Chapter 266

Chapter 266

Leisa manipulated the mech to stand up.

He silently observed the surroundings. Besides the two people in front, almost all the high and low buildings were occupied by mechs. The members of Xiboen had surrounded them, with the half-built building behind them. Leisa withdrew his gaze. If it were only himself, he might be able to escape, but there were also Zener and the others.

Among Xiboen's ranks, a red mech jumped off the rooftop, raising a cloud of dust on the ground. "Leisa, the rookie champion from back then. I've always wanted to test my skills against you."

Leisa didn't reply. He manipulated the mech to lean forward while his right hand rapidly transformed, revealing a weapon—a three-edged spike directly connected to the mech's arm.

High-level mech materials are usually carefully selected. They can endure for a long time even against the insect race, and direct firepower struggles cannot break through defenses quickly. At such times, only weapons and techniques are used for pure, hard combat. This is why so many people enjoy watching mech battles—compared to direct firepower suppression, mech combat combines violence and aesthetics.

The red mech also moved forward. The two mechs collided fiercely, their blades clashing for an instant. Leisa quickly lowered his mech, dodging the opponent's weapon as he advanced, then turned around. The red mech realized it had missed, immediately pulling back to create distance.

But Leisa had already turned. His left arm, unarmed, had transformed into a machine gun, firing non-stop. The red mech was momentarily thrown off rhythm by the intense gunfire. Leisa pressed the advantage, firing while advancing, then quickly swapped to thrust his right arm's spike forward.

Even inside his mech, Zener had little courage. He nervously grabbed the mech of the blond youth beside him. "Can we win?"

When they stopped, Leisa had pinned the red mech to the wall.

Leisa had thrust into the opponent's shoulder, avoiding the cockpit.

Zener let out a sigh of relief. "We won."

Leisa backed off a little. "You lost."

"I never said that."

As soon as the red mech finished speaking, another mech jumped down from the rooftop.

Leisa's tone remained unchanged. "Are you trying to go back on your word?"

"No, I didn't lose. You can call someone too. Same rule: beat one and we release one. You can even score a point. How about that?"

Then another mech also jumped down. "I'll join too. Aize lost to you back then. People say that if you hadn't stayed in Kainan, you'd be a name in the individual competition by now, even surpassing Aize. Aize has always been angry about that claim."

Leisa didn't speak. He manipulated his mech to step back, assuming a defensive stance.

He knew what they wanted. He shouldn't have taken that fight.

The main perspective also noticed the sharp rise in the number of viewers from Xiboen's point of view, switching the feed over.

The host exaggerated, "Here we go, Xiboen's old routine!"

"Now, some of you might still remember Leisa? The former golden boy, now a pitiful man struggling in the mud. I don't need to introduce Xiboen, do I?"

The host's words immediately sparked another wave of controversy. The Star Alliance always hired these hosts who knew how to stir up topics.

Though the host said no introduction was needed, he gave a detailed one anyway. "The vicious jackals, the problem members who frequently cross boundaries. They've already been fined three times before the resource war even started, but they've also given us many brilliant battles. Xiboen, whom we love and hate!"

"The competition points haven't been announced yet. You can still place bets. Those who favor Xiboen, start now!"

But soon, the host realized there wasn't much to watch.

Leisa neither fought back nor gave up. He knew what would happen to his teammates if he admitted defeat.

On screen, the red mech stood on his shoulder. "Can you kneel, Leisa? This angle is a bit inconvenient for me."

Leisa paused, then manipulated his mech to comply.

It was a one-sided humiliation.

"Looks like Xiboen's members are having fun. Hope they'll wrap it up soon."

"Aize! Why isn't Aize doing anything? Cut more shots to Aize, or else I might as well go watch a holographic copy."

"Boring. Is Leisa down to this level? Kneeling like that? Does he have no self-respect?"

"Really a pity about Leisa. If he had left earlier, he wouldn't have fallen this far."

On the other side, the blond youth kept holding Zener back, whispering, "Don't. The captain said so. Be good, Zener."

Leisa had said: don't resist, don't give any extra reaction. He had known this would happen. It was like this every time. But Leisa still came.

At this moment, Zener suddenly became brave. He shouted loudly, "Captain, they're cheating! They outnumber us. Captain, don't bother with them. Just quit! We'll come back next time!"

The host, who was about to cut the feed, paused. "A cute little one isn't too happy?"

Inside the mech cockpit, the blond youth's forehead was already beaded with sweat. "Zener!"

The red mech stopped and turned toward Zener. "What do you think this place is? It's only natural for my teammates to help me. Oh, I forgot. You're Leisa's teammate. If you'd stepped forward earlier, Leisa wouldn't have been alone, right?"

Leisa moved. "Zener, get back! Stay there!"

The red mech ignored Leisa. "So, do you want to join in too?"

Zener stood still, his voice dropping. "Bring it on. Anyway, don't treat the captain like that. It's not like we won't admit defeat."

"Oh? So you do admit defeat."

"As if I didn't know."

The red mech rushed toward Zener in an instant, pinning him and the mech that had been holding him against another wall. Just as Leisa had pinned the red mech earlier, its weapon now tightly restrained Zener's mech.

