Chapter 1223 - Choice (1/2)

“Speaking of which, this is this b*stard’s second time going in…”

Han Xiao looked at EsGod, who was in the amber, and sighed.

Ignoring all other factors, EsGod was really a very pure person. In order to reach his goal, he was willing to do anything in the world. As long as one did not get in his way, he would not do anything, and vice versa.

While he was looking at EsGod, the dynasty fleet around instantly stopped attacking upon seeing that the mission was complete and retracted their weapons.

Tons of parts of mechanical soldiers floated in the battlefield. Some were even destroyed by the attacks of the dynasty fleet. In order to dish out as much damage as possible to EsGod, they could not be concerned with causing damage to their ally. Even Han Xiao was confused as to whether these teammates of his were attacking EsGod or him.

He deactivated the Mechanical Deity. Mechanical Force shot out from his hands and turned into electrical chains, linked onto the shattered parts, and assembling them back into mechanical soldiers using Advanced Machinery Construction.

This time, the fleet commander heaved a sigh of relief in the communication channel and said, “Luckily, we set up enough traps in advance and had the edge. If not, we wouldn’t have been able to capture him again while paying such a small price… Alright, please give EsGod to us. We’ll find a place to lock him up.”

His tone was formal.

As Black Star was the one who requested to release EsGod to check on him, capturing him again was not considered a contribution, but letting him get free would have been a huge demerit. Therefore, this was a mission that required a lot of effort but gave no merits, so the fleet commander did not feel appreciative toward Han Xiao.

Capturing EsGod this time looked easy, but that was because they had too big an edge. EsGod was immobile before, which was why they could set up an encirclement any way they wanted, letting EsGod, who was in a weakened state, out after being fully prepared. If EsGod was free in the beginning, there was no way he would have been surrounded by this many traps.

A few dynasty spaceships came to take the prisoner away. Han Xiao stood in place for a while as he watched them bring EsGod away. Only then did the dynasty fleet turn off all the spacetime stabilization devices.

He curled his lips, opened the dimension factory, and stuffed his mechanical army into it for repairs. After rejecting the invitation of boarding the ships, he took out a King mechanical army and disappeared.

The next moment, he appeared in a machinery factory that was no longer in the Constellation Corridor. He crossed multiple Star Fields directly and arrived in Black Star Palace that was in the Flickering World instantly, using the ‘Throne’ in his private workshop.

Beep beep beep!

At this time, the communicator rang timely. Han Xiao took it out, and as he expected, it was a call from Urranrell.

As she used her ruler rights to approve Han Xiao’s request to open EsGod’s seal to check his status, she had been paying attention to the live broadcast the whole time, so she called right after it ended.

“Black Star, I’ve seen the process. Looks like your worries did not come true.”

Urranrell nodded.

“…Maybe.” Han Xiao shook his head.

EsGod’s body was still very much alive and not an empty shell, so in the dynasty’s eyes, this was undoubtedly his original body, and their doubts were cleared.

Although he had confirmed EsGod and Gaud’s relationship through this, he could not use the information from the interface to convince the dynasty.

Although EsGod showed signs of his soul being torn, the difficulty of verifying that was way too high.

First of all, EsGod would certainly resist and not possibly obediently accept the check. Plus, they could not check on EsGod when he was locked inside the Spacetime Amber.

Secondly, EsGod’s level was too high. Only an extremely few peak Beyond Grade As in the universe who were experts in the soul territory could investigate his soul fully, which would also require EsGod to not put up a fight. This was like the difference between using one’s ability to attack and using it to cure a sickness; the latter required much more precision.

Thirdly, on the surface, the effects of having a weakened soul and torn soul coincided. It would be extremely difficult to differentiate them. Both could be seen as the side effects of being locked up by the Spacetime Amber.

Even if all of those difficulties were overcome and EsGod’s soul was proven to be in a torn state, there was no way he could prove the connection between EsGod and Gaud to the dynasty. The evidence was too weak.

Considering all the factors, Han Xiao felt that there was close to no way he could find any solid proof on this matter.

Urranrell did not have many doubts and said, “Being worried is a good thing. At least what you did got rid of a possible problem for the dynasty, and now we can safely lock EsGod up without having to worry. Plus, you captured EsGod again without paying much of a price. You didn’t disappoint me.”

She did not feel what Han Xiao did was completely unnecessary. She was the one who gave the order, and Black Star executed it only after she approved it. Now that the matter was settled, it was not a bad thing but a good thing. From her perspective, this operation was a form of reassurance.

“I guess…”

Han Xiao was not in the mood to say much. He casually chatted for a while and went offline afterward. He looked somewhat upset.

Urranrell had already done a lot for him. There was absolutely no merit in this operation. Instead, she had to bear the risk of letting EsGod escape and the responsibility of approving the operation that caused it. At the end of her term, she definitely had to focus on keeping a low profile and making sure everything was going on smoothly. Willingly approving his proposal was already a sign of her strong trust in him; he could not ask her to do more.

If EsGod… no, Gaud wanted to completely wipe his history clean, he most certainly did everything the dynasty asked him to do and nothing else while he was weak, not showing any signs of his ulterior motives. Han Xiao was not able to find any solid evidence this time, so he could not accuse Gaud of anything.

Without solid evidence, the dynasty had no reason to believe in his accusations and test the loyalty of a direct Beyond Grade A member out of nowhere. Therefore, this method was definitely not going to work.

If Gaud really decided to take the lawful path, even if he found evidence, as long as it was not completely definitive, the dynasty might not even want to recognize it so that they could avoid losing a direct Beyond Grade A member with infinite potential. This was not completely impossible.

I’ll have to make other plans. Since there’s no way to convince the dynasty to investigate Gaud thoroughly, I can only do it myself…

Han Xiao frowned and pondered.

If he was to attack Gaud secretly and it was discovered, he would undoubtedly be in astronomical trouble.

Even if he did it secretly enough, the dynasty would also put in a tremendous amount of effort to search for the culprit. Due to the organizational nature of the Beyond Grade A Association, it would certainly become a key target for the dynasty’s investigation, which would also cause an enormous storm. It might even become the fuse of a new Tragedy of the Pinnacles.

Han Xiao had to admit that the method Gaud used to wipe his history clean was impeccable. He became a direct member of one of the three Universal Civilizations, acquiring super powerful protection. If something happened to him, more Beyond Grade As might be dragged down with him.

However, if he was left alone, the entire explored universe would be in danger. He was a colossal hidden threat. This was especially true because this b*stard already got into the insides of the dynasty. God only knew what storm he would stir up. He might even end up being the usher for the World Tree Civilization.

Furthermore, Gaud’s Esper Ability had way too much potential. He was still considered easy to deal with now that he had only just entered the Beyond Grade A territory, but as he grew stronger, he would rapidly become tougher to deal with.

“What a dilemma…” Han Xiao rubbed his nose and was a little troubled.

Sometimes, there was no perfect solution, and a decision had to be made between two bad choices.