Chapter 1 Turret

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Tutu tutu—

The professional players who had arrived with the airdrop pods raised their large-caliber armor-piercing machine guns and fired at the cyan golems around them. A series of flames exploded on the golems, erupting in plumes of gray-black smoke. In the face of the continuous storm of steel, these golems, which could withstand the charge of a knightly order, trembled, constantly retreating, unable to advance even a step, their bodies continuously breaking apart.

Over the past nine months, the team had been through dozens of combat engagements. They had long since gained a wealth of experience in dealing with magical combat puppets like these, handling them with practiced ease. Although they were far fewer in number than an army, they had taken control of the battlefield.

Melos drew his ship-splitting blade, smashing a golem with a single blow, his efficiency extremely high. Aroshia and the Volga brothers stood beside Han Xiao, making no move to act.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, observing the entire field. He stood his ground, not planning to personally intervene. Melos and this group of high-level players were enough to handle the enemy. His subordinates' professional abilities were up to par. He was very comfortable being a hands-off manager, and if he could avoid doing things, he would.

This incident was simply that a planet had spawned a villain trying to cause trouble, so they had been invited to solve it. At least several hundred similar incidents happened every day in the Shattered Star Ring. The villains' goals were also varied. The team had been through many times and were very familiar with the workflow: orbital airdrop landing, then clearing the field. Han Xiao didn't even need to command them. He was proud!

Nine months had passed. He had deliberately controlled Black Star's size, keeping the same manpower as before. However, as his resume grew, he had developed a good reputation. He cooperated with large mercenary groups such as Heavenly Ring, Blade, and Zijing on missions. Although most simple tasks could be brute-forced, they often had reliable performances when encountering difficult problems. Before long, they established an image as a reliable partner. Originally, most large mercenary groups were only trying to win him over and befriend him because of his Longtan background, but they slowly acknowledged Black Star's capabilities. When the Colton Star Cluster needed foreign aid, Han Xiao was often the first choice considered.

When a mercenary group's credit score accumulated to a certain level, they received additional benefits. They would be listed on the background system as a reputable team in that region, automatically sending some of the region's emergency engagements to Black Star. To those who are capable, more work is given. This time, the invitation to support Dusk Star came about in this way.

In fact, the day before yesterday, he had just completed a guard engagement with the Blade Army team. According to habit, he should have rested at the Juberly Hub for a while, but when he saw that it was an emergency event on Dusk Star, he decided to cancel his vacation and come over to work. This planet was one of the infection targets of the [Heterochromatic Disaster] mission that had not yet been activated, so he came to take a look.

"The Dusk Star civilization's level of development is low-magic, not yet reaching the stage of magical industry. They pay more attention to individual power. Although they have sent some 'Ascendants' who should be at the B-grade level to Godora, the society as a whole has limited understanding of interstellar affairs, even less than Aquamarine…"

Han Xiao thought to himself. Each civilization had its own names for the starry sky. Dusk Star called it the "Upper Realm" and "Ascension," reflecting that their civilization was more inclined toward individuals. Moreover, most people did not understand the situation in interstellar space, only knowing that it was a higher-level world. There was also the reason that the kingdom did not popularize this common knowledge.

DarkStar had also deployed Heterochromatic Protoplasm here. Now that nine months had passed, it was almost time for Version 1.0 to be updated. It was time to visit other places where the 2.0 Heterochromatic Disaster was occurring and be mentally prepared in advance.

"Black Star, I've heard so much about you."

Linge walked over, his tone carrying some flattery and awe. With Black Star's people participating in the battle, he was not worried about the battle situation at all. He took this opportunity to talk to Han Xiao and get to know him.

"Hello." Han Xiao stretched out his hand and shook his.

Linge was a little flattered. He thought that this industry leader would be arrogant, but he didn't expect him to be so approachable.

The two chatted here. On the other side, Rex got up from the ground, picked up his shield and spear, took a breath, had no time to communicate with the reinforcements, and hurriedly joined the battle. His army had a chance to breathe, regrouped, and cooperated with the players.

One golem after another shattered. With a group of players helping as reinforcements, the battle ended quickly. The remaining soldiers hurriedly bandaged their wounds and seized the time to recover their strength.

