Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"Here will do." Carroll brought the others to Bloodshed Land's Open Air Combat Training Ground No. 30 and stood opposite Han Xiao. He then moved a long distance away till Han Xiao became a small dot in his eyes.
Han Xiao looked around. This training ground was empty and un.o.bstructed. Around its edges were tall mechanical towers connected by dozens of blue, high-temperature electromagnetic wires. It looked like a futuristic baseball field but many times larger.
The floor was made of gray metal plates. Burn marks left by explosions and slash marks could be seen all around the place, some pits too. Clearly, this training ground was often used.
"In my territory, you have to follow my rules." Carroll's voice came from afar. "First, the battle area is limited to this training ground. If you cause destruction outside of this, you'll bear the consequences. Second, causing severe damage to the opponent is not allowed. So, don't worry, your life won't be in danger."
As Carroll spoke, he activated the training ground. The floor trembled. Pits appeared from the metal floor, and mechanical soldiers rose up one after another, surrounding Carroll.
Hum!
The mechanical towers at the edge of the training ground vibrated. A beam of light shot out from their peaks, gathering on top, forming a projection of a three-minute timer.
Carroll smirked and said, "Don't say I'm bullying you. Before we start, you have three minutes to prepare. After three minutes, this place will be covered by a protective s.h.i.+eld."
Black Star was a guest. He would not have brought too many combat machines, and they would most probably be stored in his s.h.i.+p. By giving him three minutes to get the machines, after the s.h.i.+eld covered the place, Black Star would be unable to receive external support and would only be able to fight with the machines in the venue.
As for Carroll, he had a continuous supply of armies because Combat Training Ground No. 30 was a facility that released machines from below to let people train with them. Many routes used to transport mechanical soldiers were hidden under the metal plates on the floor, connected to the logistics warehouse underground. This meant that even with the protective s.h.i.+eld, Carroll could obtain a nonstop supply of backup.
Carroll knew that a battle between two Mechanics would most likely become a battle of resources. Black Star had limited resources while he had infinite, so he was already undefeated.
The protective s.h.i.+eld was transparent. It was a perfect opportunity for him to publicly shame Black Star.
He could basically foresee the ending of the battle—Black Star's machines would be used up, sc.r.a.ps would be everywhere, Black Star himself would be surrounded by his army, and he could look down on Black Star from a high spot casually, making Black Star admit his defeat.
Ames wanted to let her subordinate vent her anger, so defeating her subordinate would make her even more embarra.s.sed.
Furthermore, he did not hide his main stage advantage. If Black Star cowered from it and cancelled the challenge, knowing it would end in his defeat, Ames would lose face as well.
One way or another, he was only going to benefit from it.
Carroll smiled confidently.
On the other side, Han Xiao was not surprised by Carroll's main stage advantage at all. He contacted Risda and told him to bring the Blacklight Stealth over, airdropping his Army Boxes.
Ames was still standing by him. "Black Star, are you confident?"
"A little," Han Xiao replied casually.
"Then, I shall trust you."
Ames' tone was gentle like the wind. Although Han Xiao challenging Carroll to a battle surprised her, it was clear that Han Xiao was doing it for her. She was happy for some reason.
She had always placed a lot of trust in Han Xiao, and this was no exception. She patted Han Xiao's shoulders and took Hila and Aurora out of the place. They went up the tall building beside the training ground and watched the fight from above.
Around the training ground, there were people climbing up the buildings to watch the fight every minute. There were hundreds of them, all Bloodshed Land officers or elite soldiers. Malekith and a few other Vanguard Officials were among them. They formed small groups and chatted.
The fight between Carroll and Black Star was not kept secret; the message very quickly got pa.s.sed to the officers. They all came to the scene to watch the battle.
"Black Star is quite daring to challenge our officer in our territory," a Vanguard Official said as he looked at the two people in the venue.
"He challenged Carroll because he's Floating Dragon's traitor?"
"Must be. A few days ago, Ames was forced to hold back by His Excellency Tyrant. She's probably resentful, so she let Black Star fight for her. Hehe, it'll be embarra.s.sing to lose." Someone looked at Ames who was also watching from afar and speculated, "Maybe Ames will stop the fight when her subordinate is in danger."
"Carroll's strength, tsk…" Malekith shook his head slightly.
The impression that the Vanguard Officials had of Carroll was very complicated. On one hand, he was a traitor. Although Tyrant was confident using him, him being a traitor still made others not want to get close to him.
