TSA Chapter 69

This morning’s match was still a one-on-one elimination round. Each division—Mecha, Armor, and Command—could only retain ten competitors each, for a total of thirty finalists advancing to the championship round.

After intense competition, only Imperial Star, led by Han Xiao, managed to keep their full roster intact. All other schools suffered some eliminations.

Once the matches ended, the host’s deep voice echoed through the arena: “Congratulations to the thirty finalists! The championship round will take place this afternoon at 2 PM. The thirty contestants may freely form five-player teams and compete in a team battle on a virtual battlefield. The first team to breach the Zerg nest and capture the base will be crowned champions! The second and third teams to arrive will also qualify to represent Capital Star in the Empire League.”

Team battles demand coordination—Command, Armor, and Mecha divisions are all indispensable.

Commanders are the strategic core of a team, determining battlefield tactics and shaping the flow of battle. Armor pilots are small and agile, excelling in scouting and ambush tactics. Mecha pilots operate large, heavily armed war machines, serving as the main combat force in direct engagements.

As soon as the host finished explaining the final round’s rules, all eyes turned to Han Xiao. Everyone knew he was the strongest competitor—being on his team meant a near-guaranteed victory.

However, since all ten Imperial Star contestants had advanced, it was obvious they wouldn’t split up. The other finalists could only form their own teams with regret.

Just as everyone had guessed, Han Xiao’s group had already prearranged their teams. This time, aside from Han Xiao, Lin Mo, and the other nine fixed members of Imperial Star, there was also a senior student, Tang Man, from the Armor division. After this competition, he would be heading into military training.

Han Xiao (Night Owl), Lin Mo (Plume Ink), Lin Han (Soul Chaser), Liu Nian (Sword at Fleeting Time), and Tang Man formed Imperial Star’s first team. Han Xiao, Lin Han, and Liu Nian were from the Mecha division, while Lin Mo and Tang Man were from the Armor division. Although there were no students from the Command division in their team, Han Xiao had consistently achieved top marks in command, making him fully capable of leading the team.

Imperial Star’s second team was composed of Jiang Yue (Windstorm Jiangnan), Wu Huan (No Happiness), Shi Qiuyan (Four Seasons), Shen Ruoyan (Smoke), and Wu Fei (Raphael). Among them, Jiang Yue and Shi Qiuyan were from the Mecha division, while Shen Ruoyan, Wu Fei, and Wu Huan were from the Armor division. Similar to the first team, there were no students from the Command division, so Jiang Yue, as the team captain, took on the role of commander.

Jiang Yue’s command style was completely different from Han Xiao’s. He preferred a steady and methodical approach, advancing step by step. In contrast, Han Xiao was decisive and aggressive, unafraid to charge into battle. Their styles were perfectly complementary.

With both teams from Imperial Star advancing to the finals, they naturally held a significant advantage in the competition. The two teams could coordinate their actions, posing a major threat to the other teams. As a result, they were certain to become targets for the remaining competitors.

Even though they didn’t think they would lose, Han Xiao and his team immediately went for simulation training after the match to prepare for the afternoon’s team battle.

Ran Qi and Gu Le couldn’t offer much help in this regard, so they returned to the hotel to rest before heading to the arena early in the afternoon.

At exactly 2:00 PM, the regional finals officially began.

Luckily, Ran Qi and Gu Le arrived an hour early—the crowd for today’s finals was even larger than before, with almost every seat filled. If they had arrived any later, they probably wouldn’t have found a place to sit.

Unlike the previous rounds, today’s match was not split into separate battles. Instead, the twenty battle platforms were combined into one large battlefield at the center of the venue. Thirty simulation training pods were neatly arranged on the stage, and the organizers had even color-coded each team’s pods in red, yellow, blue, green, black, and white for easy identification.

Dozens of massive holographic screens surrounded the arena in a 360-degree display, ensuring that every spectator could clearly watch the battle unfold.

Then, six teams entered the arena through the contestant tunnel, with Han Xiao and Jiang Yue’s teams leading the way.

