As the unlocking of the Silver Wing Angel concluded, a row of numbers popped up on the onboard lightbrain.
The countdown had begun.
Reno didn't hastily leave; instead, he first glanced at the designated location of the mission, the bright spot on the map.
It was situated at the northernmost tip of the island, near a stretch of beach, surrounded by vast palm groves—an underground laboratory.
To reach there, one had to traverse most of the island. Of course, to minimize combat, one could choose to take a more circuitous route along the edge of the island. However, this meant covering much more ground. Calculating the time, unless Reno could ensure no unexpected incidents along the way, he might not make it in time.
Considering the nature of the organizers and the audience, Reno never believed that nothing would happen. So, he conscientiously gave up this route, first using a satellite signal receiver to check the map, then drawing a winding curve based on the density of red dots on the map. That was the route he was about to take.
Of course, this route had the fewest red dots, but as everyone knew, all targets were mobile. It was hard to say whether the number of red dots would increase or decrease by the time Reno arrived.
Once the route was chosen, Reno began to move towards the laboratory.
"Look, he's started moving. Prompted by the organizers, our shadow finally stops lurking. But it seems he's still cautious and always avoids combat. But I believe the peace he expects won't come. Let's see what surprises await us on the road ahead!" The excited voice of the beautiful host Christina echoed across the island.
Ben was responsible for professionalism, while Christina was responsible for stirring emotions, reigniting the enthusiasm of the audience. In such a situation, combat shouldn't come too late, lest the excitement diminish.
The backstage director had already started giving orders: "Activate an armored beast, release it in ten minutes."
"Armored beast activation in progress..."
In the jungle, Reno was still speeding forward.
The terrain here was rugged, the environment complex. When Reno scanned the entire island earlier, he found no one, which was perfect for his rush.
But as he ran, the sound of gears suddenly rang out.
Then Reno saw, on the distant horizon, an alloy steel cage slowly rising from the ground. Inside the cage was a blue giant beast.
"Roar!" The beast roared as soon as it appeared, a massive gust of air blowing through, causing the trees to sway. It looked like an enlarged gorilla, except it had six sturdy arms and blue skin. When it stood up, it was nearly ten meters tall, larger than a ground mech.
"Damn it, it's a Blue Rampage Ape," Reno cursed.
The Blue Rampage Ape was a species discovered by the New Federation on a subsidiary asteroid in the Northern Cross Region. The creatures there were generally large and aggressive, and the Blue Rampage Ape was one of them.
These temperamental creatures were the overlords of the jungle, powerful in strength, agility, and vitality to an alarming degree. Humans attempted to capture and modify these creatures, deploying them in battles against the Divine Race. However, the modification efforts ended in failure, as these aggressive creatures were nearly impossible to tame, causing more trouble for their allies than the enemy on the battlefield.
But now, it appeared in the Storm League. Admittedly, though it was a failed bio-weapon, it could still be useful here.
However, Reno was not only facing this; the Blue Rampage Ape was also clad in thick alloy armor.
This was Celtic alloy armor, capable of resisting both energy and projectile attacks with excellent defense. However, its weight was too heavy, making it difficult for ordinary people to afford, thus also making it a failed product.
But when two failed products were combined, they could play a huge role in certain situations.
At this moment, with the rise of the alloy cage, Reno already knew what kind of trouble he was facing.
"Damn it, I knew these guys wouldn't play fair!" Although he had known that the organizers wouldn't let him off easily, he hadn't expected them to be so direct.
The cage had fully appeared on the ground, and the alloy cage door began to slowly open.
Reno knew he didn't have time to be angry. Before the cage door opened completely, two war axes had already whistled into the cage. The Blue Rampage Ape hadn't come out yet, and this was Reno's best chance. Missing this opportunity would make it difficult to deal with this heavily armed giant.
Reno had no intention of fleeing. The Rampage Ape wasn't human; it wouldn't know when to stop. It would chase him relentlessly, attracting more enemies with the commotion. So, facing such a beast, the best choice was to eliminate it.
With two loud bangs, the missile warheads flew into the cage along the open door, exploding into thick smoke and igniting the angry roar of the Rampage Ape.
But Reno's attack didn't stop. As the missiles were launched, the cannon at his shoulder slowly aimed forward at the cage, starting a continuous barrage.
The power of the cannon was not inferior to the missiles, only its range and accuracy were lower. However, with the previous explosion fully opening the cage door, a large number of shells entered, and the wild explosion lifted the alloy cage into the air in an instant.
"Perfect connection. Being able to make such a connection is not surprising, but being able to make such a connection in such a short time is truly remarkable." Ben, the host, exclaimed with admiration, "This young man's technical skills may not be top-notch, but his tactical awareness is definitely top-notch."
