Chapter 276 The So-Called Warm-Up

While Han Xiao and Oulu were having a "deeply affectionate stare-off," the interstellar citizens watching the live broadcast heard their brief conversation on the wide-area channel, and their spirits immediately lifted.

"I heard it. As long as they can beat Black Star with high-level combat power, he'll consider compromise."

"This is a turning point! If Black Star keeps his promise, then defeating him can quell the war and avoid a full-scale conflict."

"Come on, Three Great Civilizations! The peace of the universe depends on you! Winning is a great achievement!"

"I feel like it's a long shot. Black Star is a leader among the Super A Grades, can the Three Great Civilizations handle him?... Besides, his stats in the Wien card game are too high. I don't think Oulu is going to make it."

"Is this the time to be talking about cards? We won't know if we can win until we fight!"

"Speaking of which, if we could just settle everything with a card game, engage in some card game diplomacy, that would be much easier..."

Countless interstellar citizens rekindled their hopes.

Regardless of whether Black Star was being truthful or not, they could only pin their hopes on this statement. No one wanted the war to erupt and affect them. Any glimmer of hope was a good thing.

At this moment, in the eyes of many interstellar citizens, Black Star seemed to have become a villain stirring up trouble. As long as they took him down, they could maintain world peace. One by one, countless people cheered on the Three Great Civilizations in their hearts, wishing they could see Black Star lying defeated in the next second.

Meanwhile, on the flagship of the Three Great Civilizations' joint fleet, the other direct-line Super A Grades were in the command room, watching the two facing off in the distance, preparing to observe the battle and provide support.

"Do you think Oulu can handle Black Star?" someone asked.

"Less than half a chance of winning, I'd say. If Black Star were that easy to deal with, the higher-ups wouldn't have summoned all of us here to back him up," Verina shook her head.

"Then why let him go alone? Even though ganging up on him isn't great, losing a one-on-one duel is even more embarrassing, right?" Guzar wondered.

"No one ever expected Oulu to win," Fransesco interjected. "With Oulu's strength, combined with Verina's enhancements, he can at least put up a good fight against Black Star. The main point is to test him."

Verina nodded, explaining, "Exactly. Black Star hasn't publicly fought in decades. With his rate of growth, the old data is probably outdated. No one knows what level he's at now. Oulu's strength can force Black Star to reveal his true abilities, allowing us to gather intelligence and formulate targeted strategies. We have ten days, so there's no need to rush. Knowing your enemy is the key to increasing your chances of success."

Hearing this, everyone immediately agreed.

Black Star had been a force in the universe for decades, and he was already a recognized powerhouse in the Super A Grade circle. Few dared to underestimate him.

Oulu was one of the strongest Super A Grades in the first echelon, a top expert among them. Sending him in as the vanguard to test Black Star was already a sign of their high regard.

While the many direct-line Super A Grades each had their own thoughts, Han Xiao and Oulu, who were facing off in the center of the battlefield, wasted no time and instantly clashed, like thunder meeting fire!

Oulu's eyes lit up with a strong light, activating the Golden Ark dimension. In the next moment, jets of dazzling golden light shot out from the dense rings behind him like fountains. The scene resembled a broadside cannon volley.

Han Xiao remained unmoved. His body shook, and mechanical force lightning spread out in an instant. The mechanical troops hidden within his body by the [Compression Ball Innovation-Martial Body] immediately shot out with the mechanical force, instantly deploying and transforming into a dark mass of a mechanical legion. They erected thick psionic shields, blocking Han Xiao's path and forming a matrix barrier.

The rain of dense golden beams bombarded the psionic barrier, scattering jade-like golden particles, while arcs of blue-purple electricity jumped wildly.

Seeing this, Oulu immediately increased his intensity, summoning more and more golden rings, endlessly spewing out scorching golden beams, bombarding Han Xiao's mechanical troops as if energy were free.

"His Esper Ability allows him to communicate with the Golden Ark dimension, borrowing its energy. He's also one of those guys with infinite energy, best at wide-open firepower coverage, often grinding down opponents with endless energy... The Golden Ark itself is a special sub-dimension with a highly destructive energy and composite functions."

Han Xiao's mind flashed through Oulu's data, but his hands didn't slow down. He opened the sub-dimension troop barracks, and even more mechanical troops swarmed out.

