20-30

Inside the Sky Hunter's pilot cabin…

Qin Yue had a vigilant look on his face. He was constantly observing his surroundings to make it easier for him to react as quickly as possible.

After a few breaths, as Qin Yue's gaze swept across the desert land beneath his feet, he suddenly noticed something unusual.

The yellow sand beneath his feet seemed to be trembling.

Seeing that, Qin Yue immediately looked towards other locations.

Similarly, as long as it was visible to his naked eye, the sand would shake slightly.

Immediately, Qin Yue realized that the Beast Tide had arrived!

As expected, when Qin Yue shifted his gaze and looked into the distance, the yellow sand had been kicked up and had covered more than half of the view of the horizon.

Another few breaths of time passed and the yellow sand ground began to tremble more violently. It was then that a chaotic roar resounded in the air and echoed in everyone's ears.

Along with the explosive roar, the Alien Beasts that had caused such a huge commotion finally appeared in everyone's field of vision.

They were fifteen meters tall and bore a pair of ghastly white bone wings.

Their limbs and backs were covered in black scales, and their eyes were emitted a faint red light. On their heads, there was a horn that was twice as long as their heads.

"The Alien Beasts are here. Get ready for battle!"

Under Qin Yue's control, Sky Hunter immediately pulled out a long pike from his back.

The moment Qin Yue warned them, Ling Ru and the other three immediately drew their weapons and got into formation.

Qin Yue and Wang Jun were positioned on the outside, while Ling Ru and Li Yan were at their flanks.

Tang Lin, who was in charge of fire support, stood in the middle of the diamond formation.

On the other side, the two brigades immediately split up and prepared for the incoming wave of Alien Beasts.

Everyone had prepared themselves in the short few seconds that they still had as the vast horde of Alien Beasts quickly approached the energy exchange tunnel.

As the Alien Beasts got closer and closer, Qin Yue finally saw the number of Alien Beasts and the species they belonged to clearly.

This group of Alien Beasts belonged to the Disaster-level. They were a variety of wolf species, and they were called Demonic Desert Wolves.

Their most terrifying aspect was their extremely strong combat strength. It was not an exaggeration to say that their strength was at the very top of the Disaster-level classification.

After processing the information, Qin Yue immediately spoke into the communication channel that the five of them had established.

"Pay attention. These are Demonic Desert Wolves. Their individual combat strength is very strong. Let's not act rashly for the time being."

"When the battle begins, remember to target the abdomen of the demon wolves. Their weakness is the area without scales."

Demonic Desert Wolves were one of the types of Alien Beasts that Qin Yue had memorized.

He remembered very clearly that if these Demonic Desert Wolves used their horns to strike at full force, then the average mecha would definitely not be able to withstand it, and might even be crippled.

"This… Qin Yue, you even managed to analyze their weaknesses?"

Ling Ru covered her mouth, her small face filled with surprise.

Qin Yue shrugged and said, "Don't talk nonsense, get ready to fight our first battle as a team!"

At the same time…

At the highest point of the mobile fortress, the receptionist who had watched Qin Yue and the others were all smiles.

"It's just a few students, but they can still be so calm when facing an Alien Beast tide of this scale. They even reacted at the first moment and with poise. These are no simple cadets!"

"Even among the mecha teams below, the experienced mecha operators probably didn't perform as well as them!"

Hearing Qin Yue and the others being praised, Wang Yangming also smiled.

"Of course. Those are the few students that I am very satisfied with."

"Especially the student with a long pike in his hand. He is the one that I value the most. According to my estimation, he can defeat even a dozen Demonic Desert Wolves!"

Wang Yangming was still very confident in Qin Yue's strength.

However, despite hearing Wang Yangming's praise for Qin Yue, the staff member did not agree with him.

"Instructor Wang, you are exaggerating. Look at these soldiers from the Mecha Brigade. They are all experienced mecha operators."

"They are the elites left behind from the battles with the enemy forces, and even the fierce Alien Beasts!"

"These students, even if they are geniuses, how can they compete with these mecha operators who survived countless life-and-death battles?"

Wang Yangming did not refute his words. Instead, he shook his head with a bitter smile.

"In this world, you have to admit that such a genius requires ordinary people to pay a hundred times the amount of sweat before they can barely look at his back."

"The Alien Beasts are already in front of us. Just wait and see! The strength he will display will leave you speechless."

The staff member continued but fell silent. He still did not agree with Wang Yangming's words. He still insisted on what he thought was right in his heart.

'It was just a few greenhorn students. How could they be compared to these battle-hardened warriors? It was impossible!'

At that moment, there were several explosions followed by the roars of Alien Beasts. The clear sounds of a mecha battle filled the air.

The battle between the Demonic Desert Wolves and the mecha operators had already begun!

Boom!

Boom!

In the Mecha Battalion, 80 mecha stood at the forefront of the energy exchange, engaging in close combat with the Demonic Desert Wolves,

Behind them, 20 Devastator type mecha were firing at the places where the Beast Tide was densest, or at the mecha that were engaged in close combat with the Alien Beasts, providing long-range support!

"The defenses at the right flank are weakening. The Alien Beasts are about to tear a hole in it!"

"Quick, help them plug that hole!"

"Roger!"

However, the number of Alien Beasts far exceeded the mecha squad. In a short while, the Demonic Desert Wolves would tear a hole in their front lines.

Fortunately, the mecha team quickly reacted and immediately sent reinforcements.

At the same time, at the position of the team led by Qin Yue.

Facing the wave of Alien Beasts, Qin Yue and the others did not panic. Instead, they faced the Demonic Desert Wolves in an orderly manner as they had discussed earlier.

"Qin Yue, two Demonic Desert Wolves are charging you from the side!"

"Linlin, Yanyan, quickly support Qin Yue!"

At that moment, Ling Ru, who supported Wang Jun on the battlefield, suddenly saw two Demonic Desert Wolves charging towards Qin Yue from the side.

Subconsciously out of concern, Ling Ru shouted anxiously into the communication channel.

"No need. If we can't deal with both of them, I wouldn't have taken the initiative to make the request and bring you guys here!"

The corners of Qin Yue's mouth curled up as he laughed confidently.

Before Li Yanyan and Tang Lin could provide support, Qin Yue suddenly attacked the two Demonic Desert Wolves that had suddenly appeared.

One of Sky Hunter's large hands suddenly grabbed one of the demon wolf's horns, stopping it in place.

At the same time, Sky Hunter's other hand held the Scarlet Pike. With lightning speed, it stabbed towards the abdomen of the demon wolf that had pounced in the air.

The Demon Wolf died on the spot!

As for the other demon wolf, Qin Yue had held onto its horn tightly, restricting its movements.

After struggling for a while, it was punched to death by Sky Hunter's fist.

The damage caused by the two demon wolves to Qin Yue's mecha was almost negligible!

Qin Yue, Li Yanyan, rushed over to provide support, and Tang Lin, readied her weapon to provide fire support.

When they saw the two Demonic Desert Wolves that had crashed to the ground, they could not help but be slightly stunned!

Their expressions instantly became dull.

"Was Brother Qin Yue always this strong?"

Li Yanyan's mouth was agape, her eyes wide open in disbelief, "I couldn't even see the reaction speed of the Mecha just now…"

"Little Brother Qin Yue, you're very strong." The corners of Tang Lin's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a charming smile.

Seeing that the two of them were a little dazed and that their attacks had slowed by a beat, Qin Yue hurriedly reminded them, "You two, what are you doing?! This is a battlefield, don't be distracted!"

"Don't mess up your positioning. There's another batch of Alien Beasts charging towards us from our surroundings!"

"Junzi, don't stray too far!"

"Ling Ru, Yanyan, Tanglin, you guys flank us from the side. Don't let the Demon Wolves surround us!"

"Don't worry! Qin Yue, we'll listen to you."

"If Yanyan and Linzi are in a daze, I'll spank these two girls' butts for you!"

As soon as Ling Ru finished her sentence, the few of them once again focused on their fight with the new wave of demonic wolves that charged towards them. Ling Ru piloted her mecha and targeted stragglers among the Beast Tide around Qin Yue!

The Beast Tide was huge, with more than 300 Alien Beasts inside.

However, with such a huge number, regardless of whether it was the two mecha brigades or Qin Yue's squad, it would be very difficult for them to defend against that many Demonic Desert Wolves despite already killing a number of them.

Moreover, there were already some casualties on both of the brigades.

If the fight went on, according to Qin Yue's speculation, the Mental Strengths of Ling Ru and the others would be drained sooner or later.

As of then, the battle had just begun. Qin Yue could only wait and see. He focused on dealing with the demon wolf in front of him.

As time passed, the battle had reached a stalemate.