Leisa's pupils contracted. He quickly got up, watching the red mech charge, and was about to follow.

But the other two mechs stopped him, pinning him down to the ground.

Leisa prostrated on the ground, shouting, "Admit defeat! Zener! Quick!"

The blond youth's sweat increased. He unconsciously stepped forward, watching anxiously. Zener, this time the cost of disobedience would be heavy.

The level of Xiboen's members was completely different from Zener's group. Zener hadn't even reacted before being slammed into the wall, curling up in pain inside the cockpit.

When piloting a mech with mental power, if the mech suffers significant damage, the pilot is also affected. This effect can be mitigated by strong mental power or avoided through skillful operation.

But Zener's mental power wasn't top-notch, and his control wasn't good, so the effect was greater. He didn't have time to recover.

The red mech slowly straightened up, looking down at Zener.

"Now you can't."

Can't what? Zener was still wondering why when another heavy punch landed on his abdomen.

It hurt so much. I want to admit defeat. Why doesn't the captain admit defeat? Zener activated the device, but there was no response.

When he tried a second and third time with no response, Zener finally understood: what the other had meant was that he was no longer allowed to admit defeat.

Leisa struggled to get up but was held down. "He admits defeat! He admits defeat!"

Zener struggled to speak, "I—I surrender."

"You seem dissatisfied. Then you can take your captain's place."

Another punch landed, and the red mech still hadn't drawn its weapon.

Tears finally spilled from Zener's eyes. It hurt so much, and it was terrifying.

Captain, this is so scary.

...

When Ye Mo arrived, the sight before him was Zener pinned by the head and slammed to the ground.

"I sur—"

The red mech stepped on his head, cutting him off. "You were saying?"

Leisa was held down firmly, and the Xiboen member never let up on him. His voice was already hoarse, "He said he surrenders, please, he surrenders..."

The red mech lifted its foot. "I didn't hear that. What did he say? Did you hear anything? I didn't. That doesn't count."

"Let me teach you a lesson: the weak should be ruled by the strong. I say this doesn't count as surrender!"

Ye Mo crouched on the high wall like a big cat, gripping the flag, staring blankly at the scene. For a moment, he didn't understand what was happening.

Just then, Zener tried to get up. The red mech beside him drew its weapon—a broadsword.

The mech weapons of Xiboen members were custom-made, costing as much as a top-grade mech, and could even pierce a King Insect's armor. Leisa, on the other hand, only had his mech's standard weapons.

The broadsword was raised high, about to pierce Zener's mech.

Ye Mo charged forward like a lion with its hackles raised, throwing himself at the red mech, roaring with fury, "He said, he surrenders!"

No one had noticed his arrival. Only when Ye Mo rushed out did those present realize he had been on that high wall all along.

The red mech was slammed to the ground by his immense force, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He charged straight at the red mech, his eyes blazing with unnerving intensity, as if burning with raging fire.

Leisa looked up and saw Ye Mo standing atop the mech as the dust cleared.

It was the boy from last night.

Everyone turned to look at Ye Mo standing on the mech.

Leisa heard one of the Xiboen members pinning him shout in astonishment, "What's going on? Who is that?"

The red mech reacted quickly, already on the move.

Ye Mo moved with the mech, still holding the flag and his sword, and leaped onto its shoulder.

The red mech swiped at Ye Mo in rage.

Ye Mo nimbly stepped onto its arm, struck without hesitation, and chopped off the mech's arm. Then, using the momentum, he spun back onto the mech's body.

The red mech let out an agonized roar. "Who is it?!"

Amid the roar, Ye Mo moved to the other side and brutally ripped off the other arm.

Every strike Ye Mo made carried his spiritual energy, making each attack feel as if striking a real person. No human could endure that level of pain.

The red mech's initial rage turned to terror. It hurt too much. Every blow from Ye Mo felt like each blow was hitting his own body, yet he couldn't catch Ye Mo or dodge his attacks.

Ye Mo stood on the mech's head and slammed his knee down hard.

The massive mech, having lost its arms, easily lost balance. Its knee hit the ground first, followed by its head, ending up in that position.

Ye Mo had already jumped off before the mech fell. He walked over to the mech's head, pinned its head with one foot, and raised his sword high. "My next strike will cut off your head."

Only then did the red mech feel terror. It tried to eject the cockpit, only to find the eject mechanism had already been destroyed by Ye Mo.

"I—"

Ye Mo cut him off. "I didn't hear that."

"I sur—"

Ye Mo interrupted him again, asking, "Doesn't this count as surrender?"

This time, before he could even speak, Ye Mo used his spiritual energy to destroy his voice synthesizer.

Inside the cockpit, the pilot of the red mech was sweating heavily. Cut off his head? That kind of pain would kill him!

He trembled in the cockpit. What to do, what to do?

Ye Mo raised his sword high.

"Your surrender—I accept it!"

In the end, Ye Mo's strike came down, grazing the edge of the red mech's head and leaving a deep gash in the ground.

"I am stronger than you. Far stronger. I declare this counts as surrender. Got it, you trash?"