CH 30

Since Arthur switched to a command post, he didn’t need to personally lead the team.

He promoted several juniors who graduated from the military academy, all of whom were A-level sergeants, and they should be more than enough to deal with pirates.

Still, Arthur likes to fight in person. Fighting was like an instinct engraved in his bones.

Before boarding the aircraft, a soldier asked expectantly: “Is Mr. Yan not coming?”

Arthur denied without hesitation: “No.”

Everyone showed a look of regret.

There were people here who have seen Yan Xueshan fight, and those who haven’t.

Those who have seen it will never forget it and want to see it again. Those who haven’t seen it before have heard about it for a long time, and wanted to see it with their own eyes.

Recently, many people secretly went to see Yan Xueshan conduct a sniper test while piloting Artemis. Anyone who saw his technique would become fascinated.

In particular, Arthur’s melee mecha Zulong and Yan Xueshan’s long-distance mecha Artemis that were used as mecha partners. If they were activated and cooperated together, their power would increase.

It was said that the match rate of the Blue Reaper and the Red Knight was 99.9%, the highest in the Federation. When they worked together they were unparalleled.

When someone studied the data of all the Master Soldiers in the Empire and the Federation, this pair was at the top of the list, crushing everyone else.

It could even be said that if the Federation didn’t have this pair of super weapons, they might not have been able to win. Their existence has greatly enhanced the strength of the Federation Army, and as leaders, they were a true morale booster.

The Blue Reaper and the Red Knight were undefeated, symbolizing the invincibility of the Federation.

However, since the Blue Reaper retired, only the Red Knight was left to fight alone.

Although Admiral Arthur was very good and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was a melee fighter who more than proved his worth, it was precisely because he was so powerful without a partner that people who were never curious before wondered about his peak condition with partner. Just how powerful could he be if he reached peak condition with his partner?

After Yan Xueshan came back, everyone was looking forward to seeing them team up again and discussed them in private,

Why didn’t Yan Xueshan come? Why?

Since Admiral Arthur kept a straight face, no one dared to ask about it.

Admiral Arthur wasn’t considered a strict and harsh boss. In terms of his personal treatment in the military, he was treated the same as any other soldier. His basic necessities were the same as other S-rank sergeants.

In private, sometimes people even dared to joke about the Admiral – mainly, his obviously majestic face, as well as the fact that his scent would immediately change just from the very mention of Yan Xueshan. What was most interesting, was that people didn’t feel inferior in front of him. The Admiral respected them, so they also respected the Admiral from the bottom of their hearts.

It’s different, however, when standing on the battlefield. The Admiral would be a completely different person, majestic and solemn as he gave commands.

Arthur communicated with the whole team while he was on the way, letting everyone hear the details of the enemy from the patrol ahead. On the way, he asked about the size of the enemy army, the type and number of warships, how many soldiers the enemy had, and so on.

Then he finally arrived, set up his firepower and went into battle.

Arthur didn’t personally engage in the battle at first. He planned to let the newcomers under him practice at first, but as Senior Master Sergeant, he would provide some assistance from the side.

Soon, the pirates surrounded them and asked them to hand over their warship.

It was too fast.

Arthur thought for a while and finally decided to take the lead himself, letting the other Divisional Sergeants follow him and they flew over together. The blood-red mecha didn’t look ordinary at first glance and he was the obvious leader of this mecha squad.

The name of the Zhulong was famous, so not many people in the whole Federation or even the former Empire didn’t recognize it.

Arthur urged the crowd to be careful. “Don’t take them lightly just because you are dealing with interstellar pirates. They may be more desperate than the Imperial Army. They are a bunch of outlaws.”

He became more alert as he unhurriedly flew forward. Halfway there, due to a sudden flash of intuition, he evaded slightly to the side.

At the same time, a white ray of light brushed past the edge of his mecha’s arm and hit the energy shield of the rear battleship. It didn’t penetrate it, of course, but the ray still caused a small energy explosion.

Before the others could react, they saw the red mecha advance instead of retreating, charging forward like a flaming arrow freed from the string.

