Chapter 988: Spear Intent

"They're both waiting for opportunities. Whenever they unleash their soul skills again, the battle is going to be decided. I can't believe the opponent can keep up with the third battalion commander's exemplary techniques! Did you see that? They're able to change directions multiple times during propulsion. That left-right dodge combo was insane! If it were me, I would've definitely been struck by the third battalion commander's attack."

"Who IS his opponent? He's definitely not from our legion because there's no spear-wielder among the mecha battle participants here, and there most certainly isn't a spear-wielder here that's on the third battalion commander's level! The third battalion commander's melee combat techniques are the best in our entire Iron Will Corps. Even if the first battalion master wants to beat him, he can only do so through brute strength."

"Who's calling me a brute over there?" Jiang Wuyue's displeased voice suddenly rang out.

The soldier stuck out his tongue and put on a fawning smile. "Greetings, Superior."

At this moment, Jiang Wuyue was also looking up at the big screen with a curious expression on his face.

He had been here for a while, and as he'd been thoroughly enthralled by the mecha battle being broadcasted. The melee combat techniques being displayed here were definitely of the highest caliber.

In the beginning, the spear-wielding mecha had clearly been forced onto the back foot, and its movements also appeared to be rather jerky and unrefined. However, the mecha pilot had fantastic control, and their mecha was always able to unleash some maneuvers that were beyond the capabilities of normal mechas to evade the third battalion commander's attacks.

However, as the battle progressed, the spear-wielding melee combat mechas movement were becoming quicker and more proficient, and now, the two were evenly matched.

The spear was moving quicker and quicker, and it was imbued with an unstoppable will that would never back down. On many occasions, it alleviated the dangerous situation that it was in by fighting fire with fire and attacking the opponent's vitals in retaliation. How was he improving so quickly? Alternatively, could it be that the spear-wielding mecha had only been pretending to be a novice?

The soldier from before was right; if he were participating in this battle and he wanted to beat either of the two participants, then he'd have no choice but to resort to brute strength. Jiang Wuyue wasn't especially outstanding when it came to battle technique, but he had an extremely powerful martial soul.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The saber and spear clashed three times in rapid succession, and the third battalion commander's mecha was abruptly forced back, indicating that it had come off second-best during that clash.

A layer of flames also erupted from the mecha immediately thereafter, instantly turning it into a red color. The long saber was slashed through the air again, sending a powerful saber projection hurtling directly toward his opponent.

"The third battalion commander seems to be on the back foot. Otherwise, there's no way that he'd take the initiative to attack!" someone immediately yelled.

Tang Wulin's mecha didn't choose to take the attack head-on. Instead, its body swayed, and it displayed an extraordinary movement technique to evade the third battalion commander's attack.

"Wait, is that the Tang Sect's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track?" The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was something that was learned by almost all Tang Sect disciples.

This movement technique was extremely unpredictable, and the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track differed from person to person. It was an extremely effective movement technique to use in battle, but that only applied to people as opposed to mechas.

The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was renowned for its countless variations and unpredictable nature, so it was extremely complex. Only the best mecha pilots could control their mechas to complete a few of the technique's basic movements. This was because mechas were unable to perform many of the maneuvers that the human body could, such as twisting the body and things like that.

However, Tang Wulin was controlling his mecha to perform the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to an extremely exemplary degree. At the same time, he'd activated the mecha's propeller, and the fact that the mecha was using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track while rushing forward at high speed created quite an extraordinary sight to behold.

The third battalion commander felt as if his opponent's mecha suddenly blurred before it abruptly appeared in front of his mecha. The opponent's spear was then thrust directly toward his pilot room, and at this point, he hadn't even had a chance to withdraw his long saber yet.

He immediately unleashed another soul skill without any hesitation, and a layer of reddish-golden flames erupted from the mecha's body before fusing with the protective barrier. At the same time, the mecha swept its long saber horizontally through the air.

There wasn't enough time to evade, so his objective was very simple; he was trying to use his soul skill to block Tang Wulin's attack while unleashing a kamikaze attack with his long saber to take down his opponent in one fell swoop.

