The federation wants to capture a hostage to force Black Star to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter?

As expected, upon hearing this, the expressions on Sagman and the others’ faces changed. They looked at the federation’s men with more hostility and caution.

They did not doubt Kasuyi’s judgments at all, not only because he was the leader of this mission but also because his speculation made sense.

The Arcane Church’s people always had problems with the Federation of Light. If not because the federation jumped back and forth on the side they were on during the Planet Lighthouse battle, the church would not have lost Ninjia and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Now that Kasuyi said the federation wanted to take a captive, Sagman and the others were reminded of how the federation did things and agreed with Kasuyi’s speculation. They felt that this was totally something the federation would do.

On the issue of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the church and the federation had been arguing about it for a very long time. The church could only endure it all this time because they knew that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed and the federation could not use or study it as well. Thus, they could put up with the federation possessing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter for the time being.

However, if the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was unsealed, the church would definitely not take it any longer.

Compared to Hila, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was clearly more important. They could not let the federation have their way!

Of course, Kasuyi did not guess this; the Mechanic Emperor had told him about it.

Although the federation was the Mechanic Emperor’s long-time boss, in terms of his plan, he naturally would not want something that was especially powerful against Beyond Grade As such as the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to be used by any civilization. In his eyes, being sealed was where it belonged.

“Since that’s the case, let’s talk with our fists.” Sierron’s expression turned cold, and powerful Pugilist flames blasted out as his voice echoed like thunder. “You guys go deal with Hila first; I’ll deal with Kasuyi. This is just a doppelganger. When I’m done with it, I’ll help you guys.”

Then, he released a thick and blinding Shockwave Blast from his fist like a mini sun.

Like his nickname, Star Shatterer, his Pugilist style was known for overpowering his enemies head on.

Kasuyi also fired powerful psychic energy to take on the attack.

Boom!

As the two attacks clashed, it was like the sky shattered!

In a blinding light, the world seemed to have turned white entirely.

Boom!

Sierron and Kasuyi fought head-on for the first attack, then turned into two phantoms entangled together. Pugilist flames and Void psychic energy clashed hundreds of times every second, emitting waves of aftershock as they fought at higher and higher altitudes, creating another battlefield in outer space.

At the same time, the five federation Beyond Grade As quickly descended and stood opposite Sagman and the others, while Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar and Hila stood on the side.

The three sides stood in a triangle shape.

This could turn into a battle between three sides at any time.

“So, these are the five sent by the federation…”

Han Xiao sized the federation’s people up and nodded in his mind.

He had a rather clear understanding of the strength of these people. Not only did he remember what they had done in the previous life, but he also had the detailed data of them collected during the Meeting of the Gods.

The five people from the federation there were all mid-level combatants. Among them, the strongest should be Crystal Soul, who had a Universal Treasure named ‘Star Crown’ and had a similar position as the church’s Sagman. The weakest among them should be Hades, who had only joined the federation recently. He had similar strength to Tolaen.

What was worth paying attention to was Mornisa. Han Xiao remembered that she was once the Mechanic Emperor’s student and followed alongside the Mechanic Emperor to study machinery before she became known. She had only become a Beyond Grade A later. Han Xiao was wondering if she was an actor as well.

While Han Xiao was secretly analyzing the situation, Sagman and the others were in a dilemma as well. They did not know if they should fight Hila or the people of the federation first.

If they fought Hila first, the federation’s people would disturb them, and the federation might achieve their goal if they were not careful.

However, if they fought the federation first, they would feel stupid for leaving Hila on the side after fighting her half way, only to help her fight others.

At this time, the federation’s Hades suddenly spoke in the public channel.

“People of the Arcane Church, although we have different goals, we can’t waste our trips here. If you turn to fight us, we will all become a joke. So, we might as well first get rid of Black Star’s Lord’s Avatar, then beat Hila till she can’t fight back, control the situation, and then discuss what to do with her.”

In Hades’ eyes, Sierron would definitely be able to handle Kasuyi’s doppelganger. If they got rid of Black Star’s Lord’s Avatar, they would still have Sierron while the church would not have Kasuyi. With the two sides no longer balanced, they would be able to control the situation and take Hila away.

