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Genius Mechanic

Genius Mechanic: Chapter 257

Asta Contaminated Zone(Star Domain Tournament Comprehensive Ranking)

257. Positional Warfare

Proofread by Cloud Chip Cake

TN: Positional warfare also known as Trench Warfare, focuses on controlling key terrain, sustaining defense, and gradually wearing down the enemy, which can be particularly effective in conflicts where rapid manoeuvre is impractical or impossible.

The two mechas retreated from the combined frontal and rear encirclement. KID’s Control, Lucy, retracted the flaming light screen in her hand, fully storing it into the casing of the weapon on her right arm.  

JIAZI’s two mechas hadn’t expected Lucy to suddenly appear at such a critical moment, and it was even rarer for her to carry a shield-type weapon. According to the KID data they had, Lucy, as a Control mecha pilot, had never carried a shield-type weapon before.  

JIAZI’s commander piloting the Artillery mecha didn’t lose his composure over Lucy carrying a shield. Instead, he instructed JIAZI’s Medical to retreat to a safer distance and lock onto Sink again. Since they had forced KID’s Control to reveal a weapon, they didn’t consider it a loss. “Lucy carrying a shield-type weapon means both of KID’s weapons with crowd-control immunity have been revealed. When attacking the other mechas, prioritize separating them from KID’s Tank and Control.”  

“Stealth, hold off their Stealth. Tank and Guardian, pin down their frontline. We’ll focus on breaking through and dealing with their backline first.”  

Upon receiving the command, JIAZI’s mecha pilots tacitly pulled back, avoiding any close combat with Lucy and Sink.  

Ying Chenlin and Lu Xi took a few steps back. While evading attacks, they were also analyzing their opponent’s weaponry.  

“I just lost sight of their Medical mecha.” Lu Xi withdrew her shield and moved behind Ying Chenlin, handing over the weapon data she’d collected. “Their frontline has strong offensive power, and all their control abilities are wide-range, making evasion very difficult.”  

Ying Chenlin skimmed through the information at a glance.  

The JIAZI Stealth: Flame Darts, Enhanced Fire Blade;  

The JIAZI Tank: Fire Shield, Flamethrower;  

The JIAZI Guardian: Fire Blade, another unknown weapon;  

The JIAZI Medical: Not yet revealed;  

The JIAZI’s Control: Fire Chain Cannon;  

The JIAZI Artillery: Scattering Energy Cannon.  

“Wait a bit longer.” Ying Chenlin raised his gaze to higher ground, where several faint buildings loomed through the thick smoke.  

Lu Xi said, “I’ll try to locate their Medical.”  

As they spoke, JIAZI’s Control mecha launched another frontal fire chain attack.  

Before Ying Chenlin could act, Lu Xi once again raised her shield and positioned herself in front of him. The small energy shield on her right arm condensed into a green fire-like glow. As JIAZI’s Fire Chain Cannon projectile surged toward them, the green flames and the scorching cage of fiery chains collided and burned against each other, unexpectedly neutralizing the control effect of the Fire Chain Cannon’s projectile entirely.  

【It burned it away?!】  

【Is it a fire-attribute functional shield?】  

The livestream audience confirmed they weren’t seeing things. When Lucy loaded weapons in the maintenance area earlier, she was indeed carrying two weapons—one was the Enhancement Cannon, and the other was the new cannon-type weapon they’d seen before. But now, that cannon-type weapon had vanished, and in its place appeared a fire-attribute shield?!  

“What’s going on?” the commentator asked in confusion.

The weapons expert closely observed the weapon and discovered its intricacies. “The weapon on Lucy’s hand cannot be considered a shield-type weapon. It forms an upright frontal light screen. Normally, shield-type weapons form either fully enclosed protective barriers or semi-enclosed oval shields, with curved light arcs. However, Lucy’s weapon has no curvature. Her weapon is more like a light shield formed using an anomalous crystal, making it a rather rare fire-attribute control immune weapon.”  

The livestream commentator suddenly realized, “No wonder Sink had to turn around earlier. Lucy’s weapon can’t block Artillery-type projectiles; it can only eliminate control effects.”  

Control immunity weapons weren’t like tank-type damage-and-control immune weapons. Against JIAZI’s Fire Chain Cannon projectile, which was fully condensed from a fire-attribute ability, Lucy’s shield could completely neutralize the ability’s effects. However, when facing Artillery mecha weapons—those that carry solid projectiles infused with abilities—a control immune weapon could at most eliminate the ability’s effects, but cannot reduce the damage. That was why Sink used a Deep Water Sphere, to buy time so that the two mechas could escape from the attack.  

