The leader then accepted the call. Han Xiao’s face appeared on the screen, and the leader showed a murderous intent in his eyes. Han Xiao also did not talk, and they stared at each other for a while. Even though they were looking through a screen, they could feel the intense hostility from each other.
After a while, Han Xiao started the conversation. “Long time no see.”
“Isn’t it too late for you to beg for mercy?” the leader replied coolly. He could tell that Han Xiao already knew that he was trapped in the encirclement and could not find a way to escape. That was why Han Xiao directly called his mortal enemy to try some petty trick.
From his understanding, there was nothing for them to talk about. The leader was the one in a better position, and Han Xiao was just a stray dog that he could catch whenever he wanted.
“Do you still remember our little secret, when I said I will destroy your organization?” Han Xiao asked in a slow, clear voice. “You were so arrogant, and I was never in your eyes. And now, I’ve single-handedly push your organization to the brink of destruction, and you can’t ignore me anymore. Now, you spend all your energy and resources trying to kill me. Don’t you regret it? Why don’t you try to persuade me with your little fancy ideology? Then, maybe, I will listen you and turn myself in.”
The leader took a deep breath as what Han Xiao had said stabbed right at his heart. The only thing that the leader wanted to do was punch Han Xiao right in the face. The Germinal Organization’s ideology was to overthrow the Six Nations, and the leader’s ultimate enemies were the regime and the country. Yet, all his ambition had been burned down by a mere traitor. The leader could not let go of this crying shame. “Save your breath. I know you can tell the situation you are in, and now you’ve decided to call and try some petty tricks, right?”
“Do you think you can stop me with only those few troops?”
The leader laughed in his heart. Han Xiao did realize that he was being surrounded. So, he believed that Han Xiao was just trying to act tough.
“With the power of predicting the future, you have been fooling us, but this time, your power won’t save you anymore.” The leader snorted. “When you have nowhere to run, I wonder if you will smile like you are now.”
The leader noticed the assistant on the side, hinting that the communication channel was secure, so there was no way to locate the precise location.
If that was the case, there was no need to waste time talking to Han Xiao.
Just as the leader decided to hang up the call, Han Xiao suddenly said, “So, why do you only send your men to kill me? Are you too scared to face me in person?”
The leader shivered and showed a wry smile. “You don’t want to live anymore, do you?”
“Still arrogant, aren’t you?” Han Xiao laughed. “Well, you only look powerful on the surface, but deep down in your heart, you are a coward, and you will never face me by yourself.”
“Want to fight with me, huh? You’ll die before you get a chance to see my face again.” The leader snorted and hung up the call.
…
“I didn’t get anything useful.” Han Xiao turned off the tablet computer and let out a sigh.
Other than trying to scout the intention of the leader, he also communicated with the Six Nations’ escort team.
The good news was that the backup from the Six Nation had arrived on the east side of the plains. They had infiltrated the defense line of the Germinal Organization without being detected. They would arrive at the encirclement by the next day to provide combat support for Han Xiao.
Han Xiao suddenly regained confidence and scheduled a time to meet up. With the reinforcements as the ace up his sleeve, the operation became much safer.
Even if he and Hila failed to escape the encirclement, at least they would receive support. So, it would not be a waste of time and resources.
The reinforcements consisted of superhumans who were the best of the best in the Six Nations. One could not underestimate their capabilities.
“We will start the operation tomorrow afternoon, but we cannot bring your sister along with us. We won’t have the energy and awareness to protect her safety. If we can hide her in the encirclement, we can fight without worrying about Aurora,” Han Xiao said.
Surprisingly, Hila agreed. Bringing Aurora along would only increase unnecessary risk, and the encirclement could actually be a temporary safe space without any battles.
If they could break through the encirclement, then they could attract all the attention.
Of course, they had to find a way to bring Aurora back, and it would pose a lot of trouble in the future, but under these circumstances, Aurora would only hold them back, and this was the best option they could go for.
“Sister, am I to stay here?” Aurora looked up and her big eyes looking at Hila.
“We are only leaving you for a moment. This is safer for you.” Even though it hurt Hila to leave Aurora alone, she knew that this was the only way to keep her safe.
Aurora looked down and covered her eyes. “I’ll do what you say.”
“I’m sorry.” Hila felt a needle pierce through her heart, and she pulled Aurora into her hug.
After searching for a while, they found a natural cave. Han Xiao dug out the dirt to create a bigger space and fortified the structure. Then he covered the cave with camouflaged material and closed off the entrance to the cave, leaving eighty percent of the food and resources with Aurora.
Chapter 255 - The Hidden Tactic
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“The food we left you should last you for around five days. Try save as much as possible. If you hear any troops from the Germinal Organization, do not make any sound,” Han Xiao said.
Aurora nodded quietly. She culled up and buried her face in her knees as she looked at the back of Han Xiao and Hila. “Sister, I’ll be waiting.”
