Chapter 1403 Beating Up the Old Timers

Bang bang bang bang!

The light of psionic detonations flashed frequently in space as the mechanical legions poured out of the troop barracks and descended upon the battlefield.

Five figures, enveloped in different colored energies, were submerged in the sea of machines, like meteors darting back and forth through the dense formation. The brilliance of their various abilities lit up the gaps in the mechanical ranks from time to time.

Of the five, four were different classes, only lacking a Mechanic. Without his foundation, a Mechanic's combat strength would be severely weakened, and therefore, no Mechanic was chosen to represent the revived Firstborn.

You Zu led dozens of Apostle Weapons, entangling the five. Amplified by mechanical force and cooperating seamlessly, the Apostle Weapons kept the five on their toes, constantly facing perilous situations.

The Mechanical Deity stood out from the battlefield like a crane among chickens, its Star Shattering Blade chasing after the five with a flurry of slashes, forming a whirlwind of light. Despite its enormous size, the weapon was as swift as lightning, unleashing wave after wave of sharp psionic blade waves. Heavy, basic attacks were interspersed with explosive techniques reminiscent of Getter Beam Punches, unleashing staggering damage.

In particular, Pan Erong received special attention. Han Xiao most enjoyed tormenting… cough, educating arrogant iron-headed kids.

However, this time, the opponent wasn't the familiar Old Man McLuhan, and he needed to maintain his image, so Han Xiao restrained himself a bit and didn't bombard him with his trademark chatter.

The group fought fiercely for quite a while. Han Xiao held his own against five opponents, showing no sign of weakness. The scene was not one-sided, and he even had a slight advantage. The crow-like mechanical legion charged back and forth, like a black cloth trying to wipe away five stubborn stains.

Pan Erong and the other four weren't at their peak, but they weren't pushovers either. Although they were quite passive, they managed to hold on for a while with their cooperation.

However, the five of them felt immensely troubled. It was the first time they had faced a Mechanic of this style, and they felt completely helpless.

In their minds, the best way to deal with a Mechanic was to rush them. Initially, they were quite surprised to see Black Star's main body appear, thinking he was being too careless. But now they realized they were completely wrong—Black Star's style was completely different from the Mechanics they remembered. One was as fragile as paper, while the other had a mental defense as hard as steel. He was practically indestructible!

The rush-down tactic was largely useless. Turning to attack his legion, they found his foundation too deep. The sub-dimensional troop barracks were constantly churning out troops, and there was no end in sight.

After much thought, it seemed that the only option was a war of attrition to exhaust his strength. But the combined damage of his Apostle Weapons, mechanical legion, and Mechanical Deity was terrifying, leaving them with very little margin for error, and their own energy consumption was equally high.

At this rate, the five weren't sure if they would be severely injured first, or if Black Star would run out of energy first.

"Does this person have any weaknesses?" Bai Ge'er wondered in shock.

"I never thought such a terrifying figure would emerge in this era!" Mei Ji exclaimed.

"If only my weapon was still here…" Pan Erong had dozens of bones shattered again by a single blade strike, and he gnashed his teeth.

"Save it. A martial artist getting beaten up at close range by a Mechanic? You still have the nerve to talk?" Another person couldn't help but say.

"Alright, stop arguing and think about how to deal with him. If we lose five-on-one, it'll be a complete disgrace," Bai Ge'er said in a deep voice.

The five walked a tightrope, dodging or blocking the concentrated fire of the mechanical legion, trying to find an opening in Han Xiao's defenses. However, they never found a way to break the deadlock, and instead became increasingly passive.

With the buffs from [Unyielding Heart] and [Legendary Combat Techniques], the power of the legion's focused fire was quite terrifying. Among the five, only Pan Erong had true damage reduction. The other four couldn't withstand many rounds of bombardment.

If it weren't for a telekinetic and Bai Ge'er constantly casting shields on them, someone might have already been severely injured.

Most importantly, the group was stunned to find that Han Xiao was getting stronger as he fought, his strength constantly increasing with the battle.

Bai Ge'er maintained the state of his Phase Phantom spell, evading the encirclement of several Apostle Weapons, and decisively said:

"The battle has already dragged on to his tempo. If this continues, the situation will only get worse. Let's try one more time. The five of us will combine our attacks on his main body. I don't believe his physique has no limit. Besides that, there's no other effective method."

"What are you planning to do? His main body is currently hidden within the Mechanical Deity, protected."

"Have you forgotten that I control spatial forbidden techniques? I can briefly pull the target out of the Mechanical Deity, creating an opportunity."

The group quickly reached a consensus. Bai Ge'er didn't delay, and made a hand seal.