【So that’s a control immune weapon?】  

【Why does that weapon still feel weird to me!?】  

【No, I have to rewind. I remember it being a cannon!】  

While the livestream viewers were still debating over KID’s control weapon, the battle between JIAZI and KID on the field was heating up. It seemed that after analyzing the KID Control’s weapon effects, JIAZI’s attacks were no longer restrained. Instead, they continued their fierce assault on KID’s Sink.  

The two red and white mechas maneuvered alternately. Lucy used the Control Immune Shield to continuously neutralize JIAZI’s Fire Chain Cannon’s effects, while Sink remained on guard against the JIAZI Artillery’s energy blasts coming from above. However, the JIAZI Artillery’s energy blasts weren’t so easy to defend against. There were many buildings, and within the same direction could be multiple potential sniping points. Additionally, the JIAZI Artilley’s fire scattered in the air, forming an all-encompassing suppressive attack, rendering the projectile trajectories even harder to predict.  

【The smoke is too thick.】  

【I can’t even find the JIAZI Artillery’s position.】  

【Wait? Has KID’s Artillery disappeared? I haven’t seen him for a while.】  

【Stop talking. Haven’t you noticed that while JIAZI was pinning down Sink, JIAZI’s Stealth has been deploying darts everywhere!?】  

Among the buildings in the Mechanical City’s District A, KID and JIAZI plunged into a chaotic battle right after patrol ships left the airspace. The livestream commentary couldn’t even keep up by switching perspectives. KID and JIAZI were practically divided into three battlefronts: KID’s Stealth and JIAZI’s Stealth were engaged in a standoff on the high-rise buildings, their Tank and Guardian were fighting in District A’s streets, and on the other side, KID’s Medical and Control were being surrounded by three of JIAZI’s mechas.  

The viewers had been focused on Sink’s side earlier, but when they turned their attention back, they discovered that JIAZI, adept at fast attacks, had already seized every second to accumulate their overwhelming advantage.

Aggressive fire-type assault teams had always replaced defense with offense. The JIAZI’s Control and Artillery’s attacks didn’t hit Sink, but their surroundings were already covered with a large number of inextinguishable sparks. From the very beginning, when JIAZI’s Stealth approached KID, the mechanical structures all around them were burned red. The JIAZI Stealth’s flame darts landed in various spots, and the JIAZI’s Control’s Fire Chain Cannon’s bombardment spread chains of fire everywhere. Even though KID avoided the attacks, they unknowingly fell right into a circle of flames.  

The audience was dazzled, their view filled with endless red flames. JIAZI’s attacks were extremely fast-paced, and the pressure exuding from their pure fire-attribute fast assault tactics almost seeped through the livestream, overwhelming the viewers.  

【I can’t keep up anymore.】  

【There’s fire everywhere.】  

【With a pure fire-attribute team like this, I can’t even tell who’s using which weapon anymore.】  

【The entirety of the Mechanical City is burning red. How intense is this fire?!】  

“JIAZI’s greatest advantage is their fire-attribute attacks,” The livestream commentator swiftly segmented the battlefield as JIAZI divided up their enemies and analyzed, “All their weapons are fire-attributed. But on top of that, JIAZI is an experienced team in the Star Domain Tournament. As a team with a fire-attribute core, their combat style is actually divided into front and rear battlefields. Now, with JIAZI’s aggressive entry, their front and rear battlefield formations have been established.”  

The livestream perspective switched to JIAZI’s view. As the audience watched through the new angle, they could finally see the offensive formation JIAZI had created in such a short time.  

“Look, in less than half an hour, JIAZI has completely occupied the battlefield on the Mechanical City’s District A streets,” the commentator pointed at the JIAZI Stealth’s location. “JIAZI’s Stealth and KID’s Stealth are constantly pulling at each other. JIAZI’s Stealth is equipped with flame darts and an Assault Fire Blade. The darts can control and scout, while the Assault Fire Blade gives him powerful offensive capabilities.”  

On the upper floors of the buildings, the clash between the KID Stealth and the JIAZI Stealth continued. However, JIAZI’s Stealth kept running along the Mechanical City streets, constantly restraining KID. Unknowingly, a large number of flame darts had already landed all over the streets, effectively setting up a scouting web in the midst of the battle.  

