Crash

Boom!

A violent explosion resounded not far from Reno, unleashing a tsunami-like shockwave that swept over, lifting the Silver Wing Angel into the air.

The intense impact left Reno's mind dizzy, making it difficult for him to judge directions clearly. Only the reminders from the mecha's AI kept echoing in his ears: "Warning, warning, encountering advanced threat, energy shield defense decreased to twenty-four percent, approaching the alert line, approaching the alert line."

Only a quarter of the energy shield remained?

Despite running and dodging desperately, the mecha would inevitably encounter attacks, leading to a continuous decrease in energy. As the intensity of the attacks increased, the rate of defense decline accelerated.

Reno gradually lost control of the mecha as his mind grew increasingly hazy.

A surging shockwave swept in from the front, not from the starship, but from other players who, like him, were reluctant to attack mechas.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and opted for internal conflict.

"Let's fight!" Lilith looked down from above, laughing.

"Fight!" All the players witnessing the scene shouted together.

Of course, there were also encouragements for Reno: "Hey, kid, I believe in you, you must persevere. If you can do it, I'll sponsor your next match with a thousand bucks!"

Various voices intertwined.

Amidst the bustling noise, the Silver Wing Angel soared high, only to be struck again.

This time, it was a direct hit to the chest, causing the energy shield to drop further. Even Reno himself bumped his head, his vision blurred. Displayed on the mecha, the Silver Wing Angel lay on the ground, struggling to get up.

"Get up! Get up quickly!" The audience roared, shouting in unison.

"Ding! Weapon systems unlocked for the third time, fully unlocked." The notification from the AI sounded again.

Meanwhile, attacks from hostile mechas approached. A massive energy axe swung towards the Silver Wing Angel's head. Just as it was about to strike, a bright light suddenly appeared in the mecha's hand.

An unusually long energy spear formed in Reno's hand, blocking the axe's attack. Simultaneously, he kicked the opponent's mecha, sending it flying. The Silver Wing Angel leaped up, reversing the spear to point at the opponent's neck.

"Get him!" The crowd erupted in cheers, and the league director activated the sound transmission, letting the cheers reach Reno's ears.

But Reno didn't move.

He looked up at the sky and said slowly, "Is this what you want to see? Unfortunately, I have no intention of acting according to your wishes."

His words echoed through the speakers, and at that moment, the roaring cheers abruptly stopped.

A clear voice came through, "I have high hopes for you, young man, but this is the Deathmatch. You cannot win without experiencing killing and fighting. If you want to continue, you must face all of this cruelty."

Reno sneered, "Perhaps, but I will fight in my own way!"

With that, he looked up at the sky.

Retracting the spear, two huge metal wings emerged from the back of the mecha, each with a rocket booster at its tip. Driven by the boosters, the Silver Wing Angel soared into the sky, heading straight for the Expedition.

"Oh my God, what is he trying to do?" Someone began to exclaim.

Some recognized Reno's target and screamed in disbelief, "The Expedition, he wants to attack the Expedition!"

"It's impossible, a ground attack mecha can't harm the Expedition. Even without activating the energy defense shield, it can't penetrate the alloy armor!"

Because of its proximity to the ground, starships were not allowed to use energy defense shields. The massive energy fluctuations would affect the entire planet.

However, the Expedition starship was not something a ground mecha could destroy.

This rookie dared to launch an attack on a starship, showing immense courage.

All the audience was stunned by this scene.

"He's looking for death!" Lilith gritted her teeth. "He can't harm the Expedition."

"From a theoretical perspective, this mecha might still have a chance." At that moment, the male host suddenly spoke.

He seemed quite knowledgeable about starships and explained to the camera, "As we all know, due to the proximity to the ground, starships cannot activate energy shields. Although starships have thick armor protection, not all equipment on board is shielded by armor due to the unique design of the hull. For example, the rear thrusters and ion engine exhaust ports are exposed. If these areas are attacked and the force is strong enough, it could cause serious damage to the starship. If luck is not on their side, it could even lead to a crash."

As he explained, the Silver Wing Angel surged towards the Expedition.

The Expedition seemed to realize what was happening and was infuriated by Reno's actions. Instead of dispatching disc-shaped fighters to intercept, they directly fired photon energy cannons, attempting to deal with this reckless action in the most domineering manner possible. Of course, the intensity of the energy cannon's attack remained within permissible limits.

