The Silly Prince Successfully Cancels the Engagement, But the Fiancée is His Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Death Match

The location Cheng Hanshuang chose for the temporary base was extremely prudent. The detection systems of the Former Empire forces would not probe this area. They were safe, at least until dawn, before they could be spotted with the naked eye.

Bai Qing had the highest level of mental power, giving him the widest coverage. He quietly monitored every minute movement within his mental network. However, the Former Empire remnants intended to confuse their enemies; thus, based solely on the mental power fluctuations captured, the five suspicious strongholds appeared identical.

The starship’s detection equipment was useless at this moment, incapable of detecting anything due to the deliberate concealment efforts of the Former Empire remnants.

Cheng Hanshuang frowned intensely: “Tch, despicable.”

Since the mission was far from complete, and such a large starship parked here would be too conspicuous once the sun rose, Cheng Hanshuang quickly pondered and immediately changed tactics.

If they couldn’t find the Former Empire stronghold, the starship must be sent back outside Shade Star before dawn. The most pressing task now was for the five of them to split up, infiltrate the vicinity of the five suspicious strongholds, and observe and detect from close range. Once a clue was found, they were to immediately transmit the information back.

Military orders were absolute, and no one objected after Cheng Hanshuang announced the new strategy.

Cheng Hanshuang’s face was stern. His gaze briefly lingered on everyone’s face: “No one knows which of these five strongholds is real, and which one holds the ambush of the Former Empire remnants. But remember one thing: never engage in direct combat.”

After a pause, he met Bai Qing’s eyes: “No matter how talented you are or how strong your practical combat ability is, remember: our mission is to expose the enemy, not to fight directly. All four of you, come back in one piece! That is an order!”

Among the five people present, only Bai Qing was the mecha pilot sent from the National Defense Military Academy.

The military order’s binding force was weakest on him.

The corner of Bai Qing’s mouth curved slightly upward.

Cheng Hanshuang’s words were clearly meant to warn him.

But now that he was on the battlefield, if he possessed the power to fight, how could he harbor any thought of retreating?

…

The Artemis mecha was the lightest and fastest, and its overall mental compatibility score with Bai Qing was the highest, a remarkable 93 points.

While still on the starship, the moment Bai Qing connected with Artemis, the large “93” flashing on the screen made everyone present gasp sharply.

Some mecha warriors spent their entire lives without achieving a compatibility score of 90 with their mecha, yet Bai Qing hit 93 the moment he touched Artemis?

Would he eventually break 95?

Unlimited Potential.

These four words spontaneously appeared in everyone’s minds.

Because of this advantage, Cheng Hanshuang assigned Bai Qing to the Southern Sector of Shade Star.

There was one suspicious stronghold of the Former Empire remnants in the Southern Sector.

This stronghold had the largest area and the highest degree of suspicion.

Bai Qing recalled Cheng Hanshuang’s serious words before leaving: “The probability of this being the genuine stronghold is $67.83%$. I apologize for giving you this dangerous assignment, but, Bai Qing, remember: your mission is only to confirm whether this stronghold is the real base of the Former Empire remnants. Do not do anything extra, do you hear me?”

Bai Qing snapped back to reality. His hand lightly stroked Artemis’s control panel, his lake-blue eyes shimmering with a light never seen before: “Let’s go, old friend.”

The southern part of Shade Star had completely collapsed.

The local government on Shade Star was weak and incompetent, and the planet’s current state was inseparable from its mismanagement.

Everyone on Shade Star carried firearms. Some weapons were extremely powerful, capable of destroying a mecha’s power source with a single shot. In this impoverished, backward, and crime-ridden hell on Shade Star, mechas were useless. Hand-to-hand combat and brutal slaughter were the only rules.

And the Southern Sector was the deepest part of this hell.

Human trafficking and organ trading had become commonplace, almost trivial.

This was where an underground laboratory conducted secret biological and chemical experiments, with specialized gangs responsible for supplying test subjects.

Cheng Hanshuang had quietly told Bai Qing this after assigning him to the Southern Sector.

His Majesty the King also suspected that the Former Empire remnants were operating this bio-chemical lab from behind the scenes.

…

Bai Qing hovered high in the air, exactly at a height that ground detection systems could not reach. He glanced at his destination from afar.

It was an unremarkable cluster of buildings—ordinary, dilapidated, and insignificant. If Bai Qing hadn’t been absolutely sure of the address, it could easily be mistaken for an abandoned, unfinished construction site.

Bai Qing guessed that if this was the real stronghold, the Former Empire remnants were likely hiding underground. The building above ground was merely a cover.

Bai Qing quietly released his mental power, intending to use the electromagnetic fluctuations of communication signals to make a judgment. But—

In a flash, Bai Qing’s eyes snapped open. A pitch-black mecha rushed upward from below, firing a shot at Artemis from a distance!

