"Was the Heretic God really captured?"

In the Red Ring Star's Head of State office, Ulan Riel received the fleet commander's report and was slightly stunned.

The Empire's Head of State was busy with official duties. After simply facilitating the alliance of the three major civilizations and helping Black Star find helpers, she did not continue to pay attention to this operation.

Ulan Riel valued Han Xiao's desire to eliminate the Heretic God, but she didn't really care about this operation in her heart. Her mentality was like a multi-billionaire making a small investment of hundreds of thousands, just testing the waters. She could accept success or failure, and now that she received the report that the team had succeeded, she was also pleasantly surprised.

The Heretic God, who had been giving them a headache, had finally fallen.

The existence of the Heretic God had always been a thorn in the side of the three major civilizations, representing chaos and lawlessness, and was always an enemy of order. The two sides had clearly drawn a line in the sand, but at certain times, the three major civilizations relied on his power.

The Heretic God's notoriety came from his atrocities, and although he was tyrannical, he obviously wouldn't bother the three major civilizations for no reason. His targets were often star cluster-level or super star cluster-level civilizations, and his rampages in these civilizations' territories secretly suited the interests of the three major civilizations.

On the other hand, the Fallen Ark attracted thugs and wanted criminals from all over the universe, which had both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage was that the Heretic God's power expanded as a result, making him more and more difficult to deal with, and also spawned many fanatics who worshiped the Heretic God. The advantage was that it gathered villains from all over the universe, making it easier for the three major civilizations to monitor and wipe them out in one fell swoop, indirectly reducing the security pressure in multiple star fields.

Of course, the premise was that the Heretic God had great strength. If he wasn't difficult to deal with, the three major civilizations wouldn't have allowed this guy to exist all along.

Now that Black Star had really brought the Heretic God back and helped them get rid of this troublesome enemy, the three major civilizations were happy to see it happen.

This was equivalent to capturing the head of a terrorist like Bin Laden, representing the achievements of the three major civilizations in the fight against terrorism. The greater the shadow the Heretic God cast on the citizens of the galaxy, the more prestige the three major civilizations would gain.

Ulan Riel nodded with satisfaction. "Very good, Black Star didn't waste my help. Well done."

"The Heretic God was a little careless, more or less. Otherwise, with his ability, almost no one in the universe could catch him," Klotti said calmly.

He was also an old opponent of the Heretic God, and his judgment was accurate. If the Heretic God decisively teleported away as soon as he encountered an encirclement, then basically no one could catch him.

Unfortunately, this was only a theoretical situation. Given the Heretic God's nature, he would never do this. The premise of reaching the strongest was to not be afraid of challenges. If he only knew how to escape, he wouldn't have achieved his current notoriety and achievements. He might have become another type of threat, in which case he might have been eliminated by the three major civilizations at all costs long ago.

"In any case, Black Star has not disappointed my expectations."

Ulan Riel was more and more satisfied with Han Xiao. The Beacon Star battle severely hit the arrogance of the Arcane Church, and now he had eliminated a deadly enemy of the three major civilizations. Black Star had only been a member for more than a year, and he had already brought considerable benefits to the Empire.

…

Not long after the Empire fleet embarked on its return journey, everyone received a reply from the upper echelons of the Empire.

In the center of the command room, a remote projection appeared. It was none other than Head of State Ulan Riel. Seeing this scene, all the Empire soldiers present stood up and saluted respectfully. Han Xiao and the other seven Beyond Grade As also nodded symbolically.

"You have done very well this time and have made a great contribution to the Empire. The Empire will not be stingy with the corresponding rewards."

Ulan Riel stood in front of everyone with her hands behind her back, her tone full of praise.

Faced with the Empire's boss, everyone maintained the restraint of Beyond Grade As and only nodded to show that they accepted her praise.

"If Black Star hadn't persuaded the Radiant Federation to join the plan, I wouldn't have been able to facilitate this joint operation. I read the report, and Black Star contributed the most in the capture process. The Empire plans to make Black Star the core of the publicity in the subsequent propaganda. Does anyone have any objections to this?" Ulan Riel turned to look at Han Xiao.

Capturing the Heretic God was an amazing achievement, and Ulan Riel planned to place the lion's share of this credit on Han Xiao's head to help him expand his influence.

"Of course not, that's just the truth," Milizaus said with a smile.

The old dragon was seriously injured in the Beacon Star battle and had been brooding over it. Now, seeing the Heretic God captured, he felt as refreshed as drinking an ice-cold carbonated drink on a hot day. His impression of Han Xiao was even better.

The others had no thoughts either. They were still waiting to borrow the Evolutionary Cube, so naturally no one would compete with Han Xiao for credit.

