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Chapter 492 - Only Life and Death, No Good and Evil

It was a good thing that the members of Qiao Ting's team had all remembered the rules of the battle royale and did not shoot at the opponents' cockpit; otherwise, this round of unexpected beam attacks would have clipped a good portion of Feihong Military Academy's battle team members.

However, even so, red lights began to flash on many of the opponent mecha's screens. The A.I. began to repeatedly give the announcement, "You have died!" This announcement meant that that team member was eliminated. These mecha operators were so angry that they smashed the controls in the cockpit. The battle royale had just begun and they got eliminated before they did anything… Qiao Ting was so despicable. He even attacked other attacking teams… Was he not afraid that he would anger everyone?

Still angry, they landed their mecha on the ground and waited for the staff members of the battle royale to send transport to take them to the resting area. They decided that once they went back, they would watch Qiao Ting's group and see what happened to them in the very end.

Qiao Ting confused the opponent and took the enemy by surprise. However, as those who were able to become the attacking team, the other side's captain and some of their members were all quite capable. They reacted quickly and successfully dodged this round of treacherous sneak attacks.

Seeing this, Qiao Ting swung his right arm with great force. His team members saw this motion. All the close combat mecha, including balanced mecha, switched their weapons and held up cold weapons. They all moved towards the few mecha that were left.

At the same time, the long-range mechas quickly changed to their specialized sniper rifles, and they aimed towards the few special-class mechas that were still struggling after being surrounded.

Although those remaining mechas of Feihong Academy used kamikaze methods to try and bring down some of their opponent's mecha, this was still a one-sided battle. How could the long-range mecha armed with sniper rifles, who were watching them from the very beginning, give them a chance to commit kamikaze? When they saw the opponents' irregular movements, they instantly pulled the trigger and hit them, regrettably eliminating them from the tournament.

Qiao Ting saw that all the mechas had landed on the ground. He pulled out his short range beam gun and shot once towards an empty field not far from those mechas. This shot instantly melted the thick layer of snow on the ground. Not only that, but it also left a hole that was burnt black.

The expression of the captain from Feihong changed after seeing this. He heard the A.I. finally say the phrase, "You have died." His feigned death and defeat was seen through by the enemy. Qiao Ting used the last shot to tell him that in the face of a real enemy, Qiao Ting would shoot again at the cockpit in order to make sure the enemy was dead.

He had originally wanted to take the mecha's wreckage to their headquarters to tell his commander who had "killed" them. Qiao Ting's shot deprived him of that chance. Having "died", he would now be taken to the resting area by the staff members of the tournament. At the same time, all of his forms of communication were closed. He could only silently wait for the battle royale to end.

"I hope the commander and the others will quickly discover Qiao Ting's despicable behavior." The captain of Feihong Military Academy's team held only one hope.

After shooting that last shot, Qiao Ting put away his beam gun with satisfaction. Their first battle was perfect. Other than one close combat member who was hit by one opponent that was "dying" and had their mecha damaged by 30%, all the other members did not sustain any damage and were still at 100%.

"Little Lu, how long will it take to repair your mecha a bit?" Qiao Ting asked the member who had their mecha damaged.

Little Lu laughed weakly in response and said, "Captain, it's very difficult to recover to 100% with only the A.I.'s self-repair function. It can probably only repair to around 90% in the end…"

The systems that were affected were slowly restored by the A.I. However, the A.I. wouldn't be able to repair the outer layer of the mecha. Seeing this, Little Lu sighed and said, "If only that Chang Xinyuan had joined our battle team in the beginning." A small problem like this, with an outstanding repair mechanic, was something could be easily solved.

The only reason Qiao Ting used Leiting methods to try and make Chang Xinyuan join his team was that he saw the monstrous talent Chang Xinyuan had in regards to repairing and modifying mechas. He was scared that this genius would be taken by others; thus, he had used that method to announce he was determined to take Chang Xinyuan in, preventing the other teams from daring to touch Chang Xinyuan. Qiao Ting originally thought that Chang Xinyuan would submit to him, but he didn't think that someone would throw a wrench in the works. Ling Lan disregarded his pushiness and immediately took Chang Xinyuan as his own subordinate.

What bothered him more was that Chang Xinyuan was willing to join the newly formed Lingtian Battle Clan with an unknown future, instead of his own battle clan…

Little Lu's words made Qiao Ting's expression change a bit. He was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "Little Lu, are my methods too pushy? It annoys people right? That's why I can't get the people that I want, right?"

Little Lu immediately shook his head at this and said, "I don't think so captain. You are our captain. Being a bit pushy is a must."

Qiao Ting's eyes were darkened and could not be lit up easily. The depressing atmosphere made Little Lu, who was standing beside Qiao Ting, feel pressured as sweat dripped down his back. He silently sent a message to his vice-captain to come and save him.

"Captain, all our members have rested up. What is our next move?" the vice-captain asked, waving towards Little Lu at the same time, telling him to find a chance to get away.

Little Lu surreptitiously operated his mecha and dashed away from Qiao Ting's side. Little Lu, now returned to the team, silently let out a sigh of relief. When the captain had asked him whether he was pushy and annoying, Little Lu's heart had almost stopped beating… Wuwuwu. Was it possible that the captain knew he hated him before? That's why he gave him a warning? Little Lu began to have a bee in his bonnet. He decided that in the future, he would no longer say bad things about the captain behind his back.

Little Lu used the vice-captain's interruption as a chance to get away. Qiao Ting didn't even react. After thinking deeply for a few seconds, he raised his head and asked his own vice-captain, "Vice-Captain Zhou, do you think Ling Lan is someone who is pushy and domineering?"

Vice-Captain Zhou became dumbfounded and didn't know why Qiao Ting suddenly asked about Ling Lan. However, he still thought about it seriously and then replied, "Commander Ling Lan is very cold. I remember his cold glance. That feeling was like being cut open by a cold knife. Cold and painful with a lot of pressure. It was an aura that had a feeling that those who obeyed would prosper and those who were against him would perish. He is pushy." Vice-Captain Zhou's last few words were said without hesitation.

"Similarly, I'm pushy and domineering. Why is he successful, but I am a failure?" Qiao Ting's eyes showed a bit of confusion. They were at the same level. They both controlled a strong mecha clan, but Ling Lan was able to do anything he wanted. Every single thing was in accordance with his wishes. On the contrary, once Ling Lan had appeared, Qiao Ting kept suffering setbacks. This made him suspect that Ling Lan was an obstacle he couldn't overcome in his lifetime.

Qiao Ting's words surprised Vice-Captain Zhou. He quickly said, "It's not like that captain. A moment's success or failure doesn't mean that it is for life. Captain, your future will definitely be better than Ling Lan's." Vice-Captain Zhou's were eyes filled with confidence. He was Qiao Ting's most dedicated supporter. He believed that Qiao Ting would become just like General Ling Xiao and create miracle after miracle. The future would inevitably be Qiao Ting's.

