Chapter 417: Preamble
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong could not tell if he was lucky or not. That he encountered the Xi Feng Tribe's combat squad was definitely unfortunate. However, he had survived their combined beam attack, and in that sense he was extremely lucky. In the end, Ye Chong was not a born and bred Ye Family member - Moon King's many special features were designed just for the Ye Family, so for an outsider like Ye Chong who did not receive specialized training from the Ye Family, it was impossible to unleash the full potential of the Moon King.
It was still too short a time for Ye Chong to familiarize himself with Moon King. Aside from his final move, the rest of his executions were not up to his standards. Had it been otherwise, a standard Mandate class mech would be more than enough to deal with a combat squad from the Xi Feng Tribe. Nevertheless, Ye Chong dared not test this out himself. He was still unfamiliar with Moon King. If it was only the Phoenix Class mech, he would have gotten the job done. Unfortunately, there were other mech sizes with it, and Ye Chong remembered Xi Feng Tribe's group strategy well enough.
When Ye Chong left the mountain ranges, half a month had passed since that day. In this half a month, he tried everything he could with Moon King, since it was his biggest trump card. The more advanced the mech was, the more skilled its pilot should be to draw out its full potential, else the end result would be even worse than using a low class mech. Hence, it was important for every mech pilot to use a mech that was best suited for him or her, and not simply choose the most advanced mech available.
The Mandate class mech was the most advanced mech that Ye Chong had ever maneuvered before. The commands were complicated, and on an entirely different level compared to low level mechs. Some commands were designed to fit the Ye Family's internal training, and hard to understand for outsiders.
Ye Chong spent most of his time on these particular commands. He could only explore them slowly. Without understanding these special commands, it would be hard to make use of even half of what Moon King was truly capable of.
His hard work paid off, as shown by his current capabilities. Ye Chong believed that if he met the seven mechs again, he would have at least a 70 percent chance of defeating them. However, this success came at a price. Since Ye Chong did not understand all the special commands, every time he initiated one of them, he could only wait nervously until the mech performed its preset maneuvers.
Once, on the ground, Ye Chong initiated one of the unknown commands, and Moon King suddenly turned around and went head first into the ground. Ye Chong nearly vomited from the violent movements. Later, he found out that it was actually a Three-step Zigzag Retreat. Surprises like this happened often and exhausting, even with Ye Chong's strong body and mind.
Ye Chong tried all 326 unknown commands in Moon King. This allowed him to become familiar with the mech and understand more about the Ye Family mech piloting skills.
Feng Su was not doing much better than Ye Chong. The hellish training bore down heavily on her. Whatever weakness left in her was replaced with a steel determination. Her eyes gleamed coldly with the readiness to kill. Tackan and his group kept her under strict watch, monitoring her every move. All her belongings were taken away, including her dimension keystone. They would only return them to her after the Congregation.
"Let's go. Seems that the guy's not coming back," Tackan said with disappointment.
A young man with a wooden spear in hand walked towards them slowly.
Ye Chong's arrival was met with joy on Tackan's side. Ye Chong stole a glance at Feng Su, and kept his surprise to himself. She looked like she had suffered plenty these days. She now seemed more ruthless due to Tackan and his gang's company. For some reason, Ye Chong suddenly felt indifferent about her situation. If Shang were to see her now, would he still call her a beauty?
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Mu and Shang was not aware of Ye Chong's situation. They were now very busy. Due to the Shi Family's cooperation, they had rapidly obtained a huge amount of resources. The completion of their first virtual world node laboratory marked a significant improvement in their strength. Little Rock, the rigid genius, was the main star of the laboratory. His computing skills were astonishing, and even Mu and Shang were thoroughly impressed.
The virtual world was not as common in the He Yua Galaxy, but any slightly powerful organization would enter the virtual world. After all, information exchange in this place was unparalleled. This also made the virtual world more singular in purpose compared to that of the Five Galaxies, but also more dangerous.
Mu and Shang's node laboratory had been attacked for no less than two dozen times. The strength of each attack was unimaginable in the Five Galaxies. Aside from the first three attacks, where Mu lent a hand to Little Rock, the rest of them were dealt only by Little Rock himself, showing his extraordinary skills as a Maverick. With solid computational skills for backing, careful planning and endless patience, Little Rock grew stronger and stronger as he fought in the arena of the virtual world.
