Time in the space station was always regulated tightly. A new day of training had begun.
Power training, endurance training, physical strength training… the group of mercenaries watched them all from the sidelines.
“Pretty fast runner.”
“Movements are precise too.”
“Too bad it’s just a pretty shell. Pitted against mecha, it’s nothing but food.”
“Hahahaha!”
The laughter was ceaseless.
Everyone gritted their teeth and held back. This was provocation-resistance training. It was certainly important in future battles, but knowing this did not lessen the anger in their hearts one whit.
Achilles watched from the side, accompanied by the bald Wolf King Yazzo. Social favors were one thing, financial backers were something else. Furthermore, his subordinates were enjoying themselves thoroughly. Bullying a bunch of rookies with some level of gumption was also part of life’s ups and downs. This transaction was indeed agreeable.
Yazzo bellowed once and the wolves at the side began preparations with a great clamor. They drew lots among themselves.
Those who lost could only watch, while those who won earned the right to bully the rookies. As a bonus, there was much prize money to be won. Such easily earned money was a rare opportunity indeed.
With a rumble, a brand new Hawk Scout Type Mech stepped up and made a provocative gesture. This was the new mech type that Achilles had just bestowed to the troops. It truly felt amazing feeling.
On the other side, the 8 Stars of the Moon were staring at the newly shipped in mecha. Their model numbers were all over the place. The mecha were at most 60 or 70 percent new, and the armor was covered with bullet holes.
Masasi smiled. “Looks like the other side is treating us as a fat sheep sent to the slaughter again. Who’s up?”
Milo silently chose a scout mech and was about to enter the arena, but Dong Xiaosa was already a step ahead in activating a heavily armored Furnacestone Type T mech. Heavily armed with its specialized furnace systems, it had high defenses while simultaneously maintaining the agility of more balanced mecha. This brand of mech was widely regarded as the scout killer.
Pi Xiaoxiu smiled mildly. “Let Dong Xiaosa try his hand first. He spent a sleepless night holding back until now.”
The wolf troops were undoubtedly good. They were veterans with experience. More crucially, they had no rules. In order to win, they would do anything. The reason why they continued to taunt the 8 Stars was because they still regarded it as an effective tool.
Dong Xiaosa watched the opponent’s provocation wordlessly. He unhurriedly adjusted the angle of his mech, inching forward. He then suddenly advanced in a burst of speed without warning.
“Alright! But as a man it’s better to slow down some, or you won’t be able to satisfy the ladies. No wonder a pretty boy like you is still a virgin.”
With a rumble, Dong Xiaosa charged forward with a burst of speed, springing his titanium blades outwards at the same time. The fastest straight jab coupled with a slight rotation of his mech.
“You see? I just said it and he’s already frantic to close in. Brother, you’re piloting a defensive counterattack type. I just said a few words about being a pretty boy. Women, you see, are pretty things for us to look- oh. Nope, I meant to hook up with. Men and gentlemen.”
From the Hawk Scout mech came lascivious laughter. Besides him, the mercenaries at the side were similarly making odd-sounding hoots and rumbling with laughter.
This was publicly broadcasted and everybody could hear it. Despite his best resistance, Milo was so angry that her teeth itched. Her fist was clenched so tightly it turned white.
Only Achilles’ expression was unchanging. The so-called Sun God turned a deaf ear.
The Hawk Mech sprung out its own titanium blades. It stood unexpectedly still in the face of the scout killer Furnacestone, holding its titanium blade vertically towards it. Visually, it looked like a mantis stopping a cart – a very unwise decision. Although they were strong, surely the difference could not be so great?
The mercenaries were clear that this bunch of youngsters had solid foundations but simply had not learned to master their emotions. To win easily, it was crucial to first infuriate them. The young cared about too many things. To these mercenaries who dealt with blood and death, survival alone was good enough. Many things could be given up, or more accurately, they did not have the ability to protect everything.
He was facing the violent Dong Xiaosa!
However…
Bang! The Hawk mech’s titanium blades clashed briefly with Dong Xiaosa’s titanium blades. It retreated a step back, then the mech and blades rotated furiously towards the ground in a curious fashion…
Dong Xiaosa’s Furnacestone mech momentarily lost its balance. As though its legs had been suddenly tied, it teetered dangerously, narrowly avoiding crashing on the floor.
How could this be? The scout killer Furnacestone and the violent Dong Xiaosa bringing his mech to 120% of its potential… No matter the adversary’s experience, a light revolution should not have been able to disperse Dong Xiaosa’s attack so easily.
Pi Xiaoxiu shook his head in frustration. Although he had to remain cool before a battle, it was getting to him. If he was fighting instead, there was a good chance he would not have been much better.
Bald-Head Yazzo glanced at the unperturbed Achilles and teased, “Are you really not worried? If this continues, their psyches could be scarred forever. You might lose more than you gain. If I might add, the sprouts are growing well, but if you force them beyond their limits, it might not be a good thing.”
The corner of Achilles’ mouth was set coldly, as if irked by the obvious. If they could not even overcome this small obstacle, how could they talk about fighting the galaxy?
As for the wolf spirit mercenaries, they were still calling out with unnatural noises.
Dong Xiaosa adjusted slightly, pausing for a beat to correct his stance. Then he rushed forward again. This time, he composed his emotions, his judgement and operations unaffected by his fury.
BANG…
However, the straight charging Furnacestone mech was again stopped by the Hawk Scout mech’s curious rotating maneuver. Confounded by its light movements, it fell stumbling.
This time it fell heavily, directly onto the ground, unable to stabilize its center.