Vice-Captain Zhou's words shook Qiao Ting, making his eyes become clear. He was moved by the full trust his vice-captain had in him. At the same time, he also silently laughed weakly. Even though he kept telling himself that Ling Lan, being the child of a god-class operator, had no future, the things that Ling Lan had done recently had hit him pretty hard. However, in his mind, he still couldn't let go of the fact that Ling Lan was the opponent that he had to surpass in his lifetime.

"Looks like I have to beat him once. Then I can be free for real." Qiao Ting sighed heavily. He finally understood his thoughts. Since Ling Lan had unconsciously become his inner demon, then he had to defeat this inner demon.

"Ling Lan! I'll wait for you in the army. The time you join the army will be the time of our rematch!" Qiao Ting had already made up his mind. He couldn't let Ling Lan affect the speed of his progress. He would not be affected and keep going forward. In the future, when they both joined the army, he would find a chance to resolve this link between Ling Lan and him.

Now that he had resolved his worries, Qiao Ting focused and prepared the next plan of action. He quickly led his team members away from their current location. They circled above Area P and came to a different spot. In order to try their best to confuse the other military academies, the attack just now had to seem as if it had nothing to do with them

Not long after, the members of Feihong Military Academy, who were defeated by Qiao Ting, were taken to the resting area by transport ships. The surrounding areas of the other military academies only got wind that one team suffered a sneak attack and lost completely, but as for who did it, no one knew. After receiving this information, the commander of the headquarters of Feihong Military Academy situated in Area S was very angry. He swore to find those sneaking bastards and torture them to vent his anger…

In the monitoring room, they saw Qiao Ting use the psychology that their opponent would want to form an alliance to get a close enough range where the Feihong Military Academy had no guard up. They perfectly performed a sneak attack on the opponents and took down a 24-man mecha team with only one of their own mecha damaged. This made the monitoring room instantly became silent.

"Qiao Ting. How could he do this?" an officer said suddenly, expecting better from Qiao Ting.

"They even attacked an attacking team. That's shameless." Many of them were discontent with Qiao Ting's decision and believed that it wasn't right.

"In order to win, they've lost sight of what is called a bottom line," everyone said criticizingly.

"I remember that in rules of the battle royale, other than yourself, everyone else is an enemy. Why would you need a bottom line when you go against enemies?" Someone raised a counter-argument.

"But the main part of the battle royale is to fight for territories and not to destroy your enemies," rebutted someone.

"Isn't destroying the enemy readying you for taking territories? If there's no opponent, then those territories would be free to grab at any time. They didn't go against the rules of the battle royale." In no time, the monitoring room had split into two groups. These two groups, one for Qiao Ting's methods and one disagreeing, began arguing nonstop.

Finally, the argument fell onto Ling Xiao. The two sides could not argue anymore and all turned to ask General Ling Xiao to see what he thought.

Ling Xiao's lips showed a faint smile as he plainly and softly said, "I only know that on the battlefield, there's only life or death and no such thing as good or evil."

If one was to talk about good or evil on the battlefield, it would be considered a joke. You are only a person if you can live! Even if you become a piece of sh*t, it wouldn't matter if you died right? Who would care?

Chapter 493 - Diverting Troubles Away?

Ling Xiao's words made the monitoring room quiet down, and the person who had disdained Qiao Ting's behavior suddenly felt awkward. Since this was the Federal Military Academy's battle royale, these people had not been regarding the battle royale as a real war. That was why they paid attention to these subtleties and forgot the cruelty of real war.

Ling Xiao saw that everyone had understood this point, and once again smiled warmly and looked at the big screen. This allowed the officers in the monitoring room to breathe a sigh of relief, and they were grateful that General Ling Xiao left them with some dignity.

At this time, Ling Xiao was thinking about where his baby girl was. He didn't believe that his valiant daughter would stay in the base camp… This was why parents were the ones who understood their children best!

Now that Qiao Ting had won his first battle, the next step was to lead his team to go around to the other side of Area P. They used the same method to finish the other military academies' assault teams on that side…

The actions Qiao Ting took caused those in Area P and S to become scared by the sigh of the wind. The rumor that there was a covert operations team lurking around the borders of Area S and P had quickly spread through the base camps within these two areas. In order to make sure their borders were safe, some military academies sent out battle teams to begin to form teams and carry out a search. Qiao Ting saw that the situation had become difficult for them, thus he retreated with his team back to Area S9. He planned to move out after the rumors dissipated.

A 24-man mecha team was slowly flying above in the air; they were the patrol team from the nearby headquarters. They knew that there were attackers in the area, thus they were carefully patrolling around the perimeter of the headquarters to try and find some sort of clue. However, after searching for around one hour, they didn't really find anything odd.

Upon seeing the circular field below them, surrounded by towering trees, one of the leaders of the patrol battle teams used their radar to carefully search around the perimeter. Finding that everything was normal, he said to another battle team's team leader, "Brother Luo, why don't we rest up a bit here?" Nervous and high-focused patrol work made mechas use up a lot of energy. They had to replenish their energy all the time and eat every 2 to 3 hours.

The one called Captain Luo seemed to have the same idea and said, "Sure, Brother Hu." He then immediately landed his mecha slowly on that circular field.

The circular field was very large. It didn't feel crowded even after the 24 mecha had landed. The two teams formed two obvious square formations with one on each side, and the two team leaders were at the front of their teams, creating a pointed corner, taking over the center of the circle. This kind of formation was both for defensive positioning and easier communication.

Although the two teams that were from different military academies had temporarily formed an alliance to find the mysterious assassins, they were still wary of each other. No one knew if the other side would suddenly betray and attack them.

After the two teams landed and rested up, their members all used their time to eat in order to replenish their expended energy. The battle royale had already begun. No one knew what could happen the next second, thus they needed to take breaks when they could.

"Brother Luo, who do you think attacked the assault teams of those military academies?" Captain Hu chewed on his food as he asked Captain Luo, who was in front of him.

Captain Luo replied, "I've looked at the area where Qiulin Military academy was ambushed. That area is an uninhabited area. There aren't any military academy headquarters there…" He faltered for a moment and his expression became slightly serious as he continued, "My guess is that the ones ambushing people are also an assault team."

"Man!" Captain Hu inhaled a breath of cold air, finding it unbelievable. "That's impossible. Who would have the audacity to do that? It would make everyone angry."

Captain Luo's expression darkened a bit and he said, "I hope that's the case. However, I don't think that, aside from assault teams, other battle teams would be so far away from their headquarters."

Captain Hu moved his lips and began to calm down from his previous surprise. He felt that Captain Luo's logic made sense about the ambushing team being able to quickly and successfully perform an attack while not giving any chances for the other battle teams to react. Perhaps they took advantage of the fixed mindset that assault teams would not attack other assault teams, successfully ambushing them when they had their guard down.

"If that's the case, then we have to find the culprits quickly. Otherwise, with them hiding around nearby, the next victims could very well be us." After saying that, however, Captain Hu suddenly became frightened. He looked at Captain Luo, who was in front of him, and thought, "Are they that team?"

