novelThe Ending Is Usually Decided Before the Battle Even Starts
| ← Ch.0582 | Ch.0584 → |
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The battle entered the climax as soon as it started.
Outside the porthole, the Godoran fleet, mercenary fleet, and DarkStar fleet blasted at each other. The light from the cannon fire brought multiple colors to this space in the universe, along with countless deaths.
Cannons shot through the armor plates of one spaceship after another, turning the people inside into ashes.
Since Degulish could not send out any orders, the DarkStar fleet lost command and unity, fighting for themselves. Only after quite some time did they start to unite into groups under the orders of other furious DarkStar superiors and tried to break through the situation.
Sadly, as the initial order did not arrive on time, so DarkStar lost their best chance to escape. The way they pushed forward under the heavy fire was like trying to move in mud.
"Looks like we don't even need to do anything."
Han Xiao shook his head as he looked at the situation of the battlefield.
With Godora and the mercenaries working together, the strength of their fleets completely outpowered the six DarkStar mothership fleets. It was highly likely that there would not even be a need to enter the melee battle stage; they could turn these DarkStar armies into wrecks floating in space with just nonstop cannon fire.
Black Star Army's mission was handling the melee battle, so they had no chance to showcase their abilities and could only stay back and wait.
DarkStar started to show signs of collapsing. Some of the DarkStar frigates became deserters, wanting to escape from the slow mothership. Unsurprisingly, they were turned into fireworks midway.
Han Xiao thought for a while. Doing nothing did not fit his goal of building a name for Black Star Army, so he decided to create an opportunity for himself.
"Risda, can you control the movement of that mothership?"
"Sure."
"Drive the mothership and carry out a short distance hyperdrive, crashing into the closest planet. I will convince Godorans to let you go."
As he was saying, Han Xiao contacted the War Bureau through a private channel.
"This is Black Star. I'm going to control a mothership to crash into the surface of a planet and carry out land battle. The deputy leader of DarkStar is on that mothership. This is a chance to capture him alive while simultaneously seizing a DarkStar mothership."
Degulish was also a mission target of [Godora's Ally], so capturing him alive and giving him to Godora would result in a reward just like killing him. Also, giving them a mothership also had a high reward.
Godora had come prepared. This war might be DarkStar's last struggle, so Han Xiao wanted to increase the mission rating as much as possible.
The War Bureau had been paying close attention to the battle. With how things turned out, the superiors had no reason to doubt Han Xiao. Besides, capturing Degulish alive and seizing a mothership was very useful. After some discussion, the superiors decided to try Han Xiao's plan. They were confident in controlling the situation, so they took the risk and quickly sent orders to the fleet commander.
This order made the fleet commander very confused. Nonetheless, he was used to obeying orders as a soldier, so he quickly did as he was told.
Risda controlled the DarkStar mothership and deviated from the fleet, slowing speeding up as the attacks targeted at it became scattered.
The other motherships, of course, did not receive such treatment. They faced heavier fire as they watched Risda's mothership slowly move away.
Before the passengers on this mothership knew what was going on, they entered hyperdrive and arrived at the nearest planet—the barren planet that the Godoran fleet had hidden behind previously.
Boom!
The mothership immediately crashed through the atmosphere and toward the ground, forming a crater as dust shot into the sky like a fountain.
The DarkStar members inside the mothership were thrown about from the impact.
Degulish was the only Calamity Grade Super on that mothership. With his body strength, he was not injured, but his face was filled with surprise.
As soon as the communication was cut off earlier, he had already started to be suspicious, and the fact that the mothership had moved on its own proved his suspicion. Clearly, the mothership was under the enemy's control.
No wonder their whereabouts had been exposed to the enemy—even their mothership belonged to them!
When did the enemy do that? Degulish was furious and shocked.
The intelligence of the mothership crashing into the planet surface reached the mercenary fleet, and Gureja quickly contacted Han Xiao.
"Black Star, it's your turn."
"On it." Han Xiao nodded.
The BlackLight Stealth turned around, followed by the rest of the Black Star fleet. They diverged from the alliance fleet and entered hyperdrive, arriving at the planet where the mothership had crashed in the blink of an eye.
All the DarkStar members including Degulish were trapped on the planet surface, and a ground war was a stage exceptionally suitable for the players.
"Touch down, deploy the mercenaries!" Han Xiao ordered. The spaceships slowly descended toward the planet's surface.
