Chapter 79: Equally Matched Opponents
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
w.a.n.g Zheng once again chose the WarG.o.d No. 1, but this time around, his opponent did the same.
This surprised the two commentators. Young Deer and Bubbly Foam looked at each other. "That... that seems like he is overdoing it."
Bubbly Foam shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. After seeing how Skeleton performed, n.o.body would have thought that anyone else using the WarG.o.d No. 1 could defeat him. Skeleton understood the WarG.o.d No. 1 like the back of his hand.
While Magical Bird was a strong player, these high level players all used the mech they were most acquainted with. Using a different mech would turn a skilled player into a loser in no time.
It was fair to say that the choice of mech determined 70% of the games.
Faced with such a battle, choosing the WarG.o.d No. 1 was clearly a poor decision for Magical Bird.
Amidst disappointment and doubt in the comments, Lear remained unwavering.
Resuscitating Island. WarG.o.d No. 1 VS WarG.o.d No. 1.
Inside the CT control room, Solon felt helpless. This was not within his control. Many players were very prideful and would not take advantage of such a situation. In this case, however, the game was bound to end uneventfully.
On screen, the numbers did not exceed that of the last game. Many audience members would only decide whether or not to pay to watch the livestream after Magical Bird chose his mech. In the end, Magical Bird chose the WarG.o.d No. 1…
The two warriors fell from the skies. Lear was familiar with CT and had played before. It was just that it was not challenging and hence he was uninterested. It was also his first time using the WarG.o.d No. 1. However, to him, all of the mecha were more or less the same. Of course, he still made it a point to understand this ancient mech's specifications before the battle started.
"Oh, Magical Bird has made a move! Let's take a guess; how long will it take Skeleton to end this battle?"
Bubbly Foam was full of confidence. She was already a member and fan of Team Skeleton.
Winning comes first and foremost, excitement was secondary.
Young Deer on the other hand, was mad. "This imbecile! Wait till the battle is over and I'll go over and give him an earful before giving him a slap!"
On screen, the WarG.o.d No. 1 pulled out his alloy knife and laser gun, waving them amateurishly.
The audience burst into chatter. Just, what was Magical Bird up to?
But just as w.a.n.g Zheng silently watched his opponent move, the other party paid close attention to him.
This time round, things were starting to get interesting.
Magical Bird finished his exercise. At this point, both WarG.o.ds dashed towards each other, almost at the same time. At this point, everyone had the feeling that no one could fathom how the battle would turn out.
Cras.h.!.+ The alloy knives clashed in a flurry of sparks.
Booom!
Sparks flew. Both WarG.o.ds made cackling noises. The enormous recoil force made both machines fall back, but the identical engines prevented the fall almost at the same time. There was a slight difference of less than 0.1 seconds, and outsiders could not tell the difference at all.
The alloy knives moved almost simultaneously, lighting up the skies… It was Magical Bird!
He actually made the first move!
Skeleton was quick, too. The two had no energy s.h.i.+elds, and yet rushed to strike at each other. In the blink of an eye, more than 10 attacks were executed but only the reflections of the knives and sparks could be seen from their intense clash
Skeleton's WarG.o.d No. 1 had already launched a kick, but Magical Bird's WarG.o.d took a step forward, blocking the kick and breaking its impact. At the same time, he threw a fist.
The alloy knives struck at each other simultaneously.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two WarG.o.ds stumbled and took three steps backwards before they were able to steady themselves.
There was silence. Young Deer's jaw dropped. He browsed through the information on hand subconsciously. "When did Magical Bird become an expert in close range battles?"
"Isn't he a sniper?" "What the h.e.l.l!"
Back on the battlefield, the two warring mecha did not stop. Skeleton initiated the first move this time. Once the Skeleton G.o.d struck, the opponent could only defend!
Arced Slide Step!
Skeleton's WarG.o.d changed his position and moved a large distance in the blink of an eye, instinctively slas.h.i.+ng with his knife at the same time.
But Magical Bird's WarG.o.d did not dodge. The mech pivoted on the spot and did a back-handed attack.
Bang!
The Arced Slide Step attack did not take much effort, and the back-handed move used the opponent's own strength and speed to strike itself. Skeleton's WarG.o.d lost its balance and landed in a disadvantaged position.
Magical Bird's WarG.o.d's engines roared. It kept low and slipped towards Skeleton in its fastest speed, using the shortest distance, and crashed into it.
The move was not to hurt, but to disrupt his balance completely.
Being completely defenseless, he crashed into Skeleton's WarG.o.d No. 1. Although w.a.n.g Zheng had high expectations for balance, it was the first time he encountered such an opponent. He was almost on a level on par with him, with a keen eye for detail.
Usually at this point, an ordinary opponent would deliver their strongest attacking move, giving w.a.n.g Zheng an opportunity to make a move. But Magical Bird did not do that.
Cras.h.!.+
Skeleton's WarG.o.d No. 1 lost its balance, and the sharp edges on Magical Bird's mech was quickly approaching his c.o.c.kpit.
