The Legendary Mechanic

This was not the first time Han Xiao had fought with a Mage. Every Beyond Grade A Mage had their own style and a different way of fighting.

Ravenlaude was one of the Ancient Ones. Although, due to his limited potential, he had already reached the top of his strength and would not be able to become a peak Beyond Grade A, in his long life, he had learned countless spells. The Arcane Institute under his command was an organization used to study and invent new spells for him. In this fight, he had showcased his extremely broad knowledge in the study of magic.

As an Ancient One as well, 'Dragon King' Milizaus' style had very clear differences. Milizaus focused on the powerful dragon magic spells, fighting with raw strength in a straight forward style, while Ravenlaude had endless spells to swiftly deal with all kinds of situations.

Every Beyond Grade A had their specialty. Facing such a disadvantageous situation, although Ravenlaude was suppressed by the Apostle Weapons, he gradually used his ever-changing spell combos to give himself some breathing space, which was followed up by a combo he had prepared for a very long time.

With a flash of the gem on his staff, silk-like rings made of runes appeared around him. Purple arcane energy started spinning and quickly expanded into a tornado. The violent energy blew the nearby Apostle Weapons away, creating a short opportunity to cast more spells. Ravenlaude was in the storm eye. With the change of his hand sign, the arcane storm swiftly condensed into thousands of magic arrows hovering around him. The highly concentrated arcane energy almost looked solid as if they had turned into transparent purple crystals.

"Secret Ability—Arcane Nova Arrow Rain!"

The purple crystal-like arrows shot out in all directions into the mechanical army, causing clusters of bright purple arcane energy explosions.

Boom boom boom boom!

Impact wave rippled and expanded, blowing away tons of mechanical soldiers. At the same time, the vibration of magic particles caused many mechanical soldiers to become immobilized. This ability had both damage and control effects in a large range.

Ravenlaude did not stop there. He waved his hand, a magic book suddenly appeared and flipped open. All of its shining pages danced and turned into a circular turning light belt, creating a white secondary dimension entrance that expanded rapidly behind him. The entrance was expanding to several thousand meters wide.

Ohm!

An enormous quadrangle tower tip that looked like it was made of crystal extended out from the tunnel, slowly showing its full appearance. It was clearly a magnificent magic building.

High Grade Arcane Spell—Mage Pagoda Summoning!

"He's summoning his Mage Pagoda. Stop him!" Psionic Prime's eyes flickered. He stopped himself from being blown away and charged forward once again.

The Mage Pagoda was the core equipment of high-level Mages. A Mage with and without the Mage Pagoda would be on two completely different levels. A Mage would only reach full strength when fighting alongside the Mage Pagoda.

For example, Austin's Palace of Hidden Spells was a gold Grade Mage Pagoda, which not only gave him extremely powerful enhancements but also exceptional mobility.

The cost of Mage Pagodas that could be stored in a secondary dimension and summoned anytime was extremely expensive. Usually, when a Mage summoned their Mage Pagoda, it meant that they had decided to stand their ground and fight on that spot. This was because most Mage Pagodas did not have as strong teleportation powers as the Palace of Hidden Spells.

A Mage Pagoda was a trump card. Since it had been summoned, it meant that Ravenlaude was no longer holding back. He was going all out.

"Black Star, you're indeed stronger than me… but it won't be that easy to defeat me!"

Ravenlaude bit his lip. His pride as a Beyond Grade A was harmed, and his will to fight was flaming.

The mechanical army immediately activated the space stabilization device. However, inside the Dark Purple Arena, the thick magic energy weakened its effects. Ravenlaude was also doing all he could to keep the summoning portal stable.

The Mage Pagoda extended out bit by bit. Silver Flash and the mechanical army shifted the target of the long-range attacks to the Mage Pagoda. Large defensive runes appeared on the Mage Pagoda to protect it, like a translucent purple light energy shield. It stopped the bombardment and vibrated nonstop as explosions and sparks erupted on its surface.

Ravenlaude used his magic energy at maximum capacity. Dark purple light glowed from his body. In the process of summoning the Mage Pagoda, his mobility would be reduced tremendously. The thick layers of arcane shields protected his casting from being interrupted.

Suddenly, the space behind him rippled. Mad Sky Hunter, who had a short distance teleportation ability, teleported right inside the shields. With his sharp blades and teeth, he pounced right at Ravenlaude.

In the blink of an eye, Ravenlaude hastily turned his body, and Mad Sky Hunter slid past.

The arcane energy slapped Mad Sky Hunter away. He then looked down. His ribs and the side of his leg were slashed right open with deep wounds. He could see his flesh moving inside, trying to close the wounds.

