Douluo: Legend of the Dragon King - The Voice of the Purple Emperor

When close combat approaches ranged attacks, tragedy is inevitable.

The Soul Guidance Cannon requires a three-second cooldown after firing ten consecutive shots. Gu You made this assessment of the standard Soul Guidance Cannon in his hand.

It's not very powerful, but it causes a lot of trouble.

As he made his decision, he activated the thrusters.

The thrusters are located on the back of the mech and can assist in flight, acceleration, and other functions.

Generally speaking, melee mechs are faster than ranged mechs. Despite their larger size, melee mechs are actually lighter because they don't need to carry larger soul-guided batteries to maintain ranged attacks, unlike ranged mechs.

Gu You's thrusters had just activated when the other side's thrusters moved. If Gu You had been even a fraction slower, he would have been hit directly.

The two figures almost passed each other, widening the distance once again. This time, both were already in the air.

The melee mech reacted extremely quickly. Before it even collided with Gu You, it swung its heavy sword out of its hand.

The heavy sword flashed through the air, instantly catching up with Gu You, whose speed had just decreased after the thrusters stopped. The melee mech's attacks, in terms of both timing and precision, could only be described as exquisitely skillful.

Is this artificial intelligence really that powerful?

Gu You was surprised. But his reaction was quick. According to the rules of mecha battles, if a mecha is destroyed, even if the soul master inside still has combat power, the mecha will be judged as the loser.

With a slight bend, Gu You's long-range mech performed a bizarre maneuver, flipping its entire body in mid-air while simultaneously using the butt of its soul-guided cannon to gently push upwards, deflecting the heavy sword.

Just then, the melee mech activated its second attack, hurtling straight towards Gu You.

"Boom...!" Six beams of light shot out almost simultaneously.

Gu You used the soul-guided cannon in his hand while he was losing his balance and flipping over in the air.

Six shells directly blocked the path of the melee mech.

He didn't fire the moment he dodged the heavy sword while sidestepping, but rather after the opponent activated their thrusters for the second time, firing during a rapid advance. This is because during such a high-impact attack, close-combat mechs have difficulty changing direction. Forcing a change of direction would not only subject the mech itself to immense impact, but also the Soul Master inside. Only those with extremely high skill levels and sufficiently strong mechs would use a charge that changes direction.

Gu You's opponent, a melee mech, did not change direction but chose to withstand the attack head-on.

The power of the long-range soul-guided cannon was not enough to blast through the melee mech's protective shield in just a few shots. While enduring the attack head-on, he slightly shifted his body, dodging four of the six cannonballs, allowing only two to hit his protective shield.

With two loud roars, the mechs paused briefly in mid-air, the impact still lingering. Gu You's mech took this opportunity to create some distance once more.

After pausing, the melee mech did not rush forward again, but instead swooped down to the ground to pick up the sword.

Melee mechs, lacking weapons, are at a disadvantage against ranged mechs of the same level. Gu You's instant six-cannon attack and the timing of it made the mech pilot in the melee mech realize that the opponent before him was not an easy target, and not as easy to deal with as he had imagined.

Is this controlled by humans or by AI?

Gu You was at a loss for words, feeling like a robot, yet also somewhat unlike one.

"Boom—" A cannonball flew out with perfect accuracy, its target not the mecha, but the sword on the ground.

The shell struck the hilt of the greatsword, sending it bouncing back into the air. Then, three more shells appeared in a triangular formation in front of the melee mech, blocking its path as it pursued the greatsword.

The melee mech shifted its position and suddenly sank downwards, dodging the attack of three cannonballs, but the heavy sword had already flown dozens of meters into the air.

Gu You's mecha accelerated in mid-air and arrived in front of the heavy sword. He grabbed the heavy sword with his left hand.

It must be said that the melee mech was incredibly experienced. Seeing Gu You reach for the heavy sword, he had already leaped into the air, activating the thrusters on his back without hesitation, this time with all his might. His target was the heavy sword. Even if it meant taking a few hits, he was determined to retrieve his sword.

But it was clear that Gu You had already caught him. At that moment, the melee mech suddenly shone brightly, and countless ice spikes formed around it, swarming towards Gu You.

Finally couldn't hold back anymore?

It seems to be a real person.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Gu You's mouth.

Most top-tier mecha pilots are also Soul Masters, and Soul Masters possess Soul Skills. A Soul Master who chooses a melee mecha naturally needs a compatibility between their own abilities and the mecha. This melee mecha pilot finally couldn't resist unleashing their Soul Skill. In battles between mecha pilots, under normal circumstances, whoever unleashes their Soul Skill first is at a disadvantage, because their opponent will know their Martial Soul sooner.

Ice spikes condense, covering the area for attack.

Gu You did not release his martial spirit. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed the heavy sword. Then, the heavy sword swung through the air, creating a layer of sword shadows.

The three-foot-long sword beam wasn't particularly powerful, but it struck each and every ice spike with pinpoint accuracy. A large cloud of icy mist exploded in the air simultaneously.

With a series of booming sounds, ten shells suddenly burst out of the icy mist, completely engulfing the melee mech that had rushed up in an instant.

Covered by the icy mist, the melee mech had no idea how Gu You made his move. The purpose of deploying the ice spikes was to slow Gu You down, allowing the mech to get closer.

Unexpectedly, even after grabbing the heavy sword, Gu You did not intend to create distance again. He used the sword to break the ice spikes, while his right-hand soul-guided cannon fired ten cannonballs at the fastest speed from a very close distance.

The melee mech almost entirely crashed into the air itself. Amidst the deafening explosion, the combined force of the ten shells slamming the mech down from the sky. The melee mech's protective shield energy dropped by more than eighty percent.

Gu You then turned around and ran off into the distance. This created more distance and also gave his soul-guided cannon a cooldown period.

The melee mech lands, and the only feeling it has is frustration. This is the feeling of all melee mechs when they can't get close to ranged mechs.

"I concede." The opposing mech vanished in a flash of light. The words above Gu You's head changed to two wins and zero losses. The mech battle and the soul master battle were actually overlapping.

(End of this chapter)