Chapter 1133 The Main Battlefield!
Lingtian was done with all their battles. The rescue party had started searching for survivors. Even though the mecha operators had already searched the area once, the rescue party still looked around carefully. They must ensure that all the mecha operators were found, even if it was a corpse.
Their regiment commander had said that whether they were dead or alive, Lingtian would bring them back.
"Boss, there's a signal from the base." Little Four received a notification of a call from the base.
"Connect me." To prevent any disturbance during the battle, Ling Lan asked Little Four to block all signals from the base. That way, she could say that she didn't comprehend the situation clearly when she chose to annihilate the three mecha clans.
This was normal. During a mecha battle, any mistakes would cost you your life. Who would care about the results of the battle then. A mecha operator only cared about the enemy in front of them. They had one thought: Kill them! They must kill the enemies around them in order to survive. Thus, mistakes in analyzing the situation always happened. Often, mecha operators only realized that one side was annihilated at the end of the battle.
The command center played an important role in preventing such a situation. They would give new orders to the mecha operators based on the situation of the battle. Ling Lan blocked the signal from the command center so that they wouldn't be able to contact them and tell them to stop fighting as this would hinder her overall plan.
After the call came through, Yu Huan said, "Regiment Commander Ling, congratulations on your huge win."
"Go straight to the point." After the good news, the bad news would come. Ling Lan knew that something had happened the moment Yu Huan opened his mouth.
"We're having trouble in the main battlefield. Can Lingtian provide help?" Yu Huan asked carefully. Lingtian had just finished two battles, and both battles were hard-fought. One battle was against the powerful Knight Ace Mecha Clan while the other battle was against twice as many mecha operators. By right, they should go back to their camping ground for some rest. A tired mecha operator had a much higher death rate on the battlefield as their mecha piloting ability would decrease.
Ling Lan frowned. "What's the situation?"
"Caesar has unleashed their entire army on us. Our ejection speed can't catch up with them." Although they had reinforcements, there was only a finite number of launching ports in the base, and all the ports were already filled up. They couldn't send their mechas out quickly to the battlefield. In terms of military strength, Caesar currently had the advantage. The mecha operators from the Federation had gathered together and started defending.
This was why Yu Huan still hoped that Lingtian could help even though they shouldn't.
Yu Huan didn't want to have a lost battle record on his resume especially after knowing how strong Lingtian was.
"Let me consider it. I'll give you a reply soon." Ling Lan hung up immediately.
Yu Huan sighed. He could only hope that Ling Lan would give him good news.
Ling Lan thought for a while and asked Little Four to contact Li Shiyu. She asked, "How long will the medication last?"
"At most ten minutes." Li Shiyu looked at the time on his communicator and replied after making a thorough estimate.
"It's enough." Ling Lan hung up.
Then, she pressed the team channel. "Do you still have the energy to fight?"
All the mecha operators stopped what they were doing and shouted excitedly, "Yes!"
The continuous fighting had made them hot-blooded. The effects of the forbidden medicine hadn't passed too so they were full of energy. They didn't feel tired at all. They were dying to fight even more.
"Good. Our new target is the main battlefield. I'll give you eight minutes. After eight minutes, we'll retreat no matter what the results are," Ling Lan announced her plan.
Ling Lan knew that if Li Shiyu said the medicine would lose effect in 10 minutes, it would lose its effect in ten minutes, but she wouldn't use the entire ten minutes. She left two minutes for any emergency situations.
Ling Lan would always be careful when there was a need to, especially on the battlefield where anything could happen, Ling Lan was even more careful if that was the case.
Soon, the sound of engines revving were heard. Around 1500 mecha operators rushed to the main battlefield under the lead of their leaders.
"Little Four, how long will they take to arrive?" Ling Lan asked as she looked at the mecha operators flying off.
"Based on their current speeds, they'll arrive in 63.23 seconds."
Ling Lan instantly contacted Yu Huan. "Major General Yu, we'll arrive in 60 seconds."
After she finished speaking, she hung up without caring about Yu Huan's reply.
Yu Huan was stunned for a moment. Soon, happiness appeared on his face. He immediately contacted the main battlefield and gave his order.
"The command center is crazy." The regiment commanders of the mecha clans who were fighting furiously on the battlefield started cursing when they heard this command.
Retaliate? What were they supposed to use for retaliation? Couldn't they tell how tired they were?
"Why can't we wait for the reinforcements to come before we retaliate?" One of the regiment commanders slammed his control panel angrily.
He accidently pressed a button to turn on the siren of his mecha. He was shocked, but he still quickly stabilised his mecha.
Fortunately, he was behind the line of defense and was in charge of commanding. If not, this mistake would have cost his life.
However, this mistake allowed him to notice the red countdown timer that appeared on his screen.
"F**k, when did the mainframe of the base become so smart?" Every mecha has its own mainframe. The mainframe of the base shouldn't be able to control the mecha unless the mecha operator allowed it to and yet, a timer appeared on his screen.
All the regiment commanders were dumbfounded too. Just as they were feeling puzzled, they saw a bunch of mechas appearing on the left side of the battlefield. It was closing in on them.
"F**k, did our enemies return?" They still remembered that not long ago, Caesar sent two mecha clans away from the main battlefield. They knew that these mecha operators were up to no good but they couldn't stop them from leaving.
Now, a bunch of mechas appeared from the direction where those mechas left. This made them think that the mecha operators from Caesar had returned.
"No, wait. Those are not Caesar's mechas. Those are our mechas." In the blink of an eye, the mechas appeared before them. They could see clearly that these were mechas from the Federation.
Chapter 1134 Win!
On the main battlefield, the mecha operators from the Federation's cheering could be heard outside of their cockpit when they saw reinforcement coming their way.
Although these 2000 mechas couldn't really change the overall situation of the battlefield, the arrival of the reinforcements still gave the mecha operators more confidence and courage.
When an officer in the command center saw the reinforcement, he immediately yelled, "Commanding officer, the reinforcement from the Federation had appeared. They are currently coming from the direction where our two mecha clans went."
"Show me." The commanding officer had been waiting for their arrival.
'Did you finally come? Let me see what you are made of.'
The screen at the command center quickly displayed the reinforcements.
'Let me see how powerful you are.' The commanding officer had a thought. He immediately ordered. "Order all the starships to fire at the incoming mechas."
All the starships quickly turned their bodies and directed their cannons at the mechas from Lingtian. Under the order of the various leaders, multiple cannons were fired.
"Ah! Incoming!" Everyone on the main battlefield, as well as the people watching from the base, shouted in fear of getting shot when they saw this.
However, the next scene utterly stupefied everyone on the Federation's side. It also caused a large crack in the already depressing atmosphere in Caesar.
The movements of the incoming mechas were strange. It didn't align with the normal sense. Everyone was flabbergasted. They moved agilely and passed the swarm of shots.
Not only that, they cooperated well while doing so. They used their swords to block shots for their comrades. They basically performed a magnificent Dance of Hell performance for everyone to feast their eyes on.
Within a few seconds, the mechas broke through the swarm of shots and arrived at the main battlefield where the two armies were at.
However, not all the mecha operators were so disgustingly strong. The mecha operators in the back tried to dodge the shots but they were slower and less agile than the batch of mecha operators in front of them. Fortunately, they managed to evade the swarm of shots. Suddenly, something went terribly wrong.
"Oh no!" The soldiers from the Federation shouted worriedly.
The starships from Caesar quickly prepared for their second round of shots after seeing the failure of their first round.
This time however, they shot at the location where the mechas would land after escaping the swarm of shots.
It had to be said that the soldiers on the starship were exceptional marksmen. Within a short amount of time, they were able to maneuver the position of the cannons and aimed it at the position that would be the most damaging to the enemy.
The shots flew towards the mechas. Were the mechas going to be destroyed before they entered the battlefield?
At that moment, the reinforcements had already arrived on the battlefield with their raised beam guns.
White-coloured beams flew through the deep space, making it seem as if space was segmented into multiple parts. As white-coloured beams got near the shots that were aimed at them, it exploded.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions occurred in tandem. The dark space lit up as if a supernova had just occurred.
