Tempest of the Stellar War

 The military transport carriers were currently departing from the planetary space station, heading for the planetary base to land.

 Seizing this free time, the 64 teams’ national generals had come to celebrate with them.

 “Well done!”

 Meng Ao was generous with his praise. However, he had come here not just to say this, but also to convey an important message.

 Following this, his expression turned serious. “Alright, time enough to celebrate later. Now, listen up. Previously, we were in group D. After this round of eliminations, too many were eliminated from group D, so there’s been a reshuffle. Manalasuo has been slotted into group D. Besides them, the Silver Snake Coalition and Morgan Locke Empire also need to be watched carefully.”

 Meng Ao directed his comments especially towards Wang Zheng. As long as they did not immediately go up against Manalasuo in the next round, the Solar System stood a good chance of maintaining their dark horse reputation and breaking through to the next round.

 The first fleet of transport ships landed on the planetary base. They would ferry the 64 qualified teams back to Mengtalis. Leaving first was the privilege of the victors.

 The generals and leaders had been separated, to take a separate ship.

 Akerlof appeared at the entrance of the advancing spaceship, snapping a military salute.

 With a clatter, all the candidates responded in unison. Even the Atlanteans followed. When in Rome.

 Akerlof smiled. “Firstly, let me congratulate you. You are the victors, and your prize is to return to Mengtalis to contest for the top 32 places! However, what awaits you there is the real competition. No blanks, no dummy mecha. There will be realistic fights. You have all signed the indemnity forms, and need no reminder from me. I believe each of you have your own reasons for fighting. Of course, rules are rules. If one side surrenders, the other may not attack further, or they’ll be ruled out.”

 The 64 teams were quiet for a beat, then let out a ear-splitting roar of approval. Nobody feared battle.

 Akerlof’s tone suddenly changed. “Alright, also, the Milky Way’s Chairman wishes all of you the best of luck. The Milky Way Alliance is the best place to rise in the entire galaxy. It is the cradle where generals are born. One day, you too might receive the requisition order. Come to Milky Way Alliance…”

 Far away, the separated generals scowled. Damn, Akerlof was brazenly advertising his own cause.

 Akerlof was an old fox. In truth, he had to. The Allied troops were desperately short of elite officers. In the last decade, many countries had begun to take more seriously the management of their human resources. Gradually, the arms race had shifted to a talent race. Furthermore, modern examples of warfare had proven that, in regional conflicts, the influence of people often outstripped the advantage of equipment.

 After he had finished promoting the Milky Way Alliance’s recruitment, Akerlof wasted no words. With a huge wave of his hand, he said, “Now, depart! Destination, Mengtalis!”

 The rumble and din of the crowd.

 The 64 teams had been allocated to different groups. Following the instructions transmitted by Skylink, they entered one of the eight different transport carriers.

 The eight transport carriers represented the groups A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H. The grouping had been determined before the top 128, but had undergone minor adjustments following the eliminations to ensure that each group would have eight IG teams.

 Aslan, Arbiter, Atlantis, Manalasuo, Ghana, Gemini… These widely acknowledged strong teams had all been placed in different groups.

 This was an advantageous safeguard that the strong teams enjoyed. Letting the weak fight the weak and the strong fight the strong went against IG’s principles. After all, the main competition was real war. If the strong clashed, who knew what would happen. They would not let the weaker teams scavenge an advantage.

 Very quickly, the military transport carriers took off, rapidly entering cloud cover. All they could see were little black dots as they left this planet.

 As though nobody had noticed… On the other side, far away, the eliminated teams stood in a corner.

 They felt as though they had been heartlessly abandoned.

 They were waiting for the second convoy of transport carriers, which would bring them directly back to their nations.

 Many looked dissatisfied, especially those who had placed well the last time around. But this was the IG, and the losers could only long wistfully.

 Akerlof walked over. He clearly did not forget them. A failure did not mean a lifetime of failure.

 However, before Akerlof could speak, a voice rang out. “This is unfair! Why have we been eliminated? We are clearly stronger than some of those that qualified. For example, the Solar System Federation, who qualified on the basis of their doggerel luck. Bias!”

 One outburst quickly flamed the emotions of those present.

 It was true. They were not at all weak. They were clearly strong. They had paved their own way here, so how could they be eliminated after an exam? Their capabilities were clearly superior to some qualified teams. Furthermore, the eliminated Solar System Federation had actually been resurrected.

 Akerlof grew serious, and said gravely, “Before you protest, first reflect. What is the IG? Must I tell you all over again?”

 A majority was quelled by Akerlof’s manner. In the IG, one competed not simply on pure battle prowess, but rather a competition to identify elites. Those that stood at the pinnacle of humanity did not necessarily have to be the strongest fighters, but rather holistically good. They who had been eliminated had various flaws in many aspects. Even if their battle strength was considerable, and within the top 64, overall they were indeed behind.

 “But still stronger than the Solar System team!”

 Yet still there was resentment. It was too unfair. Especially watching the free frag of many years, the Solar System team, ascend in glory to the first fleet of ships and return to Mengtalis. It was particularly harsh and hard to swallow. Did it mean they were really worth less than the Solar System?

 “Enough! Shut up! Get out and stop disgracing yourselves. A loss is a loss. Stop finding excuses. Excuses are the methods of weaklings and cowards.”

