Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 1040 - 714: Complete Victory!

He appeared like a true ghost from the shadow of a seemingly intact wall behind Catherine, wielding two high-frequency oscillating short blades, stabbing straight at the power core and the rear neck sensors of "Sniper Star"!

The timing, angle, and speed were perfect!

However, it was as if Catherine had eyes on her back.

"Sniper Star" didn't attempt to turn around or block the almost inevitable backstab, but instead, at the moment the opponent launched the surprise attack, the leg thrusters suddenly thrust downward, making the mecha squat abruptly as if struck by a heavy hammer!

At the same time, the composite shield on the left arm slashed upward at an incredible angle!

"Clang!" A loud noise, the edge of the shield accurately knocked away the short blade aiming at the back neck, while the other short blade targeting the power core only grazed the shoulder armor, sparking a stream of sparks due to "Sniper Star"'s sudden squat.

"Night Owl" missed its strike, not lingering to battle, and intended to blend into the shadows and teleport away.

This is a typical tactic of a Shadow Mechanic, missing a strike, fleeing a thousand miles away, waiting for the next opportunity.

But Catherine didn't give him this chance!

While blocking the attack with the shield and crouching, "Sniper Star"'s right hand electromagnetic rifle had already lifted at a speed almost defying physical laws to aim.

She wasn't aiming at the blurred figure of "Night Owl" that might teleport away, but at a specific point on the ground where he appeared!

No charging, no delay, the muzzle flashed blue!

"Bang!"

A specially-made armor-piercing round with reduced power, but undiminished speed and penetration, hit that point at speeds hard for the eye to catch—

A seemingly ordinary concrete block, but whose internal structure had become brittle over the long ages!

"Boom!"

The precisely hit concrete block exploded instantaneously, the shockwave and splintering stones not intended to cause harm, but to—disrupt!

"Night Owl"'s teleportation action was interrupted, his shape revealed with a momentarily falter!

It was in this instant!

Catherine's "Sniper Star" leaped like a hunting leopard long prepared, the electromagnetic rifle instantly switching to melee mode, with a blade flickering high-frequency energy ejecting from the stock area, combining a shield assault into a fluid, fierce melee thrust combo to forcibly invade "Night Owl"'s defensive circle!

"Clink clank!" The sound of metal clashing rang out like a torrential rain.

"Night Owl" was shocked and furious, adept at lurking and decisive kills; direct confrontation was not his strong suit, especially when the rhythm was disrupted by such terrifyingly precise environment manipulation.

He tried to pull away, once again to conceal himself, but Catherine's "Sniper Star" clung persistently at an aggressively middle-close range.

The electromagnetic rifle and shield cooperated seamlessly, offense and defense in one, each attack targeted the weak points of his mecha's joints and energy lines, forcing him to continuously parry and retreat, unable to break free.

More alarming for "Night Owl" was that the opponent seemed utterly familiar with his mecha's weaknesses, each attack leaving him feeling constrained.

This wasn't merely a difference in combat skill, but a crushing of intelligence and analysis!

Finally, after yet another attempt to teleport was predicted by Catherine and destroyed by a precise point shot hitting a key component of the teleportation generator, "Night Owl" lost his mobility advantage.

"Sniper Star" seized the opportunity, slamming its shield to break open his defense, the high-frequency blade stabbing like a snake's venomous bite, penetrating the bundle area of the main control circuits beneath the "Shadow Stalker"'s chest armor!

Sparks burst and flickered, "Night Owl"'s mecha seized up stiffly in place.

"Match over! Winner: New Bauhinia Republic, Catherine!"

The audience watched in astonishment.

A scene that was initially deemed extremely unfavorable for Catherine, an "assassin hunting sniper" showdown, had been forcefully turned into "hunter counter-killing ghost".

She perfectly combined the precise predictions and environmental analysis of a remote mech pilot with the decisive advance and entangled combat skills no less than a close combat pilot, controlling the battle rhythm from start to finish, ultimately achieving an undisputed victory.

Observers from the Shadow Kingdom had faces as dark as storm clouds.

Catherine's performance not only meant they lost a powerful scoring point but also exposed possible weaknesses in their mech's systems that had been precisely exploited by the opponent.

This Catherine must be prioritized as the highest tactical research subject!

However, the match cares not for anyone's will, merely proceeding with one happening right after another continuously.

"Fourth round, New Bauhinia Republic contestant: Gu Lan. Mecha: New Bauhinia · Dawn's Edge custom 'Patrol Wind'."

"Opponent: contestant 'Frenzy Flame' from the 'Flame Republic', mecha: 'Blast Flame Charger IV type'."

Flame Republic, one of the Seven Sons of the Empire, has a style diametrically opposed to the Shadow Kingdom.

Their mech pilots advocate frontal assault and passionate combat, their mechas are often heavily armored with powerful heavy weaponry, excelling at breakthrough and close-range explosive output.

"Frenzy Flame," true to his name, is a renowned striker in the Flame team, his "Blast Flame Charger" heavily armored, arms equipped with jet gauntlets and thermal axes, and a launcher capable of throwing fiery bombs from the back, making the charge unstoppable.

The competition venue is Field No. 9, the "Broken Plains"—

A relatively open field filled with varying depth ravines and scattered massive rocks, neither as extreme as the Lava Plain nor as complex as the Jungle Ruins, considered a fair venue for combat-oriented mech pilots.