Chapter 190: Surprisingly Well-Matched
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
The Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance had defeated Capth in the Battlecraft Combat category. Even though it wasn't the final victory, it was still something worth celebrating, as no one expected that they could go this far.
Everyone was shocked that both candidates that were ranked No.1 and No.2 in Earth Confederation had lost; it was still kind of unbelievable.
While everyone in the alliance was cheering, the students of Capth could do nothing but silently watch them. They had finally realized how defeat tasted like.
"Congratulations to your team." Flash shook Best's hand; they finally had time to greet each other.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure if I should be happy or not. Clearly, a monster has been born in the community of Battlecraft Combat." Best faked a smile. After all, Wang Tong was not a student of Bernabeu, and his emergence had caused the community to reshuffle its rankings.
Somehow, Flash felt the same way too, but a big part of him was filled with anticipation, because he had finally found the perfect rival. After staying at the top for that long, perhaps it was time to recharge himself through suffering a defeat.
The candidates of Capth then headed back into their resting lounge while leaving the victors to celebrate on the stage. Somehow, the sorrow of Capth and the astonishment from the students of the other academies were the best "trophy" for the alliance.
On the other hand, Halmond sighed while faking a smile. To be honest, he was ready for anything, but didn't expect this to happen.
"Congratulations, Principal Samantha. Our current score is 2-2, and I'm looking forward to this afternoon's METAL Combat. Now, if you would excuse me, I'm going to check on my students."
"Thank you, Principal Halmond, and yes please."
The other candidates of Capth were standing outside the lounge, and as Halmond approached, Bisu pointed his finger towards the door. In fact, Bisu had no problem with defeats since he was ranked below Flash. However, Flash had never tasted defeat for quite some time already, and it felt bad, especially in matches like this that didn't involve luck.
Halmond smiled and said, "Let's take a short break and go get some lunch. Let's not forget about this afternoon's matches as those are even more important… Flash needs space to calm down, and all of us should trust him. After all, the students of Capth are not crybabies; we are fearless fighters. So suck it up, because this is only a small obstacle in life!"
"Rest assure Principal Halmond, we're gonna crush them this afternoon for sure!" Wally grabbed his fist and said. Obviously, he was quite mad about the previous matches.
Halmond nodded and dismissed the team huddle.
Flash was all alone in the resting lounge, wiping his face with a towel…
Not only Capth was unable to obtain the final victory before noon, they were even forced into a 2:2 draw with the Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance! Most importantly, Capth's Battlecraft Combat team which,h was also known as Earth Confederation's strongest team, had been devastatingly defeated by the score of 1:3!
Most of Capth's students were still unable to accept the fact they were defeated in the previous round, while the other students who didn't go to the arena were shocked to hear about the result. Especially the news about both Bisu and Flash losing to the same guy, it was absurd indeed!
It was known to all that age had nothing to do with one's performance in Battlecraft Combat, which explained why Flash was able to dominate in this category. Even the students from Yalden were intimidated by his level of strength. Yet, no one expected that his dominance would end right here!
Who on earth really was this Wang Tong fella?
The Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance immediately became the center of attention while the team was having a lunch break at Capth's luxurious cafeteria. Ironically, they had been branded as a "team of weaklings" for the past four days. No one cared or paid any attention to them, and people were disrespectful to them. Yet now, the team had become the hottest topic of everyone's gossip.
The alliance's dining area was filled with laughter and cheers. Most of them seemed relaxed and pleased with the current result, as they had never imagined that they would be this good, except for Wang Tong, Apache and the rest of the team. In Wang Tong's point of view, the final victory was the only thing that mattered. As for Apache, he was not the type of person who would celebrate another person's victory, not to mention he still had to fight in the afternoon. However, they couldn't force everyone in the team to think the same way as them, as the most important thing in this tournament was the team's confidence. After all, instead of personal victory, this tournament was all about team victories.
Nevertheless, Carl had proven to the others that he was not a weakling through the previous match, and he had what it took to be put on this team at the very beginning.
The alliance headed back to their resting lounge after lunch. They had to rest and recharge themselves for the sake of this afternoon's rough battles. There was no turning back, and they were already one step closer to defeating Capth.
On the other hand, Samantha was congratulated by the principals of the other academies during lunch break. The alliance looked weak in the beginning, and the principals too didn't expect that they could make it this far. Yet the craziest thing was their victories had nothing to do with Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan, but some random folks named Wang Tong and Carl. The principals were also amazed by the brilliant performances of the other two students who had lost in the last two categories.
If the alliance were able to continuously amaze everyone, Ayrlarng would definitely be able to regain its former glory as the top notch amongst A-Ranked academies in no time, and it seemed like Samantha really meant business.
The upcoming matches in this afternoon had created an immense uproar amongst the students of Capth, who were somehow cool and arrogant in the beginning. Everyone was excited to witness the team that drove Capth to the edge of a cliff, and those unbelievably strong candidates of those two A-Ranked academies!
Halmond had decided to change the venue for the upcoming matches to a bigger arena, due to the increase of spectators. Apparently, Capth did have such facility because they had been hosting quite a lot of big events from time to time. Initially, this intercollegiate tournament was held in the current smaller arena since it was only a small event.
The number of spectators had increased dramatically. Then there would also be the epic battle between Li Ruo-Er and Ma Xiaoru; everyone was eager to find out who was the stronger "enchantress"!
Wang Tong, Ma Xiaoru, and the other candidates were initializing their tactics in order to maintain their best condition in the upcoming matches, and those who had already finished their part in the tournament were hanging around freely. They were obviously happy about their pleasant performances.
All of a sudden, Li Ruo-Er barged in and wished to speak with Ma Xiaoru.
The team turned towards ma Xiaoru. She nodded and said, "It's okay guys, don't worry. I'll be back in a minute.". No one asked anything as Ma Xiaoru walked out. After all, both "celebrities" of Earth Confederation had their own privacy too.
Finally, Ma Xiaoru came back after she was gone for more than ten minutes. Everyone seemed curious of her conversations with Li Ruo-Er, yet they chose not to ask because she obviously wouldn't tell. Even the busybody Carl knew this was the time to keep quiet.
The second half of the tournament finally began at half past one in the afternoon. This would officially be the epic final showdown between Capth and Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance. Apparently, a number of familiar faces had also attended aside from students and teachers of Capth. As it turned out, they were the senators of Earth Confederation. They originally came to Capth for its founding ceremony. However, they didn't expect that they were just in time for this interesting event.
