David Thompson ignored these messages, entered the personal training ground, and piloted the mobile suit. He took a deep breath, recalling the key points of Thomas’s spin maneuver, and his hands moved swiftly across the controller. BS001 immediately followed the operator’s actions and performed the entire set of moves once again.

Watching the moves restored, David Thompson couldn’t help but let out a wolf howl—damn, this was just too cool! The tables had finally turned in his favor. Although he didn’t know exactly what had happened, David Thompson felt that his strength and physical reaction speed had greatly improved. Controlling BS001 felt incredibly smooth, and the massive weight hardly posed any obstacle to his operation, which was why he could complete the moves so effortlessly.

Although it was only a short period of time, David Thompson’s disappearance still sparked quite a bit of discontent, with some claiming that the always-failing Blade Warrior had chickened out and that his success was just a fluke. Seeing these comments, David Thompson just smiled. He didn’t care much about winning or losing; he simply wanted to gain experience in piloting mobile suits.

Personal practice alone couldn’t prove anything; everything still needed to be tested in real combat. So, he quickly selected a second lieutenant from the challengers. This was David Thompson’s first time fighting such a high-level player—of course, there were even higher ranks, but David Thompson felt this level was more suitable. After all, he wasn’t a masochist. The feeling of his first victory was so good that he couldn’t wait to start the second match.

Fires of War, Second Lieutenant, evolved beast-type mobile suit Wolf Demon V2, with a record of 590 wins, 238 losses, and 25 draws.

A veteran player, and one who possessed an overwhelmingly powerful mobile suit. The Wolf Demon V2 was a game-version model, with enhanced agility and control, as well as increased firepower. He belonged to the pure gamer faction.

Players were divided into two main camps: one advocated for basic models with slight modifications—the realists; the other preferred exaggerated, ever-updating equipment—the fantasists. Each side had its own stance: the former focused on improvements based on reality, while the latter pursued the thrill of high-performance combat.

The battle between BS001 Blade Warrior and Wolf Demon V2 Blazing Inferno immediately attracted widespread attention. The players were all here for the Blade Warrior, curious to see if he could pull off another miracle.

A match between a private and a second lieutenant actually drew over a million viewers to watch live. This alone was already a miracle in the years-long history of the Cosmic War game. People always have an irrepressible enthusiasm for miracles, and the official Cosmic War game also gave this match a certain amount of publicity.

Getting this much attention for the first time, David Thompson was actually a bit unaccustomed. But as soon as he stepped onto the battlefield, his mind calmed down. This was the result of long-term self-discipline, and now he was even more composed. This time, the battlefield wasn’t a desert, but a rugged rocky terrain. David Thompson didn’t care either way; he believed a true warrior should adapt to any environment, any battlefield, and respond to emergencies—even those he wasn’t good at. Only then could one become a truly qualified warrior.

Chapter 7: Shocked Once Again

Blazing Inferno didn’t hold back at all. Against someone who could use BS001 to pull off a Thomas spin kill, you couldn’t afford to be careless no matter what. Although he was a second lieutenant, there were plenty of those around. This was also his first time receiving so much attention, but he wanted to fight this match well!

Among the viewers were professional gamers and experts, but after looking at the matchup, they were a bit disappointed. David Thompson was mainly famous among the lower and middle-tier players; the high-level ones wouldn’t normally pay attention. They only came after reading the reports, and found a player using BS001 facing off against a player with a fantasy-type model. It was really an uneven match. Fantasy-level models were much easier to operate; piloting a realistic mobile suit was extremely exhausting, but these fantasy models required much less effort and were far more advanced, with overwhelming combat power. In high-level duels, players usually chose similar or same-level models. If both had special models, that was another matter, but the gap in this match was just too big. Even if you could use the Thomas spin kill, it might not work—after all, the opponent was now on guard and wouldn’t fall for it so easily.

As soon as the battle began, Blazing Inferno showed enough caution. He’d rather win ugly than lose in a flashy way—otherwise, he’d never live it down. The Wolf Demon V2’s powerful mobility was on full display, especially in this kind of terrain. He could easily find cover spots. In fact, with BS001’s weak long-range attack capabilities, this was perhaps a bit too cautious. The Wolf Demon V2 leapt rapidly, constantly changing positions. With BS001’s mobility, it could barely keep up at best.

David Thompson sat in the cockpit, unusually calm. He’d faced even more extreme situations before. His eyes stared unblinkingly at the screen, only slowly adjusting BS001’s angle. There was no way to compete on speed, but for some reason, watching the constantly leaping Wolf Demon V2, David Thompson felt there was some flaw in the opponent’s jumps. And although the direction kept changing, the rhythm was very steady, with little deviation. Most mobile suit pilots had their own combat rhythm. David Thompson had tried to grasp this before, but never as clearly as now. The Wolf Demon in front of him kept jumping, but he could almost predict its landing points. He quickly made two mental calculations—and was right both times. So what was he waiting for!