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Chapter 92: An Existence from Another Level

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

The other three were relieved when they saw Wang Tong stopping at the five times gravity zone, then they settled down and began their own practices. The Gravity Training Chamber was furnished with a full set of equipment which was perfectly designed for physical training. It was known by many that the improvement of physical strength would also help to enhance one's overall GN Force status, after all, GN Force was an energy source that originated from the body itself. Yet, some of the actions and movements from various tactics would cause the body to overstress, and GN Force would only provide the first layer of protection; however, it was possible for a person to have a second layer protection through physique enhancement.

Wang Ben mainly focused on practicing the muscles of his extremities, which were the foundations of his Fist of the Racing Tiger. He needed to maintain a stronger body in order to bear the tremendous stress created by the ferocious force. Judging from his movements, his body was almost fully recovered all thanks to his ability of super regeneration. He wasn't the type of person that would be easily held down by injuries.

Ma Xiaoru had her unique training methods, just like Wang Tong, her Tactics of the Enchantress was able to function as normal even under the harsh environment of a greater pressure. She was actually enhancing her Soul Energy and doing physical training at the same time.

Meanwhile, Hu Yangxuan was training his flexibility. Rumor has it that people from the Court of the Templar were all good at sword fights, which explained his outstanding sword mastery. His training mainly focused on improving his body's agility and coordinating skills.

Wang Tong, on the other hand, looked like he was exercising. He once read about it in the academy's archive. The movements might look old-school, but they were good enough to be used in warm-ups.

No one said a word as they began to train respectively, yet somehow, they still managed to compete secretly against each other through different physical activities. Generally speaking, a person had to initialize his or her GN Force under the pressure of five times gravity, which was already some sort of trial to the body itself.

Their performances were almost the same during the first five minutes. Yet after five minutes, Hu Yangxuan's began to experience shortness of breath, and he had to increase his GN Force output to cope with the immense pressure. Gravity was a type of terrifying external pressure, one wouldn't feel anything if it was within the acceptable range, but when the gravity exceeded one's body's limit, one would feel the increasing pressure even though the force remained unchanged. As time went on, it would gradually increase the damage to the body. It wasn't something that could be forced to cope with, as it might cause the body to suffer internal injuries.

Hu Yangxuan was able to recover after infusing his body with a little GN Force. Then he turned to check on the others and was surprised to discover that none of them were affected by the strong force of gravity. However, that didn't mean that Hu Yangxuan was weaker in terms of battle strength, after all, it wouldn't cause many effects to the body during fights, yet he knew that his physical strength was weaker than the other three.

Hu Yangxuan might have been through tons of ruthless training during his days in Court of the Templar, but Ma Xiaoru was still stronger because she practiced the Tactics of the Enchantress, which was one of the Five Great Tactics that had the ability to strengthen her physique. Wang Ben was obviously stronger because he was born and raised in a military family, and he had received numerous tough physical training. However, Hu Yangxuan had no idea why Wang Tong was also stronger than him, and he was somehow frustrated by the fact that he was weaker than all of them.

Training under the protection of GN Force would only slightly increase one's physical strength because the protecting force would cancel off part of the pressure.

Ma Xiaoru and Wang Ben began to sweat after ten minutes, both of them still didn't utilize their GN Force. Ma Xiaoru might look weak, but her Tactics of the Enchantress also focused on life-force enhancement, which was one of the uniqueness of the Five Great Tactics and also explained how her body would contain such tremendous physical strength. As for Wang Ben, he had been going in and out different Gravity Training Chambers since he was ten, so he was already familiar with everything here.

Fifteen minutes had passed, Ma Xiaoru and Wang Ben had reached their limits and were forced to utilize their GN Force in order to cope with the pressure. Soon as the trio turned to check on Wang Tong at the same time, they were shocked to see he still didn't utilize his GN Force. They were worried that he might hurt himself to compete against them.

Wang Tong was training happily. Honestly, he was happier by the fact that his training was accompanied by the rest. To him, five times gravity was only a warm-up before the real action, and it would not cause him any harm. It only took his body a short period of time to get used to the force of five times gravity, after a month, he was already fully adapted to the force. It seemed like the Tactics of the Blade was also able to improve his body's condition apart from enhancing Soul Energy and GN Force. Wang Tong couldn't wait to discover more about the extraordinary power of this amazing tactic.

Wang Tong finally began to sweat after twenty minutes. "Fellas, I've finished warming up, see y'all inside."

Wang Tong thought the others were warming up the whole time. Soon as he walked in, the trio looked at each other.

"Which zone would you use normally?"

"Three or four times gravity zone."

"Same here."

Based on Hu Yangxuan and Wang Ben's current level, it would be enough for them to train at this range because stronger gravity wouldn't do any good to their bodies. Anyhow, they couldn't imagine how strong Wang Tong had to be for using the five times gravity zone as a place to warm up.

As the disciples of famous Houses, the trio knew that it was a taboo to ask the others about their tactics and practices, so they asked no further questions and got back to their own training and practices. Yet it made Wang Ben wondered if the last punch he remembered during their previous match was probably Wang Tong's real strength, if that was true, what level of monstrous strength was that?

Wang Tong still didn't utilize his GN Force in the six times gravity zone. He was practicing the initialization of his Tactics of the Blade and training his physical strength at the same time with simple push-ups and so on. Wang Tong found that these activities were the most effective methods even though they were only simple exercises, it felt like he was separated into two parts, one part focused on the Tactics of the Blade and the other part of him was busy exercising.

He wasn't going to utilize his GN Force in the first place because he knew it wouldn't benefit his training; nevertheless, he was aware of not harming himself, and his body was still able to withstand the pressure of six and seven times gravity force.

He spent ten minutes in the six times gravity zone and five minutes in the seven times gravity zone and found that everyone has already left while he was walking out the chamber. The trio was waiting for him outside the chamber while having their drinks.

"Damn son, are you serious? Please tell me that you were acting cool all this time and secretly utilized your GN Force while you were training!" Hu Yangxuan was eager to know if Wang Tong was being treacherous since the beginning.

Wang Tong was startled, "What GN Force?" Then he looked toward Ma Xiaoru and continued, "Oh, yeah, I use a little when my body needs a break, I prefer physical activities that make me sweat."

However, the trio wouldn't be so suspicious if he didn't admit. Yet he admitted, and the three of them became more curious.

"That's impossible! We're not idiots, we can tell if you've been utilizing GN Force or not. How are you able to stay in the heavy gravity zones for this long? Geez, actually I've been waiting to ask this for a long time; since we are pals, why don't you just tell us what sort of Tactics you've been practicing? Seems like it's even stronger than the Five Great Tactics." Hu Yangxuan couldn't hold back anymore.

The trio fixed their eyes on Wang Tong, eagerly waiting for his answer. Ma Xiaoru was also very curious about Wang Tong's Tactics because some of its aspects were even stronger than her Tactics of the Enchantress!

"It's called the Tactics of the Blade," Wang Tong replied.

The three of them were stunned. Hu Yangxuan seemed unconvinced, "That's the Tactics of the Blade? Shut the front door! That's absurd!"

Wang Tong shrugged and said, "When I was trapped on Norton, I had no choice but to hide in a mining cave in order to escape from the Zergs' attacks, and I passed out due to the strong pressure. Anyhow, God kept me alive, my EMF was galvanized after the accident, and since then, I've become stronger. However, I'm not quite sure about other details, guess I was really showered with blessings after escaping the disastrous incident."

The three of them believed Wang Tong's words because he couldn't have learned any mystical or extraordinary tactics in that kind of situation; hence the best explanation was actually Wang Tong being blessed with luck. The mind of a human was a complex structure, in most cases, people would become lunatic and crazy after a certain range of pressure, but there were rare cases that greater pressure would increase one's GN Force instead, Wang Tong was one of the lucky ones.

They stopped questioning Wang Tong after learning that he was telling the truth when he said he was practicing the Tactics of the Blade because all of them had learned it before, it was the basic of all tactics.

"Here you go, I remembered that you prefer water." Ma Xiaoru handed Wang Tong a bottle of water, and he happily took it and began drinking in big gulps; water was his favorite.

He remembered the extracted water on Norton, it wasn't poisonous, but it tasted just as horrible as the nutrient pills. A normal person definitely wasn't able to drink that.

"So, you boys know anything about Bernabeu? We're the invited ones so they'd definitely have the home advantages. We have been losing to them since years ago," Ma Xiaoru asked. The four of them were chosen as the ace candidates, meaning the fate of the academy would be in their hands.

"With our strengths and abilities, I think it wouldn't be a problem for us to win." Wang Ben was confident.

"The previous agreement between our principal and the principal of Bernabeu mentioned that Hu Yangxuan and I will be limited to participate in one match each, while you and Wang Tong would get to participate in 2 matches each. We can't afford to lose because it'll be too difficult for the other candidates to win a match against Bernabeu." The fact was that winning five matches would be enough, but Ma Xiaoru didn't mention it because the boys might let their guards down; moreover, six wins out of ten would sound more victorious, a victory with five wins out of ten would feel like cheating. This time, Ma Xiaoru made up her mind to aim for six wins.

"I believe our principal will have her arrangements, after all, she was able to rock the Academy of Capth even though she failed her Mind Opening Operation. I'm sure Ma'am has tricks up her sleeves," Wang Ben said. Apparently, Samantha was one of Wang Ben's "idol" during his period of depression, he admired her success in Capth even though she wasn't Mind Opened.

Living in this period of time, failing to be Mind Opened was definitely a huge pullback. However, some of them would still be able to shine in success, and Samantha was one of the greatest examples. Yet they had to go through a greater amount of hard work and challenges in order to step foot through the doors of success. One of the reason behind Wand Ben choosing Ayrlarng was also because he felt connected to Samantha's sorrow and pain in the past.

"You're right. Since we've all decided to face Bernabeu, let's do our best and show them what we got!" Wang Tong laughed, he would always become energetic when Samantha's name was mentioned. After all, he was a man that loved showing off.

"Very well, then we shall settle our issue after defeating Bernabeu!" Wang Ben said in a deep voice. He was very serious about his rematch against Wang Tong and couldn't wait to fight him once he was fully recovered. Wang Ben wouldn't make the same silly mistake twice because he knew he would fail again if he was being impatient.

