Ch 1116 - Ch 1120
Chapter 1116: 1116
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
When Mu Nujiao asked the question, Dongfang Lie, who was also involved in the match during the preliminaries, immediately recalled how Mo Fan had suddenly disappeared after crushing him with a single punch . He was missing for quite some time after that, and it turned out that he had gone to the Ancient Capital!
"I think so, what's wrong with everyone? Isn't it obvious that I'm going to win the match?" Mo Fan glanced around him and saw everyone was staring at him in a strange way!
He was having difficulty describing the strange feeling . If he was to describe it in a bad-sounding way, it felt like they were staring at someone with a mental disorder . If he was to describe in a better sounding way, it seemed like they were struggling to believe something, yet he could see a hint of admiration in their eyes, too…
Mo Fan did not overthink it . He proceeded to the Healing wards to check on Zhao Manyan .
Zhao Manyan was the main reason the team was able to secure the victory . Mo Fan had to find out if he was alive or dead . If Zhao Manyan was dead, he would burn paper offerings and let the deceased man know that he had blasted the German team to the ground .
Mo Fan soon found Zhao Manyan, who was still lying unconscious on a sickbed .
Zhao Manyan was in pretty bad shape . It would take him some time to recover from his injuries . Mo Fan was about to leave when he saw an aged woman walking his way, her face all contorted .
In addition to her, Feng Li, his teammates who could still walk, a few Councilmen, Pang Lai, Chairman Shao Zheng, and Han Ji, who was done with the interview, came into the ward .
"So you guys have come to pay Zhao Manyan a visit, too? He has the life of a turtle, he won't die so easily," Mo Fan burst out laughing .
He initially thought he could amuse the people with his little joke, and they would proceed to send Zhao Manyan their regards, but the annoying old woman Zu Huiyin came up to him with Zu Jiming, who looked like he had just eaten a pile of dung . Both of them bowed to Mo Fan .
Mo Fan was startled . He glanced at Han Ji, who was grinning like a cunning fox .
Mo Fan immediately realized something had happened!
"I'm so sorry, my nephew has been harsh with his words, and I have failed to teach him the proper manners . I have misjudged you and even uttered some absurd comments on your character . I have neglected the obligations as the chairman's secretary, so I've come with my nephew to apologize to you . I hope you will forgive the two of us," Zu Huiyin said in a soft voice . She was like a completely different person, losing her previous arrogant demeanor!
The chairman's secretary was an authority figure with a higher position than Han Ji, the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, but she was currently apologizing to a young man in front of the reporters and the other Councilmen! If they did not know Mo Fan was the savior of the Ancient Capital, they would never have believed it .
"I am actually a malevolent person, a nasty human being you can say . I'm expected to take troubles to heart, so I can assure you that I will definitely remember what you did . " Mo Fan was far from the forgiving kind . Besides, Mo Fan had wanted to get revenge on Zu Jiming a long time ago!
Zu Huiyin's face fell as dark as charcoal after hearing Mo Fan's words!
The man was a real villain . He was actually gloating over their situation!
Mo Fan was unwilling to show any mercy . Zu Huiyin was struggling to find a way out of the embarrassing situation .
The woman had almost lost her mind when Han Ji revealed who the savior of the Ancient Capital was!
Rumors of Zu Huiyin, the chairman's secretary, accusing Mo Fan of being a malevolent person had long spread among the public . The whole world had set their eyes on the World College Tournament, so a comment like that was surely going to attract the attention of the reporters . In addition to that, the Lu Clan was pretty keen at setting Mo Fan up, so they had wantonly spread the news around to defame Mo Fan before he could make a name for himself through the World College Tournament . However, after Han Ji announced the news, the conspiracy that the Lu Clan and Zu Huiyin were organizing against Mo Fan suddenly collapsed, as the people immediately turned against them!
The people who had survived the Calamity of the Ancient Capital were particularly enraged by the rumors . Their respect for Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou was simply off the charts . Others were allowed to scold their parents, but they were not allowed to scold the two saviors of their city! After Han Ji revealed the truth, any negative news about Mo Fan immediately infuriated the people, forcing the Chairman's secretary into such an awkward situation .
Zu Huiyin never thought it would come down to this when she was uttering her words so arrogantly . She would still able to recover from the situation even if Mo Fan was an emperor, but the calamity of the Ancient Capital was no longer something that she could twist with her power, as the people would not allow her to manipulate the truth!
So what if she was the Chairman's secretary?
Did she kill a single undead, save anyone, or ferret out the members of the Black Vatican during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital?
She had not done a single thing . She was only an authority figure who pointed her fingers around . In less than an hour, the people were demanding Zu Huiyin be punished . The woman had never thought the people would get so crazy over such a petty matter!
It was the reason why Zu Huiyin had brought Zu Jiming along and apologized to Mo Fan in front of everyone . If she did not do so, she would be done for! The authorities higher up would not allow someone that was condemned by the people to be the Chairman's secretary . She had crossed a line, and even the higher-ups did not dare to speak on her behalf!
The other authorities immediately drew a clear line between them and the Chairman's secretary . Even the Lu Clan that had insisted on setting Mo Fan up quickly joined the other side and condemned Zu Huiyin for her inappropriate comment, since they had not really said anything harsh about Mo Fan .
Zu Huiyin had the urge to tear apart the people of the Lu Clan . She was actually speaking on behalf of the Lu Clan, yet they dared to destroy the bridge after crossing the river!
Zu Huiyin was still bowing, and did not even dare to look at Mo Fan's shoes . She was extremely regretful of what she had done . Why would she bother speaking on behalf of Zu Jiming? Her nephew had always been clever in trivial matters, but he always failed to grasp the bigger picture . Why did she bother trying to fawn upon the Lu Clan? It had nothing to do with her in the first place!
