187 - 192
Chapter 187 - My Role?
Luo Lang's face turned bright red at Ling Lan's shocked question. If it had been anyone else, Luo Lang would definitely have raised his fist and punched them, but Ling Lan was his most respected, most loved, most idolised Boss Lan! And besides, he couldn't win against him anyway ...
Unsure what to do, Luo Lang could only stand there helplessly. His lost demeanour actually added an extra tinge of softness to his appearance, truly prompting pity and affection in others. This caused the wailing in Ling Lan's heart to escalate: Boo hoo hoo ... this brat's existence was absolutely meant to harass her. How was she to live with this cruel reality?!
Ling Lan's question caused Xie Yi, who was standing by the side, to burst out into laughter. Finally finding a scapegoat for his anger and frustration, Luo Lang roared and pounced at Xie Yi, and a grand battle broke out once more.
But this time, no one was willing to bother with either of them; even Han Jijyun, who would usually rein them in, did not have the mind to care about them at the moment.
"Boss Lan, long time no see!" Forcefully holding back his emotions, Han Jijyun peered closely at Ling Lan standing before him. Although he had not lost his composure like the others, the typically stoic expression on his face was gone, replaced by a clear expression of pleasant surprise.
Ling Lan hugged Han Jijyun abruptly, patting his back forcefully as she said, "Jijyun, these past three years, it's been tough on you."
Han Jijyun's strategic planning was definitely instrumental in ensuring that Qi Long's team remained secure as the strongest team of the academy. It should be known that Wu Jiong's team and Li Yingjie's team were both extremely strong teams as well — both those teams must have always been eyeing the throne of Qi Long's team ravenously all this while.
Truthfully, those two teams were no weaker than Qi Long's in terms of capability. In fact, it might even be said that they were a hair better, because they were full teams with all 6 members, while Qi Long's team was lacking Ling Lan and so had always been operating with just 5 people. Inherently lacking, for them to maintain their status as the strongest team, Han Jijyun had played a major role with his careful planning and thoughtful manipulations. Without Han Jijyun, no matter how strong Qi Long became, the team would not have been able to fend off the combined challenge of the other two teams.
The approbation in Ling Lan's words almost caused Han Jijyun to break out into joyful tears. Ling Lan recognised all his efforts over these past three years! At this moment, he finally understood the meaning behind the phrase 'a gentleman would die for a patron who recognises his worth' — having a boss like Ling Lan, was truly his good fortune.
Ling Lan released Han Jijyun, and her gaze shifted to look at Lin Zhong-qing. She walked forwards and bumped her shoulder lightly against his. This action, reminiscent of the silent communication between sworn brothers, caused Lin Zhong-qing to be filled with shocked joy. Could this mean that Boss Lan had truly accepted him now, and would begin viewing him as a brother of equal status with Qi Long and the others? He could not help but croak out, "Boss Lan ..."
"Yes!" An extremely small smile appeared on Ling Lan's lips, but Lin Zhong-qing still noticed it. That smile told Lin Zhong-qing that he was not mistaken.
After interacting with Qi Long, Han Jijyun, and Lin Zhong-qing for a bit, Ling Lan looked over at the other two still embroiled in their fight. Curiously, Ling Lan asked, "That's Xie Yi?" Ling Lan recalled Qi Long telling her that he was accepting a student called Xie Yi into their team when she had left the academy. And that person was the combat expert hiding within Class-B whom she had inadvertently discovered during the grand armed melee.
Qi Long nodded and said, "Yes. He's not bad. Willing to train hard with us, just shy of joining us at the advanced mecha warrior level."
Ling Lan's gaze glittered. "Looks like you all are getting along well."
"Yup, this punk's skin is really thick. He is capable of anything ... even we can't take it sometimes," said Lin Zhong-qing, chuckling wryly. He had thought that he was extremely unflappable, that his skin was already thick enough, but compared to Xie Yi, he was really just in the kiddie league — Xie Yi's behaviour showed him what thick-skinned really was ... his shamelessness knew no bounds.
Lin Zhong-qing's words received Qi Long's and Han Jijyun's agreement. All of them believed that no matter what kind of environment Xie Yi was placed in, he would be able to live on resiliently ...
Hearing Qi Long's and the others' opinions on Xie Yi, Ling Lan glanced contemplatively at Xie Yi. Perhaps he would be able to fill in the gaps of Qi Long's team ... of course, this was with the prerequisite that Xie Yi knew what he was supposed to do.
Ling Lan then asked, "How long are they planning to fight for?"
"Until Luo Lang's tired," said Lin Zhong-qing with a laugh. They all knew that the person who really wanted to fight was Luo Lang; Xie Yi was just going along passively. So, when Luo Lang no longer wanted to fight, the fight would be over.
"Then let's just leave them to it." That said, Ling Lan began walking towards the academy gates. When she had left her home, she had been carefully observing the time. She had no intentions of letting her final assessment be affected by her being late. Even though she was not aiming to enter the top military school, that didn't mean that she did not want to enrol in the other schools.
Seeing Ling Lan make a move, Qi Long, Han Jijyun, and Lin Zhong-qing decisively left the two fighting people behind and followed Ling Lan through the academy gates.
Xie Yi, who had been keeping a close eye on Ling Lan's actions, saw that Ling Lan had already entered the gates, and quickly shouted, "Luo Lang, Boss Ling Lan has entered the academy!"
"Ah ..." Engrossed in the fight, Luo Lang had not noticed this at all. He hurriedly stopped fighting, and seeing the backs of Ling Lan and the others entering the school gates, he shouted out, "Boss, wait for me!" He frantically ran after them, leaving his fighting partner Xie Yi behind.
"How heartless!" complained Xie Yi. If he hadn't pitied Luo Lang for his plight earlier, he would not have laughed and given Luo Lang a way out to vent his embarrassment. Of course, there was another reason for his obvious laughter. Back when Ling Lan had first faced the others, those true emotions revealed had made him feel like an outsider, which made him very uncomfortable. Thus, he had taken the chance to tease Luo Lang, egging him into a fight to push aside this feeling.
"So I have to get Boss Ling Lan's acknowledgement? How troublesome ..." Xie Yi frowned, ambling unhurriedly after Luo Lang to enter the school gates.
Still, he did not wish to be excluded by the others anymore! Xie Yi found that he really hated that.
Luo Lang and Xie Yi very quickly caught up to the others. The six of them slowly walked to the nearest hover car stop, and prepared to take a hover car to the assessment centre.
While they were waiting, Xie Yi thought for a moment, then walked over to stand before Ling Lan. He said seriously, "Boss Ling Lan, I'm called Xie Yi. Leader Qi Long and the others said that only if I obtain your acknowledgement will I be a true member of the team ... I hope that Boss can acknowledge me."
Ling Lan glanced at Xie Yi coolly. This glance gave Xie Yi a chill, as if he had been laid bare by it. Initially filled with confidence, he suddenly began to doubt himself ... could he really obtain Ling Lan's acknowledgement?
He didn't know how long he waited — perhaps it was just a second, or perhaps it was 30 to 40 seconds — when Ling Lan finally responded, "Why should I?"
Xie Yi rallied his spirits and replied, "I will not hold the team back."
"There are many who won't hold the team back. You're not indispensable," answered Ling Lan indifferently.
Xie Yi was struck dumb by Ling Lan's words. Dammit, can't he tell that he was just being humble?! Was he supposed to be blatantly honest and say that he was the best at fighting, and that his strength was top-shelf material?! Xie Yi's expression was awkward, but this moment fully displayed the extreme thickness of Xie Yi's skin. He regained his composure once more and said with a laugh, "Of course, I can also fight very well."
"To join our team, it's the most basic thing to be able to fight well."
Xie Yi choked once more on Ling Lan's merciless words. True enough, he finally felt the legendary difficulty of Boss Ling Lan — he was truly impervious against flattery and common tricks 1 , utterly unpredictable. That stony expression, that unruffled tone ... Xie Yi really had no clue where he should apply force.
