Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 1050 - 719: Battle Underwater

After a brief rest and targeted environmental adaptation training, the draw ceremony for the second phase of the Star Alliance Championship - the "Glorious Elimination Match," took place under the watchful eyes of many.

The entirely random draw added even more uncertainty to this single-elimination tournament.

The opponents for "New Bauhinia" were quickly revealed, and when the holographic screen displayed the results, Gong Yan took a deep breath and her expression became serious.

"The opponent is... 'Deep Blue Guardians,' from the 'Deep Space Federation.'

Gong Yan muttered under her breath, "They are not the Sons of the Empire, nor are they one of the higher-ranked teams from the points stage, but they... are quite unique."

"Unique?" Kuang Xin raised an eyebrow, "In what way?"

Gong Yan pulled up the information: "'Deep Blue Guardians' are not a traditional competition team. They're more like... a professional 'deep-sea operation and rescue' unit, long responsible for the Steel League's special engineering, exploration, and security and rescue tasks in ocean planets, Ice Ocean Worlds, or giant space station water circulation systems. Their mech pilots are more professional underwater engineers and explorers than warriors. Their mechas are almost all special models designed specifically for underwater, high pressure, low temperature, and other extreme underwater environments. In the points stage, their performance wasn't particularly outstanding, but they maintained an unbeaten record and held a significant advantage in all projects involving underwater or complex fluid environments."

"What about the competition venue?" Bai E asked.

Gong Yan looked at the updated information: "The competition venue is... 'Deep Blue Purgatory' Area 3 - 'Silent Sea Trench.' Competition mode: Occupy and Control. Both sides need to establish a control zone near a Spiritual Beacon Point called the 'Heart of the Deep Sea' at the trench's depths and hold it for enough time, or completely destroy the opponent's resistance capability. The competition will take place at a depth of about 3,000 meters below sea level, where the water pressure is extremely high, the light is dim, the temperature is near freezing, and there are unknown deep-sea creatures and complex underwater currents."

This draw result was both expected and somewhat unexpected.

"The Sons of the Empire's team were likely opponents, and they had anticipated that their opponent might be the Sons of the Empire, but who would have thought they'd encounter such an unusual tough nut—

A foreign team with absolute professional advantages in specific environments.

This undoubtedly cast a shadow over New Bauhinia's debut in the elimination match.

"It seems that our performance in the first stage made some people feel the need to use the environment to limit us," Catherine calmly analyzed, "Or rather, luck is on their side."

"It's okay." Bai E's voice was calm, "The 'Dawn's Edge' series was designed with full environmental adaptability in mind; although underwater modules are not our specialty, Dr. Helen must have made basic preparations. The question now is, who should fight? And how to cope with such a completely unfamiliar combat environment."

Rose frowned slightly: "Underwater, I'll be significantly weakened by water resistance, reducing the stealth and suddenness of close combat raids, and my performance might not be good."

Gu Lan also nodded: "My guerrilla tactics are similarly limited underwater, mobility is greatly reduced, and ocean currents will interfere with the trajectory of my darts."

Kuang Xin was eager to try: "Whether it's in water or fire, let's just do it! I just don't know how much force the mecha will need to punch underwater…"

Catherine, however, was more focused on the tactical level: "The opponents are underwater experts, and they must be familiar with the environment of the 'Silent Sea Trench,' possibly even using the environment itself as a weapon. We not only have to face the enemy but also fight against the natural environment. This is a huge test for our team's cooperation, environmental awareness, and adaptability."

"So..." her gaze turned to Bai E, "sir, if we want to ensure victory, you might have to take the field personally for this battle."

There was no one else on the team who dared to claim they could defeat an opponent with a terrain advantage in such an extreme environment.

Bai E gently shook his head, not intending to take the field in the first match.

"Can't you really go on the field?" Catherine was somewhat anxious, "This is the elimination match... losing one game is the end of it all. We've worked so hard to get to the top 64, if in the first match..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Facing such a professional underwater opponent, without Bai E, the absolute core, in charge, their confidence was shaky.

After all, in the first stage, Bai E had defeated Astra, the "Child of Destiny," with just one sword stroke, his strength being the team's most solid backing.

Even in the deep-sea environment, where he had never been seen in action, everyone believed he could do his best.

Rose also rarely expressed concern: "There is no room for error in the elimination match. 'Deep Blue Guardians' have an overwhelming advantage underwater. If we can't establish an advantage from the start, or we get dragged into their rhythm, we'll be very passive later."

"The sir might be considering the tournament rules," Gong Yan suddenly spoke up.

"There are limits on the number of appearances each player can make in each stage. If we intend to fight our way into the top eight, we need to play at least three matches: from 64 to 32, from 32 to 16, and from 16 to 8. The sir, being our strongest trump card, if we use him in a match where he is not necessarily needed, what will we do when we encounter stronger opponents later?"

She pulled up some information: "Don't forget, those 'Sons of the Empire' real ace teams, like the 'Brilliant Star' main team of the Golden Federation, the 'Proxies' squad of the Holy Silver Church Country, the 'Blood Fury Battle Group' core team of the Flame Republic, they are all in either the upper half or the other side of the lower half, and we'll eventually run into them. There's also the elusive 'Ghost Walker' main team of the Shadow Kingdom. The sir's opportunities to play must be used wisely."