Chapter 257: Collective Challenge

Zuo Xiaotang looked at his results, his face flushed, and he hurriedly ran back with his head lowered.

His mind was a complete blank; he didn't even know where he was, nor did he know how he had walked back.

"The last one."

Samala said.

Li Hao patted Zuo Xiaotang, and everyone else quieted down.

They were all looking at Li Hao, the man who had stirred up trouble the moment he arrived at the Mid-Season Tournament and dared to confront the North Carolina Alliance.

Li Hao picked up the silver mask and put it on his face, immediately feeling the K23 inside; it was extremely comfortable and snug. Pop—hum—the entire silver instrument vibrated once, and his Zone Value instantly reached 1000. 1000 was not the final value, but rather the limit the instrument brought from the Moon could distinguish. This meant Li Hao had absolutely and completely mastered the Red Pupil; it was a peak Red Pupil, and there were even other possibilities.

The entire venue was deathly silent. When the crowd looked at Tianjing Mecha, there was a little less contempt and mockery, and a little more caution. Even if the others in Tianjing Mecha were weak, having a powerful Team Leader was a statement in itself.

The faces of the Apocalypse members were beaming with proud smiles; everything was a matter of course.

However, people like Aofei and the others remained expressionless, while Luo Bi curled his lips—the Second Brother was truly too low-key, completely different from how he was back in the day.

Following closely were the 15th-ranked Shahuang Team, the 14th-ranked Holy City Guard, and the 13th-ranked Prometheus Team. The highest score was 980 from Depuya of Prometheus, and 985 from Xian of the Holy City Guard. The expressions of Sazerac and Lu Donglei looked a bit better; if they didn't produce results now, they would be nailed to the pillar of shame at this year's S Tournament.

The captain of the 12th-ranked Indira Team, Jilan Rao, gave a Zone Value of 989, defending the dignity of the Five Tigers; it was the second-highest score after Li Hao's.

Jilan Rao still bowed to those around him with a hint of showing off, receiving a round of applause; there were quite a few people there to support him.

Yan Peng of the currently 11th-ranked Black Rock Team stepped up. Although he was not one of the Six Dragons, he had always been the face of USE Heavy Armor. Yan Peng truly lived up to expectations with a Zone Value of 999, which was also a peak value for the Red Pupil, simultaneously setting the second-highest score.

Next was the main event: the teams from the top.

The first to appear was the Sea Shark Team, led by Luo Dongsheng. Luo Dongsheng also produced a Zone Value of 999, but what was even more terrifying was that the other members of the Sea Shark Team all gave Zone Values above 700 points; this was the foundation of a formidable team.

In ninth place was the Calf Team. As one of the Six Dragons, Mad Dog Perkins gave a Zone Value of 999, but it felt like the momentum of Mad Dog had weakened somewhat. After chickening out during the confrontation with Li Hao before coming here, the entire Calf Team seemed to lack a bit of spirit. Of course, the Zone Values of the main members of the Calf Team were all above 700.

Following closely was the eighth-ranked Cougar Team. This ranking was a bit hard for the arrogant Luo Bi to look at. Everyone perked up; as the weakest among the Six Dragons, what kind of performance could Luo Bi give?

The team members appeared one by one, and the Zone Values of the Cougar members were all above 800, showing the extravagance of a veteran World Championship team. When it was Luo Bi's turn, he was unhurried; how could he miss such a rare opportunity to show off?

Restraint, holding back? That was not the personality of a South American.

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Accompanied by a wild roar, he shook his arms, his blonde hair flying, and a flash of red light passed over him. With a bang, his Zone Value blasted directly to the limit of 1000, and the machine followed with a clatter of shaking.

Luo Bi stood proudly, looking around. "Damn it, who the hell said I only know how to fight with my life?"

The top experts present clearly realized that Luo Bi's condition had already reached the second phase of the Golden Zone—Burning Will—and looking at this level of ease in controlling it, it was absolutely no small matter.

