49: Chapter 49: The Semi-Finals Begin, Mechanical Ascension Flow

The rules for the semi-finals were announced promptly the day after the preliminary round ended.

Divine Kingdom projection, 1v1 elimination tournament.

On the giant light curtain in the center of the virtual plaza, golden characters scrolled through the details: Each advancing contestant will deploy their Divine Kingdom core projection and all their subjects onto the designated simulated battlefield for a head-on confrontation. Destroying the opponent's Divine Kingdom core projection equals victory, and the loser is eliminated on the spot.

Sixty-four contestants advanced, resulting in thirty-two duels in a single-elimination format.

Once the news was out, the atmosphere in the entire plaza suddenly grew heavy.

The preliminaries were a chaotic skirmish for fragments, where one could snatch resources, avoid conflict, or rely on opportunistic point-scoring, but the semi-finals were a pure, head-on clash with no room for maneuvering.

Wang Pingan stood among the Tianhai Star team, his expression calm.

The three thousand subjects behind him had been recalled to his Divine Kingdom, but the legion status on his command interface displayed in real-time: All members at full status, equipment wear and tear less than ten percent, and medicine reserves sufficient.

The drawing ceremony began at noon.

Sixty-four light points representing names spun rapidly on the virtual light curtain, pairing up two by two, with the names of both sides in each duel lighting up simultaneously.

In the first round, among the twelve advancing contestants from Tianhai Star, Wang Jincheng drew a B+ talent contestant from Qingluan Star, Wang Qingyan drew a C-rank logistics-style contestant, while Zhao Yang unfortunately lost and failed to advance.

Then, it was Wang Pingan's turn.

On the light curtain, the three characters "Wang Pingan" scrolled rapidly. Five seconds later, the light point froze.

Beside his name, a string of gray text with a metallic texture lit up.

[Opponent: Kyle · Titan Star · Talent A-Rank Mechanical Ascension · Overall Rating A · Civilization System: Mechanical]

The entire plaza suddenly went quiet.

Titan Star.

It was the birthplace of the mechanical civilization in the Xuanyuan Star Region. The entire planet used steel and gears as totems, replacing flesh and blood with machinery from a young age in pursuit of absolute rationality and efficiency. Their Divine Kingdom subjects were not creatures of flesh and blood, but mechanical creations equipped with AI cores and energy circuits.

The Mechanical Ascension path.

This was one of the opponents most feared by all flesh-and-blood civilizations.

Because mechanical legions had no morale, no fear, and no fatigue; their energy shields could withstand spell bombardments, the range of their high-energy main cannons far exceeded that of bows and crossbows of the same rank, and the ground crushed by their steel tracks would grind flesh and bone into pulp.

The public channel instantly boiled over.

"Wang Pingan drew Kyle from Titan Star? Isn't this a hellish start?"

"The Mechanical Ascension path counters flesh-and-blood civilizations. Wang Pingan's three thousand people are all flesh-and-blood subjects; isn't charging head-on into a steel torrent just suicide?"

"Kyle's rating is A-rank, and his Mechanical Ascension talent is top-tier even on Titan Star. His subjects are all battle mechs and armed tanks; his firepower coverage can blanket the entire battlefield."

"How many rounds can that Xianwu Meat Grinder Array Wang Pingan used in the preliminaries hold up against a mechanical torrent?"

The discussions were overwhelming.

Wang Jincheng stood not far away, giving Wang Pingan a complex look. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

Wang Qingyan frowned slightly; the spiritual herbs she supplied had limited effect on mechanical units, as mechanical creations did not need healing powders.

Zhao Yang stood up anxiously in the spectator stands, his fists clenched tightly.

In the teacher observation area, Old Li still had his arms crossed, but his body was visibly tensed.

Zhou Mingyuan set down his teacup and, for the first time, proactively pulled up the past battle records of Kyle from Titan Star. He scanned the battlefield logs on the screen, where torrents of steel crushed flesh-and-blood legions, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Mechanical Ascension path..." Old Li's voice was very low. "That kid's legion is entirely melee-focused, with only the Artillery Battalion for long-range firepower. Against a mech cluster centered on firepower coverage, he's in big trouble."

Zhou Mingyuan did not answer, his gaze locked on the drawing light curtain.

On the north side of the virtual plaza, in the exclusive area for Titan Star contestants, Kyle stepped slowly out of the ranks.

His appearance had completely transcended the human category; the left half of his body was covered in matte black alloy armor, his right arm was a foldable high-energy particle cannon, his right eye flickered with a ghostly blue data stream, and precise hydraulic transmission sounds came from his joints as he walked.

"Wang Pingan." Kyle's voice had a synthesized electronic quality, calm and without a hint of fluctuation. "The flesh-and-blood civilization contestant who took first in the preliminaries. Very interesting."

He paused, his electronic eye locking onto Wang Pingan's direction. "But flesh and blood are, after all, an inefficient evolutionary path."

"I will use steel to teach you what a true war machine is."

A collective mechanical resonance sound from the Titan Star contestants rang out in the public channel, like some kind of cold declaration.

Wang Pingan still did not respond. He simply opened the interface and quickly browsed Kyle's publicly available configuration data: Subject count: 4,200 battle mechs, 1,800 armed tanks, 800 mobile artillery turrets, logistics subjects: zero.

A pure war machine configuration, not a single living thing.

The battle was scheduled to take place on the virtual battlefield "Steel Plains." This was a wasteland composed entirely of metal scrap and gear debris, the ground covered in iron filings, with a wide field of vision and no cover whatsoever.

