The four stared in shock at the Palace of Hidden Spells, shrouded in magical energy, not far away. Austin's arrival had taken them by surprise.
Sisko was filled with even more surprise and doubt.
Wasn't this old geezer always supposed to be neutral?
What are you doing here?! Looks like you're here to help Black Star?!
"Austin, you've joined the Crimson Dynasty?!" Sisko exclaimed in shock and anger, sending a telepathic message.
"No," Austin smiled.
"Then what are you doing here? This has nothing to do with you. Keep your neutrality and don't come looking for trouble!" Sisko's tone turned stern.
"I'm sorry, I have an agreement with Black Star, it has nothing to do with the Crimson Dynasty, this is a personal request."
Austin chuckled.
Back at the Tyrant's Gathering, in order to borrow the Evolution Cube, he agreed to several conditions from Han Xiao. One of these conditions was to help Han Xiao with something within his capabilities and without violating his principles. This is precisely why he is here.
Upon discovering unusual activity within the Arcane Church, Han Xiao, as a precaution, had already secretly enlisted Austin as an ally. To fulfill their agreement, Austin, piloting the Palace of Hidden Spells, secretly arrived in the Shattered World and hid in the Desolate Universe Belt through continuous long-distance teleportation.
He did not use the Crimson Dynasty's stargate, but claimed publicly that he was going to other Secondary Dimension to find magical materials.
Since it was so common for Beyond Grade A mages to go to Secondary Dimension to find materials, and given that the Palace of Hidden Spells was a neutral faction, the outside world completely ignored its movements. Even the Arcane Church was no exception. No one expected that Austin, a neutral faction that did not manage civilizations, would personally sneak into the Shattered World without the Empire's permission.
As a golden artifact and Universal Treasure, the Palace of Hidden Spells cost an astronomical sum to build. It was capable of long-distance teleportation, and it only took a little over ten days to quietly arrive in the Desolate Universe Belt of the Shattered World from the Shattered Star Ring, many times faster than the high-warp speed spaceship of the stowaways. He found a place to wait and activated the invisibility array of the Palace of Hidden Spells to hide himself. Normal observation equipment would not be able to easily detect the concealment ability of a Universal Treasure- level mage tower.
Of course, Austin didn't know there were so many enemies at first. He originally thought that the Arcane Church wouldn't really make a move, and that he could easily fulfill the agreement by just staying for a while. Even if the Empire discovered him by chance, with Black Star as his guarantor, the Empire wouldn't do anything to him.
But he never expected the Arcane Church to create such a grand spectacle!
After much deliberation, he ultimately decided not to stand idly by and accept his bad luck, but instead led the Palace of Hidden Spells to provide support!
As a neutral party, Austin knew that this did not conform to the principle of seeking advantage and avoiding harm, but since he had already agreed to Black Star's request, he did not break his promise, and he still had that much credibility.
Austin appeared nonchalant, but no one knew that beneath his smiling face lay a torrent of curses.
This is a huge loss!
Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, a smile curving his lips. "Old man, you've finally arrived. With you here, we can share the burden."
Austin gave him a disapproving look and sneered, "I must be crazy to get involved in this mess. I lost out big time using your Evolution Cube!"
Upon hearing this, Beoni felt as if he had met a kindred spirit. In his opinion, Milizaus, who was currently engaged in a fierce battle in outer space, probably shared the same sentiment.
Unable to resist turning her head to look at Han Xiao, who was gradually recovering from his injuries, Beoni, covered in wounds, looked at him with a resentful expression.
My heart is aching, but I won't say it.
Han Xiao noticed his gaze, his lips twitched, and he curled his fingers, flicking out a sharp syringe from his fingertips, signaling Beoni to lower his guard and let him give him an injection.
What are you trying to do?
"I'll treat you."
"Sigh, Beyond Grade A has immense vitality, what good are your little healing potions? I... Oh! What did you give me?!"
Before he could finish speaking, Han Xiao inserted an acupuncture needle into Beoni, injecting him with a life-saving potion created by Aurora.
Beoni, who had initially looked worried and didn't think the treatment would work, suddenly changed his expression after receiving the injection, his face showing a mixture of amazement and shock.
