Chapter 758 Like Rain Pouring on a Field
With a flashing stream of light, Sardeem’s spaceship stopped outside an asteroid belt.
He had been chasing Han Xiao, following the directions that Psyker gave, for a whole day. He had noticed that the target did not head directly into the desolate universe belt but traveled in an arc around the edge of the Shattered Star Ring at a slower speed than his spaceship.
He finally caught up with the target at this asteroid belt. The coordinates given by Psyker showed that the target was hiding in the asteroid belt right then.
The target has stopped here... Sardeem had a serious look on his face.
Countless asteroids floated in the universe like a river. Some were tens of thousands of meters wide, and some were just a dozen meters wide. They blocked Sardeem’s view, and he could only use the radar on his spaceship to slowly scan the asteroid belt.
Given how large the asteroid belt was, it was indeed a great place to hide. Scanning through it was undoubtedly a troublesome task.
However, the moment Sardeem had this thought, the radar responded.
“Alert! Abnormal energy target detected!”
The vision on the porthole of the spaceship expanded. At the top of an enormous oval-shaped asteroid, a man was sat with his legs crossed. His face was hidden under his helmet, and his body was covered by the streamlined mechanical suit, with dark blue patterns evenly distributed across the surface of the armor. He was facing Sardeem’s spaceship, clearly aware of Sardeem’s arrival.
Sardeem narrowed his eyes. He stopped the spaceship, opened the hatch, and walked out. Red and gold armor extended from his chest over his entire body, forming heavy armor around his body.
Sardeem spoke first and sent a message to Han Xiao with an unfriendly tone. “Barne? Is that you?”
Han Xiao smiled faintly. “You can continue to call me that.”
Sardeem snorted. He knew that the name ‘Barne’ was just an alias. As for his true identity, he did not ask back then, and he had no idea now.
However, that did not matter. He would have more than enough time to find out after he captured and interrogated him.
Having this thought, Sardeem’s eyes started sparkling, and he came up with a plan.
Initially, Psyker only asked him to follow the target. However, since he had caught up, he was not afraid of fighting. Maybe he could pry out Psyker’s secret from ‘Barne’ before Psyker arrived. He had no idea why this person was running and why Psyker was chasing after him, so he was in a rush to find out.
“I have one more question,” Sardeem said with a low voice. “Your real goal was attacking these people, wasn’t it? That’s why you hid on Planet Macipher beforehand. Yet, you tried to steal blueprints while working in my business under a disguise. Weren’t you afraid of getting exposed?”
From the way he looked at it, ‘Barne’ came and stayed on Planet Macipher to kill the group of people including Colin. Hence, he could not figure out why ‘Barne’ was so daring to be exposed right under his nose. Would waiting in a hotel in the city not have been stealthier?
“Will you believe if I say it’s all because of luck?” Han Xiao smiled with resignation.
At the start, he just wanted to obtain a talent, then he discovered Eternal Light’s blueprint, so he focused on stealing it. After that, Orozen suddenly came right before him. He then simply wanted to kill a wanted criminal but was dragged into the storm around the Evolution Cube...
Could this be because of the great Feidin?
“Luck?” Sardeem narrowed his eyes and found that very suspicious. He shook his head and said, “Never mind, I know I won’t get anything from you now. You will learn to speak later when you’re in my hands.”
Right after his sentence ended, Sardeem’s Mechanical Force erupted. The cabin of the spaceship opened. Red and gold Army Boxes shot right toward Sardeem like rockets and opened on the way. His mechanical army quickly formed a formation and hovered behind Sardeem.
With a brief look, there were about two to three million machines. Their models were very different from Han Xiao’s; they were bulkier and more ferocious.
As an Armed Mechanic, Sardeem knew more blueprints for war machinery. The mechanical army under his command mainly consisted of heavily armored and large machines. There were five-meter-tall heavy mechanical soldiers everywhere and a few thousand conspicuous Giant Soldiers. The biggest was more than a thousand meters tall, even larger than many asteroids around them.