"They aren't safe yet." Before the people in the base could heave a sigh of relief, they realized that more shots were being fired at their comrades. The batch of 2000 mechas wasn't saved yet as they didn't have the time to stop the next round of shots.
The long-range beam guns had the fastest shooting speed out of all the beam guns. However, it had a fatal weakness. It wasn't able to fire multiple shots. Although it only required two seconds to congregate the energy, these two seconds were enough time for something to go terribly wrong.
Were their comrades really going to die?
Suddenly, multiple white-coloured beams were seen again. The beams collided with the second round of shots.
These white-coloured beams didn't come from the batch of 2000 mechas. It instead came from behind them.
A glaring white light pierced everyone's eyes as they quickly tried to cover their eyes to shield them from it.
Those with good eyesight would be able to see that the white beam didn't come into contact with the shot. It scraped past the shots and ignited them, clearing a safe path in space.
These explosions did generate tons of force but luckily the force wasn't strong enough to break through the shields of the mechas.
The reinforcement quickly grabbed this window of opportunity and escaped from the gates of hell using the safe pathway that was cleared. They finally entered the main battlefield.
"That's good." The people in the base were relieved. Suddenly, their legs felt drained of their energy. They were so agitated and nervous while they were watching that their legs failed on them after they released all the tension from their bodies. They wondered if the mecha operators in the reinforcements were feeling the same way as they did.
However, they recalled that those mecha operators didn't seem to be in a flurry even in the face of danger. They were just calm and indifferent. Were they confident that they were able to escape from danger?
No matter what the reason was, these mecha operators were mentalily stronger than them.
The glaring white light finally subsided. Silence resumed on the battlefield. But, another batch of mechas had appeared behind the reinforcement.
Their appearance was unexpected. No one saw how they escaped from the swarm of shots. They just appeared from thin 'air'.
There were not many mechas in this new batch of mechas. From the appearance of the new arrivals, they looked like long-range mechas and balanced mechas.
Everyone looked at the beam guns in the hands of the mechas and finally understood where those white-coloured beams came from.
There were around seven mechas in the new batch. They had emblems and numbers painted on their chests. Everyone saw the emblems and numbers clearly.
It was a black phoenix and the last few digits of the numbers were all '001'. They knew what the identity of these mecha operators was. They were the leaders of Lingtian Mecha Clan. Their members were able to pass through the swarm of shots safely because they were there to protect them.
However, everyone's attention was on the mecha in the middle as it was the only mecha that didn't have the digits 'ooi' at the end. Its number was even more astonishing than 001. It was all zeros. This number represented the supreme commander of Lingtian Mecha Clan, Regiment Commander Ling.
"Black phoenix! It's Lingtian." The mecha operators from the Federation shouted. Those that didn't recognize them recognized them from all these shouts.
"Those mecha operators are not normal ace mecha masters." The commanding officer felt his heart dropping to his stomach. The worse situation had occurred.
After two rounds of shots, normal ace mecha masters would usually be heavily injured. Elite ace mecha masters would be in better shape but half of them would still be mildly injured. They would usually pay a deep price to get through that swarm of shots. However, none of the mechas from his opponents were destroyed.
Although the leaders of Lingtian had helped their members twice, he could tell that the piloting skills of the members were exceptionally great.
The commanding officer could feel that the tides of the battlefield were about to turn a 180.
Ling Lan placed the beam gun behind her back and took out Firmament.
She waved the sword in the air and pointed it in Caesar's direction.
"Charge!" A cold voice echoed in the ears of the mecha operators.
Everyone in Lingtian took out the swords from their sheaths and charged towards their enemies without any care of being surrounded.
"The retaliation has started." While the mecha operators from the Federation were stunned by this scene, they heard Commander Yu Huan's calm statement from their channel.
"Charge!" All the mecha operators from the Federation didn't expect they could even retaliate when they received the order to battle. They were just carrying out the order even if it meant that they might die.
This was the mindset of the soldiers of the Federation. This was the reason why the other nations were fearful of them.
Under the lead of Lingtian, the mecha operators from the Federation rushed towards their enemies like a massive tsunami.
The mecha operators that first reached their targets weren't the mecha operators of Lingtian who charged at the front, it was the leaders.
The opponents they chose were either the regiment commanders or leaders of the numerous Caesar mecha clans in the battlefield.
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The two armies collided. Only the strongest would survive in this cruel and unforgiving battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The mecha operators from Lingtian were all very powerful. They were like reapers, reaping away the lives of all the mecha operators around them. They utterly decimated the first line of defense of Caesar.
The mecha operators behind the devils of Lingtian were astounded and shocked. Even until the end of the battle, they were still in a daze. They felt as though everything was a dream.
After the attack from Lingtian, the frontline of Caesar started crippling apart. By right, Caesar shouldn't be defeated so easily. They had more mechas than the Federation. However, the overpowering strength of the mecha operators from Lingtian destroyed their confidence.
They couldn't defeat the devils from Lingtian no matter how hard they tried, even when they outnumbered them. The impact of this failure was even greater than losing a one on one battle. Adding on to this, there was a bunch of long-range mechas controlling the situation.
They would snipe wherever they were needed. The mecha operators had to watch their comrades falling one by one. Yet, their opponents were still standing there confidently, taunting them… utterly humiliating them. This stark contrast of confidence and strength lowered their morale. As time went by, they started giving up.
"Commanding officer, the frontline can't hold on much longer." The officer in the command center was pale in the face. He had a look of disbelief on his face. Just those bunch of mecha operators were able to turn the situation of the battlefield. This was totally unexpected.
"I know." The commanding officer had a deadpan expression. He had been staring at the frontline all these while. In the end, the worst situation had happened. On the slightly 'bright' side, it proved that Lingtian was a scary mecha clan that had the capabilities of a legendary mecha clan even though it wasn't a legendary mecha clan.
"Order everyone to retreat." The commanding officer got what he wanted so he wouldn't carry on the battle anymore as it would just result in more losses.
The starships from Caesar released the signal for a retreat.
The mecha operators from Caesar seemed to be waiting for this moment as they quickly retreated without any hesitation.
"Ah, this is great!"
"We won!"
"We won against Caesar. We won!" Many mecha operators started tearing up while hugging the person next to them. They had been suppressed by Caesar for so many years. They finally succeeded in breaking away from Caesar's shadows.
While the other mecha operators were celebrating the victory, the mecha operators from Lingtian waved their swords unhappily. They turned around and looked at their regiment commander in hopes that he would order them to chase after their enemies.
"Regiment commander?" Qi Long was unwilling to leave too.
Chapter 1135 Be Aware Of!
"Our mecha operators are amazing." The logisticians of Lingtian looked at their mecha operators with admiration and respect as they safely returned back to the base. They felt proud that they were providing services to these mecha operators.
"Our mecha operators are outstanding so we must be able to keep up with them. We must become the best logisticians. Do your best in everything. Don't embarrass our mecha clan." The leader smiled after he saw his words working their magic.
The logisticians started working even harder. The overwhelming victory motivated the logisticians. Just like what their leader said, they had to work harder to catch up with these amazing mecha operators.
Plus, servicing such amazing mecha operators was a display of their status too as only the best logisticians could service the best mecha operators. The more powerful their mecha operators were, the higher their status was.
In the past, they were looked down on by everyone like a pile of rubbish on the side of the road. They could only go to the worst mecha clan and become the lowest ranked logisticians but finally, they were given a chance to walk on a new path. It was a tough journey and they did break down many times along the way but they managed to survive to the end. After surviving through everything life had thrown their way, they became the best logisticians of the military. They were able to raise their heads proudly in front of any adversities.
What made them the most excited was the fact that their regiment commander didn't give up on them even though they were labeled as the worst logisticians in the past. He even trusted them enough to give them mechas to pilot.
Although they had to become an advanced mecha warrior in the virtual world before they could operate the mechas, they were still very grateful to be given the opportunity to pilot one. Plus, those mechas were the lowest grade of mechas their regiment commander had bought for them and there were only a few of them with most of them being special-class mechas.
Hence, most logisticians didn't have the chance to pilot a mecha yet. However, they were still elated. They had a privilege that none of the other logisticians had. Sometimes, the logisticians wondered about the intention of their regiment commander for providing them the mechas. Were the mechas really theirs?
