Chapter 2457 - 168 - 174

Chapter 168: Men Should Be Brave!

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

"Forget about him, I'm sure we'll be able to find out once we reach Capth. So, what's the story? Got rejected by our gorgeous principal?" Hu Yangxuan asked as he ordered his drink.

"F#ck my life!" Wang Tong finished a pint in one gulp, and so did Hu Yangxuan, "Relax amigo, tell me what happened. I'm sure you'll feel better once you said it."

Wang Tong then told him what happened a while ago. Hu Yangxuan immediately burst into laughter as he heard Wang Tong's story, "My friend, yours is nothing compared to my experience. I enrolled in Ayrlarng back then because I fancied Ma Xiaoru. In order to get her affection, I didn't mind putting my future at stake. But she would only see me as a friend no matter what I did. So, you really should be grateful. If your level of unhappiness is sitting here drinking beer, I might have to swallow the whole Pacific Ocean in one big gulp. So cheer up man!" Hu Yangxuan finished his pint as he said that. Clearly, he still hadn't fully get over her. Nevertheless, it was normal for someone to feel sorrow after sacrificing so much for the sake of a girl.

"Why are women so troublesome? Affection is supposed to be simple. You can only choose between like or dislike. I don't get it, why?" Somehow, Wang Tong noticed that this question was even more complicated than Tactics of the Blade.

"Buddy, you might be an expert in METAL Combat, but you're definitely a rookie in terms of love and affection. But don't worry, because you can learn from me… Understanding women is a huge philosophy after all!"

"Sure, I'll be counting on you, Dr. Hu."

"Very well, hear me out. First of all, you should learn how to see things in another perspective. Generally speaking, relationships between a younger male and an older female are not that acceptable yet. Especially you, my friend, who hasn't settled down yet. In other words, it'll be easier if you don't expect too much."

"Shut up A-hole, I'm very serious about it!"

"Don't shut me up, I'm being serious too! This is not something you can control. As for Samantha, look at her, she was the prettiest girl in Capth.,Aa lot of boys had confessed to her, but they were all rejected in the end. She was aiming to become the principal of Ayrlarng as soon as she graduated. Do you know what that means?" Hu Yangxuan looked at Wang Tong with the eyes of a wise man.

"What?" Wang Tong seemed confused.

"Means she's determined you fool. She has her own path to pursue, or I should say, ambition. Obviously, she had already planned her life goals when she was studying at Capth. She would only concentrate on the path she has chosen, and wouldn't be distracted by anything else. If I'm not wrong, she was cold to you because she's beginning to lose control of the current situation and also herself." Hu Yangxuan explained thoroughly. Honestly, he admired Wang Tong's bravery of taking on a hard challenge like this. Judging from the current situation, Wang Tong was already halfway towards success. If the admirers of Samantha were to find out about this, they were definitely going to be SO jealous. After all, Samantha wasn't someone who would easily fall for a person, not to mention the boys who confessed to her during school days were only a bunch of unemployed "casanovas".

"It's too complicated, man."

"Hey buddy, you should know that you've done quite a good job back there. At least, you're able to upset Samantha. You should know that the worst kind of love is called one-sided affection. Look at me, I'm your greatest example. Oh, what the hell, bottoms up dude!"

"Cheers!"

Somehow Wang Tong felt better after hearing Hu Yangxuan's analysis.

"Actually, in order to make a smart lady like our pretty principal fall for you, you have to be straightforward. If you're able to tell that she's kinda interested in you, why don't you make a deal with her? You can seriously give up if she rejects, as mingling too much would only hurt you deeper. But if she accepts your deal, you're definitely a lucky man, and everything else would be up to your own performances. You must have the ability of a superhuman if you wish to make a beautiful lady fall for you, especially a beauty of S-Ranked difficulty." Hu Yangxuan continued to explain like a wise man.

"I have to say, my friend, you're totally a genius! You can seriously become an author if you do not wish to stay in the military anymore!"

Wang Tong slammed his arm onto Hu Yangxuan's shoulder, then ran off the pub like a breeze of wind. After listening to Hu Yangxuan's words, he realized he had found his solution. This would be the best way for Samantha to make up her mind. If she rejects, at least it would be the best way to end his misery!

"Yo, yo, I haven't finished. Wait for me!" Hu Yangxuan finished his beer and stood up. As he was about to leave, he noticed someone was pulling his shirt.

"Why are you pulling my shirt?"

"Sir, the bill's two thousand and three hundred. Three hundred is on the house, so the total would be only two thousand. Cash or card?"

"... WANG TONG, THE BILL!" Aside from being Wang Tong's drinking and chatting companion, apparently, he was also his autopay machine.

Back in the office, Samantha had not been doing anything since then. She wasn't able to concentrate as her mind was confused. Apparently, she had underestimated the influence of affection. In fact, a calm person would find it more difficult to control oneself when a loophole was discovered, because the person would begin to lose confidence.

All of a sudden, Wang Tong barged into her office without knocking, and the smell of alcohol was all around his body. It seemed like Wang Tong was trying to use alcohol as his confidence booster. He knew he wouldn't have the balls to do so if he wasn't drunk.

Although Old Fart used to say women were troublesome, yet he had also mentioned that men should be brave regardless of the outcome. Men should strike whenever they found the perfect timing. However, Old Fart seemed to have owed a large sum of money after saying that.

"Wang..."

Samantha sensed trouble and tried to stop Wang Tong, but her reflexes were slower than him. Wang Tong hugged her tightly in his arms and surprised her with a deep kiss.

Within seconds, Samantha stopped struggling as she began to understand her feeling. The only action she took was pressing the button and close the door of her office.

Wang Tong only let go of Samantha when he noticed she was out of breath. Samantha didn't know if she should be angry or happy. Anyhow, things really had gone out of control.

Wang Tong could tell that Samantha was also interested in him from their kiss a while ago. Furthermore, he was not some regular childish kid since he had been through a lot, and his mental age was older than his peers. Moreover, he had never thought about interfering in Samantha's ambition. After all, Wang Tong was not somebody who would randomly give up.

Even if he were to give up, he would still need to find out why.

As Samantha was planning to talk, Wang Tong silenced her by placing his finger gently over her lips, "Listen to me. I know you have more than thousands of excuses to reject me, and I know they would all sound right, and most of them would be facts. But even so, I'm not giving up on you. Life is short, youth is even shorter… and there's no way to buy back youth. All I'm saying is …I don't want the both of us to regret!"

Samantha smiled, "Alright then, do tell me what you're trying to propose. But first, release me."

"Let me hug you a little longer!" Wang Tong insisted.

Samantha shook her head helplessly. Nevertheless, she enjoyed this feeling.

"Why don't we make a deal? Give me four years, and I'll prove to you that us being together is right!"

"Haha, you're as capricious as always." Samantha knew what Wang Tong was trying to say. However, he was still very young and four years were too little for him to prove anything. She would never fall for a person simply because of those boring secular conditions. But at least, the guy had to be able to win her heart.

"Am I not being mature? I think it's less complicated that way. How about this, let's make another deal, using the competition against Capth as a bet. Are you in?" Wang Tong was trying his best to win the heart of the beauty in his arms. The stronger she looked, the greater he desired to protect her.

"I'm listening."

"I'll defeat Capth, but you have to promise me not to fall for another guy within these four years!" Wang Tong sounded very serious.

"Are you sure you want to make a deal with this?" Samantha wondered how men could be so confident without any reason. No one would dare to make a deal by using "defeating Capth" as the bet.

"Of course, I'm sure!" Wang Tong was very confident. He had been improving from time to time, and also been learning a lot in PA recently. Since he was able to defeat a strong elite like Jiang Long, he expected the candidates of Capth would be almost the same.

"Deal!"

"However, promise not to ignore me during this period of time. if I'm distracted because of this, I might lose and mess up everything!" Wang Tong laughed.

"Hmph, clearly that's your true purpose for all of this. I really can't believe a tough guy like you could be such a miser. But make sure you can keep this as a secret between us, or else, my days as Ayrlarng's principal would be over." Samantha said shyly like a teenage girl in love. She was helpless in front of Wang Tong even though she was always rational. However, Wang Tong did know her weaknesses very well. If it weren't because of the previous deal they made during the competition against Bernabeu, she would never develop any relationship with Wang Tong, and things would still remain under control.

"Well… you see..." Wang Tong hesitated.

"Oh God, please don't tell me you've told someone about it!"

"I swear to God I didn't say anything. But somehow, Hu Yangxuan managed to guess it."

Samantha wished she could find a hole and hide herself from the embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Hu Yangxuan would never mention this to anyone. I swear, except him, no one else knew about it!"

"It's all your fault!"

Knock knock knock…

"Ma'am, it's a video call from Senator Leston. He wishes to speak with you."

"Okay, Thank you very much."

Samantha was sort of unwilling to leave Wang Tong's arms. She might be cool, but that didn't mean that the warmth from a man would not be able to melt her heart. However, women were always better than men when it came to self-control.

"What are you looking at?"

Samantha had no idea how gorgeous she looked at this moment. People always said that the prettiest moment of a girl was the time she fell in love, and a cool beauty like Samantha was even prettier.

"Go wash your face and sober up. Make sure you do your best and walk the talk!"

"I'll vanquish Capth alright… for the sake of our future!"

