Chapter 1749-C Border Sector

Border Sector 1749-C – a section of border area where the Constellation Corridor meets the Silver Arm, where the Crimson Empire and the Void Spirit Religion have long deployed heavy troops.

With the help of the Empire's interconnected stargate network, Han Xiao arrived in this border area in just a few days. This was the trading location agreed upon by the Empire and the Void Spirits.

As the warship hovered next to the outpost, Han Xiao's ship received a communication from the outpost commander.

"Your Excellency Black Star, the Void Spirit Religion's escort team has arrived and is waiting to connect with our side. The official handover location is a barren planet in the strategic depth zone between the two borders. Your Excellency Milizaus and the outpost troops will escort you to your destination."

"Milizaus is here too?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

As soon as he finished speaking, the old dragon's voice sounded in the channel:

"I've been here for a long time, waiting for you. The Empire sent me here just to prevent accidents. Although the probability is small, we cannot rule out the possibility that the other party will try to steal the Time Amber."

"Okay, I got it." Han Xiao nodded. "Commander, let's set off now."

One after another, heavy imperial warships flew out of the outpost, escorting Han Xiao's fleet. Milizaus' huge body soared through the starry sky, following beside the main ship that Han Xiao was on, the two of them being about the same size.

The fleet did not use warp, but instead advanced with conventional propulsion. After traveling for a while, a barren planet appeared in the field of vision, gradually enlarging in everyone's eyes.

The fleets of the Void Spirit Religion and the Crimson Empire had already arrived on this planet, and the two sides were confronting each other in outer space. In the center of the confrontation, on the surface of the planet, was a Void Spirit Religion escort team. Dylun, sealed in the Time Amber, stood there, the look of shock and anger on his face still so vivid.

The Super-A Grade that the Empire promised to unseal was Dylun - the weakest one often receives preferential treatment from the opponent.

Han Xiao first scanned the situation of the planet to confirm that there were no traps.

However, after being caught off guard by the high-dimensional Apocalypse teleporter in the Beacon Star battle, he did not let down his guard.

"We've arrived, Your Excellency Black Star, let's go." On the bridge of the main ship, the Imperial Special Envoy respectfully invited Han Xiao to set off together.

Han Xiao nodded and followed the special envoy to the auxiliary cabin, entered an atmospheric flight vehicle, piloted the vehicle away from the main ship, and slowly descended.

In his field of vision, the red earth grew closer and closer.

Bang! The rectangular vehicle landed on the ground, the hatch slid open, and Han Xiao stepped onto the red sandy ground.

Walking to the Void Spirit escort team, he glanced at them, and then turned his attention to the amber, making eye contact with Dylun inside.

The Imperial Special Envoy stepped forward to negotiate with the Void Spirit Envoy, communicated for a while, and then returned, nodding to Han Xiao.

"Your Excellency Black Star, please remove the seal."

Hearing this, Han Xiao walked forward, stood in front of Dylun, and suddenly turned his head to look at the Void Spirit escort team, only to see everyone staring at him eagerly.

Technician Han raised an eyebrow, lifted his foot, and lightly stepped on the ground, a flash of lightning disappearing in an instant.

The next moment, the ground he stepped on turned into a nano-metal material. This silver color quickly spread out, covering an area with a diameter of five meters, turning it into a metal surface. Then, a ring-shaped metal wall rose from the edge of the area, converging at the top, covering the area, and isolating everyone's sight.

Clearly, Black Star was not going to let others see how he broke the seal. Everyone was a little disappointed and had to wait quietly.

A full ten minutes passed before the nano-metal barrier folded up and was taken back into Han Xiao's hand, and Dylun's seal had disappeared. He sat slumped on the ground, looking horrified and frightened.

"Your Excellency Dylun, are you alright?" The Void Spirit escort team hurried up to help him.

"I'm fine."

Dylun quickly came back to his senses, refused the help, stood up on his own, and stared at Han Xiao in front of him, his eyes revealing anger, hostility, fear, and lingering fear.

"How have you been these past few months?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and smiled.

Dylun shuddered, the fear in his eyes deepened, and he subconsciously took a step back, not daring to approach Han Xiao.

His body was frozen by the Time Amber, but his mind kept running. He could clearly feel his body, but he couldn't control it at all. This feeling was extremely tormenting, like being paralyzed in a dream. During this time, Dylun was almost a shut-in.

If it weren't for the Super-A Grade's strong mental body and firm will, he felt that he might have been driven mad.

Although a few months of imprisonment was not enough to erase the consciousness of a Super-A Grade, he had already noticed a weakening trend in his soul. If he had been trapped all along, he might have ended up with his soul annihilated!

This possibility made Dylun couldn't help but be horrified.

Not only could it imprison individuals, but it could also erase the consciousness of prisoners. Even Super-A Grades could not resist it. The horror of the Time Amber made him tremble. He never wanted to experience this kind of taste again in his life!

