1215 Old Trick
“Did I hear that correctly? He wants to challenge all five of them at once?” Someone was very confused.
“Isn’t he too arrogant? I thought he’d have more self-awareness based on the way he spoke earlier.”
“Hehe, looks like he’s indeed quite ambitious. He’s thinking of intimidating us.” Someone snickered.
“I heard he defeated a dozen Beyond Grade As at once. Did that make him overly confident?”
“Possible, he might think we’re on the same level as the modern Beyond Grade As… Hehe, does he really think he’s strong just because he bullied some kids who grew in the peaceful era? He’s probably never seen what true strength is.”
“His tone is so arrogant. Pangon and the others are definitely insulted. A show is about to begin.” Someone gloated. “Wait and see, they’ll teach this guy a lesson, especially Pangon… He’s got a bad temper.”
“Hope he can still be this cocky later,” someone said with a mocking tone.
All of them were waiting to see the show.
What Han Xiao said was targeted at all the Primordial Ones, including them, so they were insulted too. Although they did not look like they were, they were more than glad to see Han Xiao get embarrassed.
…
On the other hand, the six of them including Oathkeeper heard what Han Xiao said and their expressions changed.
You said we’re outdated, that we’re not letting go of our old honors? That’s hurtful!
“Arrogant!” Flames of rage appeared in Pangon’s eyes. He was furious.
When had they ever been looked down like this ever since the era they dominated the universe?
This was the first time anyone had dared to talk to them like this!
Even Oathkeeper felt somewhat awkward.
Feeling the intense atmosphere, he was secretly worried for Han Xiao.
Oathkeeper hoped that Black Star could teach his buddies a lesson, but Black Star wanting to fight all five of them at once was beyond his expectations. He was shocked and was worried Black Star might lose.
Black Star is too confident. Is he going to win?
Oathkeeper was a little regretful. He felt Black Star only made this proposal because he did not know the strength of these Primordial Ones well.
In his eyes, although Black Star was strong, he was not that strong. Despite having caught up with the recent news, his image of Han Xiao was still the same as before he entered the Sanctum.
I would’ve given Black Star some hints beforehand if I knew this was going to happen. These five guys are not just ordinary Beyond Grade As…
This time, Beiger narrowed his eyes and confirmed it. “Are you sure you want to fight all five of us at once?”
“What, you guys aren’t willing to?” Han Xiao’s eyes scanned past everyone’s faces and saw each of their expressions clearly.
“There’s no need to.” Lady Lust frowned calmly. “If the five of us fight you together, it won’t prove anything even if we win. Are you just afraid that fighting us one on one will damage your reputation? I can promise that our spar will be reasonable. We just want to test what you’re capable of. No matter the result, we’ll consider it a tie. Are you satisfied with this?”
“You are quite thoughtful for my sake.” Han Xiao smiled.
“No matter what, you’ve helped us. I…”
Before Lady Lust finished, Pangon interrupted her and coldly said, “Don’t represent me. I’m going to fight him alone.”
Hearing this, Han Xiao maintained his smile and said, “Just come at me all at once. Defeating you guys one after another is too troublesome.”
The five of them were deeply insulted.
We gave you an out. Not only are you not taking it, you’re even crossing the line further.
You need a damn beating!
Beiger gave Han Xiao a meaningful look. “You chose this yourself.”
“Like I said, I alone am enough.” Pangon turned to look at the others and looked like he would fight them first if they argued with him further.
Knowing Pangon’s personality, someone said, “Consider us securing the perimeter for you on the side.”
Pangon thought about it and did not argue. He stomped the ground heavily. An enormous shockwave expanded out, creating a ripple like tide on the ground.
Bang!
He shot up the sky and flew into space like he could not wait any longer.
The others were not surprised and followed behind. After all, he was a Pugilist, and Pugilists were not known for being sensible and logical. The others were used to Pangon’s personality.
Han Xiao glanced at Oathkeeper, who was looking worried, and then flew up as well. At this time, a notification popped up on the interface.
_____________________
You have triggered the hidden mission [Fists Speak the Loudest]!
Mission Introduction: The revived Primordial Ones appreciates your help but aren’t convinced of your strength. You’ve decided to display your strength to earn their respects.
Mission Requirements: Earn the respect of the Primordial Ones through actions.
Reward: Depends on the results of your actions. The higher the rating, the better the reward.
Tip: This is a Series Mission. Your actions will affect the following missions. Please act with caution.