The four teams behind them were mixed squads from different schools. Team 3 had a slightly better composition, with three members from the same school and two from another. The worst-off teams were Teams 5 and 6, whose members came from entirely different schools and were struggling with coordination even as they entered the arena.

Although they had likely done some quick simulation training during the midday break, it wasn’t nearly enough time to develop proper teamwork. Once the match began, they would have to rely on individual skills.

“All contestants, please enter your simulation pods,” the referee announced.

Han Xiao’s team chose the black pods, while Jiang Yue’s team took the white ones.

To ensure fairness, the organizers assigned 15 referees, each responsible for monitoring two simulation pods.

As the match began, all teams were transported into a vast, deep-blue starry expanse. Their previously white virtual prep rooms had transformed into small five-person starships.

This time, their enemy was the Zerg.

The interstellar Zerg were a race driven solely by slaughter and consumption. They had an extreme reproductive rate, and any planet they occupied would be completely stripped of life and resources within six months, leaving behind only desolation and ruin.

The virtual battlefield simulated a small resource planet that had just been invaded by a Zerg scouting force. With their thirty-person combined strength, the teams were just barely strong enough to handle the mission. Their objective was simple: eradicate the Zerg as quickly as possible and reclaim the planet.

The first team to eliminate the Zerg and seize control of the planetary base’s command center would be declared the champion.

Although it was a virtual battlefield, with the use of interstellar holographic technology, the Zerg they would face were incredibly realistic. Moreover, they had to fight with extremely limited resources.

The starships had limited loading capacity, so unlike the virtual preparation room, where all kinds of mechas, battle armor, and weapons were readily available, their choices were very restricted.

To ensure fairness in the competition, six warships were positioned in six different locations around the resource planet. Without activating their positioning systems, the teams could neither see nor communicate with each other.

However, the first thing Jiang Yue did after boarding the starship was activate the positioning device. Although it was only for a brief two seconds, it was enough for Han Xiao to capture their signal and respond.

While the other four teams were still exploring the starship’s capabilities and armament, Jiang Yue and Han Xiao had already successfully established contact and were quietly converging at a designated location.

As Han Xiao piloted the starship toward the target point, Lin Mo and Lin Han headed to the armory to select their equipment.

Each starship was equipped with three mechas and two sets of battle armor, all of which were standard military models with balanced attributes. How they equipped their weapons was entirely up to them.

As mentioned earlier, the loading capacity of small starships was limited, and the number of weapons was not particularly abundant. This made distribution a significant issue.

The more powerful the weapons, the stronger their combat capabilities—if they encountered the Zerg head-on, they wouldn’t have to fear a direct confrontation. However, if they were under-equipped, they might be eliminated early.

With this pressure, teams with mixed members inevitably had disagreements over resource allocation. Team Six even nearly broke into a fight. Having made it to the finals, no one wanted to compromise and become the ‘self-sacrificing fool.’

In contrast, Han Xiao and Jiang Yue’s team quickly completed their allocation. They knew each other well and understood everyone’s strengths, so there was no competition over resources. Instead, they focused on maximizing the effectiveness of each weapon.

For instance, since they needed to avoid alerting the Zerg on the resource planet, a scout was necessary. Mechas were too large and conspicuous, making battle armor the better choice.

Tang Man volunteered to take on the scouting role. To ensure speed, he sacrificed most of his battle armor’s weaponry, keeping only a sonic gun that could briefly paralyze the Zerg, allowing him to escape if necessary.

Lin Mo had exceptional marksmanship, so his battle armor was equipped with several long-range weapons, enabling him to provide cover for Tang Man from a distance.

As for the remaining three members, they all used mechas. Han Xiao would develop strategic plans based on the intelligence gathered by Tang Man’s scans and reconnaissance. Their five-man team would launch a full-scale offensive as the vanguard, aiming to break through the Zerg forces.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yue and Wu Huan served as the backup force, stationed at the rear to provide support. At the same time, they had to stay vigilant against ambushes from other teams—after all, some would resort to underhanded tactics in their pursuit of victory.