A Fierce Struggle

After being ganged up on and sending several mechs flying, the Ancient Class mech swung its tentacles a few more times, forcing the remaining mechs away. Then, its body shuddered, its Storage Sac opened, and various Mature Form of adult and Larval Form flew out.

Seeing the Ancient Class reinforcements arrive, the mech pilots were not worried at all; instead, they became excited. There were only a few Ancient Class here, but tens of thousands of mechs, and none of them could get a chance to help.

Now that the Ancient Class have released their Mature Form and Larval Form, many spectators can try their hand at fighting them. Moreover, these smaller Space Octopus have significantly different parameters from the Ancient Class, making them far less dangerous overall.

The loss of the first mech pilot left these mech pilots, who had never been on the battlefield and were previously just collectors of figurines, feeling a sense of melancholy.

In the virtual world, you can start over an unlimited number of times, but in the real world, you only get one chance. It's a welcome thing for them to practice against some weaker enemies first.

The Mature Form and Larval Form had barely separated when they were surrounded by the Mecha Warrior, who scrambled to grab their opponents. Although the Mature Form and Larval Form were far Ancient Class in various parameters, they were more agile.

The second mech pilot to die was unexpectedly not killed by the Ancient Class or Mature Form, but rather by the seemingly weakest Larval Form.

These Larval Form Space Octopus, less than twenty meters long and lacking even long-range attack capabilities, appear extremely small in front of the sixty-meter-tall mecha.

But when faced with the oncoming mech, it showed no fear and instead met it head-on. Just as the two were about to close in, the mech's Close-In Weapon System on its head and chest unleashed a barrage of fire.

The Ancient Class Biological Armor is tough enough to ignore this attack, but the Larval Form, even including its total length, might not be as thick as the Ancient Class armor. It still has to show some respect for this kind of ranged attack.

However, if they try to dodge, the distance between them is too close, making it impossible to completely avoid the barrage of fire. The mech, wielding a red shield in its left hand and Ship-Slaying Blade in its right, has already charged forward, and dodging would mean losing the initiative.

That Ship-Slaying Blade, specifically designed to counter Zerg Biological Armor, was exceptionally sharp. Even the Ancient Class couldn't withstand its attack. If Larval Form were cleaved by it, it would likely be One Cut Two Pieces, no matter where it landed.

In the split second, the Larval Form chose to use most of its tentacles to shield itself from the incoming fire. At the same time, the other tentacles extended forward, and as the mech slashed down, the tentacles had already touched the shield. The suction cups on the tentacles played a crucial role, easily sticking the tentacles to the shield.

Then, with a pull and tug from its tentacles, the Larval Form's body quickly left its original position and crashed into the shield, while the slash aimed at it naturally missed its mark.

In the mech pilot's field of vision, the Larval Form suddenly disappeared. He quickly dodged to avoid Larval Form sneak attack. But after turning left and right, he still couldn't find the Larval Form.

He quickly replayed the footage from two seconds prior, while simultaneously keeping a close watch on his surroundings. The Zerg's cloaking technology was unparalleled; the monster might be right next to him.

After glancing at the replay a few times, he still couldn't find anything. Just as he was about to watch it in slow motion again, his teammate's voice came through the communicator. "Idiot, it's on your shield!"

From its teammates' perspective, the Larval Form was curled up in a ball, using the suction cups on its tentacles to fix itself to the shield, successfully hiding in the enemy's blind spot.

The Larval Form did not perform well in the previous battles against the Alliance. Unable to infiltrate the ship's hull, they were almost entirely relegated to the role of cannon fodder, doing things like shooting down Unmanned Fighter and harassing Close-In Weapon System.

Therefore, there is not much data about them, Star Sea Alliance has limited knowledge of them, which also results in the Larval Form not performing well in the virtual world.

However, in actual combat, the Larval Form are much stronger, and most importantly, they know Rowan's Combat Technique.

The Rowan's Combat Technique was once Rowan Wen's signature skill that allowed him to dominate Origin Star, but he didn't keep it to himself, and all his underlings could perform a few moves.

This auxiliary technique of Rowan's Combat Technique— "Leaf Obscures Vision" —confused an enemy upon its first appearance.

After being reminded by his teammates, the mech pilot realized what was happening. He bent his left arm inward and, sure enough, saw the unique color of a Larval Form.

Mockingly mocked by his teammates and with nowhere to vent his anger, the pilot maneuvered his mech to Ship-Slaying Blade and slash at his own shield in an attempt to avoid the Larval Form.

But at that moment, a tentacle taut, its tip sharp and flashing with cold light, its body crackling with blue Electric Arc, suddenly pierced out from that color towards the unique red gem on the mecha's head, like an indestructible spear.

Hardening and electromagnetic acceleration make this tentacle incredibly lethal; before the driver can even react, the observation window in front of him is pierced.

Blood splattered everywhere. Although the Larval Form didn't know the pilot's location in the cockpit, and the attack was somewhat off-target, the flying shards, like a rain of arrows, riddled the pilot with bullets when the observation window was pierced.

Quick and painless, the pilot passed away with a look of shock and anger, successfully earning the title of the second Mecha Warrior to sacrifice his life.

This pilot is not alone; perhaps he has died too many times during practice in the virtual world. The mech pilots may not yet be able to distinguish between virtual and real-world combat.

In the virtual world, one mistake is acceptable; you can always be more careful next time. As a result, some Mecha Warrior are somewhat indifferent to life. But in reality, there are no second chances, and death gradually makes them see reality clearly.

However, after more than a decade of practice in the virtual world, change is not something that can be achieved overnight.

Soon, the third place title was also decided, and even soon, the top ten list was completely filled.

These mechs were, after all, only primitive models, and all their drawbacks were already becoming apparent. The old saying goes, "An inch longer, an inch stronger," but things were different here.

In the clash, if the Mecha Warrior's first strike misses the Space Octopus, the Space Octopus will close in. Although the mech warrior is agile enough, it is still not as fast as the space octopus's tentacles.

Once it gets stuck, if you don't get rid of it in time, the Space Octopus will climb up and stick to the mech. At this point, the mech's ranged weapons, even the battleship's sword and metal shield, will become useless.

The longsword was completely ineffective against the Space Octopus that moved close to the mech. Mech pilots had encountered this situation before in virtual battles.

After analyzing the situation, they discovered that the best approach was to discard the sword and shield and fight with their bare hands. Dexterity with their hands is a major advantage of mechs, and combined with mastered techniques such as grabbing, throwing, shaking, and ramming, they are perfectly suited for subduing enemies in close combat.

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