However, when they saw the special-class mechas gathering dust in the mecha hold, and the fact that the mecha operators were using ace mechas, they believed that these mechas were really for them.
After thinking about it, they felt even more motivated. They worked hard so that one day, they would be able to fulfil their dream of operating a mecha. Of course, they had to fulfil their work as a logistician first.
The logisticians at the mecha hold quickly placed the mechas back in their holds and inspected them. They must fix any problems with the mechas in the fastest time possible.
They were at the boundary so no one knew when the next battle would occur. All the mecha operators had a backup mecha but it was still better to be well-prepared.
The other logisticians were sending the mecha operators into the medical department. Ling Lan didn't mind a lack of logisticians in other departments but for the medical department, she made sure that there were enough people as well as equipment. Close to 2000 mecha operators received treatment at the same time. The logisticians there were very busy but all the mecha operators still received the treatment they needed.
The moment Ling Lan came down from her mecha, she received a notification from Han Xuya that the commanding officer, Yu Huan, wanted to meet her.
"It's time to take back what's mine." Ling Lan smiled. She wouldn't give up something that belonged to her. Before the battle, she needed some time to organise her mecha clan so she gave it up for a moment.
But, after this battle, she wouldn't mind being merciless if Yu Huan still didn't want to let go of his commanding power.
Ling Lan returned to the changing room and changed into her military attire. The moment she walked out of the room, she saw Li Lanfeng.
Li Lanfeng smiled when he saw her coming out. He helped her tie her blue cloak and passed her the blue short whip.
Ling Lan took it. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "I thought that you're busy reprimanding your team members. Why do you still have the time to wait for me here?"
Ling Lan was the last person to enter the base. Hence, she was surprised to see Li Lanfeng here.
"I let Deputy Luo take care of Ling Yi." If he went to reprimand Ling Yi personally, he was giving Ling Yi too much face. Ling Yi was just a normal member of his team. Normally, the primary mecha master should have taken care of him. Letting the deputy leader go was already an exception.
Ling Lan slowed down when she heard Ling Yi's name. She thought for a moment and said, "You should pay more attention to that little brat. I'm afraid that he might be used by the people around him."
Li Lanfeng turned serious. "I understand. I'll personally keep an eye on him."
At first, Li Lanfeng thought that Ling Yi was just a rash and reckless young brat. He was angry about his actions on the battlefield but after everything ended, he calmed down and didn't take it to heart.
But now, after Ling Lan's reminder, Li Lanfeng started to become more vigilant of Ling Yi.
"I'm not worried since he's in your team." Ling Lan didn't have the time to care about Ling Yi. Moreover, Little Four was a playful person. He didn't have much experience so it's hard for him to identify a traitor or a spy.
In the past, Little Four suspected that all the people around Ling Yi were problematic. She felt speechless when he heard that.
Li Lanfeng's expression changed when he heard this. He lowered his head instinctively. Ling Lan didn't notice that when Li Lanfeng tidied her cloak, his hands were shaking.
'Why do you treat me so well? It seems as though you only trust me. How can I let go of this?'
"Do you know that Yu Huan wants to see me?" Ling Lan continued asking.
"Yes. You should bring someone along to appear more dominating." Li Lanfeng forced out a smile.
"If I bring you along, it won't affect my overall presence much." Ling Lan glanced at Li Lanfeng. She wasn't satisfied with Li Lanfeng's weak-looking frame.
"I'll make you seem more powerful by comparison, right?" Li Lanfeng smiled. "Only Luo Lang and I are able to do that."
"You're underestimating me." Ling Lan turned and lifted Li Lanfeng's chin with her whip. She smiled and said, "There's still Han Jijyun, Li Shiyu, Lin Zhong-qing, and many other people."
"People like Qi Long, Zhao Jun, Xie Yi might be too large for me but I can still manage everyone else."
Ling Lan was a tall woman. However, compared to men, she was still considered short, especially when she stood next to people like Qi Long and Xie Yi who were tall and muscular.
Chapter 1136 Inferior!
Fortunately, Ling Lan's domineering presence allowed her to suppress all these tall people. No one seemed to notice that Ling Lan was shorter than them.
Of course, there were also men who were shorter than her. Luo Lang was an instance of such men. If you just took a glance, you might think that Ling Lan was the same height as Li Lanfeng and Lin Zhong-qing. This was the power of a strong presence.
"Yes, I understand." Li Lanfeng smiled. As expected, Ling Lan didn't like people talking about his height.
"Since you want to go, don't embarrass me." Ling Lan looked at Li Lanfeng with a threatening gaze before turning to leave.
Li Lanfeng quickly caught up with her with a brighter smile on his face. He realised that Ling Lan was quite susceptible to his teasing.
'Ling Lan, are you giving me a chance to be shameless so that I can get what I want?'
Li Lanfeng suddenly slowed down a little with a dreadfully pale face as a voice similar to his echoed in his mind.
"Li Lanfeng, you said that you won't do anything to Ling Lan anymore. Why did you change your mind after a few words? If you continue to be like this, you'll eventually make mistakes you will forever regret. Wake up! Remember that he treats you like his best friend and confidant. He… doesn't like men."
"What happened?" A warm hand suddenly grabbed Li Lanfeng's cold hand as he was falling in a dark pit in his mind.
Li Lanfeng looked up with tearful eyes. He saw a pair of dark eyes that were filled with care and concern. Ling Lan was frowning too. She was worried about him.
"Did you take the medicine?" Ling Lan's gaze turned sharp. "Why didn't you go to the medical department for treatment? Do you think I'll be happy if you do this?"
Li Lanfeng shook his head. "I didn't take the medicine. You told me that with my physical constitution and spiritual power, it's not suitable for me to take the medicine. It'll just bring me more harm than the rest of the people. Why won't I listen to you?"
"I might not listen to other people but I'll definitely listen to you," Li Lanfeng continued earnestly.
"Why is your body reacting so violently then?" Ling Lan continued frowning. She couldn't understand what was happening to Li Lanfeng's body.
"Having a strong spiritual power has its implications." Li Lanfeng smiled bitterly. He could only just push the blame to his strong spiritual power.
"Really?" After the Qi exercises helped her to recover her health, Ling Lan never experienced any more implications of having a strong spiritual power. However, she had a powerful bug known as Little Four. Even if a part of her spiritual power leaked out, Little Four would help her seal it. Li Lanfeng didn't have anyone helping him. He could only rely on himself so it might be possible that there were implications even after using the Qi exercises.
Ling Lan looked at Li Lanfeng with pity. She decided to think of a solution for him so that he would never be affected by his strong spiritual power again.
Yes, maybe she could disturb Number Two. He had been studying spiritual fusion for a long time so he might have learned something that could help Li Lanfeng's situation
If Ling Lan didn't have any questions about this, she wouldn't disturb Number Two if she didn't need to as she was quite afraid of the mysterious Number Two.
"I'll do research and see if there's any way to solve your problem. If you have any issues, don't keep it to yourself. Remember to tell me." She held Li Lanfeng's hand and squeezed it. His hand was so smooth… wait, I should be comforting him, not taking advantage of him.
Li Lanfeng's eyes lit up. However, in the next second, he gave a complicated expression.
"Okay." Li Lanfeng finally managed to squeeze an 'okay' out of his mouth. Then, he looked down and pulled his hands back from Ling Lan's grasp. He was afraid that if he stared at Ling Lan for any longer, he wouldn't be able to control himself and reveal his feelings for Ling Lan.Read more chapters at Listnovel.com
Li Lanfeng was filled with emotions but he remained logical in the end. He knew that once he told Ling Lan his feelings, he wouldn't be Ling Lan's most trusted comrade anymore. He could almost imagine Ling Lan's eyes turning cold and looking at him as though he was a stranger.
'I can't say it. I can't!' Li Lanfeng clenched his fist and controlled his emotions. He looked up and forced out a smile. "Ling Lan, thank you for your concern but I'm fine."
Ling Lan looked at him intently. She knew that the smile he was showing her wasn't sincere. However, she never liked to force people to do what they do not want. Hence, she didn't say anything and turned around. She walked out of the place.
