Chapter 274

Chapter 274

Now Leisa and the others were low in height in their mechs, surrounded by towering buildings that loomed oppressively, like prison bars.

And they seemed tiny among them.

Baide looked up from among these tall buildings toward the sky. The sky was vast, so vast that he couldn't wait to break free from this enormous steel cage.

A few seconds later, he turned his gaze to Arnold and the others, urging them as if driving a pack of hounds, "Go on, kids, put some effort in."

The moment he finished speaking, several mechs from Kainan's team split off, weaving through the air in two directions.

Almost without a word, the Graths moved on their own.

Arnold and Elia pursued in the same direction, then leaped and landed on one of the mechs.

Elia's mental power took over the mechs that Baide had split off, while Arnold followed behind her, still complaining about Baide as he went. Elia patiently comforted him—the two of them seemed in sync and harmonious.

On the other side, Adrian and Jacob also caught up with the other mechs, leaping one after another.

Adrian naturally took control of the mechs Baide had split off. This was actually not quite right—Jacob was older than Adrian. To avoid unnecessary disputes and prevent them from fighting among themselves while facing enemies, the Graths usually defaulted to letting the older one lead when acting together.

But Adrian was clearly brimming with battle intent at the moment, while Jacob looked at him thoughtfully, then drew his own sword and handed it over. "Need it?"

Adrian took it without any hesitation. "Thanks, Jacob."

Jacob smiled pleasantly. "You're welcome, my dear brother."

On the other side, Baide was left with only Leisa's mech under his feet. He crouched lazily, one knee on the ground, his cape spreading out behind him onto the ground.

Baide tapped the top of the mech with his sword hilt. "Don't worry, Hen Mom. My kids might be a bit troublesome and get in the way sometimes, but they're all great fighters. At times like this, they're at least a little useful."

Leisa retorted, "You'd better worry about whether you can still keep running."

Baide looked completely at ease, and not anxious at all.

After Baide threw those two swords, the host outside the field became noticeably more cautious with his words, even awkwardly backpedaling: "Although the captain of Grath is not on the scoreboard, his strength is also impressive. Judging by how they address each other, the internal relationships within the Grath team seem fairly harmonious—not as strained as we previously speculated. Maybe this is just their unique way of interacting."

The audience was also discussing.

"Putting other judgments aside, Baide's strength should be pretty good, right? The way he just threw the sword proves it to some extent?"

"Even if his strength is okay, making his teammates do the dirty work while he stays out of it, then calling them 'kids' and acting close—does that count as harmony? Team members should be equal, okay? And forcing a junior to guard the flag alone? In any team, a promising newcomer is carefully nurtured. It's not easy to find good talent. Do they really think geniuses are that common? Adrian clearly dislikes him. Who knows how it is the rest of the time."

"Adrian already has a fan base this fast?"

"What's so surprising? Resource War has huge traffic. It happens every time. I expect an official fan club by tomorrow."

"Throwing it hard—maybe the people on the individual ranking list could do it too if they tried. The real question is, as a captain, at this point, is he still making his team compete for points because of Herli and Deenlie? What's the point of fighting for momentary pride? What can a few points in the first round achieve?"

"The first round's points count for a lot, okay?"

...

Ye Mo cautiously controlled Zener's mech to back up a bit.

Herli and Deenlie stood before him, slightly higher in height, with their mechs noticeably larger than Zener's, making his look a bit battered and worn.

Inside the cockpit, Zener had followed Leisa's advice and closed his eyes. He was less tense than before, but he quietly opened his eyes and saw the mechs blocking his way, almost within arm's reach.

Zener closed his eyes again.

Lakeley stood in front of Ye Mo, between the two sides, as if trying to prevent a conflict. What kept him going at that moment was purely his professionalism as a commentator.

He knew Herli and Deenlie. Lakeley had been with Cyril for a long time, even knew Adelaide, but he hadn't often seen Deenlie and Herli. Whenever they met Cyril, they always seemed a bit strange, then would come over and pat Ye Mo's head before leaving.