For a firepower-coverage legion, this was paradise. For a flesh-and-blood legion that needed close-quarters combat, this was a dead zone.

The moment the white light of teleportation engulfed Wang Pingan, he heard the last sentence from Kyle in the public channel.

"Within three volleys, the battle will end."

The battlefield refreshed. Wang Pingan's three thousand subjects were deployed to an open area on the west side of the plains. Three miles away on the east side, Kyle's legion had already deployed.

The roar of tracks crushing the metal ground traveled across the three miles, dull and oppressive.

Wang Shan, riding on a warhorse, shaded his eyes with his hand and looked toward the east, his expression becoming serious for the first time.

"Divine Lord... the tanks on the other side are more numerous than in the intelligence report."

Wang Mu stood at the high point of the Artillery Battalion and lowered the rangefinder in his hand, his voice heavy: "The range exceeds expectations; our Psionic Heavy Cannon cannot reach their main formation."

Wang Pingan stood on the high ground in the rear, his gaze sweeping across that dark, overwhelming torrent of steel in the east.

Four thousand battle mechs were arranged in three vanguard lines, each mech carrying two rapid-fire energy cannons on its shoulders and a heavy particle cannon mounted on its chest. One thousand eight hundred armed tanks were divided on the two flanks, their turrets slowly rotating to lock onto the west side. Eight hundred mobile artillery turrets were set up at the very back, their muzzles raised high; these were ultra-long-range firepower units that could blanket the entire battlefield.

The paint scheme of all the mechanical creations was matte black, with only the muzzles and energy cores glowing with a cold, ghostly blue light.

There were no flags, no slogans, no roars. Only the roar of tracks crushing the ground and the electronic buzzing of muzzles locking onto targets.

Kyle's voice rang out through the battlefield broadcast system, cold and precise, as if reading an experimental report.

"Target confirmed: flesh-and-blood civilization units, quantity three thousand, no energy shields, no heavy firepower clusters, no aerial units."

"Threat assessment: Low."

"Execution plan: Three volleys, annihilation."

The moment his voice fell, the eastern skyline suddenly lit up.

One thousand eight hundred armed tanks fired simultaneously. The whistling of shells leaving the barrels merged into one, so dense that no gaps could be heard. Dark red ballistic trajectories blanketed the sky, pouring down like a burning rainstorm.

The bombardment covered the entire area two hundred zhang in front of Wang Pingan's position. The explosions were deafening.

Countless craters were blasted into the metal ground, and iron filings and gear debris were blown into the air by the shockwaves. Fire and smoke completely engulfed the front positions.

Before the smoke and dust had dispersed, the second volley followed closely behind. This time, it was a volley from the rapid-fire energy cannons of four thousand battle mechs.

The blue energy beams were like a swarm of locusts passing through, with a wider coverage area than the tank bombardment. From the sky to the ground, they wove a net of death, scouring the three-hundred-zhang area in front of Wang Pingan's position from beginning to end.

The smoke was thick and impenetrable.

In the public channel, the watching contestants had already begun to shake their heads.

"Two volleys, covering over three hundred zhang. Wang Pingan's subjects are standing so densely; the front row must have suffered heavy casualties."

"How can flesh and blood withstand this density of firepower? Even with heavy armor, they can't take it."

"Kyle's third volley hasn't even come yet; the third volley is the ultra-long-range bombardment from the mobile artillery turrets, which is the truly devastating one."

In the Tianhai Star spectator area, Zhao Yang's face turned pale.

Old Li's fingers were clenched tightly inside his sleeves.

Zhou Mingyuan was still holding his teacup, but the cup was trembling slightly in his hand.

Amidst the smoke, Wang Pingan's position remained silent. No screams, no routs, no chaos.

The third volley landed. Eight hundred mobile artillery turrets fired simultaneously, the shells tracing arcs from the eastern horizon three miles away, slamming precisely into the center of Wang Pingan's position.

The fire of the explosions shot into the sky. The earth shook, iron filings were blown dozens of zhang high by the shockwaves, and the entire position was completely engulfed by fire and thick smoke.

The three volleys ended. The data stream in Kyle's electronic eye scrolled rapidly, scanning the area covered by smoke.

"Target life signals..." His voice trailed off. The data stream in his electronic eye suddenly accelerated.

The smoke began to dissipate. The outline of the west-side position reappeared.

Three thousand subjects were still standing in place.

In the very front row, five hundred Martial Heavy Armor soldiers held their Black Iron Shield in front of them. The surfaces of the shields were covered in scorch marks and craters, but not a single shield had been pierced.

Behind the shield wall, five hundred Immortal Cultivator heavy armor soldiers simultaneously maintained a semi-transparent spiritual energy barrier, the surface of which was fluctuating violently.

And outside the spiritual energy barrier, a pale blue light curtain shimmered—this was the C-rank portable psionic shield prepared beforehand. It fit perfectly with the extreme-boundary compressed spiritual energy, firmly protecting the entire front line.

The subjects in the middle and rear rows quickly adjusted their positions, and the fifty Psionic Heavy Cannon of the Artillery Battalion began to recalibrate.

Wang Shan sat on his horse, his heavy armor covered in smoke and debris, his lance pointed steadily forward.

Wang Mu stood at the high point of the Artillery Battalion, and the signal soldiers began to transmit orders.

All personnel survived. Not a single casualty.

The data stream in Kyle's electronic eye stalled for a second.

The public channel was deathly silent.

Then, Wang Pingan's voice rang out through the battlefield broadcast system, as calm as if stating a fact.

"Three volleys, finished?" He paused. "Then it's my turn now."