Chapter 137 First Blood

Somewhere in the Light Cluster, Taini's forces were under a fresh wave of attacks. They exchanged primal arcane energy fire with the enemy while moving, dispatching small assault ships to weave through the complex battlefield, constantly closing in on the enemy, intending to engage in boarding actions. This was the nemesis of the Kunde Clan fleet, which lacked Supers.

In the previous battle, Taini had been obviously letting the Black Star Army slack off, showing his intention to protect them. To slightly balance the opinions of other forces under his command, he had the Black Star Army take on the main combat task this time against a small group of enemies.

In the complex battlefield, a shuttle-type small warship nimbly performed various maneuvers, weaving through the crisscrossing energy beams and dodging the constantly expanding primal arcane energy clusters.

Inside the ship, armed landing teams were already on standby in each assault pod. Nilo's team was deployed in one of these pods.

The interior of the assault pod was a steel-gray, slightly dim, with only a row of red indicator lights flashing at the top, dyeing everyone's faces red. Neatly arranged on the metal walls were electromagnetic discs emitting blue light. All members of Nilo's team stood in two rows, leaning against different electromagnetic discs, allowing the electromagnetic force to adhere to the back of their combat suits, thereby stabilizing their bodies.

The ship was flying with difficult maneuvers, and the assault pod was slightly vibrating. The streaks of ship cannon rays constantly flashing past the corner of his eyes made Nilo's face pale, a little frightened.

"Kid, don't be afraid. Our ship's maneuverability far exceeds that of the enemy. They can't hit us."

The captain, wearing heavy mech armor, laughed and patted Nilo's shoulder.

Usually, the person who says that will be in trouble in the next second... Nilo couldn't help but mutter to himself.

There were simulated courses for assault pod landings in the academy, and Nilo knew a whole set of precautions, but facing the actual combat environment, he still felt nervous.

"This is the first time you've fought alongside our team since you joined. Let us see your actual combat strength. Don't hold us back," the captain said with a chuckle.

"Got it." Nilo took a breath and clenched his fists.

Waiting in the assault pod was a torturous thing. Time seemed to stretch out. Nilo didn't know how long had passed when a notification suddenly sounded in the pod.

"Target locked. Assault pod launch estimated in forty-five seconds. Prepare for combat! Repeat, prepare for combat!"

The countdown appeared on the screen of the assault pod door. Seeing this, Nilo's heart tightened instantly. He turned his head and looked around, and all his teammates' faces were tense.

"Final equipment check!" the captain shouted, his tone serious.

Everyone was already prepared, but they checked again. Nilo also restarted the armor self-check.

He was currently equipped with specialized mech armor that he had personally modified. Sphere Two could mobilize a lot of resources to create mech armor made of rare materials, with performance superior to the Black Star Army's standard armor.

Although Nilo could get armor built by more advanced mechanics with his identity, he still preferred to study new blueprints himself.

The prototype of this armor was the Mountain Ape that Han Xiao had once used, but Nilo didn't have that high mechanical skill. He used a simplified, watered-down version that he had personally modified, naming the mech armor "Steel Ape," focusing on melee combat.

As a serious, fragile mechanic, Nilo's first consideration when manufacturing armor was melee ability... Under the influence of Han Xiao and Mia, Nilo also had a soft spot for melee combat.

Nilo's current level was C+, but with *Perfect Mechanical Sense* and the ordinary mechanical talents he had obtained over the years, his actual mechanical ability could reach B level, and the quality of the equipment he created far exceeded his peers.

"Ready, ten-second countdown!"

Hearing the captain shout, Nilo took a deep breath, moved his mind, put on the armor mask, and made a combat-ready stance with his teammates.

Rumble!

In the next moment, a huge propulsive force suddenly added to his body, the pod vibrated violently, and the assault pod shot out with a bang.

The screen marked the target and their own position, and the distance between them was rapidly shortening.

Bang!

The entire assault pod shook violently, biting onto the enemy ship. The built-in laser cutter quickly cut a gap in the enemy ship's outer armor, and crashed into the enemy ship's interior.

The door opened with a swoosh, and before them was a messy enemy ship passage. Everyone rushed out of the assault pod without hesitation, and began to sweep the ship for enemies.

The enemy reinforcements came quickly, and the team encountered a large number of enemies.

The Kunde Clan warriors had all undergone genetic adjustments. Although they were not Supers and did not have various strange abilities, they had good physical qualities. Their basic attributes were roughly equivalent to level 25 to 45 characters, equivalent to grades E to D. With the cooperation of various combat armors, their combat effectiveness was not weak.

The team was blocked in the middle of a section of the passage, and the enemy reinforcements poured in from both sides, advancing step by step, holding guns, and constantly firing toward the middle.

