Chapter 886 - Self-destruct!
It seemed that right as his team member blocked the beam shot with his mecha to save Han Jijyun and dying in the process, Liu Furong suddenly erupted all of his potential and broke through the barrier holding him back for so long, making him instantly enter the imperial level.
The accumulation of his experience for the past 20 years made him instantly reach the mid-stages of imperial level right after he broke through. Even though he was still somewhat weaker than his terrifying opponent, the difference between the two of them was not that huge anymore.
"It's because you are our hope. Our future. We would rather die here than to let our hopes and future die here!" Liu Furong's words echoed in Han Jijyun's mind.
It turns out, he was wrong from the beginning! He was never hated and looked down on by anyone. Those hurtful words were actually just clumsy ways the veterans used to communicate with them.
If they had looked down on him and hated him, they would have just stopped caring about him.
Inside Han Jijyun's mind, flashbacks of the scenes of veterans speaking to him appeared. Their eyes were filled with happiness. The smiles on their faces were warm, but there were also hints of worry and suspicion in their eyes. There wasn't any bad intent in their eyes at all. Why couldn't he see these signs clearly before? Was it because his mind was filled with those negative thoughts so he was blinded by that? Han Jijyun regretted everything and couldn't help but hate himself. He couldn't even control his eyes as it teared up uncontrollably…
Song Yiqing, still stiff from before, just stared blankly as a mecha operators from 250 Ace Mecha Clan didn't hesitate to sacrifice his own life to save his comrades. A feeling of regret and embarrassment towards himself suddenly bloomed in his mind.
"Bam!" Song Yiqing slapped himself on the face and the pain from it woke him up from his stupor. He moved his mecha and instantly flew towards Han Jijyun. He then dragged Han Jijyun, who was still mulling over himself, into his team.
"Leader Han, our mission is to retreat. Retreat! Focus god damn it!" Song Yiqing shouted angrily at Han Jijyun. Even though he was saying those words to Han Jijyun, those words were also for himself as well.
"I know!" Han Jijyun's hoarse voice was heard in the commlink channel of the mecha.
Han Jijyun raised his head and looked at the imperial mecha who had just killed the mecha operator of team 02. At that moment, his mind was filled with thoughts of taking revenge, but he was held back by an officer from Liu Furong's team so he had no way of making a move on them.
Han Jijyun will remember this. He will remember how his life had been saved at the cost of someone else's life. Han Jijyun made a promise to himself that he would no longer let his comrade sacrifice his lives to protect him.
Han Jijyun closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it was calm as a body of water. He coldly said to Song Yiqing, "Regiment Commander Song, take your clan and immediately retreat back to Base 013 as fast as possible. Don't linger here and waste anymore time."
Song Yiqing was somewhat stunned by the sudden change in Han Jijyun.
"Then, what about the situation here…" Team 02 and 08 were not enough to hold back this battle team full of imperial operators.
"Regiment Commander Song, I don't want to say it a third time. Your mission is to take the supplies to Base 013 as fast as possible. It isn't your role to provide cover fire here," said Han Jijyun coldly.
"Understood!" Song Yiqing looked at Han Jijyun with surprise, and then immediately ordered his clan's battle clan's team leaders to take the supplies and quickly retreat.
Han Jijyun, who was just irresolute, hesitant and warm-hearted, now actually became so heartless. There was no doubt that Han Jijyun was ready to abandon team 02 and 08 for the supplies.
Not long after, Song Yiqing's clan went forward with the order and quickly retreated out of this battlefield. Seeing the supplies going further and further away, Team Luo Qi became frustrated.
"Regiment Commander, we still can't get past the interference in this area so we still can't contact the base. What should we do now?" A team member from Team Luo Qi asked Luo Qi in a frustrated tone.
Although Luo Qi was fighting with Liu Furong, he could still see the supplies being carried away from them. He decisively ordered, "Mai Jia, take formation and block the transport team from leaving! Everyone else cover them. Don't let Mai Jia and his team be held back by those bastards."
"Yes, regiment commander!" Ma Jia's team wanted to split off to attack the transport team, but Liu Furong wouldn't let them leave that easily. He ordered three mecha operators from his team to attack the mecha operators who were trying to chase after the transport team
The order they received was that even if they were to die, they must intercept them.
If the transport team was to have something happen to them, it would mean the end of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the base. Liu Furong and the members from team 02 and 08 knew what was more important. This was also why their regiment commander stayed back at Base Ailan to lure Hailiya's first line forces even if it meant a very high possibility of dying there.
"Self-destruct!" All the mecha operators from 250 knew this was the only way for them to hold these imperial operators back. If they wanted to take down imperial operators that outnumbered them, they must use this method.
"Damn, small fries!" Seeing ace operators coming towards them without any care for their lives, Mai Jia, who was annoyed from being held back, shouted angrily, "Use your strongest technique and destroy these small fries."
"Understood!" The two mechas beside him immediately pounced towards their opponents. Their engines began to roar and the large sword in their hands began to rotate quickly.
"Watch out!" Liu Furong heard the odd noise from their opponent's engines. He then glanced at the way their large swords were rotating and instantly shouted.
Back then when he fought with Hailiya's forces on the battlefield, he had once seen mecha operators using this terrifying technique. Anything that got sucked in by the rotation of the large sword or just slightly touched it, would be sliced into small bits even if it was met with the toughest material. He had once heard from his previous regiment commander that this was one of Hailiya's top-level techniques, Helix Whirl! Countless mecha operators from the Federation had perished just from this technique alone.
However, even though Liu Furong told his team members to be careful, the three members who were ready to die in order to intercept the enemy, didn't retreat even though they knew of the dangers. They all pounced towards their opponents without a hint of regret.
"Long live the Huaxia Federation!"
"Long live 250 Ace Mecha Clan!"
"I love 250!"
In the commlink channel, they all screamed out their last words…
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Immediately after, three loud explosions were heard in the sky. As everyone turned their head towards the explosion, they saw three mushroom clouds which had odd hints of red in them.
"Mai Jia!"
"Bo Qi!"
"Luo Ya!"
Luo Qi's team saw this and was stunned. They all called out to their comrades and hoped they would answer them.
After some time, one mecha flew out from one of the mushroom clouds. The mecha's limbs were broken off and countless wires were protruding out, even the body of the mecha was severely burnt.
Chapter 887 - Familiar!
"It's Mai Jia!" The members from Luo Qi's team shouted in surprise.
It was indeed Mai Jia. When he noticed that the ace mechas were charging at him with seemingly no regard for their life he knew something was amiss, so he stopped his technique halfway through and moved his mecha half a second earlier. This half a second allowed him to edge away from the brink of death.
Ever since the start of this war, the members of the God-Killers had been having a smooth time. They were never really in any serious danger. They were also the most powerful mecha clan in Hailiya so they never really tasted defeat before. Yet, today, two of their mechas were destroyed and one mecha was half-paralyzed.
"Bastards, kill those trash! Also, don't give them a chance to self-destruct." Luo Qi was furious. Ever since he became a regiment commander, he had never been humiliated like this before. Those trash that he looked down on destroyed three of his mechas. Additionally, he didn't know if the mecha operators of the destroyed mechas were still alive. He was indignant about his situation. To wash away this embarrassment, he must kill all these mecha operators in the most brutal way possible. That was why Luo Qi gave the order.
That's right, up until now, the mecha operators from God-Killers were just playing with their opponents. They were just fighting with the goal of having fun but, from this moment onwards, they would fight with all their might.
To the members of team 02 and team 08, it was like the god of death finally taking out its scythe and was inching it towards their necks.
"Leader Yang, did you see anything?" Gu Dongyang frowned as he looked at his radar. They were only three minutes late but they had lost all signs of the imperial operators.
"No. However, based on the map Leader Li gave us, they should be in this direction." Yang Mingzhi compared the map Li Lanfeng gave them and felt that they were heading in the right direction.
"Let's go further in front and take a look." Gu Dongyang shoved his concerns to the back of his mind and operated his mecha forward.
'If Leader Li is right, our regiment commander should be coming towards them from this direction. Is there enough time for us to reinforce our regiment commander? Do they have too few people?'
"Are you thinking that we have too few people?" Yang Mingzhi read Gu Dongyang's mind.
"Yes. If we are discovered, regiment commander will be in danger," Gu Dongyang replied.
"Normally, even 30 mecha clans might not be able to conquer a base that has a good defense system and manpower. However, our regiment commander only brought eight mecha clans with him, six of them are not from our base and Song Yiqing has a grudge against our regiment commander. No matter how you look at it, the mission of snatching supplies from our enemy's base is equal to a suicide mission. If so, why would the scaredy-cat Song Yiqing agree to follow our regiment commander for this mission?" Yang Mingzhi asked calmly.
"Our regiment commander must have persuaded him," Gu Dongyang replied after some thought.
'Persuaded? I think threatened is a better word.' Yang Mingzhi smiled. He continued, "That could possibly be the reason. Another possibility could be because Song Yiqing knew that he won't die." Yang Mingzhi had only followed Ling Lan for one year but he knew that Ling Lan wasn't someone who liked to take risks. If she made a decision, it meant that there was a high chance it would succeed.
