Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!
Chapter 900 - 900: 635 reporting

"The competition will take place on a desolate planet at the edge of the Stellar District. The planet's rapidly changing environment makes it unsuitable for human habitation. However, its diverse terrain has allowed the Stellar District to develop numerous areas ideal for combat. The location we're heading to now is this very planet. The preparation area is located on a massive starship orbiting the planet, and upon our arrival, we must report to the starship."

Onboard the Bauhinia Republic's fleet of mobile warriors representing the nation, Catherine gave Bai E a general explanation of the event's procedure.

"After reporting in, we'll stay aboard the starship, which is equipped with a complete Spiritual Energy-sealed force field to ensure that contestants cannot communicate with the outside world in any form during the competition. Communication with the outside will only be restored once the entire event process concludes. The entire competition will be broadcast live across the Stellar District to maximize transparency and fairness in the proceedings."

"Are there many mech pilots at your level?" Bai E ignored the specific details of the competition process. After all, it was just piloting a mecha and fighting.

He was only interested in knowing how many opponents like Catherine he would face.

"Of course, not many." Catherine wore a confident smile. "Mech pilots like me and my mentor are rare across the entire Stellar District. At best, there are only four or five opponents of similar caliber to us. And these few individuals are dispersed across three nations as well as that group of interstellar pirates. This competition serves as an opportunity for each country to showcase its national pride to the universe. Even though these nations often act collectively in the Stellar District under the name of the Peak Alliance, when it comes to such events, they would never allow their own legendary mech pilots to become subordinate to another. So, in terms of elite mech pilots per team, we actually have the advantage."

Not to mention, in terms of quality... Catherine could see through the levels of her old rivals, but she couldn't discern the depths of the enigmatic commander beside her.

Conservatively speaking, in a final five-on-five team match, he should have no problem taking on two opponents simultaneously.

Even if he couldn't win outright, at least he could hold them off for a while until she cleared out the weaker opponents. After that, with her assistance, victory would almost certainly be within reach.

To prevent large-scale warfare from spiraling out of control, the Star Alliance's decision to implement such small-scale elite battles to determine status actually presented an opportunity for smaller nations like theirs to rise against the odds.

Of course, if it weren't for their Bauhinia Republic's stroke of luck in stumbling upon an alien-born leader dropping from the heavens, they wouldn't have the confidence they now held.

As Bauhinia's starship traversed space and arrived outside a dazzlingly colorful planet, Catherine gazed through the porthole at the scene beyond with ambitious, burning eyes.

The competition venue had arrived.

"Those vivid colors come from the ceaseless thunderclouds in the planet's atmosphere. The lightning here is immensely powerful—even we wouldn't fare well under a direct strike. However, on a real battlefield, situations change unpredictably. This kind of sporadic bombardment is one of the terrain challenges we'll need to be cautious of during combat."

"Mm." Bai E's gaze swept warily over the visible arcs of lightning dragons streaking across the planet.

This planet's dense metallic particles infused its clouds with vibrant hues, and the thick chains of lightning resembled giant dragons swimming through the heavy, multi-colored clouds.

In such extreme conditions, mere flesh and blood would struggle to survive without a mecha.

If a mecha were to be destroyed, a mech pilot likely wouldn't hold out long enough for rescue by the event organizers.

Although the Star Alliance established this small-scale battle policy to replace war and reduce human casualties, the essence of the struggle remained a bloody contest.

It merely shifted the cost of death from numerous ordinary individuals to the sacrifice of a few elites.

"Aren't we heading over yet?" Seeing the starship slow down and even come to a stop, Bai E looked at the distinctively painted hosting starship in the distance with some anticipation and asked.

He was already eager to witness the presence of more strong contestants from other nations.

Only after pinpointing his exact position within this world could he set the next stage of goals aligned to his current standing.

Hearing this, Catherine's lips curled into a trace of a wry smile as she shook her head helplessly. "Let's wait a bit longer. There are still more than two days until the final check-in time announced by the Competition Committee. We need to wait for that guy who is out training on his own."

That battle-mad individual is a renowned hopeful to become the Bauhinia Republic's third legendary mech pilot.

While participating in this competition serves the purpose of securing qualification for the Universal Apex Tournament, nurturing the country's next generation of core talent is also an essential consideration for Catherine as the team leader.

That individual has been pushing their limits through continuous combat, stimulating potential step by step in various inhuman settings.

If they could encounter higher-level opponents in such a prestigious competition and temper themselves, there's a chance they might break through and ascend to the ranks of legendary mech pilots.

At that point, their mastery of mecha would feel as intuitive and natural as breathing itself. With three legendary mech pilots joining forces, even at the Star Alliance Tournament held at the center of the universe, they could certainly shine brilliantly.

By then, the Bauhinia Republic, even if not representing the Stellar District outright, would stand as the lead figure in the eyes of the entire universe, embodying the District's highest honor and strength.