First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Invitation
Lian Sheng felt the questions these people were asking weren't particularly pleasant. To be honest, Qixing wasn't bad—aside from being a bit expensive, it was good in every aspect. After all, it was now her "biological son." Even if it wasn't suitable, she'd have to grit her teeth and keep using it.
She paused to glance at them before continuing forward.
Zheng Lei and the others followed with small, mischievous steps, grinning cheekily.
Lian Sheng turned slightly: "Aren't you preparing for the upcoming league matches?"
"What's there to prepare? We're just foot soldiers—follow orders and obey commands, right?" Zheng Lei waved his hand dismissively. "With you gone, we don't even need mental preparation."
"..." Lian Sheng said, "Actually, I've only participated in one league match. You're overestimating me. You weren't like this before the last match."
Last time, they had been quite proactive in training.
"One match isn't enough? One match was all it took for us to see through the vanity of life," Zheng Lei said with deep realization. "I understand now—last-minute cramming doesn't help much. How long we survive depends half on luck and half on the commander. After all, pre-match training won't suddenly turn me into a god."
Shen Yu added, "Even if you become a god, you still can't stop your teammates."
Lian Sheng: "..."
Lian Sheng turned back toward her dorm, and Meng Jiangwu and the others quickly ran back as well. They logged into Sanyao, waiting for the start.
The arena matches of the Piaoqi Great General had now become a grand event across the entire Twelfth District. With the help of Hundred Meter Flying Dagger and Jiang Feng Yuhuo's promotion, her fame had skyrocketed, attracting countless spectators.
Their first daily task was to visit the arena. The most frequently asked question in the world was: "Has the Great General lost today?"
What a sincere greeting and aspiration. Unfortunately, since she switched her mech to Qixing, she hadn't lost again. After all, this was someone who had defeated a minor god with fifty thousand points. And in the early stages of the arena, there weren't any noteworthy experts.
However, as the poorest Qixing pilot in history, Lian Sheng had to consider every aspect of the battle.
First, don't get injured. Second, conserve ammunition.
She was indeed versatile in offense and defense, but this awkward situation also meant that whether it was long-range or close combat, she had to be cautious.
Truthfully, she was a generous person—it was just that poverty had warped her nature.
If she encountered opponents with similarly simple mech configurations, it was manageable. But if she ran into mid-tier or higher mechs, especially high-speed ones like Fengyi, things became very tricky.
Starting in the afternoon, Lian Sheng fought over a dozen matches in a row and inevitably encountered such opponents.
The opponent piloted a silver mech, launching fierce attacks from the start. The barrage of fire never ceased, with dense beams of light shooting toward her. Upon hitting the ground, they exploded into circular flames, leaving the terrain pockmarked and shrouded in dust, obstructing vision.
With thrusters at full power, the opponent pursued at high speed, disregarding accuracy and focusing solely on collateral damage.
The Great General dodged while creating distance, occasionally counterattacking. Her lightning-fast movements vividly displayed her high-level skills. Walking the edge of danger, her near-misses elicited gasps from the spectators. It was precisely this kind of rapid reaction on the brink that made her shine, setting pulses racing.
Meng Jiangwu and the others sat cross-legged in the stands, mouths agape as they looked up.
It was too thrilling. If it were them, they'd surely panic in such a situation.
Just as this thought crossed their minds, an energy beam struck the boulder beside Qixing. The explosion of shattered rock, combined with another wave of attacks, sent Qixing flying.
Half of its body scraped against the ground, and its left arm was completely severed from the mech.
The Great General bent one leg to brake abruptly, firing several shots at the target in her line of sight.
Although she won, the cost of this victory was heavy.
The crowd erupted in excitement, shouting wildly below.
"The arm's gone! The arm's gone!"
"Hero! Well done, hero!"
"Does the Great General have enough points for repairs?"
"Probably, but if she repairs, she won't have points left for ammo."
"After this round of repairs, all the points she earned earlier will be wiped out."
"So the repair costs for Qixing are downright insane."
"Based on years of observation, using Qixing in the arena early on only leads to greater losses."
"Will I get to see the beautiful sight of the Great General piloting the starter mech again? Oh my god, just thinking about it gets me excited!"
The crowd waved their arms enthusiastically: "The base fee is fifty points, right? I'm ready to sign up again anytime! Great General, look at me!"
"Who's next? So lucky! Please keep wrecking her mech—two more hits and she really won't be able to afford repairs!"
Deducting her points meant that either long-range or close combat would be crippled. No matter which path she chose, their battles later would be much easier.
...At least, that's what they thought.
When the match ended, the scene dissolved. The Piaoqi Great General stood on the arena with a broken arm. Lian Sheng tilted her head to look—half of the mechanical arm had been blown apart, with sparks still flickering. The left side of her mech's torso was also blackened. The once-pristine white mech, unrepaired for days, now looked battered.
The culprit on the opposite side grinned at her, blew a kiss to the cheering crowd below, and exited the arena.