The commentator explained, “The darts have a longer range, and the KID Stealth’s speed in removing the darts isn’t as fast as the JIAZI Stealth’s deployment of them. As a result, some darts have landed in alleys and the middle levels of buildings… They’ve already formed a fiery scouting network that monitors all of KID’s movements.”  

【In simpler terms, no matter where KID hides in the streets, JIAZI can ignore the radars and know their position first.】  

【Damn, no wonder JIAZI sent their Stealth out first… The area he runs through is wholly within JIAZI’s surveillance range.】  

【What was KID thinking back then letting Qingf bring the Mirage Chain Mace? If he’d brought that mobility-type Hook Claw, maybe Qingf would’ve caught JIAZI’s Stealth by now.】

The JIAZI Tank’s flamethrower once again spewed out a fire dragon, directly pushing KID’s Tank away and creating an opportunity for JIAZI’s Guardian to attack KID’s Guardian. In the head-on collision of the same mecha types from both teams, JIAZI’s fire attacks had clearly gained a significant advantage.  

“As for JIAZI’s Tank and Guardian, their Tank is equipped with a fire shield and flamethrower, while the Guardian is currently displaying a Fire Blade. Their frontline offensive capabilities far exceed those of KID’s Tank and Guardian. The flamethrower can control and push, and the JIAZI Guardian’s charging attack capabilities are astonishing… KID won’t be able to hold up against these fire attacks like this!”  

In the Asta Contaminated Zone’s rest area, Ke Lin frowned and said, “This is trouble. JIAZI has already secured their front and rear battlefields.”  

“I’ve encountered fast-attack teams before, but I’ve never seen one as efficient as JIAZI… Their mecha pilots have high individual quality overall, and the effects of a coordinated siege from them are obvious.” Wen Yi observed the JIAZI Stealth’s movements closely, “KID is now completely stuck.”  

This sense of being stuck wasn’t just due to the inextinguishable flames everywhere, but also the flame darts that constantly exposed their movements.  

The moment KID made any tactical moves, JIAZI’s Stealth, responsible for monitoring, would immediately relay the battle’s situation.  

In the front battlefield, JIAZI’s frontline mechas—the Tank, Guardian, and Stealth—formed an offensive pushpoint. The JIAZI Stealth, equipped with flame darts, not only provided control but also pinpointed and exposed other mechas. Combined with the offensive JIAZI Tank and the high-speed charging capabilities of the JIAZI Guardian, KID was already being suppressed in the frontline clash.  

In the rear battlefield, KID’s only water-attribute weapon user, Sink, was being pinned down by area-covering fire attacks, with Lucy assisting nearby. This prolonged stalemate allowed JIAZI to dominate both the front and rear battlefields, pushing KID back with a clear advantage.  

【It’s over. Even if KID isn’t eliminated by them, just the burning rate of these flames and their lingering scorching effects are enough to wear them down.】  

【And this is the Mechanical City. Fire-attribute abilities that can attach to machinery must be of a pretty high level.】  

【Why do I feel like KID’s been getting beaten up the whole time? Where’s Trace? His teammates are struggling this much, why hasn’t he come out to help?】  

While the mecha pilots from YDS and Black Crow were observing, Hu Luobu’s expression suddenly turned a bit strange. “Something doesn’t seem right.”  

“What’s wrong?” Ke Lin looked at Hu Luobu.  

Hu Luobu said, “I switched to You Su’s perspective five minutes ago, but he hasn’t moved at all.”  

As soon as they heard this, everyone turned to KID-Trace’s perspective. When they switched over, they saw that the space Trace was in was extremely dim, lacking a bright high-angle view, as if he was inside one of the Mechanical City’s buildings.

As an Artillery mecha, having a broad field of view and an elevated sniping position provided significant advantages in aerial suppression battles. Take JIAZI for example—after establishing their front and rear battlefield formations, JIAZI’s tactical commander, their Artillery mecha, had already found an ideal sniping position. The location was deceptive, allowing it to support the frontline battlefield while also suppressing the rear one.  

However, KID-Trace’s current location didn’t offer the same expansive view as JIAZI’s. Looking out from the building he was in, his viewpoint was relatively low and restricted. It didn’t seem like an ideal sniping position, but rather a hiding spot.  

