The Legendary Mechanic, page 517
While dealing with the attacks, EsGod glanced at the fleet battlefield and frowned. He could see that his fleet was going to be wiped out.
As he had just confirmed, the Evolution Cube was not with Han Xiao. Therefore, to EsGod, there was no need to continue fighting. This place was too close to the dynasty’s border, and their reinforcements would reach very soon. Even he did not want to face tons of dynasty border guard armies. Even if he would eventually escape unharmed, he did not want to provoke the three civilizations too much.
If he killed too many the Crimson Dynasty men, the Crimson Dynasty might immediately gather a large army and march into the sensitive areas to pursue and eliminate the main Fallen Ark army. By then, it would be Clotti and the other two old dynasty b*stards he would have to face.
Although EsGod was not afraid of them himself, he would lose far more than just a fleet, so it was not worth it.
At this time, Han Xiao suddenly sent a psychic voice message and said with a deep voice, “You have a space swap Esper ability, so I’m guessing you never wanted to make a deal with me since the start, and this has always been a trap.”
EsGod blocked Ames’ force field then replied in a mocking tone.
“It’s true I have no credibility nor reputation, but this time, you’re wrong. I was indeed sincere. The Evolution Cube was the only hope to reach the higher territory in my eyes, but it isn’t anymore. I have seen a wider world! To me, the Evolution Cube is no longer my final target, just a tool that I want and not an absolute necessity. If you’re not willing to lend it to me, I really would not have done anything to you…”
A higher territory? Han Xiao wondered. EsGod was combining the clearly restricted Super High Risk Esper Abilities and taking in countless galactic wanted criminals to form the Fallen Ark. Everything he did was for stronger power—his motive was very straight forward.
“You want to be like the Primordial Ones, break through the limit of individual power and discover a new grade?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
“Hehe.” EsGod neither agreed nor denied it. Then, he suddenly changed the topic and said, “Speaking of which, I have to thank you. You made me see a new hope and changed my goal.”
“Thank me?” Han Xiao was confused.
“A few years ago, my doppelganger fought you in the Shattered Star Ring. It was toyed with by you and thrown into a wormhole,” EsGod said with a mysterious tone. “Sadly, you did not follow me through the wormhole. You have absolutely no idea what you’ve missed.”
Between the lines of his words, it was as if that event had turned out to be beneficial to him.
Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of insight and linked all the clues together. Shocked, he asked, “Was that why your people killed Harrofal?”
Back when the DarkStar leader returned to assassinate him, he had used an EsGod doppelganger. That was the first time he had come in contact with EsGod.
At that time, he had been no match for the EsGod doppelganger. He had used the wormhole environment around and worked together with a Mechanic who studied wormholes, Harrofal, leading the EsGod doppelganger into the wormhole and banishing it.
After that, EsGod had sent his subordinates to steal the Evolution Cube but killed Harrofal too. Han Xiao did not know the reason. This had happened a very long time ago, and he did not expect EsGod to bring it up. It seemed like there was something else to this.
“Harrofal?” EsGod paused, as if he finally remembered this name after thinking for some time. “Hmm, right, that’s his name, that guy who tricked my doppelganger together with you at that time. I obtained the data of that wormhole tunnel from him.”
Han Xiao was puzzled. EsGod said that he had seen the hope for the next stage. What did this guy see on the other side of the wormhole?
Did EsGod obtain the data for that particular wormhole tunnel so that he could locate the destination of that random teleportation and build a stable tunnel?
What did that wormhole lead to that was worthy of even EsGod putting in so much effort‽
Han Xiao was tempted to know, but EsGod had no interest in speaking about it. He suddenly teleported and escaped from the siege of the three of them, waving his hand. A teleportation gate appeared behind him.
From far away, EsGod’s sights stabbed Han Xiao like knives. From EsGod’s eyes, Han Xiao understood what he meant.
I’ll let you go this time, but we will have plenty of chances in the future to play again. The days are still long!
Their gazes clashed.
Then, EsGod took a step back and disappeared without a trace together with the teleportation gate.
“He retreated…”
Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. The mechanical army lost the target and stopped moving.
EsGod could not obtain the Evolution Cube this time, so he would most likely make more plans in the future. Han Xiao had no idea what methods EsGod would use in the future.
The two of them were now on completely opposite sides. However, this guy could not easily leave the Central Galaxy, so Han Xiao did not know when they would fight again.
Also, the wormhole that EsGod mentioned had piqued his curiosity.
Thinking of the strength that EsGod had showcased in this battle, Han Xiao felt a lot of pressure.
“He is the final boss of the Chaotic Evil Faction. I don’t have enough strength to fight him yet…”
Han Xiao felt a sense of pressure—he needed to become stronger.
Chapter 807. EsGod Character Summon Card: Esper Silence |
Though they kept their guard up a while longer, EsGod did not appear again.
“We forced him away?” Beyoni’s voice sounded in the communication channel filled with doubt and disbelief.
Ames looked at the fleet battlefield afar that was completely one-sided, shook her head, and said, “Does he not even want his fleet anymore?”
