Chapter 270

Chapter 270

Inside the competition field, Baide was completely unaware of what was happening outside.

With Leisa and the others around, he got even more lazy than before.

Before the sky had even darkened, he found a place to spend the night. After hemming and hawing for a good while, he ultimately settled on the most conspicuous luxury hotel, following his old habits.

The Star Alliance had constructed various buildings down to every little detail—as long as you dared to stay in a hotel, they could at least enjoy sufficient comfort.

But Baide found a whole list of complaints: the interior decoration didn't match, the bedding wasn't comfortable enough, the pool was usable but too small.

Baide kept nitpicking.

Zener was already excited, howling and looking all over the place until the blond youth pulled him over to Leisa, bringing him back into the group. "Don't leave the team."

Baide finally said, "Well, it's good enough, I guess. Nice work, Cyril."

Ye Mo, who had been studying a vase on the side, turned his head. "No trouble at all. This place rocks."

His eyes sparkled like a puppy wagging its tail like crazy.

"Baide, you're the best!"

Ye Mo was sincere. In the past few days, he hadn't had time to find a proper place to lie down. He would just lean against a random wall corner, rest a bit, and then continue on his way.

"Of course. Follow me, and I won't let you down. Adrian and the others weren't smart enough—it really breaks my damn heart."

Ye Mo first defended Adrian. "Ad was just too excited."

"I can't take this anymore. Someone needs to rein in Baide."

"Cyril is so easy to trick. Since Cyril is so easy to trick, anyone might as well do it. They say he has a bunch of little lions. I have a bold idea."

"Wow, that's straight up illegal."

"Emperor Norton's got his eye on you."

...

Outside the field, the central screen was still frozen on the rankings.

The venue went silent for a long moment before the host said dryly, "Congratulations to our Grath for taking first place at the halfway point of the team competition's first round, earning the first glory crown of this resource war."

"This year is so bizarre. First and third place at the halfway mark are both total underdogs. Who the hell is Grath?"

"A newly joined small country, not much info. They only have one pro commentator covering them."

"A small country? Look at the rankings and say that again. Does this still look like a small country to you?"

"The first half had luck factors due to random coordinates, so it's a bit much to assume they're a strong nation just yet. But they're definitely impressive. I thought first place might not be Buston—Buston's luck really sucks this year—but this is just too crazy."

"Let's see the second half. Relying purely on luck to get first is kind of hard to believe. It's only halfway, though. I'm waiting for the individual rankings to come out—that'll tell us something."

"If the individual rankings are the same as before, they'll probably start releasing them once the flag defense begins. But they might not release them all at once. The flag defense area will open soon, and all teams are heading there. By then, the viewpoints will overlap a bit. The Star Alliance likes to use that time to introduce each participant's score rankings in the order they appear."

The main perspective switched back to the competition footage. Maybe because of the shock from the rankings, they shifted the main view to Grath's only perspective—Baide's perspective.

And then they saw Baide chilling in the hotel lounge, completely fooling Ye Mo. "Cyril is so obedient, he'll definitely help an old man like me, right?"

Ye Mo was still a bit unclear why Baide was asking this. "Of course."

"Don't fall for that!"

"No use. Cyril will definitely take the bait. See through everything.jpg."

"And here we go again."

Baide put on a troubled look. "I'm really stressed about the flag defense. Norton is getting impatient, and I'm such an old man—I can't handle all this trouble."

His excuse was weak, and even Ye Mo didn't buy it. Even without mental influence, Baide's age was still considered young anywhere, even if he'd had grandchildren early on.

But Ye Mo could tell Baide was avoiding the flag defense. "Baide isn't old. But if you don't want to go, that's fine. I can go."

"Really? Norton said it's taking too long and wants you to speed it up."

"Really. This is my mission anyway. I might not be as strong as Arnold and the others, but I'll do my best. It just might not be very fast."

Ye Mo started sounding a bit worried as he said that. "I'll try to be quick."

Baide patted his own chest. "No problem. With me here, if Norton scolds you, I'll stop him."

Ye Mo was half-convinced. "Then don't you forget."

"I'll bet ten thousand on it—this is definitely Baide's own task."

"I think differently. I think Baide just made that up."

"Aah! My poor Cyril!"

On the leaders' stage, Norton tilted his head slightly and glanced at Secretary-General Lin beside him. Secretary-General Lin's body had gone stiff the moment Baide spoke. He leaned down and said quietly, "Your Majesty, there are no more opportunities to send messages."

Norton turned his gaze back. Though he said nothing, Secretary-General Lin felt as if the words "useless loser" were slapped across his face.

He straightened up and adjusted his glasses. What a mistake—he hadn't accounted for Emperor Bode's complete lack of standards.

The host was unusually stuck for words. After a few seconds, he began rambling. "It seems Grath's main team is quite relaxed. And oddly enough, we've only spotted two members in the main team. The rest are from Kainan. They might have formed an alliance—this is common."