Hearing this, Sagman was a little hesitant. He then looked up at Kasuyi, turned to look at Black Star’s avatar and Hila, and made up his mind, nodding with clenched teeth.

“Okay, take down Hila first.”

At this moment, he made the decision not to listen to Kasuyi’s order from earlier.

Just as Hades said, if they suddenly turned to help Hila right after they were beating her up, he would indeed feel stupid, and they would become a joke throughout the universe.

Another reason was, unlike Kasuyi, Sagman was not willing to waste all this effort. Therefore, he wanted to take a gamble—if they could kill Hila while working together with the federation, they would also shatter the federation’s plans. If they killed the hostage, they would never have to worry about the enemies taking her hostage. Perfect.

This was also partially personal. Being locked inside the Spacetime Amber did not feel good. He could still remember it vividly even now, and he was ashamed of it. He had always hoped to hurt Black Star deeply, so from the bottom of his heart, he was not willing to give up this opportunity to kill Hila and hurt Black Star.

Earlier, Hila had shown her powerful regenerative ability, so dragging the fight out was not optimal. If ten Beyond Grade As worked together, their explosive damage would counter Hila’s regenerative ability to a certain extent. This was also why Sagman thought about killing Hila while working together with the federation.

He knew that both sides had ulterior motives. Even if they worked together, they would still secretly hold each other back. However, he was confident that he could create an opportunity to kill Hila right under the federation’s nose—he had a few powerful forbidden spell scrolls that were yet to be used!

With a little bit of discussion, the two sides barely came to an agreement. The next second, the ten Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church turned around, their hostile sights focused on Hila.

A horrifying pressure arrived like a tsunami!

Hila’s face turned slightly pale, but her expression remained cold.

At this time, the broad back of a machine stepped before her and blocked away all the eyes filled with hostility, as well as all the pressure.

“Don’t worry. I’m here beside you.” Han Xiao’s calm voice appeared.

Hila almost dazed.

It was this familiar scene once again, this back that protected her every time. Her emotions were difficult to soothe.

“Black Star…”

“What?”

“… When will your main body arrive?”

Han Xiao turned and gave her a glance. He then said with a meaningful tone, “No hurry, let me fly for a while.”

…

Inside the palace of the Beast Ancestor’s stronghold, Gorutan drank while chattering with Sorokin’s manifestation, waiting for good news.

After waiting for quite some time, Sorokin placed the glass down and asked, “Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, how far have the troops you sent gone?”

“What’s the hurry? Do you not trust my subordinates?” Gorutan replied impatiently.

After experiencing Sorokin’s confident words, he was persuaded. As long as he was not in danger, Gorutan was more than happy to make the situation worse for Hila.

Not long ago, he had given the order for some of his officers to take a fleet and destroy the stargate stations nearby, attempting to cut off the route that the dynasty’s reinforcements would arrive in so that they would not reach in time and Hila would not have reinforcements.

“It’s an important issue. If the dynasty’s reinforcements arrive, the situation will become more complicated. Killing a Beyond Grade A that’s in the Black Star Army but not an ally of the dynasty isn’t a problem as long as it’s done quickly, but the church and the federation might not be willing to commit to it if they had to face the dynasty’s forces head-on,” Sorokin said.

“Tsk, you have a lot of interesting ideas as always.”

With an impatient expression, Gorutan placed the glass down, took out the communicator to contact his officer, and asked, “Where are you? Have you arrived at the stargate station?”

“F-father… ” The officer on-screen was shivering. “We were intercepted by someone.”

“Hmm?” Gorutan’s expression suddenly changed as he yelled, “Who dared intercept my men‽”

“It’s the Mechanic Emperor’s mechanical army, and he brought his Apostle Weapons along. We weren’t able to win him…”

Gorutan suddenly stood up, accidentally toppling the glass and spilling the alcohol.

“Why did he suddenly intercept my men?

As a peak Beyond Grade A as well, Gorutan was not afraid of Manison. There was just a difference in class styles. He was not willing to mess with someone with such an enormous army like the Mechanic Emperor. They had intercepted his men, which did not look friendly at all.

Sorokin was surprised as well. He softly tapped the table and had an idea.