Wang Tong left the principal's office happily. Compared to what happened in the afternoon, it was like heaven and hell.

Samantha shook her head and stared at Wang Tong's back as he turned around and left. She enjoyed this blissful feeling very much.

"Good day, Senator Leston."

"Principal Samantha, I've contacted tens of other senators, but they are demanding more results. Apparently, defeating Bernabeu itself was not enough."

"I'm well aware of that. Rest assured Senator, I'll provide what you're asking for."

"Anything good happened recently, Principal Samantha? I have to say that I'm impressed by your capabilities. However, please make sure you're able to stay calm. Being too emotional is not a good sign in this industry." Senator Leston said in a calm voice.

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Mr. Senator." Samantha nodded gently without giving any explanation.

"Very well, everybody has high hopes for you."

Samantha turned off the screen and touched her cheeks. They were still hot… all thanks to that little imp.

Chapter 169: Powerful Foes

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

Actually, the special intensive training was not as hectic as it seemed once all of them had gotten used to it. Moreover, it wasn't as scary as the public imagined.

D-Day had gotten closer.

Meanwhile, the representatives of Capth had gathered around. This time, their main candidates would be comprising of first-grader freshmen, and the seniors would be serving as their backup supports. No special preparations were made since each day in the academy felt like intensive training!

After years of trial and error, S-Ranked academies had finally developed an ideal set of elite education system in recent years, that would foster a great number of quality-assured elites in no time.

Capth was already famous among talented youngsters since it was an S-Ranked academy. Furthermore, the academy happened to have its own intel gathering group which spread all over the galaxy, "head-hunting" for talented young ones. Once they found someone, whether the person was an Earthling, Ivantian, Martian or Kaedeian, they'd do whatever it took to get the person to enroll in Capth.

That was how an S-Ranked academy operated.

Tens of students were seen gathering in a classroom. They were all minding their own business; some were watching stuff, some were chit-chatting, and some were even sleeping. A few of them were also day-dreaming while staring outside the window. All of them seemed to be waiting for someone.

Minutes later, a middle-aged man opened the door and walked into the classroom.

The fifty-three-year-old man was Halmond Sandler, Capth's vice principal, who had been working at the academy for more than twenty years. Obviously, the principal of Capth would not be interested in dealing with the "weaklings" from Ayrlarng and Bernabeu. Basically, the principal would only be seen during big events like the academy's founding ceremony and so on. After all, principals of S-Ranked academies would be busier in both politics and military events compared to principals of A-Ranked academies.

Capth itself had four vice principals. However, they were not to be underrated as they were even busier and more hardworking than most of the principals of A-Ranked academies. Vice Principal Halmond was in charge of external affairs, like academic exchange programs. He had been doing this for five years, and Capth remained as the unrivaled titan in every event.

"Attention." Halmond clapped and gathered the team, "I assumed everyone knows why you're here."

"Sir, our opponents are just a bunch of A-Ranked weaklings. What's all of this?" One of the students asked.

Apparently, there seemed to be too many aces in a single team for this time. Normally, Capth would only gather a team like this if they were to take on another same ranked academy. For instance, if the opposing S-Ranked academy's team were formed by freshmen, they would also be sending out a team of freshmen. If seniors were included in the opponent's team, they would also do the same, and normally, Capth would only send out freshmen if their opponent were A-Ranked academies.

However, it seemed serious this time.

Earth Confederation's first and second best players were chosen for Battlecraft Combat. As for METAL Combat, there was the first graders' No.1, and also a few elites, while the other elites amongst first graders were chosen for the other categories as well. It seemed a little too much since they were only up against the lower ranked academies.

Halmond smiled and continued, "I believe there are a few more coming in. I'll begin to explain when the others arrive."

The rest of the students seemed surprised. They were already the best of the best, who else would they need?

Two seniors walked in a few minutes later. Mot only were those two the top-notches amongst second graders, but also the first and second best players in the Battlecraft Combat category. Everyone was startled by their appearance.

However, they weren't the only ones Halmond was waiting for. He nodded as soon as he heard another footstep approaching.

A girl walked into the classroom, a lady from a noble family to be exact.

Here name was Li Ruo-er. Although surname Li was one of the most common surnames in Earth, she was not common at all, because she was the descendant of the House of Li, and also happened to be the younger sister of Li Shimin, the Little Emperor. She was one of Capth's new recruits for this year. Capth was founded by General Li Feng, which was why House of Li's descendants would pick Capth if they were to enroll in any academy. In fact, every descendant of House if Li was given an extraordinary level of freedom in this academy, and they had the rights to choose not to learn tactics taught in the academy for obvious reasons. They were also given absolute freedom in terms of learning and studying.

Everyone knew Li Ruo-er had enrolled in Capth, but she was barely seen attending classes since she had the right to do so. Nevertheless, everyone was stunned by her amazing elegance.

Apparently, she was also practicing Tactics of the Enchantress, which explained the kaleidoscopic aura and charm that was able to fascinate its beholder!

Everyone was drawn to her as soon as she stepped in. Although Li Ruo-er was only wearing ordinary school uniform, it felt like she was wearing an expensive gown instead. It took quite a while for fellow elites to regain themselves.

"Ahem, so it seems like there's no need for me to make any introduction. Now, let's begin the briefing. As all of you know, Capth's academic exchange with the other five A-Ranked academies will be held in five days from now."

"Sir, we have this every year, but why are we including Ms. Li Ruo-er and the other two seniors this time?" Wally said. He was the top student of Command Force amongst first graders who would be participating in METAL Combat.

Halmond gently lifted his hand and got their attention, "There are two reasons behind all of these. First, the academy's founding ceremony is approaching, so we have to make sure to win in every round. Second, this time, we have to be more careful and not underestimate some of the students from the A-Ranked academies."

The students seemed to not be paying much attention as they were seen still doing their own stuff while Halmond was speaking, because they were confident that no one would ever be able to outrace them even they were to take everything at their own pace. While their enemies were busy trying to figure out how to defeat them, all they had to do was to bring out their best performances during D-Day.

Their strong sense of arrogance originated from their actual strength, and also the pride of being one of Capth's students.

Halmond shook his head and continued, "Wally, I suggest you not to underestimate them. Apparently, Bernabeu, which had been one of the top five A-Ranked academies, was defeated by Ayrlarng last time. And this time, both of these academies are teaming up to challenge us. Not to mention the Battlecraft Combat boy genius Best would be representing Bernabeu this time. Are you guys confident in defeating him?"

Although the top freshmen players were strong, they were not confident in beating Best at all. Flash, Bisu, and Best were known as the Marvelous Trio in Battlecraft Combat. Unlike METAL Combat, Battlecraft Combat emphasized on talent instead of experience. These three boys were crowned as the geniuses of Battlecraft Combat, and they were basically unrivaled.

Flash was known for his amazing perspective while Bisu was famous for his unbelievable controlling maneuvers, and Best was a genius in operating maneuvers, which explained why they were the Marvelous Trio in this category. Only Flash and Bisu had what it took to handle Best. After all, Capth couldn't afford to lose as the founding ceremony was drawing nearer.

"Mr. Halmond, I'll be able to handle Best by myself. There's no need of dragging big brother into this mess. It's a bit too much for both of us to handle Best himself only."

"Haha, things would be easier if there's only Best that requires our attention. However, someone was able to defeat Best during the match between Ayrlarng and Bernabeu. Apparently, his opponent had owned him by using only controlling maneuvers." Everyone was stunned when they heard about it from Halmond.

"...That's absurd! Is he that bad already?"

"No, he's not. In fact, he had improved a lot after receiving lessons from FlyWing, and the kid had been training hard in order to defeat the two of you. However, rumor has it that his opponent was able to KO him by demonstrating an amazing Cloning Technique, and got him surrounded by two hundred and thirteen fleets. Since you're good in this Bisu, any thoughts?"

"Seriously? I didn't expect the dying Ayrlarng had such a genius in their team."

"Anyhow, we must win at all cost. Ms. Li Ruo-er, I'm sure you know why you're here."

"Mr. Halmond, you can leave Ma Xiaoru to me. To be honest, I've been longing to have a duel with her." Li Ruo-er smiled. Her gentle voice was truly mesmerizing.

Variability and charm had always been Tactics of the Enchantress's greatest weapons, uncertainty was the key to gaining total control.

"I'm counting on you then." Halmond nodded. Finally, the rest were aware of the seriousness of this upcoming event. No one was truly confident in winning against the House of Ma's descendant who was extraordinarily skillful in Tactics of the Enchantress. However, Li Ruo-er still had the upper hand compared to Ma Xiaoru.

House of Li versus House of Ma, the battle between two "enchantresses", everyone seemed excited about it.

"Aside from that, Apache was also one of the alliance's aces. He is another one not to be underestimated. Not to mention, the other academies had also been busy training their own aces in recent years. So please take note about this. Our opponents might be strong, but we are stronger… We are the victors, and we are invincible. We will be celebrating the upcoming founder's ceremony with our victory for sure!"

"Haha, Mr. Halmond, I'm sure we're definitely gonna crush them, since Flash, Bisu and Li Ruo-er are joining us this time." Wally laughed.

