There are four well-known Beyond Grade A powerhouses in the Shattered Star Ring: [Tyrant] Heber, [Dragon Emperor] Ames, and [Sorcerer] Austin. Han Xiao has had some interactions with these three, but he has never even met the last one, Beyond Grade A [Star Pupil] Sisko.
Sisko's territory is located in a star cluster at the very edge of the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao once attended Tyrant's Gathering, but Sisko was the only one who did not attend.
Sisko was born into a galactic civilization and is now its supreme leader. He leads his people and compatriots to develop quietly within their own territory, without expanding outward or causing trouble. He is even more low-key than Austin.
Could it be that this guy has also secretly defected to the Crimson Dynasty?
Beneath the mecha helmet, Han Xiao's expression shifted between light and shadow.
In the previous 3.0 version, Sisko did not intervene in the Secret War; he could only attribute the current situation to his own influence on the world.
Although he has never met Sisko, Han Xiao remembers the information from his previous life.
Sisko is not a humanoid being. It is said that his genes are atavistic and that he has a weak connection with an extradimensional deity of the Arcane Church. He has extremely high spiritual talent and possesses the skills of psychic activation and psychic materialization.
The attack he received was a Sisko attack stored up by some means, not the real Sisko descending, so the damage wasn't high. What troubled him was a bunch of negative status effects with unknown durations.
Han Xiao wasn't sure whether the sneak attack was orchestrated by Sisko or whether the enemy obtained the item through some channel without Sisko's knowledge.
These thoughts flashed through Han Xiao's mind in a flash, but he didn't have the energy to think any further. The negative state began to take effect, and his mind became a noisy mess, as if countless little people were whispering in the depths of their minds.
The scene before me overlapped, like countless mirrors placed diagonally, creating a multitude of hallucinations. A sense of weakness rose from the depths of my mind, like the mental exhaustion of being unable to sleep due to extreme fatigue.
"Now everyone in the War Realm knows that Calamity Grade pose no threat to me, so they're only using Beyond Grade A methods against me..."
Suppressing the chaos in his thoughts, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and waved his hand. The mechanical legion, following the established orders, intensified its offensive against Hadavy. At the same time, the massive mechanical army, like a black tide, began to enter the battlefield in large numbers, destroying enemy warships and accelerating its advance.
Han Xiao disregarded the orders to stall for time and prepared to capture the jump base station as soon as possible to end the battle and deal with his negative condition.
Hadavy was a little stunned. The white ball of light was a telekinetic attack, and there was no obvious demonstration of its power. He didn't know what kind of damage Han Xiao had suffered.
Even he, a Beyond Grade A Seed, couldn't see it, so the others on the battlefield were even less aware. Only Han Xiao himself knew what had just happened.
"Jorde, what exactly is that thing?!"
Hadavy looked grim; he disliked ambushing opponents worthy of a fight.
"This is classified." Jorde was dissatisfied with Hadavy and didn't bother to say more. Hadavy was just a partner in a cooperative manner, not loyal to the War Realm, and he didn't consider Hadavy a trustworthy ally.
Hadavy suppressed his anger, dealing with the concentrated fire of the mechanical legion while observing Han Xiao in the distance. "He doesn't seem to be affected. What damage did that white light do to him?"
Jorde sneered, offering no explanation.
After ten years of fighting, the War Realm has accumulated a wealth of intelligence on battles against Han Xiao. Compared to his powerful physical vitality, Black Star's weakness lies in his mental strength, a fact that cannot be concealed and most forces can guess. However, Han Xiao is only relatively weak in this aspect, not an absolute fatal flaw. His vitality remains formidable, and ordinary Grade A psychic or mental mage is still no match for him.
But it's a different story if you're a Beyond Grade A telekinetic master.
This Psionic Poison, materialized from Sisko, was something Jorde had painstakingly acquired. His inspiration came from seven years ago when the DarkStar Leader summoned Sorokin's avatar, with the aim of weakening Han Xiao.
Because the Tyrant had been hoping that Black Star would reach Beyond Grade A and wanted to kill him head-on to increase his own deterrent power, Jorde prioritized Heber's orders and never used this kind of Psionic Poison on Han Xiao, silently waiting for him to improve.
Not long ago, the Tyrant told him personally that it was almost impossible for Black Star to become Beyond Grade A in the remaining two or three years of the war. The Tyrant's plan was going to fall through, so Jorde thought there was no need to let Black Star go any further, which did not go against Heber's idea.
Since Black Star cannot become Beyond Grade A, the Tyrant will only take action after the war ends due to the rules of war. Therefore, Jorde decided to find a way himself, using Sisko's Psionic Poison to weaken Black Star, reduce the opponent's strength, and reduce the pressure on his own high-level combat forces.
