More and more Imperial fleets are gathering, and the Desolate Universe Belt outside the Dawn Star Cluster is under blockade. The encirclement is slowly taking shape, leaving less and less space for the Arcane Church fleet.
With Han Xiao's help in locating them, the Empire captured even more enemy ships. After Logo divided his troops into millions of squads, these squads had no chance of breaking through when God's search teams. Once they encountered them, they were destined to be annihilated or captured alive.
Before long, hundreds of thousands of warships fell into the hands of the Empire, and countless dejected members of the Arcane Church became prisoners of war.
However, Logo's method of escaping by cutting off his tail did indeed increase the difficulty of the Empire's pursuit.
As Lu Xun said, the best way to hide something is not to lock it in a safe, but to hide it among a vast sea of bait. The empire is currently facing just such a situation.
On the main ship of the pursuit force, Tarrokov is holding a video conference, analyzing the situation with Han Xiao and others:
"According to the prisoners' confessions, the enemy commander Logo, abandoned his troops to confuse us. Moreover, half of the enemy ships were disconnected from the network and lost their tracking and surveillance, becoming a lone force fleeing alone in the dark. We captured the Radiant Sun Class flagship, but there was no trace of Logo and his men on board, so they must have been hiding among the disconnected troops."
Han Xiao rubbed his chin. "It seems they've become aware of my infiltration and have chosen to cut their losses, sacrificing all their troops to us... Heh, this commander named Logo has some guts."
"Black Star, do you have any solutions?"
"If those troops that were disconnected from the network reconnect to the quantum network even for a moment, their location will be exposed." Han Xiao shrugged.
When he left the penetration program, he hadn't yet learned about [Virtual Creator], so its functionality was limited by firewall restrictions. If virtual technology had been as advanced as it is now, he wouldn't have simply left a penetration program; he could have bypassed intelligent defense mechanisms, used viruses to quietly infect and subvert enemy ships' intelligence, achieving a much higher level of intrusion. Even if the enemy was offline, he could have forced their intelligence to activate, thus mitigating the current situation to some extent.
"I can perform divination," Ravenlaude said. "But there are also two mages on the Arcane side. They must have placed fate threads on themselves to interfere with the aura and prevent others from spying on them."
"Why not give it a try? It's free anyway." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Ravenlaude snorted, raised his hand, and a pale blue mystic crystal divination ball appeared in his palm, shimmering with purple light. Inside the ball was a wisp of gray cloud.
The divination orb floated before him. Ravenlaude touched his brow with his finger, and a blue-purple arcane Glory surged across his body, transforming into wisps of mist that flowed into the divination orb. The next moment, the clouds inside the orb began to swirl and change, gradually revealing a scene.
Everyone instinctively craned their necks and looked over, only to see Ninja's face suddenly appear in the sphere, as if sensing something, and glance at Ravenlaude.
Click!
The next moment, the expensive divination ball shattered in two.
"As expected, we were interfered with." Ravenlaude helplessly.
Everyone gave him a look, their faces clearly saying, "You're useless."
Ravenlaude, however, was thick-skinned. He casually put away the divination ball and even asked if it could be reimbursed.
Tarrokov decided to ignore him for the time being.
At this moment, Heber pondered and said:
"The enemy has divided their forces, reducing the number of warships in each squadron and making them less capable of breaking out. Therefore, the main squadron led by Logo might be the only one with the ability to break out. Once the Beyond Grade A forces make their move, they will be detected by our people. However, we do not have any eyewitness reports yet, which means that they have never encountered our blockade line."
"These guys are lucky," Beoni scoffed.
"Huh, luck..." Han Xiao blinked, suddenly had an idea, turned to look at Fording behind him, his gaze burning with intensity.
"Fording, you pick some positions. Which direction do you think Logo's troops will escape from? If you get lucky, you might just be right?"
Fording was both amused and exasperated.
"Black Star, it's one thing to tease me about my good luck all the time, but why do you do it in front of outsiders? Don't joke about such serious matters."
"What are you talking about? Which eye of yours saw me joking?"
Han Xiao shrugged, his expression serious. "You've seen it yourself, we've encountered an unsolvable problem. Why don't you give it a try, believe in some superstition? Maybe it'll actually work. It's a win-win situation, so don't refuse."
Seeing Han Xiao's resolute attitude, Fording had no choice but to casually tap a few times on the star map, circling a few directions, under the watchful eyes of a bunch of Beyond Grade A big shots.
"Look, don't blame me if it's wrong."
Han Xiao laughed heartily, put one arm around Fording's shoulder, pulled the helpless Fording into his arms, and gave him a tight hug. Then he looked at Tarrokov and said with a smile, "Commander-in-Chief, focus your search on the direction he pointed out; you might actually run into Logo."
"This is so childish!" Aurora couldn't help but complain.
However, when she looked up, she found that Tarrokov, Milizaus, and the other Beyond Grade A all looked calm and not at all surprised.
"I see." Tarrokov said thoughtfully, "At this point, relying on intuition is actually a good approach."