Gu Dongyang went into deep thought after hearing what Yang Mingzhi had said. He seemed to have understood something. "Leader Yang, are you saying that our regiment commander is confident that they won't be found by our enemy? Or only a small portion of the enemy will find them?"
"If not, they won't be able to come out of Hailiya's territory and we won't be reinforcing them." Yang Mingzhi took a deep breath. There was a small number of enemies but they were dangerous. He was worried that these enemies were those imperial operators that appeared secretly on the battlefield of Planet Haijiao.
These imperial operators were the reason why the Federation lost so many bases in such a short timeframe. Of course, there were other reasons why they lost so many bases such as the commanding officers of the bases panicking after losing contact with the Federation and didn't contact with their surrounding bases in time. The enemy made use of this window of time to attack them. But, it was undeniable that without these imperial operators, the bases wouldn't have fallen so quickly. They would be able to withstand for a longer period of time and Base 013 wouldn't have to have such a hard time.
"No matter what, let's hurry over." Gu Dongyang was still worried about Ling Lan, so he pulled his throttle and increased his speed once again.
Yang Mingzhi followed him and increased his speed too. Their team members also increased their speed and caught up with their team leaders.
After fighting with Jia Na for so long, Yao Jian finally reached his limit. Under his opponent's continuous attack, he was finally hit and his mecha flew backwards.
The huge impact injured him internally. He spat a mouthful of blood on the screen.
'Have I reached my limit already?' Yao Jian smiled in despair, as he wasn't able to break through his limit. He looked at his opponent as he chased after him with a giant sword that was coming towards him.
"Even if I go to hell, I'll bring someone with me!" Yao Jian went berserk. His fingers suddenly increased in speed so much that there seemed to be afterimages of fingers moving across the control panel.
Yao Jian's mecha twisted its body and the giant sword just barely scraped his mecha's chest, managing to evade the lethal blow. Jia Na was dumbfounded but before he could attack again, Yao Jian's mecha suddenly hugged him tightly.
Yao Jian pressed the self-destruct button without any hesitation. At the same time, he pressed the ejection button.
"Leader, Old Yao will be leaving first." Before his mecha exploded, Yao Jian shouted into the channel.
Boom! A huge explosion occurred as Yao Jian's mecha burst into flames. Jia Na was unable to break free as Yao Jian had hugged his joints. Hence, his mecha exploded too and became a pile of ruins. It hit the ground, forming a huge hole around 50 meters in diameter.
"Yao Jian!" Liu Furong's eyes turned red. There were tears in them. He was prepared for sacrifices but the death of Yao Jian caused him great agony and pain.
"Deputy Leader Yao!" All the members of team 02 screamed in grief and anger.
"Deputy Leader Yao!" The members of team 08 were sad too.
The two teams all turned crazy. Soon, more explosions could be heard. The members of team 02 and 08 chose to self-destruct out of spite to drag down more people with them.
"Leader Yang, did you hear sounds of explosion just now?" Gu Dongyang, who was flying in front, asked curiously.
Yang Mingzhi heard the sounds too. He signaled for all his members to stop flying. When the sound of the engines disappeared, the sounds could be heard more clearly.
"This is bad. Everyone, hasten your speed." Yang Mingzhi's expression changed. If he was right, those were the sounds of mecha self-destructing. He had been through many battles, so he was extremely familiar with this sound.
Chapter 888 - Reinforcements!
As expected, after flying for some time, he saw the transport team moving towards their base furiously. He scanned through them but didn't see any familiar mechas. 'Where did the people from 250 go?'
Yang Mingzhi saw the ace mechas that were at the back of the transport team and hurried over. He stopped them and asked, "Where are the people from 250?"
These ace mechas belonged to the leaders from Song Yiqing's 224 Mecha Clan. When they saw the reinforcements from 250 Ace Mecha Clan, they literally could feel pressure being lifted off their bodies. They replied hurriedly, "They are holding a group of imperial operators back for us. Please hurry up and help them."
Yang Mingzhi's expression changed. He quickly called Gu Dongyang and they rushed to the direction the transport team directed them to.
Han Jijyun hid in the dense forest not far away. He turned off the engine of his mecha and watched as his team members self-destruct one by one. His expression got colder with each death. Besides that, he had no other expressions, like an ice statue in the frigid cold. People might have thought that he was a heartless person if they had missed the pain in his eyes and the drips of blood that were flowing down his hands. He had clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into the palm of his hand.
Suddenly, Han Jijyun heard a roaring sound behind him. He moved his mecha and saw a bunch of familiar mechas. Tears suddenly started to fall from his eyes, creating two lines of water streaks that flowed down his cheeks.
The reinforcements were finally here. He didn't have to force himself to watch his comrades self-destructing anymore.
He really hated himself for being too weak. If he was stronger, he wouldn't be a burden to everyone. He wouldn't have to hide in the dark and feel helpless. He wouldn't have to watch his comrades sacrificing themselves right in front of his eyes. If he was just as strong as Qi Long, he would at least be able to fight with them side by side.
'Why am I so weak?'
As Han Jijyun questioned himself, Yang Mingzhi and Gu Dongyang saw the brutal scene in front of them. Fires and clouds of smoke could be seen everywhere. Broken mechas parts were scattered on the ground with most of them belonging to 250 Ace Mecha Clan. This brutal scene stabbed the hearts of the two veterans.
In the air, Liu Furong was fighting with Luo Qi in a one versus one battle. The 10 remaining mechas from 250 Mecha Clan formed into a small team of their own and were battling with the last five imperial operators from Hailiya. Every single attack they made was all self-destructive. It was obvious that these mecha operators were prepared to die with the intention of dragging their opponent with them before they die. Their viciousness and fearless attitude towards death caused their opponents to hold back against them. They were afraid that the mecha operators from 250 Ace Mecha Clan would hug them and self-destruct. Hence, members of 250 Ace Mecha Clan were able to survive till now.
This was also the reason why the members of the 250 Ace Mecha Clan managed to destroy 6 imperial mechas.
They used the lives of over 30 ace mecha masters to exchange for the lives of six imperial operators. This was an amazing feat that no one had managed to achieve in the entire Federation's history, even their descendants might not be able to achieve it. However, to Yang Mingzhi and Gu Dongyang, the lives of the six imperial operators were not worth the lives of their 30 mecha operators as these people were their brothers-in-arms. They were comrades who fought with them, trained with them, ate with them, slept with them. Even though they were only ace mecha masters, even a single mecha operator from that group of 30 mecha operators was more precious than the six imperial operators combined.
"Kill them! Leave no one alive!" A strong killing intent appeared on Yang Mingzhi's normally gentle face as he gave his order to kill.
They couldn't just let their comrades sacrificed like this. They must let the Hailiyan mecha operators pay the price!
The mecha operators of the two teams rushed towards the six imperial operators. The imperial operators used to be confident that they could destroy the remaining mechas but now, more than double the number of remaining mechas suddenly appeared. They now started to worry. From the movements of the two leading mechas, they could feel a sense of imperial operators in them. Luo Qi knew that these two mecha operators might be more than half step into the imperial stage. They should be at pseudo imperial stage now. It would be a tough fight.
Half step imperial and pseudo imperial were both imperial stages but the difference between the two was huge. Half step imperial stage had the word 'imperial' in it but it was actually closer to ace stage. This was just the highest level of ace and the person was just half a step away from imperial stage. However, this half step couldn't be taken easily. Some people might be unable to take that half step in their entire life. No matter how hard a person worked, if they couldn't break through the imperial barrier, his piloting skills would forever be stuck at the peak of ace stage.
As for pseudo imperial, it meant that the person had already entered the imperial stage. Their mecha piloting ability hovered between half step imperial and imperial stage. As long as they were given more time to get used to the operations, they would be able to stabilize their controls and become a real imperial operator. During battles, a pseudo imperial operator had a real chance to become a real imperial operator. After all, it's just a matter of time for them to become imperial operators. This was the difference between half step imperial and pseudo imperial.
Luo Qi wouldn't have minded if more ace mecha masters came. However, now, there were two pseudo imperial operators who might be able to advance to the imperial stage if he fought with them. Luo Qi didn't dare to take the risk, so he ordered his team members to retreat.
'I will wait for reinforcements to arrive and come back again!' Luo Qi felt annoyed. He waved his giant sword and slammed Liu Furong away. Then, he controlled his mecha and retreated in the direction of Base Yaqi. The other five members of his team followed behind him closely.
"Running away? Not so easy!" These people killed many of their comrades. How could they let them off so easily? The mecha operators quickly blocked their path of retreat fearlessly.
"Damn it!" Luo Qi quickly fired a beam while signalling to his members to grab any chances to retreat.
Liu Furong was unwilling to give up too. When he saw Luo Qi firing at his teammates, he howled in anger and fired furiously at Luo Qi with his beam gun.
Luo Qi had no choice but to evade the beams, so he was no longer able to help his team members, causing only one of his team members to be able to escape. The other four were chased back into the battlefield and got surrounded by Yang Mingzhi and Gu Dongyang's teams.
