Chapter 18: First Combat Deployment of the Responding Dragon Steed!

Underground training ground.

Zhou Yan and the other three stood together at the edge of the arena.

Looking at the familiar, pure white training ground, Zhou Yan asked curiously, "Director Chu, how come it feels like we never see anyone else whenever we come here?"

"This is a dedicated training ground for Mech-Warriors. Activating a Divine Mecha consumes an immense amount of energy. After passing the novice adaptation period, the Bureau allocates a limited energy quota to Mech-Warriors, which isn't luxurious enough to support high-frequency liberation of Divine Mechas for workouts."

Chu Wan shook her head and smiled, "That's why people in the Bureau have basically agreed to come here together at the same time to train, spar, and exchange pointers. Obviously, neither yesterday nor today is that agreed-upon time."

"Energy..." Zhou Yan raised his left prosthetic palm and asked with curiosity, "The prosthetic hand Xiao Ke made for me is rechargeable and has low demand. Do Divine Mechas like yours and Xiao Xuan's also run on electricity?"

"Rechargeable?" Chu Wan chuckled. "Advanced Divine Mechas have quite a few ways to receive a charge, including electrical energy and solar power. However, relying solely on these two methods isn't really appropriate."

"Solar power is the ultimate fallback plan for Divine Mechas when there's truly no other energy source available. Its advantage is that it can charge as long as there is sunlight, but the charging efficiency is extremely low. It would probably take ten days or half a month of baking in the sun to recharge even one or two percent of its energy."

"As for electrical energy, first of all, it requires a specialized high-voltage charger, and second, the efficiency of converting electrical energy into the specialized energy required by advanced Divine Mechas is extremely low with very poor results. The Empire simply doesn't have that much surplus electricity to waste on Divine Mechas."

She raised a single finger: "There is only one most suitable energy source for Divine Mechas, and that is the 'Energy Crystal'."

"Energy Crystals are products of the Rifts," Chu Wan said leisurely. "Rifts on this planet are almost uninterrupted, and there is an extremely low probability of discovering Energy Crystal veins. Before the Dragon Palace popularized Divine Mechas, no faction paid attention to these Energy Crystal veins, and they simply vanished as the Rifts closed. But ever since Divine Mechas came into existence, the Rift veins born in recent years have been preserved by major factions using special methods. They are considered crucial strategic resources and currently form the foundation of every faction."

"This kind of knowledge is useless for us martial artists. You just need to know that discovering a Rift containing an Energy Crystal vein and reporting it will earn you top-tier rewards."

With that, Chu Wan picked up her flame-patterned Divine Mecha case and walked toward the center of the arena.

Along the way, she glanced back and crooked her finger at Zhou Yan: "Come on. If we don't start now, Xiao Xuan and Xiao Ke are going to get impatient."

Luo Ke immediately chimed in, "That's right! Although I'm interested in this knowledge about Divine Mechas, I'm even more eager to see what Director Chu's and Zhou Yan's Divine Mechas actually look like."

Luo Xuan remained silent, but it was obvious she had no interest in the origin of Energy Crystals either.

Zhou Yan smiled faintly: "Alright, I'm coming."

He gave a slight gesture, and his motorcycle—which had been following him like a large, obedient dog—slowly moved forward and stopped beside him.

"Zhou Yan, your Divine Mecha is so cool and unique!" Luo Ke couldn't help praising when she saw this scene.

"Then you're praising too early." Zhou Yan chuckled.

"Eh?" Luo Ke wore a blank, puzzled expression.

"Because..." Zhou Yan swung his leg over the motorcycle and turned back to flash a smile at the young girl.

"Next, it's going to be even cooler!"

As he spoke, he reached out his right hand to stroke the Dragon emblem on the back of the motorcycle and shifted his thoughts slightly.

Divine Mecha—Dragon Steed Mode!

Whoosh!

The next instant, amidst the astonished gazes of one big and two small beauties, Zhou Yan's figure rapidly grew taller.

