Chapter 952: Frenzied Beating (Revised)

Chapter 952: Frenzied Beating (Revised)

Manison was intimately familiar with the Mechanical Deity; it was his ultimate trump card, a technique no opponent had forced him to use in many years. Now, suddenly witnessing Han Xiao wield this very power, his emotions surged like a violent tempest.

Previously, Manison had harbored doubts, but now he could finally confirm it—Black Star had truly ascended to his echelon!

"Incredible... such a pace of growth..."

Manison's eyes were filled with shock and suspicion.

In terms of age for a Super, Black Star was far too young, almost naively so, yet why could he defy all logic, his strength skyrocketing madly in just a few short years, accomplishing the accumulation that took other Supers decades or even centuries?

Could it truly be because of talent?

Throughout history, no one had ever possessed such terrifying potential. Manison remembered clearly that during their last sparring session, Black Star's displayed mechanical affinity had been embarrassingly poor, even making one wonder if he was a fake Super.

If it wasn't talent, then what else could it be?

A sudden flash of insight struck Manison.

Could it be... that besides the Evolution Cube and the Spacetime Amber, Black Star possessed some other cosmic treasure?

"Regardless, this rate of growth is too bizarre; there must be something amiss. Black Star must harbor some unknown secret..."

Thinking of this, a fierce desire suddenly welled up within Manison.

—If possible, he truly wanted to dissect Black Star and uncover the truth.

Suppressing this impulsive thought, Manison's eyes flickered as he silently pondered a question:

"Black Star has already attained the power of the Mechanical Deity, so... has he discovered the secret of the Mechanical Cult?"

Ordinary Supers lacked a status panel, unable to fully comprehend all their own data, and could only explore the application of various abilities on their own; thus, not all Throne Mechanics could discover the special effect of the [Key of the Mechanical Cult].

Had it not been for the knowledge passed down by the Mechanical Race, Manison wouldn't have been sure if he himself could discover the bonuses brought by the followers of the Mechanical Cult.

The question now was, had Black Star actually discovered this ability?

All along, by spreading the name of the "Mechanical Country," Manison had monopolized nearly all the followers of the Mechanical Cult, reaping massive bonuses from them.

If Black Star also discovered this, he would inevitably become his rival, an obstacle on his path!

At this moment, the importance of Black Star in his mind had been elevated to the absolute highest!

"Need to increase the level of attention on him..." Manison narrowed his eyes, his expression impassive.

...

"Heavens! It's so huge!"

"I... I actually feel the urge to worship it, is that normal?"

The scene of the mechanical legion merging and transforming was spectacular, and the countless interstellar citizens present wore expressions of profound shock.

The Mechanical Deity, composed of two million machines, possessed a colossal physique; compared to it, the Hegemon was like an ant beside an elephant.

It was not just immense; the Mechanical Deity also radiated an overwhelming aura of high-tier suppression, instilling an urge to submit and kneel in the hearts of all who beheld it.

Its appearance could constantly shift, controlled specifically by Han Xiao's consciousness. Upon its initial formation, the Mechanical Deity was a massive silver-black mechanical sphere, like an egg, with countless nanobots and mechanical structures flowing across its surface, brimming with mechanical beauty and solemnity.

Under Han Xiao's control, the head, arms, and legs extended from the "egg," and the Mechanical Deity took on a humanoid structure. The nanobots on its face formed facial features, bearing a striking resemblance to Han Xiao himself, looking like a mechanical giant version of Black Star magnified countless times.

Inside the chassis, all independent mechanical combat units had become parts of the Mechanical Deity. Mechanical force chains adsorbed all units, constructing intricate energy transmission pipelines within the body, and were also used to manipulate the movements of this behemoth, functioning like a neural center.

The Mechanical Deity possessed the functions of every merged mechanical combat unit, and could deploy them through nanobots in any corner of its body, with the effects greatly amplified.

For instance, if it integrated a hundred thousand shield generators, the Mechanical Deity could likewise deploy a hundred thousand shields to protect every corner of its body, or fuse and overlap the psionic shields to form an astonishingly thick super-shield.

Han Xiao's physical senses extended to every corner of the Mechanical Deity's body, obeying his will as easily as moving his own arms, as if this were his original body.

"This feeling is quite nice."

It was Han Xiao's first time using this skill, and the sensation was rather novel.

The Mechanical Deity lowered its cloud-piercing head, gazing down at the planet. Its line of sight pierced through layers of clouds, locking onto the incomparably tiny Hegemon.

Its massive right palm rose and slammed down with a thunderous roar, like a mountain descending from the heavens.

The palm tore through the atmosphere, its edges igniting into blazing flames from friction. The shadow blanketed a vast area, filling all of Herber's vision.

Boom, boom, boom—

The roar of tearing the sky echoed, its momentum like the firmament itself collapsing!

Herber's expression was ferocious. Gritting his teeth to dispel the shock in his heart, he thrust both palms fiercely toward the sky, and the highly condensed martial fluctuations from his palms blasted forth.

"Star-Shattering Pestle!"

Hum!!

