Shi Lang passed the command and then he moved ahead with Ryan. The attack on the western side was possibly a chance that the other party exploited when the Terrans were busy dealing with the sudden raid. The young general did not dare to think lowly of the incoming party and thus ordered everyone to defend and attack.

He personally took Ryan with him to move around the parameter, through the northern side, and then intercept the enemy from a flanking position. The other party must have known about them, so Shi Lang said, “Everyone, initiate your illusion arrays. This attack does not seem to be easy, do not expose yourselves until it is necessary.”

He was not an alarmist, but this was his cautious behavior that has kept his team safe till now. He was not going to send them to their deaths for the sake of glory and heroism. Even if he must act in a cowardly manner, he would not hesitate.

…

Steel and Sophia were on the ground and with Jack and Carlos being the support, while the four sentries quickly changed positions and were now camping for the target. Soon, their wishes came true.

James said, “Tangos spotted, eight targets. They seem to be equipped with offensive gear. Be mindful.”

The ground teams nodded, and they all took cover quickly. There was no movement and only eerie silence in the place. It was right before the storm started. They now had sixty minutes to deal with this team and finish the round.

Out of four teams deployed in the same region, they had met three now, and given the time passed, it was highly likely that the fifth team has been dealt with the other parties. The confrontation did not go smoothly, this could be judged by the smoking marks on the suits of the enemy and the patchwork of their medics seemed to be obvious.

Martha asked, “Why would an assault team bring along a medic?”

Steel replied while he leaned against a stone, “They are typical ambushers. They ambush people when they are distracted. This tactic is used in three-way battles. This is a battle royale, if you do not exploit the opportunity when two teams are in confrontation, your chances of getting caught unprepared are high. However, ambushing has a high risk, because the two parties can give up fighting and unite against you. Thus, the medic, to patch up minor injuries.”

The team was enlightened. Martha said, “Captain, they are setting up a mortar over there.”

Her tone was not calm. Anyone would fluster at this point. The enemy was using a mortar, as cultivators they did not have to worry about basic hot weapons that were used in the past, but most of the galactic council members use phaser tech. This mortar was the same, one payload from it could leave a big area barren.

Steel passed the message to Shi Lang who was about to reach the flanking position.

…

Ryan was following Shi Lang, who suddenly said, “Your ability will allow you to move faster. Go and sabotage the mortar. Fire a shot and aim for the tube. How dare they target my team.”

The young lieutenant was shocked at the murderous aura he sensed from the man, but he did not say anything and just moved ahead at a faster speed. With his ability, Ryan was faster than Shi Lang. Thus, he quickly vanished from the sight of the latter.

Shi Lang told Steel and the others to pay attention to Ryan’s arrival and then support him if needed. The sabotage would attract attention and would be a good chance for the snipers and the ground team to raid the enemy together.

It was not like he could not outdo Ryan with his cultivation. Let alone outrun someone, if he really got pissed, he might slaughter the enemy on his own, but that way he will stand out, and attract attention, and his team might develop an inferiority complex or become too dependant on him. That way things will not be smooth. He needed to maintain a low profile.

…

The entire galaxy was watching the matches in a way and since Valerian and the rest have dealt with the team in the air, they have also garnered quite a few people’s attention. Their battle with the five people earlier was also swift and decisive. Till now they have been lucky to meet humanoids, but that could be because of their low rank.

Right now, when people saw Ryan breaking away, he became the center of attention. The federal team was observing everything from the outside, they were talking to each other on comms as well. Jane asked, “Why is Lang not coming forward?”

Matthews replied, “Low-profile. The Boss is thinking about future matches and opponents. We all cannot reveal too much, so he is being cautious.”

The team began to discuss this topic in detail as the match continued.

…

Ryan reached a flank position and swiftly took out his phaser gun. With an indifferent gaze, he took the shot and the beam directly landed on the mortar tube. No matter how sturdy the weapon was, it was still not enough to bear the direct strike of a phaser beam.

The raiders were cunning but they did not take this into account, one of the people shouted, “Contact, Flank position. On me.”

They were raiding the enemies and decided to stay together for a better and harder sudden impact. The anxiety of this competition was getting to them. They did not underestimate the opponents but they were clearly not up to handling it calmly as well. They made a blunder and left the flanks uncovered.

Thus, they got struck. As most of them turned to attack Ryan. The federal sniper team took aim, and four shots were fired at the same time. The impact of the phaser sniper was strong enough to turn the heads of the people into vapors along with the protective helmets. They needed a second to charge.

However, at this level of battle, a second would be enough to deal death blows or save lives. After the four shots were fired, the snipers moved away from the positions. The enemy reacted, three people were hit and died on the spot while one reacted quickly and was hit on his shoulder, the arm was completely detached from his body, and he wailed from the burning pain.

James and the rest of the ground team took action and engaged the enemies, who were not distracted from the sabotage. The enemy was not a bunch of simpletons, they had phaser shields erected and the attacks deviated, Steel did not hesitate and commanded, “Surround them.”

Out of eight four people were left to deal with. The previous engagement had given them the courage and confidence to deal with this group even without Shi Lang.

However, the man arrived just as the ground team was about to split, and directly threw a phaser-nade at the enemy and said, “Retreat.”

The aim of the nade was not the enemy team, but the pile of mortar ammunition they had placed in on the ground. The beeping ball landed on the target and before the enemy could even react, it went off.

A strong light erupted and the Terran team was shaken off from their foothold. They all retreated quite quickly but still, the shockwave hit them and ruffled their innards. When the glow subsided, the area had become barren and a ten feet deep crater had replaced the greenery. The ground looked like charred wood.

There was no sign of the enemy, they had all vanished from the galaxy and met their makers. Shi Lang was literally anything but compassionate at this moment. His team gathered, but he cast a gaze at Steel and said, “You did good in the first half, but if you were to divide the team and they had two people in hiding, that would have been suicide. Next time confirm this possibility to reduce the risk.”

Then he patted the man on the shoulder. His words were not harsh or blameful but positive criticism. Shi Lang knew that scolding the people was not a good thing. Even if they were the best in terms of potential when they joined the team or can be ranked as the peak experts in the federation now, they all still have less experience.

Shi Lang himself had not played much on the battlefront as well if someone was to point it out. However, he has read a lot about military engagements and learned from the history of the federation.

…

The federal team was taken back to the gathering hall in a chopper, and they were declared the winners of this arena. They waited for a few hours before the battles finished and discovered that quite a few teams have managed to come so far with no casualties. Those teams also noticed the federal team.

The future matches will be hard, and after El announced that they were done for the day, Shi Lang led the team outside, but they were surrounded by a group.