He could only chuckle bitterly and fall silent. This time, it was his loss; he could only retreat for now.
Right then, a hover car arrived. Ling Lan was the first to board, followed closely by Qi Long and Han Jijyun. Meanwhile, Lin Zhong-qing, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi were prepared to take the next hover car.
Han Jijyun had just boarded, the car door still open, when Ling Lan suddenly turned her head to say to Xie Yi, "Xie Yi, what do you think your presence can bring to the team? When you can answer this question, then I will give you a clear answer!"
Ling Lan's words had barely faded when the car doors closed. Han Jijyun keyed in their destination on the hover car's A.I., and the hover car sped off into the sky, quickly disappearing into the distance.
Xie Yi was taken aback by Ling Lan's parting words. He had thought that Ling Lan would not be giving him a response today, so he had already been planning to work on it for the long haul. Unexpectedly, Ling Lan had suddenly thrown him this question. Even as it boggled him, he was a little lost, because he had never thought about what he could bring to the team.
"Xie Yi, what are you blanking out for? Come in quickly!" Luo Lang's impatient shout came to his ears. Xie Yi blinked and saw that Lin Zhong-qing and Luo Lang were already on a hover car, waiting for him to board. He quickly boarded and closed the car door.
The hover car flew swiftly towards their destination, but Xie Yi's heart was fully occupied by Ling Lan's question. "What do you think your presence can bring to the team?"
Really, what can I bring to the team? Strength? I cannot match Qi Long, and am even slightly weaker than Luo Lang, only just a little stronger than Lin Zhong-qing and Han Jijyun. But Han Jijyun's role is that of the team's tactician, so his combat power has never been the most important thing, while Lin Zhong-qing ...
Xie Yi thought back on the role Lin Zhong-qing played in the team, and found that for every mission, all the information, mission-appropriate equipment, and necessary medicinal agents, had all been prepared perfectly by Lin Zhong-qing ... it looked like Lin Zhong-qing had secured himself the role of being an excellent logistics support for the team.
Only then did Xie Yi realise that everyone in the team had their own designated role. Moving on to the second strongest, the bad-tempered Luo Lang — at the start of every mission, he would fulfil the role of advance guard. He would scout ahead and test the surroundings, reporting the situation back in a timely manner to the team. And whenever he did this, Luo Lang would always complete his duties perfectly.
Meanwhile, the team leader Qi Long had always been in charge of coordinating the team. In contrast, he had always been lounging on the fringes, simply moving wherever the team went. Now, thinking back, he had not known what position he played in the team at all. This was probably the reason why Boss Ling Lan had asked him this question.
That's right, what gave someone the confidence to say that they had the right to become a true member of the team when they themselves had no clue what their own position was in the team? At this thought, cold sweat broke out across Xie Yi's entire body. He had really been such an idiot ...
"No, I am not an expendable person on the team. I will definitely find a role that belongs only to myself. But ... what is the role that would suit me best?" Xie Yi felt that his brain was a muddled mess. Groggy and confused, he unknowingly found himself already at the assessment centre.
1. Original phrase here is 'impenetrable by oil and salt'. Basically, cannot be buttered up and is unimpressed by common seasonings. :p
Chapter 188 - Applying to a School!
Watching Xie Yi drift down soullessly from the hover car, the waiting Ling Lan could not help but furrow her brows. Could it be that the little fellow had been struck too deeply by her words and had incurred a spiritual wound?
She looked dubiously at Qi Long, her eyes filled with questions. D*mmit, didn't you all say that this guy was very thick-skinned? Why did he fall into such a sorry state from such a minor setback?
To Ling Lan's questioning gaze, Qi Long could only shake his head firmly, indicating that he knew nothing.
Of course, after Ling Lan shifted her gaze elsewhere, Qi Long could only murmur in his heart, 'That also depends on who the opponent is. A humanoid weapon like you with such horrific killing power — what does it matter how thick one's skin is? Your power is still unbearable!'
At this thought, Qi Long couldn't help but glance sympathetically at Xie Yi, donating a handful of compassionate tears for his plight of almost collapsing under a simple jab by Boss Ling Lan ... Thinking back, this was also how I, your big bro, endured till this day!
"Xie Yi, are you really planning to apply for the First Men's Military Academy in this state?" Xie Yi was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts by a familiar cold voice.
Ling Lan was staring at him coldly. The ice in his eyes caused Xie Yi to shiver involuntarily — he could actually feel the same pressure as when he stood before some instructors. It had been a long time since he had felt that sensation.
"If you lose here, then you will really have no right to become a member of our team." Ling Lan's warning made Xie Yi gather his emotions. There was no room for him to consider all these complicated things right now. Only one thought remained in his head — he could not fail here. He must succeed in enrolling into the First Men's Military Academy, and then prove himself worthy of becoming a true member of the team.
Seeing Xie Yi regain his equilibrium, Ling Lan let out a silent breath of relief. If her previous words had caused Xie Yi to stumble and make a mistake during the assessment, then she would have committed a grave sin.
The few of them arrived at the assessment point specially set aside for the First Men's Military Academy. Almost all of the Central Scout Academy's 10th grade boys eligible for admission was gathered here. Everyone had three application chances, and all of the boys had set their first option as the First Men's Military Academy. This was the dream school of all the boys, so even if they knew the chances were slim, they still used up one of their application chances on this school with no regrets.
Qi Long and the others joined the long line of people waiting. However, the line moved swiftly, and very soon it was their turn. Qi Long and his team lifted their right hands, revealing their communicators, and waved them at the A.I. processing the applications for the First Men's Military Academy. A beep was heard, and then the virtual screen displayed their details, along with the honours and results they had obtained in their 10 years at the scout academy.
After each person concerned verified his details, he would press the 'confirm' button of the A.I., and their information would be delivered instantly to the database of the First Men's Military Academy. After that, all they had to do was wait to receive the confirmation notification on their communicators.
Very quickly, the First Men's Military Academy had responded by sending their application numbers to their communicators. At this point, they then had to wait patiently for the communicator notification for the final testing.
After the 5 members of the team had gone through the entire process, they waited for Ling Lan to do the same. However, Ling Lan did not do anything, merely signalling for Qi Long and the rest of the team to move so they would not obstruct the others behind them from applying.
This unexpected action of Ling Lan's confounded Qi Long. He blurted out right then and there, "Boss, why aren't you applying to the First Men's Military Academy?"
"Let's speak at the side, alright?" Qi Long's outburst had made them the centre of attention; Ling Lan was rather resigned by this.
"Ah ... that's Ling Lan who withdrew from the academy three years ago." Noticing Ling Lan, everyone began to stir in excitement. The grand armed melee that year had been launched by Ling Lan, and due to that decision, many initially unawakened students had obtained the opportunity to awaken ... It could be said that, a large majority of the 7th graders then — that is, the 10th graders now — were extremely grateful towards Ling Lan.
"Our uncrowned king has returned ...!" shouted someone in joy, obviously a loyal supporter of Ling Lan.
"Just now I seem to have heard that Ling Lan is not applying for the First Men's Military Academy? Why is that?" Some people had latched onto Qi Long's question, and began to debate the reason behind it in astonishment.
In their eyes, only those Class-A folks would be able to successfully enrol into the First Men's Military Academy without much trouble. As the king of kings in Class-A, if Ling Lan did not enter the First Men's Military Academy, who should?
"Could it be that Ling Lan's injury from back then still hasn't healed?" asked a random student. The cacophony was cut by an abrupt silence, and then the noise exploded, even more chaotic than before. Could that really be true?!
Hearing these speculations, as if thinking of something, Qi Long's face changed.
Seeing the situation slipping out of control, Ling Lan hurriedly signalled for Qi Long and the others to leave the area first. This spot was truly unsuitable for them to talk.
The group quickly left the application point. The assessment time would be sent directly to the applicants' communicators, so it was not necessary to wait at the application point itself. As long as the applicant was not late for the assessment, it was all fine.