Despite being able to whittle down the Alien Beasts numbers, Qin Yue's team was on the verge of mental collapse, and they clearly no longer had enough Mental Strength to keep fighting.

Now, Qin Yue no longer hesitated, and immediately gave another order to the few of them.

"Ling Ru, Yanyan, Tang Ling, Junzi, all of you head towards the Mecha Battalion's position!"

The situation was tense. As soon as Qin Yue finished giving his orders, he piloted Sky Hunter and charged into the Beast Tide.

The rest immediately shouted after him anxiously.

"Brother Qin Yue!" Li Yanyan's face was filled with worry. She could not believe that Qin Yue had just charged towards the Beast Tide.

"Little Brother Qin Yue!" Tang Lin frowned slightly. It was rare for her to be so serious, so she no longer teased him.

"Brother Qin!" Even Wang Jun, who had always had a poker face, was slightly moved.

At that moment, the few of them had even forgotten about Qin Yue's instructions and were about to follow Qin Yue into the herd of beasts.

Fortunately, one of the four, Ling Ru, understood Qin Yue's thoughts.

"Retreat quickly. If we go after him, we will become a burden to Qin Yue. We'll end up harming him instead!"

Despite what Ling Ru said, her expression was conflicted.

She felt the same as the others. How could she not want to follow Qin Yue and charge in?

However, she knew very well that if they charged in with him, they would only end up being a burden. At that time, they might drag Qin Yue down!

"Let's trust Qin Yue. Retreat for now!"

"This isn't right. We should support him!"

After saying that, the few of them struggled in their hearts for a while before moving closer to the nearby mecha brigade's position.

However, they all paid attention to Qin Yue's situation. Once Qin Yue was in danger, they would immediately rush to his aid!

At the same time…

High up in the mobile fortress, when the reception staff saw Qin Yue charging into the Beast Tide, his eyes were filled with shock.

"His actions are tantamount to suicide! Teacher Wang, are you sure you don't want to save such a genius student?"

The staff member had witnessed Qin Yue's battle just now. He had to admit that Qin Yue was really a genius!

However, the situation was still a little different from what Wang Yangming had described.

Right now, Qin Yue's action of charging into the Beast Tide was an impulsive and suicidal action in his eyes.

Watching from the side, Wang Yangming pretended to be calm as he spoke.

"There's no rush. Let's just keep watching. That student of mine isn't that weak!"

From his words, Wang Yangming was still filled with confidence in Qin Yue, but he secretly broke out in cold sweat as he witnessed Qin Yue's actions.

To be honest, Qin Yue charging into the Beast Tide was an inappropriate thing to do, but deep in his heart, he still had some confidence in Qin Yue.

Within the Beast Tide, the Sky Hunter mecha stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens, standing tall.

Qin Yue's gaze was sharp, and his eyes were filled with boundless battle intent. His eyes were faintly filled with killing intent!

"Come on beasts! This time, I can completely unleash my abilities and fight with all of you!"

As the sound of his voice faded, Qin Yue used the Tai Chi spear technique to direct Sky Hunter to directly slash out horizontally.

Boom!

The slash was so fast that it was invisible to the naked eye. Even the sound of air being torn apart could be heard in the air.

The Demonic Desert Wolves were fearless as they charged forward to meet the attack.

In the next second, a Demonic Desert Wolf's wail could be heard. The wail was accompanied by a splattering of blood through the air.

One strike ended the lives of two Demonic Desert Wolves!

After killing the two Demonic Desert Wolves Qin Yue did not hesitate and pressed the attack.

With his immaculate Tai Chi skills, each thrust of Sky Hunter's pike ended the life of an Alien Beast.

Awoooo! Awoooo! Awoooo!!!

For a time, the howls of dying desert wolves constantly resounded in the air.

At that time, even the fighters of the Mecha Brigade could not help but turn their attention towards Sky Hunter as they watched it dispatch beast after beast with unerring ease.

Everyone's eyes widened and their expressions froze!Isn't… isn't that the person from the Mecha Academy who came for the trial earlier? Such terrifying combat strength, is he really a student?"

"A single person killed all those Demonic Desert Wolves and caused their cries to echo all over the place?"

"F*ck, he's so fierce. He even waded into the Beast Tide with such ease. If it were me, I reckon that my mecha would have been torn to shreds within moments!"

"A student can use such precise killing stokes? He's too strong!"

The battle prowess displayed by Qin Yue shocked everyone. The shock in their eyes did not dissipate for a long time.

At the time, the morale of the two mecha brigades had been sapped as the fight went on.

Now, after everyone saw Qin Yue's valiant performance, the spirits of the mecha operators soared to an unprecedented high!

They shouted and resumed their fight with the Alien Beasts with renewed vigor.

On the other side, Ling Ru and the others were also stunned for a moment when they saw Qin Yue's astonishing strength.

Ling Ru's Red Lips were slightly parted, and her rosy face was filled with surprise, "Qin Yue, so you didn't display your true strength in the previous battle!"

"Just now, while we fought together. Brother Qin Yue was worried, so he held back?"

"Little Brother Qin Yue, there's something new about you every day!"

"I will definitely catch up to you, Brother Qin!"

Li Yanyan and the other two were the same. When they looked at Qin Yue who fought like a god of war, their hearts stirred.

Of course, the most surprised was the reception staff who stood on the mobile fortress, as well as Wang Yangming.

"Gulp"

The reception staff swallowed hard and said with a trembling tone, "Genius! No, at that age… He's a monster!

"Instructor Wang, your praise for this student was not exaggerated at all. In fact, it was even more than that!

"I was the one who looked down on others. I'm so ashamed!"

The receptionist felt extremely embarrassed. He did not believe that a student could be so powerful at all.

Now, Qin Yue's display of strength was like a fierce slap to his face.

"Naturally, the student I think highly of will definitely do it if I say he can!"

Qin Yue's performance had long exceeded his expectations. However, after hearing someone praise else Qin Yue, he accepted it without reservation.

After all, at the same time he praised Qin Yue, he, as a teacher, also took advantage of the situation.

At the center of the Beast Tide, Sky Hunter was like a god of war that effortlessly reaped the lives of Alien Beasts.

Sky Hunter's domineering body had long been covered with the blood of slain beasts.

Unknowingly, the group of Demonic Desert Wolves had avoided Qin Yue!

They were afraid!

They had unconsciously developed a fear of that gigantic creature that mercilessly reaped the lives of their kind!

After Qin Yue reaped the life of another Demonic Desert Wolf, the group of Demonic Desert Wolves collectively let out a roar.

Roar!

Roar!!!

After the roar, the group of Demonic Desert Wolves began to run away.

After a few moments, there were no more of the wolves in sight.

At that moment, someone in the mecha team opened the door of the cockpit and shouted.

"Haha, we've won! We've won!"

Then, one mecha operator after another opened their cockpits and shouted.

"F*ck, F*ck, so these animals can feel fear too!"

"Beautiful, it's my first time seeing these animals running away in such a sorry state!"

"Haha, I know this brother who fought off the Beast Tide. His name is Qin Yue. Brothers, Little Brother Qin Yue is still a student!"

That person was none other than one of the two who stopped Qin Yue earlier and questioned his squad when they first arrived.

After he announced Qin Yue's identity, the mecha operators were stunned for a moment. Then, they shouted Qin Yue's name and cheered.

…

After the celebrations died down, everyone took stock of the battlefield.

At that moment, Wang Yangming walked out of his mecha and stood in front of Qin Yue and the others.

"You guys did well! Especially you, Qin Yue. But remember not to be arrogant!"

Wang Yangming said with satisfaction.

"Yes, teacher. I will remember it!" Qin Yue replied seriously.

At that moment, a mecha pilot who was surveying the battlefield walked over with a smile on his face.

"Little Brother Qin Yue, this time, your team killed a total of 31 Alien Beasts.

"Among them, you alone killed 23 Alien Beasts."

Qin Yue raised her eyebrows and muttered in surprise.

"Only 31 Alien Beasts? That's a little low.

"It would be good if the beast tide retreated a little slower. This way, we can complete the trial in one go!"

As Qin Yue said that, he did not notice Wang Yangming's and the pilot's mouth twitch from what they had just heard him say.

After all, they had killed a total of 120 odd Alien Beasts this time.

Among them, Qin Yue's squad alone had killed a total of 31 Alien Beasts!

Qin Yue's remarks made the surviving mecha brigade members feel uncomfortable.

"Qin Yue, why don't we keep moving forward and continue hunting?"

Ling Ru boldly voiced out her thoughts. Of course, the decision was in Qin Yue's hands. She was only asking for Qin Yue's opinion.

Ling Ru was not the only one who had such thoughts. Li Yanyan, Tang Lin, and Wang Jun all had the same idea.

