Chapter 1 Sylvia Seizes the Warp Relay

Since Sylvia had seized the warp relay station, Han Xiao swiftly attacked the remaining two planetary strongholds through the enemy's shortcut wormhole passage.

Originally, after the fall of the warp relay station, the troops at the remaining two planetary strongholds knew they were no match and wanted to retreat. However, Han Xiao's efficiency was too high. The enemy couldn't move the materials from the surface base cluster in a short time. The fleet at the second planetary stronghold was completely annihilated, and the fleet at the third planetary stronghold abandoned the troops on the surface and made a getaway.

Having lost their flying vehicles, the ground troops at the two strongholds were trapped beasts, watching helplessly as the airdrop capsules smashed onto their heads. The undead army howled and surged out like a tide, bringing with them blood and slaughter.

These newly added peripheral strongholds didn't have particularly strong Espers, which suited the players' levels perfectly. The occasional Grade B Esper was considered a Boss monster in the players' eyes, and overall, the clearing was very smooth.

It didn't take too long for Han Xiao to lead three hundred thousand players to massacre the three strongholds, leaving no survivors. All the heads were taken by the players, and with the rewards from the war and faction missions, this group of players gained a huge wave of experience and felt extremely pleased.

The remaining forces at the warp relay station were also cleared by Han Xiao, who now had his hands free. The logistics troops would come to clean up and take over the materials left over from this relay station's battlefield, so he didn't have to worry about it.

Having successfully eliminated this relay station, Han Xiao contacted Merlot to inquire about the Black Star Army's main force's battle situation, mainly to check the players' experiences over there.

The Black Star Army's main force, led by Laki and Merlot, was coordinating with several other allies to attack a stronger relay station. Millions of players were dispersed, attacking six planetary strongholds separately, carrying out airborne ground battles. The largest team was led by Hannon.

Han Xiao pulled up the battlefield footage. The screen showed a wilderness battlefield. Hannon charged at the forefront, his roar full of vigor. His furry, burly body was withstanding the concentrated fire of enemy ground vehicles, wielding a war hammer to charge through one position after another. Dozens of Beast Soldiers hung on him, flailing around, without affecting him at all. He was the epitome of recklessness.

A large number of players cooperated in battle behind him. Because Hannon's warrior spirit was burning fiercely, he always charged into the most densely populated areas under fire, so the players behind him also suffered the most intense concentrated fire.

Although Hannon's recklessness made the players' scalps tingle, following behind him provided plenty of opportunities to steal kills. It was both painful and joyful.

The main force of players didn't have the same treatment as the three hundred thousand players on Han Xiao's side. They didn't have so many heads to share exclusively, and their final gains would likely be a level lower. However, according to the players' current level standards, the rewards were still very generous.

"There are still a few battles to come. It shouldn't be a problem to let most people level up a few times."

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Only a little over half a month had passed since version 3.0 started. Not to mention the very few people who had already reached Grade B, the average level of all the army players hovered around level ninety-three. Once they reached level one hundred and advanced, they would definitely reach Grade B, and the combat effectiveness of the player team would undergo a qualitative change.

In the early stages of the version, due to the increase in mission rewards, the players' leveling speed was relatively fast, and it wouldn't be too difficult to reach level one hundred in the short term.

Sylvia and Marian returned after completing their mission, and Han Xiao praised their efficiency.

Marian was, without a doubt, a reliable force who worked hard without complaint. Sylvia, after ten years of training, had finally been cultivated into the capable assistant Han Xiao wanted, capable of standing alone.

"It's all thanks to the teacher's good teaching." In the spaceship's cockpit, Sylvia listened to Han Xiao's praise, and a sincere happy smile appeared on her face.

She still remembered more than ten years ago when her mind was blinded and she tried to attack Han Xiao. In the end, Han Xiao led her onto the right path.

Sylvia was full of gratitude to Han Xiao. The ten-year child labor contract had long expired, but she never mentioned it again. If it weren't for Han Xiao's careful guidance for more than ten years, she didn't know which galaxy she would be struggling to survive in now. She couldn't imagine how terrible her life would be.