It was known to everyone that it was easy for the principals of military academies to step foot into politics, since they possessed enough influence and connections to make everything even easier. In short, military academies were the best place to kickstart one's life as a politician, especially principals that had good relationships with the current politicians.
In fact, principals of S-Ranked academies had much higher chances of getting hired for an important role in the senate, not to mention he or she would also be able to have a huge influence throughout the military.
After a while, the students of Capth began to look excited, and even the principals of every other academy stood up as an older man walked into the arena. He was about seventy years old, yet looked very sturdy.
The man was none other than the most respected figure throughout Capth, Lieutenant General Flark; the Principal of Capth had arrived. Events and celebrations were always more exciting when the principal was around, not to mention those who had graduated from Capth would be back as well. They were mostly ordinary students when they graduated, yet all of them had become well-respected warriors when they returned to Capth. Some of those students had even become fleet commanders and generals, and more of them were expected to attend since it wasn't war period currently.
Honestly, Flark seldom attended events like this, as he would let his vice principals handle them for most of the time. He would only make an appearance in a few important events, yet he surprised everyone by showing up at this tournament. Even Halmond was surprised to see him.
Flark was indeed well respected amongst the students of Capth. In fact, he was one of the greatest principals of Capth. Flark was nicknamed the "Blood and Iron" Principal of Capth, after he managed to repress a military coup by teaming up with the principal of Yalden. It was the time when an emerging military and political force (which was currently known as The Golden Hawk Union) had decided to get rid of the House of Li and house of Ma. Originally, the union wanted Flark as the new president of Earth Confederation, but Flark declined and halted the union's plot with his influence. Later, he managed to put an end to the ruckus as both House of Li and House of Ma agreed to step back.
Flark didn't do that because of any special connections with both House of Li and House of Ma, it was simply because out of the three main political powers, Ivantians' political forces were the ones that needed to be feared. As a matter of fact, after going through their own civil war for more than two hundred years, the Ivantians had successfully formed their own political system, and the people on Moon were very supportive of having their very own political system led by both House of Dower and the "Iron Curtain" House of Zhang. Although Ivantians were also a part of mankind, they tended to dislike Earthlings because they were once repressed by the Blade Warrior during the strongest period of their nation. Environmental conditions played an important part in a nation's military and political situation. Moon was too small and too fragile to become a place for some complicated power struggles, which was why its people preferred both new and old forces to work together instead.
However, the situation on Mars was kind of different. Although Martians were known to be aggressive, religion played a critical role in its political system. In fact, Church of the Deity partially ruled Mars as approximately ninety percent of the Martians were its followers. Furthermore, House of Lie was closely related to the Church itself, and although Martians were democratic like the Ivantians, yet it looked like they were living under the dictatorship of a family, as the House of Lie would eliminate any rebellious forces at all costs. However, this type of political system seemed to fit Mars very well.
Chapter 191: A Legendary Character
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
On the other hand, Earthlings wouldn't worry too much about Kaedeians, other than their relatively close relationships with House of Lie. After all, both races had been sharing the same planet since ages. Nevertheless, Earthlings were thankful for the sacrifices made by these two races during the great war against Zergs. The bravery of both Martians and Kaedeians definitely was the key factor of mankind's success and final victory. General Li Feng too had to agree that the people on Mars feared nothing in order to ensure the survivability of mankind, even death.
Martians and Kaedeians had been going through ups and downs together, which was why these two races were so close to each other.
During the glorious days of General Li Feng, even the almighty General Rilangalos Dower had to admit that he was no match for the legendary general. But, the glory of Earth Confederation began to decline year after year following General Li Feng passing away. Soon, mankind gave up monarchy and had the world ruled under a parliamentary system. Even though Earth Confederation had the most seats, yet Earthlings were getting weaker and weaker due to their laidback habits. But luckily for Earthlings, an Einherjar would be born in the House of Li from time to time. Moreover, House of Ma was also able to frequently amaze the universe with their advanced technologies and inventions. These two houses had been ensuring Earthling's position as the alpha race since day one.
Hence, Flark prevented the struggle from happening. It was clear that Earth Confederation could never afford to lose both House of Ma and House of Li, and this political struggle would only sabotage Earth Confederation's power within the Pan Solar System Alliance. Without power, Earth Confederation would be replaced by Ivantian's advanced technologies and the geological advantages of Mars; not to mention both Centaurus Cluster and Andromeda Galaxy were also beginning to rise and prosper.
People were well aware of the consequences, yet most of them would only be making decisions based on their personal interests.
Nevertheless, Flark was bold enough to smoothen things out with both forces and successfully suppress the political conflict. Later, he was well-respected as the peacemaker of Earth Confederation. Even the master of House of Li had to address Flark as Mr. principal. After the incident, it had become a tradition for the younger generations of House of Li to enroll in Capth.
Only the big names in the military and political community would have the honor to hang around Flark. Yet, Samantha was special because of her ancestor's connections with both House of Li and House of Ma. If it weren't because Galber was one of General Li Feng's important partner, and also the only one who was able to get in touch with the Blade Warrior, Samantha would never have had the chance of getting such privilege.
Unfortunately, Galber's descendants were not as outstanding, and the family tended to survive with the help from House of Ma. Things got better after they took over PA. However, it would be quite difficult for the family to get involved in politics again.
Most military and political personnel were aware of Samantha's success in becoming the principal of Ayrlarng upon graduation. However, they didn't bother much.
Yet, the well-respected principal was kind, and had Halmond invite Samantha to sit right next to him. As for Halmond, he was only allowed to stand behind Lieutenant General Flark, even though he was Capth's vice principal.
Samantha could feel those unfriendly glares of jealousy as she sat down beside Flark.
"Thank you for having me, sir." Samantha greeted and behaved like a student, even though she was already a principal herself.
Flark smiled gently, "Now, that's how an energetic lass from Capth should look like! But remember my child, being too pushy would only make things worse."
Samantha was startled but remained as calm as possible. Clearly, Flark wasn't addressing things related to this tournament, as compared to the other mega events, this tournament was nothing to him. Yet, Samantha's guts were somehow telling her that Flark was talking about something else.
Seemed like it would be impossible to hide everything from this amazing principal!
"Yes, sir. I'll keep it in mind." Samantha accepted Flark's advice politely even though she was kind of confused.
Flark smiled back and didn't say anything else. In fact, Flark rarely gave opinions or advice to the others due to his current position. Yet, he didn't mind giving his advice to Samantha since she used to be a student of Capth.
Samantha managed to snap out from her confusion and calmed down as the second half of the tournament began. However, she would definitely look into the meaning of Flark's words when she got back to Ayrlarng.
