Chapter 1 The Battle Begins

The battle entered a fever pitch from the start.

Outside the porthole, the Godoran fleet, the mercenary fleet, and the DarkStar fleet exchanged fire. The light of the cannons turned this piece of space into a colorful spectacle, and the dazzling colors constantly brought death.

Beams of light constantly pierced the armor of spaceships in the vacuum environment, turning the people inside into scorched ashes.

Since Degulish failed to issue orders, the DarkStar fleet lost its command and became a mess. After a while, under the urging of other DarkStar executives, they organized and began to try to break through.

Unfortunately, because the initial order was not passed down in time, the DarkStar troops missed the best opportunity and suffered heavy losses. At this time, moving forward against the artillery fire was like being trapped in a quagmire, moving very slowly.

"Looks like we don't need to do anything."

Han Xiao shook his head as he watched the battle scene.

The Godoran and mercenary fleets joined forces, and their forces overwhelmed the DarkStar six-mothership formation. It was very likely that they could turn this DarkStar force into wreckage floating in the universe with endless artillery fire, without the need to enter the contact battle stage.

The Black Star Mercenary Group's mission was to be responsible for the contact battle, but at this time there was no opportunity to perform, so they could only watch from the rear.

DarkStar gradually showed signs of defeat. Some DarkStar frigates became deserters, trying to get rid of the heavy motherships and escape on their own, but were blown into fireworks along the way.

Han Xiao thought for a while. Being passive didn't fit the goal of establishing the Black Star Mercenary Group's reputation. He decided to actively create space to perform.

"Risda, can you control that mothership?"

"Yes."

"You drive the mothership and make a short-range warp, crashing it onto the nearest planet. I will convince the Godorans to let you out."

As he spoke, Han Xiao contacted the War Affairs Bureau through a private number.

"I'm Black Star. I'm preparing to control a mothership and crash it onto the planet's surface for ground warfare. There is a DarkStar deputy leader on that mothership. This is an opportunity to capture him alive, and we can also seize a DarkStar mothership."

Degulish was also a mission target of the Godora Alliance. Capturing him alive and handing him over to Godora would have the same rewards as killing him, and handing over a mothership would also have huge rewards.

Godora came prepared. This war might be DarkStar's last struggle. Han Xiao wanted to improve the mission rating as much as possible.

The War Affairs Bureau had been paying attention to the battle. Now that things had reached this point, the higher-ups had no reason to suspect that Han Xiao was an enemy. Capturing Degulish alive and seizing a mothership would be very useful. After discussion, the higher-ups decided to try Han Xiao's idea. They had the confidence to control the overall situation and dared to take risks, so they quickly ordered the fleet commander.

The content of this order confused the fleet commander, but as a soldier, he was used to obeying orders and quickly did so.

Risda controlled the DarkStar mothership to leave the formation and began to accelerate slowly, and the artillery fire attacking it became sparse.

The other motherships didn't have this treatment and were subjected to more intense bombing, and could only watch Risda's mothership go further and further away.

The passengers on this mothership hadn't reacted yet. The next moment, they entered warp and quickly arrived at the nearest planet, which was the barren planet where the Godoran fleet was hiding before.

Boom!!

The mothership crashed directly into the atmosphere and plunged to the ground, smashing out a crater, and smoke rose into the sky like a fountain.

The DarkStar members inside the mothership were knocked dizzy.

Degulish was the only Calamity Grade expert sitting on this mothership. He was strong and healthy and was not injured. At this time, he looked shocked.

When the communication was interrupted just now, he had some doubts. Just now, the mothership moved on its own, confirming his guess. Obviously, the mothership was controlled by the enemy.

No wonder the enemy had learned their whereabouts; it turned out that even their mothership belonged to the enemy!

When did the enemy make a move?! Degulish was shocked and angry.

The information about the mothership crashing onto the planet's surface was transmitted to the mercenary fleet, and Gulejia quickly contacted Han Xiao.

"Black Star, it's your turn to take action."

"Leave it to us."

Han Xiao nodded.

The BlackLight Stealth turned around, and more than 20 Black Star's spaceships followed behind, leaving the joint fleet formation and quickly warping, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the planet where the mothership crashed.

The DarkStar members, including Degulish, were all trapped on the surface. Ground warfare was the stage for the players to perform.

"Land, prepare to deploy mercenaries!"

Han Xiao decisively ordered, and the transport ships slowly landed on the planet's surface.

The players in the spaceship came to the hatch and waited. Everyone was already eager to move and ready to rush out at any time.

A mothership should carry tens of thousands of DarkStar members, including some Grade B Supers. Naturally, the powerful targets would be dealt with by the cadres, and the players only needed to deal with ordinary soldiers, letting them fight monsters and kill enemies on their own.

