The Legendary Mechanic, page 975
Hearing this, fear flashed in everyone’s eyes, and they fell silent.
Pangon glanced at them and continued smoking, no longer bothering to speak. This was both sincere and an excuse. In all fairness, although the invasion of foreign enemies was a good opportunity to shake the three Universal Civilizations, Pangon did not wish to use this opportunity. One reason was because of Black Star’s threat, and the other was because of the Holy Accord.
After all, this was the hometown of Oathkeeper and his many Holy Accord companions. The fact that he was able to revive meant that he owed the Holy Accord a huge favor. At the same time, he also obtained his freedom. Now that some old friends were fighting against foreign enemies, he was not willing to drag his friends down.
Although he had decided to devote his life to revenge, he did not want to lose his loyalty.
The invasion of foreign enemies might be the only chance to destroy the three Universal Civilizations, but Pangon did not regret abandoning this route. He firmly believed that there would be another way.
The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree were still engaged in a tug-of-war on the frontlines. After a while, as the first batch of special observation devices was released, the stalemate between the two sides was finally broken. The beyond visual range detection technology from the Ultimate Civilization of a previous iteration broke through the camouflage of the World Tree strongholds one after another and marked the entire camp on the radar. It was almost like they had poked through the fog of war and finally got back the initiative.
The entire intercepting command center was in high spirits, and they immediately organized a large number of players to form the Spacetime Splicing Army. They split up into tens of thousands of troops and headed toward all the camps in an attempt to wipe out all the enemy strongholds. The beyond visual range camps that were helping each other were quickly destroyed, and the hidden strongholds were caught off guard. Under the players’ fearless Spacetime Splicing Charge, the World Tree’s camps were destroyed one after another. The large number of ‘nails’ that the World Tree planted near the intercepting circle were removed.
After more than half a month of intense battle, the World Tree finally gave up on their Over-the-horizon camp tactic that had lost its effect. It no longer sent out new strongholds, allowing the three Universal Civilizations to clear the obstacles in expanding the intercepting circle and anchoring the orbit.
Without any obstruction, the speed of the space anchor’s expansion was quickly thawed and it flowed out quickly, continuing to push the World Tree’s jump point away from the intercepting circle.
In the next few months, the frequency of the clashes between the two armies increased, and the battle became more intense.
During this time, the World Tree launched two more assaults, and the fleet was tens of billions in size, triggering two large-scale battles.
The two battles had been fought by the army, and the World Tree did not send out any high-level combatants. It was purely to exhaust the three Universal Civilizations’ forces. It seemed like before they find a way to restrain Aurora, the World Tree would not allow their advanced combatants to participate in the battle. Furthermore, the experts who died the last time had not all revived, so they could not enter the battlefield.
Although the World Tree replenishment fleet and combatants would also consume resources, due to the World Tree’s characteristics—their resource utilization, resource development, resource regeneration, and resource reserves far exceeded the three Universal Civilizations. They had a huge advantage, and with both sides quickly mobilizing their troops, the World Tree planned to fight the three Universal Civilizations to exhaust their national strength.
Many Beyond Grade As had participated in these two large-scale battles. With Aurora’s help and the fact that the World Tree did not send any Beyond Grade As, the two battles had not been so dangerous, and no one had died yet.
Within a few months, Han Xiao had also provided some of the war technology that The First Sanctum had stored. He had manufactured the products in batches and allocated them to multiple troops, which had a significant effect on the army. This reduced the damage of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets by quite a bit, and they were able to defeat the World Tree’s assault troops at a lower cost.
The surveillance channels of Destiny’s Child also discovered the signs of these two assaults in advance, which made the three Universal Civilizations wary, further reducing their losses.
With the special beyond vision detection devices provided by Han Xiao, the surveillance range and strength of the three Universal Civilizations had undergone a qualitative change. Even without Destiny’s Child, they were able to discover most of the World Tree’s actions near the intercepting circle. This important technology allowed the three Universal Civilizations to change parts of their strategy, and they no longer felt troubled because of their weakness in detection.
As such, the three Universal Civilizations also looked up at Han Xiao with more importance. They wanted Han Xiao to stay at the base and not participate in any battles, not allowing him to face any danger.
Black Star took out strategic technology one after another as if they were free, and almost every single one of them had the qualifications to be the trump card of an advanced civilization. This shocked the research departments of the three organizations, and they felt that Black Star’s research ability alone was more amazing than their entire department.
While the three Universal Civilizations managed to defeat the two waves of attacks with brute force, their intercepting circle and the space anchor orbit were both destroyed during the advance of the World Tree fleet, and the expansion was indirectly stopped.
Ever since the war broke out more than half a year ago, the two sides had been facing each other in this meat grinder. The World Tree had always been blocked outside and could not break through the blockade. It was as if they had finally exhausted their patience after all this time, as Destiny’s Child had captured important intelligence through the surveillance channels-showing that the World Tree Civilization was mobilizing troops in the territory and planning a new attack.