After they understood Qin Yue's strength, as members of the same squad, they could not help but feel a little ashamed.

They understood Qin Yue's strength had already surpassed theirs by several levels. If they did not work hard to catch up, they would all become a burden to Qin Yue in the future.

Becoming a burden was the last thing on their minds.

After Qin Yue heard Ling Ru's suggestion, he immediately revealed a hint of a smile and clapped his hands in agreement, "That's not a bad idea."

Qin Yue did not hesitate. He immediately looked at Wang Yangming and said, "Teacher, our team requests permission to continue hunting so we can complete our trial mission."

Wang Yangming pondered for a moment.

If he had not personally witnessed how Qin Yue single-handedly instilled fear in the Beast Tide and revived the fighting spirit of the mecha brigades, perhaps he would have let Qin Yue and the others return to the mobile fortress to familiarize themselves with the environment before allowing them to resume their hunt.

Now, he had no doubts. He agreed to Qin Yue's request to continue the trial, "Alright, Go ahead! However, I still have to remind all of you to be careful. You must stay on your toes out there."

With the strength that Qin Yue had displayed so far, Wang Yang knew that Qin Yue's squad was not in any life-threatening danger but as a teacher, he still had to say his piece on the matter.

"Let's go!"

As Qin Yue waved his hand, the five of them boarded their respective mecha once again and began to move towards the depths of the barren star..

While on the way to hunt more Alien Beasts, Qin Yue suddenly realized that the mood of the others had not been right since the end of the battle.

It seemed that it had started when they saw him charging into the center of the Beast Tide.

Qin Yue also had some guesses as to what the situation was.

"Brother Junzi, Ling Ru, Yanyan, Tang Lin, what's wrong with you guys? Why are you all so unhappy?" asked Qin Yue.

"No, it's nothing," Ling Ru waved her hand. As she spoke, her face instantly turned red.

Li Yanyan and Tang Lin also gave the same answer as Ling Ru.

At the same time, Wang Jun, who had always been quiet, told him what they were all thinking, "Brother Qin, we just don't want to hold you back in the future…

"If we encounter any Alien Beasts that we can deal with next, can you leave us some for practice?

"Since you're here, if possible… Brother Qin, please give us some pointers on how to fight."

Seeing that Wang Jun had spoken out what they were all thinking, the three of them admitted the same in embarrassment.

Although Qin Yue could not see the expressions of Wang Jun and the others, from their words, he could still hear their determination to improve.

Without thinking too much, Qin Yue smiled indifferently and said.

"I thought it was a big deal, but it turns out it's something so trivial! Of course there's no problem! We're friends and teammates, aren't we?"

Even if they had not voiced it out, Qin Yue also had the same intention to do so regardless.

They were a team, a squad. By helping the others improve their strength, they were also indirectly helping him improve his own.

If they did not even have someone that they could trust during the battle, how lonely and miserable that would be!

Qin Yue also did not want to end up in a situation where he fought alone.

"Then from now on, as long as your lives aren't in danger, I won't make a move," Qin Yue shrugged and said indifferently.

When Ling Ru and the others heard that, a smile immediately appeared on their faces.

"Hehe, Qin Yue, thank you."

"Little Brother Qin Yue, then I'll have to trouble you to give me some pointers in the future."

"Brother Qin Yue, I'll have to trouble you."

"Brother Qin, from now on, you'll be my Big Brother!"

During the rest of the journey, Qin Yue led the few of them forward as they looked for traces of Alien Beasts.

Of course, Qin Yue did not even make a move when they found some Alien Beasts.

He watched the entire journey from the perspective of a coach and directed the battles of the few of them as he watched.

It had to be said that, from Qin Yue's point of view, Ling Ru and the others did not have much combat experience. They did, however, have a talent for learning things quickly.

Under his command, whether it was learning a new fighting style or gathering combat experience, they all improved rapidly.

Unknowingly, Qin Yue's group of five arrived at a huge sand dune.

Different from the other locations, the skeletons found there were several times larger than the one they had passed by in other areas.

Although they were in the cockpits of their mechas and could not feel the weather outside, after arriving at that location, the few of them suddenly felt a chill on their backs.

The strangest thing was the environment here.

As they looked around, there were countless sand dunes of all sizes. There were also huge sand caves.

Qin Yue did not hesitate. The moment he realized that the situation wasn't right, she immediately said, "Be careful! The environment here doesn't seem right! The white bones of these Alien Beasts and mecha parts strewn about… There's definitely a very strong Alien Beast below the sand dunes!"

It was also at the moment Qin Yue finished his sentence that Ling Ru's pupils suddenly dilated. For the first time, a hint of fear appeared on her face.

"Qin Yue, we might really have encountered a very strong Alien Beast just like you said."

"I've read about it in an interstellar encyclopedia. The environment here is very similar to the environment of a Catastrophe-level Alien Beast."

"It seems to be called a Three-headed Sandworm. This Alien Beast is brutal by nature and has boundless strength."

Hearing Ling Ru's words, Li Yanyan, Tang Lin, Wang Jun, and the others could not help but feel a little nervous.

A Catastrophe-level Alien Beast was already far beyond what they could deal with.

"Qin Yue, what should we do?" Ling Ru stared at the sand dune, constantly on guard against a potential Three-headed Sandworm attack.

Just as Qin Yue was about to answer, a sudden change occurred on the sand dunes!

One by one, the sand dunes suddenly began to squirm. The friction between the sand made a strange sound.

As they squirmed, the sand dunes gradually parted.

However, before anyone could react to the sudden movement, a huge, ugly, and ferocious Three-headed Sandworm suddenly darted out of the largest sand hole.

The Three-headed Sandworm was exactly as described with its three huge heads.

Each of its heads had four pale yellow pupils. In its ferocious mouth, there were two rows of incomparably sharp sawteeth.

It was not an exaggeration to say that if the mecha piloted by Ling Ru and the others were to be bitten by three of those maws, they would probably be torn apart by those sharp serrated teeth!

The body of the three sandworms had reached a length of 100 meters and the surface of their skin was covered with a layer of armor that was like fish scales.

The sudden attack of the sandworms caught everyone off guard. Some of the squad were instantly thrown onto the sand by its swinging body.

Boom!

Qin Yue was some distance away from them but the mecha operated by Ling Ru and the others all crashed to the ground, creating a huge sandpit.

Inside the mecha, the four of them also felt a strong vibration in their cockpits as their mecha were struck by the violent impact.

In that instant just now, the four of them only felt that their internal organs were subjected to a violent vibration as if they were about to be shaken out.

The attack had also stunned them.

In just a breath's time, the sandworm adjusted its body and launched another attack, Its body suddenly moved like a fish in the water!

Seeing this, Qin Yue hurriedly shouted. "Defensive Battle Formation! Quick!"

At the same time, he used the speed of Sky Hunter to charge toward the four people.

Fortunately, Qin Yue's orders reawakened them. The four of them, who had been stunned by the Three-headed Sandworm, immediately reacted. Before the attack landed, they immediately formed a defensive battle formation.

At that moment, Qin Yue also joined the defensive battle formation as he prepared to block the attack.

However, all of that appeared to be too weak in front of the Catastrophe-level Alien Beast. Their defensive battle formation was completely useless.

With a single strike, they were scattered.

Qin Yue, who had been sent flying by the sandworm, immediately adjusted Sky Hunter's body, barely managing to avoid being blasted into the sand.

"Hiss, what formidable strength!"

After that exchange, Qin Yue understood that not only was the Three-headed Sandworm extremely fast, its strength was also extremely formidable.

It was almost impossible for them to escape the nest of these Three-headed Sandworms.

They had no choice but to fight it.

The battle would deTang Lin, immediately withdraw from our battle formation and use your firepower to constantly harass it. When necessary, create an advantage for us!

"Ling Ru, Yan Yan, Junzi, the four of us will engage it in a frontal cross-attack!

"Remember to support us. Don't let it deal a fatal blow to any one of us!"

As soon as they finished speaking, they immediately drew their melee weapons.

Under the cover of the few of them, Tang Lin immediately went to the rear and took out her mecha's most powerful weapon, the MX-M10 Sirius Beam Cannon.

"Take the initiative to attack and find a weakness!" Qin Yue roared. With the Scarlet Pike in hand, he took the lead and charged.

"Yes!"

"Roger!" Ling Ru, Li Yanyan, and Wang Jun did not hesitate either. They followed closely behind Qin Yue and charged from the left and right sides.

Roar~

At the same time, the Three-headed Sandworm swung its tail furiously.

In its eyes, these five mecha were like insects. After all, it had seen such insects countless times before.

And those insects were all easily torn apart by it and swallowed into its stomach!

What made it angry was that such weaklings dared to take the initiative to attack it.

