Shattered World, the Dawn Star Cluster, the Lighthouse Star of the Imperial outpost.
At Base No. 4, in the combat training room, a friendly competition is underway.
Bang!
The mechanical fist collided with the Hardening fist, unleashing a distinct shockwave.
Hadavy tightened his grip on Dark Emperor's fist, then swung him around with force, hurling him forward and smashing him through the mechanical soldiers' defensive line with a thud.
Behind the defensive line, Han Xiao took a step and casually shot out a Mechanical Force, pulling down Dark Emperor who was about to fly past him and helping him regain his balance.
Immediately afterward, a flash of lightning appeared in Han Xiao's eyes, and at the same time, a Psionic Energy barrier suddenly appeared in Hadavy's path of charge.
The barrier was right in front of him, and Hadavy crashed into it headfirst.
Thump!
"Nice voice, a good head."
Han Xiao's lips curled into a smile, and he suddenly clenched his fist. The wall-like Psionic Energy barrier instantly shrank into a ball of light, which exploded on Hadavy's face with a loud bang, bursting out with a ghostly blue energy light, sending him flying and spinning as he crashed into the training room wall.
Thump!
The metal plate bent and broke, leaving a huge, human-shaped crater in the wall.
The surrounding mechanical soldiers began to concentrate their fire, unleashing a barrage of Psionic Energy that converged into the craters in the wall.
Rumble--
The blinding light from the explosion turned the room into a dazzling white.
Just then, a beam of red light suddenly struck from behind Han Xiao, piercing through more than a dozen mechanical soldiers and shooting straight at the back of Han Xiao's head.
The Dark Emperor instantly split into floating cannons, activating a Psionic Energy shield to block Han Xiao's back. The red light struck the azure shield, turning into tiny fragments of light.
Han Xiao turned his head slowly and looked over. Hila was wandering in the distance behind him, shooting out death energy time and time again. Facing Han Xiao, she dared not get close and could only transform into a long-range artillery platform to harass him.
This sparring match was a challenge against Han Xiao by all of his personal guards. In order to achieve the training effect, Han Xiao naturally did not call out all the mechanical troops. He only used a thousand mechanical soldiers and did not use human wave tactics. He relied mainly on various mechanical equipment to fight.
The training room was now a mess. Almost all the guards had been beaten to the ground, leaving only Hila and Hadavy still holding on, both of them looking quite disheveled.
"Come here, little darling." Han Xiao stretched out his hand towards Hila, and mechanical components quickly wrapped around his arm. Mechanical Force flashed across the surface of the components, and his palm clenched tightly. A powerful gravitational force was released from the mecha arm, emitting a whistling sound.
The mechs along the way scattered, creating gaps in the defensive line, and their positions changed as Hila moved.
Hila immediately felt an extremely strong pulling force trying to drag her towards Han Xiao. Her pupils turned bright red, and her whole body was enveloped in energy, resisting the pull of the gravity device, but her speed inevitably slowed down.
Seeing that the gravity device had failed, Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, swayed his body, and deployed five suction cup-shaped powerful traction beam triggers behind him, which hovered behind his head and activated simultaneously.
Buzz!
The immense gravitational pull combined to pull Hila away against her will. She gave up resisting and increased her flight speed, instantly closing in on Han Xiao. She concentrated her energy in her leg and unleashed a powerful whip kick, strong enough to shatter a mountain.
Han Xiao remained unmoved, and the latest generation of War Tiger mechs instantly unfolded on his body.
Kara-la--
Covered in black mecha armor, only his head was visible. Han Xiao bent his arm and used his forearm to meet Hila's whip kick.
BOOM!!
The long, energy-wrapped leg struck the forearm covering the mecha, causing the nanoparticles on the mecha's surface to ripple like waves, deflecting the force to the feet and behind.
Boom!
The next moment, a shockwave rippled out from beneath Han Xiao's feet, twisting and bending the metal ground, and the excess force transformed into a howling airwave that swept away the surrounding dust.
After taking the kick, Han Xiao's raised forearm remained as still as a sculpture. Although Hila's close combat skills were not bad, she was not a martial artist and her attributes were completely outmatched, so her close combat could not pose any threat to Han Xiao.
Without pausing, Han Xiao's arm, which had blocked the attack, suddenly stretched forward, grabbed Hila's neck, and slammed her to the ground with a loud bang.
"Ugh!" Hila groaned as she crashed heavily to the ground, gritting her teeth as she struggled. Her voluptuous body writhed beneath Han Xiao Han Xiao, but she was like a snake being tightly gripped, unable to break free from his grasp.
At that moment, Hila's vision went black, and she saw Han Xiao leaning close, his face almost touching hers, a smug look on his face.
"Don't be stubborn, I've caught you. The fight is over. With your physique, there's no way you can break free from my control."
Upon hearing this, Hila stopped resisting, bit her lip, and met Han Xiao's gaze.
