IMAO Chapter 83

The communication was cut off, and Jules’ anxiety didn’t decrease. Instead, he was now more confused than ever.

They lost the match, but His Majesty was happy?

What kind of joke was Prince Hosea playing?

…

“By the way,” Tyson revealed a slight smile and turned to his old friend Alfonso, who was grinning from ear to ear, “I heard from some friends that the Hoyt Empire’s Emperor added an extra reward for the champion of this competition.”

Upon hearing Tyson’s words, Alfonso couldn’t help but smile and said, “Yes, I’ve heard about that too, but Hoyt hasn’t officially announced it yet.”

Tyson said with schadenfreude, “I guess His Majesty of Hoyt originally intended to use this opportunity to reward those kids from Hoyt, encourage the newcomers. Unfortunately, your Federation came out as a dark horse this year, and the Hoyt team lost, so it ended up benefiting your Federation instead.”

“Wonder what the reward actually is,” Tyson said with a smile. “Probably will be announced during the finals.”

The matter of Hoyt adding an extra reward had become an open secret, although Hoyt hadn’t revealed what the prize would be yet.

Alfonso replied indifferently, “The reward itself isn’t important. What matters is the competition itself.”

The next day.

The match between Lance and Myorsa officially began, with Lance emerging victorious.

However, compared to yesterday’s match between the Federation and Hoyt, this semifinal attracted much less attention.

As soon as “Lance WIN” appeared, the livestream’s comments started flooding in:

—”Congratulations to Lucky Lance for securing second place!”
—”Congratulations to Lucky Lance for securing second place!”
…
—”Congratulations to Lucky Lance for securing second place!”

Rows of identical comments appeared densely in the livestream. Lance citizens who had just watched the match:

—”Emmm, as a Lance citizen, not sure whether to be happy or sad…”
—”Be happy, this second place was picked up for free anyway!”
—”Be content, Hoyt has it worse! They could’ve at least gotten second place, but ended up getting pushed to third instead.”

After seeing the last message, Neo in the livestream felt bitter for two seconds before noticing the organizers had something to announce, and immediately switched the screen over.

“First, congratulations to Team Lance for winning and advancing to the finals. The Hoyt Empire will present a special reward to the champion team of this competition, separate from the original prizes. So what exactly is this prize?” The competition host smiled and created suspense, waving the paper letter in his hand, “The answer is right here.”

“Then let’s unveil the mysterious reward together!” The host revealed a smile and opened the letter in his hand.

“The prize is…”

The host paused, carefully read it two more times to ensure he wasn’t seeing things, and swallowed hard. “Seven Space Keys.”

“Hoyt will provide seven Space Keys as the prize for the champion team of this mecha competition…”

Neo in the livestream couldn’t believe his ears.

The livestream comments instantly went wild:

—”Bowing down to the wealthy Hoyt!”
—”The prize is actually Space Keys? Such a grand gesture! Isn’t this something only generals and above can possess in various countries?!”
—”I’m stunned, the title of the richest ‘nation’ in the universe is well-deserved!”
—”I want to say, this was originally meant for Team Hoyt, right? The Federation really lucked out big time, I’m so jealous!”
—”Jealous? Of what? Can your country beat either Hoyt or the Federation?”

Simon, who was just casually watching the match at home, felt completely unsettled. He knew about the special reward, but he had no idea what the specific prize would be.

Space Keys?

In Hoyt, only military personnel of certain ranks could possess them, and in foreign countries, only those of general rank could have them!

This should have been His Majesty’s reward for them, and this was what His Majesty planned to give them!

Oh my god!

His heart ached, making it hard to breathe!

Without a doubt, his other teammates must be feeling the same way right now.

Team Lance’s players at the venue were all dumbfounded.

The champion’s prize was absolutely enviable, but the problem was they simply couldn’t beat the Federation. Although this was meant for the champion, everyone knew who that champion would be, even without the final match.

Damn, they were happy about picking up second place earlier, but now it felt absolutely awful.

Fierce A crying

Silver Palace—

“The prize is Space Keys?” Gu Bai’s voice echoed through the entire room.

“Are they sure about this prize?” Liu Shan in the living room was also stunned. He was just watching the match out of boredom!

Even Ji Rong was somewhat shocked. Although his Omega father had told him earlier that this reward was extremely valuable, he didn’t expect it to be Space Keys.

“Pinch me, let me see if I’m dreaming!”

Everyone got excited.

Jiang Yuan’s expression remained calm without a ripple. Although he was indeed surprised by this reward, space technology in his previous world was relatively more advanced than here, and technology similar to Space Keys also existed there.

Alfonso, who was resting upstairs, couldn’t help but be stunned, losing yesterday’s air of indifference toward the prize. The Federation really struck gold this time!

