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Chapter 1174: To be stronger!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The battle between Lie Xin and Hu Ya was the most cautious. Zhang Shan was getting anxious as he watched from the crowd. He felt that Lie Xin was stronger than Hu Ya, and should not be as cautious as Hu Ya. Lie Xin was more warrior-like, and her techniques were more solid, so she should not be so cautious. Instead, she should be pressuring her opponent more.

Of course, Zhang Shan also knew that the observer was more perceptive. When you were in the middle of the battle, it was a totally different state of mind and feeling. Lie Xin was not wrong about her choice. The victory was not dependent on them, but rather between Wang Zheng and Jondi Lilick. Even if they had already gained an advantage, they might not dare to provide support. A wrong move could affect Wang Zheng's rhythm. A difference in ability level meant a very different battle. It was not just a simple scenario of having more people

The only person who could provide support here was Achilles. However, Achilles was surprisingly engaged in a difficult battle now. The Maya's Mantis was unfazed by the gravitational and repulsive forces of the Heavenly Dragon Knight. This was because it was not a traditional combat mech. Instead, it was a new type of energy battling style, a peculiar cross between the Mayans and the humans. Despite his superb skills, Achilles was left helpless. The ability of Universal Gravitational Force was useless in this fight.

Achilles was trying hard to shorten the distance. But the Maya's Mantis' intention was very simple too. If you dared to get closer, my Flaming Hell was not something to trifle with.

What worried Achilles most was that Hinrich could also use the Ode of Death Ripples that was similar to those of the Mayans, which could affect the others a lot. Hence, Achilles was stalking his opponent very closely, not allowing him any time or opportunity.

Except that this could not continue to drag on. The temperatures of the surrounding flames were getting hotter. Hinrich knew that this was a moment of opportunity for him. An Earth-rank warrior meant nothing at all. His battling mode was unprecedented.

When the power of the flames had accumulated to a certain degree, it would be his time to strike. Killing an Earth-rank warrior instantly was not impossible.

Boom…

The battlefield between the two suddenly became a flaming hell. Under such temperature, Achilles suddenly realized that his mech was turning red and had sparks. Rays of fire waves, like the magnetic pull, kept rushing towards the Heavenly Dragon Knight, and he was unable to dodge at all!

"Prepare to die!"

He was the main warrior of the Golden Wheel battle team!

At the moment of life and death, Achilles did not shy away. It was absolutely impossible to evade. The Heavenly Dragon Knight suddenly struck at the Maya's Mantis. Hinrich was a little startled, and the Maya's Mantis retreated a little. At this moment, Achilles' Heavenly Dragon Knight, followed the momentum of the Universal Gravitational Force, struck towards him. Hinrich knew that the movement of the Maya's Mantis was not good enough. If his opponent wanted to go out, then he was all up for it too.

The entire Maya's Mantis presented a fiery burst of red. A bang followed the Mayan Scepter as it blasted at the Dragon Knight.

Achilles did not dodge. Dependent entirely on his Ability X, he could not perform a dodge, but the Gravitational Force formed a whirl. It instantly covered all the flames and took cover under its shield.

The two mecha were simultaneously shrouded in the compressed, flaming flames. The red energy made an ear-piercing sound… Buzz…

Boom…

The bursting flames was compressed to the extreme by the gravitational force, and exploded suddenly. Both the Heavenly Dragon Knight and the Maya's Mantis that were shrouded under the shield shattered in an instant.

Achilles OUT!

Hinrich OUT!

The second cores of both teams had perished together. They were eliminated at the same time.

No one could have imagined this because everyone thought that Achilles would have the advantage. But no one could have known that the Maya's Mantis was able to force Achilles to perish with his opponent. If Hinrich had reached Earth-rank level, then Achilles would perhaps have been the person who would be eliminated.

As the saying goes, far beyond the mountain stood taller mountains, and deep amongst the people hides the masters. After the SIG, Hinrich's flaming energy move was bound to be the target of all the research of the special forces of the various countries.

Maybe Hinrich did not demonstrate the full potential of this strength. But what was great about him was that he had developed a new method of usage of the mech. To imply that it had extraordinary potential was not an exaggeration.

This explosion did not affect the other battlefields. They knew in their hearts each other's strengths and weaknesses. However, with both Achilles and Hinrich eliminated, the horns of the decisive battle had sounded.

Although the Desolate Steel Beast had imprisoned the Giant mech, Mu Zheng's tenacity and skills were pretty all-rounded. Although Ability X clearly had the advantage, as the battle progressed, Battuta began to show signs of fading, while Mu Zhen did not. The tenacity of the Giant mech was incomparable by the humans, especially against such a nimble Giant.

Having opened up a distance, Battuta took a deep breath. He could not afford to continue to drag on with this savage monster. He had to finish off his opponent before he collapsed from his peak period. Even if he could not gain an advantage, he could not put his teammates in more trouble.

The Desolate Steel Beast was sending tremours to the ground. Batuta's spiritual strength was instantly elevated like the roars of the war drums. The power of the surrounding ground had been attracted to the Desolate Steel Beast and combined with the energy shield to become one. Mu Zhen knew that it was time to decide the outcome.

The power of wind was concentrated on the Big Alloy Blade. Mu Zhen had no intention of defending, as it was useless. He had to give it his all.

On the other end, Snow Li was chasing Millis to the end. Millis had used up her energy shield, but she had also entered the energy tower. Obviously, Snow Li had not accomplished her mission and she had also used up half her energy shield. Millis gave a sigh of relief as she watched the Ice Bird mech turn away. Once she had her energy recharged, she would pursue and attack. But for now, she would have to be patient.

Snow Li, who had turned away, suddenly turned around again. A condensed heavy smashing shot was fired.

Millis had already let her guard down by now, only to see a ray of heavy laser beam blasted towards her.

The defenses of the energy tower had weakened most of the laser, but it still hit the Runaway Amazon. Such power was insufficient to destroy the mech, but the full force of the Earth-rank Freezing Ability X was capable of killing Millis instantly.

Millis OUT!

On the other side, the Desolate Steel Beast was attacking Mu Zhen with full force just like an invincible wild beast. Mu Zhen was also swinging his big blade with full force, not defending, staking all his strength on the whirlwind blade.

The savage power ripped the energy shield apart, but the Desolate Steel Beast still had his eyes on this power and charged ahead without stopping.

Bang… The ground cracked from the movement. Battuta bellowed loudly. He was the strongest tank, attack!

Boom…

Mu Zhen's power exploded. Mu Zhen could not withstand the full impact of the Earth-rank opponent. Boom…

The direct impact shattered the Giant mech into pieces.

Mu Zhen OUT!

Battuta looked to the sky and cried in jubilation. He felt damn good! No one had ever fought him this hard. Fantastic, fantastic…

Boom…

Mid way through feeling great, he was hit by a heavy shot. Battuta could only stare at the laser hitting at him. Swoosh…

The Earth-rank Ice power hit instantly.

On a rooftop faraway, the half-pushing Ice Bird was motionless. After two full but non-destructive consecutive shots, Snow Li's spiritual and physical strength were practically strained. All she could do now was try and prevent herself from collapsing.

The continuous bursting sounds had also greatly stimulated the two "stable" scouts. Both were hit by each other's magnetic source. Fire and ice completely counter-restrained each other. None could outdo each other. This was a common situation. What remained was to see who would be the last man standing.

The flaming power rose fiercely towards the sky, and the frosty ice shrouded down. Both of the Wind God mecha were charging towards each other. Both were conserving their power, not making the first strike. Both were waiting patiently, for a one shot to decide the outcome!

Ten meters… nine meters… eight meters… seven meters…

Ever since Luo Fei used the Circular Kick to instantly kill off a Wind God, everyone who used the Wind God had been secretly practicing it.

Six meters!

The instant when the mech was leaning slightly forward, both Wind Gods exploded and disappeared at the same time!

Ice Wind God, move instantly, circular…

… where was the opponent???

A chill overcame him. The fire Wind God appeared from behind, then a circular kick swept past.

Circular kick followed by teleportation

A full force attack followed by an instant teleportation. This would be much faster and almost impossible to dodge. But Hu Ya's teleportation followed by a full force circular kick involved too many movements, and was way too slow.

Boom…

Lie Xin was definitely putting all her strength into this kick. The flames boke the frozen power and kicked the Wind God's head.

Hu Ya OUT!

Bang! The Wind God landed. Lie Xin was drenched. She was breathing hard. There was no advantage at all. She was completely on par with her opponent, except that for the final push, she had a better understanding than her opponent. This could be credited to Wang Zheng's understanding of the Wind God. But obviously Hu Ya had wrongly interpreted the kick that Lou Fei had made. The slightest difference led to a huge error, and this was what had decided the outcome. Luckily, this was not a battlefield. If it was, this would mean death.

Saruman Snake had gained a slight advantage. However, with Snow Li and Lie Xin's current condition, the both of them were unlikely to go near the battlefield, as they would not be of much help.

In this short span of time, not only had Wang Zheng not died from the electric shocks, he had, in fact, adapted to them. His metal element of the Five Elements was insufficient. However, since metal arose out of earth, this was then a second hidden power that supported Wang Zheng. But this short moment had given Wang Zheng some realization. The power of the Five Elements was indeed something that one could not just figure out without any knowledge of the actual process. Confrontation was indeed the best way.

The Phantom King was switching and flying around the arena. Wang Zheng's Plum Blossom Step also played a considerable role. As long as he resisted the power of lightning, Jondi Lilick was not necessarily stronger than Marzu and Gonzalez. It was useless!

Suddenly, the God of Warfare retreated and opened up a distance. Jondi Lilick felt that something was amiss too. This damn defense was getting stronger. Initially, the power of the lightning was still able to create some paralysis. But as time passed, it became easier. The peculiar steps still bluffed him. He could not kill him with a one-on-one fighting style. Those distorted movements simply did not conform to any of the military movements currently known to the Milky Way Alliance. It seemed to have a regular pattern but was actually totally irregular. It was not varied in frequency, it was more complicated. What kind of lunatic would waste his energy on this kind of stuff?

