Chapter 501: Sure-kill!

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

As expected, after being in a stalemate for a while, the situation was broken. The one who broke the stalemate was none other than Ling Lan.

Ling Lan, who was originally being pressured, swung her sword with full force and sent that regular member back a few steps. Right after that, she kicked twice in mid-air and kicked back the attacks of the two team captains.

This created a chance for Ling Lan to counterattack. She stretched her left and right hands backward and the large sword in her hand began to move at a great speed. The attack was like a tidal wave, coming at the three of them continuously…

After the captain from the Second Men’s Military Academy blocked Ling Lan’s three attacks, he discovered that he actually didn’t have any more chances to counterattack. The situation where they were originally pressuring Ling Lan through their 3-man cooperation was now actually turned on himself instead.

He quickly stared at the two beside him and discovered that their situation was the same; they could only passively defend for themselves. He was very surprised as this was a truly odd situation. Logically, while Ling Lan was attacking another person, the other two that were left alone should be able to use this chance to perform a sneak attack. Also, he felt that his opponent was obviously attacking someone else, but when he attacked, it was as though the one being attacked was himself. He could only passively change his attack to a defensive move… It was as though he was the opponent’s puppet, under control and only able to move with the opponent.

“It’s rhythm!” The Second Men’s Military Academy’s captain was, after all, full of experience and immediately understood what was going on. The three of them were moving to the opponent’s rhythm, thus they could only follow the rhythm of the opponent. This was also the reason why they were being pressured.

“We have to break the opponent’s rhythm!” thought the Second Men’s Military Academy’s captain decisively. He prepared to get out. Only getting out would get him out of the rhythm of the opponent. Then he would be able to clearly see the rhythmic movements of the opponent, find a chance to interfere and break it.

Right when he wanted to move his mecha and get out of Ling Lan’s attack range, however, he discovered that he couldn’t move. Swords came from all sides and it was as though his mecha was locked in place. No matter where he darted towards, he could only block and be unable to counterattack. He didn’t even have a chance to retreat.

“What’s happening? I can’t even retreat?” The Second Men’s Military Academy’s captain could not think too deeply in this tense moment. He could only use the commlink channel of the team to remind the two he was cooperating with. “Retreat, then find a chance to attack again.”

The Federal Defence Military Academy’s captain was also an experienced captain; he understood right after he heard those words. But right when he wanted to get out and retreat, he discovered that swords were surrounding him from all sides. No matter which direction he turned to, they were all locked down. It was the same as the Second Men’s Military Academy’s captain. The only option he had was to block.

The ordinary member also felt the same. This member yelled, “Captain, I can’t retreat. I’ve been locked down.” Compared to the calmness of the two team captains, this member was obviously not as calm.

All three of them were locked down? How was that possible? There was only one possibility that a mecha would be locked down and unable to counterattack in close range combat. That possibility would be that the opponent had used a chain combo attack and enveloped their opponent in their attack range. This was the specialty of chain combos and was also why the chain combo was considered the sure-kill technique for ace mecha operators in close combat.

The Second Men’s Military Academy’s captain thought of this point and his expression changed greatly. He screamed, “Chain Combo technique?”

No, this wasn’t possible. Chain combos would only appear in a one-on-one as a sure-kill technique in close combat. He had never heard that someone could successfully perform a chain combo while they were facing more than one person…

The Second Men’s Military Academy’s captain’s was currently in a fit of chaos. He couldn’t believe his own guess, but he had to admit that this guess was possibly the truth. If that wasn’t the case, then he wouldn’t be able to explain the reason why the three of them were locked down at the same time.

The three of them became flustered because of the possibility of a Chain Combo technique. How could Ling Lan pass up on a chance like this?

“Ahh!” The member who was least capable was the first to be unable to endure. After being hit three times by Ling Lan in an instant, his entire mecha was sent flying by the force of the attacks and struck a towering tree with great force. He bounced off the tree and fell to the ground. Perhaps the force was too strong as he bounced on the ground a few times and then showed no signs of movement after that.

