A ring match was still a competition.
In a competition, there were wins and losses. As long as someone could accept either outcome, there was no issue. Even if Tunbao got hurt because of it, Derek Su would not have said anything. Joining the ring match had been Tunbao's own choice. But using the match to settle a personal grudge was different.
From Purple Lightning, he quickly learned exactly what had happened.
Tunbao was not stupid. When she realized her opponent was Gray Castle, she only tried clashing with her once. As a result, Gray Castle slammed her down with a throw so hard that she grimaced in pain. Tunbao immediately understood she had no chance of winning, so she tapped the floor to surrender.
Unfortunately, before she could tap twice, Gray Castle lifted her straight off the ground.
What followed was an unreasonable beating.
Tunbao was beaten senseless.
Only after she was knocked unconscious did the referee have no choice but to call for a pause and have the functional Mecha Girls carry Tunbao away for basic treatment. But Tunbao felt too embarrassed. Before the treatment was even finished, she slunk away in disgrace. Purple Lightning, who had been hiding in the corner the entire time, saw everything.
"Well, well, Tunbao. You've gotten bold, haven't you?" Derek Su poked Tunbao on the forehead, frustrated by how hopeless she was. "If Purple Lightning hadn't exposed you today, were you planning to keep hiding this from us?"
Tunbao was just about to say yes.
Then she felt Imperial Scale's icy gaze.
The words at the tip of her tongue went right back down.
She gave an awkward laugh. "Boss, don't be mad. I just thought it was embarrassing. Don't worry, from now on, I'll report this kind of thing to you right away. I absolutely won't hide it again."
Tunbao admitted it cleanly.
But the matter was not over.
"Where is the arena?" Imperial Scale's cold voice carried a faint trace of killing intent.
Tunbao did not want Imperial Scale to get involved. Losing a ring match was losing a ring match. If Imperial Scale went over now, it would feel like a bigger one showing up after the smaller one got beaten. She would look like a child running to complain to a parent.
But she did not think she was that childish.
She was independent now.
A Mecha Girl who could take responsibility for herself.
Unfortunately, Imperial Scale did not think so.
From the sharp look in Imperial Scale's eyes, it was clear she was determined to interfere.
"Over there…"
Tunbao pointed west, head lowered, her voice weak.
"Boss lady, maybe we should just forget it. I'm not really hurt anyway…"
Imperial Scale ignored her. She shook off Derek Su's arm, turned, and walked west.
Derek Su: "…"
He knew Imperial Scale had not done it on purpose.
But he still felt slightly offended.
...
At the same time.
In the arena area to the west.
After Tunbao, Gray Castle had already knocked down seven Mecha Girls in a row. Every one of them looked similar to Tunbao, bruised and battered with miserable expressions.
During the break, Richard Cheng came over with a towel and wiped Gray Castle down. He said with some difficulty, "Gray Castle, I know you've been in a bad mood these past few days, but being upset is one thing. You can't take it out on other Mecha Girls. That'll make everyone angry. When those Mecha Girls surrender, stop hitting them."
His worry was not baseless.
During the time Gray Castle had been defending the ring, the surrounding pilots and Mecha Girls had clearly grown unhappy. At first, they had still applauded Gray Castle. Later, even when she won, the audience only watched her coldly.
"Surrender?!" Gray Castle froze.
"When did they surrender?"
Richard Cheng: "…"
Oh.
So after all that, Gray Castle had not done it on purpose?
Was she simply too dull and slow to notice whether those Mecha Girls had surrendered?
"Tapping the floor means surrender," he explained.
"Is that so?" Gray Castle thought back. The host did seem to have said that tapping the floor or raising a hand meant surrender. And many of the Mecha Girls who had fought her just now had indeed tapped the floor.
She was silent for a moment, then said apologetically, "Sorry. I forgot. I thought they felt humiliated after being thrown to the ground and wanted me to pull them back up so we could keep fighting. I actually admired their persistence and courage."
Richard Cheng: "…"
He had been rendered speechless twice in one day. He was feeling a little exhausted.
"The current defender is still Gray Castle from the ESW club. Are there any Mecha Girls who wish to challenge her?" the host said from the ring. According to the rules, the defender would win if she held the ring for two hours or if no Mecha Girl stepped up to challenge her.
"Are there any Mecha Girls who wish to challenge her?"
The host asked again.
If no one answered after the next question, the champion would be announced.
This kind of ring match was relatively fair. No matter who the defender was, they had to endure back-to-back battles. On top of that, the medical team was waiting nearby, so both winners and losers could quickly recover to peak condition. It would not affect their ability to challenge different defenders. Naturally, the final champion would be the Mecha Girl no one dared to challenge.
After all, everyone knew they would not win even if they went up.
"I will!"
A cool voice rang out.
The crowd parted.
Imperial Scale led Derek Su and the others to the front of the arena.
Everyone looked completely justified.
Only Tunbao hid at the back, furtive and shifty-eyed, afraid the surrounding spectators would look at her strangely. But she was overthinking it. All the Mecha Girls who had fought Gray Castle were victims, and everyone was already very unhappy with Gray Castle for defending the ring that way.
"Derek Su, it's you?"
The instant Richard Cheng saw Derek Su, his pupils widened.
You could dodge the first day, but not the fifteenth.
How had he managed to run into this disaster of a man, Derek Su, even after bringing Gray Castle out just to relax?
His scalp went numb.
He was just about to leave with Gray Castle.
Then he realized Gray Castle was staring sharply at Imperial Scale.
Neither of the two combat-type Mecha Girls was willing to yield.
It was needlepoint against awn. Where their gazes met, blades flashed, swords clashed, and sparks flew.
The surrounding air seemed to congeal like glue.
Under the pressure of the two top-tier combat-type Mecha Girls' auras, the pilots and Mecha Girls in the stands felt as if a huge rock were pressing down on their chests, making it hard to breathe.
Richard Cheng's vision went dark, and a bad feeling surged in his heart.
"It's over. We're completely done for!"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (40 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.