In the void, Holy Sword Finis took a few jogging steps before its engines roared into life, and she too soared into the sky.

Damn it, the position is all wrong!

Seeing her opponent closing in, Dilia swiftly retracted her long-range weapons without hesitation, which was fundamental piloting knowledge. She could not guarantee that her next attack would hit, and even if it did, considering Ophelia's capabilities, she could likely tilt her angle and deflect the shot.

But Dilia was different: the launchers on her chest could be described as ammunition racks, and one careless hit could lead to the destruction of her mecha and her own death. She was young and beautiful and certainly did not wish to perish so early.

Due to the disadvantageous position of the battlefield, Dilia had no way to retreat, as her opponent was also a super soldier capable of easily catching up to her. Therefore, she decided to draw her beam saber for a head-on collision. As a disciple of the Blue Lightning Rain, if anyone thought that Dilia relied only on long-range combat, they were gravely mistaken, for her strongest suit was playing by the rules.

With that thought, Sky Shadow performed an aerial spin evasive maneuver, charging forward with a speed not inferior to Ophelia, at an extreme pace.

Many experts in the audience had silently predicted the outcome; the average gravitational force endured by both parties had already exceeded 20 times. If they collided with such force, even if the mechas remained unscathed, both pilots would scarcely bear it.

The crowd's hearts leaped to their throats.

Boom!

The anticipated disaster did not occur. They clearly had confidence in their physical condition. However, the collision was excessively harsh. Slow-motion playback on the big screen showed that, at the moment of weapon impact, countless armor fragments fell from their bodies, as though even some attached devices were deformed by the powerful shock.

Ophelia felt a surge of blood and dizziness in her head. She had sparred with Feng Yi before, and this crushing sensation was just as it was when colliding with him.

Dilia was also in bad shape, but evidently fairing slightly better than Ophelia. After all, she had been trained by the Blue Lightning Rain, exposed to countless drills however delicate her appearance might seem, she did not panic or falter in battle. Nevertheless, lacking in actual combat experience compared to her opponent, Dilia suffered a disadvantage following the collision when Ophelia fiercely kicked her at that moment.

As a result, on the visual feed, the impact seemed to send Apocalypse slamming back from the exchange—a blow that did not please the Diya Alliance spectators. They hadn't anticipated such a fiercely contested opening bout. Dilia was esteemed as a 12-Star presence, yet she hadn't gained any advantage in close-quarter combat. How were they to fight subsequent battles?

Would they have to rely on Blue Lightning Rain and Margaret?

Although Margaret performed well in her last fight, she stood no chance against a truly top-tier opponent, not even a slight opportunity to resist.

As for Blue Lightning Rain, although an incredibly formidable top-tier fighter, he had already lost to Revenge Shadow Rider once on the net. A loss once could lead to a second. Despite reluctance to admit this, it was the truth, and upon close observation of his combat performance, it was evident that Blue Lightning Rain favored a more stable style. To put it bluntly, his offense couldn't compare to that of Sandstorm, Sword Dragon, or Kexiao.

Of course, the mood among the Federal spectator section wasn't much lighter than that of Diya's. Although Dilia was knocked far back, she recovered from her moment of paralysis earlier than Ophelia. Holy Sword Finis' locked state lasted a whole second longer than her opponent, meaning in that second, Dilia could do anything.

And Ophelia's only assurance was merely relying on the automatic operation of the C device's intelligent system, which made the level of danger evident.

The battle had progressed to this point, and some people had already walked away from the scene. The thoughts of those who left were varied; they didn't lack the desire to support their favorite competitors in their own way, but rather, they dared not watch the ensuing fight. No matter who would win or lose, just the mere thought of such a perilous scene was a great test for the heart. Instead of being a bystander whose heart was on one's sleeve, it was better to be out of sight and out of mind, just waiting for the results.

However, the above was the mindset of only a minority. The majority had decided to stay and watch. Those who had dared to sign up for the battle were mentally prepared after all. It was a handful who would make it to the end, with most falling along the way. Speaking lightly, a loss was just that, and acknowledging defeat was not a bad outcome. But for these ace pilots, conceding was not quite so simple. What they represented was not merely personal honor but also national prestige. Besides, this battle was the opener, and in a sense, both sides had reached a point of no retreat.

In the competitors' area, the Federal super soldiers had all arrived, and Sky Shadow was no exception. However, Sky Shadow came with a singular purpose: he did not care about the life or death of others. He only wanted to observe opponents who were a threat to him in each battle, to understand their combat styles, and to devise counter-tactics in advance.

Of course, Dovir's situation was different from that of Angelina and the Haier Brothers. Angelina was still okay, at least not showing her emotions like Dovir. Dovir, however, had mentors like Brother Mu Tou and Brother Hugo, who had both been his teachers in a way. Yet, due to accidents, they lost the qualifications to be super soldiers.

Brother Hugo was relatively lucky; at least his legs were healed, and he could still fight. But Mu Tou was different. In this battle, Dovir seemed to have matured a lot and had also come to understand the profound camaraderie among comrades. Although on the surface, Dovir appeared calm, his heart was incessantly thumping wildly...

Compared to Dovir, the Haier Brothers were not so worried. While they paid attention to the battle, with Ophelia's practical experience in combat, even a stronger opponent would likely find it difficult to gain an advantage.

It was indeed so. As a New Human, Dilia had an exceptionally robust physique, but precious battlefield experience isn't something one can learn overnight. In the moment when Ophelia's body stiffened, her fingers had already pressed the intelligent brain's automatic combat switch. It wasn't until she completely recovered from that shock that she turned off the intelligent brain's self-combat mode.

Dilia spat under her breath, a coarse action rarely seen from her, but she genuinely felt irked by that last move. How dare it take advantage of her, begging to be hit!

A haughty boast from Dilia suddenly came through the loudspeakers, and the Apocalypse moved like a deity descending to earth, charging once again toward Holy Sword Finis.

"Good coming."

Ophelia's eyes blazed with a cold intensity, not cowering before the opponent, leaping forward, and at the moment of almost touching, her mecha swung out a blow with the technique 'Lantern Viewing through the Blade.' The move had a difficulty coefficient of 8.9, acting too early would give the opponent's brain time to react defensively, and too late, the weapon wouldn't even be drawn. Only within this virtually limiting 0.3 seconds, striking an instantaneous blow was the biggest advantage of the 'Lantern Viewing through the Blade.'

This sword strike came too suddenly, legendary in its speed, reaching an ultimate fast that caught one off guard.

In Dilia's eyes, the thrusting sword was still rapidly enlarging... For any pilot of the same level, it would be exceedingly difficult to evade Ophelia's fatal strike, but Dilia was different. Her greatest strength was her consistent performance. How she performed under normal circumstances was how she would in battle, not allowing changes in venue or mindset to cause her ability to fluctuate. Because of this admirable quality, as the Holy Sword Finis's weapon attacked, Dilia made an evasive maneuver.

She didn't even have time to consider how to dodge, whether to go left, back, up or down, or any other direction. Everything was just instinct because the situation no longer afforded the luxury of thought. It had reached a point where lives were at stake, and a single misstep could truly result in the destruction of both man and machine.

Whoosh...

The Apocalypse seemed to slightly oscillate in the void, looking more like a spasm, but with this over-frequency maneuver, a miracle happened. It miraculously dodged the Holy Sword Finis's direct thrust, as the two mechas brushed past each other in a flash.

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