The Fallen Ark stopped the exchange of fire, and the millions of quadrangular pyramid spaceships turned into streams of hyperdrive, leaving the battlefield of Planet Lighthouse and disappearing in the blink of an eye. This action of betraying one's teammates had clearly been practiced countless times.
As EsGod fled with his troops, the situation of the battle instantly changed.
After losing their powerful external aid, the number of battleships on the Arcane Church's side was reduced by almost half. At this time, the defenders of Planet Lighthouse had already retracted all the outer fleets and shrunk the defense line. The size of the fleets of both sides was now equal, and the Arcane Church could no longer suppress EsGod.
"Damn it …" Sagman clenched his teeth as he watched this scene, but he was filled with helplessness. He was not in the mood to blame EsGod for betraying their alliance.
He knew that although both sides were working together, the upper echelons of the Arcane Church did not have much hope in EsGod. It was precisely because they were full of confidence in EsGod's integrity that they gathered six Beyond Grade As to launch a surprise attack with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, intending to end the battle before EsGod entered the battlefield.
In fact, according to the calculations of the Arcane Church, the success rate of Sagman and the others' operation was really high. Six against three, they had the upper hand. As long as they used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to make Milizaus lose his ability to fight, the plan would have succeeded by eighty percent, and capturing three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty alive would not be impossible.
However, what they did not expect was that Han Xiao's backup plan had taken effect. Austin, who had been observing in the dark, intervened and turned the situation from three against six into four against six.
Although there was only one more person, it greatly reduced the strength of the six from the Arcane Church.
More importantly, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was actually countered by Black Star's strange method and even sealed!
If not for that, we would have probably captured Black Star, snatched the Evolution Cube, and retreated with the fleet … This thought flashed through the minds of Sagman and the others, and they became more and more frustrated.
Observing the current unfavorable situation, Sagman only felt a headache coming on.
If it was just EsGod retreating, the remaining six of them actually still had a chance to complete the mission.
This was because EsGod's participation in the previous battle was not completely useless. After fighting for so long, Milizaus' injuries had worsened, and his combat strength had decreased greatly. Austin's Palace of Hidden Spells had been damaged to a certain extent, and many magic circuits had malfunctioned, causing a large number of magic circles to fail. Beyoni was also not in a good state, and only Black Star was still holding on. However, his Mech Legion had also suffered heavy losses.
Meanwhile, the six of them were still in good condition. At the very least, they had preserved more of their combat power than Han Xiao's group of four. If they continued fighting, their chances of winning were still very high.
However, Dylan had been captured by Black Star, which made Sagman's plan fail.
In this battle, Black Star displayed a new ability that was not mentioned in the intelligence report. Sagman had to admit that he was indeed wary of Black Star. He did not know what other trump cards this guy had up his sleeves.
"What do we do now?" Ninjia frowned and asked in the psychic communication network.
Sagman's gaze swept across the gigantic galactic battlefield and saw the scene of the fleet exchanging fire. He saw that the Arcane Church fleet had turned from advancing layer by layer to a stalemate, unable to break through the dynasty's heavy defenses and attack the stargate that they were assembling.
His face was green, and his tone sounded like he was chewing on steel. "… Inform the commander, we're retreating!"
"You're abandoning Dylan?" Sisko's eyes were filled with hostility.
"Sagman is right." Ninjia nodded. "Dylan has been captured, and EsGod has retreated. It's now five against four, and the enemy still has a hostage. Our plan to end the battle quickly has failed. There are only two paths before us. One is to continue fighting, and the other is to retreat decisively.
The enemy's condition is not good. If we continue fighting, there's no doubt that we'll definitely win. However, time is a problem. We've already lost two combatants, and it'll be difficult to end the battle in a short period of time. Don't forget, the Flickering World is the dynasty's territory. We don't have any foundation here and only have the secret stargate as our escape route. The longer we fight, the greater the risk. "
"Furthermore, EsGod wants to use us to cover the retreat. We can't let him succeed," Taylor chimed in.
