Chapter 254

Chapter 254

The Anhua squad leader instantly felt as if he were being hunted by some monstrous predator.

"Retreat to coordinates (61.47.01)!" The squad commander barked over comms. In under a second, that terrifying mech reappeared in his line of sight.

By not switching weapons, Bai Xingshu gained one critical advantage—speed for his next strike.

The Loading Blade hit its mark this time, slamming into the enemy's weapon mount before they could react. But the follow-up—destroying the mech's core systems—never came.

The enemy mech was hurled backward by the sheer force of the impact.

Defensive mechs were slow, but paired with Bai Xingshu's devastating blow, that weakness became a strength.

"Brilliant!" Bai Xingshu's eyes flashed.

This snap judgment was masterful.

Knowing evasion was impossible, the enemy had chosen to take the hit—not just to use the momentum, but likely calculating the recoil from Bai Xingshu's swing.

To pursue, Bai Xingshu would first need to recover from the recoil.

That one-second delay gave the enemy ample time to slip away.

Bai Xingshu watched as the mech shifted its shield, covering the damaged weapon mount and exposing a fresh firing port.

Power surged.

A shot rang out—not at him, but at Lin Lie.

The shot blocked Lin Lie's killing strike while saving Mecha No.6 from certain destruction.

Though Anhua's forces retreated, this marked a first: Bai Xingshu and Lin Lie's S-rank squad had launched an all-out attack yet only disabled one enemy mech.

Like cracking a tank!

Lin Lie tsked, opening the squad channel. "Pursuit?"

The bait was obvious. Defensive mechs didn't retreat unless luring prey.

Bai Xingshu's combat style was unmistakable—Anhua's command had surely prepared an ambush by now.

"If we don't fight, who will?" Bai Xingshu shot back, already moving.

*Swallow's Fold!*

In one breath, he materialized before Mecha No.3. As Lin Lie's team closed in, every remaining enemy weapon swung toward Bai Xingshu.

The Anhua leader froze—Bai Xingshu stood before him, yet that killing intent was gone.

"Ambush!" he shouted over comms.

Energy fire lit up the space where Bai Xingshu had stood, leaving only a fading blur. He'd already darted under Mecha No.7.

The upside-down mecha gripped the Loading Blade with both hands and thrust it with full force toward the weapon port still emitting continuous beams.

A clean puncture.

The Loading Blade withdrew, its edge slicing through the main signal hub.

The seventh mecha’s cockpit went dark.

Double kill!

The Anhua squad leader watched silently as the seventh mecha, in its final moments, forced its arms to seize the Loading Blade in Bai Xingshu’s hand.

"Coordinates (61.47.01)!" he barked over comms, aiming his weapon at Lin Lie, who was closing in.

They threw up an energy barrier, blocking Shoujun’s pursuit once more as they gritted their teeth and fell back toward their position.

Bai Xingshu felt the weight of the Loading Blade in his hand.

The full mass of the deactivated seventh mecha pressed down on it, making it nearly impossible to swing.

But...

Bai Xingshu released one hand from the blade and slammed it onto the enemy mecha’s defensive shield.

A metallic screech—

With a deafening crash, he ripped the shield right off the mecha.

Every onlooker knew where this was going.

That old trick—one he’d retired after refining his combat skills...

The shield punched straight through the energy wall the enemy had hastily erected, blowing the rearmost mecha’s weapon port apart.

And it wasn’t over.

The shield kept going, crashing into the next mech in line.

This hit wasn’t as clean, striking only its defensive armor.

Yet...

[Warning: Mech integrity compromised by 1%.]

An alert blared inside the cockpit.

Even the residual force after hitting one mecha had that effect—the crowd’s blood ran cold.

What the hell is Bai Xingshu?!

On Shoujun’s side, Lin Lie and the others weren’t exactly slouches either.

With two mechas down, blowing a hole in their line, they darted through the gap.

There it was—the rearmost mecha, its weapon port already destroyed.

Lin Lie didn’t waste a second—he lunged, jamming a charge into its hull.

3, 2, 1— [BOOM.]

The cockpit of Anhua Squad's battle mech No. 1 went dark.

**"Triple kill—!"**

By now, Anhua Squad was dangerously close to their target position.

—Defensive mechs were slower than other mechs, but they were still combat units capable of aerial movement.

Bai Xingshu scanned the distance, sensing the engineer fortifications already in place. He activated the squad channel.

"Four against four without me. You good?" His voice carried a smirk.

"What’s your play?" Lin Lie caught his intent to break off.

"Just proving a point. Everyone says engineer nests hard-counter me." Bai Xingshu barked a laugh. "Time to test that."

"Squad leader, it’s all yours!" He embodied the reckless audacity of frontline fighters.

With practiced brutality, Bai Xingshu’s mech wrenched free the cockpit of the battered No. 7 unit he now held. Clutching the wreckage, he maxed his thrusters and bolted from the engagement zone before anyone could react.

Once Anhua Command confirmed their opponents were Xingze Jiangzhi squad, they’d tracked Bai Xingshu’s position via surveillance feeds.

As he neared the kill zone, they’d consoled themselves: even if he escaped this ambush, eliminating Lin Lie would suffice.

Then—

Bai Xingshu bailed **just** before the trap sprung.

Anhua Command froze, stunned silent.

In Shoujun Command, staff exchanged equally baffled looks.

Bai Xingshu switching targets mid-operation wasn’t in the playbook.

They’d overheard A01’s comms, so they knew his goal.

But—

**Taking on engineer nests alone??**

A01’s commander whipped toward Shen Geng, desperation in his glance.