Captain Hu secretly put his guard up. He couldn't have expected that after saying what he said, Captain Luo also became alert and put his guard up at the same time. It was just as Captain Hu said; no one knew who the culprits were. As such, there was a possibility that the temporary allied battle team could be the culprits.

His guard up, Captain Hu carefully asked, "Brother Luo, which academy's assault battle team do you think is capable of doing this?"

Captain Hu words made Captain Luo stare blankly into space for just a moment and lifted his worry. The members of Wufeng Military Academy who were standing before him had a ranking that was over 200, similar to their own Zheli Military Academy. They would definitely not be bold enough to do something like attacking assault teams. He also felt the distrust from the other side, thus he had a thought and said, "Even if it was a sneak attack, an assault team able to bring down Qiulin Military Academy, whose ranking is within 100, is definitely not weak. It would be impossible unless they were from the top 50 academies."

Upon hearing Captain Luo's words, Captain Hu came to a sudden realization and immediately dropped his guard significantly. He quickly expressed his agreement, "That's what I was thinking."

Seeing that his point of view was approved and agreed upon, Captain Luo wanted to say more. He continued and said, "Actually, I'm leaning more towards the top 10 military academies. No, no, it should be the top 4. During each year's battle royale, weren't the top 4 military academies the ones who fought the most competitively?"

"Yeah, but I didn't hear about anything like this happening before." Captain Hu wasn't convinced.

"If they were pushed to the extreme, they might take that risk," Captain Luo said coldly.

Captain Hu's eyes suddenly lit up. "You have an idea on who the suspect is?"

"Which one of the top 4 academies is the closest to here?" Captain Luo asked instead of answering.

"Area P47 has been confirmed to be the First Co-ed Military Academy's headquarters. Area S9 is suspected to be the First Men's Military Academy's headquarters. Area S33 has already been confirmed to be the Third Men's Military Academy's headquarters. The Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters has yet to be known. It's likely that they are not within Area P and S." Captain Hu spoke to him with familiarity.

"Who would have known that 3 out of the top 4 were squished together. Our luck really sucks. We actually picked out the most intense and competitive battlefield." Captain Luo heaved a long sigh. Right now, he just wanted for these three military academies to not form alliances and first take out military academies like his own…

After thinking about it, Captain Luo gave his answer, "The sneak attack was definitely from one of these three military academies. I believe that the First Men's Military Academy and the Third Men's Military Academy are most likely to be the culprits."

"How so?"

"The First Men's Military Academy was pushed into second place by the Second Men's Military Academy 7 times in a row. They definitely want to retake their previous glory. With this much pressure, doing something like this isn't impossible," Captain Luo explained his thoughts. "The Third Men's Military Academy is the same. Having held 4th place since the beginning of time, they definitely want to change it up. And if they were to do something like this, then the first suspects would be the First Men's Military Academy. The First Men's Military Academy's location makes it easier for them compared to the Third Men's Military Academy's."

"So what you're saying is that the First Men's Military Academy is more likely to have carried out the sneak attack?" Captain Hu asked with surprise.

"Not necessarily. It's possible that the Third Men's Military Academy will frame the First Men's Military Academy." Captain Luo smiled ambiguously. "It's also possible that the First Co-ed Military Academy secretly sent out one team."

"I have to return soon and relay this to the commander." Captain Hu made a decision right then. No matter which military academy had done it, it wasn't good news for the military academies which were lower in rank like themselves. They needed to find a solution as soon as possible.

"Yes, I have to inform my commander of this as well. If we want to defend ourselves against these top 3 military academies, military academies like our own must stick together and cooperate," Captain Luo reminded.

Captain Hu's expression showed a hint of deep thought. It was possible that this idea was the best solution for going against the top military academies. Captain Hu's train of thought began aligning with Captain Luo's without him realizing it. Captain Luo's smile grew bigger upon seeing that Captain Hu didn't say anything.

The two captains who wanted to report to their respective commanders as soon as possible could no longer calmly eat their food. They quickly led their team members to leave this area and moved towards their headquarters.

Once they left the boundary of the area, they saw a huge sand mound behind a particular towering tree. It suddenly moved as the thick layer of snow instantly cracked open and revealed the dark metallic surface inside.

The dark metal suddenly stood up and the snow all fell to the ground. It revealed its actual appearance—it was a special-class mecha.

Once there was movement here, the other quiet and secluded areas began to show activity as well. The six mecha that had been separated quickly rallied towards the mecha which had stood up first.

"Boss, are we moving out?" Qi Long asked excitedly. He had already been laying there for almost 2 hours. He was going mad from having just lain there.

"Yes!" Ling Lan's right thumb and index finger quickly rubbed together. This was a small movement she made when she was deep in thought. "Li Lanfeng, Qiao Ting is probably going to be exposed. Can you think of some solution to this?" Being exposed too early on would affect Ling Lan's upcoming plans. She was not going to allow that.

Li Lanfeng became surprised at her words and he asked, "What's wrong?"

Ling Lan informed Li Lanfeng of the conversation between the two team leaders which Little Four had recorded.

Li Lanfeng eyes suddenly flashed and he decisively said, "Move our misfortune onto others!"

"The Third Men's Military Academy!" Ling Lan and Li Lanfeng simultaneously spoke the answer out loud. Ling Lan's lips perked up slightly. Li Lanfeng had had the same thought as she did.

"You make the plan!" Since Li Lanfeng wanted the strategist position, she was giving him that chance.

"Yes, Captain!" Li Lanfeng happily replied. This was the first time during an operation that Ling Lan had asked him to form a plan. Normally, Ling Lan would always decide on her own plan of action and then let him and Han Jijyun add in the details.

Li Lanfeng knew that this was Ling Lan giving him a chance. Feeling grateful, he silently clenched his fists—he had to perform well and absolutely not tarnish the trust and support Rabbit had for him. Let's go Li Lanfeng!

Chapter 494 - Fallen into a Trap!

Inside the forest of Area S, a 12-man mecha team was carefully moving through the forest in order to make sure they were not caught out, while simultaneously investigating the surrounding area.

"Stop, hide!" The front line member suddenly gave a signal. Everyone rapidly operated their mecha and darted into the rock formations within the forest that could hide the mechas.

A few seconds later they sighted two smoke-emitting, wrecked advanced mechas. They were flying through the air unsteadily; it was likely that they had reached their limit. These two mecha were falling towards them.

Although the operators of those two mecha were trying their best to make an emergency landing, the damage to their mecha was likely too severe and thus they unable to control the direction; they were unable to avoid breaking a few branches from the towering trees of the forest as they landed. They took a hard fall into the thick snow mounds and slid out many meters away.

One of the mechas abruptly smashed into one of the towering trees and stopped sliding, while the other had lost control even more and was spinning around in the snow before it was stopped by the large and thick snow mounds.

The two mecha that fell lay in the snow silently. Smoke rose out from the mecha and shot towards the sky.

