Chapter 622 The President's Office

At this moment, Red Empire’s homeworld, the President's office.

In the room, a remote monitoring system projected the image of the Otherworlder Prison. Mabrus placed his hands on his nose, his sharp eyes staring straight at Black Star on the screen, watching the developments in the arena.

"Why did this guy risk doing that back then..."

Mabrus muttered to himself.

When the incident first occurred, he listened to Bekrodi's advice and vaguely suspected that Hodd's disappearance was Black Star's doing. However, Ulanruier was in charge at that time, and it was inconvenient for him to intervene.

Later, when he succeeded as President, it was not appropriate to thoroughly investigate Black Star, so he kept the matter suppressed.

The only motive that Mabrus could think of was that Hodd had tried to simulate the abilities of the Evolution Cube, so Black Star attacked and killed him. As for the idea that Black Star was suppressing rising stars, judging from the series of events involving the World Tree, he felt that the possibility of Black Star doing this was relatively low.

"The problem with the Evolution Cube shouldn't have pushed him to take such a risk. Black Star rarely does unnecessary things. He secretly captured Hodd, so there must be other hidden reasons..."

Mabrus pondered to himself, preparing his explanation.

He glanced at Hodd's haggard appearance, as if he had been tortured, and was even more furious. A direct descendant being treated like this was also an insult to the Empire's dignity.

If Black Star brought up the Evolution Cube issue, he would not accept that explanation.

'But... even if I don't accept his explanation, what can I do...'

Mabrus sighed inwardly, feeling quite depressed.

The current situation was severe, and Black Star's wings were fully grown. The three major civilizations needed the Association's strength to fight against external enemies. Even if Black Star couldn't give him a satisfactory explanation, he reluctantly found that he still couldn't do anything to the other party and didn't dare to retaliate.

Judging solely from a benefit perspective, the importance of an Imperial direct descendant who had not yet grown up was naturally not as important as Black Star, a cooperative partner. Although the Empire's reputation had been damaged this time, making Mabrus angry, venting his anger was not something someone in his position should do. Even if the Empire was tough, it had to consider the timing and occasion.

Mabrus even blamed Black Star for revealing this secret in front of the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light. Wouldn't it have been better to tell him privately? At most, he would have felt ashamed, but the other two wouldn't have seen the joke. It would have been much better to handle it behind closed doors.

Before the World Tree problem was resolved, the Empire would always be helpless against Black Star. Not only would they have to continue cooperating as usual, but when Hodd was sent back, they would also have to persuade him to prioritize the overall situation, endure his resentment, and temporarily not seek revenge... The more Mabrus thought about it, the more he felt suffocated and annoyed.

"I only hope he can give me an explanation that saves face..."

Mabrus let out a heavy breath and secretly lowered his standards.

...

On the other side, the amber imprisoning the Otherworlder had been suspended in full view.

Han Xiao glanced at it and saw that Hodd was suppressing the turmoil in his heart, still maintaining an expression of confusion. He couldn't help but smile.

Before the split personality, the real Otherworlder would not have acted this way. However, \[Ability - Rebirth] had already turned the two into independent individuals, and their personalities had changed. Hodd was Hodd, and the original body was the original body. Speaking of which, the "new Otherworlder" being imprisoned at this time might actually have a personality more like the "true Otherworlder" of the past.

"Taini, I'm ready to make a move. Activate the spatial stabilization anchors."

Han Xiao nodded.

Upon hearing this, Taini turned his head and issued the order. The surrounding fleets quickly surrounded the area and activated the spatial stabilization anchors, fixing this space. The space-time stability rate tended towards a constant.

The Otherworlder had a rich set of abilities and was very slippery. If one was not careful, he could teleport away, so fixing the space was an indispensable environmental modification.

At this time, Han Xiao left the cabin alone and slowly flew to the Otherworlder Amber. In full view of everyone, he unlocked the seal.

Buzz!

The Otherworlder's eyes instantly flashed with brilliance. He immediately saw the situation in the arena and hurriedly retreated to create distance.

Decades had passed since the last unsealing. The Otherworlder's soul was even more withered, but Black Star had initially deceived him that the World Tree's wormhole data had been researched. In order to wait for this day of release, he endured the loneliness and struggled to maintain his thinking. Now that he had regained his freedom, he immediately reacted.

However, the Otherworlder's condition was very low. The injuries that had not healed from the last battle were faintly aching, but he still took a defensive stance, scanning the audience and quickly locking onto Han Xiao, his tone strange:

"Black Star, I didn't expect you to really release me again. It seems I made the right bet."

Last time, in order to find out the origin of Hodd, Han Xiao had released him once. The Otherworlder resisted stubbornly and almost died. After listening to Black Star's deception, he decided to surrender and not resist to the death. Now it seemed that he had won the bet.