In the observation room, Lu Donglei and Sazerac both revealed satisfied smiles. This was the kind of team that fit the face of the USE; only by fighting like this would the S Tournament have any competitiveness.

The seventh-ranked Jiyingdao Team appeared. This was a very silent team, with discipline that was unimaginably strict. Then, the entire venue was stunned once again: all team members had Zone Values above 800, and the average was even higher than the Cougar Team. As the captain of Jiyingdao, the somewhat thin-looking Cang Gongtian also gave a limit of 1000.

Value.

By this time, everyone felt the pressure from the Five Tigers; the high praise given by the military was not without reason.

By now, the shock Li Hao had just brought didn't have much left. The Balanced Team was crushing; although Zone Value wouldn't result in a crushing defeat like a numerical gap in mecha combat, it fully explained their strength in fighting hard battles. Tianjing Mecha was just a mecha full of patches, ready to spring a leak at any time.

The sixth-ranked Samode Team appeared. Samode reaching this ranking was beyond everyone's expectations. Their results were somewhat similar to Tianjing Mecha, with an average team Zone Value of over five hundred—better than Tianjing Mecha, but a far cry from the top ten teams. However, as the only girl among the Five Tigers, Wuxiya gave a limit value of 1000, and, quite nonchalantly.

"No wonder they say Samode is a team of just Wuxiya."

"She could probably handle the Giant Insects all by herself."

"Actually, this ranking isn't of much use; we still have to look at what comes later. It's enough for them to stabilize in the top ten."

"This year's competition is going to unfold between the Five Tigers and the Six Dragons."

"I feel like no one can shake North Caro. Haven't you noticed? From beginning to end, North Caro hasn't even changed their expressions."

Next was the Ockham Royal Team led by Ghost Shadow Milner. There were no surprises; Milner gave a limit Zone Value of 1000, and his team members were all above 850. Currently, their total team value ranked first.

From Milner to the team members, there were no particularly happy expressions; they quietly returned to their positions to wait.

The Gruu Team led by Lomachenko gave the same total Zone Value as the Ockham Royal Team. Of course, Lomachenko also had a limit value of 1000. These two teams were old rivals and knew each other inside and out.

Next were the Round Table Knights led by Aofei, which were also highly anticipated. Aofei and the others had a relatively relaxed demeanor, once again refreshing the highest total Zone Value. Aofei also had a limit value of 1000, and the other members had an average Zone Value above 880.

Next was the second-ranked Xiaoding Royal Team. Xiaoding Team reaching second place was not much of a surprise. Before the tournament, many people thought Xiaoding would replace Aofei's Round Table Knights as the second strongest team, but... losing a member right at the start was something Curtis had completely not expected. A flash of anger crossed Curtis's eyes.

Curtis gave a peak value of 1000, and the other members also gave an average value close to 900. The problem was that the killed Pang Peila was a main force and a standout among the Supernova. If he were still here, wouldn't it be stable?

Suddenly, many people looked toward the Tianjing Mecha side, because Pang Peila was killed by the person in front of them without a sound. Anyone could guess with their butt that Pang Peila's Zone Value was definitely above 900... Finally, it was the turn of the USE behemoth, North Caro. Other teams also wanted to see to what extent this hope of Earth could go. Ever since Chao Qinglong joined North Caro, others could only compete for second place; the first place was fixed and unshakable.

Ye Tong went up first. Ye Tong deliberately walked past the Tianjing Mecha side and gave a raised-eyebrow look to her old friends.

Wearing the mask, Ye Tong appeared mysterious and stunning. Accompanied by a charming sound, her Zone Value floated directly up to 999. The whole venue gasped; Ye Tong was just a Substitute, could a newcomer be this fierce? Although Ye Tong was from the Ye Family, to be honest, for a first-year student to have such results was definitely related to the competitive environment of North Caro. If it were any other military academy, it would be impossible to improve so quickly.

Even Ye Tong felt the power of North Caro; it was an all-encompassing crush, which was also the reason why her family forced her to go there.

