Ye Muo closed his eyes and took a deep breath after swinging his sword.
He shifted his weapon to his right hand a few seconds later, pointed diagonal to the ground. The blade whipped sharply through the air.
Lakely could barely contain his excitement at this point. His worries had been for naught. “Looks like Xavier’s strength is more stable than I imagined for someone in his psychic development period. The incident from before wasn’t just a fluke either. His physical attributes are just that inconceivably high! He can actually go against mecha barehanded!”
[Going to bet on him for #1 Newcomer this year!]
[Maybe next time. I don’t think Grantz will be able to advance this time. We’ll see once the preliminary rankings come out in the middle of Round 1. Still, it’s astounding what he’s already capable of at his age.]
[Just placed a bet on Grantz taking first place to show my support for Xavier’s hometown. Hopefully they’ll gather enough money soon to buy him a mech.]
[Watching him fight is such a treat. It’s like watching David going up against Goliath in real life.]
[I’m buying his merch!]
Lakely soon became concerned again. “But thing still don’t look good. Hopefully Ye Muo manages to leave soon. Mecha can reach three times the speed of hovercars and sustain that speed for a long time.”
Meanwhile, an oblivious Ye Muo turned to the right to face Ressa and the others.
Ressa stared up from the ground at Ye Muo and the red mech collapsed beside him. The enormous mech dwarfed him in size. Even its helm was taller than him.
Ressa watched in a daze as Ye Muo came this way at a measured pace.
The others finally returned to their senses. One of the two pilots restraining Ressa let go of him and lunged at Ye Muo. “What are you?!”
Ye Muo dashed forward as well, brushing past the mech with ease.
He took out one of the mech’s leg components with one strike this time, causing it to crash heavily to the ground.
The rest of Team Xiboen could no longer stand by and watch. They descended from the surrounding structures and approached Ye Muo cautiously.
The blond from Team Kernan snapped back to his senses. There was only one mech subduing Ressa right now.
The blond’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest. His eyes darted between Ye Muo and Ressa for a few seconds before he charged in the direction of the mech suppressing Ressa.
Ressa immediately seized the opportunity to get up and bodycheck the Xiboen mech. He retreated to Zenir’s location with the Kernan blond before taking up a defensive stance in front of them.
The enemy pilot made to move in their direction before pausing and reluctantly heading for Ye Muo instead. He knew he wasn’t a match for Ressa without his teammates around.
Ressa didn’t relax just yet. Although the tables seemed to have turned for now, he knew this could change at any moment. The rest of his team could barely be considered able combatants. He had to put their safety first.
It sounded ridiculous, but the only ones who could put up a fight here were him and that child who didn’t even have a mech.
Ressa watched Ye Muo take an offensive stance as he was gradually surrounded.
That child was even younger than Zenir. In time, he was all but destined to become a brilliant genius.
He just needed time. He just needed to make it out of here safely.
Ressa’s psychic power was as taunt as the string of a bow, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
Zenir was plastered to the blond’s side. He was still reeling from everything that happened. “C-Captain, what about Ye Muo?”
The blond quietly commented as he looked over, “The captain will handle it. Remember to stick close to me if a fight breaks out later.”
A black Xiboen mech drew a bit closer to Ye Muo than the rest before coming to a stop. The others soon followed suit.
This mech belonged to Aize, the vice-captain of Team Xiboen. A third of their team was here right now. Their captain had taken the rest to the flag placement area.
Regardless, Aize was one of the top contestants in the individual bracket. Even Ressa wasn’t confident in besting him in a 1v1, especially with his mech already damaged.
Aize didn’t seem to have any intention to attack at the moment. He asked Ye Muo, “Where’s your mech button?”
In truth, Grantz hadn’t acquired any mecha yet because they were not required to enter the tournament. But Ye Muo couldn’t just say that.
Bert said they couldn’t let other people look down on Grantz, but lying didn’t seem right either.
Ye Muo didn’t let any of his inner conflict show. He just crouched a bit more, ready to strike at any time.
The official livestream still hadn’t cut away yet.
The host stood up and spread his arms dramatically. “A genius! Another genius born in an unknown corner of the galaxy! Come, friends. Let us cheer for this genius on the cusp of adulthood! Convey to him your enthusiasm!”
Each tournament contestant had a page featuring their profile and videos maintained by the Alliance. They would direct any gifts or support received here to the contestant’s personal accounts.
Countless viewers flocked to Ye Muo’s page. It seemed a bit empty with only a basic profile.
Even so, his number of followers was rising rapidly.
The host continued with great enthusiasm, “Alas, our little genius had the misfortune to run into Xiboen. His journey in the tournament will end here. Not to worry, though. He has already shown the world his strength. I’m sure there will be many invitations waiting for him in the future. He will still be able to give us many wonderful performances to come. May his glorious journey continue another day!”
With that, the host reluctantly retook his seat. “It seems Boston is on the move, everyone. Unfortunately, we will have to bid farewell to our little genius for now.”
Many viewers stayed behind after the official livestream switched perspectives. The team perspective would follow the captain, and every superstar contestant had their own feed as well.
As Ye Muo was not the captain for Team Grantz, those who stayed behind funneled into Team Kernan or Aize’s perspective.
Aize remained in place. He didn’t mind Ye Muo’s refusal to answer and continued, “You should join our team. Here, you will have access to a better stage.”
