BATTLE FOR STARS

Lina saw that Max had already taken position and began the first round of attack.

Although the two had never fought before, they had long obtained each other’s data and were clear about each other’s attack habits.

Lina knew that this flying hammer was very fast and quite heavy, but hitting the target was not its ultimate purpose. Inside the hammer was a claw; if it struck the opponent, the claw would instantly pop out and latch onto the enemy’s mech, restricting its movement. Then the chain would wrap around the opponent, while Max would quickly close in.

As long as the distance between them was short enough and the opponent could not move, Max could use the specially designed massive impact punch of its left arm to destroy the opponent’s mech. So the flying hammer’s main purpose was to limit the opponent’s mobility. After all, Max was a heavily armored mech, with heavy armor and equipment, and could not rely on agile movement to attack.

Eve advanced rapidly toward Max with an S-shaped movement. When the distance between them was a little over twenty meters, the flying hammer shot out from Max’s hand, aimed at the position where Eve was about to arrive.

However, seeing the hammer coming, Lina did not change direction. At that speed, it was extremely difficult to change course completely. She simply lowered her body to avoid the hammer’s trajectory, then pushed off with her feet to quickly close in on Max. Only close combat could bring out the advantage of her high-frequency blade.

In fact, Lina really wanted to cut the chain of the flying hammer with one strike, making Jennifer lose this powerful weapon. But she knew that the chain was made of special material, and at such high speed, even a high-frequency blade could not cut it. So the best target remained Max itself, which was not very mobile.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two mechs shrank to just over ten meters. Jennifer pulled the chain, and the hammer that had just flown past Lina now shot back at high speed, targeting Eve’s back. Of course, Lina was already familiar with this common tactic of Jennifer’s. With a slight movement, she dodged the hammer again.

Now the hammer had returned firmly to Max’s hand, and Eve was almost within range. Holding the hammer, Max smashed it rapidly toward the approaching Eve. At the same time, Lina suddenly activated an engine burst.

This was a special mode of mechs, similar to a sudden acceleration of a car. The engine on the mech’s back would suddenly ignite, generating tremendous thrust and allowing the mech to move at extreme speed.

Using this burst, Lina propelled Eve into the air in an instant, dodging the hammer and thrusting the dagger directly toward Max’s head. This was where the neural control core was located; once destroyed, the match would end.

This kind of sudden acceleration attack was also Lina’s specialty. If the opponent reacted even slightly slower, the match would be over—especially against bulky mechs. Their speed was clearly inferior to Eve’s, making them highly vulnerable to such strikes.

However, this “fat” Max and its pilot Jennifer were clearly prepared. At the very moment Lina accelerated and leaped, Max also activated a burst—not upward, but sideways. It was obvious that Jennifer understood Lina’s fighting style very well.

Max’s movement perfectly avoided Eve’s attack. Although Eve’s dagger still made contact, it only struck the shoulder. In the high-speed exchange, Eve could only leave a shallow scratch on Max’s armor, far from causing real damage.

No sooner had Eve landed than Max’s flying hammer came again. Lina reacted swiftly; Eve sidestepped in an instant, and Lina used the opportunity to widen the distance from Max. After all, the hammer’s speed far exceeded that of the mech itself, and she needed to reset before launching another attack.

In a typical match, Lina would have already landed a successful hit by now. And with repeated attempts like this, she would eventually strike a weak point in the opponent’s defense. Even if she missed critical spots, cumulative damage would eventually cause the opponent’s mech to collapse.

But today’s opponent was different. In terms of experience and reaction, Jennifer was no worse than her. Although Max lacked speed, its extremely strong defense meant it could ignore minor damage. The opponent only needed a single effective strike to win.

Lina was well aware of the power of Max’s left-arm impact engine. That arm was specially designed—not only heavy but capable of releasing enormous force. Even if the struck part had strong armor, it would not help much; the massive impact could directly destroy the targeted section of the mech. So the opponent was not aiming for multiple advantages, but a single decisive hit.

Of course, because of its immense power, the left-hand punch was slower than normal attacks. This required the opponent’s mech to be restrained in order to be effective. Therefore, the outcome of this match essentially depended on control versus counter-control.

Lina aimed to use her speed to find weaknesses and attack, while Jennifer intended to restrict Lina’s movement and decide the match with a single blow.

In the first exchange, both sides were cautious, but Lina’s agility still exceeded Jennifer’s expectations. Lina could also tell that Jennifer had made thorough preparations for her attacks and would not allow her to succeed easily.

The threat of the flying hammer was not only its long range but also its flexibility—it could be thrown out and retracted. A moment’s carelessness could result in being hit. However, Max was indeed much heavier than Eve, and its agility was significantly worse. If continuous close combat could be maintained, Lina believed she still had a chance. If she could damage Max’s critical parts and reduce its mobility, defeating it would not be difficult.

In the following exchanges, after dodging the hammer, Lina adopted a strategy of continuous close-range attacks. However, Max unexpectedly chose to evade continuously as well, forcefully widening the distance. Once Lina lost the advantage of close combat, and with the threat of the hammer still present, she did not continue to pursue. The two continued probing each other several more times, but neither caused any substantial damage.

Then Max changed its approach. Instead of passively waiting for Eve’s attack, it began to advance actively, pressing forward from the center of the arena toward the corner where Eve stood.

In Jennifer’s view, waiting in the center was not advantageous. Lina could choose any direction to attack or retreat, controlling the flow of the battle. But if Lina were forced into a corner, her space would shrink, her options would decrease, and Jennifer could better predict her movements. After all, the arena was hemispherical, and near the edges, there was far less room to maneuver.