BATTLE FOR STARS

Lina’s high-frequency blade struck Julia’s mech with perfect accuracy.

Inside the cockpit, Julia had already closed her eyes, waiting for death.

But the blade never pierced through the cockpit.

Instead, it slid along the edge of the cockpit frame, slicing the mech open. Cushioning fluid poured out onto the arena floor like water.

Lina’s blade moved several more times, completely peeling apart the cockpit.

Julia was fully exposed before her.

Nobody understood what Lina intended to do.

Controlling her mech, Lina reached out with one hand and lifted the naked Julia from the cockpit. Several sensor cables still hung from Julia’s body, while cushioning fluid dripped continuously down her skin.

Lina raised Julia before the entire arena, allowing everyone to clearly see the beautiful mech fighter.

Then Lina lifted her high-frequency blade once again.

In Julia’s eyes, Lina had merely changed the method of execution, allowing her to live a few minutes longer.

Perhaps this way displayed Lina’s victory more clearly.

Maybe it would even hurt less.

After all, if a blade pierced directly into the cockpit, who knew where it would strike? Death might become far slower and more painful.

Julia comforted herself with that thought.

The flash of the blade appeared before her eyes.

Julia closed them.

But the blade never descended toward her.

Instead, it slashed into the ruined mech beside her.

With only a few strikes, Lina completely cut Julia’s mech into several pieces.

Then Lina casually threw Julia toward the elevator platform.

Afterward, she turned toward the audience and raised a victorious pose.

Slowly, Julia climbed to her feet and stared at Lina standing in the arena.

“You’re not going to kill me?”

“When my mother spared your master back then, why can’t I spare you today?” Lina replied calmly. “Whatever happened between them, I think the debt between us is settled now.”

“You... know how your mother ended up?”

“I know.”

Julia stared silently at Lina for a long moment.

Then she turned and walked toward the elevator platform, leaving behind only four words.

“Good luck to you.”

The robotic referee had already flown over from the edge of the arena.

Whether Lina killed Julia or not didn’t affect the outcome of the match.

The symbol of victory appeared on Lina’s mech, officially declaring her the winner.

Although the final result differed from what many people expected, not many cared at the moment.

Those who won money rushed to collect their payouts.

Those who lost were busy cursing.

Inside the VIP room, Ding Yufei watched everything unfold with both relief and unease.

He was happy Lina had not delivered the killing blow.

But at the same time, he had no idea what consequences might await her afterward.

Belina had already turned toward Lieutenant General Frederick.

She no longer wanted to waste time over the matter of the starships. More importantly, she hoped to use this opportunity to distract the Emperor’s attention.

As long as the Emperor said nothing, Lina would likely survive this crisis safely.

“General Frederick, the match is over now. Can we discuss the real matter?” Belina asked in an unusually aggressive tone.

She truly didn’t want to drag this out any longer.

“Well... about that...” the general replied awkwardly while glancing repeatedly toward the Emperor.

Clearly, without Emperor Hogan speaking first, this matter couldn’t proceed.

The Emperor still didn’t look in their direction.

Forced to answer, Frederick stiffened and said:

“Princess, those starships are currently still in active use. We cannot return them for the time being...”

Before he could finish, Belina had already frowned.

The general hurriedly continued:

“How about this? We can consider it a lease arrangement. We’ll pay your country rental fees for the starships.”

Belina rejected the proposal in her mind almost instantly.

The issue wasn’t merely how much rent would be appropriate.

During interstellar war, starships were the most important strategic resource.

Building them required enormous amounts of time. And combat starships were nothing like ordinary interstellar transport vessels. Their design standards and construction materials were held to extremely strict requirements, while their size was several times larger as well.

During wartime, even enormous amounts of money couldn’t necessarily buy starships.

Let alone rent them.

“I refuse,” Belina said directly. “Providing you with the new-model starships has already consumed too many of our resources. If we don’t take this fleet back, we cannot recover our losses.”

“Well...” The general looked embarrassed.

He hadn’t expected Belina to reject the proposal so decisively.

“Emperor Hogan, you are my elder. Please make the decision yourself,” Belina said directly toward the Emperor.

She had already realized that unless the Emperor personally spoke, the general simply lacked authority to settle the matter.

Emperor Hogan smiled awkwardly.

“Well...”

At that moment, Balk—who had remained silent behind him the entire time—suddenly spoke.

“I may have a solution. The question is whether both sides are willing to accept it.”

“What solution?” Emperor Hogan asked in surprise.

He clearly hadn’t expected his son—who usually caused nothing but trouble—to suddenly come up with an idea.

“The issue here is simple,” Balk said calmly. “We proposed renting the starships. The Princess refuses.”

“That’s correct,” General Frederick added immediately.

The situation was very clear.

In truth, they simply wanted to use the lease arrangement to retain possession of the fleet permanently.

After all, over two thousand starships amounted to an entire Task Force.

It would enormously strengthen their military power.

“In the Resk Empire,” Balk continued, “matters like this are usually decided through gambling.”

Belina frowned slightly.

She knew gambling was extremely widespread throughout the Resk Empire. Not only did the government operate countless official gambling industries, but private betting culture was everywhere as well.

As long as two parties agreed, virtually anything could become a wager.

Still, she had never heard of important political matters being decided this way.

“What exactly are you proposing?” Belina asked.

“We gamble on a match,” Balk answered directly. “The loser accepts the winner’s terms.”

Belina honestly didn’t want to gamble.

She was demanding the return of the starships according to the original agreement.

But from the current situation, it was obvious the other side had no intention of returning them willingly.

A wager, however, at least gave both sides a chance.

The Resk Empire certainly wouldn’t dare refuse to honor the result publicly. Their entire gambling industry’s reputation depended on credibility.

And even if she lost, the outcome would merely be agreeing to a lease arrangement. The duration and price would still need further negotiation between both sides.

That wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

“What kind of match?” Belina asked after thinking for a moment.

Seeing that his father still hadn’t stopped him, Balk continued confidently.

“We bet on the outcome of a mech fighter match.”

“But this mech fighter match already ended,” Belina replied strangely.

“Yes,” Balk said with a smile. “This match is over. We can wager on the next one.”

“The next one?”

Belina immediately grew suspicious.

Was Balk proposing another tournament match?

These kinds of competitions existed mainly within the Resk Empire. Manipulating the outcome through the participants would not be difficult at all.

“What I mean,” Balk explained while looking directly at Belina, “is that both sides organize a new match independently. Each side selects their own fighter. Whoever wins the match wins the wager.”

“That way,” he added slowly, “you won’t have to worry about us playing any tricks.”