Chapter 267 The Other Competitors (2) - Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary - NovelsTime

Path to Becoming the Greatest Space Mercenary

Chapter 267 The Other Competitors (2)

Author: MegaC
updatedAt: 2025-08-02

CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 267 THE OTHER COMPETITORS (2)

As the interview progressed, the host of the program naturally asked Katarina about her less than stellar past.

For the last few years, she had not ended up on the wrong side of things, but that did not change what she had done in the past.

Of course, her answer to these questions was that she had simply been young and rash. Letting her emotions control her.

She talked about how she was reformed now and did completely legitimate work as a mercenary unaffiliated with the Mercenary Association. Bringing up her current job as an example.

Soon the rumor that she was connected to groups of pirates came up, and naturally, she denied those claims.

"What do you think, is she lying?" Avery asked Kasandra who he had just called.

She was watching the event from the Dauntless since she did not need to participate in the interview and actively wanted to avoid doing so.

"It’s hard to tell over a screen. There’s too much ambient noise for me to hear her properly, and I didn’t detect any noticeable changes in her facial features. I don’t doubt that she has a lot of experience lying though. There’s no guarantee, but if I had a gun to my head and was forced to put all of my money on it, I’d go with yes. I don’t think she’s telling the truth."

This did not come as a surprise to Avery.

Something about Katarina gave her the impression of someone dangerous. Though not exactly in the same way as a powerful mercenary. There was something sinister about her. Akin to a very skilled assassin.

Avery did not trust her one bit. Fortunately, he at least knew to be more wary of such an uncertain element now.

After Katarina, the next two interviews went by without much excitement.

The two pilots in question were the most skilled kept on retainer at their corporations and were not particularly famous.

Still, even if they were in the lower rankings of the competition, their skills were both impressive.

However, they were definitely lacking when it came to combat experience. Being test pilots meant that they hardly ever ended up in truly dire situations like most mercenaries did.

’We’ve finished up with the bottom three, so now it’s time for those in the middle of the rankings.’ Avery thought, intently watching for the next arrival.

It definitely would have been rude if he voiced this out loud, but he did not think that any of the competitors ranked seven to nine had much if any chance of winning at this point.

The gap in the scores had simply gotten too wide for a comeback from any of them to be feasible.

Avery might have believed that Katarina could possibly pull it off if she really wanted to win. To do so she would need to place first in the rest of the events and win over the panel of judges that had extra points they would award at the end.

Except, he had not felt an ounce of drive in her to come out victorious. Most likely her performance in the first event had been a means to make sure that she had no chance.

Next up was the pilot from Treolaus Aerospace.

As soon as they walked onto the stage and Avery was able to see the man’s face, he recognized him immediately.

This was the first time that he knew someone merely from sight. But there probably were not too many that did not know who this man was. He was incredibly famous after all.

His name was Jack Huxley, and he happened to be one of the most popular actors of the time.

Obviously, he had attractive features. His face was well defined, and his short dark brown hair seemed to have a gleam to it. Of course, his claim to fame did not come from how good looking he was. There were plenty of attractive people in the Dramid Alliance and he was just one of many in that regard.

No, what had made him so famous was the stunts he pulled off in his movies. He had used to be a professional in the small ship racing circuit before he moved on to his current role as a holo-movie star.

He often stared in action movies that focused on ship-to-ship combat and was well known to always be flying the vessel being used in his scene. There was no need for a stunt pilot in his case.

’That certainly explains how he was able to take third in the obstacle race and nearly beat me. And why he’s fallen off a bit since then.’ Avery thought.

No doubt Jack was quite capable when it came to maneuvering. Having needed to hone such skills during his time as a racer and keeping them sharp for his current job.

Still, his fighting skills and adaptability were a bit lacking. He was certainly better than the two dedicated test pilots taking up ranks seven and eight, but he was not someone that got into the thick of things. All of the fights he had been in before were choreographed after all.

"The number of viewers certainly went up after he showed up. I guess a lot of people wanted to tune in when they heard about a star like him making an appearance." Kasandra said, still connected to Avery through their earlier call.

Having been through plenty of interviews in the past, Jack was practically the one leading the program at a certain point.

He must have been being paid especially well by Treolaus Aerospace, because he made sure to give his endorsement of their products. Going so far to say that the ship they had provided him with was far beyond his expectations and that it was his own lack of skill bringing out its potential that had him in sixth place. And that he would fix this in the latter half of the competition.

Once Jack had finished up his own interview, there was a slight intermission before the next.

Avery took this time to compile some more detailed information on the other competitors and even went so far as to download some recordings of some of Jack’s famous wins when he was still in the racing circuit. He would review those later.

After the show came back from its extended break at the halfway point, Star Road Enterprise’s representative revealed themselves.

Unlike Jack who was famous enough to be known throughout most of the Dramid Alliance on sight, the woman taking the stage now was not recognizable from a single look.

’She’s pretty young. I thought I might be the youngest contestant, but she might have me beat.’

He had turned twenty this year, and considering that the age of majority in the Dramid Alliance was seventeen, he had not been an adult for too long.

Yet, the young woman representing Star Road Enterprises was only eighteen.

She had long pure white hair, fair skin, and striking red eyes. Giving her a very ethereal beauty that was captivating. Though, her eyes were filled with strength and confidence. She was certainly not as weak as her outer appearance might have suggested.

She was currently a four star mercenary and had started her career the day that she turned seventeen.

However, what was most surprising about her was her name.

Avery may not have recognized her from her appearance, but her name last name was known by many across the alliance, and certainly by every mercenary.

"Liesel Kaizer." Avery said, looking starstruck.

She was the great great granddaughter of the first seven star mercenary and the man that Avery looked up to.

Obviously, her famous ancestor had passed away at this point, but his legacy still lived on even if their fame was not quite as great anymore.

His grandson, who was Liesel’s grandfather, was the current head of the Kaizer Mercenary Company, and one of only a few Seven Star Mercenaries in the entire Dramid Alliance.

"And I was giving orders to her like some sort of hotshot during the second event."

Avery looked aghast for a moment as he remembered the blunt messages he had told Kasandra to send out during the staged police rescue mission.

Only three of the competitors had followed his commands, and one of them happened to be Liesel.

Considering her legacy, he felt like he might have looked like a fool to her. She was from a family of generational top mercenaries.

Hearing him mumbling some of his insecurities now that he knew that one of the other competitors was the descendant of his mercenary idol, Kasandra started laughing on the other end of the call.

"You don’t usually worry about such stupid things, so there’s no need to now. If you remember, she was going along with what everyone else was doing and just hunting pirates in the beginning. She’s still a young and inexperienced mercenary despite her lineage. I’m sure she was grateful that you helped her get a higher ranking in that event."

Having listened to Kasandra laughing at him and her reassuring words, Avery slapped his face with both of his hands and took a deep breath.

He had let himself get caught up in thoughts and emotions that hardly mattered simply because someone related to the figure he looked up to had appeared.

’She’s just another person and a competitor I need to beat. I’ve got to keep my head in the game. Like Kasnara said, I shouldn’t put her up on some sort of pedestal just because she’s Kaizer’s great great granddaughter.’ Avery thought refocusing himself.

Eventually, the fifth interview ended, and it was time for the fourth. The last one before it would be Avery’s turn.

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