At this time, Hela frowned and asked:

"What about us?"

Han Xiao looked back, thought for a while, and said, "You will also participate in the battle this time."

Hela and Aurora wouldn't die so easily, and they would get used to the feeling of interstellar combat sooner or later, so they needed to train. Now was a relatively safe opportunity to try, and Han Xiao didn't plan to stop Hela from intervening this time.

Hearing this, Hela felt Han Xiao's trust, and her brows slowly relaxed, silently nodding.

She didn't like being treated as a protected object all the time, and had always hoped to play a role.

The ground was densely packed with DarkStar warriors waiting in formation, guarding the vicinity of the mothership, while the mercenary group's spaceships carrying the players formed a ring formation, surrounding the DarkStar warriors from all directions.

Chi—

One hatch after another opened.

The players walked out of the spaceships one after another, hundreds of thousands of people surrounding tens of thousands of DarkStar warriors.

A sea of people!

The BlackLight Stealth hovered in the air, and Han Xiao jumped down. He didn't need a standard superhero landing. Mechanical Force surrounded his body. When he was about to touch the ground, he constructed a reverse magnetic field. The potential energy of the fall disappeared directly, and the whole person floated more than ten centimeters off the ground.

"Black Star! It's you again!"

Degulish gritted his teeth.

Han Xiao said expressionlessly, "Last time, three of you besieged me alone. Now it's just you. No one will come to save you even if you shout yourself hoarse."

Now he was already at the Calamity Grade like Degulish, and the gap in hard power had been greatly reduced. In a one-on-one fight, Degulish had only one ending:

——Death!

Hearing this, a hint of nervousness flashed in Degulish's eyes. He was indeed very afraid of Han Xiao's toughness, and hurriedly thought about countermeasures, but the more he thought about it, the more desperate he became—he couldn't think of any possibility of escape. The fleet couldn't even protect itself, and no one would come to support him.

The only advantage was that although it was difficult to kill Black Star, Black Star himself was only Grade B, and he might be able to delay for a long time…

Buzz!

Just as Degulish was thinking this, Han Xiao's body was surrounded by lightning, and compressed spheres unfolded one by one. This was the first time he had used his full strength since entering the Calamity Grade. His thick energy shot out in all directions, blooming with the energy fluctuations belonging to a Calamity Grade!

Sensing the energy fluctuations of the same level, Degulish's expression changed drastically.

"You… you have also reached the Calamity Grade?!"

When they fought not long ago, Black Star was only Grade B!

How could it be so fast?!

Without saying a word, Degulish abandoned the DarkStar warriors behind him, turned around and ran away, turning into a stream of light and quickly fleeing, disappearing on the horizon.

Just kidding, when Black Star hadn't reached the Calamity Grade, he was already unkillable and indestructible. Now that he had entered the Calamity Grade, how could he fight!

"I'll chase him. You deal with the DarkStar army."

At this time, the new armor had not yet been built. Han Xiao put on the spare armor, fully activated the propulsion module, and chased after Degulish like a bolt of lightning, disappearing from everyone's sight.

Before long, earth-shattering battle sounds came from the distance, as if missiles were washing the ground, and the ground was shaking slightly.

This seemed like a signal, and the melee suddenly broke out!

The DarkStar warriors launched a desperate counterattack, and hundreds of thousands of players were not to be outdone, and charged up from all directions.

Boom boom boom—

Various abilities emerged one after another, and countless artillery fire soared into the sky. The battlefield was chaotic, and the two sides fought together, their formations intertwined.

The DarkStar members were, after all, interstellar warriors, and their average strength was stronger. The players fell like mowing grass, one after another.

However, as the battle continued, the faces of the DarkStar warriors also changed. At first, they were full of fighting spirit, then they became slightly tired, and after fighting for a long time, they gradually became dull and wooden. Finally, the DarkStar warriors discovered the players' immortal characteristics.

The enemy would not die. No matter how they were killed, it was useless. The DarkStar warriors realized this, and their mentality instantly collapsed.

What was the point of fighting!

The DarkStar warriors gradually changed from being on the offensive to being defeated. Tens of thousands of people could no longer hold the line, and were eaten away piece by piece. Before long, the entire DarkStar army was overwhelmed by the players.

Ashes with great destructive abilities was not here, and the players had no nemesis.

The DarkStar cadres who were too powerful were all entangled and killed by Melos and others, and the remaining DarkStar soldiers were no match for the hundreds of thousands of players, and fell under the rolling torrent of players.

…

A few tens of minutes later.

