Chapter 363: ! Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

This kind of mecha displayed the characteristics of its b.e.s.t.i.a.l form,

possessing four thick and strong limbs. The power these limbs could

produce were explosively strong — in close-range combat, its power would

completely overwhelm humanoid mecha. As for what kind of b.e.s.t.i.a.l form

it would take, that depended on the operator’s preference. This mecha

before Ling Lan was in the form of a kingly lion.

The only shortcoming of this b.e.s.t.i.a.l mecha was that it could not

enter high alt.i.tudes or outer s.p.a.ce — the thrust force of its engines

would only allow it to fight at a maximum alt.i.tude of 50 metres.

However, by abandoning high-alt.i.tude flight, its ground attack

capabilities were greatly increased. It had powerful strength at its

disposal in close-range combat — a humanoid mecha would have no way of

standing up against the impact of its charges. The only thing capable of

putting up some resistance were humanoid ace mecha which specialised in

close-range combat.

With regards to long-range attack capability, two long-range laser

cannons hung on the b.e.s.t.i.a.l mecha’s back. The range of these long-range

laser cannons far exceeded that of ordinary beam guns and long-range

laser guns. Thus, when it came to long-range attack distance, before a

humanoid mecha could attack it, this mecha would already be able to

attack first.

Although this b.e.s.t.i.a.l mecha was very formidable in both close-range

combat and long-range combat on the ground, hence its name of , there

still were not many ace operators who would choose it. This was because,

just like its t.i.tle said, it was only the king of ground combat.

Nowadays, a majority of battles were conducted in outer s.p.a.ce or high up

in the air. On these two fronts, this b.e.s.t.i.a.l mecha was significantly

limited. The moment it entered those types of battlefields, it was

certain to be crushed by humanoid mecha.

The third mecha in the line had been the long-range attack mecha that

Qiao Ting had taken. Although its shooting range was less than b.e.s.t.i.a.l

mecha’s, it was greater than other types of ace mecha. Especially in a

s.p.a.ce battle, no mecha could compete with its long-range attacks, and at

the same time, it was also second in terms of speed, only slightly

weaker than the transformer mecha — no other mecha could compare. This

type of mecha boasted the second-best survival rate (the first being

transformer mecha) and it was also the second-best at accomplis.h.i.+ng

tasks. In terms of overall strength, this mecha ranked first.

The fourth mecha had obviously thicker limbs than other humanoid

mecha. There were two swords attached to its back — one was a heat-based

weapon, a beam saber with powerful energy, while the other was a cold

weapon, a broadsword which could deal the strongest physical damage.

Just by looking at it, one could tell that this was a mecha specialising

in close-range combat, otherwise it would not have been equipped with

two melee weapons.

Let’s leave the beam saber aside for the moment and just look at that

broadsword. With a blade width of about a metre and a centre thickness

of about 50 centimetres, it was clear to see that this was definitely an

extremely heavyweight cold weapon, unparalleled in its dominance. One

swing of this sword would be able to break the outer sh.e.l.l of a mecha,

as long as enough force was put behind it. Because the equipped defence

for mecha in general were beam s.h.i.+elds, the defence threshold of mecha

against firearms was the highest, while their defence threshold against

cold weapons was the weakest. This was also why cold weapons had not

been eliminated from the a.r.s.enal of mecha.

The close-range mecha was the strongest when it came to close-range

combat. On the ground, the difference between its strength and b.e.s.t.i.a.l

mecha was pretty much negligible. It only lacked long-range attack

capabilities, but if it managed to get close in the skies or in s.p.a.ce,

victory was basically determined. Thus, a close-range mecha on the

battlefield would oftentimes receive the most battle accolades. However,

its survival ratings were also the lowest compared to other ace mecha.

Still, as long as its operator lived, this type of mecha was also

usually the main mecha type to advance to imperial level. For this

reason, the Federation soldiers called it the !

Ling Lan fell deeply in love with this mecha at first sight — her

eyes shone with an intense need to possess it. She desperately wanted to

board this mecha. This was closely related to how much Ling Lan loved

close-range combat; even in mecha, Ling Lan still preferred fighting at

close range.

However, Ling Lan suppressed her bucking enthusiasm to look over at

the fifth mecha. The fifth mecha was very strange. Mecha usually sported

a suspension system on their backs for the purpose of hanging various

long-range or close-range weapons. But this mecha did not have that. Its

back was directly affixed with a thick and st.u.r.dy round metal object,

somewhat reminiscent of a turtle’s sh.e.l.l. However, this turtle sh.e.l.l had

several additional pipes running across it horizontally and vertically,

spread out across the sh.e.l.l like green veins. Ling Lan counted closely

and found that there were three on each side, six pipes in total, while

two more ran across the top, bringing the grand total of pipes to eight.

At first, Ling Lan was rather bewildered, unsure what kind of ace

mecha this was. Luckily, Little Four swept in to help once more,

instantly searching out a similar mecha type from his databases. Only

then did they learn that this type of mecha was called an artillery type

mecha. It could be said that this type of mecha was equivalent to a

small mobile attack bastion. Its firepower was the most powerful among

all the ace mecha. The eight artillery barrels could automatically

adjust themselves to lock on to a target and shoot. Basically, even an

ace mecha would find it difficult to fend against the simultaneous fire

of its eight barrels. This type of mecha was suitable for large-scale

s.p.a.ce battles. Each time it attacked, it would be able to annihilate a

large batch of enemy mecha, hence it was also known as the .