Their eyes were less than ten centimeters apart, their breaths mingling on each other's faces.
Han Xiao twitched his nose, a faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils, and his expression suddenly became a little strange.
"It smells really nice. Did you wear perfume? Or is it your natural scent?"
"... Let go."
"Okay, sure."
Han Xiao released his hand, straightened up, and prepared to pull Hila up, but Hila ignored his outstretched hand, got up on her own, and brushed the dust off her clothes.
Seeing Hila's expressionless face, Han Xiao shook his head helplessly. After so many sparring sessions, he knew Hila's personality all too well. Even knowing the vast difference in skill level, Hila would still be in a bad mood every time she lost.
The mechanized units also ceased fire. The large crater in the wall had expanded many times over, becoming pitch black and bottomless. From inside came the sound of metal fragments being stirred. After a while, Hadavy, covered in charred soot, crawled out of the crater and walked towards Han Xiao, tearing off the necrotic, charred skin from his body.
The mechanical devices that had restrained the guards all around retracted, and the guards, rubbing their chests and swinging their arms, came forward, all looking somewhat disheveled. The one who looked the most presentable was Fording, who only had some dust on him and no injuries. This was mainly because Han Xiao couldn't bear to hit him and couldn't bring himself to harm that incredibly charming face.
We're all handsome guys, so it's only right that we give each other some special treatment.
"That was awesome!" Hadavy grinned, a look of pure satisfaction spreading across his charred face.
Han Xiao ignored him, checked the time, and said, "You lasted thirty-seven seconds longer than last time. That's progress."
These guards officers, at the very least, are elite- Calamity Grade, and their progress is slow and difficult to accelerate. Among them, only Hila and Fording have shown the most significant improvement. Both possess exceptional talent, and perhaps in twenty or thirty years, they too will be able to reach the level of Beyond Grade A Seed.
As for breaking through to Beyond Grade A, in Han Xiao's opinion, only Hila, who proved her strength in her previous life, has a relatively high possibility. However, she doesn't indiscriminately slaughter planets like she did in her previous life, so her progress speed isn't that abnormal.
"The training room is too small, which limits the distance I can move around and keeps me within the range of the traction beam. If I were in Infinite environment, I could last longer. I need to pay more attention to this next time..." Hila frowned as she summarized her experience.
Just as Han Xiao was about to say something, his communicator suddenly rang, and he received a text message.
After glancing at him, Han Xiao laughed, "You guys continue training, Tarrokov and the other two want to come chat with me."
Having stayed on Lighthouse Star for more than half a month, Han Xiao had become quite familiar with Milizaus. Since they had nothing else to do, the commander-in-chief of the exploration force Tarrokov, who was stationed there, would often invite the three Beyond Grade A to have tea and chat, to build rapport and pass the time.
Upon hearing this, Hila hesitated, seemingly wanting to continue receiving training from Han Xiao, but in the end she nodded, instructed the guards to begin training, and watched Han Xiao leave the training room out of the corner of her eye.
Walking down the corridor, Han Xiao entered the Quantum Network Vision.
"Phillip, did the long-range patrol find anything today?"
"Reporting to master, there is no buzzing."
The Arcane Church still hasn't taken any action today... Han Xiao nodded secretly.
Under the protection of the Empire, Han Xiao did not lower his guard. During the past half month on Lighthouse Star, he did not sit idle. In addition to building machinery and training guards, he also sent long-range mechanical units to join the Lighthouse Star's guard force to patrol this sector and report daily. Once the traces of the Arcane Church were discovered, he would be informed immediately.
Han Xiao stayed on Lighthouse Star not only because it was heavily guarded, but also because it was an Imperial outpost connected to many Lighthouse Star. If the surveillance forces discovered traces of the enemy, this sector would serve as a buffer zone. If the enemy proved too powerful, he would have enough time to evacuate through these stargates. Han Xiao wouldn't easily put himself in a desperate situation; staying on Lighthouse Star provided him with ample escape routes.
For the past two weeks, things had been calm, but Han Xiao had a feeling that a storm was brewing. He didn't think the Arcane Church had given up on the Evolution Cube.
He occasionally used Evolution Cube on Milizaus's Armed Dragon Guards, and when he did, the Space-Time Amber would naturally be released from its seal. Therefore, Sisko should have been able to receive intermittent sensations during this time, like a network connection that kept disconnecting and reconnecting.
"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; the Arcane Church holds the initiative, so we can only deal with them as they come."
Han Xiao shook his head and habitually opened the forum for a glance.
The exploration work went smoothly during this period. Although Ravenlaude gained some convenience with the stargate he created, most of the resource planets along the way had already been seized by members of the Black Star Army. Ravenlaude could not seize territory under the nose of the Empire, so he could only explore other areas.
Players have been exploring diligently and have accumulated a large number of quest points. Ordinary players from Huaxia, Russia, and Australia are doing quests together, and their relationship is becoming more and more harmonious. However, the friction between the three guilds is becoming more and more intense.