"You know that I'm lying? Right, how can I fool you? You understand me just like how I understand you. I thought that we could be each other's confidants for the entire life. However, the friendship between us turned into a one-sided love. I try to cover up my feelings carefully but… it is slowly coming out. If you take pity on me, why don't you expose me? That way, I can confidently stand in front of you without any secrets and continue to be your friend."
Li Lanfeng looked at the figure in front of him in a daze. He never knew that one day, he would be so pitiful that he would pray that he could stay beside a person and that the person wouldn't hate him. He never knew he could be so desperate for a person to like him.
The two of them quickly arrived at the command center at the base. The moment Li Lanfeng entered the command center, his gaze turned cold. The Li Lanfeng who was in love, was gone. The cold-blooded Adviser Li Lanfeng was now online.
Many regiment commanders were already at the command center. Some of them gathered together and were chatting while others walked around lazily. Some went around the place and greeted one another.
When Li Lanfeng and Ling Lan entered the command center, they glanced at them before continuing what they were doing.
"Regiment commander, if I'm not wrong, they're all here for you." Li Lanfeng stifled his laughter as he continued, "However, they don't know what you look like."
"Maybe they're here for something else." Ling Lan felt that this was the case too but she was embarrassed to admit it.
However, it was true that not many people had seen her face before. Besides meeting Yu Huan on the first day she came and challenging Piercing Arrow, she never revealed herself.
Everyone in Lingtian followed after her too. The leaders of Lingtian seldom revealed themselves so most of the people in the base didn't recognize them.
Even though most of the regiment commander didn't recognise Ling Lan, there were still people that knew her.
One of the regiment commanders who were chatting in a group looked up and saw Ling Lan coming in slowly. His eyes immediately lit up with fervour. He hurried over and said loudly, "Regiment Commander Ling, you're finally here."
All the other regiment commanders stopped what they were doing and looked at Ling Lan with surprise.
This young regiment commander was the regiment commander of Lingtian?
Chapter 1137 Proud!
The person who called out Ling Lan was Lin Yang, the regiment commander of the Slaughter Mecha Clan. In the recent battle, he was the commander of the frontline army. He thought that they would lose but the arrival of Lingtian changed the outcome of the battle.
After returning to the base, he heard that Lingtian had annihilated the Knight Ace Mecha Clan as well as two more ace mecha clans before coming to the main battlefield. Within such a short time, they went through four rounds of intense battle. A normal mecha operator would have broken down from the high intensity, but none of the mecha operators from Lingtian seemed to have been affected.
Lin Yang was amazed by the willpower of the mecha operators in Lintian. He couldn't help but think of the hellish training he saw when he visited them. Was it really effective? Should he follow in their way?
Right after he arrived back to the base, he received a notice from Yu Huan informing him of a meeting for all the regiment commanders in the base. Lin Yang came very early for the meeting. He knew that in this meeting, Yu Huan would be giving the commanding power of the base to Ling Lan, and he was happy to see this. He was fully convinced of Lingtian's strength and Ling Lan commanding capability.
Since he was early, he started chatting with a few regiment commanders he was familiar with. Of course, their conversation revolved around Lingtian and their regiment commander, Ling Lan. After talking for a short while, Ling Lan arrived.
Lin Yang rushed towards Ling Lan and said sincerely, "Regiment Commander Ling, I was too brash in the past. Please forgive me."
"That's nothing. I welcome you to visit my mecha clan any time." Ling Lan replied calmly, "This is my mecha clan's style."
Ling Lan's tone was indifferent but her unconcerned attitude was obvious.
Lin Yang immediately smiled. He was elated. "Of course. Please take care of us in the future."
Ling Lan nodded and acknowledged him. After that, the atmosphere in the command center turned lively as all the other regiment commanders came up to introduce themselves to Ling Lan.
Ling Lan calmly nodded at every one of them to acknowledge their existence. She didn't say anything but the seriousness in her eyes made everyone feel respected. The entire command center turned noisy.
Li Lanfeng looked at his regiment commander with admiration. Yes, this was his regiment commander. He seemed cold but a simple acknowledgement from him would create huge results. This was something he could never achieve in his lifetime.
Sometimes, Li Lanfeng was puzzled. Ling Lan's force of presence was strong and his way of doing things was domineering. He was vicious, ruthless, and cold towards people. Yet, it was hard to dislike him. Unconsciously, people would be convinced by him.
Was this the aura of a king?
Li Lanfeng smiled bitterly. He started to recall what had happened around Ling Lan. It was obvious that Ling Lan was a king. He sighed. He basically walked towards his Phoenix Thrall Fate.
Changing his destiny? If he had controlled his feelings and not got tempted by it, the Phoenix Thrall Fate would have nothing to do with him, but it was just too hard…
Nothing to do with him! Li Lanfeng felt his heart throbbing when he thought of this.
Let's not think about it!
Li Lanfeng forced himself to stop thinking. He wouldn't be able to control himself if he continued. He would not only destroy himself, but he would also harm the person he loved dearly.
"Regiment Commander Ling, you're already here." A familiar voice woke Li Lanfeng up from his stupor.
Yu Huan appeared in the command center.
"Commander Yu, nice to meet you." Ling Lan nodded.
"Since you're here, shall we gather in the meeting room?" Yu Huan said to all the regiment commanders.
Everyone nodded. They knew why they were all gathered here.
Soon, they moved to the meeting room. Everyone found a seat for himself.
Yu Huan let Ling Lan sit on his left. Ling Lan glanced at him and said, "Thank you."
She sat down naturally. Li Lanfeng stood silently in a corner behind Ling Lan. He waited for the meeting to start.
"Actually, I'm sure all of you know why I gathered you here." Yu Huan smiled as he spoke.
The other regiment commanders smiled too. "Of course, I've been waiting for this day for a long time," one of the regiment commanders replied.
Yu Huan continued, "Yes. We should have done this a long time ago but Regiment Commander Ling was busy organising his mecha clan. In the recent battle, we won against Caesar. This is a glorious achievement for Base Nebula, and I will take this opportunity to pass the commander-in-chief position of the base to Regiment Commander Ling. What do you think?"
"Commander Yu is right. Regiment Commander Ling should have taken over this position a long time ago. Why don't we complete the procedure today?" All the regiment commanders agreed with the proposal. The recent battle today proved how strong Lingtian was. The fact that they defeated Knight Ace Mecha Clan was already enough to convince them.
"Since no one has any objection to the proposal, let's proceed. We'll have a vote now." Yu Huan's smile got brighter.
"Commander Yu Huan, I have a question for Regiment Commander Ling." Just as Yu Huan thought that everything was going smoothly, one of the regiment commanders suddenly raised his hand.
Yu Huan frowned. He controlled his unhappiness and said kindly, "Regiment Commander Zheng, please go ahead."
"Since you're going to be the commander-in-chief of our base, can you introduce yourself?" Regiment Commander Zheng disregarded the glares from the crowd and spoke his thoughts loudly.
Since the other party wanted them to trust him, he should at least be honest about his identity, right?
The other regiment commanders, who were unhappy at Regiment Commander Zheng's behaviour at first, acknowledged his question. They looked at Ling Lan and waited for his response.
Ling Lan glanced at Li Lanfeng. Li Lanfeng understood her and closed his eyes slightly.
"Little Four, control all the signals in the base." Ling Lan ordered Little Four silently.
"I understand, Boss." Little Four rubbed his hands excitedly. It was finally his time to perform.
"My background is very simple." Ling Lan noticed Yu Huan's helpless expression. There was no way she could evade this question. However, she had never thought of hiding her past. She was proud to be Ling Xiao's 'son'.
Chapter 1138 Background!
All the regiment commanders were drawn in by Ling Lan's words. Some even seemed weirdly excited.
"I graduated from First Men's Military Academy. I entered the 23rd division as the top student of my year." Ling Lan continued calmly, "And I was very fortunate to be able to activate my mecha clan the moment I entered the 23rd division."
Everyone received surprise after surprise with every sentence Ling Lan said. Ling Lan made her life's story sound easy but they knew that she needed to do to pass the three hard assessments in order to activate her mecha clan. Even soldiers who had been in the military for six years might not be able to pass the three assessments. Yet, Ling Lan managed to do it the moment she entered the military.