Before he could do anything else, Psionic Prime appeared. His spear stabbed forward as fast as a meteor, leaving only afterimages behind.

The Psionic Prime Spear's ability to penetrate shields was a major counter to him. The summoning was near its end. In order to block this attack, he had to cast spells and stop the summoning. Ravenlaude clenched his teeth and decided to just not dodge it. He had to summon the Mage Pagoda even at the price of being injured.

Whoosh!

As usual, the shield was penetrated with ease, and the spear stabbed right into Ravenlaude's chest.

The taste of blood gushed up his throat. Ravenlaude ignored it and completed the last part of the summoning spell.

"Descend!"

Boom!

The entire Mage Pagoda was finally summoned. It released an extremely powerful magic energy impact wave that stirred up a tornado, blowing all the mechanical soldiers away onto the inside wall of the Dark Purple Arena, including the Apostle Weapons, damaging them twice.

This was a tall crystal tower. Its base was an enormous disc. Overall, it looked like an enlarged chess piece. Colorful magic streams flowed within the crystal, and countless runes and magic arrays formed a slowly spinning sphere shaped barrier that shrouded the Mage Pagoda.

Ravenlaude coughed a few times, casually created a light green healing magical sphere, and stuffed it into the penetrating wound made by Psionic Prime to stop the bleeding. Then, he flew into the Mage Pagoda, connecting his own magic energy with the energy core of the Mage Pagoda. Only then were they fully linked.

The next second, rows of black holes appeared at the bottom of the Mage Pagoda. Tons of magic puppets and colossi swarmed out. Right after, teleportation tunnels appeared all around, and countless monsters were summoned, charging toward the mechanical army.

Psionic Prime swung and spun the spear in his hands, shooting out waves of light, easily slashing the colossi and monsters in his way in half, creating empty areas in the pile of enemies.

At this time, Ravenlaude's voice sounded in the entire arena like thunder.

"Since you desire battle, enjoy it to the end. Come, Black Star!"

"A Beyond Grade A Mage at full performance… I can't disappoint the lord's trust!"

Electric sparkles flashed in Psionic Prime's eyes. Unafraid, he led the mechanical army and charged forward.

The army of two slides collided!

…

Long after the dynasty's fleet arrived at the scene, what they saw was a wreckage.

Shattered gems, flesh, and machinery floated in this area. There were also countless radiation reactions in the cosmic space created by high energy explosions. A heavily damaged Mage Pagoda floated, covered in burnt holes and cracks. The magic light around it dimmed completely. It had clearly experienced an extremely tough battle.

The dynasty fleet did not see signs of the mechanical army, so they sent people into the Mage Pagoda and found Ravenlaude, who was leaning against the wall. His clothes were tattered, and he was in a mess. His body was covered in wounds, and there were piles of dried golden blood marks on the floor. A magic staff that was broken into two lay beside his feet; the cut was as smooth as a mirror.

"You guys… ahem… finally came."

Ravenlaude's voice was weak. He stood up with the help of the wall. A few dynasty soldiers quickly approached to help.

"What happened? How have you ended up like this‽" Bekorodi, who was remotely commanding the troops, was shocked.

The opponent was just Black Star's mechanical army. Even if Ravenlaude failed, as a Beyond Grade A, how did he end up this badly beaten‽

Bekorodi thought of a possibility and asked, "Was Black Star's original body here?"

Ravenlaude shook his head, gasped for air, and said, "No, he wasn't."

"Oh… so you should have annihilated the mechanical army and obtained the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, right?" Bekorodi asked. No wonder there were no signs of the mechanical army. He felt that this was the most likely outcome.

Ravenlaude shook his head again with a complicated expression. "No, I was defeated."

Bekorodi's expression stiffened. "So, you're saying, you, a Beyond Grade A, came personally and even used your Mage Pagoda, but you were defeated by one of Black Star's mechanical armies that didn't even have a Lord's Avatar?"

Bro, what is this?

Aren't you too weak‽

Seeing Bekorodi's expression, Ravenlaude knew full well that he despised him. He felt embarrassed and said with a deep voice, "You know nothing about Black Star's strength!"

Then, he repeated the process of the battle in detail and made an accurate analysis on Han Xiao's current level of strength.

"I once fought Mechanic Emperor, and the impression he gave me is still vivid. Black Star has definitely touched the level of God's Trait Transformation, which is why his Apostle Weapons and mechanical army have the power to defeat me!"

Unknowingly, while listening to the report, Bekorodi's expression had become extremely serious.

After a long silence, he finally slowly spoke.