Finally, the long-awaited METAL Combat matches had begun. So far, the Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance had been doing great, and this was the chance for them to become famous!
"Hey look! Is that Senator Caroo?"
"That's General Kathro right there!"
The number of famous persons, along with Principal Flark's presence, had caused the team to freak out a little. Nevertheless, Carl was able to remain relaxed. In fact, he was quite excited to know that so many people would be here this afternoon to witness their glory.
"Hey buddy, we're gonna be famous once we eliminate those punks!" The others were trying not to laugh when Carl said that.
"Wake up, Carl. We're still a long way from winning. We would have to just do our best as Capth would be pulling out their A-game for sure after suffering those terrible defeats." Best commented.
Unlike Battlecraft Combat, METAL Combat required Soul Energy, which was based on one's tactics and mastery. Contingency might have played a big part in Battlecraft Combat, but it definitely had nothing to do with METAL Combat, since it was obvious that the students of Capth had been practicing better tactics than the students of Ayrlarng.
"Take it easy buddy, I'm sure we'll be alright!" Carl replied confidently. Those who didn't know Carl might have thought that he was an idiot for being that confident. Yet, the team had been spending time with him for months, and they knew that this was his way of self-cheering. To be honest, this carefree and relaxed attitude would make a huge difference during the fight!
One would be able to perform smoothly as long as he or she remained calm.
"So, Capth is sending out Wally for round one. Anyone?" Wang Tong asked.
"I'll do the honor!" Hu Yangxuan stood up and replied.
Wang Tong nodded. Hu Yangxuan had been training quite hard lately, and Wally seemed like the perfect opponent for him.
Wang Tong's goal was to aim for the final victory, and he also knew that this tournament was not just about him, but for the sake of Ayrlarng. This tournament was the perfect opportunity for self-motivation and self-improvement, and Wang Tong had shown his best performances in Battlecraft Combat. So now would be the time for Hu Yangxuan to show his talents.
Not to mention, the opposing team would be saving their stronger aces for later. Hence, this was definitely the chance to obtain one win.
Hu Yangxuan was ready for the challenge ahead.
Participants would be fighting each other in Capth's TPA, which was slightly different from the conventional TPA. Capth's TPA was programmed to simulate the consumption of Soul Energy, even though it wouldn't cause any harm to the participant's body.
Meanwhile, Wally seemingly wasn't bothered at all by the fact that his next opponent was a Templar's follower.
Check!
Check!
Wally wielded his rapier, a type of sharp-edged blade that was commonly used by ancient western noblemen. This type of weapon was famous for its rapid stabs and amazing agility.
On the other hand, Hu Yangxuan was equipped with a sword and a round-shield. Clearly, he had done his researches about Wally.
This was a duel between two fighters of the same level, as Wally was Capth's No.1 amongst first graders while Hu Yangxuan was a Templar's follower. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the students of Capth, Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan were the only elites that Ayrlarng had.
Wally sneered confidently while looking at the round-shield on Hu Yangxuan's left hand.
The first match had begun!
Wally immediately activated his Soul Energy and unleashed his GN Force. Knowing that offense was the best defense for rapiers, he began to unleash his rapid stabs. He bet that his opponent didn't know that a shield would never be able to parry all of his attacks.
Wally had constantly been changing his pacing while striking Hu Yangxuan with his rapid attacks. Instantly, Hu Yangxuan was amazed by Wally's amazing skills and the fearsome agility of the rapier!
After a while, Hu Yangxuan was injured. Somehow, his shield was able to parry the first strike, but was unable to ward off the following strike. Hu Yangxuan had been trying to counter, yet Wally always managed to dodge and stay out of his striking distance.
Wally then placed his rapier in front of his chest and tried to provoke Hu Yangxuan. Luckily Hu Yangxuan was able to keep calm and get into position. Although Wally possessed an amazing agility, yet his attacks were not deadly enough.
Hu Yangxuan then began to unleash his counter attacks. It seemed like he really had mastered the basics he learned at Court of the Templar, and managed to keep Wally busy with his continuous slashes. Hu Yangxuan's pacing was stable, and he was exceptionally skilled in defending with GN Force. Clearly, Court of the Templar had done a great job in training such an amazing elite.
Furthermore, Hu Yangxuan was able to read his opponent's rhythm and also sense his opponent's desire to attack while maintaining his stability. It was clear that Hu Yangxuan was no longer the arrogant kid he used to be after going through so many things. The way he fought had become more mature, and he even learned how to read minds.
Hu Yangxuan noticed that Wally wasn't only some bloke with a big mouth, as his family had been practicing rapiers for centuries and they had even created their own battling methods by infusing GN Force into their rapier attacks. It might be sort of useless on the battlefield, but it was definitely strong in a duel.
Clearly, Wally wasn't called No.1 for nothing.
The fight was already intense as soon as it began. Hu Yangxuan had been hit for a few times, yet he was still unable to deal much damage to Wally. After all, attacking a moving target was not an easy task.
Only Apache, who possessed incredible agility, would be able to deal with Wally's speed.
"Things are not looking good for Hu Yangxuan."
"That slick sonuvab*tch, how I wish he stops bouncing here and there. Cao Yi, have you done any research on how to handle this crazy dude?" Carl asked.
Cao Yi scratched his head and answered, "Honestly, I did, but his speed is much quicker than I expected."
On the other hand, Apache was looking elsewhere, it seemed like he wasn't paying any attention to the match at all.
Meanwhile, Hu Yangxuan was still struggling to deal with Wally. It seemed like Wally was more patient than expected. Hu Yangxuan chose to use a shield in the first place because he was hoping that it would be able to frustrate his opponent and cause him to make mistakes. Basically, Hu Yangxuan was thinking on the right track, but somehow had forgotten that rapier users were known to be patient. They tended to behave like venomous snakes, accurately jabbing little by little.
Wally had obviously obtained the upper hand in this match, and he was waiting for the right moment to unleash his knockout strike.
Chapter 192: Ms. Fantastic
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Hu Yangxuan had been wounded six times, yet he was still unable to inflict any damage to Wally. The students of Capth were excited as they realized that Wally was about to win. Wally then thrust his rapier as he unleashed a tide of rapid stabs by channeling a blast of GN Force!
Wally's Soul Energy reached one hundred and eighty sols as he rapidly fired his stabs like a shower of arrows. His rapier was dancing like a mesmerizing but deadly flower.
The indefensible rapid stabs from a rapier were truly terrifying. In fact, rapiers possessed the highest frequency of attacks compared to any other existing weapons.
