IMAO Chapter 68

“That’s right. How is this any different from cheating? How can we fight against spatial jumps?”

“Leia must be very rich to install spatial jump devices on their mechas…”

The boy, who had gone from dismissing the matches to earnestly watching Ji Rong’s fights, now furrowed his brows. As someone who specialized in close combat within the team, his position was similar to RONG’s, mainly focused on charging attacks.

Watching this game, he had to admit that if it were him, he wouldn’t have been able to dodge that barrage of attacks.

This kind of ambush was incredibly deceptive. Before the match against the Federation, Leia had never utilized the Third Generation Conqueror’s spatial jump function.

The boy glanced at Lu Yan, beginning to understand why the captain had insisted they watch the match in person.

“This spells trouble for the Federation. Even if we were to face this Leia team, it would be troublesome. This must be Leia team’s trump card,” one of the Hoyt members remarked thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “That Federation attacker’s reactions were impressively quick.”

“Keep watching,” Lu Yan said quietly.

Lu Yan lowered his gaze, carefully observing the match broadcast on the large screen.

“RONG and YUAN haven’t been eliminated. Those two have incredibly quick reflexes,” Leia’s vice-captain said disappointedly. “We thought we’d save the spatial jump for the quarter-finals or semi-finals, but we didn’t expect to face the Federation so soon.”

“Tsk tsk, the Federation is really strong this year. If they hadn’t encountered us, they might have achieved decent results. Too bad they met us, Leia.”

Captain Eddie’s lips curled into a smirk. Although their trump card had been revealed, he could easily imagine the spectators’ dumbfounded expressions.

Eddie relished this lively atmosphere, savoring the feeling of being admired and watched by everyone.

The Federation had been gaining popularity lately, with everyone considering them the presumptive runner-up. As for the championship, no one could challenge it. At least for many years, it had always belonged to Hoyt.

Leia’s goal this time was second place, and the Federation, as the second seed, was merely an obstacle in their path. No, more accurately, just a pebble.

Having watched the Federation’s matches, Eddie had to admit their strength this year was impressive, especially with the addition of Ji Rong and Jiang Yuan. These two would stand out even in the military, let alone among military academy students.

It was just that they met him, Eddie, and the Third Generation Conqueror.

The Third Generation Conqueror’s spatial jump installation was primarily developed for assassin and sentinel roles on future battlefields.

Perhaps because it had been too long since their last notable achievement, the Leia military also wanted the team to achieve better results, hence providing the Third Generation Conqueror as their competition model.

No matter how capable the Federation was, they couldn’t handle an ‘assassin.’

Above in the sky, swarms of Luohe bugs flew densely. Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly as the team stood back-to-back.

“With spatial jump devices, they can suddenly close in on us. What should we do?” Cyril’s brow furrowed slightly. His mecha was undamaged since the previous ambush had mainly targeted Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment. He managed to avoid the fatal attack earlier mainly thanks to Alphonse. His body reacted to evade before his mind could process it. With proper preparation, he could prevent their ambush attacks alone.

“We must figure out their jump duration,” Jiang Yuan said in a serious tone.

Ji Rong immediately issued the command. “I’ll attack. You all stay together and confirm the timing.”

“Understood!”

While everyone expected the Federation team to huddle together to prevent another surprise attack, they instead saw Ji Rong directly launch Thunder Seven into action. Compared to the first wave of attacks, this time each mecha technique was executed perfectly, even more dramatically than textbook demonstrations.

Monorail slide-step, left-right frequency variations, low-high frequency shifts, high-explosive attacks, 360-degree chain sniping!

“Damn, did RONG go crazy? He actually launched an offensive at a time like this instead of grouping up? If they get ambushed, even seven Leia fighters won’t be able to defend against it!”

The attacks came wave after wave, one after another.

Offense became the best defense. Better to attack proactively than huddle up and take hits!

After Ji Rong’s storm of attacks, suddenly one mecha disappeared. In less than 0.1 seconds, a Conqueror emerged behind Ji Rong, its power fully charged, its weapon flashing silver as it rushed toward Ji Rong’s mecha!

Eight-Chain Slash!

Jiang Yuan raised his hand, instantly aiming armor-piercing rounds!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Jiang Yuan blocked the first three consecutive slashes!

