Chapter 75: The Capricious Random

When Salasi matched, the EMP Hall of Huoyun Military Academy erupted in enthusiastic cheers, with all sorts of howling and shrieking; some had already stripped off their shirts, and the only thing missing was a bottle of beer in their hands—this was the wildness of Mars. The situation in each battle zone is different; here on Mars, the hierarchy is strict, but life is also quite indulgent.

Salasi chose "Shadow Warrior" and "Daojian Huowu Zhanchang" without hesitation, waiting for his opponent to choose.

Puppet has confirmed on this side.

Although he had just lost two Space Fortresses, Huonan's pale complexion regained a bit of color; fortunately, Salasi was so cautious—today, at least for today, he could not withstand any more continuous losses.

"Daojian Huowu Zhanchang is one of the most famous battlefields in the ROM battle zone; it tests a Warrior's psychological quality the most, also known as dancing on the tip of a blade," Huonan said, as the map was displayed.

This is a unique underground volcanic landscape of Mars. In the middle of the battlefield is a corridor four to five meters wide, surrounded by cliffs with huge drops. Giant stone pillars stand in a disorderly fashion above the magma, ranging from several tens of centimeters to several meters in diameter, with rolling magma beneath them occasionally shooting up waves of fire.

Two Mobile Suits appeared at opposite ends of the corridor. The space for maneuvering and shifting is very small; once they leave this corridor, they must jump onto the stone pillars. The gaps between the pillars range from five to twenty meters. One careless move or interference would cause them to fall into the magma, and the battle would be directly over. In the ROM battle zone, there are many such maps that improve mental fortitude and resilience, requiring Warriors to unleash their potential precisely when they are in crisis. The Martians also relied on risking their lives to step by step transform from a backward mining planet into what they are today.

In such a battlefield, the Martians have an absolute psychological advantage.

From the VIP holographic viewing angle, one can better appreciate the impact of this environment, especially since the surrounding cliffs and magma can truly cause considerable psychological pressure on the contestants. However, for Salasi, it brings an advantage, because the Ghost Martial Sect has always chosen harsh training environments to improve themselves.

Puppet is still Puppet, choosing to accept directly.

Will it be an Armor Leopard?

Actually, everyone was looking forward to it. Puppet entered the automatic Mecha selection, and the Armor Dragon, Armor Tiger, and Armor Leopard kept spinning, and finally...

It is... an Armor Tiger.

The crowd was dumbfounded; even Puppet's supporters were a bit stunned.

"Does the Puppet God not know about Daojian Huowu Zhanchang?"

"That map basically excludes any model other than the Light Type..."

"What should he do?"

"I feel like using an Armor Leopard would be better, although I don't know what's good about it either. If I had to use these three, I would still choose the Armor Dragon."

"To the person above, I would choose to jump down directly. Setting the Mecha pool to the Fries Brothers—what was he thinking?"

"Damn, this bird-man is too arrogant. He actually dared to randomize his Mecha, and that's when we had already locked in the combat environment. Salasi, kill him!"

The Martians were beyond furious. They felt that this guy Puppet really didn't take Martian experts seriously, and they wanted him hammered to death.

Depuya had a smug smile on his lips. As expected, Second Brother is still that same temper; he really doesn't take his opponents seriously. Others at most treat life and death with indifference and fight if they aren't convinced, but Second Brother is the type who really crushes you if you aren't convinced.

The huge Armor Tiger made the entire combat environment seem even more crowded the moment it appeared. While Light Type Mechas have a certain amount of room to maneuver, the huge Armor Tiger can no longer be called dancing on the tip of a blade. It is so bulky that it can't perform any fancy moves even in the middle corridor; one large movement and it would fall off.

As for moving to the stone pillars on either side of the corridor, this... one wrong step and it's over. This involves the issue of the Mecha's center of gravity. For the same movement, a human body can do it very easily after long-term training, such as acrobatics and extreme sports, but the difficulty of controlling a Mecha is much greater, especially when piloting a Heavy Armor, where this difficulty is magnified.

Not to mention there is a predatory enemy on the side.

Honestly, if it were an Armor Leopard, Huonan would still be a little worried, but with an Armor Tiger, the God of Fire has finally opened his eyes!

"God of Fire, grant me your blessing, blast this monster to death!" Huonan silently recited in his heart. Today, he will end this nightmare.

The battle began. Salasi's Laser Gun roared, and he started with a wild barrage. The Armor Tiger raised its large shield and closed in on the Shadow Warrior. Salasi's Shadow Warrior did not linger on the straight line; the Mecha jumped directly onto the stone pillars on the sides of the corridor, unfolding a circling attack as if walking on flat ground. The Armor Tiger pilot naturally didn't want to sit and wait for death, but he could only move back and forth in the middle corridor, while Salasi could move in the full range.

Salasi's Shadow Warrior had already pulled out two Short-range Lasers, and the firepower immediately enveloped the Armor Tiger. In such dangerous terrain, limited mobility is particularly pathetic for a Heavy Armor.

If it were any other opponent, the match would already be over, and no one would even be watching.

But now the popularity has reached over eighteen million. An ace pilot of a Shadow Warrior Mecha fighting an Armor Tiger—this is something no one would watch in eight lifetimes. Yet, a crowd is waiting in anticipation. Whether they are Martian, Earthling, or neutral, can he still win?

Salasi did not lose his head. Basically, people from the Ghost Martial Sect are truly arrogant, but they are also truly cold-blooded when fighting.

