Chapter 94: Instructor Hak
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Only one mech left. Ye Chong watched the holographic image that Mu transmitted to him, with only one last red dot on it!
Just now, in less than a half minute, Ye Chong had taken advantage of his enemies’ blindness and unfamiliarity with the environment, and managed to ambush and kill six of them! Ambushing through the darkness, Ye Chong’s Harmony of the Winter Aria was like an assassin of the night, deft and cruel! As for the Blue Winter, an archaic looking lance, Ye Chong now wielded it with ease. The eight moves created by Mu through numerous calculations were twofold in the current situation! Ye Chong hit his targets every single time! Black Cove’s most trusted mech armour were as fragile as wafer biscuits before Ye Chong’s Blue Winter!
If Ye Chong was compared to the devil from the lowest level of hell, then Blue Winter would be the devil’s enormous and sinister looking scythe, covered in blood! Blue Winter’s most dangerous part was its tip, and the blades on its two sides were like murder accessories, mostly responsible for tearing apart the opponent’s mech!
According to Mu and Shang, the proportion of Do Kun stone in the tip of Blue Winter was far from ideal, but Ye Chong was still very impressed with the weapon’s might! What would the Blue Winter be like if the proportion was ideal? Ye Chong could not help but look forward to such a time.
With only the last mech left, Ye Chong approached the enemy with caution!
The mech moved with care, its back against the wall. Unless he moved away, an ambush from the back would be impossible.
Ye Chong was left with the option of closing in from the left. To keep himself unnoticed, the Harmony of the Winter Aria’s engines were running at minimum capacity, as the mech silently closed in onto its target.
It’s close! Only twenty meters left! Blue Winter was fifteen meters long. With another ten meters, no, perhaps 8 meters, it would be enough for Blue Winter to tear the enemy apart!
"Right, it’s time!" Ye Chong was about to move when something extraordinary happened!
Ye Chong saw a blinding flash of light. The bright light saturating his holographic screen screamed into his eyes and blinded him!
Ye Chong was shocked! He was not, however, panicking. His right hand, ready with Blue Winter, immediately striked out like lightning. If it were anyone else, their first reaction upon being surprised would be to retreat as quickly as possible. However, Ye Chong understood that the better option would be to defend himself by attacking!
*DING* A metallic ring was heard, and Ye Chong’s Blue Winter was obviously blocked by something.
However, this gave enough time for Ye Chong to step back. Once the lance attacked, Ye Chong’s hands were already moving deftly across the controls.
Harmony of the Winter Aria moved as though according to plan, riding the backward momentum of the attack and retreating swiftly. The opponent was obviously surprised by Ye Chong’s quick reaction!
Ye Chong’s vision had now returned to normal!
The opponent must have used something like a flash grenade, and now the entire workshop was lit up. Flash grenades were, in truth, very rarely used nowadays! It seemed to have become a historical relic, both in terms of its function and usage. With the various types of advanced scanning mechanisms available, mechs could reconstruct images through feedback from the scanning systems, images that were far more detailed than what the human eye could capture. Besides, the effective scanning perimeter of a scanning system in space was far larger than the limits of the human eye!
The most important function of the flash grenade was to provide light for the human eye, but with the advent of improving scanning mechanisms, it was in the awkward position of slowly being replaced.
Ye Chong did not expect his opponent to have something so outdated.
Through the lighting, Ye Chong could not see his opponent’s mech clearly.
The mech was thoroughly black, true to Black Cove’s style. What surprised Ye Chong was the ancient design of the mech, with obvious Samuel style influence, a popular style from a hundred years back!
There was nothing spectacular about this model of mechs. Even Johansson’s mech looked more imposing and menacing. However, Ye Chong dared not underestimate it. Samuel style mechs were also known as battle mechs. Since long range weapons and locking systems were not as impressive as the ones today, these mechs with their ancient duelling attack style were widely popular. However, with the improvements in long range weapons, and a general paradigm shift in mechs, Samuel style mechs eventually declined in numbers.
However, Ye Chong still approved of Samuel style mechs. He had always believed that these mechs were an undying classic, embodying the most fundamental quintessence of battle! The mechs were designed for close range battles, and while they may look plain, a closer inspection of its details in design that would explain its status as a classic!
Samuel style mechs were undeniably the best partner for a pilot skilled in martial arts. However, that was the reason for its declining popularity, since martial arts was also a dying skill!
