Chapter 91: Lady Stormsword
Some mecha were brainless to operate and were of an inferior class. For high end mecha, the greater the capability, the higher the standard of awareness and operations skills were required to be in control. They were not suitable for everyone.
But for Lady Stormsword, her level of control over the Brightmoon 8.0 was out of this world. Simply put, assassination-type mecha like this were extremely suited for a single player to take down five, turning the tides and saving the world.
Skeleton had also encountered a crazy 1v5 situation. But Lady Stormsword was way scarier.
She could use a set of chain attacks to kill five opponents one after another right away.
On screen, the Brightmoon 8.0 looked like a ray of silver light, harvesting opponents' corpses.
This was basically a high speed mecha. Her opponents could not even get anywhere near her.
An asphyxiating, terrifying attack. It was incomprehensible.
As a girl, Bubbly Foam was close to setting up an altar to idolize her. She was the pride of all women.
But it was also the first time Bubbly Foam felt worried for Skeleton.
It was not always the case that a high-end mecha was better than a lower end one. Mecha were simply weapons. The best ones were those that were most well suited to players. If players couldn't catch on to the controls, a high-end mecha would mean that one was courting death. But if the player could make good use of the mecha, it would create a completely different narrative.
This was precisely what everyone was worried about. What would happen when a Wargod No. 1 encountered a player who could essentially fuse with her super mech?
If it were an internal match between players from Earth, there could still be a chance that the opponent would let him off. But Lady Stormsword came all the way from Moon to challenge him, so she definitely would not let him off easy. Plus, she was female. Complacency was one of the most common mistakes made by males in such cases.
The forums came alive. All platforms were active with comments, and 70% of them were in support of Lady Stormsword. 30% showed support for Skeleton, reason being Lady Stormsword had left CT for a long period of time, and whether or not she could maintain her standards was a huge question. And right now, Skeleton was in good condition.
Battling. It was how they played it.
However, there was one thing they all understood. As Long as Lady Stormsword could exhibit the Lightning Combo, she was invincible.
Up till now, no one could survive such an attack.
The Brightmoon mech was powerful in sharp and quick attacks. It had high agility. Its weakness was its defense, but if made good use of, there would nothing to defend against.
A typical war machine that replaced defense with attack.
On the other hand, the weak defense system was relative to other high-end mecha, the Wargod No. 1 not included.
Wang Zheng took his own sweet time to warm up using all sorts of positions. When he felt as flexible as a boneless man, that was when he was the toughest. Just one punch and it would be as if he punched a hole in space.
According to Bonehead, rough moves like Leaning Landslide were merely the basics. On one hand, it taught one to exert explosive force, and on the other, it trained the ability to resist with attacks.
The five elements were the foundations of the soul. Moves and techniques still required training by the individual.
On the other side, Solon and Yan Xiaosu were having a worked up discussion. Eventually, Solon gave in to Yan Xiaosu's demands of the ratio of splitting winnings, but with the condition that all five rounds had to be won. If they lost in any one round, the winnings would be cut in half.
Yan Xiaosu knocked on Wang Zheng's door and gave an "OK" sign. The battle began.
Wang Zheng put on the equipment and entered CT.
On the faraway Moon, Milo put the sensors on too. Of course, she did not need to be in a net cafe. The large, comfortable activity room of a hundred square meters had everything she needed.
Masasi and Atos chatted as they drank. Masasi had visited Earth and Atos had gone to to study on Mars. Both were trying to blend in and understand the local situation.
Judging by the current situation, Mars was still the Moon's biggest rival overall. Earth was some distance behind, but through the course of mankind's history, Earth was always odd. There were always one or two great people born there when everyone else was on the verge of forgetting it.
In the long history of humankind's interstellar travels, they were met with two great obstacles. On the first, an internal conflict within the Solar System. At that time, a man called Li Feng had appeared, and he single-handedly resolved the problem and saved Earth.
The second time was when the Zerg invaded soon after humankind ventured out of the Solar System. Humankind almost went extinct. At this point, a man named Wang Dong appeared and saved mankind, establishing two glamorous eras for the Earth.
But as technology advanced, more and more parts of the Milky Way Galaxy were discovered and developed. As they came into contact with an increasing number of civilizations, Earth's influence gradually reduced to zero.
Mecha that were operated solely by pilot skills were now replaced by new stellar mecha which combined pilot skills and genetics.
They could unleash mankind's own prowess and at the same time make the best out of the mechanical warriors.
Would Earth return to power?
Only the people on the Moon were concerned with this problem. But now, they would not consider it a problem anymore. The Solar System was merely a tiny circle in the Milky Way Galaxy. To rise to power was a much more difficult feat than it used to be.
Milo was done with her warm ups. This alone proved the difference between the Moon and the Earth. Net cafes did not exist on the Moon. This was a CT club, which usually was part of a gym. On the Moon, quality was thought to be more important than quantity, and cases where there were battles after battles were rare. The people of the Moon exercised much better restraint. They could not fathom how Earth people could lose game after game. They'd curse after losing and lose after cursing. Why did they not study the cause of their loss?
