Chapter 1 Next Moment

The next moment, Hérdíwèi’s figure flashed, directly teleporting into the battlefield of ten Super-As. As soon as he appeared, the expressions of both sides changed.

The pressure on Millizaus and the other two increased greatly. Hérdíwèi had arrived so quickly; it hadn't even been five minutes yet.

The Super-As of the Void Spirit Religion also became vigilant, with one exception. Xī Sīkē, who was bombarding the Secret Magic Hall with his psychic power, suddenly widened his seven eyes in astonishment.

"Why are you here?!"

Due to Avitan's grudge, the Void Spirit Religion had concealed from him the news of Hérdíwèi’s participation in this battle. Seeing his enemy appear at this moment, Xī Sīkē's face changed drastically.

Hérdíwèi turned to look at him, revealing a faint smile, which in Xī Sīkē's eyes was nothing short of a provocation.

"Don't be impulsive." Sàgé Màn said in a telepathic exchange, his voice grave, "Hérdíwèi is our temporary ally."

Xī Sīkē was shocked and his tone turned cold. "So you all knew beforehand?"

The other five were silent. This was the Void Spirit Religion's order, hiding the news from an ally, which was indeed not very ethical.

"Dílún, you knew about this too?" Xī Sīkē sneered.

"I'm sorry, I only found out a moment before we set off…"

Dílún didn't want to face his good friend's questioning and vented his frustration in his attacks. He clasped his hands together, aiming at the Secret Magic Hall, and water currents intertwined around his arms, spinning and transforming into bluish-blue high-energy lasers under the stimulation of his Esper Ability, which shot out along the direction of his arms, bombarding the Secret Magic Hall's colorful protective magic array, splashing shattered light like water droplets.

Sàgé Màn interjected, "Xī Sīkē, the mission is more important. We can talk about other things later."

Xī Sīkē's eyes were gloomy, and he simply stopped looking at Hérdíwèi, focusing on his attacks.

The battle was in full swing, and they had to act quickly. Now was not the time for revenge. He had to consider his race and naturally couldn't disrupt the Void Spirit Religion's plan at this critical juncture, so he gritted his teeth and endured it.

Seeing this, Hérdíwèi also turned his gaze away. To be honest, although Xī Sīkē was a prominent figure in the entire universe, he was nothing special in Hérdíwèi’s eyes. The Super-As he had killed in the past were no weaker than Xī Sīkē.

Of the ten Super-As in the field, only Millizaus and Sàgé Màn caught his eye. As for Auston, he had only heard of the name, never fought him.

Especially Millizaus. Only this old dragon had a record of killing Super-As like himself. Hérdíwèi had fought him several times and knew how powerful this old dragon was, so when he saw Millizaus' injuries, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"This wound was inflicted by a single attack. The Void Spirit Religion must have used a special weapon to severely injure him, otherwise he wouldn't have been injured so quickly." Hérdíwèi narrowed his eyes, and his vigilance against the Void Spirit Religion deepened. It was like scheming with a tiger, and he was worried about being double-crossed afterward.

But at this moment, he and the Void Spirit Religion were still on the same side. After observing the battlefield, Hérdíwèi couldn't see Black Star and his mechanical legions. Looking puzzled, he activated his psychic ability to connect to Sàgé Màn's consciousness and asked,

"Black Star isn't here. Did you let him escape?"

Sàgé Màn had just fired a white-golden energy blast that pierced Millizaus' magical defense and exploded on his dragon's back, blasting away a large piece of flesh and dragon scales. Hearing this, he said in a deep voice, "Black Star has withdrawn from the battle and is hiding in the Secret Magic Hall. I don't know what trick he's up to."

"Hiding?" Hérdíwèi paused and asked, "Is the Evolution Cube confirmed to be on him?"

"It's been confirmed. He used it just now."

"Good."

Hérdíwèi nodded, and the next moment, he flashed above the Secret Magic Hall, his feet stepping on the surface of the protective magic array. When the array operated, magic power surged, but it had no effect on him.

Sitting cross-legged on the top of the Secret Magic Hall, Auston looked up and saw Hérdíwèi’s big feet. The two were separated by a thick defensive magic array.

Auston's eyes narrowed, and he spread his arms. The dozens of magic books surrounding him began to flip on their own.

*Shua la la—*

As the pages turned, colorful magic runes were born from them and quickly landed on the Secret Magic Hall, instantly conducting through the ubiquitous magic circuits to the control core of the Secret Magic Hall. This was the operation method of the Secret Magic Hall.

