Chapter 1 Interception Zone

Inside the command center of the main base in the interception zone, reports of successful interceptions poured in. Simon and the others were gathered around a real-time star chart, monitoring the overall situation, while many Super-As stood by, ready to act. Outside the window, ten high-dimensional apocalypse teleporters were warming up, ready to be deployed at any moment.

At that moment, a flash of light appeared in the corner of the room. Kesuye, now wearing the Sovereign armor, teleported back into the room, completely enveloped in Han Xiao's machinery force, immediately attracting the attention of others.

"You're back? How did it go?"

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, casually retracting the Sovereign armor from Kesuye's body.

Because the high-dimensional apocalypse teleporters only supported one-way teleportation, the interception force naturally wouldn't carry another set of teleporters. So, Han Xiao borrowed the Sovereign mech, allowing other Super-As to carry a set when they deployed, and then he would use his machinery force to pull it back, improving efficiency.

"The World Tree's Super-As are quite powerful," Kesuye nodded seriously.

"Yet you still trampled them to death... I feel like you're indirectly praising yourself," the Sun Hunter said suspiciously from the side.

"Cough, I'm evaluating based on the standards of ordinary Super-As, don't include peak Super-As in there... Their psychic power is relatively strong. That kind of light green energy seems to greatly enhance his mental strength. On our side, he could probably take on 1.6 Ciscows," Kesuye mused.

"That's good. The empire has Kohler, you guys have Ciscow. This kind of baseline… basic combat unit makes it easier for us to compare strength intuitively," the Sword Master, Fu, said calmly.

Fortunately, neither of those two were here, so no one jumped out to refute. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"What you're talking about is the battle power boost brought by the World Tree connection. Basically, every Super-A of the World Tree civilization enjoys this bonus, equivalent to everyone having a wonder-level cosmic treasure," Han Xiao replied to Kesuye.

"So the average lower limit of the opponent's Super-A group's combat power is higher than ours?" Mainyson's Overlord avatar asked.

"You could say that," Han Xiao said, spreading his hands. "However, the high-end combat power should be about the same. The five Tree Kings and their ten Leaf Executives can hold their own. The thirteen Ancestral Spirits and high-level Holy Tree Messengers are extraordinary. And there are also high-ranking military officers who are responsible for foreign wars all year round. We can still put up a fight."

"Sounds like a handful," the Secret Master said, shaking his head.

Kesuye frowned and said, "Speaking of which, I tried to pry into the opponent's memory just now, but I felt a high-level pressure. If I hadn't retracted my psychic power in time, I probably would have been seriously injured... Is that the power of the World Tree?"

"That's right, that's the World Tree. Don't use mental power to probe the memories of any World Tree members. They are all connected together, protected by the World Tree, and their thoughts are monitored. Once there is a deviation, it will be corrected to prevent peeping, possession, and other mental attacks..."

Han Xiao explained.

"It's like being a slave, never being able to rebel against the master..." Kesuye sighed, then asked curiously, "Then how did you get intelligence from them?"

"Is there even a question? I'm better than you guys," Han Xiao said very frankly.

Everyone was speechless.

Although it's the truth, why do we want to hit you so much…

Ignoring Han Xiao, everyone dragged Kesuye over, asking all sorts of questions. Although everyone present had read the hundreds of World Tree powerhouse profiles that Han Xiao had collected last time, they were still very curious about Kesuye's combat experience.

Han Xiao didn't mind, shook his head, got up, and went to Simon and the others. While listening to the high-level military officers and staff constantly giving orders, he watched the changes in the real-time star chart.

The star chart was dotted with dense spots of light, each representing an interception force, dynamically changing. In some places, crosses were marked, representing the locations where the enemy had been successfully intercepted. Around the crosses, there were halos and lines extending out, representing the possible routes of other World Tree exploration teams.

"The interception situation is still good, thanks to your intelligence," Simon said when he saw Han Xiao come over, taking a moment to speak.

"Just helping each other out," Han Xiao said nonchalantly.

Simon nodded, then sighed.

"However, the interception circle is still too passive. We can only try to prevent the World Tree exploration teams from entering our territory, but a long defense is bound to fail. As long as the enemy detours far enough, there will eventually be stragglers. We can only try to delay that moment from coming."

"There's no way around it. The opponent is, after all, the World Tree," Han Xiao shrugged.

"...Yeah, this civilization is simply born for war. If the foreign enemy wasn't the World Tree, a war machine, we wouldn't have to passively defend our home like this. They're really a tricky enemy."

Simon said helplessly.

The three great civilizations were also hegemonic civilizations. If the foreign enemy wasn't a war machine like the World Tree, with their current intelligence advantage, they might already be thinking of ways to take the initiative... But no tactic can be applied to all situations. Taking the initiative also depends on who the opponent is. Ignoring the opponent's actual situation and copying the cases in the tactical manual would mostly result in heavy losses. After all, they couldn't squander their resources as carelessly as the World Tree. With the example of the Karma Republic Alliance, the most powerful thing about the World Tree wasn't a blitzkrieg, but the gradual erosion of strength.

Moreover, Han Xiao's intelligence had already indicated that the main body was the foundation of the World Tree. If this were a real-time strategy game, then the World Tree's territory would at most be a branch base. The main base was still in the fog of war, while the three great civilizations had exposed the location of their main bases and were being attacked. Trading bases with a branch base was naturally not worth it, especially since their unit production speed was faster.

Shaking off his mood, Simon took out a flip pocket watch and glanced at it. "The interception circle is still under construction and is most lacking in manpower. How long before your association's Super-A force fleet arrives?"