"Yup, Bernabeu definitely doesn't stand a chance against the four of us, our goal is to defeat every single S-Ranked academies across the Earth Confederation!" Hu Yangxuan loved cheers and mottos. The calm and relaxed expression while he was playing the piano was obviously faked.

"Not only the Confederation but also the Ivantians, I wish that someday I'd be able to fight against the Fab Five and let them have a taste of my powerful punches!"

Wang Ben looked bloodthirsty. Apparently, the Fab Five were some existence above his dimension, and possibly greater than Ma Xiaoru.

Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan knew who Wang Ben was talking about, only Wang Tong was looking confused.

"Who are the Fab Five? Some famous and tough dudes?" Wang Tong wasn't ashamed to ask.

"One must ask if he wished to learn, only idiots wouldn't do stuff that doesn't cost money." Quote by Old Fart when he was sober.

"Not only us, but even those from S-Ranked academies would have to look up to them. To be honest, people would always exclude these five persons when they are discussing about younger generations, and I believe Xiaoru know this better." Hu Yangxuan from the Court of Templar looked depressed when the name "Fab Five" was brought up.

Wang Tong looked at Ma Xiaoru. Obviously, not only she knew who they were, but she had also met them before.

Chapter 93: Intel Gathering

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

"They were referring to the Four Princes and the Princess of mankind Confederation, Li Shimin from the House of Li, better known as the Little Emperor because he has the same name as the Emperor of an ancient Dynasty. Patroclus Dower, House of Dower's wonder boy, he was claimed to be the most perfect genetically modified offspring of Ivantian, and he also happens to be a super genius. Next, we have Lie Kent from the House of Lie, he was notoriously known as the Hooligan for being a pain-in-the-*ss troublemaker, he's the worst among the Four Princes; however, his Tactics of the Blaze is outstanding, and flame attribute tactics are very rare. The other one lives on Mars, his name is Michaux Odin, the young Cardinal of the Church of the Deity. Mars and its surrounding satellites and even the entire Andromeda Galaxy are deeply influenced by the Church of the Deity. Last but not least, there's Her Highness Heidi, the First Princess of Kaedeians. Rumor has it that her beauty is beyond marvelous, and every man would be petrified by her gorgeous grace. These people rarely show themselves in front of the media, except Lie Kent, the attention seeker," Ma Xiaoru patiently explained to Wang Tong.

"That's all?" Wang Tong scratched his head while drinking water in huge gulps.

"Wang Tong, these people are not only famous, but they also happen to be very dangerous. To be honest, I didn't start practicing the Tactics of the Enchantress from the very beginning, and I finished by only mastering 60% of it. I've only met Li Shimin once, and I swear to God, I wouldn't dream of picking a fight with that guy even though he is about my age," Ma Xiaoru said.

Wang Tong carried on smiling.

"You don't believe me?"

"Yea I do. But so what? Our lives would be meaningless if there weren't any goal or opponent that we wished to reach or defeat. The thrill is in the determination to challenge a tough opponent someday in the future. Don'tcha think so, Wang Ben?" Wang Tong said with a smile, he wouldn't give a damn about it, regardless if he had come across the Tactics of the Blade or not.

Old Fart once said, "Your opponent will be what you think he is, all that matters is how you would adjust your own mentality. Your opponent might be rich, but that doesn't have anything to do with you!"

Moreover, histories and traditions were meant to be challenged. Although Wang Tong wasn't being overconfident about defeating the Fab Five, he felt that their existence was a form of self-motivation, it even felt like a different kind of bliss.

Because unlike those five who had already stabled themselves at the highest point, the others were able to feel the joy of improvements from time to time. They are standing still while the rest are moving forward!

Wang Tong didn't envy the Fab Five, even though they had inherited the powers of their ancestors, yet the powers came with shackles, and these people were bounded although they had all the fame and glory. Wang Tong didn't care since he wasn't a materialistic person.

"That's right, I don't believe in legends, I only believe in my fists and knuckles. Someday when my strength reaches a certain level, I'll definitely have them to accept my challenge!" Wang Ben was full of fighting spirit, the word "fear" didn't exist in the dictionary of his family.

"Alright, enough bragging you two. To be honest, I have no idea how strong the Little Emperor is, but I do know the strength of Dower's wonder boy. When he first arrived at the Court of the Templar, he immediately became the public enemy, and everybody was eager to teach that bloody handsome sissy a lesson. Then there's one Ivantian who stood up quite well amongst the community and made up his mind to tackle the dude, but in the end, he was the one who got KOed instead, and it took him quite a while to recover. They said the Dower kid didn't even use his full strength, it was only a subconscious counter attack but it's already enough to send the poor dude resting on a bed for months, it's crazy," Hu Yangxuan gave a bitter smile as he said that.

"Hey buddy, giving up before trying? That's not like you."

"Yea, we should proceed step by step. First, we shall defeat Bernabeu, next we will vanquish the other S-ranked academies, and then, we will take on the Fab Five. We're gifted just like they are, all we need to do is train harder to overcome the difference in terms of Tactics and Soul Energy!" Wang Ben would never give up, he had seen hell before when he fell into despair, so nothing in this world would be able to stop him. However, Hu Yangxuan was kind of timid by contrast.

The Fab Five were not only some ordinary super wealthy families, but they were also able to influence the development of mankind societies.

"I'm just an ordinary girl, so I guess I won't be joining your crusade. However, if this really happens in the future, I'll definitely cheer for you guys!" Ma Xiaoru clapped. Unlike Samantha who loved challenges and never gave up to fate, Ma Xiaoru preferred to stay out of troubles.

Nevertheless, Wang Tong adored Samantha's urge to fight, as both of them loved challenges.

Wang Tong wouldn't bother if he didn't care, but nothing could've stopped him if that was what he wished to do.

"Men only live once, life would be meaningless if we were afraid of everything!" It might sound like another "excuse" of Old Fart about enjoying life, but Wang Tong was deeply influenced by the words.

Ma Xiaoru admired Wang Tong's confidence. He wasn't arrogant, but he would give nobody a damn. However, she still doubted that Wang Tong possessed the strength to defeat the Fab Five even though he was quite talented. Ma Xiaoru didn't like the stress, but she absolutely enjoyed the comfort, the happiness, and the surprises when she was around Wang Tong.

It could be his age, or because he was still in school, but Wang Tong's unruliness was still in a latency stage. Someday he would unleash the beast within, and it would be quite a scene.

Wang Tong was burning with eagerness and excitement after hearing what Ma Xiaoru had said. He wasn't afraid to take on the Fab Five because he had the Tactics of the Blade, the same Tactics used by the almighty Blade Warrior, and he would love to know how strong he could be. Wang Tong himself might not be able to call for a challenge, but his Einherjar Wannabe avatar would definitely do the trick, as long as Einherjar Wannabe was powerful enough, he wouldn't even need to ask for a duel!

Wang Tong's hand began to itch when he thought about tough opponents…

Meanwhile, in Bernabeu's principal office.

"Sir, Our opponent still hasn't sent over the name list of their participants."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. By the way, were you able to find out anything? I hope you didn't underestimate Samantha because she's young."

"Of course sir, yet I still couldn't believe how she managed to recruit Wang Ben into Ayrlarng. Everyone knows that Ayrlarng was only left with its former glory, but how did she do that?"

"Haha, sometimes former glory would be more than enough for an achievement. Enough of that, back to your investigation." Martyrus laughed.

"According to our investigation, Ma Xiaoru, Wang Ben, and Hu Yangxuan are the only aces of Ayrlarng. Anyhow, they would only be able to score two more matches with the help from Wang Ben, and the advantage is still with us. Moreover, both Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan have obvious weaknesses, our guys might be able to knock them down even though the winning odds are not 100%. Still, our academy's aces are good enough to take on the trio," said Ovlor, Bernabeu's disciplinary master.

"Nevertheless, I still believe she's still hiding her trump card," Martyrus said with a smile.

"Indeed Sir, there's a new recruit in F-Class called Wang Tong, he's quite a talent, he even managed to get a perfect score during the previous monthly assessment. I've checked his background and found nothing special, all we have to do is be careful when facing this gifted kid."

"Seems like little missy Samantha has underestimated us from Bernabeu, I can't believe she has the guts to take on our experienced elites with a bunch of interim mercenaries. I think I'll have to teach her a lesson for treating this like a new recruit stage play. It's time to summon our secret weapon."

"But Sir, don't you think it's too much to have him fight against the weaklings of Ayrlarng?"

Chapter 94: Fulfilling the Duties of a Mentor

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

"Ovlor, we can't afford to lose, and for some reasons, I have a bad feeling about this. Better be safe than sorry."

"You're right, Sir. Better be safe than sorry."

"Haha, anyhow we might not be needing his help if we're able to maintain our advantage; moreover, we'll need to get prepared for the upcoming challenge against Capth after winning Ayrlarng, so this is the right timing to summon him back to undergo body checkups."

"Understood."

Martyrus turned toward the analysis data on his monitor, he was impressed by Samantha's ability and even believed that she would be able to restore Ayrlarng's former glory in a few years if she was given the chance. Unfortunately, this was a dog-eat-dog world, the rivalry was unavoidable amongst military academies; every academy would do whatever it takes to acquire a better source of students, more appropriations, fundings and investments, and even fame and glory. The radiance of Ayrlarng has dwindled, now Bernabeu shall rise and become the next big hit.

Moving on to the info of Ma Xiaoru and the Tactics of the Enchantress. Indeed, she was a strong and talented student, but this female descendent from the House of Ma was too softhearted. According to the analysis, she didn't like to fight, so as long as she wasn't provoked, they might be able to pull a few tricks on her.

As for Hu Yangxuan, he kind of loved showing off, so the down-to-earth Cao Yi would be the perfect candidate against him. The fancy one versus the pragmatic one, Cao Yi might be able to pull this off.

However, Wang Ben would be a headache for Bernabeu. Being born in a military family, this guy was a flawless, tough rock, and he was always very serious during fights. Anyhow, he might not be a big threat since Martyrus already had the secret weapon against him and his Fist of the Racing Tiger.

