During the rest period, the Imperial main team members convened over the comms channel.
"Our hunting ranges are expanding, and we'll inevitably clash with the Federals soon," said Lu Renyang, a third-year. "Based on prior intel, we should avoid large-scale frontal battles with them."
While they might win a direct confrontation, the earlier ambush had revealed something uncanny about the Federals. To avoid an upset, cautious tactics were paramount.
"Hmm… I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" Bai Sha interjected.
"Good news," Cen Yuehuai said decisively.
"The good news is, I've picked up activity signals from a big one—probably because we've cleared most of the surface star insects, and with night approaching, the underground stirrings are getting louder…"
"What do you mean, underground noises?" Cen Yuehuai shuddered. "Can you not spook me?"
"Where do you think we are?" Xino teased. "Every inch of soil beneath us could hide star insects. They rest underground during the day and get active at night. What's strange about that?"
"Speaking of which, something's been bothering me," Kaisin Grez's icy voice cut through the channel. "Since four this afternoon, the star insects' aggression has noticeably dropped. They're not fixated on tearing us apart anymore—it's like they're fleeing, desperate to shake us off."
"…Clearing the way for something nastier?" Cen Yuehuai inhaled sharply.
"I've seen a legendary 'King Insect' on the battlefield," Xino said, frowning slightly. "A monster far beyond 3S-grade, with unknown mental strength limits. They show no mercy, even to their own kind, slaughtering humans and lesser star insects alike. When a King Insect appears, weaker ones either submit or scatter." He paused, then added, "But King Insects are rare. According to this system's monitoring logs, the highest recorded here is a 3S-grade mutated creature—a mutated devil lizard."
Xino hesitated, then continued, "The logs also note that devil lizards rarely appear alone. They have companions."
…More than one 3S-grade mutant?
Cen Yuehuai: "Is that your bad news, Your Highness?"
"No, the bad news is worse," Bai Sha said slowly. "Our rest point is surrounded by mountains, with only a narrow ravine for access to the lower sandy plains. As we noted, it's easy to defend but hard to attack—for humans and star insects."
Cen Yuehuai blinked, confused. "So?"
"So, the Federals' riverbed area is likely a hotspot for star insect activity," Xino said with a shrug.
"And you have the nerve to say that?" Ji Ya rolled her eyes. She was in Xino's squad and turned to him, scolding, "You had access to the monitoring logs—military internal data. You pulled family strings to get them, so why didn't you analyze where 3S-grade devil lizards might show up?"
"My dear lady, this is a barren star, closer to the Federation. Our Imperial soldiers rarely come here. What for, to clear star insects off their border?" Xino sighed. "The logs barely have reliable data, let alone enough for meaningful analysis."
Ji Ya pressed, "If it were me, I'd at least have marked potential spots."
But it was too late for that now.
Killing star insects was one thing, but they also had to watch for the Federals.
On a barren star, every battle required careful resource management. Unlike the Empire's fortified outposts, this place was wide open, with no safe havens. If they tangled with star insects and Federals were nearby, they risked ambushes or stolen kills.
"We need a plan…" Bai Sha mused.
Her gaze landed on Ying Chen, who was engrossed in tinkering with a small mechanical device.
Bai Sha hopped out of her mech's cockpit and patted Ying Chen's shoulder.
Ying Chen looked up, bewildered.
"So, Ying Chen, how's your mech piloting?" Bai Sha asked gently, having learned from past interactions to keep her tone soft.
"Decent," Ying Chen replied flatly.
"Decent? Hardly!" David Fen, Ying Chen's friend, chimed in, grinning as he spilled the beans. "He used to race mechs—not just modding them, he was a competitive pilot. Nearly got scouted for a pro team!"
Bai Sha raised an eyebrow, flashing a wide smile and clapping Ying Chen's shoulder. "Then tonight, how about we swap mechs and you pilot mine?"
Everyone: "…"
Ying Chen looked like he wanted to bolt off the planet. He shot David Fen a furious glance, as if cursing his loose lips. David Fen, desperate to salvage their friendship, stammered to Bai Sha, "Uh, you're the commander, and Ying Chen's just an engineer. Your mechs' firepower isn't even in the same league. That's… not ideal, right?"
Bai Sha's plan was clearly a feint—having Ying Chen pilot her mech and asking about his racing skills screamed "decoy."
"Don't worry. I do need you to pose as me, but not to distract the enemy. On the contrary, their focus will definitely be on me," Bai Sha assured with a smile. "I was worried you wouldn't be up for it, but a racer? You're perfect for this."
It made sense. With Ying Chen's lightning-fast hands, his piloting couldn't be subpar—though combat was another matter.
"I'll assign main team members to escort you, prioritizing your safety," Bai Sha said earnestly. "All you need to do is follow the planned route."