Salasi did not skimp on his stamina for the circling fire. The Armor Tiger could only defend. Several times it tried to use precision strikes to target his footsteps, but this guy defended like a turtle.

But in a place like this, defense cannot hold out.

Although he was jumping around on the stone pillars, the Shadow Warrior's dual laser firepower was quite beautiful. Several times the Armor Tiger tried to pull out its own Large Laser Gun to fight back, but it was suppressed by the firepower.

However, the Armor Tiger also seemed to be observing. Salasi's Shadow Warrior was jumping a distance of more than ten meters; this operation requires high-control leaping. Would there be an opening in his attack?

The Armor Tiger held the shield with one hand, preparing to draw the Laser Gun, and the moment it made this move, the Shadow Warrior in mid-air performed a flip, reversing both lasers.

Boom, boom, boom, boom...

An instant violent barrage, a dual-matrix blockade!

The large shield couldn't protect him. The Armor Tiger turned sideways, defending in the full range as much as possible, but the Laser Gun was hit and knocked away before it could be retracted.

When the Laser Gun fell into the magma and splashed a few sparks, the hearts of Puppet's supporters also skipped a beat and hung halfway.

In the midst of defense, there must be a counterattack. One has never heard of anyone winning by just taking hits and not fighting back.

The Shadow Warrior, having used the reversed dual-matrix barrage in mid-air, landed precisely on a stone pillar and, without even pausing much, sprang up with a boom, and the lasers attacked again.

This rhythm, this technique, this mood, this composure—it instantly won a full house of applause. The EMP Hall of Huoyun Military Academy was even more thunderous with applause; they were howling. This is equivalent to being in an invincible position, as long as Salasi doesn't mess around.

If it were someone else, they might engage in some dispute of spirit or show off, but for Martians, the process is not important; the result is the most important.

As long as you win, you can show off however you want.

"Puppet is still too reckless. To this day, I have to admit that he has some level, but this kind of drifting fighting style will definitely lose. As I expected, the one to end him must be our Martian warrior, Salasi from Huoyun Military Academy. Just now, there was a bullet comment saying that warriors should fight one-on-one with real blades and guns; he already had the advantage and still used lasers. This little kid who popped out of nowhere, go back and drink your milk. The invention of the Laser Gun wasn't for you to play with like a toy gun. Besides, no one forced him to choose; showing off has a price. My two Space Fortresses made him arrogant, and I won't be humble about this credit!"

At this moment, Huonan mentioned it on purpose; he was laying the groundwork. As long as Salasi wins, he will add a little fuel to the fire, and everyone can help him out a bit. Even if it's not that much, he won't suffer a total loss.

Salasi is playing really well, and his marksmanship is truly accurate. Light Type Mechas naturally emphasize melee level, but in reality, the requirements for shooting are also very high. During the short-range impact process, the accuracy and firepower of the lasers are crucial. Salasi's move just now lived up to his status as an ace of the Shadow Warrior battle zone. Martians like to play rough and fight hard, but they also attach special importance to the basics.

However, looking at Puppet, his wrong choice and contempt for his opponent have already plunged him into a desperate situation.

Besides Zhuang Zhou and Huonan, various amateur commentators also expressed their views. In general, the Earth side is still quite regretful. "Recklessness" is Puppet's trademark and also the point that attracts everyone, but it is a pity to lose because of recklessness.

"This match really has no chance at all. Look at Salasi's footwork; it's a masterpiece on flat ground, let alone on the tip of a blade."

Some stone pillars are very narrow; the large ones have a diameter of five or six meters, and the small ones might be less than one meter. It feels scary to humans, let alone Mechas. Salasi's operation is simply stunning; he definitely has had plenty of training for this terrain.

Puppet, he has no chance at all!

The closer victory is, the more cautious Salasi becomes. Disciples of the Ghost Martial Sect are quite knowledgeable about the way of forbearance; one must endure both pain and opportunity, for only then can one see through the essence behind the phenomena.

This battle is not simple. The tactic seems to be a circling attack, using familiarity with the environment and the superiority of the Mecha to overcome the opponent's defense, but Salasi knows that the opponent has been looking for an opportunity for a Flash Strike. With the explosive power of a Heavy Armor and Puppet's operation, it is very dangerous if the distance is too close, so his strikes always maintain distance.

The first step was to use the opponent's contempt to knock away the opponent's laser with a set of attacks, establishing an invincible position first. The next step is to destroy the Armor Tiger's shield. After the last round of attacks, Salasi has already dismissed the idea of waiting for the opponent to make a mistake.

He is constantly moving, and the Armor Tiger hasn't stopped either. Although it is defending, its position is already trying to find a close point between the two Mechas. He understands, and the opponent also knows. Salasi knows that the opponent is waiting for him to make a mistake. In such constant jumping, attention is highly concentrated; one oversight and the whole game is lost.

However, this person looks down on the Ghost Martial Sect too much.

The Shadow Warrior kept performing various jumping and moving actions on the dangerous stone pillars. At first, some people still hoped he would make a mistake, but after a few minutes passed, the Mecha's movements had no problems at all; they were very relaxed. This is completely Salasi's world. He has trained here thousands of times, and he is already familiar with every stepping point, position, foot feel, and center of gravity control.

As for the condition of the Armor Tiger, the general audience could also tell... he was looking for a close-range opening, seemingly wanting to use Flash Strike to trade one-for-one with his opponent at the limit.