Tempest of the Stellar War
chapter-404

Manalasuo's recess room was silent. The amazing Manalasuo Empire had actually been eliminated from the IG in such a painful fashion. And their champion had fought the equivalent of the Battle of Waterloo in his first time representing the country. To this stoic but enthusiastic youth, this was a devastating blow indeed.

The door opened, and Lieutenant General Bole entered. Bole waved his hand for everyone else to leave, and the team members quietly filed out. They knew that the general wanted to talk to Vincent. Vincent was the most favored soldier by the military. His talent and effort, as well as his fanatical knowledge of mecha, were all key factors in greatness. Bole saw these in him.

Seeing Bole, Vincent stood up. After simple treatment, his injuries were largely on the mend. "General."

Bole smiled slightly. "Sit."

Looking at Vincent, Bole was still quite satisfied. "Collected yourself?"

"Yes, Sir! They are indeed very strong, but not invulnerable!"

"Failure isn't the end of the world. It's good to suffer some setbacks when you're young. Look at the history of mankind. Only those who went through the worst difficulties truly achieved greatness. This is but a start. All of you are still young, and the important thing is to pick yourself up every time you fall," Bole said. As Manalasuo's Lieutenant General, he could afford to be less picky about things like failure and success. Even if he would suffer all kinds of questioning and criticism once they returned home. Life was just like that.

"General, since we have proven that the Golden Wheel mech can be used, rest assured that I will train in it the moment I return!" Vincent said. Unquestionably, he was a professional. One battle with Wang Zheng had helped him to realize the power of Golden Wheel mech. Although the Radiant Wheel King was supposed to be the evolved form of the Golden Wheel mech, on second thought, it simply used some technological novelties to cover the weaknesses. The Golden Wheel's essential concept was the infinite attacks of the golden wheels. When it came down to it, Radiant Wheel King simply had a similar attack shape. Retrospectively, it was precisely because the attack method changed. The high speed advance and superconductor radiant wheels were technological advancements. This had changed the concept of the mech completely.

You could fool others, but not yourself.

Bole nodded. "Your way of thinking reflects well upon you. I was not too sure at the start, but seeing you now, there's something that you are ready to see."

"Is it that he passed the A-rank test?" Vincent asked. He had reverted to the calm Vincent, his thoughts clear. That he was able to put the whole thing behind him so quickly was because victory and defeat were secondary to him. The most important was the knowledge of mecha. Defeat was hard to swallow, but thinking of the Golden Wheel mech's terrifying power, a new door had opened where there was nothing but walls before. It was agony, yet also an eagerness to try it out.

Bole shook his head slightly. "S-rank."

"S-rank? There's such a rank?"

"It's the highest difficulty. The chances of it are one in a thousand, but he got it. And he passed it."

Bole opened the Skylink. Although it was classified, as long as he did not publicize it, they could afford to close an eye. Such a video before the battle would do no good. But now they had lost, and Manalasuo was about to head home as well. There was a need for Vincent to know his opponent's true strength, because this would be the strongest motivator for him.

As the Skylink bloomed, Bole knew that it was definitely not just him who had secretly procured the footage, just that everybody else had kept it low-key as well.

Time passed. From the start to the very end, Vincent sat completely still. No matter how many times he watched it, the shock was still the same. He simply felt a tinge of pity that such a person was not from Manalasuo.

Vincent's expression was honestly laid out. From shock, to surprise, to horror, and finally… peace.

"Understood?" Bole said.

Vincent stood up, snapping into a sincere salute. "Yes, Sir!"

Bole's expression was inscrutable. "I don't know if it's a good thing or not. The Golden Wheel mech is really an unstoppable killing god, and perhaps our most successful mech to date, but we don't use it ourselves. Isn't that a pity?"

"General, I swear that I will definitely train with the Golden Wheel mech, and also find a way to make it popular."

Bole smiled. "Very well. Set your heart to it and learn as much as you can. This IG has been very interesting. But for the Solar System… I'm afraid the next stage will be nigh impossible to pass."

Vincent was taken aback for a moment. Such a team had the ability to put up a fight against anybody. How… Suddenly, Vincent knew who their next opponent was. It was a team that did not even leave you a window to bring your ability to bear – the Darkness Empire team!

The IG top 16 had now been decided. The strongest 16 teams in the Milky Way. They had been tested in all ways, and were undisputedly strong.

Zone A

Aslan Empire team, Astina Federation team.

As one of the strongest countries among mankind, Aslan had always been the target to chase. Strong in all aspects, and being the host of this IG, they had home ground advantage. Furthermore, they had a genius that was said to come along only once every 50 years. And now there were two, on their home turf. Aslan had their eyes on the prize.

Astina Federation team, an old hand and strong team. This was a federation that loved competition. From life to military, they lived exciting lives, full of ups and downs. Their fluctuations were huge, but this year was a surge, and their members passionate. The Astina Federation's military power was regarded as mid-tier within the Milky Way, but they had brought talented and passionate geniuses this time, and were a peak team.