He could feel a surge of life energy flowing into his body, and every cell in his body was cheering and jumping for joy, as if he had taken a powerful tonic, his activity skyrocketing, and the speed at which his wounds healed increased many times over.
Although he hasn't fully recovered, he's out of serious injury.
"What kind of potion is this? How can it be so effective on Beyond Grade A?!" Beoni exclaimed in shock.
"You still have time to be curious? Deal with the situation at hand first."
Han Xiao put away the syringe.
Although Sisko and his group paused their offensive, the surrounding mechanical units continued to fight the summoned creatures. As long as the machines boosted by Mechanical Force were fighting, it was equivalent to Han Xiao himself being in combat. Moreover, the time limit for leaving combat was five minutes, which was far from enough.
The enemy was shocked, but they wouldn't remain stunned for long. Seeing that Austin was determined to intervene, they suppressed their astonishment, accepted reality, and immediately resumed their offensive, making Austin their target as well.
Austin activated the Palace of Hidden Spells with all his might, drawing upon the free dark energy. With a hum, the massive palace rose with dazzling magical Glory, and the Palace of Hidden Spells's built-in reactive spells activated one after another, unleashing bursts of magical energy that clashed with the crowd.
On the other side, Motes was already very close to Han Xiao and his companion. In a flash, he rushed in front of Han Xiao and slammed his heavy fist, trailing green flames, toward Han Xiao's head.
At such close range, having just used Void Leap, and with the fragile Beoni behind him, Han Xiao decisively activated Heber's character card, causing his strength to surge by 4000 points!
A surge of power exploded within him, flowing into his fist, and he unleashed a powerful punch, producing a sonic boom as he met the force head-on.
Bang!!
Two fists, one large and one small, collided heavily, creating a shockwave that dispersed the surrounding water vapor, forming a clearly defined area.
Motes felt a force as strong as his own recoil coming from his fist, and his body flew out of control. He quickly steadied himself and found that Han Xiao opposite him had also been thrown out.
Both were blasted away by the other, their strengths were evenly matched!
"How can you have such great strength?" Motes's rugged, beast-like face was full of astonishment.
His strongest attribute is strength, yet your punching power as a mechanic is almost the same as mine as a martial artist?!
What the hell?! You think you're qualified to be a mechanic?!
Han Xiao shook his arm and grinned. The Heber character card prevented him from being overwhelmed by his opponent's strength attribute, but the martial arts aura, which came with powerful close-combat destructive force, had torn apart many of his arm cells, which were rapidly recovering.
Using the recoil force, Han Xiao led Beoni in a rapid retreat, hiding within the mechanical troops' defensive line, while simultaneously analyzing the situation:
"Milizaus has held off two of them, so our situation is now three against four. Although they still have one more person, Austin has the buff from the Palace of Hidden Spells, which can share more of the pressure, preventing our forces from being at a significant disadvantage. We can barely hold on..."
"But the enemy has powerful reinforcements. If the Sorokin arrives, it will disrupt the balance of power."
"Austin's Palace of Hidden Spells can teleport me away, and it seems one mage can't stop it. But there are two mages on the other side, and together they should have a way to counter the Palace of Hidden Spells's teleportation. If we want to escape, we can only let the Palace of Hidden Spells carry me and Beoni away. If we force Milizaus onto the vehicle, the two enemy mages will join us, and we won't be able to leave either..."
"Hmm, there's another problem. The Palace of Hidden Spells teleportation requires a guidance time, and that mage won't just stand by and watch me, his key target, escape. He'll definitely abandon Milizaus to stop us. Milizaus won't stay and die after seeing us abandon him; he won't sacrifice himself to entangle Ninja... If we're ruthless, he'll be ruthless in return. When Ninja turns around to deal with us, Milizaus will most likely just use teleportation to escape. In that case, the Palace of Hidden Spells will still be left behind, but we'll lose Milizaus, our strongest fighter."
Han Xiao's expression turned solemn. Thinking about it, it seemed that escaping through the Palace of Hidden Spells would only mean abandoning Milizaus, and the success rate was extremely low. If they failed and Milizaus was hurt, he would probably take the opportunity to run away, leaving them one less combatant and making the situation even worse.
If they were to desert in the face of battle, the Imperial fleet left behind would be completely annihilated, and neither the Armed Dragon Guard nor their own personal guards, including Hela Aurora Fording, would survive.