For Wang Zheng, with the improvement of the combat level, the likes of Leaning Landslide was like the fleeting clouds. On the other hand, the Plum Blossom Steps, which was initially despised, and with the most painfully devilish training, proved to be Wang Zheng's life-saving move. Conventional dodging was dependent on speed and varied frequency. But the Plum Blossom Steps was about the combination of the details of the eight movements – point, turn, suppression, move, evade, fall, carry, and advance, and fused with the Five Elements' three-dimensional movement. After a round of battle, Wang Zheng felt like he was about to float up.

Aside from the fact that Jondi Lilick could not comprehend it, even as a user himself who could appreciate the beauty of it, it was difficult to understand what kind of master could create such a magical pace.

Wang Zheng looked at Jondi Lilick and was feeling a little enthusiastic. Let's try something with more suppressive force. If he could integrate the power of the Five Elements, then he would have a ninety percent chance of winning the battle!

It was precisely because Wang Zheng did not underestimate any of his opponents that he had to upgrade!

Chapter 1175: Lethal Killer Move!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Kashawen's eyes were a little brooding. On what basis could this poor boy from Earth have such confidence even if he had achieved some success?

Everyone's disposition needed to be nurtured from a young age. No arrogance and impetuosity. No matter where one was in terms of success, one should always continue to strive to improve, and not to squander any opportunity. She was precisely like this. When she inherited Aslan, the Aslan Empire was already one of the strongest nations in the Milky Way Alliance. But she had single-handedly taken Aslan from "one of the" to "the", and would take any "risks" to encroach her opponents so that the advantage would be greater. Eventually, a day would come when she would be out of the reach her former opponents.

This Wang Zheng was doing the same thing. This was a very similar aspect that both of them shared. But this commonality was, at the same time, the greatest irony.

The news flashed, and the secretary outside the door walked in.

"How's Jondi Lilick's strength?" asked Kashawen lightly.

The handsome secretary Larvin bowed his head slightly. "The intelligence department's assessment is A+. His chance of winning is a hundred percent. Ultimate Ability X needs to be specifically targeted."

Larvin understood what Kashawen was asking. As a competent secretary, he had to answer all the Prime Minister's questions, and to understand the essence of the problems.

Kashawen nodded her head slightly.

"Your Highness, would you like to take a rest?"

Kashawen shook her head lightly. Time had not taken anything away from her. She might not have been as beautiful as she was in her younger days, and the unstoppable fine wrinkles had appeared, but her elegance was incomparable. She was, after all, Lin Huiyin's mother. It was her iron-handed character and unattainable position that frightened everyone else.

In the battlefield, the battle between the two mecha was in full swing. She knew that Aina was watching as well. She still had confidence in the intelligence department. The quarter-finals of the SIG was not very ideal for Saruman Snake. It was finishing soon. Kashawen felt a hint of regret. But on the other hand, this was enough. So long as Wang Zheng behaved a little in the future, she could not be bothered with a small fry like him.

Jondi Lilick regained his strength from the physical burdens from the extreme battle. Although he was still far from his limit, he could not allow Wang Zheng to continue to get adapted to it.

Suddenly, there were changes to the Golden Blade. Golden lights shone through. The long blade had turned into a battle blade.

Suddenly, the energy field where the mech stood also swept past like strong winds blowing past!

If the Lightning Blade did not work, then he would change to the Gale Blade!

The God of Warfare charged towards the Phantom King. The chillness of the gale tactics was specially designed to deal with the illusions of the Phantom King.

A surging wind energy appeared around the God of Warfare. The first round of engagement had caused Jondi Lilick to use the real fire. At the same level, Jondi Lilick's entire energy was concentrated on the understanding of the Wood element of the Five Elements. There were many geniuses in this world, and Jondi Lilick was one of them. Furthermore, he was equally focused, equally undistracted in order to be stronger.

The gale that was swirling around the God of Warfare stopped suddenly. Charge!

In an instant, the gale filled with countless wind blades thrusted towards the Phantom King. At the same time, the God of Warfare also charged forward. Charge, charge, charge!

The runes on the Phantom King lit up too. The wind element rose. Cyclone Shield.

Confronted with an indifferent attacking mode, the Phantom King's illusion moves were completely suppressed. Nonetheless, the Phantom King was unfazed. The Rune Blade firmly resisted Jondi Lilick's strike. Unlike the speed of lightning, the Gale Blade was totally a high-frequency hacking. It absorbed the wind power from the void and turned it into a hurricane-like blade aura, slashing crazily!

However, a similar wind shield, a similar element, a similar equivalent emerged over Wang Zheng's body. Defense was a piece of cake. Jondi Lilick's blade-wielding skill was excellent. This was a specialized research of Manalasuo. It was a combination of the various practical skills from the battlefield, an integration of the characteristics of speed, accuracy, and ferocity, and in turn used the wind to create more speed, transforming into hurricane slashing.

In the battlefields of Manalasuo, no one could withstand the "demon blade method". An ordinary opponent would have been horrified by merely seeing this, but his opponent this time was Wang Zheng.

Jondi Lilick's attacks were ferocious, but it was despised by the ancient martial arts. It was impossible to win by relying on such overwhelming power. The techniques of the ancient martial arts were not merely about speed, accuracy, and ferocity. Instead, they integrated a lot of internal changes. Was this useless?

The higher the level of power, the more powerful it was.

Jondi Lilick's first wave of unfavourable "shortcuts" was completely blocked off by Wang Zheng. Regardless of strength, speed, and Ability X, Wang Zheng was totally on par. What was there to fear?

As for the intrinsic pace, Wang Zheng was even more competent. By using skillful wind power against another wind power, not only did he completely block the attacks, he even started to counter-attack.

The first wave of the Gale Blade was defended against. The Phantom King split and charged towards Jondi Lilick from the front and back simultaneously.

Jondi Lilick's gale suddenly turned into circular shots. The raging Gale Blade was engaged in another round of slashing.

However, variations appeared. The two runic mecha simultaneously used the Wind shield and blocked the attacks!

The pupils of everyone who was present contracted. Was this an illusion?

At this instant, the two Phantom Kings on the battlefield had actually… Oh my God!

The blade's force was released towards Jondi Lilick simultaneously. The similar wind blade slashed towards the God of Warfare.

Jondi Lilick could never have imagined this. The energy shield activated intuitively because he could not feel that it was not an illusion, and could not determine which one was the real deal.

A second after the attack, the Phantom King's avatar shattered. The real body was still in front. The Phantom King was facing the God of Warfare. Jondi Lilick's anger shot straight to his brain. The energy shield blocked forcefully, and the long golden blade in his hand struck down with full force.

Boom…

Like the dawn of the heavens and earth, a ray of ferocious golden blade aura suddenly struck out.

Growl.

The Phantom King was split into two… the afterimage…

The actual mech had already traversed sideways, and the distance between the two mecha had opened up.

There was no change to Wang Zheng's Phantom King. After watching all this, everyone was in a state of disbelief. Wang Zheng was like an infinite abyss. How could anyone deal with this?

This person actually possessed the power of the Five Elements. Even though none were at the peak yet, the practice of the characteristics of the Five Elements was enough to prevent his opponent from suppressing him. In terms of combat skills, Wang Zheng had already shown his potential as the number one in the Milky Way Alliance.

Jondi Lilick had obviously put in a lot of effort in his combat skills, but his skills seemed immature against Wang Zheng.

Bolet also frowned. Manalasuo did not value the ancient martial arts, believing that they were inefficient. However, ever since the start of the SIG, it appeared that there was a surge in the ancient martial arts. This was indeed Jondi Lilick's weakness. Under normal circumstances, with enough military tactics and superior Ability X, it was enough to gain a victory. However, when confronted with a monster like Wang Zheng, it was definitely insufficient.

Jondi Lilick calmed down suddenly. This was obvious from the reaction of spiritual power. The wind had disappeared.

Jondi Lilick had discovered many problems during this battle. He knew that Wang Zheng's combat skills were very strong, and he had witnessed this during the preliminary rounds. Initially, he thought that he could rely on his superior Ability X to suppress him, but he did not expect Wang Zheng not to use his Ability X to fight with him. Instead, he had used other methods and combat skills to suppress him

Against a person who was an expert with the Five Elements, unless the Ability X was a level higher, it would be impossible to suppress them with ordinary attacks.

A massive move was required to deal with Wang Zheng.

"What is his trait ability, Larvin?" asked Kashawen. From what they were seeing, Jondi Lilick did not seem to stand any chance of winning. Wang Zheng, on the other hand, showed complete suppression.

"Death," said Lavin. "Jondi Lilick's nature is the Wood element of the Five Elements, and it dominates life. However, everyone who has used this power is dead. We are unable to get any more specific information about this."

Kashawen was non-committal. There was no absolute invincible power in this world. Hopefully, there was more to this Jondi Lilick.

"Wang Zheng, you are the strongest opponent that I have met. I had intended to use move only in the final. I hope you don't blame me," said Jondi Lilick. There was no arrogance in his voice, just honesty. This was because he knew very well the price of this move.

Wang Zheng also sensed a hint of danger. His intuition was very useful. Every time he had such feelings, it had always been catastrophic.

Bolet's expression changed, and he grasped his fists, but he eventually loosened them. Actually, he knew that if this did not happen, it would be difficult for Jondi Lilick to win. What a pity. Although he was an opponent, Bolet had hoped to witness the growth of this young man too.

Chapter 1176: The Depletion of the Spirit

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

This time, Jondi Lilick's God of Warfare lost its aggressive momentum, and the long, golden blade in his hands transformed into a golden spear.

With a swing of the long spear, a faint thunderclap roared.

The third state of the God of Warfare – Thunder Rifle.

Rumble… the long spear rotated and went across its chest. Instantly, the momentum of the God of Warfare reached an unprecedented peak, and Jondi Lilick's confidence was exploding.