"Chairman, you do know… that it was just a misunderstanding," Zu Huiyin felt the urge to cry . The whole situation had changed in just an hour . She did not dare imagine what was going to happen to her next .
"As the Chairman's secretary, you must take responsibility for everything you said . If Mo Fan isn't willing to accept your apology, I hope that you can find a way to calm the hatred of the people," Shao Zheng replied calmly .
Shao Zheng already knew it would come down to this, even though he was quite shocked by the punitive response that the people had sent against the woman . The people might even ask him to step down if he said a single bad comment about Mo Fan…
Shao Zheng had no intention of lending Zu Huiyin a hand . The woman had been pulling political tricks to form cliques and factions in the party . As a matter of fact, Shao Zheng had long wanted to get rid of her . Even though the woman was his assistant on the surface, she was actually a spy that his political enemies had planted beside him . Shao Zheng was planning to put a lot of policies into practice, yet his enemies kept intervening .
Shao Zheng believed he had always fulfilled his obligations with a clear conscience . As such, for the sake of the bigger picture, and the people, this Zu Huiyin must step down from her role!
—
As the people were leaving, Feng Li suddenly turned to Mu Nujiao and said, "Mu Nujiao, contact your family, tell them that you will be replacing Zu Jiming in the upcoming matches . "
Zu Jiming was walking out of the ward, and staggered with wide eyes when he heard the words .
"Advisor, I…" Zu Jiming tried to speak .
"That's enough! I'm well aware of the conflict between you two, but our country's ranking is currently at stake . I don't want any conflicts between the members of the team to become a factor that might lose us a match, and it's unnecessary to say that it's unfair or anything . If you were the one that won us the match, I wouldn't hesitate to expel Mo Fan from the team either!" Feng Li was incredibly stubborn whenever he had made up his mind .
Zu Jiming felt like he was going to fall apart . He had failed utterly, even before he could face Mo Fan directly!
Zu Jiming never thought he would be kicked from the team like this . He was hoping that he could redeem himself with an outstanding performance in the upcoming matches, just so his aunt, Zu Huiyin would not be so angry at him, since he was still fairly useful to her . However, he was nothing but a pile of dung if he was no longer a member of the national team!
His situation was worse than all the nightmares he had imagined!
—
—
The thin curtains were swaying slightly . In a ward close to the stadium, Mu Ningxue, with her head leaning against the headboard, was struggling to describe the complicated feeling in her heart .
As she expected, someone came into the room, and it was none other than the hero that the whole country was cheering for .
Mu Ningxue looked at the man, at the indifferent, yet somewhat perverted grin on his face…
"Xuexue, I've come to see you, how are you feeling?" Mo Fan came forward . He still had some obvious injuries on his body, yet he seemed to be as energetic as an ox, as if there was nothing that could knock him to the ground .
Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze . She was about to respond when she saw obvious lip marks on the side of Mo Fan's cheek . It was pink, and from the look of it, the lips' owner was surely an attractive woman…
Mu Ningxue tried her best to ignore it, but Mo Fan quickly stuck his face close to her . Mu Ningxue who had initially decided to be nicer to Mo Fan, was immediately filled with anger and disgust!
"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?" Mu Ningxue's voice lacked liveliness .
"Not yet," Mo Fan said .
Mo Fan was utterly confused . He went into the restroom to take a look at the mirror, and was surprised to see clear lipstick marks on his face .
Mo Fan instantly felt like he had been struck by lightning . He quickly rubbed his face .
-Goddamn it… those were Mu Nujiao's lips…-
Mu Nujiao finally had a chance to vent out all the pressure she had been feeling . She was so excited that she kissed Mo Fan on the face when the unconscious Zhao Manyan was the only person in the ward . It did not mean anything much, it was obviously just her way of sharing her joy, since she had put in a lot of hard work for the chance to join the national team .
The woman who had been promoted to an official member of the national team subconsciously gave Mo Fan a kiss in response to her overwhelming joy surging up . However, when Mu Nujiao realized she had definitely crossed the line, she immediately fled like a panicked doe .
Mo Fan could not even take advantage of her . He simply forgot about the kiss and came to pay Mu Ningxue a visit, just so he could tell her how impressive he was in the match, yet reality had always been cruel to him .
"Xuexue, hehe, I've rubbed them off, what was I going to say… look at you, why are your hands so cold again? Let me warm them up for you…" Mo Fan began .
Chapter 1117: 1117
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
—
Four countries were placed in the winner bracket: Greece, England, China, and Egypt .
The loser's bracket consisted of the USA, Canada, Germany, and France .
The first round ended with the match between China and Germany . It was very likely that a lot of new names were going to show up on the ranking after the intense matches in the first round .
Meanwhile, Mo Fan finally made it to the third rank after the defeat of the German team, taking Reed's spot .
Reed's weaknesses had been exposed by the match . The other countries would not struggle as much against Reed's Innate Talent once they prepared more defensive equipment for the match .
As for Mo Fan's destructive power, it did not really matter how much defensive equipment or how many spells they had, they were still going to be knocked to the ground!
It was rare for students to duel one another outside of a tournament, thus it was fairly difficult to tell who was stronger on a team without going through the match against the German team .
The schedule of the matches for the winner bracket was yet to be decided . It would only be revealed during the day of the matches .
The participants had two days to rest up . However, those who had suffered great injuries, like Zhao Manyan were unlikely to participate in the next match . Judging from his outstanding performance in the first match, the team would have a better chance at winning if he was able to take part in the second match too, since the synergy between him and Mo Fan was flawless .
One had perfect defense, while the other had perfect offense . When they were both on the stage, the opposing team would have to put in a strenuous effort just to deal with them .
Mo Fan's energy was recovering at a slow pace . He had expended too much energy from his Fire, Lightning, and Summoning Elements . Mo Fan could not guarantee that he would fully recover in just two days . That being said, the energy of his Shadow and Space Elements was plentiful .
