As the Fallen Ark fleet stopped firing, their millions of spaceships turned into streams of light and left Planet Lighthouse, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. It was clear that they were familiar with betraying their teammates and were experts at it.
As the EsGod’s fleet departed, the situation of the battle changed instantly.
Without the powerful exterior help, the number of battleships on the Arcane Church’s side reduced by almost half. By this point, the Planet Lighthouse army had already recalled all its fleet. The number of battleships on both sides was even; the Arcane Church could no longer obtain the upper hand.
“Damn it…” Sagman looked at this with clenched teeth, but his heart was filled with helplessness. He was not in the mood to even blame EsGod for breaking their alliance.
He knew that although they were working together, the Arcane Church upper echelons did not have much hope in EsGod. It was indeed because these upper echelons were confident about EsGod’s negative reputation that they gathered six Beyond Grade As to attack with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. They planned to be done with the battle before EsGod arrived all along.
In fact, according to the Arcane Church’s calculations, the success rate of this operation was indeed exceptionally high. It was a battle of six versus three to begin with, and if they had rendered Milizaus incapable of fighting with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the plan would have already been eighty percent complete. It was not impossible to capture three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty at that point.
However, what they did not expect was Austin’s appearance, which turned the six against three situation into six versus four.
Although it was just one more person, it greatly reduced the strength advantage of the six Arcane Church Beyond Grade As.
More importantly, the powerful destructive weapon, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, was countered by Black Star using a strange method and was even sealed!
If not for that, we would have already captured Black Star, obtained the Evolution Cube, and retreated with the fleet by now… This thought flashed through the minds of Sagman and the four others, making them frustrated.
Observing the disadvantageous situation, Sagman could only feel a strong headache.
If it was just EsGod retreating, the six of them would actually still have had a chance at completing the mission.
After fighting for so long, Milizaus was heavily injured, Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was damaged, and Beyoni was not in a good state. Black Star was the only one still hanging on strong… but his mechanical army had also suffered enormous damage.
Comparatively, the six of them were in good states. If they continued to fight, they would still have a high chance at winning.
However, now that Dylan had been captured by Black Star, Sagman’s plan completely went to waste.
In this battle, Black Star had once again showcased new abilities that no one knew of. Sagman had no choice but to admit that he did indeed fear Black Star for the fact that he did not know what other trump cards this guy was hiding.
Ninjia frowned and asked in the psychic communication network, “What now?”
Sagman looked at the enormous battlefield and saw that the Arcane Church’s fleet was now at a stalemate with the enemies, not able to prevent the dynasty fleet from assembling their stargates.
“Inform the commander, we’re retreating!” He squeezed out the words from between his tightly clenched teeth.
“You’re giving up Dylan?” Psyker’s eyes looked hostile.
“Sagman is right.” Ninjia nodded. “Dylan has been captured, and EsGod has retreated. It’s now five against four, and they have a hostage. The plan of quick attack has failed. There are only two paths ahead of us—continue fighting or retreat.
“They’re not in a good state. We will no doubt win if we continue to fight. However, time is a problem. Having lost two combatants, we won’t be able to settle the battle quickly. Don’t forget, the Flickering World is the dynasty’s territory. We have no base here, and the secret stargate is our only way of retreating. The longer we fight, the higher the risk.”
“Also, EsGod wants to use us to secure his retreat,” Taylor added. “We can’t let him have his way.”
“Dylan…”
“The risk of saving him is too high and will very likely make Black Star kill him. We have no choice but to leave him behind. That way, at least he can stay alive. The only way is to have the Arcane Church negotiate with the Crimson Dynasty afterward.” Ninjia shook his head. Even if the dynasty was willing to exchange the hostage, the Arcane Church would definitely bleed for it. Furthermore, the dynasty might not even be willing to.
Psyker was in an extremely bad mood. His good friend was in Black Star’s hands. God only knew what the dynasty would do to him, but there was nothing he could do.
“While the dynasty is still building the stargate, we’re retreating.” Sagman paused before saying with resignation, “Inform the upper echelons that this plan… has failed.”
Everyone’s mood was down after hearing this.
Six versus four, yet one of them was captured. This was beyond embarrassing!
They had failed an almost infallible mission, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed. How would the Arcane Church upper echelons see them?
Almost every step that led to the tables turning had been caused by Han Xiao.
Although they did not want to admit it, they knew that they were forced to retreat by Black Star!
Psyker exchanged looks with the heavily injured Dylan faraway. His eyes were filled with apology.
Seeing Psyker’s eyes, Dylan knew that he had been abandoned. He felt a sting in his heart; it did not feel good to be abandoned. Thinking of how he would be treated as a captive, his heart kept sinking.