The captain of the battle team hesitated a bit and then decided to help them. In a battlefield, even if it was the enemy, it would be morally justified for them to help them. Especially now, the opposition wasn't really an enemy.

He carefully operated his mecha to walk towards them, slowly moving closer to the mecha nearest to him that was stopped by the tree.

When he had approached to around 10 meters away from the mecha, its external communication channel was switched on. A morbid coughing sound came out from the mecha.

The captain was worried and quickly asked, "Do you need any help?"

The operator inside was finally able to stop coughing and gave a word of warning instead of requesting aid, "Run. They're coming." At the end of those words, there was another bout of loud coughing…

The captain heard this and was surprised. Was it that group of assassins? He quickly asked, "Who are they?"

"The First Men's Military Academy!" the voice of the mecha operator inside the advanced mecha angrily screamed out.

"It's them!" This answer did not surprise the captain. He had communicated with the other military academies and deduced that the assassins were either from the First Co-ed Military Academy, First Men's Military Academy or Third Men's Military Academy. The First Men's Military Academy was the most suspicious, but they didn't have any hard evidence. Everyone couldn't make a decision to attack the First Men's Military Academy together.

"How are you right now? Can you still provide support? If you can, then I'll take you back to our headquarters. As long as you can prove the attackers are from the First Men's Military Academy, we will help you take revenge," asked the captain with care while telling the person his thoughts at the same time.

"No problem, I can still support!" the advanced mecha operator quickly replied. "I won't let them go that easily. Only Little Wu and I are left from our battle team… Ah, is Little Wu alright?"

The captain quickly said, "Wait here, I'll send someone to check."

"Hurry. When we were running away, the people from the First Men's Military Academy were right behind us. It'll be bad for us if they catch up," the advanced mecha operator said hurriedly. He wanted to leave right this instant.

The captain became nervous after hearing this and asked, "How many people do they have?"

"24 people," replied the advanced mecha operator.

They actually had two battle teams. The 12 people that they had would definitely not be able to go against two teams. The captain made a decision right then that they would leave right after they checked up on that mecha operator called Little Wu.

While they were waiting, the captain didn't forget to ask about the situation of that advanced mecha operator. "Can you still operate your mecha?"

The advanced mecha operator slammed down hard on his control panel and said, "My mecha's beyond repair. It's really annoying!"

Upon hearing that, the captain hesitated a bit; however, the situation did not allow him to think for too long. He needed to take this operator back to prove the identity of the assailants, and thus he ordered one of his team members to give a co-pilot seat to that operator.

"Captain, the advanced mecha operator hit his head and is unconscious and bleeding, but it's not fatal," reported the member who had gone to check on the other mecha.

"Okay. When you move him into the cockpit, we'll head back," ordered the captain quickly.

"Yes, Captain!"

The other members took the unconscious mecha operator and put him into a co-pilot seat. The captain turned around and asked the mecha operator who was in better shape, "Which academy are you guys from?"

This was because both of them were wounded everywhere; their protective suits were already drenched in blood, which made the logo that represented their military academy become unclear and hard to make out. It made it difficult for them to know who they were at the time.

"We're from the Third Men's Military Academy," the advanced mecha operator said embarrassedly.

The captain was horrified. The Third Men's Military Academy was also one of their suspects…

"Ah!" One of their small team's members was heard suddenly screaming on the team's communication channel. The captain knew something was wrong. He heard another member scream into the channel, "They are…"

A bang sounded on the channel and the member's screams came to an abrupt stop. Right then, the captain did not know anything. He furiously screamed out, "Despicable!"

"Captain, be careful!" screamed the members who were terrified all of a sudden.

Their surrounding area was suddenly engulfed by multiple beams of light. Seven beams of light came shooting towards them. This sudden attack caught them with their pants down—all seven of their mecha were hit. The A.I. of their mecha decided that the mecha operators had been immediately killed in action and turned off all of the mecha's functions, engaging lockdown mode.

After losing all of their functions, the mecha fell down towards the ground. Although the operators were not harmed, they were unable to contact each other. They were also unable to open their cockpit and go outside. They could only wait for the staff members of the tournament to unlock their mecha in order to reacquire their freedom.

The opponent's attacks did not stop. The second round of beam attacks poured towards them. Although they were hit by the first round of fire, the 3 mecha that remained had some time to dodge the incoming attack. Other than the captain, the other two were not so lucky after dodging; they were simultaneously hit by multiple shots. They met the same fate as their teammates from before. The A.I. declared that they were killed in action and thus they fell into the snow like the rest.

The captain knew that he would definitely 'die' if he stayed there. After dodging the second round of beam shots, he operated his mecha to dart towards one direction. As long as he got into the deep forest area, it would be very difficult for beamfire to hit him because the trees would provide natural cover. This was his only chance to escape. He had to bet on this move.

Perhaps his thoughts of escaping were too intense, as the speed of the captain's fingers had surpassed his usual limit, increasing by one level. He was full of focus and somehow made his piloting meld with his mecha, allowing him to dodge the next round of fire.

He was close to escaping the ambush area. The captain thought to himself, "Faster! Faster!"

He made an irregular move and instantly flashed behind a towering tree. Right when he had escaped the ambush area—before he could celebrate—his mecha was struck by a huge force, pushing his mecha back into the ambush area.

Following a "bang", his mecha smashed onto a towering tree and bounced onto the ground. The captain felt blood gushing out from his chest, and he uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood.

He looked up in front of him. A special-class mecha was standing there with a large cold weapon in its hands, pointing slightly downwards. It was this weapon that had pushed him back and cut off the only chance he had to escape.

The mecha turned towards him. Its two dark eye sockets seemed to be mocking him, pitying him and not caring about him all at the same time. The captain looked at the chest area of the mecha with his bloodshot eyes and saw the emblem of the Third Men's Military Academy shining clearly on the mecha.

The captain quickly pushed down the public communication button and screamed using all of his strength, "The culprits are the Third Men's Military Academy!"

That sound soared through the sky. The opposing forces were surprised and quickly yelled out, "Advance!"

Six beams of light hit the mecha without a hint of mercy. The A.I. instantly declared the mecha operator had 'died'. The captain looked on as the light inside his mecha instantly disappeared and his cockpit was plunged into pitch darkness. His eyes were red with anger and his thoughts full of hate. "I will never forget how the Third Men's Military Academy humiliated us today." Because of his carelessness, his team members had "died" here frustratingly. He could not help but blame himself.

After defeating this 12-man battle team, the advanced mecha operators who took over the opposing mecha opened the cockpit. They hit the "concede" button on their way out and saw that the opposing mecha were locked up. They then confidently returned to their own advanced mecha.

The mecha that had been smoking suddenly had no more smoke coming out. The two mecha that had looked like they were wrecked beyond repair somehow easily stood up from the snow.

"They're almost here. Let's go!" quickly ordered the special-class mecha operator who had destroyed the captain's mecha, looking towards the sky on his left.