It was angry!

The Three-headed Sandworm was furious. It must tear them apart!

Bang!

The incomparably huge body suddenly slapped the sand, and the sound of muffled thunder instantly resounded through the air.

The hundred-meter-long body was like an arrow that had been nocked. With a whoosh, it charged forward.

However, Qin Yue and the other three had no intention of fighting it head-on. The moment it charged, the four of them split up.

Bang, Bang, Bang!

The moment the four of them split up, Tang Lin, who wielded a beam cannon, immediately locked onto the head in the middle of the three sandworms and fired continuously.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky, and smoke enveloped its enormous body.

After the sandworm suffered numerous hits to one of its heads, it paused its attacks.

"Yeah!"

"You got it, Linlin!" Seeing what had happened, Ling Ru clenched her fists and shouted happily.

"It's not that simple. Linlin, find an opportunity to keep harassing it!

"Let's continue to attack it from both sides!" Qin Yue said in a deep voice.

The smoke dispersed very quickly, and just as Qin Yue had said, the three sandworm heads were not injured at all.

The ranged attacks just now had only stopped its attack.

Qin Yue did not give it time to recover. When the smoke dispersed, the four people followed up.

The weapons in their hands stabbed towards the heads of the three sandworms.

However, unexpectedly, their attacks did not even break through the defense of the sandworm's three heads!

Qin Yue immediately ordered the few of them to retreat for some distance when he saw that their attacks had no effect.

When the Three-headed Sandworm felt a slight pain in its body, it did not continue to attack the few of them. Instead, it raised its three huge heads.

Suddenly, it spat out a huge amount of green liquid into the air.

After some time, the green liquid turned into raindrops.

"A green liquid? Could it be corrosive?" Qin Yue thought to himself.

"Retreat immediately. That should be corrosive liquid. Quick!"

However, it was too late. When Qin Yue and the others retreated, their mecha were still covered with some of the green liquid.

Sizzle, sizzle, Sizzle!

Fortunately, only a little of the liquid landed on their mechas. It did not cause too much damage.

"Brother Qin Yue, that liquid that can corrode mecha is really powerful. Fortunately, we withdrew on time. Otherwise, our mecha would have melted by now!"

Li Yanyan patted her chest lightly. A look of relief appeared on her face.

Qin Yue did not answer immediately. After he withdrew from the corrosive liquid's range, he immediately looked towards the position of the sandworm.

"It disappeared?"

"Not good, the Three-headed Sandworm has escaped into the sand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the members of the team entered into a heightened alert again. They looked around for signs of the sandworm.

However, the sand in front of them was very flat. There were no signs of squirming at all. It was very difficult to detect the position of the Three-headed Sandworm.

Could it be that it had returned to its underground nest?

Bang!

Just as the thought appeared in their minds, the sand dunes under their feet moved strangely. The Three-headed Sandworm suddenly soared into the sky.

The members of the squad did not have time to react. In the blink of an eye, they were sent flying.

It was clear the Three-headed Sandworm was enraged.

The members of the squad also grew tired of the fight. After a few rounds, they were already in a sorry state.

Qin Yue's attack was also no longer as fierce as before. They gradually changed tactics from offense to defense.

Of course, that was not because Qin Yue had given up on the idea of killing the Three-headed Sandworm.

He clearly understood that the Three-headed Sandworm's strength had far exceeded the capabilities of the five of them since their attacks were not effective.

Then Qin Yue could only calm himself down, analyze, and find its weakness. Only then would they have a chance to defeat the savage Three-headed Sandworm.

As time passed, Qin Yue realized that the Mental Strength of Ling Ru and the others had drained at a faster rate.

If they still could not find a way out of that mess, they probably would not even be able to operate their mecha anymore.

"Damn it, its entire body is covered in armor. It's too difficult to harm it from the outside!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a bold and crazy idea suddenly appeared in Qin Yue's mind.

Since their attacks could not cause any damage from the outside, why not attack from the inside of the Three-headed Sandworm?

Although it was very dangerous, it was also the most effective method.

"I have a way to deal with it!"

"Yanyan, Ling Ru, your mecha are the fastest. You guys go and distract the Three-headed Sandworm!"

"Tang Lin, Junzi, you will be in charge of using your weapons to support them. When Yanyan and Ling Ru are about to be caught, use your firepower to disrupt it!"

"Leave the rest to me. I'll give it a fatal blow!"

When Ling Ru and the others heard that Qin Yue had a way to deal with the sandworm, they were instantly delighted.

However, the anxious battle did not allow them to think too much. They immediately began to execute the plan according to Qin Yue's instructions.

After Wang Jun attacked then withdrew, Ling Ru and Li Yanyan continued to provoke the sandworm.

The sandworm also shifted its target of pursuit to the two of them.

Every time the sandworm was about to catch up to the two of them, Tang Lin and Wang Jun would pelt the sandworm with precise shots.

Qin Yue stayed further away and kept a close watch on the sandworm's every move, ready to pounce.

However, the Three-headed Sandworm did not behave as he expected it to.

An entire minute had passed, but it still did not open its giant mouths.

Just as Ling Ru and Li Yanyan began to slow down, the opportunity finally came.

At that moment, the Three-headed Sandworm, which had been infuriated to the extreme, raised its head again and let out a deafening roar.

From the side, Qin Yue, whose nerves were tensed up, saw his chance and a smile finally appeared on his face.

"Beast, this young master will send you to hell!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yue burst forth with all his Mental Strength at the speed of lightning.

He controlled her mecha and charged straight into the Three-headed Sandworm's huge mouth..

finitely be a hard-fought one!

At that moment Qin Yue rushed towards the sandworm.

Ling Ru and the others knew then that Qin Yue had already found an opportunity to give the Three-headed Sandworm a fatal blow.

The few of them were extremely curious about Qin Yue's so-called fatal blow.

The moment he rushed in, they stopped in their tracks. Their eyes stared fixedly at Sky Hunter's figure as it moved towards one of the sandworm's mouths.

Ling Ru and the others were dumbfounded.

They could not believe what they had just seen.

They did not dare to imagine that Qin Yue's so-called fatal blow strategy would be to rush into one of the Three-headed Sandworm's giant mouths…

Ling Ru, who usually looked a little proud, finally could not hold it in anymore.

With tears that welling in her eyes, she shouted into the communication channel, "Qin Yue, what are you doing? Get out of there!"

Li Yanyan, Tang Lin, and Wang Jun's hearts were also equally fearful of what they just witnessed.

The moment they saw Sky Hunter charge into one of the three sandworms' mouths.

They guessed that Qin Yue's so-called fatal attack was to enter the sandworms' body and attack from the most vulnerable parts of its body inside.

However, they did not understand. The stomach acid of the sandworm was extremely corrosive. A drop the size of a water droplet was enough to burn a hole through the armor of their mecha.

However, Qin Yue knew that it was dangerous, yet he still rushed into the sandworm's mouth. Would that not mean he just gave his life away for nothing?

What the few of them did not know was that Qin Yue had already accounted for all of that. Sky Hunter was originally a Composite Mecha. Although the high-speed mecha had not been completely repaired, its speed was still comparable to the mecha of Ling Ru and the others.

In fact, it was even slightly faster than them.

As long as Qin Yue was fast enough and reacted quickly, he would be able to finish off the sandworm before he was swallowed into its stomach.

Attacks from the inside were the only effective ones at the moment.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Yue piloted Sky Hunter and rushed into one of the mouths of the sandworm.

As soon as he entered, Qin Yue did not have time to think too much. He hurriedly used his two fists to press against the throat of the sandworms.

Then, a pair of XA-Wolf Talons suddenly shot out from Sky Hunter's fists and pierced the sandworm's throat.

The moment the talons pierced into sandworm's throat, blood sprayed out and dyed Sky Hunter's claws red.

At the same time, the sandworm, which was originally enraged, felt a sharp pain from its throat and could not help but let out a deafening roar.

However, it was not the end. Qin Yue thrust the talons into its throat to stabilize Sky Hunter's body.

He immediately pulled out his other hand and used another talon to gouge a deep hole in the sandworm's throat.

Every time Qin Yue cut, the sandworm would let out a cry of extreme pain.

At the same time, the howls and screams of the sandworm made Qin Yue realize that his method was effective.

After a large hole had been carved in the sandworm's throat, Qin Yue stopped and did not continue.

"From the inside, one shot is enough. I'll send you to hell!"

"Fire the XF-V10 Plasma Cannon!"

The moment Qin Yue finished his command, the plasma cannon fired. It went straight through the sandworm's throat and out the other end of it's body.

At the same time, the rest who waited outside for Qin Yue to emerge suddenly saw the sandworm explode.