Martyrus decided not to focus on Wang Tong, he knew Samantha had no choice but to seek for a candidate amongst freshmen because that was all she had, the other students were too weak. He was relieved after making a fine calculation, before that, he sort of regretted promising that Ayrlarng would win if they could score five matches out of ten; however, judging from the current situation, the odds were still very small. With that, Martyrus didn't have to worry about creating an uproar among the public anymore since he had given Ayrlarng a one round handicap, and since Samantha decided to accept the challenge, she would have to admit defeat if Ayrlarng lost.

Meanwhile, Wang Tong headed back to his dorm after his training with Ma Xiaoru and the boys, and he was surprised to find Zhou Sisi in his room. She was doing some reading while waiting for his return.

"How did you get in?" Wang Tong looked puzzled.

"Hehe, I remembered the passcode of your door lock." Zhou Sisi looked stunning under the lighting of his room.

"I see… but don't you think it looks kinda weird?"

"Nope, I remembered your passcode so that I can come in and clean up your room when I'm free. Why are you panicking? Are you hiding something from me?" Zhou Sisi said with an impish smile.

"No, not at all, be my guest."

"I was also chosen as a candidate against Bernabeu, so I'll have to work harder and try my best not to embarrass myself!" Zhou Sisi grabbed her fist as she said that.

Wang Tong rubbed his forehead. He was almost driven by his lust when he saw Zhou Sisi's expression of excitement. Wang Tong knew it was a close call as he nearly surrendered himself to the primitive desire of a man. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't attracted to Zhou Sisi, she was a pretty lady with an interesting personality; moreover, she was the only girl that had ever shared affectionate contact with Wang Tong. He was always good at controlling himself, but recently Wang Tong had no idea why he became impulsive, like an animal in heat.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Sisi thought there was something on her face.

"Nothing, it's okay. Let's go after I took a shower and get changed."

"Take your time, I haven't finished my reading." Zhou Sisi wasn't in a rush, she even cleaned up his room and turned it into a comfy little home.

Tidying and cleaning up might be Wang Tong's weakness, but Zhou Sisi was very good at this; after all, girls do love cleanliness.

Wang Tong took his shower and got changed in a jiff.

"So what would you like to practice tonight?"

"Same, I'm not giving up on improving my space battle techniques. Oh, by the way, I have a good news, recently I discovered my Soul Energy has increased dramatically, and I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to complete the maneuver soon!"

"Wow, really? Show me what you got later!"

"Bring it on!" Zhou Sisi's big bright eyes were in flames.

In the end, she suffered three defeats in a row, as expected.

Zhou Sisi was thoroughly defeated by Wang Tong, she knew she couldn't win him in fights, but she was confident when it came to her meticulous Battlecraft layouts and fine strategies, and Wang Tong had quite a lot of loopholes, yet she always failed while he managed to make a comeback.

"You cheated!" Zhou Sisi got frustrated.

Wang Tong laughed and said, "I didn't cheat. You're good in terms of conventional battle maneuver, but I prefer taking risks for the win."

"Yet your strategies might send your troops into dangers, you can't do that in real battles."

"Right or wrong, it doesn't matter. It's all about the results when it comes to battles." Wang Tong didn't continue to argue because there was no point to fight against a common fact.

Still, there were something that was worth to be learned in Zhou Sisi's layouts. In fact, everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses; Wang Tong might have obvious strengths, but he was always risky in order to lure his opponent into his plots, even if there would be collateral damages. Nevertheless, it was a bad strategy during battles in reality.

The victory was the first priority no matter how; somehow, Wang Tong managed to learn that it was the uniqueness of simulation battles.

Both of them began to throw their thoughts toward each other, it might look like an argument, but they were actually studying each other's ideas. Tactics and strategies on their textbooks were only theories, everything would be different during real battles, and they would have to keep on accumulating different experiences in order to improve their strategies.

Zhou Sisi then carried on with her practices on the cloning technique with Wang Tong observing alongside. Wang Tong could tell that she had been busy tuning up her old habits, and her performance had slightly improved even though she failed again in the end.

It had to be flawless when it came to the cloning technique, even the tiniest mistake would cause everything to crumble. It might only be a loss in simulation battle, it would put the user and the Battlecraft in grave danger when mistakes occurred during real battles. The greater the technique, the greater the effectiveness, but mishaps would become chances for the enemies to counter. War was not a stage play, to win was the only way to survive!

Unlike most Kaedeians who were good in cloning technique, Earthlings were able to understand it but were unlikely to use it because even though the success rate would be at 70% to 80%, if Earthlings were to adjust and adapt, nobody would take the risk since it was meaningless during battles in reality and might only be the last resort when there weren't other options.

Zhou Sisi leaned back in her chair and sighed, "It's too difficult. How did you do that? I couldn't even maintain the success rate."

Wang Tong smiled and replied, "Giving up already? Looks like—"

"Who says I'm giving up? Hmph, I was only asking how did you maintain the success rate. I had been using my left hand quite often since long ago; hence the flexibility of my left and right hands were okay, and recently I'd even increased the usage of my left hand, but the rates of failing were still high, and the failure rate would increase if the enemy targets increase. It would be meaningless if the success rate of my cloning technique can't reach 100%."

Chapter 95: Men are Sexually Driven Animals

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

Zhou Sisi had always been a perfectionist because she knew if she didn't take it seriously during her practices, she would have to suffer the consequences during her battles in the future.

"This time, why don't you try to control it by putting your hands on mine? I'd like to examine your synchronization," Wang Tong offered his hands.

Zhou Sisi looked startled as she gently placed her soft and fair hands onto Wang Tong's huge palms. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Trust me, now all you need to do is imagine that my hands are the touch screen panels and do a few controlling gestures."

Although it looked weird, Zhou Sisi gathered herself and seriously did a few controlling gestures. At first, Wang Tong didn't believe in Zhou Sisi's claim, yet he was surprised to find out that the synchronization of strength, frequency, and even rhythm on her left and right hands were even better than his.

"Is it bad?" Zhou Sisi looked worried when she saw Wang Tong wasn't saying a word.

Wang Tong shook his head, "No, not at all. Your synchronization is better than everyone else around, you definitely have what it takes to use this technique; however, there is a problem with your Soul Energy. For this maneuver, the output of your GN Force is not the key, it's actually the accuracy and flexibility, which is also known as the focus of your Soul Energy; in the meantime, you also have to make sure your GN Force is keeping up. I believe that you're facing difficulties in the convergence of the GN Force."

"So… what should I do? My subtle control hasn't been improving ever since my Soul Energy dramatically increased, and I have no idea where to start with."

"How's your practice performance on the academy's Tactics of the Blizzard?"

"It has been going well, I think I'll be advancing to the next level in no time."

"Let's do it this way, later, I'll need you to initiate your EMF and perform the cloning technique again, I'd like to see which part went wrong so that we can fix it together," Wang Tong pondered and said.

Zhou Sisi nodded, "Roger that."

Wang Tong stood behind Zhou Sisi as she began to cover herself in Soul Energy. Wang Tong had seen Zhou Sisi's EMF before hence he was familiar with it, then he gradually contacted and connected to her EMF.

Zhou Sisi's initialization of the Tactics of the Blizzard was fine, her Soul Energy was constantly outputted as she intensified her maneuvers. Soon, as she completed locking on to the targets, Zhou Sisi activated her GN Force.

However, Zhou Sisi's subtle control was affected due to the hasty attribute of the Tactics of the Blizzard. Wang Tong was able to detect the snag with his sensitive Soul Energy and made a couple of coordinations to ensure the smoothness of her control.

Suddenly, Wang Tong felt like he was the one controlling it instead.

It was a strange sensation, like he was able to manipulate Zhou Sisi. The whole maneuver was successfully completed, but Wang Tong noticed Zhou Sisi's vision was blurry, and for some reason, she wasn't talking or moving.

"Stand up..."

Wang Tong's subconscious commanded Zhou Sisi, and she stood up obediently.

"Sit down..."

Zhou Sisi obeyed and sat down like a puppet.

It sent chills down to Wang Tong's spine… he couldn't believe he was able to manipulate someone else's mind. He quickly aborted his Soul Energy, and Zhou Sisi regained her consciousness as soon as he disconnected himself from her EMF.

"Wow, I did it! Gosh, that was perfect… are you okay? You look pale." Zhou Sisi grabbed hold on Wang Tong, she thought he was drained due to the consumption of his Soul Energy. Nevertheless, she deeply admired Wang Tong, only those who had plenty of Soul Energy would be able to help others in that situation.

"I'm alright, no worries. You should memorize how it felt."

Everyone's Soul Energy varied and the waveband would differ even though they practiced the same tactics and having the same level of strength. Generally speaking, Soul Energy possessed both contradiction and compatible characteristics, and the methods of utilizing these characteristics were not easy to be mastered.

Although Wang Tong knew about that, he was surprised to learn that Zhou Sisi's Soul Energy was completely compatible to his, contradictions between their Soul Energy would not occur as long as her body didn't resist.

Somehow Wang Tong was terrified. He wondered if that meant that he was able to manipulate the others too if the strength of his Soul Energy had reached a certain level.

It felt like a horrifying demonic ability, but he felt good at the same time. Actually, he'd love to try it on Zergs. He wondered why he wasn't able to figure this out when he was trapped on Norton, every living creature possessed Soul Energy waveband, and Zergs' movements were controlled through this waveband according to their status, meaning higher ranked Zergs were able to control lower ranked Zergs. Wang Tong was thinking that if he could figure out a way to interrupt the connection of the waveband, he might be able to become the Zergs' superior.

This crazy idea caught his interest.

He had no idea where did Old Fart get the Space Crystal, or how Einherjar Wannabe, who somehow looked like the real-deal, would end up trapped in that piece of ordinary looking Space Crystal, and also his mystical Tactics of the Blade that was once used by Blade Warrior. At first, he thought that everything was a joke, but with the emergence of several mysterious abilities and the rapid growth of his actual strength, he began to suspect that Old Fart was not as simple as he looked like!