This mindset is similar to wanting to hold a stock with great potential for the long term, but the stock's growth stagnates or even shows a downward trend, so one sells to cut losses.
Sisko's Psionic Poison was extremely well-hidden, its source unknown. Jorde estimated that Black Star didn't even know whose attack he had fallen for.
"Your mission is complete. Find a chance to retreat on your own." Jorde composed himself, said casually, and then ended the communication.
He was quite satisfied that Black Star had fallen victim to this attack.
Hadavy fell silent, the communication channel now empty except for him Black Star, having been affected, had stopped his verbal harassment. He suddenly felt a sense of despondency and loneliness, and a desire to withdraw arose within him.
He charged left and right across the battlefield, using the War and Book Domain fleets as a distraction. Relying on his indestructible body, he forcefully broke through the encirclement of the mechanical legion, seized a spaceship, and quickly escaped the battlefield by warp jump.
Han Xiao had gotten used to his escape style and knew that he couldn't catch him with his current strength, so he recalled the mechanical legion and turned back to deal with the other high-level enemy forces. The enemy's Calamity Grade all fled in disarray.
The Eternity also joined the battle, its crystal edges firing beams of super-concentrated Psionic Energy annihilation rays that swept away everything in its path, leaving linear blank areas on the battlefield.
Faced with the unstoppable advance of Section Zero, the War Realm changed its strategy, abandoning desperate resistance and beginning a fighting retreat. Seeing that the warp base was about to fall, the War Realm directly destroyed the base, proactively severing the links between various planetary outposts, leaving it unattended for the enemy.
With the rapid wormhole portal lost, the other planetary outposts became independent, and their fleets began to withdraw, abandoning the Kant Star System and preserving their remaining strength.
Before long, all troops in the War Realm withdrew, and the Section Zero's large-scale counterattack was victorious, driving out all enemy forces within the Kant Star System.
The number of star systems where the War Realm was stationed decreased from five to four, meaning that the War Realm's foundation in the Kant Star System was unstable. If it were replaced by the three long-occupied star systems of West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida, it would not be so easy to drive out the enemy. Even so, this was still a rare and great victory. Section Zero was Inspiration and its confidence was boosted. The Amethyst side was also overjoyed when it learned of the good news.
The player's campaign missions have been completed, and the victory improved the mission rating and increased the rewards.
A planetary outpost that has been occupied by Section Zero.
Black smoke billowed, and charred corpses littered the ground. Soldiers cleared the battlefield, collecting spoils of war.
The team cleaning up the battlefield included many players, who picked and chose items as if they were scavenging for trash.
"This was a good haul. If we dismantle these broken pieces of equipment and turn them into materials, we should be able to sell them for a thousand or two Enas."
Frenzied Saber picked up a broken, high-tech mechanical warhammer, tossed it into the loot box that hovered around him, and felt pleased.
The Jiangcheng Team members also looted their spoils nearby and chatted in twos and threes.
Vice-Captain Xie Xiaojian picked up a broken explosive gun, curled his lip, tossed it aside, and casually asked, "Captain, how much experience do you have?"
"Let me see..." Frenzied Saber glanced at the panel, "It's almost time to advance."
Because these professional players had to participate in professional leagues at the end of version 2.0, they didn't have much experience left, and their levels weren't the highest when the version started; many hadn't even reached level 100 to advance.
"You leveled up so fast!" Xie Xiaojian said enviously. "I'm still a bit short on experience."
"I've killed more enemies than you, and my mission rating is higher, so of course you can't level up as fast as me," Frenzied Saber said smugly.
Xie Xiaojian pouted, "Forget it, I won't compete with you in leveling up. I'll just spend some experience to learn some High-End Knowledge and keep my level down."
"Why hold back your level? You should reach Grade B once you complete the level 100 advancement."
"Maybe once you reach Grade B, there will be an experience penalty for fighting those Grade C monsters. Anyway, with you as an example, I'd better wait and see." Xie Xiaojian chuckled.
"Suit yourself, you coward. You'll be promoted sooner or later anyway." Frenzied Saber rolled his eyes.
On the other side of the battlefield.
Long Hatred of Heaven was also cleaning up the battlefield with a few friends, chatting about various topics.
"This battle is finally over. Let's find some time to go to other star systems to answer the conscription orders in the War Realm."
"Long Hatred of Heaven said."
During the war, there was little opportunity to join the enemy's camp. Now that the battle was over and he was free to move around, Long Hatred of Heaven decided to take action.
"It seems there's still a 50% discount going on. I think we should enjoy this last bit of perk before switching factions. Let's go back to the Black Star Army headquarters, spend all the profits we get this time, and then join the War Realm," one person said.