Similarly, Ai Jiangtu was overwhelmed by fatigue, too . He had stayed in the match for the longest on their team, since he was in it right from the very start . He was the mainstay of the team . Without him, the team would have collapsed early on .
Ai Jiangtu's condition was worse than Mo Fan's . There was no way he would be taking part in the next match .
The good news was that Mu Ningxue had recovered from her injuries . She also used the chance to digest the resources she had acquired from the treasure hunt .
She needed Ice Fundamental Crystals . The money she got from selling her share of the loot in the treasure hunt was enough for her to buy Fundamental Crystals to fill up another piece of the Ice Crystal Bow . As a result, her cultivation had improved, too . She would have to bear a heavy responsibility for the upcoming matches!
—
On the third day, the second round of the finals finally began . The four teams in the winner bracket would be competing against one another, followed by the four teams in the loser bracket . The outcome of the matches would further decide the groupings of the teams .
The people had high hopes in the Chinese team after their outstanding performance in the first match . However, the Chinese team was not in luck in the second round, as they were drawn to face the English team that was most likely going to be the champion of the tournament .
The English team was crazy strong, especially Zorro, who was ranked first among the participants . Many people shared the same comment about him: his strength was unfathomable . Even Ayleen, who was fairly close to Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue, mentioned that the man was incomprehensible, as if he came from outer space . Even as his teammate, Ayleen the Great Duchess had never seen Zorro use all his strength .
Everyone was well aware of how strong the English team was . Apart from the first-ranked Zorro, the other members had occupied two other spots on the ranking . The participant ranked seventh, and some other ranks were also members of the English team .
The Chinese team found itself in quite an awkward situation . After the intense match against the German team, their captain, Ai Jiangtu, was unable to fight the next match . Mo Fan's Lightning and Fire Elements had not fully recovered yet, and both Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu were still recovering from serious injuries…
"Forfeit the match?"
"Feng Li, did I hear it right? Are we seriously going to forfeit the match?"
Feng Li nodded . He had made the decision as soon as the team was drawn against the English team .
Among the countries in the winners bracket, both Greece and England were super powerhouses . The Chinese team basically had no chance of winning against either of them . As such, Feng Li did not hesitate to forfeit the match . However, if they had gone up against the Egyptian team, they would have gone all out instead!
Clearly, luck would not always be in their favor . They had a one in three chance to be up against Egypt, and two in three to be drawn against a team they would surely lose to .
"Won't the people find it hard to accept that we've given up on the match without trying?" Han Ji asked directly .
"If we still give it all even though we know we're going to lose, and eventually cost ourselves the rest of the matches for the tournament, that's called being stupid! It'll be even harder for the people to accept it . We didn't give up on the finals, nor did we give up on securing a higher rank in the tournament . We have only decided to preserve our strength after analyzing the situation, just so we can win the third match!" Feng Li said firmly .
"Old Feng, I always thought you were an inflexible man . I agree that we have no chance of winning the match . Instead of losing the match after giving our best, we should just preserve our strength for the next match instead," Mo Fan agreed with a grin .
Feng Li had made up his mind . Even though the advisors did not think it was appropriate to purposely forfeit the match, there was no dissent with his decision .
—
In the second round, the first match was between China and England . Feng Li sent out Guan Yu and Li Kaifeng, the two agile Mages to probe the English team's strength . The remaining members only joined the match as a mere formality . Those that were fit for battle stayed for a while longer, while the others withdrew from the match as early as possible .
The match was incredibly boring to watch, but the people knew that the match between the Chinese team and the German team was too intense . The Chinese team was up against a powerhouse before their members could even recover . It would be stupid if they decided to force themselves to fight the match .
The Chinese team ended up preserving their strength by losing the match . They were placed in the group with one win .
The English team won again, and was placed in the group with two wins .
The match between Greece and Egypt turned out to be the highlight of the winner bracket . Everyone totally expected the Egyptian team to be crushed by Greece, yet they somehow came up with a dirty strategy against the Greek team and dragged the match out, allowing them to fill the stage with undead once again .
The Chinese team was regarded as a black horse, but the performance of the Egyptian team in the tournament had been shocking, too . Their perfect teamwork and undead strategy had forced the powerhouse that was Greece into a pinch . The whole world was amazed by the rise of the Egyptian team!
Undead strategy!
Egypt's national team perfectly utilized the strength of their country to defeat the Mages that practiced other Elements . Seventy percent of the team consisted of Mages with the Undead Element . People initially thought the Egyptian team was only lucky with their strategy, as Canada was not supposed to lose to Egypt . To their surprise, even Greece failed miserably in the second round!
The final outcome was absolutely shocking . The Egyptian team secured the victory with their undead strategy, defeating Greece, which was thought to be unbeatable!
Both Egypt and England had gotten two wins so far . They would be facing one another, and the winning team would have three wins in total . That team would immediately skip the fourth round, and find the other team in the final round that would decide who the champion of the tournament was .
"Is Egypt really that strong? I can't believe it," Mo Fan said to Mu Ningxue .
Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had fought the Egyptian team when they were still at the Training Hall . Among its members, Sayed, Shreev, and Meos were not particularly outstanding . If they had to evaluate the Egyptian team's strength, they would easily place them among the sixteen countries that had been disqualified from the tournament .
But now, not only had they made it to the finals, and were lucky enough to win the first match, they unbelievably won the second match too! If they ended up beating the English team too, they would surely be ranked first or second in the tournament!
Everyone was struggling to accept the truth .
"I believe they weren't planning to have outstanding students right from the start . It's obvious that their undead strategy has been aiming for the team battles, especially the finals, since eight members of the team are going to be participating in a match, meaning that they could arrange eight Undead Mages to take part in a match if they want…" Mu Ningxue said .
The members of the Egyptian team were pretty average when it came to duels, but when the members came together, they were the most annoying team to fight against!