Han Xiao looked around and suddenly said, "The seal is lifted, where is your ambush? You can come out now."

He always felt that the Void Spirit Religion would deploy troops in the nearby area. Once the transaction was completed, they would smash the cup as a signal and warp in three hundred axemen.

"We have no ambush." The Void Spirit Envoy's mouth twitched.

"Is that so? I thought you would try to deal with me. This time, you could not only steal the Evolutionary Cube, but also get the Time Amber. I didn't expect that there really was no ambush..."

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled, "It seems you were really frightened."

The Void Spirit Envoy's face froze, and a wave of shame and anger welled up in his heart.

Black Star had already proven himself with his achievements. For the sake of other sealed allies, the Void Spirit Religion really had no intention of taking any more risks. Moreover, this was the border between the two sides, and the Empire was on alert. They could not carry out a sneak attack.

Of course... the bottom line of these reasons was that they were scared.

Because he was right, he poked the Void Spirit Envoy's pain and stabbed their little hearts fiercely.

The Void Spirit Envoy could not refute, his face tightened, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Since the transaction is completed, we will leave first. I hope we can have similar transactions in the future."

Han Xiao stroked his chin, "Are you leaving like this? Dylun, we don't fight, we don't know each other. Why don't you stay and catch up with me?"

The Void Spirit Envoy immediately became vigilant, "Your Excellency Black Star, what are you going to do?"

The handover location was in the middle of the border area, precisely because both sides had concerns. The Empire was afraid that the Void Spirits would launch another sneak attack, while the Void Spirits were afraid that the Empire would go back on its word and take Dylun back. Each side had its own fears, so the people of the Void Spirit Religion easily misunderstood Han Xiao's words... although he did it on purpose.

"Why are you so nervous? Are you afraid that we will snatch people?" Han Xiao smirked.

The Void Spirit Envoy pursed his lips and said nothing.

Dylun's face was tense as he replied, "If there is a chance in the future, I will personally visit the Black Star Army!"

"Then I hope you come with goodwill." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise, the experience of these past few months will be repeated on you."

Hearing this, Dylun, who was still quite tough, remembered the taste of being sealed, his body shrank slightly, and he stopped talking, slowly retreating away from Han Xiao to a sufficient distance.

Swish! Several beams of tractor light shot at Dylun and his group, sucking them back into the warship.

Han Xiao watched Dylun spiraling into the sky in place, and then the Void Spirit Religion's fleet in outer space quickly turned around and left the planet.

"The transaction is completed, let's go back."

Han Xiao patted the special envoy on the shoulder, turned and walked towards the flying vehicle, a playful look flashing across his face.

The Void Spirit Religion would definitely ask about the feeling of being sealed. Dylun would not fail to cooperate, so the Void Spirit Religion would learn that the Super-A Grade who was sealed still had mental activity, and that if the seal lasted for a long time, it might lead to the death of consciousness.

The Void Spirit Religion did not originally know the possibility of death caused by the Time Amber, but after receiving Dylun's report, they would definitely fall into anxiety and have to break the seals of others as soon as possible.

In this way, they would be even weaker in the negotiations with the Empire. To save time, they might compromise on even more excessive conditions, swallowing the bitter fruit without being able to speak out.

In a word, miserable.

"Hey, I've tricked these clergymen again." Han Xiao smiled inwardly.

The happiness of one person is often built on the pain of others. Lu Xun did not deceive me.

The transaction between the two sides went smoothly. Han Xiao followed the troops back to the Empire's border outpost and received news from the Empire's top management. The top management stated that the Void Spirit Religion would send Super-A Grade combat power to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Otherworldly Gods as agreed.

Several imperial allies who had confirmed their participation in the encirclement operation had already set off from various places to the scheduled assembly point. After gathering, they would set off together and set foot on the Old Era Star River.

After resting at the outpost for a while, Milizaus came over.

"Black Star, I'm going to go directly to the assembly point. Do you have anything else to do?"

"Same here, nothing else."

"Okay, let's go together. The wound from the All-God Scepter hasn't completely healed yet. Do you still have that stuff? Give me a few hundred injections."

"Well, I do have that kind of recovery potion, but... equivalent exchange, you know."

"Say it, how much dragon blood do you want? Do you want mine?"

"Cough cough, let's talk about it on the road, let's talk about it on the road." The corner of Han Xiao's mouth twitched.

Sure enough, once a person breaks through the bottom line and has the first time, there will be a second time.

Milizaus originally refused to provide his dragon blood, but when he saw that Han Xiao had collected a lot, he seemed to give up. Anyway, the other party had it, so it wouldn't hurt to give a little more.

It sounded a little strange and exciting...

The two of them did not delay on the border and set off together.

The security within the Empire was good. Apart from Milizaus being a little anemic, the two of them did not encounter any other problems along the way. They arrived at the assembly point the earliest, waiting for other allies to arrive.

...

At the same time, the Old Era Star River, a barren universe belt.