After Luo Qi evaded Liu Furong's beams, he wanted to use his beam gun to help his four team members. However, when he saw his beams were all blocked by Yang Mingzhi effortlessly, he knew that this was an expert at long-range attacks. Without his beam gun, he no longer had any chance to save his team members, so Luo Qi turned decisively and retreated with the one member who had escaped.
As a regiment commander of God-Killers, Luo Qi not only needed to have powerful mecha piloting ability, he also needed to be decisive and know when to give up certain things. Because of these traits, he was able to defeat many candidates who wanted his seat and sit in the position of the regiment commander for this long. Since he knew that saving his team members was impossible, he decided to leave.
Chapter 889 - Survivor!
"What a pity. He escaped," Liu Furong said angrily. The opponent he fought with was stronger than the teammates he had around him, so he must have had a particularly high status in the Hailiyan army. If they were able to kill him, they could not only take revenge for their comrades but also injure the morale of their enemies.
Liu Furong only felt it was a pity for a short while, but he quickly returned back to his calm state and joined the battle against the four abandoned imperial operators.
When Han Jijyun saw two of the enemy mechas running away and the remaining four imperial operators getting cornered by their mecha operators, he knew the danger was over, so he piloted his mecha out of the dense forest and came to the ruins. He needed to find survivors quickly to send them back to Base 013 so that they could receive treatment as soon as possible. This was why he hid just now. No matter what the end result of this battle was, he needed to send the injured soldiers back to their base, even if he had to risk his life to complete this mission.
Han Jijyun started searching carefully. Anyone that self-destructed their mecha had a very low chance of survival but he still didn't give up. Finally, he found a cockpit that managed to be ejected out of the mecha safety before the explosion of the mecha could catch up to it. It was buried in the ground at a corner of the battlefield. Han Jijyun rushed over and carefully took the cockpit out. He also saw a green line around the cockpit, symbolizing that the person inside the cockpit was still alive. Han Jijyun hurriedly linked his channel with the cockpit and said, "This is Han Jijyun. What is your situation?"
"Cough, cough. Damn it. I almost died from the fall. Leader Han, has the battle outside ended?" Yao Jian's weak voice came from the cockpit.
"Deputy Leader Yao! It's Deputy Leader Yao! That's good." Han Jijyun shouted in excitement, "Leader Yang and Leader Gu had come to reinforce us with their teams. We are clearing the last of the enemy now. Deputy Leader Yao, hang in there. I'll send you back to the base soon."
"I'm fine. I just suffered some internal injuries. I've already taken the recovery fluid, so go and look for other survivors." Yao Jian knew that even before he had self-destructed his mecha, many other people had already self-destructed their mechas. He just hoped that they were as lucky as him and managed to eject successfully.
"Okay!" Han Jijyun placed Yao Jian's cockpit at a safe place so that he wouldn't be implicated by the battle above them. Then, he started searching through the ruins again. Yao Jian's survival gave him some confidence that there would be other members who were still alive.
After this, Han Jijyun found two more members who were at the brink of death. If Han Jijyun had found them just slightly later, they would have died. To save these two members who were struggling at the doors of hell, Han Jijyun fed them the precious agent that Ling Lan gave him, managing to keep them alive for the moment.
He had found three people that were still alive. But, no matter how much he continued searching, he couldn't find any more survivors. Han Jijyun finally gave up. Out of more than 30 mecha operators who self-destructed their mechas, only three had survived. Team 02 sacrificed 13 members while team 08 sacrificed 14 members in this battle. More than half of their team members were dead.
Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong, and Gu Dongyang led their teams and killed the remaining four imperial operators before they finally vented their anger.
Yang Mingzhi scanned through Liu Furong's team and frowned. "Why isn't the regiment commander with you?"
Liu Furong gritted his teeth. The moment they left the second line of defense safely and entered the area of the first line of defense, he knew what their regiment commander did to clear the path for them. If they were walking on the edge of death, their regiment commander was on the path of death.
"Leader Liu! Where is the regiment commander?" Yang Mingzhi felt that something was amiss when he saw Liu Furong hesitating to answer his question. His voice turned louder and sharper.
"Regiment commander stayed at Ailan to clear the path for us." Liu Furong finally said the truth.
"Bastard!" Yang Mingzhi kicked Liu Furong's mecha in anger.
Liu Furong had suffered some internal injury before this so when Yang Mingzhi kicked him, he vomited out mouthfuls of blood.
He bore with the pain in his chest and didn't try to explain himself. Ever since he accepted Ling Lan's order and left with the transport team, he knew that he would be despised by everybody in 250. However, Ling Lan's cold gaze at that time prevented him from denying her orders. He had no choice but to leave.
"Which direction will he be coming from?" Yang Mingzhi took a deep breath and controlled his worry and anger.
"I don't know." Liu Furong was really clueless. Ling Lan never told him about her plans. He wanted to ask him but he had always got stopped by her piercing gaze.
"If you don't know anything, why did you follow him to the battlefield then?" Yang Mingzhi scolded furiously.
"There is no need to blame Leader Liu. No one can stop our regiment commander when he makes a decision, not even you, Leader Yang." A cold voice sounded behind them. It was Han Jijyun who had finished searching for survivors.
"I just want to know which direction our regiment commander will be coming from so that we can go and reinforce him." Yang Mingzhi knew that Ling Lan was a resolute person. He blamed Liu Furong because he was angry at himself. Because before this mission, Ling Lan stopped him from going and allowed Liu Furong to go instead.
Han Jijyun looked at Yaqi's direction. He said with certainty, "Regiment commander will come from Base Yaqi's direction."
"Why? They have found you. Base Yaqi will definitely be on alert. They'll search this area." Yang Mingzhi was confused.
"The transport team is on the way back to Base 013 now. Who are they supposed to be looking for?" Han Jijyun replied indifferently.
Yang Mingzhi's eyes lit up. "Regiment commander wants to make use of this?" Yaqi would definitely want to catch them. Hence, they would send all their soldiers out and chase after them. During this time, Ling Lan, who was behind Base Yaqi, could sneak past them. Of course, Ling Lan had to enter the first line of defense first.
"I believe that our regiment commander will succeed." Han Jijyun looked at the direction of Base Yaqi firmly. 'His boss is not a weak person like him. He will definitely escape and come back to Base 013 alive.'
"Since that's the case, Leader Liu, Leader Han, bring your teams back and lead the transport team back to the base. We'll stay here and wait for our enemy." Yang Mingzhi thought for a moment before making this decision.
Han Jijyun didn't reject this suggestion. He looked at Yang Mingzhi and nodded. Then, he brought his team and Liu Furong's team back to the base. Their team members were all injured and had reached their limit. Of course, Han Jijyun didn't forget the three survivors he found.
Chapter 890 - Creating Miracle!
After Han Jijyun and his team disappeared from his sight, Yang Mingzhi sighed. "Leader Han has finally learned to be vicious."
Gu Dongyang looked at the ruins and said calmly, "Our regiment commander brought him out so that he can understand this point. In a battle, being soft-hearted is equivalent to harming yourself. Plus, being a soft-hearted advisor, would mean innocent soldiers would have to die needlessly."
"Killing prisoners of war is the first step to being someone brutal. He still has a long path ahead of him to be someone like that." Yang Mingzhi was someone who watched these new soldiers grew slowly. He felt that letting them become team leaders was not a good decision but from the looks of it now, the person who understood them the most was their Boss. Ling Lan understood her friends well. She knew how well they could handle stress. Han Jijyun always felt that he was weak but to Yang Mingzhi, he was already good enough. However, after knowing when to be vicious, Han Jijyun became an even better soldier.
He said this because when Han Jijyun was searching for survivors, he found imperial operators from Hailiya who were still alive. Based on his past actions, he would treat them fairly and bring them back to the base for treatment. But, after this battle, he understood the pain of losing his comrades and finally understood that some people just couldn't exist together.
He hesitated when he found these people but in the end, he still hardened his heart and killed these people. He tried to conceal his actions but it couldn't escape Yang Mingzhi and Gu Dongyang's eyes as they were very experienced soldiers. Many veteran mecha operators noticed this too but they kept quiet and pretended they didn't see anything, as they wanted Han Jijyun to get used to this brutal battlefield. They hoped that he would have a stronger heart and become a vicious person when needed.
Every good soldier started from the bottom by killing prisoners of war. This was how other countries trained their soldiers too. Compared to the battles thousands of years ago, the probability of prisoners of war surviving became almost nil.
After moving for some distance, Han Jijyun met Zhao Jun's team. Zhao Jun saw the badly damaged mechas from team 02 and team 08 and frowned, as he knew he was too late.
"Where's Boss?" When he scanned the crowd but didn't see Ling Lan, he got agitated.
"Boss and Qi Long's team 03 stayed back at Base Ailan to hold back the enemy. They're coming back soon. You will be able to fetch him if you go now." Han Jijyun calmly told Zhao Jun his thoughts. He stopped using words such as 'maybe', 'probably', 'should be'. If an adviser didn't even believe in what he had said, how could his men believe in the advisor?
"I understand." Zhao Jun quickly led his team and rushed forward. Fortunately, he wasn't too late.
The moment Zhao Jun reached the boundary of Base 013 and Base Yaqi, he saw Gu Dongyang's team 09 waiting there, but Yang Mingzhi's team was nowhere in sight.