Han Xiao said calmly, "We meet again."

"Has the World Tree arrived?" The Otherworlder narrowed his eyes, without any intention of exchanging pleasantries, and went straight to the point.

"It's here." Han Xiao nodded and said calmly, "The reason I released you this time is to fulfill the promise I made back then, to let you witness everything, and to borrow your strength."

Hearing this, the Otherworlder seemed relieved and smiled playfully:

"I said, this day would come sooner or later. You will eventually need my help."

At this moment, the Otherworlder had a feeling of finally seeing the light after enduring hardship.

He had been imprisoned for so many years, and now he had finally made it through!

"I won't refute you on this point. Although you are full of evil deeds, you are at least a powerful combat force. It's a waste to keep you locked up here." Han Xiao suddenly raised his eyebrows. "However, the form of help may not be what you imagine."

"Huh?"

The Otherworlder was a little puzzled.

"I don't plan to let you play a role while alive. I need to borrow your life. A dead Otherworlder is a good Otherworlder."

"... What do you mean? You want to kill me? Now?"

The Otherworlder was quite stunned.

You sealed me for so long, and now you specifically released me to kill me, what are you planning?

This was completely different from what the Otherworlder had expected. In his imagination, when the World Tree descended, the three major civilizations would most likely politely ask him to help because of the information he possessed, giving him room to maneuver.

But he didn't expect that although he had gotten his wish to wait for the day the World Tree descended, his life had also come to an end... He didn't think that in his current state of weakness, he could escape Black Star's grasp. The Otherworlder had clearly realized this during their last encounter.

He didn't know about the Underworld and didn't understand what substantial benefits his death would bring to Han Xiao, but that didn't prevent him from understanding the other party's killing intent. He immediately reacted.

He saw the Otherworlder retreating violently, squeezing his cells to the limit, pumping out bursts of energy, his aura soaring, alarming a series of radar warnings. He was clearly preparing to fight for his life.

At the same time, a decisive mental wave was also transmitted from the Otherworlder, spreading to the minds of everyone present.

"Black Star! I won't sit still and wait for death. If you want my life, come and take it yourself!"

At the same time, Taini, who was watching the battle, shuddered and secretly instructed the crew to turn on the full-view recording equipment.

"They're going to fight. Record the whole process and don't miss any of Black Star's abilities!"

On the side, Hodd looked at the scene of the Otherworlder taking up a stance, his mood complex and unclear.

This was the first time he had seen the original body after the split. Nearly a hundred years had passed. Looking at the body he once used to conquer the universe, now being controlled by a new personality, the feeling was indescribable.

After all, he had always lived with that body, familiar with every inch of it, and had spent a lot of effort to cultivate the original body's powerful abilities, which he had to leave to the "newcomer." There was both nostalgia and unwillingness.

"If I hadn't been captured back then, I wouldn't have had to abandon the original body so quickly..."

Hodd gritted his teeth secretly.

Now that the abilities of this new body had been stripped away, the once left-behind original body had become the only hope in his eyes.

Looking at the scene outside the window of Black Star confronting the original body, Hodd's thoughts raced.

"With the abilities of my original body, as long as I can hold on for a while, I can break through the spatial stabilization effect in this area and use dimensional warp to teleport away... there's still a chance!"

Although he had been imprisoned for decades and didn't know about Black Star's progress, Hodd was very clear about the power of the original body. Based on Black Star's strength when he defeated him back then, he felt that he wouldn't be able to take down his original body in a short time...

This was hope!

Hodd perked up.

However, just as he was concentrating on watching this fierce battle, the sudden change in the arena shocked him!

A circle of golden thunder spread out from Han Xiao's body surface, and countless mechanical soldiers surged out, as if Han Xiao himself had become the gate to a secondary dimensional barracks, directly ignoring the effect of the spatial stabilization anchors!

\[Godly Physique Fortress]!

In the blink of an eye, a mechanical army far exceeding the scale of the fleet in the arena spread out.

The next moment, a large number of machines gathered on Han Xiao, rapidly combining into a mechanical deity with a strange appearance. The structure was extremely complex, like wearing a dark gold precision armor, crowned, with facial features similar to Han Xiao, and a series of complex silver-blue matrix patterns all over his body, flashing like breathing.

Compared to ordinary mechanical deities, the energy fluctuations emitted by this group of machines were even more astonishing, with a unique temperament. They looked like a single entity, no longer like something synthesized, but more like an independent being summoned.

\[Mechanical Deity - Supreme Heavenly Venerate]!

A strong high-level pressure suddenly swept out, and every life form present felt an immense sense of oppression, as if a true god had descended.

