The duel arbitration area.
The onlookers watched the two ships bearing down on one another, and knew the clash between them was about to begin.
"Look, quick! It's the T2 Bald Eagle-class Light Interstellar Cruiser's laser main cannon! It's going to fire!"
"That Zhao Chen had best pray for himself. That junk-metal ship of his — I doubt it can even take this one shot."
"Just look at that whatever-it-is ship of Zhao Chen's — what are the weapons on it? A few dozen close-in guns and five T2 laser cannons, that's all. What's he supposed to fight a T2 Bald Eagle with!"
The onlookers had settled in with every air of an audience waiting for a good show.
Sitting off in her corner, Zhao Wan'er clenched a worried fist, her eyes full of dread.
"The T2 Bald Eagle's laser main cannon isn't fearsome in its power; a hit at this distance would be, at most, a heavy wound. So long as your brother has the good sense to concede when it comes to it, there's no real danger," Su Lan said at her side.
By now she no longer believed Zhao Chen could win; she only hoped he'd have the sense to surrender and admit defeat.
Whether this man lived or died she didn't care. She simply had no wish to see her dear friend grieved.
Pigheaded donkey of a brother, you'd better come through this all right! So long as the green hills remain, there'll be no want of firewood! Zhao Wan'er muttered inwardly.
On the broadcast image, everyone saw the T2 medium Bald Eagle laser main cannon mounted at the bow of Zhang Haoran's T2 Bald Eagle already flickering with the glow of electric current — the telltale sign of a shot about to be loosed.
A few seconds later, a beam of laser fire lanced out, streaking straight for the target ship.
But then came a scene no one had foreseen.
One end of the broadcast feed carried readings on certain data of the dueling ships, and among them was a record of their speed.
Blizzard Zero, which had been sailing along at 40 star-knots, suddenly began to turn to starboard — and to accelerate.
In under three seconds, it climbed straight from 40 star-knots to 80.
Its course traced, for all the world, an arc drawn along the rim of a circle with the T2 Bald Eagle at its center.
And this sent the laser beam veering wide; it did not strike Blizzard Zero at all.
An uproar swept the spectators' gallery.
"What in the world? Was that my imagination just now — how did that Blizzard Zero's speed shoot up so much all at once!"
"A fluke! It has to be a fluke! Or else our detection instruments over here glitched — how could that ragged wreck of a ship possibly have a speed of 80 star-knots! It's not possible!"
"The T2 Bald Eagle is only 65 star-knots itself!"
"But… how exactly did it dodge that main-cannon laser shot of the T2 Bald Eagle's?"
Faced with this question, the crowd that had been writing Zhao Chen off fell silent.
"What… just happened?" The twin-tailed loli Xue Xiaoxiao stared, wide-eyed, at her two sisters.
"80 star-knots… this… how is it possible…" Zhao Wan'er gulped hard.
Su Lan's gaze, too, turned serious at this, fixing intently on the broadcast image.
And Blizzard Zero, its sweeping arc completed, turned once more to port, its nose again leveled straight at the T2 Bald Eagle — its speed climbing further still.
85 star-knots… 90… 95…
Every soul present stared, unblinking, at that single column of data tracking Blizzard Zero's speed.
At the last, the speed came to rest at 100 star-knots!
Inconceivable!
Unbelievable!
That was the thought in every heart present.
Even the referee-mentors let looks of astonishment show.
It was not that no T2 ship ever reached 100 star-knots — but such ships were as rare as phoenix feathers, or else specially refit vessels.
And that unremarkable-looking assembled ship could, of all things, tear along at 100 star-knots.
This… how was it possible?
Aboard Blizzard Zero at that moment, Zhao Chen had no mind to spare for the onlookers' wonder.
His breathing had quickened a little; a moment ago his own eyes had been fixed on the radar star-map, watching the laser's line of fire skim past Blizzard Zero's stern.
It had looked, by the margin, like a good clear miss.
But by the ship system's reckoning, one second slower—
—and their Blizzard Zero might well have been struck. It wouldn't have gone down to a single shot, true, but hull damage would have been unavoidable.
"One good turn deserves another. Now it's time to fire back. Bring out our 1200mm big gun! Blast the bastard!" Carried away with the moment, Zhao Chen shot to his feet, planted one foot on the captain's chair, and thrust a finger forward!
Deputy Captain Charlotte gave the command. "Target the enemy ship; sail at full speed. And bring the T2 heavy 1200mm Devil-Croc cannon online."
"Understood! Full speed ahead!"
"Bringing the T2 heavy 1200mm Devil-Croc cannon online; 10 seconds required… 10…"
At Blizzard Zero's bow, a hatch suddenly appeared — and, sliding open, laid bare the black, yawning mouth of a gun barrel.
At this, not a soul in the spectators' gallery could keep their seat any longer; every last one of them rose.
Even several of the mentors stood, disbelief on their faces.
One middle-aged mentor said, astonished, "That… that's… the 1200mm cannon carried by the T2 Devil-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship? How could it… turn up on this ship?"
"Pull this cadet's records at the academy for me!" the chief referee ordered those beside him.
Before long a record had been fetched up.
The chief referee looked over the record, and understanding broke over him. "The T2 Grey Wolf… the T2 Devil-Croc… the T2 Hyena… it all matches! This fellow assembled a single ship out of these three classes — and mounted the T2 Devil-Croc's bow main cannon on his ship into the bargain!"
Some of the sharper-eared cadets in the gallery behind caught these words.
"Good heavens! It's actually the bow main cannon of the T2 Devil-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship!"
"The T2 Devil-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship? What ship is that?"
"That's what comes of never studying properly. It's a T2 battleship released a century ago; at the time, in the chase after heavy firepower, they mounted the largest caliber then to be had — this very 1200mm bow giant gun — right onto the battleship, and a cannon-type at that. Legend has it its power was such that no T2 ship could hope to withstand a single shot of it."
"1200mm caliber… isn't that the sort of loadout only a T3 ship carries? So why is it we've never once heard of this class?"
"Because it came with an enormous design flaw. In pursuing firepower, they never gave any thought to whether the T2 ship's other systems and modules could actually support so powerful a weapon — and so it threw all manner of malfunctions. Add to that a build cost that ran several tens of percent higher than an ordinary T2 battleship's, and it was discontinued inside 30 years of its release."
Su Lan, too, was moved now. She looked to Zhao Wan'er. "You never mentioned your brother had fitted this cannon onto his ship."
"I… don't really know myself…" Zhao Wan'er's expression at this moment was a strange one as well. Just what was this brother of hers up to?
"Giant gun! A giant gun! I love giant guns best of all!" The twin-tailed loli Xue Xiaoxiao, on the contrary, was now hopping about where she stood, her eyes fairly blazing with excitement!
At the sight, Su Lan and Zhao Wan'er both went helpless. Here was Xue Xiaoxiao's affliction flaring up again.
She suffered from a severe case of "giant-cannon obsession" — and what she loved above all else was the pairing of an interstellar battleship with a great big-bore gun!