This was the World Tree’s biggest wave of attacks so far. Its scale was even larger than the previous three combined. It had already exceeded 200 billion, and it was unknown how many more they planned to send!
With such a huge attack, even if the intercepting circle could repel the enemy like the previous three times, it would still be heavily damaged. The moment Han Xiao received the news, he informed the command center and called for an emergency meeting.
Chapter 1356: Fortitude Tree King |
In the conference room of the command center, the commanders and Beyond Grade As gathered together.
The three-dimensional star map of the intercepting circle was suspended above the tactical simulation table. Simon stood at the side and kept fiddling with the star map, using his fingers to draw out tactical signs as he explained the current situation.
“… Based on Black Star’s intelligence, the World Tree has gathered a 200 billion large army and is suspected to be launching an all-out attack. This is the distribution map of the various troops on our side, as well as the wormhole support base station. It can be seen that the fastest troops on our side are between sectors A-1075c and N-0744j. If the World Tree attacks this section of the defense line, all of our main defense troops can gather there at the fastest speed possible. However, the other defense lines are gathering at a slightly slower speed. This time difference might be the breakthrough point, causing the World Tree to break through the first and second layers of defense with its enormous strength. The strategic depth and wormhole support base will threaten the third and later layers of defense, creating a vicious cycle where we can only be passive…”
The expressions of the high-ranked commanders were grave. The pressure of a 200 billion large fleet was much higher than the previous three assaults. Any small factor could be the other party’s breakthrough point.
“I think after the previous three failures, the other party won’t repeat the same mistake this time. He will most likely change his attacking method and won’t charge straight in.”
“Our construction time is still too short. Not only does the World Tree want to break through the blockade, but it also wants to destroy our fortifications in one go. Only by removing the blockade-that we keep pushing forward-can they then stabilize the jump point and build the bridgehead to invade our territory.”
“We need more reinforcements from the rear. It’s best to increase the distance between the first two layers of defense and the strategic depth of the rear defense line to prevent the enemy from breaking through the blockade.”
The commanders of the troops expressed their opinions one after another, and the group discussed them fervently.
As for the Beyond Grade As, they only listened and did not participate.
However, after the upper echelons argued for a while, Simon turned around to ask Han Xiao.
“Black Star, what do you think?”
“You guys can decide on this. I have no objections.”
Han Xiao shook his head and expressed that he would let the professionals do the job.
However, he paused for a moment and added, “The World Tree is most likely aware of the source of the information leak. The authenticity of the information I obtained might also be the World Tree’s deliberate plan. This risk has to be considered.”
Simon took a deep breath and said, “I understand, but even if we can’t confirm if the intelligence is real or fake, we have to be prepared to deal with the 200 billion large fleet. Even if there’s only a one in a thousand chance that it’s real, we have to be on guard, or the consequences will be dire.”
“Indeed.” Han Xiao nodded. If it was true and he did not take precautions beforehand, he would most likely be killed by the World Tree. In the previous two attacks, Destiny’s Child had also monitored it. Han Xiao had also kept his suspicions, but in the end, it proved that the intelligence was accurate. However, this did not make him feel at ease. Instead, he became more vigilant.
If the World Tree had deliberately leaked information about the previous two attacks in an attempt to reduce their wariness, then it must have been holding back a big move to send fake information at the critical moment. It was just that they had no idea what the World Tree was planning.
“Thankfully, I found a new type of observation device from the First Sanctum and equipped the three Universal Civilizations with it. The World Tree won’t be able to act in secret like before. Any movements will be discovered.”
Han Xiao thought to himself.
Ever since the three Universal Civilizations had applied the special beyond visible range detection technology that he had provided to the battlefield, their reliance on Destiny’s Child’s surveillance channels had decreased greatly. Even if the World Tree had some plan, it could not be carried out secretly, and the risk was greatly reduced.
After a long meeting, the commanders left with heavy hearts.
Han Xiao and the others also left the conference room and returned to their residences.
On the way, Kasuyi pushed through the crowd and came to Han Xiao’s side. “The World Tree did not send any high-level combatants in the previous two attacks, but this time, it suddenly launched an all-out attack. Do you think it might have found a way to restrict Aurora?”
Han Xiao glanced at him. Before he could say anything, Sun Hunter jumped from Han Xiao’s shoulder to Kasuyi’s head and muttered in a low voice, “Heh, they might be planning to ignore the high-level combatants like us and just attack the defense line with their troops.”
“Ignore us? That’s possible. As long as they’re willing to take the risk of a local battle, no matter how powerful we are, we won’t be able to have a significant impact in a war of this scale. At most, we can open up a few opportunities.” Kasuyi pondered.
