Chapter 70: War Heroes
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Campbell was stunned by his opponent's strength to withstand his mech's attack.
w.a.n.g Zheng took the chance to rush forward while Campbell was still wondering what had happened.
He immediately executed a jump slas.h.!.+
Bang….
When a mech leaps forward ferociously, its armor is placed under severe pressure. In CT, movements can be made easily, but in actual battle, it requires a tremendous amount of strength to do so. Simple movements are, therefore, the way to go, unless you are able to destroy the enemy in a single strike.
Bang…
Campbell had held the initiative for the whole fight, but that last ferocious strike by w.a.n.g Zheng caused him to lose his momentum for the first time in the compet.i.tion. He immediately utilized a skillful kick to the side to restore his balance.
Both of the fighters kept attacking each other with no rest in between
Bang….
Campbell's mech swung to the left side as he was struck by w.a.n.g Zheng. Just as he was about to retaliate, an arcing light sliced towards him.
Bang…
They were exchanging blows with their t.i.tanium knives aggressively. Sparks were flying everywhere. After blocking a strong attack, Campbell realised that he could not afford to look down upon his opponent, w.a.n.g Zheng.
But it was too late.
A direct attack was about to hit him.
Crack!
Campbell's WE mech took a direct hit and staggered backwards a few steps. The last hit caused his mech's energy to decrease by one third. Considering how the last round of crazy attacks against w.a.n.g Zheng had only depleted w.a.n.g Zheng's mech's energy level by one fifth, he was clearly in a disadvantageous position.
w.a.n.g Zheng did not follow up with an attack but instead stabilized his mech soilder and stood there quietly.
The last strike by w.a.n.g Zheng had demonstrated his complete metamorphosis into a mech pilot. Perhaps not many of the people felt it, but to w.a.n.g Zheng, it was akin to the transformation of a b.u.t.terfly from a caterpillar.
He could do it!
He was strong and almighty!
On the other hand, Campbell was feeling listless. Holding the t.i.tanium knife in his left hand, he was determined not to let it happen again.
Campbell's mech's shoulders drooped a little and he activated the engines again to signify the anger he held within him.
The audience could feel their hearts clench as they could feel the anger Campbell possessed.
Campbell's mech approached w.a.n.g Zheng thunderously with a totally different state of mind. Campbell was being serious this time round.
Campbell's mech treaded forward strategically, consistently weaving in and out and making it difficult to determine his attack pattern.
Bang….
His t.i.tanium knife swung towards w.a.n.g Zheng with tyrannical force. Three consecutive strikes were dished out.
With just three strikes, he was placed in an advantageous position. However, the real battle was yet to begin.
Campbell did not stop after three strikes. He continued attacking while holding his breath. This time, four streaks of light arced towards w.a.n.g Zheng.
One slash… Two slashes… Three slashes… Four slashes….
Campbell was unable to appease his own anger as he continued on with the attacks. This type of strategy would deplete an average soldier's stamina rapidly. But in Campbell's case, he was able to do so because his opponents, more often than not, ran out of stamina before he did.
His confidence came from his unrelenting amount of training every day, as well as his self-confidence!
Bang bang bang...
Another three slashes were directed at w.a.n.g Zheng... w.a.n.g Zheng's mech was under a high amount of pressure and was about to crumble. Most importantly, although he was able to withstand the attacks, the mech's energy was depleted by half.
Eighth slas.h.!.+
Bang….
w.a.n.g Zheng's mech soldier suffered a direct blow. Both w.a.n.g Zheng and Campbell's mecha were left with less than 50 percent of their energy. It was a battle of attrition.
Campbell did not seemed to be tired at all. He dished out another slash towards w.a.n.g Zheng in a straightforward manner.
The closest target was the pilot's seat. It could be extremely intimidating to witness the attack up front.
This was Campbell's signature Nine Lightning Strikes. It was unstoppable; no one could withstand it.
However, w.a.n.g Zheng's mech responded quickly and managed to retreat safely.
This defensive move required a high level of control by the mech pilot and an ability to work with inertia.
But at this distance...
Would he even be able to dodge?
Direct attacks were the most efficient and effective but also the easiest to identify.
The distance was perfect, and according to the speed of the attack, this final slash was bound to miss.
Was Campbell's signature Nine Lightning Strikes' unstoppable record about to be stopped?
No one understood more than Campbell that w.a.n.g Zheng was about to dodge the attack at this distance.
But he was Apollo military college's representative, Campbell!
Campbell's mech palpitated and unimaginably advanced forward for a second round of attacks, breaking through his own physical limit!
He had his target locked on, and he did not have to hide his attacks anymore
Tenth slas.h.!.+
This was Campbell, an unrelenting champion who was always striving for self-improvement.
The 10th slash dazzled the inspectors, as they originally wanted to see Campbell's performance improving!
This was exactly what they had wanted.
A warrior that possessed immense talent and an unrelenting heart for self-improvement.
Bang...
The whole stadium was in shock. They were confused that Campbell's inexplicable follow up slash did not strike the target.
w.a.n.g Zheng's WE mech's right hand held onto Campbell's mech's left wrist tightly.
At this moment of desperation, how was he able to think of such a defensive tactic?
Even if he could, was his body fast enough to respond?
Zhang Shan was already drenched in sweat, and he was so nervous that he almost died when he saw w.a.n.g Zheng grapple with Campbell!
w.a.n.g Zheng exerted the mech's full power and wrenched strongly. Campbell, who was already unable to control his mech, was pulled along by w.a.n.g Zheng's sheer force. Taking advantage of the force of momentum, w.a.n.g Zheng dodged sideways, and Campbell's attack hit empty air. His mech had even lost its balance!