It did not matter how difficult it was for the people to accept the outcome, Egypt had indeed made it to their current position . People no longer thought they were being lucky with their wins . The rest of the countries had started putting more effort into learning their undead strategy, just so they would not be taken by surprise if they ended up facing them . After all, even a strong team like Greece had lost to them, even though Greece's overall strength was not any weaker than England's . Greece had even won against the other powerhouse of the tournament, America!
—
The sacred mountain of the Parthenon Temple had a few cliffs, and one of them faced the rising sun in the east…
On the cliff facing the Hall of the Goddess, strong winds were blowing into a cave, swinging a little hut hanging in the air inside it .
The swinging hut had the blue sky with a slight curve as its background, the face of the cliff was around twenty meters away . Below it was a seventy-meters-long path, covered in verdant and thick grass .
A woman with bare feet and a slender figure was spotted in the slightly swaying hut . Her curvy body leaned against the soft couch as she was dressed in a cozy, yet noble white dress . The glamorous woman sat comfortably in the swinging hut, humming a pleasant melody…
On her left was a bottle of carbonated drink, and on her right was her phone . Her disheveled, tawny hair was occasionally lifted up whenever a wind blew . Asha'ruiya enjoyed spending her time here in the afternoon!
The phone began to vibrate . Asha'ruiya glanced at it indifferently . News of insignificant matters rarely reached her phone . It must be something very important if it was disturbing her peaceful afternoon .
"The team lost?" Asha'ruiya was quite surprised . "Those idiots, did they seriously lose to Egypt after beating America?
"There goes my break, I thought I could relax for a few days since Andi is dead…"
"It's me, Asha'ruiya, prepare my plane for tonight, I'm flying to Venice . "
"First, I'm a member of the team, even though I didn't take part in the training . Second, as a public figure, isn't it my responsibility to represent Greece and win some glory back? Third, the final election is taking place soon, and if a candidate is particularly outstanding during the World College Tournament that the whole world is watching, wouldn't I win over more supporters too…"
After hanging up the phone, Asha'ruiya smiled with great anticipation .
Chapter 1118: 1118
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Two days later, the third round of the finals took place .
The most anticipated matches were between the teams that had one win so far .
In the second round, the USA managed to win the match in the loser bracket without any surprise, and joined the group with one win . The German team that was still in bad shape ended up losing to France in the losers bracket, allowing France to join the group with one win too .
As a result, there were four teams in the group with one win . Greece and China won their first match but lost their second, and America and France that won in the loser bracket .
Funny thing was, the USA ended up going against Greece once again in the third round . The match took place in the morning, and once again, America lost to Greece…
The American team had already lost to Greece in the first round, but this time, they were struggling even more, as a strong Space Maga had joined the team out of nowhere .
Mo Fan knew her . It was the mad woman, Asha'ruiya!
Mo Fan had been staring at Asha'ruiya's ass for the entire game and happened to realize how strong the woman was . Because of her, it was even more unlikely for the American team to beat Greece . They lost again without any surprise .
The Chinese team was pretty lucky to face France in the third round .
France was actually quite strong, too . The Chinese team was expected to pay some price in order to secure the win, but the members of the French team had been severely injured in the match against Germany . The French team quickly collapsed in the match against the well-rested Chinese team .
The French team did try to put up a fight, but Mu Ningxue had finally shown up in the finals, and did not really give the opposing team any chance with her dominating Ice Domain .
The team was pretty happy with the win . They did not expend too much energy in the match against France, meaning they could give their all in the next match . If they were able to win the next match, it meant they would be ranked in the top three!
—
Mo Fan was slightly injured in the match against France, so he was asked to rest up in the Healing ward . He ended up missing the match between England and Egypt . The two teams were said to have the greatest disparity in terms of strength .
The Healing ward was not too close nor too far away from the stadium, but Mo Fan could easily hear the explosive uproar of the crowd .
For some reason, Mo Fan was having a bad feeling about it .
"England lost . "
"Are you sure you aren't trying to fool me?"
"I'm not, England lost the match . They lost to Egypt . Holy crap, I feel like I'm going nuts; is Egypt using some evil, forbidden magic? They are able to summon endless undead, and each undead was even stronger than the ones Summoned before . You have no idea, the strongest guy on the English team, when I saw his magic, I was already convinced that he's the strongest participant in the tournament . Even with his third-tier Advanced Spell, he still couldn't handle the undead strategy!" Zhao Manyan said on the phone .
Zhao Manyan went straight to the stadium to watch the match as soon as he recovered, while Mo Fan was left in the Healing ward . The French team had desperately focused their attacks on Mo Fan during the match, allowing Mu Ningxue to stack her Ice as she pleased . The French team naively thought they could win the match by taking out Mo Fan, but Mu Ningxue's Ice Domain was like a heavy slap to their face .
"It sounds like the Egyptian team is unstoppable? Are they seriously going to win the tournament with their undead strategy?" Mo Fan was utterly shocked by the result .
Mo Fan had fought against the Egyptian team at the Training Hall . He even scolded the crap out of them, but to his surprise, the Egyptian team had made such a great comeback in the tournament by defeating two powerhouses, Greece and England…
Everyone could easily tell that Egypt was simply abusing their dirty strategy to win the matches, yet the teams were struggling to find a way to overcome it . The Egyptian team was unbeatable, as even the elites of the English team had lost too!
—
If the Chinese team was considered a black horse, the Egyptian team would be a black dragon . They had taken all the attention of the people that were watching the World College Tournament .
The Egyptian team won three matches in a row with their undead strategy, placing them at the top of the bracket, guaranteeing itself a spot in the top three .
USA had lost miserably in this tournament . It no longer had a chance to be placed in the top three . From this point on, it was up to England, China, and Greece to see who was going to take on the Egypt team in the final showdown!
In the past, there were a few surprising teams that had ended up winning the tournament, but the people across the world were having a hard time believing that Egypt had managed to come so far . Perhaps even the people in Egypt were having a hard time believing it .
