Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 33: Mountain Marshes (3)

In the midst of the battlefield, Alex’s long-range artillery had already reached their opponents’ defense point.

Shawn watched as the artillery fire flew over his head, exploding behind him and Hobble, all while he sprinted forward, advising Hobble, "They’re surely heading our way too. Take a detour, hit their defense point, and nab their Oniyon while they’re unattended."

Hobble grunted in agreement. Carrying his heavy sword, he skirted around the forest, planning to cross the river downstream and then head to the enemy’s defense point.

Meanwhile, Alex shared in the team voice chat, "This map has only two bridges: one in the middle of the river and another downstream. Upstream lies a waterfall, a tough crossing for the enemy, so if they’re coming for us, they’ve got to cross a bridge."

’Which bridge will they choose? That’s the question,’ Alex pondered. His recent artillery strike had targeted the southern forest on the map, where the enemy was positioned. The fire would ignite any cover, forcing the enemy to move if they didn’t want to be exposed and vulnerable to attack.

Yuka suggested, "Then I’ll guard the downstream bridge. If no one shows, I’ll join you." Alex agreed.

Yuka turned left and continued her sprint. Fifteen minutes later, she reached the riverbank.

"Wow," Yuka raised an eyebrow, "Team, this bridge is a wooden suspension bridge." The wide river was spanned by a shaky wooden plank bridge, barely held together by ancient ropes tied to stakes on either bank, creating a highly risky crossing.

Outside the arena, Roukujou, closely monitoring the movements of all mechas on the map, announced to the audience, "Friends, Pinky has suddenly changed direction towards the downstream. Meanwhile, the Blue team’s little black mecha has reached the river."

"This bridge seems quite tricky," Roukujou stroked his chin, "Let’s guess, folks. If the black mecha steps onto the bridge just as Pinky arrives, she only needs to cut the rope ahead, and the black mecha will plummet into the river and sink."

"Despite being a small mecha, it’s not light," Roukujou continued, "I remember, aside from those at the Atlantis Academy, who’ve been mingling with water since birth, no one can swim in a mecha."

[The Atlantis Academy? What’s that?]

[Oh, I know this one! It was one of the five major mecha academies! The precursor to UUA, the Mecha Academy of the Alliance, was also one of the five.]

[People from Atlantis Academy are really something. Never engage them in water warfare; you could lose even your swimming trunks!]

The iconic five major mecha academies of the past, each with their distinct features, are a source of amusement and nostalgia on the interstellarnet, especially in the old forum posts.

On the battlefield, Hobble informed Shawn that he had reached his destination.

Shawn cautioned him, "Don’t cross the bridge yet." Unlike the chatty Ban, Hobble, always a man of few words, silently obeyed without question.

Shawn, having spotted the suspension bridge in the middle of the river, was momentarily alarmed. Noticing only two enemy mechas near him, he quickly asked Hobble, "Any mechas coming from their side?"

"No, not yet," replied Hobble.

"Good, then they’re probably guarding their defense point. Now, launch a long-range artillery strike there," Shawn instructed. He gambled on the pink mecha still guarding their defense point, and a direct hit would be devastating. If not, well...

Following Shawn’s command, Hobble raised his mechanical arm and fired at the enemy’s defense point. Moments later, an explosion echoed in the distance. As Hobble looked up to observe the impact of his artillery, he missed the pink mecha, driven by Yuka, darting out from the opposite forest, striding onto the bridge, and charging towards him.

Only when he heard the creaking of the suspension bridge did Hobble glance down, spotting Yuka’s pink mecha. For a brief second, he was stunned – it hadn’t occurred to him that she would charge straight at him, disregarding the risk of falling into the river if the ropes were cut.

But his hesitation lasted only a second. As Yuka reached the middle of the bridge, Hobble, without a second thought, raised his heavy sword and slashed through the ropes.

The bridge, its ropes severed, snapped violently, throwing the unsecured wooden planks into the air with a dull clatter. Hobble watched as Yuka’s mecha, along with the collapsing bridge, plummeted downwards. He breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could relax completely, he felt a sudden weight on his arm.

Outside the arena, Roukujou’s heart had leaped into his throat the moment Yuka stepped onto the bridge. "Pinky! Oh no, Pinky, don’t be rash! That’s it, she’s handed the advantage to the enemy!"

[I can’t watch this. If Pinky loses, don’t tell me. But if she wins, call me back. I’m out,] a viewer commented.

[Used to think Pinky’s recklessness was fun, but now, it’s her Achilles’ heel,] another observed.

[Come on Pinky, don’t lose!]

[Damn, Pinky’s fallen!]

Roukujou, watching Pinky and the bridge fall, was in despair. "Ah, this game’s over... Wait, everyone, what is Pinky doing now?"

On the field, Yuka, in a split-second decision, threw her boomerang just as the enemy raised his sword. As the bridge broke, she leaped up high, wrapping her right arm in psychic power to transform it into a long whip, which she then fiercely flung upwards.

Hobble, caught by Yuka’s psychic whip, slid towards the cliff edge, teetering perilously close to falling into the river. His left arm vibrated with the shock, and he stared in disbelief at the pink mecha, which was now rapidly climbing up the whip using just one arm, pushing against the cliffside.