 The one who spoke was the General of Moso, who had stood up behind Akerlof to berate them. He had been one of the witnesses to the battle. This current Solar System team was strong, and the more that was said, the more disgraceful it was.

 In the transport carrier, the eight teams in group D were assigned to a hold, which they divided up and sat separately.

 Although it was nowhere as comfortable as a passenger ship, it also passed through the ozone layer more quickly, shrugging off the planet’s gravitational field and entering space.

 As the transport carrier entered sub-space, the interior environment became stable. The seat belts also loosened. The return journey was still long, and it would be impossible to remain seated throughout. Besides, everybody knew that the other teams in the same ship would be one’s potential opponent in the next round.

 The strongest, Manalasuo, quietly occupied the frontmost seats in the hold, proud and composed. Clearly, they did not see anybody as their opponent. Regardless of who they met, they would come out ahead.

 Between the other teams, they were generally defensive, and at the same time carefully sizing up potential adversaries.

 The Caragal and Solar System teams were familiar with each other. Leader Max took the initiative to approach, smiling to Wang Zheng. “Who would have known that only two of us would be left among all the teams we came with, and that we’d both come through resurrection rounds. It must be fate!”

 Max was already relaxed since Caragal had entered the top 64. He knew that luck was involved in this and, the way he saw it, the Solar System was the same. They had their own rough ups and downs in entering the top 64. The Solar System would be in the same boat as them from now on – taking what they could get, as far as they could go.

 Wang Zheng nodded. “Yeah, it definitely hasn’t been easy.” This was nothing but the truth, he had almost died.

 “But in truth, among these teams, the team we hope to meet the most in the next round is you.” Max spoke frankly as well.

 Wang Zheng smiled. “I think you will be disappointed.”

 If they really went up against each other, he would hold nothing back

 Apparently, Max had misunderstood Wang Zheng’s words. “That’s true. We’ve been in the same boat for so long, it seems like the chances of meeting again are low.”

 In truth, the group D teams all felt that the easiest food in the next round would be the Solar System. The dark horse must be tired by now.

 On the other side, the Silver Snake Coalition and Morgan Locke teams were getting it on as well. Within group D, they were unreservedly strong, historically entering the top eight of IG before. Between them, they had crossed paths many times, both in this iteration as well as between their seniors in the past.

 As the number of clashes increased, they had developed antagonism. Inevitably, individual members would bear grudges of one kind or the other.

 Crackle! As their lines of sight met, sparks seemed to fly.

 Kong Zhan’s gaze, however, was permanently directed towards the Solar System, more specifically at Wang Zheng. However… his gaze swept lightly over. His brain replayed the video that Majorca had showed him. It had a curious shadow. Being in the same room as Wang Zheng was like being caged with a beast. One had to tread carefully.

 In truth, Kong Zhan regretted watching that video. If he faced Wang Zheng, or the Solar System, his confidence would be a little affected.

 But if he had not watched…

 Perhaps the consequences would be even more terrifying. To go up against such an opponent in actual battle was too dangerous.

 “Kong Zhan? What’s up? Have you fallen for the beauties of the Solar System?”

 The Morgan Locke team leader, Bo Yikao, frowned. He had recently felt that Kong Zhan was a little out of sorts. His gaze kept drifting towards the Solar System.

 What was worth watching in the Solar System side? A bunch of people who had their heads in the clouds. They could still laugh now, but once the real battle started, they would understand that some places were out of their reach. Once they entered, they would pay a cruel price.

 The only thing worth watching were the two beauties. But judging from Kong Zhan’s personality, how could he be wasting time and energy on women? If it was any other day it would be fine, but they were veterans of the IG and knew better. This was the real battle.

 Kong Zhan turned his head. “Bo Yikao, don’t you think that the Solar System is really strong this time?”

 Bo Yikao started. He did not expect Kong Zhan to be sizing up the Solar System’s battle power. Was it really worthy of consideration?

 Bo YiKao chuckled lightly. “They do have some limited ability, but most of it is luck. How many years has it been since they last pulled out that examination task? And the concealed and ambush war, these were all sneaky tasks, which seem to line up with the Solar System people’s strengths.

 Kong Zhan shook his head. “Behind luck, there is always another reason.”

 Bo Yikao shrugged. “If their power is that considerable, then how could they have been eliminated in the crossing battlefield round? It was really lucky that their leader chose an easy task in the resurrection round and passed. If we meet them, they will go down. Keke, we’re not the only ones thinking like this.”

 The group D teams basically all saw it the same way.

 In the actual competition to come, they would be using real blades and guns. In sneaky tasks, the Solar System had some tricks up their sleeves, but in a fair fight, they were still food.

 Kong Zhan opened his mouth and shook his head. Lear, Achilles, and even Lie Xin… He had the confidence to beat them in a fight… but Wang Zheng… How would they deal with him if they met?

 As for Lear and the rest, were they the same as Wang Zheng? Under that sheepskin, did a wolf lie…?

 However he mulled over the issue, all he could do was pray that they did not meet the Solar System team.

 Bo Yikao smiled coldly. Kong Zhan’s state of mind was clearly off, but this was to their advantage. Within group D, besides whoever was unlucky enough to face off against the Manalasuo team, the only one who could hold a candle to Morgan Locke was the Silver Snake Coalition that Kong Zhan led. If he was off-kilter, then it was indeed their lucky day.