Centered on Herber's palms, a ring of crimson-golden light with a diameter of tens of meters sprang out horizontally. The martial fluctuations expanded explosively, transforming into a massive crimson-golden beam tens of meters in diameter, shooting rapidly toward the descending palm of the Mechanical Deity!

The dense martial aura was like ribbons of misty flowing light, coiling and rising around the beam, so thick it seemed on the verge of liquefying. A beam tens of meters in diameter was not thin, yet against the mountain-sized palm of the Mechanical Deity, the scene was like a toothpick poking into a human palm.

Clack, clack, clack—

Countless mechanical parts moved across the palm of the Mechanical Deity, rapidly transforming into densely packed shield generators. Innumerable psionic shields were activated, linked and overlapped to form a super-large psionic shield covering the entire palm, resembling a massive, gradient dark-blue bubble.

The next moment, the crimson-golden beam arrived in the blink of an eye, striking the palm of the Mechanical Deity.

Bang!!

An all-sweeping hurricane suddenly erupted. A golden shockwave expanded rapidly, sweeping across half the planet's surface, scattering the clouds and tearing open the crust!

Even from space, the golden energy ripples produced by this shockwave were visible to the naked eye.

A massive chain-reaction explosion energy mass expanded, shattering a large number of psionic shields. The mechanical parts on the palm's surface melted on a massive scale, appearing as patches of blazing red. Yet, the palm of the Mechanical Deity did not stop at all, continuing to press down as if crushing down while holding the explosion of light!

Herber continuously increased the output of his martial fluctuations, the veins on his whole body bulging. The muscle fibers in his arms burst one after another, blood gushing forth.

Yet, as if feeling no pain, his bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the rapidly expanding palm of the Mechanical Deity in his vision. He madly squeezed out all the energy in his body, erupting all the fluctuations released through his hands, as if trying to forcefully resist the descending palm head-on!

The crimson-golden light pillar rapidly shortened, and the palm of the Mechanical Deity finally smashed into the ground.

In that instant, all Herber could see was a boundless expanse of white.

Bang!!

The palm of the Mechanical Deity slammed into the planet, plunging deeper and deeper into the earth, forming a profound palm print, while the explosion energy mass was directly shoved deep into the crust.

The earth split open with fissures, from which blinding light projected. In an instant, shockwaves powerful enough to shake countless ordinary people to death exploded across the planet's surface.

The next moment, the orb of light expanded completely. A heaven-destroying and earth-annihilating explosion occurred deep within the planet, directly blasting apart nearly half of it!

The shattered continental plates broke free from the planet's gravity, turning into meteors shooting in all directions. The liquid core deep within the planet was exposed, with high-temperature magma and core matter spraying into space. The blinding, blazing red liquid matter rapidly cooled and solidified, turning into irregularly shaped black rock plates drifting through the cosmos!

In the blink of an eye, the planet's shape resembled an apple with a massive chunk gouged out!

However, this state did not last long. Losing its balance, the planetary core rapidly collapsed, and the planet contracted inward; a second explosion occurred.

Boom!!

The planetary core expanded, turning into a massive orb of explosive light. All matter constituting the planet was ejected outward, and the entire planet shattered into pieces!

With a single slap, the planet was directly crushed to dust!

The energy shockwave from the planetary explosion swept outward, reaching the crowds watching the battle from afar.

The shockwave swept through the ranks of the spectators, causing the spaceships to shake one after another, all deploying their emergency shields.

"B-Black Star... has exploded!"

Though the interstellar citizens watching from space could not hear the sound, it did not stop them from imagining the earth-shattering roar; countless individuals trembled instinctively before this terrifying spectacle, some nearly losing control of their bowels on the spot.

The explosion also engulfed the Mechanical Deity; the psionic shield array enveloping its body, once a dense wall of defense, now shattered on a massive scale, leaving vast swathes of its surface scarred with molten traces.

Yet in the next instant, nanites flowed across the Mechanical Deity's surface, mending the damage. Having lost a considerable amount of matter, the Mechanical Deity had shrunk slightly, though its colossal stature remained undiminished.

The numerous interstellar citizens present could not help but swallow hard, craning their necks to search for any trace of Heber.

"Where is the Conqueror?"

"Could he have been blown to pieces..."

"Surely not. He can pierce planets with his bare body; a planetary explosion couldn't possibly kill him... could it?"

By now, the battlefield had transformed into a vast, newly formed asteroid belt. Han Xiao cast a glance around, finding no trace of Heber, and simply checked his interface.

The combat log showed Heber's health had plummeted drastically; had it not been for his immunity to true damage and fixed damage reduction, that single strike would have cost him half his life. His injuries were severe now, yet he still retained the capacity to fight.

It appeared to be a mere slap, but in truth, the strike harbored a massive amount of mixed damage, including colossal psionic impact damage, the explosive damage of Heber's own trump card, and the shockwave devices equipped on the palm. Coupled with the innumerable power output mechanisms within the Mechanical Deity's frame, the mechanical force amplification made its strength even more astonishing, rivaling the legendary interstellar Titan race; thus, the sheer destructive power of this blow was utterly terrifying, triggering a chain reaction across the planet.

