Chapter 294: Kyaji’s Death II
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Collision mechs traced graceful archs in the sky with their evasive techniques. Since the mechs lacked long range weapons, Ye Chong had to teach them extensive evasion techniques. It was compulsory training for all Sang family villagers. Their strong bodies allowed them to execute harder evasive moves. A simple turn, when done in three-fourths the time, would double the strain on the body, but its effectiveness in evading attacks could be quadrupled.
Ye Chong had forgotten an important fact. If the enemy did not use their optical scanning systems, they would not be able to detect the Collision mechs, since they were made entirely of skeletons.
The pirates could only see a small and solitary starship.
Sang Tie quickly noticed the enemy’s lack of reaction to them, and figured out why. He still remembered the holographic scanning systems installed in their own mechs, and was surprised to find that the Collisions mechs were undetectable with those scans.
As commander, Sang Tie knew exactly what to do.
Sang Tie relayed new orders for the squad - full speed ahead. All Collisions immediately dived towards the enemy. If anyone were using optical scanning systems, they would see the distressing sight of a thousand strangely built flying vessels flying towards the pirates like a barrier closing in.
Sang Tie did a quick estimation of the distance between them and the pirates.
All Collisions opened up two compartments on their sides.
Sang Tie commanded - drop the bombs!
2000 skeleton-made bombs were launched towards the pirates. Sang Tie only ordered a single wave of bombing. This was not their village, and they were unable to replenish their weapons.
The vicious pirates only saw the lonely starship from afar, like a poor lamb waiting to be eaten, completely oblivious of the incoming attack.
The ensuing spectacle was indescribably grand.
On the holographic screen of the starship, they saw a bright eruption of light from an explosion, as Mi Qi and the rest had to shut their eyes. What a mysterious and terrible explosion! The Mi family trio stared in stupefaction. They could not understand how the pirate crew exploded so suddenly and violently.
The pirates were similarly dumbfounded and shocked when the explosion happened.
After the round of skeleton bombs, the Collision mechs spread out from their barrier formation into 200 squads of five, and launched themselves straight towards the pirate mechs.
"D*mbasses, use your optical scans!" A distinctive voice roared through the comms, cutting through all the noise of confusion. Abruptly, the comms channel quietened down instantly. Everyone heard their leader’s voice.
"Spread out, spread out if you f*cking wanna live!" The thunderous voice roared again.
The pirates quickly gathered themselves and activated their optical scanning systems as they pulled out into a spread out formation.
Inside Kyaji, a man with a cold expression had a hopeless look in his eyes. He knew that the time had come. The other pirates might not realize it, but he had. Knowing that death was imminent, he felt unusually calm, devoid of any fear. He should have died a long time ago, and now, he finally would.
Kyaji’s holographic scanning system was top of the line. He had bought it at a high price, a product of the Xue Lai tribe. Even the Three Aristocratic Families could not hide their mechs so completely from this scanning system. These mechs, however, were entirely hidden from the scans. He was shocked beyond words.
He put his hands gently on the controls. He no longer felt dispirited, but excited, and even eager.
Even if death was unavoidable, he would not give up without a fight!
He tore off his clothes, baring his upper body, and roared at the skies!
An energy beam barely grazed past Sang Tie’s mech. Sang Tie was surprised. This was his first time nearly being hit by an energy beam. His eyes traced the source of the beam, arriving at a bright, crimson mech.
Energy beams of various colours were shot across the sky as the battle went on. Fortunately, only a few of them hit the Collisions, and those that were hit were not fatally damaged. Besides, the Collision was tougher than Ye Chong expected.
Kyaji’s pilot almost had a stroke, his confidence struck down once again. He could not aim at the mechs. They were moving too fast. He had always prided on his shooting skills, but even he could not shoot down any of them. It was like a personal humiliation.
The sniper pilots amongst the pirates shared his sentiment. The enemy mechs did not seem to perform any special evasive techniques, but for some reason, they just could not aim on the mechs. It was like their aiming system was off.
Strange … Just what was really happening? The sniper mech pilots were flabbergasted and aggrieved.
However, Sang Tie and his battalion did not pity the pirates. They flew gracefully with their evasive techniques and flew straight into the mechs of the confused pirates.
Collision mechs were so impossibly fast that the pirates could barely believe it, especially the sniper mech pilots. They had failed to aim at the enemy mechs, and now they saw that the mechs were faster than they had anticipated. They stood no chance at all.
Sang Tie’s mech took a slight turn and went straight for the crimson mech. The other mech seemed to realize his intentions, and waved off the other pirates surrounding it.
He wanted a one-on-one battle!
Sang Tie quickly deduced the enemy’s message.
A one-on-one battle was common in the battlefield. Capable mech pilots would usually accept the challenge, since it was a show of confidence towards themselves. If they could not even trust their own abilities, they would never become strong. This theory was widespread in He Yue galaxy, with quite a few prominent mech pilots agreeing to the idea. Hence, individual heroism became a popular notion.
In fact, one-on-one battles were common in the Sang Family Village as well. The challenged party would rarely back down.
Kyaji’s pilot smiled wickedly, seeing red. F*ck, he will not die without taking one out with him! He was sure that the enemy would not back down. His legacy will be a self-sacrificing end!
Sang Tie’s expression was cold as ever under his silver mask, completely different from his usual fiery temper. He ignored the enemy’s challenge, and led his troops in a straight line towards the enemy.
Through the optical scanning system, Collision’s speed was shocking to see. The pirates watched anxiously with their hearts racing.
Sang Tie’s mech flew straight towards Kyaji, followed by the other four mechs in his squad. Kyaji also flew swiftly towards Sang Tie. The pilot inside had his eyes wide open, panting heavily, but his hands were nimbly dancing on the controls, waiting for the moment of impact to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.
They were getting closer and closer. The pirates around them stared, unwilling to miss the final moment. The Sang tribe members, however, completely ignored the fight and continued destroying their enemies.
Closer, closer now! Everyone held their breath as they watched the two mechs closing in on each other!
It ended in a blur. The anticipated collision did not occur. The crescent blade did not touch its target. This was completely beyond his expectation.
Impossible!
Stab! He felt a crushing pain as a sharp object plunged through his body. He never found out how he died.
Sang Tie’s Collision had suddenly swerved off course just when the pirates thought he would crash into Kyaji. Instead, it graced past Kyaji’s side in a blur. The mech behind Sang Tie delivered the fatal blow to Kyaji, thrusting its skeleton spear into the crimson mech. The other three mechs flew past Kyaji from its sides, tearing the mech into fragments with their skeleton fins.
On the starship’s holographic screen, a hole suddenly appeared in Kyaji’s body, and the mech quickly exploded into hundreds of fragments. No one saw the attacker. They only saw a pirate mech suddenly destroyed, or being stabbed through with something. SInce the space pirates were far from the starship, an optical scan would not produce clear results. Hence, Ye Chong had used the holographic scanning system, which could not detect the Collisions.
This eerie scene was mind bending. Mi Qi and his family felt chilled to the bone.
Sang Tie smiled coldly behind his silver mask as he looked back at Kyaji, now a useless cloud of debris. He could not understand the idea of fighting one-on-one. After all, this was war, not some play-fighting to pass the time. To him, fighting one-on-one in these life-or-death situations was ridiculous. The Sang tribe members had lived in an environment that shaped their idea of real battles. Before they had Collisions, it was impossible for any one villager to fight against a wild beast. They had long learned to work together in hunting.
Sang Tie looked at Kyaji’s remains the way he would look at his prey in Archipelago.