Lancelot looked at his sister. “She said she’d give me a flag. What do you have to offer to keep me from betraying you?”
Pei Liang said, “Then ask her which-ranking flag she plans to give you.”
Lancelot turned to Snake Woman. “Which ranking did you intend to give me?”
Snake Woman’s heart sank even further. The fact that Lancelot had bypassed all the 3S-ranked contestants present and was negotiating with that S-ranker meant that, before this, the S-ranker had been the one calling the shots.
The other members of Poseidon showed no surprise at his actions, which meant that the last sliver of hope was gone as well.
Under normal circumstances, Snake Woman could have made a sly promise first and worried about the details later.
But Arnold and that mysterious S-ranker were both here, and even if Medusa won, the remaining members of Imperial Military Academy would not be easy opponents to defeat.
If they managed to take down Arnold and the others here, Medusa might indeed be able to claim first place in the flag-capture competition. But expecting to secure a place in the top three as well would mean seriously underestimating Imperial Military Academy.
There was no way she could make a promise that generous. Even if she did, the other side wouldn’t believe her.
After a moment of thought, Snake Woman said solemnly to Lancelot, “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you get a flag ranked in the top five.”
Giving away one of the higher-ranked flags as part of the deal was a small price to pay. As long as Medusa occupied most of the flags in the top ten, they would still come away with a resounding victory.
Besides—there was no guarantee these people from Poseidon would even make it to the flag-capture stage.
“If we’re eliminated early, then you giving us no flag wouldn’t count as breaking the contract.”
Snake Woman’s inner thoughts had practically been spoken aloud.
Lancelot smiled. “Is that so?”
Snake Woman said, “A top-five ranking is worth taking this risk.”
“Lancelot, Poseidon has already lost the ability to compete. Don’t think that refusing my offer will let Poseidon sit back and watch us fight each other. Like I said, anyone we can’t bring over to our side—whether they belong to Medusa or Imperial Military Academy—will be eliminated immediately as a potential threat.”
“And if you cooperate with Imperial Military Academy, their arrogance means the price they offer will only be lower.”
“That’s what she said.” Lancelot looked at Pei Liang.
Pei Liang felt that her adorable little brother had served her diligently the entire way. The least she could do was treat him fairly.
She also rather liked this new form of coquettish behavior, so she said cheerfully, “I’ll take first place. You and Arnold can play rock-paper-scissors for second and third.”
The moment she said this, everyone present—including the audience watching the livestream—was left completely dumbfounded.
[She was talking about the flags determining the individual rankings in the league, right? Not candy she had in her pocket?]
[Don’t insult candy like that. Earlier, she wouldn’t even let anyone have the bigger piece of food.]
[So, in her eyes, flags are basically like deciding who gets the biggest slice of pizza after a game of rock-paper-scissors?]
[Exactly! Didn’t she just say the rankings were hers to control?]
The person who posted that last comment had followed Pei Liang over from another livestream and had already fallen completely under her spell.
Snake Woman’s expression darkened at Pei Liang’s words. Arnold was unhappy too. “Why should I play rock-paper-scissors with him? That kid isn’t even my match.”
“And if we give him third place, what about Teresa?”
Lancelot looked at the dark-skinned man with equal displeasure and sneered, “Senior, you shouldn’t reach a conclusion so quickly about a fight that hasn’t happened yet.”
“Otherwise, after Senior Brian has spent the whole journey recommending a psychologist to you, you might be the one who ends up needing one. And even if we do play rock-paper-scissors, there’s no guarantee you’ll win.”
Arnold looked at the young man, who was clearly two or three years younger than them, then bared his teeth in a wild, intimidating grin.
“You and Brian seem to get along pretty well. Perfect. You can keep each other company in the hospital ward.”
Brian said, “Could you two stop using me as your verbal punching bag?”
Seeing that the other side had begun turning on itself, Snake Woman couldn’t help feeling pleased.
She had forgotten that, given Arnold’s personality, he would never agree so easily to that S-ranker’s decision.
She was just about to egg them on and provoke both sides into fighting when the S-ranker spoke.
“Enough.”
“Once we meet up with Teresa, the three of you can play rock-paper-scissors to decide second and third place. The loser takes fourth. Is that acceptable?”