Ling Lan ignored that member. Now with one less opponent, Ling Lan’s attacks were now more bloodthirsty and ruthless.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” In the blink of an eye, there were continuous sounds of the large sword striking a mecha. The two mecha suddenly flew backwards. Ling Lan wasn’t going to stop. She operated her mecha and followed them with a whirlwind strike. The firmament brought about a whirlwind and struck the two of them with great force.

This attack made the two mecha go in two different directions and plummet into the ground. The intense force made the mecha slide many meters out and leave a deep sliding mark on the ground.

Captain-level special-class operators were not as easy to go against as standard special-class operators. After being hit consecutively, the mecha were still struggling to get back up…

“Crash!” A dark flash came down from the sky and stabbed through one the neck area of one the mechas that was still trying to get up. This nailed the mecha on the ground and instantly stopped its movement.

“Bang!” Ling Lan’s mecha came down from the sky with the right hand of her mecha open and forcefully smacked down the other mecha that tried to get up and fight.

“Crack!” A crack sounded out. The five fingers of Ling Lan’s mecha had exerted force. The incredible force broke the operating system on the neck of the mecha and destroyed the last hope of survival for the opponent.

All of this had actually happened across the span of seconds. By the time her opponents reacted, Ling Lan had already finished off the three of them. She walked towards the mecha that she struck with her sword from the sky, gripped it by the hilt, and cooly and slowly pulled out the sword from the mecha’s neck.

This scene made the all of the allied battle team members terrified. This scene made the members of Ling Lan’s team become excited. It was as though they had taken steroids as they proceeded to attack their opponents crazily.

“Bang, bang, bang!” The first to decide their battle was Luo Lang. Luo Lang had already held the upper hand, to begin with. Now, adding on the activation of the calm personality, he was at an even greater advantage. The opponent, on the other hand, was immediately broken mentally due to how Ling Lan had easily defeated her three opponents in what seemed like a god-like mode. That change in mentality allowed Luo Lang to easily defeat his opponent.

Just when Luo Lang had decided his battle, Xie Yi also achieved a result of his own. The mental endurance of advanced mecha operators were obviously weaker than that of special-class operators. After discovering the truth that the cooperation of the three strongest, including the captains, had been easily defeated by their opponent, Xie Yi’s opponent also became anxious and lost control. Xie Yi would definitely not pass on such good chance. He attacked consecutively a few times, defeated his opponent and was victorious.

Luo Lang took care of his opponent. Right when he was getting ready to help Li Lanfeng and Li Shiyu, he heard his boss’ voice telling him to stop as he moved his feet. “Luo Lang, wait!”

The gaze of the very calm Luo Lang turned towards Ling Lan and he asked softly, “Are we not going to help them intercept one opponent?” The situation seemed dire as the two of them were facing three opponents. Even the Luo Lang that had activated the very calm personality could not help but worry about the possible scene of the two of them losing and becoming eliminated. Logically, they should go help them intercept one opponent to decrease their burden.

Ling Lan’s expression was extremely calm, as though she wasn’t even a little bit worried. “Don’t be hasty. Keep watching.”

Luo Lang put back his weapon and returned to Ling Lan’s side. He looked on coldly just like Ling Lan.

“Why didn’t you give a helping hand when Li Shiyu was in the most danger?” Luo Lang asked without holding anything back. Although the normal Luo Lang respected Ling Lan very much, Luo Lang’s other personalities did not have this similar feeling. They even dreaded it. Perhaps they were not convinced when they had lost to Ling Lan. The extremely calm personality’s attitude wasn’t very friendly when he talked to Ling Lan.

Ling Lan didn’t answer Luo Lang. In reality, when Li Shiyu was in danger, Ling Lan did want to help him get out of the situation. However, in the instant she was about to move, she had discovered that Li Lanfeng, who wasn’t far from Li Shiyu, had made a move. Trusting him fully, Ling Lan resisted the impulse to move in. Ling Lan knew clearly that in order for her members to make progress, she had to let fend for themselves…

Ling Lan was someone who could endure much. Even though she clearly knew that Li Shiyu would be eliminated if Li Lanfeng’s assistance failed, and the whole team would face the possibility of elimination, Ling Lan would still choose to trust in Li Lanfeng’s trust in Li Shiyu.