"Black Star's strength hasn't grown for about twenty years. I used to think he needed more time to get through that barrier. I didn't expect him to have grown again this soon."

During the version update, Han Xiao did not level up much, so it looked like he had run into a wall, which made the outside world relieved. They thought that he had finally reached his limit for the time being.

Bekorodi had thought the same. But now, seeing how beaten Ravenlaude was, he knew that Black Star had found the path forward again. Twenty years was not a short time, but compared to the growth of Beyond Grade As, this was way too quick!

With a deep exhale, Bekorodi said in a solemn tone, "Report what happened to Her Excellency and only put this intelligence in confidential documents. Do not leak it."

At this moment, he made the right choice. Hiding the fact that Black Star had become stronger was not because he wanted to but because he knew that the Ruler Urranrell would definitely give that order.

Although Bekorodi did not like Black Star, he knew that hiding the strength of the dynasty's allies was beneficial for the dynasty. Even though his precious Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had been snatched away, he still had to suck it up and clean up after Black Star.

"Retreat." With resignation, Bekorodi ended the operation.

"Our deal…" Ravenlaude spoke and hinted at the mess with his eyes. His meaning was clear. I gave my all. At least compensate me for it.

"The dynasty will compensate you for the repair fees of your Mage Pagoda and your colossi. As for the Universal Treasure… sorry, you did not complete the mission, so I can't give it to you. Those are the rules," Bekorodi said with a poker face.

He did not want to speak of this matter anymore and ended the communication.

Ravenlaude clenched his teeth with anger.

Not only was his Mage Pagoda broken, but his colossuses were also all destroyed, and he was beaten up. Plus, the Universal Treasure that he had been looking forward to was gone as well. It was a complete loss!

Ravenlaude rubbed his face.

I took this heavy beating for nothing!

Black Star, you *sshole. We're allies, but you really didn't hold back!

Remember this, I'll get you back for this one day!

The Tyrant was bullied by Black Star before. I'll go find him!

He was only angry because he was beaten up by Han Xiao. As for losing the Universal Treasure, he did not blame Han Xiao for it. Without Black Star, Secret Master would most likely have gotten it. He was still sensible in this respect…

But I'm still so angry!

…

Back at the initial battlefield, the Lord's Avatar and the mechanical army were still fighting intensely with Secret Master.

At this time, the Lord's Avatar suddenly paused. The army stopped firing and backed away.

"Hmm?" Secret Master frowned. He held the magic axe in his hands and did not throw it out. "Why did you stop?"

Han Xiao waved his hand. "I've got it. There's no need to fight anymore. But if you still are not satisfied, I can continue accompanying you."

Secret Master went silent.

He had already been stalled for way too long. He had lost track of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy long ago, so there would be no way to chase after it. He initially wanted to teach Han Xiao a lesson with his secret luck spell, but this guy turned out to be the unluckiest person he had ever seen. His luck could not have been any worse. According to any fortune telling, he should have died young. Therefore, technically, he should have died long ago, but he became someone this powerful and strong.

To be honest, Secret Master actually felt a little respect for Han Xiao. To be able to come this far with such a tragic fate, he had to give him his respect.

Since anything related to luck was useless to Black Star, Secret Master could only put up with it. After all, even if he tore the Lord's Avatar apart, it would not cause too much damage to Black Star… not to mention the fact that he could not even tear it apart.

"You've won today." Secret Master gave Han Xiao a meaningful look. He then sent a voice message with mind energy to Han Xiao alone. "Since you're unlucky to a pitiful level, I'll give you a heads up. Gorutan might be plotting something against you."

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. "You're warning me? Are you this kind-hearted?"

"Humph." Secret Master did not reply. He turned around and returned to his spaceship, departing with his fleet.

Watching Secret Master leave, Han Xiao thought those words.

Han Xiao remembered that both Secret Master and Gorutan were protectors of the Galactic Black Market, so they should be in the same faction. He had destroyed Secret Master's plan to get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, yet he had warned him and sold Gorutan out.

"Looks like there are internal conflicts between the protectors of the Galactic Black Market too. Could it be that the fewer the protectors, the more profit each one gets?" Han Xiao pondered.

As the battle between the two of them ended, the rubbernecking organizations also scattered.

To most organizations, although they did not gain anything, they had taken part in a major event, so it was worth it. With first-hand information, they would have plenty of chances to brag about it in the future.

The Modo Civilization, however, became the biggest loser of this incident.

They did not even touch the tip of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, and more than eighty percent of their Calamity Grade elites had died for it.

"What a tragedy…"

Han Xiao expressed his sympathy.

As the fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy came to an end and all the irrelevant people left, he could finally take a look at this treasure.