Arnold’s teeth hurt just listening to it. “Why is this Teresa’s problem? The two of us could team up and take out everyone here. Why should we hand Poseidon a benefit for nothing?”
Pei Liang looked at Arnold and, for the first time, made her position unmistakably clear.
She gave a soft laugh, but everyone could sense the contemptuous nonchalance in it.
“If I can claim the entire victory by myself, then who I share it with is entirely up to my mood.”
“Arnold, I think you’ve gotten one thing wrong. I’m participating in the Mecha League for one reason only: I want to win. The fact that I’m a student of Imperial Military Academy means the academy winning is merely a side effect.”
Everyone was startled. For a moment, they assumed she was joking.
But the next second, no one thought that anymore, because she abandoned any attempt to convince her companions with words.
Her mecha instantly equipped itself around her body, and she charged straight at the people from Medusa.
She wielded nothing but a single mecha greatsword and brought it crashing down on the Medusa team.
Snake Woman and the others instinctively dodged, only to discover that their bodies had become sluggish beyond anything they had ever experienced.
The blade drew closer and closer, like a tsunami surging straight toward them. They even had the illusion that the ordinary-sized greatsword had expanded infinitely, becoming a Sword of Damocles suspended over their heads and making them seem unbearably small.
They couldn’t dodge.
That realization appeared in everyone’s mind. Their bodies had sensed the gulf between them long before their reason could comprehend it.
It was like a weak creature encountering an opponent it could never possibly defeat. The information transmitted by instinct had already made their bodies surrender.
When Snake Woman was forced to her knees beneath the crushing blow, her face was still filled with disbelief.
She abruptly raised her head and looked at Pei Liang.
There was no pheromone.
Not even the slightest trace.
They were all 3S-ranked. If their opponent had leaked even the tiniest amount of pheromones, there was no way they wouldn’t have sensed it.
This woman hadn’t interfered with their instincts through the suppression of pheromone levels.
She had done it solely through the force of that single strike.
But was that even possible?
It was only a melee weapon. In mecha combat, melee weapons like this were not taken particularly seriously.
Close-quarters combat normally relied on an unstoppable light blade, which could slice through the hard shells of most Zerg. While combat technique was certainly important, the techniques required to use conventional weapons were inefficient and consumed too much time and energy to learn. Light blades were enough to make up for most shortcomings.
That was why no one had ever seen anyone in the mecha era wield a conventional weapon with such overwhelming presence.
“Why didn’t you destroy our mechas?” Snake Woman asked unwillingly.
They had no doubt that Pei Liang could have cleaved straight through their mechas, yet she had preserved their structural integrity as much as possible.
Pei Liang said, “That would be going too far. The funding for the Empire’s mecha production comes from taxpayers, after all.”
“…”
“…”
[That actually makes a lot of sense.]
[I feel like such a fucking idiot for shouting at them to fight just now.]
“Add one more dumbass. That’s all our taxpayers’ money, you know.”
“Yeah, maybe try to conserve it a little. This stuff isn’t cheap.”
With nearly the entire Medusa Military Academy eliminated, Pei Liang turned to Arnold. “So I get to decide the rankings now, right?”
Arnold stared at her expressionlessly for a moment before exploding. “Could you stop taking everyone out?”
“The guilt of sitting around doing nothing was getting to me. I’d feel shameless asking for a ranking now.”
Their group, which already included the people from Medusa, had grown even larger, but certain individuals were extremely unhappy with the situation.
Richter suddenly received calls from the military and the various military academies.
The moment he answered, the other party demanded, “Richter, what kind of values does your Imperial Military Academy instill in its soldiers?”
“Pei Liang is certainly very strong—far stronger than any Alpha her age—but her thinking is excessively arrogant and domineering.”
“She has no sense of collective honor, disdains coordinated operations, cares only about her own feelings, and treats military orders as meaningless. When a soldier like that eventually enters the battlefield, her personality flaws could bring unimaginable adverse consequences and losses to the army.”
How could Richter not understand what these people were after?
Pei Liang had displayed far too much value in a mere league match. Even the prestige of the Imperial Military Academy could not suppress their greed.
Richter gave a laugh, his expression somewhat casual. “Arrogance and dominance aren’t bad things. They’re privileges of the strong. When the people here were young, you were probably the same. The only difference was the scope.”
