Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The first match that took place after Ling Lan was gone was the match between the Lingtian Mecha Clan and Tianji Mecha Clan. The Tianji Mecha Clan was the third faction in the military academy. They had always been one rank below Lingtian Mecha Clan. They had a greater number of mecha operators as compared to Lingtian and the quality of their mecha operators was better too. Many people felt that Lingtian Mecha Clan would lose this battle and give up their first-rank position.
At the start of the battle, the Lingtian Mecha Clan was taken by surprise and five of their members were eliminated within an hour. The people felt that their prediction was true.
However, the remaining seven members were not agitated at all. Their mentality stayed strong and they remained calm. They used all the methods that could think of to kill their opponent. They told themselves that killing one was their mission and killing two was a bonus. They fought hard and managed to salvage the situation. The score was 2:3 towards the end of the battle. Two Lingtian mechas and three Tianji mechas were left.
The three Tianji mecha operators left were the strongest of the cohort while Qi Long and Luo Lang were the ones who survived.
Lingtian No. 1, Qi Long, was the strongest special-class operator in Lingtian, second only to Ling Lan, but he had only advanced recently. Lingtian No. 4 had also advanced less than half a year ago, so no one thought that they would be able to defeat the three Tianji special-class operators who had been at this level for three years. However, the Lingtian Mecha Clan left everyone in shock once again.
Lingtian No. 1, Qi Long, rose up because of this match. His close combat skills were amazing and frightening. The combined attack of Tianji No.1 and Tianji No. 2 was not able to defeat him. He managed to last till Lingtian No. 4 killed Tianji No. 3. Although Lingtian No. 4 also performed well, he did not get as much recognition as Qi Long. His excellence, calmness, and perfect operation were buried under the hype about Qi Long’s close combat skills.
Qi Long didn’t lose when facing two mechas and even defeated Tianji No. 1 easily after Luo Lang came to support him. In the end, the two of them killed the last mecha from Tianji and won the competition. The rumors of Lingtian Mecha Clan being a third-rate mecha clan without Ling Lan was broken.
Qi Long’s invincible and domineering close combat skills allowed him to gain the approval of the cadets who loved close combat. Some first years and second years even made Qi Long their idol. Before this, a huge portion of the cadets had fallen in love with balanced mecha after seeing Ling Lan’s performance in the Grand Mecha Tournament. When they saw Qi Long’s performance, they started hesitating and wondered what mecha they truly liked. The cadets took this chance to seriously ponder about their decision and find the right path for themselves. Hence, many juniors of Ling Lan became outstanding mecha operators. Of course, all of this happened in the future so it was not important now.
Qi Long’s exceptional performance proved to everyone that the Lingtian Mecha Clan didn’t only have Ling Lan—they had Qi Long too.
However, there were more challenges awaiting Lingtian. Qi Long’s excellent performance caused the other mecha clans to be on their guard. In the upcoming third match, Lingtian would face the Wuji Mecha Clan who was ranked fourth. The Wuji Mecha Clan made some adjustments to their plan.
Since they didn’t have the confidence to defeat Qi Long, Wuji clan chose to pester Qi Long and prevent him from attacking anyone. They sent out a strong long-range mecha operator and succeeded in their plan.
The plan made by Wuji was perfect. The long range mecha operator had taken ample preparation. He maximized the speed of his mecha engine, so Qi Long was not able to hit him. Qi Long could neither attack nor shake him off. There was nothing he could do.
The Wuji Mecha Clan’s action enlightened the other mecha clans and they felt more at ease. Qi Long’s close combat mecha had its weakness too. It was not as fast as long-range mechas and this was something they could make use of.
Once they held Qi Long up, Wuji Mecha Clan went to attack the other mecha operators of Lingtian without any worry. Wuji was an old faction too. They had a strong foundation. Without Qi Long, Wuji was stronger than Lingtian, and the ensuing battle proved this point. The competition didn’t lean to one side and both clans had mechas eliminated. As time passed, however, Lingtian started to have more mecha operators being killed and Wuji started to gain the upper hand…
When the score was at 4:2, Qi Long was still being held back by the long-range mecha, while the other three mecha operators from Wuji went to attack the remaining Lingtian mecha. Everyone expected this mecha to be destroyed, after which Wuji would target Qi Long together. However, a mecha operator from Lingtian unleashed his potential again. This time, it was Xie Yi, the mecha operator who had substituted Ling Lan in the first match that had passed.
Although Xie Yi had used the Chain Combo skill to defeat Tian Jiajun in that match, he was on the losing end from the start and Ling Lan suddenly announced her close door meditation right after the match. With the rose of Qi Long after that, everyone’s attention was drawn away and he was ignored. However, a capable individual would always appear in front of everyone again.
Xie Yi didn’t get nervous in this dire situation. Unexpectedly, he was calmer than normal and his operating level suddenly rose from the intermediate level to the optimal peak. He used his exceptional skills to defeat two mechas and then self-destructed with the last mecha.
This was the worst battle the Lingtian Mecha Clan had ever experienced. Xie Yi’s self-destruction saved Lingtian and angered Qi Long. Qi Long had a breakthrough in his hand speed during this moment. This breakthrough allowed him to catch up with the long range mecha and defeat him. Lingtian won the battle.
If Xie Yi hadn’t unleashed his potential and was defeated by the three mechas, Wuji would definitely have won this match. This was a close call for the Lingtian Mecha Clan.