Hila stopped for a second, took a deep breath, and started walking forward again.
Han Xiao finished covering up the cave and noted the location. He let Hila drive as he sat in the back and cleaned the car tail, making sure that the Germinal Organization could not follow the track to where Aurora was hiding.
After they reached the main road, Han Xiao got back into the passenger seat. Hila looked at Han Xiao and asked, “Do you believe that we will pull through?”
Han Xiao nodded. “I would never use my life to bet on something that I am not confident about.”
Hila stayed quiet for a while, then she replied, “If I die in the battle, please help me take care of my sister. With your strength, the chances of you surviving are much larger than mine.”
“If you talk more in this tone, I think you will see death right around the corner,” Han Xiao said with his dead eyes, which he had not shown in a while.
Even though Han Xiao teased her, he understood Hila’s feelings. For Hila, every step that she took was lurking with danger. She was not as strong as Han Xiao, and the future was uncertain. Her sister was the sole reason that she had the perseverance to go through all the hardship, and she cared for Aurora with all her heart. She was even willing to sacrifice her life for Aurora, and that was why she had started to develop a pessimistic view on her own destiny.
But Hila’s statement also showed her complete trust toward Han Xiao, and this was the original objective that Han Xiao had before he intervened in this event.
“I contacted the Six Nations’ reinforcements. They are already nearby, and we decided on a place to meet up tomorrow. If we fail the breach tomorrow, we will still get back up, but if everything goes well, we can probably get out of here before we meet up with the reinforcements.”
“I hope so.”
Hila glanced at Han Xiao and never spoke again.
…
An hour later, the vehicle stopped on an obscured hill.
“There’s still around ten hours until we meet up with the reinforcements. We will breach the encirclement on the east. This is the plan�
�” Han Xiao took out Viper and put it in front of Hila. “You will wear this suit in the battle tomorrow. In these ten hours, you must master all the controls and weapons on the suit.”
Hila was stunned. “What about you?”
“In order to get through the encirclement, we must create chaos. I will go and blow up their vehicles and ammunition. They will be prepared for my ability to change appearance, but I also have an invisibility power.” What Han Xiao said was naturally Dion’s character card, which he had used once in the headquarters.
Hila understood. “So, I will use the mechanical suit to act like it was you and attract the attention of the enemy because you are the target they want to kill.”
Han Xiao nodded. This strategy took advantage of the mentality of the Germinal Organization. Even though it was just a trick and in no way genius, the plan would be effective.
He adjusted the mechanical armor, opened access for Hila, and helped Hila put it on.
It was a brand-new feeling after she wore the mechanical suit. Through the display, she observed the outside world as if she had stepped through the door of the new world. Hila tried to move around in the armor, but she soon felt the dense weight of the armor. She listened to Han Xiao and tried to learn the confusing controls of the suit.
“What a complex design. Did you make all this?” Hila had a slight surprised tone in her voice.
“What, did you think the suit fell from the sky?” Han Xiao replied.
Han Xiao walked through the maneuvers of Viper with Hila. She knew that she only had ten hours to learn, so she was extremely focused.
Han Xiao did not need Hila to actually master the controls. He only needed Hila stand her ground for a while in front of the enemies.
The darkness faded as the sun rose from the east. Time flew as they wasted no time training for the battle.
Neither of them got any sleep that night.
As Han Xiao realized that it was daybreak, he said, “It’s time. There’s no need for you to take off the suit. Remember the plan and don’t make a mistake.”
…
The encirclement around the plains was like a fishing net that covered all routes. The security was deadly, and the troops were scattered in every direction, awaiting the command from the headquarters. As the encirclement enclosed, the defense line was even denser, making it harder to break through. On top of that, there were mobile reinforcement troops that could quickly provide assistance to any engagement.
On the east side of the encirclement, a large number of vehicles stood by and slowly marched forward as soldiers stood outside the cars, scrutinizing every movement on the plains.
Devin was the executive officer for this troop. He was not a senior executive officer, but he has Esper powers that strengthened his muscles. During combat, his bones would surface and cover his body. His whole body would grow and become a two and half meters tall with skeleton armor, greatly boosting both his Strength and Endurance.
Even though this Esper ability was powerful and threatening, the enemy was the notorious Black Phantom. Devin had no confidence in stopping him.
I hope that guy doesn’t try to breach on my side. I will never be able to stop him,Devin prayed in his heart.
The executive officers in his team also felt the same way. As the Germinal Organization shattered, some people lost part of their loyalty to the organization, and they started to slack during their mission and protocol. This was the vicious cycle on the side losing the war. Only people who viewed the Germinal Organization as their religion and savior had not lose their loyalty, and these groups of people were from the old era that wanted to overthrow the Six Nations. All they wanted was to go to war with the Six Nations while sacrificing their lives. The deadlier the war, the more relieved their hatred would be.