Arthur’s voice sounded on his team channel, calm and steady. “There is a Sniper Operator among the pirates. I will lure him away, so don’t come over to help. You can’t help me. Escort the ships back and then retreat to a safe distance.”

Then Arthur faintly said: “I will knock him out.”

Arthur knew this weapon; it was the ray of a mecha sniper gun developed by the old Imperial Academy of Sciences. It was also very familiar. He had been dealing with this same weapon for six years. His life was always on the line.

You know, for a Melee Master Sergeant, a skillful sniper sergeant was a natural enemy. In the absence of cover, being exposed to a sniper was equivalent to being a living target.

The battleship was large in size, and its speed was far inferior to that of a mecha so it was also an easy target therefore, Arthur asked them to withdraw first. 

Regardless of whether he could knock out the enemy sniper, at least he could delay them to allow for the evacuation for a period of time. He had nothing to worry about when he was alone so he could retreat later.

Everyone saw a fiery red light draw an irregular line on the star canvas. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right and sometimes turning back. It was like a dance at the tip of the sword of death, but without even a trace of panic. Calm and relaxed, totally at ease.

The sniper rays from the enemy started firing faster. Making it so dense that it looked almost like rain. The red mecha dexterously shuttled through the rain like rays, without touching any of them.

The speed of his operation was really amazing. You must know that the faster a melee mecha fought, the more pressure the pilot’s body had to endure. Which also showed how elite one’s physical qualities were. It wasn’t much to say that he could also be considered an evolved human.

Seeing this scene, the rest of the soldiers couldn’t help saying: “He’s just too  powerful…”

When a melee fighter encountered a sniper fighter, not only did he not run away, but he rushed over to confront him head-on. Not only head-on, but also relied on positioning to avert all shots fired from the opposing side.

Was this the strength of the first melee fighter of the Federation?

He must have been trained in a battlefield of bullets!

If Arthur could hear any of this, he would just smile and stay silent.

No, his skill was actually tempered under his Master’s simulated rays.

At that time,they didn’t know where the crazy idea came from, but they actually put it into practice. When he could at least practice the dodge method under the full force of Yan Xueshan’s shooting, after that, he wasn’t afraid of meeting other Sniper Master Sergeants at all.

To be honest, he felt that it was impossible for a sniper to put him under more pressure than Yan Xueshan.

Arthur rushed closer and closer, following the source of the ray weapon, straight to the pirate ship near a space bunker.

At this moment, the Zulong seemed to ignite, lighting up slightly as it increased its speed again, then bizarrely bending, as if dodging an attack.

Suddenly, a sniper mecha on the left just exploded.

Only then did they notice that there was a fading blue ray next to it.

Then another one.

The bright light of another mecha explosion followed.

Arthur heard Yan Xueshan’s voice on the single-person encrypted channel. “Don’t you know that the enemy must have brought a Melee Master Sergeant partner? If you don’t rush, you would need to fight two of them at a time.”

The coordinated cooperation between the Artemis and the Zhulong never disengaged, so they automatically connected when they entered acceptable range.

Arthur felt his energy rising, making him feel very comfortable.

Only now, after six months, did he really feel that Zulong, which seemed to be semi-sleeping due to the loss of his partner, became truly revived.

The mecha was incomplete if it couldn’t accompany and guard the Goddess of the Moon, Artemis.

Arthur smiled and said: “I know, but I’m not afraid.”

Yan Xueshan asked: “Ah, do you need my help?”

Arthur hearing this quickly said: “No need. Fortunately, you are here or I would’ve become a dead soul under his rifle. But, Master, why are you suddenly willing to come? Didn’t you want to go home?”

“After listening to their report, I felt that something was wrong.” After Yan Xueshan finished speaking, he became silent for a while. “Also, Dr. Brandon asked me to collect some data on the synchronized coordination state.”

Then he added: “Well, it has dropped.”

Arthur opened the data screen and took a look: 99.7%.

The two of them haven‘t partnered for almost a year, so could this even be considered a drop?