However, Hu Yangxuan wasn't defending this time; in fact, he had been waiting for this since the beginning. Wally was able to maintain his upper hand because his Soul Energy was about the same level as Hu Yangxuan's, and his attacking methods had successfully inhibited Hu Yangxuan's performance. To be honest, Apache was the better choice of facing off Wally, yet Hu Yangxuan insisted on fighting him because he had a plan.
Knowing that Capth had saved its best candidates for later, Hu Yangxuan was determined to take Wally down. At least he would be able to lessen the burden of his team!
As soon as Wally attacked, Hu Yangxuan dropped his shield, dashed forward and flung his sword to unleash the Slash of Templar!
He was planning for both of them to perish together!
Immediately Wally regretted his decision to finish him off, but it was already too late. Wally knew about the Slash of Templar, and he knew that he would be KO-ed if he chose to dodge. However, he didn't expect Hu Yangxuan would choose to use this bold strategy.
It was kind of barbaric, to be honest.
Unlike his older self, Hu Yangxuan had awakened. After going through the special training with Wang Tong and the rest of the team, he had finally learned that fame wasn't what mattered most in a fight, and a fighter would try to win a battle at all cost, even if it meant to sacrifice everything. Right now, winning was all that mattered!
Bam…!
GN Force from both fighters clashed with each other.
Clearly, Hu Yangxuan's strategy was to pretend to be defensive and strike back as soon as he forced his opponent to unleash a kill strike! This was his bravery as a fighter!
Wally was furious about the outcome as Hu Yangxuan's decision of perishing together had forced him to be eliminated. Although he was still alive, yet he would be knocked out for sure if it was a fight in reality. Originally he was planning on showing off in front of those honorable guests by demonstrating an "all-kill". Unfortunately, his plan was ruined by Hu Yangxuan's outrageous strategy.
As he was about to throw a tantrum, Li Ruo-Er looked at him in the eyes and said, "Wally, mind your manners. You were eliminated because of your opponent's successful strategy. So suck it up."
Wally calmed down instantly. Now that the battle had ended, throwing a tantrum would only affect Capth's reputation.
Students of Capth were saying that it wasn't fair, yet the guests from the military seemed pleased about the match. To them, this was how a duel should look like. After all, this was not some kind of stage performance.
Results were shown on the monitor after a while… The winner was Wally!
Finally, the students of Capth were relieved and clapped vigorously. Although both fighters perished together, Hu Yangxuan was the first to be hit by Wally's rapid stabs. If this were a real fight, Hu Yangxuan would be killed, and Wally would be seriously injured instead.
Now that Capth had obtained the first victory, things seemed to be not looking good for Ayrlarng. Unfortunately for Ayrlarng, the first match was a loss instead of a draw. They were so close to that, yet it couldn't be helped.
Hu Yangxuan sighed. Things didn't work as planned even though he had made his calculations. Wally was better than he expected. Nevertheless, he still felt good for taking him down together.
Samantha too was happy at the final outcome. Hu Yangxuan had clearly improved a lot. At least, he had learned to put down his pride as a Templar's follower and care less about fame. Samantha was happy and relieved that her tough training was able to help Hu Yangxuan improve dramatically, and she hoped that he would be able to continue improving in the future as well.
After all, Court of the Templar was only a gateway towards success. Yet, to thrive or not all depended on the followers' determination.
As for the second match, Apache stood up all of a sudden and pointed towards Cisco, "Your turn!"
Clearly, the gauntlets had been thrown!
Everyone was surprised by the alliance's bold action to call for a challenge!
Wang Ben, who was supposed to go next, went back to his seat, and Cisco walked forward to accept Apache's challenge. There was no room for him to back down!
Halmond nodded as one of the teachers whispered something to him. Obviously, the candidates were all fired up, and this tournament was getting more and more interesting.
No one had expected Hu Yangxuan, a Templar's follower, would choose to perish together with his opponent, and no one had imagined that Apache would challenge Cisco publicly.
A year ago, Apache, who was in second grade, got defeated by first grader Cisco. After that, Apache, who was devastated by the defeat, headed off and joined the Anti-Smuggling Special Unit in order to improve his skills. Finally, he was back at Capth, ready for a rematch!
Cisco, who was originally Capth's No.1 amongst second graders, too had hit the bottom of the rock after getting defeated by Einherjar Wannabe in PA. Shortly after his defeat, he was forced to handover his title as No.1.
In fact, the students of Capth had been doubting his performance. However, he shouldn't have problem handling opponents like Apache.
None of them talked much as both fighters were men of a few words.
Check!
Check!
Both fighters were seen getting ready for the fight. Apache was glaring at Cisco while doing his warm-ups, "I hope you were not wasting any time throughout the year!"
"...Do I know you?" Cisco looked confused.
Apache grinned, what an arrogant lad!
Swoosh…
Apache dashed towards his opponent at an extreme speed and thrust out his long blade. On the other hand, Cisco was seen fighting with his bare hands. It seemed like Cisco had changed a lot. Somehow, it felt like he had gotten weaker.
However, Wang Tong was able to tell that Cisco had definitely gotten stronger. Hopefully, Apache was prepared for the upcoming challenges.
As the fight went on, it was clear that Apache had become fiercer after attending the special training and he seemed to have improved a lot. In fact, Cisco could be in danger if he were his old self. Last year, Apache, who had continuously defeated two of Capth's candidates, was surprisingly defeated by Cisco, who was still a freshman at that time. Apache clearly remembered the look on Cisco's face, not completely filled with despise, like he was trying to tell Apache that his level of strength was only average in Capth. After that, Apache went off on a journey of self-improvement like he had to put his life at stake. In the end, his training paid off, and he was finally back.
Time for a long-awaited revenge!
Wally was startled when he saw Apache dashing across the ring like a hurricane. He didn't expect Apache to be that strong, and if Wally were still fighting in this match, he would be doomed for sure.
Wally's fighting method was weak against nimble opponents, not to mention Apache was extremely experienced. Clearly, Apache had been training extremely hard, and he had definitely improved a lot. Even the attacks from his long blade had become deadlier than before.
While everyone was focusing on Cisco and Apache's duel, Ma Xiaoru had slipped out from her team. On the other side, Li Ruo-Er too had disappeared. Both ladies walked into the smaller arena that they had been using earlier this morning. No one was there except those two stunning beauties.
"Dear Xiaoru, I haven't seen you in a few days, yet you've become prettier." Li Ruo-Er smiled gently.
"Ruo-Er, why are we fighting?" To be honest, Ma Xiaoru didn't intend to fight her at all.