“I have a rough guess. From the Mechanic Emperor’s attitude during the Meeting of the Gods, he definitely does not support this mission targeting Hila, so he probably guarded against it earlier. As you’re the first one to let this message spread, it can be said that you started this. Hence, the Mechanic Emperor must have targeted you long ago, and by fighting you now, it should be to stop you from destroying stargates.”

Having thought of that, Sorokin frowned as he felt a slight headache.

The Mechanic Emperor had also interfered in this event, which meant that a lot of things might be different. Initially, he felt that the federation or the church would most likely succeed, but now, he was uncertain.

Sorokin had known the Mechanic Emperor for a very long time. He knew that this guy was also very cunning. Once Manison decided to interfere, it would definitely be more than just dealing with Gorutan’s troops. If he guessed correctly, Manison would have made other arrangements.

“I thought he would be just watching and not doing anything, but he actually secretly restricted the movements of the federation. He’s got guts. I’m afraid the chances of this mission succeeding…”

Sorokin started pondering. Among the hundred or so Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, very few were strong enough for him to take seriously, but the Mechanic Emperor was one of them.

While he was pondering, Gorutan directly contacted the Mechanic Emperor and questioned him.

“Manison! Why did you hold up my men‽”

Manison’s face appeared on the screen. “Did you forget the agreement we made in the Meeting of the Gods?””

“Hila reduced my life span and killed quite many of my subordinates. Are you telling me to just let it go?” Gorutan said coldly. “The agreement is all you talk about. Am I, a peak Beyond Grade A, less valuable than Hila? You don’t want the others to totally offend Black Star, but are you not afraid of offending me?”

“She’s already facing a dire situation because of you. I hope you can stop here. If she really dies, it won’t be beneficial for you.” Manison shook his head.

Gorutan snorted. “Humph, are you saying that Black Star will take revenge? You think I’m afraid of him? He’s the one who messed with me first. If he wants to play, I’ll play with him till the end! I’ll get rid of one of his most important comrades and teach him a lesson.”

Every time he thought of how big a loss he had taken and how he had been threatened by Black Star, he became more furious.

“I hope you can think of the bigger picture,” Manison said with a deep voice.

“I’m not the one that’s making the move right now. Plus, that’s your big picture, not mine,” Gorutan sneered coldly. “I’m giving you face by playing along with that shared battlefront thing. This is between Black Star and me; it has nothing to do with you. Yet, you’re here to interfere… What, you really think you’re the leader of the Beyond Grade As and have the right to control what I do? Let me tell you, don’t get ahead of yourself!”

Manison narrowed his eyes, giving him a deep look before hanging up.

Gorutan snorted, shattered the communicator, and threw it aside as he walked to the door.

Sorokin regained focus and hastily asked, “Where are you going?”

“Humph, the Mechanic Emperor is holding up my men. I’m not going to wait here for him to let them go. I’m going to bring my men back, and if I have time, I’ll destroy a few stargate stations on the way.” Gorutan walked out directly.

…

At the Black Star Army’s stronghold, the battle had lasted quite a while and become a fight between three sides.

After the Federation of Light’s fleet and Mornisa’s mechanical army joined the battle, the defensive fleet of the stronghold was once again restrained. The two sides fought intensely around the planet. The scale of the battle could already be considered a galactic battle.

Sierron and Kasuyi’s doppelganger were still fighting. Kasuyi was strong. Relying on his enormous mana pool, he temporarily stalled Sierron with just a doppelganger while dividing the battlefield at the same time.

This award-winning actor was the most important part in helping Han Xiao to stall the federation. He was of great use.

Han Xiao was secretly glad about this. If both parties had focused on Hila, the situation would have been close to impossible to get out of alive. In that case, he would have had no choice but to execute the final plan.

However, even though there was an actor on the enemy’s side, Hila’s situation was still extremely tough. The attacks from a total of ten Beyond Grade As filled her vision. It was horrifying.

Despite having successfully linked with Aurora, Hila still could not fight back. It had nothing to do with her regeneration ability; she was just completely overpowered. If not because she was absorbing Aurora’s vital energy, her one-time reviving ability would have been used long ago.