"Then I'll thank the Empire for its cultivation in advance," Han Xiao said with a smile.

"Mm, bring the Heretic God back as soon as possible. The Empire will imprison him in the most secure place."

Ulan Riel paused. "By the way, Black Star, you said that the souls of those sealed by the Amber of Time will perish during the long imprisonment, right?"

"That's right."

Han Xiao nodded and immediately understood what the Head of State meant.

"The Empire wants to study the Heretic God's body?"

"Yes, the Heretic God's body has high research value. He masters various abilities through gene chain recombination. If we can crack this ability, the Empire's gene technology will improve, and the production of espers will increase greatly."

Ulan Riel didn't hide anything. "Of course, we will only start this research after the Heretic God's soul has perished. How long do you think it will take to destroy his soul?"

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

"I suggest a sentence of five hundred years as a starting point."

Ulan Riel pondered for a while, then nodded. "Okay, although it's a bit long, everything should be done with caution."

Five hundred years was nothing to the Red Empire. They had existed for many times that number, and some strategic plans were in units of centuries.

After chatting for a few more words, Ulan Riel hung up the remote communication, and the many Empire soldiers present returned to their posts.

Ravenlaude turned to look at Han Xiao. "The Heretic God has been captured. It's your turn to fulfill the deal."

A smile bloomed on the corner of Han Xiao's mouth. He raised his palm, and a stream of nanometer particles surged, bringing the Evolutionary Cube that he had been carrying close to his body to his palm.

"Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. You guys helped me solve a major problem, and I won't mistreat you."

…

The three major civilizations reached a consensus to announce the news of the Heretic God's capture after the fleet returned, because the battle took place in a desolate and uninhabited universe belt, the news was limited, so the major forces currently knew nothing about the Heretic God's fate.

Half a month later, the Empire fleet returned smoothly, and everyone had a smooth journey without encountering any accidents.

Han Xiao handed the Heretic God over to another Empire fleet that had come to greet them. The Empire would imprison the Heretic God in a top-secret location.

The other Beyond Grade As received the Evolutionary Cube's modification, were satisfied, and bid farewell and left, leaving only Han Xiao to return to Red Ring Star alone.

He contacted Fording and the other two as soon as possible. After a month, Han Xiao saw the three of them again.

The goals of this trip to the Central Galaxy had all been achieved. Han Xiao announced the end of the vacation to the three of them, brought them back to his own spaceship, and set sail to return to the Shattered Star Ring.

On the spaceship, Han Xiao used the excuse that he missed them very much after a long absence and gave Fording and Nero a good rubdown.

Fording was fine, he was used to it and had a helpless expression on his face. Nero, however, was uncomfortable all over. Even his old man had never been so enthusiastic. He was picked up by Han Xiao's big hand and rubbed until he was dizzy.

Leonard thought that he would also suffer this kind of treatment. He took a deep breath and secretly prepared himself, but Han Xiao turned and left, seemingly uninterested in him. Leonard was a little disappointed instead.

After蹭 (ceng - freeloading/taking advantage of) their luck, Han Xiao locked himself in his room and opened the panel to settle the [Deadly Enemy of the Three Great Civilizations] mission.

[【Deadly Enemy of the Three Great Civilizations】Completed]

[Your cumulative damage to the Heretic God is 100% (reached the upper limit), you will receive the corresponding reward]

[You have gained 20 billion experience, you have gained Random Reward x1, you have gained 【Character Summon Card - Heretic God】]

[Character Summon Card - Heretic God: 【Ability Enhancement】 - Can only be used on espers whose grade is lower than your own, allowing the target's ability to gain a permanent enhancement, increasing ability potential. The same target can only be used once, Usage Limit: 0/3]

Han Xiao's eyes flickered.

This ability… is a bit powerful.

If a Beyond Grade A of a certain civilization possesses this ability, it would be equivalent to an infinite number of Esper Potential Enhancement Fluids. Even if it can only be used on espers, it would be enough to increase the strength of the entire civilization's espers…

This is a strategic-level ability!

Unfortunately, the person who possesses this ability is the Heretic God. The Heretic God's ghostly nature doesn't seem like he would help his subordinates improve their strength.

The Heretic God's collection of these powerful abilities is equivalent to indirectly killing some geniuses who might rise up. If the original owner of this ability had not encountered the Heretic God, he might have become a guest of honor of a high-level civilization in the future.

[Extra Mission Requirements Completed]

[You have gained an extra reward: Randomly draw three of the Heretic God's abilities (Talent/Skill)]

[Hint: The Heretic God is an esper, some of the extractable abilities have been automatically adjusted according to your class]

[You have three drawing slots. Each time, you will randomly draw at least one ability. You can make up to three random selections. Please select the type of ability to draw for the first time: Skill/Talent/Both?]

