Meanwhile, the Imperial and Federal live streams were a spectacle of their own.
Viewers overheard the teams' tactical discussions and witnessed every moment on the battlefield.
Though nothing was set in stone, the audience had largely pieced together the Imperial team's gambit.
The Imperial stream erupted with gleeful chaos.
[I'm dying—our commander's feint is just too slick!]
[The moment she swapped mechs with an engineer and told him to just sprint, I had a bad feeling… What kind of job is that? Turns out it's all a bluff!]
[Props to our engineers' tech skills. This move was pure genius—Federals got played, and they can't even complain!]
[LOL, the Federals are charging the Imperial camp. That's a cliff they're running toward!]
In stark contrast, the Federal stream was a mix of fiery outrage and mournful despair, all united in cursing their commander.
[I—! What the—!]
[Officially declaring this commander an idiot. Done.]
[Seriously, you just charge in like that? You didn't send anyone to check the northwest?]
[To the guy above, even if he sent scouts, it'd be pointless. The Imperials sent three waves northwest, forming three defensive lines. No Federal scout could break through to see the real situation. Even if the Imperials are just setting off fireworks, we'd think they're fighting star insects.]
[Sure, but he didn't even try to scout!]
[Anyone else think something's fishy? Why didn't he consider something so obvious?]
[He thinks he's the smartest guy in the room. Does a fool need a reason to be foolish?]
[I'm done! He hesitated when scouts reported Imperials heading northwest, didn't chase, and when they sent reinforcements, he probably patted himself on the back for dodging a trap. Bro, you're out here outsmarting thin air and getting cocky about it?]
[What if it was a trap…]
[What trap? All those engineers are sitting ducks!]
[You're forgetting the reinforcements behind them! And you sure our pilots can even take their engineers? Imperials are crawling with S-grades—most of their team's probably double-S.]
The chat fell briefly silent.
Then the white text box flared back to life:
[I—! Federal commander's a—!]
[This is so embarrassing. Too embarrassing. It's about to be a horror show—I can't watch. Closing the stream to cool off. Catch y'all later.]
[R.I.P.]
Someone started it, and soon the Federal stream stopped cursing their commander, replaced by rows of lit candles.
…
On the barren star's arena.
Dai Sheng rallied his team at top speed, racing toward the Imperial camp.
Midway, they faced a treacherous ravine—the key to the camp's defensible position.
Dai Sheng signaled a halt.
The deep valley loomed, silent and foreboding.
"Commander, how do we get up?"
A standard march would require frequent thruster use, making a racket.
"We climb differently," Dai Sheng said, his gaze fixed on the rock walls. "Everyone, connect to the MechSync System."
At his command, blue light flickered across his soldiers' mechs, their optical visors streaming blue data.
In an instant, the mechs formed a formation, blades slicing into the rock, scaling upward. The first wave secured footholds, and the second used their comrades' shoulders and torsos as steps, climbing higher.
Like ants, they layered over one another, advancing methodically, astonishingly fast, toward the ravine's crest.
Just as the Federal mechs neared the top, a rustling sound broke the silence—a group of Imperial students appeared, encircling the cliff's edge!
The Federals looked up, meeting the Imperials' gazes. For a moment, the scene froze.
The lead black Imperial mech flashed a thumbs-up at the Federals, then flipped it downward.
"Get down."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A ring of hidden explosives detonated.
Blasts scattered sand and stone. In the swirling dust, both sides opened fire.
Dai Sheng led the charge. The Imperial lead mech fired laser rounds with casual precision, each aimed at his mech's joints—
"—!"
Dai Sheng tensed, but a nearby Federal mech, as if controlled, lunged in front of him, absorbing the shots with its frame.
"!" Dai Sheng, still shaken, saw the system report the mech had sustained moderate damage. Many mechs near the blast zone were hit.
"Would you like to activate auto-formation mode?" a calm, mechanical male voice asked in his ear.
Dai Sheng gritted his teeth and declined.
"Charge! We take this pass!" Dai Sheng shouted, monitoring the system's casualty reports while ordering his team to push through the barrage. When a mech was critically hit and immobilized, the next used it as a "shield" to deflect incoming fire.
With their numbers, the Federals soon breached the Imperial defensive line.
"Capture them!" Dai Sheng ordered. "There must be engineers among them!"
But who were the engineers?
The Imperial mechs carried only basic laser and ray guns, slipping through the Federal assault like eels. Though forced back, few were injured.
A Federal squad leader sensed something off and reported, "Commander, these guys don't fight like engineers. Their moves are similar to the ones who ambushed us at the rocky flats…"
"Similar moves, but their attack power's way weaker," another leader noted. "And their style's restrained, like engineers."
Dai Sheng ignored them, curtly ordering a regroup, then contacted the southeast scouting team.
"What's the situation in the southeast?"
"All the devil lizards are down. We're engaging the Imperials," Zhou Ye's voice came through, his breathing uneven from combat. "We lack the numbers to hold off their reinforcements. Commander, send more troops."
Dai Sheng: "How many do you need?"
Zhou Ye named a figure.
"Impossible," Dai Sheng snapped, pursuing Imperials in his mech. "We just broke through the toughest barrier. Splitting our forces now would ruin everything."
He asked bluntly, "How long can you hold?"
Zhou Ye: "Ten minutes, max."
Based on prior scout reports, traveling from the southeast sand sea to the camp, even at full speed, would take over ten minutes.
The timelines aligned. Success… or nothing.
"Then my order is—fight to the death," Dai Sheng said, his eyes cold, his voice icy over the comms. "If you can't hold them for ten minutes, it's on you!"
"…"
The Federal stream flared with curses again.
[What is this?! He's hell-bent on the wrong path, and nothing can stop him!]
[They ambushed you, and you didn't sense anything off??]
[Everyone, switch to the southeast sand sea perspective. It's wild.]
Many, fed up with Dai Sheng's decisions, jumped to the southeast battlefield stream.
Upon entering, they saw two mechs wielding lightsabers, sliding through an Imperial fire encirclement, charging into their formation.
The pair moved in perfect sync, engines at full throttle, their relentless blitz forcing Imperial students back. Like butterflies weaving through flames, they dodged attack trajectories, their silver wings intermittently spewing fiery bursts. Their lightsabers sliced Imperial mech shells—not fatal, but enough to demand respect.
It was Zhou Ye and Yan Jingyi, fighting side by side.
They carved through the encirclement with the ferocity of lone warriors, untouchable and unstoppable.
[Is it just me, or are these two insanely strong?]
[Holding off a dozen Imperials in a siege? Yeah, that's insane!]
[But it's a drop in the bucket…]
[Isn't the real insanity that students this strong are being used as cannon fodder?]
The stream resumed its ritual of roasting the Federal commander.
Zhou Ye swung his sword, repelling nearby Imperials. His breathing remained steady—an anomaly in itself.
If he wasn't mistaken, the two Imperial main team leaders in the southeast stood at the perimeter, watching him and Yan Jingyi struggle against their overwhelming forces, as if enjoying a show.
Why weren't those Imperial leaders engaging?
Why… weren't they rushing to reinforce their camp?
Zhou Ye had a faint suspicion.
But with the exercise live on the star-net, some questions he couldn't—and wouldn't—voice aloud.