Chapter 107: The Curtain Falls on Desperation

Amid the chaotic battlefield, the Imperial team members moved like fish in a stream, swiftly reorganizing their ranks, gradually forming a pincer formation.

[The Imperials' formation speed is insane.]

[Just came from their stream—their commander's calling out coordinates to each squad, crisp and sharp, with razor-sharp thinking… almost like an AI. No ordinary person could process that much info so fast.]

[Unless their commander's a seasoned veteran.]

[No way—she's a freshman, just enrolled this year. You know what that means.]

[The Empire just dropped their main team's profiles. Go check it out. Stay calm, though.]

[Her name's… Bai Sha Roning?]

[No way, did I read that right?! Imperial royalty?!]

The Federal stream exploded with frantic text.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Dai Sheng fought to rally his counterattack:

"Stay calm, don't panic! Even if we give it everything, we can't let them wipe us out here… the match isn't over! For the Federation's honor, fight to the end!"

Though the Federal cadets quietly resented Dai Sheng's poor leadership, his words held truth.

If the Imperials crushed them effortlessly here, the Federation would lose all face. The exercise had barely begun—how could one side be annihilated so soon? What dignity would the Federation have in future talks with the Empire?

Selected for the team, these cadets were not only skilled but iron-willed. In this dire, surrounded state, with teammates falling, their resolve to take the enemy down with them flared, their moves growing reckless and fierce.

"Your Highness, they're counterattacking," Cen Yuehuai said, rejoining Bai Sha. She fired a volley of icy arrows to cover Bai Sha, who was charging through the fray. "We need to stretch their lines."

For the Imperials encircling the enemy, letting the Federals focus their strength on a single breakout point was dangerous. Better to spread their forces thin.

"Is this their so-called 'desperate army always wins'?" Bai Sha scoffed, receiving word that Xino and Ji Ya had reached the reinforcement point. She called out several coordinates, ordering those squads to feign weakness, deliberately leaving a gap for the Federals. "If they want a breakout point, let's give them one."

The squads caught her meaning and began a slow retreat.

Dai Sheng spotted the gap instantly and barked orders, rallying nearby forces to charge it.

"Quick, we can tear through their encirclement—rear teams, follow! Move!" His hoarse voice roared over the team channel. He hastily formed an elite vanguard, charging the gap like a beast.

Joy flickered across the Federal cadets' faces. Hope reignited in their despairing hearts. They shifted from fighting to die together to watching the gap, surging toward it.

Dai Sheng pushed the team to full speed. Their mechs' thrusters blazed with dazzling flames. Focused on carving a path, they ignored defense, their mechs accruing new scars every few seconds—painful, but not fatal.

Just as they plunged into the valley's depths, believing they'd breached the encirclement and found escape—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy cannon fire erupted at the vanguard's feet. A scorching blast tore through the air, claiming several more comrades in an instant.

In the distance, a mass of Imperial mechs stood in ambush, their dark silhouettes looming.

They lined the valley's ridges, their shadows cast down, enveloping the enemy in dread and trembling fear.

"Still think you can run?" Xino grinned broadly from the lead. "You passed the first hurdle, but I'm the next one waiting."

The Federal team, now less than half its strength, looked up at the Imperials towering above.

For a moment, the comms channel was silent.

They were shrouded in quiet despair.

What gap? What hope of breaking out? It was all a ruse, a cruel jest by the enemy!

In that silent instant, many Federal viewers felt the team's despair, shifting from mockery to indignation.

[Honestly, aren't the Imperials a bit too ruthless? Toying with us from the start…]

[War spares no deceit. A loss is a loss, a win is a win. Being too honorable gets you nowhere.]

[I'm an Imperial. Some Federal folks need to stop patting themselves on the back. 'Honest and upright'? Just a fancy way to save face. You had no choice.]

[What's an Imperial doing mouthing off in our stream?]

[Exactly! We got played, and we're supposed to clap for you? Only idiots would.]

Some couldn't stand it, chiming in:

[Can you stop embarrassing yourselves? Leaving a gap in an encirclement and not cornering a desperate foe are basic tactics! It's called strategy! The Imperials did nothing wrong!]

[Calling them ruthless? Let's see your Dai Sheng try being ruthless. They use strategy—why doesn't he? Can't or won't?]

Savvier viewers dripped with sarcasm.

In war, you can't rely on the enemy's mistakes—only your own strength to counter their moves.

Without that basic awareness, what was the point of this exercise?

Though the stream's chatter slowed, some clung to their views.

[I'm still not convinced. The Imperials could've ended it with the encirclement, but they pulled another trick. Why?]

[Simple—it minimizes their losses. Imperials are human too; they don't want their teammates out either.]

The comment silenced the Federal stream for a few seconds.

The broadcast that followed held no suspense.

The Federal team's remaining forces were carved up and devoured bit by bit.

When the last Federal cadet fell, the Empire officially claimed victory in the first exercise.

…

Empire, Youdu Star.

Wei Li finished sorting his pending documents, rubbed his temples, and gracefully pulled a chair from his desk, sitting with a sigh. "Your Majesty, how was the show?"

Though Imperials had exceptional stamina, Cecil Roning had watched the stream from start to finish, barely diverting attention except for necessities like drinking water or signing urgent papers. Even that must've been exhausting.

Wei Li, working and living on Youdu Star, felt drained himself.

—The Emperor slacking meant Wei Li had to pick up the slack!

Cecil Roning raised an eyebrow, closed the stream, and said, "Well done. It's over."

Wei Li hadn't watched much, so he asked, "How did Her Highness perform?"

"Not bad," Cecil Roning said, a pleased curve to his lips, though his tone was measured. "For her age and experience, quite good."

But the Federation's bizarre performance in the exercise gnawed at him.

…What kind of nonsense were they cooking up now?