"I have a bunch of reliable teammates so after completing a four-star mission, I took over the position of the regiment commander of the 250 Ace Mecha Clan. Lingtian Mecha Clan used to be known as 250 Ace Mecha Clan."
"250 Ace Mecha Clan was one of the top ten mecha clan in the land clearing mission on Planet Juhao." Everyone remembered the merit 250 Ace Mecha Clan had in the past.
Ling Lan calmly glanced at the crowd before she continued, "Before coming to Base Nebula, I experienced a huge battle."
"The battle on Planet Haijiao."
"Ah!" Everyone shouted in surprise when they heard this. That specific battle was universally famous. It was the most dangerous battle the Federation had won recently.
By right, the Federation was destined to lose that battle. However, Ling Xiao's son jumped level and operated a god-class mecha to turn the tides around. He protected the sole surviving base of the Federation so that they were able to last until reinforcements came. This single act managed to alter the result of the entire battle. Through this victory, they even took the opportunity to destroy Hailiya.Read more chapters at Listnovel.com
The Federation gained many benefits after the victory but close to 200 million soldiers were killed in battle. Some of them were even prodigies who might be able to advance to god-class in the perceivable future. The Federation was glorified for this victory but the people of the Federation seemingly had forgotten the price for the victory. People who deeply remembered the price they had to pay for the victory were the families of those fallen soldiers and their comrades who saw them killed right in front of them.
Most of the soldiers in the military felt that the battle on Planet Haijiao wasn't as glorious as the people had imagined it to be, it was just an overall waste in their minds. It was a battle filled with unnecessary sacrifices. If Prince Ling didn't sacrifice his own future for the so-called glory, it would just be a battle filled with waste and despair.
Not every battle would have such miracles occurring. They had to carve this point deeply in their minds to prevent a similar situation from ever occurring again.
All the regiment commanders were excited. They knew that the Federation had secretly sent the Flying Dragon Special Forces to reinforce the soldiers on Planet Haijiao. There were evem legendary mecha clans sent there too. Was Regiment Commander Ling from one of the legendary mecha clans?
"I was the commanding officer of the only surviving base on Planet Haijiao, Base 013." Ling Lan's nonchalant tone sounded beside them. They were dumbfounded by the sudden surprise.
"You're… Prince Ling!" Even the forever calm Yu Huan was flabbergasted as he looked at Ling Lan in shock with mouth agape.
"I don't know why the military used 'Prince Ling' to refer to me but I am indeed the son of Ling Xiao." Ling Lan frowned in annoyance when she heard the nickname the military gave her.
"But… you're heavily injured. You shouldn't be able to operate a mecha anymore." Lin Yang couldn't believe it. The war hero he felt pity for was right in front of him unscathed, unharm and in great health. Were they fooled by the military?
"I can operate a mecha but my level has degraded. I can't perform difficult techniques anymore. You can say I'm half useless," Ling Lan replied calmly.
When they heard that, some of the regiment commanders quickly remembered that Regiment Commander Ling didn't move much during the recent battle. Even the regiment commander of the Knight Mecha Clan was killed by three of his leaders, not him. His current situation was definitely better than what the military had announced to the public but it wasn't too good either. However, they still felt fortunate that Prince Ling was still able to pilot a mecha. The only downside was that he wouldn't be able to advance further in the future.
Everyone was quiet. Some felt pity for Ling Lan but others were happy for her current situation. There were so many thoughts going through their heads that they didn't know what to say.
Yu Huan took a deep breath and calmed down. He looked at Ling Lan with a complex expression on his face. He thought that Ling Lan was a talent the military was grooming. He never expected Ling Lan to be such a huge figure. He felt pity for Ling Lan's situation. If Ling Lan didn't jump levels at that time, he would definitely be able to become the general of a division, imprinting him and his father as legends in the military.
Yu Huan knew that Ling Lan's future was dark but since he came to Base Nebula, he should still provide Prince Ling the treatment he deserved.
Yu Huan coughed and said, "Now that everyone knows Regiment Commander ling's background, let's vote. However, before that, allow me to say a few words. Lingtian is definitely powerful enough to become the top mecha clan in our base. As for Regiment Commander Ling, I acknowledged his commanding skills. I agree to let him become the commander-in-chief of our base."
Lin Yang raised his hand immediately. "I agree too."
More hands shot up. "I agree."
The regiment commanders were already convinced by Lingtian's ability on the battlefield. Now, after hearing that Ling Lan was Ling Xiao's son, they were even more convinced.
Some regiment commanders who were hesitant at first, agreed too after seeing most of the regiment commanders voting for Ling Lan.
Since Ling Lan was eventually going to be the commander-in-chief, why should they make him angry by not voting for him? He might not be at his peak anymore but he still had a powerful father behind him, right? General Ling Xiao was said to be the next First Marshal. He would be the most powerful person in the future. They didn't want to offend such a person.
"Boss, they're sending messages," Little Four shouted excitedly. He almost got bored from staring at the signals. Finally, before the meeting ended, something in his line of work happened.
"It's inside the base," Ling Lan said firmly.
"Yes. How do you know?" Little Four asked curiously.
"The battle just ended so the mainframe would be keeping a close watch of the signals outside of the base. No one would dare to send any messages out now." The mainframe would be able to track any messages sent out of the base now so no one would be stupid enough to do it when it was high alert.
"Do you know how many people sent messages?" Ling Lan asked.
"Seven. They sent messages to people in their mecha clan." Little Four replied, "Are they all problematic?"
"Maybe. We need to keep an eye out for any suspicious action." Ling Lan smiled. "Those who did not send a message can't be cleared of their suspicion too. However, those who sent are definitely more suspicious."
Chapter 1139 Fish Bait!
"I will definitely dig them up." Little Four rubbed his fists like a swindling old man as he spoke. It was finally time for him to show his abilities.
"Just watch them for now. Don't make any sudden moves." Ling Lan suddenly put an end to his dream.
"Ah? Why?" Little Four pursed his lips as he stared at Ling Lan for an answer.
"Li Lanfeng is already guarding the virtual world. He is probably there waiting for the big fish to take the bait." Ling Lan's eyes narrowed. The reason why she was being so truthful about her identity was because she was putting out a bait. She wanted to see who would not be able to resist and take the bait.
Of course, it was alright if there weren't any fish biting. After all, her real goal was to probe the water to alert the larger fishes hidden in the deep seas.
She had already become the commander-in-chief of the mecha clans of the base, so she needed to get rid of those people with multiple identities who had plots and ploys for their own gains. Ling Lan never liked danger to be hidden so close to her.
Hearing this, Little Four ran to the corner with his stubby legs and squatted down with a dissatisfied expression. This Li Lanfeng actually took my only chance of showing off? Hmph, I don't like him even more now.'
However, even if Little Four really wanted to show off, he still wouldn't go against Boss's wishes. If Boss wanted to set out a bait for the larger fishes to bite, he would just watch and silently wait for Boss's next orders. However, if Li Lanfeng didn't perform up to expectations, then he shouldn't blame him for making any moves. When the time comes, he would use all of his power to make Li Lanfeng look bad in order to lower his position in Boss's heart.
It was very clear that Little Four held grudges for a long time. Let us pray for Li Lanfeng…
At that moment, Li Lanfeng was floating in the sky of the virtual world, looking down on Base Nebula.
The seven locations he was keeping a watchful eye under had three locations where someone had logged in. Li Lanfeng smirked and in the next second, his black cape wrapped arounds his entire body like a black cocoon. Afterwards, the black cocoon split into three silhouettes and disappeared. It was as though he had never appeared in the virtual world.
Out of the three people who logged in, two of them immediately went to the mecha arena like they always did to participate in mecha battles. The third person went to buy something from the virtual shop before returning to the plaza square in the base. In the plaza square, he was sitting down on a bench to take a short break.
There were many soldiers moving about within the plaza. That person sat there for a while before he seemed to have remembered something. He quickly stood up and went towards the mecha parts shop on the opposite side of the plaza.
"You're here, Major Wang." The logistician who was responsible for the shop saw Major Wang walking in and greeted him warmly.
"Yes, I want to ask whether Master Ming has finished the mecha arm I asked him to make," asked Major Wang.
