NOVEL NEXT Chapter 49: Still infected
"One." Damien Bloodbane grinned at the crowd of old geezers standing behind him.
Ten thousand dollars for three seconds of work.
Super Soldier Damien Bloodbane was actually feeling quite good.
He had completely placed the super laggy loan shark system to the back of his mind, and was totally enjoying his time.
"Hahahahaha! Very good! Very good!" General Maru howled with unnaturally deep satisfaction. It was as though he had a massive pent up grudge against the Mecha Department.
Beside him, General Riki slapped his knee so hard it echoed through the room.
"DID YOU SEE THAT? DID YOU SEE THAT?! ONE MOVE! A SINGLE MOVE!" He grabbed General Xian Fei by the shoulders and shook him like a ragdoll. "I TOLD YOU THIS KID WAS A MONSTER!"
Meanwhile, General Liang, the oldest of them all who had initially vehemently protested against the testing of the BGA Sim Pods, was stroking his long white beard with a look of pure elderly delight.
"Ahh, such efficiency. Such precision. That's what true mecha combat should look like." He said with a scholarly air as though he actually knew something about mecha combat.
He did not, by the way.
He was China's strongest anti-mecha advocate, and absolutely refused to learn anything about it. His accumulated knowledge about "true mecha combat" was a resounding zero.
In fact, it might even be negative, since he was recently frequently peeking at his grandson's animated tv show - The Wing Gundam, and occasionally muttering things like, "Is that how mechas fight? Interesting."
The other generals stared at him, their expressions somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
General Maru smirked. "Oh? Such efficiency and precision, you say? From those 'walking tin cans' you've been ranting about for the last thirty years?"
General Liang scoffed, but his beard-stroking only intensified. "Hmph! I never said that. I merely appreciate a well-executed battle."
General Riki cackled. "Aha! You're converted!"
"I AM NOT!" General Liang huffed, his face darkening. "I'm merely... acknowledging superior combat skills."
The others burst into laughter as the queue for the next match loaded.
General Liang, scowling, silently vowed to himself that this was the first and last time he would ever compliment a mecha battle.
Major Harvey took a deep breath, settling into his Sim Pod.
As a veteran of over thousands of fights, everything within felt familiar to him.
Yet they were also completely useless to him.
His Battle God mecha had yet to win a single fight even against his low ranked sergeants.
But now… now was different.
Now, he was facing Hungry Monster.
The bastard who had completely obliterated Lieutenant Ye Bai in a single move. The phantom pilot who had humiliated the Northern Army Corps.
The mystery player that every sergeant under his command now feared more than their own drill instructors, though for a vastly different reason - they attributed the source of the batshit crazy plague infection to him.
Major Harvey took a deep breath and steadied his nerves.
This was his chance.
He would rid the stain on the Northern Army Corps honor and destroy that Hungry Monster!
Ding!
A random map was chosen: Cityscape.
Hungry Monster (Unaffiliated) VS DarkLord (Northern Titans)
Good.
This was a setting he was good at. Ruined buildings, tight alleyways and plenty of cover opportunities. It was a proper battlefield for real combat maneuvers.
The countdown began.
3…
His heart pounded.
2…
He flexed his fingers, ready.
1…
Fight!
The moment control was given, Major Harvey burst forward, his Battle God sprinting across the broken streets, weaving between the ruins with impressive speed.
No hesitation.
No overthinking.
He was a Major of the Northern Army Corps, and this was just another opponent he needed to crush.
He was not going to embarrass himself like Lieutenant Ye Bai.
His comms flickered on.
"Oh? Another one?" Damien Bloodbane's voice came through, smooth and relaxed, almost bored.
Major Harvey's teeth clenched.
"You got lucky last time. Let's see you pull that off again."
He surged forward rapidly, the Battle God eating up the distance between them at a respectable clip.
However, Major Harvey frowned as soon as Damien Bloodbane came into view.
The Battle God in front of him wasn't moving.
It just stood there. Completely still.
It was not in a defensive stance. It was not in a guard position. It was not even preparing for a counterattack.
It was just… standing.
Waiting.
Major Harvey's instincts screamed at him.
Every combat lesson drilled into his bones from years of military training told him to abort.
But he wasn't there to avoid a fight.
The honor of the Northern Army Corp was at stake!
"Take this you bastard!" Major Harvey howled and displayed every single ounce of skill he had gathered from his years of combat experience.
His thrusters ignited. He lunged in, blade flashing… And then everything shattered.
Before his strike could connect, a blinding arc of silver cut through his vision.
A single, perfect counter.
His screen flickered. His systems failed. His entire mecha collapsed in two perfect halves before his brain could even register what had happened.
Major Harvey didn't even have time to react.
[YOU HAVE BEEN DEFEATED]
The bright red text seared itself onto his screen.
Silence.
Major Harvey's Sim Pod door hissed open.
He sat there.
Still.
Processing.
For fifty whole seconds, he didn't move.
Then his eye twitched.
His breath came out uneven.
The five sergeants outside stared at him, wide-eyed in horror.
A terrible, terrible realization dawned upon them.
Harvey slowly turned his head toward them, his fingers curling.
"You. Duel. Now."
"HE'S STILL INFECTED!"
One of the sergeants screamed and ran.
"THE BATSHIT CRAZY PLAGUE IS STILL HERE!"
But it was too late for them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Two." Damien Bloodbane smiled at the old coots who were in all out celebratory mode.
The room was shaking with their laughter, cheers, and frankly unnecessary levels of gloating.
"This is even better than Wing Gundam!" General Liang screamed excitedly, his earlier oath to himself completely forgotten.
"Hahahaha! Maybe I should give little Zhen a call and ask how his mecha trainees are doing! That should brighten up his day!" General Xian Fei cackled, already reaching for his phone.
"Little Zhen?" General Riki snorted. "You mean General Zhen, Head of the Mecha Corps?"
"EXACTLY!" General Xian Fei grinned evilly, his entire being radiating pure mischief.
It was hard to imagine that this was the man who had led China's best and strongest Mana Awakened forces against the European Empire for many years.