A delicate enchanted circuit lit up on his neck, and a spatial repulsive force erupted from his center, pushing all the surrounding mechanical soldiers away, squeezing them together.

Immediately afterward, he raised his hand and cast a collective Blink spell, instantly teleporting the other four to his side, gathering them together.

He continued chanting, instantly constructing a new magic circuit. The space not far away suddenly rippled, and Han Xiao, who should have been inside the Mechanical Deity, appeared out of nowhere at the position Bai Ge'er had designated with his spell.

Han Xiao felt the scenery blur before his eyes, and the position he was in changed. He raised his eyes and saw the five unleashing a well-prepared combined attack, the light dazzling and the momentum fierce.

"Yo, what a nice combo."

Han Xiao even had the leisure to make a teasing remark. He opened a new troop barracks gate next to him, then grabbed out row after row of stasis amber spheres, stacking them into a transparent wall in front of him.

*Whoosh!*

The next moment, the five's surging, tidal wave of ranged attacks crashed against the stasis amber barrier, like a stream of water falling on a lotus leaf. It immediately slid away in all directions, while Han Xiao behind the barrier was unharmed.

"What is that?!"

Seeing this scene, the five pupils contracted.

Just then, Han Xiao's laughter rang out in the wide-area channel.

"This spatial transposition magic is not bad. I also have similar abilities. How about you guys appreciate it too?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Xiao's figure flickered, using Void Blink to return to the Mechanical Deity. Before the group could take further action, he immediately used Void Displacement, swapping one of the targets with his own position.

*Swoosh!*

Pan Erong's vision blurred, and he was stunned to find himself inside the Mechanical Deity. Before he could react, the surrounding space suddenly disintegrated, turning into a mechanical legion that surrounded him at the center, launching a concentrated attack on him at the first opportunity.

The iron-headed kid was getting beat up in the distance, while Han Xiao's figure had moved to the other four.

Meeting the four's shocked gazes, he smiled and shook his body, suddenly deploying the Void Domain Prison.

The next moment, the four's movements became extremely sluggish, all trapped in this domain, while only Han Xiao could move freely.

He activated Apostle Transformation with all his might, and countless mechanical units fed back massive attributes to his body. His right arm bent, like pulling a bow. The surface of his armor lit up with energy circuits, and psionic energy rippled out like water.

"Getter Beam Punch - Star Piercing Hammer!"

Han Xiao unleashed a charging straight punch, the fist wrapped in dazzling psionic energy slamming into Bai Ge'er's cheek. In the slow motion of the Void Domain Prison, one could clearly see Bai Ge'er's skin trembling, deforming, and bursting open, flinging out a trail of blood droplets.

*Thud!*

A psionic blue shockwave erupted, and Bai Ge'er flew out tumbling.

Han Xiao didn't stop, and the mechanical armor opened fire with all its weapons, delivering a flurry of blows to the remaining three, as if countless afterimages were flashing back and forth between them.

*Crack!*

After being brutally beaten for a while, the group finally broke free from the restrictions of the Void Domain Prison and hurriedly retreated, their bodies aching all over. They felt like they had been mauled from head to toe dozens of times.

At the same time, Pan Erong in the distance hadn't been forcibly locked down. He struggled to break through the blockade of the mechanical legion and rushed out of the encirclement. However, he had been subjected to concentrated fire many times in a short period, covered in blood and seriously injured, in an extremely disheveled state.

Han Xiao stayed in place, not pursuing them. The five, however, stayed far away from him, their faces revealing fear and solemnity.

"Hiss…"

Bai Ge'er clutched his bleeding face, shocked. Not only did the tactic fail, but Han Xiao had also counterattacked, and the other party had actually been able to injure all five of them in succession, with Pan Erong being the most seriously injured.

This series of achievements stunned the group. They didn't know what other special abilities Han Xiao had, and didn't dare to approach him easily again, fearing they would fall for another trick.

Seeing Han Xiao looking at them, the five became extremely vigilant, completely dispelling the last bit of their underestimation, and nervously prepared to meet Han Xiao's next round of attacks.

However, at this moment, Han Xiao stopped all the movements of the legion, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and he smiled softly:

"I think it's time to stop here. I'm sure everyone has a direct understanding of my abilities. If we continue sparring, the scene might not be so pleasant. I agree with Mei Ji's suggestion. Let's stop here, call it a draw, and not hurt anyone's feelings."

Hearing this, the five were stunned. Seeing that Han Xiao's performance didn't seem fake, they relaxed their tense bodies.

They exchanged glances, and their faces showed varying degrees of bitter smiles, shame, and embarrassment.

How could they not know that Black Star was giving them a way out, to make them feel better. However, this only stabbed them deeper.

What kind of draw was this? It was clearly them being beaten up five-on-one!

They didn't feel comforted at all, only embarrassed!

“… A powerhouse like you is unique even in the Exploration Era. I'm convinced. We underestimated you."

Bai Ge'er sighed, his expression complex.

Having experienced it firsthand, Black Star's combat power completely exceeded expectations, shocking them severely.

Even without that fancy combo, everyone could see from the strength of the mechanical legion that Black Star's hard strength far surpassed them.

Thinking of this, the faces of the group showed some signs of sadness, unable to maintain their arrogance.

Putting themselves in his shoes, they could understand how big of a blow this was. The feeling of a new generation replacing the old was not pleasant, and it almost made them doubt whether they had truly been eliminated.

Pan Erong was the most embarrassed, his face changing between cloudy and sunny. The wound on his body was still burning hot, but compared to the inner trauma, the physical pain was nothing. This unacceptable result made him unable to stop questioning himself.

Han Xiao glanced at him and laughed, "I might not have controlled my strength, and acted a little too harshly. I hope everyone doesn't take it to heart."

"Cough cough, these are all small matters, we don't care."

Bai Ge'er was a little red-faced. He remembered saying something similar to Black Star not long ago.

"Then can we continue to talk now?" Han Xiao spread his hands.

"Yes, yes, let's go down and continue talking."

The attitudes of the group had changed by one hundred and eighty degrees, with respect and awe in their words.

Although they were psychologically uncomfortable with this change, the strong were respected among Beyond Grade As, and strength was the foundation of survival. Naturally, the group could no longer use the arrogant tone of voice they had used not long ago to treat someone who could single-handedly take down any one of them.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and returned to the surface of the planet, immediately seeing Oathkeeper staring at him.

"What are you looking at me for?"

“… Nothing.”

Oathkeeper suppressed the shock in his heart, trying to make his tone seem natural and calm.

The strength Han Xiao had just shown had also scared him!

Unlike the other Firstborn, Oathkeeper knew that Han Xiao was very powerful, but he didn't expect him to be so powerful!

Before today, Oathkeeper felt that he and Black Star were evenly matched, but after witnessing Black Star's battle, he strongly suspected that his judgment was flawed—Black Star's true combat power was much stronger than rumored!

Fake news was killing people!

Oathkeeper couldn't help but rejoice that he hadn't chosen to silence Han Xiao, otherwise it was likely that he would have been the one silenced.

…

At the same time, the remote monitoring room of the Crimson Dynasty's spaceship was deathly silent, and the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The many Firstborn watching the battle were stunned, their eyes wide, speechless in shock, with expressions of inexplicable horror.

A full ten seconds passed before someone spoke in shock, their tone filled with incredulity.

"Five-on-one, and they still lost?!"

As soon as these words came out, the crowd instantly exploded, and the room was in an uproar.

"Is this the strength of a modern Beyond Grade A?!"

"Looking at him, he seems to be still handling it with ease, not strained at all. Pan Erong and the other five didn't even manage to probe his limits!"

"What is his energy level, eighty thousand? Ninety thousand? Could it be that he has broken through the hundred thousand mark?!"

"Perhaps he's right, we're outdated, the times have really changed…"

The Firstborn present felt that their three views had been shattered. They initially thought that Black Star was bluffing, but later found that he was truly awesome, feeling like their faces had been slapped hard.

Fortunately, they were only watching behind the scenes and didn't have to worry about face. In their eyes, taking a loss was a loss, and losing was losing, so naturally they didn't take the result of a draw seriously.

At this time, recalling Black Star's words before the war, the group suddenly became like eggplants beaten by frost, their confidence greatly hit. Their sense of superiority as Firstborn was directly erased by the other party.

It seemed that he really wasn't bragging. He was giving them a lesson, helping them recognize reality…

The crowd had to accept this reality, and the arrogance, pride, and inflated mentality brought about by the initial revival quickly faded, turning into caution, humility, and carefulness.

The only problem was that the effect was too good, and the mentality of many people slipped to another extreme…

"Black Star is only the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association. The internet says that there are many Beyond Grade As who are in the same echelon as him, and should have similar strength… Hiss, the modern era is too terrifying!"

Among the crowd, some Firstborn who had originally planned to start their own businesses now began to back down, deeply doubting whether they had the capital to start a new business.

Originally, the goal of some people's revival was to avoid the Exploration Era war, come to a peaceful era, and use their own strength to develop new forces and obtain great power.

But Han Xiao's performance today gave them the illusion that there were such experts everywhere now.

This exchange not only dispelled their confidence, but also frightened some people into temporarily burying their ambitions.

—With our strength, we're afraid of courting death if we rush to cause trouble. Let's first go into seclusion for a few decades, and never come out until we catch up with the times. We can't afford to lose face!