Ying Chen: "…Really, just run the route?"
Bai Sha: "If you want to put it that way, sure."
"Fine," Ying Chen said, his gaze hardening with grim resolve. "I'm in."
David Fen, standing nearby: "…" Ying Chen's "I'm in" sounded suspiciously like a curse.
Bai Sha nodded and began assigning roles. Ying Chen's escorts needed to be strong—or at least look imposing—and fast.
She picked Cen Yuehuai and another main team member with a lightweight mech but felt it wasn't enough. Over the main channel, she asked, "Any main team members confident in their speed?"
A pink gorilla-shaped mech strode up, thumping its chest confidently. "Commander, I'm your guy!"
Bai Sha: "…"
Why did this pink gorilla look so familiar?
Then she noticed the sheathed longsword on its back—pure white with a crimson hilt. Bai Sha realized, belatedly, that it was a weapon she'd designed!
"That's Rosalyn. She was in my squad during the Federal ambush. Her combat style's fierce, and she's fast," Yu Yan vouched. "The Federals' riverbed is separated from our camp by several ridges, and she crosses them like nobody's business."
In a fight, she was as primal as the rest. But when fleeing, while others ran on two legs, she used all four.
Bai Sha made her call. "Alright, Rosalyn, you're in. You're leading this squad."
Next, Bai Sha organized the teams. The first wave: dozens of pilots. The second: a hundred. She set departure times and target locations, then waved them off to prepare. Notably, she assigned most engineers to this group, instructing them to hide critical tools and resources, leaving empty toolboxes in the camp.
Then, she formed a larger team of several hundred, led by Xino and Ji Ya, to cross the ravine and ambush—not Federals, but star insects—in the southeast of their territory.
After her arrangements, the camp was left with fewer people. But with most of the fragile engineers gone, those remaining were seasoned fighters.
…
The sun sank slowly, night's shadow creeping over the mountains. The stark contrast of light and dark sharpened the ridges like blades.
Xino and Ji Ya stood side by side, silently gazing at the vast gray sands below. Their mechs gleamed faintly in the blue-gray night, backed by countless twinkling stars.
Night was nearly upon them.
Soon, the sands in their view began to quiver like boiling water. Each grain seemed to pulse, with thin streams of sand spurting from below.
Ji Ya's brow furrowed. The air's restless mental energy had spiked to an unsettling level.
"Her Highness called it," Xino said, blinking. "How's she that good?"
"Royalty defies common logic," Ji Ya replied, watching three swirling depressions form in the sand. She drew her weapon, a lethal aura rising. "Three at once? This'll take some time."
The commotion would surely reach the Federals.
"Didn't Her Highness plan for this?" Xino said, drawing his blade, a spark of excitement in his voice. Since getting his new mech weapon, he hadn't had a proper fight. "We just need to put these insects in the ground."
Boom!
Sand surged.
A seven-to-eight-meter mutated devil lizard erupted from the earth, its body armored in black scales and deep blue patterns. Two sharp spines, like hooked horns, protruded above its eyes.
Its crimson eyes locked onto a student on the ridge, its slime-coated tongue shooting out like a spring.
Xino flipped his blade, sliding down the ridge, and severed the lizard's tongue with one swing.
The lizard tilted its head, its tail quivering. Its blue patterns seemed to come alive, unleashing a burst of toxic blue mist.
Ji Ya was about to jump in when Xino's blade flashed, his spinning strike whipping up a gust that dispersed the mist.
His blade dripped with condensed venom, steaming faintly, but his mech was barely touched.
Xino leaped high, driving his blade deep into the lizard's neck.
Could a devil lizard be poisoned by its own venom?
Clearly not.
The lizard roared, thrashing wildly. Xino, perched on its back, deployed his wings, soaring back, landing, and slashing its belly.
As two larger lizards struggled free from the sand, Xino gaped briefly, then grinned. "A family of three? Perfect—more points for us."
Ji Ya chuckled, assigning a team to guard the area, then led the rest charging down the cliff.
…
Meanwhile, Dai Sheng was leading his main team to mop up the last mutated snakes. Their area was riddled with caves housing rattlesnakes and other species, but none posed much trouble.
His final strike plunged into a mutant's spine, twisting to sever a white nerve bundle before withdrawing.
Mutated snakes could attack even after death. Disabling their spinal nerves, not their hearts, was the surest way to stop them—a lesson the Federals learned through costly mistakes.
The last snake crashed down, venom mingling with blood.
"Commander, major activity in the southeast!" a team member shouted over the channel. "Three mutated devil lizards—3S-grade prey. The Imperials are already engaging!"
Dai Sheng's brow furrowed. "Three?! Were our scouts blind? They let the Imperials get the jump!"
