Chapter 488: Retreat
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The commotion of the collapsing building startled the pedestrians and they gathered together at a distance, pointing at the rubble as they discussed about the chaos with shock.
In the skies, a large number of aircrafts stopped in midair and looked down at the rubble below.
While the destruction of this battle was not as bad as the battle between the three Grade A Supers, because of something similar happening a while back, the citizens of Noriosse paid close attention to the battle.
“How is Black Star? Who won?” A couple of mercenaries who ignited the explosives had long escaped from the base and were currently in midair within an aircraft.
Swoosh!
A mechanical arm pushed off a large boulder, and a figure could be seen climbing out of the rubble with difficulty. With his hands on his knees, Han Xiao panted heavily.
“Ouch... a few of my ribs were fractured.” Han Xiao felt a dull ache in his chest. An entire building had crashed down on him, and even with the powerful defense of his Void Dragon armor, its durability had fallen from the original sixty-seven percent to about thirty percent. Black crack marks could be seen all over the armor, and sparks could be seen coming out from some of the cracks. Thankfully, the equipment’s passive [Indestructible Toughness] was activated, and the resistance of the armor was increased many times over.
A portion of the damage penetrated through the mechanical suit’s defenses. Han Xiao looked at the interface in front of him, and it showed that he had lost more than 4,000 HP together with light fractures and slight dizziness effects.
The majority of the damage had come from the falling debris. Thousands of tons of debris had smashed down onto his body, and when he was falling, his entire attention had been placed on attacking. He had let Phillip take over the control of the machines so that he would not need to divert his attention. When he landed, both he and Ember had landed in two different regions. Phillip had immediately turned the Halo Array into a shield to block the majority of the falling debris. Without that, the damage that he had suffered would definitely have been much worse.
Because of the collapsed building, the majority of his machines were buried under the rubble. However, he still had over seventy compressed orbs on him and still had the ability to fight. Aroshia separated from the mechanical suit, and her glow was obviously dimmer than before. Han Xiao had used up plenty of energy.
The dust cloud spread, and his visibility was limited. Han Xiao looked around him to find Ember.
Killing a Calamity Grade Super was not that easy, but this series of attacks would definitely be enough to make Ember suffer. Ember did not have the powerful physique of a pugilist or any Esper abilities to strengthen his body. If he did not use his Esper abilities to put up a defense, his durability would not be very high.
Sha sha sha!
At that moment, a familiar grinding sound could be heard, and Han Xiao’s expression changed. He immediately jumped back, and three thick black spears shot down where he had been standing just a moment ago. Those black spears had easily penetrated through the rubble and created a pit over ten meters long.
The dust cloud was blown away by the strong wind, and Han Xiao could see a thick, black wave that was double the size of before. It spanned over two to three hundred meters and was still expanding. Now that he was not in a building, Ember was able to gain access to a never-ending supply of carbon.
All of a sudden, the black current condensed into a large, lifelike python, which was two to three meters thick and a hundred meters long. The body of the python stood erect with its snake head looking at Han Xiao, sticking out its tongue. It looked as though it was truly alive. On top of the snake’s head, Ember’s figure could be seen.
He should have been full of elegance and majesty, but he was currently looking a little pitiful. His clothes were torn all over the place and blood was seeping down from his forehead with half of his face dyed red. The skin at the back of his head all the way down to his neck was torn apart. Being shot by the Void Jet Spray twenty to thirty times had obviously left a scar. Ember’s face contorted in pain as he glared at Han Xiao furiously.
Every single attack that Han Xiao shot out was aimed at his head, and Ember had to focus all of his attention to control his Esper abilities. Thus, he was forced to endure a head splitting headache, which affected his ability to control his Esper powers. He was not able to perform any meticulous control and could only expand the range of his carbon wave.
In the sky, a couple of mercenaries gasped in disbelief. “That Calamity Grade Super is severely injured!”
They had personally witnessed Ember’s strength, and there was even one of them who had personally experienced it. However, Black Star was actually not on the losing end and had severely injured this Grade A Super who was considered a powerful figure in the galaxy.
He was truly formidable!
The gazes of those in the surroundings were very quickly drawn to Ember. In truth, it was difficult for them not to notice such a large black snake.
This looks bad. Han Xiao knew that things were no longer in his favor. For him to achieve such a battle result, it was because of his meticulous set up of the battlefield ahead of the event. While he had severely wounded Ember and affected his battle prowess, Ember was still far from death. Since they were on the outside, Ember would be able to make full use of his abilities, and it would be difficult for him to injure Ember any further. There would not be a chance like before.
A thought flashed through Han Xiao’s head. His attention is fully on me. As long as I can hold him back, when Nagakin succeeds on the other side...
He would not lose his cool just because he had the upper hand. He was very clear that he would be the one suffering if the battle continued.
He did not continue battle, and the thrusters of his Void Dragon mechanical suit began spewing fire. Han Xiao shot into the sky and began to flee.
“Don’t think of escaping!” Ember roared furiously, and the python under him shot into the sky to chase after Han Xiao.
