The Legendary Mechanic

While Han Xiao and Oulou were looking at each other, the galactic residents who were watching the broadcast all heard their short conversation in the public channel and were excited.

"Heard that? As long as they can defeat Black Star, he'll consider compromising."

"This is an opportunity! If Black Star keeps his promise, defeating him will avoid the all-out war."

"Come on, the three Universal Civilizations, the peace of the universe relies on you guys!"

"I'm not sure about this. Can the three Universal Civilizations really deal with him? Plus, his attributes on his Wayne Card are way too high now. I don't think Oulou is his match."

"Is this really the time to talk about cards? We can't know who will win till they fight!"

"Speaking of which, if they could decide this with a game of cards, it would be much easier…"

Countless galactic residents were looking forward to it.

It did not matter if Black Star was telling the truth or not, they could only put their hopes on this statement. No one wanted a war; any change was welcome.

At this time, in the eyes of the many galactic residents, Black Star seemed to have become the big villain, and defeating him would protect the peace of the world. Countless people cheered for the three Universal Civilizations in their hearts and hoped to see Black Star defeated the next second.

Inside the three Universal Civilizations' joint fleet's main ship, the other direct Beyond Grade As were all in the command room watching the two of them.

"Do you guys think Oulou can beat Black Star?" someone asked.

"He has less than a fifty-percent chance. If Black Star was that easy to deal with, the people above wouldn't have sent us all." Verena shook her head.

"Then why did we let him go alone? Although ganging up on him isn't good, losing a duel will be embarrassing too, won't it?" Guzar wondered.

"We never expected Oulou to win," Francisco said. "Given Oulou's strength and Verena's enhancement, he's more than capable of matching up to Black Star. This was mainly a test."

Verena nodded and explained, "That's right. It's already been decades since Black Star last fought. With his growth speed, the data from the past is outdated. Oulou will be able to force out Black Star's full strength to collect information for us, which will help in making plans. We have ten days anyway, so there's no need to hurry. Intelligence is crucial in combat."

The others nodded with agreement.

Having made his name in the universe decades prior, Black Star was already recognized as extremely strong among the Beyond Grade As. Not many people dared underestimate him.

Oulou was a peak Beyond Grade A among the top tier in the universe, one of their strongest. Letting him be the first to test Black Star was already an act of taking Black Star seriously enough.

While the many direct Beyond Grade As had their own thoughts, Han Xiao and Oulou who were in the middle of the battlefield suddenly moved like lightning!

Oulou's eyes turned bright as he activated the Golden Treasure Ship dimension. The next moment, countless golden beams of light shot out from the rings behind him like a fountain.

Unaffected, Han Xiao's body shook. Mechanical Force lightning bolts spread instantly, and the mechanical army he hid in his body using [Compressed Orb Innovation—Armed Body] shot out, instantly turning into an enormous mechanical army. The mechanical army set up thick psionic shields in front of Han Xiao, forming a barrier.

Thunderous golden light beams bombarded the psionic barrier. Golden light dust splashed everywhere, and blue-purple electronic bolts danced.

Seeing this, Oulou immediately summoned more golden rings and shot out burning golden light beams nonstop at Han Xiao's mechanical army, as if he had infinite energy.

His Esper Ability allows him to link with the Golden Treasure Ship dimension and use its energy. He's another one with infinite mana who excels in large scale attacks, using his infinite energy to exhaust the enemy time after time. The Golden Treasure Ship is a special secondary dimension. The nature of its energy is very destructive, and it also has other utility functions.

Oulou's information flashed past Han Xiao's mind as he opened up the secondary dimensional army box, and more mechanical troops swarmed out.

The psionic barrier became many times thicker instantly. No matter how powerful Oulou's attacks were, the guarding troops in front of Han Xiao stood firmly. Without the need to dodge any attacks, Han Xiao summoned his Divine Mechanical Throne and sat on it to command his troops.

At the same time, the long-range troops in the mechanical army retaliated. Under the lead of the Apostle Weapons, the melee combat troops also charged toward Oulou from various directions.

The two sides entered an intense battle, dishing out countless attacks at each other without restraint. The battlefield was filled with all kinds of explosions and beams.

The three Universal Civilizations' joint fleet had to move back a certain distance and activate their shields to avoid being accidentally damaged.

Sitting on the Divine Mechanical Throne, Han Xiao looked at Oulou.

Although having infinite mana was one of the special traits of Beyond Grade As, from the way he looked at it, this ability had a weakness that was not really a weakness—no matter how much energy these people had, their power output was still limited. Oulou's Energy Rank determined his damage output.

Oulou's Energy Rank was undoubtedly at the top tier, comparable with Kasuyi. After receiving Verena's enhancements, his Energy Rank even increased by a portion once again. However, compared to Han Xiao's Energy Rank now, it still came up short.

After spending decades keeping a low profile and growing stronger, the bonuses he received from his talents were massive. His combat capability was astonishing and had the upper hand without even having to use any Character Summon Cards. This was the difference in raw strength.

Han Xiao only took out ten or so Apostle Weapons that chased after Oulou, and Oulou was already having quite a difficult time. With Han Xiao's Mechanical Force bonuses, the combat capability of his Apostle Weapons was already steadily at the Beyond Grade A level. They could even go a few rounds with high level Beyond Grade As.

There was no need for flashy plays with such a huge advantage!

One word could describe the situation of this battle.

One-sided!

"This guy is no match for me. His defeat is only a matter of time… Hehe, all these talents I've put in so much effort to obtain would be for nothing if I couldn't easily beat guys like you."