"Then, Dylan …"
"The risk of saving him is too great. It might provoke Black Star to kill people, so we can only leave him behind. At least he can keep his life. After this, we can only rely on the Arcane Church to negotiate with the Red Empire." Ninjia shook his head. Even if the dynasty was willing to exchange the hostage, the Arcane Church would definitely pay a huge price. Furthermore, the dynasty might not be willing to do so.
His good friend was in the hands of Black Star, and he did not know how the dynasty would treat him. Sisko was in a terrible mood.
"Let's retreat while the dynasty is still building the stargate." Sagman paused and said with a complicated tone, "Inform the upper echelons that this operation … has failed."
As soon as these words were said, everyone's mood sank.
Six against four, and they were even captured by the enemy. This was a huge loss of face!
The operation that was supposed to succeed had actually failed, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was even heavily injured. What would the upper echelons of the Arcane Church think of them?
Almost every step that turned the situation around was done by Han Xiao. If looks could kill, Sagman and the others would have already pierced him full of holes.
Although they did not want to admit it, they knew that they were forced to retreat by Black Star!
Sisko looked at the heavily injured Dylan from afar with an apologetic look in his eyes.
Seeing his eyes, Dylan knew that he had been abandoned. The feeling of being abandoned did not feel good. Thinking of how he would be treated after becoming a captive, his heart kept sinking.
The effect of Esper Silence had passed, and Dylan's Esper Ability had recovered. However, the previous round of attacks with True Damage had all landed on his body. Without the continuous defensive barrier of his Esper Ability, his body was not tanky enough, and he was heavily injured. If not for the fact that Han Xiao wanted to capture him alive, he felt that he would have been killed. He could not help but feel lingering fear.
At this moment, Han Xiao was right in front of Dylan, and his arm around Dylan's neck contained explosive strength. Dylan was not a Pugilist, and although his physique was far beyond a Calamity Grade, it was nothing compared to a Beyond Grade A. Coupled with the various mechanical traps, Dylan could not break free at all. Furthermore, the mechanical army was aiming at him, so fighting back would be playing with his life and Black Star's life.
Sagman's group of five retreated toward the Arcane Church's fleet, entering their spaceships and retreating with the Arcane Church's fleet. The retreat was organized and did not reveal any flaws.
The Arcane Church's fleet relied on their superior mobility to gradually break free from the entanglement and pull away from the dynasty's fleet.
Milizaus and the other two came to Black Star's side, and Beyoni felt a sense of relief.
"Luckily, you caught one of the enemy's Beyond Grade As, or they wouldn't have retreated so easily … This guy is the Arcane Church's' Sea Spirit 'Dylan. His combat strength is not bad, but you caught him so quickly. What did you do to him?"
Han Xiao looked at Beyoni strangely. "Trust me, you're not unfamiliar with this move at all."
Back when they fought against EsGod in the Central Galaxy, Beyoni had been hit by the real version of 'Esper Silence', and the memory was still fresh in his mind. However, he did not expect Han Xiao to use this ability as well.
Esper Silence was the nemesis of Espers, and there were probably not many Espers in the entire universe who could defeat EsGod in a one-on-one fight. Han Xiao had a total of two chances to use the EsGod Character Summon Card.
After using it once on Dylan, Han Xiao planned to save it for EsGod the next time.
Before the battle, he had drawn two blank Character Summon Cards, but he did not use them on EsGod. After all, EsGod had collected too many Esper Abilities, and the possibility of drawing Esper Silence the second time was too slim. Drawing random abilities would not be of much use to him, and he still needed to copy Reynold's Perfect Mechanical Sense.
On the other side, Milizaus looked at Sagman and the others retreating and asked with a deep voice, "Sagman and the others have escaped. Do we chase after them?"