"My dear sister, this is our deal remember? Not to mention I've agreed to skip this tournament just like you've asked. Actually, I've never wanted to participate. I don't think we should be 'performing' in public like ordinary people."
"Ruo-Er, your brother is amazing, and I admire his talents, but you can't force me to fancy him because of that."
"I'm aware of that, and I'm not forcing you to fall in love with him. All I'm asking for is a chance. Like I've said, I'd like you to go on a date with my brother if I win. But if I lose, I'll back away from this business."
This was Li Ruo-Er's deal with Ma Xiaoru, and she would fight Ma Xiaoru whether she liked it or not. She let Ma Xiaoru to choose if she wanted to fight officially in the ring or privately somewhere else. After a brief consideration, Ma Xiaoru decided to settle this privately, in order to lessen the burden on Wang Tong. As a matter of fact, she wasn't totally confident in winning against Li Ruo-Er, and she could tell from Wang Tong's determined eyes that he was desperate for the final victory. Moreover, this happened to be the perfect opportunity for Ma Xiaoru to settle this frustrating business with Li Ruo-Er.
"Okay, deal."
"Very well, dear sis. However, there's one thing that I need to tell you. It seemed like Wang Tong's love interest was our dear sister Samantha. According to my observation, the way she looked at Sam felt different." Li Ruo-Er said.
Both ladies began to fight. Ma Xiaoru remained calm, yet she was kind of startled.
Wang Tong fancied Samantha?
All of a sudden, Li Ruo-Er unleashed her attacks!
On the other hand, Apache seemed to have suppressed Cisco. Based on the overall situation, Cisco's attacks didn't become weaker in terms of strength; his Kunai was still as good as it used to be. However, the power of his attacks seemed to have decreased. Meanwhile, Apache's performance was getting better and better.
In fact, Apache had been learning all sorts of aggressive techniques during his internship at the Anti-Smuggling Special Unit, and had even come up with some techniques for countering Cisco's Kunai. They worked well with his advantage in terms of speed as well.
The students of Capth were surprised to see the level of strength Apache possessed. To them, he had to be the strongest candidate of the Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance. Some of the students even began to remember him; he was the speedy fighter that had defeated two candidates of Capth.
Apache had returned, and this time, he was ready to crush the candidates of Capth with his bare hands!
Apache gradually took control of the pace and had successfully inhibited Cisco's Kunai with his good sense of distance. Apache's good memory enabled him to counter Cisco's attacks precisely.
He was seen pulling off a fantastic performance with his patience and skills.
Chapter 193: A Beggar Could Never Go Bankrupt
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
However, Cisco had also been keeping his patience and fought steadily, making it difficult for Apache to totally subdue him. Both fighters were trying to exhaust each other out, and whoever managed to expose their opponent's loophole would be able to win this match.
Students of the other academies were amazed by this spectacular match. They didn't expect the Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance had such a brilliant fighter in their team. Even though it was unlikely for them to win, it was fascinating because it had been ages since the last time Capth was driven into the corner by an A-Ranked academy.
After alternating his pace and continuously attacking for more than twenty minutes, Apache had managed to find a loophole within Cisco's Kunai techniques and decided to go for the knockout strike.
This was the perfect chance for Apache as he channeled all of his GN Force and charged towards Cisco like a raging tornado.
Wham…
It seemed like Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance was about to obtain their first win.
However, Carl and the rest of the team was shocked to witness what happened next.
Apparently, Cisco was still standing, yet it was Apache instead who was blown away by an enormous wave of GN Force.
The upper hand was clearly on Apache's side. However, he was no match for Cisco whose Soul Energy had reached two hundred and four sols. It was the soul energy of a Level Five Fighter!
Cisco had dominated with his superb GN Force!
Even the students of Capth were surprised that Cisco possessed the strength of a Level Five Fighter!
The crowd went silent for a while, then immediately followed by a round of thunderous applause. The students of Capth were cheering, especially all of the second graders; the confident Cisco they knew was finally back!
Even Terrance, who was his rival, couldn't help applauding for Cisco. Advancing as a Level Five Fighter had always been the dream of every youngster of his age, and Cisco had made Capth proud today.
Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance had yet suffered another loss. Clearly, Capth was sending a message to everyone, they were not some ordinary academy to be messed with!
Yet, Cisco wasn't as happy as expected. Instead, he remained calm. In fact, he was no longer interested in competing for the No.1 title, because it was technically useless. All that mattered to him was to defeat Einherjar Wannabe. Although he had managed to obtain the power of a Level Five Fighter after the defeat, he didn't dare to ask for a rematch when he found out that Jiang Long, the successor of Firmament Palm Strike, who was stronger than him, was defeated too. In order to defeat Einherjar Wannabe, he needed to become stronger than this!
Random victories like this were nothing to him.
Cisco had no intentions to show off when he unleashed that amazing surge of power. He did that because he wanted to get rid of Apache's mingling attacks as soon as possible.
The arrogant Wally remained silent. To be honest, he had been despising Cisco lately, hoping that this loser would disappear from their sight instead of hanging around the team and disgracing the academy.
After winning the match, Cisco said nothing and quietly waited for the next challenger.
Meanwhile, the big shots who were sitting up there began to make their own comments about this tournament. Of course, most of them were praising how strong Capth was and also praising the teachers for saving a student from his misery as well as Capth's splendid educational system.
Pride and toughness were the key values of a student of Capth. No one in Capth was a failure, as temporary setbacks were the drive of one to become stronger.
The spectating second graders of Capth were screaming Cisco's name, the name of their former No.1. Most of his supporters were devastated when he fell off from the top, yet Cisco managed to bounce back, and unfortunately for the alliance, the former No.1 still packed a punch.
"Looks like this tournament is gonna end soon." Bisu sighed. It seemed like Capth's METAL Combat team had remained unrivaled. However, the Battlecraft Combat team was definitely a disgrace.
Capth was leading by 2:0.
"I doubt it." Wang Ben replied with a straight face.
The whole team was pissed off by his unexpected comment.
"You seem to miss your friends quite a lot, Wang Ben. But I have to remind you that this tournament is about skills and strength. Please know your place when you comment!" Wally scolded. Wang Ben's disgusting comment had just made his bad day even worse. Moreover, he didn't understand why would Wang Ben thinks that an academy of weaklings like Ayrlarng was able to make miracles. Clearly, Capth was the one on the upper hand.
How Wally wished that Wang Ben would stay at Ayrlarng instead of coming here! However, Wally wouldn't say that in front of the public, yet, he bet his team was thinking the same thing as him too.
Wang Ben didn't pay any attention to Wally's scolding; he wasn't bothered by that kid at all.