The six of them came to a relatively quiet location, and then Ling Lan said, "Actually, choosing not to apply for the First Men's Military Academy is a deeply thought out decision on my part."
"Could it be that your body hasn't healed yet, Boss?" asked Qi Long anxiously. Back then, when the academy doctor had determined that Ling Lan would require 3 to 4 years to fully recover, they had assumed that 3 years would take care of everything for sure. Who knew reality would not turn out this way ...
"Yes, I still need one year's time. And this year just happens to be the most critical one ... If I don't take care, some latent problems will remain in my body, which may even affect my future career as a mecha operator." Ling Lan did not hesitate to exaggerate. Even if she were as fit as an ox right now, she would still spin it so that she was a ravaged wilting white cabbage.
"You all know that the first year of physical training at the First Men's Military Academy is exceedingly harsh — if one doesn't pass, one will be kicked out from the school directly. My family doctor has clearly diagnosed that my body would not be able to withstand that year of training. Since I already know it is impossible, I can only give up on applying."
Ling Lan naturally wasn't afraid of this so-called harsh physical training. The reason why she would not apply for the First Men's Military Academy is that both her mother, Lan Luofeng, and she were not at all confident that she could keep her gender under wraps for all 6 years at the school.
Just the annual physical check-up alone would be an unfordable natural chasm, not to mention the various forms of physical training they would have to go through. Based on what she knew, there were times when they had to fight stripped to the waist — and this was impossible for Ling Lan!
Of course, even without those issues, it still was not suitable for Ling Lan to enter the First Men's Military Academy, this gathering grounds of abnormal prodigies, with her current situation. Mind you, once she managed to enter that school, she would draw the attention of the entire Federation. And this was precisely what Ling Lan did not need. The best thing for her would be to be utterly forgotten, to fade away into obscurity so she could find a chance to regain her female life.
Lan Luofeng did not want her daughter to live forever in the world as a man; she just could not bear it. Thus, after discussion, the final decision was for Ling Lan to apply to the most remote planet in the galaxy, planet Aureolin 1 .
It was an agricultural planet, with beautiful scenery and temperate weather. Moreover, the college there was rather easygoing — one just needed to muck about for a few years there to obtain a degree. Although Ling Lan felt somewhat regretful for the choice, she did not want to let Lan Luofeng worry, and so agreed.
Of course, Ling Lan did not obediently apply to those horticultural colleges as Lan Luofeng wished, choosing instead to apply to the only community college specialising in mecha repairs on the planet. Ling Lan had carefully examined that school, and found that although it was known as a mecha service college, it still had a mecha control course. The course only accepted 50 people, but Ling Lan believed that, based on her status as a Class-A student from the Central Scout Academy, that college would definitely not reject her.
When Qi Long and the other 4 members heard about Ling Lan's situation, their mood instantly dropped.
Han Jijyun could not help but ask, "Then, which military school are you applying to?" The other military schools were perhaps not as strict as the First Men's Military Academy.
"I've prepared to apply to the Windchase Mecha Service College on planet Aureolin." The youths were gobsmacked once more by Ling Lan's reply.
"Servicing mecha? Boss, are you joking?" Qi Long leapt up in shock, his face filled with disbelief.
He had never forgotten Ling Lan's formidable control skills — while in the virtual world, he had piloted a mecha and simulated a fight with the figure of the Twilight mecha that day in his mind, and he had lost spectacularly. This gave Qi Long a clearer idea of Ling Lan's true control ability. For such a prodigious mecha operator to go become a regular skilled technician and service mecha ... he felt that his entire world was being upended.
Ling Lan cut off Qi Long with a cold glare, "The Mecha Service College does not just have mecha servicing courses, it also has a mecha control course."
These words finally let the team members' spirits return to their bodies — Boss wasn't going to go become a mecha repairman! — they felt they had been revived.
"Is the mecha control class of that planet any good?" asked Han Jijyun dubiously.
However, Ling Lan's response to that let them finally understand why their Boss Lan had chosen that school. "It's so-so. But that planet is the most suitable for resting and recuperating. The weather is mild, the scenery beautiful, and the air quality is the most optimum A+ grade. My family doctor has said that my body will be able to relax best there, and will be able to eliminate all latent problems. Plus, the school is very easygoing, working on a credit-based system. For the first year, I plan to rest at home and just work on some theory classes. I will put the actual control classes in the second year ..." said Ling Lan, her expression turning helpless at this point, "Only that school allows me to freely arrange my time, so that place is the most suitable for me ..."
Ling Lan found that she was really good at lying — she herself was almost taken in by her own lies.
Seeing the five still in low spirits before her, Ling Lan added, "Besides, just because I've gone there doesn't mean I won't ever come back. The First Men's Military Academy has transfer opportunities every year. Promising students at other schools can still reapply for the First Men's Military Academy through testing. Once my body recovers, I will be back."
First comfort them for now, there will be some excuse to explain things later on ... Ling Lan decided to take things one step at a time and cross bridges when she came upon them. Right now, she needed to pump Qi Long and the others up for their application test into the First Men's Military Academy. Mind you, only at the First Men's Military Academy would they receive the best support for their development. She definitely would not allow their futures to be negatively impacted because of her.
Sure enough, Ling Lan's words caused Qi Long and the others to rally immediately. It was true when they thought about it! So Boss Lan wouldn't be applying for the First Men's Military Academy now, but that doesn't mean he won't be able to enrol later on. There would still be chances, and although those chances would be much more difficult than applying now, who was Ling Lan? He was their boss! It would be no problem for him!
It had to be said that Qi Long and the others really had a kind of blind faith in Ling Lan. In their minds, as long as it was something Boss Lan wanted to do, nothing was impossible.
1. Literal translation of the planet's name would actually be 'planet Bright Yellow'. I chose to use 'aureolin' because it is a really brilliant shade of yellow, and sounds way cooler as a name.
Chapter 189 - The Flames of War Rise Again!
Just like that, Qi Long and the others went off in high spirits to take the test for the First Men's Military Academy. Meanwhile, Ling Lan went to the application point of the school she had chosen. There was no one there; almost none of the Central Scout Academy students would choose to apply to the colleges here.
Here were the most backward vocational colleges and community colleges, and the application for these institutes were all processed by just one A.I.. Frankly, the Central Scout Academy did not want their students to apply to these schools at all — if not for the Federation's regulations for fairness and equal opportunity, the Central Scout Academy would definitely have driven these schools out of its assessment centre without giving them any chance.
Ling Lan deftly chose the course she wanted to apply for, and very quickly, the Windchase Mecha Service College had approved her application request. Soon after, Ling Lan received the other's reply on her communicator.
Opening it to read, Ling Lan blinked blankly. Two large words — 'TEST EXEMPTED' — came into sight. The other party had actually exempted her from the application tests completely. It was clear to see how shocked and pleased the school was by her application. They were very afraid that this was an impulsive decision on Ling Lan's part, and so did not want to give Ling Lan any time to reconsider.
It was of course a good thing to be exempted from testing; Ling Lan decisively pressed the confirmation button. With her confirmation, her data file was sent straight to the Windchase Mecha Service College ... That done, Ling Lan immediately rushed back to the application point of the First Men's Military Academy, to wait for the final assessment results of Qi Long and the others.
********
Meanwhile, at this exact moment, at a distant Federation border, on a battlefield between the Twilight Empire and the Federation, another round of conventional warfare officially began.
On the battlefield, the starships of both sides faced off from a distance. Countless intermediate and advanced mecha were being ejected from the starships' ports, almost filling up the entire starry sky. Ten of thousands of mecha engines roared in unison, the sound threatening to rip the starry skies apart.
The mecha of the two nations formed team after team, breaking off to engage their own group of opponents. Ever since technology had advanced enough to make galactic war possible, mecha battles had become the most basic type of combat, sometimes to the point where the final outcome of a war would be determined based on the power of each side's mecha operators. This was also why all nations invested so much in the cultivation of mecha operators — they were the main fighting force, the strongest solo weapons for the purpose of domination and conquest.