—
After the first three rounds, USA, Germany, France, and Canada no longer had a chance of being placed in the top three . The people were not really interested in the teams ranked in the bottom four, either . Their eyes were on the teams that were competing for the top four places .
Egypt had become the final boss, the only team with three wins so far . It had already claimed a spot in the final match . The members of the Egyptian team were obviously going to watch China, England, and Greece fighting over the last chance with grins on their faces…
The rules had changed in the fourth round .
Since China, England, and Greece had the same number of wins, the fourth round was no longer a battle between two teams, but a mixed battle between three teams .
The mixed battle suddenly became the highlight of the tournament . The teams were planning to win the final ticket to the last match, or to secure a spot in the top three, so they were surely going to give their best . It was going to become the most spectacular match in the tournament .
However, many people were quite speechless, since among all the possibilities they had considered, they never thought Egypt would be the one waiting at the top of the bracket, while England, Greece, and China were fighting for the chance in a mixed battle!
Everyone thought England or Greece would secure a spot in the final match first, and the other would have to take part in the mixed battle . That being said, the team would still win in the end, meaning that Greece and England were meant to face one another in the final match .
How wrong they were!
It went without saying that they were bets set up to guess who was going to end up in the final match… the funny thing was, almost no one had bet on the possibility of the current situation . Those who took part in the bets had lost, yet they did not lose much, either .
The organizer had limited the highest odds to a ratio of one to a thousand .
Some people were actually bored enough to bet on the possibility, but the total money that was bet on it was only a few hundred thousand .
Even with the highest odds, the payout would only be a few hundred million at most . It was basically nothing compared to the billions in the pool . Once the few hundred million was taken from the pool, and the money was distributed back to the people, how much money would each person lose in the end?
Meanwhile, those that placed the bet just for fun did not bet a lot of money, either . Even with the highest odds, they would not receive a lot of money .
In the end, the whole world had guessed it wrong, as no one had expected the tournament to end up like this!
—
"Holy crap, England and Greece, what the heck are we supposed to do? We should have fought the England team with all we had instead . Look where we are now, a mixed battle with two powerhouses! I can't even imagine what's going to happen when the day comes!" Zhao Manyan cursed energetically . He had fully recovered from his injuries .
He simply had an urge to cry . Trying to win in a mixed battle against the two powerhouses was even more difficult than ascending to Heaven!
"It isn't as bad as we thought, since England and Greece are on an equal footing . It goes without saying that they will both try to secure the chance of advancing to the final round . They will be holding each other down, so that might be our chance instead," Nanyu said .
Anything could happen in a mixed battle between three teams, especially when two powerhouses were involved!
"I'm only worried that those two countries will think of us as a nuisance, so they are going to take us out first before deciding the outcome between them . That's bad news for us… Mo Fan, aren't you close with that Ayleen? Why don't you talk with Ayleen and tell them we'll work with them to take Greece out first, and we'll decide who the winner is between ourselves . I believe the English team will be willing to accept the deal . They would rather fight us than the Greek team!" Jiang Yu said to Mo Fan .
"I bet Ayleen is more than willing to work together with us, but I doubt the English team is willing to do that," Mo Fan said .
"By the way, didn't the Candidate from Greece greet you at the stadium? Does she know you because she's close to Xinxia? Why don't you talk with her? We can work together and take England out first!" Zhao Manyan said as the thought crossed his mind .
"Each country is trying to set one another up . If any of the teams believe bullshit like that, that team is going to be knocked out first," Ai Jiangtu, who had been silent all this time, stated firmly .
It was quite pointless to discuss the match, since anything could happen when the time came . They could only react according to the situation on the day .
—
—
After the meeting came to an end, Mo Fan initially wanted to eat a romantic Italian dinner with Mu Ningxue, but she went back to her room to cultivate, leaving Mo Fan alone to enjoy the breeze under the dim streetlights in Venice .
Mo Fan had no choice but to settle his dinner somewhere . He was still thinking about the Egyptian team as he made his way to the restaurant with fairly impressive pizzas .
As soon as he sat down, he saw a beautiful woman wearing a black veil sit down across him . She was wearing a faint smile, her temperament was unfathomable . He could not tell if she was alluring or sacred .
"Such a coincidence?" Mo Fan raised his head and pulled down the veil on the woman's face . "It's so dark here, no one is going to recognize you . There's no need to hide your pretty face . "
"The day after tomorrow, we'll work together and take out the English team first," Asha'ruiya said .
"Sure," Mo Fan nodded .
"I'm being serious," Asha'ruiya said .
"I'm being serious too," Mo Fan replied .
"Pleasant working with you then . " After finishing the sentence, Asha'ruiya rose to her feet .
"Not going to eat some?" Mo Fan picked up a piece of savory pizza and asked politely . Pizzas in Italy were the best!
"I'm on a diet . "
"…"
Chapter 1119: 1119
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The day of the mixed battle finally arrived . The black horse of the tournament, the Chinese team had lost its brilliance under the sacred light of the other two countries, England and Greece .
The match was not held in the same stadium as the previous rounds, but a confined space similar to the Treasure Hunt .
The confined space was a battlefield, constructed by an artist with the Space and Earth Elements a long time ago . The battlefield had a length of a kilometer, and a width of half a kilometer . It was divided by a river with a rapid current, with aged trees on both sides of the river . The trees were taller than fifty meters on average, and the dense canopy was basically another terrain in the air…
After the forest was a mountainous area with steeper slopes further away, with perfectly straight, tall cliffs at the end, as if the whole place was surrounded by a circle of dams .
There were seats set up on the cliffs for the audience, allowing them to look down at the battlefield from a great height .
As a matter of fact, the battlefield was the same as the wild . Even those that managed to get themselves a seat with the best vision were unlikely to be able to watch the match clearly .
—
The authority figures of different countries were long seated in their allocated seats, while the people that entered with the tickets they had purchased had prepared all kinds of devices to help them see further into the distance . The people were all excited, waiting for the mixed battle to begin .
The students were in their reserved areas . The teams were allocated to observation decks extending out from the cliffs . The participants and their advisors were arranged to stay on the observation decks, and when the time came, the assistant judges would signal to them .
The observation decks were set up in different corners . The members were able to see where the other two teams were by glancing into the distance .
The battlefield was quite huge, and it was unnecessary to set up a magic barrier for the match . The battlefield and the spectator seats were ninety meters apart in terms of height . The magnificent cliffs surrounding the battlefield were already a solid barrier . The organizer had allocated the spectators reasonably . If a burst of energy was heading in their way, the people appointed by the organizers would intervene and protect them .
On the other hand, due to the size of the battlefield, the assistant judges would have trouble intervening in time . The assistant judges might not even know where the students were!
There were twelve assistant judges in the mixed battle . They would be moving around on the battlefield without intervening with the fights . They would be watching the fights, and if they believed a student was in life-threatening danger, they would lend a hand immediately .
Apart from the twelve assistant judges were assigned to protect the students, each participant was given a Ring of Venice, too .
The Ring of Venice was a masterpiece that every forgemaster of Venice was proud of . These rings were outstanding because they would activate automatically . The rings were able to analyze the danger its bearer was in . If the person wearing the ring was not protected and the damage of the spells targeting the person was too high, the ring would assume the bearer was in danger and unleash a Water Barrier to protect the bearer…
However, if the Ring of Venice was activated, the participant wearing it would be disqualified from the match!
The Ring of Venice was a great invention . The country had wanted to promote it for a long time, but because the materials needed to forge the Ring of Venice were incredibly rare, it was impossible to mass-produce the magic ring . Otherwise, Hunters who spent most of their time in the wilderness would be willing to spend a fortune on a Ring of Venice!
"Have you heard? Even if we lose the match, we're allowed to keep these rings as a prize . They aren't going to take them back!" Zhao Manyan played with the ring excitedly .
"That's a nice consolation prize . It's very handy for protecting our lives," Jiang Yu remarked .
"Can the two of you have some more confidence? This ring is garbage compared to the prizes for the top three teams!" Mo Fan snapped .
The Ring of Venice was indeed valuable, but whenever Mo Fan thought about the Blessing of the God's Seal, or the full set of magic equipment that could grant them an extra spell, the Ring of Venice was just too ordinary in comparison .
"You guys… just react according to the situation . I have nothing much to say, try your best," Feng Li said .
The other advisors agreed to let the students decide on their own approach for the match, seeing that Feng Li did not bother discussing some kind of meaningless strategy with them .
—
"Participants, in your positions!"
"The match begins now!"
A brilliant Light spell was fired into the sky above the battlefield as the signal . The light sprinkled onto the river, the canopy, and the mountainous area .
This time, the Chinese team had sent out their strongest formation . Both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were among the starting members, while Mu Ningxue was assigned as the sixth member, allowing her to provide backup when needed .
The starting members consisted of Mo Fan, Ai Jiangtu, Guan Yu, Mu Tingying, and Zhao Manyan . The five of them were actually very strong…
The five were close to the boundary of the mountainous area and the forest . They headed into the forest while Guan Yu stayed in the canopy and watched the other two teams .
"Both England and Greece are between the river and the forest . We'll be stumbling into them soon if we continue to move at this rate," Guan Yu called down .
"Let's head over then . It's unnecessary to hide, we'll face them directly," Mo Fan said .
The five made their way toward the river . All three teams were from strong nations, so it was unreasonable for the team to show a sign of weakness . They had to retain their momentum in order to win in the mixed battle .
They soon arrived at the river .
The first team they stumbled into was not the English team, but the Greek team .
The Greek team was less than a hundred meters away from the Chinese team . They did not attack right away, and seemed rather collected .
Mo Fan immediately saw Asha'ruiya among the Greek team . Even in the tournament, the woman was still dressed in a sacred, yet alluring outfit . If Mo Fan had not witnessed how insane Asha'ruiya could be in person, he would believe that she was a sacred Candidate for the role of the Goddess, just like everyone else .
Mo Fan exchanged glances with Asha'ruiya . The woman kept winking at him, as if she was flirting with him and teasing his impenetrable heart…
The English team arrived soon, led by their captain, Zorro, the man with dark green hair and eyes . Mo Fan could feel a dangerous presence under the man's gentle appearance .
Mo Fan saw Ayleen, too . She was as calm and elegant as usual . She nodded when she noticed Mo Fan's gaze .
For some reason, Mo Fan felt a sense of helplessness under Ayleen's conservative gaze!
"What should we do now?" Zhao Manyan glanced to his left, then to his right . He seemed to be under great pressure .
"We'll target the English team," Ai Jiangtu said .
"For sure?"
"Yes!"
The team placed their attention on the English team as they prepared to attack .
However, to their surprise, the Greek team immediately engaged them, too!
It was not like a member of the Greek team had attacked the Chinese team directly, but a Summoned Beast shrouded by a deathly aura of darkness, wearing black armor and holding a giant, black sword was charging right at them from the direction of the Greek team!
Zhao Manyan almost felt like his head was about to explode as soon as he saw the creature . Wasn't this death knight riding on the dark horse the Dark Swordmaster that was guarding the pyramid in Egypt? Why the heck would it show up here?
The horse galloped forward, leaving a trail of wilted plants and fallen leaves behind it . The Dark Swordmaster raised the giant sword and slashed at Guan Yu, who was observing the surroundings from the high ground .
The black aura unleashed by the sword slashed through an entire row of the trees . Guan Yu agilely hopped between the trunks that were falling slowly . The Dark Swordmaster continued to swing its sword wildly at Guan Yu . The formidable attacks shattered the ancient trees into pieces before they even landed on the ground!