Long Hatred of Heaven nodded, "That works too."
"It's just that the main storyline rating we gained in this campaign will probably be wiped out and replaced with the Krent faction's main storyline quests," someone lamented.
"That's just how it is."
Long Hatred of Heaven shook his head, "But at least we got the rewards for this battle, so it's not a loss. Compared to the hidden storyline for the Krent faction, this loss is nothing."
Everyone nodded.
Meanwhile, at another outpost, Summer Night Blossoms was also pondering this question.
"After this mission is over, someone should join Krent, and then we'll be able to verify that my prediction is correct; Krent is the best choice."
Summer Night Blossoms muttered to himself, believing his own speculation and filled with anticipation for the switch of allegiances.
While the main force was cleaning up the battlefield, Han Xiao entrusted Melos and others with full responsibility for post-battle handling, and locked himself in the training room.
In the room, Han Xiao was pale, his eyes closed, concentrating intently on experiencing his own negative state. After a long while, he opened his eyes, his expression solemn.
The problem is extremely difficult.
[Soul Poisoning] keeps him in a state of mental weakness with all attributes reduced by 20%, and increases his stamina and energy consumption by an additional 15%, requiring him to expend more energy to use skills.
[Sensory Misdirection] reduces his hit rate, critical hit rate, and evasion ability.
The [Whispering Hallucination] continued to harass him mentally, with strange voices constantly whispering in his mind, making it difficult for him to remain calm and rational.
[Split Personality] is the most dangerous, causing him to develop other alternate personalities. [Mind Parasite] is caused by this Psionic Poison parasitizing his mind. Every time he consumes energy, a portion of it is absorbed by the Psionic Poison to nourish the weaker alternate personalities, making them stronger and vying for control of his body.
If control of the body is taken away, the panel says that it will enter a [chaotic] state, becoming uncontrollable and indiscriminate in its ability to distinguish between friend and foe.
But Han Xiao knew that the actual effect would be more complex for him, and not just as simple as entering a [chaotic] state.
"Sisko... Ugh, I hate telekinetics..."
Han Xiao frowned and rubbed his temples. The alternate personality seemed very weak at the moment, and he hadn't felt its presence yet, but it would grow stronger every time he took action in the future.
Is the objective of the War Realm to restrict my movements and prevent me from fighting freely?
Han Xiao shook his head helplessly. Even if he was on guard, he would still be hit by the attack of Beyond Grade A psychic.
It seems I need to put everything else aside and figure out how to resolve these negative states first...
Han Xiao sighed.
"The duration is unknown, and it probably won't disappear on its own. How can I remove it...?"
He suppressed his mental exhaustion and pondered silently.
The simplest solution would be to ask Sisko himself for help, but Sisko is neither friend nor foe, so rushing to his door would be like walking into a trap.
The second option is to ask Austin for help; this is something we can consider.
The information on the panel was incomplete. Han Xiao wanted to see the details of the Psionic Poison, but his profession was very materialistic, and he couldn't give his mind a check-up. So he had to summon Lagi and Fording.
"You've been ambushed by Beyond Grade A telekinetic master?!"
Fording and Lagi entered the room and were both startled after hearing Han Xiao's explanation.
Han Xiao rubbed his temples and sighed, "It's impossible to guard against everything. I never expected to run into Sisko. Fording, check with me to see just how bad the situation is."
Fording became serious, solemnly stretched out his hands, placed them behind Han Xiao's ears, closed his eyes, and probed Han Xiao's brain with his mental energy.
Han Xiao could feel Fording's mental tentacles reaching in.
Buzz!
Suddenly, his vision shifted, revealing a scene from his mental brain—a vision that Fording had shared.
The mental brain was a vast white world, where Han Xiao and Fording existed as spiritual light beings, overlooking the mental brain.
At this moment, one-tenth of the area was filled with purplish-black mist, which occasionally tried to condense into a human shape, but each time it failed.
"This is the Psionic Poison that parasitizes your mind."
Fording said solemnly, "It will continuously absorb your energy and expand on its own. When it expands to thirty percent of the area, your alternate personality will develop its own consciousness and begin to fight for control of the body."
Han Xiao's expression was grim. "Can you remove these Psionic Poison?"
Fording shook his head helplessly, "This is a ball of psychic energy from Beyond Grade A psychic. Its corrosive power is overwhelming and difficult to eradicate. Even my psychic energy will be devoured by it and turned into nourishment. I'm sorry..."
Just then, Lagi's spiritual form squeezed in and appeared beside the two of them. He glanced at them and then patted Han Xiao on the shoulder.
"You're hopeless. Just pass the legion commander position to me, and I'll carry on your legacy."
"Thank you so much," Han Xiao said irritably.