Meanwhile, at the War Realm headquarters on Planet Heber, in the remote command center.
Chief of Staff Jorde and a group of deputies are watching the situation on the ground via remote video.
"It seems like there's a chance of success this time." A deputy swallowed hard.
"Don't let your guard down. Black Star has too many tricks up his sleeve. Until he enters the Star Gate, no one should lower their guard."
Jorde's tone was calm and collected.
This kidnapping operation was his idea. Over the past three years, Black Star had fought dozens, even hundreds, of battles with the frontline troops in the War Realm. He had tried many methods, but all of them had been neutralized by Han Xiao. This formidable enemy was both powerful and difficult to kill, and was almost unsolvable at the Calamity Grade level, which gave him a great headache. However, Jorde was not discouraged. Instead, following the Tyrant's instructions, he regarded dealing with Black Star as his test.
For the past six months, Black Star had been leading a team to eliminate logistics transit stations in the Desolate Universe Belt. Jorde had a flash of inspiration and decided to set this trap, attempting to kidnap Black Star to the Seoul Star Cluster.
If they succeed, even if they can't kill Black Star, they can still control him. The Seoul Star Cluster is their base of operations, and Black Star has no help, is isolated and has nowhere to escape.
Once Black Star falls into their hands, Krent will be happy to control it by any means necessary. Black Star will lose Amethyst promising Beyond Grade A Seed, and their investment in a potential stock will be transferred to Krent's people. It won't matter who came first; Green will be the end of it.
In this way, he can solve the problem of a rising star in a Shattered Star Ring without the help of the Tyrant. He will feel a great sense of accomplishment, and the Tyrant will definitely value him more.
Of course, all of this was based on the premise that Black Star could be brought over. Jorde kept his eyes fixed on Han Xiao on the screen, ready to issue commands to the Calamity Grade present at any time.
In his eyes, Han Xiao was already like a BOSS. His attitude at this moment coincided with the attitude of players teaming up to fight the BOSS, ready to deal with Han Xiao's "next stage" at any time.
The entire battle near the Star Gate, from the moment thirty Calamity Grade warriors launched their attack to Han Xiao being carried by Hadavy towards the Star Gate, took only a few dozen seconds.
The attacks from Fosters and thirty other Calamity Grade attackers repeatedly struck Hadavy's back, propelling him and increasing his speed until he drew ever closer to the stargate.
Han Xiao channeled his energy, each cell in his body acting like a fully powered reactor, spewing out surging and powerful force that transformed into icy void energy. This energy rapidly spread throughout his limbs and bones, making his body feel as if it were immersed in ice water. The void energy surged and burned on his body surface, transforming into a blazing silver-gray flame.
Inside the mecha helmet, Han Xiao's whites were stained obsidian-like, and his pupils turned into tiny specks of light. He instantly entered the [Void Degeneration] state, his attributes increased significantly, and the [Void] characteristic of his strength was amplified.
Hadavy suddenly found his arms empty; Han Xiao had vanished without a trace.
"Everyone, be alert! Black Star could appear anywhere nearby at any moment. Arcane mages who possess spatial magic, immediately sense his dimension and route, and the instant he appears, immobilize him!"
Jorde immediately gave orders loudly over the remote command channel; he was prepared.
Having known each other for over three years, both parties knew each other inside and out. When Jorde was setting up his plan, he had already considered Black Star's various methods. Although he didn't know that Han Xiao's teleportation ability was [Advanced Void Travel], he had seen it many times and consulted various superhumans. He roughly understood the principle and knew how to limit some of Han Xiao's skills.
Among the thirty Calamity Grade lying in ambush, Jorde specifically assigned several archmages who had mastered spatial magic. These individuals had already prepared spell models, and their spellcasting tools, such as staffs, orbs, and spellbooks, radiated magical Glory. In a split second, they sensed the subtle fluctuations of Han Xiao crossing the Void Dimension and the real dimension.
Following the energy fluctuations, the magical light traced Han Xiao's movements through the Void Dimension, immediately forming a clear image in the minds of the several archmages. Like a conspicuous marker, they simultaneously turned to an empty spot and, without hesitation, unleashed several high-level spatial confinement spells they had prepared beforehand towards the deserted place, their magical Glory flickering and shooting out.
The next instant, Han Xiao's figure broke free from the Void Dimension and appeared in this location. Various ultra-high-level spatial confinement spells immediately came at him, leaving him almost no time to react.
But Han Xiao didn't need to react. Before using Advanced Void Travel, he knew he would be ambushed; this wasn't the first time.
As the saying goes, "People fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat." His fame skyrocketed, and every battle he fought allowed various forces to understand his abilities.
The moment he appeared, Han Xiao didn't hesitate. He formed his hands into claws, as if using space as a canvas, and with a fierce rip, unleashed a [Twist Void] attack without a second thought.
The surrounding space appeared to be visibly distorted and wrinkled, like a funhouse mirror. The spacetime coordinates of a small area around Han Xiao deviated by a few decimal places. Some ranged spells were deflected far off course by the curve of the spatial folds and missed completely.