The Fallen Ark fleet hovered above a star, its energy shield isolating the powerful radiation energy.

In the main ship's large command room, Hakison stood in front of the porthole, observing a certain location on the surface of the planet through the zoom function. That was the direction in which the Otherworldy God had landed. The star's energy formed a huge vortex storm with the naked eye, with the Otherworldy God at its center.

The accumulated star energy was too dazzling, and even with the sensory abilities of a Disaster Grade, it was difficult to see the figure of the Otherworldy God. Disordered particle streams interfered with the detection radar, and the target area was even covered by some kind of concealment ability of the Otherworldy God. No one could see what the Otherworldy God was doing on the star.

"His Excellency the Otherworldy God has been letting us stay here for two days already. What is he doing up there?" A crew member was a little impatient.

"I don't know." Hakison gently tugged at his tongue, a habit he had when he hesitated.

Two days ago, the Otherworldy God told them to wait in the outer space of this star, while he landed on the star, absorbing energy like a bottomless pit, forming an expanding energy vortex on the star's surface.

At this time, on the surface of the star, the Otherworldy God was opening his arms, and a steady stream of star energy was pouring into his body.

He possessed an ability to absorb external energy, called "Ability - Black Hole", which he had demonstrated when he fought against Han Xiao.

As energy continued to pour in, black mist-like figures peeled off from the Otherworldy God's body, turning into black crystal ball-like objects, floating around the Otherworldy God. The center of the ball shone with a dark red light.

These black spheres were all clones created by the Otherworldy God by frantically absorbing energy.

The stronger a person is when they use the Evolutionary Cube, the greater the improvement will be. The Otherworldy God's strength had greatly increased, but he could feel that his body had not completely completed the transformation. A considerable part of the evolutionary energy had settled in his cells, like a treasure sealed in a box, and the transformation of the life level was the key to opening the box.

The Otherworldy God did not have a panel, so he did not know that this was an additional racial sublimation opportunity obtained by a strong person for the first time using the Evolutionary Cube, which would only be triggered upon advancement.

If he completed a new advancement in the future, he would undergo a transformation!

However, the Evolutionary Cube did not have the function of upgrading and advancing, so the Otherworldy God did not receive this part of the enhancement now.

However, although the evolutionary energy could not allow the Otherworldy God to break through his rank, it indirectly freed some ability restrictions.

For example... gene chain load!

Due to the conflict in the alien ability gene chain, the Otherworldy God's main body could not simultaneously use too many abilities. The clones could make up for this shortcoming. The abilities given to the clones could not be used by the main body.

However, this method had a clear defect. The Otherworldy God's creation of clones was not without burden... because the ability to maintain the existence of the clones was an ability that needed to be constantly activated.

Assuming that the Otherworldy God's main body was a computer, and each alien ability was a program, and the upper limit of the main body's gene chain load was the memory, then maintaining the clones was equivalent to always having that program running, constantly occupying its own memory.

The stronger the clone, and the more clones that existed at the same time, the more memory the program would occupy.

Only when there was free memory could there be space to use other alien abilities.

Therefore, the Otherworldy God did not use clones much in frontal combat, to a large extent because of this reason - clones would weaken the combat ability of the main body to a certain extent.

However, the Evolutionary Cube improved this, and optimized his gene chain based on his own characteristics.

In simple terms, it expanded his memory and optimized his program!

The upper limit of the gene chain load was increased, and the load of each alien ability was reduced, which meant that the number of abilities that could be used at the same time increased.

For the Otherworldy God, this was a fundamental enhancement!

The clone ability had therefore undergone a transformation. Now, the upper limit of the gene chain load was enough to support the Otherworldy God in creating more Super-A Grade combat power clones, far exceeding the previous limit, while the main body's memory could still have room to spare.

Quantitative change... reached qualitative change!

It could be said that the optimization brought by the Evolutionary Cube even changed the Otherworldy God's combat style to a certain extent!

The Otherworldy God absorbed the star energy here to create a large number of clones in preparation for the enemy's revenge!

Having angered the Void Spirit Religion and the Crimson Empire, the Otherworldy God knew that the two families would encircle and suppress him for the nth time sooner or later. Now that these two families were eager to make a move, he would not sit idly by and wait for others to come to his door.

The Otherworldy God cherished his life, because only by living could he fulfill his wishes, but he was not afraid of danger, because fighting was the path to becoming stronger. Cherishing life and being warlike, these two qualities existed in his body at the same time.

The encirclement and suppression of cosmic-level civilizations had always been an excellent opportunity for him to test his strength. Only by fighting against Super-A Grades could he accurately know his own strength.

And this encirclement and suppression, which would arrive sometime, was also an opportunity in his eyes, and it was of extraordinary significance.

This was the first time he would fight against a Super-A Grade after evolving!

The Otherworldy God's heart was full of anticipation.

He could only know how strong the Evolutionary Cube had made him by trying it out.