Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 74: Decaying City (3)

Philip’s inner turmoil was indescribable.

’I thought they said that ’Lady’ wouldn’t participate in team battles?’ he wondered.

He had hoped to encounter Lady in team battles before, but she never showed up. Now, when he least expected and wanted it, she appeared.

But the situation was unchangeable, and he had to accept reality. The voice of Teammate A came through, "I’ve located the opponent. Shall I fire now?"

Philip snapped back to reality and replied, "No need. I’ll handle this with a long-range cannon. Just give me his location."

Teammate A responded, "He’s behind the fifth window on the eighteenth floor of the Central Tower, moving eastward."

"Understood. Be careful; ’Lady’ might be heading your way," Philip warned.

After that, Philip leaned out from behind a large rock, steadied his mechanical arm, and fired at the eighteenth floor of the Central Tower based on his teammate’s information. As soon as the target raised their mechanical arm, Ayoi, sensing danger, swiftly retracted her gun and turned to run downstairs. She quickly informed her team, "I might be done for."

Yuka had just heard Ayoi’s words when a deafening explosion came from the Central Tower.

The building, over twenty stories tall, was almost cut in half from the eighteenth floor up, collapsing under the force of the blast. Debris rained down in all directions.

Ayoi, caught off-guard, fell with the debris, getting eliminated from the match. After firing the long-range cannon, Philip quickly left the statues, dodging the falling debris and heading in the opposite direction of the forest to avoid ’Lady’. He knew he stood no chance against her in his current state.

Outside the arena, Roukujou hit the table and addressed the audience, "Brownie has been spotted by the enemy. Both teams have lost a member, but we still have the upper hand. Don’t panic."

Comments flooded in:

[Brownie, you’re did great!]

[Thought they were so tough. Hephaestus still took them down in one shot, right?]

[Here comes a Hephaestus fan, boo him out!]

[Such a petty victory!]

Meanwhile, Olivia revealed a genuine smile, reassuring her audience, "Don’t worry. Hephaestus is in great form and won’t lose. Let’s not say unpleasant things in Saltyfish’s streaming channel. Let’s just focus on Hephaestus’s performance."

The audience praised Olivia for her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Back at Roukujou’s side, his supporters, holding back their frustration, flooded his stream with [Pinky will win] comments. Roukujou quickly calmed his viewers and suggested, "Let’s continue watching the match."

With only seven minutes left in the match, the tension on the battlefield was palpable.

On the field, Yuka witnessed Ayoi’s red dot disappear from the map. While continuing her pursuit, she instructed Alex, "Ayoi’s out. Secure our defense point." Alex promptly responded, "Got it, heading back now."

As Yuka advanced, a faint sound on the cockpit’s protective shield caught her attention. She quickly turned towards the source of the bullet.

A mecha was perched atop a gazebo on the edge of the square. Noticing the pink mecha’s reaction, the mecha leapt from the gazebo, planning to retreat.

Teammate A, in a panic, reported to Philip over the team communication, "Lady’s intuition is too sharp. I barely fired a shot before she spotted me."

Meanwhile, Yuka, realizing the situation, turned and ran in the opposite direction.

She instructed Alex, still on the move, "See my position on the map? Fire a long-range cannon a hundred meters northwest of there." Alex acknowledged, "Received."

Teammate One, while fleeing, glanced back and noticed that "Lady" wasn’t pursuing. Puzzled, he asked Philip, "’Lady’ is running back. Is she heading to our defense point at the square?"

But before Philip could respond, Alex’s long-range cannon struck, landing not far behind Teammate A. The explosive force of the attack sent him flying, his mecha crashing to the ground, the protective shield cracking like a spider web.

Hearing the commotion, Philip quickly pieced together what had happened: Teammate B’s earlier cannon shot hadn’t eliminated any of ’Lady’s’ teammates. Their opponents still had as many players as they did, one of whom also possessed a long-range cannon.

Philip considered the possibility that the opponent he had targeted in the Central Tower might also have survived. Feeling uneasy, he stealthily changed direction to check the situation.

Yuka, meanwhile, crouched behind the statues where her opponent had been hiding. She waited for the attack to subside before standing up and moving towards the area where she had encountered the opponent. Indeed, she soon found her limping opponent.

Cautiously, Yuka maintained her distance, aware that her opponent also had a long-range cannon.

Engaging in a mutual takedown would be too costly. She pondered her options and decided to repeat the previous tactic; then she forcefully threw her longsword towards the opponent.

The whooshing sound of the thrown longsword reached Teammate A, who instinctively turned and barely dodged to the right, only for the sword to pierce his shoulder.

Surprised by Yuka’s swift approach, he wondered how she could move her mecha so silently. Dragging his damaged mechanical leg and shooting back in desperation, he informed Philip, "’Lady’ has caught up with me. There’s no way I can defeat her and get away. I’m going to self-destruct with a long-range cannon shot when she’s close enough. I’m done for, but if I can take ’Lady’ with me, it won’t be a loss."

Philip, checking if his earlier cannon shot had hit its target, paused upon hearing this and then solemnly replied, "Okay. You’ve done well."

It was the first time an opponent had driven them to consider self-destruction.

Before Teammate A could respond, Yuka knocked him down with a punch.

As he lay there, the pink mecha loomed over him.

He was confident in his plan. With Yuka so close, she couldn’t avoid his final cannon shot. He raised his mechanical arm, ready to fire and meet their mutual end.

But Yuka didn’t give him the chance.

The last thing Teammate A heard was a crisp sound from his cockpit, followed by confusion as he saw Yuka’s blade. He was puzzled—’Wasn’t her sword still in my shoulder? How could she have another weapon?’