On the other hand, Carroll was in charge of logistics and had almost no opportunity to fight. Unlike them, the Vanguard Officials, who were signatures of Bloodshed Land and all well known, Malekith and the others did not know Carroll's strength clearly. All they knew was that he was also Grade A.
"He has the location advantage no matter what, so he basically won't lose."
In the palace, Heber was still casually chatting with Austin.
This time, Austin's expression suddenly changed, and he said in a strange tone, "Tyrant, it seems that a problem is occurring in your territory."
Heber frowned, took out his communicator, pressed a few times, and got the report from his subordinates.
"Black Star challenged Carroll?"
Austin cast a spell, and s.p.a.ce rippled. A large mirror appeared, showing the scene of the training ground.
"It seems like they're about to fight. Aren't you going to stop them?" Austin asked.
Heber looked at the mirror, thought for a moment, and shook his head. "Since Ames is not involved, I have no reason to stop a normal spar."
"What if your man loses?"
"My Bloodshed Land is not one to never admit defeat." Heber pointed at the mirror. "Keep watching."
At the same time, three party guests were following a Bloodshed Land soldier and touring the place.
The Purple Crystal Civilization's representative Ralph was walking side by side with a high-ranking Klent official and having a great chat. The relations.h.i.+p between Purple Crystal and Klent had always been good.
Behind them, the leader of a financial group followed. His name was Rossozzi. His business was huge and invested in both Star Cl.u.s.ters. He could be somewhat considered Ralph and the Klent high ranking official's friend.
The three of them were discussing business issues, when a group of people suddenly flew over them, catching their attention.
"Where are those people going?' Ralph asked curiously.
The soldier shook his head and said, "I don't know. They seem to be heading toward Combat Training Ground No. 30.
Just as he was done speaking, another group of people bolted past them from above, and a dark s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p quickly flew by.
The three of them were all knowledgeable people. They recognized that the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p was the Federation of Light's Stealth Grade s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p. Of all the guests, it seemed like only one person had a Blacklight Stealth.
Floating Dragon's Black Star!
The Klent high ranking official was instantly interested. "Looks like something happened. Let's go and take a look."
Ralph shrugged and did not mind it, neither did Rossozzi.
When the countdown had about a minute and a half left, the Blacklight Stealth arrived above the venue. Six Army Boxes descended from above like meteors, dragging a long tail of flames.
Han Xiao raised his hand toward the sky, and a bolt of tree-shaped lightning shot up into the sky from the ground, hitting the six Army Boxes. They opened in midair, and compressed orbs fell like rain onto the floor.
Clank!
The instant they landed, the compressed orbs expanded and turned into six Mechanical Armies.
Mechanical Beast Guards Army, Strike Artillery Regiment, G-1 Steel Army Corps, G-2 Heavy Armor Riders, and Mini Cube Troops occupied the venue and surrounded Han Xiao. Han Xiao was in a sea of machines.
Twelve Elite Oathkeepers guarded Han Xiao. Their exterior armor rippled from head to toe like moving scales, carrying out a self-check.
All sorts of artilleries landed behind him or hovered in midair. Other than the regular electromagnetic artilleries and laser artilleries, there were the new lava artilleries and heat artilleries.
The number of troops is a little high.
Carroll was surprised.
Nonetheless, he was still completely confident.
Black Star's Mechanical Army only occupied a small part of the training ground, while his Mechanical Army had a much higher number and almost occupied half of the place.
And it was still increasing.
There was a round of machinery transport gates at the edge of the training ground. Standard mechanical soldiers crawled out one after another, surrounding Black Star's army.
Almost endless backup, this was where Carroll's confidence came from.
So many machines. Black Star definitely spent a lot of time and money.
Evil intentions flashed through Carroll's eyes.
If I destroy all his machines, Black Star's strength will be greatly decreased. His stock will all be gone.
The formation was complete. Since there would be a protective s.h.i.+eld later, Han Xiao did not use Eye of G.o.d. He checked through the machines; there was around ten seconds left on the timer.
Boom!
The mechanical towers at the edges activated. A light blue s.h.i.+eld slowly rose up and shrouded the venue. All the spectators were blocked outside.
The ceiling was hundreds of meters high. When the s.h.i.+eld completely closed, the countdown would end.
The style, technology, and model of the machines controlled by Carroll were all clearly different from Han Xiao's. Most of them were standard disposable machines.
Buzz!
The two of them released Mechanical Force at the same time. Thunder and lightning roared. Calamity Grade Mechanics had the [Mechanical Force Field] ability, which made the Mechanical Force enhancements cover an area. The entire place was covered.
