V3C097: Headless Knight

Dean Comrow leaped up, his face full of disbelief.

“Incredible! There are no more than ten people who mastered this set of actions in the entire empire, and now, one more can finally be added.” The mecha divisions under his command are very famous, so General Condon pays particular attention to the mecha competitions. When he discovered that the legendary difficult combo was actually performed by a freshman, he couldn’t help but admire: “Brigadier General Petunia, what do you think of that kid’s actions?”

With his head tilted slightly, General Condon smiled and looked at a female in the back row. She’s a mecha genius recognized by the military. Among the 32 most difficult mecha combos, she mastered 28 sets.

“Very good, although the movements are not smooth enough, what he did was indeed Akimota’s Head Twisting Style.” Brigadier General Petunia replied, staring at the black mecha in the arena.

“This kid is a genius!” The other brigadier generals couldn’t help but exclaim. As a mecha warrior, everyone was interested in the legendary moves. Almost every one of them has tried to practice Akimota’s Head Twisting Style, but few have succeeded.

No, you can’t say that.

This action cannot be mastered by even geniuses.

At least, Petunia can’t do it.

Among the 32 sets of the most difficult combos, she had mastered 28. Of the remaining 4 sets that she can’t master so far, the first was Akimota’s Head Twisting Style. She had mastered the previous 28 sets in a short period of time, but Akimota’s Head Twisting Style. She could break down the move in her mind, but she always gets stuck when it comes to implementing it.

Not only Petunia, but she had also seen many mecha geniuses, however, none of these geniuses had mastered Akimota’s Head Twisting Style. Among those mecha geniuses, this trick was jokingly called the “myth ending technique” by many people.

Ignoring what the others said next, Brigadier General Petunia still focused on the black mecha. She was observing his every move and confirmed that the pilot operating this mech was actually…

Really clumsy.

All the previous actions were not disguised, and he really didn’t know anything about mecha operations.

He’s totally not a genius. Petunia had never seen a worse mecha operator!

However, it’s such a mecha that has just displayed the Akimota’s Head Twisting Style that stumped countless geniuses!

Without using the adjutant, Petunia pulled out all of Avery’s information by herself. The focus was on the training records of his mecha assessment. As Dean Ode said, this student lost from start to finish. When the other students have mastered 20 sets of action combos, he still only has a single defensive move! However——

Petunia stared at the number “1029” which was the total number of mecha battles that the child played in the virtual system during military training.

To ensure that the game was relatively fair, the training length and progress in the key items of the tournament of the military academies and the Comprehensive Academy are consistent. The military academies just spent more time on physical training and other training for their students. Under such a major premise, the total number of mecha battles of these new students are originally completed within ten days. According to the requirements of 10 matches a day (required by the Comprehensive Academy) to 15 matches a day (standard of the military academies), after the mecha training project is over, freshmen can only complete 100-300 rounds of mecha matches.

Most freshmen will work hard on their military training. After the students finished training, to save their energy, generally, no additional training will be conducted. Only a few students who really love mecha will insist after the other training was over, they’d continue a few rounds of mecha battles. Even if these students conducted 4 additional training sessions for 50 days after the mecha training, the number of battles they accumulate after the military training was no more than 500 matches.

But the number of battles of this child is actually 1029! What’s with this concept!?

Such a very simple arithmetic problem, most people can do it. However, after actually calculating it, it’s simply unbelievable!

1029 matches, meaning that this child has to play 17.15 games every day! This number of matches doesn’t seem particularly large in the ten-day mecha special training (only a little higher than the requirements of the military academies), but it’s very amazing on other days!

Wanting to play so many matches after finishing other training, this person basically doesn’t need to sleep!

His sleep time would be completely carried out in the virtual system! Although entering the virtual system can also be regarded as a kind of deep sleep, this kind of sleep mainly soothes the body rather than the spirit. This kind of high-intensity training frequency can only be implemented by professional soldiers and special military personnel with special tasks!

But a child from an ordinary college allowed himself to undergo such cruel training completely voluntarily!

Not only that, Petunia noticed that in these 1029 matches, the mecha called “Knight” all only used one defensive move!

Yes, all “defense”.

Without using any moves, he used a defensive style to resist the damage of 1029 games in actual combat!

