Under the incredulous gazes of the gathered soldiers, the real-time sniping duel in the holographic display continued. In fact, the scales of victory were silently tipping toward the white mecha.
The onlookers were utterly stunned.
In particular, these soldiers were horrified to discover that in this head-on clash, the terrifying sonic boom barrier formed by the collision of energy was slowly but steadily pushing toward the black mecha.
The roar of the massive energy explosions was faithfully reproduced by the holographic system, leaving these "troublemakers"—who had been beaten a hundred times by Yama Xu—completely shell-shocked.
Anyone with eyes could see that the sonic boom barrier was drifting from the center toward the black mecha. This led the spectating soldiers to a terrifying conclusion they hardly dared believe.
It meant the white mecha’s offensive was growing faster and faster. The black mecha was not only failing to counterattack but was even struggling to maintain its passive defense, which was why the barrier continued to close in.
Because the white mecha’s sniping was becoming increasingly rapid, the black mecha had to devote all its energy to neutralizing the incoming attacks with its own energy bolts.
Even so, the barrier continued to creep closer to the black mecha. This indicated that at various distances, the long-range sniper rifle in the white mecha’s hands was faster and more accurate, striking first even when firing second. If the black mecha lapsed for even a fraction of a second, it would likely be hit.
"He's retreating!" someone in the breathless crowd suddenly cried out.
On the holographic screen, as if judging the current situation to be extremely unfavorable, the black mecha chose to fall back again, actively giving up the head-on clash with the white mecha.
In a long-range sniping duel, the "King of Snipers" of the First Legion was actually being suppressed? Not only that, but Yama Xu was being forced to temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack?!
Was their vision failing them, or had the world gone mad?
Shocked by this surreal scene, the horror felt by the spectating soldiers was no small matter.
Seeing this miraculous turn of events, the assault team leader—who had just been comforting Ji Wei by saying Ji Ye-ran might not last long—felt his jaw nearly hit the floor.
Watching the duel timer on the screen exceed ten minutes, the team leader suddenly realized with a jolt of terror that the issue was no longer how long a cadet could hold out.
The issue now was that Yama Xu might actually lose this match! *Aaaaahhh!!!*
A mere cadet might actually have the strength to take down the Great Demon King of the First Legion?!
Terrified by his own thoughts, the team leader couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Am I still dreaming?"
A demon king above the Demon King... the mere thought was terrifying. The team leader’s brain had completely stalled.
At this moment, the Adjutant was equally disoriented.
Watching Yama Xu being suppressed and even forced into evasive maneuvers by a cadet, the Adjutant felt a metaphorical arrow pierce his knee in addition to his shock. It was incredibly painful.
The Adjutant, now questioning his very existence, thought: *...To think I once looked down on an Alpha with such explosive combat power, thinking he was a nuisance and exiling him to a pirate ship.*
From the looks of it, this cadet could probably take on ten of him with ease. Having a very clear understanding of his own limits, the Adjutant silently pressed a hand to his forehead.
As he did so, his peripheral vision caught another cadet—the master of deception who had scammed him countless times, the Omega, Feng Zhixi.
Seeing Feng Zhixi’s eyes curved in a bright, spirited smile, the Adjutant fell into deep self-reflection.
*So, is this generation of cadets just too terrifying, or was my generation simply too weak?!*
*Where did these monstrous creatures come from?!* This was the collective silent cry of the disoriented First Legion officers.
In the crowd, the only person not surprised by this scene was Feng Zhixi. Looking at the two mechas locked in a stalemate on the screen, he gave a silent "tsk."
Feng Zhixi pursed his lips, not particularly happy as he watched the two mechas trade blows in a war of attrition. From the current situation, it looked like this deadlock might continue until both mechas completely exhausted their energy, resulting in a draw.
*He’s actually throwing the match for a draw!* Having predicted the outcome, Feng Zhixi, who had bet on Ji Ye-ran winning, was displeased. Regardless of whether Ji Ye-ran knew it or not, Feng Zhixi was already silently adding a mark against a certain someone’s name in his mental "grudge ledger" for intentionally holding back.
If it really ended in a draw, then the Alpha who caused him to lose his bet was the culprit and would have to compensate him for his losses! The unhappy Feng Zhixi thought resentfully.
Meanwhile, the oblivious Ji Ye-ran was holding his long-range energy sniper rifle, calmly calculating the trajectory of the black mecha while firing in a rhythmic cadence.
At the same time, he was carefully calculating the energy consumption ratio of both mechas to control the consumption rate of his own rifle, maintaining a dynamic equilibrium with the black mecha opposite him.
As someone who had suffered greatly in the past, the Great Warden Ji knew exactly what kind of person Xu Yi was—he was a pure brute!
When fighting Xu Yi, losing wasn't the scary part. The scary part was if you won. If you did, then congratulations: you were about to gain a permanent, battle-hungry challenger—the kind of fanatic who would use every means possible to find you and fight you again.
The Warden, calmly firing his rifle, really didn't want to recall his painful past experiences...
Before his rebirth, it was because of a momentary lapse in caution that he had irritably beaten the crap out of Xu Yi, who had insisted on coming to his door to self-recommend as a prison guard.
It had been a ruthless beating that left Xu Yi black and blue.