The psionic barrier immediately became many times thicker. No matter how fierce Oulu's storm of fire was, the guard troops in front of Han Xiao remained steadfast, making it unnecessary for Han Xiao to dodge. He simply summoned the Mechanical Throne and sat down, staying in place to command his troops.

At the same time, the ranged troops in the mechanical legion began to return fire, and the melee troops, led by the Apostle Weapons, launched a charge toward Oulu from all directions.

In the next moment, the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle. The scene was explosive, with both sides recklessly unleashing firepower, and various chaotic beams of light filled the battlefield.

The Three Great Civilizations' joint fleet had to retreat a distance and erect their shields to avoid being affected.

Han Xiao sat on the Mechanical Throne, his eyes following the sweeping movements of Oulu, a gleam in his eyes.

While infinite energy was one of the characteristics of Super A Grade metamorphosis, in his opinion, this ability had a weakness that wasn't exactly a weakness: no matter how much energy you had in reserve, the output power was limited, and energy level was Oulu's upper limit.

Oulu's energy level was firmly in the first echelon, comparable to Kesuye, and after receiving Verina's enhancement, it had increased even further. However, compared to Han Xiao's current energy level, it was still quite a bit lower.

After developing in secret for decades, all those Class Knowledge bonuses weren't for nothing. His combat power was already terrifying, and he could maintain a stable advantage without even activating a character summon card. This was the advantage of raw power.

Han Xiao only brought out ten Apostle Weapons, relentlessly attacking Oulu. With their precise coordination, they put Oulu in a rather miserable state—under his mechanical force enhancement, the Apostle Weapons' current combat power had reached a stable Super A Grade level, and they could even exchange blows with high-level Super A Grades.

With such a big advantage, there was no need for any fancy operations. Just select all and attack!

One word could summarize the current situation—a stomp!

"This guy is a limited threat to me. He's not my match. It's only a matter of time before he's defeated... Heh, if fighting you was difficult, what would I have gained from all these Class Knowledges?"

After watching for a while, Han Xiao's lips curled up, and he shook his head, casually opening his interface to take a look.

Shortly after Oulu launched his challenge, the long-awaited Super A Grade challenge mission finally appeared again. Dueling in front of so many people was obviously influential enough to trigger a mission.

The mission type was still the same as before, requiring him to endure for a sufficient amount of time. The best reward was still a chance to draw a character summon card and acquire one of the opponent's abilities.

"A free sheep delivered right to my door. What I like most is one-on-one duels. Isn't this forcing me to sustain the war with war?"

Han Xiao smiled secretly.

He was calm and unhurried, patiently commanding his legion to fight, with various Class Knowledge bonuses constantly taking effect, continuously improving his condition, making the battle easier and easier.

On the other hand, Oulu was having a very difficult time.

In the eyes of outsiders, the mechanical legion was like a dark swarm of bees, constantly surging back and forth around Oulu, while Oulu's freely unleashed golden beams could occasionally destroy pieces of the mechanical troops, but the vacant positions would soon be filled by other mechanical soldiers, and the damaged machines would quickly reassemble and re-enter the battlefield.

It looked as if Oulu was like an insect caught in a spider web, only able to struggle in vain, breaking through again and again, only to be surrounded again, and constantly pushed back by the human wave tactics.

Oulu's expression had changed, leaving only solemnity.

It wasn't as if he hadn't fought against peak Super A Grade Mechanics before. This level of firepower release would generally have created openings in the opponent's mechanical legion, but so far, Black Star's mechanical troops were still like an impenetrable net, tightly covering him, and they were incredibly resilient, as if they couldn't be torn apart no matter what.

In particular, the ten Apostle Weapons, like annoying plasters, were ridiculously powerful, not only making him feel quite strained but also making him afraid to let his guard down.

A war of attrition was supposed to be his strength, but now he was being suppressed.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Oulu couldn't help but look toward Black Star behind the mech swarm, seeming to have some ideas. Coincidentally, he met Han Xiao's expectant gaze.

With just a single glance, Oulu felt a chill in his heart and quickly dismissed the idea of ​​breaking through to perform a surprise beheading.

... Almost forgot, this guy isn't a normal Mechanic. If I really broke through, who knows who would be beating up who? He didn't want to eat a 'hug your sister to death' move.

