Chapter 38: CH 20.2

After a few days of brewing online, news about the duel had flooded the net. It was the hottest headline on all of the big websites. Major media outlets flocked to the duel grounds in an unprecedented fashion.

When Ji Ling came to the grounds and went to his dressing room, he had actually passed by Ning Yu.

In order to convey his jealousy and displeasure, Ji Ling stopped in his tracks and harshly said to Ning Yu, agitated: “Just you wait and see. I’m going to beat you!"

Ning Yu tilted his head and looked at Ji Ling. His emerald green eyes looked calm and cool. A faint smile hung lightly on his lips as he said: “Is that so? Then give me your best, and show me… "

Ning Yu lowered his head and went closer to Ji Ling, staring straight into his eyes.  He continued, slowly and meaningfully: “Show me how far you can go for him."

Ji Ling’s line of sight fell into Ning Yu's deep eyes. There seemed to be some profound emotion in the bottom of them that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. This distracted him into a moment of absence... but he quickly brought himself back. With a cold snort, he prepared to continue his verbal abuse against Ning Yu. 

As a result of the delay, Ning Yu had already turned around and left without hesitation, leaving Ji Ling to just stare at his powerful back profile as it gradually went further away.

Ji Ling opened his mouth: "..."

The venomous words he wasn’t able to say had to be swallowed back down. With a hmph, he turned to go to his dressing room.

First, he called a servant over, whispered a few words into his ear, and told him to play some dirty tricks on Ning Yu. Then, he began to wait around nervously.

In order to ensure fairness in the duel, both sides used the same standardized mecha. Otherwise, if contestants could use their own mechas casually, the competition would not be of strength, but of financial resources.

However, this situation was very unfavorable to Ji Ling. Since the same type of mecha was being used, Ning Yu, a seasoned veteran on the battlefield and a high-level evolver, would naturally lay waste to a pansy rich kid like Ji Ling. It was like a max-leveled god abusing a noob. Although the original was a stupid and cruel character whose brain was rotten with love, he also knew that he couldn’t beat Ning Yu... That’s why he ordered his servant to tamper with Ning Yu's mecha and tried to win using despicable means. However, such behavior was absolutely forbidden by imperial law.

As a result, his reputation fell to rock bottom last life.

Ji Ling went through the plot very seriously. Only like this could he push Ning Yu into a desperate situation, and make Jing Sui fly out in rage to personally defend Ning Yu!

The servant came back very soon, and gave Ji Ling an ‘OK’ look. Ji Ling calmed down, and everything was ready to go now save for one thing!

………………

Carlos sat on a sofa in the VIP area of the duel grounds. He clasped his cane with both hands, and his eyes appeared dark and cold.

Anderson had been by his side for many years, and his work had always been trusty and reliable. In order to make Ning Yu's ‘accidental death’ foolproof, he’d found three super strong SS-class evolvers who’d work together to kill Ning Yu. Hypothetically, there was no way Ning Yu wouldn’t die, but... they still failed.

Ning Yu narrowly escaped from the hands of his three pursuers, and then hid in Brandon's house, so they wouldn’t have a chance to attack.

But…was it really a fluke?

Carlos always thought that the force known as ‘luck’ was just a ‘coincidence,’ so long as the preparations were sufficient, there would be no such thing. If there was an enemy he wanted to strike down, he’d never leave room for such a thing as ‘luck.’ However, this time, Ning Yu had luckily escaped.

He hadn’t displayed any abnormal abilities, and the timely opportunity for his escape was completely a coincidence. What’s more, he was seriously injured. If you looked at it all together, it seemed like he was just lucky.

So, was this so-called luck a fluke, or a hidden power of his?

Carlos' eyes narrowed slightly. This person isn’t as simple as he seems. I may have looked down on his ability.

The other VIP rooms were also filled.

Wen Yan looked to the grounds and furrowed his brows tightly. His eyes were full of guilt. In the end, he still hadn’t been able to stop Ji Ling or prevent the duel... Now all he could do was hope that Ji Ling would be safe in one piece.

In another room, Brandon was also paying attention to the situation going on. His mood was similarly heavy. No matter what, he couldn’t let anything happen to Ji Ling.

At the same time, countless other nobles arrived on the scene and were paying close attention to this unprecedented duel.

Netizens who couldn’t come in person watched the live broadcast on various platforms.

The topics discussed on the net were long enough to build a highway. Almost all of them were one-sidedly ridiculing Ji Ling's lack of self-awareness, going so far as to bet that he’d lose the duel in a few minutes.