"Friends, Deenlie and Herli are here. I didn't follow the Kaileer Alliance this time, so I'm not sure what's going on. I originally thought the Grath team, bound by kinship, would be more united, but now that seems questionable—there might be some conflict."

Lakeley scanned Herli and Deenlie's uniforms, then looked at the mechs around the tower behind them, his tone becoming serious. "But the only allegiance that exists on the Resource War battlefield is the nation."

"I hope the Kaileer Alliance can survive to the next round, and I hope Cyril does well in the Resource War."

He stepped back and watched from a good vantage point, then began his commentary.

"The Kaileer Alliance may have deliberately sent Herli and Deenlie to fight. The two sides are currently testing each other, have not yet engaged in actual combat."

"Baide and Cyril of Grath both clearly have S-level mental strength. As we all know, individual mental strength is somewhat related to genetics, but the connection weakens sharply as the level increases. The probability of a family producing consecutive S-level mental strength geniuses is not high."

"I think in their fight, Cyril will likely have the advantage."

"Herli and Deenlie are actually here? Did Baide choose this flag-guarding point without any selfish motives? But isn't it dangerous to be not focused on guarding the flag now? Time is running out."

"Lakeley says Cyril will win. I'm not so sure. Deenlie and Herli should also be strong. Look at the way they just kicked the mech—very Baide-like. And Cyril is still in his mental development phase."

"You guys are really sticking with Lakeley's stream. Those of us with multiple views say the number one and two on the halfway scoreboard are really fierce. Cyril is in a tough spot."

"If I hadn't seen the scoreboard, I'd bet on Cyril."

"What? What? Ah! Having too many views is annoying—I can't follow everyone. I'll have to rewatch the whole thing later and check other streams."

Both the audience outside and those onlookers inside were watching Cyril and the others nervously.

The Kaileer Alliance captain, piloting his mech, was also tense, ready to cooperate with Deenlie and Herli in an attack. It was the first time he had encountered someone using the same attack style as Herli and them, and that uniform looked somewhat familiar.

A few seconds later, Deenlie stepped forward first and drew his sword.

Herli immediately turned to stare at him.

Under everyone's watch, Deenlie placed his sword with the hilt facing Ye Mo and dropped it at Ye Mo's feet.

Lakeley abruptly turned to look at Deenlie.

The Kaileer Alliance mechs behind Deenlie also turned their attention to him.

The Kaileer captain then remembered why the uniform looked familiar—he had seen it during the reinforcement call; it was the uniform Herli and Deenlie had been wearing when they arrived.

Deenlie ignored all the gazes directed at him and simply said, "I will not attack my future sovereign."

He swept his cape aside, and knelt on one knee. "Deenlie Grath, forever loyal to the future sovereign of the Grath."

Herli immediately caught on and likewise threw her sword to Ye Mo, kneeling neatly. "Herli Grath, forever loyal to the future sovereign of the Grath."

That's it, Herli thought. That brute Deenlie does have a clever moment once in a while.

Ye Mo stood there, holding the sword, blinking, a bit nervous and a bit at a loss.

On the other side, Deenlie, after stating his allegiance, got up on his own and leaped to Cyril's side, taking hold of the flag in Ye Mo's hand.

Ye Mo let go.

Deenlie looked at the Kaileer Alliance, "Although Sylvia will be angry, if you command me to attack, I will."

The atmosphere in the venue immediately tensed up.

Herli on the side also stood up and said bluntly, "That's fine, but our ally's kind of getting screwed over. And with Deenlie and me here, not being able to advance would be too embarrassing."

Sylvia would be angry, Baide made him guard the flag.

Ye Mo quickly compared how pissed Baide vs. Sylvia would be for a second and decisively said, "We can't let Sylvia get angry."

Herli nodded, "I think so too. That guy Baide must be setting you up. Doing the opposite of what he says is definitely the right move."

As she spoke, she got angry, "And he actually only made you guard the flag. That's way too dangerous for you. I knew I shouldn't have let Cyril go with Baide, dammit!"

...

Meanwhile, Baide was chilling on top of Leisa's mecha.