Lear frowned. He also used the Wood element. His force was very similar to that of Jondi Lilick's. Amongst the Five Elements, the compatibility of the Wood element was the best and the most complicated. It involved wind, thunder, lightning, and various special traits, such as devour, weakness, toxins, and so on.

Thus, there would always be special reactions after a Wood element warrior advanced to Earth-rank. This was why he did not try the Five Elements, but focused only on the Wood element. The Wood element of the Five Elements was already profound, and also the easiest to exhibit the trait-type ability. It was sufficient to master this deadly trick, and one would not need to take such a big detour like Wang Zheng.

Lear could clearly feel that his own understanding of the Wood element had stalled after Wang Zheng concentrated on the Five Elements. His understanding had remained in the use of the wind, with an elementary understanding of the light, while thunder remained elusive.

As for Wang Zheng's Earth-rank trait ability, even though it had yet to be revealed, Lear did not think that he had deliberately concealed it. It should be because the relationship between the Five Elements had not responded. The so-called trait ability would mostly manifest under circumstances where there was extreme concentration. Wang Zheng's desire for the Five Elements would cost him dearly!

Penny wise and pound foolish. Wang Zheng was too greedy!

Suddenly, Lear had great hopes for Jondi Lilick's trait ability. The Wood element was the most terrifying of the Five Elements. It should be evident from looking at Luo Fei that Jondi Lilick should not be worse than Luo Fei.

Was Wang Zheng going to die soon?

The ability of the Wood element was that it could easily attack the physical body of the mech!

Everyone present were masters. It was evident that Jondi Lilick's confidence lacked blindness, even arrogance. It was very likely that the attack would bring irrecoverable fatal injuries to the opponent.

A discussion may still be possible for the other people, but if it was Jondi Lilick, no matter who was in that position, they had to be careful.

Of course, Wang Zheng would not be careless. He would not dare to be careless. His intuition was very useful. Jondi Lilick must have mastered some deadly ability.

The Phantom King's Golden Light Masterpiece. All the runes had transformed into golden glimmers. He had two choices: full defence, or full attack. Nonetheless, Wang Zheng did not attack. His instinctive sense of crisis told him that he should stay away from Jondi Lilick this time. The farther the better, and not to allow the opponent to unleash his ability.

This was the SIG, so even if it meant death, he could not retreat.

Aina's expression changed abruptly when she heard it. "What did you say?"

"Your Highness, I've also just received the intelligence. Your Highness, you…"

Aina had already dashed out. She wanted to stop this match. If she had known that it was impossible, she would have chosen to give up. Perhaps she should not have deluded herself, and left herself, from the beginning. Perhaps he could have lived better and be freer.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, you can't go. God…"

The secretary at the back was dumbfounded. It was with much effort that she received the news from Manalasuo that Jondi Lilick possessed an ability that could eliminate the physical body, and no one had been able to evade it so far.

On the battlefield, the style of the Thunder Rifle was completely different. It was not as aggressive as the Lightning Sword and the Frenzy Wind Blade.

Wang Zheng could feel that this was Jondi Lilick's own transformation. When using the Thunder Rifle, it carried the charm of the ancient martial arts, and it paid more attention to the intrinsic, rather than being fast, furious, and accurate.

However, this was definitely not what his sense of crisis was telling him.

Shrouded by the golden light, this was the strongest defence of the Five Elements that Wang Zheng had come across. Could he defend against it?

He did not know. Wang Zheng was unsure too. Reasonably speaking, the balance of the Five Elements could specifically restrain all individual elements, but the problem was that the balance of the Five Elements was not all-powerful. Ultimately, it depended on the depth of understanding. If it was a trait-type, it would be dangerous.

To deal with a trait-type, you must be aware of the opponent's abilities in advance so that you could target them. For example, when used for the first time, Luo Fei's phagocytic ability was virtually invincible, but once it was used again, you could always find a solution.

However, what was Jondi Lilick's trait ability?

Wang Zheng's defence was very steadfast. Jondi Lilick had never come across such an opponent, and he even admired him. This was the first time Jondi Lilick had met someone who had a bigger heart than him.

Both the world and Her Royal Highness – the Princess – were not things that mere mortals could desire.

The Thunder Rifle blasted shot after shot, and the faint, thundering roar became increasingly violent. Jondi Lilick's mech seemed to have incarnated as Zeus, and every strike sent the world into trembles.

There was an unmatchable sense of wane and wax. When confronted with such overbearing tactics and force, the Phantom King had no opportunity to unleash its strength. In fact, Wang Zheng had stopped using his avatar. His spiritual power was all focused on the subtle changes in Jondi Lilick's spiritual power. If it was a trait-type, it was either focusing on self or against the opponent. If it was on self, Wang Zheng was not afraid. With the defence of the Five Elements and his reaction speed, he could completely resist the attacks. If it was against the opponent, he had to be wary of a spiritual lock and/or imprint. As long as he could obliterate the imprint or spiritual lock within seconds, he could possibly evade the attack completely, maybe even before the attack was fully completed.

Jondi Lilick would not pose a threat as long as it was well defended!

Jondi Lilick was naturally given an opportunity to fully unleash his strength under such circumstances. Like the Yangtze River, the Thunder Rifle was strong and stable. Although it was not an ancient martial art, it had the same effect, and with the same methodology. The understanding of the intrinsic essence was a natural process at Jondi Lilick's state.

Strong bindings and the power of the thunder completely encased the Phantom King. Jondi Lilick's composure completely suppressed the Phantom King.

Boom, boom, boom, boom…

Eighteen Serial Lightning and Thunder Rifle!

Jondi Lilick's intrinsic quality was serial killing, substituting defence with attack. He did not want to do this unless it was a last resort. If Wang Zheng was defeated as a result, he could take such power to the finals.

A thunder formation was formed from the seventeen serial shots from the rifle attacks, completely suppressing the Phantom King, and the eighteenth shot was fired!

Wind, thunder, and lightning gathered. A bright ball of light burst through the golden tip, blasting directly at the Phantom King, and the ball of light carried a powerful magnetism. This pure "intense energy" was restraining all fantasies and space power. Everything would be interrupted regardless of whether it was avatar or teleportation.

Wang Zheng did not evade, and the Phantom King's Rune Sword thrusted forward. The energy ball that looked efflux was very well known, but there was no explosion.

The Rune Sword rotated quickly, circling around the energy ball, and the power of the Five Elements was cocooning it. The high-speed winding sword attracted the energy ball to the tip of the sword.

Rumble.

Jondi Lilick's fatal blow was raised up into the air. Boom…

The sword's energy swept past and the ball of thunder exploded in an earth-shattering manner in the air. The surrounding buildings collapsed in a rumble

However, the two mech warriors did not dare to move, allowing the surrounding things to drop and smash through.

In the end, it was still broken through. Jondi Lilick was not too surprised. In fact, after watching Wang Zheng's combat skills in the qualifiers, as well as the defence of the Five Elements, he knew that this move would most likely be thwarted. He just did not expect such an amazing skill to be used. As a matter of fact, it had never occurred even in Jondi Lilick's dreams.

Nonetheless, it was over.

His attack was not to defeat Wang Zheng, but to lay down his killer move.

Wang Zheng's runic mech had only taken a step and was ready to pursue, when it stopped abruptly. Wang Zheng's heart stirred.

He was frozen completely. On the opposite side, Jondi Lilick exuded a type of grey energy. The Wood element represented life. However, life had two meanings – one was supplement and the other was depletion.

Jondi Lilick's Ability X – Depletion of Life!

A grey, vine-like thing appeared around the Phantom King, squirming and entangling. This was the death vine. The vine could not be defended against, and it quickly pursued spiritual power. During the strike of the thunder, Jondi Lilick laid down the seeds, then used the power of thunder to nurture the seeds.

Jondi Lilick knew that his ability was not omnipotent. Maybe the Fire of the Five Elements, or the rare Brilliant element, may restrain it, but that was only theoretical. Although Wang Zheng's Fire element was good, his understanding of it had definitely yet reached a high enough level. This ability was beyond his control was well. The death vine would suck the opponent every time.

Chapter 1177: None of My Business

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Death Vines shrouded the Phantom King. More accurately, they formed a cage of death of Wang Zheng.

This was more terrifying than Luo Fei's ability. Luo Fei's ability was the devourment of external force. This Death Vine was the devourment of the human spirit.

The balance of the Five Elements could not defend against it. Boom…

Flames flared, shrouding the Phantom King in an instant. The flames had a purification ability, and Wang Zheng had to give it a try. Wang Zheng's Flame ability was definitely not at a novice level. Nonetheless, as soon as the Flame was used, the seemingly fragile Death Vines grew wildly instantly… completely shrouding the Phantom King, and they had clearly infiltrated the Phantom King.

In the cockpit, Wang Zheng's pupils radiated golden light. Although the power of the Five Elements could be resisted, it could not be eliminated. It was a great mistake for him to use his Flame ability. His mastery of his Flame ability had not reached the level of reciprocity. Instead of purification, it had aided the process.

The Death Vines were another dimension of life. The more exhausted they were, the greedier they were, and this reflected the level of the ability.

Jondi Lilick had become a bystander. This power was beyond his control, and as long as he unleashed it, it would not release until his opponent was dead.

This was a forbidden power. Unless it was the last resort, he would not have thought about using it. Nevertheless, he did not want to lose, and the Golden Wheel battle team needed to advance.

The audience was silent. The runic mech was completely shrouded under the dark energy of the Death Vines. The vines were desperately probing inwards, it was a spine-chilling scene. Wang Zheng's Flame seemed to be his last counterattack. When the vines spread everywhere, they lost their flame.

The first step was to turn into a spirit corpse, and the second step was to completely turn into a dry corpse.

Aslan's system could only frustrate the second step, the first step was beyond its impediment. It was attacking Wang Zheng, who was in the cockpit.