Every war was fierce and brutal. Whenever war broke out, great numbers of mecha operators would fall, which was why mecha operators had the highest casualty rate among soldiers. Even so, every soldier of the Federation still wanted to be a mecha operator as their first choice, because only mecha operators could truly control their own lives, as long as they were strong enough.
This was just a conventional battle, but even so, countless mecha operators had already been lost to these starry skies. Those final flares as they fell were like radiant fireworks, lighting up the entire starry skies, leaving behind its owner's final requiem.
On the main command ship in the middle of the Federation fleet, everyone in the command centre was looking at the battlefield before them with serious expressions. They were waiting patiently for the final outcome of the mecha battle — at that time, this clash would be over.
It wasn't that they did not want to arrange any tactics or stratagems to reduce the number of casualties ... it was just that this had become routine. This kind of conventional battle, against a long-standing enemy across many years — they had become familiar with each other's tactics. After all this protracted fighting, what mattered in the end was the overall strength of the two nations, as well as which nation had the stronger mecha.
"There is strange movement on the left side of the opponent's fleet!" Right then, a report rang out in the command centre from a surveillance soldier responsible for monitoring the area.
"Zoom in!" The supreme commander of the Federal Border Protection Fleet, Major General Tang Xu, who had been stationed here for 6 years, gave an immediate command after hearing the report. Tang Xu was 43 years old this year, and was considered one of the few outstanding and authoritative Major Generals in the Federation now. Due to his tenacity, he had ensured the stability of the situation at the Federation's border for several years.
At his command, the large screen in the command centre rapidly zoomed in on the position in question. They then saw black mecha being silently ejected one after another from the opponent starship's launching ports.
The surveillance soldier manipulating the image knew very clearly what was important. He immediately provided a close-up of one of the black mecha, especially focusing in of the arm area and enlarging it. At the sight of the serial number beginning with an 'S', the command centre was instantly in an uproar. There were even several senior officers who couldn't help but burst into foul language.
"Twilight actually sent their special ace mecha squad out!" All the Twilight ace mecha were basically marked with XSYZ serial numbers. Z marked the strongest squads of ace mecha, while X marked the weakest. The strength of the ace mecha of the Twilight Empire was equal to that of the Federation's ace mecha. Of course, the Federation's ace mecha squads were also differentiated by their strength. In any case, the S-series special ace mecha squad deployed by the opponent could be considered an extremely powerful veteran mecha team of the Twilight Empire.
Tang Xu knew the situation gave him no time to hesitate. He immediately ordered, "Order the Soaring Dragon ace mecha squad to attack!"
Each fleet would have one ace mecha squad to hold the fort. They were the top fighting power of the Federation — if it were not absolutely necessary, he really did not want to send them out. Just the very idea of losing one of the operators made his heart ache terribly. However, even more, he just could not allow common mecha operators to lose their lives needlessly in engaging the opponent's ace mecha operators. Ace level enemies required aces to match.
********
At the right flank of the fleet, an interstellar mothership was hovering, quiet but somewhat forbidding. In its belly, a primed and fully-equipped mecha squad was waiting to be deployed. It was the trump card ace mecha squad of this protection fleet —— the Soaring Dragons!
At this moment, they were sitting in their respective mecha with solemn expressions. They were spread out in their respective launch passages, paying close attention to the progress of the battle before them.
Suddenly, the call to combat rang out through the entire mothership. The sharp sound pierced through the initial silence, and all the ace operators instinctively clenched the control sticks in their hands. This sound meant that their turn to battle was about to begin.
They had already been waiting for too long. Every time a battle began, they would always be ready to move out, but in the end, they had never had a chance to see the battlefield. Holding fast to the order from the command centre to wait and be on standby at every battle ... if it were not for the military culture deep within their very marrows, the multiple occurrences of cry wolf 1 would very easily tire them out and cause them to become lax in carrying out their orders.
However, all the ace operators knew well that since they were being deployed now, it meant that the enemy would most certainly be ace operators of the same level. This would be a cruel battle to the death — both sides would use their lives to prove who the true kings were!
"Orders. Ace mecha squad Soaring Dragon to strike. Direction southwest, coordinates 1245, 2340!" Every operator of the Soaring Dragons heard this command from the command centre on their mecha's public channel.
"8001, 8002, 8003, 8004, 8005, all prepped and ready to go. Calling JMC801, requesting deployment!" From each launch port, deployment requests were transmitted from the ace operators to the headset of the JMC responsible for guiding the ace mecha.
"Checking ... All equipment in order, mobility normal. Launch approved. 3, 2, 1 ... launching!" The JMC specially in charge of the ace mecha approved the launch requests after swiftly running through the prerequisite checks.
"Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" Consecutive sounds of ejections rang out. From the 5 launch ports on both sides of the mothership, the prepped ace mecha were shot out into the skies.
"8011, 8012, 8013 ... requesting deployment!"
"8021, 8022, 8023 ... requesting deployment!"
Batch after batch of ordered ace mecha were shot into the skies ... at this moment, the exclusive communications channels of each mecha were extremely busy. A mecha battle involving large battalions was not conducted in solo fights; the mecha needed to group together in units to engage the enemy.
"8011 calling 8001. Wingman One requesting to enter formation ..."
"8021 calling 8001. Wingman Two requesting to enter formation ..."
In this manner, every time a formation was fully formed, the mecha would then move swiftly to the coordinates the command centre sends them.
********
"Baka, how does the opponent move so fast?" The commander on the Twilight's mainship, a general with a thin moustache on his upper lip and grey sideburns, saw team after team of silver-white mecha flying from the opponent's backend, swiftly intercepting their ace mecha which had already gotten into formation, and couldn't help but swear angrily.
"General, believe that our mecha operators will not lose to those chinks," said a young staff officer with a slight bow, but his tone was haughty. It should be known that their S-series special ace mecha squads were called the 'victory mecha which would never fall' 1 — dealing with these small guppies would definitely be no problem.
"Aoki, don't underestimate them. The Huaxia Federation has always been our archenemy. For thousands of years, as long as war breaks out, it has always been the end of their lives or ours. Throughout history, we have suffered defeat many times because we underestimated them, bringing great losses to our empire. We must learn from these lessons." The general was a cautious person. He was not blindly confident like some people within the country, self-assured in their belief that the Huaxia Federation was just a pretty flower vase 1 .
"General, what you say makes sense. But, the Huaxia Federation now is no longer the Federation of before. 16 years ago, even their god-class operator Ling Xiao lost his life at our warriors' hands. Now, they are just in their death struggle. Victory will forever belong to the Great Twilight Empire." Staff Officer Aoki's face was filled with pride. The successful assassination of Ling Xiao was the glory of every Twilight soldier.
As soldiers of the new generation of the Twilight Empire, they had grown up under the propaganda of the empire's successful killing of the Huaxia Federation's strongest god-class operator Ling Xiao. In their world view, the Huaxia Federation was already on the wane, no longer having the strength to resist them. The Great Twilight Empire would definitely obtain the final victory and eventually take over the entire Huaxia Federation.
"Is that really so?" The general's expression was grim as he stared at the large screen. He did not believe that the Huaxia Federation really had no backup resources. What's more, they still had other god-class operators. Even though those people had remained reclusive all this time, if the Huaxia Federation truly was pushed to the brink of no return, these fearsome beings would probably appear one after another. In contrast, their empire only had nine mecha god-kings 1 — they just could not match up in numbers.
"We need to drag them along for another period of time. The oldest god-class operator of the Federation must be nearing 200 years old by now ..." The general calculated in his heart. As long as one or two of the opponent's god-class operators died, then in any top-level contest of strength, their Empire would not be at a disadvantage. At that time, it would truly be the time for their Great Twilight Empire to push their attack.
1. i.e. false alarms. Referring to the Aesop fable of a boy who kept lying about wolves coming until the other villagers lost all faith in him. When wolves really came in the end, no one came to help him and his flock of sheep despite his true cries for help then.