The effect of Esper Silence had already worn off, and Dylan’s Esper Ability had recovered. However, a round of attacks including True Damage had all landed on him earlier. Without the defense barrier from his Esper Ability, he had been critically injured. If not because Han Xiao wanted to capture him alive, he felt that he would have been killed directly. Fear still lingered in his heart.
At this time, Han Xiao was right behind him. Han Xiao’s arms that were wrapped around his neck had explosive power. Dylan was no Pugilist. Although his body was much stronger than Calamity Grades, it was nothing worth noting at the Beyond Grade A level. With all kinds of mechanical traps, Dylan could not escape at all. Resisting was playing with his own life.
Sagman and the other four retreated to the Arcane Church’s fleet and entered the spaceships. The Arcane Church fleet then started to retreat orderly.
Relying on superior mobility, the Arcane Church’s fleet gradually distanced themselves from the dynasty’s fleet.
Milizaus and the other two came to Black Star. Beyoni had a feeling that he had just evaded death.
“Luckily, you captured one of the enemy Beyond Grade As, or they would not have retreated this easily… This guy is the Arcane Church’s ‘Sea Spirit’ Dylan. He’s not weak. What did you do to capture him so quickly?”
Han Xiao gave Beyoni a strange look. “Trust me. You’re no stranger to this ability.”
Back when they fought EsGod alongside each other, Beyoni had been hit with the authentic ‘Esper Silence’ and still remembered that feeling vividly. Only, he did not know that Han Xiao was talking about that.
Esper Silence was the nemesis of Espers. There were probably not many Espers in the entire universe who could beat EsGod one on one. Han Xiao’s EsGod Character Summon Card had two usages.
He had used one on Dylan, and he planned to use the next one on EsGod.
Before the start of the battle, he obtained two Blank Character Summon Cards from the Random Reward. However, he did not use them on EsGod. After all, EsGod had way too many Esper Abilities; the chance of getting Esper Silence again was too slim, and the other random abilities were not too useful to him. He needed to use them to obtain Reynold’s Perfect Mechanical Sense.
On the other side, Milizaus watched as Sagman and the others retreated. He then asked with a deep voice, “They’re fleeing—should we chase?”
“Don’t count me in on the chase,” Austin said calmly. “Black Star, I’ve returned the favor. You now owe me a big favor.”
“Got it.” Honestly, if not because Austin maintained his moral principles and kept his promise, someone on the dynasty’s side would definitely have died.
Austin nodded with satisfaction. He then turned to look at his Forbidden Sorcerers, who had suffered heavy casualties, and felt a heartache. These were all his elites and were very tiring to train.
As for the heavily damaged Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin did not care at all. He just had to spend some time to repair it, and the material fees for that were nothing to him. To a Mage at his level, earning money was as easy as breathing.
Austin was not a dynasty ally, so Milizaus could not ask him to do anything. He then looked at Beyoni and asked, “What about you?”
“Don’t come to me again for something this risky.” Beyoni rejected him on the spot.
After finally surviving this lethal threat, he was not planning to throw himself into danger again. He much preferred to stay there and wait for reinforcements.
“You really are a wimp.” Milizaus despised him.
“I’m the most vulnerable, and I’m afraid of dying, okay?” Beyoni snorted before turning to look at Han Xiao. “Are you chasing?”
“What do you think?” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Neither you nor Austin are not going, so why the hell would I go? Do you think I’m tired of living?
“Since you’re all not going…” Milizaus’ tone suddenly changed as if he was relieved. “I feel much better.”
The other three looked at him simultaneously.
“What, see this hole in my chest? I’m the most heavily injured. Are you guys going to force me to chase them and take more beatings? Show some care for an elderly dragon, will you?”
Han Xiao was speechless.
You’re not going yourself, so why the hell did you even ask the others?
However, it was true that other than him, the other three were not in good states. The risk of chasing was too high; no one could blame them for not wanting to.
This time, Tarrokov contacted them, and his tone was surprised.
“Black Star, you’ve captured an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A?”
“As you can see.” Han Xiao turned to look in the direction of the main fleet and casually grabbed Dylan’s head. It was wet, slippery, and quite smooth.
“Great! You’ve made the Arcane Church pay the price! This way, we will have chips to negotiate with!” Tarrokov’s tone was excited for a moment. He then paused and became serious again. “The Arcane Church is retreating. I’ll send out troops to track them. You guys stay here on standby. Do not chase after the enemies on your own accord.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t even if you beg us to.” Han Xiao sighed.
“That’s for the best.” Tarrokov nodded.
The Arcane Church’s surprise attack was resolved. Not only did they not lose any high-level combatants on their side, but Black Star even captured an enemy Beyond Grade A.