Noting the cumulative damage he received, Brigadier General Petunia opened her eyes slightly.

This is a high damage value that even she can’t imagine.

When all mecha pilots were trying to avoid enemy damage and save themselves as the prerequisite for combat, she couldn’t imagine anyone doing this!

In these 1029 matches, his “defense” slowly but surely improved.

From the beginning of “invalid block” to “normal block”, and then to “effective block”…the first “perfect block” appeared in the 806th match. After that, more and more “perfect blocks” appeared and it was on the 900th match that he can basically make a 100% perfect block.

Although progress was very slow, he improved little by little. Moreover, he never regressed.

What she could calculate, the others also noticed. Realizing how much the child had worked before this, the audience went silent for a while.

Even Dean Comrow had nothing to say.

This kid, the kid he gave up from the very beginning, turned out to be such a hard worker? For a time, his mood was very complicated.

“Dean Comrow, in my impression…your wife is a raptor, right?” When everyone bowed their heads in thought, Marshal Comrow suddenly asked Dean Comrow. Everyone realized that the child who had performed a miracle was his eldest son.

“Excuse me for taking the liberty, but may I ask if your eldest son, that is, the child in the black mecha, is a raptor like his mother?”

Marshal Rothsay asked the question that Dean Comrow most don’t want others to know——

If he can, he didn’t want to answer. However, the other person is the Marshal, and even General Condon looked at him expectantly. In this case, he can’t hide it.

“…yes.” A little embarrassed, Comrow answered the Marshal’s question in a low voice.

Everyone on the scene knew that he’s a Carcharodontosaurus. Among the dinosaurs, this was definitely a heavy-weight species. According to the rules of genetic preference, all his children should be Carcharodontosaurus just like him. However, his child was actually a raptor. Isn’t this just plainly telling everyone: His genes are inferior to a raptor, is it possible that there’s a defect?!

Dean Comrow lowered his head in embarrassment.

Unexpectedly——

“So that’s it!” Marshal Rothsay suddenly laughed.

“The military has been trying to implement this set of actions for a long time, but it can’t be implemented at all.”

Everyone was stunned.

“The research department has investigated all the users of Akimota’s Head Twisting Style and finally found that they’re all raptors. Moreover——

Not just ordinary raptors, but super raptors that are strong enough to cover the more powerful genes of the other parent. Only in this case, they inherited the dominant gene of raptors but their body was the strongest, enough to compete with the heavier dinosaurs, maybe even more powerful.

After all, their genes surpassed the toughness of their race.

Akimota’s Head Twisting Style requires too much flexibility and response speed. This is definitely not something that can be achieved simply by relying on hard work or talent. Whether it can be done is destined from the moment of birth——”

Marshal Rothsay smiled, and as he smiled, he said very cruel things.

Brigadier General Petunia sharply raised her head: “But——but no one has ever announced this matter…”

“Shh…” Extending an index finger, the Marshal shook his head gently: “This matter must never be announced.”

“Nothing is absolute. Without knowing it, everyone will try hard. If they knew this is a genetically determined move, everyone would give up trying and we’ll lose more opportunities to discover miracles, right?”

“Compared to telling everyone at the beginning——I would rather see everyone working hard~” Marshal Rothsay smiled.

“Efforts might fail, but not hard work. Then they’ll definitely fail and some genius will never be discovered if they don’t try——just like this little guy in the field.”

Looking at the faces of everyone present——Lord Marshal’s gaze slid past them and finally fell on Dean Comrow’s face.

“You gave birth to a genius son.”

However, he gave up on this son himself and didn’t care about him for 18 years, even sending him far away to other academies.

Deah Comrow’s face was ashen.

Because of him giving up, this genius——was scrapped.

***

Ivan was carried down.

Although the mecha was broken down and he himself didn’t receive much damage, after being rescued from the mecha, he sat among the audience, watching all the games as an audience in the next matches.

As a victor, Avery became the new master to be challenged, and he’ll represent the Imperial Comprehensive Academy to defend against the challenges.

The broken mecha was repaired in the shortest time by the mecha repairers on the scene, then Avery faced the second player from the Colton Military Academy. At Avery’s request, he abandoned his head and only the other parts of his mecha were repaired. At this moment, Avery’s mecha looked even stranger.