Rather than calling it a contract of servitude, Sylvia felt it was more like an excuse for Han Xiao to help her. After more than ten years together, she had developed a kind of dependence on Han Xiao like that of a foster father, and she didn't intend to leave immediately after becoming fully fledged.

"Keep up the good work. You still have room for improvement." Han Xiao nodded.

Sylvia had only recently entered Grade A and was considered to be on the weaker side among the Calamity Grades. She could only exert stronger strength with Han Xiao's specially made orange-grade mechanical equipment. She still had the potential to continue to become stronger.

Han Xiao allowed the troops to rest for a little while before setting off to join the main force. He was very relieved with Laki's large number of troops, so he wasn't in a hurry to rush.

When the group returned to the main force, the battle had already ended a while ago, and they had successfully destroyed a relay station and were cleaning up the battlefield.

Good news kept coming. The six outposts of the World Tree's war domain in the Kant Star System had been successfully cleared. Some escaped back to the four relay stations in the second-tier core area.

The Zero Organisation integrated their forces and advanced aggressively.

...

Over the next ten days, the troops' advance slowed down. The defensive strength of the enemy's core area's relay stations was far higher than that of the periphery, and they also received support from the rear from time to time, barely holding back the Zero Organisation's main force.

In the past half month, the flames of war had been constant. The players had ample combat opportunities and had adapted to the war mission mode. They rushed around, charging at the most dangerous front lines, and gained a lot.

Cold-blooded. This was the impression the player troops left on the other members of the Zero Organisation.

They did not accept surrenders, and even enemies who gave up resistance were killed, leaving no survivors.

The various parties had long known that the Black Star Army had such an undead army. After disappearing for ten years and reappearing, its role in the war was very obvious, which made many forces quite envious.

As the Black Star Army grew stronger and stronger, many forces had studied the information of the undead army. Based on the players' external performance, most organizations were more inclined to believe that this was an Outer Dimension projection of the universe spectacle type, immortal and indestructible, but resurrection required the consumption of some kind of energy, and the number of resurrections in a short period of time was limited.

Although in interstellar warfare, a million low-level Espers was not a large number, the advantage was that they could be recycled. The enemy lost one with each death, while they always had zero casualties, comparable to the famous undead armies, demon pools, undying machine nations, and other special arms of the universe.

In the eyes of other forces, this group of undead was Black Star's trump card force, a special arm that was even more powerful than the World Tree's Beast Soldiers.

With the Black Star Army's current status, it was qualified to have a special force. Although many forces were envious, they did not intend to provoke Black Star proactively for the sake of a million undead. Moreover, apart from Han Xiao, no one else knew the growth potential of the players.

Han Xiao was stationed on his side, and he hadn't taken action for half a month. However, he alone could make thousands of troops retreat in fear. The enemy's high-level combat forces were timid and dared not fight. The name of Han Xiao's terror was too great. In the past ten years, he had killed too many Grade A Espers, and he already possessed strategic deterrence. Ordinary Calamity Grades simply didn't want to fight him.

In this war, the only opponent qualified to fight was Hadda.

This Super-A Grade Seed was indeed troublesome. Han Xiao had fought him thirteen times in seven years, and his record was all wins. However, although Hadda was stubborn, he wasn't stupid. He ran faster than anyone else when he saw the situation was bad. Because he was indeed resistant to beating, Han Xiao had never been able to catch him. He finally felt what it was like for the enemy to deal with him.

Han Xiao estimated that this time he would probably only be able to defeat Hadda, but he didn't mind at all. He was in a relaxed mood.

The players had already returned, and his level had gone up. It would be much easier to defeat Hadda then, so he wasn't in a hurry at all.

Since the leader was slacking, Laki led the Black Star Army's high-level combat forces to take action. Now, Laki had secured the position of vice-leader of the Black Star Army, and in the eyes of outsiders, he was also a big shot, the magic side leader of the army.

Although he was full of negative energy, Laki's combat effectiveness was still trustworthy. The former Forbidden Witch Leader was not just for show. His mana was as vast as the sea, and releasing forbidden spells was like throwing garbage away. His actual combat strength could rank in the top ten on the Zero Organisation's side.