The people of the Moon saw CT as a sport, but Earth people thought of it as a game.
That was a deep seated difference in culture. Both parties debated it for a long time, so much so that they were not interested in arguing now. They had their own lives to lead. The only problem was who did better.
To the Earth players, nobody cared how well you performed in local matches. What was most important was the glory you brought from external matches.
Solon had settled upon a massive deal with Yan Xiaosu. The stakes were high, but Yan Xiaosu had made it very clear. They would not play if Solon did not sign it. Solon was left with no choice.
Solon could not take on the responsibility of the satellite.
Yan Xiaosu was most certainly a scheming businessman, but when the job was done, his IQ would begin to plummet straight down. He was chatting up with a group of people from the Skeleton Corps.
Rainbow, Wild King, and company were analysing the characteristics of Brightmoons. Frankly speaking, neither of them were able to deal with such a mech. The advantage of assassin-type mecha in single combat was just too significant. They were mainly deployed for special missions and were pretty much useless in large battles. Being able to hold down the fort when faced with a group attack was most crucial.
"This Lady Stormsword has already thoroughly understood the intricacies of the Brightmoon."
"Rainbow, I heard you're going after Bubbly Foam?"
"Don't you think Bubbly Foam has a beautiful voice?"
"Hot damn! Rainbow, you've got really thick skin! Not only does she have a beautiful voice, she's got a beautiful face too! Don't tell me you made her join us for your own personal gains!"
Wild King and gang teased. The Skeleton Army was mainly made up of middle school students, yet Rainbow, who was already a ranked soldier, was most frequently teased. At first, Rainbow persisted in defending himself. But he learned that these people's interests would only grow as he struggled, so he could only concede.
"Alright, alright! Stop chatting. The battle is about to begin. Brothers, let's get this moon girl!"
"Ahem! Little Xiu, you're in the wrong. We've got to be polite to our female counterparts, even if they come from the Moon. Here, let us sing to their victory!"
Yao Ailun cheered. He was much more wild in this world. To be more accurate, he was basically feral.
Student Yan was one of those cheering and shouting in the audience. Boss was just in the house next door.
Battle Map: The Royale Arena
This was a battle map full of luxurious ambience. It was suited for the people of the Moon who had a thing for elegance and opulence. The people of the Moon had always been envious of Earth, where elegance bred. It was a pity they did not have that.
Empires like Aslan were considered immigrant empires. They were hardly affected as they were too far from Earth. But the Moon was far too close to the Earth and was under its influence. That's why no matter how the Moon and Earth disagreed with each other, they were inseparable.
Such was destiny.
"Milo, this girl is pretty callous." Atos chuckled.
"She's just trying to determine her opponent's abilities." Masasi smiled. A complex environment would require adaptability and experience. But in a simple environment, there was only a need for a good and strong foundation.
Amongst them, Milo studied other countries' techniques the most, and she remembered them best. At the same time, she was good at assessing the opponent's strategy and coming up with countermoves.
She was an advisor for the Eight Stars.
A battle-type military advisor.
Every time a battle concerned national pride, Earth would give their loudest cheers and greatest support.
The number of VIP viewers went through the roof. 1.5 million. The enthusiasm was unusually inflated. Also, this time, they spotted some big shots from Earth in the audience.
"Oh goodness! Isn't that Prince?"
"And the one beside him, is that King of No Mercy?
Those in the audience had noticed some IDs which stood out, shining under a crown.
This was Earth's most powerful king!
Only the strongest players on Earth could inherit the ID.
Seemed like Student Little Skeleton's performance had drawn the attention of these top players.
The post edited clips would be far more exciting, but these masters highly valued the feeling of a live battle.
Apart from the throned master players, many from the diamond class were present too. After all, some of these diamond-rated players had been defeated by Skeleton and wanted to see how far he would go.
If the players were on equal ground, there would not be anything worthy of their attention, but now the opponent was very powerful. Would Skeleton still stay in control despite merely using the Wargod No. 1?
"There's quite a number of big shots! Even Prince is here!" Comrade Old Deer said in surprise.
"Prince" was a title crowned by the masses. He was a long-term occupant of a throne for the best players among CT. His unique long rifle technique was unparalleled. His evaluation: always mimicked but never overtaken - most certainly a representative of Earth.
Individual and team battles were both strongly represented. There were no obvious flaws. Team Earth was the main force.
Even a pig head would have learned to be careful after so many rounds of competition. Comrade Old Deer was evidently not a pig. He was more determined than a pig, but the tides were slowly turning.
"Player Skeleton is faced with an unprecedentedly strong opponent. Lady Stormsword has never lost a single round in one-on-one battles. She is steady and sharp in her Moon battle fashion. Under such immense pressure, let's hope that Player Skeleton will still be able to fight and show them our prowess! Please do not be an expert at home but a layman out there!"
Bubbly Foam had thought that he had turned into a new person. But that last line showed her that he had truly changed.