Some of them failed to understand at once and asked with a frown, “What do you mean, the scope?”
Richter’s brows lifted slightly, and his expression acquired a hint of mockery. “The ‘scope’ in which overwhelming strength exists.”
“Ordinary circumstances, the military academies, the military command—or the entire Empire?”
The group was so furious they nearly jumped to their feet. Wasn’t this guy obviously saying that, back then, they had only dared to throw their weight around within their own schools? They hadn’t been overwhelmingly powerful across the military academy alliance, which was why they had learned to be “humble and cautious,” unlike Pei Liang.
Still, they all knew Richter’s simple and crude values.
In his eyes, as long as someone’s 3S-level evolutionary strength was enough to support their arrogance, there was nothing wrong with it.
Someone tried to argue back. “Youthful arrogance during one’s military academy years can naturally be laughed off. At our age, we’re not going to take offense at a child’s words.”
“But she’ll have to enter the military sooner or later. Are you sure your indulgence won’t cause trouble for the military?”
Richter had no interest in quibbling over that point.
Instead, he shifted to another matter. “As for having no sense of collective honor and disdaining coordinated operations, those are two entirely different things.”
“Pei Liang may not put the Imperial Military Academy’s victory first, but there’s no question about her reaction speed, tactical planning, or ability to coordinate.”
When someone tried to speak, he cut them off with a direct jab. “If anyone questioning me hasn’t watched the recordings from her channel, I suggest they do so first. Otherwise, I’ll have to wonder whether they’re qualified for the position they currently hold.”
The people present were left thoroughly speechless.
They had all been paying extremely close attention to Pei Liang in recent days, meticulously analyzing every one of her actions.
Although she had yet to leave the arena, research into this precious 3S-level evolved individual had already begun.
The arguments they were using to pressure Richter involved a fair amount of sleight of hand. That child’s performance had been nothing short of astonishing.
Whether it was her overwhelming strength, which had allowed her to crush her way forward, or the virtually unsolvable situation she had faced when surrounded by the leech Zerg—
She had somehow managed to get through it with almost no losses, keeping the entire team alive. She had even uncovered and eliminated all the secrets of those unfamiliar Zerg, creatures whose peculiarities even experienced veterans of Zerg warfare might not have noticed.
Though she had spent much of the journey ordering the people from Ares Military Academy around, her performances in several battles against the Zerg had made it more than clear that she was a born commander.
Richter continued, “With her strength and military talent, she’ll probably enter the military with a rank above others of the same level from the very beginning. So why should she listen to people who will one day become her subordinates?”
Richter concluded, “Besides, even if she really is so arrogant that she ignores the chain of command, what can the Empire do to someone with her research value and her unparalleled talent in ancient martial arts?”
The answer rose in everyone’s minds.
Even setting aside the value of her evolutionary research, her martial-arts mastery in combat and that ability to condense force into devastating strikes were enough to make every military academy—and even the military itself—willing to pay an enormous price to have her teach them.
And she didn’t seem opposed to sharing those techniques. For instance, the Imperial Military Academy’s training instructors and the students currently competing knew that they had already received guidance from her.
The child from Poseidon Military Academy had also received her instruction without reservation, although the two were supposedly half-siblings who shared a mother.
Still, they had to take Pei Liang’s family into consideration. After all, these were the Pei family’s inherited techniques. Those who had good relations with the Pei family had already begun reaching out to cultivate closer ties.
The head of the Pei family had naturally been both thrilled and plagued by headaches in recent days.
Pei Liang had not even left the arena, yet the value she had displayed was already enough to earn the Pei family countless gestures of goodwill from the military. But whenever he thought about the child’s reaction after learning about the foolish thing her father had done, Elder Uncle Pei felt an urge to drag his younger brother over and beat him himself.
The people and matters that needed handling had been dealt with over the past few days. Presumably, even if the child became displeased and caused a scene, the final outcome would still remain under control.
It was the atmosphere between her and her mother’s illegitimate son inside the arena that gave him a bad feeling.
But for now, there was nothing he could do about it.
With such thoughts weighing on them, countless people eagerly awaited the end of the first flag-capturing match.
