The Legendary Mechanic, page 609
After two years of digestion, the Black Star Army had stabilized, and there were a few more satellite fortresses around the headquarters to hold the new members of the army.
After returning to his office, Sylvia came to find him.
“Teacher, many people are asking me when Black Star’s Party will be held this year.”
Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “How about in a few months? We can start to issue the invites already.”
The Black Star Army had already held two banquets to invite all those in cooperation with him to use the Evolution Cube. The banquet was becoming more and more solemn and influential. Many organizations were hoping to make use of this opportunity to build relationships with higher grade civilizations, and it was called Black Star’s Party. It was in a competitive relationship with the Tyrant’s Party.
The Evolution Cube did not only bring them money but gave the Black Star Army an opportunity to expand into other fields. The army had a powerful brand image, and there were few organizations in the Star Field that could compete with the army.
The benefits of the Evolutionary Totem created a snowball effect that allowed the Black Star Army to strengthen itself greatly. After two years of digestion, the operations of the Black Star Army had stabilized, and they were starting to look a bit more like a financial group.
Because of the Evolutionary Totem, there were more and more parties working together with the Black Star Army. The influence of the Black Star’s Party grew, and they were gradually becoming a new faction.
If he released the restriction on the Evolutionary Totems, the profits obtained would increase many times over, but the pressure would also increase. Han Xiao was still satisfied with the current situation. The business pressure of the Evolutionary Totem was on the dynasty, and the army could avoid more than ninety percent of the risk.
“Alright, I shall go and prepare the invitations. There is something else. An organization that isn’t cooperating with us wishes to participate in the Black Star’s Party.”
“The Black Star’s Party will only invite those cooperating with us, and we can reject everyone else. This is a rule that we set a long time ago. Why are you bringing this matter up now?”
“Because the other party is a bigshot, so I cannot make the decision. Thus, I came to seek your opinion.”
Han Xiao raised his brows, a little interested. “Who is the other party?”
“The Limitless Financial Group.”
Upon hearing that, Han Xiao paused and fell into deep thought.
Sorokin’s Limitless Financial Group?
Both parties had some conflicts before. Sorokin had once sent his subsidiary organization to probe the players of the army and had been warned by Han Xiao. It had been more than two years since then, so who knew what kind of objective the other party had for suddenly participating in his Black Star’s Party?
“What’s their reason?” Han Xiao asked.
“The Limitless Financial Group wishes to have business cooperation with our army and says that it is related to the Flickering World. They know that the dynasty will grant their allies some territory and want to work together with us.”
“I see. That is reasonable,” Han Xiao said.
Although the galactic financial groups could not be the first batch to enjoy the benefits of the Flickering World, their shadows could be seen in the future development plans.
The benefits of a new Star Field were extremely rich. Did the Limitless Financial Group want to seize the initiative?
Although the reason was believable, Han Xiao was still wary of the Limitless Financial Group because of their previous conflict.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “Send them an invitation if that’s the case. Tell them that I want to make use of this opportunity to meet Sorokin.”
The Pro League would finish in a few months, and Han Xiao was not afraid of the Limitless Financial Group creating any trouble.
Meeting the other party would be beneficial to him.
“Understood. I will take care of it.” Sylvia nodded and left the room.
Han Xiao then poured himself an alcoholic beverage and drank while going about his business.
He managed to find the time to open the forums after a while.
Today was the first round of the International Finals, which was a best of five competition. The first round was Rivervale against Tomahawk, and the viewership rates of the match set a new record again.
With three Chinese teams making it into the top eight, the players from the Shattered Star Ring were all extremely excited. The way they saw it, if Dynasty, Long Sky, and Rivervale were all able to win the first round, there would be three Chinese teams in the top four!
At the same time, a portion of the players who did not think highly of the Chinese teams could not help but retort that all the three teams might end up losing in the first round, and not a single team would be able to enter into the top four.
At the finals, all the teams would no longer hide their trump cards, and the competition would be even more intense than before. Han Xiao was also pretty curious about the ranks that the Chinese teams could achieve this round.
Chapter 917. Indestructible Body ! |
The Rivervale and Tomahawk teams entered a jungle-covered planet for their battlefield.
The trees were as tall as the clouds and covered the skies. Only a bit of light could penetrate through the densely packed leaves.
Both teams appeared in different parts of the jungle, and the spectators could switch to different viewpoints of the players and teams.
“Good luck, Rivervale! Get rid of Tomahawk!”
“First place vs eighth place. Easy game.”
“Go Maple Moon!”
The format of the finals was best of five, and they had to fight five matches every round. The five rounds were team fight, arena battle, capture the flag, dungeon competition, and dungeon generation.
The countdown of one minute came to an end, and the first round of the finals began. The two teams immediately sprang into action. Maple Moon from Rivervale threw out a compressed orb, which transformed into a pagoda-like base station. It was used to prevent the enemy from detecting their whereabouts and also to confuse the enemy. The logo of the Black Star Army was shining on the base station. It was a product of the Black Star Army, and the quality was guaranteed.
