The Legendary Mechanic, page 127
Between LV 20 to 40 was the time when PVP was most popular. PVP between players could be seen all around the sanctuary, and it negatively impacted the security measures.
Han Xiao immediately gave an order that sparring was not allowed in the safe areas within the sanctuary, but they could go to the ruins if they wanted to fight each other, and no one would care. If they went there, they might even help to demolish the old buildings.
Only a safe area could be considered as a main city.
The two pro players finally stopped after a long fight, with Frenzied Sword at a slight loss.
It was normal in the early stages for a Mechanical Pugilist to lose to a Pugilist that specialized in close range combat. They would have their own specialties once their level was higher.
In the hundred or so times they sparred, Frenzied Sword did not win even once, but Hao Tian did not look down on Frenzied Sword because of that. Rather, he was shocked.
“You have a lot of potential, very suitable to battle in the pro scene,” Hao Tian encouraged. Hao Tian believed in Frenzied Sword. Being able to fight against an extremely experienced god player like himself was a clear indication that Frenzied Sword had a lot of potential. Furthermore, Frenzied Sword was still relatively new to E-Sports.
Although Hao Tian was cold, it was because he focused on honing his gaming skills. He would always be joyful upon meeting players that were highly skilled, and he felt a sense of similarity toward Frenzied Sword.
Frenzied Sword scratched his head. Not only was he not frustrated by losing to God Hao at all, he had actually learned a lot of techniques and felt more controlled during combat. He noticed that he did indeed have a lot of potential in close range combat. Han Xiao had made a very accurate deduction and given him the right advice.
The weapons that Frenzied Sword was using were called Leopard Mechanical Claws. It was a cold weapon blueprint that Han Xiao had received from fusing knowledge.
Leopard Mechanical Claws were similar to the mechanical arms. They had an exoskeleton structure that covered the forearms, and the various finger parts were equipped with claw-like blades. Through the activation of the gears within, the blades would spin rapidly, which could easily cut through metal plates that are one centimeter thick.
Han Xiao had built this equipment especially for Frenzied Sword. Frenzied Sword was the first player to follow him, and they had known each other since the closed beta, being rather reliable the whole time. Han Xiao had made plans for Frenzied Sword’s Mechanical Pugilist path—Leopard Mechanical Claws were suitable for Frenzied Sword at the current levels, and they had even stronger power than the light mechanical arms at close range.
Once Frenzied Sword was at a higher level, Han Xiao planned to build Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor for Frenzied Sword. Such equipment would make Frenzied Sword stand at the top of the players, and Frenzied Sword would be able to do more things for him once he was stronger.
Hao Tian was a Pugilist. Han Xiao did not have any arrangements for him, letting him go with the flow.
Maple Moon had chosen to become a Mechanic, and she was very interested in building. She even did missions for Emerald Grass and wanted to advance class into a Pharmacist. She also offered to take over the missions to take care of Bear Cub, which saved Hao Tian from hell. In fact, she was walking Bear Cub at that moment.
As for Bun-hit-dog… Han Xiao had very low requirements for him. Reports just had to be able to run fast.
Bun-hit-dog had released another video recently that introduced Sanctuary Three. It had received quite good feedback on the forums, and he deserved part of the credit for contributing to the sanctuary’s reputation.
In recent days, the pro players that accepted the hidden storyline missions from Han Xiao had completed their missions one by one. Han Xiao had noticed a few suitable candidates and placed them onto his possible spare tire list. Han Xiao had no plans to expand his spare tire team temporarily—his resources were just right for four players. There would be some trouble if there were more.
Ding dong.
While Han Xiao sat causally under the sun, a message appeared on the laptop on his lap.
Han Xiao moved his fingers and clicked open the message. Instantly, he sat straight up, and his expression became very serious.
It was a very short message, but it signified the beginning of a storm.
“The Six Nations have started their expedition!”
Chapter 232. Planet Aquamarine War! |
In the four lands of Planet Aquamarine, the Six Nations controlled the Southern, Northern, and Western Continents. The land of Andrea in the middle had once been the main battlefield of the old era, and it was heavily polluted, filled with radiation, desertified, and abandoned. The Germinal Organization had occupied it and made it into their headquarters.
The intelligence about the Germinal Organization that Han Xiao had sold half a year ago had shocked the Six Nations, and the bases that the Germinal Organization had operated for years had all been destroyed. The Germinal Organization had been using these bases to threaten the Six Nations all these years, and now that they had been destroyed, the Six Nations had nothing to fear anymore. So, they finally decided to make the Germinal Organization pay.
The expedition began.
A war did not start out of nowhere, especially one that involved almost the entire planet. The fires of war would only start once the military power and resources had arrived at the battlefield.
After a few months of preparation, the expedition finally started on Galaxy Calendar year 688, 16 September.
More than a dozen large navy divisions left their military port simultaneously. With the carrier as the core, countless escort ships and destroyers with tens of thousands of soldiers on board marched forward.
