“He lost? It seems like this fellow will not be able to face me now,” Caus simply said as he looked down at the Arena.
A few boys crowded around him and laughed at what he said.
“Should we give that guy a little more seasoning since he dared to beat my younger brother up the last time?” Someone said.
Caus looked down at Nonosiva’s tired face. Suddenly, he did not know what struck him but he felt a slight boredom. How would he, someone who was destined to be one of the top three competitors, waste his energy on such a nobody?
“That’s funny. My opponents should be Merseus and Bally. Even with that role, he still did not get into the finals. If he can win this round, then we’ll talk about it again.”
He looked at the black-haired guy who was walking towards him from the other side.
“Did you get the information I wanted?”
“I got it, but it’s not very detailed. No one really knows all of Bally’s true cards and I have also put in all my effort only to find out one trick of his,” the black-haired man shook his head slightly.
“One trick is good enough,” a hint of surprise flashed across Caus’s eyes.
“Let me deduce it this time for you.”
“Thank you.”
“No need. Just don’t forget us once you’ve entered the elite,” the black-haired man smiled gently.
“Of course not!” Caus solemnly nodded his head. He simply took a glance at Nono who was below and faintly inclined his head to say a few words to the people beside him.
“Go and give Celine a tip on that bastard’s weak spots. I don’t have time to waste on this bastard.”
“Understood,” a young one by his side nodded his head.
*****************
Blackboard Academy, in the Upper-Level Control Hall of a huge Battleship.
The black arched hall was densely inlaid with silver gemstones. Four tall black seats were suspended in the air by strong magnetic force and it each occupied 4 different positions, forming a square. Virtual three-dimensional figures vaguely flickered on top of the seats; there were three older people and one middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman’s face did not show the slightest trace of aging, but everyone who knew her knew that she was the oldest among all the other Deans in the Academy. Cruz von Shaw was now two hundred and fifty-nine years old. Since she took on this position as the Dean, she had now been in charge for a solid seventy-nine years.
This elder who had survived for two centuries did not show signs of aging because of her strong Willpower. She had thus been the most powerful Strategic Level Mech Pilot when it came to repressing the Blackboard Region. She had also been awarded the Three Star Honor by the Mother Planet Federation. She had destroyed tons of local Mechs on the battlefield and her impressive reputation spreads throughout the battlefield.
At the moment, Cruz’s both eyes revealed a rare tension as she silently stared at the rotating silver spherical model that was in the middle of the hall.
“What do the three of think about this?” She suddenly said, after observing the sphere.
The other three elders were the Academy’s older professors who were highly respected. They were all strong Mech Pilots, but their ranks were a notch lower when compared to the Dean.
Similarly, the three of them looked carefully at the rotating silver sphere that was in the middle. Their faces revealed a dignified expression, especially when the white light flashed continuously on the surface of the sphere.
“I do not know the source of the rumor, nor where it came from,” a bald-headed old man with a head full of wrinkles said in a deep voice. “But it does not matter if this rumor is true or false, it is not a good thing for Blackboard Region.”
“Why isn’t it a good thing? The bigger the risk, the more benefits we’ll get. If we could get one component of the Forbidden Mech, then it would elevate the quality of our entire Academy!” Another old woman argued.
“Then we would need to have the ability to be able to bear the risk!” The old man frowned as he looked the other person in the eyes.
“Have you become a coward?” The old woman sneered.
“It seems to me that you’ve gone crazy from your pharmaceutical research.”
The both of them were at each other’s necks with their disagreement and they were not willing to compromise.
“Quit arguing. Didn’t Karfi bring back a surviving child from that attack?” Lastly, a white-haired, but radiant-faced professor spoke up; both his eyes had a faint sense of sharpness. Obviously, he was another careerist who did not like being left out — his name was Sims. To date, he was named one of the two strongest Mech Pilots in the Academy’s history. He was the next best, after the Dean who had not shown her skills for many years. At the same time, he held the position of the Academy’s Vice Dean. He was wise and a firm advocate of the theory of force.
“What about the child that Karfi brought back?” It seemed like Dean Cruz had thought of that too. Karfi was one of the Academy’s strongest Black Star out of three, and he was the old woman professor, Baba’s inheriting disciple. Within the Academy, there were only three Level 4 elite students.
“The Black Star has left for the Polar Region. In such a short time frame, we could only estimate to allow these three boys to represent us. It is also a form of training,” Professor Sims simply said.
“What do you mean?” Dean Cruz looked at her old friend whom she had known for many years.
“It can be said that this kid, Black Star Diofie is the strongest talent that our own Academy has brought up. He is destined to surpass all of us,” Sims smiled. “But even tigers who live alone in the mountains will not be able to beat a pride of lions. Even the most powerful people need their own forces — they need to have their own people to help. That’s why we had to allow Medero and the three of them to truly become Diofie’s right-hand assistants.”
Cruz frowned slightly.
“Will there be any danger?”
“If the nested eagles never fly out from their mother’s nest, they will never really spread their wings,” Sims maintained the same smile.
“I agree with this point,” The old-woman professor, Baba nodded her head.