Taini and others were not Beyond Grade A, so they felt normal, but the Otherworlder and Hodd's expressions changed dramatically!

"Could it be that you have already..."

The Otherworlder was stunned, suddenly horrified.

What had he been doing for so many years in the universe? Wasn't it to step into a higher realm!

But now, without the slightest preparation, he saw something in Black Star that resembled what he had dreamed of. How could this not shake his heart!

Before the Otherworlder could react from the shock, Han Xiao attacked violently. The Supreme Heavenly Venerate rapidly formed a phantom of the Emperor's Sky Splitting Blade in his hand. The next moment, the phantom suddenly solidified, turning into a physical entity, and slashed out horizontally.

A suffocating, thick Psionic energy erupted, as if dyeing the visible area all blue. The translucent energy covered all directions!

The Otherworlder suddenly came back to his senses and hurriedly responded. Layers of energy shields popped up, but they shattered under the attack of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, exploding into a sky of light fragments, like fragile pieces of glass.

He wanted to dodge, but felt that he was firmly locked on and could not avoid it. Because of the interference of the spatial stabilization anchors, he could not use teleportation.

The Otherworlder gritted his teeth and simply condensed the little energy he had left, urging an aggressive ability to strike out, head-on!

A black-red beam of light shot out, hitting the blade of the Emperor's Sky Splitting Blade, being split in half. The blade only hesitated for a moment, then slashed down at a faster speed. The flowing light of the Getter Wave Fist was walking, compressing, and condensing on the blade, forming a huge light blade.

Boom!!

A large mass of flesh and blood mixed with energy exploded, dissipating into ashes in mid-air.

The Otherworlder's figure rolled out, half of his body shattered by the slash!

The Otherworlder had just been beaten up by Han Xiao when he was sealed last time, and his health was already low. The power of this slash instantly severely injured him. If he hadn't activated his recovery ability in an emergency, the Otherworlder would have been killed instantly!

Before he could adjust, Han Xiao clenched the fist holding the knife and struck hard in mid-air, bursting out a circular blue shock wave, quickly catching up with the Otherworlder's figure and sweeping over.

Boom boom boom!

A series of explosions suddenly occurred on the Otherworlder's body, as if he had suffered tens of thousands of heavy blows at the same time. Dense dents appeared on his body, and his entire body was almost beaten into a lump of meat, unrecognizable, unable to move in place.

The Otherworlder had a breath left, frantically running his recovery ability, and flesh buds kept growing out, trying to recover.

However, at this time, the thrusters on the back of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate spewed out a strong tail flame, accelerating explosively. The blade turned, dragging out a dazzling slash that burned the retina. The huge body was incredibly flexible, passing the Otherworlder with a whoosh!

Whoosh!

The light trace passed the Otherworlder's body, and the recovery stopped instantly, the vitality dying at a visible speed.

He barely controlled his newly grown head, turning to look at the Supreme Heavenly Venerate behind him, his eyes flashing with complex emotions, including realization, envy, relief, and comfort...

"You didn't disappoint me... You really stepped into... the level I dreamed of. At least before I die... I can see higher power... I'm worth it..."

The fragmented mental waves drained the last of his strength. The next moment, the Otherworlder's body dispersed in full view, turning into a sky full of starlight, disappearing.

Three basic attacks, the Otherworlder was dead!

Taini's expression froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Black Star had a record of instantly killing Beyond Grade As before, but those were all tactical applications, mostly methods of mutual destruction. But like now, a head-on basic attack crushing and instantly killing a peak Beyond Grade A was, it seemed, the first time?!

It was as easy as a Beyond Grade A beating a Calamity Grade. Was this the Super God level?!

Just these two or three moves didn't reveal much information about Black Star's abilities, but the tip of the iceberg that was revealed was shocking enough.

Taini couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, deeply suspecting whether the power of individuals at this level was still something that fleet forces could deal with...

"What..."

On the other side, Hodd was also stunned.

He thought that Black Star and his original body would have a fierce battle, but he didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, Black Star would easily kill his original body, completely crushing his hope.

What shocked him the most was the fact that Black Star had already stepped into a higher level of power!

A deep sense of powerlessness ran through Hodd's entire body.

He had wasted so many years, committed countless evil deeds, abandoned one precious thing after another, and even changed his body, but he still hadn't achieved this dream. However, Black Star had easily fulfilled his lifelong wish...

I hate it so much!

If it were normal circumstances, Hodd would still have the mentality to catch up, but now that his abilities had been stripped away and his original body had been killed, there was no chance. For a time, he lost his will and felt that his spirit had been completely drained at this moment, leaving only an empty shell without a soul.

Hodd would rather be trapped in the Time Amber forever than experience this series of desperate blows.

At this moment, he fell into self-isolation.