The main chat had already gone nuts.

"How can the flag defense be left to just one person?"

"How are there only two people? Did they really get first? Is it a name duplicate?"

"It sounds like they're family. Father and son, maybe? Who's Norton? The commander?"

"Where's Kainan?"

While many people were full of question marks, many also flooded into Grath's perspective, boosting it up the rankings on the official site.

Soon, the host found his footing again and said enthusiastically, "It seems Grath's strategy is very unique. We'll keep covering it. Now, folks! Here's some good news—someone has already reached the flag defense zone!"

The audience gave a polite cheer. "If there hadn't been something worth watching, the host wouldn't have said that."

The screen switched again to the perspective of the Kaileer Alliance.

Kaileer Alliance's main team had entered the flag defense zone as soon as it opened and found a flag defense point. The point they held was on a tall tower, with surrounding buildings lower than it.

Kaileer Alliance was lucky—the flag defense points were all well-hidden, and they found theirs fairly quickly. But at the same time, they had some bad luck.

Suonan is sending people rushing this way.

There are not many people in the flag zone right now, but compared to finding a flag point, it's faster to grab one someone else already found—a common strategy used by countries confident in their strength during flag-guarding battles.

Suonan keeps closing in on Kaileer, not bothering to hide their approach.

The main team of the Kaileer Alliance spots them from a distance and goes on alert.

"Prepare for battle. First, assess the situation. Delay as long as possible to buy us more time for flag defense. If we are outmatched, have Team A retreat with the flag. Try not to let them earn too many points."

Even as they say this, they are already preparing to retreat. Suonan has always been formidable, and with so few people in the flag zone, it would be better to find another spot—though it is somewhat embarrassing.

No need to imagine how many people will criticize them, but they've long gotten used to it. From being completely unknown to now having people recognize the name Kaileer, they've endured much more. Rankings represent resources and the future of a nation.

Suonan's team arrives quickly. Several mechas transform from high-speed vehicle mode into mecha form, landing heavily on the ground or on surrounding buildings.

The captain of Kaileer keeps a close watch on them. This is not good—Suonan's making an aggressive move, and it does not seem like they are only after the flag point.

As soon as Suonan's mechas land, they charge toward Kaileer, firing the first shot of the battle.

Stray bullets fly everywhere.

The operators control the main camera to find a suitable angle on the rooftop of a building near the flag point—an excellent vantage point with a wide view.

The host also gets into the rhythm. "Many people are unfamiliar with Kaileer. The Star Alliance has two members: the Kaileer Alliance and the Keller Empire. Now in front of us is the main team of the Kaileer Alliance."

"Suonan is hostile. Among the dispatched members are four star players! Including Soda, who seemed unwell before the match. Soda looks fine now. Kaileer loses two members right off the bat—a bad situation!"

"Kaileer appears to be retreating. Suonan is already moving to occupy the flag point. It's a done deal!"

Kaileer yields the flag point. One of Suonan's mechas scales the tower.

The main camera zooms in, panning from the rapidly moving mecha to the still-fluttering flag of Kaileer, hoping to capture the moment the Kaileer Alliance's flag is destroyed and replaced. The crowd goes wild.

That mecha lives up to expectations, quickly scaling the tower spire. As soon as it secures its position, it reaches out for the flag, opting for brute force—ripping the flag off.

But just as it is about to touch the flag, it takes a massive hit, tumbling to one side.

Sure enough, a loud thud echoes.

The main camera is zoomed in too close to see the full picture. Only a few barely make out a figure slamming onto the mecha and stomping down hard.

But soon, a figure sweeps across the main camera's view and lands on the tower top. The camera only captures a back view of a figure standing at the tower's edge.

Herli lands a heavy blow on that mecha, twists in mid-air, and touches down on the tower.

Before the main camera can react,

Another figure—now clearly visible as a man—passes by from the side. He chases the mecha and finishes it off. The mecha goes dead still.

Kaileer and Suonan are both caught off guard.

But one of Suonan's members rushes toward his fallen teammate.

Herli jumps down too. Deenlie spins around. The two cross paths, moving in perfect sync—one high, one low—and take out another mecha.

The main camera finally gets both of them in the shot.

A preset program from the resource war is triggered automatically.

The view quickly zooms in. First, Herli’s figure appears, then freezes mid-pose—she is holding a sword, leaping to one side like a big cat. The image is crystal clear, showing even the strands of her hair and the muscles strained against her tight uniform from the motion.

Beside her, a line of golden text appears: "Herli Grath, currently ranked 1st in individual points. Nation: Kaileer Alliance."

Then the view shifts to Deenlie. The frame freezes as he lands with a slightly hunched posture. Though still, the image crackles with tension, as if his power radiates through the screen. This time, the text appears in silver: "Deenlie Grath, currently ranked 2nd in individual points. Nation: Kaileer Alliance."