Chapter 1 The Earth's Six Dragons and Fifteen Generals

The Earth's Six Dragons are the six best performing and most influential warriors of the past two years. They are the top representatives of Earth's major military academies, the pinnacle of achievement.

The Fifteen Generals are the top three in heavy, light, medium, sniper, and functional mecha categories, based on combined EMP and S-tournament performances.

The current Six Dragons of the USE Zone are: Jiu Xing Du Nai Chao Qinglong, Blood Rose Ophie, Mad Dog Perkins, Roaring Heavenly Venerable Lomachenko, Ghost Shadow Milner, and Mad Lion Robbie.

These six are also the leading figures in the current USE Zone, each with distinct personalities. Overall, Chao Qinglong is the strongest and has the best record. He is the strongest representative of the Solar System's Apocalypse Youth Class. Robbie's strength is somewhat controversial, as he is ranked last among the Six Dragons. However, Robbie is a tournament-type player, usually lazy and unmotivated, but in the S-tournament, he cannot be underestimated. That desperate energy is what the USE currently lacks most.

Li Hao waited for a while. His recent matchmaking has been a bit slow, which should be a good sign, indicating that the opponents to come will be increasingly interesting.

Ding-dong, opponent matched successfully.

Depuya, from the Prometheus A-level Military Academy in the European Zone, is one of the Fifteen Generals.

The Six Dragons, Fifteen Generals, and Supernovas, once officially recognized, will receive a badge, which they can choose to wear or not. Most people wear it, but it's rare to find someone like Robbie who doesn't care.

Depuya is the starting vanguard of the Prometheus team, ranked among the top three light mecha fighters. As a fourth-year student, he is at the peak of his academy experience and physical condition.

Depuya has a nickname, "Devil Ankle Terminator," due to his incredible grasp of balance. Whether in close combat or ranged combat, he delivers amazing performances. Unlike those with good talent but who are slightly immature, he is a true powerhouse. Moreover, he takes his matches very seriously, with an unparalleled desire to win. However, those who know him well like to call him a "flamer" because of his harsh trash talk.

"Alright, finally we get to see a USE player with some weight. Little Zhuang, don't say your big brother is bullying you, I'm giving you a chance to take back what you just said." Fire Man smiled slightly. Although Martians are arrogant, they aren't blind. These are Solar System-level powerhouses, and as long as they take it seriously, there's no chance for internet celebrities. More importantly, he believes that dealing with a brute force type like Muppet requires technique.

Zhuang Zhou shook his head, his expression a bit serious, "Depuya is strong, extremely strong, but I still believe Muppet God will win."

"Hehe, Depuya is the representative light mecha warrior of your USE, and various directional techniques are his signature moves. His style is very restrictive against Muppet. Miracles through brute force depend on who the opponent is. I believe mech combat ultimately relies on technique." Fire Man, feeling confident, became a bit amiable.

"Muppet God is all about technique!" Zhuang Zhou was very straightforward. I don't understand what you're saying; I'm just sticking to my guns.

"Hehe..." Fire Man smiled awkwardly. Damn it, I'm giving you a way out, but you won't take it! Courting death!

But the barrage of comments wasn't going to let him off the hook.

Panicked!

Panicked +1...

Fire Man curled his lip. Panic my ass. Does he think I'm short on money? Would one of the Fifteen Generals stoop so low as to throw a match on purpose?

That's absolutely impossible. If Muppet was just an ordinary person, that'd be one thing. But these live-streamed battles will be notified to the players. If the opponent is an EMP professional player, they can't refuse. But if they aren't, they can refuse. Anyone who agrees to a live stream will take it seriously; no one wants to lose face in front of so many people.

If he can't even trust the strength of an S-level player, what else in this world is worth trusting? Did his space fortress come from a Martian storm? Does his sweetheart not need a new bag? Even landlords run out of supplies!

Zhuang Zhou was also sweating a bit. He's streaming alone now, with his three roommates as assistants. The information on Depuya was immediately compiled, and the more he looked at it, the more frightening it became. The other federations are far away, but this is his own federation's top expert, the kind with a finishing style. The pressure is too much.

How did he get matched with someone at the Fifteen Generals level? If he loses this one, Zhuang Zhou's streaming career will be over.

Student Zhuang Zhou was quite calm, though. Getting this far has already been a magical experience.

The EMP hall of Tianjing Mecha Academy was bustling with noise. After all, Zhuang Zhou is from their school, and he's become a minor celebrity recently. In fact, everyone had guessed that with Muppet's winning streak, his later opponents would definitely include top S-tournament players. Now, one has arrived.

On the other side, Prometheus A-level Military Academy was also lively. The EMP hall was packed with people. Depuya is also a well-known figure in the academy, and since his opponent is the amazing Muppet, the battle is attracting a lot of attention.

Of course, Depuya has no reason to fear the live stream. He's heard of Muppet, who rose from the virtual zone and defeated numerous opponents. He even supposedly defeated Robbie. Although everyone knows that Robbie's usual training is very American in style, very undisciplined, and he often loses, he even took down the supernova from the Ghost Martial Sect last time. The fact that he got matched with him is enough to prove his strength, but it will end here.

The match begins!

Both players enter the selection phase.

Depuya didn't waste words and immediately revealed his signature mecha—the Silver Fox Fighter.

This main light mecha developed by NUP boasts the smoothest mech maneuverability and is loved by position two fighters. Everyone who uses it praises it.

Revealing the mech directly proves Depuya's confidence. It's difficult to counter the Silver Fox Fighter in a one-on-one match, unless you use a narrow environment to restrict it.