“Pull up the map,” Wen Yi suddenly said.  

Chi Lizi, a commentator, responded immediately, adjusting the screen to a high-angle map view. Trace’s coordinates appeared as a blue dot, currently located inside a building midway of a District A street. To his left were KID’s Tank and Guardian in the street zone, and to his right were Sink and Lucy’s positions…  

Wen Yi said, “This is a connected building that allows for normal mecha movement and serves as a blind spot for the JIAZI Stealth’s flame darts.”  

In the livestream chat, many viewers were also tracking Trace’s position.  

【Hiding here, Trace won’t be able to provide support.】  

【This field of view is way too narrow.】  

【There’s no choice. If he goes out, he’ll be spotted by JIAZI’s Stealth. This place is a blind spot.】  

At that moment, the red-and-white Artillery mecha deployed its Energy Cannon. Before anyone could react, the cannon was already aimed at a target on the building’s exterior. The next second, wind-attribute energy at the cannon barrel condensed and fired—the fast-flying Steel Wind Cannon shell streaked across the screen and smashed into the observation wall outside the JIAZI Artillery’s sniper position with a loud boom.  

The Steel Wind Cannon shell, harnessing wind to create immense propulsion and destructive force, shattered the observation wall, sending large amounts of building debris scattering. JIAZI’s Artillery quickly retreated into the mechanical structure, followed by sounds of an intense bombardment from outside.  

KID’s Artillery reloaded swiftly, showing no signs of stopping despite JIAZI’s Artillery hiding. Instead, he locked onto the opponent’s hiding spot and unleashed a barrage of Steel Wind Cannon shells, each impact carving deep craters into the mechanical walls.  

The overwhelming attack of Steel Wind Cannon shells immediately disrupted the JIAZI Artillery’s support rhythm. The livestream commentator reacted, “He’s been scouting for a position all along! Trace has been using Sink’s coordinates to locate the JIAZI Artillery’s position!”  

It was well known that JIAZI’s Artillery was the most critical long-range firepower of their team, and served as JIAZI’s tactical commander.  

With their fire-based tactics, the thick smoke from the flames acted naturally as his protective cover, and with the excellent positioning of JIAZI’s Artillery, it was difficult for mechas in the street battle to pinpoint his hiding spot… But now, with Trace having locked onto the JIAZI Artillery’s position, the suppression from their long-range attacks had suddenly eased.

When Trace’s Wind Steel Cannon’s signal was just sent out, Sink and Lucy, who were originally positioned in the rear battlefield, quickly scattered. The two mechas seemed to have been waiting for this signal. Trace’s Steel Wind Cannon suppressed JIAZI’s long-range Artillery fire, giving the two mechas in the rear a gap to break through. Sink and Lucy immediately split up and retreated, both running toward suitable positions.

As soon as the KID Medical mecha broke free from JIAZI’s encirclement, a Deep Water Sphere was launched toward the higher ground. Lucy, retreating with him, switched to the Enhancement Cannon and fired at the Deep Water Sphere. The rotating force carried by the sand ability of the Enhancement Cannon dispersed the Deep Water Sphere, causing the water to turn into a shower of rain which then extinguished all the fire darts near their movement area.

“The two control weapons can cooperate like this!?” The livestream commentator was stunned. “Lucy’s Enhancement Cannon dispersed the Deep Water Sphere.”

The viewers in the livestream were very familiar with Sink and Lucy’s weapons. The former had played a huge role in the first half of the Star Domain Tournament, and the latter’s Enhancement Cannon was a powerful weapon. During the mine incident, it was able to form a sand whirlpool and enhance the KID Artillery’s attack power… They habitually assumed that Lucy’s Enhancement Cannon was only for strengthening attacks, but in fact, Lucy’s weapon was also a control weapon.

The two mechas moved quickly. Lucy fell behind to help Sink cover, while using the Green Fire Shield to block the JIAZI’s Control’s Fire Chain Cannon in the rear, smoothly switching to the Enhancement Cannon to work with Sink’s Deep Water Cannon for fire extinguishing.

The water that fell extinguished part of the fire darts, masking their movement direction, and also put out the fire darts on the upper floors of the buildings near Trace. Dawn’s nervous viewers immediately went on alert when they saw this—the two mechas ran off, and the fire darts near Trace were cleared. Doesn’t that mean KID’s long-range trio is now freed!?