The players inside the spaceship were already waiting behind the hatch, ready to strike at any time.
There should be tens of thousands of DarkStar members inside a mothership, with quite a number of them being Grade B Supers. Of course, the strong ones would be dealt with by the officers; the players only needed to deal with the normal soldiers.
This time, Hila, who was standing beside Han Xiao, frowned and asked, "What about us?"
Han Xiao turned around, pondered for a moment, and said, "You guys can join the battle this time, too."
Hila and Aurora would not die so easily. Furthermore, they would eventually need to familiarize themselves with the feeling of a space battle, so they needed training. This was a rather safe chance to do so. Hence, Han Xiao did not plan to stop Hila.
Feeling Han Xiao's trust, Hila's brows loosened, and she nodded.
She did not like to always be protected and had always hoped to be of use.
The DarkStar soldiers on the surface guarded the mothership closely as the mercenary spaceships carrying the players surrounded them from all directions.
Whoosh!
Hatches opened one after another.
Players walked out of the spaceship, and hundreds of thousands of them surrounded the DarkStar warriors.
The BlackLight Stealth hovered in midair, and Han Xiao jumped down. He did not need the standard superhero landing. Mechanical Force surrounded his body and created a repulsion force when he was about to land on the ground. He hovered just less than twenty centimeters above the ground.
"Black Star! It's you again!"
Degulish clenched his teeth.
With a poker face, Han Xiao slowly said, "Last time, the three of you fought me together. Now, it's only you, and no one will come to save you no matter how loud you scream."
Now that he was Calamity Grade just like Degulish, their strength difference was tremendously reduced. There was only one ending for Degulish if they fought one on one—defeat!
A tint of nervousness flashed within Degulish's eyes. He indeed dreaded Han Xiao's tankiness, so he quickly thought of what he could do. However, the more he thought about it, the more hopeless he got. He could not think of any possibility in which he would be able to escape. The fleet could barely hold on; no one would come to help him.
His only advantage was that, although it was extremely difficult to kill Black Star, Black Star was just Grade B, so he might be able to stall for a very long time.
Hum!
Just as Degulish had this thought, electric sparks shot out from Han Xiao's body, and compressed orbs opened one after another. This was the first time that he had used his full power since he entered the Calamity Grade. Thick, dense energy splashed in all directions, showcasing the energy level that belonged to the Calamity Grade!
Noticing the energy rank, Degulish's face changed drastically.
"Yo—You've achieved the Calamity Grade‽"
When they fought not long ago, Black Star had been Grade B!
How could he improve so fast‽
Without saying another word, Degulish turned around, turned into a stream of light, and immediately escaped, disappearing into the horizon and leaving the DarkStar warriors behind.
Before Black Star was Calamity Grade, he had already been unkillable. Now that he was Calamity Grade, how was he supposed to fight him‽
"I'll chase him. You guys deal with DarkStar's army."
At this point, the new mechanical suit was not yet built. Han Xiao wore the backup mechanical suit, turned the thrusting module up to its full power, and dashed toward Degulish like a bolt of lightning, disappearing before everyone else's eyes.
Not long after, the deafening sound of fighting came from afar, and the ground trembled.
As if this was a signal, the battle erupted!
DarkStar warriors fiercely fought back against the hoard of players coming from all directions.
Boom!
Countless abilities and bullets covered the sky, bringing chaos to the battlefield.
Players fell onto the ground like wheat being harvested. After all, DarkStar members were galactic warriors; their average strength was much stronger.
However, as the battle continued, DarkStar warrior's faces changed as well. First, they were fiery, then tired, and after some time, they became numb. Finally, the DarkStar warriors noticed the fact that the players were immortal.
The enemies would not die, so no matter how many times they kill them, it was useless. Realizing this, the minds of the DarkStar warriors were instantly defeated.
From having the upper hand in the battle, the DarkStar warriors slowly began to get defeated. Tens of thousands of people could not hold the line of defense anymore; they were eaten up bit by bit. Not long after, the entire DarkStar army was drowned by the players.
Ember, whose Esper ability was extremely powerful against crowds, was not here, so the players had no nemesis.
The stronger DarkStar officers were held back and defeated by Herlous and others, and the rest of the DarkStar soldiers were no match for the players.
...
Sometime later, the chaotic battlefield gradually quietened down, only left with scattered screams of agony. The battle was ending, and the ground was covered in the corpses of DarkStar soldiers. The remaining DarkStar members surrendered and were tied up and thrown aside.