"The Tyrant Fighter is better! Overpowering strength can overcome all. Just defend against the initial onslaught, and as long as you land one hit, with Muppet God's strength, you can definitely inflict heavy damage on Depuya!"

"The guy above is an idiot, right? This is the Devil Ankle Terminator Depuya, one of the Fifteen Generals! Using the Tyrant Fighter would be suicide; are you trying to make him eat dust? It definitely has to be the Armored Dragon. Even if the Armored Dragon can't keep up with the agility, at least it can react. The Blitz can still win the lottery!"

"Win the lottery my ass! He'll get caught in a bind and die! Muppet's mech pool is too shallow. All he knows are the Armored Dragon and the Armored Tiger. Did he time travel from ancient times? He could train with any of these new mechs!"

"Yeah, it's always the Armored Dragon and Armored Tiger. It's too easy to be targeted that way. And now that he's reached this point, he doesn't need the gimmick anymore. Bring out some strong mechs! Could it be because he's poor?"

Zhuang Zhou silently watched the comments. As a commentator, he should say something, but he didn't want to. He always felt that Muppet God had some other intention, not for the sake of a gimmick. But with the thinking of ordinary people, he can't find an answer. Why only use the Armored Dragon and Armored Tiger?

Obviously, it wasn't that. Zhuang Zhou remembered that in the virtual zone, Muppet used all kinds of mechs, almost never the same one twice. The four major federations, and even some conceptual mechs, he liked to use.

He doesn't know why, but there must be a very important reason.

To become famous? It's not impossible, and it's a reasonable deduction. But Zhuang Zhou has been following him for a long time and feels that something is off somewhere.

Boom...

The noise awakened Zhuang Zhou from his reverie. The live stream was about to explode, having already surpassed ten million in popularity, and there were over one million VIP holographic viewers.

In such an important battle, Muppet chose an Armored Leopard Fighter???

Currently, the situation on Earth is that the Armored Dragon series is still in use, and the Armored Tiger at least still exists. The Armored Leopard, however, has been completely eliminated. This is a mech that even training facilities won't use. The main reason is that this mech overemphasizes instantaneous burst speed, resulting in extremely clunky mech usage. The instantaneous burst is sufficient, but the continuity is extremely poor. Training with it can also form incorrect habits, which is quite detrimental.

Speaking of the Armored Leopard, it was the swan song of Gabo, the father of the Armored series mechs. When creating the Armored Leopard, he actually wanted to create a super mech, adding a rich and colorful stroke to his mech legacy, enhancing the multi-frequency instantaneous output of the engine to execute Gabo's idolized martial arts assassin path.

However, as proven by facts, even masters lose their minds sometimes. The idea was beautiful, but it overemphasized the concept of "pilot," making it too difficult to control. And that's not all; the results weren't good. NUP, on the other hand, focused on the overall integrity of light mechs, continuously refining the flexibility and connection of details, becoming the mainstream for light mechs, prioritizing the mech itself, allowing warriors to fully unleash their imagination and creativity.

From then on, upgrades and replacements led to Gabo's retirement, and his reputation plummeted.

EMP also has a bit of a mech museum vibe, and among all the mechs, the Armored Leopard has the lowest usage rate. Basically, either someone wants to see how useless the top trash mech can be, or... they chose the wrong one.

Depuya also smiled wryly. As one of the Fifteen Generals of the USE, he certainly didn't need to take advantage of this. He offered the opponent a chance to reselect, and the viewers on Earth were quite happy. They wanted to see an evenly matched battle. Whoever wins or loses, they are still their own people. But being killed because of a wrong choice would be a bit anticlimactic.

"You Earthlings really like to be overly polite," Fire Man said a bit displeased. Damn it, it was practically a free win, and he could have watched Student Zhuang go bankrupt. What's going on? Reselect? Since when is that a thing? Shameless Earthlings just like to mess with his head.

Zhuang Zhou didn't say anything. He felt that this... wasn't a misclick.

Before long, all the viewers erupted in an uproar. The people in Tianjing were also dumbfounded. Depuya had already given him a chance, but Muppet actually... refused??

In other words, he insists on using the Armored Leopard?

"Muppet God is going to take the unconventional route to the end."

"I really don't believe it. The Armored Dragon and Armored Tiger are one thing, but you're facing Depuya with the Armored Leopard. If you can win with that, I'll live stream myself shitting out two pounds and then eating two pounds!"

"Although I really like Muppet, this is going too far. Depuya is a true powerhouse. The Armored Leopard is a joke."

"This internet celebrity has gotten cocky, definitely."

"He won a few matches and doesn't know his own name anymore. The Armored Leopard doesn't even deserve to exist as trash!"

Instantly, the crowd was in an uproar. It was as if a bunch of people had sprung up from nowhere and finally seized the opportunity to rant like crazy.

Fire Man smiled slightly. As expected of Earthlings, he didn't even need to do anything. "Tsk tsk, I knew Muppet was arrogant. I said it before, but his arrogance has exceeded my imagination. Hehe, didn't someone mention a space fortress earlier? If he wins, I'll give away two!"

He finally caught this opportunity. Fire Man had already fully considered all the possibilities and win rates. He couldn't miss this opportunity; he had to raise the stakes so that he could fully unleash his momentum.

After all, he had lost a lot earlier and was still underwater. He needed a wave to turn things around and send Student Zhuang straight to the abyss. Anyway, he wouldn't be able to use Muppet much in the future.