Chapter 57: Angel Eliminated?

“Haha, Angel, take my hammer!”

Lu Ling, seeing her suddenly close by, drew his second mech—the Earth Hammer—and swung it fiercely toward Angel. Judging by the force in his grip, he showed no mercy just because she was the squad leader.

“Hmph!” Angel tilted slightly, dodging the blow, then countered with a slash aimed at Lu Ling’s waist.

“Bang!” The strike missed, and the massive hammerhead left a small crater in the ground. Seeing the sword coming, Lu Ling only grinned, dropped the hammer for the moment, and switched to holding a shield with both hands. He then thrust it forcefully at the sword’s tip.

“Clang clang!” The shield clashed against the sword. The impact made Angel’s slender frame shudder, the force pushing her back.

“Die!” At that moment, Tuoba Lin arrived. His golden gauntlet gleamed as he swung a punch directly at Angel’s forehead.

The terrifying power behind the blow could have shattered Angel’s small head if it connected.

“Step!”

At the critical moment, Angel sprang upward, landing behind Tuoba Lin and thrusting her blade into his back. Just as she seemed about to succeed, Tuoba Lin spun around, lifted his shield, and slammed it into her.

“Bang!”

The attack missed, the shield’s corner cracking the pavement beneath. Tuoba Lin followed with a powerful punch aimed at Angel’s chest.

Nearby, Lu Ling refused to be outdone, gripping the giant hammer and joining Tuoba Lin in a relentless assault on the elusive Angel.

Meanwhile, Nangong Kexin was in even graver danger. Under Mo Qing’s relentless, rain-like barrage, she was like a fragile leaf, ready to be crushed at any moment.

“Clang!”

The long blade struck Nangong Kexin’s spear again. Already wounded, she finally lost her grip, the spear flying from her hands to the roadside.

“Heh heh, should I kill you now, or keep you alive a little longer?” Mo Qing smirked, then kicked Nangong Kexin sharply in the abdomen, sending her flying.

“Bang!”

Nangong Kexin curled up on the ground, trembling. The searing pain in her abdomen left her gasping for breath.

Angel’s eyes flicked toward Mo Qing, who raised her long blade to strike the fallen Nangong Kexin. Alarmed, Angel prepared to intervene.

But Tuoba Lin and Lu Ling clung tightly to her, preventing her escape. At last, Angel’s fury ignited.

Her Blade of the Waning Wind suddenly glowed with an azure light. Accelerating wildly, she swung it toward Lu Ling’s head.

Lu Ling didn’t dare slacken; he lifted his shield to block—but Angel twisted aside, slipping behind him before he could react. With a swift horizontal slash, the blue blade carved a bloody wound across his back.

Enraged, Tuoba Lin stomped the ground, channeling all his strength into his right arm, and slammed a fierce punch at Angel.

“Boom!”

At the moment the fist came down, Angel leapt away, evading the blow. Tuoba Lin’s punch struck the pavement, leaving a deep imprint.

“Damn it!” Tuoba Lin spun around and noticed Angel hadn’t yet landed. His eyes widened as the blue sword in her hand suddenly vanished, replaced by a pitch-black heavy machine gun over eighty centimeters long.

“Third mech? How… is this possible?” Shocked, he shouted, “Mo Qing, fall back!”

The entire sequence happened in a flash. Just as Mo Qing was about to strike, Angel pulled the trigger.

Hearing her leader’s voice, Mo Qing hesitated and turned toward her—but the moment she did, she saw a hail of yellow bullets spraying toward her. Terror seized her, and she shuddered violently as she retreated rapidly.

“Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat…”

The yellow bullets pierced the ground, leaving rows of tiny holes. Angel adjusted her aim continuously, firing at the frantic Mo Qing.

“Ah… Boss, save me!”

Mo Qing’s face went pale as death. If not for Tuoba Lin’s timely warning, she would have been riddled by the machine gun’s fire—a weapon said to be unstoppable even by shields.

Tuoba Lin’s expression darkened. Gritting his teeth, he charged at Angel, shield raised, hoping to seize the moment while she was encumbered by the heavy machine gun.

But Angel, with reflexes honed to perfection, anticipated his move.

Before he could close the distance, Angel swiveled the gun’s barrel and opened fire on Tuoba Lin.

“Rat-a-tat-tat…”

“Bang bang bang bang…”

When the bullets struck his shield, Tuoba Lin realized he couldn’t advance at all. What had been a five-meter gap was forced back to over fifteen meters by the dense gunfire. Even more terrifying, his shield began to fade, as if it would disappear into the spatial ring at any moment.

“This is over!” Tuoba Lin’s face twisted in horror. The instant his shield vanished, he would be riddled with bullets, eliminated from the fight.

The coveted top student spot at Lo’an University—and his dream of becoming an elite mech pilot—would be lost forever.

The thought made his expression grim and desperate. He never imagined he’d end up like this…

“Shhh!” Sure enough, the shield faltered and began to vanish. Lu Ling lay gravely wounded, unable to rise. Mo Qing was tens of meters away, powerless to assist.

“Boom!”

Just as the shield dissipated, a red projectile nearly as thick as an arm streaked through the night, exploding toward Angel.

“Angel, watch out!” Nangong Kexin, now on her feet, narrowed her eyes and shouted.

Angel twisted and broke apart just as the shell slammed in, detonating with a thunderous roar.

“Boom boom!”

The explosion reduced Angel’s position to ash. Within a three-meter radius, a towering mushroom cloud rose, blast waves smashing the surrounding road and buildings. The blinding red light left a deep, circular crater in the earth.

“Angel…” Nangong Kexin’s face drained of color as she rushed to the site.

Tuoba Lin knelt on the ground, gasping and pale, still shaken from nearly being eliminated moments before.

“Boss, are you okay?” Mo Qing hurried over, helping Tuoba Lin to his feet, her voice frantic.

“Hahaha! Boss, how about that shot?”

At that moment, Liu Ze approached from a distance, a nearly one-meter-long cannon sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. Grinning, he addressed Tuoba Lin.

He’d been sniping from afar all along, unable to use the cannon rifle while Angel and the others fought up close, waiting for the perfect moment.

Looking at the deep crater nearby, Tuoba Lin eyed Liu Ze carefully. He’d thought the weapon was a sniper rifle but hadn’t expected a cannon sniper. Fortunately, this kid had saved him in the nick of time.

His expression hardened as he clenched his fists, leading Mo Qing toward Nangong Kexin.

“As long as we kill you here, we can avenge Xiao Feng!”