After so long, I've finally encountered a Mechanic of the same grade. Han Xiao squinted. This was his first time battling a Mechanic of his grade.
Berserk Ape wrapped around his body, and a virtual screen appeared before him, displaying the Virtual Intrusion image.
Carroll was not a Virtual Mechanic; he wore a Single Unit Mechanical Suit. Pieces of armor extended from his armor and quickly turned into a more than thirty-meter-tall heavy fortress, covering Carroll from all angles. The thick and heavy armor clearly had impressive defensive capabilities.
From the gap between the fortress, many large-caliber cannons extended out.
Carroll used the Heavy Machinery Style. Large size; heavy, thick armor; strong firepower… those were the clear specialties. This was a heavy, defensive carrier. Carroll wanted to make use of his advantage in a battle of resources, so he gave himself a hard, thick turtle sh.e.l.l.
He was not Han Xiao; he did not have a tough body and was most afraid of enemies rus.h.i.+ng close. Therefore, he used a defensive strategy and planned to not even let Han Xiao touch him.
"Correct method." Malekith and the other spectators nodded. They did not think that Carroll was a coward—this was a suitable strategy given the situation.
Just as Carroll's fortress was fully expended, the s.h.i.+eld completely closed, and the countdown ended!
Boom!
The next instant, lasers flashed, and cannon fire roared!
The battle had erupted!
Han Xiao's Mechanical Army clashed with Carroll's!
Boom boom boom!
The armies fought intensely; the scene became chaotic.
Machines could not talk, so they fought in silence. Metal crashed against metal, creating bright sparks.
Boom!
The large-caliber cannons on Carroll's heavy fortress locked onto Han Xiao and fired. Every shot made the barrels recoil instantly. The sound of firing was like a hammer smas.h.i.+ng onto metal.
Hu!
Huge b.a.l.l.s of light went straight to Han Xiao, and the high temperature bent the air around them.
Just as they were about to hit Han Xiao, Watcher Instrument opened like a peac.o.c.k opening its feathers. It appeared behind Han Xiao and flew in front of him, turning into force field bending s.h.i.+elds. The attacks did not explode when hitting the s.h.i.+eld but were diverted toward other directions.
Bang bang bang!
All the cannon fire was deflected. Some shots flew far away, hit the protective s.h.i.+eld, and exploded; some landed on the ground, stirring up a strong wind, tearing down the mechanical soldiers of both sides in the area.
Han Xiao glanced around. He clenched his fist. Mechanical Force lightning landed on the parts on the ground. [Waste Modification] resurrected his mechanical soldiers, allowing them to continue the battle.
Seeing this, Carroll stopped attacking Han Xiao. His heavy fortress started targeting Han Xiao's Mechanical Army, wanting to quickly eliminate Black Star's army.
"It won't be so easy!" Han Xiao snorted.
Buzz!
He raised his hand. The pipe on his arm launched a string of compressed orbs. They expanded midair and turned into more than ten huge mechanical arms. The next second, these mechanical arms nano-shapes.h.i.+fted, combined together, and turned into a hundred-meter-wide palm, three times bigger than Carroll's heavy fortress!
Han Xiao waved his hand. The gigantic palm slapped right down onto the top of the heavy fortress, like a palm hitting a ping pong ball.
Boom!
The wind blew away the surrounding mechanical soldiers. Even through the protective s.h.i.+eld, Malekith and the others outside could feel it.
The metal ground cracked open from the heavy pressure, but the heavy fortress was covered by a s.h.i.+eld and was hardly damaged.
Inside the heavy fortress, Carroll sneered. This fortress was not something ordinary but an important equipment that he had made; it could block Calamity Grade attacks.
This time, Carroll felt the fortress suddenly start trembling.
The gigantic palm's fingers bent and pulled the heavy fortress out of the ground. Like throwing a baseball, it swung and sent the heavy fortress flying across a long distance, heavily landing on the protective s.h.i.+eld and creating a string of electrical sparks.
Boom!
The Bloodshed Land elites in that direction of the protective s.h.i.+eld almost fell from seeing a huge pile of metal flying toward them.
The heavy fortress rolled and landed on the ground, shaking the floor. However, the s.h.i.+eld still protected the fortress. Its damage was negligible—remarkable defense. Only Carroll, who was inside, suffered from the sudden fall.
Malekith saw this and a.n.a.lyzed, "Carroll's defense is very strong. Black Star seems to be unable to break through Carroll's armor. It looks like this battle will be under Carroll's control and turned into a complete battle of resources. That's Black Star's fatal weakness."