_____________________
Yo, here it is. This should be in the same mission chain as [Return to the Historic Stage].
While he looked at the mission, he flew into space. The five of them were already in position. Four of them stood in different directions and drew out the battlefield area, while Pangon stayed inside opposite Han Xiao.
“Can we start now?” Pangon’s tone was irritated.
“Anyti…”
Before Han Xiao even finished, Pangon had already lost his patience. Golden red flames erupted from within his body as he turned into a meteor and charged toward Han Xiao.
Usually, when Pugilists were in a friendly spar with Mechanics, they would always actively back away some distance so that the Mechanic could let out part of their army. However, Pangon had already developed the habit of using everything to his advantage as much as possible through countless large-scale galactic wars, exploiting every edge he had, even in spars.
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, stood in place, and opened the secondary dimensional army box. However, before the first batch of mechanical troops even appeared, Pangon had already bashed onto his chest.
Boom!
As his fist landed right on Han Xiao’s chest, Pangon was surprised to realize Han Xiao did not even dodge it. Hence, he quickly turned a normal attack into an ability. Thick Pugilist flames rushed into his fist and entered Han Xiao’s body, turning into an erupting shockwave.
This was a control type ability, using Pugilist flames to trigger the atoms in the opponent’s body to tremble. As long as his Strength was superior, he would be able to temporarily immobilize the opponent.
Pangon was very experienced in dealing with high-level Mechanics. He knew that getting this close to a Mechanic was an extremely rare opportunity, and he was not going to waste it. Tons of combos flashed past his mind. He decided on using the combo with the highest explosive damage instantly, and his body immediately moved following the muscle memories. Once Han Xiao was immobilized, he would be able to instantly deal a ton of damage.
However, just as he was about to use the combo, a slap suddenly landed on his face.
Paa!
This slap was powerful and heavy, Pangon’s eyes widened, and his brain was trembling. He could almost hear the sound of the bones on his face cracking.
Before he recovered from being stunned for an instant, a thunderstorm of melee attacks suddenly arrived. Countless heavy attacks landed on his body every second, shattering the gold and red flames on his body part by part, continuously creating ripples and dents on his muscles. Pain swarmed his nerves like a tsunami.
Pangon instinctively raised his hand to protect his vital spots. He was still in shock.
Wait a minute, as a Mechanic, not only did he not back away after I, a Pugilist, got this close to him, but he even actively fought back to have a hand to hand combat with me?
Never mind him fighting back, but what’s with this power? It’s outrageously strong!
After getting bashed by Han Xiao for a few seconds, Pangon finally found an opportunity to twist Han Xiao’s arm and pull it toward him, locking Han Xiao in his place.
“Don’t you think you can run!” Pangon said. Pugilist flames flowed in his body. His muscles suddenly bulged, and his strength increased in an instant.
He was prepared to stop Han Xiao’s attempt to escape his body lock.
As long as he could lock Han Xiao down for just two seconds, he would be able to lash out with an even stronger ability and deal even more damage.
Each and every part of a high-level Pugilist was a weapon. Although Pangon was a little lost and stunned by Han Xiao’s attack from earlier, with his countless Pugilist abilities and talents, he still had an incomparable edge in close range combat.
However, the next moment, he was shocked to realize that not only did he not feel Han Xiao trying to escape, but Han Xiao even grabbed his waist and locked him down instead.
“What fighting style is this?” Despite being very knowledgeable, Pangon was still puzzled.
“What, you want to learn? Sadly, you won’t be able to even if I teach you.” Han Xiao laughed.
At this time, the first batch of mechanical troops that had flown out of the secondary dimension fired at the two of them without hesitation. In their preset programs, the most prioritized tactic was to fire at their master unconditionally once their master locked a target down. Han Xiao did not even have to control them to do so anymore.
Seeing this, Pangon’s expression changed drastically.
Isn’t this the ‘die together’ tactic? F*ck, this man is even more ruthless than me!
Although his physique was tough, he did not want to take a psionic bath with the enemy!
Pangon became the one who was trying to get away, so he hastily let go of his body lock on Han Xiao and tried to step back. However, his waist was tightly held by Han Xiao’s shockingly powerful arms, and he could not escape quickly enough.
“Stop wasting your energy. I’m quite surprised really. You guys knew I’d be visiting half a month ago, yet you didn’t study me online properly. If you even studied my battle recordings just once, you wouldn’t have been so stupid as to rush into my face like this… Are you guys really that arrogant, or did Oathkeeper cut off your internet?”