Wang Zheng showed no fear. He had had such experiences too many times. He did not panic; spiritual power could change into offense and defence. This was not devouring, it was similar to the greed for the emptiness of an entity. This Death Vines were like the negative pole of positive and negative energy, and it was also another aspect of spiritual power. If not for the fact that the balance of the Five Elements could be deferred, no solution would be possible.

The only problem was that this just slowed down its speed.

No matter where Wang Zheng's spiritual power went, this vine followed it like poison. The minor Five Elements were well-balanced. Unfortunately, it was not the major Five Elements. Wang Zheng was still lacking the power of darkness and light to be omnipotent. Light and darkness had certain restraints on trait-type, but Wang Zheng did not know how to use them. Having the balance of the Five Elements was sufficiently terrifying.

Jondi Lilick's move was also difficult to defend against. If Wang Zheng had the foresight, he would not have allowed him to use it. In fact, the difficulty was inconsequential, and no one was a clairvoyant. It was also reasonable for Jondi Lilick to be hailed as a representative figure of Manalasuo. This ability's lethality was more terrifying and deadly than Fatty Luo's. Although it was uncontrollable, from the perspective of an attacking power, it was worthy to be named as the number one ability in the current SIG.

It was perhaps Wang Zheng's biggest weakness not to possess any trait power. This was what he had to lose in order to gain the power of the Five Elements. Maybe when his Five Elements reached a certain level, he would also understand it, provided he was still alive after today.

Wang Zheng's spiritual power was getting weaker, and what was gone would not return. If he was stronger, he would certainly have had a stronger fighting spirit. However, death was inevitable.

Would he die like this?

It was at times like these that Wang Zheng was more agile. The wheels in his head would turn faster, especially during life and death situations. The thought that this would be his downfall never crossed his mind.

Suddenly, a wondrous idea appeared in his mind.

Sorry, Bonehead, Charcoal!

There was a move called the Appeasement!

Wang Zheng's spiritual power appeared to have "crashed", and the Death Vines instantly followed frantically, attacking the core of the spiritual sea.

Wang Zheng's spiritual power entered the Rubik's Cube, and the Death Vines followed without hesitation.

Dumbfounded, Charcoal was still looking at Wang Zheng. What the hell was this?

After the Death Vines entered this space, they suddenly lost its target. They did not belong to this space, which meant that the laws had changed. All the connections between the Death Vines and Jondi Lilick were cut off in an instant.

Bonehead opened his eyes, and as the guardian of the Rubik's Cube, Bonehead would never let foreign objects off for the invasion of the Rubik's Cube.

His mouth suddenly opened, and a furious drift rushed out. The Death Vines struggled to escape, but this struggle looked particularly pitiful. They were instantly sucked in by Bonehead, and then the gigantic Bonehead stopped moving. This weak force was inconsequential.

Outside, it was as silent as a stone. What the hell was this ability?

Wang Zheng had always been a symbol of counterattacks and miracles. Finally, the day had come when he was defeated!

A smile appeared on Jondi Lilick's face. The loss of connection of spiritual power. This was the result every time the Death Vines devoured the opponent! He had finally won!

Lear laughed too. He and Luo Fei understood this feeling very well. Jondi Lilick's Ability X should be a mutation of devourment, spiritual attachment devourment. Although the form was different, the result was the same: a corrosion-type poison. If it was Lear, he would be most willing to name this type of ability "poison" – the poison of life. Wang Zheng was probably an idiot now, and this was more painful than death. Although the technologies were very advanced now, to be cured under such circumstances was unheard of. Even if he was still alive, Wang Zheng would no longer be Wang Zheng.

When the God of Warfare raised its golden rifle towards the sky, the Manalasuo's substitute team jumped out of their seats. They had won, defeating the strongest king of Elite Academy X!

This was indeed a battle worth cheering for

Everyone in Saruman Snake was stunned. Zhang Shan did not believe it. He could not believe it. Was there a move that Wang Zheng could not crack?

Impossible!

Bolet shook his head feebly. This was how it ended. Pity.

Bang… The door opened. Unfortunately, the Manalasuo people's cheers attracted everyone's attention. No one could resist Jondi Lilick's deadly ability. If it was not Wang Zheng, they would not have celebrated. Now, Jondi Lilick had given the signal of victory, and they were relieved.

Looking at the motionless Phantom King, Aina's eyes turned red instantly, and everything around her disappeared. Her body swayed and looked as if she was about to faint.

But on the battlefield, the Phantom King seemed to stir!

Gone was the feeling of chasing a ghost. Wang Zheng laughed and greeted Charcoal. Obviously, this was not a suitable time for catching up with old friends. As a great warrior, other than being brave, agility was also necessary.

Daring to attack him spiritually? Tsk, tsk. That would do a lot of good. Maybe under great complement, he could use the super mech without requiring Bonehead to exchange something. That would be wonderful.

The battle was still not over. When Wang Zheng left the Rubik's Cube, his spirit was restored, and the Phantom King's golden light erupted suddenly.

He had been beaten to hell all this time, and it was finally his turn to fight back now!

The team members of Saruman Snake who felt like they had fallen into hell suddenly went berserk. Zhang Shan jumped up, waving his fists frantically, and roared at the substitute bench of Manalasuo.

Damn, there was nothing in this world that could defeat Wang Zheng. This was Zhang Shan's superstition. He himself had not been beaten, so how could Wang Zheng been beaten?

The constant flow of the golden light of the Five Elements erupted from the Phantom King, overwhelming, suppressing. Wang Zheng had been very careful too, and he had finally resolved the situation. However, he needed retribution to appease his grievances.

Aina looked at the golden figure, but the tears continued to flow. Should she stop the battle?

Like life's contradictions, these thoughts lingered in Aina's head like a viper.

The Rune Sword was shining brightly as a result of the power of the golden light of the Five Elements. The catastrophe was like a baptism of fire for Wang Zheng. His spiritual and physical state suddenly rebounded. This was an advancement.

Each person would strive for their best on the battlefield. Jondi Lilick had demonstrated his own strength in the match. Wang Zheng had no complaints at all. The force was filled with an awe-inspiring power. He liked such opponents who could surprise him!

Confronted with this power, Jondi Lilick was completely fossilfied. How could this be?

The audience's debates intensified. When Jondi Lilick revealed his Death Vines, everyone was stunned. There was no shortage of masters of the Wood element, and they obviously understood the horrors of this trait-type ability. Wang Zheng was hit cleanly. Death was inevitable!

He would have become an idiot if death had not taken him!

However, instead of becoming an idiot, it seemed that… his power had grown stronger.

The audience's debates shot to the sky instantly. How could such a person exist???

Was the balance of the Five Elements really invincible?

This had overturned several existing basic principles of Ability X. Precision was better than depth, being proactive was better than being reactive. The restraint of the Five Elements could counteract the trait-type…

Was he even human?

Chapter 1178: "Intimate combat" with Kashawen

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Kashawen looked coldly at Latven. There was a look of shock on Latven's handsome face. This was impossible… the results from the intelligence department was… Death was a certainty if struck by this move. The Light power was the only thing that could restrain it. How… could this be?

"Get some men quickly and create some public opinions. Change the rest of the match to actual battles," said Kashawen coldly.

Latven nodded readily, "Yes, Your Highness!"

"Do you know what to do?"

"This…" Latven had not wrapped his head around it yet. " This is illogical. This has violated too many of the foundations of Ability X. Is this Wang Zheng really the chosen one, the invincible?"

"Don't entertain such foolish thoughts!" It was as if Kashawen had clairvoyance to Latven's thoughts. "No one is invincible. Start from Lya Sphinx!"

Latven finally came to his senses. "Yes, Your Highness!"

Kashawen stared into the shining figure of the Phantom King on the screen. Wang Zheng had asked for this himself. If he had fallen here, it would have been a blessing, but Wang Zheng had held on. This disaster would not befall him alone, it would spread to the others.

Kashawen switched off the video. There was no need to continue watching.

On the battlefield, Snow Li and Lie Xin were already in their mecha, waiting in support. But they did not have to attempt any moves. The Wang Zheng at this very moment could just stand still and send chills down the spine his opponent.

Watching the burning golden power, an endless sense of hopelessness enveloped Jondi Lilick's heart. Although he held the Thunder Rifle in his hand, he could not seem to shoot.

Countless possibilities rushed through his heart. But the end results were useless. Jondi Lilick bowed his head as he recalled the astonishing power that Wang Zheng had demonstrated during the qualifier.

Loosening his grip, the Thunder Rifle fell to the ground.

The sound was extremely ear-piercing. Wang Zheng stopped his attack, although he was already prepared for it.

"I… admit defeat."

These three words carried the weight of a thousand pounds. The road to the King of Manalasuo ended abruptly. All the members of the Manalasuo team could not accept what had happened. One member suddenly collapsed and burst into tears.

Jondi Lilick was like a zombie. He did not know what he had said and done. It was as if he could hear no sound, and he walked out of his cockpit aimlessly.

Bolet took a deep breath and walked out of the VIP room. He did not care what other people thought or said.

That was so close!

He had his doubts. Maybe Wang Zheng could have found a solution because he had witnessed many miracles. This person had a knack for finding a solution when there was none. Maybe… in the end, it became a reality.

Somehow, it was more relaxing now.

Everyone clapped loudly as Wang Zheng came out. It was no longer just the people from the Solar System. Many nations had also stood up.

Wang Zheng immediately saw Aina behind the crowd. He realised at that very moment that Aina was worried about him. This lass!

Wang Zheng patted his chest and gave a confident smile. He was reassuring Aina to hold on till the end!

Aina smiled too, tears in her eyes. This man, he had always been like this, even when they first met!

Zhang Shan scrambled up. "Hey! Any side effects? You're not lethally injured or dying soon, right?"

"Buzz off! I'm fine. I'll be fine even after you're dead!"

"Haha! I knew it! You're a tough guy!"

