OW
The prerequisite of Mutually Assured Destruction was to immobilize the enemy, but why would the target obediently stay in the area of focus fire? The Subduing Tree King ran fast, and he had the World Tree Roots to protect him. He escaped before the Keys of Destruction completely exploded, so he did not take full damage. Even Han Xiao could only chase after him.
However, the power of this wave was too terrifying. Even though the Subduing Tree King had escaped in time, he was still heavily injured. His body was riddled with wounds, and dozens of the World Tree Roots suffered the most damage. They also withered, and the power of the World Tree flowing in them was severely depleted. Its color dimmed, and it looked listless.
The Subduing Tree King looked down at his heavy injuries. Without any emotion, he calmly said, “Not a bad attempt. I didn’t expect you to have the courage to take such risks.”
Looking up at Han Xiao’s injuries, a look of regret flashed past the Subduing Tree King’s eyes.
He had been too careless. If he had known that the other party would take such a risk, he would not have escaped just now. He might as well have played along with the other party and dragged this outsider down with him to eliminate this dangerous opponent. The thoughts of the members of the World Tree were different from those of ordinary people. The Subduing Tree King did not feel glad that he had escaped death. Instead, he felt it was a pity that he had missed out on an excellent opportunity.
“It’s a pity I didn’t manage to kill that recovery-type Esper…”
The Subduing Tree King shook his head.
This outsider clearly had the upper hand in terms of strength, but he still chose to take the risk. His intentions were clear-he knew that he would not be able to take him down in a short period of time, so he was not willing to fight for too long. Thus, he tried to get rid of the halo of the entire army as soon as possible to reduce his losses… The Subduing Tree King was well aware of this.
However, even if he had to do it again, he would still launch a surprise attack on that recovery-type Esper. The other party had taken the initiative to lure him with such bait, so it was worth a try. As long as he could make the other party lose their healer forever, the death of all the high-level combatants, including himself, would be worth it.
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, but the Subduing Tree King’s movements did not stop. He turned around and fled in another direction, not wanting to continue fighting.
He had been brought to the enemy’s main fleet and was surrounded. There was no way he would be able to win in a battle there. His priority was extending his survival time. Only by escaping back to his own fleet to receive protection and support would he be able to escape danger and continue providing the halo of the entire army.
“Run again!”
Seeing this, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and immediately gave chase. Along the way, he quickly returned to his Mechanical Deity form, and the two of them fought once more.
A Pugilist was not scary, but scary was a Pugilist who was not stubborn. If the Subduing Tree King had lost his cool a little and was a little rash, this would have been much easier.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The battleships of the three Universal Civilizations were not idle either. They provided a huge amount of firepower support, and a continuous stream of light cannons blasted toward the dozens of World Tree Roots that the Subduing Tree King had extended from all directions.
Han Xiao did not want to be trapped alone in the enemy’s camp, and the Subduing Tree King did not dare either. The size of this army was enough to put individual powerhouses in danger. Not only did the focus fire cause the World Tree Roots to shatter, but it also restrained the Subduing Tree King. Furthermore, the Subduing Tree King was heavily injured, and his condition had plummeted. Although his recovery ability was not bad, while entangled with Han Xiao and countless fleets, his injuries did not show any signs of improving.
The other World Tree experts and fleets wanted to rush over to provide support, but they were all stopped by the three Universal Civilizations’ troops on various battlefields. The two sides fought intensely.
Swoosh!
Blazing red light rays streaked across, severing two withered World Tree roots.
The Subduing Tree King, who was protected by the roots, could not dodge in time. Half of the sole of his foot was cut off, and the texture of the cut was like a broken piece of wood, slowly twisting and growing, as if it was going to grow the foot again.
“Looks like this is where I’ll be buried.”
Subduing Tree King observed the encirclement and frowned.
He had tried to break out of the encirclement for a long time, but he was still trapped in the main force of the three Universal Civilizations. Most of the World Tree Roots that he had summoned after transforming were also destroyed, and his body was slowly approaching its end. He was already unable to fight Han Xiao head on.
With the strength he gained after releasing the World Tree’s power, the Subduing Tree King could hold on for longer. However, the Mutually Assured Destruction tactic was effective, and the victory was decided. If he had not been heavily injured in this wave, the Subduing Tree King would not have been defeated so quickly.
At this time, the space around him started to vibrate. The Mechanical Deity’s palm spun, and all kinds of force fields covered the Subduing Tree King’s body, trying to lock him in midair.
The Subduing Tree King’s face tightened, and he activated the weakened Pugilist flames to struggle free. “You want to capture me alive?”
Hearing this, Han Xiao did not respond and continued to increase the strength of the force field.
The World Tree had already arrived at his doorstep, and the rough coordinates had been exposed. He could use the Spacetime Amber to try to seal the World Tree powerhouse and see if he could restrain the revival ability of the World Tree.
