The Sky Ladder battlefield was set, with the rankings for the top eight slots determined.

Handsome Lad VS Raymond

Black Blade VS War King Mansfield

Sky Shadow VS Bruce

Dilia VS Lin

When Raymond saw the ranking results, his heart was filled with a mix of helplessness and regret. Even though he was facing a high-level internal contest, but he had to give it his best shot. Even if the odds were slim, he had no choice. He would have to face these opponents sooner or later anyway.

Just as Raymond was considering his strategy, his Heavenly Communication device suddenly rang. A direct call from the government was a rare occurrence, prompting him to straighten up and answer the call solemnly.

After ten seconds, Raymond could hardly believe his ears. "What? Lay down my arms? Why?"

"Raymond, watch your tone!" General Heller quickly warned Raymond to mind his words.

The voice on the other end of the Heavenly Communication remained steady despite Raymond's outburst, as if expecting this reaction. "Sorry, but we can't disclose any reasons. Raymond, the Military Department hopes you will cooperate willingly. We certainly understand your predicament…"

Despite his efforts, Raymond could not understand why he, a mere newly popularized soldier, would be asked to lay down his arms. He was unable to conceal his anger, Superpowered abilities or not, the excuses given by the Military Department were always the same: it was classified military information. And if Raymond refused to comply, the Department would have someone enforce the order.

Even General Heller was filled with anger upon hearing this news. What the hell is the Military Department thinking? Raymond used to be indifferent to everything, but now things were different. He had been working diligently towards improving his skills and was determined to become a Revenge Shadow Rider. Such determination and spirit were valuable attributes. Yet, the foolish higher-ups wanted to ruin it all for some indescribably ridiculous reason.

Unfortunately, unlike Feng Yi, the Special Envoy, General Heller did not have the authority to directly contact the highest leadership. In his rage, he dialed the main government building directly. The call was transferred multiple times until it got to General Patch, the highest authority he could reach. The sigh of resignation from the other end was a clear indication that General Patch too was at a loss. He explained that the decision was unanimously approved.

Upon receiving a response, General Heller's rage decreased slightly. But how could those bastards understand the emotions of the frontline soldiers?

Looking at the battlefield, Raymond's battle was less than 5 minutes away. He still couldn't understand why the higher-ups wanted him to lay down arms. Were they so afraid that Mengdie would lose that they wanted to keep their hypocritical reputation intact? This seemed impossible. Mengdie was a top fighter who could go head to head with the Sword Dragon. She wouldn't lose to him. At least they should have given him a clear explanation!

Damn it, those bastards!

In his unending anger, Raymond felt like he had let himself down. He felt guilty towards the viewers of Zana, and everyone who had ever supported him. But the person he felt most ashamed to face was Anonymous, the one who could have easily defeated him. Anonymous had encouraged him when he made progress, and even conceded the fight out of respect for his improvements.

How much he wished to have a conversation with Anonymous. Just one...

Five minutes passed in an instant, and Raymond was online. His eyes were calm, despite the deafening noise from the audience.

During the mecha selection process, he didn't choose the front-line mecha of Zana, the Earth. Instead, he chose the Federation's Assembly Mecha, the same model that Anonymous had used before.

Many Zana viewers were puzzled, while some spies and trolls accused him of treason. Why would he pick a Federation Mecha over one from Zana? Few speculated that Raymond had acquired some insights from his fight with Anonymous and decided to use the same mecha.

Of course, Mengdie had no idea about Raymond's intentions. All she knew was that Raymond had been ordered to lay down his arms during their fight. That was sufficient for her to know. Her role now was to showcase her piloting skills as much as possible. Even though she was not yet among the top-ranked pilots, her ancient martial arts talent allowed her to pilot a mecha effectively. And naturally, this all demanded a good acting performance.

With an emotionless expression, Mengdie looked at her beautiful figure reflected in the cockpit mirror and made a contrasting statement through the loudspeaker, "Come on, I'm waiting for you."

So, she was inviting him to proceed, huh? Raymond flashed a grisly smile. Why had he chosen the Assembly model but remained motionless? Of course, he was rallying his emotions for the fight. He might lose and even be disgraced. But that didn't matter. At least, he would respond to Anonymous in his own way. Whether he would be utterly defeated was up to Mengdie's skill.

The countdown to the battle began, 10, 9, 8, 3, 2, 1…

"Roar!"

Accompanied by a thundering roar, Raymond's eyes turned blood red and he charged at Mengdie, piloting the Assembly Mecha. He skimmed the ground in a low-altitude charge and the Mecha's feet almost scraped the ground as it took off. Amidst the dust, the Assembly Mecha swung its titanium alloy sword and delivered a swift, horizontal cutting attack.

Dedicated to Anonymous, this was Raymond's only choice. Even if he lost, he wouldn't go down without a fight. As a warrior, this was his way to respond to Anonymous.

As Raymond hurtled toward her, the pressure of his approach stirred waves of emotion in the usually nonchalant Mengdie.

("Such a fearsome aura...") Mengdie quickly retreated in her Earth Mecha, but Raymond was faster, and his brute force attacks came relentlessly one after another.

However, the Earth model was faster than Raymond's Mecha, and it managed to dodge all of Raymond's attacks in an instant.

As a user of ancient martial arts, Mengdie's reaction time far exceeded that of Raymond's. However, her hand movements couldn't be considered fast. It was mostly a last-minute reaction. Raymond's attack had taken Mengdie by surprise.

An ordinary person might not understand how dangerous Raymond's sudden slashing could be, even if their piloting skills were a couple of tiers higher than Mengdie's.

Mengdie, however, was different. Her understanding of ancient martial arts, the aura of the battlefield, and the intricacies of killing far surpassed anyone present. The simplicity and strength of Raymond's attack indicated that he was risking his life. It was a genuinely lethal blow. In addition, Mengdie was an X Ability User with water attributes. She was extremely sensitive to murderous intent. She was eighty percent sure that if she had attempted to block the attack, she would have been finished.

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