Other than all kinds of mechanical soldiers, there were also many combat devices that were often used in galactic wars.
Sardeem launched a ton of compressed orbs, which then expanded into huge parts that connected with his armor, forming a several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier. He backed away into the center of his army. Many defense fortresses and hovering guards moved to surround him, forming multiple layers of defenses. There were also space stabilization devices around him, preventing the enemy from using hyperdrive to close the distance on him.
This was the authentic Army Style of fighting—the Mechanic was the commander in the middle of the army, focusing on utilizing the troops and formation to defeat the enemy step by step.
Seeing that Sardeem had summoned his army, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. As he scanned through Sardeem’s army, he could not help but lick his lips.
“So much heavy machinery, good stuff.” Han Xiao’s fingers moved around slightly in anticipation.
The millions of mechanical soldiers simultaneously aimed at Han Xiao. Seeing Han Xiao did not even respond, Sardeem frowned slightly.
“You’re a Mechanic too. Where’s your army?” Sardeem said with a mocking tone. “Or have you decided not to embarrass yourself and are willing to surrender?”
Han Xiao smiled. He pointed behind Sardeem.
“Isn’t my army arriving?”
Shocked, Sardeem turned around immediately.
Behind his army, streams of light rocketed from far away. It was the Black Star mechanical army that had arrived through hyperdrive!
As the Army Boxes opened one after another, more than ten million mechanical soldiers swarmed out like a black tsunami. It was more than three times bigger than Sardeem’s army!
“How is this possible‽”
Sardeem’s expression changed drastically with fear.
Suddenly, he realized that this ‘Barne’ was not just an ordinary person but someone well known from somewhere.
The size of the mechanical army represented the wealth of the Mechanic. Even maintaining the army required money. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, very few Mechanics could afford such an enormous mechanical army.
Names flashed through his Sardeem’s mind, and he finally stopped on one.
Panicked, Sardeem hastily turned around and stared at Han Xiao with disbelief.
“You’re... Black Star‽”
“That’s correct. Here’s a green hat as a reward.” Han Xiao chuckled.
With the Evolution Cube in hand and breaking through to Beyond Grade A around the corner, there was no need to continue playing the ‘Barne’ role.
“Fire!” Sardeem’s cool shattered instantly as he hastily ordered his army to start firing. The back of his army faced the approaching mechanical army, and the front of his army fired on Han Xiao.
Facing millions of light beam attacks, Han Xiao did not want to take it head-on. Like pulling on a cloth, his hands pulled down strongly. [Strengthened Void Distortion] caused chaos in the time-space around.
Countless light beams’ courses deviated. Countless asteroids around him were penetrated and shattered by the light beams, turning into dust. Even the enormous asteroid under Han Xiao crumbled.
After the initial round of fire, the tens of thousands of meters area around Han Xiao became an empty space in the asteroid belt, while he remained unharmed. He was covered in an azure psionic energy shield that was rippling brightly, blocking all the stray attacks.
Seeing Sardeem’s mechanical soldiers’ barrels lighting up again, attempting to start the second round of fire, Han Xiao immediately entered the Void Dimension.
The next instant, he appeared behind Sardeem’s army, slashing right toward Sardeem, who was protected by layers of defenses.
Surrounded by enemy mechanical soldiers in all directions, Han Xiao activated Apostilization. The psionic energy around him overflowed, shooting and spraying Psionic Impacts like they were infinite. He penetrated tons of mechanical soldiers with ease, turning every mechanical soldier before him into scrap metal, breaking through the layers of defenses extremely quickly.
The Evolution Cube had made him much stronger. Only a tank Mechanic like him would dare to go so deep into the enemy army.
Suddenly, Han Xiao’s vision was covered in darkness. A several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier stood in his path, covered in spaceship grade shields and equipped with more than a thousand artillery cannons.
The gigantic mechanical palm slammed down like a mountain.
Without even dodging, Han Xiao raised his hand and stopped this slam head-on. His size was like an ant compared to the Giant Soldier, but as his mechanical suit thruster operated at its maximum power output, he was not blown away. Han Xiao’s fingers lodged into the Giant Soldier’s palm, and he hung from it.