Seeing that the two of them were chatting, Han Xiao also gave up on the idea of responding and turned to look at Ames. “Hmm? Why are you looking at me?” Ames raised her brows.
“The enemy has brought out 200 billion fleets. Are you afraid?” Han Xiao asked casually.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Ames shook her head. In the past few months, she had participated in the first two attacks of the World Tree, so she now had some war experience. “This time is different. The World Tree might bring out a high-level combatant. You have not participated in the first large-scale battle and have not fought with the World Tree experts. They are very difficult to deal with.”
“It’s a good opportunity for me to experience it,” Ames’s expression remained calm.
“Don’t look down on him. The intensity of the battle between Beyond Grade As cannot be compared to the previous two battles. I suggest you follow Milizaus.” Han Xiao pointed at Old Dragon.
“Why do I need to follow him?” Ames was curious.
“He’s so big. If you hide behind him, no one will be able to hit you. If necessary, you can even throw him out with force to help you block the attacks.”
Han Xiao shrugged.
“…You know I can hear you, right?”
Milizaus’ magic incarnation could not help but look over in resignation.
“I just want you to hear it. Her moniker is the Dragon Emperor. Isn’t it reasonable for her to sit on you?” Han Xiao curled his lips.
“That sounds familiar. Did you tell me this before?”
Milizaus snorted, not taking it seriously.
Han Xiao shrugged. “Don’t you think this strategy has some merit to it?”.
“I don’t think so at all. Plus, my body size has already shrunk a lot, so I won’t be targeted by the enemy at all. This plan will surely be useless.” Milizaus was very calm. People who had successfully lost some weight would always be this tough.
“Then recover your body. You have such a huge body, but you don’t shield your teammates from the wind and rain. This is a waste of God’s gift!”
What nonsense… Milizaus rolled his eyes and ignored Han Xiao.
The people were not scared by the large-scale battle that was about to break out. They returned to their residence chatting and laughing. Han Xiao closed the door, and his smile disappeared.
He had a feeling that the World Tree was going to use its high-level combatants this time, and the Tree King should not have revived yet. This time, there might be a new Tree King coming Among the five Great Tree Kings, only the Subduing Tree King had the simplest and most violent ability. The other few were all full of tricks. No matter who came, they would only be harder to deal with than him.
At the same time, in the Flickering World, in the territory of the Black Star Army, on a desolate planet.
Boom!
The two blurry figures were like shooting stars as they flew across the barren land, colliding with each other continuously. Every time they collided, an intense shockwave exploded, leaving huge craters on the ground.
Suddenly, the two figures came to a halt and revealed their appearances. One was Lothaire, and the other was Karlot.
Lothaire spun the dagger with his finger and put it into the blade pouch on his waist. “Your strength has increased again. You can already withstand my current strength. I will release more combat strength in the next combat training and continue squeezing out your potential.”
“Alright, I will train hard.” Karlot’s fists clashed together creating sparks. His face was filled with determination.
This was not the first time that he had requested to go to the frontlines to fight the enemies, but Black Star had rejected every time. He knew that this was a sign that Han Xiao valued his potential and was giving him time to grow. Karlot understood that his main mission was to focus on training and grow to the point where he could rush to the frontlines to help Han Xiao. Therefore, after the war broke out, he took the initiative to train every day.
“Hmm, at this rate you will become a Beyond Grade A soon…” Although Lothaire said this, he was secretly cursing
After training Karlot for the past few days, he realized that Karlot’s improvement was extraordinary. Furthermore, his growth did not slow down because of his increasing strength. Instead, it became faster and faster. It was as if there was no bottleneck. His daily improvement was visible to the naked eye.
Lothaire had originally been curious about why Han Xiao thought so highly of Karlot, but now, he no longer had any doubts.
There really was such a genius in the world? How did Black Star manage to dig him out?
World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace. On the five thrones sat two figures. One was the Heart Tree King, and the other was the Fortitude Tree King covered in heavy armor. Below the two Tree Kings stood many Executive Officers. Some of those who had died in the battles before had been revived.
“Has the information been released?”
“It has been shown through the foreseers,” Tedrian replied with his head lowered.
“Hmm, I hope they will place all their attention on this.”
The Heart Tree King rubbed the armrest as he nodded slowly.
Tedrian continued, “In the previous attacks, we have already calculated the rough structure of the intercepting circle, as well as the number of troops the other party has stationed along with the follow-up reinforcement limit. This time, we will increase the strength of our troops, and we should be able to break through the intercepting circle in one go. At the very least, we will be able to clear their spatial anchor orbit…”
Hearing this, the Heart Tree King nodded and did not say anything else. He waved his hand and let the executives leave.
Very soon, only the two tree kings were left in the palace.
The Fortitude Tree King turned his head slightly. He seemed to be looking at the Heart Tree King from the corner of his eyes behind the mask.
“You’ve already decided to take action personally? Is this what you want me to do?”