The next moment, the protective magic array in the area thousands of meters below Hérdíwèi’s feet suddenly changed color, and magic energy surged violently, erupting from beneath his feet in a fountain-like colorful magic energy shock, engulfing Hérdíwèi.

Auston was looking up intently at the result of this attack when a strange voice suddenly sounded in his ears, like a thunderclap in his mind.

"Are you the Spellcaster Auston? Your strength is not bad."

Hérdíwèi didn't know when he had appeared behind him. He had simultaneously used several abilities such as energy refraction, plasmaization, dimensional rift, and teleportation, directly passing through the Secret Magic Hall's protective magic array, which the six members of the Void Spirit Religion had been unable to break through for a long time! His strength was not only his raw power, but more terrifying was his vast array of abilities.

"Crap!" Auston was shocked. Although there were many restrictions inside the Secret Magic Hall, their defensive power was not as good as the external protective magic array. If Hérdíwèi slipped in, the Secret Magic Hall would be breached from the inside by the enemy, and he couldn't stop him!

*Bang!*

A protective spell was activated, but Hérdíwèi shattered it with his Power Esper Ability, Star Throw. Auston's small body flew out like a cannonball.

The red-robed mages who were assisting Auston in controlling the Secret Magic Hall hurriedly cast spells, trying to stop Hérdíwèi, but the next moment, their bodies collapsed, turning into ashes one after another.

Seeing the bizarre deaths of their companions, the mages further away were all frightened. Seeing signs of themselves turning to ash, they retreated in panic, not daring to approach Hérdíwèi.

Hérdíwèi lowered his hand, a look of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. He was using an ability from Ash, perfect for dealing with targets weaker than himself, a god-tier Aoe ability.

Immediately afterward, Hérdíwèi activated his Perception Esper Ability, instantly scanning the entire Secret Magic Hall, but he was stunned.

He didn't sense Hàn Xiāo's energy fluctuations. His perception was blocked by the Time Amber.

This situation made him frown.

"Where did he go… huh?"

The distant Auston stabilized his body. He wouldn't be injured so easily by Hérdíwèi. Remembering his mission to delay, he decisively counterattacked, interfering with Hérdíwèi.

*Bang bang bang—*

The two immediately began fighting inside the Secret Magic Hall, the aftermath shattering buildings.

Although Auston was no match for Hérdíwèi, he could still hold him back for a while with all his might, but the wounds on his body increased rapidly, and he couldn't care about controlling the Secret Magic Hall anymore.

Losing Auston's control, the operation of the Secret Magic Hall immediately slowed down. It suffered more intense concentrated fire. Although the surviving red-robed mages and forbidden witches were trying their best to control the Secret Magic Hall, they couldn't hold out against the siege of so many Super-As from the outside.

*Ka cha ka cha—*

The layers of the protective magic array shattered, finally reaching the critical point and exploding. A large hole appeared in the protective barrier of the Secret Magic Hall, and a powerful suction force came from inside. The Secret Magic Hall was a closed circulating life-support space, and the internal gases were sucked out one after another.

"Finally broken!"

Sàgé Màn rushed in, afraid that Hérdíwèi would get there first and snatch the Evolution Cube.

But at this moment, before everyone could observe the situation, a familiar energy fluctuation erupted from inside the Secret Magic Hall!

A tower of the Secret Magic Hall shattered, and a figure shot out, a fist rapidly magnifying in Hérdíwèi’s vision!

*Swoosh—bang!!*

The fist slammed into Hérdíwèi’s arm, which he had raised to block. The enormous impact passed through his body, forming a rapidly shooting air cannon that exploded inside the protective magic array of the Secret Magic Hall, turning into a raging hurricane.

This figure was Hàn Xiāo. His fist was against Hérdíwèi’s arm, and they were vying with each other, their strength colliding again and again.

Feeling the amazing force coming from his arm, Hérdíwèi raised an eyebrow, his expression surprised.

"Compared to the last time we fought, your strength has increased a lot."

The last time they fought in the Central Starfield, he had an overwhelming advantage over Black Star, but now the energy level that Black Star was erupting made him couldn't help but look at him with new eyes. His progress was too obvious.

What he didn't know was that last time they fought, Hàn Xiāo was only level 240, standing on the threshold of Super-A. Now he was level 260, and his strength had increased by a notch—but at this moment, Hàn Xiāo had not yet advanced.