Also, who on earth trapped Einherjar Wannabe into the Space Crystal and how was a person able to separate the spirit of an Einherjar level warrior from his body? An enormous secret was definitely hidden behind this normal looking piece of crystal; however, with the current knowledge he had, Wang Tong still wasn't able to figure everything out.

It felt like an item beyond the technology and power of this era.

Wang Tong smacked himself upside the head, and said to himself, "Damn you Old Fart, always leaving me with a bunch of questions, don't let me see you again!"

"Wow… Perfect!"

Zhou Sisi jumped out of joy; finally, she had memorized the feeling and successfully completed the maneuver twice without a fuss. It wasn't a coincident, she couldn't believe she had made it.

Wang Tong was startled as the pretty lady rushed into his arms, and the sweet scent of hers filled his senses. Actually, Zhou Sisi somehow regretted her impulsive action, but she wasn't able to withdraw herself at this close range, her whole body had dived into his arm before she knew.

Wang Tong didn't push her off, he couldn't let go of Sisi's downy body and her sweet aroma.

Zhou Sisi felt like melting, her face blushed as she began to lose her strength. The two budding youth had become more intimate. Sisi used to ignore boys and hated Wang Tong's guts, but as a lot of things happened between the both of them, she began to discover his charm. When a girl was attracted to a guy, she would want to know more about him, even hope to find strength and dependency from him… little by little, she would give herself into desire.

Wang Tong wasn't an idiot, at that moment, he realized Sisi had feelings for him, this could be the chance of his first kiss!

As an impulsive craving male, Wang Tong would never let this one in a million chance of a lifetime slipped past his lips. Men were sexually driven animals, he had submitted himself to lust and couldn't control himself no more.

All of a sudden, footsteps were approaching, and it was getting closer.

Chapter 96: Samantha's Plans

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

Zhou Sisi mustered her strength to push herself away from Wang Tong's arms, as she was about to leave, someone barged into the room.

"You two..." It was Ma Xiaoru.

Instantly Wang Tong felt what had happened a minute before was a bad joke from God.

"Oh, you're still here Xiaoru?"

"I thought you said that you want me to help you with your Mathematical Theory tonight?" Ma Xiaoru looked at Zhou Sisi and Wang Tong suspiciously.

"Ah, my bad. I was helping Sisi with her Cloning Technique, I'm terribly sorry for my poor memory." Wang Tong was embarrassed, not because of what Ma Xiaoru might suspect, but because of his ungentlemanly way of forgetting her kindness to help himself.

Ma Xiaoru smiled as she accepted Wang Tong's sincere apology. However, she couldn't help wondering what was going on between him and Zhou Sisi.

"Xiaoru, I remember that you're not staying in the dorm, so why don't I help him with his subjects rather than troubling you instead?" Zhou Sisi interrupted all of a sudden, she had nothing to fear of her "opponent".

Moreover, they were not doing anything shameful, so she had no reason to be scared. Nevertheless, Zhou Sisi had no idea why she would bite her lips and summon up the courage to say so.

"No, it's not troublesome at all. Furthermore, Wang Tong and I had other things to discuss, am I right?" Ma Xiaoru's eyes were filled with a vague hint of "menace".

Wang Tong subconsciously nodded. He knew he should think of a way to escape as he felt the atmosphere around the room was getting weird.

"A-hem, Sisi, that's all for today, just make sure you practice more, and I'm sure you'll be fine. I still have something to ask Xiaoru."

"Thanks, Wang Tong. Let's continue tomorrow, see ya!"

"Let's go, Wang Tong."

"Alright, alright."

Wang Tong was drained due to the rivalry between the two girls. If the "well-experienced" Hu Yangxian were there, he'd have been able to please both sides perfectly like hitting two birds with one stone, unfortunately for Wang Tong, he was only a rookie when it was about girls. More importantly, he was still indecisive between Ma Xiaoru and Samantha, with the sudden appearance of Zhou Sisi on his "list", Wang Tong was getting more confused.

He knew that Ma Xiaoru and Zhou Sisi were interested in him and probably had feelings for him too, and he was sure that he would be able to start a relationship with one of them. However, Wang Tong was mostly attracted to Samantha, yet the beautiful principal didn't seem to be interested in a kiddo like him.

Wang Tong might have what it takes to subdue other tactics during fights, but he had zero experience in relationships with girls and even had no idea how to handle awkward situations like this.

In novels, beautiful ladies would surrender themselves to the manly male protagonist, yet Wang Tong knew he would be toasted if he was being careless around girls.

After they left, Ma Xiaoru never mentioned anything and didn't even asked about Zhou Sisi, and Wang Tong didn't say anything either because there was no need for him to explain since he didn't have such a close relationship with Ma Xiaoru. Obviously, he didn't understand ladies at all.

On Friday afternoon, Samantha gathered the ten candidates of Ayrlarng and headed to Bernabeu for their "crusade". All of the ten candidates were freshmen because Samantha made up her mind to discover potential students amongst new recruits.

She decided to have Ma Xiaoru as the team's elite, Wang Ben and Hu Yangxuan as the aces, and Wang Tong as their hidden triumph. The other six were normal candidates, and a few of them didn't even have any idea why they were chosen since their results and performances were not as brilliant as the rest; one of them being Carl from F-Class Command Force, he totally had no clue why he was selected.

The rest of the candidates were Zhou Sisi from A-Class Command Force, Kyaero from B-Class METAL Combat Class, Rumi from C-Class Intel Force, Tita from A-Class Heavy Armed Force, and Cheng Chung from A-Class Battlecraft Fleet Studies. These three ladies and seven guys would be representing Ayrlarng against Bernabeu's challenges.

The tournament consisted of ten rounds, five being METAL Combats because METAL Fighters were the most important military forces of mankind. Besides one round of Intel Programming Battle, there was also one round of Heavy Armed Brawl. The main role of Heavy Armed troops was to support METAL fighters during battle and ground advancements. These types of machinery might not be nimble, but they were important because of their bulkiness, strong mobility, and tough defense; they were mankind's most preferred combination and also the most effective military resources against the Zergs.

As for the remaining three rounds, two rounds were Battlecraft Combats, which were the battle of commanding and controlling skills. Last but not least, one round of Survival Skill Assessment; in this round, all ten candidates of both academies were required to participate, because whether you were a commander or a foot soldier, one had to know how to survive. Fellow participant would have to finish their given task in this round in order to win.

Wang Ben and the other students from the rich families seemed not surprised to travel in Samantha's private jet, but the others were totally amazed by this once in a lifetime experience. It was normal for Zhou Sisi, Tita, and Cheng Chung to be chosen since they were the top students of A-Class, even though their winning ratios were lower than the elites from Bernabeu. As for Kyaero from B-Class, Rumi from C-Class, and Carl from F-Class, the three of them absolutely had no idea why they were chosen by Samantha. They were not supposed to be chosen even if the slots were decided through an alphabetical order with their names.

Nevertheless, Carl was excited for being able to participate, Kyaero too was eager to try, yet Rumi looked anxious. Apparently, she had never been given such privileges before, she even requested Samantha to have someone else to take her place before the departure, of course, Samantha declined her excuse immediately.

"Wow, it feels so good! It's been years since my last trip in a classy jet!" Kyaero exclaimed.

Samantha laid down gracefully on her seat, the boys couldn't help staring at the principal's stunning figure, the way she dressed definitely brought out her sexiness and elegance.

"Comfy isn't it? You will be given better privileges if you are able to win, but you will have to go back to Ayrlarng by yourselves if you lose the tournament," Samantha said.

"Please don't stress us out before the match Ma'am Principal, our performances might be affected," Carl said.

"I'm not sure about the rest, but I'm pretty sure you're the one who lacks pressure and stress."

The team laughed, Carl curled himself back into the sofa; he had been asking the principal to explain why he was chosen, but she never replied.

Apparently, Samantha had fully accepted Gansus' opinion and chosen the six of them as the remaining candidates. Yet, it wasn't because it would help them to win; she would have chosen the fourth-grade students if she wanted to increase their ratio of success. Samantha picked them because she wanted to build up their experiences for the sake of Ayrlarng's future. Moreover, she couldn't only rely on Ma Xiaoru and the trio, as Gansus mentioned before, she had to gather a group of elite that only belonged to Ayrlarng as soon as possible. Kyaero might not be clever, and he was also very impulsive, but he was born with an amazing physical strength. Rumi possessed an extraordinary observation during Intel Programming Battle even though she was timid, and she might have a couple of shortcomings, but she was no doubt a student with a great potential. As for Carl, he was not gifted with any special ability, but he was a daredevil full of adventuring spirit, and he might be able to create a few surprises with his activeness. As for the rest, all of them had outstanding performances in their respective subjects, in short, all of them were worth to be trained.

Even though she wasn't sure what would happen in the end, Samantha still hoped that they would all be able to grow by taking on a tough road toward victory.

Chapter 97: The Battle Begins

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

It was a rare opportunity for them to have a conversation since the candidate list was just confirmed recently, some even only get to meet each other for the first time before taking off. The tournament was a bit hasty indeed, originally the main purpose of this tournament was to assess the skills and qualities of the fellow freshmen; however, principals of both academies were eager to compete against each other; hence the tournament itself somehow got distorted and became very competitive. Anyhow, Samantha already made up her mind for the participation arrangements.

The ten youngsters got familiar with each other as soon as they took off, filling the plane with talks and laughter. Meanwhile, Samantha was chilling in her seat as she sipped and enjoyed her Edinburgh Goutte de Sang, twenty years vintage, only the redness of this vintage could calm and relax her body and soul.

She observed her ten candidates through her wine glass. They were the hope of Ayrlarng's future; then she noticed that somehow Wang Tong wasn't affected by the pressure of the upcoming tournament, as the team's secret weapon, his performances would be crucial for their victory, yet the boy wasn't nervous about it at all.

Even Ma Xiaoru, Wang Ben, and Hu Yangxuan were passionate and attended to the upcoming tournament, but the trio wasn't relaxed at all. Yet Samantha realized that Wang Tong looked like he wasn't bothered at all like he didn't know this was going to be a life and death tournament. Either he was born to be a heartless animal, or he was a shrewd and deep subtle person.

Nevertheless, sixteen years old was too young to possess such shrewdness.