Han Xiao was almost speechless.
He really did not plan to use this tactic at all. He thought as long as the Primordial Ones searched his information online, this old trick of his would no longer work. No matter what, if they at least saw his ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname, they would be more or less more cautious.
However, to his surprise, Pangon rushed into his arms right at the start. Even Han Xiao did not underestimate the Primordial Ones and constructed their data models beforehand so that he would come prepared. This only proved how little these Primordial Ones thought of him.
Don’t blame me then. You asked for this.
“Eat this!”
Boom!
The blinding light from the explosions of a round of focus fire psionic attacks instantly devoured the two of them.
The bombardment lasted for about three seconds. A golden-red meteor hastily fled the explosion area and rolled a long distance in the cosmic space before finally stopping himself.
Pangon’s clothes were ragged. Large areas of burnt skin could be seen on his body. Some places even showed signs of carbonization.
Han Xiao flew out of the explosion area too. He sized Pangon up and sighed.
The time for the army to gather was too short, so the number of mechanical soldiers he summoned in the first batch was too few. The damage dealt was far from enough. After all kinds of shields and resistances, the damage done by that round of focus fire could only slightly injure Pangon.
Han Xiao had already seen Pangon’s attributes from the combat information. Pangon’s Energy Rank was about 71,000, and his attributes were about the same as when Han Xiao was level 300. Before Han Xiao’s Promotion, he might have had quite a tough time dealing with Pangon, but now he could thrash him in any way he wanted.
However, he also knew that these Primordial Ones were not at their peak. Losing part of their attributes and being in the weakened state since they had just awakened were just two of the reasons. Another important reason was that their equipment did not revive with them. For example, Pangon’s nickname came from the set equipment he used when he was active in the galaxy, which was exactly called ‘King of War’. It was built by the civilization he was in and consisted of three Universal Treasures—the shield, spear, and the armor. Without this set of equipment, he was about thirty percent weaker.
This was even worse for Mechanics who revived. They would have lost all the machines they had and would have to build from scratch. It was tragic. After all, not everyone had as fast production speed as him and the Mechanic Emperor.
Seeing this, the four others who were securing the battlefield on the side were astounded. Their expression turned from unconcerned to serious.
“Did you see that? The strength this guy just displayed?”
“Hmm. To think a Mechanic whose physique is supposed to be weak has such high power and agility. Either his Energy Rank far exceeds Pangon, which means his foundation is much higher, or the modern Mechanics have taken a very new path of not focusing on machines but their physique instead!”
“I think the latter is quite likely…”
While the four of them chatted in the communication channel, the situation in the battlefield changed again. After losing a small round, Pangon became cautious. Before clearly understanding the situation, he did not dare rush close to Han Xiao. He did not know what to do for the time being.
Han Xiao, however, did not continue to attack. Golden Mechanical Force spread out from his body like a net catching onto all the machinery around him and pulling them toward him. Within the blinding cluster of Mechanical Force lightning bolts, the enormous Mechanical Deity appeared.
The next moment, the Mechanical Deity swung the Celestial Punishment Edge one round and unleashed an arc of silver blue psionic energy.
Swoosh!
The energy blade quickly expanded. Even the four people at the edge of the battlefield were targets in this attack. With flashes of light, magic arrays, Esper Abilities, and psychic means of defense appeared. Beiger, Lady Lust, and so on blocked this powerful energy blade attack in their own ways.
At the same time, Han Xiao’s provocation sounded in the public channel. “I said I’m going to fight all five of you, and I’ll do it. You guys want to watch on the side? Don’t even think about it!”
Beiger and the others exchanged looks and joined the battle without hesitation.
Seeing Black Star’s strength, the few of them no longer minded fighting Han Xiao together. If they really let Pangon fight him alone, Pangon would most likely lose. Furthermore, Han Xiao attacked them and forced them to fight. Not fighting back would not be suitable.
The few of them did not reject the idea of fighting one enemy together. This was the complete norm during the exploration era. The result of caring too much about these things was death. The Primordial Ones were all used to fighting one opponent together. They were not obstructed by such unnecessary morals.
“Finally. Come, let me give you guys a beating of love to help you see reality!”
Seeing this, Han Xiao grinned. Mechanical Deity swung the Celestial Punishment Edge, stirring up a tide of dark blue energy and charged toward the five of them.