Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Ling Lan's quick barrage of attacks were all blocked off by He'er Li. Now, Ling Lan had confirmed her opponent's mecha piloting level. He wasn't a veteran imperial operator who had been at the imperial level for many years. Instead, he was a newbie just like her and had only reached imperial level not long ago.

This realization made Ling Lan feel much more relieved. Ling Lan was afraid that would face against someone like Qi Yaoyang, who had entered imperial level for many years and had already grasped the secrets of the imperial level. Once these people become her enemy, Ling Lan believed that the person who would die in a confrontation would be her and not her opponent. The route of mutual destruction also wasn't viable not like when she did the examination for the activation of her battle team. Veteran imperial operators like Qi Yaoyang would definitely not give her that kind of chance on a real battlefield. This was the difference between a veteran and newbie imperial operators.

The invincible He'er Li was actually stopped by a nameless mecha operator from the Federation. It even seemed that He'er Li was at a disadvantage. All of the mecha operators from Hela Ace Mecha Clan saw this, and they were all stunned. 'Is there actually someone on the battlefield who is stronger than their regiment commander?' He'er Li was a famous figure in Hailiya. He had partic.i.p.ated in dozens of battles, and had never lost any of those battles before.

Compared to the surprise of Hela Ace Mecha Clan, everyone from 250 Mecha Clan got fired up when they saw their regiment commander pressuring the enemy's regiment commander. Many who were originally pressured by their opponents and were in danger, actually managed to salvage their situation, and some even turned the tides into their favour.

This was how a battle between two opposing regiment commanders would affect their men, by affecting the willpower of the two clans fighting with each other. The side whose regiment commander was at an advantage would definitely have stronger fighting spirit and higher morale. The side whose regiment commander was at a disadvantage would have their entire clan become demotivated, making them not be able to give their 100% during their battles.

Although He'er Li seemed calm on the surface, but internally he was panicking. He didn't think that the nameless and unvalued Base 013 would actually have such a strong mecha clan hidden within it. He also couldn't believe that the regiment commander of that clan was even more capable than him.

"I can't lose!" He'er Li knew very well that if he were to be defeated, Ni Duola would not have the courage to continue the attack. Then, it would mean that this entire operation would have been all for naught. He'er Li was the person in charge of this attack, so he knew very well what price Hailiya had invested into this attack. If he lost, he couldn't even imagine what punishments he would face when he goes back home. Therefore, he couldn't lose, and he must win convincingly.

He'er Li, who was on his wits' end, bit his lip as he saw Ling Lan coming at him once again with Firmament. However, he didn't choose to dodge or block like the previous clashes, he instead side-stepped the attack. Then, his left hand snaked its way onto the sword, wanting to grab onto the ruthless sword.

Empty-Handed Weapon Grab! Although this technique was originally from the Huaxia Federation, almost all of the mecha operators from every country had managed to grasp this technique. Of course, there weren't many who could actually use the technique well.

When the mecha operators, who were watching their fight from the beginning, saw the Empty-Handed Weapon Grab, they actually slowed everything they were doing. They all wanted to know whether or not He'er Li was going to succeed or not. Although the Empty-Handed Weapon Grab technique was a well-known technique, the level designation of this technique had reached S level. It was the only S level technique that the Federation had let the public know about.

Having an S level designation meant that it wasn't something that could be easily learned just by practicing it. If an individual was not able to actually understand the secrets of the Empty-Handed Weapon Grab, they would fail at each attempt in using it. Most mecha operators didn't dare to use this technique because once they fail, they might have to pay the price with their lives, and of course, no one dared to use their life to experiment.

Ling Lan through He'er Li intention, and she just smirked. Firmament didn't change in any its direction, and it ruthlessly stabbed towards He'er Li.

"I caught it!" He'er Li felt his left hand holding onto the narrow sword and was overjoyed. He didn't hesitate as his right hand went straight for Ling Lan's c.o.c.kpit.

Right at that moment, a soft 's.h.i.+ng' sound was heard by everyone. Firmament easily went through He'er Li's palm, cutting some parts off while it went its way. However, because the parts were too small, everyone spectating couldn't see what they were.

Everyone just knew that the sharp blade had sliced something off.

After piercing to the longest length, Ling Lan twisted the Firmament in her hand and got it out of her opponent's palm.

He'er Li had without a doubt failed the Empty-Handed Weapon Grab. Only He'er Li knew what parts had fallen off just then. His right hand had already clenched into a fist so everyone couldn't discover that his left fist actually had no fingers. He'er Li now understood why Ling Lan wasn't afraid of his Empty-Handed Weapon Grab. It was because his sword was not only heavy and tough, it also had a sharp property that all other large cold weapons didn't have.

He'er Li's left hand had failed, but he didn't give up hope. The attack from his right hand was his main priority. No matter his left hand failed or succeeded, its task was completed as it locked down the place his opponent could dodge towards.

He'er Li believed that he had successfully forced Ling Lan into a position where she couldn't dodge his right fist. However, what he didn't know was that Ling Lan wasn't planning on dodging in the first place.

"Bang!" Ling Lan held Firmament in front of her and blocked her opponent's strong attack. A clear sound of metal breaking was heard.

"Crack!" A soft cracking sound was heard at the place where the two weapons had clashed. He'er Li's heart dropped as he saw through his peripheral vision the location where Ling Lan's narrow sword had hit on his sword. He saw a thin crack running from the edge of the sword to the tip of the sword had actually appeared on his large sword. On top of that, his sword also had a part of it chipped off at the location where the two swords clashed. The crack was formed from the chipped area.

He'er Li was stunned. He had only just discovered that other than the chipped area, his sword had no other areas that were chipped. It meant that when the opponent was attacking him, no matter how he blocked, his opponent had struck his sword at the same area. This was the main reason his sword had a crack appear on it, and he only just realized this. This was enough to determine that his opponent's mecha piloting skills was pure and flawless

While He'er Li was stunned, Ling Lan's next attack had arrived, giving He'er Li no time to think as he instinctively blocked with his large sword again.

"Bam!"

He'er Li's large sword suddenly cracked in half. The upper half of the sword fell and stabbed into the ground. It instantly dug into the ground, and only had 30 centimeters left on the hilt.

It turns out that Ling Lan had hit the chipped area once again. After being struck at so many times, the large sword could no longer endure such a hard hit, and it split in half.

"Ah!" All the mecha operators from Hela noticed this, and they couldn't help but shout in surprise. Their regiment commander's sword was actually split in half by someone… It was even more of a surprise when they knew that their regiment commander's sword was specially forged and was almost impossible to break.