“They’re all wanted criminals. None are good,” Han Xiao said slowly. “Across the entire universe, new criminals are born every second and every minute. Countless people have sought protection from him. EsGod basically has an endless supply of manpower. How much will he care about the lives of his subordinates? If he did care, he would not have used his subordinates as bait.”
Without EsGod, this Fallen Ark fleet scattered and escaped in all directions. The dynasty’s troops chased right after them. The three of them did not do anything about those escaping battleships and returned to one of the sub-ships. Chasing those fleeing enemies was the dynasty’s troops’ task.
As the main ship had been destroyed by EsGod, Murraky had moved to this sub-ship to re-establish his command. As soon as the three of them entered the spaceship, they immediately saw the few soldiers who had been waiting beside the hatch all along.
“Y-Your Excellencies, the commander has invited the three of you to the bridge.” The soldier was a little nervous. All these soldiers on the spaceships witnessed the fight between the three of them and EsGod—they had a very clear idea of how strong these three were.
“So, now this guy’s willing to let us go to the command room?” Han Xiao laughed and walked at the front. The soldier quickly caught up and led the way.
When the three of them entered the command room at the bridge, Murraky was staring at the strategic map and talking nonstop, giving out orders to maximize the results of the battle. As he turned around and saw Han Xiao and the others walk in, his face turned respectful, and he hastily went to the three of them.
“Your Excellency Black Star, you saved my life, thank you! I’m very sorry about what happened before!” Murraky’s attitude was completely different from before, and he could not have been more respectful.
No matter how arrogant he was, he could not act that way to Black Star, who had saved his life.
Han Xiao looked at him with narrowed eyes and said indifferently, “You’re the commander. You can be arrogant, you can act all high and mighty, and you can have all kinds of problems… but you can’t forget your job. The battle has not ended, yet you left your commanding position and came to apologize to us? Putting it bluntly, no matter what attitude you have, it will never change the difference in position between you and us. Do you think we care about your apology?”
The command room became silent. The people around dared not make a sound.
Murraky shivered. His intention to apologize was sincere, but he never expected to receive such an uncompromising response. It was almost shameful. He could not help but feel somewhat wronged. However, with an awkward expression, he did not dare speak again and returned to his station to continue commanding the battle.
After Han Xiao finally left with an expressionless face, the people in the room finally dared to breathe freely.
The annoyance in Beyoni’s heart disappeared immediately. He patted Han Xiao’s shoulder and laughed. “Dynasty military officers like him don’t know how to respect the strong. That’ll teach him a lesson.”
Han Xiao glanced at him and shook his head in his mind. It was not Murraky’s attitude that he was unhappy about. If this was directed just toward him, he would have generously laughed it off. However, this did not just concern him. Ames was not an ally of the dynasty—she had helped him purely because she was kind enough to. Yet she was treated this way, so there was no way Han Xiao was just going to act as if nothing had happened.
Therefore, even though Murraky had gone to apologize sincerely, he still did not accept it at all and used the chance to teach him a lesson. Ames was not the dynasty’s ally, so she had no place to speak. Only he could help her vent her anger. Even though Ames had never requested him to do so, Han Xiao still did it.
Ames looked at Han Xiao with an interested look on her face. “Yo, this is the first time I’ve seen you show off your Beyond Grade A identity. Kiddo, has arrogance finally caught up to you?”
Han Xiao glanced at her and raised his brows. “Don’t tell me you didn’t like it.”
“Smart.” Ames laughed and shook her head. She softly poked Han Xiao’s cheek with her slender finger.
Han Xiao turned his head around with resignation, caught Ames’ hand, and pressed it down. “Your words were more than sufficient.”
They casually chatted about the battle earlier as they returned to the house. Han Xiao entered a room alone and closed the door after him. Now, he finally had the time to take a breather and recollect the battle earlier.
He had gained quite a lot from this test.
The goal on paper to take part in this elimination was to complete a mission and obtain Contribution Points, as well as to clarify his stand and draw an obvious line with EsGod.
One of the secret goals was to evaluate the combat capability of EsGod’s main body.
The Great Mechanic Han had a very clear idea of his own capabilities and knew that he was no match for EsGod at the moment, which was why he had hidden the Evolution Cube in advance. However, he was at least at the Beyond Grade A level just like EsGod, so he would not be too afraid and knew that he could at least fight EsGod.
Since EsGod was his enemy, while he had help, he wanted to test EsGod’s strength personally and feel their differences. This way, he would have a rough idea when facing EsGod in the future and would not be unprepared.
The test did give him a result—EsGod felt unfathomable, like a bottomless pit. Just seeing the tip of the iceberg had already given him a lot of pressure.
“Level, talents, and Ultimate Knowledges need to be obtained, and the mechanical army needs to be continuously expanded.” Han Xiao was planning ahead.
A Beyond Grade A Mechanic’s army could travel long distances without him having to be there. Other than his own abilities, he also had to increase the size and strength of his mechanical army. After he obtained the Ultimate Knowledge to activate [King’s Mentor], he would be able to enhance his mechanical army even further and make use of the Beyond Grade A Mechanic combat style.
The most important goal he had this time was to plant a ward on that guy.