The representatives of Ayrlarng reached Bernabeu in no time as they chatted merrily with each other. The new Camroo Passenger Aircraft was designed to take off and land without using runways, so they were able to land on the plaza of Bernabeu.

They were welcomed by Martyrus and a few teachers together with their own candidates. Bernabeu already knew that this was an important tournament, and somehow the meaningless matches became more interesting with Wang Ben, Ma Xiaoru, and Hu Yangxuan's participation.

Both principals smiled "sincerely" toward each other as they met. "You are much more beautiful in person, Principal Samantha. If I were tens of years younger, I'd definitely ask you for a date!" the cunning old fox Martyrus said as he laughed. Even the teachers and students of Bernabeu didn't expect Ayrlarng's principal to be this gorgeous. Samantha's whole body was filled with gushes of beauty and vitality, for some reason, the word "principal" looked old on her.

"You're making fun of me again, Principal Martyrus. Moreover, 'if' is the biggest original sin of mankind," Samantha smiled charmingly as she said in a delightful manner.

Obviously, both principals had begun their rivalry as soon as they met each other.

"Fellow elites of Ayrlarng, on behalf of the Academy of Bernabeu, please accept my humble welcome. I hope that everyone will be able to enjoy your stay here and have a wonderful weekend. Once the tournament is over, everyone will have a chance to witness and enjoy the magnificent view of the Aegean Sea and also our zeal of friendliness!"

Martyrus was indeed a charming old man, even though they were "enemies", everyone felt warm and great after hearing his speech.

Wang Tong saw "Skyscraper" amongst the welcoming students, he was surprised to see that Bernabeu didn't create a fuss for having such an amazing character and began to understand the meaning behind Bernabeu's invitation. Anyhow, Wang Tong would do whatever it took to win for the sake of his agreement with Samantha!

Samantha had a weird sensation as she felt the fiery stare behind her back. She was surprised by Wang Tong's bravery on the day before for proposing such agreement; nevertheless, she accepted the deal, and apparently, she wasn't afraid of anything at all.

Upon noticing Wang Tong, Cao Yi smiled back in a humble manner. He liked to learn from different elites and aces. In fact, he had vowed to do his best as he saw Ayrlarng's list of strong candidates.

Wang Tong and the rest were arranged to stay in luxurious suites, all of them were honored to be treated with five-star privileges, and they had to admit, Bernabeu had changed ever since their status upgraded.

If Samantha couldn't bring in the enormous funding into Ayrlarng, they would still remain behind even though they were located in Shangjing, the vibrant cosmopolitan.

Everyone was given a room, and tonight they shall rest in order to ensure their best performances for tomorrow. As for their mood on the remaining days, it would all depend on the outcome of this tournament. None of them would have the mood to enjoy the beautiful Aegean Sea if they lost, Samantha might even ask them to swim back to Shangjing if Ayrlarng was defeated.

Wang Tong wasn't excited at all and went to sleep immediately, he knew he had to maintain a good body condition for the matches. He was blessed with the ability to sleep in any environment, all he had to do was to lie down and close his eyes; however, tonight might be full of toss and turns for most of them.

The weather was nice in Bernabeu, it was a beautiful night…

Wang Tong woke up at the usual time the next day, his biological clock was right on time. After brushing his teeth, Wang Tong decided to do some warm-up exercises around the campus in order to activate his body cells. As soon as he arrived at the field of Bernabeu, he was greeted by a familiar "buddy".

"Good day, Wang Tong." Cao Yi smiled instantly.

"I'm sorry, do you know me?" Wang Tong was startled, immediately, he wondered if Cao Yi had found out that he was Einherjar Wannabe; however, it seemed impossible because he didn't use his real identity in TPA.

"Of course I know you, you're the secret weapon of Ayrlarng. I'm looking forward to have a match with you," Cao Yi replied seriously.

Wang Tong couldn't believe he was called the "secret weapon".

"Haha, you're too kind, please have mercy on me later."

"Same goes to you, my friend. By the way, my name is Cao Yi. Nice to meet you."

Both of them parted ways after having a short conversation. It was indeed a quiet and peaceful weekend morning in Bernabeu, yet the campus would be bustling with noise later when the tournament will begin.

Candidates of both parties were asked to gather at the arena hall after having breakfast, Martyrus and Samantha too made an early arrival at the venue, neither of them would hold back against each other today.

"Principal Samantha, let's waste no time and begin round one, shall we?" Martyrus said.

"Please, anytime will do since you're the host here. Thank you for having us, I'm sure I'll be able to learn a lot from you today."

"Very well, as usual, the first round will be Survival Assessment, and all of them will be participating in this. The survival simulation will be set to level-A difficulty, and the scenario will be generated randomly."

"Okay!"

The giant monitor in the arena began to flash, there were more than tens of thousands of simulation scenarios in the Confederation archive; to most of the freshmen, the level-A difficulty wasn't only hard, but it was a nightmare. All of Ayrlarng's candidates were freshmen, Bernabeu's team, however, consisted of students from different grades; nevertheless, half of the team were also freshmen. Apparently, Bernabeu too was thinking of training their new blood.

Unfortunately for Ayrlarng, there wasn't anyone unique amongst older students; hence they had no choice but to gather a team of newbies.

The scenario generator stopped and selected mission A-3568. In this mission, candidates were required to make it through a Zerg's territory and race toward the designated goal, and the team with the most successes would win the round. If the number of successful candidates happened to be a tie, the result would be decided by their time of arrival.

Martyrus then smiled and asked, "Principal Samantha, would you prefer the team mode or the individual mode for this round?" Apparently, there were multiple choices of modes in Survival Assessments.

"Let's go with the individual mode, I suggest that we keep the fun of the battle to the very end," Samantha replied. Team mode actually meant players of both sides were allowed to attack each other, while individual mode was all about racing toward the goal and making it through the Zergs' territory.

Chapter 98: Foolhardy?

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

"Sure." Martyrus then turned toward the candidates of both academies and said, "Students, please check on your map. The territory of Zergs that you're required to pass through is right there, and your goal will be at the top of the mountain. This is an individual match, so all of you are not allowed to help out or attack the others. The match starts now!"

Martyrus was very confident with the average qualities of his students, which was why he decided to prohibit helping out as well since they were not allowed to fight each other; he obviously did that because he knew there was a huge difference of level amongst Ayrlarng's participants.

He would win this round for sure.

"Check! Check!"

The twenty candidates had entered the virtual scenario.

Meanwhile, some reporters had arrived, but Samantha and Martyrus had them waiting outside instead since they only needed to know the final outcome.

Students of Bernabeu were allowed to stay in the arena, but they were not allowed to scream and shout as it might affect their guests from Ayrlarng; however, they could watch the matches through the monitor in the arena.

Soon as the twenty participants were dispatched randomly across the map, the Survival Assessment began!

Wang Tong shook his head as he checked his equipment and blamed the stingy system for only giving him a Direction Tracker and a sword. Anyhow, Wang Tong felt comfortable as he saw the towering trees and lush greenery around him. The environment looked like Norton even though the floral and botanical characteristics were different and the gravity was smaller; somehow, it gave him a homecoming feeling.

The mission was clear and simple: reach the designated goal as soon as possible in order to earn more time advantages.

Candidates of Ayrlarng and Bernabeu sprung into action as soon as the match began. It seemed like everyone had no problem with determining directions, all of them began to charge as they infused themselves with GN Force. As of that moment, every second counted.

Students of Bernabeu who were watching in the arena couldn't hold back and began to cheer. As the host of the tournament, Martyrus apologized to Samantha. Since he was also the principal of Bernabeu, he couldn't forbid his own students to stay and watch, so he only allowed a few representatives from each class to enter the arena. Nevertheless, a few students from all classes were more than enough to fill up the seats around the arena.

Students enjoyed fights and battles a lot. Moreover, there were so many things that were not to be missed this time. For instance: Ma Xiaoru, the successor of Tactics of the Enchantress, Wang Ben, the son of General Hu Ben, and most importantly, they would be able to witness the legendary upperclassman Apache, the one who single-handedly crushed the aces of Yalden and humiliated them while he was only a freshman. Apache was back after disappearing for more than a year, rumor has it that he was sent to train somewhere special. Since Ayrlarng had aces like Ma Xiaoru, Martyrus had no choice but to summon back the secret weapon who was able to terrorize S-Rank academies.

Ma Xiaoru was the fastest amongst fellow candidates as she unleashed her true strength of her renowned Tactics of the Enchantress, and she managed to create a huge gap with everyone else in terms of speed.

However, getting through a level-A Zergs' territory wasn't an easy matter. In a nutshell, even if both academies had sent out their best elites, it would be considered an outstanding performance if half of the participants were able to survive and reach the goal. Unlike normal races, the danger would escalate as one's speed increased, not to mention, Zergs were very aggressive against intruders.

The shortest route was the middle route, but it contained the largest threat; it would be safer to take the periphery routes, but it would take a longer time to reach. As expected, strong ones like Ma Xiaoru and Wang Ben would definitely pick the middle route.

Candidates from Bernabeu chose to travel the periphery routes instead, their objective was to reach the designated goal; however, they were not worried about the time because the amount of students reaching the goal was the first consideration for deciding the winner.

"I see your students are brave, Principal Samantha," Martyrus said as he saw that Carl also picked the middle route aside from Ma Xiaoru and Wang Ben.

Samantha was speechless, Carl was the weakest amongst candidates of Ayrlarng, yet he chose the hardest challenge, it was totally suicidal.

Samantha didn't mention any strategy before the match began, she didn't like restraining people, so she chose to let her students have it their ways. Samantha believed everyone had their own expertise, and only themselves would know what the right thing to do was… even though sometimes, their choice would give her a headache.

Clearly, the candidates of Bernabeu were well prepared, everyone was proceeding with caution since teamwork was prohibited. However, the level-A difficulty was more than a challenge to the students of military academies, normally, difficulties for training purpose would only be set to level-D or level-C, but this match was a battle of elites. Obviously, the difficulty would be set higher in order to make it more challenging and competitive.

Yet, there were two students who appeared to be loafing around!