2. @.@ That is the name, I kid you not.
3. Fancy and grand to look at, but fragile and easily broken. Basically, all appearance with no true strength.
4. Looks like the Twilight Empire call their own god-class operators by a special name. The original term would literally translate to 'big god mecha king', which was kinda awkward, so I tweaked it a bit. For those interested, the term would be pronounced as 'ookami kiou' in Japanese.
Chapter 190 - The Mysterious Mecha in the Black Hole!
"Aoki, notify the special ace operator squad. Let them use all their might to kill the opponent's ace operators!" The general gave a decisive order. Since a stealth attack was already out of the question, then they might as well eliminate a part of the other's ace operators to weaken the enemy's combat power.
"Hai!" Aoki accepted the general's order with a respectful bow, the pride on his face fading. After that, he turned around and passed on the order to the mecha operators currently facing the opponent's ace operators.
Meanwhile, that batch of deployed Soaring Dragon ace mecha had already began clashing with the enemy — the curtains were lifted on a scene of brutal fighting.
While the command centres of both sides patiently watched the progress of the ace operator fight, at the heart of the flames of battle, an invisible energy was forming.
On the Federation's command ship, a soldier monitoring the battlefield suddenly cried out in shock.
The other soldiers beside him were startled and quickly asked, "What happened?"
"Look here, what is that?" The soldier zoomed in on the oddity he had seen. Right at the centre point of the fighting, a black dot had appeared unexpectedly.
The soldier was really bothered by the black dot, finding it rather creepy and frightening. He magnified the image of the dot as far as he could, and finally, they could clearly see that, at the centre of the black dot, there seemed to be some energy swirling backwards. Even stranger was the fact that the black dot was expanding at a rapid pace.
"Could this be ... a black hole!" This bone-chilling reverse airflow phenomenon sparked some memory in the soldier's mind, and he could not help but blurt out his conclusion.
"What happened?" The senior captain in charge of the surveillance room rushed over when he heard the commotion.
"Sir, it's a black hole! A black hole has appeared at the heart of battle. Order the fighters to retreat quickly!" The soldier's face was pale with fright. Black holes were the ender of all things ... once swallowed by a black hole, no one could escape from within it. Therefore, the moment the emergence of a black hole was discovered, even if they were in the middle of a battle, both sides would mutually choose to stop fighting and escape together.
By now, the captain could clearly see the black dot the soldier had enlarged on the screen as well. In just this short period of time since the soldier had first discovered it, the dot had expanded from its initial size of a tiny fingertip to a round hole of about 20 to 30 centimetres in diameter. The black hole was spreading at a rapid pace — it was foreseeable that, in short order, it would become a supersized hole capable of swallowing everything. At that time, no one here would be able to escape from its clutches.
The captain knew the situation was dire. He swiftly leapt at his optical supercomputer, and activated the computer's wartime emergency protocol! Of course, this protocol could not be activated simply. If any abuse of power was discovered, the person in question would definitely be court-martialled.
"Wartime emergency protocol activated successfully. Please choose the required option!" The A.I. inquired coldly.
"Open all military channels. I want to broadcast a wide scale announcement!" Even the short time taken to activate the supercomputer caused the captain's forehead and bridge of his nose to drip with sweat. A black hole was truly too frightening; he was afraid there would not be enough time.
"Connecting to all military channels, successful!" When the A.I. reported this, the captain immediately pressed the voice button for the broadcast. "Emergency notification for all troops. At the centre of the battle, a black hole is forming! All mecha operators are to retreat immediately, all mecha operators are to retreat immediately!"
"I repeat. Emergency notification for all troops. At the centre of the battle, a black hole is forming! All mecha operators are to retreat immediately, all mecha operators are to retreat immediately!"
This abrupt military-wide broadcast caused an uproar among the Federation fighters. At this time, the command centre had already received the images of the black hole transmitted by the surveillance room. Without even having to think about it, the supreme commander immediately ordered all the starship carriers to send out the retreat signal to the mecha troops they housed.
In the meantime, the black hole at the centre of the fighting had already expanded into a dark chasm of 3 to 4 metres wide. The suction of energy was already extremely obvious now, especially for the ace operators closest to the black hole. They quickly halted their fighting and stared fearfully at the black hole as it grew larger and larger, its suction power becoming stronger and stronger.
Everyone knew what a black hole represented. It was the root of calamity, death, and the destruction of all things.
"It's a black hole, retreat quickly!" Such an obvious black hole made the Twilight Empire mecha operators retreat swiftly even before their own starships could send out the signal to retreat.
At this time, all the mecha operators of both nations no longer had any desire to continue fighting. All the mecha flew swiftly back to their own starships, afraid that if they were any slower, they would be consumed by the black hole.
But they were still too slow in the end. The black hole, which had already expanded to about 10 metres wide, suddenly burst open! As if being pried open by some force, the black hole abruptly became a gigantic black hole of over 100 metres wide. The innermost layer of mecha were instantly caught in the suction of the black hole.
"Godd*mmit, increase horsepower, operate engines at 120%!" The innermost layer of mecha could already feel the growing suction. Some of the operators reacted very quickly, decisively powering their engines to the max to try and escape the suction range. Operating the engines at 120% could not be maintained for long — doing this for too long would leave lasting damage to the main engine. Mecha operators who loved their mecha typically would not bear to do so.
This group of quick-thinking mecha operators were considered lucky. Although they had to pay the cost of breaking their engines, they still managed to at least charge out from the suction range of the black hole, salvaging their lives. In contrast, many more mecha operators lost their chance at survival due to their slow reflexes. They were instantly pulled in by the suction ... by the time they thought to push their engines to the max, it was much too late.
Under this fearsome extra-terrestrial force of nature, even the formidable and dominant ace operators were like infants, unable to resist.
Although most of the ace operators had managed to escape from the suction range of the black hole due to their superior reflexes, because the black hole had appeared right in the middle where the ace operators had been fighting, there were still quite a number of ace operators who had been ruthlessly devoured.
Facing this situation, the operators of both nations could only stare helplessly as those mecha were consumed by the black hole. There were also quite a few mecha who, before they could be fully sucked into the black hole, had directly exploded due to the battering of the chaotic turbulence, turning into countless shards of debris ...
"8217, hold on!" One of the ace mecha formations of the Federation was in a similar crisis. The main mecha 8207 had reacted quickly, almost escaping from the danger zone. As long as his mecha did not break down, escaping with his life was no problem.
However, 10 metres behind him, wingman mecha 8217 was not as lucky as 8207. He was still within range of the powerful suction of the black hole, and most critically, one of his two secondary engines had exploded due to overload. This decreased his speed by a good chunk, and his crisis was precisely due to this significant loss of speed.
The suction of the black hole grabbed hold of him — due to its great power, 8217 actually began sliding backwards. This meant that his mecha's engines were already running out of power to fight this powerful suction.
As the main mecha of 8217, the leader of the formation, seeing his own wingman 8217 in such grave danger, did not even stop to think about it. He immediately controlled his mecha to grab hold of the other's right arm.
"Leader!" Seeing his leader reach out to help him at this most perilous moment with no concern for his own well-being, 8217's eyes turned red with emotion. He desperately commanded his A.I. to increase the output of his engines, hoping to borrow his leader's extra pulling force to escape death.
They were frozen like this for 30 seconds. When the wingman saw the other secondary engine of his mecha blow up due to overload as well, he knew that it was hopeless.
"Don't give up!" Even though he knew that the chances of the two of them escaping together were miniscule, 8207 still did not let go.
"Leader, let go of me!" 8217 said through gritted teeth. He could not drag his leader with him into death.
"No, 8227 has already been sacrificed. I will not watch as my final brother dies!" 8207 refused firmly.
It was already the end of the line, but 8207 still would not let go — he only kept repeating, don't give up! 8217's tears began to fall, "Leader, let go quickly ... do you really want to die with me?"