Through the bloody mist, Sky Hunter emerged like a god of war.

The four people were dumbfounded. They did not expect Qin Yue to appear in front of them in such a way.

Feelings of surprise and all kinds of emotions lingered in their minds. They were so shocked that they even stuttered.

"The Three-headed Sandworm died just like that?"

"Qin Yue, are there no limits to your abilities? It's getting harder and harder to catch up to you!" Ling Ru opened her mouth and muttered softly.

"A Catastrophe-level Alien Beast. This is a beast whose strength overshadowed those Demonic Wolves from earlier, yet Little Brother Qin Yue killed it!"

"Hu, fortunately, it was the Alien Beast that died. Brother Qin Yue is fine."

In their eyes, Catastrophe-level beasts were like the Three-headed Sandworm to them, an existence that was akin to a catastrophe.

If not for Qin Yue's presence in this battle, they would probably have been destroyed when they first encountered the Three-headed Sandworm.

In the worst-case scenario, they might not even have the courage to fight against it.

Only with Qin Yue were able to hold on for so long.

However, from the start of the battle, they did not dare to imagine that they would even be able to defeat the Three-headed Sandworm.

One had to know that the strength of a Catastrophe-level beast was equivalent to a Military Mecha, and the mecha they were piloting was only at Bodyguard level.

It was also because of the knowledge of that huge disparity in strength that when Qin Yue killed the Three-headed Sandworm, they were all left in shock!

At the same time, Qin Yue rushed out from the sandworm's corpse.

He immediately began to check its vital signs.

"Phew, luckily all three heads share the same throat."

Looking at the dead Three-headed Sandworm, Qin Yue heaved a huge sigh of relief.

The battle had finally ended. Only then did Qin Yue look at Ling Ru and Li Yanyan, who had stared at him in disbelief.

"Ling Ru, Yanyan, are you guys okay?"

From her cockpit, Ling Ru hurriedly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and said, "No… It's nothing. What could be wrong with me? Oh right, Yanyan, are you okay?"

Li Yanyan felt a warmth in his heart. She hurriedly waved her hand and replied, "Brother Qin Yue, Sister Ling Ru, I'm… I'm fine too."

"Junzi, Tang Lin, how are you guys?" Qin Yue looked to the side again and asked with concern.

"Brother Qin Yue, don't worry about me. I wasn't of much help during the battle anyway."

As she said that, Tang Lin's eyes darkened. She thought about how she was of no help to her companions during the battle just now and felt worthless.

"None of the members of our team should have such thoughts.

"Do you think it would be so easy if one of us was missing from the battle just now?"

Seeing Qin Yue's serious face, Tang Lin smiled gently.

Then, Qin Yue returned to the Three-headed Sandworm's corpse and searched for its core.

Not long after, Qin Yue found two cores from its body.

And it was precisely because of these two fiery red cores that Qin Yue could not help but feel a burst of joy in his heart.

Generally speaking, there was only one core within the body of an Alien Beast. The probability of two cores appearing was extremely rare.

High-grade Alien Beast cores were themselves rare materials that were used as a mecha's energy source.

It was because of the scarcity that they had to hand in the cores they had obtained from hunting. It was used to determine their results!

Now that he had found two cores, it was a great opportunity for Qin Yue to upgrade his mecha.

Thus, Qin Yue took advantage of the fact that everyone was not paying attention and hid one of the cores.

The remaining core was enough to be used to assess their results!

At that moment, the rest of the squad were still in a state of shock, unable to regain their senses.

They did not notice that Qin Yue had hidden one of the Alien Beast Cores.

However, even if they had noticed, they still would not have told anyone.

Qin Yue was not just their friend. Throughout the journey, he had guided them in battle, helped them grow, and even saved their lives.

Compared to all those things, a missing Alien Beast Core was not worth mentioning at all.

"Little Brother Qin Yue, why are your ideas so bold?!"

"You actually thought of entering the sandworms' throat and attacking it from the inside. We were almost scared to death back then!"

Tang Ling chuckled and revealed a charming smile.

"Brother Qin Yue, don't do such a dangerous thing next time."

"Fortunately, Brother Qin Yue, not only are you strong, but you are also very smart. Thank goodness you came back alive. Otherwise, we wouldn't know how guilty we would be."

Li Yanyan clasped her thumb and was slightly evasive.

"Brother Qin, thank you for saving us," Wang Jun said in a deep voice from the side.

As he listened to everyone, Qin Yue smiled faintly and said calmly, "Don't worry, am I not standing safe here in front of you guys?! Someone had to do it, and I'm the most confident. Of course it had to be me. I couldn't let you guys go die a pointless death, right?

"This time, we've even obtained a Catastrophe-level Alien Beast Core. It can be considered that our mission has been completed. Let's go back the way we came!"

Qin Yue was about to pilot his mecha back to the fortress with everyone when Ling Ru's voice was heard in the communication channel, "That's… Qin Yue, I don't know which part of my mecha has been damaged by the sandworm. I don't think I can get very far. Can you help me check it out?" Ling Ru's tone carried a hint of apology.

Ling Ru felt a little ashamed. After all, Qin Yue had just put in so much effort, and now she still had to trouble him to repair her mecha.

"Alright, everyone stay here and be on guard. I'll take a look around Ling Ru's mech."

Wang Jun and the others then moved into a defensive formation around them, in case anything unexpected happened.

Qin Yue climbed over to Ling Ru's mecha from Sky Hunter's pilot cabin, put on the exoskeleton armor, and began the repairs.

Due to only having basic equipment with him, it was not possible to determine what exactly had gone wrong.

Qin Yue could only go through the general parts of the mecha, then dismantle and inspect them one by one.

That method, relatively speaking, was very time-consuming.

As Qin Yue inspected several other parts of the mecha, more than two hours quickly passed.

Even though Qin Yue wore the exoskeleton armor, it was not designed to withstand the scorching heat of the two stars overhead.

Fortunately, Ling Ru had stood by his side. She constantly wiped the sweat off Qin Yue's forehead to prevent his clothes from being completely soaked.

"I don't have enough diagnostic equipment with me. Why don't I try driving it and see if it can make it to the Mobile Fortress?"

Looking at Qin Yue, whose face had turned red from the sun and sweated non-stop, Ling Ru could not help but feel a little sorry.

Qin Yue smiled slightly and pointed at a screen that showed some basic diagnostic information he had managed to gather.

"It says that there's a problem with the power system, but it's not very serious. That's why when we ran the diagnostic, we couldn't specifically tell what was wrong.

"Since it's just a power problem. It can be solved very easily."

With that, Qin Yue started to work on the power systems of the mecha since he had determined where the problem was.

Ling Ru, could not help but mutter softly when she heard that it was the power system's problem.

"The power system?"

Ling Ru clearly remembered that the maintenance students in the mecha academy had discussed that topic before.

The power system was the most difficult course to learn apart from a few other major core courses.

Even those who had studied maintenance for years could not help but shiver when they heard that they had to work on the mecha's power systems.

However, just as Ling Ru was still in a Daze…

Qin Yue had already completed the maintenance!

"Phew, such a small problem wasted so much of my time. Looks like I have to bring a special diagnostic machine with me next time we set out!"

Qin Yue's voice was not that loud. However, it was heard by Ling Ru and Tang Lin, who had been on the communicator the whole time.

At that moment, the corners of their mouths twitched uncontrollably.

"Qin Yue… It took you less than a few minutes to find the problem and solve it. Is it really fixed?"

Ling Ru's red lips were tightly shut with a confused look on her face.

"Of course. Although the power system is damaged, I only rewired it and added some of my own special touches. A few minutes was enough to do all that," Qin Yue said sincerely.

Little did they know that the waves in Ling Ru and the other's hearts, which had already calmed down, were once again stirred up.

Qin Yue's talent as a pilot and strong battle prowess had already made him outshine everyone.

However, despite being a pilot first, Qin Yue was so monstrous that he was equally as good at performing mecha maintenance!

At that moment, they thought, what else was Qin Yue not able to do?

After some thought, they felt that Qin Yue seemed to know everything…

After the repair was done, Qin Yue quickly reinstalled the outer shell of the mecha.

"Hu, let's call it a day! Let's go, we can go home now."

After that, Qin Yue returned to Sky Hunter's pilot cabin and led the four of them back the way they came towards the Mobile Fortress.

The Alien Beasts along this route had already been cleared out so there were no traces of them for the time being.

As a result, the entire journey was extremely quiet.

Suddenly, in Qin Yue's cockpit, the radar that was used to monitor mechanical objects sounded an alarm.

[Beep! Beep! Beep!]

[An unknown spaceship and five mechas detected rapidly approaching!]

[Beep! Beep! Beep!]

[An unknown spaceship and five mechas detected rapidly approaching!]