However, some area-of-effect spells, due to changes in the spacetime coefficient, create a chain reaction, causing the spell's structure to conflict and break down, and the spatial confinement domain to cancel itself out.
With a single strike, Han Xiao dispelled the mages' ambush, instantly eliminating the crisis. He then used the [Void] attribute to remotely imbue the mechanical legion with Mechanical Force.
The mechanical legion was crackling with electricity, as if it had swallowed a blue pill from the Mechanical Card, and became fierce again.
Two-thirds of the Calamity Grade had no choice but to abandon their plan to restrain Han Xiao and hurriedly took cover. Apart from Hadavy, no one present dared to be targeted by Han Xiao's current mechanical legion.
"Star Shattering Fist!" Undeterred, before the mechanical legion could entangle him, Fosters bulged his arm muscles and unleashed a thick, crimson three-dimensional wave that hurtled straight toward Han Xiao.
"The same old trick again. Don't you Vanguard Officers have any other trump cards?"
Han Xiao curled his lips, dispelled the Twist Void, and drew a circle in front of him with his hands. The mechanical parts followed the trajectory of his two palms and formed a mechanical ring-shaped device, directly facing the red beam of light from the Star Shattering Fist.
The mechanical ring device was hollow, and the Star Shattering Fist should have easily passed through it. However, when it entered the hollow part of the ring device, the red beam of light seemed to lose its impact force and was sucked into the mechanical ring, turning into a red stream of light that spun rapidly along the inner circle of the ring, as if it could not escape the strange force field of the mechanical ring.
This is a new device created by Han Xiao using his cutting-edge knowledge of manipulation [Advanced Space Application] – the Curvature Force Field Distorter!
The hollow part of the mechanical ring is actually covered by a special force field with altered spatial curvature, which is set up as a closed loop. Most of the energy that is absorbed will be trapped in this closed force field space.
In reality, the Star Shattering Fist is still "moving forward," but it has become a rotation due to the distorted curvature, like a small meteorite captured by the planet's gravity, moving around the planet's orbit. The speed (power) of this meteorite has not reached the limit of breaking through gravity, just like it has not reached the concept of the Nth cosmic velocity.
On the other side, Hadavy also stopped his car and rushed towards Han Xiao again, opening his arms as if to give him a hug.
Han Xiao felt a chill run down his spine. He used Mechanical Force to pull the Curvature Force Field Distorter, aimed it at the charging Hadavy, and released the captured Star Shattering Fist. The red beam of light was like a raging dragon that had broken free, directly blasting Hadavy far away.
Han Xiao turned his head and looked at the several archmages. In his eyes, mages were much more troublesome than other musclemen. Seeing that the group of mages showed signs of casting spells again, Han Xiao didn't say a word and popped out a compressed ball, which unfolded into a rectangular mechanical device.
The device resembles a trapezoidal pyramid, entirely black, with individual points of light lighting up sequentially from top to bottom, forming mysterious magical runes.
Buzzing--
Although there was no sound in the vacuum of space, the monks felt as if they were in a vast ocean, surrounded by raging waves that roared deafeningly.
This is the vibration of magical energy!
The mages sensed that the surrounding magical energy had become Berserk and difficult to control, and their own mana, which they could control with ease, was also hindered. Their expressions changed drastically.
"Hmph, this thing is enough to give you mages a run for your money." Han Xiao chuckled.
This mechanical device, called the Magic Tide Generator, can interfere with magical elements within a certain area, causing them to become chaotic and Berserk. It is a mechanical device specifically designed to deal with mages.
In technical terms, mages within the range of the magical Tide will be affected by negative status effects such as reduced casting speed and weakened spell power. Lagi was also invited to add spell inscriptions to it, making the device far more effective than the original.
Mechanical equipment has a wide range of applications. Over the past three years, Han Xiao has combined cutting-edge knowledge with high-end and intermediate knowledge to create many impressive new pieces of equipment.
With a large number of new machines at his disposal, Han Xiao easily broke free from the enemy's encirclement, while Hadavy and his men were put on the defensive.
Seeing Han Xiao slip out of control, Jorde angrily punched the screen, knowing that the operation had basically failed. He took a deep breath and immediately changed his orders.
"Operation failed. All personnel abandon the mission and evacuate immediately through the stargate!"
Upon hearing this, Fosters let out a low growl of resentment.
Hadavy felt quite regretful, immediately stopped, turned around and rushed towards the stargate—he was the most stubborn and the fastest runner.
Han Xiao had already distanced himself from Hadavy and watched him disappear into the Hadavy without any intention of stopping him—at such a short distance, he couldn't possibly kill Hadavy before he escaped; that guy was too tough.
Han Xiao didn't want to waste his energy on Hadavy; his target was the other thirty Calamity Grade.
He controlled the mechanical legion to launch an attack, and Han Xiao's eyes narrowed as he watched the thirty Calamity Grade warriors attempting to break through the legion.
"Since you're already here, please leave me a few souvenirs."
At that moment, a portal opened beside Han Xiao, and Lagi stepped out, taking a look at the situation.
Compared with three years ago, Lackey has not changed much. After all, decadent people look older and they all look the same.