On the other side, Tomahawk had also begun hiding their whereabouts, but they used a magical tool instead. The leader of Tomahawk, Captain Viking, took out a black, magical scroll with golden inscriptions shining on it. He then tore the scroll apart, and a dense magical energy flowed out of it to cover the entire Tomahawk team.
“Eh, isn’t this a sovereign mage scroll?” Han Xiao was also viewing the battle on the forums and raised his brows upon seeing that.
The materials used to craft such a magical scroll were extremely rare, and it was capable of storing even more powerful magic. It needed to be crafted by hand, and Han Xiao had seen Lagi craft one before. A grandmaster-level spell would be engraved on the scroll at the very least, and it was an expensive item. Tomahawk was obviously extremely rich for them to use such a scroll to carve a concealment spell.
“Now that it’s the finals, all the teams are bringing out their trump cards,” Han Xiao said with interest.
None of the teams would hold anything back in the International Finals and would go all out. Such a situation would only bring about more variables in the battles. The strength of the various teams would undergo a huge change, and it would be difficult to use a team’s previous performance to estimate their strength.
Different strategies would have to be crafted based on the field that they were battling in. Since they were in a dense jungle, it was important for them to conceal themselves and be the first to detect the enemy.
After concealing their own locations, both teams started to search for the enemy. Rivervale made use of a multi elemental radar while Tomahawk made use of a magic incantation that had many different aura detecting spells. Because of their culture, Tomahawk preferred to use magic instead.
Both parties moved forward slowly, and the atmosphere grew more and more tense as the seconds ticked by. A Chinese commentator then began describing the battle on the forums.
“Alright, both teams have already entered the battlefield. We can see that the mini map is split into sixteen regions. The top left corner region is A1, and the bottom right is D4. The columns shall be numbered one to four while the rows are lettered A to D. Rivervale is currently at A3, which is at the top of the map, while Tomahawk is at C1, which is at the bottom left side of the map. Let’s see what routes they will choose. Oh! Indeed, both parties have used flying devices!”
One of the Tomahawk members belonged to the bird race, and he spread his wings to fly in the sky. On the other side, Maple Moon threw up a few compressed orbs into the sky, which transformed into floating soldiers, patrolling the air at high speed.
To the players at the current stage, flying was extremely easy. However, because of the trees blocking them, flying did not give them much of an advantage.
With the compression technology, it was far easier to bring along machines, and the deployment speed of a Mechanic also increased greatly. In the previous version, it would be impossible for Maple Moon to bring a few dozen different machines or easily deploy her machines with a wave of her arms.
The flying troops of both parties discovered each other very quickly, and the member from Tomahawk easily destroyed the floating mechanical soldiers, which did not have any Mechanical Force boost.
The commentator immediately exclaimed, “Oh! Both parties engaged in a short, intense battle! Let’s take a look at what both parties will do next. It seems like Tomahawk has chosen to use a long-range raid strategy and are charging toward the location of their scout. What about Rivervale? Eh, they seem to have grasped the enemy’s location and are currently going around in circles! Player Maple Moon had set up a large number of mines and mechanical traps along the way. She is trying to make the entire battlefield into her own territory! As long as a Mechanic is given enough time, she would be able to expand her geographical advantage. Tomahawk is currently on the passive side…”
The strategies of Rivervale revolved around the Mechanic class, and their own captain, Frenzied Sword, was a Mechanical Pugilist. After Maple Moon joined them, their strategies became even sneakier.
Tomahawk was very quickly hit, and they stepped on the mines that Maple Moon had planted.
After a series of explosions, a sea of flames engulfed the forest. Not to mention anything else, in terms of destructiveness alone, the Mechanic Class was the undeniable number one!
With the other party stepping into the trap, Rivervale no longer remained hidden and changed their route for a head on assault. The members of Tomahawk all had magical armor, but compared to the products of the army, their magical armor was on the losing end.
Frenzied Sword brandished his blade and sliced through the enemy formation. Their team then took down Tomahawk after paying the price of two members and claimed their first victory.
The Chinese players were all in a good mood after the victory.
“Haha, didn’t I say so? Rivervale was definitely going to suppress Tomahawk. Their position in the Regular Season isn’t just for show.”
“The members of Tomahawk have experienced it personally.”
“With little sis Maple Moon joining in, Rivervale is much stronger than before.”
“Little sis is truly powerful. She has character but is still gentle. I am now a die-hard fan of hers! When will she be coming out with an album?”
“Aunty Rainy Kim is already an old lady. She isn’t as young or pretty as little sis Maple Moon. I’m sorry, but I am going to change my taste. It isn’t that you aren’t good enough, but my sights are just set too high.”
“Forgetting about your old wife after finding a new mistress!”
Amid the chattering of the audiences, both teams took a short break and started the arena battle. Tomahawk sent out an ordinary player to probe the enemy team, but Rivervale had actually sent out Frenzied Sword as their first player.