Reacting swiftly, Hobble raised his heavy sword to strike at the pink mecha. But just as he swung, a sound of slicing air halted his motion. Looking up, he saw the boomerang flying straight at his cockpit. He couldn’t even remember when she had thrown that.

Distracted, Hobble stepped back, inadvertently pulling Yuka further up. His sudden movement caused his sword to miss, shortening the whip. Yuka swiftly climbed the cliff edge, flipping onto solid ground. The boomerang, dodged by Hobble, flew back towards the river, disappearing into the water.

Yuka relaxed her whip, allowing it to loosen from Hobble’s arm, and then raised her left arm to fire at him. Hobble dove to the side, only to be struck by the shot in his left leg.

Yuka looked at Hobble with a hint of sympathy. She realized he must have thought her aim was precise, so he deliberately dodged to the side. Ironically, she had never been a good shot, and he ended up right in the path of her fire.

Sighing, Yuka wrapped her whip in psychic power again, transforming it into a long sword. Hobble braced himself, finally realizing the terrifying extent of the pink mecha’s psychic power.

’How can she switch her Oniyon’s form so quickly without suffering from dizziness or loss of focus, and still attack with such accuracy? Just how high is her psychic power level?’

Outside, Roukujou was stunned. "So, Pinky used her transformed arm to pull herself up, then successfully shot her opponent, well, for the first time... and now she’s changed her weapon again for close combat," he said, almost in disbelief.

Comments flooded in:

[Pinky hit someone with a ranged attack for the first time! Doesn’t she deserve some praise?]

[Help, I can’t stop laughing, haha, poor black mecha, you remember? LMAF.]

[I knew it, Pinky’s psychic power is definitely S-tier.]

[Go bold, S+!]

[Pinky, the goddess of close combat.]

[The other guy’s done for. Someone go call back the person who left earlier to watch the rest of the match.]

[Here I am, back for more!]

On the field, Hobble, bending low and dragging his heavy sword, tried to minimize the impact of his injured left leg, aiming to sever the legs of the pink mecha. But Yuka defied his expectations by leaping into the air and slashing down at him.

Hobble, already in a lower position, could only raise his sword to block, but he was quickly overwhelmed by Yuka’s force, nearly being cleaved in half by her long sword.

"Shawn, I can’t hold this position," Hobble gritted through his teeth, "My long-range firepower is still cooling down. I can’t attack."

Shawn closed his eyes in resignation, not expecting another team member to be eliminated so quickly. "Roger that."

Relieved, Hobble abruptly let go of his heavy sword, allowing Yuka’s strike to come down with its full momentum.

Yuka paused for a moment, surprised.

Just before her blade struck the cockpit, Hobble raised his left arm, feigning a shot at Yuka, hoping she would retreat and give him a chance to counter.

He thought, at least he should inflict some damage, rather than exiting without any impact.

Contrary to his expectation, Yuka didn’t retreat or lessen her strike. She cleaved straight through his cockpit, splitting it in half.

Only after he vanished did Yuka sheath her sword, not falling for such a basic trick.

Outside, Roukujou exhaled deeply, "The black mecha is gone! Let’s shift our focus to the other side, where Brownie and Goldie are still at the riverside. It’s two against one. Even without Pinky, they have a good chance of winning."

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Alex, Ayoi, and Shawn had been in a standoff for over three minutes, each side reluctant to make the first move across the bridge.

Seeing the disappearance of his teammate’s icon on the map, Shawn didn’t hesitate anymore. He cut the bridge’s ropes, denying the enemy any chance to cross, and then stepped back.

Ayoi, seeing Shawn’s retreat, immediately raised her gun and fired a bullet at his cockpit.

Shawn heard the protective barrier of his cockpit emit a sharp sound and quickly fired a long-range attack towards Ayoi and Alex. The two split up to dodge.

After the explosion, Yuka turned her head slightly and asked, "Number 2 and 3, are you still alive?"

"Number 2 is gone," Alex replied with difficulty, "It’s hard to dodge here... My leg is broken, I can’t move. Number 1, can you get back here? If we protect our Oniyon, we can still score five points."

Yuka pondered, "Um, is your bridge still intact?"

Alex answered, "No, it’s been destroyed by the enemy. Why?"

As Yuka dashed through the forest behind her, she relayed her situation, "My bridge is also down, so I probably can’t get back."

Alex, alarmed, responded, "Your bridge too?!"

"Yep, so I might as well go and take the enemy’s Oniyon," Yuka said while running.

Alex, struggling to move his mecha, cautioned Yuka, "Be careful, the enemy mecha isn’t much damaged."

"No problem," Yuka replied. "I see him... Oh, it’s an old friend."

Ahead, Shawn was fleeing through a nearly burnt-out forest. Ignoring the rising temperatures from the lingering fires, his only thought was to get back to the defense point and hold out for the remaining twenty-five minutes.

Hearing a noise behind him, Shawn couldn’t resist looking back, and that glance sent a jolt through his heart.

The pink mecha was rapidly approaching him, its right arm, which had transformed into a long sword, now morphing into a black whip, lashing towards him.