"Can't you stand even a little trouble? Then wouldn't you go crazy if you ran into that group of people?" remarked Red Moon dismissively.
"I'm just an ordinary guy, I don't have anything to do with Mech wars or anything like that. That would be a job for the police." Clint wrung some water out of his clothes. He felt like he was having the worst luck today.
"Even though you were a normal person before, the moment you picked me up, you were no longer normal. Do you understand this?" said Red Moon calmly in a much warmer tone than usual.
"But Blackboard City's army is tremendously strong. There's no need for us to worry about that group you mentioned." replied Clint helplessly.
"You sure enjoy relying on others, huh? Do you always decide to let others take care of problems? Haven't you ever thought of turning everything around and becoming someone others can rely on?" Red Moon asked him in return.
Clint was silent. Although his personality was weak, that didn't mean he couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong. He wanted to make it up to his sister and take care of her, as well as find his birth parents and help his close friends.
"Did you forget about Darby?" His dream was to become a handsome Mech pilot. Did you forget about Baylon? His dream was to stop being a burden to his family and brother. And your sister, her biggest dream was for you to become truly independent, to become a grown man! Not someone who only knows how to cower behind the protection of others and shrink into his own pathetic shell the moment problems arise."
Red Moon had never given a proper lecture to anyone before; this was the first time he had ever done so.
Clint remained silent. He was well aware of his family's wishes and his friends' dreams, and so he too had aspired to help make them come true. However, wanting to act and actually starting to make them come true were two completely different things.
"Tell me, are you a selfish person?" asked Red Moon aloud.
If your answer is yes, then I will look for another compatible person, so I won't waste any more time on you. You should live the rest of your life as a useless coward.
Clint lowered his head and continued in silence, it took him a while before he expressed himself.
"But... but..."
"But what!?"
Sizzle!
Suddenly, an arc of blue electricity flared in Clint's body. After a few electric sparks sizzled, Clint knelt on the ground as small wisps of smoke billowed from his body. His body began to tremble.
His pupils dilated and his eyes opened unblinkingly.
"This painful sensation is due to abdominal injuries." red moon's voice echoed in the boy's ears.
"Aren't you afraid of pain? Then let me teach you how to feel it."
Ssssssss...!
After another wave of electric current sounds, Clint fell to the ground. His body spasmed, as if he were a shrimp out of water.
"This is the sensation of mutilation, try it."
Ssssssss....
"This is the pain of broken organs."
"Aaarghh!!!," Clint drooled uncontrollably and saliva dripped onto his clothes and the floor. He wanted to shut his mouth, but the agonizing pain coursing through his body had rendered his mind blank and his body numb.
Butzzz!!!
"This is the pain of having a broken neck.", Red Moon's cold voice echoed in the boy's ears. "Have you had enough?"
Clint had no way to respond anymore. All he wanted to do was lie on the ground. Sweat was pouring all over his body, soaking his clothes and leaving a wet spot in the shape of a person on the floor.
He felt as if something had lodged in his throat and that prevented him from uttering any sound. He could only utter unintelligible sounds.
"Can you feel it? These are the possible pains you can feel in war," Red Moon laughed coldly.
"Everything that terrifies you or scares you are all these things, can you feel it?"
Clint had no idea what was wrong with him. Once he actually experienced those pains, he suddenly stopped being afraid of them in his mind.
He was overcome with a sense of "what I was afraid of was just that."
"So now what? Are you still afraid?", Red Moon continued to ask.
Clint felt surprised when all the pain disappeared from his body like running water.
He straightened up, knelt down and rose from the ground silently. A sense of rebirth washed over him.
"This is what you were afraid of all along." laughed Red Moon. Didn't you get the feeling that 'that's all there is to be afraid of'?
Clint wiped the sweat and tears from his face and nodded slightly.
"A little..."
"Damn you, you idiot! Don't you know how to defend yourself?"
That was not what Red Moon expected to see, but a rebellious spirit awakened by the torture the boy had received. A person without bloodlust would have no way to go against the various endeavors and enemies he would face in the future. He had intentionally tortured Clint, hoping to rid him of his fears, and another goal was, hopefully, to unleash his rage and anger, producing a willingness to fight back.
"I know you're doing this for me, Master Red Moon," Clint replied earnestly.
"You're an asshole!" raged Red Moon in response.
"You have a brain full of dog excrement? You're not even a little angry that I torture you? Can you even consider yourself a man? Dog excrement! You idiot, you imbecile! You buffoon!"
...
"Forget it, I'm done with you. Today's goal was partially achieved. Next time you get into a fight or whatever and feel this kind of pain, surely you won't be afraid of them anymore, right?"
"Maybe..." Clint scratched his head, unsure of himself.
"Next time someone decides to bully you, punch them!" Red Moon replied bluntly.