The only problem was that the World Tree expert would not obediently accept the seal.
Sensing Han Xiao’s intentions, the Subduing Tree King had a calm expression as he resisted the force field’s restrictions and slowly said, “Your resistance is futile. We will invade your civilization sooner or later. We have failed this time, but there will still be countless times. You can’t stop the World Tree’s iron hooves forever… I will be waiting to fight you again.”
Before Han Xiao could react, the Subduing Tree King self-destructed without hesitation!
Bang!
A violent shockwave swept out, creating a large number of electric arcs on the Mechanical Deity’s shield.
The remaining roots of the World Tree collapsed one after another, turning into light fragments and disappearing as though they had never existed.
The World Tree had fought in the universe for many years, and they had met many civilizations that wanted to capture their high-level combatants. Their thoughts were basically the same. They believed that capturing the World Tree experts alive and not killing them would prevent their revival and reduce the resources of the other party in a war of attrition. This was not new to the World Tree experts at all.
Although the Subduing Tree King did not know what means the enemy had to capture him alive, there was no need for him to take this risk. Seeing that the situation was not right and that there was no way to escape, he directly self-destructed and did not give them a chance. In this respect, the experience of the World Tree members was too good. Unless the difference in strength was too great or they had no choice, the World Tree members would rarely allow themselves to enter a near-death state where they were at the mercy of others. When they were weak, they would consider self-destructing and return to the embrace of the Mother Tree.
“What a troublesome enemy. The Tree Kings are indeed not easy to deal with…”
Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.
The creation of the Spacetime Amber required time, and the other party had self-destructed to prevent himself from being trapped. He had no way to deal wi
th this. Although he had the upper hand against the Subduing Tree King, he could not crush him easily.
In the past, his opponents were normal people. They would either completely lose their combat capability and be unable to move, or they would rather be sealed than die in battle. No one would easily give up their life and self-destruct, so the Spacetime Amber had succeeded multiple times.
However, those of the World Tree had a completely different mindset. They had always liked to fight with their lives on the line, and self-destruction was a common occurrence for them.
You want to control me? Dream on, I’ll simply die!
This was very tricky.
In his previous life, although the Spacetime Amber had been snatched away by the World Tree experts, the three Universal Civilizations did not give up on capturing the other party’s high-level combatants alive. However, most of them had failed, and the biggest obstacle was the World Tree Race’s self-destruction attitude.
“No matter what, the Tree King won’t be revived for quite some time. At least the halo of the entire army has been removed.”
Han Xiao calmed himself down and looked at the battle.
With the death of the Subduing Tree King, the green light on all the World Tree members dimmed again, and they lost the halo enhancement. The pressure on the three Universal Civilizations decreased instantly, and the battle was finally back to normal.
“… I can’t do anything to the Subduing Tree King, but the difference in strength between ordinary Beyond Grade As and me is too huge. I might have a chance to seal a few.”
Han Xiao looked at the other World Tree experts who were fighting, and his eyes sparkled.
At the same time, in the World Tree territory, the Tree King Palace, the Heart Tree King slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Executive Officers who did not participate in the expedition.
“The Subduing Tree King has turned into a seed.”
Hearing this, the faces of the Executive Officers present darkened.
Although they had expected this outcome before the battle, they were still shocked when it actually happened. After all, a Tree King represented their top combat strength. The meaning of dying in battle was not small.
At this time, the Heart Tree King stood up from his throne, summoned a root, and stepped on it, preparing to leave.
“Aren’t you going to continue watching?” an Executive Officer asked.
“The outcome of the battle has been decided. It seems like the attack this time has failed. The effect of the exchange tactic is limited, but we managed to probe out a large number of the enemy’s trump cards, as well as that extremely crucial recovery-type Esper. I’ve gained enough.”
“Understood… Where are you going now?”
Heart Tree King glanced at them and shook his head with a smile.
“I’m going to water the Subduing Tree King and make him grow faster.”
Chapter 1341 - Victory
“Beautifully done!”
Bang!
Seeing the Subduing Tree King explode into fireworks, Simon suppressed his excitement, choosing to smash the table instead.
Black Star was reliable. He had gotten rid of the enemy and stabilized the situation.
Without the halo of the entire army, the sudden advancement of the World Tree fleet during this period caused a large number of their fleets to fall into a bad situation.
Simon saw an opportunity and quickly calculated for a few seconds before decisively speaking in the command channel.
“Attention, all units! Pressure them!”
The three Universal Civilizations received the news and immediately took action. They worked together and gradually suppressed the enemy fleet.
Many of the World Tree Race experts saw that the Subduing Tree King had died in battle, and there was a slight commotion. Due to the loss of the halo amplification, their combat strength had decreased, and the advantage they had obtained before was quickly recovered by the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations.
