Chapter 144 The War Machine Awakens

Kacha, kacha, kacha—

The sound of unfolding mechanical components instantly drowned out the friction of carbon particles in the ashes.

Along the walls and corners, hundreds of turrets unfolded their bases with a roar. The triple-barreled, large-caliber cannons exuded a fierce aura. Most of the gunpowder turrets had been replaced with electromagnetic kinetic energy turrets, and ten additional laser cannons with greater penetration had been added. [High-Energy Mastery] had given Han Xiao energy weapon technology.

Dong, dong, dong—

The turrets roared, the large-caliber cannons booming with a deep, full sound, accompanied by the metallic vibration of the gun barrels.

Thirty or forty black panther-type mechanical beasts pounced out, their shoulder-mounted rapid-fire cannons firing incessantly. On the ceiling, gleaming mechanical spiders crawled along the walls, rustling. In addition to the black panther mechanical beasts, Han Xiao had also created smaller mechanical beasts, the mechanical insect series, including spiders, centipedes, scorpions, and mechanical dragonflies, among others.

With just one blueprint of a mechanical spider, he could extrapolate and create blueprints for different types of mechanical insects.

Under Philip's unified command, all these machines attacked Ash.

The dense black cloud of carbon particles suddenly contracted, forming a sphere that completely encased Ash. The outer layer transformed into diamond, and the dense rain of bullets pounded against it. The diamond shattered layer by layer, but the broken parts turned back into particles, filling the gaps again. The shield was almost inexhaustible.

Seeing this, Han Xiao's face twitched. "Is this Sand Shield? What a cheat!"

At that moment, Ash's indifferent voice came from inside the diamond sphere. "Even if you laid a trap in advance, even if you are immune to my carbon element deconstruction, in the face of my current abilities, your end will only be…utter defeat!"

Boom!!

The next moment, the front of the diamond sphere suddenly transformed into a surging black tide, crashing down like an overwhelming wave. More than a dozen mechanical beasts were swept into it and turned into scrap metal in the blink of an eye. Not only were they crushed, but there were also signs of frantic cutting.

'This power is a bit strange. It can disable the armor of a mechanical beast in an instant?'

The thought flashed through his mind. Han Xiao had no time to observe. He slammed his palms together, and a compressed ball on each of his left and right hand bracelets unfolded, transforming into thirty-two white-gold floating shuttles, arranged in a circle, hovering behind Han Xiao. The tips of the shuttles emitted beams of laser light. Every four beams focused on a single point, forming eight points of light in front of Han Xiao.

Then, a reaction occurred between the points of light. A line connected the eight points, forming a halo. The area in the middle of the halo appeared as if someone had colored it in with a brush, revealing a mirror-like golden light energy shield!

The black tide surged, slamming into the golden shield. Like waves hitting a reef, the black flow split open to both sides. Under Ash's control, the separated black tide surged back from behind Han Xiao.

At the same time, the floating shuttles rearranged themselves. The eight points of light were arranged in a three-dimensional pattern, forming shields in front, behind, to the left, to the right, and above Han Xiao, constructing a trapezoid. The black tide repeatedly attacked, like the ebb and flow of the tide. The trapezoidal energy shield flickered with electricity, but remained unshaken.

"Floating Shuttle Set, Halo Array!"

[High-Energy Mastery] was a core knowledge of the Mechanic class. Han Xiao had built a lot of good stuff during this time. This [Halo Array] was like a strengthened version of the Sonic Ball, integrating offense and defense.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, observing the black tide, and immediately discovered the reason for its strange power.

The black tide was just the superficial form. In the fine details, some carbon elements transformed into diamond fragments, spinning at high speed. The directions of rotation were different, like the mouths of worms filled with sharp teeth, or like rotary saws, possessing extremely strong cutting power.

This large area of black tide contained at least hundreds of "diamond rotary saws," like undercurrents, difficult to detect without careful observation. No wonder the mechanical beasts were scrapped in an instant.

This meant that if the carbon particle cloud enveloped a building, it could cut it into a pile of fragments in a few seconds. The destructive power far exceeded the superficial form, like a swarm of gold-eating ants turning an elephant into a skeleton in an instant.

Although he was very durable, he didn't want to try this kind of power with his delicate flesh.

"As expected of a Calamity Grade. Such subtle and conflicting operations, he couldn't do it before. His control over his ability is higher. I have to be more careful." Han Xiao thought to himself.