Suddenly, the scouting soldier shouted, “There movement on the southeast side! A vehicle is approaching at a very high speed!”
The entire troop looked over, and they saw a jeep charging through the sand and dust. They quickly realized that the driver was wearing the dark black mechanical suit.
“Attention! An enemy has appeared!”
Why did they choose to break through here‽
Devin was nervous and kept on thinking about how unlucky he was. He even thought of running away. Han Xiao had already killed more than a dozen executive officers, and he did not want to be the next victim.
Suddenly, a tank fired a shell right at the jeep!
Bang!
The sound was louder than thunder, and the smoke and blaze exploded around the jeep.
The jeep jerked violently and dodge the shells and explosion.
After the jeep was five hundred meters away from the enemy, it finally got hit by a gun shell, and the jeep exploded into pieces.
At the same time, Hila jumped up in the mechanical suit, activated the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, and charge forward with an even higher speed. Hila was more agile in the new suit. She dodged all the bullets coming her way and sprayed her machine guns right at the enemy.
Clashes, explosions, screams, and cries—the battlefield was in chaos.
The battle became more intense!
The situation was instantly reported back to the headquarters, and the battle was clearly shown right on the display. The leader jumped up after waiting desperately for intel.
“He finally showed up!” the leader yelled. “Send the rapid response team as reinforcements! Tell everyone else to close up the encirclement with the east side being the center!”
The other troops received the command and started moving. The leader stared closely at the changing formation, and the encirclement quickly closed in onto the east side as if it was a bird cage closing off all escape routes.
Victory is mine!
On the east side of the plains, Hila kept on fighting with the suit on, creating a lot of destruction.
In order to pretend to be Han Xiao, Hila did not use her Esper power and only fought with the suit.
She was not a mechanic, and Hila could not unleash the true power of the suit. There were still a lot of abilities and weapons that she could not use, so she only fought with the basic battle mode. She got exhausted really fast.
The common soldiers could not stop her, so it was time for the executive officer to stand up.
Crack! Crack!
The sound of the cracking bone exploded as Devin started to expand. The bones spiked out and formed his skeleton armor, and he was as tall as a small giant. Devin suppressed his fear and anxiety as he swung his fist at ‘Black Phantom’. Their fists clashed and set off an explosive wave.
Bang!
Such power. Hila held her breath and barely stood still. She did not have enough strength or machinery affinity with the suit. With only the basic combat stats, she could barely hold back Devin’s power.
Devin was prepared to die, but he was surprised that he was still standing, and ‘Black Phantom’ seemed to have suffered damage from his punch.
Why is he so weak? Devin questioned in his mind.
Chapter 256 - Breaking Out (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Devin carefully probed his opponent with feints at the start of the battle. However, ever fighting for a while, he found out that ‘Black Phantom’ was not as overwhelmingly strong as he had been led to believe.
The legendary Black Phantom is nothing much. I was worried for nothing.
Devin got a confidence boost and started to attack without reserve.
The battle between the muscular giant and the armored mechanical suit caused a constant sound of clashing fists to be heard. The other Germinal executives that followed behind Devin started to realize that Devin was actually starting to gain the upper hand in the fight, and they were all surprised.
“When did the captain become this strong?”
“No, look! It’s Black Phantom that grew weak!”
“Even someone as strong as him can’t fight in his peak state after es
caping for so long. He is at his weakest right now!”
The group of executives were then also bolstered and were no longer afraid. They stepped up one after another to gang up on Black Phantom.
Based on how much attention the leader paid Han Xiao, capturing him would definitely count as a great achievement!
Get him while he’s weak!
The battle between this group of superhumans wreaked havoc on the surroundings, creating massive ditches everywhere. The troops were not just watching either as they open fired whenever Black Phantom showed an opening.
Hila was fighting for her life, and she was losing ground every second. She could only clench her teeth as she received blow after blow from all directions. If she was using her usual fighting style, she never would’ve let her enemies gang up on her like this. If not for Viper’s defensive capabilities, she would’ve long since bit the dust.
The Germinal leader’s eyes lit up. “His condition is getting even worse. Now we definitely got him!”
The leader originally only wanted to use the five senior executives to stall Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao’s strength was now deteriorating by the second. It must have been caused by the built-up pressure while escaping.
“Who is this executive? He’s got potential,” said the leader.
The assistant hurriedly searched up the information and answered, “His name is Devin, and uhh… no notable achievements so far.
The leader scoffed and replied, “We are at war, and every single strong soldier is an important asset. Missing out on him would be a true misstep on our part!”
…
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Character Summon card has been used.
Current Usage: 2/2
The card will soon disappear.
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When Hila had all the Germinal forces’ attention, Han Xiao sneaked into the midst of the troops and was busy planting explosives underneath every single Germinal vehicle.
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