And this was with Han Xiao forcefully taking on part of the pressure that she was facing without considering his losses.

With so many Beyond Grade As working together, the power of their attacks would not just be additive. Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers were destroyed countless times and reaching the limits of [Waste Modification]; he would not be able to rebuild them if this kept going.

‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco had set up a space stabilization anchor and wormhole disrupter, and the Federation of Light fleet had set up another layer after they arrived. The spacetime of this area was way too stable, so Han Xiao could not open his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory. All he could use was the troops stationed in the stronghold. Hence, he had no choice but to deal with the spacetime stabilization device through Virtual Intrusion.

However, both the federation and the church had measures against this. That was especially so for the federation. Not only did they have Mornisa, they also had another Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic who was providing ranged assistance and protection for their artificial intelligence.

If the mechanical army was destroyed, just one Lord’s Avatar would not be able to fight ten Beyond Grade As.

Fortunately, they’re not so united. The church and the federation are cautious of each other, which somewhat decreases the power of their attacks, Han Xiao thought.

He turned around and glanced at Hila. Currently, he was separated from her, and not far away, countless attacks were being thrown at Hila. The situation she was in was extremely dire. She was receiving tons of damage every second. The glow of vital energy never disappeared and kept regenerating her health.

Aurora won’t be able to hold on for long even though she’s at the Calamity Grade now. It won’t be long before she gets completely exhausted.

At the same time, Sagman and the others surrounded Hila to attack her while he reminded his teammates, “Later, when the next round of the federation’s focus fire heavily injures Hila, Taylor, use all those scrolls, some to stop the federation’s people and some to aid our following full power attacks. We will eliminate Hila before she can regenerate and shatter her soul!”

“Got it.”

Taylor nodded and prepared to use the scrolls.

While everyone was highly focused, suddenly, an enormous energy source rocketed into the senses of everyone present and quickly approached at an astonishing speed.

“Someone else is here‽”

Everyone was shocked. Their movements paused as they looked up.

A mass of light streams were approaching at an extremely high speed from afar, dragging trails of flames behind. It was a mechanical army that was extremely huge, dozens of times larger than all the mechanical troops that were present there!

At the front of it was a silhouette shrouded in deep blue flames, heading right toward Hila’s location like a meteor.

“Who is that? They’re so fast! Are they here to help Hila?”

Sagman was confused. He looked around and realized that the federation’s people had the same confused looks.

At this time, they suddenly saw that Sierron had left his opponent behind and headed right toward that quickly approaching dark blue meteor, attempting to stop it and not let whoever had arrived reach Hila.

The two silhouettes clashed into each other, but the next moment, everyone present watched on with disbelief!

Boom!

A blood fog exploded!

It was Sierron who was blown away like a baseball. He flew out while spraying blood, together with… a shattered arm covered in blood!

Sierron had a total of four arms, and one of them had been blown off!

“What‽”

Everyone had a look of disbelief on their face.

Heavily injuring Sierron with one hit? Who is this guy‽

This time, the silhouette was also forced to stop in midair after clashing into Sierron. The flames around them disappeared, exposing the man inside, whom everyone there was familiar with. He was looking down at the ten Beyond Grade As who were surrounding and attacking Hila.

At this moment, other than Kasuyi, all the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church were completely astounded.

Black Star!

How can he be here‽

Isn’t his main body in his base? How did he arrive here‽

Many Beyond Grade As there did not notice that the moment they saw Han Xiao’s main body arrive, more than half of their confidence in this mission instantly vanished.

They would happily bully Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar, but many were instantly afraid to face Han Xiao’s main body.

Han Xiao had an extraordinary combat history. He had proved his strength as a peak Beyond Grade A long ago through battles.

Seeing Han Xiao’s arrival, everyone felt a strong sense of pressure and became hesitant. Hila made use of this opportunity to flee from the encirclement and gasped for air.

“This is not good…” Sagman was reminded of how it felt to be sealed by the Spacetime Amber, and he shivered.

At this time, facing everyone, Han Xiao slowly spoke.

“I’m here.” He coldly looked around at the Beyond Grade As who had extremely uncomfortable expressions on their faces and said with a calm but pressurizing tone, “Now… it’s your turn to run.”