Nilo had thrown out a compression orb early, turning it into a miniature armed fortress to protect the team. Armor walls and a large-scale shield blocked the Kunde Clan soldiers' flanking fire, and the team fired back from the fortress.

"Kid, good job."

The captain encouraged Nilo, then pointed to the vice-captain and said decisively, "Take the initiative. I'll be in charge of the front, you'll be in charge of the back, Nilo, you put up turrets and mechanical soldiers in the back to provide cover for us."

After speaking, the captain led a group of team members straight out of the fortress, charging forward against the artillery fire. The advantage of being a Super was that they could crush the other side in individual combat power. As long as they rushed into the crowd, they could start a massacre.

Nilo steadied his mind and immediately threw out a large pile of compression orbs, transforming them into various turrets.

Rat-tat-tat—

The turrets fired at the enemies on both sides, providing cover for his teammates.

With the blessing of his Mechanical Force, the power of the ranged weapons was extremely amazing, instantly tearing apart the Kunde Clan soldiers' formation on both sides, blasting through shields and outer armor, and blowing the Kunde Clan soldiers to pieces. Splashing bodily fluids coated the walls and the ground.

Instantly killing a large number of enemies, streams of gray air flowed into the mark of death on the back of Nilo's hand. This was a small gift that Hela had given him a long time ago. The more enemies he killed, the more slowly his mental strength would increase. Nilo was now officially playing the role of this mark.

With his firepower support, his teammates easily crushed the formation of these Kunde Clan soldiers, sweeping away and slaughtering them.

Many teammates looked at Nilo's performance with admiration, secretly praising him.

"This newcomer has fierce firepower."

"Are normal C-grade mechanics this powerful?"

"This kid has some skills. No wonder he has a relationship with His Excellency Black Star."

The team advanced rapidly, and more and more enemy reinforcements arrived, all charging up fearlessly, suffering heavy casualties, and the situation was very tragic.

In particular, the martial artists led by the captain had very heavy fists and feet. They might not be able to break the enemy's armor, but the surging martial aura was enough to shock the Kunde Clan soldiers in the armor to death.

The ground was covered with incomplete corpses, which made Nilo a little uncomfortable. Even though the armor mask filtered the air, he could still vaguely smell the pungent bloody smell.

The Kunde Clan's attitude of not being afraid of sacrifice shocked Nilo slightly, but he and his teammates killed without mercy, and all the Kunde Clan soldiers who rushed up basically surrendered.

He was just nervous about facing a real fight for the first time, but he would not pity the enemy in his heart. The army had targeted education in this regard.

However, Nilo's nervousness was also mixed with a faint excitement. He didn't want to stay behind to provide fire support all the time.

As a Black Star Army mechanic, his melee instinct was stirring, and he couldn't help but want to rush up to show off his melee skills several times, but he was afraid of being scolded by his teammates.

At this moment, an exclamation suddenly came from the team communication channel.

Kunde Clan soldiers were besieging the Black Star Army warriors who were close to them. A teammate's shield was broken, and he was immediately subjected to concentrated fire. The armor on his body was severely damaged, and black smoke was rising. The whole person staggered backward under the reaction force, as if he had fallen into a brief state of dizziness.

A large group of Kunde Clan soldiers around him pulled out the high-frequency daggers from their waists, pounced on him together, pushed him down, and stabbed him frantically with their daggers.

This teammate was a C-grade martial artist with strong physical fitness. His whole body was emitting fiery auras. He struggled to knock away one enemy after another. However, the continuous stream of enemies fearlessly pounced on him, covered in sweat, and the two sides were entangled in a ball, and his body was stabbed several times, falling into a dangerous situation.

The nearby teammates were about to turn around to help when a dark figure suddenly rushed up from behind, knocking away a large wave of Kunde Clan soldiers at once, like a bowling ball knocking down a pile of pins. It was Nilo, whose heart for close combat had finally been unable to restrain itself.

Several Kunde Clan soldiers nearby turned their heads to besiege Nilo. Nilo's tactical screen displayed the trajectory of the enemy's attack. He quickly dodged and squatted according to the instructions. His movements were smooth and flowing, and the enemy's dagger missed, brushing against the armor's shield, creating a stream of energy sparks.

While maneuvering, Nilo ejected a wrist blade. With the dodging movements, he constantly slashed and thrusted, his speed was extremely fast. The wrist blade sliced through the enemy's armor and body like cutting tofu. The cold blade brought out pieces of hot blood, and killed all the enemies.

After helping his teammates out of the siege, Nilo did not return to the back to concentrate on firing, but once again rushed into the enemy, hacking down one enemy after another, turning the enemy's formation upside down.

Looking at the enemies falling under his wrist blade one by one, Nilo felt a burst of satisfaction in his heart.