The motorcycle beneath him retracted its wheels inward, and the body unfolded and stood upright, completing a drastic transformation in the blink of an eye.

A sleek, matte-black, magnificent dragon steed stood tall before the three of them, its front hooves pawing the ground with hyper-realistic elasticity.

"Oh—my—god!" Luo Ke shrieked.

She couldn't help taking a few steps forward, her eyes wide as she looked up at the smiling Zhou Yan.

"What is this!?"

"A horse!?"

"Isn't this way too cool!?"

She quickly reached out to stroke the metallic, thick horse legs. After confirming that the mechanical horse before her was real, she continued to emit a rapid stream of continuous gasps in wonder.

Luo Xuan couldn't help stepping closer either: "Zhou Yan, I originally thought that motorcycle was just the boxed form of this Divine Mecha corresponding to ordinary ones, and that it would turn into battle armor upon liberation. I never expected..."

She couldn't help looking up at Zhou Yan, who was now seated atop the two-meter-tall horse back, feeling that against the backdrop of this dragon steed, Zhou Yan's presence had become towering and majestic.

On the other side, Chu Wan in the center of the arena also wore an expression of amazement. She couldn't help shouting eagerly, "Little Brother Zhou Yan, everyone else has ordinary Divine Mechas, how come you get to look so cool?! Hurry over here!"

"Let big sister take a good look at you!"

Zhou Yan glanced sideways at the sisters beside him and smiled, "I'll let you study it later when we get back. I need to go spar with Director Chu first."

"Okay, okay!" Luo Ke nodded excitedly, then retreated alongside Luo Xuan.

Zhou Yan grabbed the metal reins of the Dragon Steed with his left prosthetic hand and raised his voice to respond to Chu Wan's invitation.

"Here I come!"

The next second, the Dragon Steed beneath him stepped forward with iron hooves and galloped out.

Swish!

Tap-tap-tap...

Amidst the dense sound of trampling hooves, the Dragon Steed kicked up violent airflow, charging across fifty meters to the center of the arena like a black phantom in under a second.

Then, with a heavy stomp, it transitioned instantly from extreme motion to absolute stillness, coming to a silent, sideways halt right in front of Chu Wan.

Zhou Yan looked down from his elevated position at the alluring woman opposite him and smiled, "Director Chu, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not bad, Little Brother Zhou Yan. Your knightly appearance is practically a foul—it's making big sister's heart skip a beat." Chu Wan looked at Zhou Yan, her eyes sparkling with pleasant surprise.

She wasn't merely teasing Zhou Yan; she had keenly and astoundingly realized that Zhou Yan's Dragon Steed Divine Mecha possessed a speed no less than that of a Tier 2 Divine Mecha.

"However, if the Tier 1 mode of your Divine Mecha is just a horse, then the physical enhancement it provides to the user is far too little."

As she spoke, she stood her flame-patterned Divine Mecha case upright before her.

This time, she didn't speak aloud, instead conveying her thoughts with a smile.

The crimson flame case suddenly burst apart, completing its donning in the blink of an eye.

Chu Wan reached out to grasp the flame-shaped greatsword suspended before her. Her mask closed, and red light flashed from the eye slots: "Let big sister teach you—if the horse is strong but the rider is weak, the end result is getting your head chopped off~"

Boom!

She slammed her foot down, her figure suddenly lunging forward at a speed exceeding fifty meters per second toward Zhou Yan.

Half a second later, she leaped fiercely into the air, swinging her sword down to slash at Zhou Yan.

Yet, she saw Zhou Yan, holding the reins and standing still in place, smile slightly at her.

Divine Mecha—Liberation!

Dazzling white light erupted. In an instant, Chu Wan saw white light beam from the eyes of the black dragon steed, with dragon-like horns protruding from its forehead.

Starting from Zhou Yan's feet, a matching matte-black set of armor enveloped him in a flash!

By this time, Chu Wan's flame-shaped greatsword had already descended.

Clang!

Amidst a deafening resonance, the flame-shaped greatsword clashed against the black spear-sword.

