The Fallen Ark fleet formed a defensive formation in the center and endured the attacks which came from all directions. Fakisen directed the fleet while paying attention to EsGod’s battle.
“His Excellency EsGod’s strength is becoming more and more frightening,” Fakisen said with hesitation.
“That’s right. He is able to deal with five Beyond Grade As so easily. He is EsGod indeed,” a vice commander said with reverence in his eyes.
Fakisen then said with a strange tone, “Even five Beyond Grade As aren’t able to win against EsGod, and this isn’t even His Excellency EsGod’s limit. The three large civilizations sent too few people and have truly underestimated him. Tsk tsk.”
Fakisen then summoned an officer.
“You shall take command of the fleet now.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Ah ah, I still have something else to do. This is a secret mission that His Excellency EsGod handed over to me.”
Fakisen then turned around, left the command room, and headed to a spaceship hangar.
He knew that EsGod was already beginning to become suspicious of him. After EsGod took care of the present danger, he would probably be next. EsGod would never need evidence when getting rid of his subordinates.
Besides, regardless of whether EsGod was able to survive this encirclement, Fakisen was not planning on remaining by EsGod’s side.
…
The intense battle lasted a long time, and apart from Han Xiao, the other four were riddled with injuries. The mechanical army had also suffered great losses and was gradually becoming weaker.
EsGod looked at the few who were extremely pathetic and sent out a mental message with satisfaction.
“Black Star, do you see this? This is the strength that you have given me. What do you think about it?”
Han Xiao then used the amber ball formation to block an incoming attack and snorted in response. “It isn’t much.”
EsGod was not bothered by the reply and continued, “Ah, although I haven’t broken through the Beyond Grade A limits, my strength should already be the peak of the entire explored universe. The five of you do not even have any chance of fighting back before me.”
As Sun Hunter heard that, he immediately aimed his cannon at EsGod and fired.
This time, EsGod did not avoid the attack but used his body to receive the attack. He then activated his Black Hole ability and absorbed the attack to create a few more doppelgangers.
The remaining force from the attack charred his skin and disfigured him completely.
But the next moment, his injuries recovered rapidly, and his appearance went back to normal. His recovery speed was no slower than Han Xiao.
“A useless attack.” EsGod glanced at Sun Hunter before looking at Han Xiao. “Black Star, you are not the only one with an indestructible body.”
Han Xiao replied with an expressionless face, “Every time you repair your body, your cell’s activeness will be exhausted. When your cells reach their upper limit, your life span will also come to an end. This is the disadvantage of a self-healing ability.”
“That’s right. I am already old. Every time I fight, my lifespan would be burnt up,” EsGod said calmly. “However, your Evolution Cube increased my life span by a great deal, and it is enough for me to use. At the very least, you won’t have a chance in this battle.”
EsGod’s current strength came from the evolution energy, and thus, he treated Han Xiao differently.
“Do you really think that you have won?” Sun Hunter interrupted coldly.
“Oh? Please give me a good surprise if you guys still have any unused trump cards. In a while, you guys won’t even have the strength to escape,” EsGod said with confidence in his voice. “After getting rid of the few of you here, the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty will definitely be infuriated. I also do not have any interest in facing the next wave of enemies, so letting all of you go will be the best option. However, if all of you do not wish to escape, I don’t mind killing you.”
Through this battle, EsGod had already tested his own combat strength, and defeating this wave of enemies was sufficient to prove his strength. As long as he did not kill them, the three great civilizations would not bother him for a period of time. He wanted to remain low profile for some time to familiarize himself with his strength after the evolution. Thus, he truly did not wish to kill Han Xiao’s group.
If not, a Universal Civilization would not let the matter rest after suffering such a huge loss, and that did not suit his current objectives. Thus, he hoped that Han Xiao’s group would willingly retreat.
Han Xiao then looked around at his comrades. They had injuries all over their bodies and were not in good states.
Just as EsGod had said, it was impossible for the five of them to do anything against EsGod. If the battle continued, their lives would possibly be in danger.
Right at this moment, Han Xiao suddenly laughed and said, “EsGod, do you know that I am extremely clear about the threat you pose?”
“My threat?” EsGod raised his brows. “My deeds are spread all across the universe. Is there a need for you to emphasize on them?”
“No, I am not talking about that.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t get what you are talking about,” EsGod said.
Han Xiao chuckled and was not planning to explain himself.
EsGod purposely revealed information about the wormhole because he wanted the other organizations to investigate the matter together with him. However, he hid information about the World Tree Civilization, and EsGod thought that he was the only one who knew the existence of the World Tree Civilization.
In truth, EsGod was not wrong in thinking so. No one else apart from Han Xiao knew about this secret and would fall for EsGod’s trap to help EsGod research this wormhole. EsGod’s wish was to open this channel and fish for benefits from the side.
However, EsGod could not have known that Han Xiao also knew about the existence of the World Tree Civilization. He was the second person in the explored universe to know about this, and EsGod was still in the dark regarding this.