When he heard the alarm, Qin Yue immediately looked at the radar in front of him.

As expected, on the radar screen, a spaceship and five mechas were shown rapidly approaching their position.

Qin Yue did not think too much and immediately informed the team members, "Everyone stop! An unidentified spaceship and mechas are approaching. Prepare for battle!"

Ling Ru and the others trusted Qin Yue completely so the moment they heard the order, they immediately moved into battle formation.

Suddenly, above their heads, there was a sound of air being torn apart.

High in the sky, a small spaceship suddenly rushed out from the white clouds.

At the tail of the spaceship, there were already flames that shot up to the sky. Black smoke constantly rose from the fires.

The spaceship obviously had been attacked, and it had lost the ability to continue moving.

Behind the rapidly falling spaceship were five armed mecha flying towards it at high speed..Those five mecha all differed in color and appearance, each with its own unique characteristics.

The only similarity on the bodies of those five mechas was a skull emblem.

The skull had mechanical gear patterns around it, there were a few drops of blood tears that hung from hollow eye sockets.

When the five of them saw the skull symbol on these five mecha, their pupils suddenly constricted.

It was well known that any mecha that bore that symbol was an interstellar pirate!

As for the spaceship that was about to crash, there were no obvious symbols on it, so it was very difficult to tell where it came from.

"Interstellar pirates! This is Mukda Federation territory, why would they appear here!"

Ling Ru looked at the five pirate mecha. She had just barely recovered from a huge battle, and her mental state immediately tensed up in preparation for another.

Qin Yue thought to himself, 'Interstellar pirates usually skulked in the dark. Why did they appear so openly this time?'

He piloted Sky Hunter to the front of the formation and drew the Scarlet Pike as he asked the rest, "How are your mental states? Can you all still fight?"

Ling Ru heard him and nodded lightly then replied, "Mm, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Brother Qin Yue, none of us have any problems. It's just that, in the battle with the Three-headed Sandworm just now, you used up the most Mental Strength, and even helped us block a lot of attacks…"

Up to that point, Qin Yue naturally understood what Li Yanyan had left unsaid.

Although he was not in his peak condition, he was the one who had adapted the best among the five of them.

In the battle with the Three-headed Sandworm, he had blocked a lot of attacks and suffered some damage as well but all of those were within the limits of what he could bear.

Moreover, after the battle ended, he had also obtained precious material from a high-level Alien Beast. No matter how one looked at it, it was worth it.

"Don't worry. I'm just relieved all of you still have the strength to fight."

At that time, the rapidly falling spaceship had slammed into the ground.

The huge impact instantly set off a hurricane that swept up the sand and spread dust in every direction.

Fortunately, the spaceship did not explode, it only crumpled.

At the same time…

After the spaceship landed and did not explode, the five mechas behind them seemed to have slowed their pursuit.

They shifted their gaze and looked at where Qin Yue and the others were first.

"Hey, Shikov, look ahead of us. I found something interesting."

The man gave a sinister laugh and looked excitedly at where Qin Yue and the others were.

That man was the leader of the five people. His name was Yuri.

As soon as Yuri pointed out Qin Yue's location, the other four people instantly understood what he meant.

In the next second, the five mechas changed directions and charged towards where Qin Yue was.

Qin Yue also did not expect that these interstellar pirates would just attack them immediately.

He then realized that with interstellar pirates, unexplainable behavior was to be expected.

"Qin Yue, what should we do?"

"The other party is rushing us, do we fight or retreat?" asked Ling Ru as her brow furrowed with anticipation.

After all, it was their first time fighting interstellar pirates.

Before this, they had only heard of the pirates from lectures and read about their unethical behavior as they raced across the galaxy plundering their victims.

"We can't retreat even if we wanted to! Form a triangular formation, let's fight them off!"

"Mm, we'll listen to you," the few of them replied in unison.

After giving the order, the squad's morale instantly soared. Qin Yue activated his mecha with his Mental Strength and led Ling Ru and the other three to form a formation to meet them.

After a few breaths, the two teams reached each other.

The one Qin Yue fought was none other than the leader of the five intergalactic pirates, Yuri.

Qin Yue was the vanguard of the triangular formation. He held his pike up and immediately used the Tai Chi Unpredictable Spearpoint technique, pointing it toward his opponent.

In the next second, the five of them exchanged blows.

Mechanical groans and the sound of weapons being swung rapidly could be heard throughout the fight.

Qin Yue's squad and the interstellar pirates seemed to be evenly matched then the first skirmish between the two sides stopped abruptly.

"How are you guys? Are you hurt?" Qin Yue looked at the rest and asked with concern.

They had just fought a huge battle with a Three-headed Sandworm, and they had not been able to catch their breath for long before they ran into interstellar pirates.

In a day, they had fought several pitched battles in a row. The members of the team simply could not handle such strain on their minds.

Qin Yue roughly understood the strength of the other party while they fought.

The one that fought him should be the leader of those interstellar pirates. He was clearly the strongest among them.

The most important thing was that the mecha piloted by the intergalactic pirates were on a completely different level from the mecha piloted by them.

Out of the opponent's five mecha, four of them were Guardian class, and the last one was a Military class mecha!

They were all a level higher than the mecha piloted by his squad!

In such a fight, the difference between Qin Yue's group and the intergalactic pirates was not in their techniques, but in their raw strength.

"Brother Qin Yue, we're fine…"

"Brother Qin, we're fine too. We can still hold on."

Qin Yue knew that they had already felt the difference in strength between them and that group of interstellar pirates when he heard the hesitance in their replies.

It was a sudden encounter. Even if they had immediately retreated when they first discovered the pirates, they would probably still end up caught by that group of interstellar pirates.

On the other side…

"Hehe, Captain Yuri, they're pretty very weak!"

"Just now, we only exchanged a few moves, and we were already able to beat a few of them back."

The four interstellar pirates were overconfident. They did not put Qin Yue and the others in the same league as them at all.

"The other four are indeed very weak, but the mecha that was holding the red pike just now was no weaker than you guys.

"However, if they were to face me, they would only end up being torn to pieces."

The other four interstellar pirates could not help but be stunned when they heard Yuri talk about Qin Yue's strength, but then they burst into laughter.

This was because they knew Yuri's strength and were very confident in him.

"Alright, let's toy with them for a while and get rid of them. Let's get down to business!"

Under Yuri's orders, the five of them launched another attack.

Just like that, Qin Yue's team had another fight in their hands.

It had officially begun!Looking at the approaching interstellar pirates, Qin Yue made a decisive decision.

"This time, we won't fight them in close combat. We'll use ranged firepower to strafe the area and stall for time!"

It was impossible to defeat them in close combat.

What Qin Yue needed now was time. He needed to think of a way to deal with them.

"Understood. We will try our best to stall them." Ling Ru took a deep breath and replied.

Tang Lin lightly bit her lips and said, "Little Brother Qin Yue, I might not be able to hold on for long if you let me fight them in close combat. However, when it comes to long-range firepower, I won't lose to those pirates!"

The few of them immediately activated their ranged weapon systems and bombarded the pirates without hesitation.

Boom!

Boom!

In an instant, the five intergalactic pirates were stopped in their tracks.

The flames that spread to the sky had completely drowned them in the black smoke.

"F*ck, we've unloaded all our heavy weapons chasing the spaceship. Otherwise, I would have rushed over long ago and killed this bunch of rookies!"

Faced with overwhelming firepower, the interstellar pirates had no choice but to temporarily retreat.

Although the Bodyguard-class mecha body could not cause heavy damage to their mecha in a short time, their mecha would still be in trouble if they took constant fire.

If their mecha were seriously damaged, they would have to pay a large sum of money to repair it. The money was enough for them to enjoy their lives for a while so how could they bear to spend it all on mecha repair instead?!

At that moment, the leader of the five pirates, Yuri, suddenly spoke.

"Spread out and make it impossible for them to focus their firepower! Find an opportunity to get in close and make them panic."

It was obvious that that leader called Yuri was very experienced in battle and quickly thought of a countermeasure to deal with this situation.

The other four pirates heard the order and responded. They immediately began to spread out.

Seeing that the few of them had split up, Qin Yue could not help but raise his eyebrows.

After the pirates split up, the firepower of his squad could not be concentrated since Ling Ru, Li Yanyan, and Wang Jun piloted non-Devastator-type mechas.

"If you can still stall them, then do it. Otherwise, just fight them head-on! Who knows, this battle may transform all of you. You must persevere. Believe in me, I will find a way out of this."

In truth, Qin Yue did not have any good ideas for the time being.

Having no plan was one thing, facing a battle with such a huge disparity in strength was another.

He definitely could not let Ling Ru and the others lose their confidence. If they lost the will to keep up the fight, then they might as well have just surrendered.

