Chapter 954 - Behind Every Tank Is the Willingness to Sacrifice

Within the cabin hall, many of the guards either sat or stood, their eyes fixed on the virtual screen. In the picture, Heber was slapped into the planet by the Mechanical Deity, and the next instant, the planet exploded. This was the UHD battle video recorded by the galactic media groups present. Currently, it was being replayed, and there were even sound effects added to the picture.

While this was the second time they were watching this, Hadavy could not help but sigh, muttering to himself, “When will I reach such a level?”

“Maybe… in your next life?” One of the Black Star Guards seated beside him laughed evilly. This guy was one of the Calamity Grades that had joined very early on, and he was also one of Hadavy’s ‘bad influences’.

“With your Esper Ability, even if you reach the Beyond Grade A level, it is estimated that your destructive force will not be at this stage.” Aurora shook her head.

“His ability allows him to take a lot of hits,” another person interjected. “Maybe if he reaches Beyond Grade A, he’ll become the favorite sandbag of all the Beyond Grade As.”

Hearing this, Hadavy grumbled in dissatisfaction, “Humph, you guys are just jealous.”

“Hehe, honestly, even if you do break through your limits and become a Beyond Grade A, you might not even be able to absorb as much damage as His Excellency Black Star, and you also don’t have a variety of moves like him… I think you’ll be the weakest Beyond Grade A in history.”

Thinking about it, Hadavy realized that was the case and immediately felt as though his future was dim, and his spirits hit rock bottom.

“Don’t worry about all that.” Feidin smiled warmly, stretching out a hand to squeeze Hadavy’s shoulder. “Who knows, maybe you can’t even advance to Beyond Grade A?”

Hadavy rolled his eyes and nastily retorted, “It’s Chen Xing, isn’t it? Don’t try to imitate the Vice Captain.”

As they all chatted with each other, the cabin door suddenly slid open, and Han Xiao walked in with large strides.

“Army Commander, good day!”

Many of them stood up quickly and saluted, staring at Han Xiao with heated gazes.

After watching the live broadcast, Black Star had just become more powerful and mysterious in everyone’s mind. As his strength increased, so did everyone’ s awe of him.

“Everyone’s here.” Han Xiao nodded, and glancing at the virtual screen, he laughed. “Haven’t you all seen it already? Why are you even watching it again?”

Hadavy stepped up and declared with a boot-licking expression, “This is all to admire your heroism!”

He had initially joined the Black Star Army for a transaction, but after witnessing Han Xiao’s potential so many times, he was completely won over by him.

After this battle, everyone knew that Black Star had officially become the strongest in the Shattered Star Ring. This identity was not just a simple name but brought with it reputation, influence, and pride.

A Beyond Grade A had to defeat all their peers in the same Star Field to obtain this title, and within the Shattered Star Ring, although Black Star was considered strong, the public did not know of this and always compared him to the Tyrant.

But having proved his point now, the majority of ordinary galactic residents also recognized his status as the strongest within this Star Field.

Seeing his immeasurable future, Hadavy could not wait to hug Black Star’s thigh and was willing to accept Black Star’s beatings every day.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had a weird expression.

He knew that Hadavy had been somewhat reluctant to join him, but how had he suddenly changed so drastically in his mentality?

Could it be that I’m so charming?

Shaking his head, he spoke a few customary sentences to everyone before arriving in front of Feidin. Just as he was about to proceed with the ‘molestation’, Feidin jumped away like a frightened deer.

“Wait… wait a minute, I’m Chen Xing!”

Han Xiao paused and put down his hand, laughing. “It’s alright. Take your time. I’ll wait.”

Chen Xing immediately retreated into the mind, and Feidin took control once again. While his temperament was as gentle as a spring breeze, he had an expression of resignation.

In the past, when he got touched, Feidin was against it, but now, he had thoroughly accepted his fate.

After going through so many things, even he had to wonder if he was really just too lucky.

Seeing this, Han Xiao hurriedly came up, grabbing a handful of luck, and felt as though some luck glow had been transferred to him.

Returning to the room, Han Xiao could not wait to open the panel and select the option to complete his mission.

