Realm's stronghold. Compared to the War Realm, our joint force is insignificant. In my view, War Realm's invasion is a foregone conclusion."
After two battles, Laifer was quite pessimistic and couldn't help but ask, "What are your thoughts?"
"I think that in the early stages of the Secret War, the War Realm will concentrate its forces to establish the first batch of strongholds, and it will be difficult for us to prevent this from happening. However, if the War Realm wants to seize several star systems on the border, it will inevitably have to divide its forces and occupy more strongholds, resulting in a dispersion of its forces. Perhaps only then will Section Zero have a chance to counterattack."
Han Xiao spoke frankly. Although he didn't know the details of the version update, he remembered the later situation of Secret War in version 3.0, from which he could deduce the advantage of the War Realm in the early stage.
The advance in the War Realm was unstoppable, and his desire to withdraw stemmed from his unwillingness to suffer further losses in the early stages of the enemy's unstoppable advance.
Laifer thought for a moment and could only admit that Han Xiao's words made a lot of sense; things might really develop that way. He suddenly felt at a loss and asked, "You're right. Do you have any practical suggestions?"
"I think the most urgent task is to do a good job internally and solve the problem of the Section Zero's high-level combat forces avoiding combat. We should concentrate all our efforts on building a bridgehead in the War Realm. We shouldn't have the unrealistic fantasy of driving the enemy out completely. It's best to stop when we've made our move and avoid greater losses. Our time to counterattack hasn't come yet. What we need to do now is to hold on... cough, I mean, conserve our strength."
Cluster-level civilizations are not short of resources. In order to withstand the War Realm, the Amethyst Civilization can spend money to enhance the strength of the Section Zero. For Han Xiao, who has already demonstrated his value, if the Amethyst Civilization adopts his suggestion, he can gain even more benefits.
Putting aside Han Daji's potential intention to slack off, this suggestion actually makes some sense; at least in Laifer's view, it's a feasible tactic.
"I will relay your suggestion to command and let them analyze it." Laifer paused, then sighed. "As for your leave application, I have approved it... I have only one request: return to the battlefield as soon as you have fully recovered."
"Of course, when will you give me the cutting-edge knowledge?"
"I'll give you a list of knowledge points later, you can choose from them yourself, and we'll send them to you soon... Oh, and the resources to compensate for the losses will also be delivered to you as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao flashed a lazy smile.
With cutting-edge knowledge in hand and a job change quest secured, a major objective for participating in the Secret War has been achieved.
Han Xiao managed to gain favor without spending too much time on him. His feat of holding off the eight Vanguard Officers was not replicable, because after this battle, the Vanguard Officers realized that he was difficult to kill and would no longer waste their energy joining forces. This time, he gained fame, and the Vanguard Officers would never repeat the same mistake next time.
His physical strength was astonishing, but his actual deterrent power was not excessive. One or two Vanguard Officers would be enough to restrain him and prevent a situation like today from happening again.
To enhance deterrence, further upgrades are needed, along with the development of new machinery centered on cutting-edge knowledge.
After closing the communication, Laifer sent a list of knowledge.
There are a total of 60 types of Mechanic Class knowledge, with 20 types each in the three branches of weaponry, energy, and manipulation, divided into five levels. The basic, intermediate, and advanced levels account for 45 types of knowledge, while the final cutting-edge and Ultimate Knowledge consists of only 15 types. This scarcity represents extremely high value.
There are nine types of cutting-edge knowledge, with three types in each branch. The Amethyst Civilization's cutting-edge knowledge is incomplete, consisting of only a portion of it.
Han Xiao is a virtual mechanic. Learning the advanced knowledge of the control branch consumes normal potential points, while learning the advanced knowledge of the other two branches requires three times the potential points.
However, Han Xiao did not choose to manipulate the branch, but instead chose the cutting-edge knowledge of the energy branch.
[Exotic Energy]!
Regardless of which job a mechanic chooses, this knowledge is essential; it can be considered the threshold for advancing a mechanic's career.
With this knowledge, mechanics will possess the technology to collect, refine, and utilize Psionic Energy and antimatter energy on a large scale!
Energy is the core of machinery, and changes in energy technology bring about transformative changes!
Han Xiao had been waiting for this knowledge for a long time. He had already saved up a new wave of potential points, and he could afford the triple cost.
Since they didn't need to participate in the upcoming battle, Han Xiao led his troops away and returned to the Garton Star System base.
The other members of Section Zero were incredibly envious of the Black Star Army's departure, but none of them had any objections.
Black Star had taken enormous risks in this battle and certainly deserved to go back and rest. Everyone could only watch helplessly as Black Star Army left.
The thought of being ravaged by the War Realm again filled them with a sense of dread; at that moment, only one song could express their feelings:
Please come back soon, we can't bear this...
The second clash between Amethyst and Krent has come to an end. The other five star cluster-level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, who were monitoring the situation of the Secret War, received the battlefield report immediately. Their high-ranking officials could hardly believe their eyes.
Black Star fought against eight opponents, including the eight Vanguard Officers under the Tyrant's command, and yet he escaped unscathed?!
Are you kidding me!?
This intelligence appeared on the desks of leaders of major forces with lightning speed, immediately causing a huge uproar in the circles of major forces throughout the entire star field!
The seven star cluster-level civilizations, including all the super-large forces in the War Realm, have completely refreshed their understanding of Han Xiao.
Originally, in their eyes, Black Star's biggest label was that of Ames ' confidant, and his second biggest label was his powerful network of connections. Black Star's status in the circle basically came from these two labels. As for his combat power, these forces did not think highly of him because of this. Their evaluation was quite fair: Black Star was a relatively powerful Calamity Grade who could stand alone, but he was not overwhelmingly strong among his peers.
However, this intelligence shattered all the previous assessments these forces had of Han Xiao.
Based on his performance in this battle, the seven star cluster-level civilizations and various major powers have made a new assessment of his strength:
"In the universe, individualism is not prevalent. The strong usually face attacks from multiple opponents of the same level, and the superhumans who are best at fighting multiple opponents are generally recognized as magicians and mechanics."
"Black Star is a mechanic, but his method of fighting multiple opponents is completely different."
"The common weakness of mechanics is their lack of physical strength. Apart from a few solo-style mechanics, most mechanics are vulnerable to being charged. However, Black Star possesses an incredible physique with extremely high endurance and superhuman regenerative abilities, which ensures his safety. Charge tactics become traps for him."
"He is an anomaly among mechanics. Even without his machines, his physique alone gives him considerable combat capability. His endurance is his advantage, enough to outlast over 90% of Calamity Grade —Note: This range applies to the entire star system."
"From the mechanical abilities Black Star has demonstrated, it's clear that he hasn't yet mastered the use of Psionic Energy. Once he starts using Psionic Energy as his energy source, combined with his terrifying physique, Black Star's threat level will increase exponentially, undoubtedly making him one of the very few standing at the pinnacle of the Calamity Grade."
"Based on the above information, it is strongly recommended that he be moved to the [Shattered Star Ring Beyond Grade A Seed Watchlist]..."
"Black Star possesses the potential to reach Beyond Grade A!"
The list of Beyond Grade A Seed represents a completely new level, transcending the scope of ordinary Calamity Grade. The people on this list are all objects of attention for star cluster-level civilizations, and each name represents a prodigy with the potential to become a Beyond Grade A powerhouse.
The criteria for judgment are not limited to potential, but rather a comprehensive consideration of factors such as potential, strength, growth rate, special talents, species, and type of ability.
The selected area is a vast, Shattered Star Ring with an incredibly large population.
However.
The list only has a few dozen people!