A few seconds later, a battle team of mecha arrived at this location. They saw the mecha slumped around, making their expressions change immediately.

"Little Cao, go take a look. Which military academy are these guys from?" ordered the team captain, raising a brow.

"Yes, captain!" Little Cao quickly operated his mecha to land on the ground. He put his head down and carefully looked at the logo on the chest of the mecha and answered, "Captain, it's a 12-man battle team of Changkong Military Academy."

"There are signs of a battle here. Looks like it was a sneak attack. Is it the same rumor that was spread earlier about those attacks?" analyzed the captain after careful observation.

"Just now, I think I heard someone scream out "Third Men's Military Academy", which is why we came looking…" The captain thought back to the possible voice he heard earlier. He felt that there was something wrong.

"Captain someone's coming towards us!" the member in charge of surveillance warned.

The captain looked at the radar and saw that there many mecha quickly advancing towards them. "Looks like they know that something has happened here." Suddenly, he seemed to have realized something and his expression immediately changed. "Shit, we've fallen into a trap!"

Chapter 495 - Closely Linked!

He quickly ordered his team members, "We're retreating!"

"You're not getting away that easily!" A cold roar rang from the air, and an ace mecha instantly appeared before them.

"Qiao Ting!" exclaimed the captain with a gloomy expression.

"I didn't think that the battle team attacking other assault teams was from the Third Men's Military Academy. You guys really had a good idea and even believed that you could put the blame on us, the First Men's Military Academy!" Qiao Ting laughed coldly and said.

"If I said that we stumbled on this situation, would you believe us?" interrupted the Third Men's Military Academy's captain as he bit his lip. When he had taken his battle team to where the battle had taken place, they were already made the primary suspects… However, he still wanted to try his best to clarify because this really had nothing to do with them. The blame was too unjust and frustrating.

Of course, Qiao Ting believed him. He clearly knew who the real culprits were, but right then he needed to throw the blame onto the opponent; thus, he smiled coldly and said, "Then do you think I should believe you or not?"

The captain was silent for a few seconds. In the end, he helplessly sighed and said, "No!" He laughed bitterly and continued, "But even if you don't believe me, I will still say that the Third Men's Military Academy has no connection to this."

"Do you think that just saying you guys have no connection to all this can erase the fact that you guys may have done this?" A voice sounded from behind him. The captain looked back and saw that during the conversation between him and Qiao Ting, many battle teams of other military academies had already surrounded them.

The captain saw this situation and was extremely frustrated. He shouldn't have used his time to talk to Qiao Ting and try to explain the truth; he should have covered for his teammates as they left this area when Qiao Ting had come to them. Now, his fatal mistake had landed him and his team in a dangerous situation. If would not be easy for them to leave now.

"Then what do you guys want?" the captain asked, biting his lips.

"You guys trapped and harmed our team members. You want us to just let you go? No way!" said a member of one of the military academies that were attacked.

Hearing that, the expression of the Third Men's Military Academy's captain changed instantly. "This wasn't done by us. I hope you guys can give us some time to prove our innocence."

These words instead made everyone who was present laugh coldly. Their attitude clearly showed their firm belief in them being the culprits. The captain of the Third Men's Military Academy felt his heart drop into his stomach. He knew that this time it was impossible to escape.

Right then, these military academy's battle teams were no longer interested in hearing the Third Men's Military Academy's empty and weak explanation. One of the military academies' battle team leader apologetically said to Qiao Ting, "Captain Qiao, we made a mistake before and thought it was you guys. Please forgive us."

Qiao Ting coldly replied, "Our headquarters still need me to defend. Since I've been cleared of my innocence, please allow me to bid farewell." Before other party could say anything, he turned towards his team members and ordered, "Let's go!"

Qiao Ting led his 24-man battle team and instantly left the area, appearing like he was deeply angry with the fact that these military academies thought he was the main culprit.

One military academy's captain saw this and could not suppress a sigh, saying, "We were too impulsive. We interrogated Captain Qiao before finding out the truth about the situation… It's no wonder Captain Qiao is angry!"

"I hope Captain Qiao won't have any opinions about us because of this issue," one battle team member said worriedly. In the end, if Captain Qiao intended on teaching them a lesson and let the First Men's Military Academy's battle team attack their headquarters…

Everyone shuddered in fear at this thought. They all decided to resolve the issue of the Third Men's Military Academy and afterward find Qiao Ting to explain their thoughts. Even if they couldn't form an alliance, they didn't want Qiao Ting to think of taking revenge against them and in the end, become the target of their attack.

Qiao Ting's departure caused these military academies' alliances to have reservations. This, however, made the Third Men's Military Academy's captain surprised and happy. If Qiao Ting was present, they would have had no chance of escaping, but now there was a slim chance.

At the moment Qiao Ting left, along with how the battle teams that surrounded them relaxed, the captain quickly yelled, "Run!"

He was the first to operate his mecha towards the escape route that he had already found. All the members of the Third Men's Military Academy were very experienced mecha operators. After the captain gave the order, they all operated their mecha and followed in the direction the captain had charged towards.

With two hundred or so mechas around them, if they were to scatter, they would be taken down in one hit. Instead, it would be better if they followed their captain in becoming a sharp, pointed knife and cutting open an opening, allowing them to escape successfully.

The Third Men's Military Academy was without a doubt the best. The captain of the Third Men's Military Academy was a top tier special-class operator. He lifted up the large sword in his hand. One backward spin caused the two mecha in front of him to dodge to the side. In the instant that they dodged, he operated his mecha and broke through the encirclement.

Following him were the three mecha that had reacted the fastest and broke through the encirclement with their captain. However, their good luck was only for the four of them. The others were cut off by the military academy alliance battle teams who had reacted.

The area instantly had beams of light flying around, mechas dancing about and cold weapons clashing hard against one another. Some were trying their best to find a chance to escape, while others were trying to mercilessly destroy that hope and keep those who were trying to escape in this area. They fought admirably for their beliefs. They couldn't back down and also couldn't give up anything. In this situation, the battle became more and more brutal.

Very quickly, mecha dropped down onto the ground one after another. These were the mecha operators who lost their battles and were eliminated from the battle royale. In the end, not one of the 20 mecha escaped. And on the side of the military academy alliance, 5 mechas were shot down and were eliminated. 13 other mecha also paid a price in suffering damage.

Three kilometers away from the battle, Qiao Ting operated his mecha to hover in mid-air, carefully watching the intense battle that was going on over on the other side. The corner of his mouth perked up a bit with a smile. The battle between the Third Men's Military Academy and the military academy alliance made them all suffer losses. This announced that Area S and P officially entered into the battle royale period. It was a good time for them to profit from all the chaos.

"Boss Qiao, do we want to keep the few that escaped alive?" reminded Qiao Ting's vice captain. The direction in which they had escaped was towards them. If they wanted to block them off, they would definitely be able to take down the fish that slipped through the net.

"Let's take a look for now." Qiao Ting stopped his team members from acting rashly.

