Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Her first ranking match was won effortlessly, yet Ruo Manni felt no joy.

She knew her victory was mostly due to luck; she had taken her opponent by surprise. While dealing with the opponent’s rapid and frequent attacks, she initially struggled with her telekinetic strikes and could only use one flying knife.

Fortunately, her opponent wasn’t a strength-based fighter, which prevented her from applying absolute pressure. Unaware of Ruo Manni’s skills, the opponent’s lack of insight allowed the fight to end quickly. Otherwise, without her ace up her sleeve, Ruo Manni would have faced a tough battle.

After experiencing it, Ruo Manni realized that one-on-one ranking matches consume more physical stamina and mental energy compared to the map PK matches. No wonder there was a fifteen-minute break between each match.

Once she confirmed her opponent was out and she was victorious, Ruo Manni immediately sat down in the center of the arena to recover.

Before yesterday, Ruo Manni had never appeared in any events on the Sky Network. Suddenly, she emerged like a dark horse, achieving an impressive sixth place overall and becoming a sensation overnight throughout the Gus Empire.

Those who had watched her battle videos recognized her for two main reasons: first, she could use leaves and fruits as throwing weapons with significant damage; second, her telekinesis level was high enough to slightly affect her opponents’ speed.

People assessed her based on her use of throwing weapons to directly attack opponents, so they completely overlooked her ability to use telekinesis to control flying knives for surprise attacks. This led to her opponent’s unexpected defeat.

In the first ranking match, despite Ruo Manni initially struggling with the flying knives due to inexperience and the close-quarters battle, her opponent’s unfamiliarity allowed her to catch them off guard.

The first battle ended quickly, with Ruo Manni sustaining little energy loss and no injuries, putting her in a good state.

Rather than relax after the swift victory, Ruo Manni focused on recovering to ensure she returned to peak condition.

Her next opponent might have watched her match; even if they hadn’t, they could hear information about her use of flying knives from the audience.

If her next opponent was on guard, the effectiveness of her surprise attacks with flying knives would significantly decrease. Given her physical combat skills were not as strong, she would inevitably find herself in a difficult close-quarters fight, which would likely end in defeat.

In her second ranking match, Ruo Manni faced another level four beginner warrior ranked fifteen hundred, a position considered skilled. The boy wielded a large knife, and his presence was much stronger than that of her previous female opponent.

As the match began, he swung his knife with impressive force, which Ruo Manni barely managed to deflect using a technique that combined softness with strength. However, he quickly countered, striking the back of her long sword with a powerful blow that numbed her hand and caused her health to drop by ten points.

Ruo Manni didn’t dare to be careless, as her sword nearly fell, she sent two flying knives towards his vital points.

The boy blocked the knife aimed at his throat but was too late to notice the one behind him, resulting in it piercing his arm.

While the flying knife hit him, it wasn’t a fatal strike, and she saw his health drop by one hundred twenty points.

The injury struck his right shoulder, reducing his combat effectiveness by half. His strikes became slower and weaker, allowing Ruo Manni to handle his attacks with ease.

In this evenly matched battle, she chose not to use the flying knives and instead engaged him in close combat with her long sword.

Although the boy’s strength was diminished due to his injury, his combat experience far exceeded that of the novice Ruo Manni. Consequently, she was hit twice by his blade, losing over fifty points of health.

Before they knew it, twenty minutes had passed. Due to the greater health loss on the boy’s side, Ruo Manni emerged victorious in this ranking match.

“Thank you,” the boy said, bowing to Ruo Manni in apology.

Given his injuries, if Ruo Manni had used the flying knives against him again, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to dodge. However, she didn’t press the attack.

According to the ranking match rules, losing contestants only had one percent of their total points deducted, while those eliminated before the match ended faced a ten percent deduction. The difference was significant, and Ruo Manni had sacrificed her own interests for the sake of that boy.

“You are a skilled opponent and deserve respect,” she said seriously, deeply touching the boy.

In reality, Ruo Manni was just putting on a show; inside, she was regretting and wishing for a rewind of time. In the excitement of the match, she had completely forgotten about the point deduction for the losing contestants, only thinking of the rare opportunity to hone her combat skills.

That wasn’t even the worst part. As the third match was about to start, she noticed her health had dropped by sixty points, leaving her with only nine hundred forty. She cursed herself, wishing she could turn back time, unable to understand why she had been so careless.

In the third match, her opponent ranked seventeen thousand three hundred forty-two, another level four beginner warrior wielding a large knife. The moment they faced off, Ruo Manni realized why this boy, with the same level and weapon, had a much lower ranking than the previous opponent.

This boy’s attacks were only slightly stronger than the injured boy’s earlier strikes, and Ruo Manni found she could handle them.

Remembering the lesson from the previous match and fearing another drop in health, she decided to send this boy out of the ring with her flying knives after just a few minutes of combat.

In the next matches—fourth, fifth, and sixth—Ruo Manni faced opponents ranked beyond eight thousand.

These three matches were effortless for her, and her health bar remained completely intact. Even though those opponents knew she could use the flying knives, most managed to dodge one but couldn’t avoid the second.

In the seventh match, when Ruo Manni saw her opponent was ranked eighteenth, her expression turned serious.

This was the highest-ranked opponent she had faced in her seven matches, a level four mid-tier warrior known for speed and strength. He was nearly twice her size, and even more daunting, he wielded a spear.

It was clear to Ruo Manni that this would be a tough battle, and she might not win.

Not daring to take chances, she switched her sword for a whip.

Seeing her change weapons at such a critical moment surprised the spectators, who began to whisper among themselves.