“Vicious…”

The Beyond Grade As who were fighting could not help splitting some attention to Han Xiao’s situation.

They were also aware of the trap formed by hundreds of Keys of Destruction. Looking at the expanding light, they could not help but sweat for Han Xiao.

Black Star’s mutually assured destruction strategy was known for its shamelessness, but the power of hundreds of Keys of Destruction was not something that the mechanical army could compare to. Furthermore, it was restricted to a small area, and its power was highly concentrated.

Not only was he ruthless to the enemy, but he was also ruthless to himself. Everyone felt that Black Star’s methods were too crazy. Was he not afraid of blowing himself up?

Various thoughts flashed through everyone’s mind. However, before the power of the explosion reached its peak, the protective shield surrounding this area suddenly cracked.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dozens of World Tree Roots appeared, crazily digesting the power of the explosion while slamming at the protective shield from the inside. Immediately after, a green meteor slammed into the cracks of the protective shield.

Crack!

The shield shook, and a hole was blasted open. The charred Subduing Tree King rushed out.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s figure also flew out after the Subduing Tree King to stop him, but he was sent flying by the World Tree Roots.

At the same time, because the protective shield was shattered by the Subduing Tree King, the power of the Keys of Destruction expanded from the inside. The chain reaction energy in the area lost control and expanded rapidly. Fortunately, the three Universal Civilizations had already left a large, empty area around the trap to guard against such a situation. The nearest fleet had plenty of time to retreat, and they also fired long-range attacks at the Subduing Tree King.

The Subduing Tree King could not care about anything else. He gathered the roots of the World Tree and turned them into an armor of sorts. Then, he hurriedly escaped into the distance to avoid the expanding energy cluster behind him, afraid that he would be swallowed again. Han Xiao stopped and continued to chase after the Subduing Tree King. As the two of them moved away from the energy cluster, they clashed and fought. Suddenly, a bright light flashed, and the expanding energy cluster completely exploded. The shockwave shot out in all directions and hit the two of them. The huge impact threw the two of them away, much faster than normal flying speed.

After rolling however many times, Han Xiao barely managed to stop himself. There was not a single part of his body that did not hurt, and his entire body was covered in charred wounds. It was obvious that he was heavily injured. The Subduing Tree King, who had fallen not far away, was in a similar state, as though he had shed a layer of skin.

“You sure can run fast.” Han Xiao’s veins were throbbing. He moved his arms and legs, and the charred wounds fell one after another. His wounds gradually recovered, and his health slowly rose.

The Subduing Tree King was not dead, so he would not foolishly stay in the trap and take damage. At the critical moment, he also exploded with all his might, shattering the protective shield and escaping from the explosion area. Han Xiao had originally stayed behind to stall the Subduing Tree King, but after the other party broke free from the locked area, there were no more chances. Han Xiao had used the King’s teleportation to arrive, so he naturally dispelled the Mechanical Deity Form. The Mechanical Deity’s descent was not instantaneous, so there was not enough time. Furthermore, with just the attributes of his main body, he could not immobilize a Pugilist at the level of the Subduing Tree King and was thrown to the side.

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 with 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.”