"By the way, where's Wang Ben? Wally, didn't you tell him we're having a briefing?" Although Wang Ben's situation was kind of complicated, his participation would definitely boost Capth's chances of winning. Not to mention the fact that he was strong and very familiar with Ayrlarng, even though Capth needed none of that information to win, the academy wished Wang Ben could participate in one of the fights to prove his strength and also boost their reputation.

"I did, but I think Wang Ben didn't wish to take part." Wally shrugged. He wasn't very happy with Wang Ben because he felt that his No.1 title was being challenged. After all, Fist of the Racing Tiger was not something to be underestimated.

As soon as he said that, Wang Ben walked into the classroom with a straight face. It seemed like he had gone back to his old self upon enrolling in Capth. He didn't make any friends, but had been training non-stop instead.

"Sorry for being late, I was training just now." Wang Ben said.

"Haha, no worries. Take a seat, Mr. Wang Ben. I heard you do not wish to take part in this competition, am I right?" Halmond asked.

"No, I'd love to take part." Wang Ben sat down and said calmly.

"Oh, I see. However, something tells me that you're having doubts about our chances of winning." Halmond joked.

"Yes, our chances of winning are not as high as we imagine, because our opponents are stronger than we've expected!" Wang Ben commented in a straight tone. He was behaving like how he used to be before mind-opened. Apparently, he had locked himself again upon arriving in this new environment.

Chapter 170: To Know Yourself As Well As The Enemies

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

"Stop fooling around Wang Ben! Aside from Ma Xiaoru, you were Ayrlarng's only asset, not to mention we're sending out every elite to take them on, which basically leaves them no chance. I bet you chose to join us at the last minute because you saw how strong we are." Wally was annoyed by Wang Ben's attitude, because Wang Ben didn't respect him as one of Capth's No.1.

On the other hand, Li Ruo-er seemed to be interested in Wang Ben as she kept staring at him. Currently, Wang Ben was the biggest gossip of Capth, because he declined Capth's invitation and chose Ayrlarng instead, but in the end, he came back to Capth. So, everyone assumed he switched to Capth because he was unhappy with Ayrlarng's current status.

Wang Ben kept quiet. Then, Li Ruo-er smile and said, "Mr. Wang Ben, since we're comrades now, why don't you tell us everything you know, like who's the one we should be paying attention to in Ayrlarng?"

Everyone turned towards Wang Ben. Somehow, Li Ruo-er was able to influence everyone in the classroom.

"I'm not the strongest fighter of Ayrlarng, and neither is Ma Xiaoru. The strongest of them all is actually Wang Tong." Wang Ben commented calmly.

Everyone looked puzzled and confused, wondering if there was really such a strong person.

No one had ever heard of Wang Tong. If he were really that strong, he would be already famous throughout the world. And why would he choose Ayrlarng if he was that strong? In short, who was this fella that emerged out of nowhere?

"I assume this Wang Tong fella is one of your friends?" Li Ruo-er asked all of a sudden.

Wang Ben startled as he felt a sharp pain in his heart as Li Ruo-er said that. Somehow, Li Ruo-er's vision was extremely "sharp", as it was able to penetrate his feelings.

"It's ok, you don't have to say if you don't want to."

Wang Ben chose to ignore Li Ruo-er, then he stood up and said, "If that's all, I'd like to be excused Mr. Halmond. I've another training to attend to."

"Alright, you may go now." Halmond nodded. There were a lot of special students in Capth and they were not to be treated as ordinary students, which was why they were usually given a few special rights and freedom.

As soon as Wang Ben left, Halmond continued with a smile, "What Wang Ben said was also what I was trying to warn you guys. The one who defeated Best was none other than this Wang Tong fella."

How did Ayrlarng get their hands on someone who was so talented in both METAL Combat and Battlecraft Combat?

"You call that a friend?" Wally shook his head. If Wang Ben had kept quiet, Ayrlarng might be have been able to surprise Capth. But now that he had said that, Capth would be prepared for him, and this Wang Tong fella would never be able to create any miracle as long as they remained cautious.

"You're wrong, Wally. He said that because he was trying to tell us that none of us would be able to stand a chance against Wang Tong." Li Ruo-er explained gently.

Meanwhile, Wang Ben was walking in the campus by himself. He looked at the sky, feeling complicated inside.

He was no chicken no matter how bad the situation was, because he was born as a fighter. Perhaps this was his chance to challenge Wang Tong. Nevertheless, he had to win in order to prove he didn't make the wrong decision!

He would prove that his father was right through victory!

Nevertheless, no one was able to understand how he felt right now.

The representatives of Capth seemed excited and began to pay attention after having an interesting briefing. To be honest, they wouldn't care much if those were only the words from Halmond, because he was always using the same trick every year. After all, teachers were always afraid of their students making careless mistakes. However, things like this barely happened in Capth.

"So, who'd you choose, Bisu?"

"Of course, that Wang Tong fella. Cloning Technique of two hundred and thirteen, huh? Interesting!"

"Don't be too excited, as he might not be as strong as you think. Stay cool. Obviously, Mr. Halmond would highlight our opponent's strength in order to get our attention. My guts are telling me that this dude was very weak in his operating maneuvers. He was able to win because he had speedy hands and good Soul Energy, which is why he was able to do that in the end." Flash smiled as he said that. Apparently, both of them were not happy about the current situation, because no one amongst seniors and juniors of Capth was able to challenge them. Of course, there was Best, but if he didn't make any improvements, it would be meaningless as well.

Sometimes, being invincible would make one felt lonely. Flash knew this feeling very well.

"You're right. It'll be boring if that's really the case. He's totally a rookie if he doesn't know anything about operating maneuvers. Controlling maneuvers by itself are practically useless. Thank god you reminded me, or else I would really be disappointed."

"Haha, we shall see soon."

"Yo boss, look at the arrogance of that punk Wang Ben, behaving like he's the real No.1!"

"Hmph, I've always been trying to see how strong he is. I've been waiting for him to challenge me, but there's no response at all. To be honest, I'm kinda disappointed." Wally said.

"Well, I think that's because he's a coward. After all, he made the mistake of going to Ayrlarng and came back to Capth months later, which proved that he was not as strong as we assumed, since he made such a terrible mistake. If it wasn't because of his old man, I'm sure he'd be rotting at Ayrlarng by now."

"Anyhow, he is the successor of Fist of the Racing Tiger. So he has to have something inside his pockets, and we shall see how strong he really is."

Normally, top students would always wait for someone to challenge them, and Wally had been expecting Wang Ben's challenge. But Wang Ben chose to train every day instead ever since he came to Capth, and was always keeping quiet in class, like he didn't want to make any friends or talk to anyone. Wally dared not to challenge because he was uncertain of Wang Ben's strength. However, he would be able to see how strong was Wang Ben since he would be taking part in the upcoming competition.

As for the nobody called Wang Tong, Wally chose not to pay attention to him since the level of strength between Cpath and Ayrlarng was totally not same. If he was strong in Ayrlanrg, that meant he was only normal in Capth!

Clearly, Wang Ben had to learn that he was no longer one of the rubbish of Ayrlanrg, but a glorious member of the almighty Capth. He had to learn the sense of pride.

Meanwhile, Samantha seemed unhappy about her latest intel. She had been wishing that Capth would underestimate them, but right now, it seemed like the plan was not going to work.

Capth's candidates were mostly freshmen, but there were two second graders who were the best of the best in Battlecraft Combat, and their freshmen were also dominating in the other categories. Apparently, Capth and Yalden had been dominating most of the subjects this year.

Ayrlarng had Ma Xiaoru as its trump card, but Capth managed to recruit Li Ruo-er in this competition, which had basically murdered the other academies.

Furthermore, Capth's founder ceremony was during the event, which explained that they were trying to secure Capth's invincible status for the sake of the celebration.

"Xiaoru, tell me everything you know about Li Ruo-er's Tactics of the Enchantress."

This was also one of Samantha's worries. Apparently, the tournament would be using KOF system, meaning that the candidates may take part in multiple categories repetitively. One could even stay in the ring and knock out every other fighter if necessary. Although Li Ruo-er might not participate in the end, they still would have to figure out a way to defeat her in order to vanquish Capth.

Ma Xiaoru seemed calm as she heard that, "I'm not too sure."

"Have you girls ever fought each other during your time at the House of Li?" Samantha seemed curious.

Ma Xiaoru smiled and replied, "The House of Li was huge, and I only met her for a few times during family dinner. You can say we know each other since we've chatted for a few times, but we're not close. If you want me to compare myself to her in terms of our tactics, I'd say she looked more like an enchantress than I do."

Samantha got even more worried. This meant that Li Ruo-er was also someone not to be underestimated. Although direct descendants were more talented, that didn't mean that they were more powerful since many of them were flamboyant playboys and playgirls, which explained why so many huge families had disappeared into the history from time to time.

Ma Xiaoru's Tactics of the Enchantress seemed weird, since she still wasn't able to totally behave like one. Samantha was worried if that was because of her incomplete mastery. However, she didn't tell Ma Xiaoru about it.

Amazing tactics like this required full devotion and concentration of both mentor and disciple, or else, its power would be affected. Obviously, House of Li's mentors would give their best to coach their own descendant. However, due to the agreement between House of Li and House of Ma, the mentors had no choice but to teach Ma Xiaoru as well. But only God would know if they had skipped any important parts when she learned. After all, Ma Xiaoru was not the direct descendant of House of Li.