There was a ruler in Ling Lan’s mind. Even if Li Lanfeng failed to save him, she still had a chance to compensate for it… No, even if there wasn’t a chance to compensate, she could still take the loss. Truth be told, Ling Lan indeed hoped to attain the highest glory in the mecha tournament. However, when compared to the chance for growth for the members of her team, Ling Lan would not hesitate to choose the latter.

Ling Lan bet a lot this time and also bet decisively. Even if she knew clearly, her choice would decide the result for the First Men’s Military Academy. She still did so, made this choice that was clearly selfish, but Ling Lan did it calmly and without regret.

Heaven destroys those who don’t look out for themselves! For the future of her own team members, she would have to let the First Men’s Military Academy down. Ling Lan silently apologized to the others who were fighting bravely. She was indeed a mortal, unable to be noble and selfless.

“With your capabilities, there were chances for you to move in.” Compared to the normal Luo Lang’s slow-wittedness, the extremely calm personality of Luo Lang clearly knew the strength of the person beside him.

“I can’t live for you guys,” Ling Lan finally opened her mouth and said.

Upon hearing this, Luo Lang’s entire body shook. The extremely calm personality of Luo Lang instantly disappeared and the normal Luo Lang appeared. “Boss, I will try my best. I will definitely try my best.” His eyes were sparkling like nothing in this world. Those eyes and that expression was like a cute dog hoping to be complimented. This made Ling Lan’s lip instantly twitch. Okay, she still felt that conversing with the extremely calm personality had meaning. Now, she felt that she was luring an underage child. She felt full of guilt!

Xie Yi finished off his opponent and instantly let out a sigh of relief. He saw that Ling Lan and Luo Lang were watching from the side. He quickly ran over and said, “Boss, I have finished my mission. I would like to return to the team!”

Ling Lan lightly nodded towards Xie Yi. Xie Yi saw this and was greatly happy. Did this mean that Boss was very pleased? Luo Lang saw this and couldn’t hold back a laugh. “You only defeated an advanced mecha operator. Why are you so happy?”

“No matter what my opponent was, I was the winner and that’s that.” Xie Yi didn’t care at all. He glared at Luo Lang, smiling and said, “Luo Lang, remind me, wasn’t your opponent also an advanced mecha operator?”

Luo Lang snorted. He said with a proud expression, “That’s why I’m excited. I’ll let you know when I defeat a special-class operator next time.”

Luo Lang’s proud appearance made Xie Yi’s heart flutter. This kind of Luo Lang really made him want to tease him more times. Right when Xie Yi wanted to continue talking, a draft of cold air came from beside him. He shuddered and heard Ling Lan’s cold voice ring in the team commlink channel, “Shut up and watch!”

“Yes, Boss!” The two of them quickly stood upright and did not dare to be impudent again.

The three of them quietly watched the ongoing battle. Ling Lan was ready to act whenever. No matter who was in danger, she would move in.

After a few more hits, another person finally finished their battle. The third person who finished their battle came as a surprise to Xie Yi and Luo Lang. However, after thinking more in detail, it was logical. The person was Qi Long.

In reality, the moment Ling Lan defeated her three opponents, including the two captains from the allied battle team, the whole situation of the battlefield had instantly changed. Zhao Jun, who was originally being pressured, was the first to turn the situation around. This was because Zhao Jun’s opponent, the two special-class operators, had instantly lost their will to fight after seeing their two captains ‘die’.

While facing three people, Ling Lan could instantly kill three people. This kind of terrifying capability shook them. This made them think that if they continue to fight, they would end up the same as their team leaders. From the direction that the seven-man team had come from, they had discovered that the objective of the opponent was Area M. Their own headquarters was in Area M, thus making them unable to let their guard down.

They believed that they had to return to their headquarters and tell their commander that there was a terrifying battle team heading there. This battle team seemed to be really weak, without enough members. Their members’ strength levels were uneven with three special-class operators and four advanced class operators. A team that seemed to be easily swallowed up, yet their team captain could instead easily swallow up three special-class operators…

Thinking to this point, they were more in a hurry to leave this place. They didn’t want end up the same way as their two team captains. The battle royale had only just started and they didn’t want to simply lose and be eliminated like this.