Watching the battle for a while, Han Xiao grinned, shook his head, and looked at the interface casually.

Not long after Oulou challenged him, the Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission appeared once again. Clearly, this challenge received enough attention to trigger a mission.

The mission requirements and the rewards were still the same, requiring him to last for a certain amount of time, and the best reward was still a Character Summon Card and one of Oulou's abilities or talents.

"How I love duels. They're really doing me a big favor."

Han Xiao laughed in his mind.

While he relaxed on his throne and patiently commanded the army, his talents were activated one after another, continuously increasing his status, and the battle became easier and easier.

Meanwhile, Oulou had a more and more difficult time.

In the eyes of others, the mechanical army was like a swarm of bees surrounding Oulou and attacking him. While the golden light beams that Oulou used with no restraint could wipe out piles of the mechanical army from time to time, the empty areas were filled up very quickly by other mechanical soldiers. Plus, the broken machines also very quickly reassembled and returned to the battlefield right after.

Oulou looked like an insect trapped by a spider's web who could only struggle meaninglessly, breaking through the siege time after time, then getting surrounded again every time.

Oulou's expression had already changed. It was grave.

It was not that he had never fought with a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic, but his attacks would have usually already overwhelmed the opponent's mechanical army. However, Black Star's mechanical army never showed any signs of defeat or flaws, wrapping around him like he could not tear it open no matter what.

These ten or so Apostle Weapons were especially strong, making him not only feel quite tired but also unable to let his guard down at all. Any flaw at this point might be fatal for him.

Protracted battles were originally his expertise, but he was losing this one.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Oulou could not help but to look at Black Star, who was behind the mechanical army, seemingly having some ideas. Coincidentally, his eyes met with Han Xiao's eyes that had a tint of anticipation.

In just one look, Oulou's heart shivered, and he immediately gave up the thought of charging toward Han Xiao's original body.

… I almost forgot, this guy isn't an ordinary Mechanic. If I really go so close to him, who knows who'll be beating up whom?

Not being able to find a solution, Oulou became more and more irritated. He had no choice but to continue the bombardment. More and more wounds appeared on his body as time passed.

The battle lasted for quite some time, and it remained simple all the time.

Then, suddenly, Oulou's energy exploded. Golden energy formed a tsunami and blew away the mechanical soldiers around, helping him to get out of the encirclement once again.

However, instead of charging toward Han Xiao, he fled in the opposite direction instead and rushed into the formation of the three Universal Civilizations' joint fleet. Using the battleships as cover, he quickly left the battlefield.

Seeing this, Han Xiao made the mechanical troops stop and did not chase into the joint fleet.

Watching Oulou flee into the main ship, only then did Han Xiao speak in the public channel with a slight mocking tone.

"Is that it?"

Right after he said that, Han Xiao waved and retrieved the mechanical soldiers from the field, as if what he had done was nothing worth mentioning.

Then, he sat back on his Divine Mechanical Throne, held his chin with his hand, and looked at the three Universal Civilizations' fleet.

"Next, and please let someone who can warm me up come."

Seeing this, the many galactic residents who originally had high hopes for Oulou felt like their tinder of hope was instantly extinguished.

"H-he lost just like that?"

"Black Star didn't move from the start to the end, right?"

"Was it too easy for him…"

Countless galactic residents felt a sense of suffocation in their chests.

They thought they would see a close battle; never did they expect to see Oulou lose so easily. Oulou was incompetent, and their passion was wasted.

Most people could not understand the details of the battle. They only knew that Black Star sat on his seat without moving an inch, and Oulou was beaten so badly he had to flee. The two of them had no physical contact at all. It was embarrassing beyond words.

They did not know how strong Beyond Grade As were and could only judge from what they saw. Hence, a question popped up in the minds of many galactic residents…

Is Oulou too weak, or is Black Star too strong?

…

In the main ship of the three Universal Civilizations joint fleet, the direct Beyond Grade As who saw this were all silent. Doubt and shock flickered in their eyes.

As Beyond Grade As, they were the only ones who could see the details of this battle that looked like it was completely one-sided, and they were terrified.

The strength of Black Star's Mechanical Force had increased the performance of his mechanical army to a higher level. His Energy Rank crushed Oulou's!

"How can the difference be this huge‽"

Verena widened her eyes with disbelief.

She knew that Oulou's chance of winning was not high, but never did she expect Black Star to win this easily.

Originally, they all hoped Oulou could force Black Star to use all his strength so that they could collect some intelligence. To their absolute surprise, Oulou could not even complete the mission of testing Black Star and was thrashed by Black Star head-on, unable to make Black Star use even one of his trump cards.

Oulou was someone who had top tier strength, not just some nobody. Yet, he lost so pathetically and did not gain an upper hand at any point of the battle at all.

How strong is Black Star now‽

"… He wasn't this strong before," Clotti said with a grave expression. "The only explanation for this is that he became stronger in the past few decades again and kept it a secret."

"This won't be easy," Guzar said with a serious expression. "Even you probably won't be a match for Black Star."

Clotti remained silent and did not refute it. He had no confidence either.

If not because he knew Oulou's personality well, he would have suspected that Oulou was acting.

"We still underestimated this guy. His feathers have matured…"

Clotti exhaled slowly with a heavy heart.

At this time, the hatch opened, and Oulou walked in.

As he was really afraid that Black Star might kill him, he had fled when things were not going well. He was not heavily injured, but he looked confused and could not accept how easily he had lost.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

The others glanced at him with complicated looks and did not know what to say.

Brother, you asked for this. Thanks for being so brave…