Level Five Fighter was one of the highest honor that one could get, especially for a second grader like Cisco. Although Capth was known as one of the greatest academies, still the odds of hitting such achievement from time to time were very low.
It seemed like it would be alright to let Cisco handle the rest. After all, Cisco had already dominated the stage with his superb Soul Energy.
Apache was shocked, but it couldn't be helped as his GN Force was obviously weaker than Cisco, and he wasn't skillful enough yet to overcome the gap between both of their GN Force.
Things were definitely not looking good for the alliance as the remaining candidates were only Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru, and suddenly, everyone realized that Ma Xiaoru was missing!
"Guys I have a message from Principal Samantha. She said that Xiaoru will not be participating today, and Li Ruo-Er too will not be participating today either. She also said to let Wang Tong decide for the further arrangements." Zhou Sisi panted as she just came rushing back with Samantha's latest orders.
The team was startled by Zhou Sisi's news. Although Ma Xiaoru and Li Ruo-Er's decisions to pull out was not bad for the alliance, yet they were still being put in a difficult situation. Not to mention Cisco was still active in play, and it would be too risky to send out Wang Tong right now, since the team still needed him to deal with the upcoming stronger opponents. If this exhausted him right now, there would be no chance for them to win at all.
"Cap, I'll go." Cao Yi stood up and volunteered. Honestly speaking, aside from Wang Tong, he was their last hope that still packed a few punches. Cao Yi knew that he wasn't good enough to be their final trump card. After all, he was no match against Wang Ben, and it was unlikely for him to knockout Terrance, the new No.1.
During the ten minutes break, Cao Yi understood that all he needed to do was to significantly exhaust Cisco with his unique battle methods.
Wang Tong patted on Cao Yi's shoulder, "You don't have to worry too much, just see it as a rare chance to go head to head with a Level Five Fighter."
Cao Yi nodded.
Meanwhile, Li Ruo-Er and Ma Xiaoru's duel was getting more intense, not to mention it was a real fight instead of a duel in the simulator. Both ladies fought like they were performing a graceful and elegant, yet deadly waltz. It was truly a fight like no other.
In this mega-showdown between Tactics of the Enchantresses, the battle between Soul Energy was even more lethal than their swordfights. For those who practiced super tactics like Tactics of the Enchantress, GN Force infused attacks might be even more aggressive compared to most of the conventional tactics, yet the direct attack through channels of Soul Energy was definitely way deadlier than GN Force.
Technically, one's fate would be sealed once the opposing fighter managed to penetrate his or her mental defense.
In other words, Soul Energy was actually the strongest form of power. Yet, one would require tons of practice in order to shape it into a form of attack. However, the Five Greatest Tactics were the ones that had the most advantages in practicing Soul Energy attacks, which explained why Li Ruo-Er and Ma Xiaoru were able to do it.
Those who practiced one of the Five Greatest Tactics were able to baffle their opponents with surges of Soul Energy, making their GN Force infused attacks even deadlier when the opponents were hit by their Soul Energy. Obviously, that was the reason why they were called the Five Greatest Tactics.
Tactics of the Enchantress specialized in phantasmagoric Soul Energy attacks. Hence, instead of using swords, they were battling each other using Soul Energy most of the time. In fact, Li Ruo-Er was trying to weaken Ma Xiaoru's mind by mentioning that Wang Tong was in love with Samantha. Whether she believed it or not, her Soul Energy would be affected if she weren't able to focus. That was the main reason why those who practiced Tactics of the Enchantress were not allowed to fall in love, as it would become a disadvantaging loophole.
Unlike Tactics of the Enchantress's phantasmagoric Soul Energy attacks, House of Lie's Tactics of the Incandescent Fire enabled its users to turn their Soul Energy into a terrifying pyromantic forces, which were strong enough to directly scorch their opponent's mind.
"Dear sister, it seemed like you've gotten stronger."
"You're not bad either!"
In the beginning, Li Ruo-Er thought that she would be able to defeat Ma Xiaoru within minutes with her Soul Energy and GN Force attacks. However, it seemed like Ma Xiaoru was tougher to break than she expected.
Back at the main arena, Cao Yi walked towards the ring bravely. He was confident about his detailed pre-battle researches, and had even done his homework on Cisco. As the fight began, Cao Yi was seen continuously slashing towards Cisco with his dual blades, hoping that it would be able to tire him out. At the same time, Cao Yi remained cautious and tried not to mingle, since Kunai was specially designed for close combat. He wouldn't be able to get away if he got too close.
Even though Cao Yi had more knowledge about Cisco than Apache, unfortunately, he was not as strong as Apache and was knocked out by Cisco after fifteen minutes without unleashing his power of Level Five Fighter.
To be honest, it was completely normal for gaps to exist between A-Ranked academies and the almighty Capth. Generally, the crowd of spectators realized that they had expected too much. The current score was 3:0. Clearly, Capth had secured their final victory, and had put the alliance one step closer to misery.
Cao Yi was depressed. He was hoping that he could last a bit longer, but it couldn't be helped as Cisco was too strong indeed. Apparently, things didn't go as he had planned because the gap between them and Capth was wider than expected.
Wang Tong smiled and said, "Why the long faces? We've made it this far. Look at all those people, they're here to see us. A beggar could never go bankrupt. So, cheer up fellas, this is not the end. Leave the rest to me!"
Wang Tong warmed up his fingers and headed towards the ring. Everyone had shown great improvements after the special training. Although it was not enough to bring down Capth, still this opportunity had increased their experiences. They had done their part, and the rest would be his matter. He still had to fulfill his promise with Samantha.
Wang Tong was kind of excited.
Flark seemed pleased about Samantha's ability to keep calm regardless of winning or losing. Clearly, Samantha was hoping for a miracle in this afternoon's tournament, and even though her team was pushed to the edge of defeat by the score of 3:0, somehow, she was still able to keep her cool, which was very important for those who wished to get involved in politics!
Chapter 194: Instant Kill!
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Samantha might be able to deceive everyone else, but definitely not Flark. He knew that she became Ayrlarng's principal in order to get involved with politics, not to mention she had House of Ma behind her back. Obviously, House of Ma's plan was to stop relying on the other parties for their survival, and they were betting on this descendent of Galbor to shine once again in politics, which might be able to aid them in the future as well.
Only a person with great perspective like Flark could know of her true intentions. However, if Samantha pushed herself too hard, this could be the end of her conquest. Nevertheless, Flark had no issues with this former student of Capth. In fact, he agreed that Earth Confederation's administration needed new blood like her to balance everything out. This was the only way to ensure Earth remained as the center of the universe.