"Don't worry Sam, Capth might be strong, but they're not invincible. You can leave Li Ruo-er to me." Ma Xiaoru smiled and said as she noticed Samantha's worry.

After using all sorts of methods to get her hands on the intel, Samantha's confidence plummeted after reading the content. As a former student of Capth and the current principal of Ayrlarng, Samantha knew both academies very well, and she was well aware of the huge gap between her own students and Capth's.

Actually, Samantha was able to tell that something seemed to have happened between Ma Xiaoru and Li Ruo-er, judging from Li Ruo-er's unexpected participation, which meant she urged to take on Ma Xiaoru in the upcoming tournament. However, Samantha didn't know the reason she wanted to fight. Perhaps she only wanted to compare her own tactics with Ma Xiaoru's, or maybe there were some other reasons.

"Well, we have no choice but to march on. Tell everyone to gather up."

"Relax, Sam. Everyone has been training very hard throughout the weeks. I have faith in the team, and I have faith in you!" Ma Xiaoru nodded.

Ayrlarng and Bernabeu's trainee gathered up at the meeting auditorium. All of them had been doing a great job throughout the special training program, and they appeared to be more confident and energetic after going through tons of hardships together.

As Samantha walked in, Hu Yangxuan whispered to Wang Tong, "Our gorgeous principal seems to have gotten prettier lately, way to go bruh!"

Wang Tong stomped his feet onto Hu Yangxuan's as he heard that, seeming embarrassed about it.

"First of all, thank you for your hard work. Principal Martyrus and I are very impressed with your improvements. D-Day is approaching, and I've obtained the name list of Capth's candidates. Some of them are popular, and some are not. Principal Martyrus and I have also collected a bit of information regarding their candidates, and I'm about to show it to all of you, so that you can learn more about your opponents, and maybe think of any methods to counter them."

Samantha seemed worried as she noticed their spirit of excitement. Hopefully, they'll still be optimistic about this after the briefing.

Chapter 171: Monsters Everywhere

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

"Let's begin with Intel Programming Battle. Capth's ace will be King, a first grader. He was recruited by Capth for his excellent and extraordinary skills in this category. Zhang Kui, Zhang Yan and Rumi, pay attention. I'm about to show you a footage of one of his recent battles in Capth."

The Zhang Brothers were familiar with the name "King". As Samantha played the video footage, they saw a decent and rather thin young male with a pale complexion. However, his eyes were menacing.

In that video, King fully demonstrated his insane algorithm and also his spectacular cogitation. So, it was obviously a landslide victory. However, the most unbelievable thing about the match was the fact that King was actually up against four opponents at the same time. Not to mention the fact that those four were not amateurs, but the Intel Programming Battle pros of Capth, and they were strong. Yet, the four of them were beaten like crab-cakes even though four brains were working on the algorithm, while on the other hand, King seemed very relaxed and confident throughout the whole match.

Most people only knew that King was strong because he was able to defeat four opponents at the same time, since they wouldn't pay too much attention to the technical stuff. However, the faces of both Zhang Brothers immediately turned pale after witnessing that insane footage.

"Next, Heavy Arm Brawl. They're sending out Jia Gang." Samantha then waved her hand and swiped to the next footage about Heavy Arm Brawl.

Basically, students majoring in Heavy Arm were larger in terms of body size. GN Force wasn't really that important in this category, but one had to have a bold physique and awesome stamina for the operation. Students needed to be strong because the operation would bring immense physical stress to one's muscles and bones, which was the reason why there were almost no Kaedeians in Heavy Arm Classes, since most of their bodies were thinner and smaller.

Scarlet and Tita were huge, but Jia Gang was larger than them. It was almost like the body of a bodybuilder, muscular and tough; after watching the footage of how Jia Gang fought, both Scarlet and Tita went completely silent.

Samantha didn't say anything and carried on, "Capth will be sending out their No.1 among the first graders for Battlecraft Combat, the candidate known by the ID: Kal. He was crowned rookie of the year and later recruited by Capth after winning the first place in Battlecraft Combat. Aside from Kal, they would also be sending out Flash and Bisu for this competition."

Kal was a newcomer, so there was not much info about him, but Flash and Bisu were no strangers to most people, as they were known as the geniuses of Battlecraft Combat throughout Earth Confederation. It seemed like Capth was trying to break a butterfly with wheels.

No doubt they were planning for an overkill.

There were a lot of video clips regarding Flash and Bisu's Battlecraft Combat matches. Most of them were quite educational; Samantha selected two of the recent ones and played for the whole team. Everyone was immediately startled by what they saw.

Flash's performance was perfect. His terrifying perspective and all-rounded control were completely out of this world. Turning his opponent into a chess piece in a game of chess, yet he was the chess player instead, whoever was up against him would be swirled into a whirlpool of despair for sure.

Bisu, on the other hand, was known for his top-of-the-world controlling maneuvers. But unlike Wang Tong, Bisu was good in every other aspect besides that. It was like he had turned Battlecraft Combat into a video game with his controlling maneuver. He was practically undefeatable even if his opponent had four arms.

"Mr. Karl, where are you going?"

"I need some fresh air..."

"Me too..."

"Sorry, I need to use the restroom."

Obviously, everyone was kind of depressed by the information regarding those monstrous elites. Nevertheless, Samantha had expected them to react like that. Everyone left except students in charge of METAL Combat, and the info Samantha was about to feed them would also be sort of hard to swallowed.

"METAL Combat had always been the main event of the whole competition. Winning this category is equal to winning the whole competition, which is why Capth would be sending their best candidates for sure. Aside from the top three fighters of their first graders, they are also sending out the descendent of the House of Li, Li Ruo-Er, and last, but not the least, Wang Ben."

Samantha didn't show any footage of Li Ruo-Er and Wang Ben, because it would be pointless since both of them were well-known for their capabilities. Instead, she showed them the video clips about Wally, Capth's No.1 fighter among first graders, who was extremely skilled in sword fights. He specialized in confusing and defeating his opponents with his dazzling stabs and slashes. There was technically no way to defend against his perfect sword-strikes. Wally's fighting style was rather elegant and magnificent, unlike Wang Ben's straightforward and clear-cut attacking methods.

As for Li Ruo-Er, no doubt everyone would be expecting a duel between Tactics of the Enchantress. Not to mention anything else, Li Ruo-Er and Ma Xiaoru were equal in terms of strength and ability.

Nevertheless, based on the current situation, Ayrlarng and Bernabeu's best hope of winning Capth would lie in METAL Combat for sure.

Wang Tong was amazed by the top three fighter's strength and their skills in battles, but somehow those three were still manageable. However the descendent of the House of Li was definitely the biggest challenge of all.

He had always been hoping to see the real power of Tactics of the Enchantress. Even though he had fought Ma Xiaoru before, yet that wasn't a true battle, and she didn't get the chance of showing him the absolute dominating strength of Tactics of the Enchantress, which made it one of the Five Greatest Tactics. That previous fight was like a friendly match between acquaintances.

Wang Tong seemed to be kind of excited after learning about the descendent of the House of Li. He had been wishing to test out his original Tactics of the Blade against Li Ruo-Er's magnificent Tactics of the Enchantress. He was curious if Tactics of the Blade would be able to withstand the great amount of pressure from her Tactics of the Enchantress. It was normal for those who practiced Tactics of the Blade to develop this kind of curiosity.

As the saying went, "Cream always rises to the top". Every talented person seemed to love challenges, and sometimes, it wasn't driven by fame, but because of the huge enjoyment from the process of challenging itself.

"Good, you guys are still with me!" Samantha was relieved. If they were to ask for fresh air, Ayrlarng and Bernabeu's fate would be doomed for sure.

"Ma'am, can I have a copy of the data? I'd like to do some research, and perhaps I could find some useful information for everyone." Cao Yi asked while scratching his head.

"No problem. However, make sure doing that doesn't affect your training."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Alright, that's all for now. Remember, learn from your enemies to know yourself better. Be prepared for what you're about to face… Dismiss."

Ma Xiaoru intercepted Wang Tong as he was about to leave along with Hu Yangxuan and the rest, "Wang Tong, I need your help."

"Oh, Sure." Wang Tong nodded.

The two of them walked alongside as they talked, "So, you were saying that Li Ruo-Er was actually targeting you?"

"Haha, it's complicated and kind of personal. Anyways, I knew I'd be facing her someday… You don't have to look so grim, it's not that serious. She is just hoping to settle the score with me."

"Since both of you are practicing Tactics of the Enchantress, there might be a huge chance of hurting yourselves. Are you feeling confident?"

"Not quite, since she practiced earlier than me. Descendents of the House of Li are known to be talented, and judging from what I saw, her practice in the tactics has reached a certain level, probably even higher than mine. But, I'm not planning to lose!"

"So, do tell what I can offer to help!" Wang Tong patted his chest and said. Now that the thing between him and Samantha had gone back on track, he could finally act more normal around Ma Xiaoru, and started to treat her more like a friend.

"Obviously Li Ruo-Er knows more than I do regarding Tactics of the Enchantress, which puts me in a bad position. So, I was hoping if you could be my sparring partner." Ma Xiaoru said.