"If all my brothers are dead, then what would be the point of living on my own? We've said before that — if we die together on the battlefields someday, we will be brothers again in the next life. Now, 8227 is already gone. With the two of us too, even if we go to the afterlife, all three of us brothers will be able to be together once again," said 8207 with a smile. Being able to die with one's brothers, was also a type of happiness.
"Leader!" Although tears were still falling from 8217's eyes, 8217 smiled as well. "Thank you for taking care of me all these years. Becoming your number one wingman is my greatest fortune." That said, he reached out his left hand to pull out the beam saber on his back, and then, amidst 8207's shocked cries, he resolutely brought the saber down on his own right arm ...
With a "Swoosh!", the mecha's right arm fell. Suddenly losing the weight in his hands, 8207's over-revved engines instantly pulled him out of the range of the black hole's suction.
"8217!" roared 8207 in grief, tears in his fierce eyes. His final brother, using such an intense method to sacrifice himself, saving him ...
There was a deep pain in 8207's chest — mindlessly, he leapt towards the black hole, but was held back by formation leader 8102 who had arrived in the nick of time. " 207 1 , calm down!"
"They were my brothers!" 8207 finally burst into tears.
"They were my brothers too!" barked 8102 sharply, "You remember this, your life right now is no longer just your own. It is also 217's."
These words caused 8207 to jerk, his initial struggles dying down instantly.
Right at that moment, 8102's wingman 8122 suddenly cried out, "Leader, look, at the heart of the black hole, something is flying out ..."
8102 looked over quickly. Indeed, at the centre of the black hole, something was slowly moving out against the black hole's suction. Although its speed was exceedingly slow, it was still slowly but surely getting away from the heart of the black hole. "How is this possible?
Everyone knew that the suction force was definitely the most terrifying at the heart of a black hole — absolutely nothing could stand against it. What in the world was that thing to be able to fight off this type of suction power to slowly escape from within the black hole?
8102 zoomed in on the image of the thing. Sure enough, at the heart of the black hole, a mysterious mecha was making its difficult way forwards, trying to escape the grip of the overwhelming suction of the black hole. The body of that mysterious mecha was marked with clear signs of damage, even looking somewhat dilapidated. Yet, it was precisely this beat-up mysterious mecha that was currently performing a miracle.
1. Not a typo. Original text just says 207, rather than the full 8207. Formation leader 8102 also uses the same format to refer to 8217 slightly later in this chapter, so maybe it's just this formation leader's style?
Chapter 191 - The Fearsome Combat Ability of a God-Class Operator!
However, what he discovered next filled 8102 with great pleasant surprise — the mysterious mecha's left arm was currently holding onto a mecha with a broken arm. That mecha was precisely 8217 who had just chopped off part of his arm and had been swallowed by the black hole.
"Look at the left hand of that mecha ... isn't that 8217?" 8102 could not help but ask joyfully. Even though he was sure his eyes were not mistaken, this pleasant surprise made him somewhat doubtful — could the comrade he thought for sure was dead return once more to their side?
8102's question was like a shot of adrenaline to 8207 1 . His spirits rallied and he hurriedly operated his mecha's screen to zoom in on the heart of the black hole and immediately shouted, "It's him! It's him! It's 8217!"
"That mecha ... don't you all think it looks somewhat familiar?" 8102's number one wingman 8112 had also seen the mecha, but his focus was on the other mecha's form.
"It's a mecha from our Federation. I see the golden five-pointed star on his right arm! That's the exclusive symbol of our Federation!" shouted 8122 as well.
Meanwhile, the mecha at the heart of the black hole continued to fight with all its might against the pull of the black hole. After a period of movement, that mysterious mecha finally moved out of the innermost circle of the black hole's centre. There, perhaps due to the weakened suction, the mysterious mecha began to speed up, its appearance becoming increasingly clearer to the crowd.
The body of the mysterious mecha was larger than ace mecha by a ring, and could even be considered a giant mecha. This type of mecha asked a lot from its operator. The mecha's design was rather simple and unsophisticated, and the scars all over its body only added a sense of weariness to it. All of this proved that this mecha had been through great trials and had suffered great hardship.
Still, despite the mysterious mecha's beat-up body, the personal totem at its chest was surprisingly vibrant. A fiery red phoenix being reborn from the blazing flames beneath it, the fire phoenix about to take flight as if drawing from the energy fed to it by the flames ... this totem was extremely familiar to all mecha operators of the Federation at the scene, and this familiarity seemed to come from deep within them ...
"Fire phoenix! That's the fire phoenix rising from the ashes!" Someone yelled out within the public military channel.
"It's Ling Xiao — it's Major General Ling Xiao!" As if being woken from a trance, everyone began to shout and exclaim. The totem of the fire phoenix rising from the ashes — only one person in the Federation had that mark. And that was the god-class operator Major General Ling Xiao! Just like the fire phoenix in his totem, Major General Ling Xiao had risen from the ashes of death to return to the Federation!
"That's right, it's Major General Ling Xiao! I've seen that mecha in my textbooks before. It's <Belief> — that is the god-class mecha <Belief>!" There were also some who had recognised that simplistic giant mecha as the legendary god-class mecha <Belief>.
This also explained why this mecha could resist the powerful suction of the black hole at its heart — only a god-class mecha would be capable of such a feat.
On the other side, the Twilight Empire had also identified that giant mecha trying to escape from the heart of the black hole as the god-class machine <Belief> of Ling Xiao who was rumoured to have already been killed by them.
At this sight, within the command ship of the Twilight Empire, Staff Officer Aoki, who had been closely observing the black hole, was stupefied. "How can this be? How can this be? Hasn't Ling Xiao already been killed by our brave warriors? Why is he still alive, suddenly emerging from inside the black hole?" Aoki could feel his pride crumbling, suddenly being informed that the source of his confidence was all a lie. Right then, he just could not accept it. "No, this definitely cannot be real. I must be seeing an illusion, an illusion!"
"Slap!" Aoki's face was whipped to the side by a forceful slap. The general standing beside him had thrown a slap at him to wake him up. "So what if he is alive? It's very easy to let him die!"
The general was a decisive person. He knew that once Ling Xiao returned to the Huaxia Federation, the Huaxia Federation's combat power would reach a new unimaginable height. This was something their Twilight Empire could not tolerate.
The general's eyes turned fierce. He swiftly connected to the military-wide channel and gave his orders. "No matter what the cost, kill god-class operator Ling Xiao!"
Following this order, the mecha operators who were still dubious received an answer — that mysterious mecha coming out from the heart of the black hole was indeed Ling Xiao's <Belief>.
"Kill Ling Xiao! Kill Ling Xiao! Kill Ling Xiao! Kill Ling Xiao!" The troops of the Twilight Empire had been educated via brainwashing 1 . The killing of god-class operator Ling Xiao was one of the great exploits of their country that had been established 16 years ago — they definitely would not allow this honour to be overturned. All the Twilight Empire mecha operators piloted their mecha to approach the black hole. They raised the beam guns in their hands, shooting fervently towards the heart of the black hole.
"D*mmit, they're trying to kill our Major General Ling Xiao!" The despicable actions 1 of the Twilight Empire infuriated the Federation soldiers who were anxiously waiting for Ling Xiao to escape from danger.
"Protect Major General Ling Xiao!" When Major General Tang Xu saw this, he could not help but bellow into the communications channel.
Ling Xiao was their Federation's ultimate weapon, one of their guardian deities — they definitely could not let any harm come to him here.
"Protect Major General Ling Xiao!"
"Protect Major General Ling Xiao!"
"Protect Major General Ling Xiao!"
Following roar after angry roar, all the Federation soldiers raised the weapons in their hands and began to intercept the enemy's attacks. Many of the mecha operators even leapt to the fringes of the black hole, to form a tight mecha defensive wall, using the bodies of their own mecha to bear the brunt of the enemy's beam fire.