Escape? This is a strategic retreat!
Numerous black spears shot over, and Han Xiao avoided them nimbly in midair. Turning around to take a look, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Ember gave chase. That fellow was indeed infuriated.
Avoiding a head on confrontation and letting Ember chase him would allow him to buy the largest amount of time. Han Xiao did not feel that it was necessary to fight him head on.
With one person escaping and the other chasing, both of them weaved through the buildings. Humungous black python charged forward recklessly, and its size was constantly increasing. All the aircrafts along the way hurriedly avoided the python, and those that were not able to get out of the way in time were quickly reduced to shreds. Even the buildings that the python merely brushed past had large chunks taken out of them.
The commotion was shocking!
Compared to the black snake, Han Xiao’s figure was like a little bug.
Woo...
The ringing alarms could be heard from afar, and the Public Security Squad rushed over at high speed. The destruction that Ember had caused had affected the peace of the city, and the Public Security Squad would not ignore it.
“Di di di... You have an incoming call request...”
A notification sounded in his helmet, and Han Xiao accepted the call request. Nagakin’s face then appeared in front of him.
“Alvin’s doppelganger has been brought to safety. Anur destroyed two streets, but thankfully, a passing Calamity Grade tourist was dragged into the fight and decided to help out. However, Anur’s speed was too fast, and we could only force him back...”
A passing Calamity Grade Super‽
This piece of news was truly out of his expectations. Han Xiao had thought that he would have to stall for a while longer, and his face could not help but cramp up. At the same time, he lamented about how Noriosse was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
He could not help but think about the first time that he met Alvin. This fellow’s luck was probably even better than Herlous’, and he had truly gotten lucky this time.
“Black Star, hang in there. We will come back and reinforce you immediately!”
Nagakin’s voice was filled with anxiety. The way he saw it, it was far too dangerous for Han Xiao to be delaying Ember alone. He had been afraid that Han Xiao would already have beaten before he called.
Turning off the communicator, Han Xiao’s eyes glowed. With Nagakin fulfilling his part of the plan, there was no need for him to entertain Ember any further. He then turned around and turned on the speaker in his helmet.
“Do you really think that you can get rid of me? Have you forgotten about my other ability?”
As Ember heard that, his face turned color.
He suddenly remembered that when he was on Floating Dragon Island, Han Xiao had once displayed the ability to recover fully in an instant.
This meant that this battle would not end any time soon!
“The Public Security Squad is rushing over, and the Grade A Super hired by Noriosse will not allow you to act so unbridled. My comrades have already forced Anur back and will be here to reinforce me soon. If you still want to continue playing with me, I shall accompany you,” Han Xiao said in a tone filled with delight.
Ember had a look of hesitation on his face and was extremely reluctant. He was stuck in a dilemma where he could not advance or retreat.
Continuing the battle would only be a waste of time. Not only would he be unable to get rid of Black Star, he would end up being surrounded. However, he was reluctant to retreat like that! After being beaten up by the enemy, he had not settled the score with the enemy and still had to retreat! This was too much!
The sound of the sirens grew nearer, and Ember realized that Han Xiao had already reduced his speed, looking as though he had no fear. Ember’s expression was ice cold with a sharp pain coming from his wounds and the dizziness reminding him of the condition of his body.
The pride and arrogance that he had after entering the Calamity Grade had vanished during the battle.
Black Star’s name was even more deeply imprinted in his heart. Together with the pain, this impression had seeped into his bones.
“It is my mistake. I underestimated you too much. Next time, regardless of your strength and the machines around you, regardless of whether you are in your prime or severely injured, I will not be careless.”
He then calmed his anger with a complicated look in his eyes.
After one last glare at Han Xiao, Ember resolutely turned around. The black snake crumbled into a dark cloud and escaped with him like a black mountain demon.
“I’m finally safe.”
Han Xiao stopped moving and heaved a sigh of relief. While he seemed to be extremely relaxed on the surface, he was feeling a great deal of stress in his heart. If he did not fight Ember in a place that was to his advantage, he would definitely be on the losing end. If all of his machines were destroyed, even Aurora’s Character Summon Card would be completely useless. At the very most, he would only be able to make use of it six times, and he had already been forced by Ember to use it once.
He did not wait for Nagakin to return and surround Ember but warned him to escape. If Ember truly wanted to escape, it would be difficult for them to stop him. On the contrary, all of the other mercenaries would have to face the risk of being annihilated.
Looking at the incoming Public Security Squad, Han Xiao did not wish to be interrogated, so he hid from them.
At the same time, Nagakin arrived with the mercenaries. The moment that they saw the destroyed building, those hired mercenaries were completely dumbfounded.
Along the way, all of them had been extremely pessimistic about Han Xiao’s chances of survival. For Black Star to delay a Grade A Super alone, they all felt that he would definitely be trampled upon and were extremely worried.
However, they witnessed the rubble created from an intense battle, and everyone, including Nagakin, was dumbfounded.
Just what had happened‽
Where did Black Star go‽