"I see, so you are planning to use Li Ruo-Er's confidence of winning for your own good, huh?" Wang Tong nodded. Generally speaking, Ma Xiaoru was standing in a disadvantageous position.

"I'll tell you about the details later."

"Why wait? Let's begin today after training. Judging from the situation, it might take us some time to find the perfect solution. So, I think the earlier we start, the better." Wang Tong replied excitedly.

"That's perfect!" Ma Xiaoru seemed touched. Usually, she didn't like competing with others. However, she did have her own reason for defeating Li Ruo-Er.

Most of the time, Ma Xiaoru would have the advantages when she was up against most of her opponents, not to mention she had not even utilized the ultimate moves of her Tactics of the Enchantress before. However, those advantages would turn into disadvantages if she were to fight against Li Ruo,-Er given by the fact that Ma Xiaoru's practice progress and battle experiences were slightly lower than her opponent. But most importantly, Ma Xiaoru knew lesser intel than Li Ruo-Er.

Recently, Wang Tong was performing badly in his Battlecraft Combat training. He was defeated from time to time, because he was only allowed to use one hand in a single match, which made it impossible for Wang Tong to use his controlling maneuver. However, he really was able to learn something new during his multiple defeats, Wang Tong noticed he had begun to pay more attention to his timing and also his perspective on the overall situation, due to the fact that he was restricted from giving in to his usual habits. Nevertheless, it required the perfect touch to aim for the perfect timing. It didn't matter much if he was extremely good in his maneuvers, but if he was put in a handicapped situation, every second mattered.

It seemed to remind Wang Tong of his early days in Norton, when he would be extremely cautious with his movements. He began to feel the essence of battle as he paid more attention to it, not to mention FlyWing was giving him advice from time to time. It took him quite some time to see results, but a little failure didn't matter as long as there was an improvement.

Finally, Wang Tong had finished his maneuvers and analysis training. He was sorting out the information he learned today as he walked out the classroom, and noticed Ma Xiaoru was already waiting in the hallway.

"Master Wang, what brings her here?" Zhou Sisi asked.

"I'm helping her to think of a plan to counter Tactics of the Enchantress. By the way, you seemed to have remarkable improvements lately. I guess soon it'll be my turn to call you Master Zhou." Wang Tong joked.

"Aw, shaddup. Don't even try to divert the conversation. Well, enjoy your time with the pretty lady… and be careful." Zhou Sisi seemed kind of jealous.

"Don't worry, although Tactics of the Enchantress is strong, I'm not that easy to be defeated."

"I mean, be careful not to get eaten by the pretty lady, you idiot!"

Zhou Sisi's relationship with Ma Xiaoru was a little awkward. They didn't hate each other, but they also were not very fond of each other. However, Wang Tong was unaware of the awkwardness as he shook his head. But even if he knew, he still would have no idea how to handle the girls.

Anyhow, Wang Tong was blessed with the luck of a fool in this kind of a situation according to Hu Yangxuan, yet mister expert said he wasn't as blessed as Wang Tong if he were to be placed in similar situations.

Wang Tong immediately knew Ma Xiaoru was planning to head to the Sky Mansion when he saw her maglev vehicle, clearly because the academy was not the perfect venue for their own fight.

"You can drive?" Wang Tong asked. He had never tried driving before, or to be exact, his financial status didn't allow him to develop expensive hobbies. Nevertheless, he was born and raised in a city filled with metro and other public transports. Hence, there was no point of him getting one of those maglev vehicles.

"Yeah, but I barely drive since it has the autopilot function." Ma Xiaoru laughed and replied. Somehow, she looked prettier than usual today. She had let her hair down, and was seen wearing a simple white dress that set off her gorgeous figure. There was also a faint scent of orchid… Somehow, Ma Xiaoru's Tactics of the Enchantress started to look different, and even Ma Xiaoru herself felt weird about such changes. But her training days at the House of Li had ended a long time ago, and for some reason, she had no intentions to head back and ask for the explanation.

"Let's go."

"You wanna give it a try?"

"Nah, I'm too broke to break one of your belongings."

Wang Tong wasn't quite familiar with the brand of the vehicle, yet, judging from the expressions of other people, it was definitely one of those super expensive ones. Nevertheless, Wang Tong was sure that the House of Ma was rich enough to own a few of these.

Chapter 172: Allelopathy

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

"Don't worry! C'mon, take this as my chance of repaying you for your kindness of helping me!" Ma Xiaoru then pulled Wang Tong to the driver's seat. Of course, Wang Tong was more than happy to be offered an opportunity like this. He knew Ma Xiaoru wouldn't mind, since she was rich, and he had always been craving for the excitement of acceleration.

"That's the push-to-start button, the touch control panel and that's the autopilot button. Just push that button if you feel that you're not able to drive, simple as that." Ma Xiaoru said. Driving itself was really simple, and the rest were basically entertainment functions. Wang Tong then started the engine and began to feel the rush of adrenaline, as the maglev vehicle rose up. It really felt different from those smaller ones, and definitely looked cooler than Hu Yangxuan's.

"Hold on tight!" Wang Tong said in excitement. He loved the feeling of adrenaline rushing throughout his body, kind of looking like a boy with his new toy. Actually, he had wanted to try driving when he was in Hu Yangxuan's vehicle back then, but in the end, he didn't ask for it. Nevertheless, Wang Tong had already learned most of the basics while watching Hu Yangxuan drive.

It was definitely a good quality maglev vehicle, because the vehicle didn't rattle as it rose up slowly, even though it was driven by a rookie. Since Wang Tong had learned how to pilot a Battlecraft in his previous training, he was able to get used to every function in a jiff. Soon, Ma Xiaoru's vehicle began to move and accelerate.

"Woah, cool!" Wang Tong loved the thrill of speed. Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoru seemed to be startled by the sudden excitement.

Wang Tong began to drive like a racer, as he had gotten familiar with the maneuvers, and within minutes, they heard police sirens wail behind their vehicle. However, neither of them knew that it was illegal to drive that fast in the city. The only thing mister rookie knew was to shake off the police as soon as possible.

"Hold on tight Xiaoru, I'm going to shake them off our tail now!"

Wang Tong stepped on the pedal and accelerated, yet their vehicle was still closely followed by the police. Two maglev vehicles were seen zigzagging across buildings. Wang Tong was getting more and more excited as he pushed his driving skills to the limit; he was even turning corners by drifting the vehicle, really looking like a racer.

Of course, the police was unable to drive like him, not to mention their vehicle was not as fast as Ma Xiaoru's. Soon, their vehicle had gone out of sight.

"Dammit! That was fast! What the hell was that vehicle?"

"That brand… oh nevermind, let's head back to the precinct."

"What's the matter with you? I'm sure we can catch that fella and lock him up for ten days or maybe half a month!"

"That maglev vehicle belongs to the House of Ma, you idiot."

Both cops looked at each other, "Giving a speeding ticket to the House of Ma? Nah..." They gave up the idea immediately.

Wang Tong sighed in relief when he noticed the police was out of sight. Honestly, what happened minutes ago almost scared the crap out of him. Ma Xiaoru, who was sitting right beside him, giggled as she saw his amusing expression.

"What's wrong, was it bad? Oh god, please don't tell me they're gonna arrest me soon."

"Two minutes ago, you were driving fast like a madman, and now you're scared like a chicken. Get a grip!" Ma Xiaoru said. Actually, they could've just pulled over and given the officers a few good reasons instead of turning it into a street chase.

Wang Tong scratched his head, "I was kinda excited and went crazy… My bad! Luckily I didn't take the wrong turn."

"Don't worry, it's fine since we're about ten minutes earlier than our expected time of arrival."

This wasn't Wang Tong's first time visiting the Sky Mansion, so he decided to show himself around while waiting for Ma XIaoru to get changed. Minutes later, she came back in her training outfit.

"Wow, so you really are getting serious huh. Looks like I'll have to be extra alert later." Wang Tong joked.

"Make sure you don't go easy on me. I've been spending a lot of time recently to prepare for this. Hopefully, I'll be able to succeed in one shot!"

"Are you planning to perform Tactics Advancement?" Wang Tong asked, knowing this might be a difficult task.

"How do you know about Tactics Advancement?" Ma Xiaoru looked at Wang Tong in surprise. Somehow, he always didn't know things that were commonly known by others, but he would know things that he wasn't supposed to know.

"Kinda heard of it before. But no one is here to monitor you. Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"I'll be fine, Tactics of the Enchantress might be unpredictable, but it's quite stable when it comes to Tactics Advancement. I'll handle the rest by myself." Ma Xiaoru didn't want to trouble the House of Li and worsen the situation, since the deal between the two houses was already settled.

"So, how can I help?"

"There are ten stages in the two hundred and one nodes Tactics of the Enchantress. Right now, I'm at the fourth stage. However, I couldn't improve my tactics ever since I got out from the House of Li. If I were to fight Li Ruo-Er with my current level, I'd never stand a chance to defeat her. So, I have to advance to the next stage as soon as possible!" Ma Xiaoru seemed very serious about this battle. Somehow this fight meant a lot more to her than what met the eye.

Wang Tong had no idea what was going on with her, yet Mr. busybody was eager to help when he saw Ma Xiaoru's enthusiasm. Moreover, Ma Xiaoru's performance was crucial to their crusade against Capth.