The Giant Soldier clenched its fist immediately. However, the next moment, countless tiny cracks appeared on the Giant Soldier’s palm and spread over his entire palm. Dark blue light shone from within the cracks. Before the Giant Soldier could react, the entire arm was blasted into pieces by the psionic energy that Han Xiao had injected!
Countless parts were blown away by the impact, toppling the mechanical soldiers around.
With [Energy Enhancement Aura (Cosmetic)], the lighting effects looked very dazzling and colorful—despite not having any actual bonus, it looked cool.
After crushing this Giant Soldier that blocked the way, Han Xiao’s legs stomped in the air as he accelerated in an instant, shattering the machinery in his path and heading right toward Sardeem, who was in the middle.
“He’s too strong.” Covered in sweat, Sardeem hastily deployed more troops to stop Han Xiao.
At this moment, the Black Star mechanical army on the other side finally clashed with Sardeem’s army.
The difference between them was clearly visible—Han Xiao’s mechanical army was black, and Sardeem’s was red. At this time, the black side formed a comb-shaped formation and penetrated right into the red side’s formation, stirring up their formation.
Then, like an unstoppable train, the black side pushed the red side into the asteroid belt not far away. The formations of both sides were shattered, and it became a chaotic brawl.
Millions of light beams flashed every second, quickly shrinking the size of the asteroid belt. The area was illuminated by blinding lights.
Countless mechanical soldiers were destroyed on both sides every second, turning into scrap metal floating in the universe.
In the midst of all this, Han Xiao did not forget about Virtual Intrusion. More and more of Sardeem’s troops started to switch sides.
As a Giant Soldier shattered a team of Black Star mechanical troops, it suddenly turned and punched right through the head of another Giant Soldier.
The troops sent to stop Han Xiao became vanguards that opened the way for him. Han Xiao was initially advancing alone, but he suddenly gained a few thousand ‘traitors’ to protect him.
Sardeem was on edge and had no choice but to keep backing away. He could still fight to a certain extent with his army in his hands and might even be able to escape, but once Black Star got too close, it would be the end of him.
Authentic Army Style users would not be afraid of the enemy rushing through the layers of defenses, since it would be suicide for a normal Mechanic to use the tactic that Han Xiao was using. However, Sardeem did not think that he would be able to penetrate Black Star’s defenses. With so many prior cases, everyone knew how terrifying the ‘Indestructible Body’ was. He did not want to be the next case.
...
As the intense battle carried on in the asteroid belt, the entire asteroid belt was reduced to dust.
After lasting for so long, Sardeem finally had nowhere to back away to. He was caught by Han Xiao from behind.
The defense measures around him were shattered by Han Xiao, and the troops around were all occupied by Han Xiao’s mechanical army. All Sardeem had was this Giant Soldier that he was controlling manually. He had no choice but to fight Han Xiao in it.
Both of them had the ability to Apostilize. Psionic energy clashed time after time, spreading out like impact waves. Every punch that Han Xiao landed on the Giant Soldier shattered a large area of its exterior armor. Sardeem could only run around. He was no match for Han Xiao at all.
In terms of the Army Style, Han Xiao had more machines. In terms of personal strength, Han Xiao was stronger. Plus, he had just received a chunk of attributes from the Evolution Cube, so their differences were even larger. It was completely one sided. Han Xiao chased after Sardeem and tore his Giant Soldier apart piece by piece.
The exterior armor of the Giant Soldier was finally shattered. Han Xiao dashed inside the Giant Soldier, grabbed Sardeem, and used Mountain Ape Throw to throw him right out of the Giant Soldier, leaving a trail of shattered parts behind.
The next moment, Han Xiao instantly accelerated and caught up with Sardeem, who was still tumbling. Mechanical Force covered his entire body, and his fist was instantly enhanced by [Gene Liberation], [Legendary Battle Technique], [Overload], [Mechanical Force Overload], [Lethal Critical Hits], and all sorts of explosive abilities!
