Chapter 1
In a certain region of the Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days, fleets dispatched by the Scarlet Empire, the Federation of Light, and the Void Spirit Religion converged. Eleven Beyond Grade A powerhouses involved in the operation gathered in the tactical conference room of the Imperial flagship to discuss the tactics for this mission.

"According to intelligence, the Evil God is currently located at this position."

A virtual screen displayed the star chart of the Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days. An area within a desolate cosmic belt was highlighted with a red dot, representing the Evil God's location. The commander of the Imperial fleet stood beside the virtual screen, solemnly explaining the situation to everyone present.

The role of the three fleets was to deal with the millions of warships that the Evil God brought with him. The commander's mission was to fully cooperate with the actions of the Beyond Grade A allies.

"Hmm, that's an ancient battlefield. Many planets were destroyed during the Exploration Era wars. The area is filled with a large number of wandering asteroid belts."

Manison nodded. As a local big shot in the Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days, he was familiar with the region.

The Federation of Light dispatched only one Beyond Grade A powerhouse, Manison. He didn't come in person; instead, a mechanical body attended, carrying three mechanical planetary fortresses, which stored a massive number of mechanical troops.

Although he was alone, Manison's armed forces were comparable to those of any of the fleets, almost forming a system of their own.

A Beyond Grade A powerhouse from the Void Spirit Religion tapped the table and raised a question:

"We only had eyewitness reports of the Evil God's forces before. Where did this precise location information come from? Is it reliable?"

"This intelligence was provided by a super-star cluster civilization in the Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days. They have deployed a comprehensive monitoring system in the Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days. After receiving the eyewitness reports, they tracked the Evil God's forces. Based on the coordinates they provided, we used a star chart drawing telescope to verify, and the results were accurate. The accuracy of the intelligence can be guaranteed," the Imperial commander replied solemnly.

Four super-star cluster civilizations controlled the Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days, placing numerous informants in this star field. The appearance of the Evil God was enough to draw their attention. At the Empire's request, they shared the Evil God's tracking and positioning information to cooperate with the operation... but they were unaware of the details of the joint operation by the three parties.

With the location locked, they could use the Star Gate transportation network to reach the front and intercept the Evil God.

Han Xiao turned his head and glanced at the three Beyond Grade A powerhouses sent by the Void Spirit Religion this time. All of them hadn't participated in the Beacon Star battle. The configuration was a psychic, a mage, and a gunner. In that case, there wasn't a single Esper among the eleven.

The gunner was particularly noteworthy. Nicknamed "Sun Chaser," he was one of the Ancient Ones and the strongest among the three from the Void Spirit Religion this time. He was acquainted with the Machinery Country, Milizaus, and Ravenlaude.

This guy was quite small, only the size of a palm, but his body density was extremely high. He belonged to a nearly extinct cosmic race and had some insect-like features. He was wearing a miniature mech and sitting cross-legged on the table.

His body was tiny, but his weapons were mechanical guns and cannons that were thousands of times larger than him, creating a stark contrast.

Han Xiao remembered that Isolde had reminded him that some of the Ancient Ones were secretly inquiring about him. This Sun Chaser was one of them.

At first, he thought this gunner was looking for him to build weapons, but after thinking about it, he ruled out this possibility. The Ancient Ones didn't need to ask a newly advanced Beyond Grade A mechanic to build weapons for them.

During the meeting, Han Xiao kept observing the teammates sent by the other two factions. There was no point in observing the Machinery Country since he was just a mechanical shell. However, the Void Spirit Religion seemed to have a hostile attitude toward the Imperial allies and the Machinery Country.

Han Xiao wasn't yet aware that the Federation of Light had snatched the Staff of the Divine. The Void Spirit Religion was most angry at the Federation of Light for taking advantage of the situation, that two-faced bastard. With Niga missing, the Beyond Grade A allies under the Void Spirit Religion naturally wouldn't give the Machinery Country a good look.

If it weren't for the common enemy, the Evil God, the two sides might have started fighting on the spot.

"Now that we have the Evil God's location, the initiative in the battle is in our hands. We need a tactic," Milizaus said.