The last person just kept his mouth shut, neither agreed or disagreed.
“Behind this time’s Forbidden Mech issue, there must be a relatively larger organization to promote this, just as it was twenty years ago. But if it’s only within our Region, I will still have the confidence that would ensure the three kids’ personal safety.” After Sim said those words, he did not speak again.
Dean Cruz let out a long sigh.
“Alright then. I’ll pass on this Forbidden Mech issue to the trio of the Black Light to go ahead with the investigation.”
“That’s good too. This case is now settled,” Baba nodded her head. “Then what about the little Kid who was saved?”
“He and the Forbidden Mech must be related. His family was destroyed and it seems like his enemy is looking for something too. If it’s possible, ask him clearly on the valuable items his family possess for their opponent to be making such a big thing out of it — whether it includes having a component of the Forbidden Mech,” Cruz instructed.
“Alright, I will ask Karfi clearly,” Baba nodded her head once again to show her understanding of this matter.
“Then let’s end it here today. Dismiss,’ Cruz slapped the button on the chair and suddenly, the three of their virtual image disappeared in a blink of an eye.
******************
‘The second round — Nonosiva versus Celine!’
The mechanical sound rang out. Garen took control of the white Mech and slowly walked out to the aisle, without using the Ejection System immediately.
It gave him a shock when he noticed that his opponent was using two red boxing gloves. The black Mech forgo-ed the weapons in its hands and instead, it was clenched into a fist, wearing a red pair of spiked gloves. By the looks of it, it seemed a little ferocious but it also seemed a little flimsy.
Because other than that, there were no other protective measures.
The opponent stood firmly. It seemed like it wasn’t moving, giving people a hint of energy that it was as stable as the mountain.
Garen’s Willpower had strengthened and upgraded to another level. He could vaguely feel a certain magnitude of his Willpower’s force on his outer body. At this moment, he could too clearly feel the uniquely strong force that was emitting from his opponent’s body. It made him shudder with fear.
“The opponent this time will be very troublesome…” Garen recalled all of Celine’s information. On the top of the message, it showed that his opponent had only just achieved a Level 2 of Willpower. But looking at her now, it seemed like his opponent had hidden the truth from his informant too. This bastard’s standard was above Level 2…
Celine frowned as she stared at her opponent’s white Mech. At first, she had wanted to choose white, but she did not expect her opponent to choose the same color. This made her a little unhappy.
“Ms. Celine, can you hear me?”
Suddenly, a clear voice echoed inside the Mech.
“Madon? What happened?” Celine sat quietly in her seat and asked calmly.
“I just received news. Your current opponent’s enemy has sent you his weak points — his absolute weak points. This opponent of yours, Nonosiva’s Willpower is…”
“Weak points?” Celine bluntly cut off his sentence, “Does it seem like I would need you to tell me his weak points? Or are you saying that I won’t be able to beat him?”
“That wasn’t what I meant–”
“I don’t want to listen to your nonsense, stupid,” Celine stripped him off his ego. “In front of a stronger competitor, the weak point of the weaker competitor is their whole body! If you can’t even understand that, then you’re really stupid!”
Her communications immediately quiet down and only rapid breathing sounds were heard. Madon was also very enraged. However, although it was obvious, he could only keep it to himself.
‘Let the competition begin!’ the starting voice suddenly rang out.
Celine coldly shut off all her channel communications and directly focused her attention onto the opponent’s body.
Thump!
Both of her Mech’s legs violently jumped off the ground. The jet flames on her back spouted disorderly in mid-air. The Mech flew in a strange arc-shaped curve and dived towards her opponent.
Small Arc Leap! It was one of the lowest depletion steps of Level 2. For normal students, it was one of the most difficult steps of Level 2. Whereas for her, it was easy natural as breathing
With three ‘pengs’, the black Mech was like a flying bat. However, she was flapping her wings much faster than a bat, throwing herself towards the white Mech from mid-air.
The sharp spikes on her fist fiercely scratched two red scars on Garen’s head. However, what was even more surprising was that as she did her trick, a gush of inexplicable tremor suddenly spread throughout.
Boom!
Two Mechs had hit each other abruptly. In turn, Garen’s white Mech was smashed and it staggered backward. His right shoulder revealed a scar. The Gaussian Gun too flew out of his hand; as it rotated in the air, it hit the protective barrier and fell downwards.
“What is this thing?!” Garen sat in the Mech feeling dizzy. Just now, as his opponent leaped in the air, he had wanted to aim and shoot many times, but his opponent had strangely dodged it. It was impossible for him to aim. More so, the most important thing was that his opponent seemed like she could naturally emit a certain sense of heavy interference power from a single movement. This interference had seriously affected his ability to react. If it wasn’t for the strengthening of his Peacock Technique, his vitality was different than before. Under this interference force, he foresaw that he would not be able to hold on to his life until the end.
“Shockwave Killing Fist! It seems like Celine had been practicing the powerful Shockwave Killing Fist, which is almost a Level 3 skill! No wonder she’s named the top talent in the family! Celine really deserves it!” The broadcaster’s voice rang in the arena, through the speakers.