Thirty rifles weren't a particularly huge number in the grand scheme of things, especially in a Grand Melee that involved thousands of mechas.

However, when all thirty were being fired at a single target from a relatively safe and unassailable position, thirty rifles were able to almost literally rain down intense rifle beams that could very decisively turn the tide of any battle.

Each volley would take down one or two heavy mechas, and after a mere ten to fifteen seconds, most enemy groups, much less single targets, would be shredded and defeated.

Of course against another powerful group, their strategy probably won't turn out as smooth as that. Sheera Lin, for one, could definitely counter that strategy with a myriad of her own.

I can already imagine the Eternal General sacrificing a few mechas and turning them into shields as her own sharpshooters take down the enemy mechas.

Or maybe even a different strategy that would even see them win the encounter with zero casualties. With the Eternal General, who could guess what she would do?

But the fact remained that the Rushbloods were a very impressive group and they would definitely have ended up in the top ranks.. If they didn't meet me.

Their strategy of picking medium mechas with flight modules and powerful rifles were perfect, considering that the Rushbloods were primarily a sharpshooting family with an excellent track record as the country's top sniper family.

A full hundred Blood Ace Snipers each racking up over a hundred mecha headshots in both real and mock battles could be attributed to the Rushblood family and their affiliates!

That was an impressive achievement indeed.

And in that Grand Melee, with thirty Rushblood sharpshooters raining down their accurate shots at me, I experienced the strange but impressive sensation of having all of my critical areas completely inundated by rifle beams.

The Rushbloods knew exactly how powerful their rifles were, and knew exactly how much pushing force their attacks carried.

The fact that they ignored the damage that their rifles were able to dish out and focused only on how much force they could bring to bear was a testament to just how deeply they mastered the art of shooting, and how well they had understood the situation in their fight against me.

Volley after volley smashed into my right knee and caused me to lose balance.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Just as I was about to throw my weight to my left foot to regain my balance, they switched their target seamlessly to hit my left knee as well!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

What could a wolf do when being pelted from a distance by irritating flying porcupines?

Power forward with all of its strength and destroy them once and for all, of course!

"I don't give a damn about your prickly little spikes! Now eat my wolf slash and diee!!" The wolf would think in its mind.

I wasn't a wolf, but that was exactly what I was thinking at that moment.

I directed my power to my legs, grabbed a downed mecha near me and flung it towards the the Rushbloods!!historical

"AIYEEEEEEE!!!!" The poor pilot within the downed mecha probably screamed with all of his might as his heart probably almost burst out of his chest in fear!

BAM!!

The downed mecha smashed into a couple of Rushblood mechas and caused them to instantly power down.

BOOM!! The three mechas fell violently to the ground!

Their cockpits were completely intact, of course, so the kids within them would be fine as well. But I dare say that if they had anything in their bladders, it would have been released into their mecha suits at that moment.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the contents of their bowels were discharged too.

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However, the Rushbloods were definitely not cowards, nor did they give up easily.

Even seeing the horrific way their two comrades "died" did little to dim their enthusiasm in shooting at me.

Twenty eight rifles kept up their relentless attacks on me.

But the most impressive thing was, all twenty eight mechas had begun to fly around randomly in the air to avoid getting hit by more flying mechas!

And although their accuracy and timing faltered slightly in the form of no longer hitting my critical areas in perfect rotation, they still managed to all hit my body in a relatively good rhythm.

It was impressive as hell.

And when I mentioned dragons and phoenixes in my generation, they were definitely included.

The Lins as the Vanguard, and the Rushbloods as sharpshooters in the flanks.

Just those two families working in concert would completely destroy most battalions sent their way.

Thankfully, those two families weren't allies in real life, and especially not in the Grand Melee.

The Lins stayed out of my fight with the Rushbloods. But the same could not be said about the Longs.

Remember the hard decisions that I mentioned Victor Long was capable of making?

Well, the first one that truly impressed me was the 180 he pulled in his attitude towards me, despite all the things I said about his parents.

They say that there are no permanent allies or enemies, only interests.

I truly saw a glimpse of the reality of that statement that day through the actions of Victor Long and his group.

"Fire." Victor Long's voice sounded loudly from somewhere behind me.

"Damn you Victor Long! You can't wait to die, huh? Fine! I will.. huh?" I looked at the rifle beams flying out of the Long rifles with a confused look.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Most of the rifle beams missed their targets due to the erratic movements of the Rushbloods, but more than a few connected, and two more Rushblood mechas fell to the ground.

My jaw dropped in shock.

The Longs were helping me??

The Longs managed to let off two full volleys before the Rushbloods reacted.

By that time, only twenty three Rushbloods remained compared to the Longs' thirty two.

The Rushbloods and the Longs instantly started a swirling battle that caused all of the spectators to gasp with oohs and ahhs.