"3S-grade prey will take even the Imperials time to handle. The sand sea's close—if we move fast, we can reach it in seven minutes," a Federal student said eagerly. "Commander, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—this is our shot!"
They could strike while the Imperials were busy, stealing kills or eliminating pilots.
Dai Sheng hesitated.
Ambushing the Imperials at the sand sea… what were the odds of success? The losses?
The outcome might not be what he wanted.
A faint ruthlessness glinted in his eyes.
Then, another report came: "More Imperials spotted! A squad of about thirty, heading northwest toward the mountains at full speed—including their commander!"
The Imperial commander was on the move?
There must be a tougher, more valuable target in the northwest.
Though the commander's squad likely included elite pilots, if they trailed quietly and wiped them out…
Dai Sheng's pulse quickened. He nearly gave the order to pursue but stopped himself.
"It's a trap," he said coldly after five seconds. "They're luring us. More Imperial teams will follow. If we chase, they'll use high-grade star insects to disrupt us and flank us with their main force."
"—Monitor their camp. Ignore their commander."
Even if he didn't bite, the two Imperial squads rushing to the battlefield would likely secure their target quickly—a win for them, explaining their bold ploy.
Two minutes later, the scouts reported back.
"…You were right," a student said. "The Imperials sent reinforcements after the northwest squad—two waves, nearly two hundred pilots!"
Then, booming cannon fire echoed from the northwest. Even from a distance, red glows and smoke curled across the sky.
The Imperials were clearly deep in combat with star insects.
From the day's scores, Dai Sheng had guessed the Imperials had some method to pinpoint star insects. How else could the score gap be so wide in one day? With their advanced genetics and tech, precise tracking wasn't far-fetched.
But that meant sticking to honest insect-hunting would only lead to a Federal loss.
To win, they had to eliminate most of the Imperials. Then victory would be theirs.
A sudden idea struck Dai Sheng. "How many are left in the Imperial camp?"
"About two hundred," a scout replied. "…Lots of toolboxes. Mostly engineers. They left their engineers behind."
Indeed, engineers were little use in life-or-death insect battles. The Imperials, deploying nearly their full force in a blitz tactic, likely sustained minimal mech damage.
Dai Sheng's eyebrow twitched.
A golden opportunity!
Eliminating most Imperial engineers would tilt the game heavily in their favor.
"Gather our main team—we're attacking their camp," Dai Sheng said, barely containing his excitement. "We'll take out their engineers and seize resources, maybe even hostages!"
"I object," a clear, youthful voice cut through the channel. "Commander, attacking their camp is falling into a trap. The northwest situation's unclear, the southeast lizards won't last long, and their camp's in a defensible ravine. If we go, their main force could return and trap us like fish in a barrel."
Dai Sheng froze, then snapped, "Ya Ning Kelly, you're just a perimeter sweeper. Do your job." Still, he asked, "Noch, how many pilots are in their camp?"
"I saw tons of toolboxes… fewer than a hundred combat pilots!" Noch shouted excitedly.
Dai Sheng's lips curled.
"No better chance than this."
He ordered, "Assemble and strike!"
"I don't agree—" Ya Ning shouted again, only to find no record of his message. He'd been muted by his commander.
"What kind of guy is this?!" Ya Ning fumed. "Rushing into an obvious trap? Doesn't he have that fancy intelligent system? Can't he run a simulation?"
"Dai Sheng's stubborn. Even with the system's help, he won't let it outshine him," Yan Jingyi snorted, flicking blood off her blade. She and dozens of unlinked students were assigned to perimeter patrols, now ordered to monitor the southeast sand sea and block Imperial reinforcements.
"He's got some sense, but not much," Ya Ning sighed, shaking his head. "What about the northwest? Ignoring it?"
"The northwest's been roaring with cannons, and didn't you hear? Sasha's there. Probably a high-value target," Yan Jingyi said.
Ya Ning paused. "What if it's fake?"
Yan Jingyi laughed. "They've got ammo to burn for a ruse?"
Meanwhile, in the northwest battlefield.
Ying Chen fired two sonic bombs at the open ground.
Behind him, a row of mechs sported his jury-rigged resonance conductors.
Boom! Boom!
The soundwaves hit the conductor barrier, redirecting toward the mountains, angled to ensure the Federals heard it clearly.
Nearby, Cen Yuehuai and a squad of lightweight mech pilots darted about, spraying black smoke grenades.
An engineer wielded a flame gun, shooting bursts skyward. One gun couldn't mimic a fiery sky, but with a modified, large-scale holo-projector…
"This job's easier than I thought," Cen Yuehuai said, firing more smoke grenades and reloading. She turned to Ying Chen. "Her Highness told us not to skimp on ammo, and now it's even more convincing than planned! Good thing we brought you engineers. Tech makes all the difference!"