Without the Subduing Tree King holding him back, Han Xiao returned to the battlefield where the Beyond Grade As were. He attacked the other World Tree experts like a tiger entering a pack of wolves, quickly bringing an overwhelming victory.
Han Xiao’s goal was to use the Spacetime Amber to seal the World Tree experts, but it did not go so smoothly. Before the Subduing Tree King self-destructed, he had already informed all the high-level combatants of the World Tree on the mental network. When the World Tree experts felt that they could not hold on any longer, they self-destructed without hesitation.
The World Tree had suspected that this was the home civilization of the intruder, so they naturally would not make such a low-level mistake. They did not send any foreign experts to participate in the battle, still guarding against the virtual purification that they had yet to figure out.
Even so, Han Xiao had the upper hand in terms of strength. After many attempts, he successfully managed to seal a target. Before the other party self-destructed, he beat him up with lightning speed and swallowed him in the amber.
However, this made the self-destruction of the other World Tree experts even more decisive. Some of them even hugged a Beyond Grade A and tried to blow up their opponents. With the death of the Subduing Tree King, the balance of the high-level combatants completely shifted to the three Universal Civilizations’ side. Balls of explosions lit up the battlefield. Not long after, the last Holy Tree Emissary also self-destructed and died. Only then did the Beyond Grade As retreat from the battlefield and return to the formation behind the three Universal Civilizations. They stepped into the command ship, and almost everyone was injured.
Simon stepped forward and exhaled with respect.
“Thank you for your hard work. Take a rest first. However, Mechanics still have to provide technical support.” Han Xiao nodded. “Okay.”
This battle was still underway, but it was time for the main fleet to act. The missions of these high-level combatants were basically completed. “This victory is all thanks to you guys,” Simon said. “We achieved a complete victory in the high-level combatants and killed a hundred Beyond Grade As on the World Tree. We will talk about this after the battle officially ends.”
With that, he turned back to the command center and continued to control the flow of the battle.
The Beyond Grade As looked at each other and remained silent.
Because of Aurora and Black Star, they had only paid the price of six Beyond Grade As to wipe out a hundred Beyond Grade As from the World Tree. From the battle losses alone, it was a complete victory.
However, life was not a number. When they thought about how these six companions had been chatting with each other not too long ago, many Beyond Grade As felt sad.
The ones who were sacrificed this time were someone else, but the World Tree would always make a comeback. Any of those present could be the next to die.
A similar thought appeared in everyone’s mind.
Although they hoped that they would be able to resurrect through Han Xiao’s Sanctum, no one dared to guarantee when it would be their turn.
Many of them were filled with worry about the uncertain future.
Han Xiao turned around and took in everyone’s expressions. He said, “Aurora, you did well this time. If not for you, we might have lost half of our total members.”
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Aurora, and gratitude flashed in their eyes.
No matter what, most of the people present had been saved by Aurora more than once today, and they owed her a favor.
“I only did my part.”
Aurora took a deep breath and imitated Han Xiao’s humility.
Her face was rather pale. This high intensity battle had drained her life force too much, and her milk was almost used up.
Hila felt her heart ache a little, but her face remained expressionless.
Han Xiao patted Aurora’s shoulder, looked at everyone, and said, “This battle w
ill take at least a few days. Everyone is injured. Go and rest for now.”
Hearing this, no one declined, and they left with their own thoughts, leaving only the direct Beyond Grade As, Manison, Kasuyi, and the other important members of the association.
Manison looked at the four blocks of Spacetime Amber beside him. There were four World Tree powerhouses sealed inside.
“What do you plan to do with these four?”
“Seal them first and store them in the interception circle. I’ll leave a Throne here to supervise it.” Han Xiao sighed.
He had succeeded four times in using the Spacetime Amber, all because of the huge difference in strength. It allowed him to forcefully control the target before sealing them with the Spacetime Amber. Thus, the four high-level combatants of the World Tree that he had captured were all ordinary Beyond Grade As, while there were dozens of similar failures. It was an accomplishment for him to have succeeded even four times. The Executive Officer of the World Tree, the Ancestral Spirits, and the Head of the Army were all extremely powerful, and they were extremely difficult to deal with. They had self-destructed too decisively, so he could not catch them at all.
The six Beyond Grade As who died on their side were mainly killed by the self-destruction tactics of the World Tree. The dead were ordinary or fragile Beyond Grade As who died on the spot. Even Aurora could not save them in time.
Although he had won the battle between high-level combatants, Han Xiao had also fully felt how difficult it was to deal with the World Tree experts. It was not just their strength that was an issue but also their synchronized mental network and fearless attitude.
The Legendary Mechanic c1-1385 Page 971