The Saruman Snake battle team advanced into the quarter-finals. This battle was also the fiercest battle since the start of the quarter-finals.

On the other hand, the Manalasuo team were feeling rather sad. They were powerful and ambitious, but did not make it to the quarterfinals. This was really a huge blow!

Jondi Lilick sat on the bench, holding his head in his hands. He did not know how to deal with all this – the hope of the nation, the hope of his teammates… all hope was lost.

Bolet patted Jondi Lilick on the shoulder. "Defeat is an important experience. The battle has only just begun. If you can't even take a little setback, you aren't worthy to be the captain of our Manalasuo team!"

"General… I…"

"Take a good look at that guy. Remember him clearly. One day, you will beat him!" said Bolet.

Every Manalasuo person was staring at Wang Zheng. One day they would beat him!

Aina left quietly before anyone discovered her. She could not add on to the pressure that Wang Zheng was already facing. She had some other thoughts. As soon as they were into the quarterfinals, it should be her aunt's turn to demonstrate her power.

Where would it come from?

Aina was sure that her aunt would not resort to any despicable moves. Kashawen was master of foresight and inclination. On the bright side, there was no way to hide or struggle free. Even if they knew there was danger, they would still continue…

Instantly, Aina came to a realization. The risks had been low till now because it had been virtual battles thus far. If it had become actual battle, the risks would be much higher since they would have to deal with different abilities and physical injuries. Any mistakes would be irreversible. At the same time… Wang Zheng's teammates…

If it was an actual battle, injuries would be unavoidable. Would Zhang Shan have died? Or suffered serious injuries? Or would Mu Zhen die?

What would the scene be like?

Aina could not imagine it. She had to think of a way to stop it!

Mitchell received a message. The Prime Minister was going to step in. She could not allow Wang Zheng to continue like this. Even she felt that Wang Zheng was a threat if the situation continued as such. This man had an enchanted power.

Everyone was looking at Saruman Snake differently now, and not just Wang Zheng. Looking at the team members' battle situations, Saruman Snake had two advantages in hand. An Earth-rank sniper with a non-destructive Ice power, one that a person would neither run away or hide from. Every position was adequately covered. A few of the teammates could even be able to adapt to different changes. The unity and forces were even more incredible. They were practically unstoppable.

This was clear to Kashawen, who was good at understanding people. The Golden Wheel battle team was one of the best teams around, yet they could not stop Wang Zheng. Thus, it might be difficult for the other teams too. What was more important was that that there was no loss in such battles. He might just make it to the finals. Moreover, when he makes it to the finals, and if Wang Zheng were to stir up more trouble, especially when it concerned Aina's reputation, it would not be an easy mess for her to clean up. She could not help but overthink things. If the battles were changed to actual battles, even if Wang Zheng did not die, his teammates would fall one by one. When that time came, he would finally understand that there were things that were beyond his reach. He would have to pay a heavy price for his desires.

Could Wang Zheng afford to pay the price for it?

Kashawen looked quietly at the beautiful scenery outside the window. She knew Aina would try to stop her. Unfortunately for Aina, Kashawen was still the head of Aslan now, and Aina could not stop her. Besides, since the death of Qiqin Nacchai, Lya Sphinx had a lot of pent up anger. If they were given an opportunity, they would certainly not give up.

Wilfulness and arrogance stemmed from the ignorance of death. She would love to see what changes would occur to this group of young people if this was changed to life and death battles. All the weaknesses, humility and darkness of human nature would be revealed. As long as they were not a machine, they would crumble.

Kashawen had seen many such situations. No one had prevailed throughout history.

Admittedly, Kashawen had always been self-confident. But at this point, Wang Zheng had proved to be worthy to compete with her.

Chapter 1179: Building momentum

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The battle to the quarter-finals had reached its halfway mark. As anticipated, the Soulless battle team, Dynasty battle team, Child of the Light battle team, and Saruman Snake battle team had all advanced to the quarter-finals. The most exciting battle was, of course, between the Saruman Snake battle team and the Golden Wheel battle team. Before the match, the Golden Wheel battle team was placed with high hopes but had been defeated thoroughly. Wang Zheng was named the seed killer. From the start of the qualifying rounds, he had eliminated a number of strong teams continuously. He had lived up to the reputation of the greatest king of Elite Academy X. Judging from the performance so far, the Saruman Snake battle team had shown the most tremendous improvement, with Wang Zheng leading the pack. The talents who were already extremely talented had now developed to a stage where they could hold their own.

In the fifth match, the Sword Shield Rose battle team faced off the Radiance battle team of the Versailles Empire.

As the most popular host team at this SIG, Lin Feng led the Sword Shield Rose battle team in a triumphant, textbook victory to advance to the quarter-finals. There were obvious differences in strengths. They led a three-zero win, without having to go to the group battle. Lin Feng did not take part in the battle. Excluding Lin Feng, there were two Earth-rank warriors in the Sword Shield Rose battle team, and one was even Earth-rank level two. During the battle for the quarter-finals, the Sword Shield Rose battle team had shown some of their brilliance, enough to make their future opponents contemplate.

In the sixth match, the Hail Cloud Alliance's Zero Degrees battle team versus Big Bear Federation Fire Bear battle team. In theory, this should be an evenly matched battle.

However, the atmosphere was calm as both teams were old rivals.

Traditionally, the Hail Cloud Alliance and the Big Bear Federation had been allies. Under the current macro environment of the Milky Way Alliance, the relationships between the traditional allies strengthened continuously, and the training battles exchange between the top students were also very frequent. These two teams were therefore old friends who knew each other well.

Both teams were very closely matched. The three solo battles were very closely contested. Two to one, with the Hail Cloud Alliance's Zero Degrees battle team leading the slight advantage. But the Fire Bear battle team also had their chance to shine. Both teams were placid.

The Fire Bear battle team was already prepared for this result. They had placed their bet on the final team battle.

As the team battle began, the screen showed the match line-up of both teams.

Zero Degrees battle team vs Fire Bear battle team:

Grod (Reaper Mech) vs Kabila (Retribution Mech)

Karpal (Ice Gaze Fighter) vs Lu Yan (Light Source Mech)

Beverly (Dragon Series Mech) vs Hugh Matt (Bear Figure Mech)

Ai Zhengyang (Sunset Mech) vs Kyle (Sky Bear Mech)

Ai Wen (Ice Bird Ninth Generation) vs Bill Ross (Hawkeye Mech)

However, many of this year's SIG captains were the key objects of grooming, either by their countries or by their families. Unlike the ordinary warriors, they were destined to embark on the ruling class in the future. Ai Zhengyang was one of them. From the former "prodigy son" of the Aishi Financial Group, to the current object of grooming, Ai Zhengyang had also taken an outstanding route. Cold and handsome with chiseled features, he was ranked top three in the best-looking list at SIG. Of course, he had more supporters too. The ladies of Aslan placed very high standards on appearances. Based on reputation, the Hail Cloud Alliance was stronger than the Big Bear Federation as well.

The strengths of the five members of the Fire Bear battle team were the same as that of Ai Zhengyang's team. During the SIG stage, the victory of the team battle usually laid with the captain. If they did not have at least an Earth-rank level two, they were destined not to be able to advance very far.

It was not the first time that Ai Zhengyang and Kyle were matched against each other. Both teams had won before and had had intense battles too. Each position had evenly contested confrontations, but the victory went to Ai Zhengyang because he had better skills than Kyle. This therefore signaled the end of the battle. The Zero Degrees battle team advanced to the quarter-finals.

Liveliness apart, but this battle had been the weakest in terms of the level of ferociousness. The Zero Degrees battle team had yet to tip their hands. If the two teams had fought a tacit battle, there was no evidence of that at all.

Kyle was calm after the match. They had had many matches with the Hail Cloud Alliance and knew each other inside out. They had given their best. The Zero Degrees battle team were indeed slightly stronger than them.

Somewhat of a surprise was the critiques that the match officials gave after the match. The SIG represented the fighting spirit of warriors. Even if they knew each other inside out, they could not just give up. If they gave up because of the differences in strength, it would be an insult to the pride of the warriors.

This critique was rather hypocritical. Lya Sphinx's representative also shared her thoughts. Criticizing that SIG could not always remain the same. Although Qiqin Nacchai had died unexpectedly during the qualifiers, he had done his best and defended the pride of the warriors, and did not bring shame to the uniform. Yet SIG changed the rules as a result of this and turned a battle of metal and blood into a show. How was this SIG? Might as well turn this into an entertainment show.

The match officials were actually quick to start a self-assessment. Since this was the first time such a large-scale SIG had been organized, they were rather inexperienced. Just because a death had occurred, they could not ignore the essence of a soldier. If they were also afraid, then who else would dare to step on the battlefield?

As a result, the match officials would decide on a new format for the competition after the quarter-finals. At the same time, they hoped that the last two matches would be fought with their own style. Regardless of their strengths, as a warrior, they needed to have the will to fight. Not putting out the best efforts and muddling on in the competition should not happen. The SIG was not a show stage.

The Zero Degrees battle team appeared to have been caught in the crossfire. Moreover, the representative of the Hail Cloud Alliance did not put up any defenses. Obviously, they had some ulterior motives. The Hail Cloud Alliance had never been very radical anyway. In addition, the officials had quickly turned their attention to the system and made self-assessments. Hence, the Hail Cloud Alliance had no intentions of creating other problems.

In fact, regardless of whether the officials made any changes or not, it would not affect match seven. This was because the next match would see the Sea Queen battle team of Atlantis up against the Iron and Steel battle team of Arbiter.

This would undoubtedly be a fierce battle.

The Atlanteans were actually a little depressed. The runic technology had already been mastered by the humans. Wang Zheng would always be the first association of the Phantom King rather than the Atlanteans.

Of course, the Atlanteans were still stronger overall. The Iron and Steel battle team of Arbiter was strong too. They were equally matched.

