Chapter 366: An Awesome Boss!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
"Since you're finished, then let me send you to the afterlife 1 ." As the ace operator said this in an icy tone, his mecha suddenly moved, his left hand drawing the beam saber from its back as he leapt towards the enemy mecha, blade slashing.
The enemy mecha quickly operated his mecha to take several steps back, dodging the saber. Attacking from a higher vantage point, thus adding the force of gravity to its own strength, the ace mecha's power right then was not something an ordinary advanced mecha could withstand. Even though the enemy mecha had some contempt for his opponent, he still did not dare to be too careless. An ace mecha was an ace mecha after all — the superiority of its mecha level was still something he needed to take into consideration.
However, the subsequent scene almost caused the enemy mecha to explode from anger. The other had charged down so rapidly from the sky, appearing as if about to attack, but the intended target had not been him at all. Instead, the other had been aiming for that giant steel sword planted in the ground behind him. The ace mecha swooped down fast and low when it was about 3 metres from the ground, and then it was back in the sky in an instant. At this time, that giant sword had been added to the ace mecha's right hand.
The ace mecha's right hand gently tilted the giant sword around, checking it, and seeming extremely pleased, he slung the beam saber in his left hand back onto his back and said, "Against you, just this weapon is enough." These words almost made the advanced mecha operator blow his top. To rely on this type of strength-based cold weapon as his weapon, it basically meant that, in the other's eyes, he was not at all worthy of being called an opponent. It was implied that he was just cannon fodder that could be simply kicked around. On the battlefield, strength-based giant weapons were convenient weapons that could help mecha save power and at the same time be used to clear rabble soldiers swiftly and efficiently.
"You — you're seeking death!" The advanced mecha only had time to say this much before he was interrupted by the other's high-speed attack.
Perhaps because the ace mecha's attack speed was too fast, or perhaps the advanced mecha was so angry that his reflexes were slowed — whichever the case, by the time the advanced mecha could react, the ace mecha's giant sword was already right before his face.
Without any time to evade, he had no choice but to raise both hands and forcibly push them out towards the incoming blade. Following this push, the advanced mecha was sent stumbling a step back ...
"Screeech ..." Where the two clashed, dazzling sparks were unleashed, almost blinding the spectating Gao Jinyun and his team. By the time their vision recovered, the two fighters had already swept by each other. The ace mecha was currently gripping the giant sword with both hands in a reverse grip, the tip of its sword seemingly pointed steadily at the advanced mecha's back.
Meanwhile, the advanced mecha appeared unusually battered — its beam shield which had initially been glowing with a pearly white sheen was now dull and dim. Both the mecha's arms had been chopped off, revealing stumps at its elbows. The exposed circuitry was still crackling with sparks, proving that this amputation had just occurred.
"How can this ... be possible?!" The advanced mecha warrior forced these words out, tone laced with agony and disbelief. Even for an experienced ace mecha, to finish him off should take up a little more time than this ...
"You talk too much ..." The ace mecha's tone was as cold and indifferent as ever. With this comment, the ace mecha suddenly pulled back the giant sword whose point had been resting on the advanced mecha's back.
While the ace mecha had stayed in position, Gao Jinyun and company had not been able to see clearly what was going on. But once the ace mecha pulled back its sword, everyone understood why the advanced mecha had reacted the way he did.
After the giant sword was drawn back, the advanced mecha which had seemed to only have had its arms chopped off suddenly had two strong jets of blood spurt out from both the front and back of its cockpit. Only now could Gao Jinyun and the others clearly see that the giant sword had not just been held at the advanced mecha's back as they had thought but had already pierced through the advanced mecha warrior's cockpit. Just looking at the width of that giant sword, they knew that the advanced mecha warrior inside the cockpit must have already been cut into two by the giant sword. There was definitely no chance of survival.
"... Luck is ... too bad ..." The advanced mecha warrior used up the last of his life to squeeze out these final four words.
His luck was indeed too bad, because the one he had bumped into was not that Thunder King Qiao Ting who did not have any true battle experience. Instead, his opponent was Ling Lan, who had been whipped and tormented into shape by the learning space for a whole sixteen years, who had grown up tested by countless experiences of dire life-or-death situations.
Seeing the ace mecha efficiently finish off that advanced mecha, a complicated expression passed over Gao Jinyun's face. However, he was soon overtaken by happiness, but just as he was about to say something, the ace mecha addressed him first.
"Gao Jinyun, your team is not suited for independent action. Quickly bring your team about two kilometres ahead to the right. Coordinates xx, yy 2 . We have other teams there. Go join them and then move together."
At these words, Gao Jinyun's expression turned serious and he replied, "Yes, Regiment Commander!"
"Also, after meeting up with that team there, leave this area quickly, the further the better. Don't come back for any reason." The initially calm tone of the ace mecha suddenly became stern, his tone carrying steel that could not be disobeyed.
Gao Jinyun was taken aback by these words and did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked seriously, "Why, Regiment Commander?"
"The enemy is about to come here soon. That enemy mecha earlier has most likely sent out news to his comrades that the Thunder King Qiao Ting is here." The ace mecha told Gao Jinyun about his speculations.