Fourth strike, fifth, sixth… eighth!

After the first three strikes of the intense eight-hit combo were blocked by Jiang Yuan’s armor-piercing rounds, the remaining five slashes posed no problem for Ji Rong.

Instead, it was Ji Rong’s counterattack that became unbearable for the opponent, who found themselves overwhelmed.

“They still haven’t activated another jump?” Jiang Yuan said quietly. “As expected, the jump has a time limit. It can’t be used whenever they want.”

Faced with Ji Rong’s continuous attacks, Leia’s vice-captain indeed couldn’t keep up. Was this Federation player some kind of monster? How much stamina did it take to execute endless combos like this?

Thirteen hits… fourteen… fifty-seven… eighty…

Damn, it’s approaching a hundred!

He had to hold on, just three more seconds, three more seconds until the next jump…

Just as Ji Rong’s combo reached one hundred and eight hits, at a moment when dodging seemed impossible, Ji Rong’s attack missed! The enemy had appeared behind him!

“Thirty-six seconds…”

Jiang Yuan spoke softly over the comm line as an armor-piercing round whistled through the air!

Sparks flew everywhere.

Eddie froze as his team’s vice-captain was eliminated.

…

“Damn, that sniper is awesome!”

“Now it’s 6:5. Although the Federation got one kill, the enemy’s ability to suddenly close in gives them too much of an advantage…”

Even the Chris team grew tense. On the match broadcast screen, the Conqueror appeared and disappeared with ghostlike teleportation, like a scythe-wielding reaper circling around Ji Rong!

These people would definitely suddenly turn on Jiang Yuan!

Just as the Chris team had this thought, the remaining six Conquerors simultaneously teleported, surrounding Jiang Yuan from all directions – above, below, left, right, front, and back.

“It’s over… the God of Guns is done for.”

“Shit, I can’t even watch. This is too brutal. How can anyone dodge this?”

Jiang Yuan’s fans held their breath, hearts clenched tight.

How could anyone possibly dodge this? Six simultaneous attacks from all directions. There was nowhere to escape!

Even Nolan instinctively closed his eyes. Although Jiang Yuan wouldn’t really be in mortal danger from being surrounded like this in the arena, getting hit and knocked around could still cause a concussion. Previous matches had already put some team members in the Hoyt Royal Hospital…

Nolan: How is this any different from cheating?! Damn! Shameless!

Nolan kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see Jiang Yuan’s mecha explode. But after waiting a while, he didn’t hear any elimination notification. He opened his eyes to find his teammates staring at the broadcast screen with their jaws dropped, utterly dumbfounded.

What happened?

Nolan was confused as he quickly looked up at the broadcast screen.

“Let me send you home,” Eddie smirked, speaking smugly from his mecha.

BOOM—

Thunder Fighter 02 was caught in a pincer attack by six Conquerors. As all six mechas charged in simultaneously, Thunder Fighter 02 suddenly made an eerie sideways dodge backward to avoid the first attacker, leaving only an afterimage in its original position. As the second mecha attacked, Jiang Yuan threw his gun directly at it, blocking its strike.

With bizarre sliding steps, he dodged the third and fourth attacks…

Most astounding of all, due to Thunder Fighter 02’s position changes, Leia’s fifth and sixth attacking mechas crashed directly into each other. Friendly fire!

Was this even real?

Holy shit!

How could anyone dodge a six-person ambush?

How inhuman were these reflexes, to find a safe position in that split second?

This couldn’t be real!

Although Jiang Yuan had just escaped a dangerous attack, his mood was good. He could now confirm the jump interval was 36 seconds. It was likely because the mechas couldn’t jump consecutively without overheating. Thirty-six seconds was the cooldown for these mechas’ jumps, with an apparent jump distance of 98.5-102.3 meters.

“He dodged it?” Leia’s captain Eddie’s brows furrowed into deep lines, but he quickly calmed down. It must have been just a coincidence, a fluke. They might have dodged once, but there wouldn’t be a second time!

…

In the stands, the Hoyt team member’s jaw dropped as he chewed his gum. “Damn, how lucky is this guy? He dodged all of that!”