A furious unrelenting attack was then unleashed leaving Skeleton without any room to breathe. The body unleas.h.i.+ng these moves had to resist the impact and force exerted on it due to the speed of the moves… but the pilot was still managing to attack effectively.
This body… to Lear… was just too light and too easy to control.
The Caretaker stood outside, watching quietly. Perfect. This was exactly what Lear had was.
n.o.body could beat him.
Not in real life, and not in CT.
A perfect body with perfect training. He could achieve the status of a G.o.d!
The next move was to be the killing blow.
Everyone else was shocked. Where the heck did this almighty G.o.d come from? How could he fight so well at close combat?
The next attack was indeed inescapable. Now that Skeleton had lost his balance, he could only lean away to avoid getting his vitals hurt.
But something miraculous happened.
Skeleton's WarG.o.d No. 1 was neither defending nor attacking anymore. Instead with a forced movement, grabbed the alloy knife under his arms.
And at the same time, he pulled his opponent downwards as he fell simultaneously swinging his left fist out.
The punch landed right on Magical Bird's mech's head.
After taking the punch, Magical Bird pulled his knife out and kicked savagely. He hit Skeleton's squarely in the chest.
Crash….
Both machines fell at the same time.
Magical Bird's WarG.o.d No. 1 fell three steps back and regained balance. Skeleton's WarG.o.d No. 1 made a turn and pushed himself up with one arm, and stood back up.
They had only swapped positions.
The spectator stand erupted with cheers. This was a battle of skilled close combat fighters!
Young Deer and Bubbly Foam looked at each other. "That's definitely not Magical Bird!"
"I've commentated Magical Bird's compet.i.tions. He's a sniper and his close up combat skills are just average!"
"I've seen him being forced into hand combats, it's not even as good as 10% of what is being shown here!"
"Woah. If this was combined with his skills in long ranged fights, this would make him the King!"
Such an opening tussle attracted many players who were watching to join in and spectate it officially. This was a sign that things were about to get interesting. There was no disadvantaged compet.i.tor when everything was equal. Instead, this was a path that would lead to one of them becoming a true G.o.d!
It seemed like Skeleton's performance had finally attracted a real master.
Lear smiled too. It was rare to have opponents who adapted to situations so quickly and so well.
Solon bit his teeth. "Execute plan B!"
"Yes sir!"
The staff were very excited. They immediately executed his commands.
Resuscitating Island shook. The skies turned a flaming red, and countless red lights dotted the sky.
"Fireworks?"
"Is this a change in environment?"
In choosing the battle environments, some environments were unstable and would occasionally see earthquakes and so forth. Some foreign stars, for instance, were worlds of changing environments. But the solar system was mainly made of stable environments.
However, the Resuscitating Island was indeed an environment that would change drastically, just that changes were very rare.
Once changes occurred, the difficulty of the battle would be skyrocket. Ordinary players could never cope with it.
Lear smirked. Someone was trying to create a hoo-ha out of such a small deal?
The earth cracked open and splintered endlessly. Molten dark red lava could be seen erupting out of the cracks. A burning ball of fire came cras.h.i.+ng down the skies. It was a burning meteor.
If one was directly hit, even if the WarG.o.d No. 1 didn't die, they'd lose their combat abilities.
The mood in CT operations room was tense too. It was a special day.
Everyone was looking at Solon. Solon's palms broke out in sweat. He wasn't sure what this would bring, too. But it was only a matter of time before it actually happened. Might as well initiate it than be forced into it.
Solon nodded. "Begin!"
The audience could all see a new popup - Stimulation System Launched.
That meant that the same harmful effects the harsh environment brought about could also be felt by the pilots. At the same time, the difficulty of executing a high levelled move would increase by 50%.
This would mean that it would be almost twice as difficult to make any extreme moves.
The audience was shocked. Could the game even go on?
Ordinarily, the battlefield only had a subtle impact on the mech. Damage on the mech and its effects were minimal to highlight the opponent's operating skills. No matter what, this was not a real battle.
But recently, some master players had complained that the games were too easy, lacking a sense of reality and realistic operation. The new system had already been introduced to other stars, but this was the first time they used it in the solar system.
And the first time this was used during such an important battle!
Solon watched the screens closely. He believed Skeleton would win!
There was one minute of free combat. The time was for the two players to adapt to their new environment.
w.a.n.g Zheng could feel the earth shaking even more vigorously now. The controls suddenly became a lot harder to use. Lear, on the other end, felt almost nothing.
The countless burning meteors had brought the temperatures up, so much so that the internal components were feeling the heat.
But no matter how the surroundings shook, the two WarG.o.d No. 1s maintained their balance.
The staff were nervous. What if… what if Skeleton could not get used to such a battlefield?
Solon was extremely excited. The decision was made spontaneously, and the two players could use WarG.o.d No. 1 so effectively. Definitely not just some n.o.bodies.
n.o.body had used this in the solar system. It was said that Mars was just getting ready to try it out. Solon was now the first to make the move to this new system
What would happen?
Behind their machines, w.a.n.g Zheng and Lear smiled to themselves.
Now, this was the real deal!
Free combat mode ended. The mecha roared to life!