Gu Dongyang saw Zhao Jun too. Before he could greet Zhao Jun, his radar's alarm rang. After some time, numerous mechas suddenly appeared in the air above Base Yaqi. They filled up the entire sky like dark clouds and moved towards them.
Gu Dongyang knew that their teams wouldn't be able to handle all these mechas so he quickly shouted, "Retreat!"
Zhao Jun's team didn't even have the time to recover their breaths before they had to immediately leave. They immediately followed Gu Dongyang's team and retreated with them. Zhao Jun's goal of joining this war was to find a way to break through his mecha piloting stage. He was not here to look for death. In the face of so many enemies, staying behind would mean sure death. Hence, he didn't hesitate when he heard Gu Dongyang's command and retreated with his team. However, he was still frustrated. If he had a chance, he would definitely fight with his enemies.
Zhao Jun and Gu Dongyang quickly reported this situation back to Base 013 using radio waves. Base 013 reacted quickly and immediately sent out full-sized mecha teams.
Just as the soldiers from Yaqi were about to catch up with the transport team, the reinforcements from Base 013 had arrived. The soldiers from Yaqi collided with the mecha operators from Base 013 and a fierce fight ensued. One side was protecting their chance of survival while the other was trying to destroy it.
This was the moment Zhao Jun had been waiting for. When he saw the reinforcements, he instantly changed the direction of his mecha. He had already set his eyes on his target for a long time. It was the regiment commander of Base Yaqi's Ace Mecha Clan.
Gu Dongyang wanted to attack the regiment commander too but when he saw Zhao Jun rushing at the regiment commander like a dog rushing forward to its favorite treat, he smiled and turned his mecha to face another regiment commander. As a veteran, he was happy when new soldiers had the courage and determination to improve.
This was the first huge battle Base 013 would experience after all the bases got attacked by Haliya. While they were fighting, Yang Mingzhi and his team concealed themselves along the border of Base 013 using the chameleon system. They watched indifferently as Gu Dongyang and Zhao Jun's team retreated to the base. They also ignored the huge army from Haliya when they flew above them. They wanted to fight too but they knew that they had a much more important mission, fetching their regiment commander.
Before Zhao Jun had reached the ruins, Yang Mingzhi and Gu Dongyang had already formed an agreement beforehand. Yang Mingzhi's team would conceal themselves and reinforce their regiment commander while Gu Dongyang's team would help them to attract the attention of Yaqi's soldiers away from this place.
Batches of mechas flew passed them. Yang Mingzhi waited for a while then confirmed that there were no more enemies coming their way. After that, he ordered his team members to turn off their chameleon system and wait patiently for Ling Lan's arrival.
"Beep beep beep…" An alarm rang in all the 24 mechas.
"Leader, mechas appeared in Base Yaqi's direction again." One of the mecha operators looked at the red dots on his radar and got nervous.
Just as Yang Mingzhi was about to ask his team members to activate their chameleon system again, he noticed that the red dots didn't move in a straight path. They moved to the right for a while before changing directions to the left.
He tried to zoom in on the mechas that appeared in his screen. The distance was too far so the image was quite blurry. However, he still managed to see the first three mechas moving in a zigzag, dodging the beams behind them.
"Those are our people." Yang Mingzhi shouted immediately, "Follow me." If he was right, these mechas belonged to his regiment commander and Qi Long's team.
Yang Mingzhi and his team members operated their mechas and dashed forward. After a few seconds, they could finally see the three mechas clearly. It was the mecha of team 03's leader, the mecha of team 03's deputy, and the modified mecha of their regiment commander.
Yang Mingzhi was elated and sad at the same time. He was happy that Ling Lan was fine. However, he could tell that only the team leader and one member of team 03 managed to stay alive. This meant that almost the entire team 03 got annihilated. Actually, he already predicted that team 03 would be annihilated when he heard Han Jijyun saying that their regiment commander kept team 03 with him. This was why he got angry and kicked Liu Furong.
This was a suicide mission with almost no hope of survival. Luckily, their regiment commander was a creator of miracles. He managed to come back alive.
Chapter 891 - Problem!
Ling Lan was starting to get annoyed after spending such a long time out of the body. She knew that she should remain calm but she couldn't.
Suddenly, Ling Lan felt an extremely familiar suction appearing in her mindscape.
'F**k! It's here again!' Ling Lan felt helpless as she just allowed the suction to suck her into the learning space.
Her instructors were always so domineering and unreasonable when they wanted to find her. Ling Lan used to be unhappy about this but now, she had just given up about having any opinions about it.
Ling Lan thought Number One was looking for her but instead, it was Number Three who rarely appeared.
Ever since Ling Lan graduated with perfect mecha piloting foundations, Number Three never looked for her unless he invented new techniques from merging the techniques in this world with the skills from Mandora. 'Did Number Three create a new technique again?'
Number Three had very high standards, so he would only create top-level techniques. Ling Lan was giddy just at the thought of having more top-level techniques
Just like what Ling Lan had expected, Number Three smiled when he saw her and said, "Ling Lan, I've mastered some of the techniques in your world and combined it with my skills to create a new technique. I'm currently rectifying the technique. Come and help me test the effects of this new technique."
"Number Three, I'm afraid that I can't help you today. I must go back to my body. My comrades are still fighting for their lives outside. I need to fight with them." Ling Lan didn't want to stay here. If she was able to return to her body already, she wouldn't be wasting time by staying here.
Number Three retracted his smile and said sternly, "Do you think that I don't know what has happened to you? Your spiritual power is too high. That's why the body rejected you. The reason I asked you to come help me is to use some of your spiritual power. That way, your body will accept you quicker."
This is the same as what Little Four had predicted. Her spiritual power was too high for her power so her body rejected her conscious from entering the body in order to protect it.
"In that case, thank you for your thoughtfulness." Since Number Three gave her a solution, she would accept it.
Very soon, Ling Lan and Number Three boarded their personal mechas in the learning space. The mecha Ling Lan was operating was not an ace mecha. It was rather a standard imperial mecha of the Federation.
There was originally no data about the Federation in the learning space but Little Four was the virtual god so he found a way around it. He stole all the information regarding the mechas below the level of god-class mechas. Little Four wanted to find information about god-class mechas too but after searching through all the mainframes in the Federation, nothing about those mechas could be found. But, Little Four wasn't too disappointed as he knew that god-class mechas were the ultimate weapon of the Federation so, besides its owner, no one probably knew anything about it.
The mechas in the learning space were more advanced than the mechas of the Federation. However, her instructors told her that since she was only operating mechas from the Federation, she shouldn't play with any controls that didn't exist in the real world. That way she could get used to the mechas in the real world and not make any mistakes while operating it.
In the learning space, Ling Lan operated her mecha smoothly without holding herself back. She used all the imperial techniques and skills she had learned. One of the reasons why she wanted to do this was so that her spiritual power could be used up faster.
Number Three saw how much effort Ling Lan was putting in so he taught the new techniques that he had just invented for her. During this war, Number Three was spectating the battlefield from Ling Lan perspective which allowed him to collect data on the various top-level techniques used by the Hailiyan mecha operators. After going through them, he picked up two ultimate techniques.
The first technique was a modified version of the God-Killers' top-level technique, Helix Whirl. It was a very lethal technique but it had a major flaw. Once the opponent got sucked into the Helix Whirl, they would know that they would die soon so they would self-destruct their mechas to drag someone with them to death. This was how the team members of team 02 and team 08 killed two imperial operators when they couldn't evade the Helix Whirl. Thus if used wrongly, the result of using this technique was mutual destruction. Number Three experimented with the technique many times and finally invented the Boomerang Kill.
When using the Boomerang Kill, the giant sword would fly out of the mecha's hand and move towards the opponent. After killing the opponent, the sword would fly back just like a boomerang. This was why Number Three called this technique the Boomerang Kill. It was an exceptionally difficult technique to learn. Number Three felt that it was a 3S technique and only one step behind from becoming an ultimate technique. However, if it was really an ultimate technique, Ling Lan wouldn't be able to learn it now.
The other was a shooting art. One of the imperial operators in God-Killers was an expert in long-range attacks. He used a foldable beam attack to destroy a clueless ace mecha, flabbergasting Ling Lan when she saw this. Beams were not bullets. They couldn't use hard objects or surfaces to change the direction of a beam as beams had a high penetrating power. Besides the beam shield, nothing was able to stop the penetrating power of a beam, so this imperial operator's technique greatly contradicts Ling Lan's perception of what beams could do.
After much research by Number Three, he finally knew how this technique worked. It was very simple. The foundation of this technique was to have the following beam catch up with the first beam. The impact of the collision of the two beams would change the direction of the first beam.
Because of her hand speed, Ling Lan was able to shoot in a way that caused multiple beams to move in unison. However, she had never tried to hit one beam with another beam before. Thus, she tried to spar with Number Three using this method only, but she was unable to dodge Number Three's sword and was hit in the cockpit.
"Ling Lan, in your current condition, you'll only die if you go out now." Number Three was furious. He had never seen Ling Lan so weak before. Even if she got hit, she would at least injure him and not let him kill her so easily.