He would love to see new faces like Samantha in the politics. Yet, it would be hard for her to become the next political legend like her ancestor Galbor, as there was only one Blade Warrior in this world. If she could learn to be patient, there might still be chances for her to shine.
Nevertheless, Flark realized that he seemed to have overestimated Samantha's team. He was certain that Samantha was completely depressed even though she remained calm on the outside. After all, she had been working so hard to surprise the whole Earth Confederation, yet her hard work didn't pay off obviously.
She was so close to achieving her dream, what a pity!
Actually, Samantha remained calm because this was all within her expectations. In fact, it was her idea to let Ma Xiaoru offset Li Ruo-Er, and she let Wang Tong handle the rest.
Honestly, Samantha wasn't sure if she should put her faith in this childish kid. She didn't want to do so at first because it was too risky, but she did in the end. Perhaps, she saw this as a chance to summarize her feelings for Wang Tong. Meanwhile, she was also giving herself an opportunity for a new life. If Wang Tong won, she would have a reason to enjoy romance, and if he lost, she would have a reason to end this fantasy instead.
After all, falling in love was not a part of her dream, and it was already too late to give up as she had already come this far.
Wang Tong walked towards the center stage and smiled as he saw Cisco, "I'm alright, if you wanna take five."
Cisco was startled by Wang Tong's arrogance. Honestly, his fight between Apache had only consumed a bit of his stamina, and he didn't even break a sweat during his fight with Cao Yi. Clearly, there was a huge difference between Level Four Fighters and Level Five Fighters, unless he was as uniquely talented as Apache, or else there was no chance Wang Tong could win.
Nevertheless, Einherjar Wannabe was a special case.
"No need, let's begin," Cisco said calmly. Clearly, he had learned to take it easy after suffering the defeat from Einherjar Wannabe, and he had a new perspective on winning and losing. But most importantly, he had finally realized that instead of only simple victories, all he wanted was greater strength, and his dream was to dominate in the martial art community!
The crowd began to whisper as soon as Wang Tong walked up, and it caught the attention of a few big shots.
Halmond then explained the situation to Flark discreetly. The surprised principal smiled and said, "Oh, a rare young talent of Earth Confederation… I have to see it for myself!"
The rest of the VVIPs became quite interested as Flark said that.
At first, people thought that Wang Tong was lucky for being the only candidate who reached the goal during the S-Ranked Survival Competition. Yet, the surprise carried on as he surprised the crowd by defeating Bisu and Flash in a row in Battlecraft Combat category, which had been dominated by Capth for quite a few years.
People couldn't wait to see what surprises would Wang Tong create in METAL Combat.
The fourth match was about to begin. If Capth were able to win this time, they would be crowned the final victor, and the tournament would be officially over.
Both fighters were ready.
Cisco observed Wang Tong calmly. He didn't expect that the alliance had decided to send him instead of Ma Xiaoru. Aside from his amazing performance in Survival Challenge, Cisco also heard that Wang Tong had deep knowledge regarding Zergs. But unfortunately, Wang Tong would be taking on him instead of Zergs. Zergs could be easily deceived, but definitely not him.
The fight began!
Cisco was in his best condition, and it seemed like this would be another easy win. Too bad he couldn't have the chance to take on Tactics of the Enchantress.
Wang Tong seemed kind of nervous. His body was tense as he was trying to focus, like he was thrown into a den of a lion.
On the other hand, Cisco was relatively relaxed and focused. He was carefully observing Wang Tong's condition, and realized that his Soul Energy was quite impressive, but still had a long way to go from reaching Level Five. Clearly, his odds of winning were low, unless he practiced some sort of super tactics.
"How long do you think this is gonna last?"
"About three minutes?"
"That depends on Cisco. If he unleashed his power of a Level Five Fighter, this should be over within seconds."
"Who cares! Ayrlarng and Bernabeu were lucky enough to get this far already."
Apparently, students of the other academies were discussing the alliance. No one had expected that this team of underdogs would be able to cause Capth a hard time.
"Well, looks like someone's not gonna get a chance to fight today. Capth is the best, and those weaklings would never stand a chance." Wally was pissed off by Wang Ben's serious looks, like he was trying to say that this was just the beginning.
Wang Tong didn't bother about Wally, then he got up and turned towards Terrance, "I'm gonna do some warm-ups, captain."
Even Terrance was kind of mad about Wang Ben's attitude. Even though Cisco was no longer top-notch amongst second graders, still a Level Five Fighter like him would still be able to win. Wang Ben had been seriously too arrogant. His well-known Fists of the Racing Tiger might be superb, but still it was weaker compared to Cisco's strength.
Meanwhile, Wang Tong remained still as he got into position. His eyes were locked onto Cisco, yet he didn't make any moves. Clearly, he was being cautious since Cisco was not moving as well.
Cisco was upset about his opponent. It seemed like his power of a Level Five Fighter had startled his opponent and made him nervous. Since Wang Tong was unable to show his best performance, he would never stand a chance to win.
It was time to end him from his misery.
Cisco then charged towards Wang Tong like a hurricane, aiming his Kunai towards Wang Tong's neck. This was the end!
Wang Tong, who had been acting nervous in silence all this time, finally made a move! He widened his eyes and unleashed a loud roar that shook the ground, followed by a direct straight punch!
He didn't even reposition himself, and he wasn't affected by Cisco's attack at all!
Cisco had no time to react, and it was already too late for him to increase his Soul Energy output!
Wang Tong's simple yet forceful straight punch slammed directly onto Cisco, one punch KO!
Everything happened in less than two seconds, fast and furious indeed!
End of match four, Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance managed to win a match at last.
Everybody was stunned by what happened. In fact, no one knew what went on in the past two seconds!
Wang Tong moved and relaxed his body. He knew that he needed to end the matches as soon as possible. Honestly, Wang Tong wasn't interested in fighting Cisco at all. In fact, he was very familiar with Cisco's fighting methods since he had fought him in PA before, and apparently nothing much improved except for his Soul Energy. The nimbleness in his battles was still as slow as before. Clearly, Cisco thought that his last defeat was due to the lack of Soul Energy, which was why his Soul Energy had dramatically improved. Yet, it seemed like he was too obsessed with Soul Energy and forgot to improve his qualities as a fighter aside from pumping up his GN Force.
In short, Cisco was only good enough for one punch.
No one amongst the crowd could imagine that Wang Tong was this ferocious as he didn't look intimidating at all. Obviously, he wasn't acting nervous at the beginning. Instead, he was gathering his force and waiting for the right moment to strike. As for Cisco, he was too confident and thought Wang Tong was afraid of him. But it was already too late when he realized it.
