Volume 4: Chapter 7 – A Blind Battle
Before the match started, several highlights of Johnson Douman's previous matches were chosen to be broad
One of the highlights even showed a high-level Pentakill clip titled 'Actions of God'. Indeed, his understanding regarding battles within complex and dark environments was very deep.
At a certain level, the type of mecha used would become more or less fixed. But one's understanding of piloting as well as of the environment were not things that could be copied.
After watching these brilliant battle highlights, even the most arrogant of players would have to recognize Johnson as a strong fighter.
To fight him in the world of Lakato would be a complete nightmare.
The audience split into two opposing sides. One believed that Skeleton would keep his legendary status, while the other was waiting to see his demise. Had the original Darkness Huntmaster been the one to fight him, Skeleton's chance of victory would be as high as 70% which was calculated based on his previous displays of skill and after considering that the terrain and other factors were not ideal. But with Johnson battling, that percentage would drop to at most 50%, and that was when considering a miracle would happen.
"Everyone, the battle has begun!" Little Suds said with much anticipation.
The map opened to reveal the mysterious and unpredictable underground world of Lakato. From a top-down point of view, the terrain looked very complicated. It was also littered with stalactites making it lethal to mecha.
The geology of this world differed from that of Earth. It held a high density of stalactites, an aggregation of hundreds upon thousands of them which made high speed attacks impossible. Before a person could got very far, they would get stabbed to death by these stalactites.
Jumping, agility, and understanding of the terrain were key when fighting on Lakato.
Of course, Wang Zheng had never been in this sort of place before, but he had already observed the general state of the geography. When it came to this sort of thing, Wang Zheng's body would develop a natural and instinctive judgement from a single glance.
Super soldiers were the ones who used their brains, not their bodies, to adapt to the environment.
Instinctive memory and reaction were the most powerful.
Of course, to reach such a level, one would have to undergo training that could be considered quite perverted.
If what Bonehead said was true, and the Randt Empire really had a super soldier division that was able to freely travel the universe, then these soldiers who could fight in any environment without being disadvantaged would unleash the greatest combat power. That was the pinnacle of mankind.
Wargod No.1 enters!
Hunter of Darkness enters!
Battle start!
As the battle began, the audience immediately quietened down.
There were two sides formed from those who liked Lakato and those who didn't. This was due to how deathly silent the place was, so silent it made people anxious. Humans naturally disliked dark environments as the impairment of sight would make them uncomfortable.
Still, there would always be a small group of people who enjoyed the 'hunter in the dark' atmosphere it gave.
Johnson Douma was one of those people.
He loved this sort of quiet, when all the noise and annoyances disappeared, leaving room purely for waiting and fighting.
It was a kind of enjoyment to him.
The two mecha advanced through the underground world in the darkness, trying to detect a trace of the other party. They both used the smallest amount of force they could for travelling around, as making any noise in such a quiet environment was equivalent to revealing your location to the enemy.
If this clash between the Wargod No. 1 and the Hunter of Darkness was one's first time seeing Skeleton, they wouldn't be able to accept it, and instead wonder whether this fucker was just seeking death.
The audience was growing larger and larger, with some of the members not even being CT players, but those who purely enjoyed watching mecha battles instead. After all, it wasn't everyday they got to see a fight.
The shape of the Hunter of Darkness was between that of a lion and a wolf, and it was actually a depiction of the special creatures on Lakato called 'Cantharidin'. Throughout mankind's conquer of Lakato, these creatures would use bionics to achieve great battle results.
The Hunter of Darkness jumped about nimbly in the darkness; it appeared to be very suited to this sort of environment. Together with its silent equipment, its shock mitigation systems were unrivalled. After all, in the darkness, although the eyes were still important, the ears were even more so.
None of the dangerous obstacles had any effect on Johnson. The way he advanced inside the mech made it seem as if he moved with great freedom and comfort.
Even if one were to nitpick, they would still have to give out words of praise upon seeing his movements.
On the other side, the Wargod No. 1 looked somewhat uncomfortable. It was clear that Skeleton was not used to this kind of environment. Humanoid mecha were definitely at a handicap in this sort of environment, with them being unable to speed up without easily getting blown up, and also making noises from time to time. These things tended to sour the pilot's mood when one had to be calmest in battle.
But the distance for which they had to search before the fight gave Wang Zheng sufficient time to adapt. When faced with difficulty, rather than losing his calm, Wang Zheng would become even more energetic.
A strange environment like this was interesting indeed. Using a humanoid mech in this kind of place would not be very enjoyable—unless one was courting death—as they couldn't use any fancy skills. When spinning, for example, they would get pierced unless they paid close attention.
That was one of the limitations of this mech.
Soon, the Wargod No. 1 stopped shaking precariously and the two mecha began to slowly approach each other in the dark grotto.
The two mecha immediately appeared on each other's radar, the two dots getting closer by the second.
That was when the Hunter of Darkness suddenly increased its speed with a series of accelerations. Although it reached a curved road, it did not attempt an ambush since sneak attacks would not be of any use.