This was the last day of the qualifying matches for a spot in the quarter-finals. Since the start of the SIG, many unforeseen events had taken place. But the competitiveness had also been increasing. The conflicts and political issues outside the battlegrounds had not affected both teams. Both the Atlanteans and the Arbiter were the strongest in these situations.

For Ergas, this was a battle of no return, a battle he had bet his life on. The bitter defeat of the Asura battle team had dealt a heavy blow to the Iron and Steel College. The reputation of the Iron and Steel College in Arbiter fell to its lowest freezing point in the nearly twenty years. On the other hand, the fortune of their adversary, the Warrior Soul College, had turned for the better for the first time in many years.

The Warrior Soul battle team had advanced to the quarter-finals. Ergas had to lead his team to the quarter-finals; otherwise, the situation would be even worse. Unfortunately for them, their opponent was the Sea Queen battle team.

In Ergas' view, the three major teams – Saruman Snake, Sword Shield Rose, and Sea Queen – so long as it was not these three teams, he was ninety percent confident in crushing them. However, these three teams were the most difficult to deal with.

Compared to the intense anticipation of the Iron and Steel battle team, the Atlanteans seemed especially composed. In fact, anyone who had had any contact with the Atlanteans would know that they rarely felt excited. Of course, this did not mean that they were not determined. They were merely very good at managing their emotions; the internal changes were not reflected externally.

Of course, Sea Queen had to win this battle too. Dina Atlas was leading the team personally. This was a rare sight for a royalty to intervene.

Besides, the runic mecha no longer had the assumed advantage. What could they do?

Chapter 1180: The General Edition Rune Fighter

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Before the start of this match, the intensity of this battle had also been expected to be second only to the battle between the Saruman Snake and Golden Wheel battle teams. The degree of attention was naturally different. In addition to the recent turmoil, the sensitivity level was different too.

Many teams who had been defeated had packed their bags and were ready to leave, but they were now notified to stay and wait for further notice. The team members were in the dark. They felt ashamed to stay, and they were too ashamed to watch the match live. They had been hiding in their rooms to watch the matches these past few days, especially the more powerful the teams.

They were not allowed to leave? What could this mean?

Did they really want to change to real combat after the quarter-finals?

That was a completely different situation. It was a common scenario to be injured during battles involving the use of mecha. Life and death were junctions that they had to face. This was something beyond their control, and massive changes would take place in the hearts of both sides of the battle. Furthermore, could they withstand the attacks of the Earth-rank warriors in the battlefield?

Of course, these were not decisions that the ordinary team members could decide, they merely obeyed orders. This was because if the actual combat became a reality, then the vanity that they failed would mean nothing. The upcoming battles were to be fought with their lives at stake. To put it bluntly, the teams that had advanced would be dealing with tougher situations.

In the first match… the Iron and Iron and Steel battle team put in their best effort. The first person to take on the match was their captain, Ergas!

The Sea Queen battle team sent their vanguard, Pabilsag.

"The Iron and Steel battle team is trying to fight a team battle with the Sea Queen battle team," said Zhang Shan. "Tsk, tsk, I didn't expect the Sea Queen battle team to put in their best efforts."

Wang Zheng smiled. "Don't get too excited, you need to recover well."

"I am forged with iron!"

Saruman Snake were now united as one. They had attuned their state of mind and condition to peak level. It did not matter who their opponents were in the quarter-finals.

The Atlanteans were the symbol of invincibility in the past. However, although the Atlanteans were still mighty, that mysterious aura has receded. While they possessed very powerful spiritual power, and could communicate with the forces of nature, it was not differentiated by elements; it was merely a powerful force that had not attained the level of invincibility. On the contrary, although the humans were slightly weaker, they possessed more variations and varieties.

Pabilsag was very composed. He did not feel any pressure even though the opponent was the captain of the Iron and Steel battle team. Perhaps it was sufficient for the Atlanteans to do their best; there was no pressure to win or lose.

Ergas chose the Overlord. It seemed that the Iron and Steel Academy's preferences were similar. As long as the opponent was not Atlas, Ergas would not need to do his best, and this would plenty of choices in the next two matches.

Pabilsag was slightly slimmer in physique, and his face was somewhat pale – typical Atlantean features, very handsome. His aqua blue eyes were very beautiful, but confronted with Ergas' horrifying energy, he appeared somewhat pitiful.

His mech selection – not the Phantom King… not the Specter King… Pabilsag chose a relatively unknown but very conventional Atlantean mech – the Rune Warrior.

The humans called it the standard Atlantean mech. Pabilsag was quite a hoodlum. You put in your best efforts, and I would just make do for a while.

Both sides were spot on in their choices of mech. They knew very well that they could not out fight each other, so they chose to preserve their physical strength. The deciding factor would be the team battle.

Even if there were hidden masters in the Iron and Steel battle team, they would not be able to defeat Atlas. This, the Atlanteans were very confident of.

There was a relaxed and light-hearted debate in the arena. There was nothing to look forward to in this match. However, everyone was very interested in the formation of the battle of the top four. While the other countries were uncertain, it was very likely for Aslan to win. However, why the sudden fuss? Was there any hidden meaning behind it?

Of course, this was speculation and gossip. Of course, for the audience, if they could watch an actual battle, especially this sort of level, it would be a thousand times more interesting than watching virtual warfare. Although many people appeared like arrogant bullies during the virtual warfare, when it came to an actual battle, problems would begin to arise in their mentality and even their condition because of the crisis of life and death and the more instinctive reactions of their bodies. This situation was particularly serious in the military schools. It was commonly known as "student disease". Some veterans who had been trained in the battlefield may have trained like dogs, but they had proved to be more useful in the actual battlefield. This was the mentality.

This was a method to strip off the camouflage. Some people said that the top eight were the best of the warriors. They would not be afraid of actual battle as no one would be afraid of death. It was obvious that people who uttered such words had never really experienced it before. This definitely existed. This was also the reason why the SIG had not been valued.

The two mech warriors had entered the battlefield. The Overlord adapted very quickly, and his tactics were successful. Ergas did not want to waste too much time. This tactic was drafted by him. If it was in the past, according to the Iron and Steel College's reputation, no one could stop him from doing anything, but now he could not do that. He had too much of a burden; he had to consider not only the quarter-finals, but also greater goals. He needed to be prudent. The more cards he kept hidden, the farther he would advance. This was the lesson he had learned from Jondi Lilick's defeat. Never imagine that you were the strongest. Jondi Lilick was once the strongest in the SIG, together with Gonzalez, and the unlucky Qiqin Nacchai, and Wang Zheng was truly the Earth-rank assassin.

Although it had yet to be released, but his X rank ranking would have leaped forward. However, he had to remain composed.

The Rune Warrior pulled out the Rune Sword and moved toward the center of the battlefield.

"I feel that the Sea Queen battle team is going to lose soon."

"The Atlanteans have not been as powerful for the past few years. The Arbiters' tenacity specifically restrains such ignorant and arrogant people!"

"The tactics were also targeted. I do not expect Arbiter to put in their best efforts."

More than 60 percent of the audience was more optimistic about Arbiter's chances of winning. The members of the Sword Shield Rose battle team were silent, their eyes shining brightly

Lin Feng started to smile. He took a look at Atlas. Although Aslan and Atlantis had a very intimate relationship, to be honest, Atlantis had too many secrets and had always held a certain wariness against the human. Of course, this was understandable; he would do the same if he was in the same situation. The humans were a group of terrifying factions; it was another Zerg nation in the universe. The desire for expansion could be quietened temporarily, but it would eventually re-ignite again.

Pabilsag was not the name of an ordinary person. It was the name of the person who could be the guardian of the temple in the future. Pabilsag was the successor of the new generation. He was the fifth guard of the temple. In the Atlanteans' myth, he was the guardian of death.

In Atlantis, the names in the myths could not be used lightly.

The two mecha met. The Overlord showed great momentum and surging courage. With a bang, it attacked the opponent!

Boom!

Overlord Sky Rocket Cannon!

Egas attacked the runic mech immediately. Ergas could still control the direction of his mech in mid air. The Atlantean mech was changing constantly, but it was very swift too!

He sang the song of victory with the vigour of Arbiter!

Confronted with the Sky Rocket Cannon, the Rune Warrior remained motionless. If he had chosen the Phantom King, he could have a variety of choices: to confuse the opponent, or to leave, but the Rune Warrior was just a basic runic mech. It was very balanced, but had yet to hear that it possessed any special functions.

Chapter 1181: No Way Out!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Even if you want to give up, you have to put up a fight. You can't be so negative!

Pabilsag looked at the Overlord that was in the air. Beneath his calm eyes, great waves were forming. Humans' ambitions could not be calm, and must be deterred!

The runes of the Rune Warrior were lit up, but the runes of this mech had no characteristic. Unlike the Phantom King, once activated, a variety of wonderful energy effects would appear. This mech was more considered as a rune-training mech. It was also a regulatory standard for the Atlanteans.

The Rune Sword made a circle in the air.

In an instant, a red aperture appeared in the air, and in the next instant, the aperture lit up brilliantly, and countless rune symbols appeared.

What the hell were these?

The Overlord had begun its attack. Was this optical effect a joke?

Ergas did not evade. The Overlord attacked with unstoppable force. There was no turning back!

Rumbling…

The expressions of everyone who was present solidified instantly…

The Overlord crashed into the red rune aperture, but did not penetrate it. A series of vibrating roars rang, and the mech was bounced off.

Ergas was furious. If it were not for the impact characteristics of the Overlord, that impact alone would have killed him.

The composed Rune Warrior gently raised the Rune Sword and placed it in front of its chest, and swept. "Pabilsag, the fifth guard of the temple. Pleased to meet you."

Silence filled the arena. It was at this time that everyone realized that the Sea Queen battle team had dispatched the younger generation of warriors of the temple.

Atlas and the rest of the team members were very composed. For the Atlanteans, glory meant nothing. They used to be infinitely close to the peak, and their evolutionary path was also almost perfect for intelligent beings. However, they were, after all, human beings, and they had paid a huge price in this process. If it were not for God's gift, they might have already been annihilated. Thus, each generation of Atlanteans took a clearer view of themselves.