But at that moment, the Silver Wing Angel displayed an unprecedented agility.

It soared at high speed, drawing a long arc in the air, deftly evading all incoming attacks, and headed straight for the underside of the starship, raising the energy spear in its hand. Spinning at an incredible speed, it charged straight toward the ship's belly.

Although the Expedition attempted to attack, it found that the Silver Wing Angel's position was actually in a blind spot for its defenses.

To be precise, it wasn't a blind spot but a tactic used during high-speed movement. By exploiting the slow movement of the ship's cannons, it first redirected them towards other areas and then quickly changed direction, creating an artificial blind spot.

Originally, such a tactic would have been considered nearly impossible. However, due to league regulations prohibiting the use of high-power cannons, most of the attack weapons on the Expedition starship were effectively unusable, leading to inevitable major flaws in its firepower defense system.

Even so, only those truly familiar with starships could perceive and exploit these flaws.

And Reno happened to be one of them.

He aimed the energy spear in his hand at one of the ion engine exhaust ports at the rear of the ship's belly. As he spun upwards, he left a long silver ripple in the air, resembling a silver dragon.

This wasn't a tactic he had practiced extensively; it was a desperate choice in the face of a starship.

He had never rehearsed it, but at the moment of its use, his mind was clear.

Spinning rapidly, Reno no longer harbored notions of success or failure.

What would success bring?

And failure?

Reno didn't know.

He simply decided to act, to give it his all, regardless of the outcome!

Like a medieval knight wielding a lance, brave and fearless, charging toward the enemy's vital points!

Charge!

Swinging the energy lance, he broke through the defensive blind spot. Before a flurry of dazzling light could strike, Reno had flown beneath the ship's belly.

Expending all his strength, he crashed the energy spear into the engine. With a massive impact, a burst of light erupted from the Expedition's hull.

Then came the heavy artillery, laser cannons, missiles—Reno unleashed all his ammunition and energy at the "backside" of the Expedition.

Followed by a towering explosion, the Expedition began to shake violently, causing everyone inside to stagger.

Direct hit!

This fact stunned all the crew on board, leaving them in disbelief.

Red alarms instantly blared throughout the command hall, various urgent messages flooding the commander's ears.

"The fourth engine is damaged, causing energy overload."

"Energy misalignment rising, the ship is losing control."

"Under gravitational influence, the starship is descending."

"Damn it, we're going down."

Shouts of astonishment filled the air.

Under normal circumstances, a starship flying in space, due to the absence of gravity, would not crash even if heavily damaged. As long as it didn't explode on the spot, there would always be a chance for repair.

But in near-Earth space, everything was different.

In near-Earth space, the massive mass of the starship would exert tremendous pressure on itself, requiring powerful engines to support low-altitude flight. However, the energy consumption per second was immense.

Despite appearing to fly slowly in low-altitude space, the energy consumption far exceeded that of full-speed flight in space.

In such a scenario, once energy went out of control, the heavy load would force the starship to reduce energy support, resulting in an inability to bear its own weight and a subsequent descent. Unless they risked energy overload and explosion to forcibly pull up, they could only watch as the starship plummeted.

Of course, such a situation was extremely rare.

But today, it became a reality.

Reno's precise attack had punctured the vital point of the Expedition like using a toothpick to kill an elephant—so astonishing and incredible, yet it happened.

"System assessment: We will crash to the ground within thirty seconds."

"Everyone, brace yourselves, get down, prepare for impact!" the captain shouted frantically.

"Are we going to crash?" a soldier asked, seemingly still not fully comprehending the enormity of the situation.

The captain answered despairingly, "No, the Expedition won't crash, but we will lose all face."

In the sky above Lachfania Island, a massive starship descended from the heavens.

Accompanying its descent was that tiny silver dot.

It looked so insignificant, yet it stirred the hearts of billions.

At that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the Silver Wing Angel, unwavering.

Far away, the male host spoke solemnly, "This is a true hero. Let's give the hero a round of applause."

Thunderous applause erupted from the grandstands.

From various corners of the universe, scattered applause followed.

It was a tribute to the hero!