The players excitedly cleaned up the battlefield. The DarkStar warriors' equipment was everywhere. There were even players who fought for them once in a while. Herlous did not stop them. According to the rules of the mercenary industry, that equipment all belonged to the mercenaries.
"How's Han Xiao doing?"
Hila wiped off a bloodstain on her face and walked to Herlous.
She had taken part in the battle and had experienced the strength of regular galactic warriors first hand.
Tiny streams of red flew out from the tens of thousands of dead DarkStar warriors and were absorbed by Hila.
Living creatures that had recently died could provide energy to her. Hila could increase the strength of her Esper ability through large scale slaughters. In Han Xiao's previous life, she had slaughtered many races and used this method to increase her strength. Now that she was not that extreme, of course, she would not choose that method anymore.
"The captain could deal with three Grade As even before. There will definitely not be a problem."
Herlous was not worried at all. He took out the communicator and contacted Han Xiao.
"Captain, you done?"
"What a coincidence, I just finished up with the battle. Wait there, I'm on my way back."
...
Hanging up the communication, Han Xiao looked at Degulish, who was not far away.
Degulish was breathing heavily and in a very bad state. He had almost zero stamina left and was staring at Han Xiao.
The marks from their battle extended hundreds of miles. The ground was dented everywhere, covered in craters created by them. Some places had even become trenches.
Han Xiao had used his Calamity Grade strength without holding back, enjoying his destructive powers.
The aftermath of a full-on Calamity Grade battle could easily change the terrain.
Degulish could crack the surface with just a punch or a kick, but he could not penetrate Han Xiao at all.
Han Xiao was also Calamity Grade, so Degulish could not overwhelm him like he did when he attacked Planet Aquamarine. He could not defeat Han Xiao, nor could he run away. His situation was very frustrating. He would get battered if he did not fight back, but if he did fight back, he would unavoidably waste his energy without even being able to hurt Black Star.
High-intensity battles were highly draining. As his energy levels fell, his strength continuously diminished. Han Xiao's attacks brought dealt more and more injuries, and the vicious cycle repeated.
A battle of stamina was where Han Xiao excelled. Although the Mechanical Army had yet to recover and he had yet to update his own equipment, with his talents and rare abilities, he wore Degulish down steadily.
Degulish coughed, clenched his teeth, and started to activate the energy that he had only just recovered.
"Stop it, do you even have the strength to fight anymore?"
Han Xiao was speechless. Degulish was a Calamity Grade Pugilist after all. Even though his stamina was completely drained, he could recover it in a matter of seconds.
Seeing Degulish was still trying to regain energy, Han Xiao pondered and asked, "Do you know why your location was exposed?"
Degulish's face drastically changed. His movement became stiff, and his just recovered energy disappeared.
"Could it be..."
"Before you people attacked Planet Aquamarine, I had already invaded your mothership when you attacked Planet Golden Gate. The person that gave Godora intelligence and started this war was me."
Degulish's face turned black.
This time, the communicator rang again; it was a message from Gureja.
"Black Star, the battle here is almost finished. All the DarkStar motherships have been destroyed. Only a few DarkStar members escaped through the gaps created by the mothership in small spaceships. The Godorans are chasing them down. We still don't know if any of the DarkStar upper echelons are among them. We are preparing to fetch you. Are you done over there?"
"Yes, the mission is complete. Come over."
The war was a complete victory just as he expected. The intelligence provided by Risda was extremely detailed. Not only did they know DarkStar's location, they also knew the number of DarkStar troops. Plus, Godora had more than enough time to gather enough troops to attack them when they least expected it.
Godora controlled an entire Star System, and if they still could not achieve an overwhelming victory with such an enormous advantage, it would have been way too embarrassing.
Without their stealth advantage, DarkStar could not match a Star System Civilization that attacked them with all they had. If not for their stealth ability, DarkStar would have been destroyed a long time ago.
What Han Xiao had provided was what Godora needed most.
He could very well be considered the main reason that DarkStar had been destroyed.
Han Xiao did not mind that Degulish was just beside him. He ended the communication in front of him.
Degulish kneeled onto the floor with a plop and stopped resisting. He closed his eyes with agony and whimpered, "DarkStar is done for..."
| ← Ch. 0582 | Ch. 0584 → |