The two mech soldiers intertwined, and at this moment, w.a.n.g Zheng's backhand-gripped knife swung towards him!
A silver arc sliced towards Campbell.
Bang...
The mech's armor activated emergency deceleration as the defensive s.h.i.+eld collapsed.
Both mecha stopped simultaneously. Everyone held their breaths, trying to digest what had just happened.
The hatch for the pilot c.o.c.kpit opened abruptly and Campbell escaped before the mech's head detached from the its body.
Sparks flew in all directions...
The whole stadium was very quiet. The WE was a model developed specifically for practice. When the energy s.h.i.+eld was completely depleted, it would activate an emergency mechanism that deactivated both dueling mechs. Evidently, even the system did not expect w.a.n.g Zheng's final strike.
During that final clash, w.a.n.g Zheng's backhanded attack was actually three slashes executed at a high speed.
w.a.n.g Zheng's unrelenting wrist and finger strength training had produced this minor technique.
In this battle, it was truly a critical move. It was nearly impossible to estimate the amount of damage that it had caused.
"w.a.n.g Zheng from Ares College has emerged as the victor!"
When the judges announced the result, all of the students in the stadium jumped and cheered joyously.
It was a play completely going against normal expectations!
Jamal stood up and approached Gu Te to congratulate him.
"Congratulations, perhaps Ares College has a chance to witness the rise of an extraordinary warrior."
"Thank you."
Gu Te finally came to his senses. Not even in his dreams would he had expected this spectacular result for today's compet.i.tion.
"Old friend, you are being too petty. Not letting your best soldier fight till the final crucial moment, that isn't good." Adonis laughed.
"Haha, old friend, Lear will be the future genius. We look forward to the future battles between them!"
Both of them knew that with Campbell's graduation coming up, the new generation belonged to Ares College and Zeus College.
Adonis was feeling regretful. The stage was originally set up for Lear to perform, as no one was a match for him. But due to the lack of opportunity and luck, w.a.n.g Zheng took the stage and became the main actor.
However, this was good news to Lear. He was too powerful, so strong that he could not find an opponent of the same standard. This was an obstruction to allow him to meet stronger opponents and grow.
There would be many future opportunities for the two to fight.
Perhaps w.a.n.g Zheng could be the one to revive Ares College and bring it back to an era of glory.
w.a.n.g Zheng had been praised and hailed by countless of people.
Today, w.a.n.g Zheng was the hero of Ares College!
He had made a name for the age-old college and infused new life into it.
Amidst the crowd, Masasi faintly smiled at Lear as they exchanged glances with each other. It was a subtle agreement that something interesting was going to happen.
Masasi had completed his mission. Lear was definitely almighty and had a perfect character. Never once was he angry at his teammates when they made mistakes. Moreover, another target had been found – w.a.n.g Zheng.
They were the twin Gemini of Earth.
It was created with reference to the solar system. However, who was the real king of the star?
Masasi had only one king in his heart - Akerloose Victor!
For many years, Ares College had never tasted victory, so there was a huge celebration, and it was livelier than any other celebration in years.
Although w.a.n.g Zheng was the main actor, Ma Xiao, Masasi, Meng Tian, and Zhang Shan had played important roles as well. This was a team effort. Without them, they could not have achieved today's result.
After this battle, Meng Tian was acclaimed to be the G.o.ddess of war, a well-deserved t.i.tle for a beauty.
All w.a.n.g Zheng wanted was to spend the rest of the time alone with Aina, but it was impossible with his sudden achievements.
w.a.n.g Zheng was the key person of the event. He was constantly praised and surrounded by people.
Away from the crowd, Aina grinned, as she was happy for w.a.n.g Zheng. Moreover, she believed that w.a.n.g Zheng would become even better and finally realize his dreams.
After all, it was inevitable that she would eventually leave his side.
Every girl dreamed of being in a relations.h.i.+p with someone she loved. Romance did not have to have an ending, and this was especially true for Aina's case.
She mustered up her courage and confidently withheld her own emotions. From a young age she was taught to control her feelings. It was part of her upbringing as the next queen to put her nation's interests first.
On the battlefield, w.a.n.g Zheng was brave and invincible. Yet now, w.a.n.g Zheng was looking around helplessly for Aina. She knew that he was looking for her, but she wanted him to enjoy the taste of victory that he earned.
Outside of the school, a seemingly normal, black car appeared out of nowhere.
"Your highness, are you planning to go back so early tonight?"
Aina quietly nodded. Sometimes she imagined what it would feel like to be a normal person, doing the things that she liked, being her rebellious self, and enjoying life.
Sadly, for a princess, self-indulgence was considered a luxury.
"Astonished? Meng Tian and w.a.n.g Zheng are too fitting as a couple. They are similar to a prince and a princess in fairy tales!" An Mei said.
It was wise of Princ.i.p.al Gu Te to organize a banquet. Although he was old, he was not old fas.h.i.+oned. Ares College's students needed a break to fully enjoy their victory.
Yan Xiaosu curled his lips. In his mind, he was thinking "what a pity," as his boss was already in love with a real princess.
"What kind of look was that? Aina may be pretty and has good qualities, but what use is it? Not that I am biased, but personally, I feel that she will not stay with w.a.n.g Zheng for long. Moreover, she is very mysterious. Speaking of which, where is she now?"