Rex came to Han Xiao and Linge, his face solemn, without exchanging pleasantries, and said, "Destroying these golems opens the door to the altar. Rezale's cult is gathered there, and more enemies are waiting for us. We have no time to delay, please follow us and act immediately."

In the gaps between battles, Rex saw Linge's respectful appearance towards Han Xiao, and knew that this new group of reinforcements had a great background. His tone carried some respect and vigilance. Visitors from the Upper Realm had always been mysterious in his eyes.

He couldn't help but glance at the airdrop pod, secretly guessing how the people from the Upper Realm used this thing to descend. He didn't know what the principle was.

"Okay, let's end the chat and get to work." Han Xiao nodded. Since it was the employer's request, he should work first.

After a brief rest, the Allied forces hurriedly entered the ruins to find the passage, and soon discovered the entrance to the underground altar.

This was an abandoned underground city, which had been secretly used by Rezale as a secret base for many years. The crowd filed in, following the corridor all the way in. The underground city was not large, and the passage was narrow. Rex's troops were numerous, so they could only leave some people on the ground as sentries.

Han Xiao and others followed behind, wandering alone outside the army. The situation was very serious in Rex's eyes, but for him, the situation was very simple—find the target Boss and kill him directly, and the world would be clean.

* * *

In the deepest part of the underground city, at the underground altar, a mirror showed the scene of the army entering. Hundreds of cultists changed their faces.

"Damn it, another group of warriors from the Upper Realm is here. Our plan has been disrupted. The golems didn't kill enough people. The blood isn't enough to activate the altar! It's over!" a high-ranking cultist said in a panic.

Rezale was no longer calm. His face became solemn, staring at Han Xiao and others in the mirror. A touch of envy, longing, and jealousy rose in his eyes.

These people were all from the Upper Realm…

Soon, soon.

I will soon become a person of the Upper Realm.

Rezale always believed that people trapped on the planet were pathetic. The cultists thought that Rezale was carrying out this plan to become the "strongest mage". He scoffed at this statement. These ignorant cultists did not understand the vastness of interstellar space. They were frogs at the bottom of a well, with narrow vision, pathetic!

Perhaps in the eyes of interstellar citizens, the sea of stars was just that, but for those who looked up at the starry sky and could only use imagination to describe the universe, being able to go to interstellar space was an extremely huge attraction. Moreover, he knew for sure that there were other civilizations and other races in the sea of stars. The desire for knowledge and curiosity were like burning flames, irresistible.

This was the exploratory instinct of intelligent creatures, wanting to progress, to personally stand on the summit, to see the scenery they longed for. When they didn't have it, they often craved it无比.

Rezale's goal from beginning to end was to go to the Upper Realm. For this, he could do anything, regardless of the consequences. However, the sudden arrival of mercenaries from the Upper Realm caused his carefully prepared plan to change.

If it weren't for these people, his plan would definitely have succeeded.

A deep madness appeared in his eyes.

"Teacher, what should we do?!" the high-ranking cultist said anxiously.

Rezale looked down at the agitated cultists under the altar. This was the group he had spent decades building. A grim expression appeared on his old face, and he slowly said, "Lend me your flesh and blood…"

His staff lit up with a bewitching red light, and the stone pillars of the altar overflowed with scarlet halos. A faint, shimmering magic array appeared on the ground. At this moment, all the noisy sounds disappeared. The cultists' eyes bulged, and their faces turned blue-purple, as if they were suffocating. They frantically grabbed at their throats, but their hands and feet twitched uncontrollably. One after another, they fell to the ground, struggling frantically, their bodies twisting into countless bizarre postures.

The high-ranking cultist looked painful, his eyes full of disbelief. He struggled to climb the altar, his trembling hand wanting to grab the hem of Rezale's robe. However, before his hand could reach halfway, his eyes suddenly burst open, blood gushing out and dripping on the ground, turning into slender lines of blood, like long red earthworms, automatically "crawling" to the base of the altar and seeping into it.

Hundreds of cultists died collectively. The blood in their bodies was drained by the magic array, turning them into shriveled corpses with gaping mouths, sunken features, and skin and bones. The altar, which had absorbed the blood, became extraordinarily smooth, like gray jade.

The scene, which had just been noisy, was now silent.

Finally, there was enough blood.

Rumble…

The altar hummed, and the ritual began.