There was only one title out there, the Arbiter, highest glory!

Boom…

A wave of air exploded. Ergas' spiritual power exploded completely, undoubtedly a mid B Earth-rank strength, and Pabilsag's spiritual power exploded instantly too, not weak at all… in fact, it was even stronger.

This was only a member of the Sea Queen battle team. Of course, it was a characteristic of the Atlanteans to have powerful spiritual power, but their attacks were monotonous. This was an opportunity for Ergas!

The Overlord started his attack. Consolidation of spiritual defence and application of physical attacks were the only tactics required to battle against the Atlanteans. This was an established tactic amongst the different countries.

Simple yet practical.

Ergas also adhered to this principle. He believed that his close combat strength could completely squash his opponents.

When the Rune Warrior was cut by Pabilsag's Rune Sword, the mystical rune halo reappeared at the foot of the Rune Warrior, which complemented the Rune Warrior's aura.

Tamira – Warrior Holy Light!

The Rune Sword followed up with another slit, and another aperture appeared.

Soylas – Quadruple Thunder!

Porasta – Ares blessing!

Haemil – Space Aisle!

A series of runes radiated around the Rune Warrior… it was like fireworks, and very stunning.

Ergas had no idea what the other party was doing. What the hell was this thing?

Suddenly, a warning sign appeared. At the foot of the Overlord… What was this thing?

An array of red runes; it appeared on the head too. There was also one in front of the Overlord, and another at the rear was well.

The Overlord had already struck its spear. This sort of thing could not intimidate an Arbiter warrior.

Boom…

When the long spear stabbed the array of runes, a horrifying explosion occurred and the energy purged. The Overlord rocketed to the sky and the energy shield was fully opened.

The array of red runes appeared at the rear of the Overlord in mid-air… the Rune Warrior walked out.

The Rune Warrior burning with red light thrusted forward with its sword.

Ergas bit his teeth, instantly controlled himself and turned the spear around and stabbed.

Boom…

The deadly sword was sealed tightly. The Rune Warrior's longsword slashed out, and the Overlord was suppressed from the air to the ground.

Boom…

The Overlord was slashed and fell to the ground by a single stroke. Ergas' Overlord held on to the long spear tightly and blocked the deadly Rune Sword.

At that moment, the Rune Warrior stretched out its left hand…

Mourouj Mons – Imprisonment Cage!

The array of red rune reappeared. A great magnetic force hit. Ergas had the feeling that the Overlord was falling onto a huge magnet.

Growl!

A frantic power flowed from Ergas' body. He was an Arbiter who possessed the will to go beyond the limits!

His Ability X exploded.

An Earth-rank level two ability could not be ignored by anyone.

But another array of runes reappeared again at this moment.

Hlavac – Spiritual Interruption!

In an instant, Ergas felt that his communication with the outside world had disappeared. This was the first time it had happened since attaining Earth-rank. It was like a person who had drowned suddenly, even though he knew how to swim.

Pabilsag gently placed his Rune Sword on the Overlord.

Motionless.

Time seemed to have frozen at this moment.

This time, the SIG seemed destined to be a disastrous day for the Iron and Steel cellege. The Asura battle team had suffered a whipping loss, and now it was Ergas' turn.

The members of the Iron and Steel battle team were dumbfounded. Their captain, their greatest hope, had lost to a member of the Sea Queen.

Without any resistance.

Ergas refused to admit defeat; he was struggling. The Overlord squeaked, but it could not break the shackles of the array of runes. More crucially was that his Ability X was sever, and he was left to the defensive.

In fact, this sort of struggle should not have happened. Pabilsag put the sword there to let the opponent admit defeat; otherwise, he could have been stabbed dozens of times.

For the Atlanteans, this was etiquette for a duel.

But for the Arbiters, this was a humiliation because they never admitted defeat.

Growling.

The Overlord struggled with all its might, and the Rune Sword pierced through.

The Sea Quen battle team won the first match.

Ergas remained in the cockpit did not step out for a long time. This was a disastrous day for both the Iron and Steel battle team and the Iron and Steel College. The entire Iron and Steel College was dead silent.

But the battle must continue, and the Arbiters were not that vulnerable to be unable to continue fighting.

Their will was still steadfast, although the morale was low, and was fearless. If it was an actual battle, they would be fighting to the death, to say the least. The Arbiter team was the least fearful of death among all the SIG teams. However, this was virtual warfare and they were not staking their lives on the battle.

In fact, this sort of elementary school student's desperate attempt was useless against the Sea Queen battle team.

Without Atlas, the Sea Queen battle team won with ease with a score of three to zero, sweeping past the Iron and Steel battle team and advanced to the quarter-finals.

People were shocked by the control of the energy of the Mayans, lamented the insolence of Saruman Snake, and admired the perfect integration of the Sword Shield Rose. But when they saw the true uses of the runes of the Atlanteans, their brains could not comprehend what had happened and everything was blank.

It felt like a child showing off his lollipop and finally understood his childishness.

This was the true use of the Atlanteans' runes. The rigid use of the runes used by the Phantom King and the Specter King was meant for elementary students.

The Sea Queen won the seventh match.

The arena was still filled with silence; no applause, no cheers. As always, the Atlanteans saluted politely, and the reaction from the outside world could not affect them.

The more they behaved like this, the more the humans could feel their pettiness and vulgarity.

Always comparing, always feeling arrogant, and now looking at this. How pitiful they were,

Wang Zheng's eyes had always been golden. When Pabilsag started using the array of runes, his doubts were answered. The immense accomplishments that the Atlanteans had achieved in the spiritual power and the fact that they had created the runes could be felt from the amazing performance of the Phantom Kings, but he had always felt that something was missing.

He finally understood this now; they had been hiding the true practise of the runes.

This was probably the true essence of the Atlantis civilization, Earth's first civilization.

Interesting!

Unlike other people, who were terrorized, Wang Zheng's pupils radiated with excitement because he was equally interested in the runes!

"My day… the whole team couldn't be filled with all these psychopaths, right?" said Zhang Shan, with his mouth wide open. If this was true, the other teams should really pray hard to not encounter Sea Queen.

This was definitely not just Zhang Shan's thoughts alone, but Zhang Shan's were more candid.

Chapter 1182: The Upset

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ai Xiaolu's expression was rather solemn. "I've just received the news. The younger generation who has been granted the true rights to guard the temple, other than number five, number three and number six were selected too, and this does not include Atlas."

Zhang Shan wanted to swear. "Could it be because Atlas is a rich playboy? If I were that handsome, rich playboy…"

Luo Er shook her head. "The royal family of Atlantis is similar to the Mayans, and are equivalent to the powerful and most talented. In their own words, this is like a gift from God."

Zhang Shan opened his mouth but spoke no more. This did not seem to be within his scope of consideration.

The Atlanteans demonstrated a team annihilation situation. Their use of the runes declared the strength of Atlantis to the world.

In recent times, all the countries of the Milky Way Alliance were preparing to make their move. This was because of the rise of the empires' strengths, especially the advancement to their armaments, thus they were starting to misbehave a little. Military competitions among the various countries were actually disguised arms races. But Atlantis did not take part in those. They were only competing in the college type, and using this approach to highlight their country's strengths. However, following the advancement of the other countries, especially regarding the understanding of the use of the runic mecha, they no longer seemed to take Atlantis seriously.

This SIG was an opportunity for the Atlanteans to use their strength to inform the humans to remain low-profile.

The generals in the VIP room were very quiet too. Obviously, this sudden change in situation had also caught most of them by surprise. Only Lin Hong was not feeling as shocked. He knew a little about it but did not expect that it would be to such an extent. This was the essence of the Atlanteans' technology. Her Highness Aina was the only person in Aslan who knew a little about this. But this thing was strange, and could not be imparted through words. Firstly, Aina could not disclose information because she was bound by her vows. Even then, even if she had wanted to, it was beyond words. According to the Atlanteans' saying, this spiritual transfer was a blessing from the gods.

This was not what the generals were considering. In the Atlantean army, the mecha such as the Phantom King and the Specter King were very rare, commonly known as high-end and special. The runic mecha were such conventional mecha.

They would be fools if they still did understand by now.

The Rune Warriors were the real military strength of the Atlanteans. All the warriors were able to control such power, the only difference was the level of strength. An armoury with common runic mecha like the Phantom King was a low-end training machine…. No wonder even the kids knew how to use them. Yet the humans were still complacent after all these years…

Terrorizing?

It was dependent on strength, not on the loud voices!

As always, the Atlanteans sat quietly and appeared as if nothing had happened, and they did not even feel that victory was a big deal. They had merely just completed a mission.

Atlas certainly understood how the humans felt. However, lately, there had been increasing disputes within the regions of the Milky Way Alliance. Instead of saying they were disputes, they were more like issues instigated by the more powerful countries. The Atlanteans were sending out warnings by taking part in this SIG. The Atlanteans were staying neutral, and do not desire war. Even if war broke out, they would warn the countries that harboured ill intentions for Atlantis to back off. If they were to invade, they would face the wrath of the Atlanteans!

This was just runic technology for individual soldiers, but do not presume that Atlantis did not possess any heavy weapons.

The thought that this was a conventional arsenal sent chills down the spines of the people of many countries.

When the Aslan people came to their senses, they were not stingy with their applause. They were their loyal allies.

But the applause seemed rather lonely. After all, the other countries were undeniably terrorized.

"Wang Zheng, do you know this stuff?" Zhang Shan suddenly asked.

Wang Zheng did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Do you really think I'm God?"

"Geez, no matter how mystical the power is, there's still the essence. If you can use the Phantom King, why can't you use this? Just do a little research. Man, what if we encounter this?"

"Shut it! Don't jinx it!" replied Ai Xiaolu immediately.