It was because of the lack of information that EsGod was not clear about how resolute Han Xiao was about killing him. According to his past experience, there should be four to six Beyond Grade As coming to encircle him, so five was within his expectations.
As such, he never imagined that there would be far more than five Beyond Grade As coming to encircle him!
Right when Han Xiao finished what he had to say, an abrupt change happened.
EsGod’s expression changed greatly as he could clearly feel a spacetime magic spreading out to cover the entire region. The secondary dimension was cut off, and spacetime was locked down. The space in this region became extremely sturdy without any cracks.
At the same time, Han Xiao also activated the space stabilizing equipment that Manison had given him and covered EsGod within it to prevent EsGod from escaping before the trap was formed.
Losing the ability of instantaneous movement, EsGod no longer had the initiative. EsGod then detected another six energy sources appearing from afar, rapidly approaching him.
Milizaus’ group of six appeared on the battlefield and surrounded him.
Upon seeing that, EsGod’s expression darkened, and a look of shock could be seen in his eyes.
“Why are there another six more‽”
Chapter 894 - Key Variable in the Operation
Everyone was treated equally under the spacetime lock. Mechanics were unable to open their secondary dimension channel, and the Dimension Crack and teleportation of EsGod also lost its effect.
With the universe continuously being explored, the three Universal Civilizations had recorded all sorts of Esper Abilities and had developed counters or restraints toward most of them. Except for some Super High Risk Esper Abilities, there was no unsolvable ability.
“Turns out, this was a trap. You guys are really willing to pay.”
> EsGod was surprised but quickly regained his calm.
This was also not the first time he faced such danger, so he did not panic. While the number of the enemies was more than what he expected, with not only the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church, even the Federation of Light was also involved.
There were eleven Beyond Grade As surrounding him, which outstripped his expectations.
If it were not for the fact that the Universal Civilizations had sent out enough manpower this time, it would have been difficult to make him fall into the trap. Just to fight him head on and not make him think it was a trap would already require at least four to five people, and there was still a need to ensure three mages could set up the spacetime lock secretly. That meant at least seven to eight Beyond Grade As were needed to complete the entire ambush. This was a completely different concept from having seven to eight ordinary people.
Upon realizing that he had fallen for the trap, EsGod did not talk further and immediately reacted.
He would not sit there and await death. While his teleportation was blocked in this area, he could still fly. As long as he flew in the opposite direction of Han Xiao and the others, the moment he escaped the range of the spacetime lock, he would be able to teleport again.
He was not an iron-headed person. When facing eleven other Beyond Grade As, he had no plans to fight them head on.
The six people involved in directly fighting him at the start were still chasing him, and they had yet to completely surround him. Because of the spacetime lock, they were unable to activate the hyperdrive to arrive immediately, so there were only five people who were able to suppress EsGod at the moment.
Han Xiao did not speak further, ditching Sun Hunter and the others, and pouring all of his energy into the mechanical suit propulsion module.
A blue flame burst out from the thrusters from his back, elbows, and feet, and his entire figure shot forward in pursuit of EsGod, leaving a dark blue arc in the universe like a comet.
The spacetime lock did not differentiate between allies or enemies, so his hyperdrive and Void abilities could not be used.
Many of EsGod’s doppelgangers turned to hold Han Xiao back, stopping him from pursuing the true body.
While he had fallen into the trap, EsGod did not mind it too much.
He might have been in danger before his evolution, but things were different now. A large number of his doppelgangers were enough to contain his pursuers and give him enough time to escape the spacetime lock.
“Don’t let him get away!” Sun Hunter shook a doppelganger off before unfolding a gigantic sniper rifle. He aimed it toward EsGod and fired.
A golden energy beam blasted out, with a tracking function toward EsGod. The speed of the beam was obviously faster than his flight speed, and the distance was quickly shortened.
EsGod frowned, only having the time to deploy a shield before the beam hit.
He originally wished to utilize the repulsion force to retreat even further, but the firearm used by Sun Hunter was not offensive in nature. The moment the beam hit EsGod, it swelled violently, turning into a ball of energy with a powerful suction force, dragging EsGod toward it. EsGod’s speed dropped sharply, and the latter had no choice but to continue struggling to get out of the gravitational range.
Ranged attacks were the strength of a Cannon Master, and among the team, Sun Hunter’s skills had the best effect against restraining escaping enemies. Furthermore, a Cannon Master did not only have one weapon. They were good at using a variety of firearms, not only offensive ones but also crowd control ones, such as the beam used against EsGod previously.
EsGod could not teleport, so his evasiveness was lowered. Being harassed by Sun Hunter, and with Han Xiao’s mechanical suit speed originally being quicker than EsGod, their distance gradually closed.
Luckily, Milizaus and the mages did not underestimate EsGod, and thus, they purposely enlarged the area of spacetime lock, ensuring that there was enough leeway to chase him down.
As EsGod’s back slowly grew bigger in his field of vision, Han Xiao estimated the distance before taking out a compressed orb with a flip of his palm. It transformed into a hexagonal alloy board, tens of meters in length with a slight curve to it. It was powered by a core of sub-psionic energy.