After winning the team battle, their captain was appearing first in the arena, and they obviously intended to suppress the other party in terms of aura. The players could feel Rivervale’s confidence from their arrangements.
The commentator immediately fired off rapidly like a machine gun.
“Rivervale’s captain, Frenzied Sword, requested to fight in the first battle of the arena. Although he didn’t manage to enter the top sixteen for the singles, he was ranked eighteenth in the International Regulars. He may have been able to enter the finals if he was just a little luckier. Let’s watch the battle now… Oh, just as I expected! Frenzied Sword easily ended his opponent. A Mechanical Pugilist has the advantages of both a Mechanic and Pugilist, and this Class has a huge advantage in this season.”
Frenzied Sword fought the enemy head on without dodging or hiding. He threw out a bunch of compressed orbs to form various mechanical traps so that his opponent’s path would be restricted. The control ability of a Mechanical Pugilist was far higher than that of a normal Pugilist.
After easily approaching the enemy, Frenzied Sword unleashed a flurry of attacks and decimated his enemy’s health in less than a minute.
He was both powerful and handsome. Although he was no longer a Pugilist, Frenzied Sword was still as elegant as before.
Tomahawk could no longer sit still, and Captain Viking came out next. It was a captain versus captain fight.
Captain Viking was a Pugilist, and he took off his heavy armor to activate all his buffs from an armorless state. Magical inscriptions could be seen all over his body to provide him with defense and recovery.
“Roar! Fresh blood and glory!” Captain Viking let out a crazed roar.
Frenzied Sword stood opposite him and had a speechless look on his face.
“He is a Pugilist indeed. His shamelessness resistance is truly high…”
Right at this moment, a muscular figure could be seen behind Captain Viking, and it disappeared in a flash. Following which, Captain Viking’s muscles began to balloon up, and the Pugilist flames on his body exploded.
A new buff could be seen on his status panel. Captain Viking made use of a Character Summon Card!
The commentator then gasped. “Berserk from the Clan of Glory. +50% Close Ranged Damage, +30% Physical Resistance, +400 STR, +200 DEX, +20% Health, +40% Movement Speed, and an additional 300 Frost Damage for every attack. It actually lasts for thirty minutes! This Character Summon Card is so powerful!”
The chat immediately exploded with comments.
“The other party used a Character Summon Card. Victory is now up in the air.”
“Let’s see if Frenzied Sword has a powerful Character Summon Card. If he doesn’t, he will probably be screwed.”
A Character Summon Card was extremely rare, and it was even more difficult to obtain a Character Summon Card of a powerful character. All professional players treated them as their trump cards. Now that they were in the finals, none of them would hold such a trump card back.
There was only a single region that had the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution], so it was reasonable for it to be banned. However, a Character Summon Card was different, and every player had a chance of obtaining one. Thus, it was not banned, but there were some limitations.
The effects of the Character Summon Card could not be carried on to the next round. Even if Captain Viking achieved a complete victory in the arena with the effects of the Character Summon Card not ending, his status would have to be refreshed, and he would not be able to carry on the effects to the ‘capture the flag’ battle.
The Character Summon Cards that the professional players had were rare, and it was a feature that made the battle more interesting for the ordinary players. Such a rule provided greater excitement to the battle while reducing the influence of the Character Summon Card to the competition.
After all, there were fifteen rounds at the very least, and a Character Summon Card was untradable. It would be considered a skill if one could take out fifteen overpowered Character Summon Cards.
Upon witnessing the opponent’s changes, Frenzied Sword also activated a Character Summon Card.
A suave appearance then appeared behind him, and everyone squealed as they recognized the figure.
“Woah! It’s Black Star!”
“It’s here, it’s here! Just as I was saying, how could Frenzied Sword not have a Character Summon Card!”
“I remember Frenzied Sword using a Black Star Character Summon Card in the previous season as well.”
“Black Star is now a Beyond Grade A. Will the effects be the same?”
The players all became excited. They were only able to see question marks when viewing Han Xiao’s interface and only had an estimate of Han Xiao’s strength through the dungeons. Thus, they were truly curious about his strength.
A new buff could then be seen on Frenzied Sword’s status panel.
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Character Summon Card – Black Star: [Indestructible Body]—You are immune to and will absorb 25% of all damage. 60% of the remaining damage will be converted into energy, and you can convert energy to health at the ratio of 1:9. You can recover a maximum of 35% of your health every second.
Duration: 10 minutes
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Upon seeing the effects of the Character Summon Card, everyone exploded with excitement.
“WTF! What kind of perverse ability is this‽”
“No wonder Black Star has such a nickname in the universe…”
All the players were dumbfounded.
Although the Character Summon Card that Captain Viking used was powerful, it was still acceptable. However, the effect of the Black Star Character Summon Card was completely out of their understanding, and the spectators were shocked!
Was this the strength of a Beyond Grade A? Just a single ability of his was so frightening!
His damage was high, he had many minions, and he still had such thick skin…