The chaotic battlefield gradually quieted down, leaving only sporadic screams. The battle was coming to an end. The ground was covered with the corpses of DarkStar soldiers, and the remaining DarkStar members surrendered and were thrown aside, bound.

The players happily cleaned up the battlefield, which was full of equipment dropped by the DarkStar warriors. From time to time, there were players fighting over equipment. Melos did not stop them. According to the rules of the mercenary industry, these spoils belonged to the mercenaries.

"I wonder how Han Xiao is doing?"

Hela wiped the blood from her face and walked to Melos' side.

She participated in the battle and experienced the strength of a normal interstellar warrior without any danger.

A trace of dark red airflow overflowed from the bodies of the tens of thousands of DarkStar warriors who died and was absorbed by her.

Creatures who had just died could provide her with energy. Hela could increase her ability strength through large-scale massacres. In her previous life, she had massacred many races and improved her strength in this way. Now she was not so radical and would naturally not actively choose this approach.

"The commander could handle three Grade A experts before, so nothing will go wrong."

Melos was not worried at all. He took out his communicator and contacted Han Xiao.

"Commander, have you finished it?"

"Coincidentally, I just finished the battle. Wait, I'll go back now."

…

Hanging up the communication, Han Xiao looked at Degulish not far away.

At this time, Degulish was panting heavily, in very poor condition, with almost no energy left. He glared at Han Xiao.

The two had chased and fought all over the place. Within a radius of hundreds of miles, there were traces of the two fighting. The ground was pitted and uneven, covered with countless craters, and several places had become rift valleys.

Han Xiao wantonly used the power of the Calamity Grade, enjoying the pleasure brought by the powerful destructive power.

The aftermath of a Calamity Grade battle without reservation could easily change the landscape.

Degulish's punch and kick were enough to crack the earth, but he couldn't break Han Xiao's terrifying endurance.

Han Xiao now also had the strength of the Calamity Grade. Degulish could not crush him like when he attacked Aquamarine Star. He was tightly entangled by Han Xiao. He couldn't win if he fought, and he couldn't escape if he ran, so he was in a very helpless situation. If he didn't resist, he would be beaten badly. If he resisted, he would inevitably consume energy, and he couldn't hurt Black Star.

High-intensity battles were very energy-consuming. As his energy decreased, Degulish's personal combat power continued to decline. Han Xiao's attacks were not easy to withstand either, causing him more and more injuries, and the snowball effect grew.

Now Han Xiao's specialty was attrition warfare. Although the Mechanical Army had not yet recovered and his own equipment had not been updated, he used his expertise and rare skills to squeeze Degulish dry in a tofu-grinding manner.

"Cough cough…"

Degulish coughed a few times and gritted his teeth to gather the energy he had just recovered.

"Don't fight. Do you still have the strength to fight?"

Han Xiao was helpless. As expected of a Calamity Grade martial artist, his body was outstanding. Even if his energy was exhausted, he was constantly recovering between breaths.

Seeing that Degulish was still trying to gather his energy, Han Xiao thought for a while and said:

"Do you know why your whereabouts were leaked?"

Degulish's face changed drastically, and his movements froze. The energy he had just recovered dissipated again.

"Could it be…"

"Before you attacked Aquamarine Star, I had already invaded your mothership, right when you were attacking Golden Gate Star… I am the one who provided intelligence to Godora and provoked this battle."

Degulish's face turned ashen.

At this time, the communicator rang again, this time with news from Gulejia.

"Black Star, the battle on my side is almost over. All the DarkStar motherships have been destroyed. Only a small number of DarkStar members are driving small spaceships and escaping through the gaps created by the motherships crashing. The Godorans are chasing them. It is not yet known whether there are any DarkStar executives among the escapees. We are preparing to set off to meet you. Have you finished your side?"

"Yes, the mission is completed. Come over."

He had expected the complete victory on the main battlefield. The intelligence provided by Risda was extremely detailed. He not only knew the location of DarkStar, but also the number of DarkStar troops. The Godoran side also had enough time to mobilize troops and launch a sneak attack.

Godora controlled an entire star system after all. With such a big advantage, it would be too embarrassing if they were still evenly matched in the end.

Without the ability to hide and conceal themselves, DarkStar could not resist a full-scale offensive from a star system-level civilization. If they didn't have a strong ability to hide, DarkStar would have been destroyed long ago.

And what Han Xiao provided was the intelligence that Godora needed most.

Rats hiding in the dark often suffered a devastating disaster once they were exposed.

It could be said that he was the main reason for the destruction of DarkStar.

Han Xiao did not avoid Degulish and ended the communication in person.

Degulish fell to the ground with a thud, no longer resisting, and closed his eyes painfully, choking with sobs:

"DarkStar is finished…"