"The Tactics Advancement of Tactics of the Enchantress is a bit different as it requires a sparring partner. For the first phase, I'll attack you with my Soul Energy. It's kinda like a mental and emotional attack. All you need to do is defend by strengthening your willpower and make sure you're not distracted; Tactics of the Enchantress focus on attack. Hence, I need to boost up my attacks in order to advance."

"Haha, thank you for recognizing my strength. Hopefully, I'll not collapse before you finish." Wang Tong was curious why Ma Xiaoru had confidence in him.

"Honestly, not everyone who is stronger than me would be able to withstand Tactics of the Enchantress's mental and emotional attacks, but I do have faith in you. Somehow, I can tell that your tactics weren't affected by mine when I first saw you, and for some reason, my Tactics of the Enchantress started to change after knowing you. It seemed to have become calmer like it was inhibited by something. Anyway, I might be wrong, as this is only my recent analysis. Nevertheless I do believe in my hunch as a girl." Ma Xiaoru's wisdom shined through her eyes as she explained, but clearly all her words were not mere intuition. Somehow, Wang Tong felt that he might have done something back then and given himself away. But he was always being cautious, so it would be impossible for Ma Xiaoru to find out anything.

Or perhaps he was just being skeptical.

"What are you staring at?" Ma Xiaoru questioned.

Wang Tong then realized he had been staring at her chest as he was dozing off a while ago, so it got kind of awkward.

"Ahem, nothing... I was thinking that I'll be fine since my only task is to defend with my willpower. As you know, my Tactics of the Blade were the steadiest of them all, so I'm sure I can handle that."

"Yea, that's also why I have faith in you. Obviously, there are still a lot of aces and various of tactics out there, but among the people who are practicing Tactics of the Blade, I've never seen anyone strong like you. These tactics might have a slow progress, yet they are definitely the steadiest. However, before we begin, I have to tell you that I'll be unleashing my maximum level of Soul Energy in order to increase my possibility of advancement. I've been trying a lot of times by myself, but there's no way I could succeed without an opponent."

"Bring it on! Don't worry, I'm tougher than you think. Not even an attractive woman can break me." Wang Tong winked as he goofed around.

"You little… I'm being serious here. If you're not able to withstand my attacks, I'll have to stop immediately."

"But is there another way to advance?"

"I'm afraid no, there's no other way besides that. According to my calculation, it'll take me another half a year if I were to advance step by step. Unfortunately, we haven't got much time."

Although the best method was to seek help from the House of Li, yet it would be kind of ridiculous, if the reason for seeking Tactics Advancement were to defeat their own successor.

"Relax, I'm sure the first phase will be alright. What about the second phase?"

"If you're able to defend against the attacks from my Soul Energy, we will be able to move on to the second phase. All you have to do is to attack me, and the rest will be up to me."

"Okay, let's do this, let's get ready!"

Both of them then began to initialize their tactics respectively, Wang Tong wasn't surprised, since he also did the same thing when he was practicing Tactics of the Blade. Einherjar Wannabe even helped him by giving advice; the only thing different was he didn't have to fight another person. All he needed to do was to boost his Soul Energy. Apparently, there were times when the complete version of Tactics of the Blade would develop a strong current of force, like a calm and beautiful sea turning into a ferocious roaring sea in a split second.

Nevertheless, this was a great opportunity for Wang Tong to witness the power of two hundred and one nodes Tactics of the Enchantress. However, it would be impossible for him to learn and mimic Tactics of the Enchantress under such circumstances.

It was not a coincidence for Wang Tong to be able to learn Tactics of the Blade easily, one of the reasons being his practice since childhood. But, he was unable to find out the biggest reason behind all this, and even Old Fart didn't completely know why.

Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru decided to initialize a full circulation in order to push their Soul Energy to the maximum limit. As they completed their preparations, both of them opened their eyes, "Let's begin!"

Ma Xiaoru began to release her Soul Energy gradually, filling the room with tons of pressure. Soon, she decided to increase the output of Soul Energy since Wang Tong was doing alright.

The currents of Soul Energy slowly started to turn into an Energy Storm. Unlike physical battles, Tactics Advancement was more similar to mental brawls, which focused more on a person's mental toughness and attributes. The most terrifying part about Tactics of the Enchantress was its fluctuating ability to change and cause hallucinations to its opponent. Ma Xiaoru kept monitoring Wang Tong's expression, as she might have to stop if something happened. So far Wang Tong was doing okay, and Ma Xiaoru was impressed by his level of strength.

Soul Energy was different from fighting ability. One might do good in fighting, but that didn't mean the person's Soul Energy was good as well, and vice versa. In order to become an ace, one had to develop a strong fighting ability and Soul Energy. Obviously, Wang Tong was good in battles, a born fighter if one may say. But Ma Xiaoru was kind of surprised when she found out Wang Tong's Soul Energy was also quite impressive.

Ma Xiaoru was relieved when she noticed he was doing fine, then began to increase her output of Soul Energy again. The Energy Storm was getting stronger as well.

Apparently, the training room was not an ordinary room, but a custom-made chamber instead. It was built from expensive materials that were able to isolate the dispersion of Soul Energy. This room was specially built for Tactics Advancement, in order to increase one's chances of success.

Wang Tong seemed to be waiting… waiting for the hallucination!

However, for some reason, he was only able to feel the pressure from Ma Xiaoru's Soul Energy. Clearly, her Soul Energy had exceeded two hundred sols and no doubt that was the true strength of the pretty little princess. Nevertheless, Wang Tong was impressed that Ma Xiaoru, who was an introverted and low profiled person who didn't like showing off, was even able to go full force on him when they fought, which was very rare amongst girls.

On the other hand, Ma Xiaoru was also startled by Wang Tong's level of strength!

She decided not to hesitate, since Wang Tong was still doing alright. Then, she boosted her Soul Energy to the maximum state in order to break the limit and advance to the fifth stage of Tactics of the Enchantress.

It would be scary if she were making an attack with that intensity of Soul Energy. However, it wasn't strong enough to deal any damage since she was only using it to pressure her opponent. But most importantly, Wang Tong still wasn't able to feel any signs of hallucination… Instead, he was feeling quite comfortable.

Chapter 173: The Pleasure of Bullying

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

Perhaps Tactics of the Blade contained some kind of a mystical power that was able to inhibit Tactics of the Enchantress's unique ability. Finally, Wang Tong had to believe that the tactics that he had been practicing were none other than Blade Warrior's legendary Tactics of the Blade. Only the legendary fighter would have the ability to create such a mystical power!

Great! He was officially one step closer to his dream of becoming the Baron in space!

The great amount of Soul Energy began dispersing in every direction due to the presence of a resistance force, which also enabled Ma Xiaoru to use the force as a booster to her Soul Energy. She would be able to obtain a greater boost as long as Wang Tong's Soul Energy remained still like a solid boulder!

Ma Xiaoru began to go full force, gradually showing the true power of her Tactics of the Enchantress. Meanwhile, Wang Tong himself had also made a discovery. He noticed that he was able to feel the initialization of Tactics of the Enchantress. Although it wasn't a detailed feeling, he was still able to understand the situation.

While he was defending against Ma Xiaoru's Soul Energy, Wang Tong also noticed the initialization of his own tactics had also become faster, as if his Tactics of the Blade were drawn to her Tactics of the Enchantress. It was a remarkable feeling indeed.

Judging from the resonance, Wang Tong was wondering if there were such things as masculine tactics and feminine tactics.

Many researches had been done regarding Pair Practicing Tactics. It was believed that this practicing method was similar to the theory of Yin and Yang, and would be able to enhance the power of both parties. But for some reason, its practitioners would become extremely vulnerable to the allure of evil. Hence, the Confederation had banned this sort of a method to be imparted publicly. However, some families would still pass this to their next generation, but most of them were not famous.

Undeniably, both Yin and Yang would be attracted to each other as the Soul Energy from both male and female began to react to each other. But, it would require an extra level of effort to turn this attraction into propulsion.

Nevertheless, Wang Tong's sanity was unaffected, and his mind was still clear. He noticed that Tactics of the Blade had been "consuming" the Soul Energy from Tactics of the Enchantress like it was some kind of a "supplement". However, that didn't mean that Wang Tong was engorging Ma Xiaoru's Soul Energy itself. Instead, his body was actually absorbing the unrecyclable Soul Energy released from Ma Xiaoru's body. He wouldn't mind it since his tactics were enjoying its "meal, " and he wasn't feeling uncomfortable, so he preferred to "let it be" when he was in practice mode.

On the other hand, Ma Xiaoru's Soul Energy was still increasing. This would have become a breaking news if she were an ordinary person. But, being the successor of tactics of the Enchantress, of course, she would have this amount of Soul Energy. In fact, as both successors of the House of Ma and also Tactics of the Enchantress, she had to be strong, or else, she would be despised.

Ma Xiaoru had been burdened by stress like this since she was young. However, instead of developing an ambitious and arrogant personality or the urge to create her own business, Ma Xiaoru preferred the life of a normal person. But, she was born without this option. She was a smart girl, which explained why she would always give her best effort even if that were something that she didn't like. So far, she had never let anyone down.