Gao Jinyun was also an intelligent person. The moment he heard this, he immediately understood what the ace mecha was planning to do. His expression changed drastically and he said, "Regiment Commander, for you to remain here and deal with them alone is much too dangerous!" Fighting here all by himself against so many enemies drawn here by the news was truly too reckless — for the sake of the New Cadet Regiment, he needed to stop the regiment commander.
"This is some rare practical battle experience, how can I miss it? Besides, as long as there are none of our people around, I won't have any worries holding me back. Even if I can't beat the enemy, with this mecha, running away will be an easy matter. You don't have to worry," answered the ace mecha.
Gao Jinyun's bellyful of protests was instantly left stoppered at his throat. He found that the other was speaking the truth — without them holding him back, it would be a piece of cake for his amazing regiment commander to escape from the attacks of a bunch of advanced mecha by relying on this ace mecha. Right then, Gao Jinyun had not considered the possibility that the enemies who would come might be ace mecha instead. If that was the case, even if his regiment commander was controlling an ace mecha, escape would be very difficult.
Gao Jinyun, who did not have much battle experience, did not think of this possibility at all. He felt that what his regiment commander had said made sense, and so agreed and quickly led his team members away from the area, heading swiftly towards the destination his regiment commander had given.
While Gao Jinyun had been speaking with the ace mecha, Gao Jinyun's team members were actually left utterly confused by the conversation. They all thought that the ace mecha was the regiment commander of the Leiting Mecha Clan, Thunder King Qiao Ting, and so found it rather strange that their team leader was calling the other regiment commander. Still, the Thunder King was the regiment commander of the Leiting Mecha Clan, so it was not actually wrong to address him as such ... they just wondered when their team leader had built such a relationship with the Thunder King, actually getting the Thunder King to step up and save them, who even went so far as asking them to join up and cooperate with a team under him ...
Could it be that their boss had secretly betrayed Boss Lan to follow the Thunder King instead? More than one team member thought of this possibility, and even as they were overwhelmed with shock, they also felt rather indignant. This was because they still admired Boss Lan greatly. That regiment commander of theirs who was so powerful he could defeat a senior cadet from Leiting, the number one physical skills expert in the academy. They believed that as long as Boss Lan was given enough time to grow, he would definitely become the second Thunder King ...
"Third Elder Brother, how did you come to know the Thunder King?" Finally, one of the youngest team members could not hold back any longer, asking the question on all their minds.
Gao Jinyun was stunned. "Thunder King? I've heard of him but I don't know him."
"Then why are you following his orders to meet up with his people and work together?" That team member felt even more dissatisfied at this response. Was he still planning to deny it even now? Did their Third Elder Brother actually consider them as his brothers or not?!
"Follow his orders?" As Gao Jinyun was still worrying about whether Boss Lan would remain safe in the ensuing battle, he was not fully paying attention, so his responses and reaction to his team members' questions were obviously a little offbeat and slow. Only when he heard this question did he finally sense something wrong about the scenario — it seemed like his team members had misunderstood.
Concentrating, he immediately understood the root of the misunderstanding. Gao Jinyun instantly smiled wryly and said, "You all think that that ace operator just now was the Thunder King Qiao Ting?"
"Wasn't it? The only one who has advanced to ace operator in the academy, who else could it be but the Thunder King?" asked another team member, confused.
"Yeah, didn't that enemy advanced mecha also say that he was the Thunder King?" someone else brought up more evidence.
Gao Jinyun heard what his team members had to say and sighed, saying, "Yes, everyone thinks that in the First Academy, only the Thunder King has advanced to ace. So no one would imagine that some people are born aberrant, as existences that you can never comprehend ... I can only say that we are very lucky to have followed the right boss. The New Cadet Regiment will definitely become one of the strongest factions in the military academy."
Gao Jinyun's words caused some of the team members to be completely bewildered, unsure what their team leader was trying to say. Those who were more quick-witted, however, immediately realised the meaning behind Gao Jinyun's words. One of the ones who had figured things out blurted out in shock, "Third Elder Brother, are you saying that that ace operator ... is our regiment commander Boss Lan?"
This question rendered all the team members speechless. The team which had been moving along quickly yet in an orderly manner suddenly began to display some signs of disarray as some team members forgot about the controls in their hands. Two or three of the mecha bumped into each other, almost causing some of them to fall over.
However, though Gao Jinyun's team only consisted of intermediate mecha, the team members' control skills were still very solid. It did not take the team long to restore order and pick up their speed again as they continued to move closer to the coordinates they had been given.
After marching in silence for ten seconds or so, a team member finally began howling with pride and excitement in the team comms channel. "AAAAAAAAH, our regiment commander is actually an ace operator too! He's only a first year! A first year! Aaaaaaaaaaah ...!" The loudness of his voice almost broke the eardrums of the other members, yet no one said anything to rebuke him, because what he was saying was exactly what they wanted to say too!
Hells, their regiment commander was just too awesome! It's just like their team leader had said — they had followed the right boss!