Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Soon, the holographic projection screen in the center of the field displayed the competition rules.

"Each team is allocated fifteen energy crystals, to be distributed as they see fit. The order of appearance for each player is kept secret and decided autonomously..." Ya Ning read aloud, then commented, "These rules are quite interesting. It's all about who has more people left in the end, but with a limited total energy supply, it also involves resource allocation..."

"Mech energy consumption isn't linear; it fluctuates, testing the players' understanding of their own mech's capabilities and their ability to adjust operations," Bai Sha observed, glancing at the screen, which didn't show specific information about the players.

"This complicated?" Yan Jingyi raised an eyebrow, "Can't they just have a straightforward battle?"

Bai Sha shrugged: "Who knows how they come up with these rules."

Ya Ning looked up somewhat helplessly.

He knew that these complex rules were likely proposed by the Federation's side. The more complicated the rules, the more factors that could affect the outcome, increasing the chances of the Federation's victory. But since they had used their rule-making privilege this time, the next elite team competition's rules would probably be decided by the Empire.

The match began, and both sides deployed their first players, with two mechs stepping onto the ring from the resting area.

"First round, Federation's player Gao Zuofan versus Empire's player Shelley Jim."

A red countdown appeared above the ring, with the two mechs positioning themselves on either side.

Gao Zuofan piloted a dark grey light mech, wielding twin elbow blades. Shelley Jim's mech was platinum-colored, appearing to be a heavy type, brandishing a silver serpent bone whip.

Four, three, two... one!

As the countdown ended, the two mechs quickly entangled in combat.

Gao Zuofan leaped high, aiming a slash at the enemy's head. Shelley raised her hand, and the gleaming silver snake bone whip suddenly stiffened, transforming into a long sword, parrying Gao Zuofan's mech's attacks from left and right.

Gao Zuofan's movements were agile; after a failed strike, he swiftly dived to attack Shelley's legs. Shelley quickly reacted, intercepting his elbow blade with her sword—longer in reach. Pushing the blade inward, it rested against Gao Zuofan's waist, threatening to slice his mech if he exerted more force. Gao Zuofan paused, avoiding the sword and trapping it between his twin blades, pressing it against Shelley's head.

Shelley decisively kicked at Gao Zuofan's waist. True to its heavy mech build, her strike sent Gao Zuofan stumbling backwards.

"This Gao Zuofan, his agility is impressive, but why does he only focus on upper body attacks? Has he trained in boxing?" Bai Sha inquired.

Yan Jingyi nodded: "He has trained."

The duel on the ring continued. Gao Zuofan was preparing for the next attack when Shelley's sword abruptly reverted to a snake bone whip, entangling his mech's arm. She pulled the whip to the side, then tripped the staggering Gao Zuofan with a sweeping leg.

Kneeling on one knee, Gao Zuofan, in desperation, threw his elbow blade, which split into three flying daggers aimed at Shelley's back. Shelley propped her mech with one hand, almost lying flat on the ground to dodge one dagger, then quickly retracted her whip and leaped back, avoiding the remaining attacks.

"…A heavy mech can move like that? Impressive," Ya Ning exclaimed subconsciously. Shelley's mech displayed agility beyond his expectations.

"Who would use a whip with clumsy movements?" Bai Sha smiled, "Gao Zuofan failing to leverage the light mech's advantages meant he was bound to struggle."

After about three minutes more of combat, Gao Zuofan's remaining elbow blade was knocked away, forcing him to retreat from the ring.

The first round ended with the Empire's contestant victorious, leaving Shelley to face the next challenger.

Ya Ning nudged Bai Sha: "You've got a sharp eye. How much energy do you think they just used?"

"The energy consumption seemed similar for both, hard to tell," Bai Sha sighed, "Come on, I'm a mech engineer, not x-ray visioned. How would I know how much energy they both used? It's only the first round; we'll see in the later matches."

The Federation then sent out their second challenger—a familiar face—

"Second round, Federation's contestant Dai Sheng versus Empire's Shelley Jim."

In Bai Sha's memory, Dai Sheng was among the top in the Federation's team. Sending him out this early meant they were likely betting most of their energy on him. After all, the rule was to have more remaining members, not leftover energy crystals—even if Dai Sheng's successors had no energy crystals, as long as they had more people left, they would win. From this perspective, both sides would likely prioritize their stronger contestants early on.

Dai Sheng hadn't changed much since Bai Sha last saw him, except for a shaved head that made his features appear more determined.

The two mechs collided, with the sound of engines resonating in the air. Shelley turned her whip into a sword, while Dai Sheng struck the blade with his, creating ripples in the air from the impact.