Milizaus and the others nodded in agreement.
These people were all experienced and knowledgeable individuals; they believed in the power of intuition more than the average person.
Luck is also a part of ability!
Logo's squadron consisted of only a dozen or so small ships. After the network was cut off, they lost contact with other fleets and were unaware of the fate of the other squadrons. They could only silently flee on their own.
"We're not far from the secret stargate. We haven't encountered the Imperial fleet yet. As long as we continue to bypass the Imperial blockade, we'll reach the secret stargate soon."
Looking at the star map, Logo said in a deep voice.
"Looks like we're in luck," Taylor said.
"It wasn't all luck. Within the warning range, our feigned escape direction misled the Imperial fleet, so our Imperial blockade was relatively weak," Logo said.
Sagman nodded slowly, "At the current pace, we'll soon be able to..."
Waaaaah--
Before the words were even finished, the spaceship's alarm blared!
"Warning! Radar detected. Stealth detected. Prepare for battle!"
Everyone suddenly turned their heads and saw on the radar screen that an Imperial fleet had suddenly appeared from the side and was heading straight for them.
"Damn it!" Logo slammed his fist on the control panel in anger.
Stealth mode can conceal one's tracks, but if one gets too close, one will still be detected by other people's radar. Just now, an Imperial fleet patrolling in Stealth mode brushed past them, and both sides triggered their sensors at the same time.
Logo turned and shouted at Sagman and the others:
"The enemy has fifty warships. Everyone, please take them out quickly!"
Although the Arcane Church's warships were slightly faster, the Crimson Dynasty's technology was still at the standard of a cosmic-level civilization, and they wouldn't be so easily outpaced.
If they continue to evade the pursuing force, the surrounding Imperial fleets will be able to pinpoint their exact location, so the only option is to eliminate the Imperial fleet that discovered them first.
Sagman and the others nodded with solemn expressions.
A skirmish ensued, and with the help of five Beyond Grade A, Logo's team effortlessly annihilated the tracking squad, but also exposed the presence of Sagman and his group.
"The Empire already knows we're in this direction. We must speed up our journey to the secret stargate and escape before the enemy's Beyond Grade A arrives..." Logo clenched his fist.
With their location exposed, Logo's squad was subsequently subjected to heavy blockades and could no longer use any fancy tactics. They could only fight their way out in a bloody and desperate manner.
They wanted to speed up, but they were held back and their speed actually decreased.
Upon receiving the news, Tarrokov, Han Xiao, and the others immediately changed direction and gave chase at high speed.
The distance between the two sides closed rapidly, and they were also constantly approaching the secret stargate.
This time, Logo and his group fled straight for the Secret Stargate. The Empire's search fleet finally discovered the location of the Secret Stargate and engaged in battle with the Arcane Church stationed there.
Logo and his group arrived at the battlefield midway through the fighting. After their position was exposed, they broke through the encirclement with great force. Relying on the combat power of five Beyond Grade A fighters, they finally managed to break through and reach the secret star gate.
Beside the massive stargate station, the Arcane Church garrison guarding this stronghold was engaged in fierce combat with the Imperial fleet, while reinforcements continued to arrive from the other end of the stargate.
In the distance, watching the battle unfold, Logo and Sagman others Logo their chance to escape was within reach, and they were all energized.
Logo re-established the quantum network link, contacted the Stargate station garrison, and then led his squad to charge into the rear of the Imperial fleet, joining the battle in an attempt to fight their way through the Stargate.
However, at that moment, Tarrokov's main fleet finally arrived, and Han Xiao and the others immediately spotted the five members of the Sagman who were using their Beyond Grade A power to charge forward on the battlefield.
"Do it!"
Without hesitation, Han Xiao and his group of five left the spaceship, rushed into the battlefield, and headed straight for Sagman and the others.
Logo was the first to notice this, his face turned ashen, and his heart sank to the bottom.
Those Beyond Grade A individuals still have a chance to escape into the stargate through their personal power, but he... has nowhere left to escape!
He even cruelly abandoned the army, but couldn't he still escape?!
The powerful energy fluctuations caught the attention of Sagman and the others, who all turned around and their expressions changed drastically.
"They've caught up!"
"We can't get entangled!"
Sagman and his group of five dared not turn back to fight. They hurriedly sped up and fled in panic, not even caring about the Imperial fleet that was fighting the Stargate Station garrison around them. They only wanted to rush into the Stargate before Han Xiao and the others caught up with them.
They all knew that once they were entangled with a powerful opponent of the same level here, their hope of escaping the Shattered World would become extremely slim.
Five meteors fled ahead, while another five meteors pursued closely behind. The two sides swept across the chaotic interstellar battlefield, one after the other.
"Attack the stargate!"
Han Xiao's team, those with ranged attack capabilities, opened fire on the secret stargate.
The mechanical legion unleashed a barrage of attacks, including Star Shattering Fist and Arcane Energy Impact, all possessing Beyond Grade A power, which hurtled towards the secret stargate. The planetary-level shield covering the stargate was cracked and could not hold for long.
