769 Mecha 765
After twenty minutes of Aron sitting quietly, giving the impression of recollecting himself, his rest was finally interrupted by the referee AI’s announcement: {May the next contender enter.} The shield was lifted once again, signaling the start of the next battle.
This time, however, it wasn't a ship that entered but a massive humanoid mecha, plummeting from the sky without any sign of propulsion to soften its descent.
BOOOOOOM!!
The mecha slammed into the ground with full force, relying solely on its two legs to absorb the impact. The harshness of the landing sent up a massive cloud of dust, completely shrouding it from the view of the watching audience.
Shortly after, mechanical sounds echoed from within the dust cloud, which was now dispersing thanks to the air currents created by the machine. The figure of the massive mecha was slowly revealed, rising from the crouched position it had taken to absorb the force of its fall.
It was the Yrral Coalition’s contender: Mecha 765, controlled by their best pilot.
As the mecha fully stood up, it revealed its immense stature—a towering fifty meters tall. Strapped to its back was a colossal greatsword. Its overall frame appeared proportional to its size, except for its biceps and thighs, which were almost triple the expected size, giving it a strange, imbalanced appearance. The arms and legs beneath these exaggerated parts were normally sized, making the thick limbs seem even more unusual against the backdrop of the otherwise proportional body.
Many who saw the mecha couldn't help but wonder why the Yrral Coalition had chosen to field such a massive machine. It was well known that the larger a mecha, the more energy it required to move, often making it slower and less efficient—a questionable investment, to say the least. Yet, the fact that this colossal machine was sent into an individual fight implied the Coalition's confidence in its abilities. The spectators were filled with curiosity, eager to witness what capabilities it would display in combat.
As usual, the referee AI remained indifferent to the crowd’s thoughts, staying focused on her duties. She proceeded with the necessary protocol, announcing, {You have five minutes to complete your preparations.}
As soon as the referee’s announcement was made, the massive mecha sprang into action. The oversized biceps and thighs detached from its body, revealing that they were merely external attachments. These parts flew off in four directions, ascending several kilometers into the air, each maintaining an equal distance from the mecha as they hovered in place.
Meanwhile, the rest of the mecha began emitting a low hum, signaling that its systems were coming online. Different sections of the machine began to glow in various colors, pulsing at irregular intervals. With each passing second, the intervals shortened as the colors synchronized. By the time four minutes and thirty seconds had passed, the mecha was glowing uniformly, its entire frame illuminated in a brilliant, synchronized light. Many watching understood this to mean that the mecha had fully integrated its systems and was now primed for combat.
These preparatory steps had to be completed within the Colosseum due to the engagement rules that both sides had agreed upon beforehand. This ensured fairness by preventing any fighter from entering fully prepared, as some weapons—though extremely powerful—required more time to warm up and load. Everything had to be activated within the Colosseum itself.
As soon as the mecha’s systems reached full synchronization, its right hand moved with purpose, gripping the handle of the massive great sword on its back. Now, fully armed and ready, it stood poised, awaiting the signal to begin the match, which was just seconds away.
{You may begin.}
As soon as the announcement was made, the mecha's hand, which had been gripping the great sword, swiftly pulled it from its back and pointed it in Aron's direction. At first glance, it appeared like a traditional challenge, as if the mecha was simply posturing with its weapon. But those assumptions were quickly shattered.
The cutting edges of the great sword parted, revealing a hidden cannon embedded in the center of the blade. Almost instantly, a deep, resonating thrum filled the air, building for only a second before an explosive pulse of energy erupted from the cannon. A massive, searing energy blast shot forth, racing toward Aron.
The attack moved with such velocity that it crossed the entire distance between them in mere seconds, scorching the ground as it went. The heat emanating from the blast's residual energy left no doubt—it was packed with devastating power, with the speed leaving Aron no time to dodge.
………………….
“They're not holding back at all,” Aron muttered as he swung his sword down in a swift arc, precisely cutting through the massive energy blast hurtling toward him. His timing was impeccable, using the sheer speed and force of the attack to his advantage, slicing it cleanly in half.
However, Aron didn’t stop there. Splitting the blast wouldn't change its direction, and he would have been hit by two separate attacks instead. With precise control, he followed his sword strike by conjuring a triangular mana shield behind the blade. The shield caught the divided energy blobs and redirected them, sending the two halves spiraling off in two different directions.
His remark stemmed from the realization of just how much mana he had to pour into the shield to successfully deflect the powerful blasts, a testament to the sheer force behind the mecha's attack.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A split second later, twin explosions erupted behind Aron. He didn’t even bother to turn around, standing calmly as the shockwave from the blast rippled through the air, causing his clothes and hair to flutter dramatically in the wind.
The camera angle shifted, moving from the emperor, who seemed to be playing it cool by not looking at the explosions, to the aftermath of the devastation. Nearly every viewer watching felt a chill run down their spine. The two craters left behind were nothing short of terrifying. The sand and rocks within them had been superheated to the point of turning into glass, shimmering like giant telescope lenses.
The lenses acted as a stark reminder of the power behind the mecha’s attack—and the devastating consequences Aron had narrowly avoided. Without his swift reaction and countermeasure, the result could have been catastrophic.
“I need that weapon and the mecha to study it,” Aron said, his gaze fixed on the aftermath as Nova displayed the carnage in his brain. The potential of the weapon's destructive power made him realize how beneficial it could be for enhancing the empire's own technology.
{Won’t we gain the knowledge of it anyway if you win?} Nova asked.
“If we have a physical weapon to study, it will make our research much easier since we can understand their design philosophy and how their knowledge shaped its creation,” he explained.
{Wouldn’t that force us to follow a certain direction they took, potentially causing us to overlook something they missed?} Nova countered.
Aron nodded, acknowledging her concern. “We can circumvent that by having different teams. One will work with the prototype to draw insights directly, while the other focuses solely on the theoretical knowledge. This way, we can compare their findings and explore different avenues without being too constrained.”
His strategy was clear, but it also limited his options in combat. He needed to minimize damage to the mecha and its systems to preserve the valuable data within.
“Let’s try to end this as quickly as possible with as little damage as we can,” Aron concluded, gripping his sword in reverse, vanishing from his place the moment the camera returned to him.
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