"Hey, you've come at the right time. Help me hold off this group of Calamity Grade combatants; we'll save as many as we can."
Han Xiao patted him on the shoulder, then pointed to the thirty Calamity Grade who were struggling to break free from the mechanical legion and rush towards the stargate not far away, the meaning of which was clear.
Lagi sighed, took out his staff, and floated towards the chaotic battlefield.
"Remember to collect my body."
The defeat was swift and devastating. With the withdrawal of advanced combat forces, the War Realm ceased sending reinforcements through the stargate, completely abandoning resistance. The supplies at the logistics transit station were also abandoned. The fleet provided cover for the advanced combat forces to evacuate one after another through the stargate, trying to save as many as possible.
Jorde had been directing operations remotely until the stargate was captured by Han Xiao's fleet. Only then did his tense body relax, and he slumped into a chair, looking like a lifeless salted fish. He said weakly, "Calculate the losses. How many people didn't evacuate? How many high-level combatants did we lose?"
"Report! Of the reinforcement fleet dispatched this time, three percent and seventeen percent of the troops were unable to return. Of the high-level combatants sent out to provide support, Hadavy successfully evacuated, as did the eight Vanguard Officers. Of the remaining twenty-two Grade A superhumans, only seventeen returned. Black Star left five to support the high-level combatants, and the two Calamity Grade originally stationed at the logistics relay station have also lost contact."
"So, we lost seven high-level combatants this time?!" Jorde couldn't help but cover his face. Although the fallen Grade A superhumans were mostly new members who joined when Krent helped them incorporate private forces across the entire star cluster, they were still high-level combatants.
The loss of seven high-level combatants was painful for Jorde. He had tried to steal a chicken but lost his rice instead. Black Star had killed at least forty or fifty Calamity Grade enemies in total. He was practically a Calamity Grade harvester.
Just thinking about Black Star's record sent chills down Jorde's spine.
If it weren't for the fact that many large organizations have secretly allied with the War Realm in the last three years, bringing with them a considerable number of high-level combat forces, he felt that the War Realm's troops would probably have to take a detour around Black Star.
While Jorde was questioning the meaning of life, the battle far away in the Desolate Universe Belt had essentially ended.
The enemy, unable to retreat in time, lost their escape route. Han Xiao ordered his fleet to pursue them, and without any suspense, easily annihilated the remnants of the War Realm. At the same time, the stargate was dismantled into parts, packed up, and transported away as spoils of war—a cluster-level teleportation stargate could be sold for a considerable sum, and taking it back for research was also a good option.
Lagi's Space-Time Mystic Arts helped the mechanical legion hold back several Grade A superhumans. In Han Xiao's eyes, Lagi's fighting style made him feel particularly nostalgic. His style was like that of a certain monkey surnamed Sun. When Lagi used "The World" to imprison the enemy, Han Xiao couldn't help but imagine him shouting "Freeze!"
It has to be said that Lagi is quite capable. Han Xiao is very satisfied with this deputy commander. Although the morale of Lagi's squad is basically zero, as the saying goes, "A desperate army is bound to win..."
The Calamity Grade powerhouses who had not evacuated were trapped in the encirclement. Resistance was futile, and they were all captured by Han Xiao, who planned to throw them into the Happy Hut to be juiced later.
With the battle over, the fleet cleaned up the battlefield and looted the spoils; Han Xiao didn't need to deal with these trivial tasks.
He retrieved the mechanical legion, returned to the flagship's mechanical modification room, and had the automated mechanical arms repair the damage to each mechanical soldier. He then removed his Mountain Ape mech for further maintenance, as a post-battle leisure activity.
Didi--
At that moment, the communicator rang. Han Xiao took it out and answered it, and Laifer's projection appeared in front of him.
"Your adjutant has submitted his report. You did an excellent job this time; it's another resounding victory worth celebrating." Laifer smiled, clearly in good spirits.
Han Xiao glanced at it, then turned back to repairing the mecha, casually replying, "War Realm has ambushed me again. This time, in order to kidnap me, they mobilized quite a few senior Calamity Grade stationed in West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida. Their strongholds should be relatively empty now; you can take advantage of this opportunity to launch a raid."
We will consider this suggestion.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'm hanging up. Don't bother me while I'm fixing things." Han Xiao didn't even turn around.
After three years of interaction, Laifer had been added to Han Xiao's list of high-quality business partners. The two were very familiar with each other, and their attitudes were much more casual when they communicated in private.
Moreover, Laifer is no longer his superior. A year ago, he became a long-term partner of the Amethyst Civilization. Although he is still a member of Section Zero, he is actually an independent partner.
"Ahem, have you forgotten? This is the last logistics transit point. You've been fighting outside for half a year, and your mission is complete. Come back. There aren't any other important missions that require your deployment right now, so I'm going to give you a long vacation," Laifer said.
Han Xiao paused, his eyes lighting up.
For this mission, he led his fleet through the Desolate Universe Belt for more than half a year without returning to Colton, accumulating a lot of personal affairs. Now he finally has a vacation and time to deal with them.