"Ding!"

The tip of the spear struck the protective barrier, and the third battalion commander was suddenly struck by a rush of dizziness. An overwhelming burst of pressure then instantly spread through his entire body, abruptly cutting off his soul power output.

The protective barrier had blocked Tang Wulin's attack, but the spear intent erupting from the spear had pierced directly into the pilot room. As such, his long saber faltered slightly, and the flames burning over its surface also noticeably waned.

Tang Wulin activated his mecha's protective barrier to its maximal extent to keep the saber strike at bay while thrusting his spear forward again, aiming it at the exact same spot. At the same time, spear intent erupted from his body, and the spear in his hand instantly took on a golden hue from the injection of his immense bloodline power. During the injection of bloodline power, he had truly become one with his mecha.

"Boom!" The third battalion commander had only just returned to his senses somewhat before his cognitive functions were completely destroyed by the oncoming spear again. His vision turned completely dark, and he was evicted from the competition venue.

The Blood God Legion soldiers who were spectating the battle on the big screen saw something else entirely. In their eyes, they were witnessing an extremely spectacular battle, and all of a sudden, the spear-wielding mecha unleashed the Tang Sect's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, evading the third battalion commander's attack while launching a powerful retaliative attack.

However, the third battalion commander also reacted extremely well to the situation. His soul skill combined with the protective barrier to form a perfect defense, and at the same time, he unleashed an effective retaliative attack of his own.

However, much to their surprise, the third battalion commander's attack completely fizzled out in the end, and his opponent simply unleashed another straightforward spear thrust to puncture the third battalion commander's pilot room.

"He, he didn't throw the match, did he?" a major couldn't help but exclaim. In their eyes, there was no other explanation for this.

Of course, that wasn't actually the case. As the first battalion commander, Jiang Wuyue had spotted something with his keen eyes. Furthermore, there was an instant where he was struck by the feeling that the third battalion commander's opponent appeared to be quite familiar.

The Star Cabin was opened, and the third battalion commander emerged with a dark expression on his face. As soon as he put on his clothes and emerged from the room, he was instantly surrounded by a bunch of people.

"What happened, Battalion Commander? Why did you suddenly make that mistake in the end?" a soldier asked.

The third battalion commander scoffed, "What mistake? I didn't make any mistakes; it was my opponent's strange abilities that brought about my downfall. I managed to block that spear thrust of his just now, but some sort of power was still transmitted directly into my pilot room, disorienting me for a moment and making me unable to continue to support my soul skills. After that... Well, you all saw what happened. I really don't understand what that was. It seemed like a type of spiritual intimidation, and it doesn't seem to have come from a soul skill."

"Was it spear intent?" Jiang Wuyue asked as he made his way over to the third battalion commander.

The third battalion commander's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Now that you mention it, it did feel like spear intent. Have you met this guy before?"

Jiang Wuyue's eyes narrowed slightly in response. "I feel like I have, but it shouldn't be him! Even if he possesses spear intent, it shouldn't be powerful enough to be effective during mecha battles. You must've just had some really rotten luck."

At this point, Tang Wulin had already emerged from his Star Cabin in a content manner. That was another victory under his belt. Furthermore, this battle had greatly inspired him, and his mecha handling had clearly improved significantly. At the very least, he had learned how to better integrate himself with his mecha.

If he were to continue to improve like this, his mecha handling skills would definitely improve significantly by the end of the competition.

However, the further he progressed, the more formidable his opponents were going to be. If he wanted to go further, then he'd have to reveal more of his abilities.

His opponent had displayed exemplary melee combat mecha techniques during their battle, but he'd never truly been in danger of losing. The reason for this was very simple; aside from his mecha piloting skills, he had many other abilities as well. For example, Goldsong and the Tyrant Dragon could directly participate in the battle, and he could also integrate his bloodline power and martial soul for extremely potent offensive output. None of those abilities were things that the average mecha pilot could withstand.