n

n

nShi Lang and the rest of the people dealt with the closing ceremony of the battle. To think that in such a crucial situation, where the lives of the people were at stake, the galactic council arranged a Most Valuable Player award.

nJack won the award as he dealt with the enemy swiftly and quickly. His moves were clean as well. Steel did not mind it because he was simply not hungry for these insensitive titles. The team returned to the mech bay and Jane asked, “When is the next match?”

nShi Lang looked at her and said, “In a couple of days. However, according to the data gathered by OB-One, other than the three people going to play must stay here to work on the mechs. We need to make the previous arrangements better and a few new things will be added. The power of the mechs is not enough.”

nThe technical team nodded and Lucas said, “We agree, during the battle, we ran scans on the enemy and we found that their mechas were more powerful than us. We were lucky to win because of the application of your skills. I will not say that it is a bad thing, but the difference in the equipment will only grow deeper in the future and we will always be at a higher risk of losing.”

nThe discussions commenced and lasted for a couple of hours before they came to the conclusion and then they began to work. At this moment, the people from other times had already returned to their cozy beds, but the Terran team was still inside the mecha bay, they were pushing themselves to the end.

nThe administrators were responsible for manufacturing the parts they needed by using the fabrication machines. The technical team was for guiding and testing every part, from quality to placement. They missed nothing. Shi Lang and the frontal force, except for Ryan and Martha, were busy in putting everything together. It was a deadly rush, they all did not have time to eat or drink until the sun came up on the horizon.

nJane was the one who called them to take a break and then headed to eat. Shi Lang asked them to bring his food back, as he sat down to cultivate in the mecha bay itself. He woke up when OB-One came over and said, “Sire, there is a message from the Federation.”

nShi Lang opened his eyes and asked, “What is it?”

nOB-One replied, “The Arcadian empress has gone missing, the court is under the command of her trusted aide. However, the aide has requested for the Federation to help. The president would like to know your thoughts.”

nShi Lang raised his eyebrow and said, “Cara has gone missing?”

nThe bot nodded, and Shi Lang said, “Inform the card class and send a team from the secret division over there to investigate. Also, pass on the situation to Jenkins, and have him prepare the fleet and stand by. They shall be ready to take action at momentary notice. In case rebellion takes place in Arcadia send the fleet to stabilize things.”

nThe bot nodded again and retired, Shi Lang went back to meditate, and soon two days passed. The routine was very much fixed, and they were paying attention to the other team’s battles. Keep friends close, but keep enemies closer. Ryan and Martha had been observing the battles from the crowd in the arena.

nThey would bring back the data and then crack it down to the last bit. This way in a week they won three matches. The next week, they will have to fight the topper of the group. This team was cruel and did not spare anyone in the competition. This was definitely a massacring team, and Shi Lang did not intend to go easy on them.

nThe atmosphere had become tense despite the steady progress, they were on they were all edgy. A day before Shi Lang gave them all a much-needed off and then himself went to sleep. His brain may have been stronger than others, but he was under stress, and he needed to rest.

nThe next morning when he woke up, the team was all ready to face their strongest enemies yet. The Saladars were mean and proud creatures. They were humanoids, but they have horns on their heads. However, the skin color they had varied from person to person. It was more like facing a color palette than a group of people.

nShi Lang and the rest arrived at the arena, but the crowd was not cheering today. They were praying, the mood was slightly off, and the Terran general asked, “Any idea?”

nJane came forward and said, “The saladars have taken your crest as an act of dishonor and they have challenged us to a cycle fight.”

nShi Lang raised his eyebrow in surprise and said, “I did not know for them to notice such a low-key thing.”

nThe rest of the people laughed and Shi Lang said, “Fine, you all have been playing well in the past few gazes, it is time I get the MVP. I want to flex some muscles. So, I will play first and probably last.”

nThe team agreed, after all, Shi Lang had incurred unwanted wrath from the other team. So, he might as well, face them on his own. To think, the loyal Terran team pushed him under the bus so ruthlessly.

nHe said, “Ummm, which one of you will go and make a Shura Sword for me, that is similar in proportion to my real one? I do not think these guys will take it easy on me.”

nMatthews and Lucas stepped up and said, “We will go, boss.”

nShi Lang nodded and said, “Go then. I will deal with them using a spear till then.”

nThat said, he went to the edge of the viewing room and jumped down to stand on the shoulder of the mecha. He sighed and mumbled, “You might get a few scratches today, boy.”

nHe got inside the cockpit and started the system. Arianta hovered over the arena interacting with the people, when she saw that both sides were ready, she said, “Ladies and gentlemen, are you all ready to watch the biggest fight of group D?”

nThe crowd reacted like maniacs, they were done with their prayers and were now waiting for the Saladars to win the battle. The reason? Well, they all pressed their money on Saladars to win. Even if the odds of the federation winning were low, there were only a few people who bothered with this gamble.

nArianta noticed something and said, “Both teams please send forward your contenders.”

nShi Lang and the enemy took calm and large strides to walk over. They were simply too agitated. The system started an automated countdown and Arianta moved her hoverboard to get inside the Terran observation room.

nThe team was surprised, but they did not behave like bumpkins. Arianta was really beautiful but she did not fit the aesthetic sense of the Terrans. So, she pointed the mike at Jane and asked, “Why did you only send your captain to the battle.”

nJane sighed and said, “We did not want him to go alone as well, but we cannot overrule the direct command, the general wanted to face the opponent on his own.”

nArianta was amazed by the valor displayed by Shi Lang, she still asked in a low voice, “Is your general single?”

nThis question stunned everyone, and the answer shocked the people even more, “Yes, General is married. Thank you for asking, Madam Arianta.”

nThe host flew back and the countdown ended and the battle began. The start was similar, Shi Lang parrying and dodging, and countering when he found the opportunity. This was like a game of hide and seek.

nHowever, the people were not antsy, they were all used to this style of battle from Shi Lang. The enemy had a bot similar to the federation team but the mecha had two curved horns on the head. They all used swords, and Shi Lang was taking advantage by exploiting his long spear reach to deal with this person.

nThe Terran general was so meticulous that he had been using the entire field, his mecha was leaving marks all over the place. Well, it was not really that easy for him to move around and dodge it all. So after five minutes, he had two scratches on the surface of his right shoulder, but that was just a scratch.

nThe reason he was steadily defending was so that the people could craft his sword at ease. His actions had garnered a lot of boo-ing from the crowd but when has Shi Lang ever cared about people? The battle entered the tenth minute and suddenly, Shi Lang thrust his spear after parrying the sword slash, the phaser lace was activated and the spear went through the chest and came out of the back. The crowd fell silent all of a sudden. This was unexpected, how did he pull it off? That was all they could think of.

n