It's all because of the competition for resource areas. During this time Black Star Army headquarters sent a new batch of troops to supplement the exploration team's manpower. Among them were many players who were part of the second batch of players who crossed the star field from the Constellation Corridor. The Russian and Australian guilds decided to temporarily join forces and sent a new batch of guild players back to support their branch, attempting to break the suppression of the Huaxia.
With more members in the Russian and Australian branches, their confidence grew, and they were no longer content to remain in third-rate resource areas. They began to try to secure better resource areas, which led to increasing friction with the Huaxia.
"If this continues, it might escalate into a large-scale guild war. If these clubs incite ordinary players in their own countries, it might even turn into a national war," Han Xiao secretly speculated.
However, this is an internal matter within the player community, and he cannot and does not want to stop it. The reason he previously encouraged ordinary players of the Three Kingdoms to make friends was to prevent hostile behavior between them.
The plan is quite successful now. The relationships between ordinary players are harmonious. Even if they participate in the national war just to join in the fun, they are still good friends after the war. There is no obvious factional division. After all, most players have a characteristic in their interactions: they can be both enemies and friends.
Han Xiao arrived at the office of Commander-in-Chief m•hetushu•com. com, where he saw Tarrokov, Beoni, and Milizaus sitting on the sofa, with Imperial special drinks... and the dreaded Veyne Cards on the reception table in front of them.
--The Veyne Cards is popular all over the universe; even the Beyond Grade A have entertainment needs, right?
"Black Star, you're here! Come on, have a seat."
Hearing the door open, the three of them turned to look, and Beoni even waved.
Han Xiao nodded, sat down next to Milizaus, picked up his cup, took a sip, and smacked his lips.
"Why did you drink mine?" Milizaus asked, sounding displeased.
"You're just a magical avatar with no sense of taste, don't waste such good stuff." Han Xiao said without changing his expression.
After spending more than half a month together, the group had grown much closer. Han Xiao had gained a better understanding of Milizaus's personality. Although the guy was very strong, he was not arrogant and was much easier to get along with than the "Dark Emperor" Clottey, who always had a cold face. Compared to when they first met, Han Xiao was much more casual with Milizaus now... although he didn't seem to respect him much at first.
"Hey, you guys have been on Lighthouse Star for almost a month now. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to slack off and rest every day."
Tarrokov sighed. He had been stationed on Lighthouse Star and had no one of equal status to communicate with before. However, after Han Xiao and the other two had been there for more than half a month, he, the commander-in-chief, finally revealed his tendency to slack off.
"Actually, I've always been curious about the relationship between Clottey and Urranrell. I feel it's more than just bodyguards," Milizaus said curiously. "As the head of the empire, one is required to be married, but Urranrell is a widow. Clottey is a staunch supporter of the head of the empire. Could they be...?"
The empire's marriage law is monogamous, but Beoni felt it had nothing to do with him.
"Tsk tsk, although I consider myself a mild-mannered person, I am still a top-ranking officer of the Empire. Is it really appropriate for you to speak ill of His Excellency in front of me?" Tarrokov said helplessly. "I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
Milizaus snorted, casually slapped down a Veyne Cards, and changed the subject, "You lost."
Tarrokov paused, glanced at his hand, and asked suspiciously, "Did you use magic to tamper with my cards again?"
"Don't try to cheat me! Would I do something so pointless?" Milizaus retorted angrily.
In fact, you know, I didn't even see that card you just played in your hand...
Han Xiao couldn't help but think of Lagi, Lagi had a famous saying when playing cards, "Only trash uses magic to cheat!"
From that moment on, he learned that only a stronger mage could stop a magician from cheating...
Of the three, one was a slacker, one was a fire enthusiast, and one was a tech geek; clearly, no one could stop the one using magic to cheat.
Watching the big shots chatting and joking around without any airs, creating a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, Han Xiao couldn't help but feel at ease.
This is life...
Before he could finish his reflection, suddenly, something unexpected happened!
"Waaaaah--"
The piercing alarm sounded without warning, and the four people abruptly stopped in their tracks.
Tarrokov's expression immediately turned serious. He abruptly stood up, opened the real-time star map, and checked the situation.
At the same time, Han Xiao also received a report from Phillip about the long-range troops.
"Master, Master, Squad 025 has spotted a large fleet heading towards Lighthouse Star!"
The scene then shifts to a mysterious fleet entering the warning sector of Lighthouse Star, triggering an alarm.
This fleet consists entirely of four-sided pyramidal spaceships, and at a glance, there are probably several million of them—a truly massive fleet!
The mysterious fleet has already engaged the Imperial patrol fleet in that direction, breaking through the defenses with overwhelming force, clearly demonstrating its intention to launch a surprise attack on Lighthouse Star, and is advancing rapidly.
Han Xiao's heart sank.
"The Arcane Church? They've really arrived!"