She really wanted Li Hao to be able to create a miracle; no one hoped for it more than she did. But just like back then, the power of one person was limited.

"Thinking of this, it feels a bit dull. For North Caro, this Mid-Season Tournament is just going through the motions."

Vice Captain Victoria, an Apocalypse member, the perennial number one EMP Sniper, a fourth-year student, could be said to have already entered her peak period. She gave a Zone Value of 980, which was far too much for a sniper.

Vanguard Alfonso, an Apocalypse member, Number 2 Position, Zone Value 999, nonchalant. Back in the day, he was also considered top-tier among the Hunters.

Demikailisi and Lv Shiye gave a Zone Value of 990. Both were experienced, technically solid top-tier Warriors, and there was absolutely no problem with their physical fitness. And now, they were also leading across the board in Zone Value.

This constituted the iron torrent of North Caro. The strength of North Caro lay not only in strong data, but once they started fighting, it was even more terrifyingly fierce.

When five top powerhouses were led by a peerless fierce man like Chao Qinglong, the comprehensive power and synergy that erupted would sweep away other teams.

This year's North Caro had already reached its peak.

After this round of testing, the team members present all had a count in their hearts. At the same time, the team rankings fluctuated in a small range again. What was more obvious was that Tianjing Mecha had fallen out of the top two. Li Hao was indeed very top-tier on his own, but he couldn't help that there were actually two people in the team who hadn't awakened the Golden Zone; this was a bit exaggerated.

Curtis and Perkins exchanged a glance inadvertently. The two of them now hated Tianjing Mecha the most, or to be precise, Li Hao. At this age, face was bigger than the sky. They had held back because of Li Hao's past fierce reputation, but holding back for a moment made them think about it and get angrier, taking a step back made them feel they lost more. Especially Perkins—back in the day, they were all damn little brats, and now it had come to this. He had improved, Li Hao had regressed, they were about the same, so what the hell was there to be afraid of? Admitting defeat in public was a heavy blow to the team and to himself.

He hadn't slept at all yesterday; he really couldn't swallow this breath.

At this moment, Lu Donglei's voice sounded. Four more teams were eliminated, mainly because there were members in the teams who hadn't grasped the Golden Zone at all, and combined with being too weak overall, there was no need to hold any illusions. Without being able to activate the powerful application of K23, there was no possibility at all in 511.

It had only just begun, and there were only four teams left. At this time, Tianjing Mecha had already fallen into the second half.

Just when everyone thought they were going to continue, Curtis walked out. "Report, Officer, I have a question."

Samala nodded. "Speak."

"Officer, I believe the Amira Team was eliminated unfairly. Their average zone value is 510, while Tianjing Martial Arts has two team members far below 500, with a long way to go before awakening the Golden Zone. That one with 200 points has no hope of awakening at all. They are even less qualified to stay in the Mid-Season Tournament. Everyone knows that the S Tournament emphasizes teamwork and sufficiently balanced strength; such obvious, intolerable shortcomings cannot exist. I believe the elimination criteria should align with actual combat, and Tianjing Martial Arts should be the ones eliminated!"

Curtis said, his voice very loud and filled with a bit of righteous indignation, "Furthermore, I protest the special treatment given to Tianjing Martial Arts. As fellow USE Warriors, Li Hao had no reason to severely injure my team member Pang Peila before the match. This is a huge loss for Xiaoding Royal Academy and also a loss for Earth. Please give us a fair judgment!"

Perkins also stepped forward. "Report, Instructor, I believe Team Leader Curtis makes sense. There should be no privileges in the Mid-Season Tournament, and Tianjing Martial Arts should not remain in the Mid-Season Tournament. If they can stay, does it mean we can all attack others at will?"

Another person from the teams came out, Luo Dongsheng from Sea Shark. "Report, Instructor, such people do not deserve to stay in the Mid-Season Tournament. We want to compete, but there must be a bottom line. People who can strike ruthlessly at their own kind should not remain in the Mid-Season Tournament!"