The captain of the Third Men's Military Academy led the three team members who were lucky enough to escape and ran as fast they could. They were about to breathe a sigh of relief after seeing that there weren't anyone chasing them down when they saw countless mecha appear in front of them. The one leading them was Qiao Ting, who had just left the scene moments before.

The captain's expression changed instantly. "You're going to add insult to injury?"

Qiao Ting looked at him indifferently. "Do you and I have any conflict or interests?"

The captain's eyes lit up. "Of course we don't. If Captain Qiao is willing to show mercy, I will report this to our commander and maybe we could have a chance to cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Qiao Ting laughed coldly. "Can those who are proficient in evil schemes and plans be trusted?"

The captain's expression turned serious and he said without hesitation, "I will give Captain Qiao an answer for this." If he found out who f***ed them in the back, he would tear them to shreds.

Qiao Ting immediately waved his hand. The members who were originally blocking their way moved aside and created an opening.

The captain gratefully cupped his hands towards Qiao Ting and rapidly led his team to go through that opening.

"We're letting them go just like that?" After getting a taste of sweetness from sneak attacks, the vice captain felt reluctance as he watched the four mecha that were almost out of sight. It was a shame they couldn't take them down.

"Keeping them alive and letting them return could perhaps have an effect that we didn't foresee… Maybe we can still use the Third Men's Military Academy once more." Qiao Ting had a plan in his mind. The curve at the corner of his mouth became more pronounced.

He originally thought that Ling Lan had given him this mission to make it difficult for him. When he took on the mission, he almost had a fallout with Ling Lan. However, this mission was definitely unable to be completed by the small 24-man team. Even as an ace operator, he would not be able to do it.

However, Qiao Ting had his own pride. He didn't want to give Ling Lan a chance to look down on him. That was why he put up with it and took the mission, and prepared to put all of his efforts through. Even if he didn't finish the mission, he would try his best to draw out the time and support the others until the end of the battle royale.

However, after today's scene, the whole situation had completely turned around. Originally being in a precarious situation, they instantly had the chance to grab hold of the entire situation. No matter if it was the military academy alliance or the Third Men's Military Academy, they would try their best to get close to them both. This gave Qiao Ting leeway to strategize. He created an even better condition for their own battle team to finish their mission.

He really had underestimated Ling Lan. Ling Lan wasn't someone who would be jealous of those who had skills and give them a mission that was seemingly impossible. In reality, he had it planned all along. Who knew that he was able to make the Third Men's Military Academy become their scapegoat. This move of his was f***ing amazing.

After being amazed, Qiao Ting's fear of Ling Lan became even deeper. The more he came to know about Ling Lan, the more he felt that Ling Lan's ability was unfathomable… It was a good thing that his mecha operating abilities were already set in stone without a chance to progress further, or else he would definitely not eat and sleep well knowing that there was such a strong rival close to him. It would give him a feeling of why god made him so excellent, but then made someone who was perfect… After thinking about this point, Qiao Ting could not help but be a bit happy.

"Let's go!" Since everything was now resolved, he only needed to patiently wait. He was going to wait to see which one out of the military academy alliance or the Third Men's Military Academy would give him the most benefits. Then it would be the time he moved out.

Just like that, Qiao Ting led his team members and returned to Area S9. Area S9 had now been confirmed because of Qiao Ting. The two military academies in the adjacent areas now believed Area S9 was the First Men's Military Academy's headquarters.

The referees and military officers in the monitoring were stupefied after seeing the First Men's Military Academy's move. Were these guys really military academy students? They were just like experienced army soldiers who had gone into battle hundreds of times.

"Finding a scapegoat, sh*t. This move made by the First Men's Military Academy is pretty nasty. This way the Third Men's Military Academy has become an insignificant rat on the streets." One of the officers who seemed to have connections with the Third Men's Military Academy shook his head and laughed bitterly. The Third Men's Military Academy was exiled by all the other military academies. In the times to follow, they would not have a good time.

"Ah, all their moves are inter-connected." He Xuyang was silently praising this move. As onlookers, they saw everything more clearly than the students who were participating in the battle royale.

Chapter 496 - Everyone guessing?

While the military academy alliance had gone to Area S9 to look for an answer from Qiao Ting, a battle team from Changkong Military Academy had been attacked 4 to 5 kilometers away from them; this instantly got rid of any suspicion everyone had towards Qiao Ting. It was instead the Third Men's Military Academy, who had just arrived at Area S9, that was pulled to the scene upon hearing a scream of frustration. They were then caught red-handed by Qiao Ting…

Every step was calculated very cleverly and didn't allow for the Third Men's Military Academy a chance to explain themselves, making them take on the blame.

Afterwards, the Third Men's Military Academy made another mistake. It had to be said that Qiao Ting's timing for leaving the scene was very clever. If Qiao Ting had remained there, the Third Men's Military Academy would not have tried to fight when they had no chance to escape. If they were willing to take the blame, the situation would have probably been unsolvable. However, Qiao Ting's decisive timing to take his leave let the Third Men's Military Academy see a silver lining of escape. Since they had the chance, the Third Men's Military Academy would not let themselves be taken that easily; they also had their own pride. This was what caused the battle that happened afterward.

Just like that, one side wanted to escape and one side wanted to keep them there. Both sides began a cruel and terrible battle. Even now, the truth was no longer the most important thing. Now that both sides had taken losses, they would never have the chance to shake hands and talk about peace. The Third Men's Military Academy would now be unable to clear their wrongful guilt. They would fight until one of them was eliminated.

What was more amazing was that the quartet from the Third Men's Military Academy who was able to somehow escape had bumped into the First Men's Military Academy, and just when they were feeling despair, the First Men's Military Academy let them go. This would definitely make the Third Men's Military Academy feel deep gratitude towards the First Men's Military Academy…

He Xuyang couldn't control himself and laughed softly, saying, "Qiao Ting intentionally played nice in order to make the First Men's Military Academy become a superpower between the other two sides. No matter which side wants to draw in the First Men's Military Academy, they will have to put out enough benefits for the First Men's Military Academy. Who knew that the real benefactors of this situation would be the ones who were the culprits. It's simply amazing."

Hearing this, Ling Xiao smiled softly and said, "Qiao Ting's timing of advancement and retreat were well controlled. He is an exceptional team leader!"

He Xuyang lifted his brow and interjected, "I wonder who formed this plan? We can't look down on military academy students now."

Ling Xiao calmly replied, "Yeah, who knows. However, it is definitely someone from the First Men's Military Academy." Ling Xiao said this very indifferently, but his expression of happiness on the corner of his lips was becoming more pronounced.

"However, General, there's something I can't get my head around. Why did the members from Changkong Military Academy, at the last second, say without hesitation that the 'killers' were from the Third Men's Military Academy?" He Xuyang tossed out a question that he couldn't figure out.

Upon hearing He Xuyang's question, the officers who had been focused on Ling Xiao and He Xuyang this whole time seemed to have been woken up. They all began to discuss this question. It had to be said that Ling Lan's group had thought about the details very well. The logo that could show their true identity had been hidden through their methods. It was like painting some dark colors on the chest plate area of the mecha where the logo was to hide 70%-80% of it, making it difficult to see what it really was. This way, it would be impossible for others to acquire their real identity.

Ling Xiao didn't answer and only glanced at He Xuyang with a half-smile. He Xuyang instantly stopped trying to get an answer from Ling Xiao. Knowing Ling Xiao, it meant that the question he had asked was prohibited and he didn't have the authority to know.

He Xuyang thought to himself, "Looks like this definitely has something to do with Young Master Lan!" It was only when it came to issues concerning Young Master Lan that the General would be this careful.

During the discussion, one officer brought up this line of thought, "Was it because that when they first talked to each other, the First Men's Military Academy had introduced themselves as the Third Men's Military Academy? Thus when they were attacked, because of their angry emotions, the victims subconsciously decided that they were the Third Men's Military Academy?"

Most people did not really agree with this opinion. They rebutted, "Those who can participate in the battle royale are people who have strong wills. They wouldn't be misled by words. They were so sure of themselves was probably because they had something that proved the opponent's identity."

"But what was it exactly? Only the person who saw it would know." Everyone wanted to find the reason, but they all failed. This made them want to know the truth even more.

While everyone was thinking their tops off, looking for the answer, Ling Xiao who was sitting on the side took a light sip of the hot tea he held in his hand. He seemed to not really care about what everyone else was caring about.

In reality, the only person in the monitoring room who knew the answer was Ling Xiao.

"Little Lan probably used her spiritual power when they took out Changkong's team leader. She probably gave the opponent a subconscious thought, misleading them from the real truth…" He didn't expect that Ling Lan had coordinated her spiritual power and mecha operating skills seamlessly. This made Ling Xiao surprisingly happy. There was another mistake that was clearly on purpose. This mistake was giving the opponent time to speak out the so-called 'real culprits'.

"Strategy and skills are both really good. They were used all in the right place. Compared to before, Little Lan has learned to be both hard and soft at the same time and is no longer stubborn. She has become even more powerful!" Ling Xiao was very proud. He wanted to tell the whole world that Ling Lan was his daughter…

Daughter… Ling Xiao's smugness was instantly cleared away as he calmed down, feeling a touch of bitterness in his heart. In order to receive his daughter's consolement and to not be discovered by others, he couldn't publicize his relationship with Ling Lan right now. He needed to wait patiently. Three more years. After three more years, his precious daughter would be able to stand beside him in front of the whole world.

At that moment, Ling Lan's 7-man team had already gone deep into Area S. Luo Lang had a mind full of questions that were unanswered. Finally, during their resting time, he asked Ling Lan, "Boss, we're just going to leave like that?" Didn't they say that they were going to resolve the issue of Qiao Ting being exposed? They were done after only taking down one team from Changkong Military Academy?

Hearing this, Ling Lan coldly glared towards him. "What else do you think we should do?"

Luo Lang scratched his head. He couldn't think of any reasons to do more, but just doing this still seemed like it wasn't enough.

Seeing how Luo Lang's expression was still full of confusion, Li Lanfeng laughingly said, "In reality, we didn't really have to do much. Qiao Ting just needed a chance, and we took out Changkong Military Academy and gave him that chance. Qiao Ting wouldn't miss out on using it." Although he was fearful and on guard against Qiao Ting, Li Lanfeng had to acknowledge that Qiao Ting was greatly capable in regards to both power and strategy.

Luo Lang was still unclear about some points. Ling Lan stopped Li Lanfeng from explaining in further detail and tossed out a few words, "Qiao Ting knows how to utilize this situation to his advantage. For someone who can become the captain of Leiting, he's not a simpleton."

"We didn't tell Qiao Ting, so how would he know how to utilize it?" Luo Lang was still worried. Was this kind of guessing game really going to be successful?

Chapter 497 - Attack!

"You think Qiao Ting is the same as you?" Ling Lan glared coldly at him. Luo Lang instantly became sad, saying, "Wu wu wu, Boss thinks I am stupid."

After Ling Lan saw that everyone had filled up their stomachs, she said, "Let's continue!"

"Yes, Boss!" Everyone quickly responded. They were afraid that if their movements were too slow, they would be the next ones to be looked down upon by Boss after Luo Lang…

The seven of them continued to move very fast. Xie Yi accelerated his mecha, surreptitiously drew near Luo Lang and whispered, "Luo Lang, regarding the things you were worried about earlier, Boss and Qiao Ting definitely have a mutual understanding on this kind of stuff."

Luo Lang felt petulant and thought to himself, "Everyone is doing their own thing and doesn't communicate. I was only afraid that the other side would miss something and miss the good chance that we had created."

After a while, Xie Yi thought to himself, "You should just focus on being the battle team's vice-general!" As expected, this Luo Lang was only suitable for hard manual labor and not good in using his brain.

"You also think I'm stupid?" Luo Lang became angry and began to sharpen a sword in his mind to use on this punk. This shameless punk who had come into their team uninvited actually dared to look down on him?

"No!" Xie Yi answered crisply. In his mind, however, he felt a bit vain and so added, "I want to say that no matter who you compete with, you shouldn't compete with Boss. You will feel that there is no hope in life… which is why, you should be the vice-general."

Xie Yi words made Luo Lang become silent. Only a few seconds later, Luo Lang proudly snorted, then accelerated and flashed to the front, creating distance between him and Xie Yi. This action that made it seem as if he was strangers with Xie Yi confused him. Why had Luo Lang become angry again? He didn't offend him right?

The small sparks flying over on this side were not noticed by the others who were moving forward at top speed. Everyone flew for another 10 or so minutes. When they had come close to Area M, Ling Lan stopped abruptly and waved her hand. Everyone immediately stopped flying and went to their respective positions. With Ling Lan as the center, they assumed a formation that was safe for both offensive and defensive battle.

Not long after, there was another commotion on the other side of the forest. Many mecha were darting through the forest skillfully, coming closer and closer towards Ling Lan's position.

Everyone's expression became serious. It seemed like they were coming for them.

The radar on a mecha could discover flying objects up to a three kilometer radius. Normally, it if wasn't included in their mission goal, assault battle teams would find a way to avoid other battle teams when they saw them on the radar. If the opposition didn't see them as an enemy, they would change their direction mutually after stopping briefly. Right now, however, the other party was coming straight towards them, which clearly meant they were going be trouble.

"Little Four, zoom and enhance!" At Ling Lan's orders, the screen on the mecha instantly pulled up the image of the map within a 2 to 3 kilometer radius. A 24-man mecha battle team was approaching their position at alarming speeds.

Little Four was very thoughtful; he put up screenshots of the logos on the chest plate of those mecha on the two sides of the screen.

"The Federal Defence Military Academy and the Second Men's Military Academy…" Ling Lan frowned slightly.

