The two mechas charged at each other at a fast speed. Shi Lang shoved his spear directly aiming at the head of the enemy, he had no intention to hold back. The enemy was also reciprocating his mindset and stabbed with his spear.

The difference between the two weapons was that one was shining with a blue gleam and the other had a golden gleam. Jane said, “They also have phaser tech in mecha melee weapons.”

The rest of the team nodded and agreed with her. The battle had just begun but the ferocity of it was seeping into their bodies slowly. With a Zheng sound emitting from the phaser-laced spearheads cutting the air, sparks flew around as the two weapons collided.

The collision was strong and the weapons hit each other directly at the tip. Shi Lang did not move back, he stepped to the side slightly and then he exerted force on the shaft of his spear and parried the enemy. The feline leader was surprised but he was not done just yet.

He held the spear shaft from the middle and then shoved it back at Shi Lang, while turning his body around, and swung the spear in an arc to slash at Shi Lang with the spearhead. The crowd was already on their feet and it was just the first move. They were excited by the sharp and decisive skills displayed by the two people.

Shi Lang had already backed off by three steps and avoided the enemy slash by inches, Arianta screamed, “OH, so close.”

Loweasky Shunta shook his head and said, “It may seem like the feline captain was close, but in my opinion, it was a perfect dodge. The federation team captain precisely calculated the attack range of his opponent and took measured steps to avoid it. This shows his impressive battle skills.”

The crowd began to chatter and praised Shi Lang, when Miss Xenon said, “Do not underestimate the Feline Captain, he controlled the mecha astoundingly well and covered his back from a potential attack.”

…

Lucas sighed as he leaned back in his chair, and said, “If he was to use that curved epee of his, I wonder how many pieces would the enemy be in now.”

The rest of the people nodded. Shi Lang turned into something completely different when he held the sword of shura. One more thing to note was that he was yet to engage the enemy with the intention to kill. His speed and attacks were still at ten percent of what he could have actually done.

Ryan said, “Boss is not engaging in a death battle, so there is no need for him to act so harshly. This way he is hiding his skills from the scouting eyes.”

His points were valid. Shi Lang was indeed holding back a lot when he was facing the opponent. His real strength came from the calm in his mind. He was indifferent to all the blows thrown at him.

…

Shi Lang was using his spear like a squatter to parry the attacks and irritate the opponent. However, the latter did not keel over so easily and kept coming at the Terran.

As he was engrossed in the battle, suddenly Shi Lang said, “Engage Neural Link.”

In the next second the neural link was connected, and the movements of the bot became smoother. The load of the neural link was not too much on his brain anymore and due to the new system, they did not need to manually control the mech, they just needed to relay the thoughts and the mecha will follow commands. Half the credit for this went to the spirit jade Shi Lang had installed.

…

The feline team was getting antsier with every passing moment. Their captain was not doing well and slowly the Terran was gaining on him. They were worried if the captain failed and fell.

Suddenly an old person in the team said, “Little Prince found himself a strong rival.”

A young feline, who looked like a leopard said in a cold voice, “How is this a strong rival? They are equally matched.”

The old tiger shook his head and said, “Young and ignorant. Did you not see that the opponent is allowing us to redeem some face by his actions? He has been raising his skills a little bit with every few moves. If they were equally matched then how could he take the upper hand now? Use your brain.”

His words shocked the entire team. They looked back at the arena. Shi Lang was like a god, who was dancing with the spear to display his love for battle. His moves were fluid and the spear was like lighting.

The feline captain did not expect such a terrifying set of moves from the enemy. He has been blocking and dodging the strikes. Shi Lang swept the spear at his chest, and he blocked again, but suddenly, the opponent had decreased his strength and the spear tip went through the body of the mech. Piercing the cockpit directly.

Shi Lang did not intend to kill the enemy, and his spear stopped a few inches away from the head of the feline captain sitting inside the cockpit. He was about to tilt his head and charge ahead desperately and take down the opponent with himself. When a calm voice sounded from the speakers.

“You do not redeem yourself when you take down the opponent at the cost of your own life. You redeem yourself when you acknowledge your defeat and then stand up stronger. That is redemption. Foolishly charging to meet death is not bravery but stupidity.”, the speaker was none other than Shi Lang.

As he finished his words, he took back his spear and stood in front of the Feline Captain. He did not leave the arena, because he would still defeat the opponent if he did not give up. He would not kill him, but this time, he will not be as graceful as he was in the first confrontation.

The crowd was silent, they all heard his words, and they had to admit, it did spark a small fire in their hearts. Shi Lang had not won the battle only, but also the hearts of the people. The feline captain was standing in front of Shi Lang, seemingly lost in a daze. He was in a state of self-defiance.

His pride as a feline prince did not allow him to back down, but death was not going to make him stronger. Shi Lang said, “I would have stepped back at this point, but that would not allow you a redemption, but embarrass you even more. If you wish to redeem yourself, then go back, train, and come find me at the Federation. I will wait for you.”

His words were a challenge and a push, that will change the life of the Feline prince forever. The impact of the simple statement was so strong that the Feline prince dropped his spear and raised a fist to his chest and said, “Thank you for your guidance, I accept my defeat, and I will keep moving forward. One day, I will defeat you fair and square.”

Shi Lang nodded and cast a gaze at the dumbfounded host, Arianta. The lady woke up and said excitedly, “The winner of the battle between the Feline and the Federation, is the Federation team. They win with a score of two-nil.”

She paused and when the crowd looked at her in confusion. She said, “What? Do not look at me like this okay? The battle ended after two rounds, the third battle was an exhibition round.”

The crowd burst out in laughter. Shi Lang shook his head and nodded to the Feline captain before he turned around to walk back to his team. The event was dealt with and Shi Lang came out of the cockpit amidst cheers and applause of the crowd. He bowed to them once before jumping back into the observation room.

He said, “The hinges on the calf section of the left limb armor came off. We need to fix this fault and run checks on all the units. Also, check the core of my unit. The output suddenly dropped during the battle, I had to initiate the neural link to optimize.”

Jane and the technical team nodded. They got to work instantly. The output fluctuation of a unit in the middle of the battle was a serious matter and could lead to death if one was not prepared.

Ryan said, “Sir, was it because of the output drop that you did not end the battle sooner?”

Shi Lang looked at him and said, “You are half correct.”

The rest of the team looked at him and the young man said, “The reason I did not end it sooner was that it would have needed me to show more skills and that would expose too much to the potential trouble makers. Secondly, the output, and thirdly, my opponent was good. He is worth knowing.”

They all understood that Shi Lang was playing a bigger game here.