"I'm sorry!" Ling Lan's moved her mecha beside Number Three's mecha and apologized to him. "Number Three, let's start again. I'll take note of it this time."
"There is no need for that." Number Three kept his giant sword unexpectedly and replied calmly, "I already know your problems now."
"Problems?" Ling Lan was shocked. "Isn't it just my spiritual power? There are other problems?"
"I'm not talking about your conscious being unable to go back to your body. I'm saying that your operation during this period of time is problematic." Number Three was talking about her mecha piloting, not her spiritual power.
Chapter 892 - My Path!
"Operation? Isn't my operation normal?" Ling Lan was puzzled, as she didn't detect any problems. On the battlefield, she put up good fights against opponents who were on paper stronger than her and even defeated most of them after finding their loopholes.
"Remember your battle team formation test? During that time, your opponents were all on par with you in terms of abilities but you were able to suppress more than one person at a single time and even managed to defeat your opponents. However, ever since you entered this battlefield, you have never taken control of a fight. You only rush to the front rashly and attacked your opponent furiously." Number Three mercilessly told Ling Lan all the stupid things she did on the battlefield. "An example of this would be, when you met the group of imperial operators, you chose to harm yourself to kill your enemies. Actually, with your capabilities, you can easily control the fight and ask your comrades to cooperate with you to kill your enemies."
Ling Lan's face turned pale after hearing what Number Three had said.
"Think about it. Why were you able to fight freely during the test but so overcautious now?" Number Three asked.
"I was in the virtual world at that time. I can make bold decisions because I know that even if I am wrong, my teammates will not die." Ling Lan finally said her weakness which she buried deep in her heart.
"You didn't dare to take the gamble. You are afraid that once you fail, your teammates will all die." Number Three spoke out Ling Lan's true thoughts.
Ling Lan pursed her lips. She didn't say anything but the stubbornness on her face proved that Number Three was correct.
"Take a look at the consequences of being overcautious then." Number Three waved his hands and everything that was happening outside was shown in front of Ling Lan. She saw Qi Long's team staying back to stop their enemies so that they could escape. After attracting all the mechas, they all self-destructed, leaving only four alive in the end. Those four were then chased by many enemy mechas for a long distance, and they almost died at multiple occasions under the multiple beams shot at them but luckily, Qi Long and his two protectors found them by chance and helped them to escape.
"Only three people are left in team 03?" Ling Lan's eyes turned cold. She knew that there would be casualties but she didn't expect there to be so many casualties.
"If you have not been so cautious and used your spiritual power, you wouldn't have fainted. With your controls, you will be able to survive with more people even if some died. Think about this carefully." Number Three erased the image and continued, "Ling Lan, you're not god. Always remember this. You can't be greedy and hope to bring everyone back. This is impossible. From now on, you must understand this. You must make the right decision so that more people can go back home."
Ling Lan lowered her head in deep thought. After a few seconds, she lifted her head and started into Number Three's eyes. "Number Three, I understand!"
Number Three smiled. 'What a promising child, as expected of our best student.'
However, soon, his smile froze. "Ling Lan, what are you doing?"
Ling Lan was using her powerful spiritual power to tear apart the barrier of Number Three's space. She turned and replied, "I want to go back."
"Where are you going back to? Your spiritual power is still too high. You need to use more of it before your body can accept you," Number Three shouted furiously. 'Damn it, do you know how long it'll take me to repair my barrier after you tear it apart?'
"Qi Long and the others are still fighting. I must go back and fight with them." Ling Lan made a decision.
"How are you going to go back? Your body isn't willing to accept your conscious. Are you planning to harm your body after hurting your spiritual power?" Number Three was speechless. 'What did he say just now? She is a promising child? When Ling Lan decides to be stubborn, no one can stop her. Doesn't she know that she needs to be careful?'
"It'll have to accept me even if it doesn't want too." Ling Lan was firm. "My path is the dominating path. I will get what I want. Hence, my body has to listen to me, it cannot reject me."
'I cannot watch my comrades sacrifice themselves anymore. I'll do it even if it's stupid. I'll do my best. The result may not be good but at least I won't regret it.'
Ling Lan walked out of the crack she had just made. The next second, she disappeared from Number Three's space.
"What a stubborn child." Number Three shook his head as he smiled bitterly.
Suddenly, a black line appeared behind him. The line turned into an opening and Number One walked out of it.
"Number One, you finally came out after watching the show for so long." Number Three raised one of his eyebrows.
Number One looked at the place where Ling Lan disappeared and coldly said, "I asked you to waste her spiritual power but you start educating her instead."
Number Three shrugged. "I can't let her continue making mistakes."
"We can't say that it's wrong." Number One slowly said, "Ling Lan has finally walked on the path she decided on in the past."
"Are you saying that Ling Lan has awakened?" Number Three's eyes lit up.
Number One glanced at him. Number Three instantly motioned his hands like he was zipping his mouth shut, making sure that he was not going to ask any more questions.
Number One scoffed and disappeared from Number Three's space.
"Seriously, why are you so unfriendly even after you came barging into my space without my permission?" After Number One left, Number Three had the courage to complain. "However, if she has really awakened, we might be able to groom a god. I'm excited."
Number Three instantly disappeared from his space, because he needed to find someone to share this good news with, as the learning space was too boring. He needed to find some gossips to pass his time with.
Ling Lan returned to her calm mindscape. She tried to get back to her body but the body still resisted against her.
"I had once said that my path is to dominate. I want to live for freedom but at the same time, I want to live for myself. I'm the owner of my conscious. My body must bow down to me. Even if it gets hurt, it must listen to me without any complaints!" Ling Lan's cold voice echoed through the entire mindscape. It reached every cell in her body, letting all of them understand that they must submit to her.
"I will take control of the body. Is anyone unwilling to listen to me?" Ling Lan shouted fiercely before she finally broke through the barrier. When she opened her eyes the next time, she saw the mecha screen in front of her. Yang Mingzhi and his team had come to escort them. They were stopping the enemies behind Ling Lan.
"Little Four, give me back the control of the mecha," Ling Lan said seriously.
Chapter 893 - Meant What I Said!
"Boss, you're finally awake. That's great," Little Four shouted happily.
He had been trembling in fear all these while. He was afraid that he would make a mistake in his calculation and caused his Boss and the two people beside him to die. He would never do such a thing again. It was too frightening. Little Four felt that after this, his lifespan had decreased by a few thousand years. Although he still had many thousands of years left to live, he couldn't stand this torment anymore. If he did this a few more times, all his lifespan would get burned off like wood in a coal furnace. One day, his chip would burn from working too furiously.
Well, as the great Little Four, he would never admit that he was so nervous that his chip got too hot and burnt a little.
Little Four quickly passed the control of the mecha back to Ling Lan. Ling Lan reloaded her beam gun and carefully aimed it at the Hailiyan mecha operators behind her. She fired multiple times.
"Boss!" Qi Long shouted excitedly when he saw his Boss attacking again.
"Sorry to make you worry. I'm fine now. It's time to take revenge for our comrades." Ling Lan's voice was calm but Qi Long and his team member could feel the killing intent through the commlink.
They were already exhausted but after hearing her words, strength suddenly returned to their bodies. Yes, their comrades sacrificed themselves so that they could escape. How could they go back to their base without doing anything for them in return?
"Yes, regiment commander." Qi Long and his team members shouted. They raised their weapons and aimed it at their enemies.
Gu Dongyang and the other people who had received this news rushed over to Ling Lan after killing their opponents
But, Zhao Jun remained behind. He wanted to help his Boss too but the opponent he picked was a regiment commander of an ace mecha clan stationed in Base Yaqi who was at the peak of ace, while he was only an elite ace. He was a level lower than his opponent so he was not having an easy time against his opponent.
Zhao Jun always wanted to enter the peak of ace but no matter how hard he worked, he just always lacked that one step.
That one step had held him back for almost a year. This was why Zhao Jun was frustrated and so determined to achieve a breakthrough. In Lingtian, besides their regiment commander who was basically an anomaly in the world, Li Lanfeng, Qi Long, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi all entered elite ace. The rest of the people were still fine but Qi Long was different. If he never met Ling Lan, he would think that Qi Long was the person heaven was protecting. Qi Long came close to the peak of ace half a year after his advancement to elite ace. When they were practicing, Zhao Jun felt this.
What made Zhao Jun the most annoyed was, Qi Long was always improving. His situation was completely different from his. Zhao Jun also could feel that Qi Long hadn't reached his bottleneck yet. He just needed a bit more time before he enters the peak of ace. He would face no difficulty at all in this process.
Zhao Jun was just a commoner from a three-star planet. He managed to reach this position mostly because of his talent but his stubborn personality played a part in his success too. He was unwilling to give up, and he almost never gave up. This personality trait allowed him to be on par with those heavenly gifted people.
Hence, he was unwilling to lose to an oddball like Qi Long. He didn't mind losing to the monstrous Ling Lan but he couldn't accept it when he lost to Ling Lan's underlings who were younger than him.
Zhao Jun must defeat his opponent before he could help his Boss. This meant that he must advance to peak ace. Zhao Jun clutched the sword in his hand and attacked his opponent again. He completely stopped dodging and started attacking forcefully.
