Chapter 1

The ground was littered with broken parts. The sonic impact orbs had been shot down, the floating shuttle shields had exploded, and the Black Scythe, a durable melee weapon with a broad blade that could be used as a makeshift shield, was Han Xiao's only remaining weapon.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Inside the cage, suspended carbon dust solidified into sharp cones, their points aimed at the ground, descending like a torrential rain, covering a wide area and blocking every angle of evasion.

Against a target with a mech, this kind of widespread, low-power attack wouldn't pose much of a threat. However, Black Star's armor had already been destroyed, leaving the unprotected mechanic vulnerable.

Ashes didn't want to kill Han Xiao, since the mission was to capture him alive. Still, he was happy to let Han Xiao suffer a little, so he aimed for non-lethal areas.

Swish!

The Black Scythe flashed with a cold light, slicing away the incoming cones. However, with Ashes' control, the cones were relentless. Han Xiao blocked as many as he could, but those he couldn't, he had to endure, with nowhere to hide.

A lightning-like Qi force emanated from his body, providing Qi force protection. The cones shattered against him, only causing some superficial wounds.

Casually manipulating his Esper ability, Ashes attacked Han Xiao while coldly stating, "A mechanic trying to fight like a martial artist, without any martial arts training, with Qi force that's inferior to a martial artist's in both quantity and quality… If you were a Mecha-Martial Artist, you might stand a chance. But you're just a mechanic. How long do you think you can last? You're resisting for nothing. Haven't you given up yet?"

The arena was filled with attacks from every direction. Fearing collateral damage, the other DarkStar warriors moved out of range, watching as their captain subdued Black Star. Ashes could easily deal with this defanged foe; no help was needed.

The outcome was decided.

Black Star would eventually crumble; his defeat was only a matter of time, and not much time at that.

Thud!

Suddenly, the ground cracked as Han Xiao took off, darting toward a DarkStar mechanic to the side. He stopped blocking, letting the hail of cones strike him, and with a flick of his wrist, the scythe blade separated into seven or eight electromagnetic shards, spinning into a drill shape and crackling with electricity!

"Eat my Electric Light Dragon Drill!"

Han Xiao roared, drilling through the DarkStar mechanic's hastily erected shield and sending him flying. The man's combat suit was charred black, with sparks flickering at the damaged areas, indicating a system malfunction.

"Madman, you're courting death!" The other DarkStar warriors' expressions changed. To dare abandon defense against Ashes' relentless attacks and instead attempt to attack… Even though they had been momentarily careless and allowed Han Xiao to succeed, his attack had only caused minor damage. They were all Grade B Supers; they wouldn't be killed so easily. In return, Han Xiao had left himself wide open, suffering even more attacks. It was a suicidal tactic.

"So, you're determined not to compromise. You've got spirit," Ashes said, genuinely impressed.

Then, he shook his head, his face expressionless. "But resistance is futile. It only proves you're out of options and still dreaming of breaking through the encirclement… My patience is limited. Since you won't listen to reason, I'll have to beat you half to death before you understand your situation."

This time, Ashes stopped attacking the entire area, allowing the DarkStar warriors to join the fight. Obeying Ashes' orders, they stopped standing by and launched another assault.

Without the augmentation of a mech, Han Xiao was immediately on the defensive. Faced with a storm of attacks, he could only block, any attempt to move or dodge would be interrupted by their well-coordinated attacks, effectively pinning him in place, unable to counter.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

Wave after wave of attacks crashed into Han Xiao, triggering explosions that shook the area, kicking up dust that obscured vision.

From the sidelines, Aroshia could only see lightning, bombs, cones, and Qi force waves countless times piercing through the thick dust. She couldn't see Han Xiao's figure. The endless explosions and the clang of metal filled her ears, but there were no roars or screams. Apart from the sounds of combat, she couldn't hear Han Xiao make any noise.

Watching the scene, Aroshia suddenly felt a desire to stop it all. An inexplicable impulse drove her to act, but just then, Ashes raised his hand, and the others stopped their assault.

"That should be enough. He should be heavily injured. Put the shackles on him and let's get out of here…"

Bang!

Ashes only got halfway through his sentence when a ground-shattering sound erupted from the dust!

Han Xiao burst out of the dust cloud like a cannonball, trailing brown and yellow smoke. He was covered in wounds, but most of them were superficial. After enduring so many attacks, he had only suffered minor injuries.

His Qi force flickered erratically as he swung the scythe down!

Clang!!

The diamond arm clashed violently with the scythe blade, the echo reverberating through the air. The sparks from the collision illuminated Ashes' astonished face.