Wang Zheng did not say anything. He was actually extremely interested. To him, it might really not be impossible, although he really had no idea about the principle behind the power. Although all principles were similar, it would be ideal if he had some concepts to begin with.

Mid-day break. Everyone had just recovered from the shock. They were completely mesmerised by the strength of the Atlanteans. Even Saruman Snake had loss their dignity. The strength of Atlantis was obviously much more powerful than that of its opponents. The power that everyone had displayed was enough to make other teams worry. However, what spiritual realm had this Prince Atlas reached? Could his spiritual power have broken through grade B?

The Atlanteans had been perceived as possessing only spiritual power that lacked variations, and were weak in combat skills. Yet, looking at these shortcomings now, they were, in fact, their strengths.

Moreover, the Atlanteans understood quite clearly now that the humans had no insight regarding the runic technology.

Inequality.

Even till the afternoon, everyone was still recovering from the shock. But the last qualifying match for a spot in the quarter-finals had started.

Aslan's Military Affairs battle team of was up against the Pioneer battle team.

This was a team from the Heaven's Arrows Federation. The Heaven's Arrows Federation had always been an average team in the Milky Way Alliance. Their region was also rather remote. They had been growing steadily in recent years, and had kept a rather low profile in their international relations. However, among the federation states, its developments were considered very good. At this SIG, they had also made a breakthrough to reach the quarter-finals.

But they were now facing the powerful Aslan battle team.

Tang Zheng, the captain of the Heaven's Arrows battle team, was an unknown, at least up until now. But this time, he could not be a total unknown. At least he was an Earth-rank wood element warrior.

In the first battle, the Heaven's Arrows battle team used the same trick as the Iron and Steel battle team. Tang Zheng debuted, and he was definitely an Earth-rank warrior. This was the sorrow of the small federation. If it had been a renowned country, he would have been an overnight celebrity. But in a small federation, he could only gain recognition in an international competition like this.

Tang Zhen was very skillful in his physical technique and wood element Ability X. Even then, it took quite some effort before he eventually took the victory. But this result was expected as it was, after all, a captain-level fighter.

But the Heaven's Arrows battle team lost the next two rounds to the Military Affairs battle team. Qiankun Zadeh did not even need to come on, thus revealing the definitive differences in strength.

After all, it was Aslan's home ground. In addition, based on the Heaven's Arrows battle team's past results, it was considered a good result for them to have reached this stage.

However, in the final team battle, an unexpected, jaw-dropping scene occurred.

The seemingly hopeless Heaven's Arrows battle team was fearless, and were ready to fight it out till the end.

There was no reason for the Military Affairs battle team to be in fear. But they were forced to a series of draws.

The five mecha of the Heaven's Arrows battle team represented the Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth powers of the Five Elements. They all chose warrior-type mecha. The most fearful thing about them was that they were obviously pretending to be weak during the individual battles. All the five of them possessed rather fearsome combat skills. Above it all, their spiritual coordination was extremely proficient.

Less than ten minutes into the battle, the Military Affairs battle team collapsed. No wonder their sniper and tank did not feel so exquisite. These five individuals were essentially warriors.

This show-cased the best combat and spiritual coordination since the start of the SIG. It seemed like a one-to-one battle, but in actual fact, the Military Affairs battle team was engaged in a one-to-five battle.

This kind of spiritual teamwork was known as resonance in Ability X research. In the past, there was a pair of twin brothers in Elite Academy X who could do this. But that was because they were related and their spiritual coordination was in sync. Unexpectedly, that the five members of the Heaven's Arrows battle team could do this too.

The display of their combat skills was equally impressive, giving no indication that they were a weak team.

Chapter 1183: The Quarter-finals

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The quarter-finals saw a big upset, with the elimination of the Military Affairs.

At this point, the teams that advanced to the quarter-finals were born.

Saruman Snake battle team, Sea Queen battle team, Sword Shield Rose battle team, Soulless battle team, Zero Degrees battle team, Dynasty battle team, Sky Arrow battle team, and Child of Light battle team.

The representatives of the most powerful colleges in the current Milky Way Alliance were born. Every one of the weak links of these eight teams had undergone a series of trials before they reached the quarter-finals. This was evident by watching the qualifiers and the past competitions. But the current organizing committee of the events did not seem to be very satisfied with this. They believed that this setup played to the strength of the teams.

After the confirmation of the quarter-finals, the SIG organizing committee also issued the rules of the subsequent matches. Actual combat would be used in the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals!

Aslan would provide all the mecha for the competition. Do not feel bitter. Among the Milky Way Alliance, only Aslan had such a strong capability, so they could do it.

In view of the strength of the teams that had advanced to the quarter-finals, the competition would be held in the military demonstration field of the Aslan military. This was a very large demonstration field that had no problem holding other massive heavy weapons, let alone the mecha. This was because the surroundings of the demonstration field were defended by the Super Zesus-level energy shield, and according to threats, this protection could be intensified as well.

On the one hand, it was the internal testing ground of the military, and at the same time, it undertook the special forces competitions both at home and abroad. The safety factor was the highest level of the Milky Way Alliance.

But this was actual combat.

Although the annual casualty rate of the special forces competitions had remained within the five-percentage point, some casualties were still unavoidable. According to the current healing conditions, this number would be lower for SIG.

It was not used by the SIG in the past because the SIG competitors' control was very mediocre, and they attacked without thinking. However, this year's SIG was different – the skill levels were unusually terrifying. Using juvenile methods could not demonstrate one's value.

Although there had been numerous opinions these couple of days, when this statement was confirmed, it caused a huge sensation. The competitors in the top eight were not bothered because for them to have come this far, they would obviously not be afraid to face any challenges. A star would surely be born, and likewise, a star would fall.

Those who had been eliminated put down their luggage because their "face" was incomparable to the battle that was to come, and no one wanted to miss witnessing the moment that would make history. The upcoming battles would inevitably display the raise of stars and the fall of stars

The competitors would have to consider the damages; thus, the quality of the bench was very important. Using the special forces' tactics, the vacancy could not be filled. For instance, during the team battle, regardless of the number of members, they would have to partake in the team battle. If the whole team was defeated, they would be eliminated immediately.

Of course, this was a more extreme situation, and it rarely happened in the special forces' competition.

However, this was the SIG. Furthermore, in recent times, many countries had requested to open this battle. Since they believed that the military schools' students should have the temperament of soldiers, why should they not allow it?

While it would not be open to the outside world, it should be opened to the military schools. The embassies of various countries had also requested it.

In the end, the latter matches would be opened to the major military schools in various countries, while imposing eighteen prohibitions. This rule was necessary considering the cruelty of the battle.

Once this news was announced, it caused an extraordinarily heated discussion among the military schools across the countries. The same heated discussion was taking place in a strong school like Elite Academy X as well. Looking at the configuration of the top eight, only Elite Academy X had two teams that had advanced to the quarter-finals. Other strong regions, like Aslan and Arbiter, only had one team that had advanced to the quarter-finals. Furthermore, there was an internal conflict in the Elite Academy; otherwise, the result may have been better.

On an actual battlefield, this was a provision that most of the military schools did not have, and it was also where it would best reflect the true strength of the team.

As a result of this, videos of the previous matches were spreading uncontrollably too.

Of course, these were not what Aina was concerned about. In response to Kashawen's aggressiveness, the only retaliation that she could provide was to encouragement attention and expand her sphere of influence. So long as her influence grew, the possibility of Kashawen controlling the game would be greatly reduced. She had to consider the risks. Aina knew that compared to this, Kashawen had to consider much more and more comprehensively than this.

She wanted Kashawen to be weary and not let up. She wanted to stop the actual combat, but she could not. After all, she was just a princess, and she could not provide a public challenge. Therefore, this linske taking advantage of the situation and nib the problem at its roots.

Kashawen did not deliberately stop Aina. Aina needed to demonstrate her abilities in order to mature. Furthermore, this response was worthy of sixty points.

The reactions of all the countries were rather enthusiastic. The breakthrough of the Atlanteans and the Mayans had fuelled the expectations of many countries. However, the military schools from the Solar System were, surprisingly, the most popular. Whether it was Earth, the Moon or Mars, they were virtually in a state of madness. When they learned that they could see the battles of the top four, they went berserk because the first team of two of the teams was from the Solar System. To the Solar System, this was like a seasonal rain after a long drought because the two teams from the Solar System had been eliminated in the early stages. Although these two teams represented Elite Academy X, the captains were both from Earth, from the Solar System.

Both Wang Zheng and Lear could not have imagined how popular they had become now, not only among the military schools, but also among some comprehensive colleges. They were called the revival symbols of Earth's civilization. Needless to say, as the heir to the Chronos family, Lear had lived like an idol, and he had carried this status to the stage of the Milky Way Alliance.

Wang Zheng was a representative of another dream. He was an unknown youth before he became the strongest king and led the Saruman Snake battle team to invincibility. It was like living a dream.

Of course, the Atlantis Sea Queen battle team was now the most popular among the major teams, reaching the top through super counterattacks.

Good looks, mystical, powerful, and elegant; these were the characteristics of the Atlanteans. Furthermore, with the victory in the previous match, Atlantis' influence, which had faded somewhat over the years, had returned instantly.

The humans had always respected the strong.

Beside the Sea Queen battle team, who had emerged as the champion, the other two teams that were the most popular were the Saruman Snake battle team and the Sword Shield Rose battle team.

The other five teams each had their own merits, especially since they had already reached this far and were thus worthy of respect.

The quarter-finals would take place two weeks from now. This week would be the final preparation stage for the major teams. It would be an exaggeration to permit Aslan to provide actual training for all the SIG teams, but Aslan could do it for eight teams.

The list of the mecha required by the eight teams would be allocated to the competition field. Everyone would adapt their time and training accordingly. At the same time, the mecha would be under surveillance.

Why?

It was obviously to prevent someone from "playing tricks" on the mecha. In actual combat, once there was a problem with the mech, even if it was only a loose screw, the consequences would not be merely failure, but death as well.