"Don't count me in if you chase after them." Austin tightened his robe and calmly said, "Black Star, I have already repaid the favor I owed you. Now, you owe me a huge favor."
"I know." Han Xiao was helpless. To be honest, if not for Austin keeping his promise, the dynasty would have definitely lost people.
Austin nodded with satisfaction. He then turned around to look at the Forbidden Sorcerers who had suffered heavy losses, and a pained expression appeared in his eyes. These people were all his elites, and it was extremely difficult to nurture them.
As for the heavily damaged Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin did not feel any heartache at all. He just needed to spend some time to repair it, and he did not care about the cost of the materials. As a noble Mage who had broken away from lowly interests, earning money was as easy as breathing.
Austin was not an ally of the dynasty, so it was not good for him to ask others for help. Milizaus then looked at Beyoni and asked, "What about you?"
"Don't look for me for anything risky." Beyoni rejected him directly.
What a joke. It was not easy for him to get through this crisis, and the enemy had already retreated. He did not want to be in danger again. It would be better to stay here and wait for reinforcements.
"You're really a coward," Milizaus said with disdain.
"I'm the most fragile. I'm afraid of death. Is that enough?" Beyoni snorted and turned to look at Han Xiao. "Are you going to chase after them?"
"What do you think?" Han Xiao's mouth twitched. Since neither Austin nor you are going, what's the point of chasing after them?
"Since none of you are going …" Milizaus suddenly changed the topic and said with a relieved tone, "I'm relieved."
The three of them all looked at him.
"What are you looking at? Do you see the hole in my chest? I'm the most heavily injured. Are you guys going to force me to chase after them and get beaten up? Can you be more considerate of this old dragon? "
Han Xiao was speechless.
Since you're not going yourself, why the hell did you ask?
However, that was indeed the case. Other than him, the other three were not in good condition. The risk of chasing after them was too high. It was no wonder they were unwilling.
This time, Tarrokov also contacted them and said with a shocked tone.
"Black Star, you captured a Beyond Grade A from the Arcane Church?"
"It's as you can see." Han Xiao turned to look in the direction of the flagship and casually touched Dylan's head. It was wet and slippery, but it was quite round.
"Very good! You made the Arcane Church pay the price. This way, we have a bargaining chip in our hands! "
Tarrokov's tone became excited. He paused for a while and became serious again. "The Arcane Church is retreating. I'll send out troops to chase after them. You guys stay here and wait for orders. Don't go chasing after the enemy."
"Don't worry. Even if you beg us, we won't go." Han Xiao was helpless.
"That's for the best." Tarrokov nodded.
After resolving the surprise attack of the Arcane Church, not only did they not lose any of their high-level combatants, Black Star even captured the enemy Beyond Grade A, making a huge contribution.
Tarrokov did not want them to chase after the enemy. The stargate was to be assembled near Planet Lighthouse. This thing needed to be marked in space and could not be used while moving. If the Arcane Church made a feint and suddenly counterattacked after leaving Planet Lighthouse's range to lure the enemy in, it would increase the risk and might even ruin the advantage that Black Star had worked so hard to gain.
Tarrokov was not in a hurry to chase after the Arcane Church. As a veteran, he preferred to play it safe.
Therefore, he only planned to send out scouts to chase after the Arcane Church and lock onto their escape route. As for Black Star and the others, they would stay on Planet Lighthouse and wait for reinforcements to arrive. This was the safest way and would not give the enemy any chance.
After the Fallen Ark left, the Arcane Church fleet also left the battlefield and turned into a stream of light.
Tarrokov sent out a small team to chase after them while the rest guarded the engineering team and assembled the stargate step by step.
The enemy retreated, and the flames of war were finally extinguished. Han Xiao and the others all heaved a sigh of relief and flew back to their battleships to calculate the losses of their troops.
At the same time, Tarrokov contacted the upper echelons of the dynasty and reported the results of the battle.