As expected, after Ling Ru and the others heard Qin Yue's words, their fighting spirit was rekindled.

Qin Yue, who had brought so much shock and surprise to them, was still someone they chose to trust completely.

The battle raged on but soon after, Ling Ru and the others were forced into a close combat situation.

Just like that, Qin Yue's squad had their first real taste of a clash between mecha and between the pilot's Mental Strengths.

One move…

Three moves…

As the attacks came one after another, the members of the squad quickly grew exhausted.

The battle experience of that group of interstellar pirates was clearly far above that of the members of the squad.

Among them, the one with the most outstanding battle experience was the pilot of the Military class mecha.

Whether it was in terms of proficiency in operating the mecha or their ferocious strength, they had completely crushed the members of the team.

For a moment, the members of the small team were being beaten back one by one by their opponent.

During the battle, if not for Tang Lin shifting her fire support, Li Yanyan, and the others might have already been killed by their opponent.

To Qin Yue, this kind of protracted battle was very disadvantageous.

Sky Hunter, as well as Qin Yue's Mental Strength, would suffer if he were careless.

If Qin Yue was piloting another mecha, he would probably have been destroyed long ago!

At the same time, while Yuri was in his battle stance.

'Hmm, this symbol?'

Looking at the symbol on Qin Yue's mecha, Yuri immediately recognized it. This was a rookie from the Mecha Academy under the Mukda Federation government.

"Managing to hold us off for so long, I thought it was an elite force, but it turned out to be just a group of students.

"Jie Jie Jie, but to be able to fight with me for such a long time, you must be the Mukda Federation government's genius recruit.

"I, Yuri, love killing geniuses!"

Yuri's mouth corner slightly upward. In his eyes, Qin Yue was another lamb waiting to be slaughtered by his hand.

"All of you, be careful when you attack. Be careful not to cripple the important parts of these mecha. Although their strength is very weak, they are still considered geniuses. Genius pilots meant specially customized mecha parts. Those are worth a lot!"

When the four interstellar pirates heard the words 'worth a lot', they instantly perked up.

After all, money was their favorite thing besides power!

"Haha, Boss! Don't worry!"

"We will definitely show mercy! To the mecha parts that is!"

"Boss, how can we say no to more money?! Don't worry, I will be very accurate. I guarantee that I won't hurt the core components!"

The intergalactic pirates, other than plundering transport ships, liked to encounter those low-level mecha to salvage and sell the valuable parts of the mecha's core after killing their pilots.

They also use the stolen parts to modify and upgrade their own mecha!

Therefore, when the few of them saw that the ship they chased had lost its ability to fly and could no longer escape, they attacked Qin Yue and the others without hesitation.

When Qin Yue and the rest of the squad realized the pirates were holding back to avoid damaging their core components, they finally had a chance to catch their breath.

Qin Yue finally calmed down and began to think of a plan.

After a few moments, Qin Yue finally thought of one of Sun Tzu's military tactics that he had read of before.

To catch a thief, one must first catch the leader!

"End the formation rotation. We'll execute a cross attack. Try to stall your opponent as much as possible. Don't let him drag you down!"

As the sound of his voice faded, Ling Ru and the others immediately dropped their earlier strategy. Each of them now chose an opponent to focus on.

It was also at that moment that Qin Yue drew the Scarlet Pike. Ignoring the other four interstellar pirates, he charged straight toward the Military-class mecha.

'Fuuuu, Tai Chi. Whether this spear technique succeeds or not, it's up to you!'

With that, for the first time in his history, Qin Yue unleashed all of his Mental Strength.

He combined the Swimming Dragon Step and the Unpredictable Spearpoint Tai Chi techniques.

At that moment, Qin Yue's speed had reached unprecedented heights. He was so fast that it was hard for the naked eye to notice.

Yuri revealed a ferocious expression when faced with Qin Yue's explosive power.

He gathered his strength and threw a punch at Qin Yue.

"Newbie, feel the crushing power of a superior mecha! I will torture you until you collapse."

Facing Yuri's punch, Qin Yue did not dodge. If he dodged, his attack would definitely miss.

In the next second!

Bang!

Boom!

An intense sound of a two-mecha collision and an ear-piercing sound rang out at the same time.

A huge fist print appeared in front of Sky Hunter's right chest that Qin Yue while in Yuri's mecha cockpit, the pike had been completely embedded in it, but it was stuck and could not go any further.

The moment Sky Hunter received that attack head-on, the pilot's cabin shook so violently that Qin Yue thought his brain would be rattled from his skull.

Although Yuri's mecha was damaged, it was still functional.

Yuri gave a sinister laugh and immediately wanted to wrest control of the Scarlet Pike from the mecha in front of him..Just as Yuri was about to reach in to pull out the pike, Qin Yue suddenly laughed strangely.

"It worked! I've got you. Checkmate! Go to Hell!"

Qin Yue roared as he pushed a concave red button on the shaft of the pike.

The spearhead in Yuri's mech suddenly transformed and a black muzzle appeared.

Boom!

"Ahhh!!!"

The sound of a huge explosion was heard. After Yuri cried out in fear, the entire cockpit was blasted clean.

Even Yuri's bones were vaporized.

The huge mech then fell to the ground with a loud bang, creating a huge sandpit.

The loud explosion and the sound of the mech falling caught everyone's attention.

When everyone turned around to look, the interstellar pirates were completely stunned. Ling Ru and the others were also completely stunned by the scene in front of them!

A Military-class mecha pilot was killed just like that?

The four interstellar pirates looked at Yuri's mecha on the ground, as well as the pilot cabin that had been destroyed.

They were completely dumbfounded.

"Boss… The boss is dead? How is that possible? Boss Yuri is the pilot of a Military-class mecha."

"How could he die at the hands of a rookie?"

The man called Shikov widened his eyes fiercely and his pupils had not stopped trembling.

"F*ck, he's dead. Why, why is Yuri Dead? This mecha he's fighting with doesn't seem to be damaged at all!"

"He was able to kill Yuri. Are these really just mecha academy students?!"

The four interstellar pirates subconsciously opened their mouths wide, unable to believe that Yuri had been killed by that newbie.

As the strongest of the five, Yuri was also their leader.

The moment they witnessed Yuri's death, they started to panic.

After all, Yuri was the strongest among them. How could they be Qin Yue's match if he was not?

On the other side…

Ling Ru and the others were equally stunned. They had never expected that Qin Yue had finished off the strongest mecha among the intergalactic pirates.

The strength of that Military-class mecha was something that Ling Ru and the others had not dared to fight with since the start of the battle.

It was because they knew that if they were to go all out, they would be finished off in less than a minute.

If Qin Yue had relied on bravery and strategy to kill the Three-headed Sandworm previously then now, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Qin Yue had used brute strength instead to defeat the Military-class mecha.

At that moment, Qin Yue had once again got them through a tough situation!

Producing miracle after miracle, as well as a desperate comeback, made them feel in their hearts that Qin Yue was some kind of omnipotent god!

Just as the pirates panicked and were unsure of what to do next, Qin Yue's deep voice suddenly came from the communication channel of Ling Ru and the others.

"Don't just stand there. While the interstellar pirates are still in a daze, take them by surprise. Don't be afraid that you can't beat them. I'm coming to help you."

Hearing Qin Yue's hoarse voice, the few of them came back to their senses.

At that moment, everyone nodded in tacit understanding.

Unknowingly, even they had not realized that their already exhausted bodies were revitalized the instant Qin Yue won.

Without hesitation, Ling Ru and the other three used all their strength and struck at the four interstellar pirates who were still at a loss.

Boom!

The four interstellar pirates were sent flying dozens of meters away by Ling Ru and the others.

However, that strike had also awoken them from their state of helplessness.

They had no way out and could not retreat even if they wanted to. The best choice for them was to fight to the death.

"No more holding back. We have to finish off these rookies quickly!"

"Let's join hands to deal with the mecha that killed Yuri. Otherwise, we will definitely be killed!"

At that moment, when those interstellar pirates were backed into a corner, they felt that they no longer had anything to lose.

They immediately charged toward whoever was closest!

Qin Yue had also slightly adjusted his position after his fight with Yuri. He launched himself in the direction of Tang Lin's mech, who was slower to react in close combat situations.

Everyone, including Qin Yue, all launched their attacks almost at the same time.

The interstellar pirate that went after Tang Lin did not even realize that Qin Yue had thrust the Scarlet Pike toward him.

With just one attack, he was killed by Qin Yue!

The lives of these interstellar pirates were already forfeited the moment Qin Yue took care of Yuri.

Following that, with Qin Yue's speed and Tang Lin's firepower, the remaining pirates were finished off by Qin Yue after a short while.