Wang Tong was looking at Ma Xiaoru as he enjoyed his "meal". He realized that she was actually a lively and lovely girl with a beautiful mind. Unfortunately, she was born in a complicated environment. However, she didn't back down despite her gentle personality, because she was willing to sacrifice, and she would throw in all of her effort for the sake of her identity.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaoru's body was seen releasing a purplish aura as her long hair fluttered. Her Soul Energy was rising uncontrollably. She wanted to say something, but she was unable to control her body anymore. Her Tactics of the Enchantress was initializing like it had gone berserk. She felt that her mind was fading out, like she was about to fall into a dark hole.

However, Wang Tong was feeling comfortable as his tactics continued to consume her Soul Energy. Aside from its power, Tactics of the Blade was also able to initialize by itself, yet it would be slower if it weren't driven by consciousness. However, he noticed that the speed kept increasing as he kept feeding on the Soul Energy; it was strange indeed.

"Yo kiddo, are you planning to get her killed?" Einherjar Wannabe appeared from nowhere, staring at Wang Tong like a madman. Instantly Wang Tong regained his conscious, and discovered that Ma Xiaoru had fallen into an abnormal state.

"What's going on?"

"You really are an idiot! Tactics of the Blade and Tactics of the Enchantress are both Pair Practicing Tactics, yet you're only absorbing her Soul Energy without channeling your own Soul Energy to her body, which is basically similar to murder… Wait a minute, why would I know all about this? Oh dammit, I can't remember!"

"Hello! Stop talking to yourself and tell me what to do next. I was absorbing because I thought it was only some kind of unrecyclable Soul Energy. I didn't mean to do that!"

Somehow, Wang Tong felt like kicking Einherjar Wannabe on his head!

"Well, give it back you idiot!"

"How?" Wang Tong was frustrated as he kept scratching his head. Somehow, Tactics of the Blade were too strong and kept causing him trouble from time to time.

"Hmm, lemme think..." Einherjar Wannabe thought hard as he placed his chin on one of his palms, which got Wang Tong more frustrated…

"Hurry up! Aren't you an Einherjar? You should be able to solve this easily!"

"It's simple. All you have to do is make love to her, and everything will be alright once your Soul Energy is connected to each other. Perhaps, your Tactics will also have great improvement!" Einherjar Wannabe giggled all of a sudden, like he had remembered something.

"Oh cut the crap, A-hole!"

"Hmph, I was just kidding, you idiot! I really suspect there is something wrong with you for not falling for a pretty lady like this. If I were twenty years younger… two hundred years younger… Oh whatever, release your own Soul Energy and try to synchronize with hers!"

Wang Tong immediately channeled his own Soul Energy toward Ma Xiaoru. Fortunately, there were no rejection as he fused his Soul Energy to Ma Xiaoru's, yet Soul Energy was still dispersing. But this time, Wang Tong controlled his Soul Energy and stopped the absorption.

"Okay, what's next?"

"Well, let's see, how's your relationship with the little lady over there? If you guys are close, then you can give her a push which will also help her to complete the Tactics Advancement. But if both of you are not that close, then all you have to do is stabilize her Soul Energy."

"She's my friend, of course, I'll help her advance!"

"Bravo, brave-ass. However, Tactics Advancement is not as simple as you think. Boost up your own Soul Energy and refill her weaker parts with yours. Follow her pace to advance!"

Einherjar Wannabe looked like a relaxed bystander… But how did he know about Tactics of the Enchantress? Why would everything sound so familiar? Pair Practicing Tactics? How did he know about that? Did he once have a Pair Practicing partner?

Einherjar Wannabe remembered two blurry figures, but he still couldn't get a vivid picture of the shadowy figures no matter how hard he tried, and he felt his energy depleted whenever he tried to remember.

"Hey, hey, come back here. Good god, what's going on with Xiaoru's Soul Energy? Is this working?"

"Haha, difficult isn't it? That's how Tactics Advancement is supposed to be, you jack-ass. To be honest, I was kinda pissed off when I noticed the smooth progression in your practice of Tactics of the Blade. Tactics that contain more sources of GN Force are harder to be learned and more difficult to achieve Tactics Advancement/ The more sources of GN Force it contains, the longer the progress and the more Soul Energy it requires… Unlike you, you lucky ba*tard!"

"Hey, this is not the time to goof around. Look at what's going on now, will ya?" Wang Tong hated it when he had to ask for his help. One day, he would kick him right in the face for sure!

"What's the matter? You look angry. You don't need my help? Fine, I'll stay out of this then!" Einherjar Wannabe sneered at Wang Tong. He could tell Wang Tong was kind of infuriated.

"Ahem, of course, I need your help, my dear mentor. You're my master, my Einherjar and also my dearest friend> Of course I respect you!" Wang Tong said unwillingly while grinding his teeth.

Einherjar Wannabe enjoyed Wang Tong's expression like this very much; it was sort of entertaining.

"Now that's better." Einherjar Wannabe then noticed their Soul Energy had increased to the right state and continued, "Hold on to your current Soul Energy. Later, when you felt an immense pressure, unleash all of that energy and overcome that pressure as hard as you can. Once you..."

Wang Tong's expression changed all of a sudden before Einherjar Wannabe could finish his sentence, as he began to felt an immense pressure and also the huge deficit of Soul Energy from Ma Xiaoru's side. Apparently, she had used too much at the beginning which caused the lack of Soul Energy at the next part of the process. However, it wasn't all her fault as her Tactics of the Enchantress had never paired up with Wang Tong's terrifying Tactics of the Blade before.

Now that Wang Tong knew what to do, he wasn't intimidated by the immense pressure at all and continued to channel his Soul Energy. A white radiant light was seen fusing with the purplish radiant light. Wang Tong could feel a strong force of inhibition, and he was trying his best to overcome the force.

Einherjar Wannabe stood aside and observed in silence. Somehow, it felt familiar, yet complicated at the same time. Je couldn't tell if it was nostalgia or hatred. Nevertheless, he had made quite a breakthrough for remembering something. At least this meant he did exist in this world before.

Wang Tong noticed they were about to succeed and he yelled as he unleashed the last push, "Go f**k yourself, motherf**ker!"

Wham…

Everything went calm…

It felt wonderful, like he was thrown into a pool of water after surviving in a desert without water for three days.

Ma Xiaoru's Soul Energy gradually swirled back into her body like a purple phoenix, and Einherjar Wannabe disappeared without a trace. Wang Tong immediately adjusted his breathing; it had been a tiring process. Nevertheless, he was happy about the improvements of his Soul Energy.

Apparently, there were loads of benefits for practicing dual core Tactics of the Blade. But for some reason, Wang Tong found it extremely difficult to improve his Soul Energy. Furthermore he was not able to find a comparison for his Cinnabar Field Energy from the second core, and he had no idea how good he was doing. Despite the slow improvement progress of his Soul Energy, he was still able to maintain his cheerfulness and didn't stress himself for a better solution.

Anyhow, he was able to learn a lot in this dual Tactics Advancement with Ma Xiaoru. Somehow, he felt the bond between him and Ma Xiaoru had become stronger. He liked this feeling very much, like both of them had been knowing each other for a long time.

Wang Tong decided not to interrupt Ma Xiaoru. Nevertheless, she was still the biggest beneficiary of this process and he was only the beneficiary by chance. But he was still feeling happy since he was able to help a friend.

Wang Tong went off to get himself a drink while keeping an eye on Ma Xiaoru, in case anything happened.

Right now, he needed to think of a way to explain what happened! Too bad Einherjar Wannabe disappeared, or else he could ask for his help. He needed to think of a way fast!

All of a sudden, a mischievous idea sparked his mind… He was born to be a bully after all.

Nevertheless, this was another way to express friendship.

Ma Xiaoru took longer time than Wang Tong to complete one circulation of initialization, as she needed some time to regain herself after the tiring process. An hour later, she began to regain her conscious. However, she would still have to continue her initialization.

She was worried if anything happened to Wang Tong as she regained her conscious. However she was relieved when she heard Wang Tong drinking water in big gulps, cup after up.

Ma Xiaoru giggled. Of course he would do that since it was free...

Chapter 174: Fortune Bringer

Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_

Finally, Ma Xiaoru opened her eyes after two hours of initialization. On the other side, Wang Tong was bored to death.

"Oh, you're awake! How was it? Are you okay? Did it work? Successful?" Wang Tong asked.

Ma Xiaoru's face was blushing, perhaps it was the excitement of achieving Tactics Advancement, or maybe it was the warm feeling from Wang Tong's care.

Ma Xiaoru nodded!

"Haha, see? I told you it'll work!" Wang Tong grabbed his fist.

"All thanks to you. I owe you a big one..."

"Nah, don't say that. Of course, I'll be there for you when you need me. Speaking of which, I'm starving." Wang Tong was still hungry, even though he had drunk a lot just now.

Ma Xiaoru blushed again. She was overjoyed when she heard what Wang Tong said, "Let's go check out the kitchen, shall we?"

"Haha, sure, I love making my own food!" Actually, Wang Tong had checked out her kitchen a while ago.

It was already quite late, and Ma Xiaoru didn't want to wake her maids up. So, they decided to creep into the kitchen like thieves. The only thing Wang Tong remembered about her kitchen was its spaciousness. How could he forget a kitchen that was bigger than the house he used to live in with Old Fart.