Sagman and the others gritted their teeth and fled while deliberately engaging in some of Han Xiao's ranged attacks. They preferred to be injured rather than let the secret star gate suffer damage, and used the recoil to accelerate their escape.
The tables have turned, and now it's Sagman and the others' turn to guard the stargate, putting them in a very passive and embarrassing situation.
The mechanical legion's concentrated fire resulted in extremely high damage output. Motes suffered the most. Unlike Sisko, Sagman, Ninja, and others, he did not have long-range energy protection methods. Most of the time, he could only take the hits with his body, spitting out mouthfuls of green blood mist. His condition continued to decline, his flight speed gradually slowed down, and he fell behind.
Sagman and the two mages were the fastest, crossing the battlefield and rushing into the stargate first. Sisko followed closely behind, using his psychic shield to withstand a round of planet-destroying cannon fire from the mechanical legion, and was sent flying backward into the stargate, spitting blood.
The four escaped through the star gate, leaving only Motes on the battlefield. Not far from the star gate, he was finally caught up by Han Xiao and the others.
Heber stepped forward and grabbed Motes tightly. The two behemoths wrestled and rolled through space, their flight paths veering off course. They just barely grazed the stargate, crashing through the shattered shield and smashing a corner of the stargate.
Han Xiao waved his hand, and a small mechanical force rushed into the stargate to scout ahead.
However, the next moment, this mechanized unit lost contact and was wiped out.
In Motes's despairing gaze, the spatial vortex of the stargate suddenly vanished, shut off from the other end.
Seeing this, Milizaus flapped his dragon wings and snorted in the telepathic communication, saying, "The four who escaped blew up the stargate on the other end and destroyed the passage. Hmph, it seems they abandoned Motes."
"Well, at least one was left; it's not like we came away empty-handed." Ravenlaude smirked.
Everyone turned to look, and only Motes, a Beyond Grade A, remained on the battlefield, surrounded, with nowhere to go and no help.
Heber was locked in Strong Fist with Motes, who was consumed by despair and rage. The muscles of the two massive muscular men pressed together, rubbing wildly, and the spray of air resembled the prominences of a star.
Noticing Han Xiao and the others' gazes, Heber said in a deep voice, "This is my prey, don't interfere."
The others didn't take it seriously. Motes had nowhere to run, and since Heber wanted to fight one-on-one, they didn't mind watching the show and observing the strength of the two.
Han Xiao clicked his tongue and teased, "You're really energetic, Little Tyrant."
"Don't call me that!"
Heber's forehead veins bulged, and he simply ignored Han Xiao, focusing instead on dealing with Motes.
He was determined not to give up now that he had finally found a chance to capture Beyond Grade A enemy alive.
With the stargate passage destroyed, the enemy had no way to retreat. The secret stargate garrison, which had put up a stubborn resistance, was swiftly defeated by the arriving Tarrokov. It wouldn't be long before they were completely routed, and the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.
At this moment, Tarrokov joined the communication, looking satisfied. He nodded and said, "Four escaped, one remained, and Logo was also captured. This is a good result. Even if Sagman and the other three escape the Shattered World, they will face a new round of Pursuit."
Escaping the Shattered World doesn't mean that Sagman and the others are safe.
The Crimson Dynasty is deploying interception forces in the Shattered Star Ring, and its allies, including the Black Star Army, the War Realm, and Krent, have also taken action, not to mention the Federation of Light, which is secretly plotting.
The escape of Sagman and his companions is far from over. To achieve true safety, they must traverse the vast, Shattered Star Ring, a journey that will be incredibly difficult.
Upon hearing this, Han Xiao spoke up:
"I just hacked into the stargate's database and, following the trail, obtained the coordinate data for the other end of the stargate."
Tarrokov's eyes lit up.
"This will uproot the Arcane Church's secret stargate and make it easier for us to pinpoint their location. Black Star, well done!"
Han Xiao smiled, then turned to look at the battlefield where Heber and Motes were exchanging fierce attacks.
It's only a matter of time before Motes is captured.
Relieved, Han Xiao's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
This is the second Beyond Grade A prisoner captured by the Empire!
I wonder if the Arcane Church is satisfied with his return gift!
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Desolate Universe Belt outside the Shattered Star Ring, lies the secret stargate exit of the Arcane Church.
The disheveled Sagman and his three companions stared in silence at the stargate they had blown up.
Motes... didn't escape...
Sagman nearly ground his teeth to powder.
If the raid succeeds and Milizaus, Black Star, and Beoni are eliminated, the Empire will only have three Beyond Grade A members left in the Shattered World, allowing them to escape at will.
But now...
One wrong move and the whole game is lost!
Ninja hurriedly said, "Don't linger here. Black Star will definitely be able to track us down. Let's get out of here quickly."
Sagman snapped out of his daze, his face grim, and said, "Let's go. We must take the Scepter of All Gods back."
Having been Beyond Grade A for so long, they haven't experienced such a desperate situation in a long time!