Both Martyrus and Samantha somehow got embarrassed as they saw what happened. Wang Tong looked like he was having a stroll in the woods, while the other student of Bernabeu with an unshaven face was walking toward the goal sluggishly. There was no way the two of them could make it to the finish line before the end of the day.

Apparently Martyrus had been having a hard time with the defiant Apache; however, they managed to strike a deal before the tournament, Martyrus had agreed to let Apache do things in his way as long as the outcome was good. Martyrus was eager to see that kid's improvements after all this time, Apache would be their best hope if Bernabeu was going to challenge Capth in the future.

Meanwhile, Apache was mumbling words as he walked: "Thirty-four… Thirty-Five..."

On the other hand, Wang Tong was busy touching and observing things, like he was enjoying the flowers and trees in the forest. The principals of both academies were deeply embarrassed by their performances, but there was nothing they could do.

Ma Xiaoru was leading as she had already slain tens of Zergs. Wang Ben was slow, yet he also managed to subdue quite an amount of Zergs as he advanced; nevertheless, people began to wonder if he was going to punch his way toward the goal.

Hu Yangxuan who was very good with speed was seen dashing across the map. Apparently, the boy genius had calculated the fastest route by making detours and avoiding as many Zergs as possible since he had no intentions to fight them.

The three aces of Ayrlarng were strong indeed; however, Ma Xiaoru and Wang Ben were closely followed by two students of Bernabeu, one of them being the decent looking Cao Yi. Cao Yi might look sluggish, but he would become ferocious as he sprung into action like a mini version of the Scythe Zergs, yet he was also avoiding Zergs to save up his energy for the upcoming rounds, he knew he would be doomed later if he was completely drained in this round. It made him wonder why the candidates of Ayrlarng were not able to understand something simple like that.

Martyrus knew he was going to win, but in the meantime, he was pretty disappointed; he was expecting that Samantha had chosen a few smart ones, but somehow they all appeared to be foolhardy.

The ones leading in front were closely followed by the secondary aces of Bernabeu, and it seemed like their levels were much higher than Ayrlarng's candidates. Aside from the strong ones, the other candidates of Ayrlarng were too slow; especially Rumi who got lost in the woods, apparently she wasn't very good with her directions even though she was given a Direction Tracker. Anyhow, Samantha never expected her to reach the goal.

Chapter 99: To Hunt

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

Carl screamed as he was KO-ed and got eliminated. He was brave enough to choose the middle route but too bad, he wasn't smart enough.

Samantha couldn't believe she would dare to put all her faith onto Gansus; apparently, Carl was not as good as he said and looked rather like an idiot instead.

After losing the round, Carl patted himself on the back of his head, he still believed what he did previously was on the right track, and he lost because luck wasn't on his side.

Martyrus tried his best not to laugh, he knew Samantha wouldn't hold back this time because this tournament was very important to her; but unfortunately for her, elites were limited in Ayrlarng.

"That is one hell of a unique student!" Martyrus commented in a serious tone. Samantha was so embarrassed that she could kill herself instantly, anyhow she managed to keep her cool and let it go with a smile.

In less than a minute after Carl's defeat, Rumi was KO-ed too. The poor girl instantly fainted when she encountered a Zerg.

Every student of Bernabeu burst into laughter as they witnessed what had happened, they knew Ayrlarng was weak, but they never expected their candidates to be THAT weak, what a loser. Rumi who was still trembling in fear came out with a pair of teary eyes, and she kept saying that she was sorry. At that moment, Samantha realized that she looked more like a nanny rather than Ayrlarng's principal; nevertheless, she went up and cheer Rumi up with words of encouragement.

Samantha had expected that Rumi would fail because Rumi was a connoisseur in only one subject, and obviously, this wasn't her field of expertise. Her loss might not be a bad thing as Bernabeu would become relaxed and let their guard down.

Ayrlarng had lost two participants at the beginning of the match. The secondary aces of Bernabeu had surpassed Kyaero, Cheng Chung, and Tita by a huge gap. However the three of them were stronger than Carl and Rumi, they didn't give up and continued to venture further. Moreover, they might still have a chance since the main objective of level-A difficulty wasn't only a race against time, but to make it to the goal in one piece.

It seemed like the secondary aces of Bernabeu were doing quite fine, their high performances in combat had proven them to be the students from a rising military academy.

"Five minutes have passed, shouldn't that punk be doing something?" Martyrus mumbled to himself.

Back in the virtual scenario, Apache stretched his neck and said, "Okay, five minutes, time's up. Let's see how fast can the Tactics of the Enchantress get!"

Immediately, Apache unleashed a burst of GN Force as he stormed toward the designated goal like a hurricane. Students of Bernabeu began to cheer as they saw his unbelievable speed.

Yet, Martyrus shook his head, he was planning to keep his "secret weapon" identity as a secret, but now his plan was ruined all thanks to that kid's bad habit of showing off. But he wasn't bothered by revealing his secret identity because it would be impossible for Ayrlarng to defeat him. Wang Ben and the others might be strong, but they were only inexperienced freshmen, and he had already lost count of Apache's tremendous amount of Soul Energy.

Apache was traveling as fast as lightning, judging from his speed, he would be able to overtake the tertiary aces within two minutes.

What about Wang Tong?

Apparently, he was still enjoying his time with the lush greenery, Samantha was pissed off and almost wanted to stomp and squash his ugly-*ss feet with the heel of her boots!

"Son of a *****, do something!!!"

Yet Wang Tong advanced slowly as he was sniffing the surroundings, he would even stop from time to time, like he was having deep thoughts.

"You have quite a remarkable student right there, Principal Samantha. Please don't tell me he is your secret weapon, I would say he is more suitable to become a gardener," Ovlor, the Disciplinary Master of Bernabeu, laughed as he spoke.

It might be inappropriate for the principal to say that, but it didn't mean that the others were not allowed to say as well. Ovlor was no ordinary man, and the words he said earlier wasn't only to humiliate Samantha but to see how she responded in terms of emotion; if he were able to make her angry and impulsive, Bernabeu would be another step closer to final victory.

However, Samantha remained calm, she knew neither sides would show their opponents any mercy in a competition. To students, this was the confrontation of skills and techniques; as for teachers, this would be the "battle" of mentality and emotional management, their rivalry would always remain unchanged. It would be impossible for Samantha to revive Ayrlarng if she didn't have the ability to withstand such pressure.

"Mr. Ovlor, that kid is indeed our most unique student," she said with a smile on her face. Ovlor's trick was useless against her since she studied psychology. However, she was getting nervous as Wang Tong was still wasting his time doing nothing, she wished he could start paying attention to what was going on!

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoru was still leading in the first position with her horrifying speed, stretching the gap between Wang Ben, Hu Yangxuan, Cao Yi, and the other primary aces. It appeared that most of them were trapped in battles, after all, it would be impossible for anyone to pass through the territory of Zergs without breaking a sweat. Ma Xiaoru was able to advance due to her incredible speed and ability to fight, the Tactics of the Enchantress definitely earned its reputation as one of the five greatest tactics of mankind due to its ability to kill with a single strike. Without a doubt, Ma Xiaoru's capability to advance had proven that her strength was not to be underestimated.

Ma Xiaoru clearly understood that she had to avoid as many Zergs as possible, she would choose to kill if there were only a few of them, and she would escape in speed if there were a lot of them.

Actually, most of them were having the same thoughts, but the effectiveness would depend on their own skills. In the beginning, most of them charged toward the goal confidently, but no matter which route they chose, Zergs would begin their aggressive attacks as they got closer to the core of their territory.

Wang Ben was not an idiot, he was actually warming up by making ferocious attacks previously, he would also stop mingling with the creatures once his body was ready for action; time was the key to winning this round.

As for the other students of Bernabeu and Ayrlarng, they were gradually getting stuck in trouble, there might be a slight difference in terms of progress, but it didn't really matter since neither of them was able to reach the finish line anyway.

Aside from normal students, the Level-A difficulty was also too harsh for the elites.

"Apache! Apache! Apache!"

Students of Bernabeu stood up and cheered as Apache charged with an amazing speed that was able to match Ma Xiaoru's haste. Most of them that were in front of him a while ago had been engaging with Zergs and "helped" him cleared a path, more importantly, he was smart enough to discover those gaps and managed to avoid a lot of unnecessary battles.

Samantha was aware of Apache's existence, but she didn't expect that Martyrus would summon him back for this tournament, and she suspected it was probably because of Wang Ben's recruitment. She was pleased by the arrival of this "double edge sword", at least it managed to bring him a sense of danger.

It was normal for the students of Bernabeu to be excited because Apache was the only one who obtained two wins during Bernabeu's last tournament with another S-ranked academy while everyone else was defeated. Apache was no doubt the legend of Bernabeu and the only one who had conquered every elite of S-ranked academies. Anyhow, Bernabeu would still be having difficulties against the almighty Capth and Yalden even though they were growing fast in recent years.

Bernabeu's growth had almost surpassed Ayrlarng during its glorious days.

"Haha, Principal Samantha, looks like this is gonna be a showdown between Apache and Ma Xiaoru."

Even though the result of this round was determined by the number of candidates who reached the goal and the time of arrival, that didn't mean everyone would be spending the whole day waiting for their arrivals. According to the rules, those who were not able to reach the designated goal within thirty minutes would be disqualified.

Judging from the current situation, Ma Xiaoru and Apache were the only ones that would be able to reach in time. It would be a mixed outcome for Wang Ben and the others since they were mostly engaged and had no time advantages; especially Wang Ben, who had picked the wrong route even though he was strong, countless of Zergs had completely blocked his path.

Apparently, almost everyone was engaging with Zergs, no one was worrying about the time of reaching the goal anymore as they were busy worrying about escaping from the entrapment of Zergs. Without a doubt, Zergs' ability to hunt was just as good as mankind's.

Chapter 100: The Troublemaking Gardener

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

Apache overtook the secondary aces of Bernabeu who were busy engaging with the Zergs. As long as they kept those bugs busy, Apache would be able to determine the gaps and sped up his pursuit with his speed and experience.

He was smart enough to stay put for five minutes in the beginning, not only he had shown his generosity as an upperclassman, but he was also able to take all the advantages by letting the others fight most of the Zergs, which allowed him to proceed without any trouble. After all, it was all about wits and knowledge during battles.