While Ben was speaking, the Blue Rampage Ape had already roared out of the alloy steel cage.
The previous artillery bombardment had inflicted serious injuries on the Blue Rampage Ape. The Celtic armor on its chest had been blasted into deformation, and the shrapnel had caused horrific wounds, oozing blood from its body. But this did not make the massive creature retreat; instead, it became even more fierce and ruthless.
As soon as it burst out of the cage, its two powerful hind legs exerted force, charging towards Reno like a cannonball.
Reno retreated while lifting the cannon barrel, but before the cannon could lock onto its target, the Blue Rampage Ape had already smashed down, its speed astonishing as all four arms simultaneously struck the Silver Wing Angel.
The tremendous impact immediately sent the Silver Wing Angel flying, a magnificent rainbow of light rippling over its energy shield. The mech rolled continuously on the ground, crushing numerous trees along the way.
"Roar!" The Blue Rampage Ape beat its chest with its four powerful arms, emitting a deafening roar towards Reno.
But just as the Silver Wing Angel fell to the ground, two more missiles flew out, hitting the Blue Rampage Ape. The intense explosion made the creature stumble, further enraging it. The injuries only made it more ferocious, roaring furiously as it charged towards Reno.
With no time to stand up, Reno sat directly on the ground, aiming the gun at the Blue Rampage Ape. A storm of bullets pounded against the hard armor, some penetrating through the cracks and hitting the creature. However, the power of the 9mm rounds seemed insufficient against the Blue Rampage Ape; although they could pierce its skin, they couldn't cause significant damage. Instead, the intense pain from each hit further incited its frenzy, as it roared madly and pounced forward, grabbing the Silver Wing Angel and viciously pounding it.
Among its powerful four arms, two held the mech in place while the other two mercilessly battered it. It seemed determined to flatten the large iron shell. Each strike from the terrifying strength caused the energy of the mech to rapidly decline. What's more, in such a situation, Reno couldn't even use powerful weapons like the positron cannon and missiles; the intense shockwaves would only accelerate his own destruction.
"Damn it!" Reno cursed; being so close to this behemoth was simply a nightmare.
Those damn organizers had raised the cage too close. In essence, it was an ambush, a sudden assault—a long-range fighter facing a close-range assault, destined to die a gruesome death.
As the Silver Wing Angel gradually struggled to support itself, all eyes were on Reno.
Even Ben murmured, "The mission has just begun, encountering such a formidable opponent as the Blue Rampage Ape. Will Mr. Shadow's miraculous journey come to an end here? Let's wait and see."
As if hearing the host's words, watching the flames falling outside the window and the relentless fists of the Rampage Ape, Reno muttered:
"You haven't won yet!"
His hands moved quickly, and suddenly, an energy blade appeared on the arm of the Silver Wing Angel, not an energy sword but a giant serrated saw blade spinning rapidly, cutting along the seams of the armor towards the Blue Rampage Ape's arms.
Blood gushed out like a waterfall from the ape's arm, causing it to tremble in agony. Despite its immense strength, it was still a living creature and could feel pain. This moment of tremor gave Reno an opportunity. The Silver Wing Angel performed a peculiar twisting motion, somewhat like a snake, wriggling out of the powerful embrace of the Blue Rampage Ape.
"My God, how did it do that?" All the spectators exclaimed together.
This move was too rare; few mechs could achieve this level of agility.
But the Silver Wing Angel did it; its massive body became agile like an elf, sliding out of the Blue Rampage Ape's embrace. Although not completely free yet, at least half of its body had regained mobility. The serrated saw blade transformed into an energy longsword, slashing fiercely towards the injured arm of the Blue Rampage Ape, accurately hitting the wound previously sliced in half.
Splat!
Blood sprayed out, and the Blue Rampage Ape let out a painful howl.
The pain caused it to make a mistake. It suddenly threw the other two arms holding the Silver Wing Angel outward, like throwing a stone, tossing the mech away. This was a primal instinct; just like a child would throw away a snake it thought was dead when it suddenly moved. Despite its ferocity, the Blue Rampage Ape also had the unique instinct of life, and it was this instinct that caused it to miss its final opportunity.
Just as the Silver Wing Angel flew out, the positron cannon, which had been waiting for a long time, finally fired. A massive stream of energy heavily struck the Blue Rampage Ape, followed by more missiles, shells, and bullets flooding over the creature like a tidal wave.
When the gunfire ceased, the terrifying creature finally lay motionless on the ground.
A system prompt sounded in Reno's ear: "Congratulations on killing an armored beast, earning two points. Your outstanding performance has earned unanimous praise from the audience."
Glancing at the screen, Reno flipped the middle finger in response.