However, just now he had completed the disengagement from combat, and the advancement mission finally showed as Completed, ready to settle at any time!

"So close, just a little bit more."

While wrestling with Hérdíwèi, Hàn Xiāo breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Hérdíwèi’s early entry had caused the situation to deteriorate sharply, but fortunately, this guy had spent some time observing the situation, and then Auston had desperately entangled him, which allowed him to complete the five-minute disengagement judgment.

Seeing the two in close contact, Hàn Xiāo hesitated for a moment, suppressing the urge to use the Hérdíwèi Character Summon Card – Energy Silence.

Although he had leveled up and could advance at any time, the level difference between him and Hérdíwèi still existed. The effect of Energy Silence depended on the level, strength, and luck of both sides. If the control time was too short, the damage to Hérdíwèi would be limited.

The six Super-As of the Void Spirit Religion were not wooden puppets. Although Hérdíwèi and the Void Spirit Religion were wary of each other, Sàgé Màn and the others would not be short-sighted and sit idly by while their ally was severely injured. Even if they were unwilling, they would protect Hérdíwèi. In this case, rashly using this Character Summon Card would only be a waste.

With this in mind, Hàn Xiāo didn't entangle with Hérdíwèi. He opened the Secondary Dimensional Army again and released the mechanical legions he had previously stored.

The lightning and thunderous mechanical force erupted, blessing his mechanical troops. Then, Hàn Xiāo ignored the close-range Hérdíwèi and directly opened the panel.

Advance!

[Level 260 Advancement Mission Completed!]

[Stamina Bonus +45, 1 Stamina = 355 Health Points = 365 Energy Points]

In an instant, his cells changed drastically, and his body was turned upside down. Intense pain exploded, impacting every nerve.

Each advancement required time for transformation, and it wouldn't be completed instantly. Fortunately, Hàn Xiāo was familiar with this kind of pain by now. As a Mechanic, he relied on his mechanical troops for combat most of the time, and he could grit his teeth and fight through it.

Hérdíwèi keenly noticed the changes in Hàn Xiāo, and his eyes narrowed.

This guy's energy fluctuations were climbing steadily in the battle?!

The other Super-As also noticed Hàn Xiāo's anomaly and revealed looks of surprise. They were no strangers to this situation. Wasn't this a sublimation of life level?!

"So this is what you meant by explosive power?"

Auston was stunned. He didn't expect that the explosive means Hàn Xiāo spoke of was a breakthrough in the level of life.

Every Super-A had experienced many such life sublimations, but their sublimations were carried out slowly, some even taking decades. And to sublimate on the spot in battle, compressing years of evolutionary progress into such a short time, they had never seen in their lives!

"Could this be the reason why Black Star broke the record for becoming a Super-A? Is this his special talent?!" Everyone was surprised and uncertain, and they all had such guesses.

The panel popped up a prompt, and Hàn Xiāo quickly selected the race sublimation option, and the talent would be incorporated into the Black Star race.

In the midst of the battle, he could only browse the new talents and skills hastily. He was already distracted by the pain of transformation and couldn't afford to lose focus, so he barely maintained his concentration and continued to fight.

The combat power of the mechanical legions had obviously improved. Hàn Xiāo felt that the pressure from the enemy had obviously lessened, and he felt a little relieved.

Seven against four. Hérdíwèi’s participation made the situation even worse. Hàn Xiāo didn't expect that one advancement would reverse the situation.

Advancement was to improve his side's combat power and delay for as long as possible. The Void Spirit Religion had six Super-As, plus Hérdíwèi. His side had too great a disadvantage. With such a disparate combat power gap, if the enemy didn't reveal any flaws, there would be no chance to counterattack head-on.

Hàn Xiāo had a clear understanding of the situation. He wouldn't lose his cool or become conceited because of the sudden surge of power.

The situation was so dangerous that there was no room for recklessness.

Two words: Seek stability!

Auston's Secret Magic Hall was severely damaged, and Millizaus was also in bad shape. Hàn Xiāo returned to the battlefield and could only take on the role of a meat shield, actively blocking attacks for his teammates.

The advancement made his durability significantly stronger. Coupled with the Aurora Character Summon Card that he had stored for many years and was reluctant to use, Hàn Xiāo single-handedly withstood about half of the enemy's offensive.

Although the situation was passive, he could hold on for a while and wouldn't be defeated.

