Chapter 334: Chapter 210: The Return (Second Update)_2

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The speed-enhanced mecha had discarded most of its armaments and chosen chips that increased its velocity.

However, to compensate for the lack of attack power typically associated with agile mechas, Xiemen Waidao chose a corrosion dagger as his weapon, which could corrode the opponent’s mecha. Although the initial damage was not high, with multiple hits, the damage would gradually increase, leading to a massive burst of damage in the end.

In terms of appearance, this mecha looked somewhat delicate and slender; its brown paint and the material of the armor made it look like an enchanted tree person. It was anyone’s guess why he would choose such armor.

After staring at Xiemen Waidao’s armor for a while, Monkey asked with confusion, “Why is there such an odd combination of equipment? Everything seems unnatural.”

“I looked at the description of Xiemen Waidao’s mecha… It’s something that Mukuai 1234 made for him. To have an NPC help design a mecha for such an important occasion, Xiemen Waidao is quite the romantic,” said someone.

“I don’t think this is a place to show off your love. Anyway, forget about Xiemen Waidao; let’s look at Liuzi’s mecha… What is Liuzi doing again?”

Liuzi’s mecha was golden, and at first glance, it appeared massive, mighty in structure, although the golden material of the mecha’s exterior was somewhat straining on the eyes.

Wang Say Games picked up Liuzi’s information and read, “Oh, it seems like it’s the joint NPC friend, Goddess of Art, who did the paint job for both him and Xiemen Waidao. Pfft, this thing’s anything but artistic! Is she really the Goddess of Art? I think a first-grader could do a better job. And can someone tell me why there is a hedgehog without spikes on the shoulder of his mecha? And why does it seem like it’s staring at me? I can’t, I’m dying of laughter.”

After both sides were ready, the countdown to the start began.

With the countdown ending at “3, 2, 1,” the highest level of mecha fighting at this stage began.

Xiemen Waidao, abandoning his usual sleazy and despicable style, took the lead as soon as the countdown ended and charged at Liuzi.

The knife, emitting a purple glow, was held in his hand as he dashed toward Liuzi almost instantaneously, and then came a fierce slash to the face.

His speed was like a bolt of lightning, but Liuzi was quick to react as well.

Using his shield, Liuzi blocked the incoming dagger and spoke through the microphone, “Xiemen Waidao, you can’t just have this up your sleeve. Show me your real skills!”

Pushing Xiemen Waidao away, Liuzi charged toward his opponent while pulling the Gauss Greatsword from behind him.

The greatsword appeared to be still, but its surface was trembling incessantly. The high-frequency vibrating greatsword could slice through most mechas in an instant, making it one of the best weapons for wide area assaults.

“Do you see it now?”

Xiemen Waidao smiled, and his green paint began to fall to the ground, transforming into green marks where it landed and immediately corroding the ground into muddy pits.

Creating an isolation zone, Xiemen Waidao flung corrosion steel needles that carried his signature corrosion at Liuzi while the latter was defending with his shield. Xiemen Waidao then dashed forward, leaping over the isolation area to get in front of Liuzi. The dagger in his hand kept slicing, leaving behind corrosive wounds on Liuzi’s mecha.

Seeing this, Wang couldn’t help but say, “Xiemen Waidao actually has skill, unbelievable!”

“Just because he’s despicable doesn’t mean you can ignore his skill. Though I’m quite surprised too,” Monkey commented carefully, watching Xiemen Waidao’s movements. “After the match, I want to fight him myself. Should be possible, right?”

“Well… just take it easy.”

“I will.”

After suffering three slices, Liuzi started swinging his sword to push Xiemen Waidao back, but Xiemen Waidao didn’t retreat. Instead, he leaped high, stepping directly on Liuzi’s greatsword, causing Liuzi to lose balance instantly.

Xiemen Waidao revealed a victorious smile, his two daggers striking with precision into the previously corroded wounds. The corrosion spread further inside, rotting Liuzi’s mecha from within.