A majestic magical power containing the taste of blood constructed a special magic array.

Behind the altar was a source water vein. The slowly flowing underground source water suddenly boiled, and firefly-like tiny light spots floated on the surface. These were all materialized magic power. The light spots suddenly gathered into several light dragons, which were frantically absorbed by Rezale along his facial features.

Five minutes later, Rex led his troops here and saw the altar and the corpses all over the ground from afar. When he saw that Rezale was absorbing the magic power of the source water, his face turned pale.

"Damn it, the ritual has begun! We must stop them immediately!"

Rex was about to call for his troops to rush over when the altar was surrounded by the sound of magic buzzing. Defensive magic arrays appeared on the walls, and multicolored light enveloped the altar, superimposing thousands of defensive spells, making it extremely strong. The ground rumbled, and twenty new golems crawled out from underground, blocking the altar.

Rex's expression changed drastically.

With so many defensive spells and golems, they couldn't break through in a short time. He thought he could stop the ritual after finding Rezale, but now he was blocked outside.

Rezale had been planning for so long and could not afford to lose, so he naturally deployed a large number of defenses. As long as he resisted the enemy for a while, he could complete the ritual of drawing magic power.

The source water vein, thousands of kilometers long, contained majestic magic power. This ritual was inherited from ancient times. It built a source of magic power in the body in order to accommodate so much magic power and break through the limits of strength.

"If he completes the ritual, the southern territory will be finished. Break these defensive spells quickly and charge with me…" Rex said anxiously. Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed on the shoulder and interrupted.

Rex turned his head and saw Han Xiao walking past him to the front of the team.

"You guys are too slow, let me do it."

Han Xiao's tone was unquestionable, with the confidence of a professional. Unlike the anxious Dusk Star soldiers, he always looked calm and didn't take these protective measures seriously.

Crackla—

The next moment, compressed orbs shot out and quickly unfolded. Hundreds of various turrets surrounded Han Xiao, spitting out artillery fire, instantly tearing apart layers of magical protection. In front of him, these defensive spells were as fragile as paper!

In the past nine months, although Han Xiao had not changed his combat system, he had strengthened it, increasing the number of various machines, making them more powerful. In less than ten seconds, twenty golems were torn to pieces.

The intertwined flames made the underground city as bright as day. His sudden outburst of terrifying power shocked the soldiers. Rex looked shocked and murmured, "What terrifying attack power. Even stronger than the legendary Ascendants. Even the Guardian Mage doesn't have such strength. Is this the power of a warrior from the Upper Realm…"

He had heard secrets from the Guardian Mage Corps that the warriors of the Upper Realm were completely different from the warriors who only used magic power, possessing all kinds of strange abilities. This time, he finally had his eyes opened.

The artillery fire easily smashed the defensive spells and broke the altar, immediately interrupting the ritual.

Rezale fell to the ground, furious and incredulous. He didn't expect that the defensive measures he had deployed for many years would be completely torn apart in a short time. The strength of this mercenary from the Upper Realm was far beyond his imagination.

However, the next moment, Rezale's face changed. He felt the surging magic power in his body, suddenly breaking through that layer of shackles, and a new force was born in his body.

His eyes widened, and he suddenly burst into tears.

"I succeeded… I succeeded…"

Although the ritual was interrupted not long after it started, the part of the magic power he had drawn had helped him break through the bottleneck and finally reach the standard set by Godora, allowing him to go to the Upper Realm he yearned for.

The increase in power gave Rezale the illusion that he could defeat all enemies with a wave of his hand, but he didn't want to fight. He turned his head to activate the blasting rune, causing the underground city to collapse, and then leave along the secret passage. His heart was full of excitement. His long-cherished wish was about to be fulfilled.

However, plans often went against reality.

Sensing the sharply rising energy reaction, Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, he temporarily broke through to B-grade."

"But…"

In the next second, the Void Dragon Mechanic Suit instantly attached to him. Han Xiao came to Rezale's side as if teleporting, pressed his head, and slammed it down.

Bang!!

Before Rezale could react, his head was stuck in the ground, his staff fell out of his hand and landed far away. The strength he had just increased did not play any role at all. The powerful feeling only lasted for a few seconds before being dispelled in an instant!

"Is it useful?"