Leisa had nothing to do in the cockpit. He glanced at the screen in front of him; they were heading toward Buston and getting close.

Baide stretched, "They're all busy. We should get to work too."

"After all, if Norton gets really pissed, even I can't do much about it."

Baide muttered to himself, grinning the whole time, "A lot of people are watching me now. This is the perfect chance to plant my flag."

"Watch what? This guy talks too much. What's the point of this team leader? Might as well switch the POV to someone else."

"They're heading to Buston. Trying to pick a fight with them? Sure, some of Buston's people are still farming points, but their captain's still around. That captain is Orka—an actual captain, not some poser."

"Yeah, yeah, say that to Baide's face if you've got the guts."

"Actually, it'd be cool to see Orka."

Baide slowly straightened his body, his muscles unfolding inch by inch like a precision machine. The moment he stood straight, he drew his sword.

Then he tilted his head, locking onto the main camera perfectly.

The chat froze for a second.

"Hey everyone, I'm Bard Grass. Don't worry if you don't remember my name, but remember this: you better respect me and respect Grath."

As he spoke, Leisa's mecha had already climbed to a pretty high altitude.

So high that Buston in the distance had already started forming up for battle.

Two mechas were already heading toward them.

Baide leaped off the mecha, raising his sword, and released his control over Leisa's mecha at the same time.

Baide and Leisa's mecha passed each other.

The kid captain who was messing around with Ye Mo mentioned once that Buston seemed to be the strongest, right?

"Sorry, but you're gonna be Grath's stepping stone to fame!"

Baide kicked off the mecha rushing at him. It seemed like a light touch, but the mecha slammed into the ground way faster than Baide, as if it got whacked by a sledgehammer. Baide twirled the sword in his hand.

Using the grandest finale to crown Grath—sounds good. It's a whole new era now.

On the other side, Leisa reacted quickly. The moment Baide pulled back his mental power, Leisa controlled the mecha to instantly switch to combat mode, arms crossed in front of him. The next second, a Buston mecha rammed him, sending him flying until he smashed into a building.

Leisa mobilized his mental strength. He finally got why Baide had told him earlier to worry about being able to run.

After taking out that mecha, Baide was still falling. His real target: Buston's captain.

The moment Baide clashed with his teammate, Orka knew he was no joke.

He carefully adjusted his mecha, on high alert, and dodged Baide's strike as he came in.

Baide adjusted midair, closed in on Orka, brushed past him, and landed behind him with a crash, kicking up dust. He recovered instantly and charged at Orka again.

Orka barely had time to shift. He threw up an arm to block and unleashed high-voltage current. Orka's mental strength, physical stats, and combat skills were all top-tier.

His mecha was Buston's best—handpicked materials, incredible density and mass, nothing a human could budge. Yet Orka still got knocked back by Baide's blow, carving two deep grooves in the ground.

Baide's terrifying strength made him shudder. Can a human possess such strength?

But Orka didn't even have time to stop and be amazed before Baide had quickly turned around and raised his sword.

Knowing he couldn't let Baide get close,

Orka immediately detached the weapons on his arms, backed off to gain distance, and blasted Baide's position with heavy fire.

Baide's relentless attacks gave Orka a feeling of suffocation.

This shouldn't be. Orka's reaction was almost at the peak of human capability. His mental strength combined with Buston's highest-level mecha allowed him to control such a massive machine as smoothly as his own body.

Yet Baide's attacks still made him feel suffocated.

Orka didn't have time to think carefully. He retreated while firing, but the next second, Baide appeared in his vision again, coming through the dust under heavy firepower toward Orka.

Orka didn't hesitate. He quickly evacuated through the rear exit of the mecha cockpit.

The next second, Baide had stabbed the sword into the mecha's chest. The huge mecha slowly fell, and with Baide's move, a crack appeared on the mecha's surface.

Orka rolled after landing, then drew the dagger from his waist and warily retreated.

If he'd still been inside the mecha when that hit landed, the system would've eliminated him on the spot.

For that man, a mecha is too big a target.

With that kind of power, a mecha is just a big, easy target for that monster—like a bullseye any kid could hit with a gun.