When the battle had finally ended. Qin Yue, who had gone through two consecutive fierce battles, was finally exhausted. He sat down in the cockpit and rested.

"Phew, are you all alright?"

However, even though Qin Yue was exhausted, he still did not forget to check on his squadmates.

"We're fine. We just need to rest for a while," Ling Ru and the others replied.

"Qin Yue, are you really alright?"

"If there's anything wrong, you have to tell us. We will help you think of something. If something happens to you, we will feel guilty for the rest of our lives," Ling Ru anxiously asked Qin Yue. Little did she know that when she spoke, she was already somewhat incoherent.

When Qin Yue heard that, he felt extremely gratified in his heart. He glanced at his own body again before replying with a light smile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just that my Mental Strength is slightly exhausted. It'll be fine after we get back and rest for a while. We can't stay here for too long. Let's clean up the battlefield and get ready to retreat!"

Qin Yue then walked straight towards the Military-class mecha and began to scrutinize it.

After a while, a smile gradually appeared on Qin Yue's face. The fatigue from the battle just now had disappeared.

"Ling Ru, look at the spare parts of those Military-class mecha. This can help you improve and modify your mecha!"

"As long as it looks useful, pack them up and take them away!"

When Ling Ru and the others heard that, they could not help but feel embarrassed. Their faces turned red as they replied in embarrassment, "We uhh… Can't tell whether those spare parts are for modifying or upgrading our mecha."

Qin Yue subconsciously patted his forehead when he heard their response. He had forgotten that Ling Ru and the others did not know anything about modifying and upgrading mecha.

"It's fine. Just bring the entire mecha back then."

"Regarding the matter of modifying and upgrading, I'll go back and check their compatibility for you later."

With that, Qin Yue continued to immerse himself in the process of collecting the spoils of war.

After some investigation, Qin Yue was surprised to find that the Military-grade mecha had a large number of parts that could be used to upgrade Sky Hunter.

Once Sky Hunter was upgraded, it meant that his battle prowess would also be greatly improved.

Immediately after that, after another round of assessing the parts, Qin Yue got rid of the ones that were not useful to him, leaving behind a lot of mecha parts.

As for the mecha parts that can be used to upgrade the mecha of his squadmates, it would be a huge improvement for them.

After all, if they used Guardian class or a portion of the Military class mecha's parts to upgrade and modify their Bodyguard class mecha, it would give them a qualitative leap in power!

After he tallied the spoils of the battle and looked at the spare upgrade parts in front of him, Qin Yue let out a deep breath.

"Not bad, not a waste of effort!"

Just as Qin Yue secretly rejoiced in his heart, his eyes swept over the fallen spaceship.

There was a figure there!

Qin Yue thought that he had been seeing things when he saw the petite figure that stood on the spaceship. He immediately rubbed his eyes and looked again.

As expected, this time Qin Yue clearly saw that it was indeed a human figure.

Moreover, it was a little girl of about 15 or 16 years of age.

The little girl had a head of silvery-white long white hair, exquisite facial features, a petite figure, and two grape-sized eyes.

At that moment, the little girl had quietly stood at the position of the crashed spaceship. When Qin Yue looked at her, it seemed that she also looked at Qin Yue.

At that moment, Ling Ru's voice suddenly came out of Qin Yue's communicator.

"Qin Yue, we are all ready. Can we go now?" Ling Ru asked in a low voice.

Hearing this, Qin Yue waved his hand and said,

"Look at the position of the crashed spaceship. Do you see a little girl there?"

The members of the team heard that and looked at the position where the spaceship had just crashed.

Sure enough, when they looked over, they saw a silver-white little girl standing at the exit of the spaceship.

The members of the team did not hesitate and immediately rushed to where the little girl was.

However, Qin Yue was wary of strangers.

Even if the other party was a little girl who looked harmless, Qin Yue did not let the other members of the squad get too close to the little girl.

After walking forward a little, Qin Yue took the lead to look at the little girl and asked, "Hello, Little Sister. Where are you from? Was that interstellar pirate chasing you?"

However, when faced with Qin Yue's questions and the others' scrutiny, the little girl did not say anything.

She had stayed silent the entire time. In fact, the little girl seemed to be observing everyone's behavior.

After a long while, when she saw that the little girl still had not said anything, Ling Ru said to her,

"Little sister, don't be afraid. We are students from the Mukda Federation's 101st Mecha Academy. We are not bad people, and we are definitely not interstellar pirates."

Ten seconds passed…

One minute passed… The little girl still did not speak.

Everyone could not help but suspect that since the little girl had not spoken a single word for so long, they wondered whether she was mute.

As long as the little girl did not speak, Qin Yue and the others would not be able to find out anything! Especially the little girl's identity and what she was doing on the ship.

It was not a good idea to press the little girl further so Qin Yue decided to go inside the spaceship to check it out.

"Junzi, you guys stay outside and watch. I'll go inside the spaceship to see if there's any information related to this little girl."

As he spoke, Qin Yue put on his battle uniform and equipped his weapon. He opened the door of the Sky Hunter pilot cabin and walked out of the mecha.

When Wang Jun and the others saw that Qin Yue wanted to enter the spaceship alone to investigate, they hurriedly stopped her.

"Brother Qin, none of us know what's going on inside. Why don't I go in with you?"

Beside her, Ling Ru and the others also hurriedly said, "That's right, Qin Yue. Why don't we go in instead?"

"You're strong. Why don't you wait for us outside?"

Qin Yue glanced at everyone and shook his head with a bitter smile.

"It doesn't matter. It's better if I go in."

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

With that, Qin Yue took his weapon and waved at everyone. Then, he walked past the little girl and entered the interior of the spaceship.

It was a small spaceship and not very spacious.

A few minutes after Qin Yue first stepped in, he had already explored more than half of the rooms but noticed that all of them were empty.

Unconsciously, Qin Yue arrived at the main control room of the spaceship. Without hesitation, he held up his weapon and walked straight in.

As soon as he walked in, Qin Yue's footsteps stopped.

In front of her, more than ten people lay on the ground, and their clothes were the same as the little girl's.

After being stunned for a moment, Qin Yue went forward to check on their vital signs. All of them were no longer alive.

From the broken glass in the main control room, one could roughly guess that these people must have died defending the control room when they were being chased by interstellar pirates.

Qin Yue proceeded to search for information about the little girl and that group of people in the main control room.

After a long search for a long time, Qin Yue still could not find anything useful.

Other than the dozen or so people in the main control room, there was no one else alive on the entire spaceship other than the little girl.

In other words, that little girl was the sole survivor of the spaceship!

After he failed to find anything useful, Qin Yue walked out of the spaceship.

Seeing Qin Yue walk out, Ling Ru took the lead to exit her mecha. After asking if Qin Yue was injured, she asked about the little girl.

"How is it? Did you find any useful information?"

"No. Moreover, this little girl is the sole survivor of this spaceship."

After he answered Ling Ru's question, Qin Yue stopped talking and looked at the little girl who had still stayed silent the entire time.

Meanwhile, Ling Ru and the others began to discuss whether to bring the little girl back with them or to leave her there.

"Sister Ling Ru, why don't we bring her back with us? This is a desert. If we leave her, she probably won't survive in the desert alone."

Li Yanyan looked at the silent little girl and suddenly felt pity for her.

Before Ling Ru could speak, Tang Lin spoke out frankly.

"Yanyan, I know what you're thinking."

We haven't found any information about this little girl. If we were to act rashly and bring her back to the mobile fortress… What if she's an enemy?"

"If we cause problems for the federation, it will be very difficult for us."

For a time, Tang Lin and the others disagreed on whether the little girl should stay or go. After all, regardless of whether they were in federation territory or the Mecha Academy, there was a clear rule.

Before they could confirm the identity of an unknown person, they were not allowed to bring them back to the federation.

Even Qin Yue could not decide if they should bring the little girl back.

After all, they were on a desolate planet and it was located in a contested area. Many factions would show up in such a place.

If she left the little girl here, she would undoubtedly die. If she brought her back, it would be against the rules of the Federation and the Academy.

Just as everyone hesitated and no one could convince each other…

A voice suddenly sounded in Qin Yue's mind. Qin Yue determined that it was a girl's voice.

Subconsciously, Qin Yue looked at Ling Ru and the others' reactions.

They did not seem to hear it. Only he had heard the voice in his mind.

Then, Qin Yue turned to look at the little girl, he found that the little girl had also looked at Qin Yue.

"This little girl is using her mind to communicate with me?" Qin Yue thought to himself.

Just as Qin Yue had this question in his mind, the little girl's voice resounded in his mind again.

'Can you bring me along? Don't worry, I'll work for it. As a reward, I can help you raise your Mental Strength..'