Tarrokov did not want them to chase. The stargates were being built near Planet Lighthouse and could not be built while moving. If the Arcane Church suddenly attacked back after they left Planet Lighthouse, the upper hand that Black Star had fought so hard to obtain might be lost.
Tarrokov was not in a hurry to chase the Arcane Church and maximize the results. As an experienced commander, he preferred to take one step at a time.
Therefore, he only sent out troops to track the Arcane Church and lock down their escape route. Black Star and the others would wait at Planet Lighthouse for the reinforcements. This was the safest strategy and would not give the enemies any chances.
The Arcane Church’s fleet left the battlefield and turned into streams of light, disappearing from their sights.
Tarrokov sent out a small team to track them, leaving the rest to guard the engineering team as they assembled the stargates.
The enemies had retreated, and the battle had finally ended. Han Xiao and the others were all relieved. They flew toward their own battleships and counted their losses.
At the same time, Tarrokov contacted the dynasty’s upper echelons to report the situation there.
…
After the news of Planet Lighthouse being attacked by the Arcane Church reached the dynasty’s mother planet, it caused a storm among the military’s upper echelons.
Urranrell immediately summoned all the military heads in the conference room; those not present attended the meeting via remote projections.
The first battlefield status Tarrokov sent back showed that they were facing the attacks of seven Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church, and the Fallen Ark. The difference in strength was too large, and the situation was dire.
The military upper echelons in the room had already analyzed the situation. Most people, including Urranrell, were sure that Planet Lighthouse had no hope and would most likely be wiped out by the Arcane Church. The three dynasty Beyond Grade As would end up either dead or captured alive by the enemies.
Currently, they were discussing how the dynasty would respond to this matter.
“Her Excellency is right. The Arcane Church and the Federation of Light attacked our troops together and killed three of our Beyond Grade As and Marshal Tarrokov. We have to take revenge.”
Many military upper echelons expressed their approval. Tarrokov was very reputable among the military and would likely be killed this time. Flames of revenge lit up in the hearts of many of his old comrades.
Urranrell nodded expressionlessly as well.
The moment Urranrell received this news, she had already decided to enact revenge on the Arcane Church.
The dignity of the dynasty had been challenged, and they had suffered a heavy loss. They absolutely could not let this go, or the dynasty’s dignity would be shattered, and their allies would lose all trust.
Most of the dynasty’s military personnel were direct; the majority of them agreed with taking revenge.
However, even in such a powerful civilization like the dynasty, there were still different opinions. A small part of the people present objected to overly violent revenge. They were not against taking revenge, but they felt that the dynasty’s military power was restrained by the Flickering World, and their counterattack should not be too violent. If they really triggered a universal war, the dynasty’s situation would only worsen.
Just when they were discussing intensely, a new remote projection appeared in the conference room. It was Tarrokov.
The military upper echelons present all shut up immediately and looked at him.
“Your Excellency, we have successfully guarded Planet Lighthouse. We have forced the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark to retreat. The battle has ended. The casualties and damages are still being calculated. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Black Star are safe.” Tarrokov nodded at the people present.
All the upper echelons present were shocked.
“You forced all the enemies to retreat?” Urranrell raised her brows, and a slight tint of surprise flashed passed her eyes. “Tell me the details.”
Tarrokov nodded and simply explained the battle without exaggerating anything.
While listening, everyone’s expression changed multiple times. They all noticed how much Black Star had contributed in this battle—secretly calling for Austin’s help, stopping the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, capturing Dylan… Almost every step of the Arcane Church’s plan was countered by Black Star.
It could be said that if Black Star did not do the things he did, the three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty would probably not have survived, and the enemies would have succeeded.
The dynasty’s upper echelons exchanged glances.
Han Xiao could even turn the tables in such a hopeless situation. This new ally… seemed a little too strong.
Urranrell narrowed her eyes. This battle had been caused by Black Star, which she had not originally been happy about. It was clearly not worth losing two Beyond Grade As for Black Star.
However, Black Star’s results left her with nothing to say. He had even captured one of the enemy Beyond Grade As and given chips to the dynasty.
This battle result was flawless and wiped away the unhappiness she had. She could not help but praise Han Xiao in her mind.
However, Urranrell would not express that on her face. She slowly nodded without changing her expression.
“Send my orders. Have all the fleets in the Flickering World chase after the enemies. Also, move the troops in the Shattered Star Ring to attack the stargate stronghold of the Arcane Church in the Shattered Star Ring when needed. Try to eliminate them before they return to the Central Galaxy.”
Urranrell paused. “Also, tell Black Star to talk with me directly later.”
At the same time, the Arcane Church upper echelons also received a report from their fleet…