Bang!
His punch penetrated the armor and landed heavily on Sardeem’s abdomen. Like a drum, his organs made a thunderous sound within his body, making his ears ring.
Having taken the True Damage of this punch, as a paper Mechanic, Sardeem entered the Stunned state instantly.
Before Sardeem bent his body in agony, his chin was grabbed by a large hand, shattering his helmet. The fingers grabbing onto his skull started to tighten.
“D—do—don’t—” Sardeem felt like his head was going to explode. He quickly begged for mercy, but in space, no one could hear his scream.
Han Xiao tilted his head. An air bubble popped out from his shoulder and shrouded the two of them. He then opened his helmet and said, “You’ve lost. You don’t want to die, do you?”
“Don’t kill me!” Sardeem hastily yelled. He was not stupid, so he was not going to use the Mechanic Empire’s name as protection. The Mechanic Empire was countless miles away and would not go all the way there to avenge him even if he died. Furthermore, Black Star was not someone that would be intimidated; threatening him with Mechanic Empire’s name would only anger him further.
Wimping is the right thing to do!
“Then tell your troops to stop.” At this time, Sardeem’s mechanical army was still fighting with his mechanical army.
With his life in Han Xiao’s hands, Sardeem did not dare resist. He quickly stopped his troops.
The two mechanical armies stopped fighting quickly.
Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. He smiled and said, “Give me authority over your troops.”
Sardeem’s expression changed drastically as he ground his teeth.
He was bleeding in his heart. Giving up the authority meant that he was gifting all these troops that he spent a very long time building to Black Star.
“Are you unwilling?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “I can get your troops all the same if I kill you. The only difference is that I’ll have to waste a little bit of time. If you’re willing to die, I really have no problem with it. In fact, after killing you, I can even take over your Planet Macipher. Tsk tsk, everything you’ve worked for will be mine. Is that what you want?”
“St—stop, I’ll give you the authority.” Sardeem’s face was pale. He had no choice but to reluctantly give the authority of his army over to Han Xiao.
“Don’t be so mad. At least you’re still alive.”
Han Xiao was content. He told Phillip to count the troops that he had just seized. He just had to rewrite the authority, and they would all be his.
Then, Han Xiao took out many electromagnetic cuffs and restrained Sardeem tightly.
He was not planning to kill Sardeem. After all, he was the Mechanic Empire’s subordinate no matter what. Since Sardeem was the one that started this battle, taking his resources was just considered a small conflict. Even if Sardeem reported this to the Mechanic Empire... why would Manison ever concern himself with something so trivial? On the other hand, killing Sardeem was a different matter. Han Xiao did not want to attract the Mechanic Empire’s attention at this time.
Nonetheless, he could not let Sardeem leave right away.
While filled with hatred, Sardeem was relieved. He had worried Han Xiao would kill him after getting the authority of his mechanical army, but it seemed that he was going to live.
“I have some things to ask you. If you cooperate, you can suffer less...” Han Xiao grabbed him. “By the way, this isn’t personal.”
Sardeem replied with an obedient attitude. “I will cooperate.”
Seeing that Han Xiao was not going to kill him, Sardeem slowly regained his calm. He looked obedient on the surface, but he was actually resentful.
If he had fought Black Star on his base, Planet Macipher, he did not think that he would have lost.
However, that was meaningless. The only thing that Sardeem could rely on was Psyker, who was hurrying after them.
As long as Psyker arrived, he would be rescued. A Beyond Grade A would easily demolish a Calamity Grade; Black Star would be no match for Psyker.
Sardeem did not know the existence of the Evolution Cube. From the way he looked at it, Han Xiao did not know that Psyker was chasing after him.
Therefore, before that, he planned to stall Han Xiao and not resist.
Han Xiao glanced at Sardeem and saw right through him. Sardeem clearly felt that Psyker would save him and was looking forward to the Beyond Grade A arriving in a rainbow cloud.
That was good for him. It would save him some energy.
With this mechanical army, I have more to fight Psyker. I’m now at level 239. The promotion was indeed the right choice.