"You're unharmed?!"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

After suffering such heavy damage, even a martial artist of the same grade would be seriously injured. But after all this time, Han Xiao was still alive and kicking!

How are you more durable than a martial artist?!

"Heh…" Han Xiao looked up, half his face covered in winding streaks of blood, looking somewhat tragic, but his expression was full of mockery. He let out a hoarse, low laugh. "Is that all you've got? Are you just tickling me?"

Ashes' face turned ashen. He gathered his Qi force again, unleashing his Esper ability. A mass of carbon particles turned into a long snake, slamming into Han Xiao's chest and sending him flying back into the dust, pinning him to the ground.

"Keep hitting him!"

Ashes roared.

What if he's durable? He's just a living target. We have the initiative!

The DarkStar warriors took a deep breath, renewed their energy, and the attacks engulfed Han Xiao once more.

This time, the onslaught was even more intense. Ashes attacked mercilessly, his eyes fierce, with no intention of holding back.

Seeing this, Aroshia's eyes flickered. She took a few steps forward, picked up an electromagnetic pistol that Han Xiao had dropped, raised it with both hands, and fired at Ashes.

Ping, ping, ping.

The flechette rounds bounced off his diamond-hardened skin.

Ashes turned his head, scoffed, and waved his hand, manipulating the carbon elements within Aroshia's body, slamming her to the ground, immobilizing her.

When setting up the ambush, Ashes had sensed Aroshia. She was just an ordinary person, so he hadn't paid her any attention, letting her stay out of the way. Now that she had fired a couple of shots, Ashes didn't care much. He casually subdued Aroshia and immediately turned back to focus on Han Xiao.

After another round of bombardment, the terrain had been altered by the intense battle. Han Xiao's position had become a crater nearly a meter deep, filled with dust and smoke, obscuring vision.

"Stop."

Ashes' breathing was slightly labored. His Esper ability had consumed a lot of Qi force. The DarkStar warriors stepped back, sweat beading on their foreheads, also somewhat fatigued. As they stopped, the arena fell silent.

"Is he still alive?" a DarkStar warrior asked, peering into the crater.

"He's not dead yet. I can still sense his aura, though it's very faint. This time, he's really half-dead," Ashes said confidently.

However, in the next instant, Ashes' expression changed drastically. The faint aura he sensed was eerily growing stronger, recovering at an unbelievable rate.

Through the dust and smoke, a figure slowly crawled out, possessing a kind of magic that firmly captured the shocked gazes of everyone present.

Tap, tap, tap…

Each footstep seemed to tread on Ashes' heart.

First, a Black Scythe emerged from the smoke, riddled with cracks. As soon as it appeared before the crowd, the scythe shattered into a pile of fragments, completely destroyed.

Then, Han Xiao walked out. Everyone's eyes turned to him, and in the next moment, disbelief filled their eyes.

Han Xiao was covered in dust, but all his wounds had vanished. He twisted his neck, emitting a series of cracking sounds, full of life and energy. His tone was languid, as if he had just woken up from a nap.

"Are you guys done?"

Ashes was aghast.

Why was Han Xiao's injuries able to recover on their own? Did he have the ability to regenerate?

Even the alloy scythe had shattered, but the man was perfectly fine, Han Xiao was as tough as ever, even tougher than alloy!

The attackers were exhausted, but the one being attacked was bursting with energy. How the hell were they supposed to fight this?!

Han Xiao stared at the DarkStar warriors, a smirk on his face, and stretched lazily.

"If you're not done, I can play with you some more."

He had already issued a mission to the players and wasn't worried at all. Besides, he possessed Aurora's character card, which had only one effect—restore to full health, simple and brutal. It could be used six times. Earlier, his health had dropped below 15%, so he had used it for the first time, returning to full health.

Han Xiao was already incredibly tanky, and with this ability, he could do more than just stall. They could exhaust these DarkStar warriors to death, and they still wouldn't be able to kill him.

Ashes' expression changed several times, flashing through astonishment, horror, shock, and seriousness. Finally, all emotions transformed into fear, settling in his eyes!

His body lowered slightly as Ashes restrained his aura, no longer flamboyant, becoming more cautious.

This was his posture when facing a formidable enemy!

When facing Han Xiao, Ashes had initially underestimated him. It wasn't until he realized Han Xiao was immune to his killer move that he abandoned his carelessness and adopted an attitude of dealing with a powerful foe, thinking he was already taking him seriously enough. But he realized he had still underestimated his opponent.

From the start of the battle, in such a short period, Han Xiao had constantly surprised him. Ashes' impression of Han Xiao had been overturned for the second time!

Ashes stared intently at Han Xiao, enunciating each word.

"Just what kind of monster are you?!"