Apache seemed relaxed with a straw dangling from his mouth. All of a sudden, he was ambushed by a Scythe Zerg that had been awaiting its prey from above; however, the creature was slain into pieces as Apache countered it with a flash of X-shaped slashes. The ambush didn't slow him down too much, within minutes he was approaching the position of the primary aces.

Students of Bernabeu were getting very excited for Apache's pursuit. As for Ayrlarng, no one in their team would have been able to complete a race of level-A difficulty if some "glitchy" candidate like Ma Xiaoru didn't exist.

Candidates of both Ayrlarng and Bernabeu were getting KO-ed one after another. Without METAL Suits, they would be eliminated in no time if they got cornered by Zergs.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoru was still in the leading position; even though Apache was strong, it would still be quite difficult for him to narrow down the distance due to Ma Xiaoru's amazing speed. Judging from the situation, Ayrlarng might win this round; however, Martyrus wasn't worried at all.

In the other side of the map, Cao Yi's actions changed thoroughly, he was seen dashing across the wild, like a leaping Scythe Zerg…

He managed to escape from the Zergs and decided to charge from the peripheral routes because the Zergs in that area were weaker compared to the middle ones. Most importantly, he would be able to spot the other horde of Zergs and avoid them as soon as possible; even though the routes were further, he might still have a chance to reach the goal before time's up.

It would be the 2:1 outcome that Martyrus had been wishing to see.

Wang Ben and Hu Yangxuan seemed to be busy fighting off Zergs, they were strong, and there was nothing wrong with their strategies, but still, something was missing within the both of them. They were not able to fully avoid the hordes of Zergs, and the two of them were wasting a lot of energy and time whenever they encounter one Zerg; gradually, their journey to the finish line became harder and harder.

Amongst primary aces, Cao Yi was able to stand up and surprised everyone even though he looked dumb, it seemed like he would be reaching the goal in no time.

"Haha, Principal Samantha, I guess I'll be winning the first round," Martyrus said with a smile while stroking his beard, everything seemed to be going as planned. Cao Yi was a rare, hardworking talent who knew a lot about Zergs, not only he had memorized the basic data of Zergs, but he was also very familiar with their habits and also had the ability to determine with the smell and traces left by the Zergs. With his high success rate of avoiding Zergs and his unwavering strength, the chances of him reaching the goal was high.

Six of Ayrlarng's candidates were disqualified while only two of Bernabeu's candidates got KO-ed. The others were still hanging on due to their sense of pride. They might not be able to get there in time, but they would lose their pride as aces if they were to give up in front of the other students and the principal. This might be a match, yet it was also a challenge for themselves.

"Principal Martyrus, I think it's too early to decide who'll be winning," Samantha replied with a smile as she looked at the monitor.

Everyone was shocked as they focused their visions to another person… how the hell did he get there?

Martyrus was petrified when he noticed that the "gardener" had also overtaken the primary aces and was already right behind Ma Xiaoru and Apache; he was even faster than Cao Yi.

"That's impossible! How did he get there?" Ovlor's mouth was wide opened. They had totally forgotten his existence since he was slower than Apache previously.

Wang Tong might look like he was strolling and wandering around; however, he had never stopped moving forward. He was able to catch up quickly because he was never engaged in a single battle since the beginning!

"Zoom in!" Martyrus kept his cool, but his eyes were burning.

Unlike Apache who would slow down to observe whenever he sensed something fishy, Wang Tong's speed remained the same. For some reason, he was able to evade immediately whenever he encountered hordes of Zergs like he was traveling according to the map; he even managed to walk away harmlessly from the attacking range of a lurking Zerg like he was one of them.

Although Martyrus had seen a lot of weird things happening as the principal of Bernabeu, he had never seen such a bizarre one.

The match had turned into a cross-country rally without the obstruction from Zergs, everyone tended to speed up, but the closer they get to the designated goal, the greater the pressure would become. Ma Xiaoru and Apache too were hindered by the immense obstruction; at this point, they had to rely on their own strength to charge toward the finish line.

Ma Xiaoru and Apache began to slash their way in with her Tactics of the Enchantress and his Horseslayer. The peripheral routes were only detours, and the only way toward the goal was to charge into the core territory. Even though Cao Yi picked the route with weaker Zergs, the distance was way longer compared to Ma Xiaoru and Apache's route.

Obviously, Cao Yi wasn't planning to be the fastest to arrive but to reach the goal without huss and fuss within the time limit.

But… how was that kid still able to advance unimpededly?

Apache killed the leader of the horde of Zergs with his Horseslayer and took the advantage to escape, he was smart enough to know not to waste his time mingling with them. The corner of his eyes caught a shadowy figure dashing past him; however, the Zergs ignored that person, and he was the one that got attacked instead.

"An hallucination perhaps?"

As he turned around, he saw a huge horde of Zergs charging toward him, he knew he had to escape immediately.

Martyrus almost fainted, that son of a ***** gardener had lured a bunch of Zergs and left them to Apache.

Samantha gave a pleasant smile as she said, "Principal Martyrus, I might consider switching him to the gardening course when we get back to Ayrlarng."

Martyrus kept quiet. He wished that the kid would fail at the final moment because he would have to charge through the wall of Zergs in order to reach the goal. He might have the agility and the sense of smell to stay away from Zergs, but that didn't mean he was strong enough to charge through.

Ma Xiaoru was all fired-up, she had got rid of the previous hordes of Zergs, now all she needed to do was to charge through the last horde of Zergs on the bridge. She would be able to win if she could pass through this final trial. However, the horde of Zergs seemed to be guarding the path while keeping eyes on intruders, she knew she would be KO-ed if she charged recklessly. Unlike level-S assessments that were all about killing, there were multiple methods to reach the goal in level-A assessments, she might be able to create a path in one strike and charge through the gap, but if her movements were slower, and if she got cornered by them, she would lose for sure.

Ma Xiaoru took a deep breath and began channeling her GN Force, the guarding Zergs were immediately drawn to the rays of light from her long sword. In a split second, Ma Xiaoru unleashed her Demonic Dance of the Enchantress!

Violet rays of light burst across the arena like the spectrum of a rainbow. As the light faded, all that was left on the bridge were countless corpses of Zergs.

Chapter 101: The Cunning Gardener

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

The students of Bernabeu were stunned by the lethality of the Tactics of the Enchantress and were also startled by the powerful and beautiful lady in front of their eyes; yet everything that happened was within their expectations. Ma Xiaoru whirled her sword and unleashed her tactics, creating a path through the Zergs. However, more Zergs seemed to emerge in order to close the gap, causing the "wall" of Zergs to get thicker and made it even more difficult for those participants who were left behind.

Ma Xiaoru dashed across the bridge before the Zergs could close the gap, as she was about to do so, Wang Tong made it by the bridge right on time and followed Ma Xiaoru's movements without hesitation, his timing was perfect.

Wang Tong was able to sense the aura of the Tactics of the Enchantress before that, immediately, he knew what had happened as Ma Xiaoru unleashed a burst of GN Force, so he took the advantage to follow her across the bridge.

Ding! Ding!

The bell rang twice, Ma Xiaoru and Wang Tong were the firsts to reach the goal, followed up by Apache with a two minutes time difference; apparently, he was stalled by a bunch of Zergs attracted by Wang Tong.

Students of Bernabeu were angered as they saw Wang Tong acting carefree on the screen, "Where did this as*hole come from?"

"Taking advantage of the others, how shameful!"

"He didn't do anything back there!"

"That cunning little fox just happened to follow Ma Xiaoru across the bridge!"

Wang Tong was able to take that advantage all thanks to Ma Xiaoru's powerful Tactics of the Enchantress which created such a huge chance. Moreover, he could pull that off because he was blessed with the agility of an eel and a perfect sense of timing.

Martyrus gasped in surprise when he saw Wang Tong followed behind Ma Xiaoru, he knew he was going to lose this round because of Ma Xiaoru's participation. He was surprised by Wang Tong's swift and slippery actions; however, he was able to reach the goal because of Ma Xiaoru's aid. Nevertheless, luck was a part of one's actual strength; Martyrus lost fair and square!

No wonder Samantha selected Wang Tong, he got to have some potential to be one of their candidates. Martyrus had a feeling that things were starting to get interesting.

As the Zergs were swirling and gathering around Apache, he raised his Horseslayer up in the air, and streams of GN Force began to gather like a lightning rod.

Slash!

Woosh…

Apache became one with his Horseslayer and charged through the Zergs like a drill, slashing every opposing Zerg into two. It was indeed a brutal technique, no matter who was his opponent, he would vanquish with a single slash; one shall stand, one shall fall.

Apache reached the goal like a hurricane, the remaining Zergs retreated and waited for the next target. Apache sheathed his Horseslayer and adjusted his breathing, then turned his eyes toward Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru. He had underestimated the power of the Tactics of the Enchantress, and he totally had no idea how Wang Tong made it to the finish line. He began to have a strong interest in both of them.

Wang Tong glanced at his low-class blade, then he looked at their long sword and Horseslayer. At that moment only, he realized that participants were able to choose their weapon according to their personal needs, before that, he thought everyone would be using the same weapon. The system gave him that weapon because he had only been using blades like this in previous matches; if he had known earlier, he would have asked for Excalibur.

The clock was ticking, gradually approaching to the time limit of thirty minutes. Suddenly, a loud bang occurred, and someone blasted toward the ground like a cannonball.

It was Cao Yi.

He didn't intend to charge through the "wall" of Zergs because he wasn't as good as Ma Xiaoru and Apache at fighting, and Cao Yi knew he would lose if he charged abruptly. However, everyone had their methods of getting the job done; Cao Yi gathered his GN Force around his legs, then shot himself across like a cannonball, yet it wasn't a perfect touchdown with his ass hitting the ground first.

The pain was excruciating, it was so painful that he almost fell unconscious. Wang Tong went over immediately to help him up, and Cao Yi looked blur as he got up.

"That was crazy, dude, why don't you try a touchdown with your head next time?" Wang Tong joked.

Cao Yi looked confused, "Touching down with my head? That's suicidal! Wait… actually, he might be right, the dynamics of the blast would increase with my head touching down first."