The Six Nations have discussed the strategic layout for their joint combat. The General Commander for the Navy was Lin Lin from Raylen, a pure soldier without any political biases, experienced and steady, the person that was agreed by all the highest ranked officials of the Six Nations. Lin Lin commanded the navy to attack Andrea from various directions for a full invasion.
The Germinal Organization had also planted defensive measures and military power along the coastline with the navy and air force to protect their control of the coastlines.
The first wave of battle was missiles.
The Germinal Organization engaged first and sent out their long-range missiles, wanting to destroy the Six Nations’ navy before they entered their vision range. However, the missiles were destroyed midair by the anti-missile systems of the aircraft carriers. The aircraft carriers returned the favor and fired missiles back at Andrea. Similarly, the Germinal Organization was saved by their land-based anti-missile devices.
Firing missiles at each other did not have any results, so the direction of the battle still depended on the results of real combat.
The fleets engaged each other violently on the seas of Andrea. The two armies fought against each other, explosions erupted continuously on one battleship after another, and there were ships sinking all the time.
Although the main focus of large battlefields was the various war machines, the impact of superhumans could not be ignored. Without precautions, a strong superhuman could slaughter an entire ship of soldiers and destroy a battleship from the inside single-handedly. The existence of superhumans brought a lot of uncertainties to the battlefield, but luckily, the power difference between the Germinal Organization’s executive officers and Six Nations’ superhumans was not very large—they both suffered wounds and restrained each other.
As the main storyline of the great war had been brought forward because of Han Xiao, the players that joined the expedition missions could only watch and did not have much of a chance to join in with the sea battle.
Their level was way too low. They would not have had any impact if they engaged; they would only have died.
The navy commander on the Germinal Organization’s side was a high ranked sea battle commander of a long dead nation. The fleet of the Germinal Organization was fierce like wolves under his control, but the Six Nations held their ground very firmly like they clearly knew the Germinal Organization’s strategies. Thus, the Germinal Organization’s fleet suffered huge losses.
On the southern battlefield, Stardragon’s ‘Long Star’ and ‘Flying Dragon’ fleet tore the Germinal Organization’s formation open. Hesla’s ‘Scorching Sun’, ‘Plundering Bird’, and ‘Sharp Spear’ fleets headed straight in and destroyed the islands that provided resources to the Germinal Organization’s fleets. The other four nations also had their own strategies on their side of the battlefield.
Han Xiao had given a lot of information to Stardragon before the war started, and the Six Nations had an advantage because of this information.
It was because of Han Xiao’s intelligence that they could take the lead in the battle, and the high ranked officials of the nations did not forget that.
The navy commander of the Germinal Organization’s ship was sunk during the sea battle. The cannons had turned him into pieces, and the vice commander, Anther, immediately took over as commander.
In the face of the Six Nations’ siege, Anther could not stand his ground and lost a large area of the sea within just three days, eventually giving up the coastline control and moving the troops back to the land for defense. The Germinal Organization was going to use their home advantage in Andrea to fight against the Six Nations.
After gaining control of the coastline, the Six Nations locked down the seas nearby. The fleets surrounding Andrea were equipped with pervasive sonar detectors that prevented the submarine attack or escapes. Like a huge net, the entire land of Andrea was surrounded. The Germinal Organization had nowhere to flee to.
The aircraft carriers became moving air force bases and challenged the Germinal Organization’s control of the sky as they fought against the Germinal Organization’s air forces. Nuclear bombs were the last resort, and they would not be used unless there was no other choice.
The transport ships dropped off the ground troops on the coastline.
The ground troops of the Six Nations had finally put their feet on Andrea.
The ground war had started.
The result of the ground battle could largely impact the ending result of the war, and according to the intelligence provided by Han Xiao, they just had to destroy these military bases that were equipped with anti-missile devices. Then, their aircraft carriers would be able to fire missiles and utilize their destructive powers. The Germinal Organization would soon be defeated.
Without anywhere to flee, the Germinal Organization would only lose more territory as the war went on, and their only ending would be death. If the Germinal Organization wanted to change the situation, they had to think of other ways. The commanders of the Six Nations were sure that the Germinal Organization had hidden strategies, and they were both trying to figure out each other’s aces.
Anyone could see that the Germinal Organization was at a huge disadvantage. The Six Nations held councils of war internally many times and came to a conclusion that the Germinal Organization had close to no chance of winning. The only thing that they had to be cautious of was the ‘Hand of Death’ system that Han Xiao had told them of, the Germinal Organization’s last resort.
To get rid of nuclear threats, the Six Nations sent special agents and infiltrated the various military bases that controlled nuclear weapons according to Han Xiao.
…
In the Germinal Organization’s explosion-proof, underground headquarters, the situation of the war was being presented to the leader.
The high ranked officials of the Germinal Organization were depressed. It was only the start of the war, yet the situation had been continuously heading toward their loss. The Germinal Organization indeed had no chance against the Six Nations on paper, but they still had certain strategies, which should have had a surprising impact on the ground war.
