BATTLE FOR STARS

Balk’s proposal certainly sounded fair on the surface.

Each side would provide its own fighter, making it difficult to manipulate the match behind the scenes.

But the biggest problem was obvious—

Belina’s side simply had no suitable mech fighter candidate at all.

It wasn’t that her soldiers were weak. The issue was that operating this kind of mech was completely different from piloting a starship in interstellar combat.

Even though genetically enhanced warship pilots might possess faster reaction speeds, they still had no experience with this kind of mech combat.

Within the Kramic Kingdom’s military forces, only a very small number of units still used mechs.

Ever since anti-gravity technology became widespread, warfare had long since evolved into three-dimensional combat instead of remaining concentrated on planetary surfaces.

The remaining mech units existed mainly for limited ground operations and certain special missions.

Most importantly, among the military personnel accompanying Belina to Planet Boman, there were no mech operators at all.

Nobody had expected recovering the starships would somehow require a mech fighter.

Balk wore an expression that practically said:

I already gave you a chance. If you fail to seize it, don’t blame me later.

Although Belina deeply disliked the look on his face, she had no suitable candidate to counter him.

Rather than lose the match outright, rejecting the proposal might actually be the better option.

But just as she was about to speak, Ding Yufei gently tugged at her sleeve.

Belina turned back in confusion.

“General Balk, our side doesn’t have any proper mech fighters. Isn’t this proposal somewhat unfair?”

Ding Yufei finally spoke for the first time since entering the room.

His Personal AI Assistant had already helped him retrieve the relevant military information.

“That’s fine,” Balk replied casually. “We won’t use official military mech operators either. Our side will use an amateur fighter as well.”

As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the arena below.

There was only one person standing there now—

Lina.

Balk’s explanation instantly angered Belina.

Yet she couldn’t easily refute it.

Lina technically wasn’t a military mech operator.

But after witnessing the earlier battle, anyone could tell she was far stronger than ordinary military mech pilots.

Sending someone like that into the match practically guaranteed victory.

“Father,” Balk suddenly said toward Emperor Hogan, “Lina failed to follow tradition by sparing her opponent. By the rules, she should be punished.”

“However, we can give her one final opportunity.”

“As long as she wins this match, we’ll overlook everything that happened before.”

“But if she loses…”

“Execute her immediately.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Emperor Hogan’s mouth.

From his perspective, the situation was completely favorable.

Their side possessed the reigning mech fighter champion.

No matter how hard Belina searched, there was no way she could produce someone stronger than the champion.

And if Belina refused the match, the Resk Empire would gain the advantage in negotiations over the starships.

After all—

They were the ones offering an opportunity.

Belina naturally saw through everything immediately.

And she understood Balk’s cruelty even more clearly.

If Lina fought and won, she would regain her freedom—

But the starships would remain behind.

If she lost, her life would end there.

If Belina refused the wager entirely, Lina’s fate was obvious enough already.

And those starships would almost certainly end up leased to the Resk Empire.

Although there would technically be rental payments, under current wartime conditions, money held little meaning.

More importantly, Belina’s original mission would have completely failed.

But if she accepted—

Who could possibly fight Lina?

Should she try convincing Lina to intentionally lose?

But that would be the same as asking Lina to walk willingly toward death.

Even if Belina wanted to do that, she didn’t believe she had enough justification to ask such a sacrifice from someone she had only known for a few days.

At last, Emperor Hogan finally spoke.

“Belina, we’ve already decided our fighter.”

“What about your side?”

The wording of the question was extremely deliberate.

He didn’t ask whether Belina accepted the proposal.

He directly asked who she intended to send.

In other words, he deliberately gave her no chance to reject the wager outright.

Clearly, the Emperor was very satisfied with Balk’s idea.

Of course, Belina could still refuse completely and ignore the trick.

But if she did, she would immediately lose the initiative in future negotiations.

Just as she hesitated, Ding Yufei suddenly grabbed her hand.

He had long since understood the true meaning behind Balk’s proposal.

Word by word, he said:

“I can participate in the match.”

“I know how to operate that mech.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone inside the room heard him clearly.

Even Belina stared at him in shock.

She knew Lina had learned Tai Chi from Ding Yufei.

But Lina was still a veteran mech fighter.

Her combat experience, physical conditioning, and reaction speed all far surpassed Ding Yufei’s.

And now she had mastered Tai Chi techniques as well.

If Ding Yufei entered the arena, his chances of victory were practically zero.

Belina looked at him silently.

For a brief instant, a thought flashed through her mind—

Was Ding Yufei planning to intentionally lose to Lina?

Belina truly wanted Lina to survive.

But this matter involved thousands of starships.

Measured purely by value, the price of a servant probably wouldn’t even equal one electromagnetic cannon aboard a single warship.

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Ding Yufei said while looking directly into her eyes. “Trust me. I’m not joking around with something as important as the ownership of the starships.”

If they hadn’t lived together for two years already, Belina would never have believed those words.

But looking into Ding Yufei’s eyes, she knew he wasn’t lying.

Although she still had no idea how he intended to win, she felt she should trust the man she loved.

Belina turned toward Emperor Hogan and pointed at Ding Yufei.

“This will be our fighter.”

Nobody inside the VIP room believed Ding Yufei could actually win.

But since Belina had accepted the wager, the result aligned perfectly with what they wanted.

“If this is going to be an official mech fighter match,” Balk suddenly added, “then I should remind everyone that the participants must undergo standard inspections. No biochemical drugs or enhancement agents are allowed.”

As he looked at Ding Yufei, an uneasy feeling lingered in his mind.

He worried Belina might secretly play tricks.

After all, he himself loved operating behind the scenes.

And the Kramic Kingdom’s biochemical technology had always surpassed that of the Resk Empire.

If they possessed some powerful stimulant drug, the match result could change unexpectedly.

“No problem. We agree,” Ding Yufei replied immediately.

“But we also have conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“The mechs used in the match must be training models. Engine bursts are prohibited. And the only weapons allowed are daggers.”

“After all,” Ding Yufei continued calmly, “I don’t possess one of those specially customized mechs that your mech fighters have spent years tuning for themselves.”

Emperor Hogan and several others frowned slightly.

The request felt strange.

Yet it was undeniably reasonable.

Lina’s mech had been adjusted and optimized over many years specifically for her combat style.

Ding Yufei naturally had no access to such a personalized machine.

Under those circumstances, using identical training mechs could indeed be considered fair.