…

While the Super-A combatants were fighting each other, the area they occupied was actually very small compared to the main battlefield. And while everyone was fighting, the situation on the main battlefield also changed. First, the outer fleet of the Beacon Star returned to support one after another, relieving the immediate crisis and gradually stabilizing the situation.

However, with the entry of the Fallen Ark fleet, Tarrokov's fleet was besieged, and its forces were once again stretched, falling into passivity again.

The Beacon Star garrison was constantly being eroded. Tarrokov had a solemn expression, his eyes always fixed on the three-dimensional miniature map of the battlefield, his brain calculating rapidly, and he issued one order after another, trying to minimize the casualties of the troops.

In the midst of his busy schedule, he glanced at the battle situation of the Super-A combatants and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Black Star had held off the opponent's Super-As, otherwise it would be troublesome.

The Super-A side was obviously the weakest link that was most likely to collapse due to the enemy's targeting, but now it was barely holding on. Although Tarrokov was not a Super-A level Esper, he could imagine how terrifying the pressure on Black Star's side was.

Gritting his teeth, Tarrokov asked loudly, "Is there any news from the reinforcements? How long until the fastest ones can reach the Star Gate entrance?"

The adjutant was busy and flustered. Hearing this, he hurriedly went to check the news, sweating profusely. Suddenly, his expression changed greatly, and he excitedly shouted:

"Commander, the reinforcements from the two nearest military base strongholds have arrived at the Star Gate entrance. The reinforcements from the edge strongholds of Gao'er, Reynold, and Crown Ring Star Cluster have gathered, with a total fleet size of over three million. Also, Your Excellency Maxiro, Your Excellency Heber, and Your Excellency Ravenlaude are about to arrive!"

The reinforcements were finally coming!

Tarrokov's eyes lit up and he shouted, "Engineering troops, immediately assemble the Star Gate and reactivate the channel to let the reinforcements in!"

The Imperial fleet immediately changed its formation, using the fleet as a defensive line to assemble a portable Star Gate in the center of the formation.

The Void Spirit Religion's commander didn't look good seeing this scene. The Imperial fleet's resistance was stronger than he had imagined. Under the command of the veteran Tarrokov, the Beacon Star garrison was extremely resilient, unyielding and unbreakable, rebounding again and again. The Void Spirit Religion's commander had thought several times that the Imperial fleet was about to collapse, but the other side had always held on.

And the same was true on the Super-A battlefield. The four of the empire were too tenacious.

He immediately contacted Sàgé Màn, "Don't let the Imperial fleet assemble the Star Gate. You hold back the enemy Super-As and send one or two people to cut into the empire's formation and destroy their Star Gate!"

Hearing this, Sàgé Màn was unwilling. Looking at Black Star, who had repeatedly taken huge damage but was still alive and kicking, he gritted his teeth secretly and made a decisive decision.

"Mòtèsī, you and Dílún go destroy the empire's Star Gate. We'll hold these four here!"

Two mages had to restrain the Secret Magic Hall and couldn't be separated. Xī Sīkē was sensing the Evolution Cube and couldn't leave. And he had to stay here to restrain Millizaus and Hérdíwèi, so the only ones who could be sent out were Mòtèsī and Dílún.

Sàgé Màn had originally wanted to quickly defeat Hàn Xiāo and the other three, but the opponent had added an Auston, and the Wand of the Universe had been sealed by the opponent. After fighting until now, he no longer had the confidence to quickly defeat his opponents. The tenacity of Hàn Xiāo and the others had exceeded his expectations.

Since he couldn't quickly win, destroying the empire's Star Gate became a more important task. The roles of both sides had been reversed. Sàgé Màn and the others had changed from a strong attack to containment, preventing Black Star and the others from stopping them from destroying the Star Gate.

Mòtèsī and Dílún nodded and immediately left the battlefield, rushing towards the Imperial fleet.

With two fewer opponents, the pressure on Hàn Xiāo and the others was greatly reduced, but the few were not happy but worried—only reinforcements could reverse the situation, and they must not let the opponents destroy the engineering of the Star Gate assembly.

"Now is the key to deciding the victory or defeat…"

This thought arose in everyone's mind at the same time.

Hàn Xiāo exchanged an energy blast with Hérdíwèi, his armor shattered. He then put on the seventh set of spare armor and turned to look at Mòtèsī and Dílún, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Finally, someone has separated!"