Chapter 1 “Huff… Huff…”

Sylvia wore light mechanical battle armor and kept her shield open. The armor's head protection was a semi-circular metal mechanical ring that went around the back of her head and was fixed to her ears. Her face was protected by a semi-transparent arc shield. She held a silver alloy sword in her hand.

At this moment, she was panting heavily, like a bellows, feeling like her lungs were about to burn. Wet sweat clung to the mechanical battle armor, slippery and viscous.

Roar—

A Beast Soldier suddenly rushed out from the side, its huge metal mechanical claw attacking, the claw blades vibrating at a high frequency, appearing blurry.

Sylvia forced herself to concentrate, gritting her teeth as she raised her sore arm. The slender, tough silver alloy sword in her hand swept horizontally, the claw and sword clashing, producing intense and dazzling sparks.

Clang!

The light but tough mechanical battle armor hummed, increasing its power output. Sylvia's speed suddenly increased, and she quickly changed her move, stabbing the Beast Soldier from a strange and tricky angle with a twist of her sword. Mechanical Force Lightning flashed and disappeared on the alloy sword, and a shimmering yellow light flowed over the blade, instantly piercing into the Beast Soldier's body.

Bang!

A thick yellow beam of light penetrated the Beast Soldier's body, spraying out from its back, leaving a bloody hole. The Beast Soldier was blasted away, falling onto the metal surface, dead. Scattered around it were dense corpses of Beast Soldiers and destroyed turrets.

This was the surface battlefield of a satellite fortress in the Logistics Transit Station of the War Realm. A landing force was struggling to advance towards the core energy furnace of the satellite fortress. Beast Soldiers surged in like a tide from all directions, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting, leaving a trail of corpses wherever they went.

Sylvia was surrounded by countless comrades-in-arms, some firing heavy cannons, some holding up electromagnetic shields to resist attacks. She was also a member of the landing force, maintaining the safety of the flanks.

She fought bravely with her sword for a long time and could no longer remember whether she had killed one hundred or two hundred Beast Soldiers. Her battle armor was damaged, and she had suffered minor injuries. At this time, she was covered in sweat and exhausted.

In the midst of the battlefield, the sounds of explosions and roars were deafening. Sylvia couldn't hear other sounds; she only knew to follow the main force and keep moving forward, forward, and forward.

Looking up at the sky, the scene of interstellar warfare outside the satellite fortress was spectacular. Countless brilliant "shooting stars" streaked across the dark sky, weaving a web of light. These were the rays of countless ion cannons, illuminating the ancient darkness, blooming and burning in the silence.

Sylvia's vision was suddenly shrouded in a strong light. An ion cannon landed on the ground not far away, hitting a dense army of Beast Soldiers, blasting away a large number of figures.

Boom!!

The fleet could occasionally break through the satellite's protective shield for a short time, providing support and clearing obstacles for the landing force to reach the entrance of the energy furnace.

"That almost hit us." Sylvia was still in shock. Before she could catch her breath, several more light cannons fired over, so she had to immediately enlarge the shield on her arm and quickly block them.

Bang bang bang—

Clusters of broken light burst on the shield. Her arm bore the force of the recoil. Her arm and shoulder bones were刺痛(ci tong-tingling pain), almost unable to lift. Sylvia gritted her teeth and endured the pain, on the verge of tears. Only one thought remained in her mind:

—I really want to go back to school!!

At least there's no danger to my life!

Three years ago, Sylvia reached B-rank and excitedly went to Han Xiao to tell him the good news. Han Xiao was very pleased and then threw her into the vanguard force for practical combat training.

At first, Sylvia was quite happy, but now she was full of regret.

Especially since the direct superior of this unit was Laki. Before each battle, Laki would follow the procedure in the work manual and routinely boost the morale of his subordinates, making her feel like she was doomed to die every time.

Just then, a dark figure suddenly flew from the horizon in the distance and crashed heavily onto the ground not far away. Under the impact of the huge force, the metal surface seemed to have turned into paper, twisting and wrinkling, and a pit was smashed out.

The figure seemed to have fallen badly, and it took a long time to get up, fly into the air, and turn its gaze to the landing force where Sylvia was.

Seeing the person's appearance clearly, Sylvia's heart immediately sank. This person was actually the Disaster Grade powerhouse stationed at the Logistics Transit Station. He should have been fighting in outer space, but he had fallen onto the satellite's surface. It seemed that he had been shot down.

The battlefield was changing rapidly. The faces of everyone in the landing force changed, and they all turned to face this sudden Disaster Grade opponent, preparing to deal with the attack. They didn't have a Disaster Grade leader among them.

Just as everyone was extremely nervous, another meteor fell from the sky, heavily撞(zhuang-colliding) into the Disaster Grade powerhouse, sending him flying dozens of kilometers, blasting a circle of sonic boom shockwaves, blowing away the surrounding Beast Soldiers. The strong wind blew Sylvia and the others sideways.

"It's Your Excellency Marion!"

"That's so timely; I almost thought I was going to die."

Sylvia heard the exclamations behind her. She stood firm with her sword and looked intently. The "meteor" that knocked the Disaster Grade enemy away was hovering in place. It was Marion, the A-grade Mechanic who had joined the Black Star Army three years ago.

Marion was covered in heavy, dark mech armor, completely sealed, like a heavy-armored knight. He turned his head and glanced at the landing force, nodding slightly to signal the landing force to continue advancing and not worry about anything else.

Then, he accelerated and disappeared on the spot, chasing the enemy Disaster Grade and concentrating on dealing with his opponent.

"I wonder how the battle above is going…"

Sylvia retracted her gaze and looked up at the sky again, her gaze seeming to penetrate the darkness. She knew that her teacher was sitting in the fleet, controlling the overall situation.

At the same time, the Zero Organization's fleet was frantically attacking the Logistics Transit Station, destroying enemy ships one after another.

Han Xiao was in the flagship's command room, observing the real-time battlefield projection, mobilizing troops, and conducting overall command. A circle of staff deputies stood around him.

Compared to three years ago, Han Xiao had a more稳重(wen zhong-steady) temperament. He had a simple crew-cut hairstyle, his facial features were sharp, his chin had青色(qing se-bluish) stubble, he wore a string of compressed ball necklaces around his neck, and a large black cloak windbreaker, but it couldn't hide his壮硕(zhuang shuo-sturdy) body. He exuded the sexy charm of a mature man from head to toe.

His current identity was the first commander of this fleet.

This was a standard mixed force. Han Xiao's direct fleet accounted for 45%, the largest scale. The others were the troops of several Zero Organization members, all under Han Xiao's command.

After three years of development, the Black Star Army had become one of the top members of the Zero Organization, with a transcendent status. A year ago, the Crimson Dynasty finally reached an agreement with Han Xiao, and the Black Star Army became a long-term cooperative force, becoming the recognized leader of the Zero Organization. Thus, Han Xiao himself was qualified to serve as commander.

Under the arrangement of the Crimson Dynasty, Han Xiao was able to command this force, specializing in the expedition to the War Realm's Logistics Transit Station, and had been fighting abroad for half a year.

Being a commander meant that he couldn't easily move out. Han Xiao no longer charged into the front lines; he left it all to his subordinates. Just right, the army had recruited several new A-grade Supers three years ago, who were very useful. They were all reliable talents, making his high-level combat power no longer scarce.

Unless he encountered an irresistible powerhouse, he generally didn't need to take action.

He had to train cadres and give them opportunities to gain merit… After all, if he took action, his subordinates would have nothing to do.

At this time, several staff deputies were observing the battlefield projection and discussing loudly.

"The enemy is still resisting, covering the logistics unit, and transporting materials from the transit station through the teleportation stargate, trying to reduce losses. If we don't stop them, in twenty-seven minutes, the enemy will be able to recover most of the resources and evacuate through the stargate."

"Don't say twenty-seven minutes, they won't even last ten minutes. The enemy's defense line has completely collapsed."