EsGod had multiple abilities, but he was not a Mage. Even though the chances were slim, he had to try it. With this attitude, Han Xiao had secretly thrown an Observer’s Mark at EsGod during the battle. Sadly, EsGod had discovered it and shattered it instantly.
Han Xiao was not very regretful about this. It was a gamble to begin with. It would have been a great surprise if it worked, but he had been mentally prepared for it not to.
Ding.
At this time, the mission complete notification popped up on the interface.
“The battle has finally ended?”
He opened the interface and looked at the notifications.
_____________
[Dynasty Warfare: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] Completed!
The targets you have completed are: [Elite Minions], [Brave Warrior], [Scavenger]… [Facing EsGod I], [Facing EsGod II, [Facing EsGod III], [Facing EsGod IV].
Mission Rating: Unbelievable
You have received Unbelievable Mission Rating reward: Bonus 9,000,000,000 EXP, 2 Random Rewards
_____________
“That’s quite a lot of EXP.” Han Xiao was delighted. All missions that involved Beyond Grade As had very rich rewards. It was the same back when he fought Heber.
The total EXP reward for this mission was close to thirty billion! It was plenty even at his level. It mainly came from the reward involving EsGod, which he could complete easily but was extremely difficult for the players.
Scanning through the notifications, Han Xiao smiled. He had made a huge fortune this time. The Contribution Points for the Crimson Dynasty had reached more than eight thousand, more than enough to exchange for an Ultimate Knowledge.
Han Xiao saved the two Random Rewards before looking at the EsGod Character Summon Card reward from the [Facing EsGod IV] mission.
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Character Summon Card – EsGod: [Esper Ability—Esper Silence]—Through physical contact, suppress the Esper Genes of the target and forbid the target from using Esper Ability. Only effective against Espers. The Judgement success rate and the duration depends on the difference between the user and target in terms of Level, Energy Level, and Luck.
Minimum duration if effective: 0.25s
Usages: 0/2
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“Esper Silence?” Han Xiao recalled that this was the Esper Ability that EsGod had used on Beyoni.
EsGod had many abilities, and the Character Summon Card could only draw one. Luckily, this Esper Ability was quite useful, thanks to him touching Feidin before the battle.
Han Xiao pondered. The ability of this Character Summon Card just so happened to counter EsGod, which was an unexpected surprise. However, the difference in the various attributes between him and EsGod was quite large, so it was almost impossible for the Judgement to succeed.
Maybe when his level caught up to EsGod, this Character Summon Card would be effective on him.
Han Xiao kept this Character Summon Card as a trump card.
“Now that I’ve drawn the line clearly with EsGod, the goal for this trip is achieved… I shall exchange for Ultimate Knowledge later on and rendezvous with the army, as well as make contact with the Constellation Corridor players.”
One of the two goals he had for this Central Galaxy trip was now completed, and Han Xiao had already planned for what to do next.
“One more thing…”
He was rather concerned with the wormhole EsGod mentioned and wanted to know what EsGod was planning.
“When I return to the Shattered Star Ring, I have to find the time to visit Harrofal’s civilization and see if I can get the data for that wormhole travel. I have to find out why EsGod was looking for that set of data…”
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
He had an intuitive feeling that this was not simple. It might be a surprise…
…
In the other room, Beyoni opened his communicator and called Clotti’s number.
The communication was picked up very soon.
Du…
“Clotti, the battle here has ended.”
“How was it?” Clotti asked.
“We met EsGod’s main body…” Beyoni described the whole thing.
Clotti nodded and said, “This means that EsGod did indeed contact Black Star before, but Black Star did not agree, hmm… There is the possibility that they’re putting on a show. Anyhow, good work, I will report this to Her Excellency.”
“It didn’t look fake.” Beyoni spoke for Han Xiao. “I feel that Black Star knew that the dynasty had some doubts about him, and this was to express his stand to gain the dynasty’s trust. After all, he’s a new Beyond Grade A ally of the dynasty. Even if there are doubts, it won’t be publicized. It’s impossible to interrogate someone like him, so he needed to do this.”
Clotti did not comment about it. He was only responsible for reporting; the final judgment depended on Urranrell.
“By the way, Black Star asked me about the Mechanic Empire,” Beyoni suddenly said.
“That’s normal.” Clotti shook his head.
After a few more words, Beyoni hung up the communication and exhaled flame sparkles from his mouth.
Not only was he close to the military’s Youngsters Faction, but he was also a confidant of the Ruler. During this trip with Han Xiao, not only was he building a closer relationship with Han Xiao, but he was also secretly told by Urranrell to keep an eye on Black Star’s actions.
…
In the Central Galaxy’s desolate universe belt very far from the battlefield, another Fallen Ark fleet was hidden.
A space vortex shaped teleportation gate appeared above the fleet, and EsGod walked out of it.
The main ship opened its hatch and welcomed EsGod onboard.
As he returned to the main ship’s hall, the people on standby there stood up and greeted him.
“Your Excellency EsGod!”
“Boss!”
EsGod ignored them and walked to his throne. He sat down and glanced over the people below him. “How’s the research progress?”