Han Xiao rubbed his hands and chose Talent.

Espers are not compatible with his class, and the sources of power are different. He knew that many abilities could not be extracted.

Since he could choose the type this time, of course he had to take advantage of it. Simply from a proportional point of view, the chances of drawing a good Talent were much higher than drawing a Skill.

[Randomly Drawing… Drawing Complete]

[Please select 1~3 abilities from the following five abilities as rewards:]

[1. 【Particle Structure Reinforcement】 - Talent: Immune to True Damage]

[2. 【Mad Believer】 - Talent: Abnormal Mental State Resistance +20%]

[3. 【Cell Division Control】 - Talent: Consumes energy to stimulate cell division, achieving strong self-healing, converting energy into health points, conversion ratio 1:3, maximum recovery 15% health points/second]

[4. 【Endurance Enhancement】 - Talent: Physical and Energy Resistance +40%]

[5. 【Combat Talent】 - Talent: After entering combat, all attributes +1% per minute, up to 12%]

Han Xiao's eyes lit up. He drew two template talents this time, which were the first and third items respectively.

His gaze was firmly locked on 【Cell Division Control】. This talent should have been converted from the Heretic God's "Strong Self-Healing". The effect was the same as his 【Intermediate Cell Proliferation Control】, but the conversion efficiency was not as high as his one to five.

Now that his health had broken five million, all the energy converted into health points could not reach the 10% upper limit of his health, which was far worse than the limit of 28% of health recovered per second. Increasing his health recovery efficiency was definitely a profit.

As for the ability to be immune to true damage, he already had it, so he didn't need to choose it again.

[You have obtained 【Cell Division Control】]

[Your 【Intermediate Cell Proliferation Control】 is similar to 【Cell Division Control】, and has been synthesized]

"Talents can be upgraded." Han Xiao's heart stirred.

Some talents of the same series and with the same effect have a chance to merge. For example, mechanic-sense talents. If he obtained a higher-level mechanic-sense, then the low-level mechanic-sense talent would automatically disappear, which was equivalent to a talent upgrade.

[Synthesis Complete]

[You have lost 【Cell Division Control】]

[【Intermediate Cell Proliferation Control】 has been upgraded to 【Advanced Cell Proliferation Control】]

[【Advanced Cell Proliferation Control】: Use energy to proliferate cells, heal wounds, energy converted into health points, the ratio is 1:9, up to 35% health points/s]

The two talents were synthesized, and the health recovery ratio increased from 1:5 to 1:9, the recovery speed was faster, almost doubled, and the maximum recovery per second increased from 28% to 35%.

Han Xiao let out a breath and then conducted the second draw, still talent type.

Again, five randomly generated talents. Han Xiao browsed through them and chose one called 【Soul Spring】, which increased mental resistance by 120% and accelerated the time to reduce abnormal mental states, restoring soul damage.

Spirit was his weakness, and stacking mental resistance had always been an important task.

The third draw was still a talent. Han Xiao glanced at it and his face lit up with joy.

Among the five random options, one seemed to be the ability after adjusting "Ability Black Hole", which could convert a portion of the damage into his own energy.

After choosing this ability, the panel prompted that 【Medium Energy Absorption】 was synthesized with it, and the two talents became one.

[Your 【Medium Energy Absorption】 has been upgraded to 【High Energy Absorption】]

[【High Energy Absorption】: When suffering physical, magical, energy, and other attacks, the damage taken is reduced by 25% and converted into energy. The absorbed damage value is not counted as resistance offset. The remaining 75% damage is calculated normally. 60% of the damage value offset by resistance is converted into energy]

Han Xiao calculated it slightly:

"In this way, the damage conversion efficiency of my being beaten back to blue has increased by more than 1.5 times, and the upgraded talent is equivalent to an additional 25% absolute resistance, reducing the damage I take by a quarter."

The 【Medium Energy Absorption】 before the upgrade did not have defensive abilities. After the upgrade, it had the characteristics of "Ability Black Hole", directly converting a portion of the damage into his own energy, avoiding a portion of the damage, which was equivalent to saving the energy value to restore this portion of health.

Assuming his resistance was 50%, and he suffered 10,000 points of theoretical damage, then the effect of the talent before the upgrade was: actually suffered 5,000 points of damage, absorbed 3,000 points of energy.

After the upgrade, the effect became: suffered 3,750 points of damage, absorbed 4,750 points of energy…

The energy recovery was more than the health loss!