After spending more than ten days to break through two relay stations in the central area, the remaining two actively retreated, all returning to the last core relay station.

Originally, the World Tree war domain wanted to use other strongholds to buy time, taking the opportunity to set up more defensive facilities. However, the Zero Organisation's offensive was fierce this time, and they couldn't delay it. They simply saved their fleets, gathered their forces, and prepared for a big battle with the Zero Organisation.

The last enemy relay station in the Kant Star System had gathered the retreating troops and a large number of reinforcements. The military strength was very strong. The Zero Organisation formulated a response tactic. The task assigned to Han Xiao by the command was still to contain the enemy's high-level combat forces and defeat Hadda.

After the fight started, Han Xiao couldn't take care of the players, so before the war started, he told the officers to arrange the players clearly.

...

At the same time, the officers of the last relay station in the Kant Star System were also holding a meeting in full swing, fiercely discussing how to deal with the Zero Organisation's offensive.

Jord, as the remote commander-in-chief, also participated in the meeting through virtual projection.

"We have fourteen planetary strongholds and a warp relay station. Whether the enemy divides their forces or launches a general attack, we have ways to deal with it. Although the number of fleets is much smaller, as long as we hold on for three days, the next batch of reinforcements will arrive. They will bring a transmission stargate."

"The Zero Organisation can't always gather a large army. Our companions in other star systems can take the opportunity to expand. The longer we delay, the more beneficial it will be for us."

"There's no need to fight to the death. We can retreat to Kaya. When the Zero Organisation's main force disbands, we can break through the blockade again and return to Kant."

Everyone expressed their opinions, and the opinions were not unified. The main thing was to tell Jord their suggestions. Jord was the decision maker.

Jord listened and nodded. "We already have a plan for the general strategic direction. Battle is inevitable. Now that the enemy has the initiative, the countermeasures we've set up may be useful, but the tactics still need to be adapted to the enemy's movements. What we need to consider most now is how to resist the opponent's advantages. Not to mention the Zero Organisation's military strength, which is far greater than ours. In terms of high-level combat forces, no one can match Black Star. We have a great disadvantage."

Hadda heard this and said in a deep voice, "I will hold him back."

"He has defeated you more than a dozen times, proving that you cannot fight him alone. You have many records of retreating in advance, which led to the annihilation of the high-level combat forces that were helping you contain Black Star, causing the death of at least fifteen Grade A Espers."

Jord said unceremoniously. Sometimes he even suspected that Hadda was sent by the other side. Every time he took action, the casualty rate on his side would increase significantly, which was very坑.

Hadda was speechless and unable to refute his behavior of selling out his teammates when he saw the situation was bad. He had to hum to express his dissatisfaction.

Jord's expression was serious. "This time, I will give you the weapon specifically used to deal with Black Star. It can only be used once. You'd better seize the opportunity."

Hadda touched the thing in his pocket, his expression somewhat hesitant.

A few days ago, Jord sent a small team to hand him a strange thing, saying that it was a one-time special weapon used to deal with Black Star, which could severely damage Black Star, and asked him to use it when he fought Black Star.

Although Hadda didn't know the specific function of this weapon, it was definitely something used for sneak attacks. Hadda worked for the World Tree war domain mainly to fight Han Xiao. A fair and square confrontation could stimulate his potential. He was reluctant to use other means to sneak attack Black Star.

"Do you understand? Be sure to find the right opportunity to use it!" Jord repeated.

"This doesn't seem like the style of the Overlord." Hadda was dissatisfied.

"This is my request!" Jord emphasized his tone. He respected the Overlord's demeanor, but some dirty work definitely needed someone to do. He had managed to get this special weapon with great difficulty and hadn't told Heber.

Hadda hummed and reluctantly agreed, secretly determined not to use it.

Anyway, he was just here to fight. He didn't care who won or lost the war. He wasn't a subordinate of the World Tree war domain. Jord couldn't punish him afterwards. If that were the case, he would just leave them and work alone.