Bai Qing quickly defended. Artemis, capitalizing on its lightness and agility, swiftly turned. A high-density energy net unfurled, blocking and absorbing the explosive energy of the cannon fire without leakage.

The opponent acted like a silent assassin. Failing to strike, it immediately adjusted its angle, charging up for the next attack. Bai Qing methodically counterattacked and defended, while simultaneously opening an encrypted communication channel to the other four sectors: “I may have been exposed. A pure black mecha is engaging me. The opponent is skilled. I suspect they are Former Empire forces.”

The other four sectors reported peace and quiet. They were still in the stealth phase.

The messages coming back were: Everything normal, no exposure.

Bai Qing was completely reassured.

Just as Cheng Hanshuang predicted, the Southern Sector was the main lair of the Former Empire remnants.

Bai Qing transmitted the real-time footage of his situation back to the starship and marked the precise coordinates of the Former Empire stronghold. Having done all this while distracted, Bai Qing could finally concentrate on the battle.

Cheng Hanshuang screamed into the encrypted channel: “Bai Qing, retreat! Do not prolong the fight! Your mission was only to transmit the precise coordinates! I repeat, Bai Qing, answer me!”

The person in the black mecha’s cockpit was certainly formidable. Bai Qing found the fight incredibly taxing. He had never truly fought on a battlefield before, and he was restricted everywhere. What he learned on the simulation machine was far from enough.

Bai Qing heard Cheng Hanshuang’s hysterical roar on the other end. He lightly smiled and replied: “Deputy General Cheng, I apologize, but I cannot follow your order. The enemy has delivered themselves to my doorstep. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

In the voice transmission he sent back, heavy artillery fire and explosions rang out across the sky. Then, Bai Qing’s channel was filled only with a series of “beep-beep-buzz” static noises.

Cheng Hanshuang rubbed his aching forehead and immediately gave orders: “Everyone, proceed to the Southern Sector immediately! You must hold out until the Southwest Army arrives!”

At the same time, the main Southwest Army forces stationed outside Shade Star instantly mobilized. Clusters of massive starships, awe-inspiring in scale, traversed the interstellar space.

These starships were all equipped with the latest weaponry, capable of reducing the target to dust with a concentrated bombardment.

The destination of these starships was uniform: Shade Star, the stronghold of the Former Empire remnants.

In Bai Qing’s position, he was already feeling strained, yet the opponent seemed to be toying with its prey, acting with ease and composure.

Bai Qing’s physical fitness had improved significantly, but on the battlefield, it was still visibly inadequate.

However, Bai Qing never believed there was anything he couldn’t do.

In an instant, the light in Artemis’s electronic eyes seemed to brighten further. The opponent seemed to sense the abrupt change in Bai Qing’s momentum and immediately became guarded. In a spot Bai Qing didn’t notice, his overall mental compatibility score with Artemis was slowly climbing.

$93.15, 93.27, 93.55$, finally stabilizing at $94.22$.

Suddenly, a silver-blue high-energy particle beam unexpectedly fired from Artemis’s forearm cannon. The effect was remarkable. The opponent couldn’t dodge in time, narrowly avoiding the core, but the particle beam shot straight through its shoulder, carving a large hole where faintly pulsing electrical currents could be seen.

Just as Bai Qing was about to relax, his peripheral vision caught several identical pure black mechas slowly ascending, silently surrounding Artemis.

He couldn’t continue fighting at high altitude. He had to land!

…

After several days of grueling training, Xiang Zhuo had barely managed to raise his mental compatibility score with Apollo to 65 points. Although the progress was considerable, his foundation was too weak, leaving him with an inexplicable, persistent restlessness.

During a five-minute break, Xiang Zhuo opened his communicator and suddenly saw a blood-red warning notification.

“WARNING: EMERGENCY CONTACT VITAL SIGNS ENTERING CRITICAL THRESHOLD. PLEASE INTERVENE PROMPTLY. WARNING: PLEASE CONTACT MEDICAL PERSONNEL IMMEDIATELY.”

Xiang Zhuo’s mental state tensed instantly.

What happened on Shade Star?

He was fine yesterday. Why is he in critical condition today?

Xiang Zhuo completely disregarded his training, immediately disconnected from Apollo, and dialed Ye Hong’s internal line.

Ye Hong answered quickly. Xiang Zhuo didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point: “Uncle Ye, I need to go to the front line.”

Ye Hong understood Xiang Zhuo’s meaning but sighed with a headache and spoke evasively: “The front line? The Central Army is the front line.”

Xiang Zhuo articulated every word clearly: “I want to go to Shade Star.”

Ye Hong sighed: “Don’t forget, your current compatibility score with Apollo is only 60 points.”

Xiang Zhuo spoke without shame: “It doesn’t matter. Even if it’s only 50 points, I can still beat those Former Empire remnants, one by one.”