On the other side of the arena, the audience, having just witnessed this scene, couldn't help but let out a deep murmur of admiration—they had not yet understood why Fang Hong had asked the walker to lower its center of gravity, but they hadn't expected it to be such a strategic anticipation.

Though Red Leaf couldn't see beyond the dust, the sound of surprise made her realize something was amiss.

She had a faint feeling that the boy always seemed to know what she was planning—

Fang Hong actually wanted to tell her that the Magic Guided Flexible Construct was actually quite rigid. A true master would make its attack mode flexible and varied, but fundamentally, it still followed certain patterns.

These were the original words of Tactical Master Rubick, the inventor of Overload Stream tactics, who had retired many years ago, but many of his classic strategies were still actively employed among combat artisans.

Moreover, Fang Hong knew that the Overload Stream was born to compensate for this flaw.

Of course, in his heart, he wasn't as optimistic as Red Leaf imagined—the rank gap was a real thing, and his walker, even after replacing it with a complete form, was still several levels below the Annihilator QV700.

Fang Hong silently checked his trump cards: the walker, modified with the Magic Guided Reactor, two Clockwork Fairies, newly installed Strength Enhancement plugins, and the vision-link crystal.

These things provided him with some comfort; the only thing he felt confident about was that he at least knew where the key to victory in this match lay.

The walker had already leapt up, no longer hiding its intentions, and charged directly toward the south side of the arena. Meanwhile, two red lights cut through the fog, and the walker nimbly dodged left and right, allowing only the red light to brush past its afterimage, causing minimal evasion damage.

Seeing this, Fang Hong knew that the opponent had activated "Overload."

The Overload State of a Magic Guided Construct was a very special state, achieved by maximizing the Magic Power Output of the Crystal Core, overtaxing the lifespan of the Core, leading the Flexible Construct into an explosive range.

For a physically oriented Flexible Construct, the Overload State would enhance speed, strength, and maneuverability comprehensively, and it also immediately reset the cooldown of power plugins.

For a Magic Guided Flexible Construct, while resetting the plugin cooldown, the Overload State would also change the subsystem's attack mode.

The Flame Ray subsystem's skill during the Overload State was given the name "Light Rain."

As the name suggests, it was like golden flames raining from the sky with seven red beams coming through the fog in succession.

Since Fang Hong couldn't see through the fog, he had activated the vision link—after the recent modifications, the walker had finally installed these necessary subsystem plugins.

His right hand lowered, and "Sword Hong" shifted slightly to the left to dodge the first ray; the second beam shot from the left, and with a thought, Fang Hong executed three magic buoys, seventeen standard moves, and two weight shifts left to right all at once.

The walker's three left blade feet pressed down firmly, allowing the red beam to graze past its shell.

If Light Rain was to cover maximally, it followed a fixed sequence: it scanned from left to right, front to back, in three patterns, many of which were classic combat examples known like the back of their hands by these top combat artisans, and Fang Hong was equally proficient.

Whether Sword Hong moved left or right, stopped or walked, it intricately weaved through the seven beams, the whole process fluid like flowing water. The walker, like a streak of silverglow, shot forth from the mist, leaving behind only a murmur of either regret or admiration.

Seven spots of light gradually dimmed on the ground one after another.

Fang Hong checked the panel; his Evasion Value had only lost less than sixty percent, loss of balance even more within an acceptable range.

Seeing this, Red Leaf's mind buzzed, and cold sweat broke out.

Many images overlapped before her eyes, those were videos she had seen of top combat artisans in action, their combat skills and real battle experience.

Those unbelievable maneuvers, as if transcending the boundaries of two worlds, merged with the small walker before her. At that moment, the opposing walker seemed to come alive, no longer just an object.

The details and tendencies of those maneuvers—

They weren't typical of a first-world combat artisan at all.

"Is it a student of the Gray King or the Twilight Executioner?"

"Neither really fits, this spatial judgment, could it be that person?" Red Leaf's fingertips were somewhat cold, but fortunately, her rigorous training had developed a reflex action. Although her mind was a bit muddled for a moment, her hands still instinctively turned off Overload.

This slight operational response, noted by Fang Hong through the vision link, made it clear to him that the opponent had already used Overload Tactics.

Overload, and Overload Tactics are two entirely different concepts—all Combat Artisans use overload, and he was no exception. However, whether it's Overload Tactics depends on how a Combat Artisan utilizes the overload.

For most Combat Artisans, the overload state is a burst state, full power output, cast all skills, and end the overload state before the core temperature of the Crystal Core explodes.

But Overload Stream is a special school.

Its core idea lies in constantly switching between overload and normal states to allow the Magic Guided Flexible Construct to achieve more varied attack combinations. Also, because overload resets the cooldown of skills, it further mystifies the opponent about the attack intervals.

As mentioned earlier, the birth of this school was actually to compensate for the rigidity and regularity of Magic Guided Flexible Constructs.

When Fang Hong saw this scene, he understood that the real challenge of the battle had arrived.

But what appeared to everyone else was the Walker suddenly becoming sluggish.

Gravity Trap.

Even Fang Hong was somewhat surprised. The opponent had used the most traditional combination, which was unexpected. Because the Shining Field cannot be replaced, and the other three attack modes had already appeared one after another.

Fang Hong reacted quickly, immediately activating the Swift Burst Plugin, overload.

The Walker, having activated Swift Burst and being in an overload state, lunged forward attempting to break free from the Gravity Trap, but just as it left the ground, Fang Hong sensed something ominous.

It wasn't that the jump was too short, but too high.

The opponent had temporarily switched to an overload state, turning the Gravity Trap's effect into Anti-Gravity.

Sword Hong struggled as he floated in mid-air.

At this moment, Red Leaf finally breathed a sigh of relief, a victorious smile appeared on her face, she looked at Fang Hong not far away, raised her right hand wearing Control Gloves, and clenched her fist.

The Annihilator suddenly stopped spinning, and the four metal panels at the front slid to one side, revealing the Core Crystal behind, a bright Qing Array formed in front of the Crystal Core, slowly rotating.

That was the sign of the Magical Spear being released.

When the Ether was compressed to a point, a bright Qing light beam suddenly burst forth, piercing through the mist, targeting the Walker in midair.

Everyone gasped, the Walker was a land construct, it had no mobility in mid-air, and everyone understood that the boy from the preliminary rounds—

had already lost.

The audience couldn't help but feel a bit of pity, it was the first time they had seen a competitor from the preliminaries fight so intensely with a main tournament competitor. If that boy were a higher level, and could use an improved Walker, it wouldn't be so passive in the Gravity Trap.

But just at that moment.

The sighs were suddenly replaced by even more intense and unbelievable exclamations.

The audience saw a Clockwork Fairy, appearing out of nowhere on the field, like a streak of golden light piercing through the mist, with a 'clang' hitting the shell of the Walker in mid-air.

Just a moment before the Qing beam reached.

Pushing it away.

The next moment, the beam passed through the Clockwork Fairy, and the Walker was pushed out of the area of the Gravity Trap, safely landing on the ground.

Silence fell over the stadium for a moment.

Fang Hong also looked up, smiling at Red Leaf not far away.

The first round, over—

...

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