"Why, I don't like to fight," Clint replied truthfully.
"Forget about it, forget about it. Let's not talk about it anymore, looking at you makes me mad!" Red Moon was irritated once again.
Under Red Moon's guidance, Clint continued to move forward along the river bay. Before he could walk far, he had already been ordered to stop.
"Right here!" shouted Red Moon.
"Pay attention, it's right here! Back up a little! I'm going to make my move!
"Huh?" Clint carelessly failed to react in time.
Suddenly, he saw a huge shadow slowly rising from inside the river. The shadow was about two or three meters in diameter and length, and it was rising rapidly from the bottom of the river.
Splash!!!
Amidst a torrential roar, a black, metallic shattering smash broke through the surface of the river, floated into the air, and then soared straight up to where Clint was standing.
"Woah, woah...!"
Cint couldn't resist shouting out loud.
"Enough gawking!
Hurry up and get out of the way, I have to finish this thing! I'm so tired!"
Clint came to his senses and quickly dodged to the right.
The giant metallic wreckage slowly descended from its original position. The wreckage was completely black and a partially intact black disc-shaped logo still remained on its surface.
"What is this?" Clint walked over and circled it for inspection.
"Mechanical remnants manufactured by Blackboard."
"Why are you bothering with this, Master? What good is a mangled Mech?"
"I did it for you, asshole!" Red Moon raged once more.
"Oh..."
Red Moon's voice held a hint of fatigue.
"Okay, you should go home for the day. That's all for now. Normally, people wouldn't bother to take it with them once they dump it here. We'll come back tomorrow."
"Fortunately, the Blackboard region didn't have areas to sell waste. Otherwise, this thing would have gone somewhere safe.
Let's move on, go back and rest. We need to accelerate progress, or else it will be really useless to counterattack when that group arrives."
"With Blackboard Academy around, they definitely won't be coming. You can relax, master," Clint tried to comfort Red Moon.
"Don't tell me to relax, you idiot!" Red Moon felt that this pig-like fellow really deserved a beating.
No one was fully aware of how powerful this group was. Through the information obtained from their parts, he was fully aware of what they were capable of.
Their ordinary pilots were all at level four willpower, the strongest were level five, and to reach that grade.... In addition, his Mechs seemed to be of the rare variant. He recalled the last sound phenomenon produced by the Mechs.
"Great Mech of Light... damn it.... If it weren't for the fact that my mech body was completely destroyed, you little fish wouldn't even stand a chance against me!"
"What Great Mech of Light?" asked Clint in confusion.
"That's the opponent we'll be facing soon. Make sure you remember this name."
"Oh... relax, Blackboard's army is really impressive."
"I want to hit you again!" Looking at Clint's face, Red Moon was enraged once again.
Several days later.
Three black Mechs slowly landed on the wild plains somewhere in the Blackboard region.
"According to our sources, the signal first appeared over here," a black Mech with bull horns on its head said first.
"With the intelligence department's outdated techniques? I bet they went back to playing with them." said another Mech, holding a huge scythe, grumpily.
"Do you have real information or not, Matthew? Running around like this all day is exhausting too."
"Boris, how did you feel about that Mech you finished off last time?"
"How did I feel?" the Mech with the giant scythe paused.
"It should be level five Willpower, I might not be able to finish them off by myself. But with Allie's interference and your long-range shots, it would be pretty easy to knock him out in one hit! Hehe!"
"According to the latest information, that guy was someone who had fallen behind the group. You'd better pray that we don't run into the main team before that big sister arrives." said Matthew helplessly.
"Level five, huh... I wonder how long it will take me to get there."
"We're still young, why are you so worried?" asked Boris.
"As long as we get to level five, we'll become black-clad generals and then we can enjoy a life of luxury, hehe..."
"Someone's coming! Look out!"
Allie, who had been the only one who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
"Which direction?"
"Northeast, exact location unknown, it's coming fast, very fast!" said Allie hurriedly, then suddenly jumped back, backing away. standard dodge!
The three Mechs were like birds taken by surprise, they instantly bounced more than ten meters away.
Boom!!!
A white meteorite crashed in the distance. The meteorite showed itself and it was actually a huge white and red Mech, crouched in the middle of the deep crater in the ground, with sharp spines forming a turtle-like shell on its back.
"Go away! Kill it!" shouted Matthew suddenly, turning and running.
Boris and Allie suddenly broke away, and the two of them lunged ferociously toward the red and white Mech.
"Damn sea! I found the big fish as soon as I landed!" cursed the white and red Mech, opening both palms and revealing the black cannons in them.
Butz!
Intense electricity shot out from the cannons.
Unbeknownst to them, a large group of countless white Mechs had quickly appeared in the distant sky, all of them marked with the Blackboard Region logo, and then began to fly towards the conflict area.