A mecha without a head.

However, no one thought his appearance was ridiculous anymore.

***

Not to mention, the freshmen of the Imperial Comprehensive Academy were all shocked by the scene just now! They couldn’t help but ask what Akimota’s Head Twisting Style mentioned by the nearby groups. After learning what it is, their mouths opened wider!

“Avery turned out to be so powerful?!” The student sitting next to Mu Gen immediately leaned on him to ask excitedly.

Having morning exercises together every morning, Mu Gen saw Avery’s efforts. After he proposed to participate in the mecha competition, Mu Gen privately entered the system with him to spar.

It was the same move, but at that time, Avery could actually resist his attacks from all angles!

So Mu Gen immediately agreed to his request.

“En, Avery is the only one who can resist all my attacks.” Looking at the black mecha in the arena, Mu Gen smiled.

After using that defensive move for an hour, Avery finally found the right time and angle. With a swift move of his elbow, the opponent’s head took off!

In the fifth round, the Imperial Comprehensive Academy won again!

Then came the sixth round! The seventh-round!

The miracle created by this headless “Knight” continued.

It’s like turning on a switch. After the first successful demonstration of Akimota’s Head Twisting Style, he has a deeper and deeper understanding of this action, and the duration of finding the right time and position to hit with his elbow was getting faster and faster.

The black tortoise shell mecha stood quietly, motionless. However, thinking that the mecha opposite him was eventually stripped of its head, everyone shuddered.

He stood there without a head, covered in thick black armor, looking like the god of death.

After many rounds, he’s no longer the player whose name is hard to remember. Everyone on the scene now knew his name was “Knight”. Not only that, looking at the headless mecha in the arena, someone remembered the legend they had heard:

According to legend, the headless knight was a brave warrior who was unfortunately beheaded by the enemy and died on the battlefield. From then on, he appeared in Sleepy Hollow on dark and windy nights every month, riding a dead horse, looking everywhere for the head he dropped. Every time he saw other people with good heads, the headless knight will behead them and take it for himself.

A mecha without a head, using a move to take off the enemy’s head. The nickname for Avery gradually spread among the audience——the Headless Knight.

***

One man holds the pass against ten thousand enemies! Relying on that one move, Avery led the Imperial Comprehensive Academy to defeat the Colton Military Academy and successfully entered the second round of the competition!

Three academies were eliminated and the three promoted academies will compete in the second round with last year’s victor, Imperial Military Academy.

This time, the Imperial Military Academy and Imperial Comprehensive Academy finally met.

They got drawn together.

Under everyone’s expectations, Avery took the lead this time.

Maybe the Imperial Comprehensive Academy can defeat the Imperial Military Academy with this trick for the first time——at that moment, many people thought so.

However——

The contestant from the Imperial Military Academy appeared.

His first move stunned everyone: He, he actually took off his head by himself.

“You are very strong. I simulated it in my head when I was off the arena. Until now, I couldn’t think of a way to resist, so I decided to get rid of the extra head first.”

Hearing the explanation from the opposite mecha, the audience was even more dumbfounded: This…also works?

Putting his head aside, the opponent got used to it after a little while.

“Very good, I have adapted to a mecha without the perception system. I don’t care which academy you are from, as long as you appear in this arena, you’re an opponent to me. Then, I will do my best to destroy you!”

Saying so, he actually did it!

In the following time, he really launched an all-around attack on Avery with no dead ends! When most freshmen only mastered about 20 combos, all the attacks of the freshmen from the Imperial Military Academy were basically combos! The movements are fluid and skillful. Facing these attacks, Avery couldn’t find any timing and angle to start Akimota’s Head Twisting Style!

In the face of an enemy who takes the initiative to remove his head, other people might be able to quickly change to attack the other parts of the opponent, but Avery can’t. His study is very rigid and although once mastered, he’s proficient, any modifications is brand new learning for him. Avery only mastered the method of severing the enemy’s head with an elbow. An enemy without a head has no weakness for him. Faced with such an enemy, Avery could only use the only move he knew——

The first move! Defense!

Facing absolute strength and an enemy with no dead ends, Avery…

Lost!

