The First Military Academy and Qilin were fighting fiercely, but in comparison, the battle between Valk and Santorini was much quieter.
They didn't dare use large-scale thermal weapons inside the cave, so the two commanders practically controlled the entire field.
Wu Fangyu had recently learned quite a few new tricks from the individual soldiers, and he was chasing Santorini's mecha master around, attacking relentlessly!
Lian Sheng was already running a fever, making his stamina and reactions a beat slower, but he had prepared in advance. He raised his mecha's defenses to be as high as the commander's, focusing entirely on a war of attrition if he couldn't win!
Coupled with Elizabeth's mental power attacks, the Valk team members were also having a miserable time.
"I didn't expect the people from the Paige family to widen their mental power range this much. They aren't just attacking a single point anymore?"
Hiranuma Yusho tried several times to find the boundaries of Elizabeth's mental power to tailor an illusion specifically for her, but he hadn't succeeded. Instead, she caught his weakness, and he was now struggling to defend himself, trying to push out the "sharp blade" of her mental power.
"We have to keep up with the times, Hiranuma. Our family doesn't have the habit of clinging to a single skill and waiting to die."
"Are you really not going to talk? Three hundred points is not a small amount."
Hiranuma Yusho tried to coax her patiently, but Elizabeth sneered.
"No thanks. But if you're willing to hand over the button for even higher bonus points, I wouldn't mind letting you take third place."
He had never seen anyone use third place as a bargaining chip; there was absolutely no sincerity!
Besides, they were currently allied with the First Military Academy!
Since Valk hadn't pressed the bonus point button, Santorini had a solid chance to fight for first or second place. Why on earth would they settle for third?
And he still wanted half of their supplies from the match? Why didn't he just rob them directly?
Hiranuma Yusho sighed. It seemed there was no room for negotiation. What a pity. He originally thought he could at least recover half of the supplies...
Elizabeth's vision began to blur. She knew this was Hiranuma Yusho exerting his power, so she also ramped up her own mental power even more fiercely.
"Ah, damn it!"
"Hiss..."
The movements of the team members on both sides became sluggish. Santorini's Mika suddenly felt like everyone looked like a teammate, making her attacks hesitant and timid.
Damn it! Did Hiranuma Yusho's mental illusions no longer need time to brew? Could he cast them instantly now?
On Valk's side, Taylor could clearly see Mika's hesitation, but he couldn't move either because his head felt like it was about to explode!
He relied entirely on gritting his teeth and repeatedly muttering the word "decency" taught by Valk to keep from howling out loud. In reality, inside the cockpit, he was sweating profusely...
Barry could even taste blood in his mouth. The mental power attacks of the Paige family were truly no joke!
"Captain... help!"
Hiranuma Yusho's brows knitted tightly together.
"...Hold on a little longer."
He knew everyone held back during normal practice, but Elizabeth's aggressiveness was even higher than he had anticipated!
By pinning down all their combat power single-handedly, she made it impossible for his team members to split their focus and pilot their mechas to attack the rest of the Santorini team.
He himself didn't dare relax in the slightest...
A miscalculation. They should have stayed with Huang Yan and the others. If only they had a few more people, victory would definitely be theirs!
Maxim, confused for a long while, turned on the infrared scanner. If his naked eye couldn't be trusted, relying on technology should be fine, right?
But to his surprise, just as he aimed his super electromagnetic cannon at the "opponent," the terrified voice of his teammate Lian Sheng came through the communication channel.
"Bro! Why are you aiming at me and charging up!?"
What was going on? Even the infrared scanner was inaccurate now!?
"Sorry! Sorry!"
Wait... was that really Lian Sheng's voice he just heard?
After thinking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, Maxim didn't dare to just shoot wildly regardless of the consequences. He smashed his fist against the console in frustration.
What else was real here!? Tell him, what else was real!?
It was Elizabeth's first time consuming such a massive amount of mental power so quickly, and it wasn't long before she started to struggle to hold on.
Hiranuma Yusho, drenched in cold sweat and enduring the excruciating pain in his head, was waiting for exactly this moment!
Elizabeth's vision blurred, and she suddenly found herself entirely submerged in the ocean?
Oh no, she had accidentally fallen into Hiranuma Yusho's trap!
She immediately closed her eyes to ensure her mental power continued to output, but she felt freezing seawater rushing eagerly into her nose and mouth?
It was this realistic!?
The seawater was bitter and salty, choking her so badly she couldn't breathe.
Opening her eyes again, beneath her feet was a bottomless dark blue, as if something would swim up from below and swallow her in the next second...
Wait, what were those dots in the distance?
Elizabeth suddenly had an ominous premonition. She stroked her arms forward. Lian Sheng, Maxim, and Mika!? What happened to them!?
Her three teammates were floating in the water without any movement, looking like they had all drowned.
Elizabeth was frantic and kicked her legs, trying to swim forward to save them!
But even though she had clearly been swimming for a long time, she seemed to be stuck in place. The distance between her and her teammates hadn't decreased at all?
Her body felt so heavy... was something pressing down on her?
Elizabeth looked down. The dark blue seawater was about to turn pitch black. Looking up again, she saw the figures of her teammates drifting further and further away...
No! Hiranuma Yusho was pressing down desperately on Elizabeth, almost biting his teeth to the point of breaking!
Even like this, she still refused to relax her mental power even a little bit? You people from the Paige family shouldn't be so ridiculous!
Finally, the moment Elizabeth could no longer see her teammates, she panicked!
Her mental barrier opened wide, and Hiranuma Yusho seized the opportunity, recklessly attacking his way in.
"!!!"
Elizabeth only felt a wave of agonizing pain sweep through her skull, followed by a burst of mental chaos.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself still in the mecha cockpit? And her hand had just pressed the exit button...
Elizabeth was eliminated, and the Valk members seized every opportunity to counterattack!
The second to be eliminated was the still-feverish Lian Sheng. Soon after, Mika and Maxim were also eliminated one after another.
"Santorini Military Academy's First Squad is eliminated. Points cleared to zero."
When the elimination announcement sounded, Hiranuma Yusho didn't even have the strength to exit his mecha. He just collapsed in the cockpit, panting heavily.
"Hah... Hah..."
This was truly a narrow victory.
Elizabeth hadn't stopped her mental power attacks even when trapped in the illusion!
If he hadn't finally broken her focus with the illusion of the other three Santorini members "drowning," it was hard to say who would be the one eliminated right now!
After confirming that his squad had advanced, Wu Fangyu's legs gave out, and he fainted. He really couldn't take it anymore... he had never felt such pain in his entire life!
After eliminating Santorini's two individual soldiers, Taylor and Barry also slumped onto the ground, looking at Elizabeth with lingering fear.
No wonder their teacher once said that the lethality of an excellent commander was far greater than that of an individual soldier... If it had lasted even one minute longer, they would have wanted to surrender voluntarily!