Unable to find a breakthrough, Oulu became increasingly agitated, and he had no choice but to stick to his idea of ​​bombarding without restraint, recklessly releasing firepower. However, the injuries on his body continued to increase with the passage of time.

The battle continued for a long time, and the scene was still so simple and crude, without any frills.

At this moment, Oulu suddenly exploded, and the golden energy set off a wave, knocking back the surrounding mechanical soldiers, allowing him to break out of the encirclement once again.

However, he didn't charge towards Han Xiao. Instead, he fled in the opposite direction, rushing into the ranks of the Three Great Civilizations' joint fleet, using the warships as a barrier, and rapidly moving away from the battlefield.

Seeing this, Han Xiao raised his palm, ordering the mechanical troops to stop. He didn't chase after them to attack the joint fleet.

Watching Oulu escape into the flagship, Han Xiao then spoke on the wide-area channel, his tone playful,

"Is that all you've got?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Xiao waved his hand and recalled the mechanical soldiers on the field, as if he had just done something insignificant.

After doing all this, Han Xiao continued to sit leisurely on the Mechanical Throne, propping his chin with one hand and tilting his head to look at the Three Great Civilizations' fleet.

"Next, please send someone who can at least make me warm up."

Seeing this scene, the interstellar citizens who had placed high hopes on Oulu felt as if they had been doused with cold water, and the small flame of hope was instantly extinguished, leaving only dejection.

"He... he lost?"

"Black Star didn't even get up the whole time?"

"Was it too easy...?"

Countless interstellar citizens felt a breath stuck in their chests, unable to go up or down, feeling suffocated and wanting to vomit blood.

They had thought they would see a dragon-tiger fight, but they didn't expect Oulu to be so easily defeated. He was truly incompetent, and their enthusiasm had been misplaced.

Because they weren't powerful espers, most people couldn't understand the details of the battle. They only knew that Black Star was sitting still, and Oulu was beaten to a pulp by the opponent's mechanical troops and fled in panic, losing face to the extreme.

From beginning to end, the two sides didn't even collide once. Oulu was a disgrace, while Black Star completely crushed him with full health.

People didn't know the strength of Super A Grades, so they could only judge based on performance. A question then formed in the minds of many interstellar citizens...

Was Oulu too weak, or was Black Star too strong?

...

On the other side, in the Three Great Civilizations' flagship.

The direct-line Super A Grades who had been watching the battle all fell silent, their eyes flickering with surprise and uncertainty.

As the saying goes, outsiders watch the excitement, while experts watch the details. Only these Super A Grades knew what information was contained in this seemingly one-sided battle, and they felt a chill down their spines.

The strength of Black Star's mechanical force had elevated the performance of the mechanical legion to a higher level. It was simply an energy level crushing!

"The difference is so big?!"

Verina widened her eyes, her face filled with disbelief.

She knew that Oulu didn't have a high chance of winning, but she didn't expect Black Star to win so easily, defeating Oulu with traditional army tactics.

She had originally hoped that Oulu would force out Black Star's strength, so they could collect intelligence, but she didn't expect that Oulu couldn't even complete the mission of testing him. He was completely and squarely crushed by Black Star, and he didn't even force out a single hidden card.

It was like going up to bait out an opponent's skills, only to be taken away by a set of simple and unadorned normal attacks...

No matter what, Oulu was a top-tier powerhouse, not some trash fish, yet he was defeated so miserably, without gaining any advantage from start to finish.

Just how strong is this Black Star now?!

"...He wasn't this strong before," Clotti said solemnly. "The only explanation is that his strength has improved again in the past few decades, and he has hidden it deeply."

"This is not good," Guzar said with a stern expression. "I don't think you would be Black Star's opponent either."

Clotti was silent, without refuting. He had also lost confidence.

If he didn't know Oulu's character, he would almost suspect that Oulu had thrown the fight.

'I still underestimated this guy. His wings have already grown...'

Clotti slowly let out a breath of stale air, his mood heavy.

At this moment, the hatch opened, and Oulu walked in.

Because he was really afraid that Black Star would scatter his ashes, he had run away directly when he saw that the situation was not good. The injuries on his body were very light, but he looked dazed, unable to accept that he had lost so easily.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Everyone turned their heads and glanced at him, their eyes filled with mixed emotions, unsure of what to say.

Bro, you were the one who requested to be the vanguard. Thank you for clearing the minefield for us...