As for Pei Liang’s group, after clearing out Medusa Military Academy, there was no need to worry about their remaining competitors. The people from the Imperial Military Academy naturally felt safe enough to contact the larger forces without restraint.
Snake Woman and the others had already been eliminated. They had originally intended to stay where they were and wait for the organizing committee’s ship.
Pei Liang, however, refused to agree. Having developed an addiction to picking up prisoners, she forced everyone to leave with her.
Snake Woman followed behind, dissatisfied. “We don’t need to obey your orders in exchange for the temporary right not to be eliminated. What gives you the right to order us around?”
Pei Liang smiled. “Because you’re pretty.”
Snake Woman was a classic tall, voluptuous beauty with a full chest and curvy hips. Her complexion was two shades lighter than Arnold’s, and she stood nearly one meter ninety—about as tall as Arnold.
Once she had taken off her armor, the tight-fitting women’s combat suit wrapped around her blazing figure, making her look hot enough to smoke.
Snake Woman glanced at Pei Liang strangely. “Why would you say that to an Alpha soldier? You’re giving me goosebumps.”
Lancelot snorted. “What are you so pleased about? You’re not the only one she’s complimented.”
Just think how many times he had been called pretty and adorable over the past few days. Had he bragged about it?
Snake Woman’s scalp prickled. “Why are you being so needlessly competitive about something like this?”
“Only gay men in the Alpha crowd would spend all day fussing over how other men look.”
Pei Liang laughed. “Come on, it’s not that serious. I’m just into all three ABO types. How does that make me gay?”
Everyone in the group froze mid-step, then turned in unison to stare at Pei Liang.
Seeing that there wasn’t a trace of seriousness on his face and that he was clearly joking, they all let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Don’t scare us like that!”
“Seriously. What kind of horror story are you telling in broad daylight?”
“If you were gay, none of us would be safe—not even the little Omegas. Hell, even our Alphas would be in danger! Hahahaha!”
“Don’t say that. I’ve showered in front of you before.” Brian was the one who said this last.
Earlier, in the rainforest, Brian had been beaten so badly he had literally crapped himself. Pei Liang had complained every day about the smell on him and ordered him to shower twice daily. They were all Alphas, so whenever they came across a pond, they would simply strip and jump in.
Pei Liang wasn’t deliberately picking on him, though. Brian’s body odor really was unbearable in the humid heat of the tropical rainforest.
In this interstellar era, even hereditary body odors and other unpleasant traits could be altered with a single injection. Brian’s family, however, took pride in their distinctive scent, making them something of an anomaly.
Pei Liang gave him a disdainful look. “I’m not incapable of appreciating a muscular hunk, but your muscles aren’t aesthetically pleasing, and your face is a disaster.”
“What makes you so confident that a good Alpha like me would ever be interested in you?”
“Hahahahahaha…” A group of young Alphas burst into raucous laughter.
Only Arnold looked at Pei Liang, then at the clueless others, with an expression that defied description.
“Idiots,” he muttered, and said no more.
The viewers watching the livestream also assumed Pei Liang was joking. In fact, once the conversation turned in that direction, quite a few Betas and Omegas began declaring their infatuation with Pei Liang in the chat.
The most influential of them was a hugely popular interstellar superstar, who openly confessed her love for Pei Liang on social media.
Overnight, the S-rank contestant everyone had considered arrogantly overconfident before the competition—and had been waiting to see humiliated—became one of the league’s most popular players. Her overwhelming strength and reassuring leadership skills—or, more accurately, her talent for showing off—had won her a massive following.
On closer inspection, she really was quite attractive. She was not as powerfully built as Snake Woman, and among female Alphas, she was on the shorter side.
But that irresistible contrast between her petite frame and her invincible strength was utterly captivating.
This atmosphere continued until one day, when everyone realized that she hadn’t been joking at all.
Of course, that was a story for later. The shock caused by the explosive news had yet to spread throughout the empire.
By then, Pei Liang and the others had already regrouped with Teresa.
As expected, he had managed to consolidate most of the other Imperial Military Academy contestants. When the academy’s team spotted Pei Liang and the others from a distance, they were delighted.
Several of them quickened their pace and ran over. “You really eliminated Ares and Medusa?”