Lian Sheng didn't rush to act. She checked her points—she still had over five hundred. Since the entire arm was destroyed and the mech's exterior had suffered varying degrees of damage, a full repair would cost five hundred points. But if she did that, she wouldn't have enough for ammunition afterward.
Repair? Switch back to the starter mech? Or use the five hundred points to buy a cheaper, easier-to-operate mech to tide her over?
Lian Sheng smirked, spent all her points on ammo, and clicked "Start" again.
The spectators below, who had been speculating about her next move, fell silent for a moment when the light screen rose again before resuming their heated discussions.
"Holy crap! She's starting just like that? No repairs?"
"No repairs? Fighting with a broken arm? She's missing a whole arm!"
"She must be switching to pure long-range, giving up close combat entirely."
"Even with a broken arm, its attack power is still higher than the starter mech! The Great General could conquer the world with just a starter mech, let alone Qixing!"
"Are you stupid? With the starter mech, every point she earns is pure profit. With Qixing, a couple more hits and she'll have to buy a new one! Plus, she needs ammo—it's so not cost-effective!"
"You're the stupid one. How much energy does the starter mech have for firing? Qixing at least has ample energy, faster speed, and more flexible attacks."
"Isn't the Piaoqi Great General's intention obvious?" Someone nearby mimed lighting a cigarette and said, "She's saying, 'I'll let you have one arm, and you still can't beat me.'"
Just like how she could call them weaklings while using the starter mech, what was a half-destroyed Qixing to her?
"I'm recording this! Don't stop me!"
In the newly loaded scene, the Great General indeed changed tactics, launching aggressive attacks.
After losing the left arm, Lian Sheng found her left hand firmly pressed against her side, immobile. This felt extremely unnatural. In close combat, this discomfort could become a fatal flaw, as her subconscious movements might betray her.
She had to rely on long-range attacks.
Fortunately, it was the left arm that was destroyed, while the weapon was mounted on the right.
If she unleashed the same kind of relentless bombardment as the previous mech, no one could escape the Great General's assault.
Qixing's greatest strength was its rapid firing—almost instantaneous upon pulling the trigger, with no cooldown between shots.
The Great General, with her no-holds-barred ammunition expenditure and originally near-supernatural accuracy, gave her opponent no breathing room, swiftly securing victory.
Thus, after switching from alternating between close and long-range to pure long-range, her defense speed actually increased.
The audience below was thoroughly satisfied, clapping and cheering wildly.
This was undoubtedly the most exciting day they'd witnessed in over a month.
Meng Jiangwu, watching the dense barrage of bullets, quickly sent a message: "Hey, wake up! Aren't you just losing points like this?"
Lian Sheng replied with two words: "Having fun."
Since the league lottery was already over, what was the point of saving a few hundred points?
Offense as defense was her only option now. By increasing the number of matches, she'd eventually reach a point where she wasn't losing points. With only fifty points, she couldn't afford to lose.
Knowing the league was out of reach and that the arena was entering the latter half where she could earn points, Lian Sheng threw herself fully into Sanyao's challenges.
Replacing the mech arm was the most expensive, costing four hundred points outright. After the mech's exterior gradually melted until it affected performance, Lian Sheng finally did a major repair—on the mech's shell.
Then, with her arm still broken, she swiftly won a hundred matches. Even after accumulating a thousand points, she still didn't repair her arm, choosing instead to replenish ammo and upgrade the mech's speed configuration.
The crowd was stunned. Had she fallen in love with this look?
Free from class constraints and with flexible time management, Lian Sheng wanted to finish the entire arena challenge in these two days and start a new one. That would also ease the pressure.
So starting at 8 a.m., she continuously defended her arena, ensuring rest periods, and within two days, she reached two hundred victories.
Sanyao was in an uproar.
A mech pilot achieving a 98% win rate in the early arena stages—that was excellence.
If that pilot was a complete beginner—oh, that was a genius!
If that beginner achieved a 98% win rate with one arm... then that was undeniably insane!
Without a left hand, she couldn't even flip them off. Why couldn't she just repair her arm?
No middle finger was worse than having a middle finger—this was a spiritual provocation and challenge to all challengers.
The crowd gathered before the arena to bask in her divine light.
"I don't know if the Great General is the best among all Qixing pilots, but I know she's definitely the best one-armed Qixing pilot."
"Not just one-armed Qixing—I think she's the best one-armed pilot of any mech type."
"One-armed War God?"
"What's the use of these legs? Might as well saw them off—easier to call her Daddy."
"Good thing she's a woman. As a man, I couldn't bear the pain of losing my left hand. A life without a partner is an incomplete life."
"...I've had a question for a long time. Is the Great General really a woman? It's not like there aren't male players using female avatars in Sanyao."
"...Wow~ what a bold thought."
Thus, another key participant in this incident earned a glorious title:
"The man who broke the Great General's arm."
Countless others sought to claim another title:
"The man who forced the Great General to repair her mech."
Lian Sheng's points were still stretched thin.
With only fifty points as a base, if her arena was breached, she'd have to start from scratch.
After two hundred matches, many skilled players began appearing in the arena. Finally, after her 211th victory, her arena was closed.
