The five people surrounding them, Hui Xingxiu and Jing Yuancheng stood on either side, with Meng Huai positioned at the front. This formation shielded Zheng Yiran and Rong Feiwen in a safe area.
However, Zheng Yiran patted Meng Huai from behind, who turned to see what she intended. Zheng Yiran simply gestured with her fingers, signaling her to move aside a bit. Meng Huai took a small step to the side, unwilling to let Zheng Yiran take the front position, as it was too dangerous.
Zheng Yiran looked at the students from the military academies gathered directly in front of them, with the Second Military Academy being the most imposing presence in the center. Other threatening military academies were scattered on both sides. From the current formation, their strengths appeared to be similar, making it difficult to break through from any direction.
Zheng Yiran looked at the commanding officers she could speak to. “Why are you all targeting our Imperial Military Academy? Look at the points ranking, we are in the middle to lower half! We only have about ten thousand points right now, and eliminating us won’t even be enough to divide among all of you!”
Murong Shuai would not allow Zheng Yiran to sway these people. They had all agreed to deal with the Imperial Military Academy first, not like the alliance he had previously formed. Alliances that were discussed beforehand could dissolve, let alone when there was no prior discussion. Therefore, Murong Shuai stopped Zheng Yiran from continuing and took over the conversation. "Commander Zheng, you don't need to say any more. The Imperial Military Academy is the one we must deal with first. Once we've eliminated you, we'll discuss the rest."
Murong Shuai continued, "As for points, we'll let you come in last place in this round, and then you won't have the advantage in the next one!" He then addressed everyone present, "Let's eliminate the Imperial Military Academy first. We can't let them continue to occupy the first position. Otherwise, as their points increase, the gap between us and the Imperial Military Academy will also widen. It will be even harder to surpass them later!"
The others were also discussing amongst themselves. If one listened closely, they could hear their conversation: "Commander Murong's intention is to suppress the Imperial Military Academy in the third round." "Indeed, if we continue to let them dominate and be at the forefront of every round, the championship will truly belong to them!" "Then should we listen to Commander Murong? Let's eliminate the Imperial Military Academy first. If we get zero points in this round, the gap from the previous two rounds will be quickly overcome!" "Alright, then we'll cooperate first."
The commanders of the eleven military academies exchanged knowing glances and understood that they needed to bring down the Imperial Military Academy first.
At this moment, Wan Ji, the commander of the Fifth Military Academy, stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention. "Everyone, listen to me! Given that our previous alliance set a not-so-good precedent, I think it's better to be upfront now." Many people looked towards the direction of the previous three-party alliance. Upon hearing this, Murong Shuai coughed twice. He spoke first, "That is natural." Others also chimed in, "You speak."
Wan Ji continued, "Don't go back on your word as you did last time! Let's deal with the Imperial Military Academy first, and then we'll talk about other things!" Everyone at this moment said, "No problem." "That's natural." "Of course, it's like that." "We would never do something so unsavory!" After this last sentence, the commander was glared at by Murong Shuai of the Second Military Academy and Xiang Man of the Asael Military Academy, and the commander dared not say anything further.
At this point, Jing Yuancheng patted Zheng Yiran beside him. "Are they treating us as if we don't exist? They're completely ignoring you!" Rong Feiwen, next to Zheng Yiran, said, "I think they think we're not important! To them, it doesn't matter if we know their plan!" Alright, Jing Yuancheng fell silent. Hui Xingxiu on the side asked, "Commander, what should we do?"
Zheng Yiran directly used her senses to instruct the few on their next plan, to avoid being overheard by those in front. "Meng Huai, you take the lead and break through from the Twelfth Military Academy's side. Jing Yuancheng and Hui Xingxiu, find an opportunity to directly seize the ship." The Twelfth Military Academy's direction was towards the ship, and the ship was behind the Twelfth Military Academy.
After nodding, Meng Huai drew her saber and charged towards the Twelfth Military Academy. The other military academies were already on guard for their move, so as soon as Meng Huai moved, the encircling forces began to contract inwards. As Meng Huai broke through to the left, the entire encirclement compressed to the left. Standing next to the Twelfth Military Academy was the team from Gu Mo Military Academy, a newly joined military academy this year. They were very nervous as Meng Huai approached. One of the individual soldiers muttered, "Here they come, coming this way." He was then thinking about whether Meng Huai would come for him, and whether he should attack left or right.
The gap in psychological quality and strength made him very flustered. However, he was worrying too much. As Meng Huai charged towards them, Xiao Wu directly intercepted and engaged Meng Huai. Meng Huai knew she couldn't drag this on, and the others were not idle either. While Meng Huai was breaking through here, the people from other military academies were also attacking Hui Xingxiu and Jing Yuancheng. It was difficult to fight against so many people with just two fists. Even if these people attacked casually in this direction, they would injure several people.
Murong Shuai was still shouting loudly, enough for everyone in this area to hear. "Attack the commander! Once the commander is eliminated, it's over!" However, everyone knew this. They also wanted to attack the commander, but these two single soldiers were fiercely defending the commander, enduring all attacks. Thus, in just a few minutes, Jing Yuancheng and Hui Xingxiu's mechs had sustained minor or major damage. However, they couldn't stop now; it wasn't the right time to repair their mechs. Even if they didn't have mechs, they had to fight these people head-on.
On Meng Huai's side, the group's attacks lacked any coordination, and attacks that damaged Meng Huai's mech were few. Moreover, the unorganized attacks allowed Meng Huai to find some openings. Just as a Gu Mo individual soldier wanted to help Xiao Wu, Meng Huai sensed it and changed direction. This attack would likely have been taken by Xiao Wu. This made the people from the Twelfth Military Academy unhappy. While they usually complained about Xiao Wu, it was like slapping their own faces when others attacked Xiao Wu. Someone shouted, "Gu Mo! If you can't attack at the right time, don't attack! You've hit our people! Open your eyes wider." The Gu Mo individual soldier, already nervous, found an opportunity that didn't work out. This attack hit their current ally, which was very awkward. The person could only stammer an apology, "Sorry... I'm sorry, I didn't expect to hit your people." Since they were cooperating now, it wasn't good to start arguing. Others were also speaking up to help, "Focus on the main task! Deal with this Meng Huai first! Concentrate your attacks on her." Meng Huai was a tough opponent. Clearly, someone had noticed this and was gathering more people to attack Meng Huai.