【Looks like they can fight!】

【Of course, if they couldn’t, KID would’ve retreated long ago.】

“KID’s Artillery is still blocking JIAZI’s Artillery.” The commentator saw that KID’s Artillery didn’t leave using the surveillance blind spot created by Sink, but instead remained inside the building.

The red-and-white mecha was quickly running through the connected buildings. When it stopped at windows to fire outside, the angle of each shot was especially tricky, to the point that JIAZI’s Artillery had several instances where they confirmed the direction of his shells but couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.

“But this position doesn’t seem easy to snipe. The connected buildings also have—” The commentator hadn’t finished speaking when they saw Trace inside the building fire at the exterior viewing wall. A few close-range Steel Wind Cannon shots, along with the cover of thick smoke, broke straight through the nearby observation wall. He jumped through the window and continued on in the connected building.

【??? He’s straight up using Artillery to clear the way?】

【The fire darts nearby were all cleared by Sink, and he’s still in a blind spot.】

【……He’s not hitting a load-bearing wall, and the mechanical walls are thin, let alone the transparent viewing window!】

JIAZI’s Artillery was suppressed by KID’s Artillery, unable to show itself, KID’s Artillery had locked onto its position.

On the street, JIAZI’s Control couldn’t hold onto the two mechas at once. Seeing that the distance between them increased, it could only say, “Sink and Lucy used this opportunity to run away.”

“Control, follow Sink and separate him from Lucy.” JIAZI’s Artillery was suppressed by continuous attacks, unable to observe the outside world from within the building. In the fire darts layout provided by JIAZI’s Stealth, Trace’s coordinates weren’t found. “Since Lucy’s other weapon isn’t a control cannon, we can rest easy for now.”

The thing offensive fire-attribute teams feared most were multi-water-attribute control teams. Clearly, KID’s Control didn’t carry more threatening control weapons this time.

JIAZI’s Control heard the command and immediately switched to another weapon. A specially made crossbow-type weapon appeared in his right hand. He aimed at the sky, and launched five Fire Arrows in a row. The Fire Arrows quickly flew over KID’s Medical mecha, landing in front of him one after another.

When the Fire Arrows hit the ground, they immediately scattered. Countless flames fell onto the Mechanical City’s ground, spreading instantly like a circular network, and turning into blazing fireworks upon coming into contact with the flames from the previous battle.

【??? What weapon is JIAZI’s Control using?】

【No way, can fires in a mechanical street burn this fiercely?】

KID’s Medical mecha stopped its thrusters. In an instant, flames surrounded it on all sides, and the mecha was trapped in the center of the flames. When it tried to change directions and fly upwards, several special blue light beams hovered directly above it. JIAZI’s Medical mecha appeared near Sink, holding a special short cannon-type weapon. The blue light beams shot from the weapon attached to the buildings, connecting a few of them and forming a special blue light barrier directly above Sink.

When Sink’s Deep Water Sphere hit the blue light barrier, the water seemed to hit a wall, unable to penetrate through.

The livestream viewers thought KID had found new hope, but they didn’t know JIAZI had a backup plan. They instantly set up a sea of fire and used a special weapon to block higher ground, sealing off Sink’s ability to fly!

“JIAZI’s Control is likely using an enhancement-type weapon, which can strengthen their teammates’ fire attribute attacks,” the weapon expert analyzed. “As for JIAZI’s Medical, his weapon should be a spatial-type, specifically a spatial-blocking weapon.”

“Isn’t this just a furnace? Trapping the mecha inside and burning it…”

The commentator was stunned: “Did JIAZI play this aggressively in the first half?”

【Not this aggressive. We didn’t see this weapon in the first half.】

【They actually hid these two weapons. No wonder they were wary of Sink and Lucy.】

【JIAZI didn’t play this aggressively last season either!】

“This is no longer just a simple fire-attribute heavy assault; this kind of tactic is similar to trench warfare.”

Wen Yi had studied the tactics of many strong teams. This was still rare in the First Star Domain, but in the Star Alliance Tournament, some strong teams used the position of the additional mecha type, Medicals, to develop a type of spatial-based trench warfare blocking, “Using limited terrain to set up a killing field. JIAZI’s fire attacks used to be straightforward, but with the new Medical position in the new season, they’ve extended their fire attack lineup into a positional warfare strategy.”

Ke Lin: “Simply put, it means pulling the enemy to fight within one’s own area of expertise.”

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