Since he knew what he had to do to win, he would look a chance to break through even if he had to face death. Hence, he couldn't be scared of his opponent's attack. He must welcome it and be offensive too. That was the only way he would get what he wanted.
"To win or die trying. I won't die though. I still want to fight alongside Boss." Li Lanfeng's obsession had become his too. Maybe it was because Li Lanfeng kept talking about Ling Lan after he entered the army so he was influenced by him, but Zhao Jun felt that this was a good obsession. He was lucky to become a member of Lingtian. He treasured everyone inside. Just like Li Lanfeng, he was a lonely person in the past. He couldn't bear to let go of these treasures he had worked so hard to acquire. To ensure that he wouldn't get left behind, he must become stronger.
"I can only continue to fight with Ling Lan if I become stronger." Boss Lan was just too talented. He didn't need people that couldn't catch up with him. Maybe this was why all the members of Lingtian worked so hard.
Zhao Jun realized he had found the reason why the people from Lingtian improved so quickly. They were all afraid of the same thing.
"In that case, I can't lose to them! Let's use this battle to prove that I meant what I said." A strong fire of competitiveness burned within his eyes. He raised his giant sword and struck it at his opponent's sword.
Bang! From the start of this fight, Zhao Jun was at a disadvantage but this time, he managed to throw his opponent off his feet. He was elated. He was always pressured by his opponent's powerful strength throughout this fight but during that attack just now, that pressure simply had disappeared. It felt as though he was at the same level as his opponent.
'Did I enter the peak of ace just now?' This thought flashed passed Zhao Jun's mind.
He saw his opponent charging at him again so he decided to confirm his suspicion.
Bang!
Another loud collision occurred. Zhao Jun managed to knock his opponent back easily again. It didn't even feel forced.
"Hahaha…" Zhao Jun laughed heartily. He finally achieved his breakthrough and entered the peak of ace. He could be in talks about becoming an imperial operator now. He could now have some hope in himself to catch up with his Boss.
"Go and die." Zhao Jun attacked his opponent ferociously, venting his frustrations when he was suppressed at the start.
Zhao Jun's close combat skills were similar to Qi Long. They both liked to attack like madmen. Under such ferocious attack, his opponent got confused by the afterimages of fist coming towards his face.
Suddenly, two beams came from behind Zhao Jun. The beams came without a warning. The enemy mecha operator was too focused on fighting with Zhao Jun so he didn't notice the beams that were coming towards him. The beams hit his cockpit and the mecha exploded. Burnt parts of the mecha were slammed heavily onto the ground before scattering randomly.
Zhao Jun was prepared for this. He retracted his giant sword and looked at the burning mecha indifferently. Then, he shouted, "Come with me. Let's go help our regiment commander." 'Don't blame me for being despicable. We were taught to be despicable when we have to.' thought Zhao Jun. Gang fights were always better than fighting alone. If they could sneak attack, they would never attack face to face. It couldn't be helped.
Hence, Zhao Jun defeated his opponent and brought his team to the border of Base 013 and Base Yaqi.
Chapter 894 - Amulet!
At this moment, in the vast universe, a huge fleet was moving rapidly towards Planet Haijiao. Qi Yaoyang was seated in the hull of the command ship. He looked calm but his heart was in a mess.
Similar to Ling Xiao, he wanted to save his son. On the surface, he seemed to have broken ties with his son because his son had entered the 23rd division without his permission. In actual fact, both he and Ling Xiao knew that this was all an act, done to prevent the Third Marshal from suspecting the relationship between them. Among his three sons, he loved Qi Long the most.
"Ling Xiao, what on earth is the amulet you mentioned?" Qi Yaoyang muttered to himself. He remembered the secret meeting he had with Ling Xiao two weeks ago after the conference ended.
"Ling Xiao, why did you announce to everyone that Ling Lan is your son? Aren't you worried that after Ling Lan's identity is exposed, he would be in more danger?" Qi Yaoyang was puzzled about Ling Xiao's decision.
Ling Xiao was helpless. "I can't hide it anymore. If I don't say it, the people supporting the Second and Third Marshal wouldn't let me go. They had already planned to force me to expose Ling Lan's identity in this conference."
They wanted to use this conference to paint him in a way that he was abusing his power for personal gains, even the First Marshal might have agreed to this plan. Ling Xiao knew his position in the hearts of the citizens of the country. The three marshals probably didn't expect him to become so powerful that he could threaten their position after the god creation mission.
"Time is everything. I don't want to continue arguing with them. Since I can't hide it, I shall satisfy them." Ling Xiao sneered. If he couldn't overcome such small setbacks, how could he achieve his ambition?
"Ling Xiao, tell me the truth. Were you really confident when you said that they would last for more than three weeks or were you just taking a gamble?" Qi Yaoyang asked seriously. He wanted to know the truth so that he could make the correct arrangements.
"I'm confident. I gave Ling Lan an amulet." Ling Xiao's expression was complicated. He was worried at that time so to prevent anything from happening to Ling Lan, he gave her an amulet. He also hoped that his amulet didn't have to be used but his dear daughter was an unlucky person.
Qi Yaoyang wanted to know what the amulet was but Ling Xiao wouldn't give him any more information. He only urged him to hurry up. If they were too late, even with the amulet, it would be all for naught.
They were able to enter Planet Haijiao's atmosphere after 5 days of continuous travelling. It had been 10 days since the conference.
"You must hang in there. Don't disappoint us," Qi Yaoyang prayed in his heart.
He took a deep breath and asked his adjutant. "Have you found the position of the Flying Dragon Special Forces?"
"The Flying Dragon Special Forces didn't send us any updates and we are also unable to find their traces." The adjutant frowned.
"That old fellow always does this. However, this is good too. If we can't find them, everyone else won't be able to find them too. This will prevent their position from being exposed and Hailiya will not bring forward the date for the final battle." Qi Yaoyang didn't want to know the position of the Flying Dragon Special Forces at all. Thus, he was satisfied when he heard what his adjutant had said.
Before Qi Yaoyang left with the reinforcements, he had a discussion with Ling Xiao about the situation on Planet Haijiao. Ling Xiao blatantly rejected the Third Marshal's decision but actually in his heart, he agreed with what the Third Marshal had said. His judgment was the same too. Hailiya was using Planet Haijiao as a bait to lure the reinforcements.
The only way this scheme could fail was the surviving bases on Planet Haijiao lasting until the reinforcements arrive. Once these bases fall, the Federation would be at a severe disadvantage. They wouldn't be able to help the people on Planet Haijiao and the entire fleet might even be destroyed.
However, if Hailiya used all their soldiers and attacked the bases, the surviving bases wouldn't stand a chance. They could only rely on the Flying Dragon Special Forces and hoped that they were able to sneak into Planet Haijiao and change the tides.
Qi Yaoyang suppressed his worry and placed his hopes on the missing Flying Dragon Special Forces and the amulet Ling Xiao mentioned. The only thing he could do now was to move towards Planet Haijiao at the fastest speed possible.
Three days passed by. The supplies they got after sacrificing so many lives managed to solve their severe lack of food and water problem. However, the people from 250 Ace Mecha Clan didn't have the time to grieve about the cost of getting those supplies, as they needed to resist against continuous attacks by Hailiya.
Hailiya was extremely angry that Base 013 destroyed Base Ailan. They would have ordered their main army to attack Base 013 and flattened it if they didn't have other plans for it.
However, to vent their anger, Hailiya chose to attack it continuously all throughout the day. If they couldn't let them die from hunger, they would let them die from exhaustion.
After three days of continuous attack, everyone in Base 013 was exhausted. They were on the verge of breaking down. Unfortunately, their situation was just getting worse. More and more enemy troops stationed themselves outside their base, forming an army ten times the normal size. Everyone had a heavy heart when they saw this. They all felt a sense of despair. 'Are we going to die here today?'
At the command center of Base 013, all the regiment commanders and the commanding officers of the three bases were present. They looked at the screen which was showing the situation outside the base with serious expressions.
"Looks like they are starting the final attack soon." The commanding officer of Base 012 had a dejected look. He wasn't the only one. Everyone knew that Base 013 had reached its limit. They wouldn't be able to resist this attack.
"This means that our reinforcements had arrived," Ling Lan replied calmly, as she had already expected this to happen. Their hardest time was when their reinforcements would arrive.
"How are we supposed to last until the reinforcements arrive?" One of the regiment commanders stood up furiously. "My soldiers have reached their limit. They have only rested for a total of four hours within these past three days. They can't handle it anymore."
"I agree! The enemies stationed outside have increased ten times. Anyone who goes out now will die. I won't let my soldiers die such meaningless deaths!" another regiment commander sprung up and shouted too.
The rest of the regiment commander remained silent. Just like these two regiment commanders, they didn't have the courage to continue fighting anymore. No one wanted to die. If they stayed at the base, they would still die after the base was destroyed but they could at least survive for a longer period of time. They still had a chance to survive.
Ling Lan scanned the crowd. Everyone looked down when her cold gaze went passed them. They didn't dare to look straight at her.