"Looks like they formed an alliance before the battle. It wasn't just us and the First Co-ed Military Academy who formed one. The Second Men's Military Academy has also found their ally military academy. We just don't know who else they have allied with." Ling Lan was surprised. As expected, those who could be the commanders of the top tier military academies were real pieces of work.

"Also, for them to have been able to enter Area S9 so quickly, it looks like the Second Men's Military Academy split their army up right before entering the map area. As for the Federal Defence Military Academy, if I remember correctly, their headquarters is in Area M67, not too far from Area S. The people from the Second Men's Military Academy probably rested at the headquarters of the Federal Defence Military Academy and moved out together." Ling Lan thought in detail and predicted the opposition's arrangements to a certain extent.

"And now, them brazenly coming towards us means that they've found out that we're just a small battle team of seven. They could definitely take us out easily… Looks like those who come don't have good intentions and those who don't come have good intentions!" Ling Lan's lip perked and showed a hint of a cold smile. She hadn't expected that she would be viewed as a soft bone for others to chew on.

"Get ready for long-range attacks!" Ling Lan immediately ordered.

The formation that had Zhao Jun as the vanguard instantly changed. Zhao Jun sidestepped, changing from the vanguard to the left wing. Xie Yi and Li Lanfeng, who was in the back, immediately went forward and stood at the front of the team to become the two vanguards. Li Shiyu, who was in the middle-rear, darted to the right and became the right wing. And Qi Long and Luo Lang, who held the line, split to the two sides, becoming Zhao Jun and Li Shiyu's secondary wing.

Ling Lan's position didn't change. She was the center point in the last formation and was still the center point now. It was just that this point was considered to be closer to the back, becoming the formation's only person to hold the line. The whole formation was in the shape of a fan. Qi Long and the other five formed a semi-circle, all of them looking in the direction they were responsible for. Ling Lan was the center point of the this semi-circle.

They used this formation because the radar showed that the opposing formation was also the fan formation. They needed to use the same formation to defend against attacks from all possible directions.

"Haha, did we scare those seven small fry?" One of the mecha operators from the Second Men's Military Academy said with uncontrollable excitement upon seeing their target halting at their position.

"Maybe they think we're friendlies." The mecha operators from the Federal Defence Military Academy didn't think too badly of their opponent.

"From the rumors that we heard, some of the military academy in Area S and P have formed an alliance. We need to get into the action quick, or else we won't have a chance to meddle with those two areas when the commander arrives," said another mecha operator from the Second Men's Military Academy, frowning.

The situation was beyond what they had thought in the first place. In this battle royal, compared to ones from before, alliances were being formed more quickly between all the military academies. If Area S and Area P succeeded in combining into one group, they would end up creating a terrifyingly strong army. If people like them that were from other areas wanted a piece of the pie, they wouldn't have the chance.

However, everyone knew that Area P was the most valuable area; it housed almost half of the military academies' headquarters. This was an endless treasury for obtaining a large amount of points. Even if the the Second Men's Military Academy had a large amount of time to fully take over Area Q and Area M, the points that they gained in the end would only equal the amount of points for a small corner of Area P.

This was also why they were hurriedly moving into Area S. The Second Men's Military Academy needed to set foot into Area S and P while all other military academies were allying with each other, in order to create a good condition for them to march into Area P fair and square.

"We're really going to go against those seven? Maybe we should find them ask them for some information about the situation." One of the mecha operators from the Federal Defence Military Academy was not inclined to blindly start a battle without any information.

"You see, what alliance would want a battle team that couldn't even manage to muster up 12 people? They will definitely become our spoils of victory." The Second Men's Military Academy's battle team team leader laughed coldly after hearing all that.

These words made the others agree. They were able to agree so quickly on attacking this seven man team was because of this reason.

This allied battle team composed of the Second Men's Military Academy and Federal Defence Military Academy had perhaps let their guard down because they had the advantage in numbers. Although the opposing formation was both offensive and defensive shown on the radar, no one would think that the seven man battle team would not fear death and actively attack in such a precarious situation.

The 24-man team had entered the range of long-range attacks. Ling Lan didn't order her group to shoot. She knew very clearly that before the two sides become actual enemies, the first attack was the most important. Ling Lan's goal was to bring down seven mechas from the opposing side in the first attack—this would further their cut down the opponent's number of mecha and bring them closer in range with their own.

Thus, she had to wait for the most suitable time to attack…

As the two sides got closer and closer to each other, Ling Lan heartbeat became faster and faster. This time, if she miscalculated by even a little bit, their small team of seven would be met with disaster. Not only would they be eliminated from the battle royale, but this outcome would also affect the entire First Men's Military Academy.

Ling Lan rummaged through her pockets and again squeezed the thing that could decide their entire team's fate. She bit her lip. Since there was going to be battle no matter what, then she didn't have the luxury to be irresolute and hesitant.

Ling Lan's expression suddenly turned ice cold, and her whole body emitted cold air. If it wasn't for the cockpit's temperature control setting, it was possible that the entire cockpit would have been frozen up. However, activating the ice affinity also made Ling Lan as calm as ever, no longer having any fluctuations in her heart.

Waiting was tough. Only a few seconds had passed yet Ling Lan forehead had already formed rivulets of sweat. The sweat trickled down Ling Lan's forehead, going between her brows, around her nostrils and into the collar of her shirt; Ling Lan's protective vest quickly became drenched. Fortunately, the protective vest had a drying function and quickly dried up the sweat…

Ling Lan, who was fully focused, went into the fantasy-like world once again. Three of the mecha that were originally flying extremely fast suddenly slowed down their pace. All their movements were clear as day. The operating speed of the opponents automatically appeared in Ling Lan's mind. She could even see the rhythm and points of how they were operating.

"Weakness! Weakness! Weakness!" Ling Lan's eyes clearly looked at the three mecha that gave her three chances to take shots. Her talent Profound Insight had worked its magic once again, and this time, its usefulness was shown through these three mechas…

"A3, A4, A5 are mine!" After Ling Lan gave the order, the three mecha, piloted by Li Lanfeng, Xie Yi and Li Shiyu, that were originally responsible for these three mechas, moved their guns slightly.

"A6."

"A7."

"A8."

The three of them all indicated out loud the mechas that they were going to attack. This was to remind others to not overlap their attacks.

"I'll take B8." Zhao Jun saw that he didn't get a piece from the first row of the enemies, thus decisively choose a target from the back.

"Attack!" Finally, Ling Lan gave the order to attack.

The seven of them fired the beam guns in their hands at the same time. Ling Lan's muzzle shifted in an instant and a beam of light poured out. After leaving the muzzle, it somehow split in mid-air and became three beams of light and flew towards the opponent three mecha.

Actually, this was just an illusion. In reality, Ling Lan had instantly shot out three shots. It was only because the speed of firing was so fast that it gave off the sense of one beam splitting into three…

This odd scene made the three mechas that were being attacked unable to respond. No, actually, it was more like that the attack by Ling Lan's seven man team was not in their expectations. A sudden attack like this didn't give them a single chance to dodge.