Zone B

Atlantis team, Sirius Star team.

Atlantis went without saying. They had always been unbeatable. Any member in any other team could have easily become captain, while the Atlantean twin champions were even stronger. The only description for Atlantis was: always mimicked, never surpassed.

Sirius Star Empire. A country with huge attack power and ambitions to match. Their strength was considerable, but they were limited in resources and population, and had until now been unable to reach the peak. But their attack power was nothing to sneeze at. The Sirius Star people's innate abilities were considerable, perhaps because they had taken in some of the local aborigines. When humans combined with other types, they mutated and created many new tributaries. The Sirius Star was one of them, and the Sirius Star's "rest when we die" battle attitude was unique. In their history of battles, they had never been taken captive.

Zone C

Ghana Star team, Darkness Empire team.

Ghana Star, a planet that was a classic multi-tribe mix. Mankind, Naga, and Caucans all lived together, and it had resulted in a unique manner. Because they had always been living in chaos and war, their battle strength was amazing. Raising troops was secondary to training troops, and training troops was secondary to actual war. The Ghana Star's unique beast-type mecha was something that could never be copied.

Darkness Empire team. On their planet, they only had an hour of daylight in a 24 hour period, and the light was weak. But they were booming, a very unique planet. Logically, such a country was very suited for tourism, such as night life. But in reality, the Empire possessed huge ambitions for invasion. Their culture believed that darkness symbolized eternity. The world belonged to darkness, and light was but a decoration. They had once hoped to take a place amongst the likes of Aslan and Arbiter, but had been foiled by Keelung. In the last few decades, their strength had surged, and were now unstoppable. In this team, Sloughberg Bonthe was hailed as the star of Darkness. In their national conversations, he was regarded as capable of leading the Darkness Empire towards glory.

Zone D

Solar System Federation team, Caragal Star System team.

… This was an outcome that nobody would have dreamed of before the competition. That these two teams had actually emerged from Zone D, and the Solar System team had actually beaten Manalasuo and was now regarded as a possible candidate to take the win.

To take the win. A phrase that drew the eye.

Zone E

Arbiter Empire team, Maya Empire team.

The Arbiter Empire team was one of the strongest. Olivios was also hailed as the strongest in this iteration. From their performance to date, Olivios was well favored to obtain the best captain title for this IG. As with Aslan, they too had their eyes on the championship.

Maya Empire team. One of the lost civilizations rediscovered in the Star Voyager era. Maya Empire was strong, but different from Atlantis. The Maya Empire had ambitious dreams for expansion, and were much stronger than humans. The only problem was, they had encountered the second Secret Era of human expansion, and met with an indomitable king. In the end, they were forced to submit. At that time, a human could not actually have hoped to compete with Maya Empire.

Zone F

Lya Sphinx Republic team, Hail Cloud Alliance team.

The Lya Sphinx Republic was one of the permanent governing members of the Milky Way, a strong experienced country. Their foreign relations were cordial, and they held substantial influence in matters both military and economic. Their only fault was that they were a stickler for the rules, but it was precisely because of that that Lya Sphinx Republic were prosperous, and frequently made it to the top 8.

Hail Cloud Alliance team. Hail Cloud Alliance's three planets had been covered in glacial ice for thousands of years. But what was marvelous was that this was extremely beneficial to human existence. The temperature below and above the ice layer was wonderfully suspended. Here, mankind had built a world made of ice that was unparalleled. It was a famous tourist hotspot, and the Hail Cloud beauties were also famous for their frosty beauty and equally warm passion.

Out of their 12 members, they had six female fighters, the highest amount in IG.

Zone G

Gemini Star team, Immortal Barbarian Star team.

The Gemini Star had very strong gravity. Because of that, their people had a shorter stature, but their constitution was much stronger than those of the Norton Star. This was assumed to be linked to the planet's vitality. They were also a frequent presence in the top 8, an undoubtedly strong force.

The Immortal Barbarian Star was entering the top 16 for the first time as well. It was deemed as an upset that was neither groundbreaking nor expected. In the second round, they had acquitted themselves well. They had restrained the Spaceflight Star well. The Spaceflight Star had been unable to bring their telepathic abilities to bear… who would have thought that the top 32 battles had no group battle?

Zone H

Maacah Republic team, Earthworm Federation team.

The Macaah Republic was also 1 of the 10 permanent governing members. Their national strength had been on the decline in recent years, but a skinny camel was still bigger than a horse. They had still made their way into the top 16 without too much trouble.

The Earthworm Federation team was traditionally a strong team. On their mother planet, Earthworm Star, they had the most fantastic tunnel architecture, a majestic view that stretched from the surface to the mountains. The Earthworm people were also mixed, but not the caste system found on the Ghana Star. Here they lived equitably, a model example of peaceful coexistence between mankind and other alien races.