"In that case, we'll stop fighting." Ling Lan stood up and left with the leaders of 250 Ace Mecha Clan.
Everyone looked at Ling Lan's back in shock. 'Did the domineering and arrogant Regiment Commander Ling Lan just decided to give up?'
A few seconds later, an uproar occurred in the command center. These people were afraid of death, so they gave up. However, they still didn't want Base 013 to give up without doing anything.
Chapter 895 - I'm sorry!
Lin Zhong-qing looked at the panicking regiment commanders and sneered. Then, he clapped his hands loudly, attracting everyone's attention.
"Our regiment commander was very clear with his words. From now on, the logistics department will not give any battle equipment or energy sources to the mecha clans. All the energy will be used to support the protective shield of the base."
"He wants to use just the protective shield to block the attack? Is it possible?" The commanding officer of Base 014 was uncertain.
Lin Zhong-qing didn't reply to him. He got up slowly and took his military cap off his chair with his left hand. Then, he placed it on his head carefully and scanned the crowd. He smiled and said, "It can last for a while but once the energy is depleted, the base would be destroyed by our enemies. We can only hope that our reinforcements will arrive before Hailiya conquers our base."
Everyone turned silent. If they didn't dare to go out and fight, their only hope was to wait for reinforcements. If their reinforcements didn't arrive on time, they would have to die along with the base.
"Commanding officers and regiment commanders, I must go and prepare the energy sources for the protective shield now. Please allow me to leave." Lin Zhong-qing nodded at everyone and left with Yuan Youyun.
On the way, Yuan Youyun scolded the people in the room behind him furiously, "Damn it. We sacrificed so many seniors so that we would waste the food and water on these cowards?"
"Why are you so angry when Boss is not angry?" Lin Zhong-qing replied helplessly. From the start, their Boss never wanted to rely on them. However, he didn't expect their courage to disappear after being surrounded for more than 20 days.
"What is Boss thinking? The mainframe of the base has evolved after Boss took over it. It can plan the usage of energy better but we don't have much reserve energy left. We can only last for one hour if our enemy attacks us with firearms from all directions, and that is just an optimistic estimation." Yuan Youyun appeared frustrated. In the face of despair, even the members of Lingtian started to waver.
Lin Zhong-qing looked at the agitated Yuan Youyun and turned serious. "Yuan Youyun, have you lost confidence in Boss?"
Yuan Youyun was shocked. His expression changed slightly. "How's that possible? Boss has always been telling us to do our best, whether it was the Grand Mecha Tournament last time or the grand armed melee…"
"That's not all. You didn't study at the First Men's Military Academy so you don't know that when we were in there, Boss lead us to victory when we snatched the airship. When the military academy was invaded by mysterious people, he led us to fight against the enemies. He was the only one who formed his own team as a freshman. In the second year, his team became the most powerful team in the military academy. He became the king of the military academy. He not only tells us to do our best, but he also created miracles with us. This time, he would definitely lead us to create another miracle again. We will live."
Yuan Youyun lowered his head. Lin Zhong-qing continued, "Yuan Youyun, if you no longer trust Boss, you can leave Lingtian. We don't need a comrade who doesn't trust us. Think about it carefully."
Lin Zhong-qing turned and wanted to leave. Yuan Youyun gritted his teeth and said after a moment of silence, "I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't apologize to me. You should apologize to our Boss who has been thinking of ways to ensure that we survive this war," Lin Zhong-qing replied calmly.
"I know. I'll apologise to him." Yuan Youyun's gaze was firm. In the face of death, many wandering thoughts would appear in people's minds. Yuan Youyun's trust in Ling Lan wavered but Lin Zhong-qing's words brought him back. This boss never gave up, even in the face of impossible tasks, he would create miracles. The food and water supplies were an instance, right? He was an idiot. How could he miss his Boss's true intentions?
Boss would never give up without resistance. He would definitely think of a way to last until the reinforcements arrive.
Lin Zhong-qing was satisfied. He didn't care if the people in the base wavered. However, no one from Lingtian should do this. If not, all the efforts and sacrifices his Boss made were wasted on the wrong people.
No one from 250 Ace Mecha Clan was left at the command center. It looked as though Ling Lan was not playing cat and mouse with them. She was really planning to do she had said.
Everyone kept quiet as they pondered. They didn't want to die but they didn't want to wait for death like this too. Many regiment commanders were in a dilemma as they lit up their last cigarette. All the supplies were lacking, including luxurious consumables. They treated these consumables like treasure most of the time and only looked at it occasionally to satisfy their desires. However, now they were lost, so they needed a cigarette to numb themselves.
Soon, smoke filled up the command center. Song Yiqing couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up suddenly and shouted, "I don't want to become an old turtle that can be killed by anyone. Even if I die, I must die spectacularly on the battlefield." He left without hesitation with his adjutant. Since his thoughts were different from the rest of the people, he wouldn't force himself to stay here.
During the supply run mission, some of their comrades sacrificed. But, compared to 250 Ace Mecha Clan who had helped them to clear their enemies, they were in a much better state. That day, the people of 250 Ace Mecha Clan fired an empty blank to send their comrades off. He could still remember the solemn scene clearly. He finally understood the real reason why soldiers existed. He recalled all the things he did last time and blushed in embarrassment. He wasn't worthy enough to wear this military uniform.
He was wrong in the past but from now on, he wouldn't make any more mistakes!
Yan Three stood up too. He wore his military cap and coldly said, "I feel the same way as Regiment Commander Song. From the start, there are no cowards in Base 013." During the first battle, Evil Wind met a renowned ace mecha clan from Hailiya. 40% of their mecha operators were killed. It was a huge blow to them. Yan Three almost went berserk after hearing this result. However, before he could wallow in pity, 250 Ace Mecha Clan chased him and his team members into the training ground and forced them to undergo a brutal training program. Every day, he was exhausted ao he didn't have the time to feel sad.
By the time they finished the brutal training, Yan Three realized that everyone in his team had become stronger. Sacrifices were painful but this pain motivated them to move forward. They mustn't disappoint their comrades who had died for them. They only had the right to say that their comrades didn't sacrifice in vain if they climbed to a higher position.
Chapter 896 - The Start Of The Final Attack!
Yan Three was able to recover quickly because of the 250 Ace Mecha Clan's brutal training program. The training program was done based on Ling Lan's order, so Yan Three had complicated feelings towards Ling Lan. He was grateful towards her but he hated her too. Yet, he willingly bowed down to her. Similarly, he didn't believe that Ling Lan would sit and wait for death. In the battlefield where there were millions of soldiers, their Evil Wind was like a speck of dust in comparison. However, he still wanted to contribute his efforts and his team's efforts to help Ling Lan.
After Song Yiqing and Yan Three left, everyone from the mecha clans in Base 013 left quietly too. They had followed Ling Lan from the time she took over the base until now. Since they had worked hard all these while, why couldn't they continue to persevere for the last part of the journey? Just like what Song Yiqing had said, even if they were to die, they must die spectacularly on the battlefield. It was better than being stuck at the base and feeling like a caged animal.
Soon, everyone left the command center with differing thoughts.
Time passed slowly. Outside Base 013, the Hailiyan army was still gathering. There were now more than 50 times the amount of soldiers than how much Base 013 had. Based on their speed on gathering, their numbers would soon become frightening.
The regiment commanders that got motivated by Song Yiqing and Yan Three felt hopeless again when they saw this. The vast difference in military strength wouldn't allow them to win even if they sent all their mecha operators out.
Even Song Yiqing, Yan Three, soldiers from the 250 Ace Mecha Clan, and Xu Shiming's scouts team got dumbstruck by the size of Hailiya's army. They didn't plan to give Base 013 any chances.
'Are we really unable to wait until the reinforcements arrive?'
When more than 80 times the military strength of Base 013 appeared on the Hailiya's side, the final war started.
Numerous mecha operators and powerful weapons struck the protective shield of Base 013.
All the soldiers just stared blankly at the protective shield. They were in awe when they saw the beauty of the continuous explosions coming their way.
"Damn it. We really can't go out now. If I knew this would happen, I would have gone out long ago. It's better than waiting for death here." The people from 250 Ace Mecha Clan and Evil Wind sat in the mecha hold dejectedly. They wanted to go out long ago. No matter what happened to them, they would try to find someone to go to hell with them.
"Beep beep beep! The energy reserves of the protective shield has been depleted by 20%." The continuous attack on the protective shield had already depleted 20% of the energy reserves. If they couldn't replenish the energy reserves, the protective shield would only be able to last another one to two minutes.
Lin Zhong-qing was at the core of the protective shield. He quickly ordered the well-prepared logisticians, "Replenish the energy reserves."
"Yes!" Multiple logisticians started replenishing energy storage units into the energy belt that was a few thousand meters in length. These were the high-efficiency energy storage units 250 Mecha Clan had transported over when they first came over to Planet Haijiao. Lin Zhong-qing never used them before this occasion because he was preparing for moments like this. Only these high-efficiency energy storage units were able to quickly replenish this enormous energy drainage.
When he saw the energy reserve of the protective shield rising above 90%, Lin Zhong-qing heaved a sigh of relief. They were fighting for time with their enemies. Were their enemies faster in depleting the energy reserves of the protective shield or were they quicker in replenishing its energy reserves?