However, the future Great Warden Ji hadn't known that his lack of restraint would earn him a fanatical challenger.
Xu Yi was the type of person who, no matter how hard he was beaten, would return to full health after two days of rest. That spirit of growing stronger with every setback and his unyielding persistence had nearly driven the Warden—who had already mastered the highest level of the "poker face"—to the brink of a breakdown.
To make matters worse, this harasser’s combat power was off the charts; only the Warden himself could actually beat him back. No other guards could stop him.
In his past life, after throwing the bruised and swollen Lieutenant General Xu out once again, Ji Ye-ran had knit his brows slightly, irritably loosening his tightly fastened collar to reveal the skin of his neck.
"He gets beaten like this by me every time; can't you do something about him?" Ji Ye-ran had asked his records officer. The young Warden was exhausted from the constant fighting.
His words caused the man sitting as steady as a mountain to pause his work. His records officer—the former Chief of Staff of the First Legion who had insisted on staying at the prison, the current Star Prison Records Officer, and also Xu Yi’s partner—smiled and explained slowly, "It's fine. He's thick-skinned; he can take a beating."
The records officer’s implication was that he didn't mind, so the Warden could feel free to beat him as much as he liked.
The smiling records officer looked at his superior. This Warden, who usually maintained a cold, ascetic demeanor, had a few stray hairs falling over his forehead from the recent fight, giving the young but powerful Alpha a touch of vivid vitality.
The records officer added nonchalantly, "Besides, he's safe here with you. I'd rather he get beaten by you than have me become a widower." The two of them had deeply offended the Federation Marshal, Ji Wei. Currently, only under this equally high-ranking Warden could Xu Yi avoid a mysterious death in action.
"And—" the records officer didn't hide his schadenfreude at all, "with you, Sir, acting as the primary target for his hatred, the Marshal probably won't notice the life or death of two small fry like us." Everyone in the Federation knew that Ji Ye-ran was Ji Wei’s love rival—the kind where only one could survive.
Ji Ye-ran: "..." *So I'm just a tool to draw aggro?!*
***
Back in the present, within the holographic combat system, Ji Ye-ran—who was firing with precision—had deeply internalized the painful lessons of the past. He perfectly controlled his attacks to stay within the range of a draw.
Losing was impossible, but winning was also out of the question! A draw was the only way!
The Warden, thinking this way, had no idea that because of his precise "match-fixing," he had been labeled the "culprit" by the losing Feng Zhixi.
In the eyes of the domineering former pirate leader Feng Zhixi, not winning was the same as losing. Since Ji Ye-ran was faking the match and holding back, he was intentionally making Feng Zhixi lose—an even greater sin!
At this moment, the Warden, still unaware that he had been forcibly labeled by the "delicate one," was diligently maintaining a perfect offensive frequency.
In the eyes of outsiders, the strength of the two mechas was neck-and-neck. The white mecha only held a slight advantage due to the element of surprise, but that advantage was eventually clawed back by the experienced Captain Xu, who adjusted his state and seized a microscopic error from the white mecha.
Perhaps the pilot of the white mecha was a sniping prodigy with incredible talent, but at this stage, his actual combat experience still lagged behind the Fleet Commander’s.
As the fight dragged on, the white mecha’s natural advantage in sniping was gradually leveled by the calm Fleet Commander.
Soon, the black and white mechas were once again locked in a grueling, back-and-forth struggle.
Inside the holographic display, the two evenly matched mechas fought tooth and nail. The intensity of the battle was breathtaking.
"..." The spectating soldiers had moved from disbelief to accepting reality.
*Heh heh heh, the world really has gone surreal. Someone can actually fight Yama Xu to a standstill. Hahaha, we're not crazy, the world is crazy, hahahahaha...*
Just as the soldiers were forced to accept this magical reality, the energy of the long-range sniper rifles—notorious energy hogs—finally ran dry. With perfect unspoken understanding, the two humanoid mechas charged at each other, beginning a melee.
Watching the white mecha go toe-to-toe with short blades against Xu Yi—the "Tyrannosaurus Rex" of close-quarters combat—the soldiers had learned to remain calm.
In the holographic display, the two mechas were entangled in a melee. Their short blades clashed countless times in the air. Because the speed and frequency of the collisions were so high, the resulting energy waves didn't have time to dissipate, forming a massive blue web. As the web grew denser, it almost transformed into a mirror-like surface of flowing water, without a single gap—like a natural blue water mirror.
As the collision energy continued to accumulate, it finally reached its limit. During another clash of the black and white mechas' short blades, both energy daggers struck the core point of the blue mirror simultaneously.
In an instant, the detonating energy blew both mechas apart.
Although both pilots had activated their mecha energy shields in time, the explosion ultimately pierced through the precarious shields. Simultaneously, the energy reserves of both mechas finally hit zero.
With a crisp *beep*, the holographic combat system ejected the two "brutes." On the holographic screen, the result was announced in large, bold, blood-red letters: The duration of this battle was two hours, and the result was—a Draw.
The stunned onlookers: "..."
The unhappy "delicate one" who lost his bet: ╰（｀□′）╯
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Starry Rebirth: The Warden and the Outlaw’s Interstellar Revenge | Chapter 53 | A Calculated Draw | Novela.app | Novela.app