"Thanks, Wang Tong. I'll think about it!" Cao Yi replied in a serious manner.

"For God Sake, I was just joking. Please be careful next time." Wang Tong was almost left speechless by the crazy dude. He didn't expect to see another weird person outside Ayrlarng.

"Okay, time's up! I believe the others are not coming, so I think we're good to go," Apache stretched himself as he spoke, he had been waiting boringly for more than ten minutes.

Even though the score was 2:2, participants of Ayrlarng took less time to reach the finish line; hence the victory of round one belonged to Ayrlarng.

Wang Tong who first looked like a nobody began to give Martyrus headaches. That wasn't good, he had to be more careful about the later rounds.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Intel Programming Battle would begin in ten minutes after a short break."

Martyrus calmed down, everyone needed a rest after the exciting match.

"Principal Samantha, please help yourself with some tea, I brew it myself," Martyrus said. As the commander of Bernabeu, he had to relax and remain calm no matter how tense was the atmosphere, even if he had to fake it.

Samantha smelled a refreshing aroma and commented, "It smells fantastic, I believe you're using the latest blend from Andromeda, am I right?"

"Haha, that's right. However, it should taste different as I made my very own blend using fresh tea leaves that just arrived recently. Honestly speaking, I believe students are like tea leaves, their taste would vary depends on the one who brews it. Nevertheless, your trump card was quite a surprise," Martyrus said while enjoying his cup of tea.

"He was lucky, that kid is no good except for his brain. He won because of pure luck."

"Haha, you're too humble Principal Samantha. In my opinion, that kid is quite talented aside from being smart. Unlike those who would strike at the right timing, I noticed that he was spending his time to observe the terrain, probably analyzing the species of Zergs and their distribution. I believe he must be very good with the ecology of Zergs and very familiar with their habits; he even knows how to blend in with the smell of Zergs, not everyone would know about that."

"Thank you for the kind praise Principal Martyrus, he is a smart kid indeed."

"Haha, those who could flex and bend according to different situations would have what it takes to go places," Martyrus' comment was right on, Wang Tong's speed and confidence on his timing during the bridge crossing had proven that he wasn't an easy opponent to be underestimated.

It was more than a praise though, deep down Martyrus was aware that somehow Wang Tong preferred using sly tricks even though he was quite talented, which meant that he wasn't good at tough battles. Martyrus was relieved as he believed that he had uncovered all of Ayrlarng's hidden cards.

Intel Programming Battle has begun. Ayrlarng sent out Rumi to challenge Bernabeu's Lu Qiqi. Bernabeu was expecting an easy win, but everyone was shocked when they saw the tenacious resistance from the timid and bashful Rumi. Her performance was ferocious like she had taken on another personality.

The intense battle went on for nearly thirty minutes; unfortunately, Rumi still lost in the end. She was talented, but Lu Qiqi was better than her in terms of skills and experiences. Even though Rumi's resilience was slightly better, Lu Qiqi's perspective of the overall situation was stronger than Rumi; hence Bernabeu won fair and square. Nevertheless, it was a close match.

End of round two: Ayrlarng 1, Bernabeu 1.

Chapter 102: The Arrogant Rookie

Translator: Double_L Editor: Tehrn

Students of Bernabeu cheered as their winning streak began.

Both Ayrlarng and Bernabeu sent out their freshmen for the third round of Heavy Armed Brawl. Tita was one of Ayrlarng's best new recruit, but he lost terribly against Bernabeu's freshman. Apparently, there was a huge difference between the two of them in terms of control, strength, knowledge, operating skills, and perspective of the overall situation.

It was definitely an emboldening round for Bernabeu. In fact, every student of Bernabeu was like an old veteran, experienced and not someone to be messed with; luck would not be the reason they win or the excuse for their defeat. That was the regal temperament of a victor, only losers would bet their faith on luck.

Rumi almost cried when she was defeated, and Tita who was always cheerful turned as pale as a ghost after the loss. Ayrlarng's confidence was crushed and torn apart.

Competitions and comparisons had always been cruel since the beginning of time. For some reason, people who thought they were strong enough to be victorious were always the ones destined to lose.

"Relax, Rumi. Your opponent won because her perspective of the overall situation was stronger than yours but other than that, your performances were better than hers. From now on you should strengthen your training on perspective and courage, and I'm sure you would be able to defeat her in no time. As for you Tita, you lost because your overall performance was not as good as your opponent, nothing else to blame on. But don't be sad because everyone learns from mistakes, there's always a next time."

Rumi nodded; however, Tita looked pissed, "Mind your own business, as*hole!"

Tita was infuriated and ashamed by his own defeat. He was worse compared to Rumi, at least she was able to keep her opponent busy throughout the match, but Tita was totally owned by his opponent.

Wang Tong shrugged, he knew that it wasn't right for him to lecture Tita, anyhow Tita didn't give up, his anger meant that he wasn't dispirited by the loss.

On the other hand, Martyrus was smiling deep down because Bernabeu had maintained the upper hand.

"Round Four, Battlecraft Combat." Ayrlarng was represented by Zhou Sisi, she would be fighting against Best from Bernabeu.

Bernabeu had the higher advantage for this round because Best had just won the third place in Earth Confederation's Battlecraft Combat Championship. He had shown an outstanding performance during his matches against aces from various academies across the Confederation. As for Ayrlarng, they weren't even invited.

Zhou Sisi looked nervous as she turned toward Wang Tong, but immediately, she felt calmer when she saw him cheered by grabbing his fists. Battlecraft Combat had always been her area of expertise, together with her recent mastery on the Cloning Technique, Zhou Sisi mustered her confidence for the challenge.

On the other side of the arena, Best was busy shaking his head and stretching his fingers and didn't pay any attention to his opponent. It was a waste of time for him to take on some weakling from Ayrlarng.

The match began. Best was impressed by Zhou Sisi's performance, she wasn't a total amateur, but definitely not a pro. In Battlecraft Combat, a tiny difference would grant a huge upper hand; his time deviation was 0.5 second, while his opponent's time deviation was more than 1 second, which was common for an amateur. Eight minutes passed by, the advantage was clearly on Best's side. Huge mistakes were not going to occur in his control and operation, so this round was going to be another landslide victory for Bernabeu.

Bernabeu 3, Ayrlarng 1 would be an expected outcome...

Zhou Sisi was able to feel the pressure from her opponent as soon as the match began. Best had professional training in Bernabeu, but she had to study everything on her own due to Ayrlarng's weak team of trainers and teachers. There were vivid gaps in terms of controls, strategies, and perspectives, and each difference might be small, but it would become a huge gap if totaled up. There was no way she could win unless she had some tricks left.

Zhou Sisi knew she had only one chance to do this.

Zhou Sisi's fleets were surrounded after fifteen minutes. Martyrus looked at the time and knew this was going to end soon.

Best was waiting for his opponent to surrender. He had the total advantage in this situation, and his ego could only be pleased when she was forced to raise the white flag.

Suddenly, he saw Zhou Sisi's formation changed, yet it wasn't a formation of surrendering but to attack, could it be...

The virtual space was irradiated with gunfire and explosions as Best launched his attacks while Zhou Sisi unleashed her Cloning Technique, was she trying to throw a sprat to catch a herring?

The crowd began to look anxious. No one expected that Zhou Sisi would be using the Cloning Technique all of a sudden.

Finally, the match ended. Zhou Sisi managed to destroy Best's perfect formation even though she lost. Best was unhappy by the fact that he couldn't achieve his perfect ending. If her Cloning Technique had been stronger, he might have been the one that got screwed.

Knowing that Zhou Sisi would not surrender, Best's fleets open fired all at once and bombarded every single of her Battlecraft, forcing her to retire.

Bernabeu managed to secure the lead with 3:1. Yet Best was still unhappy for the win, he hated the fact that his perfect combo was stained by some nobody using the Cloning Technique.

"Haha, I'm so sorry Principal Samantha, Best is just a kid with temper issues, I hope you don't mind. He will still be our representative for the next round, and you are sending out… Wang Tong?"

"Yup, he's next."

Samantha was pissed off by Best's arrogant attitude, then she summoned Wang Tong, "I don't care what are you gonna do, teach that punk a lesson no matter what, or else I'll void our agreement, and I'm gonna screw you up personally!"

Wang Tong licked his lips, "Don't worry, I got this." He would avenge the defeat of his protege.

Rumi, Tita, and Zhou Sisi were depressed for their loss. Wang Tong knew that he had to do something.

"Check! Check! Round 5, Best versus Wang Tong. Let the match begin!"

Best set up the same formation, his skills were flawless, and the deviation was very tiny; after all, Best was professionally trained to do this, he was the expert of Battlecraft Combat.

Best's time deviation remained around 0.5 seconds, as for Wang Tong… did Ayrlarng lose its mind? The opponent was worse than the previous one, at least Zhou Sisi wasn't a total amateur, but this dude sucked! His deviation was close to 2 seconds.

This opponent was totally an idiot!

Did Ayrlarng plann to lose? Possibly one of their strategies?

Best looked across toward his opponent, at the same time Wang Tong was looking at him, then Wang Tong sneered and showed him a finger.

Students of Bernabeu were infuriated, everyone was eager to see this arrogant rookie bastard got owned by Best.

Best smiled angrily, he couldn't wait to beat the crap out of that douche.

"I'm sorry Principal Martyrus, apparently Wang Tong isn't very good with his temper as well." Samantha laughed, she wasn't feeling sorry at all.

In the beginning, Best was thinking of defeating his opponent in a jiff, but he had changed his mind, now all he wanted was to torture that idiot.

Meanwhile, Apache was leaning against the pillar at the corner of the arena. He was observing Wang Tong while enjoying his lollipop. Unlike the fully concentrated Best, Wang Tong wasn't concentrating at all, and his controls were messy, luckily he wasn't making any huge mistakes. Moreover, Best was holding back on purpose, so Wang Tong was still able to survive.

Samantha almost fainted as she saw Wang Tong's bad performance, she didn't expect that from him. Somehow she regretted her decision of selecting Wang Tong for this round and should've let Zhou Sisi challenge him again instead. She was disappointed by the terrible situation.