In Han Xiao’s previous life, the Germinal Organization and Six Nations had been on par during the start of the war. The Germinal Organization had been able to divert the Six Nations’ attention with their bases across the continents. Their military power on the actual battlefield had been nearly equal.
But now, the Germinal Organization had been wounded by Han Xiao—victory seemed to have favored the Six Nations so much that there was close to no chance of changing it. The situation was completely different to his previous life.
All of this was the impact from a tiny butterfly, Han Xiao!
Nobody knew how they could win the war, but the calmness on the leader’s face made everyone believe he had a way.
“Port of Holm, Aviary, and Temefa… all of the thirteen ports are lost. The Six Nations have been sending their ground troops to the shores non-stop. From the North, Raylen and Theseus are attacking the Sunset Valley base and Black Tree base. If these bases are lost, we will lose part of the missile launchers. The other four nations are pushing in steadily, and the guarding division lead by Bark and Mu Haishan had been defeated. They are marching toward the important bases. The goal of the enemy is very clear; they are aiming at our bases equipped with missile launchers and anti-missile devices. They even know the detailed information of these bases. They definitely have very key intelligence of ours,” the commander reported with sweat all over his head.
“It’s Zero,” the leader said so calmly that it was almost scary. He was used to it.
This result further proved his speculation of Han Xiao having predicting abilities. Zero would always be the biggest threat to the organization as long as he was alive. Intelligence would only be useful when there was enough power to make use of it, and unluckily for them, Zero danced between the Six Nations and used their power.
Unfortunately, the Germinal Organization could not do anything about it. Zero was like a mouse that was always hiding. They could only hope that the prediction from Destiny’s Child would be true, and Zero would come to the headquarters. The leader had countless men surrounding the headquarters—he just had to give the order, and an enormous encirclement that extended more than a thousand miles would be formed.
Nothing was overkill in order to capture Zero.
Zero’s strength was not to be taken very seriously, but there was a very high possibility that he would bring a lot of help along, and the leader was confident that no matter how much help Zero would bring along, the only ending for them would be death under this huge trap that he had planned.
As for whether or not Zero’s predictive power could predict these traps he had set, the leader had run a small experiment to test it. He had mixed up some of the military strategies and noticed that the Six Nations were unaware of these changes. From that, he knew that Han Xiao’s ‘prediction’ had limitations, or at least, it was not completely accurate. Thus, the leader had no choice but to believe in Destiny’s Child.
As a passive party, he could only wait.
The leader slammed the table with his gloved fist and said very coldly under his mask, “We would only have a chance at victory if we kill Zero.”
Chapter 233. Level 60! |
The impact that the war had was very huge. Other than Andrea being in the flames of war, organizations all over Planet Aquamarine had their own reactions, and most of the civilians were terrified.
As Han Xiao had said in the speech that he stole from Bennett, the scars of the old era had yet to heal, but they were torn open with blood and awakened the lingering fear within people’s mind. All the high-positioned people of the society were paying a lot of attention to the war, and the lower-class people were affected as well. The goal that the Germinal Organization was promoting was to overthrow the Six Nations, and there were many remnants of dead countries all over the world that had mixed feelings.
At the same time, the brutality of war seemed infectious. Violence occurred more often everywhere around the world; robbers in the wild became more active due to the chaotic situation of the world, forcing wanderers to mass migrate. However, this was rather beneficial to the Dark Net. The sanctuary plan proved its use—all of the sanctuaries attracted a wave of residents.
Other than the Southern Continent, the players in the Western Continent and the Sanctuary that did not join the sanctuary missions had also acquired other benefits. Missions were plenty in the chaotic world, which satisfied the players’ needs.
…
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[Fall of the Germinal] current progress: 27.1%.
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The entire world was paying attention to the battle, and the Dark Net was no exception. Han Xiao, who was in Sanctuary Three, far away from the battle, was also paying attention to the information continuously. He had two sources of intelligence, one being the battle situation intelligence collected by the Dark Net, the other being the battle videos on the forums shared by the players.
It had been more than ten days since the war started. The situation kept changing. The progress of Han Xiao’s Germinal Organization main storyline that had been stagnant for a very long time suddenly shot up five percent, and it was still growing.
He shared intelligence with the Six Nations, which meant that he had contributed indirectly to the Six Nations’ achievements. Therefore, he could share a part of the overall progress.
Flames of the war filled the skies far away. Han Xiao watched the flames from Sanctuary Three, and the basic layout of Sanctuary Three was also being completed in the meantime.
The players were joyful. They were filled with pride and a sense of achievement. This was a city that they had built, and they felt a sense of belonging toward it.
Compared to the joyful players, the residents in the sanctuary were feeling down because of the atmosphere of the war. The sanctuary reaching its completion brought them some safety, but they were still mostly worried and afraid of the future.