The Hunter of Darkness had no reason to fear the Wargod No.1 at all. In this kind of domineering situation, as long as he could catch his opponent, he could end it in one strike.
His laser started to whir.
In their first firefight, Wang Zheng did not advance rashly. He chose to use precise laser shots to suppress the opponent and see if he can wear him down.
Johnson displayed shocking maneuverability. The Hunter of Darkness jumped agilely across the complex terrain and caused Skeleton's insane shots to all hit air.
Lasers were actually not a great choice in this sort of rough terrain. Faced with the advancement of the Hunter of Darkness, the pilot of Wargod No.1 did not panic; after all, he had absolute faith in his close combat ability.
Any laser attacks that weren't dodged were instead blocked by all sorts of obstacles. The Hunter of Darkness suddenly vanished, reappearing in mid-air the next moment while grasping a stalactite. With a sudden turn, he jumped, not towards Wargod No1, but in the direction of a nearby wall. As it dodged the laser attacks, the diving mech let out of a roar as from its enormous paws let ou three titanium-golden claws that struck toward Wargod No.1.
Its movements from start to finish made it seem like a ghost in the dark.
Boom….
Wargod No.1 simultaneously unsheathed its titanium blade and retreated half a step back. It immediately struck down with the blade, pushing down the claws, while also throwing a punch.
A response like this was terrifying. In the darkness, eyesight would be compromised resulting in slower reaction times, yet these two monsters seemed completely unaffected.
Seeing this punch, the Hunter of Darkness' hind legs exerted strength, pulling him backwards suddenly which caused Wargod No.1 to stagger. Having avoided the attack, it once again struck with its claws out.
Although it stumbled, the Wargod No.1 did not lose its balance. As the claws slashed through the air, ripping sounds could practically be heard coming from the tips of the blades.
Wargod No.1 avoided the attack by a small margin and sent out a kick. With a jump, the Hunter of Darkness disappeared momentarily increasing the distance between them. Two more jumps after that, it disappeared into the darkness.
Such a spark-filled exchange caused the audience to turn silent. It was as if they were instead looking at the lights emitted by infrared light detectors accompanying a stream of loud sounds.
The heart strings of the members of the Skeleton Corps tightened in an instant. This was the first time someone had been able to dodge Skeleton's shots. Not only that, the opponent did not seem to be at a disadvantage in close combat.
The Hunter of Darkness disappeared into the darkness as it pulled back to a distance away from Skeleton. At that moment, Johnson made a decision that shocked everyone.
He switched off the infrared red sight stabilizer system that the Hunter of Darkness was known best for!
Besides possessing the appropriate structure for this kind of battle, its night vision system was also state of the art and very suited for a fight in the darkness. It reduced a number of errors caused by the pilot's lack of sight.
Johnson switched off its night vision system and instead turned on the ultrasonic detection system. This was merely an assisting system.
Without the red dot, Hunter of Darkness completely melded into the darkness. What was more terrifying was the fact that without the night vision system, Johnson's movements grew even more agile.
It was as though he was one with the darkness.
Everyone was just stupefied at this sight.
It was said that the peak users of the Hunter of Darkness primarily used the ultrasonic system. The mech would blend into the darkness and use its heart to feel its surroundings, almost akin to a bat.
Even in the army, people of this level could only be counted on one hand. Why was there one in such a place?
Was he faking it?
Was he just acting?
The audience was not blind. Johnson's actions had clearly risen by a level, as if he became a ghost in the darkness. He quickly approached Wargod No.1 who was completely off-guard.
The frequency of the ultrasonic waves was too low, making it completely impossible to detect the position of any mech. However, the ultrasonic assistance system used echoes to differentiate and pinpoint the target's location.
The problem was… the Wargod No.1 did not have that fucking system!
To depend purely on his ears?
Everyone was stunned, that was a sure-fire way to die.
The Hunter of Darkness was already less than 10 meters away from the Wargod No.1, who seemed unable to determine the location of its enemy, no matter how much it scanned with its infrared sensors.
Never before had there been a player who could use ultrasonic waves to pinpoint locations. Instead of playing games, this fucker should have instead trained his body and entered the army to become its trump card.
It was a direct counter to the design of the Wargod No.1.
In the dark, the Hunter of Darkness became a real hunter, its attacks like a ghost's.
Only when a sound finally came out did that Wargod No.1 realized that the enemy was behind him. Yet it was too late to turn its body as the Hunter of Darkness had already struck from behind.
There were some who had already closed their eyes. Boom…
God!
Wargod No.1 aimed at the claws with a backhand attack, blocking it by a hair's breadth, but staggering back from the force. The Hunter of Darkness once again jumped into the air, using the stalactite to jump down with its to claws intersecting in the shape of a cross.
That was an invincible slashing tempo!
Did this guy have any face? Only the military elites could pull of such a super attack after training to the highest level. To come to this kind of place, was he even human anymore?
The Wargod No.1 had already lost its centre of gravity. That was then it suddenly pulled strongly towards the stalactite beside him, causing him to spin in the air. At the same time, he kicked towards the descending Hunter of Darkness.
Only sounds rang out as the two exchanged blows in mid-air.