by <unknown>
Buzz!
Sparks flew out as a large number of machines became crippled.
Ember coldly laughed. “The battle has ended.”
As long as he managed to destroy all the machinery, the Mechanic class would become akin to a tiger whose teeth and claws had been pulled out.
While Black Star could mitigate his abilities, he could do the same to Black Star!
However, upon casting his eyes forward, Ember found out that Han Xiao seemed to have no intention to stop, as though he was indifferent toward what had happened.
With quick footwork, Han Xiao rushed up to Ember as a complicated machine unfolded in the palm of his hand. This melee weapon was very thick and almost two meters in length. It resembled a giant knife with a hand guard, but the shape was more futuristic, akin to a rifle with a barrel. This was a weapon in that category, named [High Frequency Strike Cannon], a multipurpose, close-range weapon.
This new equipment replaced his original electromagnetic scythe, which could not keep up with his strength.
The blade of the weapon was a protective shell covering the inner structure. The blade inside consisted of a high-frequency oscillation, which was hard to trace, carrying a strong cutting force. Along the side of the blade were two rows of holes, and each time the blade came into contact with the target, those holes would spew out gunpowder to ignite and cause an explosion.
The gunpowder could also cause internal heating, resulting in an electromagnetic overclocking of the equipment, allowing it to enter a second stage of Super power output, something akin to a Great Release 1 .
Surrounded by sparks and carrying lightning within, it was violent.
Boom boom boom!
One strike after another rained down, and the explosions continued unabated as Ember repeatedly used his diamond shield to resist. His brow was slightly furrowed. His forte did not lie in melee battles, so he attempted to retract the particles to surround his body, trying to sabotage Han Xiao’s armor. However, the Sonic Spheres that followed Han Xiao disrupted the particles, foiling his scheme.
Sound waves were constantly released toward Han Xiao, forming an invisible shield around him. The moment that the carbon particles neared him, they would be forcefully repelled, bouncing off instead of adhering to the surface of his mechanical suit.
The three of them seemed to have rolled into a ball from the fighting. Ember’s expression no longer showed ease, as Han Xiao was giving him more trouble than expected. It seemed like he was not the only one who had improved. He had originally thought that he would be able to eliminate Black Star quickly, but to think that he was tangled up with him now!
In Ember’s original vision, only Nagakin would pose some trouble. Now, he found out that Black Star was also not easy to deal with. However, Ember thought that this was a good chance!
To be able to discover this point sooner was a blessing, compared to being caught off guard.
Because the enemy soldiers had split in two, Black Star had taken the risk to hold Ember up. However, he did not have many helpers with him. Thus, this could be considered the best chance to get rid of a strong enemy.
As he thought up to this point, the look in Ember’s eyes changed.
He had initially wanted to resolve this quickly and meet up with Anur once more, but now, he would not mind putting in some more time to remove any possible hindrances.
At this time, a carefree laugh suddenly rang out from Han Xiao.
“Ah-ha, that’s a good look you have there. I feel more killing intent. It seems like you’re finally willing to waste more time with me.”
“I certainly do not think it a waste of time,” Ember coldly replied. “The majority of your machinery has gone to waste, and I can destroy your mechanical suit sooner or later. By that time, what other methods will you show me?”
“What other methods, you say?” Han Xiao chuckled twice before his tone suddenly turned ferocious. “Then, I’ll let you experience it firsthand!”
Hum!
His Mechanical Force gushed out, and as though a shockwave of electricity, it swept across all the machinery present.
The next instant, the crippled machines were reactivated with [Waste Modification], and all of the weapons came back to life, awaiting orders!
The War Mechanic Class was one that was borne from war itself!
The mechanical roar resounded once again!
Ember was caught unprepared and was blasted flying. His face was blackened with soot, and he quickly blocked the follow-up attacks using this Esper abilities. While it was not a huge problem…
… he had indeed been injured!
Ember suddenly looked up, the anger blazing within his pupils.
The pain that he was suffering awakened his body’s memory of Han Xiao.
The shame and humiliation that he suffered, which he had gradually forgotten, came rushing back like a tsunami!
Chapter 487. I Do Not Believe Heroes Cannot Fall to Their Deaths! |
The enthusiasm from the duo’s battle radiated outward, causing the mercenaries that were hidden in the surveillance room to stare with their mouths hanging agape.
Black Star could actually fight equally against a Calamity Grade Super‽
The first thought that came into everyone’s minds was that the opponent might not be so strong after all. While they had never seen the full capabilities of a Calamity Grade Super, they had heard many rumors about their frightening powers and how Grade B Supers were effortlessly destroyed in front of them.
However, looking at the battle between Han Xiao and Ember, maybe the rumors about the Calamity Grade Super’s combat capability were simply overexaggerated.
This gave the mercenaries some form of confidence.
“I want to go down and help.” A bearded mercenary suddenly stood up, withdrawing his gun from its holster.
Everyone else had a strange look on their face. While the enemy was not as strong as expected, it was definitely safer to be seated where they were. W hy do you have to seek danger?