But it also had a fatal weakness — because of its own burdened

weight, its speed was the worst among all the ace mecha, making it very

easy for an enemy to draw close. Once it let an enemy get close,

especially if it were the which was an ace mecha just like itself that

managed the feat, its end would pretty much be decided. Thus, once it

moved, it needed another ace mecha or eight special-cla.s.s mecha to

accompany it and protect it. That is, those escort mecha would need to

step in at critical moments to intercept other ace mecha from getting

close.

Ling Lan decisively cast aside the fifth mecha from consideration.

Ling Lan was not at all interested in this type of mecha which relied on

its configuration and build to win; only those mecha that required

control skill would make her feel challenged. Ling Lan decisively

returned to stand below the fourth mecha. Leaping upwards, she used both

her hands and legs at together to climb swiftly up the mecha and pulled

the lever to open the c.o.c.kpit.

A click rang out as the c.o.c.kpit was opened, and an opening that would

allow easy access to an adult was revealed. Ling Lan bent over to take a

quick look inside before jumping in, where she then immediately sat

down.

Ling Lan closed the c.o.c.kpit doors and the lights dimmed. Immediately

after that, Ling Lan pressed on the activation b.u.t.ton of the mecha. The

c.o.c.kpit lit up once more, and at the same time, in the control seat, a

safety belt popped up automatically to bind Ling Lan’s body securely.

This was to prevent the intense vibrations from piloting the mecha from

harming the operator.

“A.I. activated. Checking in progress. Please wait! The estimated

time for this check is two minutes. If emergency activation is

necessary, please press the emergency activation b.u.t.ton.” The mecha A.I.

followed its procedural settings, voicing out the notifications to

alert the operator.

This was the first time Ling Lan was using this mecha, and the

situation was not urgent, so she naturally chose regular activation.

This time, she was going forth into a treacherous battlefield where the

chances of survival were slim, so it was necessary to guarantee as much

safety as possible. If she missed out on discovering any hidden problems

on the mecha just because she wanted to save these two minutes, it

would be too late for Ling Lan to cry later if anything happened.

Ling Lan was a calm and rational person; she naturally would not

allow herself to be put into such a dangerous position. She patiently

waited for the two-minute activation check to run its course, and only

after confirming that everything was normal with the mecha did she begin

operating it.

“Little Four, from now on, begin taking over for the A.I.. We must

not let the computer retain any battle data of me in the following

battle.” Mecha possessed auto-saving functions. For one, its recordings

were used as proof of an operator’s battle merits, and two, it was also

useful in helping mecha mechanics adjust and modify mecha based on an

operator’s habits to make a mecha more in line with the needs of its

operator.

Of course, the recording function of the military academy mecha was

to facilitate the instructors of the academy in checking the control

skills of the cadets. If there were any flaws or weaknesses captured in

the video, the instructors would be able to immediately correct the

students and fix those issues.

Ling Lan knew very well that when the fighting ended and the military

academy’s monitoring systems came back online, it would definitely

investigate these mecha which had been used in the battle. And these

saved recordings of the fight would be the evidence they would pore

over. Ling Lan did not wish to expose herself to the administrators of

the academy. Even if it was just as Ling Xiao’s son, she did not want

that to happen.

Just imagine, even someone as powerful as her dad Ling Xiao had been

unable to resist the schemes and backstabbing from within the military

itself. If the military found out that Ling Xiao’s son was also a mecha

piloting prodigy like him, Ling Lan did not believe that those people

who had set up Ling Xiao would be content to sit back. If by any chance

they felt that they could not allow Ling Xiao and his child to continue

growing, not only would she be in danger, Ling Xiao’s safety may also be

put at risk.

Ling Lan naturally knew that Ling Xiao was very strong, but she did

not believe that Ling Xiao had enough power to fend against treachery

from those who may be friends. This recent period together had let Ling

Lan know that Ling Xiao was someone who treasured emotions deeply.

Unless he was absolutely certain that the other had truly betrayed him,

Ling Xiao would not actively suspect his friends.

This was a strength of Ling Xiao but also a weakness — even as Ling

Lan respected Ling Xiao for it, she could not help but worry for him.

Thus, till now, she still did not dare to let Ling Xiao know of her true

strength and abilities. She was worried that in his joy, Ling Xiao

would run and tell his so-called friends about it …

At the heart of it all, Ling Lan was still concerned about the

high-ranking person hidden within the depth of the military who had

almost killed Ling Xiao. Being able to arrange all of that so naturally,

without flaws, Ling Lan believed that only the few great marshals or

the great generals would be able to do so. It may even be the result of

several people working together … so, even if Ling Xiao was extremely

trusting of the First Marshal, Ling Lan was actually very suspicious of

the other deep inside.

“Got it, Boss!” Little Four responded excitedly when he heard Ling

Lan’s instructions, as she had always restricted Little Four from

interfering with matters of mecha; now, she was finally letting him

help. This made Little Four feel that he was truly able to help Boss now

… did this mean that he was well-deserving of his position as number

one follower now?

Little Four carried this smug happiness and excitement with him as he

took over the administrative rights of the mecha’s A.I.. The first step

would be to screen the recording function of the mecha.

Little Four understood that his boss did not intend to turn off the

recording system completely, otherwise Ling Lan could just have turned

off the system herself without needing him to step in. Ling Lan had

ordered him to get involved because she wanted to utilise Little Four’s

ability to create false images, to let the mecha indicate that no one

had piloted the mecha. In other words, no one would be able to discover

from the recording system that this mecha had ever been used in this

battle.