“Our Great Ning Yu can slash down a hundred trash like Ji Ling without much effort.”

“A hundred? So few? Aren’t you looking down on our Great Ning Yu? He’s a strong S-class evolver! "

"Some people just don’t know their own pathetic strength. Even when his opponent doesn’t want to bother with him, he still has to send his face up on a platter to be slapped.  Let’s just wait to watch a good show.”

“Brother Ning! Give that piece of aristocratic trash some color! "

“The Great Ning Yu is the best!"

………………

Ji Ling sat in the mecha nervously. He naturally knew nothing of what was going on outside.

Although he’d already gone through this part of the plot last life, he was still uneasy doing it another time. As an ordinary boy from a peaceful society, mechas were something he’d only seen in mangas and toys. He’d never dreamed of piloting one in person. Even though he had the memories of the original, that guy was also useless garbage, and they couldn’t really help him much.

Mechas were originally machines that were extremely difficult to control, and the bar to pilot one was very high. Fortunately, after countless years of progress, the highly-developed imperial civilization had made mechas intelligent enough that almost any evolver could pilot them. However, the pilot’s combat prowess was still very important and played a decisive role in using them.

Ji Ling would definitely become a punching bag without cheating.

He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and looked at the gate in front as it slowly opened. Grabbing the control sticks with both hands, he rushed outside with a lot of momentum!

The two mechas collided in the duel ring, sweeping dust from the ground into the air. People in the audience yelled and roared from their seats all around them.

Ji Ling couldn't hear them clearly, and was only focused on what was in front. Although he’d pulled some dirty tricks already, he still needed to survive the few minutes until Ning Yu's mecha broke down. If he was defeated before something went wrong on Ning Yu’s side, it’d be too embarrassing…

Although the two mechas were both the same standardized model, Ning Yu's was white and Ji Ling's was red. This made it convenient for viewers to distinguish them.

In order to survive a few more minutes against Ning Yu, Ji Ling had also spent a lot of time practicing with simulations. Although learning how to use this combat machine was so difficult he wanted to rip his hair out, he could get through it because he wanted to complete the mission!

In the next second, the opponent’s white mecha made a move.

Ji Ling focused himself, and took out the mecha’s laser sword, rushing up to face his death fearlessly!

He was actually very aware of his own capabilities. He’d never thought about defeating Ning Yu from the start. His purpose was just to avoid Ning Yu's attack, and drag out the battle against Ning Yu for as long as possible. Although Ji Ling was usually a little clumsy, he was the type that performed extremely well under high pressure. When he was studying at school before, he’d do just okay when studying for normal tests, but he’d always do better than usual for major exams. This was a good display of his true mental fortitude.

The stricter and more difficult the task, the more it would stimulate his potential.

In this situation where he was surrounded by so many big bosses, the fact that he could react calmly instead of completely losing his mind, showed an inkling of this strength.

The white mecha's offensive was very fierce. Its movements were smooth and uninhibited; proof of a warrior with a lot of battle experience. Ji Ling escaped from Ning Yu's hands again and again with much difficulty, but the difference in their strength was too large after all. Ji Ling had escaped several times, but Ning Yu finally caught up.

Ning Yu slashed his mecha’s left arm with the sword, and the whole arm was cut off, giving off sparks like fireworks were set off. 

Ji Ling rolled on the ground to escape. Seeing Ning Yu approach again, he turned to run.

Just like that, a few minutes of ‘you chase, I run’ and ‘you attack, I dodge’ passed…

Ji Ling was suddenly dumbfounded. Something wasn’t right!

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H-he should’ve already been dodging for several minutes now, right? Logically speaking, an abnormality should have appeared in Ning Yu’s mecha, so... why did it seem like nothing was wrong with Ning Yu?!

It’s over! I can’t hold on anymorreeeee!

He wouldn’t just be killed off like this, right?!

………………

Online viewers were full of ridicule as they watched the live broadcast.

Seeing that Ji Ling was powerless against Ning Yu the whole time, they all gloated. He was just like a little rat, scurrying about and hiding. 

"I told you there’d be no suspense about the result. I thought Young Master Ji could’ve lasted a few minutes more.”

"I think he’ll get beaten up real bad and start kneeling for mercy soon.”

“What an embarrassment to those aristocrats. If the imperial nobles are all like this now, they’re not even fit to serve our Great Ning Yu."

"Hahahahaha, I could laugh at this for a whole year!"

