638 Snatching Territory

An empty arena, filled with squares. The first stage, an evasion test.

With a flicker of a hologram, a Wargod No. 1 appeared, rumbling its way towards Wang Zheng. His first response was to counter-att… f*ck, there were no guns.

This was too heartless. Dodging the mech's attack, Wang Zheng rushed up. Who said one couldn't counter without a gun or blade? He would kick it to death.

Just as he neared, the Wargod No, 1 disappeared, two more appeared behind him. A criss-cross of bullets lanced past him, the mecha strafing as they fired with accuracy.

Wang Zheng hurriedly evaded them. After another round of attacks, a third Wargod No. 1 appeared. Two set up criss-crossing fire, while one supplemented with covering fire. Wang Zheng's movements had to be fast. In such an empty space, dodging had to be quick and decisive. Luckily these mecha were highly robotic. They followed a set pattern and lacked variations, otherwise he would have been tired to death just dodging.

The three mecha formed a V, firing barrage after barrage at Wang Zheng before finally disappearing.

Wang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief as well. This was too textbook, even for a examination. There was no room to do anything else considering there was not even any cover.

However this level of difficulty was not enough.

But this was clearly a warm up for the candidate. In the next instance, another 3 mecha materialized.

Arbiter Slayers, and 3 of them to boot. They were about 20m away from Wang Zheng.

This was the distance from which the Slayers could work best. They could both attack and defend. But Wang Zheng's Wargod No. 1 had no weapons. Was he doomed to be trampled?

Wang Zheng was still considering when the 3 Slayers already began to move, firing non-stop towards Wang Zheng's Wargod No. 1.

D*mn, a moment slower and he would have turned to mince. Luckily the energy shield was still available, although Wang Zheng had no intention to use it. Things would definitely only get harder. This was just the start.

The Slayers' movements were definitely faster. Wang Zheng wanted to close in but it was simply impossible against the Slayers considering their close range evasive abilities. Instead, drawing the distance wider was the only option. Controlling the frequency, increasing the speed to evade at the fastest possible. Such a test was very suited to Oli. To evade the Slayers, one needed to burst out with explosive power at a maximum, increasing one's frequency. The 3 mecha pursued and Wang Zheng increased his own speed to match the Slayers, and just edge them out slightly.

Such a rigid approach did not pose a threat to Wang Zheng.

The 3 Slayers could not catch Wang Zheng. The 3 mecha halted their attack, and gradually faded.

Another 3 red mecha appeared. They were bigger than normal mecha by a size… Astina's Inferno King.

3 Xuan barreled flamethrowers took aim, then 3 spouts of flame spurted towards Wang Zheng, attempting to turn him into a suckling pig.

Wang Zheng piloted his Wargod No. 1, rushing forward. One feared most to be at mid-distance from these things, where one would inevitably succumb and be roasted. But nearer to them, these things were in fact less powerful as they could not utilize their flamethrowers effectively. Wang Zheng had rushed forward the moment he saw the 3 mecha. The 3 had fired simultaneously, the columns of flame reaching out. The problem with closing in was that one's vision was soon obscured.

Wang Zheng could already start to feel the heat. This was not bad, things were starting to get interesting.

Wang Zheng was able to avoid a roasting inside, but the one waiting outside was getting impatient.

Ling Luoyu was preparing for this major competition as well. Xuan grade students did not need to be tested, but the test had its benefits. On one hand, you could familiarize with each country's unique mecha. Each time a different mecha would come, and one could also focus on honing judgment in evasion, attack, power, or speed each time. This was useful for maintaining a pilot's condition.

Only, a thing like an examination was unpopular among most. They would rather find someone to train against. Against a boring sequence, one was not engaged. Perhaps only masochists would really like to train.

But with the competition imminent, and the prospect of Milky Way Military College people coming, nobody wanted to make a fool of themselves. And those guys hollering about showing off to Aina. What a brainless bunch. A princess was just a title, what was so cool about it. This was the future now, and only Aslan remained so backward. This wasn't progress, it was regress.

Ling Luoyu's family was definitely the modern kind. Ideas of liberal democracy had entered her thinking at a young age, especially with a grandfather like Gail.

Very few took the test here, especially at this time. What an unhappy coincidence that someone was actually using it.

But then, perhaps it was to be expected. It was not inconceivable that someone else would come to the same conclusions as her.

But the Xuan grade test was a little sickening. Once it started it was 3 mecha against one. This was the minimum number required to leave no angle uncovered. And the test was that of a defensive format. No matter what kind of result one obtained, one would not feel good just dodging and being trampled on. Young people nowadays liked to destroy their opponents. Being beaten non stop was not a good feeling, and another reason why the exam was not popular.

But Ling Luoyu was in no hurry. Regardless who was inside, they had spent quite some time now, and must be finishing soon. Then it would be her turn. The Azure Dragon Region did not have many Xuan rank people.

Ling Luoyu looked at the time. It was almost 15 minutes. Who was performing at this standard? It must be someone from the top 3 classes.

"Eh, Luoyu? You're still around." As Luoyu was lost in thought, a warm voice came from beside.

"Redington, you're here as well." Ling Luoyu smiled a welcome. Redington shrugged. "One has to work hard and get a good score. Besides, this is a whole-college affair, and we can't let our Azure Dragon Region down."

Redington said.

Ling Luoyu gave an astute smile. "I think you want to do well in front of one classmate Snow, isn't that right."

Redington did not deny the fact. "Noblemen chase women of great virtue."

Ling Luoyu smiled. "You two are really compatible. I wish you the best of luck."

Redington gave a confident smile. Ling Luoyu had held her tongue. Through Mo Ling, she had learnt much about Snow Li. The girl was an aristocrat, originating from some Dancing Ice Dragon. She did not understand why so many continued to believe such things. Logically, humans had already entered the interstellar age. Why would thinking have instead back-slided? Perhaps the world was just too big. Regardless, Ling Luoyu believed that Roland Garros was the most representative place for mankind. This place embodied a real and practical future.

This was also the firm belief of every Roland Garros citizen. Of course, not to the point of conceit. Roland Garros was the congregation of humanity's elites, especially science. But mankind's accomplishments were not only in the field of science.