The random reward gave him a Character Summon Card of Heber, as though Feidin’s luck this time had gone through the roof. The ability was actually [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive], and while he could only use it once, it had been modified such that there was no sequelae.

The experience rewarded were average for Beyond Grade A boss missions, and the twenty odd billion experience he obtained helped to supplement his drying experience reservoir.

The two Legendary Points that he obtained the previous time did not appear, meaning that the awarding of Legendary Points was a one-off thing. However, because of the impact this battle had, he still managed to obtain another completely new Legendary Point.

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Universe Legendary Point: Strongest of the Shattered Star Ring—You are standing at the pinnacle of a Star Field, and the universe extols your prestige!

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This Legendary Point was likely something that would never be achievable for players.

After his rewards were settled, it was time for the final reward, the ability extraction!

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You have received the reward: Draw one of Heber’s abilities or talents.

Note: Heber is a Pugilist. Some of the abilities and talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Berserker – Ability: +110% damage for energy attacks, +50% energy consumption. Duration: 10s. Cooldown: 75s.

2. Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive – Ability: Liberate cell restrictions and squeeze out one’s potential. You will briefly erupt into a higher level of combat capability, but after usage, you will be inflicted with a ‘Weakened’ status for 1 month, and skill upgrade costs will permanently increase by 7%.

3. Melee Combatant – Talent: When engaging in melee combat, +40% attack speed and +2 to all melee skill levels.

4. Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction – Talent: When taking damage, after factoring in resistance, the damage is further reduced by 7,500 before calculating any other resistance-based talents. If you have the talent series of ‘Low Level Damage Immunity’, then the fixed damage reduction will be the maximum value of said talent.

5. Critical Combo – Ability: When you make a combo on a target, the Crit Rate and Crit Damage will increase with each combo hit. This effect is capped at 75% Crit Rate and 350% Crit Damage. Duration: 5s. Cooldown: 80s.

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Sweeping through the interface, Han Xiao was secretly overjoyed. There was indeed a difference between molesting Feidin and not, else he would not have gotten so many good skills.

But the more useful skills there were, the harder it was to choose.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao first removed [Berserker]. The skill bonus was toward purely energy damage, and while his Mechanical Force could injure people, the effect was too pathetic.

[Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive] was a good skill for burst damage, but the sequelae were too troublesome, unlike the time-limited side effect of using the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, the effect could still overlap indefinitely.

As for the effects… just look at Heber. If he could not win, then he would definitely not be able to win. There was no need to struggle and get hit more.

This ability had little significance for Mechanics, who did not rely on their body so much. Compared to a temporary burst, Han Xiao was more inclined to prepare more mechanical armies before the battle, and since he had just gotten a character card without side effects, this skill could be put aside.

Similarly, [Melee Combatant] was suitable for Mechanical Pugilists and Pugilists, but it was not too crucial for him.

As for [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], this was a Molding Talent, and while 7,500 damage did not seem like much, that was only because he was looking at it from the perspective of a Beyond Grade A. For a Calamity Grade, having this amount of damage reduction would boost their survival by at least two or three times.

And if it was a Grade B or Grade C who obtained this… they would basically be unkillable within the same level, and if players were to meet such a boss, they would know what true despair felt like.

This ability worked in tandem with the ‘Low Level Damage Immunity’ series. Heber possessed the talent [Legendary Low Level Damage Immunity], which granted him immunity to attacks below 16,000 points of damage. But this did not mean that his Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction was rendered useless.

The normal rule of damage immunity meant that damage below a certain limit was directly ignored, but this was not applied to attacks with damage above that threshold. However, after adding [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], even for an attack higher than 16,000 points, one had to first deduct 16,000 damage applied through Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction before calculating any resistance of lower priority, so both talents mutually supported each other to increase the immunity to damage.

However, Han Xiao had only managed to draw one, so the effect was discounted. In fact, what Han Xiao wanted was more of the talent [Super Toughness], which was the secret behind Heber’s thick HP. Furthermore, it had a low priority, which meant that it would further reduce whatever damage Heber obtained after going through Damage Reduction and Immunity.