"Master Ming just finished it yesterday. He originally wanted to notify you about the completion of the arm yesterday but he didn't expect that Caesar would attack us so suddenly. Everyone was preparing for battle so we just placed your arm to the side," explained the logistician.
"No matter. This battle was quite an eye-opening experience. This battle allowed me to see the inadequacies of our base." Major Wang had a pensive look on his face. "If Lingtian wasn't here, we probably would not have escaped with our lives."
"Yeah, we're lucky to have Lingtian," the logistician said with great pride on his face.
After Major Wang spoke with the logisticians for a short while, he calmly walked towards the warehouse in the back to find Master Ming for his mecha arm.
The warehouse was busy. The mechanics all had their heads down and were focusing greatly on their work. Most mechanics in the industry were perfectionists in their own right. They wished for every modification they were doing to be as perfect as they could be.
Among them, there was a youthful yet white-haired old man who would easily draw a person's attention as soon as one laid his or her eyes on them. Anyone who entered the warehouse might neglect any other person in the warehouse, but they wouldn't be able to neglect this old man's existence. This old man's intense focus and impossible to see installation techniques force those around him to marvel at his abilities.
After seeing the old man, the corner of Major Wang's lips lifted slightly. He walked with great stride and greeted him with a smile, "Master Ming."
After hearing the greeting, Master Ming stopped what he was doing and raised his head. He realized that it was a familiar friend and a smile quickly appeared on his face. "Major Wang, you're here." He stood up, took the towel from his assistant and wiped his forehead. Then, he spoke to the few logisticians who were studying his repairing techniques, "You've all saw those movements clearly, right? Now you guys give it a try."
"Master, can we really do this?�� It was clear that these logisticians weren't too confident.
"Hmph, a bunch of sissies. This is the virtual world, even if you break it, you can still restart. What are you afraid of?" Master Ming instantly had a disappointed expression on his face as if he was underwhelmed at how capable the younger generations were. Back then, he didn't have such good working environments like theirs. In order to stay alive when he was apprenticing in a mecha shop, he would have to endure his master's ruthless insults and beatings for breaking even the smallest mechanical part. His food rations would also be reduced and there would always be days when he would pass the night starving.
"Yes, yes, yes." The logisticians all knew that Master Ming didn't have a good temper so they immediately nodded in agreement when they heard him starting to nag.
After giving his orders to these apprentices of his, Master Ming said to Major Wang, "Alright, let's go see the virtual data of your mecha arm.
The two of them walked out of the warehouse and went into a product display room. Everything in the room was organized neatly. Master Ming led Major Wang towards an area where mecha arms were on display. He pointed towards one of the thick and shiny metal arms and said, "There, that one is yours."
Major Wang's eyes brightened as he exclaimed in awe, "You truly live up to your reputation, Master Ming. This is exactly what I wanted."
"As long as you like it," perhaps he had heard all the praises in the world so Master Ming only replied indifferently to his high praise.
"It's really too perfect. I believe that in Base Nebula, there isn't a single mecha engineer who can be compared to you, Master Ming." Major Wang seemed to be very impressed with Master Ming's techniques and was quite respectful in his words.
These words seemed to have triggered a memory in Master Ming's mind. He shook his head and said, "Don't say that. I saw the live broadcast of the battle. Those mechas from Lingtian are probably all modified mechas. Their modifications are all perfect for the mecha too. They definitely have a very skilled mecha modification master in their ranks…"
"Of course, Lingtian is…" Major Wang quickly stopped what he was about to say.
"Is what?" Master Ming seemed to be drawn in to Major Wang's accidental slip up as he asked curiously.
Major Wang had a complicated expression on his face. Although it wasn't a secret that couldn't be told, he still felt that it wasn't good to tell others before Regiment Commander Ling publicly announced her identity.
"Major Wang, Wang Junzhi, Little Wang! Are you planning on hiding something from me even though we're already so close?" Master Ming had an annoyed expression on his face. He always hated it when people stopped mid-way in their sentence.
"Alright, Master Ming. I only just got word of this as well and will only be telling you. Please don't go around telling other people about it." Major Wang didn't want to anger Master Ming so he could only tell him to not talk to other people about it.
"Am I someone who gossips?" Master Ming's gaze narrowed. He felt that Major Wang's words were humiliating him.
He didn't like to gossip but sometimes after a few drinks, he would become very talkative. No one knew whether he was saying anything he wasn't supposed to… Major Wang rolled his eyes in his mind, but he still put up an expression of total seriousness. "Okay, okay, okay, I'll trust you. Lingtian's Regiment Commander Ling is the son of Ling Xiao who everyone talks about. Do you think his mecha clan wouldn't have mecha engineer masters? Even if General Ling Xiao was fair and just… he still would have to think about his own son. That's normal human behavior."
"Ah, I see. No wonder you didn't want me to say anything about it. This matter definitely cannot be talked about." Master Ming was very surprised. He was now even more interested in Lingtian's mecha engineer masters. "If General Ling Xiao made the arrangements, then this master of modification is definitely amazing. If it's possible, I would really like to sit down and talk to him."
"There will definitely be chances in the future since Prince Ling is now our base's mecha clans' commander-in-chief. He wouldn't be leaving the base any time soon. Alright, I also need to return to the real world to install my mecha arm. Master Ming, thank you for time and effort."
"Why are you thanking me for? If you use it well and kill a few enemies, I would be very happy." Smiled Master Ming. "The mecha arm has already been sent to the mecha hold. This is the serial number for the pick-up. Go pick it up yourself."
Major Wang put away the serial number, paid the required credits and bid farewell to Master Ming.
Li Lanfeng, who was watching all of this from the side, frowned slightly. There was no doubt that there was something wrong with Major Wang. He just didn't know what type of threat he posed.
However, it was difficult to ascertain this Master Ming's identity.
The shadow Li Lanfeng created followed Major Wang as he left. After the shadow watched as Major Wang disconnected from the virtual world, it gave up on following him further and returned to its host body.
"Not telling someone in the real world but rather in the virtual world. Could it be like what our regiment commander had predicted, the opposition is hidden within the virtual world…" However, who was the informant? Was Master Ming the informant? Or was he just used as bait?
Li Lanfeng didn't leave the virtual world and continued to watch those suspicious individuals.
At that moment, Ling Lan had bid farewell to Yu Huan. Li Lanfeng, who still had most of his spirit in the virtual world, left the command center and returned to Lingtian's camping ground.
In the middle of the night, a black cloaked individual suddenly appeared within the display room where Master Ming and Master Wang had talked earlier.
He walked towards the positions Major Wang and Master Ming had stood. He stood there for a long time and after a while, he seemed to have received something. Then, he showed an expression of satisfaction and was preparing to leave.
Suddenly, he stopped walking, turned around towards a direction and shouted out softly, "Who's there?"
Another black cloaked individual slowly appeared from a position that was previously empty.
"Not good. I've fallen into a trap." The black cloaked individual who first appeared quickly readied a fighting stance. Suddenly, he dashed to the side but he didn't expect that his body would be completely locked up by a formless power, forcing him to be unable to move an inch.
"I was wondering why Major Wang would say all that to Master Ming," said the second black cloaked individual with a smile. "I didn't think that there would actually be a spectral ability user hidden within the base. Now everything can be explained."
"Spectral ability user? Who are you?" The first black cloaked individual instantly expanded his spectral abilities to struggle out of his opponent's power.
"I also want to know where you came from, mister spectral ability user." The second black cloaked individual was filled with interest. His two spectral ability battles were all in Base Nebula. He didn't know whether it was a coincidence or his terrible fate.
Although the first black cloaked spectral ability user hid his face, he still had killing intent seeping out from his body. At that moment, outside the display room, a whistling sound suddenly came out. The individual who arrived first, suddenly turned stiff. The spectral power from his body completely expanded out and rushed fiercely towards the second spectral ability user.
The second spectral ability user only smiled lightly in response to the incoming attack. Suddenly, a dark vortex appeared in front of him which easily sucked in the spectral attack.
Right at that moment, the first spectral ability user suddenly flew backwards and rushed outside of the display room.
The second spectral ability user saw this and pointed at his opponent with his finger. A dark wave appeared from his fingertip and it flew towards the second spectral ability user.