The snake bone sword trembled slightly under the force.

Shelley again transformed her weapon, flicking her whip to entangle Dai Sheng, who countered with a sweeping blow, deflecting the snake bone whip. His blade sometimes caught in the whip's uneven joints, but Dai Sheng's skillful swordplay kept the fight fluid, without any stagnation.

The two were evenly matched for a time.

After about thirty to forty seconds, Shelley suddenly lashed her whip towards Dai Sheng's upper right.

There was nothing there, just empty space.

Confused, Dai Sheng cautiously intercepted the whip. To his surprise, Shelley swiftly passed him, sprinting towards the edge of the ring in a rush, even assuming a sprinter's pose, and dashed off the platform—

Eliminating herself from the match.

Dai Sheng: "?"

The audience: "……"

The competition's announcer, unfazed, cleared his throat and declared: "Second round, victory to the Federation's team."

Yan Jingyi widened her eyes slightly in surprise.

"That's smart. If it's hard to determine a winner, better not to drag it out," Bai Sha commented, suppressing a smile. "Shelley still had remaining energy crystals, which can be passed on to the next teammate."

"Third round, Federation's contestant Dai Sheng, versus Empire's contestant Wan Yue Xin—"

The Empire's Wan Yue Xin entered the ring in a white heavy mech, each hand bearing a curved shield, adopting a slow yet somehow intimidating stance on the platform.

"Countdown to the match, five, four..."

Before the countdown ended, a mechanical clanking echoed through the air. Wan Yue Xin crouched into a ball, his two thick shields snapping together like a clamshell.

Dai Sheng: "......"

The audience: "......"

"Damn it!" A Federation student couldn't help but curse, "How can he use two shields? Isn't that cheating!"

"There's no rule specifying what weapons players must or must not bring. What's wrong with using two defensive items? Don't tell me you haven't considered similar tactics," an Empire student retorted nonchalantly.

The Federation student was speechless: "…We would never use such a disgraceful strategy!"

Empire student: "Really? Who was it that cleverly clinched victory in the last round? Only you could say such a thing."

The stands grew lively.

But despite the verbal sparring, no one dared to let things escalate to physical confrontation. The Empire's tactics didn't break any rules, but brawling outside the arena was strictly against regulations.

Meanwhile, Dai Sheng also made his move on the field.

He didn't show any frustration at facing an opponent resembling a clamshell.

Dai Sheng swung his sword, attempting to attack the juncture of the two shields. While somewhat effective, the shields seemed specially treated, quickly snapping back together like magnets after being pried apart.

Dai Sheng persisted in his assault for about four minutes. Clang, clang... his sword striking the shields sent sparks flying, the audience's reactions shifting from excitement to numbness, until there was complete silence, except for Dai Sheng's focused efforts.

Suddenly, Dai Sheng, breathing lightly, stopped his sword.

"I know you don't have much energy left," he said. "You must be close to your limit, right?"

"Who knows," Wan Yue Xin's voice sounded casual, "You could take a gamble."

Dai Sheng indeed had a considerable amount of energy crystals left.

If Wan Yue Xin was low on energy crystals, continuing the siege would soon see him off the stage.

But what if Wan Yue Xin actually had plenty of energy crystals?

All Wan Yue Xin had to do was squat there, holding up his shields, which would consume far less energy than Dai Sheng's efforts. If Dai Sheng didn't choose to leave the ring soon to discuss tactics with his team, he might expend too much energy—putting his teammates at a disadvantage.

Dai Sheng fell silent for two seconds.

After two seconds, he sheathed his sword and leaped off the ring.

"This round, Empire's contestant Wan Yue Xin wins."

Next, a Federation contestant modified their weapon to a flamethrower. Wan Yue Xin was quickly defeated, but the extensive use of flames also consumed a lot of energy, forcing the Federation contestant to exit due to insufficient energy. It was a trade-off at the limit for both sides.

At this point, the Federation had two remaining contestants, while the Empire had three.

Kexin Greiz, the strongest solo fighter on the Empire's team, was strategically positioned in the third middle order.

The ensuing battle turned quite brutal...

Kexin Greiz, piloting an energy-rich beast-shaped mech, rampaged through the ring, sending two earnestly fighting Federation contestants packing in less than ten minutes.

The arena fell into a momentary silence.

Bai Sha, watching the dazzling Kexin Greiz on the field, suddenly sighed.

"What's wrong? Didn't your Empire win? Why the sigh?" Ya Ning curiously wrapped an arm around Bai Sha's shoulder.

Bai Sha: "If I had known this so-called team competition was actually about individual combat... I wouldn't have bothered with all those team-building activities."