Bab 23: Chapter 023 Unrivalled Expert_1
What does a Special Level Mecha warrior count as without his mecha? When the Federation didn't yet have mechas, soldiers used to rely on firearms for most single combat situations. So, what do they count as without firearms?
The answer to this question is obvious. Soldiers without firearms are almost always at the peak of physical ability, masters of military hand-to-hand combat, their years of hard training are not merely centered on marksmanship. Apart from physical strength and combat skills, their most formidable quality is their steel-hard willpower.
Special Level Mecha warriors are much more powerful without their mecha than soldiers without firearms. Ordinary soldiers and even reconnaissance soldiers proficient in close combat can't hold a candle to them. The only soldiers that could once compare were all known by a single name many years ago - Soldier King.
Among tens of millions of Federation soldiers, only 300,000 are qualified to pilot mechas. And among these, only a little over 300 have been selected as Special Level Mecha warriors. They have not only robust physical strength which enables them to operate the mecha with prolonged endurance but also unrivaled martial prowess to perform high-level tactical moves with humanoid mechas.
Most importantly, their enemies are mecha and mecha warriors of the Empire. The difference in mecha performance between the two sides isn't very big. However, the disparity between the mecha warriors themselves is akin to the gulf between humans and apes.
The Empire's mecha warriors are apes, possessing body strength far surpassing humans and intelligence not inferior to humans.
"Array Slash Seventy-Three," Major Han Li's track record made everyone believe that even without his mecha, he could still be considered the most formidable human warrior. But at this moment, what Han Li faced was merely a sixty-five-year-old man, a mere Private, a regular Mechanic.
In the Federation's 6th base located on an alien planet, the venue for artistic performances was filled to the brim. Thousands of eyes full of curiosity and bewilderment, not anticipation, for this was not a battle worth anticipating. The outcome of this battle was predetermined from the start.
On the silent stage, Han Li and Ji Xinghe stood confrontational. Neither of them objected to more people coming to watch, nor did they prevent Su He, Ji Xinghe's embedded journalist from filming. This meant that this video clip would be included in Ji Xinghe's documentary. Not only would it circulate on the alien planet, but on Azure Star, it would be known to all.
One contrived it intentionally, while the other knew of the intention.
The stage wasn't designed for combat but was constructed using hard slabs, a unique material of the alien planet. Despite the alien planet's gravity being only a third of Azure Star's, this did not mean that every material on the alien planet is fragile. Apart from the low gravity, the most inhospitable aspects for human life on the alien planet are the extreme temperature differences between day and night, reaching up to 100 degrees Celsius, the constant threat of storms, radiation, and such. This leads to a higher scarcity of some materials on the alien planet as compared with Azure Star.
In simpler terms, meteoric iron, an incredibly precious material in martial arts novels, cannot be said to be found everywhere on the alien planet. Still, after humans landed on the alien planet, this type of meteoric material was no longer scarce. Shen Mu once told Ji Xinghe that one of the materials required to create the 'Old Man's Joy' was a delicacy unique to the alien planet.
"Uncle Ji, let me say a few words first."
Han Li spoke calmly to Ji Xinghe, not asking but notifying. Ji Xinghe frowned, "Actually, you don't need to do this."
"What do you mean I don't need to? Uncle Ji, please don't misunderstand me."
Han Li smiled at Ji Xinghe, asked a staff member for a microphone nearby, and then faced the audience.
"Many of you here should know who I am, and some don't. I understand your perplexion towards why I would pick a fight with Uncle Ji. You might think that me in my mecha bullying the same-in-mecha Uncle Ji, or me out of my mecha bullying Uncle Ji, an elderly, is outrageous. You might think that I'm out of my mind, and Uncle Ji, agreeing to fight me, is also out of his mind."
"I'm Han Li, Major, a Special Level Mecha warrior, and there are seventy-three gold stars on my exclusive mecha."
"He is Ji Xinghe, Ji Chenxing's father."
"Ji Chenxing was my most outstanding mecha soldier. When he was sacrificed, there were already twelve gold stars on his mecha. Or to be precise, since he had taken down six enemy mechas with no retreat before dying with one in mutual destruction, his mecha should bear nineteen gold stars at the time of his sacrifice."
"If Ji Chenxing had not sacrificed himself, he would have become a Special Level mech warrior. It was not difficult for him to break an Imperial mech, and my comrades who have perished believed that he would be the second Special Level mech warrior in my mech special forces team."
"I was the first one. Not just the first one, I was also number one."
Han Li's tone was extremely calm. If anyone could see his eyes, they could tell he was lost in his memories, standing here but his mind was somewhere else.
"I took the first place in the military academy's combat tournament, and Ji Chenxing was the runner-up. I took three first places, he took three second places. Yes, from our sophomore year, we had won first and second place in our school's combat tournament. We didn't rank when we were freshmen, not because we couldn't make it, but freshmen were not allowed to participate. If we could, I believe, we would have claimed the first and second places just the same."
"Ji Chenxing and I were very close. After spending four years in the military academy, we served in the same unit. Ji Chenxing never envied me for always being the first, he never envied my earlier promotions. He protected me many times in the battleground, even risking getting wounded to save me."
"I asked Ji Chenxing why he didn't feel upset about always losing to me. His reply always made me laugh because he said…"
Han Li's voice grew solemn, his lone voice echoing in the silent conference room.
"He said, when he gets a leave, he'll get his father to give him some serious training, and he would be able to 'destroy' me afterwards. Yes, that's what he said, 'destroy' me, as in hang me up and beat me."
"His father is Ji Xinghe, standing right beside me, an ordinary but not so ordinary father, an ordinary but not so ordinary mechanic, an ordinary but not so ordinary private mech repairer."
"I've been waiting for Ji Chenxing to go learn some moves. However, he had no chance to go home due to our military school schedule, and the tense war situation meant we had no holidays even as students. After we graduated and came here, he had even less time to go back. In fact, since we came here after graduation, he never went back, and he never will."
Han Li spoke about a fallen federation hero, a comment that should have drawn public criticism. But everyone present did not protest or interrupt Han Li. They all believed that aside from Ji Xinghe, Han Li was the most grieving.
He and Ji Chenxing were friends for over ten years, classmates, comrades. They had entrusted their lives to each other on the battlefield countless times, but now Ji Chenxing was gone, and Han Li was still alive.
Han Li now had to fight Ji Chenxing's father.
"Ji Chenxing's words made me laugh, and my comrades too. He never tried to argue because he didn't have the time, and there were no witnesses since his father couldn't be there. But now, his father is here, seeking revenge for his son's death, so... I will have the chance to face his father in a fight, to prove that he didn't lie."
"Ji Chenxing said no one in the Federation could defeat his father in a one-on-one fight, because his father was just an ordinary mechanic on the surface, but in reality, he's a master hermit among the masses."
"Now, I'll try to prove it. If I win, when I meet Ji Chenxing, I will continue to laugh at him. If I lose, when I meet Ji Chenxing, I will apologize to him."
"Yes, I will meet Ji Chenxing, but not just yet."
Han Li's voice gradually softened, his head dipping down, his mouth almost touching the mic, then he suddenly looked up, his voice booming.
"I am Han Li, after mecha disarming, there has only been one who defeated me, his name is Li Yuanba, the strongest mech warrior of the Federation, the Li Yuanba who has 532 gold stars on his exclusive mech."
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone