Knock Down

Just as everyone noticed the unfavorable turn of events for Li Yi.

On this side, the flame stream from the Flame Crow Mech's mouth instantly condensed, like an oversized firework, and shot straight out.

As it was fired, it instantly increased the brightness of the already illuminated cabin by dozens of times.

Everyone had to squint and shield their eyes with their hands.

Bang!!!

The sphere formed by the converging flame stream directly hit the Pluto Mech, splashing countless streams of flame.

Everyone was astonished.

This Divine Mech not only initiated quickly but also had an incredibly astonishing firing speed.

"Look quickly, a part of the Pluto Mech's right arm guard has cracked."

Everyone looked and found that the robust right arm guard of the Pluto Mech indeed had a thin, long crack about a meter wide and four to five meters long.

Logically, this kind of spherical flame stream should have created an oval or spherical opening, resulting in significant damage.

But the mark left behind indicated that the Pluto Mech's operation at the critical moment was correct.

Given the Pluto Mech's size, this crack could be considered a minor scratch.

Thus, everyone's admiration and pity were directed towards Li Yi:

"Amazing! Li Yi performed a recoil, superposition, and turning maneuver at the last moment, minimizing the damage from the flame stream. As expected of the rookie king of combat."

"From this distance, the Pluto Mech could still extend its arm guard to block this attack with such precision, indicating that Li Yi's reaction speed is not bad."

"It was a prediction. He most likely predicted the opponent's moves, but his hand speed couldn't keep up with the firing speed."

"What a shame. Li Yi's counter extended the duration of this battle, but the outcome is already decided."

"Indeed, the result will be known in less than a minute."

"He lost with honor, so to speak."

Amidst the discussion.

The Pluto Mech also began its counterattack.

For the Divine Mech, this crack mainly affected the power output of its right arm but wasn't severe.

It was like a skin abrasion on a human body; left alone, it would heal on its own.

Normally.

As long as it wasn't severely damaged, with the divinity within the Divine Mech, similar damage could be automatically repaired overnight.

And it would leave no trace.

For example, Liang Shaocong's Ciyuan Mech also had its arm guard cracked by Li Yi yesterday.

It had already been automatically repaired today.

What Divine Mechs truly feared was sustained defense penetration.

Only when accumulated heavy damage became too much could it be completely destroyed and beyond repair.

And.

In actual combat, one needed to be mindful that cracks would create obvious vulnerabilities.

The external armor, which was originally difficult to penetrate, could easily suffer secondary and tertiary damage if targeted specifically.

This was also the most common tactical approach for Divine Mechs in actual combat.

That is, use Divine Mech skills to break through the defense first, creating an opening.

Then, concentrate superior force to expand the opening, causing the enemy mech to be completely destroyed.

Therefore.

This was also why everyone judged the Pluto Mech to be doomed.

Whoever created the first defensive breach gained the initiative in the battle.

The scales had been tipped since the Flame Crow Mech's Divine Mech skill was activated.

At this moment.

The Pluto Mech rushed in front of the Flame Crow Mech and threw a right punch at extreme speed.

Inside the Flame Crow Mech's cockpit, Zhang Qingjian grinned:

"Interesting. Is he lashing out in panic because he knows he's doomed, or is he deliberately using this injured arm to confuse me?"

"Within five moves, I'll have you hanging!"

After all, as an evolved being, his information processing speed was indeed superior.

The Pluto Mech's punch, which had accelerated to its limit, appeared to Zhang Qingjian as just a normal speed, posing no threat.

The Flame Crow Mech casually sidestepped, avoiding the fist.

Then, with a forward turn, it moved behind the Pluto Mech, clasped its hands together in a hammer fist, and struck towards the back of the Pluto Mech's head.

Phew!!!

The massive mechs moved rapidly, compressing and creating violent shockwaves in the air.

Below the stage, Cai Xiaodong couldn't help but close his eyes.

"What a dodge!"

"Not bad, both sides' movements and reactions were spectacular."

"The question is what Li Yi will do next; he's still in a very dangerous state."

