We shook hands on it and turned to look at the training ground as we waited eagerly for the battle to begin. It was already a very exciting battle to begin with. The bet had just made it twice as exciting.

I could feel my adrenalin pumping!

BA DUMP! BA DUMP!

The familiar pain surged in my chest.

Okay, make that THREE times as exciting! My red mecha core was reacting to my excitement!

YES!!

Very soon, the countdown for the final few seconds began.

5!

4!

3!

2!

BATTLE!

As soon as the countdown reached zero, the ground began to rumble slightly and many openings began to appear all over the main training area.

Half ruined buildings of every kind began to appear and rise up from those openings.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

Within a few seconds, the flat and open training ground transformed into a half-destroyed city.

"Wow." I breathed. "This is excellent! It's exactly like an urban scene!"

"Hmm. Each battleground will be randomly selected by the system. But urban battlegrounds appear more often than all the other types combined. The Whitefrost Clan is probably preparing for a major offensive involving city battles." Emma's eyes shone brightly in excitement as well.

On the far right, I could see the Giant Pegasi Company's heavy mechas forming up into six groups of seven. They were spreading out in a single line until they were approximately two hundred fifty meters away from each other.

The heavy mechas piloted by the Giant Pegasi Company were breathtakingly awesome.

I had always been fascinated by mecha design and how creative people can get in making mechas look absolutely gorgeous in many different ways. And those heavy mechas were prime examples of that creativity.

I could see that the theme the designer used was "Unstoppable Force". It was a similar design to the heavy mechas of the Red Dragon Battalion used by the old man's personal guards in the sense that they were angular and heavily armored. They probably shared the same base frame.

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But where the old man's heavy mechas gave out a professional and deeply murderous feeling, the Giant Pegasi Company's heavy mechas had a more flamboyant air about them. For one thing, their mechas were black in colour with a generous splash of red and golden trim. And for another, they were absolutely bedecked with personal touches such as skull symbols, words and even props such as feathers and flags.

Apparently they didn't give a whit about stealth. Not that they needed to, though.

After getting into groups, the six groups began to advance slowly on the ground. The remaining eight mechas split into two groups of four and trailed after the six groups.

I nodded in approval at their formation.

Their six groups were able to occupy almost the entire breadth of the training ground, ensuring that the enemy would not be able to flank them and attack them from the rear.

Having seven in a group also provided each group with enough firepower to resist an engagement with the light mechas for a few minutes, long enough for the other groups to converge on their location and crush the enemy with their superior firepower.

The two four-man groups trailing behind them would also serve as a powerful emergency back up in case any individual group met with all of the enemy mechas at once.

The only thing I lamented was that they did not have any light mechas to serve as scouts. In every battle, having 'eyes' on the enemy is extremely important. Still, they should have no problems wiping out the Black Salamanders.

I turned my head to my left and studied the formation of the Black Salamanders. With all fifty mechas being light mechas, they had no shortages of scouts. And as such, they had equipped ten of their mechas with flight systems and had already taken to the skies to scout out the enemy position and formations.

The rest were standing still in ten groups of four mechas.

"The Giant Pegasi are already doomed." Emma remarked from my side. "They don't have any scouts. They wouldn't even know what hit them when the Black Salamanders finally make their move."

"I don't really know what light mechas are capable of in comparison to heavy mechas. But I have confidence in the Giant Pegasi's leader." I replied to her confidently. "Plus, the Giant Pegasi are mobilizing exactly the way I predicted they would."

"Really? Why is that so?" Emma asked me curiously.

"Deng Da Jun. Twenty-year old male. RPL 65%. Joined the Whitefrost Clan five years ago. Prior occupation: Junkyard Scrapper. Orphaned since birth." I showed her his profile. "He was a junkyard scrapper!"

"So?" Emma asked again in confusion.

"Emma, I am a junkyard scrapper, and I've only been a junkyard scrapper for a few years. I may not be anything much, but I definitely am one thing. A survivor. That's what I do. I survive.

This Deng Da Jun, however, was a junkyard scrapper from birth all the way till he was fifteen years old. That tells me one thing. He's either an incredible survivalist, or a gang member. And there is no way in hell the Whitefrost Clan would recruit a gang member."

"So? He may be a good survivor in a junkyard, but that doesn't mean anything in a mecha battle." Emma refuted me stubbornly.

"If he is a new recruit, yes, his ability to survive would not mean anything. But he has been training in here for five years now. He would have definitely integrated his survivor instincts into his fighting techniques and as a leader, into his deployment tactics." I explained. "Plus, the fact that he is a company leader with his less than stellar background tells me that he is probably brilliant!"

"I don't see much of this "survivor instinct" in his deployment tactics." Emma scoffed lightly. "It's just a textbook heavy mecha deployment tactic, and it is even one without the scouts."

"It would be extremely textbook if everything is merely what it seemed." I grinned widely at her. "Oh I've lost count how many times I've tried so hard to make everything look like what they merely seemed, only to hide a deadly trap within. Look at his mecha and the modifications he had made."

I pointed out the interesting thing which had caught my attention earlier.

"He had removed most of his heavy armor and… replaced them with a flight system?!" Emma gasped in disbelief. "And an additional high powered heavy rifle?!"

"Yes. And look at where he has positioned himself." I said gleefully.

Emma swivelled her head around to her screen and quickly brought out Da Jun's position. "He's trailing behind the main line in the group of four. In fact… he's even beginning to slow down and separate himself from the rest of his team!"

"Yes! I knew it the moment I saw his background and his mecha modifications. He is a heavy assassin!" I proclaimed triumphantly.

"Uhh. Okay. That might throw a small wrench into the Black Salamander's plans. But I doubt it would be enough to cause them to lose." Emma said. But doubt was already surfacing in her eyes.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Author's Note

Hi guys! Thank you for reading and supporting I Devour Mechas! As an author, your continued support and enjoyment in reading IDM means the world to me.

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