"You're right. Although the Evil God is a belligerent madman, he's not a reckless fool. There's no reason for him not to run when he sees eleven of us. As long as he abandons his fleet and uses teleportation to escape, we won't be able to catch up, just like the results of countless previous encirclements," the Sun Chaser replied. Although his body was small, his voice wasn't small at all. It was like a muffled thunderclap in his chest, with a buzzing echo that made the room tremble slightly.

Han Xiao composed himself, tapped the table, and said seriously, "With so many Beyond Grade A combatants participating in this operation, it's clear that this isn't a routine task. We're really going to eliminate the Evil God. To succeed, we must solve two problems. First, we can't let the Evil God run away as soon as he sees us. Second, we need to reduce the Evil God's mobility, depriving him of the advantage of attacking or escaping at will."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Although the three great civilizations had failed to encircle and suppress the Evil God many times in history, joint operations on this scale were rare. Some of the Beyond Grade A allies present had only accepted the mission and didn't care about the Evil God's life or death. However, if so many people failed to take down the Evil God together, it would be a disgrace to them.

Therefore, everyone present wanted to complete this mission and truly eliminate the Evil God, the three great civilizations' mortal enemy.

Beyond Grade As had strong wills. The multiple failures in history wouldn't lead them to assume that this time would also end in failure.

"The first problem is easy to solve," Manison said indifferently. "The Evil God won't be foolish enough to confront eleven Beyond Grade As head-on. So we just need to enter in two batches. The first batch will engage the Evil God head-on and try to hold him back while the others lie in ambush and seize the opportunity."

Han Xiao nodded, indicating his agreement.

The Evil God wasn't a blockhead. He wouldn't try to fight eleven Beyond Grade As head-on. Although they had a lot of combat power on their side, they certainly couldn't appear all at once. Otherwise, the Evil God would see so many people and not even bother fighting. He would directly use teleportation to abandon his fleet and run away, leaving the eleven of them to stare blankly at the spot.

"You're right. The first batch of people engaging in direct combat must be of a strength that matches the encirclement but isn't enough to scare away the Evil God," Ravenlaude interjected. "So I think four or five Beyond Grade As would be a better option."

"It's best to have five. The Evil God has undergone an evolution and his strength has increased. He'll definitely want to test his strength, so five people should meet his psychological expectations," Han Xiao said.

Usually, the level of combat power sent to encircle and suppress the Evil God was roughly equivalent to three ordinary Beyond Grade As. The Evil God's original combat power wasn't a problem for dealing with three ordinary Beyond Grade As. He could also retreat safely against four or five, but the higher-level Beyond Grade A powerhouses were another matter. However, as long as he wanted to run, basically no one could stop him.

Five people could both put pressure on the Evil God, inducing a passion for battle, and make the Evil God feel that the risk wasn't high, so he wouldn't need to escape.

"Then the first batch of people engaging in direct combat will be five people: three from the Empire and two from the Void Spirit Religion. For now, don't let the Evil God discover that the Federation of Light is also involved."

Everyone quickly finalized the plan.

At this time, Milizaus spoke again: "However, if we don't restrict the Evil God's teleportation, there's no point in the others lying in ambush. Even if we suddenly attack, the Evil God can escape at any time. So restricting his mobility is more important, otherwise the operation will definitely fail."

Upon hearing this, the mage from the Void Spirit Religion spoke:

"That's right. The five people engaging in direct combat will hold back the Evil God, while the task of restricting the Evil God's mobility must be completed by those in ambush... This requires using spatial magic to envelop the battlefield area, severing the multi-dimensional and sub-space channels in the area, temporarily 'stripping' this area away, thereby cutting off the Evil God's dimension gap ability. We also need to make space-time more stable, invalidating any teleportation and warp abilities, turning the battlefield into a space-time locked area... This is a big project."

Everyone nodded in agreement. This was an effective way to trap the Evil God, as had been proven in history, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.

First of all, it required a lot of time. The larger the battlefield area, the more work it took to modify it with spatial magic. Even a Beyond Grade A mage couldn't complete it quickly. Secondly, the Evil God wasn't lacking in vigilance and would usually escape before the space-time locked area was formed.