The bearded mercenary glanced at everyone, secretly disdainful. He thought that this was a godsent opportunity!
Since there was little danger, going down to help meant showcasing his good side to Black Star. If he left a deep enough impression, he might be invited to join the Black Star Mercenary Group!
This person thus hurriedly left the surveillance room. Nobody else dared to lecture him, turning their attention back to the surveillance cameras.
When the bearded mercenary reached the battlefield, the atmosphere made him feel a little nervous, causing him to start regretting his decision. He took a deep breath before telling himself that riches were obtained through encountering dangers.
Following which, he barged through the door loudly, firing continuously at Ember’s back as he shouted, “Black Star, I’m here to reinforce you! Quickly….”
Pa!
In the blink of an eye, before the bearded mercenary could even finish speaking, his body ‘collapsed’. Dust leaked out from within his clothes.
“He—he’s dead just like that‽”
The mercenaries in the surveillance room were all stunned silly, fear coloring their faces.
Weak my ass!
This guy can literally kill people through fright!
The Calamity Grades are too terrifying; we’re better off hiding here and slacking!
The guts that had just begun growing within those mercenaries were nipped at the bud, and whatever courage they still had left was thrown out the window.
The group of mercenaries now understood that Black Star, who was able to compete with those of the Calamity Grade, was not just so-so as described by the other mercenaries. Most likely, even those Grade B mercenaries who secretly scoffed in disdain at Black Star could not beat him even if they fought together against Black Star.
Indeed, a person with reputation would definitely have some form of ability to back it up!
…
On the battlefie
ld, Han Xiao felt that this matter was a little strange. Why did this bearded mercenary not bother to quietly hide? Could it be that he had been possessed by Aesop and purposely went there to seek death?
At this point, Ember repeated his tactic, attempting to paralyze the machines again. He did not believe that Han Xiao could repeatedly rejuvenate his machines.
His hypothesis was correct; Han Xiao indeed could not use his [Waste Modification] skill infinitely. Other than the limited number of uses, the energy consumed each time was not a small amount.
However, Han Xiao was clear of another point. Those carbon particles that Ember employed based on his control were similar to the relationship between him and his machines. Without them, Ember’s ability would also weaken.
As such, Han Xiao had long made preparations.
With a snap of his fingers, a trap machine that had not yet been activated suddenly shone.
Within the black wave, countless spherical shaped lights appeared, trapping huge clumps of carbon particles within them. In an instant, the black wave was reduced by a great margin.
Those traps were nothing unique, just ordinary shield generators. In an orthodox sense, their purpose was not even made to trap items within. However, in Han Xiao’s eyes, any machine could be a trap. To have those shields locking in a huge number of carbon particles was as good as trapping them within, causing them to become prisoners within the shields.
Even though Ember could still control the carbon particles, he needed energy and time to break through the shields. All that would create distractions for him.
This move of his effectively shaved off a portion of Ember’s battle strength!
As for this location, it was comprised of an alloy that did not contain carbon within. Han Xiao’s machines were also not made out the carbon steel materials, and thus, other than the mercenary who blindly sacrificed himself, there was nobody else whom Ember could extract carbon from. While the range of his ability was great, he still required time to extract the carbon from his sphere of influence and bring it over, unless he decided to extract the carbon particles from his very own body.
The remaining carbon particles suddenly started spinning, forming the shape of a tornado as it tried to cut through the ceiling. Ember had discovered that this battlefield was extremely disadvantageous to him. He wished to change the battlefield, and going out into the open would allow his combat capability to increase a few folds.
Ember did not realize that his attitude toward Han Xiao had imperceptibly changed—from the disdain and contempt early on to now, where he had even begun to consider the effect of the battlefield. He could clearly feel a sense of pressure from Han Xiao, from a Grade B Super, a pressure that this was an opponent who could threaten his life!
At that moment, Han Xiao strangely did not retreat but rather rushed toward the dangerous cutting tornado as he shouted, “Explode!”
Boom!
The mercenaries in the surveillance room hurriedly detonated the explosives, causing the base to collapse. Numerous building materials fell down and buried the area.
Han Xiao greatly respected any Calamity Grade Super, so he had prepared and buried a huge payload below them. Detonation was an art, and due to his positioning of the explosives, the entire floor of the building collapsed. The duo entered a state of weightlessness as they rapidly fell.
Rumble!
Bits of debris and rubble ricocheted around them, and their vision and breaths were obscured and stifled by the thick clouds of dust. The momentum caused by the explosion was so large that it was as though an entire mountain had shifted.
Ember hurriedly formed a diamond panel under his feet, stabilizing himself. He intended to fly out of this collapsing building while using his carbon particles to shield himself.
Hu!
From afar came the sound of loud whistling. Having fought with Han Xiao for so long, he recognized the sound coming from the High Frequency Strike Cannon. He understood that Han Xiao was pursuing him like a rabid dog. Ember did not wish to carry out a fight in such a complicated environment, but he had no choice but to retaliate.