If they could negotiate the space technology matter, this trip would be perfect. However, he still felt uncertain. The Hoyt minister who had been in contact with him had been avoiding him for quite some time now. When he asked Prince Hosea about it through various channels, Hosea only told him that Hoyt had important internal affairs to handle, which was why the minister hadn’t met with him.

Hoyt’s matters still ultimately depended on that Emperor’s decisions.

Alfonso couldn’t help but rub his temples.

He must find a way to meet with His Majesty the Emperor.

…

Federation vs Lance.

Everyone knew the outcome of this match.

Both sides’ mechas slowly rose from the ground.

War Blade, Lance’s current service mecha. Its most distinctive feature was the various missiles and laser installations. An incomplete count showed thirty-six launch tracks on the War Blade. Even without other handheld weapons, War Blade’s firepower was enough to make enemies think twice.

Currently, Lance’s seven War Blades were each equipped with handheld weapons: a laser gun and a mechanical blade.

“Team Lance is armed to the teeth, but too bad they’re facing this year’s Federation…”

“Even though I know the match result, I don’t know why I came to watch it in person.”

“Honestly, I’m not here for the match, I just want to see the Space Keys…”

Many people were discussing.

“Hello everyone, I believe you’ve all been looking forward to today’s match for a long time. So, who will be the champion of this mecha competition, Lance or the Federation?”

“Let’s wait and see!”

As soon as the host finished speaking, comments flooded in—

“Let me tell you secretly, I’m actually from the future, the Federation wins this match~”

“I know that without you telling me ^_^”

“To be frank, I’m also from the future, Lance loses!”
…

Just then, Jiang Yuan, who was sitting in his mecha, lightly touched his forehead. Since waking up this morning until now, his temperature had been running high.

37.2°C, the upper limit of normal body temperature.

“Let’s finish the match quickly,” Jiang Yuan said over the comms.

Hearing this, Ji Rong hurriedly asked, “Still not feeling well?”

Through the comms, Jiang Yuan answered, “It’s okay, but my temperature’s been high. I’m worried it might affect the match if something happens…”

“After the match, I’ll go with you to the hospital,” Ji Rong said seriously. “Even though it hasn’t exceeded normal temperature, you should still get checked out since it’s been consistently high.”

Jiang Yuan made a sound of agreement.

Ji Rong gently stretched his body. Although he didn’t say much, he was actually very anxious. Jiang Yuan’s body temperature became high for no reason. No matter what, they had to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

But they couldn’t leave the match venue right now, so Ji Rong could only try to end the battle quickly.

Quick victory!

Natural map – Despair Desert.

As the map unfolded, Thunder 01 instantly accelerated forward with eerily ghostlike footwork, charging straight at Team Lance’s members!

This… the rest of Team Federation hadn’t even caught up yet!

Thunder 01 had already plunged into the crowd, completely separated from the others!

Despair Desert already gave War Blade an advantage. Wouldn’t it be dangerous for RONG to dive in like this? Even YUAN hadn’t moved into position to cover him!

The spectators couldn’t help but think.

Team Lance’s members didn’t hesitate at all. Seeing Ji Rong separated from his team, they immediately erected a wall of fire without a second thought! This was their chance!

After several rounds of acceleration and frequency changes, Thunder 01 had already approached Team Lance’s members!

At this point, War Blade’s overwhelming firepower advantage became apparent, and Thunder 01’s speed notably decreased after getting close.

Laser! It’s about to hit Thunder 01!

Would RONG be eliminated because of this mistake?

BOOM—

Forced direction change, the air exploded with a thunderous sound.

Everyone was stunned. Such a forced direction change placed extremely high demands on the body. With even slightly incorrect operation, the pilot’s own body couldn’t handle it!

Thunder 01 brandished its battle blade, instantly piercing one of the War Blades!

BOOM!

In the dust, a Thunder mecha wielding a battle blade launched increasingly fierce attacks, even shattering the energy shield!

In the blink of an eye, three War Swords were already taken down!

—”Holy shit, what’s up with RONG today? He’s even more brutal than usual?”
—”His attack speed is just too fast. I can’t keep up at all…”
—”Is RONG planning to go 1v7?”

The Thunder Fighter kept up its high-speed attacks, each strike more vicious than the last!

BOOM…

The audience at the venue and those watching the livestream were stunned.

The match was over.

This…

Damn, he really went 1v7!

Ji Rong’s operation today was even faster than usual! His rhythm even surpassed the match against the Hoyt team from two days ago!

—”Holy shit, what’s gotten into RONG today?”
—”I feel bad for Lance, getting destroyed 1v7… Most tragic runner-up in history, hands down.”

Everyone in the Federation: ???

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