BATTLE FOR STARS

“Lina, my precious… you never knew. You are not only my apprentice, but also my daughter… You might be one of the very few children on this planet actually born from a mother’s womb. Before giving birth to you, I had only heard of pregnancy—I had never seen it. I was fortunate in my lifetime to experience it once. Only by truly feeling a life grow and develop inside your body, until birth, can one understand what that experience really is.”

The woman in the projection grew emotional, tears glistening in her eyes. “I finally understood what the old legends refer to as a mother’s love.”

“Your arrival brought a whole new life to me. You were like a ray of light in my dark existence, bringing me endless joy. Unfortunately, giving birth to my own child is frowned upon here and is often discriminated against. I tried my best to keep it secret, so after becoming pregnant with you, I never underwent any checkups. Only after your birth did I discover you had a very rare bone dissolution disease.”

“To let you grow up like a normal person, you needed monthly treatment. Three months ago, the doctors told me that as you grew and the disease worsened, the treatment had become increasingly ineffective. Without comprehensive therapy soon, it would be too late. The only place capable of curing this disease was the treatment planet of the Duir Republic: Kamlin.”

A smile appeared on the woman’s face. “It was a huge expense, so I decided to enter the Carnival Mech Gladiator Tournament. Winning the championship would earn enough prize money to cover the treatment. Luckily, I ultimately won the championship, and finally, I could send you for treatment on another planet.”

“However… for certain reasons, I still had to participate in a three-day challenge series.”

Her master paused. “My dear little Nana, I noticed from an early age that your neural reactions were extraordinary, just like mine, so I started your basic mech gladiator training… Today is the last day of the challenge series. I just learned that two of my old rivals are coming to compete. They are tough, but thinking of you fills me with confidence.”

“But the world is unpredictable; no one knows what may happen… If something terrible were to occur, Joan would carry out my instructions. Do not complain, my daughter. This is the best path I could leave for you.”

“My daughter, just thinking that in a few days you will be healthy and back by my side gives me strength. Keep pushing forward!” Her master made a cheering gesture, then disappeared.

Lina was nearly frozen after watching the projection. She had never imagined that her master was actually her mother—the woman who gave birth to and raised her.

As a slave in the Resk Empire, Lina knew that slaves never considered having children, and almost all slave-born offspring came after redemption.

It wasn’t that masters forbade it—raising a child was extraordinarily expensive. Doing so before redemption was nearly unthinkable. Carrying and giving birth personally meant losing income for the entire period and having to pay the master substantial sums to compensate for lost labor. Across the planet, indeed across the whole Resk Empire, very few had ever attempted it.

“Mom… Mommy.” Lina muttered the unfamiliar words. Dusty memories finally resurfaced, trickling into her mind piece by piece from many years ago.

She had always felt different. She rarely went outside. On the few occasions she did, she found no children of her age around her. Almost everyone she encountered was childless, and her master had treated her exceptionally well, fulfilling her every request and even celebrating her birthdays with gifts each year.

Lina’s eyes were wet. The hardships of recent years had nearly made her forget the joyful days she had spent with her mother. “Did you know my master is… my mother?” Lina asked Joan.

“To be honest, I didn’t. Allen didn’t tell me, but I had my suspicions,” Joan said.

“For a while, she cut off all contact with the outside world, not even participating in mech gladiator competitions. When she returned, you were by her side. Though she claimed you were adopted, I could tell she had deep feelings for you.”

Lina knew adoption was cheaper than childbirth, which was why some slaves adopted children as their next generation.

“So… my mother really died in the mech gladiator tournament? Wasn’t she the champion?” Lina asked. Despite having personally watched the competitions as she grew older, she still had doubts.

“Allen lost to an old rival; she was too exhausted,” Joan sighed. “I’ve said it before… it was murder.”

“Murder? How so?” Lina asked anxiously.

“Do you know? That challenge series was unique to the year your mother won the championship.”

“What?” Lina was stunned. She had no idea, as the Resk Empire strictly controlled information and her access was limited.

“Perhaps because Allen had you, after your birth, she went easy on her opponents in competitions. Even in victory, she would stop in time to avoid hurting them,” Joan explained.

“Though mech gladiator rules state that incapacitating the opponent counts as a win, every match in the highest-level planetary tournaments was extremely intense. A mech gladiator either dies or is permanently disabled.”

“But in that year’s finals, Allen didn’t harm her opponent. The emperor was present, demanding she kill them to demonstrate victory. But… that opponent was her friend. Allen cleverly disabled the mech without killing the friend.”

Joan paused. “So later, the emperor announced that the champion must undergo a three-day challenge by mech gladiators across the planet. If anyone could defeat the champion during these three days, all the rewards would go to the challenger.”

Lina was shocked by Joan’s words. She had never imagined it was like this, yet Joan wasn’t finished.

“Actually, Allen could have survived. Her skill far surpassed that of her challengers. If she had chosen to kill them, no one would dare challenge her. But she was too kind. She only fought lightly, so everyone came to challenge her. In the end, she was too exhausted… and lost to her opponent.”

“Then… they didn’t need to kill my master,” Lina said tearfully. “She didn’t even fight back.”

“Because they realized Allen had no massive rewards left; all their challenges were for nothing. In their anger, they struck.”

“What about the prize money?” Lina asked.