Li Jinghong and the other leaders led a team of transport logisticians and transported all the energy storage units into the core. They placed the energy storage unit beside the logisticians that were putting the energy storage units into the energy belt. At the same time, they took away all the empty energy storage units.
The work in the core of the protective shield carried on smoothly and orderly, as Lin Zhong-qing had prepared a long time for this battle. All the logisticians who participated in this mission had one week to practice their roles. They performed drills every day. Now, it was time for the real deal.
Ling Lan stood in the command center and looked at the continuous attacks on the protective shield. She walked to the full-length window and looked up. She could no longer see the blue sky anymore, as flames and smoke filled the sky above her. The sound of explosions could be heard from her office too. The impact of these explosions could be blocked by the protective shield but the people in the base still felt the strong vibrations. This showed how heavily Hailiya was attacking them.
"It seemed like our reinforcements have entered Planet Haijiao's atmosphere," Ling Lan said.
This could only be the reason why Hailiya was attacking them crazily. They needed to destroy all the Federation's bases left on Planet Haijiao and make Planet Haijiao theirs before reinforcements could arrive. That way, Hailiya could send out their god-class operators blatantly and destroy the now invaders.
"The firepower is getting stronger. I wonder if Lin Zhong-qing is able to handle it." Li Lanfeng was worried. He hoped that Lin Zhong-qing was able to last for a longer period of time. He also hoped that their reinforcements could come faster.
On the other side, Han Jijyun's expression was calm and cold like the first winter breeze, but his heart was going through some inner turmoil.
"If the speed of replenishing slows down by 50%, Lin Zhong-qing will report to me." Ling Lan appeared resolute, as she had decided that she would use the amulet her father gave her if that happened.
Han Jijyun and Li Lanfeng got even more worried when they heard this. They knew what this meant. However, they didn't want Ling Lan to use the amulet General Ling Xiao gave him.
The continuous bombardment continued for 15 more minutes. Hailiya finally realized that the protective shield of Base 013 didn't have a single dent after all that. Not only that, the glow of the protective shield was as bright as ever. The commander-in-chief of the east zone of Hailiya frowned. From the information he had received, he knew that the remaining bases in the central and west regions were all destroyed. Base 013 was the only base left.
"What are you all doing? Increase the intensity of the attack, We must destroy the protective shield of the base." The commanding officer of the east region got agitated. Up in the air, the fleet from Hailiya had already started fighting with the Federation army. If they couldn't flatten Base 013, they wouldn't be able to use their god-class operators.
At this moment, a small starship that was hiding among the stars sneaked through the messy battlefield and closed in on Planet Haijiao.
"Release the miniature satellites." Brain One threw a few miniature satellites out. Then, he controlled the satellite and moved them towards the orbit of Planet Haijiao.
This starship belonged to the Flying Dragon Special Forces. They made use of the chance when Hailiyan fleet was distracted by Qi Yaoyang's fleet to start their plan.
If they wanted to save the surviving bases, they needed to know where they were.
Chapter 897 - Is It Appropriate?
On the starship, everyone was nervous as they watched the satellites entering Planet Haijiao's orbit. The gravitational pull of the Planet Haijiao was very high, so it was hard for the miniature satellite to resist the pull as they didn't have strong engines in them. The reason why they didn't use a normal sized satellite because they were afraid that the Hailiya army would notice the satellites if they were too large.
Around 20 minutes later, the miniature satellite finally entered the orbit of Planet Haijiao. The people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces finally heaved a sigh of relief. They were halfway to success.
Brain One activated the miniature satellite. He looked nervously at the images that were jumping on the screen. For the first time, he felt that the activation speed of these miniature satellites was too slow.
The Hailiyan army had received the order from their commander. They attacked Base 013 together and used their most powerful weapons to strike the protective shield.
"Beep beep beep, the energy reserves of the protective shield had depleted by 30%. 40%. 50%. Alert, alert…" The mainframe sounded the alarm.
Lin Zhong-qing shouted sternly, "Change shifts and increase the replenishing speed."
The logisticians who were waiting for their shifts quickly took over their comrades' position and started putting the energy storage units into the energy belts furiously. Those logisticians who were off their shift still helped out by taking out the empty energy storage units. This efficient cooperation allowed the energy reserves of the protective shield to maintain at around 50%.
The high intensity of the job tired people out easily. Hence, Lin Zhong-qing remembered to prepare more people to take over the shifts.
When the energy reserves of the protective shield reached 50%, the alarm sounded throughout the base. The people from Lingtian who were busy with their work suddenly stopped working.
"Is that finally going to appear?" Chang Xinyuan looked at the mecha hold and muttered to himself.
"What's going to appear?" Chen Yi'an, who was maintaining a mecha, looked up and asked curiously.
"That's none of your business. Hurry up and do your work. Those mecha operators are still waiting to board their mechas to kill our enemies." Chang Xinyuan didn't reply to him. Instead, he asked the mecha engineers to hasten their pace.
The mecha engineers didn't know why their leader said this. All the mecha operators were stuck at the mecha hold. They couldn't go out. However, the naive mecha engineers still worked faster.
When no one was looking at him, Chang Xinyuan sneaked into the mecha hold and walked to the portion of the mecha hold for 250 Ace Mecha Clan. He walked to the front of a huge unopened container.
A man in white gown was standing there. He looked at the container intently as though he was wondering what was inside.
"You are here." Chang Xinyuan wasn't surprised by his appearance. If Boss wanted to use the thing inside the container, she needed Li Shiyu's agent.
"You're here." Li Shiyu seemed to be expecting him too. If Chang Xinyuan didn't come at this time, he wouldn't be Chang Xinyuan anymore.
"Does Boss have to use this thing?" Chang Xinyuan appeared serious.
"The energy reserves of the protective shield is maintained at 50% with Lin Zhong-qing doing his best," Li Shiyu didn't seem to be answering his question. "Hailiya have gathered more soldiers, so the next round of attack will be even worse. There is not much energy storage units left in the base, so we must help to lessen their burden."
"Can't we hold on a while longer?" Chang Xinyuan knew what the price their boss had to pay if he used this thing. He really didn't wish their Boss would use this thing.
"Have you ever seen Boss betting our fates on luck?" Li Shiyu smiled bitterly. If he had the choice, he would disagree with his Boss's decision too. However, his disagreement wouldn't affect anything.
Chang Xinyuan became silent. He felt touched and helpless. This was why they followed their Boss so willingly. This was why they would hate themselves for being too weak. They were unable to help their Boss in the moment when she needed them the most.
At the command center, Ling Lan heard the alarm and turned serious. She stood up and looked at Li Lanfeng and Han Jijyun. "I'll hand this place over to you two."
"Have you decided?" Li Lanfeng grabbed Ling Lan's hand. He lost control of his emotions.
Ling Lan nodded. "I won't place all my hopes on the reinforcements. Since my father dared to go against the world to give it to me to protect me, I mustn't disappoint him. I believe that I'll bring you all home."
"Boss, you must keep your promise." Han Jijyun stood up with red eyes. Even if their Boss used that thing, he would be in extreme danger if he went out to the battlefield now. He was operating a mecha which was at a higher level than her too. No one could predict the results.
"I will," Ling Lan replied sternly. She wasn't going to seek death. She was going to protect everyone.
"Don't worry." Ling Lan broke free from Li Lanfeng's grip and walked out of the command center without turning back even once. From this moment onwards, she wasn't a commanding officer. She was a soldier who wanted to protect her comrades.
Li Lanfeng looked at Ling Lan as she disappeared. He looked up and swallowed his anger and bitterness. In the end, he could only watch his Rabbit fighting alone. There was nothing he could do. How could someone as weak as he talks about changing his destiny? What a joke.
Li Lanfeng scoffed as he jeered himself.
Han Jijyun was astounded when he noticed that the forever calm Li Lanfeng had lost control of his emotions.
"Li Lanfeng, calm down. Boss will definitely come back alive. He always does what he says." To Han Jijyun, Ling Lan was an invincible person. This was the image Ling Lan had created in their minds. Hence, he couldn't understand why Li Lanfeng was emotional. This battle might be dangerous but someone as powerful as their Boss would definitely be able to overcome everything and hold on until reinforcements would arrive.
"I know. I just hate myself for being too weak. If I'm as powerful as him, I can take his place and not have to watch him fighting alone." Li Lanfeng spoke his true thoughts.
Han Jijyun's expression changed when he heard this. He had never thought of being on par with his Boss. He just wondered how he could perform his role in the team more perfectly. Han Jijyun looked at Li Lanfeng intently. 'Is this why I am not as good as Li Lanfeng?'
'However, is it appropriate for Li Lanfeng to want to be as strong as Boss?' Han Jijyun couldn't understand what Li Lanfeng was thinking. He felt that Li Lanfeng's thoughts were too hard to comprehend. 'Does Li Lanfeng just want to become a good comrade of their Boss or does he have other intentions?' A shadow appeared in Han Jijyun's heart.
"Han Jijyun, show what's happening at the ejection port on all the screens in the base," Li Lanfeng ordered after he calmed down.