"Attack!"
Meanwhile, the English team made its move too, seeing that the Greek team had already engaged the enemy . The person that attacked first was Herbert who held a grudge against Mo Fan . He cast the Plummeting Rays, firing light arrows down at the Chinese team, forcing its members to either split up or stick closely together .
"F**k me, the two teams have teamed up to take us out first!" Zhao Manyan cursed while setting up his defense .
"We're done for, they actually teamed up against us…"
They initially decided to face the two powerhouses in a fair fight, but the two teams ended up joining forces instead to pick on them . It felt like the Chinese team was surely going to be disqualified at the start of the match . The supporters of the Chinese team cursed at the two powerhouses while worrying about the Chinese team's situation!
—
"Hehe, were you surprised? Little Mo Fan?" Asha'ruiya stood on a branch and glanced down at Mo Fan with a pair of glittering eyes .
"Do you really think I would believe the words of a cunning vixen like you?" Mo Fan grinned coldly . He seemed rather calm .
"What can you do even if you don't believe me? You're about to run away from here with your tail between your legs!" Asha'ruiya had a great smile . It looked pure and innocent, it totally did not look like she was trying to get her revenge on Mo Fan for taking advantage of her before!
"Do you really think I don't have a brain?" Even though Mo Fan knew the situation was not in favor of the team, and they might even lose a member or two within a short period of time, it was nowhere enough to disqualify the Chinese team immediately .
"Look behind you," Asha'ruiya remained calm . She was not in a rush to attack .
Mo Fan turned around and saw a man with dark green hair and eyes approaching . It was obvious that he was planning to flank him together with Asha'ruiya .
"I believe I can take you out myself, but I've asked him to come just in case," Asha'ruiya sounded very languid, like a woman speaking coquettishly to her boyfriend after just waking up . Any man would be flushed with embarrassment hearing it .
However, Mo Fan was not willing to fall for the trap of the cunning vixen . He turned around and glanced at Zorro, the participant ranked first in the tournament…
Chapter 1120: 1120
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
"Did you all remember what I said?" Mo Fan was pretty calm even though he was flanked by two strong opponents .
Mo Fan was obviously not talking to the cunning vixen, Asha'ruiya . He was talking to his teammates .
Ai Jiangtu, Zhao Manyan, Mu Tingying, Guan Yu, and the others still remembered Mo Fan mention that if they found themselves in the worst situation possible, they had no choice but to fight with all they had!
The five members of the English team were clearly more aggressive than the Greek team . They kept blasting Zhao Manyan's defense with their destructive spells .
Zhao Manyan did not preserve his strength either, using all his magic equipment and spells to defend the team from the attacks .
While resisting the attacks from the English team, Ai Jiangtu, Mu Tingying, Guan Yu immediately attacked the members of the Greek team . They immediately cast their strongest spells and focused on the same target . They were not hoping to win the match, but aiming to injure the enemy!
Mo Fan did the same thing too . Even though Zorro who was said to be the strongest in the tournament, he was not actually a pure destructive Mage . It was unlikely that he could knock Mo Fan out in a short period .
Mo Fan aggressively attacked Asha'ruiya like a mad hound, as if he was completely disregarding Zorro's existence .
At the start, the Greek team could still hold their ground; they were a powerhouse, after all . However, they immediately realized that something was not right after a few rounds .
Even though both the English team and the Greek team were picking on the Chinese team, the members of the Chinese team were fighting the Greek team recklessly . They were willing to take the risk of being disqualified just to inflict serious damage on the Greek team!
The Chinese team was using their magic equipment at will, thus the Greek team was forced to use their magic equipment, too .
Magic equipment was like a consumable in a match, as they would no longer be available for the rest of the match once they were used . Despite the two teams agreeing to take the Chinese team out, the Greek team was the only one that was paying the price, to the extent that someone on their team was at risk of being disqualified, too!
—
Not long after, the Greek team realized that the situation was unfavorable to them .
Asha'ruiya panted heavily . She briefly freed herself from Mo Fan's aggressive attacks and glared at Zorro, "Keep him busy . "
"I'm planning to, but he's ignoring me completely!" Zorro said helplessly .
"Why do I feel like you're letting us fight instead?" Asha'ruiya could easily tell that Zorro was obviously not giving his best .
Mo Fan was only targeting Asha'ruiya, thus Zorro was more than willing to be a bystander . If Asha'ruiya ended up being injured or using a piece of important magic equipment, it would be easier for Zorro to fight her later .
Zorro had also discovered that Mo Fan was not the only one that was targeting the Greek team . All the other members of the Chinese team were going all out at the Greek team too! When the assassin Mage of the Chinese team was disqualified, he even managed to leave the Healer of the Greek team with serious injuries!
The Healer of the Greek team was still in the match, yet it would clearly take him some time to fully recover from his injuries . It would significantly weaken his performance!
"Mo Fan, are you out of your mind? What good will it bring to you?" Asha'ruiya protested anxiously .
"Enough talk! Eat this, you cunning, little foxy!" Mo Fan was not in the mood to talk to Asha'ruiya at all . He would not have been so aggressive if Asha'ruiya had not tried to set him up . If Asha'ruiya wanted to pick on the Chinese team first, he would make her team pay a great price too!
Mo Fan had six Elements in total . As he went all out, even Asha'ruiya was struggling to take him, on despite her outstanding strength . The destructive spells just kept coming . Asha'ruiya had already used two of her defensive items . Even though Zorro had been quiet throughout the fight, Asha'ruiya knew the man was gloating over it secretly!
"AHHH!!!" A cry of agony came from the woods not far away . Asha'ruiya created some distance between him and glanced into the direction of the cry .
She grinned when she saw the defensive Mage of the Chinese team being eliminated . However, her grin froze when she saw one of her teammates being knocked out by Ai Jiangtu, too!