By now, He Yue Galaxy was in a state of great tension. The large scale military personnel reassignments by the Three Aristocratic Families were hard to miss for the curious ones, and even Little Rock could acquire plenty of information in this regard in the virtual world. Nonetheless, the Three Aristocratic Families did not explain their movements. No one knew where the military troops were reassigned to. They seemed to just vanish into thin air.
This created anxiety for other local forces. For second tier aristocratic families like the Shi Family, it was very important news. Currently, they were amassing power, and needed a certain period of peace to adjust to their size. Once the war amongst the Three Aristocratic Families began, the He Yue Galaxy would be plunged into a state of chaos, and the Shi Family must do its best to survive the turmoil.
Just what was the Three Aristocratic Families were up to? No one had an answer to that question.
"Sister Bing, don't worry too much. Brother Ye will be fine," the little boy looked up at Rui Bing and offered some words of comfort. Around him were dozens of huge men, looking around anxiously as if expecting an enemy. No one expected the Young Master to go to the planet of Risserd. Now, almost the entire force of the Xue Lai Clan on that planet was converging onto his location.
When Ye Chong was separated from them, they failed to find him. Left with no other choice, the young boy asked for assistance from the Clan's forces on Dankwood planet. Still, there was no news of Ye Chong. With the upcoming Congregation, the largest event in the entire free space zone that was organized every four years, they believed that Ye Chong might just show himself there. It seemed like a plausible idea. After leaving enough men to continue the search, the young boy and his company headed for Risserd. They never would have expected Ye Chong to leave Dankwood planet for the planet of Guang Hua.
In Flying Moon City, on Risserd. As the Congregation drew near, the number of strong individuals sharply increased in the vicinity. Where Jie Experts were rarely seen in other places, they were noticeable everywhere here. It was no wonder that the young boy's bodyguards were all nervous.
Using mechs here in the open would be too conspicuous, but without mechs, they were helplessly weak compared to the combat experts around them. Moreover, the Youngest Young Master had always been eager to make trouble, thoroughly enjoying himself in the process.
Looking at the curious eyes of their Youngest Young Master, the bodyguards could not help but feel dread for their future. Finally, Xua Lai Clan's Risserd force leader could not stand it anymore, and said, "Youngest Young Master, let us return home for now. It's better if we lay low for now. Master Siva will be here in three days. Until then, your safety …"
"Lil' Siva is coming?" The young boy was surprised, and did not welcome the news. He mumbled, "That guy, he's just so boring." Hearing the Youngest Young Master referring to Siva as Lil' Siva made the other bodyguards' expressions turned uncomfortable. Siva was the strongest of the Clan, a mysterious character to most of the Clan's members. There were numerous legends about him, but no one had seemed to have seen his face.
It was strange to hear Xue Clai Clan's Number One being referred to like a boy by another seven-year old boy. However, despite their odd expressions, none of them laughed. Perhaps the Youngest Young Master was the only member of the Xue Lai Clan who dared to use the nickname "Lil' Siva".
Rui Bing was lost in thought, and did not seem to notice her surroundings. Her usual clear expression was now clouded in misery. After being separated from Ye Chong, she had been in a poor mood. Every time she thought of the numerous enemies that he faced, her heart ached; every time she recalled him getting further and further away from her, her heard bled. Until now, there was still no news of him.
Seeing Rui Bing's worried face, a flash of concern appeared in the young boy's eyes. Suddenly, he thought of something, and tugged at Rui Bing's sleeve and said, "Sister Bing, I've an idea."
Rui Bing refocused herself. "What idea?" The young boy was mischievous, but smart. Perhaps he really had something useful.
"Think about it, Sister Bin. The Congregation is attended by all strong individuals in the free space zone. Besides, I think that the names of those ranked in the first 10 will be spread to every planet. If Sister Bing can make it into the first 10, your name will be known throughout the entire free space zone." The young boy was already imagining it in his head as he said this.
Rui Bing could not help but feel disappointed. She shook her head and plainly said, "I have not been interested in those things since a long time ago."
"No, not that," the young boy quickly explained, "If your name is known in the entire free space zone, then Brother Ye will surely know about it, right? If Brother Ye knows that Sister Bing is on Risserd, he will surely find a way to get here as soon as possible. Then you'll be able to see each other again."
Rui Bing jolted in realization, and froze in thought. After a long moment, she acknowledged his point softly. Her eyes cleared up until she looked like her usual self. Her eyes reflected an immovable determination.
No one would have guessed that Ye Chong was also heading towards planet Risserd right then.
In fact, Ye Chong was not the only one heading towards Risserd ...