Bang!
A transparent spectral shield appeared in its way and instantly blocked the dark wave.
This shield gave the escaping individual enough time to hide within virtual space and completely vanish.
"You want to get away? It won't be that easy." The second spectral ability user began activating his abilities which could follow the traces of the individual. Unfortunately, he still didn't find any traces of him in the end.
"Consider yourself lucky," said the second spectral ability user begrudgingly.
After a few minutes, a silhouette suddenly appeared beside him.
"Lanfeng, that's enough." It was indeed Ling Lan.
As Ling Lan finished speaking, the black cloak on the second spectral ability user disappeared which instantly revealed Li Lanfeng's beautiful and goddess-like face.
"Wasn't my acting great?�� Li Lanfeng asked with a smile on his face.
"Did you get a trace on the enemy?" Spectral ability users were quite sensitive to spectral energies so they could easily notice when they were tracked. Thus, in order to find the spectral ability user who had escaped, they must rely on an even stronger one.
"Of course. In terms of spectral abilities, I've never lost before," Li Lanfeng said confidently.
"He should be here." A map of the virtual world appeared in Li Lanfeng's hand as he pointed towards a location on the map.
"So it's old acquaintances…" Ling Lan saw the location and half-smiled.
"Looks like Piercing Arrow has a lot of secrets." Li Lanfeng laughed.
"Let me do the rest. You go back and sleep. You've already been on the lookout for an entire day," Ling Lan turned towards Li Lanfeng and said concernedly.
Li Lanfeng heard the concern in her voice and turned around with a shocked expression. His eyes widened and he jokingly yet caringly said, "What?! You're worried about me?"
This monster. When did he become so daring? The beauty who Ling Lan teased all the time was now teasing her. Ling Lan's lips couldn't help but twitch a little.
"Yeah… If a beauty like yourself is tired, I would be very worried." Ling Lan raised her eyebrows and gave a half-smile to Li Lanfeng. Right as Li Lanfeng was about to respond to her, Ling Lan continued, "If you're tired, how would I force you to do some month training regimens."
"Now seeing you all energized, I don't know if you'll be satisfied with just three months of training," said Ling Lan as she raised her eyebrows.
Li Lanfeng's forehead wrinkled slightly. He looked at Ling Lan with a sad puppy look. "Regiment commander, you're so cruel…" The sad look of a bullied otherworldly beauty almost made Ling Lan drool. She really wanted to tease him even more.
"If I was actually cruel, I would instantly have you do half a year of training," Ling Lan snorted coldly. She definitely couldn't let her guard around this guy. If not, this guy would continue showing such greatly coveted expressions.
"Don't show that kind of expression in front of me ever again. You're not even giving off the vibes of a man now," Ling Lan said with an annoyed tone.
After hearing this, Li Lanfeng replied helplessly, "Yes, regiment commander. I will try my best to adhere to your wishes."
Ling Lan waved her hand to gesture to Li Lanfeng that he could leave.
Seeing this, Li Lanfeng smiled and disappeared from the virtual world.
Chapter 1140 Winner!
The report of the battle for the Nebula Boundary was quickly sent to the Federation's military headquarters. Just the first sentence in the report was enough to cause the entire military to erupt.
"Lingtian wiped out Knight Ace Mecha Clan?" Everyone's legs were quaking when they read the report.
"Knight Ace Mecha Clan? The one that's ranked 18th in Caesar?" They double-checked and triple-checked before they could be certain that there wasn't any mistake in the report.
"Where did Lingtian come from? I don't remember our Federation having a mecha clan in the top ranks with such a title." Lingtian's title was unfamiliar to everyone of the higher-ups in the military.
"If I remember correctly, Lingtian Mecha Clan was 250 Ace Mecha Clan that was under General Ling Xiao's 23rd Division." In the military, there were definitely those who had such information on hand and would explain the situation to their colleagues.
"So it's Prince Ling's mecha clan!" After the name '250 Ace Mecha Clan' was mentioned, everyone immediately knew who the mecha clan belonged to.
"Didn't the military hospital's god-like military doctor deem him to be unable to pilot mechas anymore? How could they have wiped out Knight Ace Mecha Clan?" an officer asked in shock.
"Prince Ling didn't make any moves. It was his subordinates," said an officer who had the luck of reading the battle report.
"Holy sh*t, just his subordinate? What kind of monsters are they?" said another officer who was listening in on their conversation. "To annihilate Knight Ace Mecha Clan, they must have the strength of a legendary level mecha clan."
"From what I know, Lingtian has 600 or so peak-level ace operators, 800 elite aces and more than 1000 thousand standard ace operators." An officer read out the data of mecha operators who Lingtian had registered.
"Although their numbers aren't bad, it's still only considered between first-rank three stars and first-rank four stars. On paper, they aren't strong enough to wipe out Knight Ace Mecha Clan which has already reached first-rank five stars." It was clear that someone had tweaked Lingtian's data.
"What if… half of the 600 or so peak-level ace operators hadn't updated their piloting skills in the past 10 years? Moreover, the most recent update was 5 years ago by a peak-level ace operator" suggested the officer who read the data.
"Holy sh*t!"
"Holy sh*t!"
"Holy sh*t!"
This insane suggestion caused the discussing officers to all cuss.
Peak-level ace operators more often than not would advance into imperial operators. Five years was usually enough time for a peak-level ace operator to get their foot out of the door into becoming an imperial operator and there would usually be quantitative changes in a decade. Lingtian's 300 or so peak-level ace operators hadn't updated their levels in the past decade so it was quite possible that out of these mecha operators, some had advanced into the imperial level.
Of course, the other half of mecha operators could also have advanced into imperial operators, but the probability of that happening was lower than those who haven't updated in a decade. However, no matter what, they couldn't claim that Lingtian was a first-rank three star or first-rank four star mecha clan based on outdated data.
"Looks like our General Ling Xiao put in a lot of effort to create such a strong mecha clan to protect Prince Ling," an officer said mockingly.
"Prince Ling gave up his future for the Federation. He originally was going to be able to live freely and safely under the watchful eyes of General Ling Xiao. However, we aren't sure which idiot from the military made Prince Ling's 250 Ace Mecha Clan into its own entity. They even sent them to stand guard as the main mecha clan in Base Nebula. I don't even understand why the Federation would do this to those loyal to them." An officer heard the mocking tone of his comrade and didn't feel good about it. He instantly began ranting, "The military is so unreliable. If his father didn't have the insight to build such a powerful mecha clan for his son, then it might become the older generations mourning for the younger generation. That would be a joke."
"Yeah, you're right. However, I heard that 250 Ace Mecha Clan originally had 250 veteran peak-level ace mecha operators. Among them were people like Ursa Major and Sagittarius… They were all people who were considered to have a high chance to advance into the imperial level. Lingtian having such capabilities may not be General Ling Xiao's will," an officer spoke out his own opinion on the matter.
"That's true. General Ling Xiao has always strictly followed the rules. General Ling Xiao didn't even dispute when the military idiotically sent the severely injured Prince Ling to Base Nebula. He fully accepted it. After everything General Ling Xiao had done for the Federation… hah." Sighed an officer. If there were more people like General Ling Xiao in the military, the Federation might be even stronger than it was now.
"Yeah. If someone suspected General Ling Xiao, that would be quite foolish." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"I just mentioned the possibility… I didn't mean anything by it." Seeing that he had angered everyone, the officer who had mocked Ling Xiao instantly had a terrible expression on his face and explained the meaning behind his words.
"It better mean nothing," coldly replied the ranting officer. Just from his tone, everyone knew that he didn't want to make peace with the mocking officer. Someone who dared to be disrespectful to General Ling Xiao definitely had something wrong with them and wasn't worth it to befriend.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward. A colleague who was in good relations with the mocking officer immediately butted in and said, "Alright alright. Everyone was just blindly chatting. Don't take it seriously. Let's go back to work."
No one had the desire to continue the discussion anymore because of the altercation, and they began to work on their tasks again.
However, they were still curious about how Lingtian had annihilated Knight Ace Mecha Clan. Everyone was waiting for the military to give out the final report of the battle and publicly announce the rewards and merits.
