Watching the black mecha, still unscathed amid the smoke and dust, Ye Lan couldn’t help but blame his own incompetence.
If he had been able to personally pilot the Wolf Spider tank and focus repeated attacks on a single part of the mecha, it would never have remained unharmed.
“Lan! Watch out!”
Out of nowhere, Ye Lan seemed to hear Su Lixiao’s voice, snapping him back to reality.
Though he hadn’t paralyzed the black mecha, he had dealt a real blow.
And this damage significantly fueled his hatred.
The black mecha had no rationality, but it could discern who posed the greatest threat.
It immediately abandoned Su Lixiao and charged toward Ye Lan.
Simultaneously, its missile nest opened, unleashing a torrent of rockets at the Wolf Spider tank.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Relying on its shields and armor, the Wolf Spider tank acted like a barricade, shielding Ye Lan from the rocket onslaught, though it might not withstand the next attack.
Seeing that the long-range assault could not pierce the tank’s defense, the black mecha hurled its battle axe toward it.
The spinning power axe, brimming with tremendous kinetic energy, sliced the Wolf Spider tank in half as easily as cutting butter, turning it into two heaps of scrap metal.
Sparks erupted violently at the severed section, signaling an imminent self-destruction.
“Boom!”
Even with preparations to resist the shockwave, Ye Lan was blasted away.
He didn’t stop until he smashed through several walls, coughing up blood and feeling his internal organs shift.
Even with the energy shield protecting him, lacking sufficient physical armor meant the force hit him solidly.
Fortunately, the black mecha targeted the much larger tank, sparing Ye Lan and buying Su Lixiao precious time.
Shouted from afar, Su Lixiao called, “Lan, you really are an idiot!”
Of course, she knew who the mecha was attacking.
Challenging a steel giant with a mortal body was like an mayfly trying to shake a tree—suicidal.
But under the tank’s 120mm smoothbore fire, the red mist surrounding the black mecha dissipated.
With the red mist gone, the mecha was left with only its armor.
Its armor was already on the brink of collapse.
At this moment, the black mecha only needed one final push—like the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Su Lixiao gripped her lightsaber tightly.
She understood Ye Lan’s efforts and knew she could not miss this rare opportunity.
Calming her mind, she whispered, “Nine-Form: Destruction Army!”
Massive psychic energy caused her long hair to lift as if in windless motion.
The golden glow of her blade burst forth, dimming everything around her.
“Bang!”
Her figure vanished, leaving only cracked ground behind.
The immense force carried an equal counterforce, propelling her instantly behind the black mecha.
Her lightsaber struck the mecha’s missile nest with the speed and power of a thunderstrike.
“Boom!”
The blade infused the mecha with tremendous energy, causing the missile nest to explode violently.
At the last moment of the missile nest’s destruction, it fired a final cruise missile, disappearing into the clouds.
The explosion made the black mecha stagger but did not halt its charge.
Su Lixiao knew she had to stop it.
She leapt from its shoulder, landed, and charged again.
This time, she drove her blazing lightsaber into the mecha’s leg.
“Boom!”
The leg, long without shield protection, shattered completely under her attack.
Losing a leg, the charging mecha immediately toppled.
“Boom!”
It struggled to rise, but another explosion shattered the second leg.
With only its arms remaining, the mecha seemed to understand it could not stand.
The red glow of its electronic eyes faded, and the entire machine went silent.
Standing atop the mecha, Su Lixiao surveyed her fallen foe.
She appeared like a deity descending, having turned the tide entirely.
“Crack—shatter—”
Her lightsaber, overwhelmed by weight, broke into sparks in the wind.
Meanwhile, rotorcraft whirred overhead.
Suspension cables unspooled from the cabins, dropping armed drones to surround the black mecha.
Wolf Spider tanks emerged from the ruins, escorting additional mecha to the battlefield.
Their cannons aimed at the now-disabled black mecha and the girl atop it.
“Wasn’t this mecha already considered ‘knocked down’?”
“Its shields were removed; that violates the rules.”
“That girl—is she a freshman?”
“Did she defeat the mecha single-handedly?”
“The psychic intensity wasn’t fake.”
“Incredible.”
All eyes focused on the girl who had vanquished the mecha, ignoring Ye Lan several kilometers away.
Ye Lan staggered to his feet, clutching his shoulder.
He gazed at the radiant figure under the spotlight.
Though the black mecha had fallen through his and her joint efforts, he felt no resentment.
Because that was Su Lixiao.
The future S-Class psychic of the Human Alliance, the only human capable of transcending life and death, perceiving past and future.
The applause and praise now were hers to claim—and a mere prelude to her future glory.
Though the black mecha was down, the battle was not fully over.
Ye Lan looked up.
A fast-moving glint approached him—a cruise missile fired by the black mecha.
He had anticipated this, but could not counter it.
He was battered, his sniper rifle damaged, and had no way to respond.
In pain, his mind was clear, fully aware he could not escape the blast radius.
This distant explosion would not draw attention to the bystanders, nor link it to the mecha.
Ye Lan accepted his fate.
He lay among the rubble, watching the cruise missile descend.
“Boom!”
The missile exploded near him.
Pain became his only sensation.
A solid blue barrier protected him, preventing fatal injury and stabilizing his wounds temporarily.
Yet, amid the ocean of agony, a small sense of relief reached him.
He had done everything he could to buy Su Lixiao time and lay the groundwork for her counterattack.
For the first time, he had truly protected her.
And this was only the beginning, not the end.
He watched Su Lixiao break from the crowd, running anxiously toward him.
He knew she called his name, but could not rise to meet her.
‘Since I promised to protect you, I will not end my path of atonement until my life ends.’
Ye Lan closed his eyes, letting darkness seep into his consciousness.