Seeing that the remaining Poseidon contestants were no longer any threat, they said excitedly, “There are a few contestants from the other academies worth watching out for, but now we have plenty of people. As long as we take them out, the Imperial Military Academy can make history by capturing every flag!”
The flag-capture event was a fairly standard competition, held almost every year. Even when it wasn’t literally a flag-capture match, the rules were usually similar.
The Imperial Military Academy had never managed to capture every objective before. The best record belonged to His Majesty the Emperor, who had taken eight out of ten in his day.
Arnold clicked his tongue. “Don’t count on it. Breaking the record won’t be a problem, though.”
The others looked at him in confusion. He couldn’t be bothered to explain. Pei Liang would explain it himself soon enough.
He glanced at Teresa, then greeted his friend. “Hey. How was the trip?”
Teresa looked rather serious. Instead of the excitement one would expect upon reuniting with his teammates, there was a gloomy undertone to his expression.
Arnold immediately sensed that something was wrong. Teresa was cheerful and sunny by nature. He wasn’t some expressionless corpse of a class monitor. There was no reason for him to look like that unless something had happened.
Teresa answered Arnold, “It went fairly smoothly. I didn’t run into any strong opponents.”
“But I accidentally lost the necklace my sister gave me. What rotten luck.”
Arnold’s pupils contracted, but his expression didn’t change. He simply smiled. “I told you not to bring it into the arena. You’re going to have a lot of apologizing to do once we get out.”
Teresa said helplessly, “Yeah. It was a gemstone I went out of my way to find at an auction. I had it set using the most advanced embedding technology, then waited six months for it to be handcrafted. It was a priceless piece, and now it’s just gone.”
Arnold was walking closer, preparing to say something, when Pei Liang’s voice cut in.
“It’s not a big deal. Just bring Alisha some souvenirs from the arena to make it up to her. I’m sure she’ll forgive you.”
Teresa gave Pei Liang a deep look. “Unfortunately, I was too busy rushing here to pick up anything good. Do you have something?”
Pei Liang shook her head. “No. But there are plenty of options right here. If everyone chips in, we should have enough.”
“W-What kind of thing?” one of the Imperial Military Academy contestants asked blankly as he approached Pei Liang.
Pei Liang smiled. She raised one hand, and liquid metal spread across her palm. She grabbed hold of something that had lunged at her from behind.
It was a writhing tentacle. The mecha did nothing to impede its progress. Like a slime, the thing instantly changed its density and tried to squeeze through the gaps between Pei Liang’s armored fingers—
But in the next second, the slime-like fluid lost all vitality before it could reach Pei Liang’s skin. It turned into a puddle of green sludge and dropped to the ground.
The opponent lowered his head and looked down, only to realize that Pei Liang had merely placed a fingertip against his pulse. Yet his actions were already beyond his control, and he couldn’t even gather enough power to launch an attack.
Pei Liang gave the ambusher a vicious grin. “Aren’t you people the best souvenirs around? They’re a little too shabby for a little girl’s present, but I’m sure she’ll appreciate the thought from her big brother.”
At the same time, Arnold and Teresa launched their attacks.
Teresa shouted, “Don’t touch them directly!”
“Got it!”
Arnold and Teresa were practically inseparable, and Teresa had been bragging for months about the birthday presents his younger siblings had prepared for him.
Almost all of them were ready. Only Alisha’s gift was still missing, and the delivery date happened to be a few days away—just before his birthday, which was shortly after the league ended.
So how could a gift he hadn’t even received yet have been lost?
Several Imperial Military Academy contestants were caught off guard and staggered backward a few steps after being struck.
But in an instant, the wounds on their bodies healed without a trace. Their expressions turned strange as they activated their mecha.
Then they said to Pei Liang, “So you noticed?”
“Noticing won’t help. They’re hostages trapped inside these mecha. If you—”
Before he could finish, one of them appeared directly in front of him as if she had teleported. Her legs were already planted in the path of the closing mecha.
Only her arms had been hurriedly covered by the armor, but even in that half-armored state, she grabbed hold of the final gap in the mecha and tore it apart with her bare hands—
The ugly screech of twisting metal rang out.
Everyone who witnessed the scene was completely dumbfounded.
Holy shit. She had just ripped a mecha apart with her bare hands!