They knew very well that doing so may cost them their lives, but they were unafraid. This was because they were doing this to protect their national military idol, the god-class operator —— Major General Ling Xiao 1 .
And so, after every beam attack, there would always be a mecha or two from the Federation mecha defensive wall which exploded as it went beyond its damage threshold. At that time, a new mecha would step up to take its place, once again blocking off the beam fire.
Of course, the Twilight Empire's mecha operators were not having a good time of it either. The Federation mecha operators fought back just as fiercely, beam fire roaring out from both sides at about the same intensity. This battle had become a standing showdown. The mecha operators were no longer mecha operators — they no longer flew around nimbly, and there were no more complex attack manoeuvres. The two sides just shot at each other mechanically like fixed wooden puppets.
It should be said that this battle was a mecha fight without any strategy. Countless mecha operator lives were lost on both sides, and it was all for the sake of one person — the one currently struggling to get away from the suction of the black hole, Ling Xiao.
The Federation mecha operators did not know how many attacks they blocked off, nor did they know how much time had passed. But finally, they heard a cheer ring out in the general comms channel, "Major General Ling Xiao has successfully escaped the black hole!"
When they heard this news, all the Federation mecha operators swelled with joy and triumph, feeling that it would have been worth it even if they had died.
Subsequently, an extremely gentle voice rang out across the channel, "Many thanks for your protection, brothers." This voice made everyone unbelievably emotional, also bringing tears to Major General Tang Xu's eyes. This familiar voice was precisely that of Ling Xiao who had 'died' 17 years ago.
Ling Xiao handed over 8217 to a mecha operator of the Federation, then controlled <Belief> to fly upwards to hover above the Federation mecha.
"Activate Divine Punishment system!" said Ling Xiao calmly.
"Command received by <Belief>, Divine Punishment activated!" <Belief> and Ling Xiao's rapport was already at an extreme — not even a second later, twelve wings suddenly sprouted from <Belief>'s back, and then, the wings began to absorb energy rapidly till a pinnacle of potential.
Next, Ling Xiao controlled <Belief> to aim the twelve wings in twelve directions, pointing at the Twilight mecha horde in the distance.
Ling Xiao decisively pressed his trigger, and twelve powerful beams swept out at the Twilight mecha horde ahead, causing the entire starry sky to become a sheet of light in an instant. The Federation mecha operators found themselves temporarily blinded by the intense light.
When the twelve beams faded away and the crowd's vision was restored, they found to their shock that twelve empty lines had been carved into the Twilight mecha horde. The mecha which had been in those lines previously had all vanished, and even more terrifying was the fact that there was no remaining trace of any of them.
What attack was this? It was way too horrifying! Everyone's gazes were drawn towards Ling Xiao's mecha. Only then did they notice that Ling Xiao's <Belief> had already shifted in appearance. On the mecha's back were twelve wings, so perfect that they enchanted the hearts of all observers, giving others the impression that an angel had descended.
Pure white light was currently accumulating at the tip of each wing, which slowly grew brighter and brighter, almost searing the eyes of anyone who stared at them. Additionally, an immense energy was beginning to emanate from those wing-tips ...
Right then, the twelve wings changed directions simultaneously, still pointed at the Twilight mecha horde, but in twelve new directions this time.
Soon, twelve beams fired out once more, and when the light faded, twelve new vacant rows were left among the enemy horde.
Just two simple beam attacks had obliterated approximately 2000 mecha of the Twilight Empire. Although the majority of these had been intermediate to advanced mecha, there had still been quite a few ace mecha among them. Regardless of mecha type, against this fearsome attack, they were all completely helpless.
"Baka, Ling Xiao must die!" Seeing the horrific results of Ling Xiao's blasts, the general was reinforced in his belief that Ling Xiao could not be allowed to live. Otherwise, it would be a devastating blow to their Twilight Empire. "All starship cannons to aim at Ling Xiao! Fire, fire with all you have! We must kill off Ling Xiao!"
The general knew well that even if all of them died here today, as long as they succeeded in killing off Ling Xiao, everything would be worth it. For the Empire, all sacrifices were worth it.
"Not good, the enemy is planning to go for broke 1 ." The enemy starship fleet's strange movements were naturally picked up by the Federation's command centre. They were somewhat flustered — it should be known that the power of a starship's main cannon was extremely horrifying. Even the sturdiest interstellar mothership would not be able to withstand more than 3 to 5 attacks from a starship's main cannons.
1. 打鸡血: Interestingly enough, in Chinese, the phrase here is 'like injecting 8207 with chicken blood'. Apparently, chicken-blood therapy was popular in China among village doctors in the 1960s. The therapy consisted mainly of simply drawing blood from a rooster and injecting into the patients. Claimed benefits included making the patient highly aggressive and strong. (sourced from Wikipedia).
2. T/C: Pot, meet kettle. Almost every country has their own brand of propaganda.
3. T/C: Despicable, eh? All's fair in war, people. Of course the enemy is going to shoot at a threat to them. =.=
4. T/C: Yep, sounds like brainwashing to me.
5. 破釜沉舟: literal translation of this idiom is actually 'break the cauldrons and sink the ships', which basically means the Twilight Empire here is cutting off all their own means of retreat. It's do or die time.
Chapter 192 - The First Marshal!
"Push forwards! Intercept the starships, do not give them any chance to fire their main cannons!" roared Major General Tang Xu in the comms channel. At this point, they could only fight it out. If things became truly dire, blocking off the cannonfire with one of their starships would also be worth it. Following this order, all the Federation starships began to move. Unfortunately, the starships were too large and clumsy — it was not that easy to turn their bodies.
This was also why starships, despite having powerful main cannons, could not be the main fighting force in an interstellar battle. In contrast to the agile mecha, the heavy and slow bulky starships were not at all suited for quick battles, completely toyed with by mecha. If not for the fact that starships themselves were bulked up with great defences and the damage of mecha attacks were insignificant against their bulk, incapable of finishing them off, starships may likely have to quit appearing in battle completely.
"Lock onto Ling Xiao, and fire!" The main cannon of the first starship finally had its sights on Ling Xiao, and so the starship's main cannoneer was charged to attack Ling Xiao, who was hovering in place in the air.
A deafening "Boom!" — the main cannon's fire hit Ling Xiao's mecha directly. Smoke and fire shot out in all directions, completely engulfing <Belief>.
The starship's main cannoneer leapt up and danced in excitement, hollering, "I've hit him! I've hit him!" If Ling Xiao were to die at his hands, he would become the hero of the Twilight Empire!
The smoke cleared and the flames vanished! When Ling Xiao's mecha <Belief> appeared perfectly unharmed before the crowd once more, the dancing cannoneer froze, and his excited words became lodged in his throat as if his neck were being strangled. His face was the picture of disbelief. This was because the massive firepower of the main cannon had actually been unable to leave any mark at all on Ling Xiao's mecha <Belief>.
The Federation soldiers were as equally mystified, unsure how Ling Xiao's <Belief> had managed to come out of such powerful cannon-fire utterly unscathed. Some sharp-sighted people then noticed the faint sheen of multi-coloured light on <Belief>'s outer shell, and immediately understood. "Divine Shield! It's the god-class mecha's exclusive Divine Shield system!"
The reason why god-class mecha could become god-class mecha was that the A.I. of the mecha could support several systems which regular mecha A.I.s could not. One of these was the Divine Shield system — it could convert energy into an almost flawless, practically invincible divine light shield. It could be said that any weapon invented by humankind at the moment was incapable of breaking through Ling Xiao's defences. Of course, the Divine Shield system was not without weaknesses. It drained too much energy — even a god-class mecha's supposedly endless power could only sustain the system for a short 3 minutes.
Ling Xiao's mecha <Belief> withstood the main cannon's attack this time but did not continue to remain stationary to be a sitting target. The air around the mecha suddenly warped, and in the very next second, it had appeared by the other's starship.
"The Divine Wind system!" This was yet another of the god-class mecha's exclusive systems. Once it was activated, the mecha could reach up to 4 times the speed of light, truly achieving instantaneous teleportation.