The black horse's hoof shifted back just a fraction of an inch.

Zhou Yan gripped the spear-sword single-handedly to parry upwards, catching Chu Wan—who had lunged down from above—mid-air, and with a gentle flick, tossed the female director flying.

Following the momentum, Chu Wan executed a back flip in the air and landed on her feet. She quickly raised her head to look at Zhou Yan, astonished: "This is your true Liberation Mode!?"

"That's right, pretty cool, isn't it?"

Zhou Yan's voice came from beneath his helmet mask, slightly distorted by electronic audio.

Without waiting for Chu Wan's reply, he gently raised his pitch-black spear-sword and assumed a preparatory stance.

"Director Chu, you should be careful now."

Seeing this, Chu Wan held her sword upright with both hands in front of her and chuckled, "Heh, you get some power and suddenly you're quite confident."

Zhou Yan remained silent.

Abruptly, the Dragon Steed beneath him kicked its hind legs and surged forward in an explosive dash!

In a single instant, it had closed the distance right in front of Chu Wan.

"After the full liberation, it's even faster!" The pupils beneath Chu Wan's mask trembled violently.

And Zhou Yan, having rushed right before her, brought his spear-sword down in a heavy slash!

Clang!

With a tremendous boom, the shockwave forced Luo Ke to cover both ears.

Chu Wan's crimson figure flew backward like a cannonball, crashing down nearly a hundred meters away!

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan withdrew his spear-sword, calmly stood his horse still in place, and asked in a clear voice, "Director Chu, are you alright?"

At the edge of the arena, Luo Xuan's mouth parted slightly in shock.

Zhou Yan, someone who had only just surpassed the Fierce Grade, had sent Chu Wan—who was at least at the Grandmaster level—flying with a single exchange?

His Divine Mecha was actually this formidable!?

On the other side, Chu Wan, who had landed lightly a hundred meters away, slowly straightened her body and marveled, "The strength and speed of this mechanical horse are even greater than the battle armor of ordinary Mech-Warriors. Simply outrageous."

"How come the Empire developed such a super Divine Mecha and never popularized it? Even I didn't know about it!"

Chu Wan's voice carried a mix of shock and suspicion, before she shook her head: "No wait! This matching mount of yours must also consume mental energy and consciousness to control, right?"

"For a Divine Mecha this large, the mental consumption is probably at least two to three times that of ordinary armor!"

The more she spoke, the more certain she became.

"Director is truly wise, instantly seeing through the mystery of it all."

Zhou Yan offered a polite compliment, then smiled, "So, Director Chu, I'm under a lot of mental pressure right now, let's finish our spar before we chat more."

"Hehehehe—" Chu Wan smiled confidently. "Little brother, I estimate your Pulse-Burning Technique hasn't been practiced to the point of controlling blood flow yet, so you probably can't activate Tier 2 mode. Next up..."

"Don't blame big sister for bullying you~"

"Tier 2!"

Amidst her chuckle, a massive amount of red light paths suddenly emerged across the armor on Chu Wan's body.

The next instant, her figure vanished from where she stood, leaving a long afterimage as she reappeared behind Zhou Yan and the Dragon Steed, followed by a fierce slash.

Clang!

Zhou Yan swiftly turned around to counter-slash. As their sword and spear intersected, he instantly felt a massive wave of force surging toward him.

Chu Wan in Tier 2 possessed strength comparable to a physique of "400".

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan was currently only at Tier 1, and the armor only granted him strength equivalent to a physique of around "100". Coupled with the fact that he intentionally restricted his own physical stats to around "50" to avoid arousing suspicion, he deliberately let go of his grip, allowing Chu Wan to knock his weapon flying with a single strike.

Chu Wan immediately swung her second sword, intending to press it against the back of Zhou Yan's neck to claim victory.

The next instant.

Bang!

Her abdomen suffered a heavy blow.

It turned out the Dragon Steed had suddenly delivered a swift rear kick, hitting dead center!

The heavy impact instantly kicked an off-guard Chu Wan flying dozens of meters away once more.