Even the Palace of Hidden Spells would struggle to send reinforcements; the [High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter] has a limited range, and the Palace of Hidden Spells is no exception. Heber's three reinforcements are located in different regions of different star clusters and are traveling through the stargate network to the entrance to the passage to Lighthouse Star, exceeding the Palace of Hidden Spells ' one-time teleportation range. No matter how fast they go, it won't be faster than stargate support.
"Tarrokov is right, we don't have many options. We can only hold out until reinforcements arrive at the other end of the stargate." Han Xiao gritted his teeth.
The stronger you are, the better your chances. The advancement quest is only one step away from completion—disengaging from combat. I need to find an opportunity...
Waiting for the enemy to stop is obviously unrealistic; perhaps we can try other methods...
After Austin joined the group, the battle resumed, and the intensity increased to another level, making it impossible for anyone below Beyond Grade A to intervene.
The Palace of Hidden Spells is Austin's combat equipment, providing a significant boost to his magic. It bombards relentlessly like a magical turret, displaying extraordinary combat power.
Although it was three against four, the previously overwhelming situation was suddenly broken, and neither side could gain the upper hand in the short term.
With Han Xiao's pressure relieved, the mechanical forces posed a greater threat to Sisko and his group, forcing the enemy to become more cautious and slowing down their offensive.
Taylor was no longer able to summon creatures without pressure; his summoning channeling was interrupted time and time again.
The two sides tumbled and rolled into a fierce battle. The four of them consciously separated the Palace of Hidden Spells from Han Xiao and his companion, discussing countermeasures while fighting.
"With the help of the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin's combat power has increased to a new level, making him very difficult to deal with." Sisko connected with his teammates using telekinesis, his tone serious.
"Tsk, if I brought my mage tower with me, I might not be afraid of him." Taylor was a little annoyed that her summoning spell had been interrupted again.
Almost every Beyond Grade A mage has a mage tower, but not everyone can create Universal Treasure like the Palace of Hidden Spells.
Neither Taylor nor Ninja brought their mage towers on this trip. Firstly, they were quite cumbersome compared to other options. After being teleported by the Federation of Light, they would need to leave on their own, and carrying a bulky mage tower would hinder their mobility, given that they would certainly be Pursuit by the Imperial fleet. Secondly, they felt that their combat strength was overwhelming and that their operation would proceed without incident, so there was no need to bring one. Thirdly, it was to maintain the secrecy of this operation and reduce the chance of being discovered in advance, since they were not neutral figures like Austin who attracted little attention.
"Be careful, Black Star might use the Palace of Hidden Spells to escape," Dilun warned and said to the book.
"If he has such intentions, I will immediately notify Ninja to come down and join us. Although I alone cannot stop the teleportation of the Palace of Hidden Spells, the two of us working together can interrupt its teleportation guidance," Taylor said.
"Milizaus might take the opportunity to escape..."
"Then let Sagman and Ninja use the Scepter of All Gods as soon as possible, or force Milizaus over. If we really have to choose one of the two, we can ignore Milizaus. Black Star is the primary target!" Sisko interjected.
Motes didn't participate in the group chat at all, focusing on chasing Han Xiao. He didn't believe in the power of Han Xiao's punches and wanted to test it again. He was going to just go for it.
When the Palace of Hidden Spells appeared, the three people fighting fiercely on the outer space battlefield also noticed this phenomenon.
When Han Xiao's powerful backup appeared, Milizaus was overjoyed and unleashed his dragon breath even more vigorously. In contrast, Sagman and Ninja both became serious.
"Sisko said the visitor is Austin from the Shattered Star Ring, specifically to help Black Star. The enemy has gained a new Beyond Grade A force, reducing our overwhelming advantage in combat power." Sagman frowned as he casually shattered a dragon's breath.
"Four against six, it seems we might not be able to finish the battle before the Sorokin arrives."
Ninja shook his head.
The Arcane Church instructed them to complete the mission ahead of schedule and try their best to prevent the Sorokin from getting involved. Now it seems that it won't be so easy to do, as Han Xiao's backup plan has taken them by surprise.
Don't jump to conclusions.
Sagman suddenly unleashed a surging curtain of light, like a raging torrent.