Ye Muo only tightened his grip on his sword in response.
The situation fell into stalemate.
Lakely was panicking at this point. At least there was a chance Aize would let Xavier go if his response was appeasing enough. Xavier really was too young.
A lazy drawl cut through the silence.
“Trying to kidnap kids in front of their guardians is no good, you know.”
The voice came from above.
Ye Muo looked up, pleasantly surprised. “Bert?”
Bert was crouched on the building Ye Muo and Team Kernan had spent the night in. No one knew when he had arrived.
He smiled down at Ye Muo. “What a coincidence. Are you feeling peckish, Xavier? Sylvia will definitely scold me if I let you go hungry.”
“No, I have nutrient solution on me.”
“Is that so. I happened to pick up a flag around here. Is anyone missing one?”Â
Ye Muo’s hand shot into the air. He had set the flag aside earlier. He didn’t forget to defend himself, “I just put it there for a minute.”
Bert seemed to be in an indulgent mood. “Alright, alright. Just for a minute. Of course our Xavier can do no wrong.”
He tossed the flag to Ye Muo. “Go play on the side for a minute, Xavier. Oh wait, our Xavier isn’t a little kid anymore.”
Bert continued in that casual tone of his, “Then consider this your task. Protect that flag well. It’s the only one we have, after all.”
Ye Muo caught the flag. He seemed to have something to say but stayed quiet in the end. He headed over to join Ressa.
It’s not like he could out-argue Bert anyway.
Bert’s smile vanished as he turned to Aize. He worked out the kinks in his neck with a pop. “Now, onto business. You guys are starting to make me mad. Is it fun to bully little kids?”
“Grown-up matters should be handled by grown-ups.”
By the time those words fell, Bert was already landing on Aize’s black mech. The mech fell back with a loud commotion.
“Right?”
Meanwhile, Aize’s name in the list of contestants went dark.
Contestants would be automatically eliminated when their mech was damaged to a certain extent. Ye Muo dismembering the red mech earlier wasn’t enough to reach this threshold. Only rendering a mech completely non-functional would do.
And Bert accomplished that in a single strike.
Lakely’s pupils shrank into pinpoints. He stared at Bert, dumbfounded. “Monster…”
The chat came to a standstill for a beat before messages started flooding in at a terrifying pace.
[Damn…]
[His name is Bert, right?]
[Yeah. He’s Xavier’s grandpa! I was wrong. Grandpa is no slouch himself!]
[As expected of Xavier’s grandfather! Honestly, he should have a few more kids.]
[Bert has a lot of kids already, right? I recall the entire Grantz team being from the same family. People were even calling them out for nepotism or something…]
Bert hadn’t even drawn his sword. He loosened up his wrist as he turned to the rest of Team Xiboen.
The other mecha shifted towards him in response.
“Let me play with you for a while, little mice.”
With that, a consecutive series of loud impacts rang out. Tons of dust rose into the air.
No mech was left standing by the time Bert came to a stop atop his final victim.
“You should be thankful that Xavier is here today.”
Otherwise, things wouldn’t have ended so neatly.
Bert hopped down from the mech. He cast it one final glance before heading over to Xavier’s side, ignoring the fallen mecha and Ressa entirely.
Bert warmly opened his arms. “You had me worried sick, my dear Xavier.”
Instinct made Ye Muo take a half-step back, but he didn’t fight the embrace in the end.
“Poor little Xavier. You must have not eaten well or slept well for days. Look at how thin and dirty you’ve become. Sylvia is going to chew me out for this.”
Ye Muo struggled in Bert’s arms.
“I’m not thinner or dirty.” He protested.
Bert let go of him and brushed his cheek with the pad of his thumb. He raised an eyebrow.
“…I’m only a little dirty.” Ye Muo said in a small voice.
He didn’t have time to clean himself up with how hectic the past few days had been.
Bert covered his face in feigned sorrow. “It’s all my fault. I knew what a delicate flower my Xavier was. I should’ve brought Norton along instead. My Xavier is more suited for gentler games. Sylvia must be heartbroken.”
Ye Muo was both embarrassed and a little guilty. He was the weakest among the Grantz, after all. He tried his best to quietly comfort Bert, “Father couldn’t come, right? It’s not Bert’s fault. I’ll explain everything to Sylvia.”
“That’s good. Don’t forget now.”
Zenir stared at them, dumbfounded. “C-Captain?”
Ressa numbly made a sound of acknowledgement.
Far, far away, in the Grantz palace, Sylvia scoffed. She slammed her coffee cup down on her desk before taking a deep breath.
There were quite a number of people following Bert’s perspective as well, including Grantz and the other countries located in that corner of the galaxy. Grantz was the only representative from their local area, after all.
They had no choice but to watch Bert’s perspective. Over the past few days, the viewers watched him wine and dine at various hotels in the area while setting Ye Muo up in his spare time.
Ye Muo was forced to subsist on nutrient solution and sleep in drafty buildings while Bert complained about the hotel beds not being as comfortable as his own back in Grantz.
[I want nothing more than to show Xavier all the footage I saved.]
[Grow up, Bert! Don’t you dare gaslight Xavier!]
[Does his conscience not weigh on him at all, bullying a little kid like this? Does he even have a conscience in the first place?]
[Of course Bert doesn’t have a conscience. You would be better off hoping he grows bored of teasing an easy target like Xavier.]