Black Cove residents were familiar with martial arts, and even Ye Chong learned a few moves from them!
Ye Chong waited, fully alert!
His opponent, however, had no intention of attacking. "Number 58, we meet again!" A man’s voice came from the mech, reverberating throughout the workshop!
Ye Chong was taken aback! "Instructor Hak?"
"That’s right! It’s me!" Number 58, you were under me in Team F, and so the higher ups had asked me to bring you back!" Instructor Hak lowered his voice and said, "Number 58, come with me. The higher ups do not intend to take action against your disobedience. If you run, it’ll only be the death of you!"
Ye Chong calmly replied, "Is that so?"
Hak spoke seriously, "You may have killed these few here, but they were only soldiers of the lowest rank from Black Cove! You may be stronger than all of them, but against the soldiers in higher ranks, you’re still very weak!" On the deaths of his six comrades, Hak showed no signs of pity.
Ye Chong’s voice grew even colder. "Is that so?"
"Come back with me. You’re Team F’s most talented member in history, and your future is limitless. It’s only a matter of time before you make a contract with us! Besides, the higher ups are interested in you, even letting go of your huge mistake. Number 58, this is unprecedented!"
Ye Chong did not even condescend to reply. Will he return to Black Cove, to be the sword in another person’s hands? Ye Chong hated feeling restricted. He believed that, even if he was a wild animal, he would still be one that ran freely in the wilderness, howling without restraint under the night sky! This, as opposed to being leashed on the neck, fitted with steel claws, and tamed as someone’s pet!
Besides, he’s human!
Hak continued leisurely, "Besides, Number 58, that little something of yours should be reacting about now!"
Ye Chong’s expression twisted. "So it’s really you!"
Hak was unfazed. "Number 58, the silver liquid was supposedly used to prepare Black Cove soldiers for combat. While it may bring you great pain, as long as you learned the true skills of Black Cove, you’ll understand how helpful it can be! It can turn you into the most powerful soldier! However, as you are now, this pain will continue on forever. There will be episodes of it, and you will wish for death instead. Number 58, you must clearly remember this painful experience. It will become more and more painful, until one day you will kill yourself just to stop the pain. There had never been anyone who could live through it!"
Ye Chong eyes slowly narrowed into a slit, thin as the edge of a blade, as he stared dead straight at the mech before him.
If the two of them were to fight hand to hand, Ye Chong would definitely escape. He had personal experience with Hak’s weird and powerful martial arts skills, and Ye Chong was certainly no match for it! However, if it was a battle between mechs, Ye Chong was more confident with himself! In terms of the speed of their hands, Hak was definitely slower than him! Besides, a battle between mechs did not involve as much intricacies as a battle between men, and Ye Chong was mostly cautious about Hak’s weird martial arts. However, Ye Chong believed Hak could not apply his skills effectively through a mech, thus increasing Ye Chong’s chances of winning! Moreover, Ye Chong had full confidence in the Harmony of the Winter Aria!
Still, there were a few things that baffled Ye Chong.
How did Black Cove find him? How did Hak notice him earlier? Ye Chong did not believe that they were the results of coincidences. Why did he not use the flash grenades earlier, but only after the deaths of six of his comrades?
These questions occupied Ye Chong’s mind!
Hak smiled, as though he could read his thoughts. "You must be trying to guess how I knew about your ambush!"
Ye Chong was speechless, only unemotionally observing the mech on his holographic screen.
"Since I’m your instructor, let me teach you a little something. The six senses of an ancient martial arts practitioner are very sensitive. Even though the mech’s scanning is useless, I could still hear things! Of course, that can’t happen through the mech’s sound conduction device! Earlier, I had opened the door of the pilot’s cabin. While your Harmony of the Winter Aria’s engine was quiet, it was still easy for me to pinpoint your location! Do you not want to learn skills like these? Are you not interested in becoming more powerful? Number 58, come back with me to Black Cove! Over there, you can become stronger!" Hak’s final sentences were full of enticement.
Ye Chong now realised his methods, and the sheer brilliance of it! However, with regards to his last few sentences, Ye Chong had no reaction to them at all. Instead, he quietly pressed a few controls.
"Hmm, how does he know the name of my mech?" Ye Chong felt unsure.
Hak suddenly asked a question out of the blue, "Number 58, based on our information, you’re called Ye Chong here, your family name …"
Before Hak could finish, a silver line drew towards his chest, an attack not forewarned!