“Lucky, huh…” Lu Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. Was it really just luck?

As Lu Yan pondered this, Thunder Fighter 01 piloted by Ji Rong charged forward with its mechanical blade at full throttle. Sparks flew as the blade materialized from nowhere, pinning one of the enemy mechas to the ground.

Fighter 02 simultaneously drew the cross-blade from its back, throwing one to Fighter 01.

That’s when Eddie realized something was wrong! Their opponents’ teammates disappeared!

“Bang!”

A gunshot rang out!

A flash of sparks!

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong wielded their blades like executioners’ weapons, harvesting their opponents one by one. Due to the jumps, the mechs’ outer shells were scorching hot, unable to sustain another jump, and their energy shields were temporarily disabled!

…

Time seemed to freeze. This was a harvest.

A harvest within thirty seconds!

Eddie fell to the ground, stunned. Why did their ambush fail? It shouldn’t have been possible. How could anyone dodge that? How could this…

BOOM!

Federation wins!

Everyone watching the broadcast was dumbfounded. The assassin-type mechas with teleportation abilities were defeated just like that? The Federation won?

No, this defied logic!

What exactly happened in that final harvest?

Of course, some people understood…

Lu Yan sat in his seat, eyes twinkling with amusement. He finally found interesting opponents. From the moment they discovered the third-generation mechas’ spatial jump capability, the Federation team had been calculating their jump timing!

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong were the baits. They were calculating a gap, a moment when no one had teleportation ability! Leia wanted to be thorough, having six people teleport to attack Jiang Yuan simultaneously, which created a vacuum period! When no one could jump, no one could launch a surprise attack, allowing the Federation team to strike with confidence!

Brilliant.

Such quick tactical thinking was impressive.

Even if Jiang Yuan had been eliminated, during that remaining gap, Ji Rong and the other teammates could have still secured the kill!

“Holy shit, that was amazing.”

Hearing Simon’s exclamation, Lu Yan glanced at the boy. “Can you watch properly now? Are you done making a fuss?”

The entire Hoyt team shook their heads in unison. No more disruptions. The Federation was too powerful!

The Round of 16 was best-of-three, but since it wasn’t point-based, they didn’t need to play the third match. After the Federation won the second match, their battle against Leia was declared over.

In the livestream chat—

“All hail our mighty Federation! The God of Guns is invincible!”
“That reaction speed was mind-blowing! How did they even process the first round so quickly? It’s inhuman! Are they even human?”
“Of course they’re human! The God of Guns is so cool! I hereby declare the God of Guns the most amazing Beta! He’s my forever love!”
“What about my melee king RONG?”
“Federation didn’t let me down! I bet everything on you guys! Got enough prediction coins for a new skin now~ I’m so happy!”

…

The match concluded.

Liu Shan stretched lazily. “Feels like I was carried again today…”

“You were carried. You died right at the start,” Cyril said bluntly, showing no mercy.

Liu Shan: “Don’t I deserve some face-saving?”

Cyril: “Heh, noob!”

Liu Shan: “If you were the target of that first attack, could you have dodged it?”

Cyril: “Noob.”

Liu Shan: “…”

As they were changing clothes and stepping out of the locker room, they noticed Nolan and the others.

“You guys were amazing! Hahaha!” Nolan greeted them with a bright smile.

“Just the usual,” Gu Bai chuckled.

Nolan spoke with a mysterious air, “By the way, guess who I saw watching your match today?”

“Who?” Ji Rong asked casually.

Nolan: “Lu Yan. The captain of Team Hoyt.”

Ji Rong just hummed in response and did not pay much attention. Having worked up a sweat, his body was emitting some pheromones, so he took out his pheromone concealer and sprayed it on himself.

After leaving backstage, Lu Yan spotted the Federation team at the arena entrance and walked straight over to greet them. Catching a faint strawberry scent in the air, he frowned slightly. This scent seemed familiar.

Lu Yan’s lips twitched. “You’re using strawberry-scented pheromone concealer?”

Ji Rong: “Yeah, why?”

Lu Yan scrutinized Ji Rong up and down… that height, that build…

Ah, he was that strawberry-scented ‘Omega’ from the banquet who caught his attention, the one who aroused his curiosity.

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