As for the final skill, [Critical Combo], it was quite suitable for him. The number of combos that a mechanical army could fire out was a form of happiness that Pugilists could not imagine. This would definitely increase the crit rate and damage in the shortest time.

What a dilemma…

Han Xiao scratched his head, pausing in thought, before finally making a choice.

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You have been awarded [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction]!

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As the ancient saying went, behind every tank was the willingness to sacrifice. Even though he really wanted to choose [Critical Combo]…

Letting go of a Molding Talent just like that would be too wasteful!

His own resistance was not low as well, and with his energy-HP conversion cycle, it would leave one in despair if he added this damage immunity…

Hehe, just imagining it was enough to give him goosebumps.

It is likely that I have to walk this tank path all the way to the end, but I would still rather have more DPS!

Han Xiao was torn.

After finalizing his rewards, Han Xiao let out a breath of relief. He slowly ruminated on the impact this battle had brought to him.

Obtaining the title of the strongest person in the Star Field would allow the Black Star Army’s business within the Shattered Star Ring to pick up, and at the same time, it would attract a new wave of talent.

However, the decline of influence for the Bloodshed Land would not hinder the investment of the Limitless Financial Group. The other party was still its main competitor, but their degree of expansion would face difficulties due to this strike.

As for the dynasty’s side, their lack of action meant that they tacitly agreed to this.

It seems like Ty-Ty will likely be hurt quite badly this time.

“Right now, the construction and development of the Flickering World still ranks as most important. For a period of time, the three Universal Civilizations will not have any conflicts with each other on the surface. In this manner, I can have a stable external environment to develop my mechanical civilization and Black Spirit Race, as well as set about building a secondary dimension factory…” Han Xiao murmured to himself. He had set the pace for these few decades during the version update early, which would allow him to steadily advance and make up for his lacking accumulation.

…

When the video of the battle was uploaded, it did not take long before the video reached the hands of the upper echelons of all civilizations. The upper echelons of the federation and the church each convened a temporary meeting specifically for this matter.

In the conference room, the Federation of Light’s President Bader looked around at the elders and senior officials present as he asked, “Everyone has watched the video. What are your thoughts?”

The Chief Elder tapped his cane and hoarsely said, “For whatever reason, it has become a fact that Black Star now possesses peak Beyond Grade A strength, and the Crimson Dynasty will soon usher in its fourth National Pillar, which is not advantageous for us.”

“That’s right.” Another of the senior officials injected, “Furthermore, Black Star is simply too young, and can serve the Dynasty for a long period of time. He is furthermore the most troublesome Virtual Mechanic class, and with them, it is likely that he can grow to Manison’s level, which will threaten our benefits.”

“What I’m worried about is when Black Star will next grow.” One official had a deep frown. “We thought that he would remain silent for the next decade or so, but time and time again, we have been proven wrong. Every time we feel that he requires some period to reinforce his foundation before he can further increase his strength, he suddenly does the reverse of our expectations.”

Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

Meeting Han Xiao as an opponent that broke all common sense gave everyone a strong sense of pressure.

“If that’s the case, then the strategy for the Evolutionary Totem will have to be adjusted to some extent,” the Chief Elder concluded.

“Indeed.” Bader sighed. “I’ll have to discuss it with those from the Arcane Church.”

…

The battle had attracted a great amount of attention, to the point that this news had yet to abate even after half a month, but rather showed an upward trend.

With the spread of the galactic media groups, even the galactic residents that were not interested in war or battle could appreciate the ‘heroism’ of the Tyrant. Those who did not know of the Tyrant losing the battle all eventually came to hear of it.

A Beyond Grade A being thrashed was such an interesting topic, and this matter quickly became the dinner conversation of many galactic residents.

In the eyes of the majority, the Tyrant was a relatively unfamiliar Beyond Grade A, and now, his ‘fame’ was rising due to people knowing his presence in the form of being able to take beatings.

There was also news circulating that after the battle, Heber went into closed door cultivation, not even allowing his close subordinates to see him.

The incident spread vigorously, and a special group of people also noticed the Mechanical Deity that was revealed by Black Star.

The Machinery Faith!