As he spoke, the Void Dragon Mechanical Suit attached to him. He strode toward Ash, finding it difficult to break through Ash's defense at medium range. He only had a chance in close combat.

Aroshia transformed into a stream of light and penetrated Ash's diamond sphere. These particles could only cause ripples in her energy body, unable to form an effective attack. After becoming an energy being, her immunity to physical damage was extremely high.

Buzz!

The light of an energy explosion shone out from inside the diamond sphere.

Ash was blasted back by Aroshia's attack and retreated, dissolving the diamond sphere and turning it into a flat shield. He needed to maintain a clear view. This energy lifeform didn't take much physical damage, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

Countless bullets sparked on the diamond shield, clanging. Ash glanced at them, waved his hand, and the black cloud suddenly dispersed, ceasing to condense, turning into a sky full of black sand. The carbon particles drilled into the mechanical gaps, disrupting the internal circuitry of the machines.

Zzz—pa!

Electrical sparks exploded simultaneously, and a large number of machines were immediately paralyzed.

"The battle is over." Ash sneered.

As long as he destroyed these machines, the Mechanic would be like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

Black Star countered his ability, and he countered Black Star in the same way.

However, looking up, Ash found that Han Xiao's pace hadn't slowed down at all. He seemed unaffected.

Han Xiao strode up to Ash. A complex close-combat mechanical weapon unfolded in his palm, very heavy, almost two meters long, like a giant knife with a handguard, but very high-tech. The shape wasn't like an ancient cold weapon; it was more like a gun-lance with a cannon barrel. This was a weapon of the same type, called the [High-Frequency Vibration Cannon], a multi-functional mechanical close-combat weapon.

The new weapon replaced the electromagnetic scythe, which was no longer keeping up with his strength.

The blade was embedded in the armored mechanical structure. The blade vibrated at a high frequency with an imperceptible amplitude, providing extremely strong cutting power. Next to the blade were two rows of port muzzles. Each time it struck a target, these ports would spew out gunpowder explosions, which could also cause thermal explosions and electromagnetic overdriving inside, entering an overpowered second form, like "weapon release."

Sparks flew with lightning, violent and cool.

Bang, bang, bang!!

Each strike was accompanied by explosions. Ash continuously manipulated the diamond shield to block the attacks, his brows furrowed. Close combat was not his forte. He retracted the particles to surround his body and wanted to use the same trick to destroy Han Xiao's mechanical suit, but a few oscillating sonic balls that followed Han Xiao's movements disrupted his plan.

Sonic waves were released toward Han Xiao, forming a layer of sonic wave shield on his body surface. After the carbon particles approached, they would be directly bounced away, unable to adhere to the mechanical suit's surface at all.

The three of them rolled and tumbled, fighting in a chaotic mess. Ash's expression was no longer as relaxed as before. Han Xiao made him feel troublesome. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who had improved. He originally thought he could quickly deal with Black Star, but now he was actually being held back.

In Ash's estimation, only Nagokin was more troublesome. Now he found that Black Star was also difficult to deal with, but Ash thought this was a good opportunity!

Discovering this in advance was much better than being caught off guard during a chaotic battle.

The enemy had divided their forces into two groups. Black Star was risking everything to hold him back and didn't have many helpers by his side. This was the best opportunity to eliminate a strong enemy.

Thinking of this, Ash's eyes changed.

He originally wanted to meet with Anur as soon as possible, but now he didn't mind spending more time to eliminate future troubles.

Just then, Han Xiao, who was in the midst of the fierce battle, let out a light laugh.

"Aha, good eyes. I can sense a stronger killing intent. It seems you want to waste more time with me."

"I don't think this is a waste of time." Ash said coldly, "Most of your machines are paralyzed, and I'll be able to dismantle that mechanical suit of yours sooner or later. What means will you have left then?"

"What means will I have left?" Han Xiao laughed twice, his tone suddenly changing, resounding like thunder. "Then experience it yourself!"

Buzz—

Mechanical force erupted, like an electric shockwave, sweeping over all the machines.

The next moment, the paralyzed machines were restarted by [Waste Modification], and all weapons were ready!

The War Mechanic was born for war!

The roars started again!

Ash was immediately caught off guard and blasted away, his face covered in dirt. He quickly used his ability to block the subsequent attacks. Although he wasn't seriously injured…

…he was indeed hurt!

Ash suddenly looked up, and a surge of anger churned in his eyes.

The pain awakened his body's memories of Han Xiao.

The humiliation that had been gradually fading suddenly resurfaced!

————

(There's another chapter later)