Just when it seemed like it was over, Liuzi too smiled.

Casting away his own hands, he spun around, kicked, and discarded his hydraulic legs, transforming them into his final weapon. He kicked Xiemen Waidao in half and then crushed his opponent’s head with another kick, continuing until Xiemen Waidao was completely dead.

Loud cheers erupted. Liuzi’s supporters shouted their praise at this moment, enhancing the fervent atmosphere even further.

“`

Although he lost a match, Xiemen Waidao was indifferent.

As the second scene, the rainforest, appeared, Xiemen Waidao nodded slightly, making a rather underhanded choice of the existing mecha, and then switched all chips to stealth mode.

Seeing the opponent’s choice, the audience all inwardly cursed their bad luck.

Was this going to be another bladder-testing match?

However, Xiemen Waidao seemed to realize that it wasn’t the time for such tricks, and it was better to play it straight.

He detected Liuzi’s position and began to approach him.

The green mecha almost blended in with the surroundings; the sound of the river was cunningly muted, and as Xiemen Waidao moved through the swamp, he made almost no noise, displaying excellent control that even a monkey would acknowledge with a nod.

Although Liuzi had chosen a mecha suited to the rainforest, Xiemen Waidao’s adaptability was even stronger, and by the time Liuzi realized it, the opponent had already closed in on his position and pierced his cooling tube with a thrust.

After that, things were easier; Liuzi, without a cooling tube, began to heat up gradually. Even though he managed to shatter Xiemen Waidao’s shoulder in retaliation, Xiemen Waidao took the opportunity to retreat and slowly wore him down to death.

A tie at one-to-one brought the match to a deciding point and increased the tension of the battle.

The final scene was the arena, the most classic setting of all and least dependent on the environment, where both stepped into the ring with their favorite mechas at this decisive moment.

When the countdown ended, they rushed at each other without hesitation, unleashing their power with their fists.

Through the external holographic projection, the audience witnessed the most exhilarating combat feast.

Components flew through the air, sparks leaped, and they abandoned some of the fancier chips, with every chosen chip serving the battle.

Interestingly, their chip setups were identical.

As their health dwindled, the special effects of the chips kicked in, causing both combatants to swell in size, growing larger as their health bars shrank.

By the time their health bars turned red, they had reached planetary size, two unmatched titans battling it out amidst the stars, with passing comets serving as their weapons. After capturing them with assist chips, they hurled them fiercely at each other’s heads.

The apocalyptic battle thrilled the audience, and after fifteen minutes of spectacular combat, it ended with Xiemen Waidao’s defeat.

Looking at Xiemen Waidao on the ground, Liuzi silently considered himself lucky.

If not for a ray of starlight that had just happened to shine from behind, distracting the opponent, he might not have been able to strike the other, leaving the outcome unpredictable.

To prevent Xiemen Waidao from pulling any last-minute tricks, Liuzi forcefully damaged his opponent’s armor until the referee declared the match over.

Drenched in sweat, Liuzi stumbled out of the VR unit, making his way to the opposite side, where he saw an equally exhausted Xiemen Waidao emerge.

He wanted to say something biting, but the fifteen-minute fight had drained all of Liuzi’s strength. Barely managing a handshake, he couldn’t utter a word, which made Liuzi feel incredibly frustrated.

The two exhausted players slumped on the award podium became the memorial photo for the first “Spirit Vessel” tournament and made Fang Cheng Studio decide that future matches must not be drawn out too long, or else the competitors wouldn’t stand it.

Although the competition had ended, the distribution of prizes and subsequent financial settlements took some time.

Finally back in Rong City, the team took a week off before continuing to work on the subsequent versions of “Spirit Vessel,” aiming to let players experience the storyline mode, which was originally intended to be the third mode.

Once the storyline mode was released, Fang Cheng played through the game and found everything unfolding as he had envisioned.

It seemed like the right time to attempt enlightenment.