It was this kind of thought process that made Zhao Jun’s two opponent stop with full-on attacks. They began to restrain themselves and look for a chance to run away. This was also the crucial reason why Zhao Jun managed to recover and turn the situation around.

In fact, the two special-class operators’ decision wasn’t a mistake. Their mistake was that they looked down on Zhao Jun and looked down upon Ling Lan. They thought they would have a chance to escape. Their restraint gave Zhao Jun a chance to breathe. Being an ace operator now, he was disadvantaged by his own mecha, or he wouldn’t be in such a difficult position from only two special-class operators.

If he wasn’t being pressured, it meant that he had the chance to counterattack. How could an ace operator whose finger speed had reached the level of void be considered to be on the same level as special-class operators whose finger speed levels were on the level of shadow? Once Zhao Jun’s finger speed increased, he would be able to push the power of the special-class mecha to the closest limit it can get to an ace mecha.

Thus, Zhao Jun’s chain of strong attacks had lead to the the two of them being caught with their pants down. When they blocked this round of attacks coming from Zhao Jun, they gloomily realized that that even if they wanted to leave, they couldn’t do so anymore. It was now their turn to be pressured and pushed back by Zhao Jun.

They were pressuring Zhao Jun in the beginning, but now the tables had turned and they were now the ones being pressured. Zhao Jun had turned from a bullied character into the master. He now began to bully his two opponents. Zhao Jun was now at an advantage in the situation. That was why Luo Lang and Xie Yi thought that the third person to finish off their opponent would be Zhao Jun.

Who knew that Qi Long would emerge with a new force. Having been pressured the whole time, he decisively activated his Animal Instinct. Animal Instinct was considered a low-level talent out of most talents that awakened. However, it was valuable because it was most suitable for operating mecha. It enabled the ability to instinctively sense opportunities and flaws. It was considered to be the beginner-level of Profound Insight, the simpler version. This was also why the talent of Animal Instinct was considered to be a low-level talent, but was still valued highly by countless mecha masters and army higher-ups.

Unfortunately, no matter how low-level Animal Instinct was, there were still a very few number of people who awakened the talent within the Federation. In order to increase the strength of mecha operators, the army specially researched Animal Instinct. They invented a type of pseudo Animal Instinct, awakened manually which was considered the awakening of the legendary sixth sense.

In order to become stronger, many mecha operators accepted the hellish mode of training. Some were successful, while some failed. Those who failed could end up disabled, but those who were successful would no doubt become a strong mecha operator. There was no halfway result.

When Qi Long, who had the level of special-class operator, operated the advanced mecha to its limit, along with his Animal Instinct, he was able to sense danger and opportunities beforehand. Even when he made some mistakes which caused him to lose control, he quickly got used to it. He somewhat sensed his opponent’s weaknesses. The talent of Animal Instinct was still too low-level. It was unlike Profound Insight which let Ling Lan clearly see where the weaknesses were and where the chances were. Animal Instinct only gave the person a reminder. Whether they could grab on to that chance would have to based on the person themselves.

In reality, Qi Long always trusted his gut feeling and was also good at grabbing hold of this feeling. There were many times that he had used this talent of his to avoid a crisis and be victorious. This time, Qi Long did the same. When felt there was a chance, he would decisively attack.

Perhaps Qi Long’s attack was too unexpected, or perhaps his opponent didn’t think that he would be able to see through the weakness of his attack. The opponent who didn’t react timely was took a full hit from Qi Long’s attack and his mecha was instantly heavily damaged.

Qi Long saw that one hit had landed and decided that he had to keep going while he had the upper hand. He caught on to the opponent’s weakness once again, attacking consecutively and heavily for a few times. Finally, he broke the opponent’s mecha and took the victory in the battle.

Qi Long had won. Right when he wanted to go to Boss’ side to report, he felt his fingers were in indescribable pain before he could even operate his mecha. He instantly held his hands and screamed in agony. Receiving no kind of operation, the mecha immediately fell down, making Luo Lang and Xie Yi extremely surprised and terrified. They both darted towards Qi Long and asked loudly what had happened.