Their plan to disqualify the Chinese team first was working like a charm, since they had managed to disqualify two members of the Chinese team when the match had only just begun . However, the Greek team had also lost a member, and their Healer was seriously injured!
On the other hand, the English team was perfectly fine . They did not seem like they had gone through any battle at all!
Asha'ruiya did not think the Chinese team would react like this . She glared at Mo Fan, who was pursuing her relentlessly .
"Everyone, fall back immediately, and stop attacking the Chinese team," Asha'ruiya finally ran out of patience . She quickly gave the command to the members of the Greek team .
The members of the Greek team were not idiots . At this rate, both their team and the Chinese team were like two shepherds in a quarrel, while the English team was obviously the wolf running a winning game!
"Asha'ruiya, stop running! Come play another three hundred rounds with your daddy!" Mo Fan yelled when he saw Asha'ruiya fleeing into the distance .
There was no way Asha'ruiya would continue fighting the maniac . If she did, their team was surely going to lose the match!
—
Asha'ruiya quickly regrouped with her team and started evaluating their condition .
Their substitutes would soon enter the battlefield . They had to ensure that their new substitute was not ambushed by the enemy .
The teams in the mixed battle could only substitute members during certain time frames that occurred every fifteen minutes . A new member could only enter the match during that time, and regardless of how many members of a team had been knocked out, the teams were not allowed to send their members in outside of the time given, even if they still had chances to do so left .
In addition to it, if a whole team was knocked out before they could substitute new members in, the team would be disqualified from the match .
As such, the teams had to be extremely careful to not get knocked out by the enemy before new members were substituted in!
The substitute members of a team would be teleported to a certain spot on the battlefield . Therefore, the teams had to prepare themselves to receive the substitute members . Otherwise, the opposing teams could easily take their teammate out when they were still alone, meaning that their teammate would have been disqualified for nothing!
Since the Greek team had lost one of its members, a substitute member would soon enter the battlefield .
If the English team ended up taking out their substitute after they were teleported onto the battlefield, the Greek team would be in great trouble, since the scales were slowly leaning toward the English!
The Greek team was unwilling to find themselves in such a pinch . The truth was, if they continued to work with the English team for fifteen minutes, they were most likely going to disqualify the Chinese team . Their substitutes had no chance of turning the tables again . However, were they still willing to work with the English team?
Quite obviously not!
—
"We should just ask the English team to keep targeting the Chinese team while we are recovering," Karolina, a member of the Greek team, proposed .
Karolina was a student of the Parthenon Temple, a destructive Maga with the Plant Element as her primary Element .
"They wouldn't agree to it, since they are currently in an advantageous position," Asha'ruiya replied .
It was exactly as Asha'ruiya had thought . Since the Greek team had stopped attacking the Chinese team, the English team had also stopped pressuring the Chinese team .
They had to be cautious too . If they pressured the Chinese team too much, the Chinese team might target them instead, meaning that they would be throwing their advantage away .
At this rate, they only needed to be slow and steady . With the advantage they currently had, they could easily secure the win!
They really had to thank China for weakening the Greek team for them .
"Those Chinese, why are they insisting on fighting us!?" Karolina complained anxiously .
The English team was not going easy on the Chinese team either, yet it felt like the Chinese team held a huge grudge against their team!
"They are only trying to protect themselves . If they tried fighting both teams at once, or just focused on defense, their whole team would surely be wiped out in no time, and they would no longer stand a chance in the match . However, if they only focus on one of us and fight with all they have, the alliance between us and the English team will surely crumble, allowing them to overcome the pinch they were in," Asha'ruiya explained .
Asha'ruiya was fairly impressed with Mo Fan's strategy .
She was planning to disqualify the Chinese team first, eager to get her revenge . The Greek team would then take on the English team once the Chinese team was knocked out .
In terms of strength, she was confident that she could take on Zorro on her own .
However, the mad hound Mo Fan had disrupted her plan, placing the Greek team in a disadvantageous position .
"Then what are we supposed to do now? Are we still going to attack the Chinese team? Or should we turn on the English team instead?" Karolina asked .
"Let's probe the English team," Asha'ruiya said .
"What about the Chinese team?"
Asha'ruiya bit her lips and replied, "Leave them be . "
—
—
The three teams called a truce when it was almost time for the substitute members to enter the battlefield .
It went without saying that only China and Greece were waiting for substitute members . The English team was actually looking for any substitute member separated from their team . Unfortunately, they were not in luck, and did not find any free pickings .
Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue and Nanyu successfully rendezvoused with the team .
Nanyu frowned when she realized that the three remaining members of the team were injured .
She knew their team was going to struggle in the mixed battle, yet to her surprise, it felt like their team was on the verge of losing the match only fifteen minutes into the fight! .
"We're in pretty bad shape . We can't really tell how long we can last still," Ai Jiangtu sat on the ground, Nanyu treating his injuries .
Nanyu was not a true Healer . She was only giving Ai Jiangtu some basic treatment to prevent his injuries from worsening .
Mu Ningxue was inspecting Mo Fan's injuries, too . Mo Fan's condition was pretty bad . Both Zorro and Asha'ruiya were incredibly strong . It was impressive that Mo Fan had managed to stay in the match when he had to face both of them at the same time!
Luckily, Mo Fan was surprisingly tough . He was still able to fight as long as his injuries did not worsen .
"What should we do…" Ai Jiangtu was just about to discuss strategy with the team when Nanyu suddenly signaled him to keep quiet .
Everyone immediately focused their attention on her .
Nanyu transmitted her voice into the ears of her teammates, "I just tracked down the Greek team's substitute member . He's pretty close to us!"
Everyone's eyes glittered immediately!
"F**k, let's take him out!" Mo Fan was the first to rise to his feet .
The others were nursing a strong grievance after what the Greek team did to them . They immediately directed their hatred onto the new member that had not linked up with the Greek team!