— As expected, a real mechanic should be engaged in melee combat! This is the style of a mechanic!

Seeing this scene, the captain's face flashed with surprise.

Although he knew that Nilo, who had temporarily joined, might be the strongest person in the team, they had not fought side by side before today, and they did not know much about each other's abilities.

At this time, seeing Nilo cutting a bloody path like cutting melons and vegetables, the captain muttered in his heart:

"A mechanic who's doing a good job, why is he always rushing up to fight in close combat for no reason? What's wrong with him..."

In front of a group of Supers, the Kunde Clan soldiers in the ship did not have much ability to resist. The battle did not last long, and the enemy was soon wiped out.

Blue-green blood stains covered the command room. All the enemy ship crew members were killed. Everyone put away their weapons and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Nilo retracted the compression orb, slightly distracted and in a daze, seemingly still savoring the battle just now.

Seeing this, the captain took the initiative to walk to Nilo's side, put his arm around his shoulder, and said with a smile, "You fought well just now. How do you feel? Still not used to it?"

"I, I'm much better." Nilo quickly waved his hand. After a real fight, his condition was not so tense anymore.

Although he was a little nervous at first, he gradually got into the groove later, and felt more and more relaxed. The melee combat was so enjoyable that it made him feel very comfortable.

He didn't have much discomfort after killing people. The first was that the species were different, so the psychological impact was not high. The second was that Supers themselves had a certain amount of mental resilience, and they could easily accept all kinds of cruel scenes. The third was that after having extraordinary power, their mentality would change, and they would want to exert whatever power they had.

"This is the first time, it's all like this. It's good to see some blood, and you'll get used to it in the future." The captain's tone was casual, "If you feel uncomfortable, you can come to me. I'll give you free guidance as someone who's been there."

"Thank you, but I don't need it."

Nilo raised a smile, slightly moved. After this battle side by side, he couldn't help but feel comradeship with this team, and their relationship became much closer.

...

Nilo's first life-and-death fight went smoothly, giving him a lot of confidence. The encounter itself did not last too long, and the Kunde Clan fleet's defeat was without suspense. The Imperial fleet soon began to clean up the battlefield.

In the main ship, Taini watched the Black Star Army's ships that had been sent to fight return to the unit mostly intact, and nodded calmly.

The Black Star Army didn't suffer any casualties, and he felt very satisfied. As the commander, there were many ways to help the Black Star Army reduce casualties, and he planned to take this as a repayment to Han Xiao.

"Beep beep."

At this moment, the communicator suddenly rang.

Taini glanced at it, his face changed slightly, and he immediately connected the communication, his tone with a hint of respect:

"Your Excellency Black Star, I was still preparing to visit you after the war, but I didn't expect you to take the initiative to contact me."

"We haven't talked for a long time. I just happen to have something to ask you for help." The caller was Han Xiao.

"I wonder what you want me to do?" Taini didn't like small talk and asked directly.

"I heard you want to protect the Black Star Army's troops?"

"Yes." Taini nodded.

"Hehe, this is what I want to ask you for help. Don't protect my people too much. I sent them to participate in the war. On the one hand, they are participating in the conscription, and on the other hand, they are training." Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Then I understand." Taini heard this and didn't say any more nonsense. Since the person involved had spoken, he wouldn't refuse.

"Also, I hope you can take more care of this person..."

Han Xiao sent Nilo's information to Taini, with a mysterious smile:

"This kid is my student, and I want him to get more exercise. If it's convenient, try to give him more combat opportunities... Also, if he encounters some unexpected situations, it's all me training him, don't be surprised."

He felt that he still had a bit of conscience and didn't interfere with Nilo's first battle to build confidence.

But later on, he was going to do it, so he came over to inform Taini in advance.

Taini glanced at the information and nodded, "I'll arrange it."

"Then I'll trouble you. After the war, I'll be waiting for you in the Gulu Star Cluster. We'll have a good chat then."

"Okay."

After ending the communication, Taini looked at Nilo's information again, and muttered to himself:

"Black Star's student... then he has to be properly arranged."

...

At the same time, a mixed legion commanded by another Imperial officer had also just ended an encounter in another area, cleaned up the battlefield, and continued marching.

The commander who had just commanded a battle went to rest, and the work was temporarily taken over by the deputy commander. Gaode, as the commander's adjutant, also got a short break.

After greeting many colleagues, Gaode returned to his room, took off his officer's uniform, and walked into the bathroom. The sound of rushing water soon sounded inside.

After taking a shower, Gaode wrapped a towel around himself, came to the mirror with his upper body naked, and carefully looked at his body.

Pale skin, tall and thin body, ordinary appearance...

Gazing at the mirror, Gaode raised his hand, stroked the face in the mirror, and a smile that was not a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"A young body... is really good."