The rotating dispersal robbed Dong Xiaosa of his balance. Furthermore, it was a forcing move – if Dong Xiaosa wanted to stay on the defense, his core would be attacked by his opponent and he would lose immediately. The only option was to continue taking punishing falls.
Hahaha…
A chorus of laughter rang out from the mercenaries.
“What a poor showing! Oh my, the same move twice, and worse off the second time?”
“8 Stars of the Moon? Hahaha, How about changing their names to 8 Cabbages of the Moon? Get a move on, Lao Xiu, finish it. I’m still waiting for the new fish to come on. I call dibs on that Moon wench.”
“Keke, that Moon wench’s not bad. Careful she doesn’t poach your moves.”
“Pshaw. My skills in bed are even better!”
Dong Xiaosa’s anger had burst past his limit.
“All of you, shut up!” Dong Xiaosa bellowed, silencing all voices in an instant.
After a short pause, the laughter redoubled.
“Cabbages can talk too?”
“I thought it was mute.”
“At last it speaks. Lao Xiu, you know what to do. Stop playing around.”
With a loud rumble, Dong Xiaosa’s Furnacestone mech fired up in an instant, its speed exceeding its limits.
Squad Leader Bald-Head laughed. “There he goes again, losing his composure. To leave no reserve power is to ask for trouble.”
In battle, to push a mech to its limits without leaving energy in reserve meant sacrificing all other methods. Against a weaker opponent, this was a sure-fire method to win, but against a stronger opponent, to lose the option of correction was to become a sitting duck that was no different from an inanimate object.
However, as soon as he said those words, Squad Leader Bald-Head’s smile froze in place on his face. He suddenly bellowed, “Lao Xiu, run!”
Run?
What? To ask Lao Xiu to run?
Had the squad leader gone mad? To say something so bereft of reason?
BANG!
Lao Xiu was startled, but there was no time to dwell on this. The fully powered Furnacestone mech was bearing down on his position. Titanium blades? Useless, and it was a direct attack!
A chill suddenly struck Lao Xiu’s heart. From the mech’s substance G conductor, an impending sense of danger approached. Titanium blades in line with the mech’s rotation, dispersal! This time he gave no quarter and simultaneously extended his other mech arm in preparation to fire his railgun…
BANG. Lao Xiu was knocked over and flew away, crashing heavily onto the floor!
Had the dispersing rotation lost its effectiveness?
That could not have been the case. Lao Xiu’s skills were impeccable. It was impossible that the mercenaries would make such a mistake – those who made such mistakes were long dead!
In fact, Dong Xiaosa’s charging power had surpassed the maximum dispersive power of the Hawk Scout mech.
But how could that be?
Logically, the maximum power output of the Furnacestone mech was within the boundaries of Lao Xiu’s dispersion technique.
BOOM!
The Furnacestone mech emitted a curious light and leaped towards the Hawk mech sprawled on the ground, a heavy fist aimed directly at the cockpit.
An unstoppable, violent killing intent!
The mercenaries watching from the sidelines had their mouths shut for the first time. They stared suspiciously at the scene of lighting and flint. The ‘rookie’ impression had vanished, swelling in an instant to become a demon from hell.
Bald-Head Yazzo’s complexion was green. That little bastard was actually an Ability X user!
Damn Achilles, why had he not said so earlier?
But when he turned his head, he realized that Achilles had disappeared from his side…
How could he have appeared there? He was at his side but a second ago… Was he mad? No matter how strong, how could flesh and bone stop a mech? And furthermore, it was a berserk Ability X user. If things went badly, not just the Wolf Spirits, but the entire space station would die alongside them.
Dong Xiaosa’s eyes were red-rimmed. His ability was power. Unlike Zhang Runan’s, his was the ability to go berserk and gain immense strength while letting his instincts take control. Like the berserker of legend, he was an extremely horrifying killer on the battlefield.
The Dong Xiaosa at that moment was putting his utmost effort into killing his opponent.
At that moment, Achilles was still a distance away from the mecha, when suddenly a flash of golden light appeared.
HUM…
BANG…
An awesome punch smashed into the ground and debris flew, creating a huge fissure.
After a long while, the hatch door opened. An ashamed Dong Xiaosa emerged from the cockpit. “Boss… I know I was wrong…”
Achilles eyed Dong Xiaosa and surveyed the crowd. “I know everyone must be gloomy in this period of time. However, we will face even stronger opponents in the future. It may be Aslan. Or Atlantis. Or the Arbiter Republic. Or other such strong opponents. If we cannot even maintain a modicum of self-control, we will lose without doubt. The purpose of this trip is not only to accumulate experience, but also to discipline the character. I believe that you are all capable of this.”
As he said this, he smiled genially at Dong Xiaosa. “Alright, since you manned up to your mistake. Forget about this small matter, but remember that this will be the first and last time. Be serious in the training from now on!”
“Yes, Sir!”
Everyone was revived by this. Achilles’ words had struck a chord with them. He was right – their conduct had honestly been too poor. Their target was nothing less than the Milky Way Alliance – the Solar System IG was in the bag already!
After he finished speaking, Achilles turned and walked in front of Yazzo. “This one doesn’t count, let’s continue.”
Yazzo’s expression was a little stiff. Damn, he thought that these were rookies, but they were actually a bunch of madmen. He saw that his own squad members were spooked, especially by the gaze in Achilles’ eyes. They looked at him as though he were a monster. What guts he had, to dare to stop a mech with nothing but his flesh and blood.
Although they had all suspected Achilles was a freakish existence, no one expected it to be at such a degree.
It was beginning to look like their pay this time around was going to be hard-earned. These brats – who knew what kind of opponents they anticipated facing? If they started to prepare at this level, they would surely become undefeatable in the Solar System.