After persisting for two hours, the headless knight could no longer withstand the enemy’s raindrop attacks, and his mecha completely shattered!

“Imperial Comprehensive Academy vs Imperial Military Academy. First match, winner: Imperial Military Academy.”

The legend of Akimota’s Head Twisting Style has been cracked.

Without that move, Avery is just a beginner who can only defend.

“I am Willard, a first-year student in the Mecha Department of the Imperial Military Academy, also the Chairman of the Mecha Department. Except for the Chief, none of the first years in my academy can hold on for more than 35 minutes under my fist.” Facing Avery sitting on the ruins in the ground, his opponent introduced himself. Not only that, Willard stretched out his hand to Avery.

“You’re good! Although the Mecha Department of the Imperial Comprehensive Academy is also good, it’s a bit worse than my Academy. How about it, do you want to consider transferring? Although it’s a bit troublesome, I can help you handle it.”

In front of everyone, he actually tried poaching someone!

But this is poaching from the Imperial Military Academy! Since he said it so certainly, it must have a very high probability.

Everyone was excited, waiting for the headless knight’s answer.

As slow as he was, Avery’s answered only half a beat later.

“Uh…but I’m not from the Mecha Department.”

“Ah?” Willard tilted his head: “Then what’s your department?”

“Cooking Department, I’m in the Cooking Department,” Avery answered him honestly.

Willard’s mind was in chaos.

“After the military training is over, I won’t touch mechas anymore. Making delicious crunchy fruit tarts is my ideal in life.” Avery’s next words made him even messier.

“Thank you for your invitation, then goodbye.” Jumping out of the mecha, Avery bowed slightly to thank Willard. Then he turned and left.

Raising his head and assuming a stance. Although he failed, he looked very proud in his posture.

The audience was silent at first then burst into the warmest applause so far!

Avery walked firmly towards the location of his academy. He thought, Dad and younger brother must be looking at my back right now, right?

That’s nice.

He, who watched his father and younger brother leave every day, could finally let them watch him leave.

That’s nice.

Due to his poor level, he had never played a mecha battle with his brother. Now he finally played with his brother.

That’s nice.

That’s nice.

Faced with his classmates who applauded and welcomed him back, Avery scratched his head and smiled embarrassingly.

“Sorry, Chairman, I lost.”

“It’s okay, you have done well. For the next game, just leave it to Domra.” Mu Gen smiled and stretched out his right hand at Avery.

With a light pat of their hands, Avery then sat behind Mu Gen.

The Imperial Comprehensive Academy eventually lost to the Imperial Military Academy.

Willard’s words were not exaggerated at all. As the second-placed student in mecha at the Imperial Military Academy, since his appearance, no one has stayed under his fist for thirty minutes.

Imperial Military Academy successfully defended its title!

And Avery, who was able to successfully resist for two hours under him, left a deep impression on everyone.

Victory is a matter of course and Willard’s life hasn’t changed because of this victory. This evening, he did virtual training in the system as always, then returned to the dormitory to rest.

“I decided not to make him my rival.” After returning to the dormitory, the first thing he did was not to take a bath but to declare this.

“Ah?” ←this is from the roommates who have been accustomed to his style for a long time.

“That Cooking Department student aims to make the best crunchy fruit tarts. This, this is so virtuous! I want to marry him as my wife!” After a night of training and thinking, this is the only conclusion that Willard came to.

“Oh…”

“Who of you knows a freshman in the Cooking Department of the Imperial Comprehensive Academy, I want some information!” As a standard activist, Willard decided to act immediately!

“The Chief seems to know…”

“Ah? Really! Chief Olivia!!!!! I have an important life request, please listen to it!”

As a standard activist, Willard rushed to the dormitory where Olivia was.

“Strange, didn’t he dislike Chief Olivia before?” Looking at Willard’s back, Roommate A tilted his head.

“That was before, probably not in the future. I heard that Chief Olivia knew the Chairman of the Imperial Comprehensive Academy’s Cooking department.” Roommate B quietly said: “I even heard that the Chief has a very close relationship with that person.”

“Ahhhh? Where did you hear it? Hurry up and tell me more!!!”

There are gossips where there are people, and the Imperial Military Academy is no exception.