Old Fart used to brag about him being born in a wealthy family, and how good his early life was. How Wang Tong wished he could show Old Fart what the true meaning of "wealthy" was.

Speaking of Old Fart, he really had not been in touch with Wang Tong for a long period of time. Perhaps he was having too much fun somewhere else.

"Ahh!"

Ma Xiaoru made fun of Wang Tong by putting a dollop of cream onto his face. The little princess giggled over her mischievousness.

Wang Tong sighed and shook his head, then said in a deep voice, "How dare you make fun of me? I'll make you pay for sure!"

Wang Tong then dipped his fingers into the cream and charged towards Ma Xiaoru. However, she dodged and said, "You can't catch me, you big elephant!"

"Oh, taunting me huh? You asked for it, take that!"

Wang Tong wiped Ma Xiaoru's pink cheeks with a handful of cream. Her face was covered in cream like a facial mask.

They were having fun.

Ma Xiaoru sat beside Wang Tong, quietly looking at him gobbling up the food, and even poured him a glass of water. The boy was enjoying his food, while the girl was enjoying her view. To Ma Xiaoru, it was indeed a blissful moment, and at some point, she even forgot about her tactics Advancement.

Perhaps, one really didn't need any reason to fancy a person.

She wasn't sure at the beginning, or maybe she was struggling. But now, she had finally realized that she did adore Wang Tong after all.

"Hey, you're not eating? This is good stuff!"

"Nah, help yourself. Have some water, or else you'll choke."

"No worries! This body of mine was specially designed to gobble up anything. Back then, when I was at Norton… Well nevermind, I don't wanna affect my appetite." Even though Wang Tong had an iron stomach, he would still feel nauseous as he remembered those disgusting "meatballs".

"Here, have some rock melon juice. It's delicious too."

"Oh, thanks… Wow, not bad!"

"You want more?"

"Yea, you bet."

Ma Xiaoru was happy as she saw Wang Tong enjoying himself. Somehow, she looked like a wife serving her husband with good food.

Meanwhile, someone was sleepless back at the dorm. Apparently, Zhou Sisi had been spending her night checking downstairs to see if the two of them had returned from their little detour. However, there was no light in Wang Tong's room, which meant that the heartless bastard was still somewhere out there! Hu Yangxuan was also looking for Wang Tong. Since the kid wasn't around the campus and also wasn't replying his messages, automatically he knew that Wang Tong was still at Ma Xiaoru's place.

Their days in Bernabeu were getting shorter. The teachers had stopped feeding them with information and gave them time to make their own preparations instead. Nevertheless, the teachers were still around, ready to answer any of their questions.

Everyone knew what would they had to do after obtaining the intel regarding Capth. Carl locked himself in the training chamber to work on his secret strategies of Battlecraft Combat. The Zhang Brothers and Rumi were also seen working out on their counter strategies. Their opponents were too strong, hence everyone had to find out a loophole as soon as possible for the sake of their victory.

The Heavy Arm team had no other options but to train harder. Boosting their physical strength was the best they could do for now.

Wang Tong was also busy making his own preparations. His Battlecraft Combat maneuvers had improved a lot, and he had even remembered the crucial points. He was happy to regain the sense of control, and was now confident of knowing what he was supposed to do and what he was about to do. Furthermore, he was also confident in understanding and predicting his opponent's movements. In other words, Wang Tong was finally able to make decisions based on his opponent's strategies and mental state.

The atmosphere of Ayrlarng was getting better all thanks to the special team, and also the encouragement from the challenge against Capth itself. Aside from caring about her special team, Samantha was also focusing on the rest of her students, and also the facilities of the academy. She was keeping herself busy, doing her best to bring in more benefits to Ayrlarng, especially activities that were good for her students.

Military academies were not much different than ordinary schools, especially at times like this. Instead of sitting there and do nothing like a big boss, they had to take the initiative to polish themselves from inside out. Staying passive would be practically "suicidal".

However, Samantha was not hasty. The first step would be lifting the status of Ayrlarng in Shangjin. Although Ayrlarng was already the best around Shangjin, they still had to do better in order to remind everyone of its past glory.

For the sake of its resurrection!

Once the condition of Ayrlarng improved, the competition amongst students would also become more intense. Although it would be difficult for some students, they had to learn that this was part of the game. Only the fittest would be able to survive, and the rest would be eliminated, or even expelled. All of this was for the sake of Ayrlarng's future, and Samantha was very strict with this matter; mercy was not an option.

Everyone was seen spending the next few days getting readied. Finally, the weekend had arrived. Their time of departure was scheduled on Sunday afternoon, since it would be a long flight towards Capth. Apparently, Ayrlarng and Bernabeu's alliance was not the only one who was participating in this event. There would be four other A-ranked academies joining as well, and they were also aiming to become the next S-ranked academies. Hence, they shouldn't be underestimated as either.

Nevertheless, Capth was not intimidated at all. Although they would be challenged five times in a row like a tag duel, they wouldn't bother to give a damn, because they were confident of their strength.

Aside from challenging Capth, this event would also be the competition between A-ranked academies, and the whole event would take about one week.

Samantha and Martyrus then gathered all of their students and praised them for their performance throughout the training. Somehow, Martyrus felt that the final outcome was not important anymore as he looked at his energetic students. Perhaps it was due to his age, but Martyrus was not as ambitious as he used to be after Bernabeu's defeat against Ayrlarng. Now, all he wished to see was the improvement amongst his students. As for their future, it would be up to them to decide.

List of candidates:

Intel Programming Battle:

Main lineup: Zhang Kui, Zhang Yan

Substitute: Rumi

Heavy Arm Brawl:

Main lineup: Scarlet

Substitute: Tita

Battlecraft Combat:

Main lineup: Best, Zhou Sisi, Wang Tong

Substitute: Carl

METAL Combat:

Main lineup: Wang Tong, Ma Xiaoru, Hu Yangxuan, Apache, Cao Yi

Substitute: Luo Manman, Deng Jia

Although some of them were not selected as the final candidates, they would still be joining everyone towards Capth. After all, this was still an important event in their lives, even though they were not able to participate in any matches.

Carl was shocked when he heard that he was selected as the substitute; he was expecting himself to be eliminated…

"Enjoy your Saturday, folks. We're leaving towards Capth on Sunday afternoon!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Wang Tong secretly gave Samantha a wink, and she was startled by his sudden mischievousness. Luckily, no one noticed what happened.

The group meeting was dismissed, and everyone went back to make their own preparations again. Carl, who was surprisingly selected as the substitute, headed back towards the training chamber and continued with his secret strategy. Carl had even invited FlyWing to the training chamber, as he would demonstrate his new idea to his coach.

"Principal Martyrus, why did you pick Carl?"

The result of Bernabeu's Styia was obviously better than Carl's. Although Carl had been working really hard, he was still weaker compared to the rest.

Martyrus smiled, "Actually, he was chosen by FlyWing. Perhaps he really is talented."

Samantha nodded. The selection of candidates was actually decided by every trainer according to each student's personal performances. However, Carl was truly one of a kind; first, he was recommended by Gansus, and then Massa, and now even got selected as one of FlyWing's recommendations. Hopefully, he would be able to meet their expectation.

Apparently, teachers would not only judge a person by his or her results. Instead, they would also look into the heart of a student. Clearly, teachers trusted that Carl had his own good qualities.

He might have the potential to become stronger, but that didn't mean he was strong enough already, as he might be affected by some factors, especially his perspective. Nevertheless, from this moment onwards, everything would be up to him to decide.

"Hey Wang Tong, did you do anything to Ma Xiaoru yesterday?" Zhou Sisi asked Wang Tong directly.

"Yup, I did."

"YOU!"

"I helped her to achieve her Tactics Advancement. Now we're officially one step closer to victory!" Wang Tong laughed.

"You… you jerk!" Zhou Sisi stormed back towards her room.

Wang Tong looked at the sky and scratched his head, wondering what did he do wrong. No man would be able to fully understand women after all.

Wang Tong had nothing much to pack, since he only had a few things in possession. A new shirt was added to his belongings, which was the team jersey given by the academy a while ago.

"Hey, old man, c'mon out. I was thinking of having a match in PA." Wang Tong knocked on his Space Crystal.

"Shaddup you idiot! I'm not old. As you can see, I'm still strong and fit." Einherjar Wannabe appeared.

"Yea yea, judging from your age, I should've called you mister fossil instead." Wang Tong waved his hand. It was kind of disgusting when Einherjar Wannabe was trying to act like he was still young.

"Hmph, well hurry up then, what are you waiting for? I'm not gonna teach you anything this time though!"

"What a miser, let's go." Wang Tong closed the door and headed towards DREAM Heaven.

The shopkeeper was overjoyed when he saw his "fortune bringer" finally arrive.

"Hey boss, got any room for me?"

"Well of course, you're the VIP after all. Here you go, your usual room." The shopkeeper answered with a smile. Wang Tong felt good as he sat down at his usual spot, then he swiped his fingers and turned on the VR system.

Ding Dong!

System notification: Einherjar Wannabe logged in.

Bam…

The whole PA went crazy in a flash. Many players had been camping in PA waiting for this to happen. They knew weekend was his preferred time of logging in.

Nevertheless, whether Einherjar Wannabe would appear or not, many would still be there, waiting for his arrival.