"Soon. They are gathering toward the teleportation point," Han Xiao replied.

The current Shattered Star Ring was rapidly turning into a war zone. Irrelevant personnel were leaving at high speed. The Radiant Federation generously took out a large number of its stock of high-dimensional apocalypse teleporters and established a collection point in the Morning Star Cluster, teleporting the subsequent troops over. The Black Star Army and other Super-A forces' fleets were heading there.

Simon nodded.

"As soon as possible. The more manpower we have, the sooner the interception circle can be completed, and the longer we can keep the World Tree out of our territory."

...

The interstellar era emphasizes efficiency. Advanced mobility reduces travel time. Many things can happen every day, but on a higher scale, many things require a long evolution.

In the following days, the three great civilizations' interception forces continued to play hide-and-seek with the World Tree's 274th exploration regiment. One exploration team after another was destroyed, but due to detours, the battle line was also stretched longer and longer.

At the same time, batches of Super-A force reinforcements arrived at the interception zone and quickly joined the construction of the interception circle. One wormhole rapid support base after another was established, connecting to each other, like a large net, forming layers of barriers. The area was expanding rapidly every day, spreading further and further.

The interception zone was now the front line. More Super-As, having finished their tasks, arrived one after another, and their number quickly approached a hundred.

One day, at the observation deck of the main base.

Han Xiao stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the brilliant starry sky, seemingly contemplating life, but actually browsing the forums, checking the reactions of the players who had arrived at the front line.

As he was concentrating on reading the posts, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from behind. Han Xiao closed the panel and looked back, revealing Hela and Aurora.

"You guys are here too?" Han Xiao glanced at the two of them.

"Just arrived," Hela said calmly.

"I knew that with your personality, you definitely wouldn't miss this kind of battle."

Han Xiao shook his head.

He didn't force the two sisters to participate, nor did he force them to stay in the rear. After all, they were already Super-As, and their wishes had to be respected. If they were willing to come, he wouldn't stop them. Besides, the two sisters were indeed rare and excellent combat forces.

"Since we have to fight the enemy together, we naturally can't stay out of it. Having obtained our current power, I'm not in the habit of accepting protection with peace of mind," Hela said slowly.

Han Xiao looked at Aurora. "What about you?"

"Ah? My sister came, so I definitely followed her. Otherwise, what if she gets beaten to death... And my abilities should be very useful, right?" Aurora smiled.

"Here, her situation is probably safer than mine," Hela snorted. This was also one of the reasons why she didn't stop Aurora from coming.

"With you here, the safety of other Super-As will be guaranteed," Han Xiao nodded to Aurora.

"Don't get me wrong, we have other plans. This is a good place to expand the Underworld."

Hela waved her hand.

"It's indeed a good opportunity," Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

With the Underworld here, even if the warriors below Super-A died, they would have a chance to be reborn. The war grinder has always been a treasure land for collecting souls, as long as the Underworld can hold them.

It's just that the World Tree warriors are bound by the connection, and they don't drop souls when they die, so they probably can't be captured. The Underworld can most likely only recover the fallen soldiers on the side of the three great civilizations. Moreover, Han Xiao didn't dare to let the two sisters risk capturing World Tree personnel. If the World Tree connection wouldn't be lifted as a result, it would directly expose the coordinates of the Underworld in the secondary dimension. It wouldn't be good if the World Tree followed the vine and attacked the Underworld.

But this didn't affect the strategic importance of the Underworld. In Han Xiao's eyes, the Underworld had the ability to change the overall situation, and its role was no less than that of the Sanctuary Revival, even surpassing it in some aspects. It was a pity that Aurora's accumulation was still too small. If she were allowed to grow for decades or hundreds of years, the power of the Underworld could create new heights.

Han Xiao turned around and looked out the window again, and said in a deep voice: "In the past few days, I have a vague feeling that the World Tree will not sit idly by and watch us deploy defenses. I'm afraid that they will soon organize a large-scale attack. A tough battle may break out soon. It will also be the first large-scale frontal battle between the three great civilizations and the World Tree."

"Is this your intuition?" Hela raised her eyebrows.

"No, it's just a prediction based on the World Tree's style."

Han Xiao rubbed his chin, his tone thoughtful, and changed the subject, sighing:

"Anyway, you have to protect yourselves. I may not be able to take care of you in a galactic war."

"I will take care of myself," Hela replied calmly.

...

World Tree Civilization Territory.

The boundless fleet was spread out in the universe. In the distance, streams of light continuously shot over, turning into new troops and merging into the collective, making the scale continue to expand.

Many Executives nodded secretly as they watched this scene.

After Tree King Heart decided to launch a strong attack, they immediately mobilized troops from various group armies to gather here and stand by.

Due to the superior characteristics of the mind network and rapid shuttling within the territory, the World Tree Civilization's efficiency in assembling troops was extremely amazing. It quickly formed a large expeditionary force of 8 billion warships, ready to attack at any time.

"Tree King, when will the strong attack begin?"

One of the Executives turned to look at the two Tree Kings.

Tree King Town didn't speak and turned to look at Tree King Heart.

"The scale is not enough, let's gather more people," Tree King Heart said slowly.

"What is your standard..." Tedrien asked tentatively.

"For the first meeting, let's treat this strong attack as a greeting. The fleet size should be at least 50 billion or more, otherwise it's not presentable. If they can't even block this attack, then we can take bolder tactics later."

Tree King Heart's tone was as calm as if he was just throwing out a small denomination chip on the gambling table and didn't care.

But he paused and said:

"By the way, we have to consider the possibility of that outsider participating in the war. That person is not easy to deal with..."