In a dimly lit living room, two people were sitting face to face in a dark corner of the room. A chess board was between them as they silently played against each other.
"Chief…" The subordinate had waited for a long time. After seeing his chief not making his next move on the chess board, he raised his head and called him softly.
"Hmm?" The chief seemed to have been awoken from his daze. He looked up towards his subordinate and said calmly, "What you told me earlier, tell me about your thoughts about it."
His subordinate's finger shook as he dropped the chess piece onto the board.
He calmed his nerves before he carefully replied, "Chief, Ling Xiao's name is like the sun in the sky. In the military, if someone were to speak about him disrespectfully, they would be publicly attacked and or shamed by groups of people." After saying all this, he carefully glanced at his chief and said, "We have to be on guard."
"How? His son achieved miracles one after the other. He can get all that he wants while doing absolutely nothing," the chief said calmly.
"But we still can't let them do as they please. Otherwise, it would affect your plan," said the subordinate anxiously.
"We're not in a hurry. Water can make a boat float but can also sink it. It isn't necessarily good for his name to be held in such high regard," The eyes of the chief seemed to be full of wisdom. "I want to see just how Ling Xiao will react."
"We're only going to watch?" asked the subordinate.
"Ling Xiao can do as he pleases but he has a fatal weakness." The chief raised his head and smiled coldly. The black chess piece decisively fell onto the board. "God-class operator! The Federation's rules states that unless it was a nation-wide problem, god-class operators are restricted from taking the position of marshal."
"Prince Ling… He thinks he could use his son as a proxy marshal while in reality he would be the one in power?" The chief smirked. "He won't be able to get past the three marshals."
"I understand, chief." After hearing his chief's words, he instantly understood why his chief was so calm.
"Although we don't need to do anything, we can still cause some trouble for Ling Xiao. We can get rid of some disgusting parasites along the way as well. Doing something that kills two birds with stone isn't bad, right?" The chief stood up.
"Chief, you're saying…" the subordinate understood.
"I think Ling Xiao will be very willing to take care of this troublesome issue." The chief waved his hand and said, "Go make the arrangements."
"Yes, chief." The subordinate replied excitedly. The information they had accidentally discovered 10 years ago was finally going to be used.
Finally, the dimly lit living room now only had the chief in it. He stood in the dark corner and looked towards a certain direction as if he was remembering something.
After a long while, he raised his right hand and clenched with great force. "Only the person who could last until the end can be considered the victor… Ling Xiao, you will obey me in the end."
A burning desire showed in his eyes.
That person, who seemed to be mild-mannered and actually aloof, would definitely bow down to him. Just thinking about Ling Xiao bowing down to him made the chief feel butterflies in his stomach.
"I didn't lose 20 years ago and I won't lose now either! Ling Xiao, the final result will not change. You will never win against me."
In the 23rd Division headquarters, Staff Officer He ran hurriedly into his division commander's office.
"General!" He Xuyang shouted excitedly.
"What's the matter?" Ling Xiao asked calmly. He didn't raise his head and was still reading the document in his hands.
"Young Master Lan made new achievements again," He Xuyang said excitedly.
"Uh huh." Ling Xiao continued flipping the page and was seemingly unmoved by He Xuyang's words.
"Young Master Lan's Lingtian wiped out Caesar's Knight Ace Mecha Clan!" The overly excited He Xuyang didn't care whether his general was listening to him or not. He just quickly poured out what he had read in the report he just received.
Ling Xiao's hand froze. He slowly raised his head. "Knight Ace Mecha Clan?"
"Yeah, Caesar's 18th rank Knight Ace Mecha Clan. Our Young Master Lan is as impressive as always." He Xuyang looked as if he was happy his own child had grown up. His expression made Ling Xiao's lips twitch uncontrollably.
'That's my daughter! What's the meaning of your expression!'
"He didn't fight?" Ling Xiao put down the documents and asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Based on the report, Young Master Lan didn't fight," replied He Xuyang.
"It seems those people she took under her have matured a lot." Smiled Ling Xiao.
"Of course. Our Young Master Lan is definitely a great coach for soldiers." He Xuyang showed the same expression as before and it continued to make Ling Xiao feel his teeth itch.
"However, after this, another battle will erupt in our military." After He Xuyang finished being excited, he thought of this issue.
"Although Ling Lan had left the 23rd Division to create her own army which has nothing to do with me, our father and son relationship still makes it impossible for me to escape from being connected with him." Ling Xiao knew of this outcome. Everything he did was to protect his precious daughter. At least, under his supervision, she would have been able to fly freely.
"However, it's going to be an uphill battle. General, your current situation is somewhat dangerous, right now." He Xuyang knew better than anyone of Ling Xiao's current situation.
The better Ling Lan did, the more General Ling Xiao would be burned by the fires that are on him. It was just that someone like Young Master Lan, an otherworldly monster, would eventually fly to the top in the end where no one will be able to stop him.
"It's not like there aren't any chances…" Ling Xiao's eyes glimmered, "It must be at the right place and the right time. Now is not the time. We must wait."
"But waiting until when?" He Xuyang frowned. He was afraid that before getting a chance to turn the tides around, General Ling Xiao would be burned to cinders.
"Should be soon." Someone probably couldn't hold it any longer.
Although Ling Lan's military achievements made it more difficult for him, it also forced those people to lose their patience. Once it passed the amount they could endure, they would definitely make moves. When that happens, Ling Xiao would have his chance.
Yu Huan actually didn't quite understand why the battle report would be written in that way. However, Ling Lan was the person responsible for reporting to the higher-ups. If she didn't mind, then Yu Huan would put his suspicions into the back of his head and sign his name on the final battle report.
After the mainframe sent out the report along with the video feed to the military, he asked what he was most concerned about, "Regiment Commander Ling, why did you not write that you had also entered the battle?"
It turns out, Ling Lan's report and virtual video feed all had her presence erased from it.
"Overflowing is a bad thing," replied Ling Lan calmly. "Getting to this position at my age… is enough."
Yu Huan's eyes trembled. He didn't expect that this Prince Ling would be so knowledgeable of the position he was in. Indeed, even with a strong background, Ling Lan was already a god among men for having such a position at his age. He wasn't any worse than General Ling Xiao back in the day. However, it wouldn't necessarily be a good thing if he were to rise any higher in the ranks. This was the truth especially because General Ling Xiao was already at a high point of the ladder whereby now he couldn't even climb the up or down the ladder.
"Plus, I'm the commander-in-chief of the mecha clans in the base so I should be in the base commanding the battle, not going out there," Ling Lan continued. "I would rather just let it be and not take the merits or the punishments. That way no one could say anything about it."
"Morally sound." Sighed Yu Huan. After reaching a certain position, one would be able to understand that the seemingly useless morally sound path was actually the safest choice.
"Maintain stability." Ling Lan said calmly. She could only use this method to make herself less noticeable to decrease the troubles she was giving her father. However, despite her making herself less noticeable, as long as she was still Lingtian's regiment commander, these troubles wouldn't decrease by too much.
"I still want to thank Regiment Commander Ling for allowing the other mecha clans in Base Nebula to receive merits," Yu Huan said gratefully. However, he quickly began to worry, "I'm not sure if Caesar would publicize the video feed."
Falsifying military merits was a huge crime, despite the fact that it was Lingtian splitting theirs on their own accord.
"They won't have it. They'll only talk about it… We can say that it's their excuse for losing to avoid losing face."
If Ling Lan dared to do this, she would definitely not let anyone blackmail her. The information that Knight Ace Mecha Clan and two other mecha clans were wiped out and would not be leaked. Plus on the battlefield, Little Four had jammed the video feed of every camera that had even caught a glimpse of her. The opposition only had videos of Lingtian's ruthless mecha operators. However, the mecha operators on the base behind them were all real. Additionally, Little Four's zoomed in video feed made it even more realistic.
"That's good to know." Just from the fact that Ling Lan had managed to create a realistic virtual battle video feed, Yu Huan knew that within Lingtian Mecha Clan, there definitely was at least one imperial level hacker.
If Ling Lan said that Caesar wouldn't have it, then he definitely had enough confidence to not let them have it.
After all, imperial level hackers did indeed have the ability to jam the video feed for a short while.