This was a Unidirectional Adsorption Gravity Device that Han Xiao had spent a few months creating. It could adjust the direction and strength of gravity, and it was mainly used for attraction.
Based on his tests, at full power, the gravitational force generated could reach the level of a planet’s gravity. This gravity was enough to peel off the crust from a planet and achieve the power to tear apart the surface of a planet.
Even for a Beyond Grade A, this was an extremely strong means of crowd control, many levels higher than the spaceship traction beam.
Han Xiao activated the equipment, and a strong attraction force covered the entire area in front of him. EsGod only felt a huge pulling force acting on him, as though an entire star wished to devour him.
EsGod frowned, and with a thought, he split out another new doppelganger, which threw itself toward the attracting force, rushing up to Han Xiao to obstruct him.
This doppelganger only had the goal of destroying the gravitational attraction equipment, so it flew along with the attraction, its flight speed not affected.
Han Xiao activated his psionic shield, blocking the advance of the doppelganger. However, the doppelganger also possessed a battle strength at Beyond Grade A, so it was not so easy to deal with. Han Xiao’s speed also took a hit. EsGod shot out a timely black and red energy beam to hit Han Xiao, conveniently using the repulsion to move further away.
“EsGod can continuously produce doppelgangers. The moment I come too close, I’ll be obstructed by the doppelgangers. If I cannot hold him, I can only watch as he escapes,” Han Xiao murmured, and having made his choice, the Mechanical Force around his body immediately flickered and condensed into a large arc of electricity that bound up EsGod’s doppelganger.
The next moment, Han Xiao’s consciousness stretched into the quantum network.
Soul attacks, I can do that too!
_____________________
You have utilized Virtual Soul against EsGod!
Attribute Judgment in progress…
Character level judgment failure, -30% success rate.
LUK Attribute judgment failure, -20% success rate.
MYS Attribute judgment failure, -30% success rate.
INT Attribute judgement Success, +40% success rate.
One of the above four judgments is effective. Skill is successfully launched!
Based on your Virtual Technology level, the basic success rate is 424%. After taking into account various judgements, final theoretical success rate: 384%
Calculation of the opponent’s abnormal status resistance in progress… Calculations complete, final success rate: 76%
Final Judgment in progress… Judgement successful
Skill (Virtual Soul) is effective.
_____________________
In front, EsGod’s body suddenly lurched to a stop. His soul was virtualized by Han Xiao, thrown into the quantum network and hence lost control of his body. The attracting force pulled him backward once again.
EsGod’s weakness lay in his spiritual level. Because his doppelgangers and true body all shared the same soul, the [Virtual Soul] skill that Han Xiao utilized on the doppelganger could also be effective on his true body.
Because of the large difference in attributes, the duration of [Virtual Soul] was only for a short while and even had a cooldown of fifteen minutes. But this was enough for Han Xiao to close the remaining distance.
The quantum network was Han Xiao’s home field, and his consciousness transformed into a luminous giant that covered the sky and the sun. He grabbed onto EsGod and pummeled him, all attacks converting into spiritual damage to EsGod.
The duration of [Virtual Soul] ended quickly, and clarity shone again in EsGo
d’s eyes, but the soul damage he received made him look weary.
Upon surveying his surroundings, EsGod discovered that his true body was now in front of Han Xiao. Without any additional words, Han Xiao pounced on him.
Seeing this, EsGod knew that he could not escape anymore. The reason he escaped was not because he could not fight them off but because remaining within the trap would leave him the passive one.
As they fought, EsGod continuously released doppelgangers to strengthen his damage output. However, Han Xiao was akin to a sticky plaster. His HP and resistance was too high in addition to having the amber ball as a shield. EsGod got more frustrated the more they battled, as he was fully held back by Han Xiao.
“You irritating fool!” EsGod thundered.
“Thank you for the praise.” Han Xiao smiled, his hands suddenly jetting out a Psionic Impact, directly shattering a doppelganger.
At the same time, the six involved in the ambush had started to surround them, and Sun Hunter’s side had also eliminated several doppelgangers.
Because all the new doppelgangers created by EsGod were trapped by Han Xiao, there were no new reinforcements on that side, so they could catch up with EsGod after being relieved of the pressure.
Before long, all the Beyond Grade As arrived, each one taking a position and surrounding EsGod. Han Xiao’s mechanical army and Manison’s Mechanic Empire stood at each path of escape.
Seeing this, Han Xiao also stopped attacking for the time being, retreating into his mechanical army formation.
EsGod was completely surrounded, and from his position, he could only see densely packed mechanical soldiers. The energy signatures of the eleven Beyond Grade As burned his olfactory sense organs. His doppelgangers were recalled back, stationed around him for protection.
In the distance, the fleet of the Federation of Light also appeared. Without EsGod’s help, the Fallen Ark fleet was quickly eliminated by the Universal Civilizations. The battleships burst into flames one after another, the light from the explosions illuminating the faces of everyone present.
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 601