They were so happy to see Ji Ling being beaten that they were rolling on the floor [with laughter]. It seemed that Ning Yu would kill him in the next second, but after one minute had passed, and two minutes had passed, and even three minutes had passed...

Ji Ling was still stubbornly dodging about. Although the red mecha was battered into a terrible mess, he hadn't lost yet.

Not only did he not lose yet, but he was even dodging Ning Yu time and time again. Even when everyone thought he was going to be overwhelmed, he dodged again.

"This... What's going on?"

"Why hasn't he lost yet?"

When they saw the left arm of Ji Ling’s mecha get cut off with a heavy blow, everyone thought that the match had been decided. 

Who could’ve known that this boy would suddenly bust out his *Cosmo, and stubbornly dodge away!

Suddenly, Ji Ling rushed towards Ning Yu with a crash, and knocked him back!

F*ck, was there something wrong with their eyes? Ji Ling actually fought back. He not only hung in there for so long, but also managed to fight back! This rich kid didn’t suddenly evolve a level, right?! 

Although Ning Yu recovered very quickly and pressed Ji Ling back again… the ridicule on the net gradually disappeared.

Some even began to waver.

“They say he was born with a congenital deficiency, and only had a C-class constitution. Even Grand Duke Ji Ting had no way to help him improve his physical grade, so he’s just been spoiled his whole life. It’s pretty amazing that he’s been able hold out until now with a C-class constitution and no combat training... "

“Our Great Ning Yu is so intense, but this boy… It seems that he’s not as trashy as people say…”

“Hush. If I was in your position, I might’ve gotten killed already…”

"Didn’t you all say he was a garbage rich kid? Can just any rich kid do what he’s doing? "

“Why hasn’t he lost yet? Why is he still hanging on? Is there a reason he doesn’t throw in the towel already? "

“Really, it’s no big deal to give up. Even if he throws in the towel now, the loss isn’t too embarrassing. After all, he tried his best..."

"Can an aristocrat with class-C constitution duel to this extent?”

"I still stand on Brother Ning’s side."

"But is our Great Ning Yu losing intentionally…”

“He shouldn't be. He’s not the kind of person who would be threatened into doing that by the powerful nobles…” 

………………

Ji Ling was beaten back again, and his huge mecha rolled on the ground several times. Even with the shock absorption system, he still felt dizzy.

At first, he thought he was just hanging on until Ning Yu’s mecha started showing abnormalities. That’s why he was enduring so desperately. However, little by little, he finally realized that Ning Yu's mecha probably hadn’t been rigged to start!

That or someone had discovered his rigging and prevented it from working. This possibility was very likely, because so many people were reborn after all.

Thinking of this, Ji Ling was incomparably aggrieved. Damn that pack of deceptive villains!

I knew you guys didn't have good intentions. So you were all helping Ning Yu, after all! I can’t believe I was deceived by their outer facades. I even thought they had changed to side with me!

Ji Ling, who was stunned by this big blow, had collapsed.

As he saw it, Ning Yu likely wouldn’t make any big mistakes, and he was by no means an opponent that could match Ning Yu’s level. Maybe he should just give up?

But he ‘hated’ Ning Yu so much. Throwing in the towel didn’t seem to suit his character’s personality…

As Ji Ling continuously wavered back and forth, Ning Yu’s mecha came to meet him again. That white shadow moved as fast as lightning! He had already been beaten until he had no way of fighting back, so he subconsciously closed his eyes...

At this time, a black mecha suddenly fell from the sky! It descended to the ground with a bang!

This black mecha was several times larger than the standardized mecha they used. Its streamlined body showed off its graceful and clean contours. The cold light reflecting off the black metal showed its excellent quality, and the opened wings looked like two sharp blades, giving off a cold chill that made them seem as if they could destroy anything! 

The whole stadium was engulfed silence.

Everyone recognized it… This was His Majesty's mecha!

This was the single most powerful combat mecha in the whole empire!

Ji Ling stared dumbfounded at the steel armor in front of him.  Like an invincible god, it had descended in front of him… Its appearance had created huge tremors. 

What are you planning to do by coming now?

I'm already going to die, and Ning Yu is completely fine.

You don’t need to play a hero to save the beauty anymore, okay?!

Ji Ling’s face was full of confusion.

As a result, he saw the black mecha in front of him bend its knees hard in the next moment, and propel forwards with its back towards him. Then, it whammed the white mecha with a heavy punch, as powerful as thunder!

Translator’s notes

*The author is referring to Cosmo energy from Saint Seiya here which allows the saints to use their crazy powers.

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