Naturally, such immense power came at the cost of staggering energy consumption. Had Han Xiao not possessed the mana regeneration specialty, the Mechanical Deity would have been reduced to a three-minute giant, capable of fighting for a mere three minutes.

Just as Han Xiao was searching for the Conqueror's whereabouts, a sudden pang of pain surged through the Mechanical Deity's right arm, followed by a chain of explosions erupting from within, the culprit being none other than Heber.

"So he used the moment I brought my hand down to slip inside the Mechanical Deity's right arm, intending to sabotage this colossal frame from within?"

Han Xiao shook his head slightly.

The Conqueror's choice was indeed the seemingly most logical tactic, as most assumed that massive mechanical constructs were cumbersome and their weakness lay in their interiors.

However, for the Mechanical Deity, whose every part could shift and transform, this rule simply did not apply.

...

Surrounded entirely by mechanical parts, a battered Heber was wreaking havoc inside the Mechanical Deity's right arm, shattering every structure in his path with unstoppable force as he charged straight toward the depths of the machine.

But just then, the internal structure of the arm morphed; mechanical soldiers rapidly assembled, turning the arm's interior into a battlefield as they swarmed to engage Heber in close combat, clinging to his massive, burly frame.

"Get off!" Heber roared in fury, detonating his protective aura to blast away all the mechanical soldiers clinging to him.

Just as he was about to charge forward, his footing suddenly gave way; the mechanical structure beneath him had transformed into a trap, snapping shut and swallowing half his body, locking him firmly in place.

Countless mechanical tentacles shot out from all directions, coiling around Heber layer by layer—these tentacles were made of nanomaterials, utilizing a proprietary synthetic compound with no other merit than sheer toughness, designed specifically to serve as binding ropes.

Immediately after, the surrounding structures shifted once more, morphing into various mechanical devices; electromagnetic chains, molecular oscillations, gravity amplification, spatial distortion, and a myriad of other crowd-control abilities were unleashed simultaneously, all focusing entirely on Heber.

Heber instantly felt as though he had sunk into a quagmire; not only was he dizzy and disoriented, but his movements had also become exceedingly difficult.

Meanwhile, psionic cannon nozzles emerged from all sides, all aimed directly at Heber, unleashing a relentless, overwhelming barrage of concentrated fire that rained down upon his mountainous form without a word of warning.

The idea of breaching the Mechanical Deity from within was sound in theory; however, entering its body was tantamount to willingly stepping onto the Mechanic's home turf, walking straight into a trap!

Blasted into a daze, Heber's rage neared its absolute peak; with a thunderous roar, he ignored all restraints and drove both fists deep into the core of the Mechanical Deity's arm.

"Star-Shattering Fist!"

Rumble—

A beam of crimson-gold light erupted, piercing through the mechanical structures in its path and driving ever deeper along the Mechanical Deity's arm.

But barely reaching the elbow, a wall of psionic shields materialized directly in the Star-Shattering Fist's path, and the fist collided with it head-on.

Bang!

Light flared explosively, shockwaves burst forth, and countless parts were blasted away as the Mechanical Deity's right arm was severed clean at the elbow!

Heber was also blown away, tumbling through the cosmos, but upon seeing this, his spirits instantly lifted.

Yet before he could revel in his triumph, the severed right arm suddenly disassembled, reforming into individual mechanical soldiers; immediately after, dense mechanical force chains shot from the Mechanical Deity's severed stump, ensnaring the soldiers like a spider's web and yanking them back in a single pull.

The next moment, the scattered mechanical soldiers merged once more, and the Mechanical Deity's right arm was fully restored!

Heber's expression froze.

"Only a martial artist at the peak of the Super A-class stands a chance of breaking the Mechanical Deity from within..." Han Xiao took a deep breath, "You are not there yet!"

Unwilling to grant the Conqueror a moment's respite, countless psionic cannon nozzles suddenly materialized on the front of the Mechanical Deity, unleashing a concentrated barrage upon Heber.

Simultaneously with the ranged assault, dense thrusters appeared on the Mechanical Deity's back, spewing thick exhaust flames that propelled its massive frame forward to engage the Conqueror in close combat!

The colossal fists seemed to have a low hit rate, yet whenever Heber dodged a punch, the nearest point would instantly transform into a psionic cannon or a new mechanical weapon to strike, with any part capable of nanite transformation at a moment's notice.

No matter how he evaded, he was bound to be hit; the only difference was the nature of the attack that struck him.

After barely holding out for a while, Heber could take no more, subjected to a frenzied and varied beating by the Mechanical Deity, reduced to a punching bag tossed about at will.

Seeing this, the numerous spectators present all understood the situation.

They had originally thought Heber might yet unleash a hidden surge of power to turn the tide, but he remained utterly suppressed by Black Star; it seemed all hope of a comeback was lost.

At this very moment, Heber's wretched and battered state as he was ruthlessly battered by Han Xiao was seared into the minds of everyone present, an image they could never forget.

The domineering and invincible image of Heber in the hearts of countless Broken Star Ring citizens quietly shattered into pieces.