"Next, as long as we blow up the teleportation stargate, the enemies who haven't had time to evacuate will be dead."

Listening to the discussion, Han Xiao stroked his stubble and said nothing.

The core facility of the Logistics Transit Station was a teleportation stargate built by a Star Cluster civilization. The other end was connected to the Sol Star Cluster. The enemy had deployed satellite fortress shields and fleets to protect the teleportation stargate. After being attacked, they resisted while evacuating through the stargate.

Once the enemy evacuated, Han Xiao could not pursue them. The other side of the stargate was enemy territory. If the stargate was closed, they would be surrounded. Therefore, the victory condition of the battle was to destroy the teleportation stargate before the enemy completely evacuated.

The teleportation stargate was a two-way channel. The enemy's reinforcements could cross the stargate. It took time for the enemy to mobilize reinforcements, and the attacking side took the initiative. Therefore, as long as they blew up the stargate first, the battle would be over.

The Black Star Army had obtained massive resources in recent years, so Han Xiao was willing to spend a lot of money to greatly expand the fleet. Therefore, this expeditionary fleet was extremely large in scale, with overwhelming strength over the transit station's guarding force. The battlefield projection showed that the enemy's defense line had collapsed, and the teleportation stargate had been exposed.

Seeing this, an adjutant smiled. "The enemy has no chance; we've won."

As soon as he finished speaking, the blue vortex in the center of the stargate fluctuated for a while, spitting out warships. The War Realm's reinforcements arrived and immediately joined the battle, blocking the fleet's offensive.

Han Xiao glanced at the adjutant speechlessly. The person looked embarrassed, coughed, avoided Han Xiao's gaze, and pretended to stare at the battlefield projection, with a focused expression of "I'm analyzing the battle situation; don't bother me."

"This is why I don't want to speak when I'm winning."

Han Xiao sighed.

The appearance of the enemy's reinforcements triggered a chain reaction. On the other side, streams of light flew from the barren universe zone, and a large fresh force fleet stopped at the edge of the battlefield, sandwiching Han Xiao's fleet with the War Realm's reinforcements.

"Ambush?!" Everyone's faces changed slightly.

"Oh, it seems that this Logistics Transit Station is a trap." Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, looking calm and unsurprised.

The battle had been going so smoothly that he had long noticed the problem. He had removed so many Logistics Transit Stations; how could the War Realm not respond in any way?

The warship models of this ambush fleet were completely different from those of the War Realm. This was a fleet belonging to another force. In the past three years, one force after another that wanted to strangle him in the cradle had secretly allied with the War Realm to participate in secret wars. Han Xiao had encountered more than a dozen ambushes and traps specifically targeting him. He was already accustomed to this. He felt like something was missing if he wasn't assassinated for a day.

Didi—

At this time, the flagship received a video message from the ambush force. A man with metallic skin appeared on the screen, his whole body as if cast in metal, with a murderous expression.

"Black Star, come out and fight!"

"Tsk, this guy is here again."

Han Xiao sighed. This person was also a Super A Seed, called Hadaway, a battle maniac. He had乱入(luan ru-intruded) into a certain battle a year ago, specifically looking for him to spar, and escaped after being defeated.

However, Hadaway did not give up the challenge. After escaping, he took the initiative to ally with the War Realm, using the opportunity to fight to luan ru again and again, treating Han Xiao as an object to磨炼(mo lian-hone) himself. He was repeatedly defeated and fought bravely, and he ran贼快(zei kuai-extremely fast) when he saw that the situation was not good. In Han Xiao's eyes, he was a搅屎棍(jiao shi gun-troublemaker).

In the past three years, Han Xiao's network of contacts had become longer, and correspondingly, there were more enemies.

"You guys take command. I have work to do."

Han Xiao looked calm, casually twisted his neck, and strode towards the cabin door, leaving a背影(bei ying-view of his back) as稳如老狗(wen ru lao gou-steady as an old dog) for everyone in the command room.

"Another assassination attempt. I hope I can have a good time this time."