Suddenly, a lump of black shadows appeared in front of him, obscuring his limited vision.
Ember jumped in shock. He was totally blind, and no matter what he tried, he was unable to escape from the cage of shadows. Furthermore, this thing could not even be touched, so he had no idea what contraption this was. The sound of howling winds was getting closer, but mixed within the various sounds of the collapsing building, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact position.
With no other alternatives, Ember could only deploy his diamond sphere defense once again.
Clank!
A tough object pierced into the sphere, and Ember immediately utilized micro-manipulation to reveal a small hole to appear at the moment of contact, trapping the hard object. Based on the size, it was obviously Han Xiao’s Strike Cannon.
While he could not see, Ember immediately dispelled his diamond sphere, changing it into a long spear, and pierced in the direction of the Strike Cannon. He predicted that his reaction speed would still be able to catch Han Xiao.
However, his strike only hit thin air.
“Not good!”
Ember instantly reacted, but it was already too late. A large hand from the mechanical suit firmly latched onto the back of his head, and without any warning, a Void Jet Spray was discharged directly.
At the same time, Han Xiao utilized the skill [Armor Piercing Consecutive Attacks] from the Germinal Organization’s Leader’s Character Summon Card. In the next five seconds, all his attacks would have a certain chance to break the armor of his enemy, reducing his defense by twenty-four percent.
Boom!
Ember felt as though he was struck by lightning. His brain shook, and stars flew in his vision, causing his Esper ability to dissipate for that instant.
But this instant was enough to cause the diamond panel that he had below him to disintegrate. The duo once again fell down the collapsed building!
Swoosh!
Dust blew in their faces, and they could only hear the sounds of collapse and the whistling of wind.
Before this, Han Xiao had borrowed the messy and complicated environment to create a diversion attack. He had first used [Void Vision] to inhibit Ember’s line of sight, followed by throwing his weapon and using [Void Travel] to appear behind Ember soundlessly, creating the scenario where he attacked Ember from behind.
This opportunity was rare; thus, Han Xiao would not let go. He ignored the cost of energy, releasing burst after burst of Void Jet Spray. This was the additional ability granted by the Void Dragon Mechanical suit. While it had no cooldown, the energy consumed would rise by thirty percent if used again within ten seconds.
“Forty-two percent of Energy remaining, hum… Twenty-six percent of Energy remaining… Energy level critical, hum…”
The energy of the mechanical suit was spent at a torrential rate, with the voice of Phillip constantly sending out warnings.
Ember was hurriedly attempting to gather energy within his body. No matter the class, Energy had a universal function, which was to raise resistance for a short period of time.
Suffering a series of heavy blows, Ember had no choice but to focus his attention on defending himself. As such, the control of his ability dropped by almost seventy to eighty percent.
Han Xiao had managed to see Ember’s attributes through the interface. This guy also had a Boss template, with his defense and health at insane values. Furthermore, because he was a Grade A Super, his conversion of Endurance was too high, so much so that his health was comparable to Han Xiao’s. Thus, Han Xiao could not afford to be stingy. All kinds of explosive abilities such as [Gene Liberation] and [Overload] were activated, and Han Xiao even chose to activate the Character Summon Card of Hila, [Whisper of the Dead]. Causing mental damage could also help to shave off a target’s attention.
This series of buffs was activated extremely quickly. They had only
fallen around half the distance, with both of them still weightless.
Ember’s head was still being clamped, and the pain and humiliation caused him to sink into fury.
While he could not see what was happening behind him, he could feel the power fluctuations given off by Han Xiao weakening. This indicated that his energy in his mechanical suit was low, which meant that his burst of attacks was about to end.
While he had taken a hit, he had at least achieved his objective. The moment that they came into contact with the outside world, that would be his stage!
The last Void Jet Spray completely drained the energy in the mechanical suit. Ember could clearly sense this point, and he endured the splitting pain in his head, hoarsely saying, “You have no more energy left… Just wait for me to drag you out from your turtle shell. I’ll turn you into mincemeat!”
When Han Xiao heard this, he gritted his teeth and lowly shouted, “Aroshia!”
Aroshia was not affected by gravity at all, merely following beside both of them, her body easily phasing through the rubble. When she heard her name, she turned into a beam of light and accelerated, sticking to Han Xiao’s back. She opened her arms and embraced him from the back.
Hum!
Her energy body was like melting ice, flowing into the core of the mechanical suit.
In an instant, the Void Dragon Mechanical suit’s energy capacity shot through the roof!
“Energy levels at 327%, hum… Circuit is overloaded. Please expend the excess energy as soon as possible, hum…”
To Han Xiao, Aroshia’s energy was the biggest reserve battery for him!
Han Xiao’s tightened his hand, holding Ember’s head as though he was clamping it with tongs.
“Energy? I’m not lacking in that! Are you ready for a severe concussion‽”
Boom!
Feeling the new surge in energy levels, Ember’s eyes opened wide, shock and anger filling his face. He felt that something was amiss, as though the entire matter had proceeded out of his control.