A tsunami-like surge of light energy shattered the magical dragon breath spewed by Milizaus. The dazzling light flooded the dark cosmic battlefield, and countless crew members on the surrounding warships squinted, their vision blurred by the brilliant sea of light.
Milizaus's vision and perception were affected to some extent. Suddenly, he felt a sudden, inexplicable palpitation and a strong sense of crisis arose from his Beyond Grade A intuition.
Without hesitation, he cast defensive spells, one after another, colorful magical shields and barriers enveloped his body, layer upon layer, like a tortoise shell.
Then Milizaus flapped his dragon wings to escape the range of the light energy impact and hurriedly looked over. He saw that a strange black stick had appeared in front of Ninja at some point. With Milizaus's amazing vision, he could probably see that the black stick, which was only a little over a meter long, was covered with tiny carvings of different images, densely packed, numbering no less than several thousand.
"This is... the Scepter of All Gods?!"
Milizaus's mind went blank; he was a man of great knowledge and experience, and it was impossible that he didn't recognize this famous Universal Treasure of the Arcane Church.
The Arcane Church are experts in the study of mind, faith, spirit, and fantasy. They possess an incredible unique technique: transforming false "deities" into real beings, artificially creating "gods" and allowing them to exist in alternative forms.
The Scepter of All Gods is Universal Treasure created by the Arcane Church by "coincidence" using this technology. It cannot be replicated and is one of the mediums through which the power of these "artificial gods" is borrowed.
To put it simply, the "gods" of the Arcane Church are like missiles and ammunition, while the Scepter of All Gods is a specially designed launching tool.
If the Federation of Light's High-Dimensional Apocalypse Teleporter is a strategic Universal Treasure, then the Scepter of All Gods is a single-target, devastating weapon!
The power of the weapon is not astonishing when unleashed, but it possesses incredible destructive power against beings with Scepter of All Gods. Moreover, the stronger the user, the more terrifying the destructive power it unleashes. In the Exploration Era War, three powerful the First Ones even died by this weapon!
The Scepter of All Gods requires "divine spirits" as ammunition, and the user will suffer certain backlash. It cannot be used repeatedly by the same person in a short period of time. After each use, the Scepter of All Gods will be damaged to varying degrees and is extremely difficult to repair. For these three reasons, the Arcane Church rarely uses this Universal Treasure and mostly uses it as a strategic deterrent, keeping it shelved.
Milizaus never imagined that he would see this infamous weapon in his lifetime!
What kind of terrible luck is this? Did you, Black Star, pass this on to me?!
Did I eat any rice from your Arcane Church? Is this some kind of extreme measure?
Just as he was about to lose his temper, Ninja flicked his finger, and the Scepter of All Gods that was hanging in front of him swung horizontally, its tip aimed at Milizaus, and launched a fierce attack.
Ninja's immense power surged into the black scepter, causing all the carvings on it to light up.
The miniature sculptures of countless gods seemed to come alive, projecting tens of thousands of huge, semi-transparent phantoms that merged into a phantom-like energy pillar that shot toward Milizaus.
If it were anyone else, they might have been able to dodge this attack, but Milizaus's massive body couldn't, so he could only frantically unleash various advanced forbidden defensive techniques.
However, these magical shields, which were strong enough to withstand the ship's Psionic Energy cannons, were instantly pierced by the energy pillars fired from the Scepter of All Gods, as if they did not exist.
Milizaus watched helplessly as the energy pillar passed through countless magical shields without any obstruction, piercing through the thick dragon scales on his chest without a trace of smoke, and shooting into his body.
"Black Star, I'll go to hell..."
Before it could finish cursing, the dragon shuddered violently, instantly losing control of its body, like a bird shot down by an arrow.
The enormous dragon's body was captured by the gravity of the Lighthouse Star and spun as it fell toward the planet, like a meteorite falling from the sky.
Crack! As it struck, several deep cracks appeared on the surface of the Scepter of All Gods.
"Ugh!" Ninja groaned, suffering the backlash.
Sagman, standing to the side, shot out a beam of light and grabbed the Scepter of All Gods —he knew this attack wasn't enough to kill the incredibly tough Milizaus; Ninja was no longer able to use the weapon, so it was now his turn.