Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 1045 - 716: Challenge Match (Part 2)

The atmosphere in the seventh district of the International Pavilion was heavy.

Everyone had seen the announcements and the overwhelming public opinion on the internet.

Gong Yan's face was grim: "It's the retaliation of the 'Sons of the Empire'! They've directly used their strongest trump card against the master! And choosing this moment, when we are at the peak of our momentum, intending to crush us in one fell swoop! The public opinion was also guided by them!"

Kuang Xin exclaimed angrily: "What nonsense 'Child of Destiny', pretending to be mysterious! Master, let me confront him!"

Rose, Catherine, and Gu Lan, though silent, had eyes full of worry and battle readiness.

They believed in Bai E's strength, but Astra's reputation and the significance it carried were incredibly heavy.

Bai E stood by the window of the tactics discussion room, looking at the eternal lights of the "Star City", his expression remaining calm.

He was not surprised by Astra's challenge.

Last night's fermentation of public opinion and this morning's challenge announcement were obviously a series of traps.

Forcing him to participate, and then using the strongest spear to pierce this newly risen star.

The Elorin scholar hurried in, his expression serious: "Lord Bai E, Astra's intelligence...is extremely scarce, but every piece indicates he is remarkably terrifying. His Spiritual Talent 'Destiny Perception' is said to allow him to gain an absolute advantage in battle, even to a certain extent 'lead' the course of the battle in a favorable direction for him. The Golden Federation protects him extremely closely, almost no complete battle footage has been released, all public information is vague and ambiguous, yet all assessments rank him among the top three contenders in this tournament for personal combat strength. This challenge...is extremely dangerous."

Bai E turned around, looking at the core members gathered in the room.

On their faces were anger, worry, and absolute trust in him.

"What is meant to come will always come." Bai E's voice was steady, without a hint of tension. "He wants to fight, then we will fight."

He walked to the tactical table, pulling up the Star Alliance tournament's rules for "Deathmatch Mode", and environment parameters for the main arena number one.

"Deathmatch mode, no time limit, no draw, until one side completely loses fighting capabilities or surrenders. The venue is a standard arena, no complex environmental interference, purely testing the individual ability of the Mech Pilot, mecha performance, and tactical will." Bai E quickly scanned through, "Astra is good at 'Destiny Perception' and prediction...so let him predict well."

"Kuang Xin, Rose, Catherine, Gu Lan, your matches today proceed as usual, without any influence. Gong Yan, continue monitoring public opinion, but no need to respond. As for Astra...don't worry."

Lastly, he looked outside the window, as if able to see the soon-to-be battlefield of the "main arena number one".

"Inform the event committee: challenge accepted. Time, set for today, third round."

"Since they want to see my strength..."

Bai E gently clenched his fist, an invisible yet comforting steady momentum diffused.

"Then let them have a good look."

...

In the next day's points competition, the first to compete was Zero.

This former "Sharpshooter", now also piloting a mass-produced model mecha from the "Dawn's Edge" series, "Falcon".

His opponent hailed from a moderate force known for precision shooting and tactical coordination.

In the standard plain arena, Zero demonstrated the sharpshooter's patience, precision, and ultimate control over battlefield distance to the fullest extent.

He did not seek a one-hit kill, but through precise, continuous point shooting, continually pressured his opponent's movement space, destroyed their mecha's external sensors and secondary weapons, ultimately when the opponent exposed a fatal flaw due to comprehensive vision and firepower restrictions, a long-accumulated special armor-piercing round ended the battle.

Zero used a calm, efficient, and calculated victory, demonstrating to everyone the battle wisdom and skill of those top experts grown from ruthless environments were no less than anyone else's.

Next up was Ares, piloting the "Dawn's Edge" tailored "War God" model that's oriented towards close combat and strong assault.

His opponent was from a team renowned for high firepower coverage.

As the battle started, the opponent tried to pull back and suppress with firepower.

However, Ares showed a rampaging surge ability aligned with his "War God" name.

The "War God" mecha under his control, like a wild beast, charged under the opponent's fire barrage, minimizing evasion actions to reduce hit area, forcefully broke through the firepower net.

The ensuing close-range battle was without suspense, Ares' countless practical experience, broad and open yet precise and deadly melee skills, coupled with the mecha's strong output, in merely thirty seconds completely shattered the opponent's defenses, crushing the armor outside their mecha's core cockpit into dents and deformation, forcing their surrender.

Ares' victory was filled with the beauty of power and relentless momentum, once again showcasing the equally formidable top combat strength within the New Bauhinia team.

Two victories, vastly different in style, yet equally convincing.

New Bauhinia's points continued to steadily rise, firmly holding the top positions in the group.

This also rendered the criticism that "New Bauhinia is only strong because of a few core players" unfounded.

However, everyone's attention had long been completely captivated by the upcoming third match.

After the stunning five consecutive wins over the past two days, paired with doubt and underestimation under guided public opinion yesterday, plus the oppressive challenge from "Child of Destiny" Astra, Bai E, the captain who hadn't yet taken action, his first performance had been given far more significance than an ordinary points match.

It's proof, it's retaliation, and it's the ultimate test of New Bauhinia's dark horse team quality.

The information of both sides of the confrontation had been repeatedly dissected:

Challenger: Golden Federation "Dazzling Stars" team, Astra, mecha: Golden Federation's newest custom model "Judgment of Destiny".

Spiritual Talent involving "Destiny Perception", strength assessment leading singularly over the younger generation, one of the strongest contenders for the individual champion title in this tournament.

Responder: New Bauhinia Republic team, Bai E, mecha: New Bauhinia "Dawn's Edge" prototype "Breaker of Dawn".

Strength unknown, only the brilliant records of his team members serve as side references, along with some vague rumors from the edge Stellar Districts.

The dramatic disparity in strength, sensitive background conflict, and the dramatic "king sniping dark horse" theatrics, made the attention on this showdown unprecedented.

Not only was the spectator seating in "Star City" long packed, but the pre-order numbers for the Star Alliance's live broadcast channel also set a new high since the tournament began.

Online, all kinds of predictions, analyses, even discussions with a gambling nature were overwhelming, although the odds are still overwhelmingly skewed towards Astra, there were those hoping for a miracle, or simply disliking the "Sons of the Empire" hegemony, starting to silently cheer for Bai E and New Bauhinia.

"Glorious Competitive World" main arena number one is a giant venue specifically designed for important matches and showcase games, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of on-site spectators.

Today, it's packed to the brim, the clamor almost lifting the dome.

Countless cameras, sensors, and Spiritual Energy detection devices were aimed at the center stage, a pristine alloy ring.

Without any complex environmental interference, this was the purest stage for power confrontation.

Members of the New Bauhinia team sat in the exclusive player observation area.

Kuang Xin, Rose, Catherine, Gu Lan, Zero, Ares and others had solemn expressions, though they had absolute confidence in Bai E, facing such a notorious and terrifying opponent like Astra, it would be a lie to say they're not anxious.

Gong Yan stared intently at the data board, with the latest public opinion and odds changes rolling.

The Elorin scholar frowned slightly, repeatedly recalling the ambiguous, snippets of information about Astra's capabilities.

"Look! Astra is coming out!" A burst of exclamation erupted from the audience seats.