Even if the Evil God fell into the trap, he wasn't without a way out. He could also break through in the usual way, or slowly drill out a space-time crack with some kind of Esper ability, thereby escaping the space-time locked area.

During this limited time, it was basically impossible to capture or kill the Evil God. He wasn't a glass cannon; his powerful self-healing and defensive Esper abilities were enough to delay him for a long time.

Manison said slowly, "I have a space stabilization device that can be activated quickly, which can reduce the Evil God's ability to use dimension gaps and teleport to some extent. It should be able to briefly seal off the Evil God, creating an opportunity for the ambush troops to enter."

He alone could drive away the Evil God, but the Evil God was too slippery and it was difficult for him to catch him. The various space-locking mechanical devices in his hand required time to guide. By the time he was ready, the Evil God would have already disappeared.

Besides, Han Xiao had rejected his deal. Manison wasn't willing to put in much effort. The Federation of Light's request didn't have a strong binding force on him. He planned to just cooperate with his teammates.

To put it simply, Manison was positioning himself as a controller or support in this team fight. He didn't want to carry.

Milizaus said slowly:

"If we want to create a space-time locked area, the five people engaging in direct combat must first hold the Evil God in one area and not let him run around. We have three mages here, all hidden in the dark. Two of them will use spatial magic to modify the battlefield, and one will conceal the flow of magical energy, reducing the chances of the Evil God discovering them... The people engaging in direct combat must also cooperate, making the Evil God focus his attention on the battle, and a psychic needs to attack his spirit, confusing his perception."

"We have enough manpower, so it's not difficult to do this, but this is far from being a success..." Ravenlaude hesitated for a moment and spoke the truth: "If the Evil God falls into the trap, we need to eliminate him before he breaks free, otherwise it will all be in vain. With the Evil God's abilities, this is very difficult to do."

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Everyone frowned.

Although this was the largest encirclement of the Evil God in terms of numbers, if they couldn't solve this key problem, they would just be replicating the events of history and reaping a new failure.

Just from the pre-battle discussion, they had already felt the difficulty of the situation and were somewhat at a loss.

The Evil God was difficult to deal with. Everyone knew they needed some variables.

Just as everyone was racking their brains trying to solve this problem, Han Xiao took a deep breath.

He had two variables in his hand.

The Space-Time Amber and Superpower Nullification!

These two abilities could have a decisive impact on the situation and were the difference between this operation and those failed events in history.

Han Xiao pondered for a while, stood up, and attracted everyone's attention.

He looked around and slowly opened his mouth:

"I have an idea..."

...

More than ten days later.

Flickering Star Cluster of the Old Days, a certain desolate cosmic belt.

After staying near a star for a few days, the Evil God's fleet set off again, moving along the planned route.

After sailing peacefully for some time, one day, the fleet's radar detected an anomaly.

An Imperial fleet appeared directly ahead. The Fallen Ark force had discovered the other side when the two sides were already very close. The Imperial fleet had quietly approached in stealth mode and only revealed its disguise when it got too close.

The Fallen Ark force didn't turn around and flee. Instead, under Hakeson's orders, it went up to meet them. The two sides soon appeared in each other's long-range observation range and stopped at the same time, facing each other from afar.

"Wuwuwu—" The alarm sounded, spreading throughout all the Fallen Ark warships.

In the main hall of the flagship, the Evil God woke up from his slumber, opened his eyes, and his gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the heavy bulkheads.

A hint of anticipation flashed across his face as he slowly stood up from his throne.

"It's finally here... I hope it will be enjoyable."

————

Another recommendation for a book, titled 《Second God Country》, author: Ren Er.

Introduction: A certain God Child Training Center—"Ninety-nine years of compulsory education has taught you how to become an excellent god. Now you will enter the real Second God Country, exert your strength, defeat all the divine spawn, and compete with the Chosen Ones for believers, just like in the simulation game. Go for it, God Children! The Hundred Gods Trial begins!"

Zhang Fan, who was thinking about how to sleep in and be more comfortable, was dumbfounded.

(ps: It seems like more people are looking for me to recommend their books recently. I should do less of it in the future ∑(￣□￣;) )