…
On the mother planet of the dynasty in the Central Galaxy …
Ever since the news of Planet Lighthouse being attacked by the Arcane Church was sent back, it caused an uproar among the upper echelons of the dynasty.
Uranril directly gathered all the generals in the conference room, and those who were not present used remote projections to participate in the meeting. Everyone was gathered in the same room, and everyone was excited.
Tarrokov's first report of the battle showed that they were facing a pincer attack from seven Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church, and the Fallen Ark fleet. The difference in strength was too great, and the situation was extremely dangerous.
The upper echelons in the room had already analyzed the situation. Including Uranril, most of them felt that Planet Lighthouse was hopeless and would most likely be wiped out by the Arcane Church. The three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty would either be killed or captured alive.
At this moment, everyone was discussing how the dynasty should react to this matter.
"Her Excellency is right. The Arcane Church and the Radiant Federation worked together to attack our army, killing Marshal Tarrokov and three Beyond Grade As. We have to take revenge with an iron fist."
Many of the upper echelons agreed. Tarrokov had a lot of prestige in the military, and it was very likely that he would be sacrificed this time. Many of his old comrades were filled with the flames of revenge.
Uranril also nodded expressionlessly.
As soon as she received the news, Uranril had decided to take revenge on the Arcane Church.
The dynasty's dignity had been challenged, and they had suffered heavy losses. Under such circumstances, they could not let this matter rest. Otherwise, the dynasty's prestige would hit rock bottom, and their allies would lose their loyalty.
Most of the dynasty's soldiers were strong-willed, and most of them agreed with the idea of taking revenge.
However, even for a strong civilization like the dynasty, there were still different opinions. A small portion of the people present did not agree with the idea of taking revenge. They were not against the idea of taking revenge but felt that the dynasty's forces should not be too intense with the Flickering World. If they really started a universal war, the dynasty would be in an even more disadvantageous position.
Just as everyone was arguing, a new remote projection suddenly appeared in the conference room. It was Tarrokov.
All the upper echelons present immediately stopped talking and focused on him.
"Your Excellency, Planet Lighthouse has been defended. The Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark troops have been defeated by us. The battle is over, and we're still calculating the losses. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Black Star are all fine." Tarrokov nodded to everyone present.
Hearing this, all the upper echelons present were shocked.
"You guys defeated all the enemies?" Uranril raised her brows, and a hint of surprise flashed through her eyes. "Tell me the details."
Tarrokov nodded and gave a concise account of the battle without adding any details.
As they listened, everyone's expression changed. They all noticed the great contributions that Black Star had made in this battle. Secretly arranging to help Austin, stopping the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, capturing Dylan … The Arcane Church's methods were all neutralized by Black Star.
It could be said that if not for Black Star, the three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty would not have been able to survive, and the enemy would have really succeeded.
The upper echelons of the dynasty exchanged glances and had a deep impression of Han Xiao.
To be able to turn the tables in such a desperate situation, this new ally of the dynasty … seemed to be quite ferocious.
Uranril narrowed her eyes. This battle was caused by Black Star, and she was originally a little dissatisfied. Losing two of the dynasty's Beyond Grade As for Black Star was not worth it.
However, Black Star's achievements made her speechless. He even managed to capture one of the enemy's Beyond Grade As, giving the dynasty a bargaining chip.
She could not be picky about this result, and the grudge in her heart disappeared. She could not help but admire Han Xiao.
However, Uranril would not show it on her face. She nodded slowly without changing her expression.
"Pass down my order. Mobilize all the dynasty's fleets in the Flickering World to pursue the enemy. Also, mobilize the troops in the Shattered Star Ring. If necessary, attack the stargate stronghold of the Arcane Church in the Shattered Star Ring. Try to finish them off before they return to the Central Galaxy."
"Also …" Uranril paused. "Tell Black Star to talk to me directly later."
At the same time …
The upper echelons of the Arcane Church also received the battle report …
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