Right then, Ling Xiao, who had already appeared beside the starship, swiftly removed a giant sword hilt from his back. His mecha gripped the sword hilt tightly in its right hand, and a 100-metre long beam saber abruptly appeared out of nowhere in this starry space.
Ling Xiao gripped this giant saber tightly and then swung it down powerfully in a great arc at the starship ...
A lift of his hand, a swing of his saber — Ling Xiao did not look again at the starship, keeping away his giant beam saber instantly after his attack to hang it once more behind his back.
And then, the air around <Belief> warped again and it reappeared within the enemy mecha horde.
Just at that moment, that starship suddenly split apart. Due to the unexpected explosion, the people inside it were thrown into space, officially becoming space trash and dying instantly.
Ling Xiao's killing spree did not end there — like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep, Ling Xiao flew among the enemy mecha horde. At this time, two short swords had appeared in his hands. They were the most basic of mecha equipment, high-frequency blades. Still, just these two most basic of weapons sliced through the opponent's mecha as easily as cutting right through a watermelon. The speed of the Divine Wind system, paired with god-class control and unearthly footwork, caused the mecha to flicker in and out of sight. In the blink of an eye, Ling Xiao had destroyed several tens of mecha, among them quite a significant number of ace mecha.
At this moment, everyone understood why it was said in the human world that god-class operators could dictate the outcome of war — there was just no one who could withstand a god-class operator's attack, nor were there any weapons capable of penetrating the other's defence. Only by relying on forces of nature, such as black holes (this should be eliminated now), or explosions of primordial magnetic energy 1 (this was questionable), or consecutive supernovas (almost impossible to happen), or the butcher's knife of time (pretty much the most helpless waiting game), etcetera etcetera etcetera ... perhaps those might have the possibility of finishing them off 2 .
Seeing this scene, the Twilight Empire general knew that he would certainly be unable to achieve his objective today. Even if they sacrificed every single person on their side, they would still be unable to kill Ling Xiao here. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he decisively ordered their retreat. He needed to report the news that Ling Xiao still lived post-haste to the Empire's military headquarters.
The Twilight Empire fleet retreated swiftly, very quickly disappearing without a trace. Seeing their opponents scurry off with their tails between their legs back to their own space border, all the Federation warriors cheered! They were cheering for the triumph of this battle, as well as cheering for the return of the god-class operator Ling Xiao.
"Federation 7th Division vice commander, Ling Xiao, requesting provisional docking from an allied starship!" Ling Xiao connected to the general military channel and submitted a docking request.
Tang Xu breathed in deeply, suppressing the elation in his heart as he pressed the button to communicate. "I, Tang Xu, the commander of the First Defence Fleet of the Western Border Guard, permit Major General Ling Xiao to dock on my ship." Following that declaration, the command ship began transmitting a guidance signal.
Ling Xiao operated his mecha to slowly descend onto the starship's navigation frame. Sliding along the frame, he slid swiftly into the interior of the starship.
Ling Xiao's control was extremely precise, accurately stopping right at the stop-line. At this moment, a sweet and gentle voice rang out in the mecha comms channel. "Major General Ling Xiao, hello! I am the JMC guiding your mecha into the hangar this time. Please follow my instructions to carry out the following movements."
"Roger!" Somewhat familiar, the sweet and pretty voice caused Ling Xiao to zone out for a moment before regaining his awareness. That voice had called up his memories of Lan Luofeng — back then at the start, she had been his exclusive JMC. He had not seen her for almost a full 17 years ... he wondered how she was doing now. And there was still their child Ling Lan ... a swell of fear and uncertainty actually rose up in Ling Xiao's heart, his heart beginning to pound. He was homesick, yet he feared the reception he would receive when he returned.
Under the JMC's lead, Ling Xiao piloted his mecha accurately into the frame, and then leaving it to the operation of the starship's systems, his mecha was brought straight into the command ship's mecha hold.
Ling Xiao turned off his mecha and opened the cockpit door. At this time, the entire mecha hold had already become filled with the soldiers of the command ship, both men and women. They all wanted to take the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Major General Ling Xiao in person — he was a heroic figure from legend who had been believed dead for 17 years, after all.
Ling Xiao had long become used to this type of gazes. He had always been an elite among the elites, an aberrant prodigy, idolised by people wherever he went. Although he had been away from the Federation for 17 years, he was not at all unfamiliar with this sort of gawking.
A lift carried Ling Xiao to the ground. His original mecha suit had already become worn and tattered, but even so, it did not detract from his looks. A warm and elegant smile on an unbelievably handsome face — all the female soldiers' were blushing as their hearts throbbed. They wished they could just rush forward and hug him, leaving a beautiful memory for themselves.
But these were all just fantasies; they would never dare to act so impudently. Although Major General Ling Xiao looked exceedingly gentle and mild-mannered, just like a humble gentleman, there was just some mystical force about him that stayed their restlessness, discouraging them from going too far.
"Major General Ling Xiao, welcome back!" Tang Xu had already hurried to the mecha hold by this time. Seeing Ling Xiao land, he rushed forwards and clasped Ling Xiao's hands in his, face filled with elation as he greeted Ling Xiao.
The two men had met a few times 17 years ago and had shared a brief conversation, but following Ling Xiao's unfortunate 'demise', their budding relationship had been ended abruptly. Back then, Tang Xu had deeply lamented the loss of a like-minded brother-in-arms.
"Major General Tang Xu, long time no see!" Before greeting Tang Xu, Ling Xiao had peeked at the other's epaulette 1 , thus finding out the other's current military rank. 17 years were enough for many of his friends to change military ranks. He wondered if the same could be said for his enemies … a trace of killing intent flashed through Ling Xiao's eyes.
Although Tang Xu really wanted to say something to Ling Xiao, he just could not find any words. He could only shake Ling Xiao's hands solemnly, even though he knew that it was actually more appropriate for them to interact via military salutes.
Ling Xiao swept his gaze around at the surrounding people and smiled wearily, "If possible, please prepare somewhere for me to rest first. I have lived in that damnable black hole for a really long time. I'm physically and mentally worn out."
At the reminder, Tang Xu hurriedly nodded and said, "Done. I'll prepare things immediately!" Ling Xiao's fatigued state proved that his struggle out of the black hole was definitely not as simple and easy as it had seemed to them. He must have paid an extremely steep price in the process.
Just like that, Ling Xiao temporarily settled in with the First Defence Fleet of the Western Border Guard, to rest and recuperate. On the other hand, due to technical issues and a lack of appropriate materials, the mecha <Belief> could not be serviced. It would have to wait till Ling Xiao returned to Doha to receive proper care and maintenance.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, Ling Lan, who had already found out that Qi Long and the other five had all passed and been accepted into the First Men's Military Academy, did not know that a man who would change the future course of her life was on his way home ...
********
One week later, the Federation's first marshal secretly arrived at the headquarters of the First Division. A staff officer by his side informed him that the guest was waiting for him in the living room.
The moment the marshal entered the living room, he saw a man sitting primly on the sofa. The man was about 27 to 28 years old, or maybe even around 30, and on his handsome face was an indistinct trace of a smile, naturally drawing the favour of others. However, because he was dressed from head to toe in brand new martial attire, the trim and almost pressed-creaseless general's uniform made him look sharp and dashing. This lessened his original gentle air somewhat, giving him a rare share of stateliness.
"Ling Xiao, you still live! This is wonderful!" said the marshal emotionally the moment he saw the other, his footsteps speeding up subconsciously.
Seeing that the marshal was here, Ling Xiao immediately stood up at attention and gave the other a proper military salute. "Marshal, long time no see!"
1. This should be a natural phenomenon the author made up for this fictional universe. At least, the other translators of webnovel and I have no clue what it is.
2. ... That's a lot of uncertainty right there. Lol.
3. An ornamental shoulder piece on an item of clothing, especially on the coat or jacket of a military uniform (source: Oxford dictionary)