Gray Castle's collision resistance and stability were inferior to Imperial Scale's.
As brutal as that conclusion was for Gray Castle, she had no choice but to admit it.
What had just happened in that corner made it obvious enough.
And Imperial Scale had been the one on the attack, while Gray Castle had been defending.
By all rights, the attacker should have been in the more passive position, yet the result was that Gray Castle, the defender, had nearly been whipped off the track by a single tail swing from Imperial Scale.
It was like a vicious slap across Gray Castle's face.
After that, Richard Cheng and Gray Castle never caught up to Derek Su and Imperial Scale again.
The more corners there were, the greater the advantage for Derek Su and Imperial Scale.
All the way to the second maintenance point, silence hung between Gray Castle and Richard Cheng.
"Gray Castle, I'm sorry. My driving just isn't good enough." Stopped at the maintenance platform, Richard Cheng finally broke the silence. He looked down at the control stick and gave a bitter smile. "If it had been another driver, maybe we wouldn't have been beaten this badly in the second stage."
When launch-control and drifting techniques had started spreading, Richard Cheng had studied them seriously too.
He was not some useless rich kid with nothing but money. He knew how to work hard.
But talent was not something everyone had.
It was true that he was the ace of the ESW club, but that reputation mostly came from the fact that he had a lot of top-tier Mecha Girls at his disposal. He could choose the most suitable one for different races, and he could also provide them with all sorts of rare modules, which was how he had built a fairly impressive record. But when it came to actual driving skill, there was still a considerable gap between him and the real geniuses.
"Master, this isn't your fault." Gray Castle came back to herself and said flatly, "I really did underestimate them today. I never expected this new-model junior to have such an absurd ability."
She had mostly figured it out by now.
Imperial Scale's ability was either immunity or super armor.
But there was no way to know the exact trigger conditions or the precise effect.
For most Mecha Girls, once they used their special skill, the details would be figured out quickly enough.
But both her ability and Imperial Scale's belonged to the especially subtle kind.
Without personally experiencing them on the track, it was hard to make an accurate judgment.
So that left one question.
How were they supposed to deal with Imperial Scale in the third stage?
Gray Castle turned to look out the window. Imperial Scale had already finished maintenance and exited deployment mode. She stood quietly half a step behind The Magician, like a silent knight.
If anyone provoked her, she would draw her sword in the very next second.
Just like the Mecha Girls she had smashed off the track.
There had been eighty-seven Mecha Girls competing in the Brana Ruins race this second half of the year.
But only twelve had successfully made it to the second maintenance point.
That was less than a third of the usual number for the Brana Ruins advanced race.
"Gray Castle." After a moment of silence, Richard Cheng suddenly spoke.
"Hm?" Gray Castle lifted her eyes.
"I've got a way to deal with Derek Su and Imperial Scale."
Gray Castle looked at Richard Cheng's smug expression in confusion.
"What way?"
"Heh, you'll see once we get into the third stage."
A confident smile curled at Richard Cheng's lips.
All he could say was that opportunities always favored the prepared.
And preparation was the one thing he never lacked.
...
At the second checkpoint, Derek Su and Imperial Scale ran into Stella, who had escaped from the medical team.
The support Mecha Girls had not wanted to let Stella, a patient, leave.
But Stella had not really been hurt in the first place, and the support Mecha Girls could not withstand her acting cute, wheedling, and rolling all over the floor. So they called Absolute Shadow to get permission, and in the end they let her go. Stella immediately hurried over to the second checkpoint by helicopter and waited there eagerly.
"Master!"
The moment she saw Derek Su, Stella launched herself into his arms like a rocket headbutt.
If this had been in the past, Derek Su would have gone pale on the spot and braced for serious injury.
But Stella had learned to control her strength now. Like an ordinary girl, she would not hurt him.
"Weren't you with the medical team?" Derek Su asked, rubbing the little girl's head in his arms.
"Wuuuh, the medical team was so boring. I could only watch Master on TV." Stella wrapped her arms around Derek Su's waist, rubbed her pretty face against his chest, narrowed her eyes like a cat, and giggled. "I want a Master I can touch and smell."
"Ahem."
With her hands behind her back, Imperial Scale looked up at the sky and cleared her throat.
She was standing right there, and yet Stella was hugging and cuddling with Derek Su in front of her. What kind of behavior was that?
If people from other clubs saw this, they would think Derek Su was the kind of person who indulged himself with Mecha Girls.
That would not be good for Stella Club's image.
"Oh? The Rebel King did pretty well today. You've got a bit of my former style."
Noticing Imperial Scale, Stella stepped out of Derek Su's arms and shamelessly sidled over to her, her face full of ingratiating flattery.
From who knew where, she pulled out a pineapple and smashed it against her forehead.
With a sharp crack, it split open.
Seeing that, even Imperial Scale's mouth twitched.
"This king is not a stingy person." Stella shook her head proudly, picked out the biggest piece of pineapple, and handed it to Imperial Scale. In an arrogant tone, she said, "Today, the traitor king helped this king defend the realm, so this king will share her beloved fruit with you. No need to stand on ceremony."
"Idiot." Imperial Scale rolled her eyes, but still took the pineapple.
She said it very softly, but Stella still caught it.
At once, Stella wrinkled her dainty nose, puffed out her cheeks, planted one hand on her hip, and thrust the other hand out in front of Imperial Scale.
"Give. It. Back!!!"
Imperial Scale calmly turned around and stuffed the pineapple into her mouth.
Then she turned back with a faint, amused smile, looking at Stella with an expression that clearly said, What are you going to do about it?
"Awooowuwuwuwu!"
Stella clenched her fists, her face flushing red as she let out another little beastly roar.
Derek Su quickly stepped between them and pressed one hand against Stella's forehead.
One hand pressed... uh, almost in the wrong place. He had to hurry and pull it back, then grab Imperial Scale's hand instead.
"Alright, the third stage is about to start. Today's race will be over soon, and tomorrow Zane is setting up a new training plan for me. The two of you can come along together."
Stella crossed her arms over her chest, turned her face to one side, and gave a huff.
She actually got called an idiot. The Rebel King really was the Rebel King... give her a little sunshine and she would start plotting rebellion!
She calls me an idiot today, and tomorrow she'll probably have me serving tea, pouring water, and massaging her back in the royal bedchamber!
A slight smile tugged at Imperial Scale's lips.
Her gaze swept briefly over Stella's puffed-up face, but she said nothing.
...
[All contestants, please prepare for the start!]
The announcement suddenly rang out over the broadcast.
Derek Su could only take Imperial Scale and head for the starting line.
The final stage of the Brana Ruins advanced race was about to begin.
At the moment, Stella Club was holding first place with a solid advantage, though the ESW club was not far behind.
So the third stage could not be taken lightly either.
Especially since this was that kind of special track, with water on both sides and a path so narrow only one Mecha Girl could pass through at a time.
So even though Derek Su had plenty of confidence in himself and Imperial Scale, he still focused with utmost seriousness.
Inside the checkpoint, Stella stood behind the warning line.
Her eyes shone as she watched Derek Su and Imperial Scale.
"Master, and Rebel King, do your best!"
She waved her little fist, but because she was afraid of disrupting Derek Su and Imperial Scale's focus, she did not shout it aloud.
She only prayed silently in her heart, just like the other Mecha Girls from Stella Club in the spectator stands. Everyone was thinking about Derek Su and Imperial Scale.
And on the other side...
Gray Castle entered deployment mode.
Richard Cheng also pulled out his secret weapon with a wicked grin.
"Ta-dah~"
...
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