Lian Sheng did the math: in pure victory points, she'd earned over 7,400. But after deducting losses during the process, she was left with less than 3,000.
The good news was that after the arena closed, the Great General finally repaired her arm. The bad news was that she didn't open a new arena.
Every cell in Sanyao's spectators screamed loneliness, but that little vixen showed them no mercy.
Piloting Qixing in the early stages was too difficult. Lian Sheng wanted to enjoy the thrill of spending four-digit points first.
Lian Sheng stepped out of the sensor and picked up her optical computer to check her coursework.
She still had studying to do.
She hadn't been at it long when her optical computer rang. Zheng Lei said hurriedly, "Zhang Ce is looking for you! And he brought people from other military academies!"
Lian Sheng pondered for a moment before asking, "Who's Zhang Ce?"
"Zhang Ce..." Zheng Lei paused. "Zhang Ce is from First Military Academy! The one who tried to take command from you during the last league match!"
"Oh." Lian Sheng remembered now. "Actually, that wasn't my command authority."
Zheng Lei shook his head. "You had a chance to claim it. But it doesn't matter—he's here to see you now."
Lian Sheng: "What for?"
Zheng Lei: "...How should I know! Are you meeting him or not? They're at the cafeteria entrance now."
Lian Sheng hesitated before saying, "Fine."
She changed clothes, threw on a jacket, and left the dorm.
Zhang Ce had brought about a dozen people, all standing in front of the third cafeteria. Zheng Lei and the other military department students seemed to be facing off against them.
The group was conspicuous, drawing sidelong glances from passing students.
Zhang Ce spotted Lian Sheng first and waved.
Lian Sheng glanced at both sides' postures and chose to stand farther away. "What's up?"
Zhang Ce stepped forward. "You didn't sign up for this battlefield league, did you?"
Lian Sheng said, "I did."
The visitors were shocked. There hadn't been a single participant in this league with less than thirty thousand points. Had she really grinded that much in a month?
Lian Sheng added, "Wasn't selected."
She tilted her head slightly, eyeing them with a look that said, Why ask such a stupid question?
The outsiders: "..."
A young man stepped forward from behind, smiling amiably. "Hello. I was the commander of Liu Team during the last league. We're students from First Military Academy and Allied Military Academy. Don't misunderstand—we're not here to pick a fight."
Lian Sheng nodded and shook his hand.
"Long time no see," the Liu Team commander said. "After the last league ended, I looked into it. Your points might not be enough to qualify for the league, so we came specifically to invite you to another battlefield."
Since the last match, both First Military Academy and Allied Military Academy had been living under Lian Sheng's shadow.
Having their strategies predicted by the enemy was a massive blow to any commander. Although the most humiliated party last time was First Military's students, it wasn't a great experience for him either.
Being overshadowed by an opponent he'd never faced directly was unacceptable.
First Military and Allied Military's pride couldn't accept it either—they needed redemption. So for now, they were calling a truce to negotiate.
Lian Sheng straightened slightly, intrigued. "What do you mean?"
The Liu Team commander, seeing her interest, smiled even brighter. "Here's the thing: we want to formally invite you as a commander for another 5,000 vs. 5,000 battlefield. No matter how many points you have, you can be the overall commander."
Lian Sheng: "A ten-thousand-person battlefield? Where are the participants coming from?"
"Self-invited." The Liu Team commander turned and pointed at the group behind him. "For us, we've agreed that First Military and Allied Military will each provide half the personnel. You can invite Alliance University students or others. This isn't an inter-school league—we have no requirements for participants. As long as they have the equipment, even civilians can join."
Lian Sheng lowered her head in thought. Some of her schoolmates listening in spoke up: "That's not fair, is it? You've already discussed and prepared your side. Our Alliance University students have already signed up for the league—where would we find another five thousand people for a new battlefield?"
The Liu Team commander said calmly, "We're only bringing this up now because we weren't sure if Lian Sheng would qualify for the league. And we only just canceled our registrations."
Zhang Ce added, "If you can't gather enough people, you can recruit on the league forums. Plenty of military academy students want to join—forming a five-thousand-person team wouldn't be a problem."
Lian Sheng rubbed her chin and suddenly said, "But I'm busy grinding points right now. A battlefield that gives one point for half a day's work? Not interested."
"You can grind points. We'll score it like a normal league match, just like last time!" the Liu Team commander said. "I think the record is someone earning over ten thousand points in one match, right?"
Lian Sheng eyed him skeptically. "There's really such a method?"
A young man nearby, afraid she'd back out, eagerly chimed in: "Of course! As long as we can gather enough people to start the battlefield and get five professors willing to score us, we can apply to the academy to record it in the academic system."
Lian Sheng frowned. "Sounds troublesome."
Zhang Ce immediately said, "We'll handle it! We'll take care of all the procedures! You just need to decide whether to join or not."
Lian Sheng smirked. "In that case..."
Zheng Lei whispered beside her, "Where will you find people? It's not that simple!"
Lian Sheng said, "I accept."
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