Cai Xiaodong realized that the loud metallic clang he expected didn't happen, and the crowd's comments were also a bit strange.

He quickly opened his eyes.

He saw that the Pluto Mech, as if it had eyes on its back, moved its upper body left and right like a pendulum, dodging the Flame Crow Mech's hammer strikes three consecutive times.

They seemed to touch but didn't, missing by a hair's breadth, which was breathtaking.

Just as the Flame Crow Mech was charging up for a powerful move.

Suddenly!

The Pluto Mech leaped up from its spot with its back to the Flame Crow Mech. Its legs moved like long eyes, precisely wrapping around the Flame Crow Mech's neck, instantly suppressing its next move.

Then.

It twisted its waist in mid-air, directly causing the Flame Crow Mech to spin halfway around and lose its balance as it fell.

Following that, the Pluto Mech's immense weight pressed down on the Flame Crow Mech. One arm gripped its waist, and the other pressed down on its shoulder. Its entire body's weight bore down, the movements skilled and swift.

At the same time, the instant the two mechs landed.

The entire fighting arena also let out a massive tremor.

Even the spectators were thrown off balance, stumbling around.

And this did nothing to dampen their immense shock:

"Mechs can actually use such delicate yet fierce grappling techniques?"

"It was a setup, an absolute setup! Li Yi had been meticulously planning this move from the very beginning!"

"First, he got infinitely close to the Flame Crow Mech, reducing Zhang Qingjian's reaction speed advantage to its absolute limit."

"Then, through prediction and familiarity with combat, he dodged the Flame Crow Mech's initial attacks, waiting for its charging interval, and then in one go, used a scissor lock to immobilize the Flame Crow Mech's movements!"

"The most brilliant part was how the Pluto Mech seized the momentary opening during the Flame Crow Mech's charge, unleashing its full power and controlling all of the Flame Crow Mech's critical movement joints."

Zhang Xuqiang was also a bit surprised, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

After thinking for a moment, he said:

"It was a fluke, an absolute fluke! For the previous dodges, he was definitely half guessing, half gambling, just getting lucky."

"Moreover, this technique is very effective against human joints, but against the immense power of a Divine Mech, this kind of grappling will be broken through very quickly."

"It's just a dying struggle."

Upon hearing Zhang Xuqiang's words, someone immediately chimed in:

"Brother Qiang is right. If the opponent were a non-evolved human, Li Yi's move would easily cause the pilot to overload. But for an evolved human, they just need a moment to recover from the strain and then they can break free."

Amidst the discussion, nearly thirty seconds had passed since the Pluto Mech had locked the Flame Crow Mech.

Everyone stared intently at the stage, mentally estimating that the Pluto Mech must be running out of strength.

Suddenly.

Boom!!!

The Flame Crow Mech's legs exerted force, pushing off the ground. Despite its neck, waist, and shoulders being locked, it managed to stand up vertically.

Then, with a spin, its arms broke free, untangling the Pluto Mech's legs. It grabbed the Pluto Mech's waist and forcefully slammed it onto the ground.

"As expected, Brother Qiang's judgment is truly sharp; everything unfolded exactly as you predicted."

As the turn of events unfolded, someone immediately flattered Zhang Xuqiang.

Zhang Xuqiang accepted the praise with a smug nod:

"It was nothing. Li Yi is just a mech rookie, after all, with no experience. To achieve this much is already good. If it were me in the Pluto Mech under the same circumstances, someone like Zhang Qingjian would be completely insignificant."

Cai Xiaodong looked displeased and scornfully glared at Zhang Xuqiang from afar.

But just as everyone thought the Flame Crow Mech was about to deliver the finishing blow.

The Pluto Mech, which had been thrown down, seemed to have anticipated this. It didn't completely break free from the Flame Crow Mech. Instead, it used the momentum to perform a "fish flop," simultaneously using the immense inertial force to add its fist, striking the Flame Crow Mech's head.

Quake-Word Technique, Layered Vibration!

Bang!!!

A loud metallic sound echoed. The Flame Crow Mech seemed to short-circuit, its body wobbled, and then it crashed to the ground.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"How did Li Yi suddenly win?"