While Qi Long furiously shook his hands that were trembling uncontrollably due to overexertion, he comforted Luo Lang and Xie Yi telling them he was alright. After a while, he finally felt his fingers were his again, and then he operated his mecha towards Ling Lan. He happily said, “Boss, I did it.” He had managed to use an advanced mecha to defeat a special-class mecha. He didn’t let Boss down.

“Not bad!” Ling Lan responded plainly. Qi Long smiled even more happily. He knew that Boss’ “not bad’ actually meant “very good”! It was just that Boss didn’t like to praise people. Those of them who followed Boss all knew that. For example, this “not bad” was the best comment they had gotten in all these years. Qi Long thought to himself in happiness.

Perhaps Qi Long’s victory had irritated Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun’s attacks became more ruthless. His two opponents seemed to communicate with each other, and then they bit their lip and attacked Zhao Jun crazily.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun was surprised. The way his opponents were acting was going to cause damage to both sides. This made Zhao Jun, who had victory in his grasp, hesitate a bit. His originally fierce attacks instantly slowed down.

Right then, the two opponents had originally seemed to be going all-out, when one suddenly went right while one went left to dart behind Zhao Jun. Seeing this, Zhao Jun was instantly short on breath. He only realized now that the crazy all-out attack was all faked. The two of them had been trying to confuse him. Their real objective was to leave this place.

Zhao Jun operated his mecha and instantly went to block them off. However, because he was slow by one step, he could only choose to intercept one direction. If he was to hesitate again now, it was possible that he wouldn’t be able to intercept even one.

Seeing that Zhao Jun had chosen his direction to intercept, the special-class mecha operator running away to this direction knew that he didn’t have a chance anymore. He screamed, “You need to get out!” He pounced onto Zhao Jun, thinking that he had to keep his opponent busy to create a chance for his teammate to escape.

Right then, he had already forgotten that there were many ‘enemies’ beside them, watching them with eagle eyes.

Seeing that there were someone who wanted to escape, Xie Yi screamed. Right when he wanted to move in and intercept, a dark flash flashed before his eyes. He saw Boss Lan’s Firmament stabbing towards the neck area of the opponent’s mecha like a flying sword.

Normal dull swords possibly couldn’t break through the outer protective shell of mecha. However, Firmament was different from other large swords. The biggest advantage it had was its sharpness. In addition to the maximum power Ling Lan had used from the special-class mecha, it was a sure-kill with one sword strike. The mecha from before proved this point and now another mecha proved this point once again.

In the cockpit, that allied battle team special-class operator saw that he was just about to leave the lion’s pit and get into the deep forest. He felt extremely happy. However, right then, he suddenly felt that the mecha was struck by a strong force at the top. The next second, the entire mecha had lost control. Without the ability to operate the mecha, the pilot could only watch his mecha flop forwards and hit the ground with great force. In the end, he heard the A.I. announce that he had been defeated and eliminated, then his entire cockpit became pitch-black.

Even now, he still didn’t know how he was defeated and who defeated him. Clearly no one had caught up to him, so how could he have been eliminated? No one could answer his questions at this time. He could only wait until the end of the battle royale and find out the truth from watching the recording of the tournament.

However, he knew one thing and that was their allied battle team had been completely decimated. Although there were still three members who were battling, he believed that the seven-man team who hadn’t lost a single member would easily take down his remaining three teammates.

Ling Lan instantly took care of that opponent that thought of escaping. With only one opponent left, Zhao Jun didn’t give the opponent any more chances. He attacked consecutively and defeated the opponent mecha.

Zhao Jun retrieved Ling Lan’s Firmament with a face full of irritation. He walked towards Ling Lan and held up Firmament to return it to her. He then said, “Sorry Boss. I made a mistake back there.”

Ling Lan picked up Firmament, waved it around coolly and hung the sword on the secured dock on her back. Then she coldly said, “When we go back to the academy, you’re training in the secret room for a week!”

Man, he had fumbled at a crucial moment. If she didn’t give him something to be scared about, he wouldn’t know how pain feels like. Let’s see if they dare to fumble again next time.

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