Most importantly, judging from his timing, it seemed like Wang Tong was very familiar with Cisco's movements.
Wang Tong's cunning move had caused an uproar amongst the spectators! No one expected that he would "play dead"!
As the uproar continued, Cisco too was unable to accept the fact that he had lost. Everything happened in just a flash, and he wasn't even ready at all!
However, Wang Tong didn't bother much, as he knew that things were about to get messy in the next fight.
Some other aces amongst the spectators had different opinion about this match. Obviously, one-hit-KO was not as easy as it seemed. It should have been Cisco instead who possessed a superb Soul Energy and possibly could have been able to perform something like this. Even if his Soul Energy had not reached the highest level, he should be able to perform better than Wang Tong in terms of perspective and judgment. Yet, he was mysteriously knocked out by Wang Tong, and for some reason, Wang Tong seemed to be very familiar with Cisco's movements.
Yet, everyone wondered how he could learn so much about Cisco? If he were able to achieve that by observing his performances in the past matches, it would be unbelievably insane.
Halmond was well aware that Cisco had not fully regained himself yet from his last defeat against Einherjar Wannabe. It had nothing to do with his GN Force, but because it had deeply affected his confidence, causing him to lose his precise sense of judgment. Clearly, his opponent was intimidated by him, yet his hasty attack had given his opponent a deadly opportunity to strike back. As for Wang Tong, he was indeed extremely talented in situation analysis.
His analysis ability was as good as House of Zhang's Tactics of the Conscious Heart.
Wally and the rest of the team were shocked to see Cisco make such a terrible mistake. Clearly, he was way better than this. But, sadly there was nothing that could be done right now since it was an official tournament. Perhaps, Wang Tong was really way stronger than they had expected, and unfortunately, Wang Ben was right about this guy.
Finally, it was Wang Ben's turn to take on Wang Tong.
It has been days since Wang Tong's arrival at Capth, yet both of them didn't have a chance to talk. At last, they would be facing each other in the ring, and obviously, there was no turning back.
Wang Ben was seen discussing something with one of the teachers. The teacher looked surprised and went off to seek on Halmond's assistance.
"Cap, I'm concerned. Will Wang Ben decided to play dirty and let them win instead?" Wally seemed worried.
Terrance turned towards Wally with a mean look, "Shut up, you're talking too much."
Chapter 195: The Beginning of the Real Battle
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Terrance seemed to have understood Wang Ben's feeling. Clearly, he didn't want to switch school to Capth in the first place, but he had no choice due to some reason. He could tell that Wang Tong was a close friend of Wang Ben. Judging from Wang Ben's personality, the stronger their friendship, the greater his fighting strength would be. Without a doubt, this was a match not to be missed. After all, Wang Ben seemed to be the only one in Capth who was the most familiar with Wang Tong. Regardless of the result, it was time for Wang Tong to reveal all of his capabilities.
After listening to the teacher's words, Halmond frowned and shook his head, "No, that's too dangerous!"
"What's the matter, Halmond?"
"Sir, Wang Ben was requesting for a real fight with Wang Tong, but that would be too dangerous!" Halmond seemed frustrated about his troublesome students. A real battle could cause serious damage if the students were not able to control themselves completely, which was why most METAL Combat matches were held using PA system instead.
"Haha, youngsters nowadays are very brave indeed, I'm happy that our academy has raised a good fighter. Very well, I accept Wang Ben's proposal, and permission would be granted if Mr. Wang Tong is okay with it as well." Flark said in a calm manner.
"Yes, sir."
No questions were asked as long as Flark gave the green light.
After hearing Wang Ben's proposal, Wang Tong sneered and replied, "Sure!"
Honestly, Wang Tong was also kind of bored with TPA. Although he had no idea why Wang Ben decided to leave Ayrlarng, Wang Tong could tell that he had his own reasons. After all, things wouldn't always go smoothly as planned. Since they couldn't become comrades, becoming rivals was not a bad idea too.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the fifth match between Ayrlarng-Bernabeu Alliance and Capth would be switched to a real duel."
Everyone went crazy when Halmond made that announcement. After all, virtual battles would never be as good as a real fight.
Nevertheless, this was a huge test for Wang Tong. A real fight would not only consume his Soul Energy, but his stamina would also be drained as well. Not to mention he would still have to face Terrance, the No.1 among second graders in the match after this.
"What the hell? Wang Ben you traitor, that's insane!"
"What's wrong with that guy, how could he be so ruthless!"
"All those ups and downs we've been through… Honestly, I'm disappointed."
Tita and the rest had no idea what happened to Wang Ben and why he became so aggressive all of a sudden. Most importantly Wang Tong had even agreed to his proposal!
Wang Tong ignored their complaints and took center stage with a straight face. All he wanted to do now was to fight Wang Tong.
"Wang Tong, I'm okay if you wanna rest a little longer?"
"Haha, let's begin immediately. I can't wait." Wang Tong laughed. Surprisingly, he wasn't feeling bad at all. It was kind of like the time when Old Fart disappeared without saying a word. Wang Tong wasn't upset at all, because he understood that everyone else, including friends and family, had their own choices in life. This was why he decided to smile when they saw each other again.
Wang Ben had mixed feelings when he saw Wang Tong's smile. In order not to regret his decision, he would use his fists to prove that his father was right about everything.
The fight had begun!
The whole arena went quiet as Wang Ben initiated his Soul Energy, which also unleashed a fierce aura. That was the energy he had been holding on to for the past month.
Roar…!
The aura around Wang Ben's body roared like a tiger, and his stone-cold glares were extremely intimidating.
Ha…!
Wang Ben's fighting aura was more than enough to prove how good he was. On the other hand, Wally's face went green when he saw Wang Ben's ferocious aura. He immediately knew that Wang Ben could've easily subdued him.
Wang Ben had transformed into a ferocious tiger with that intimidating aura.
Even Flark nodded and complimented, "He is as good as his old man."
Samantha had complicated feelings as well. How she wished Wang Ben was still a student of Ayrlarng. But sadly, it couldn't be helped. Judging from his performance, he had definitely become stronger. Clearly, her special training had helped him improved a lot. But unfortunately, he had switched sides.
Wang Tong was surprised by Wang Ben's intimidating aura. He licked his lips knowing that the bar had been raised.
Wang Ben's eyes looked like he would like to eat Wang Tong alive. Those who didn't know them might have thought that the both of them were sworn enemies.
Wang Ben unleashed his war cry and dashed forward, followed by his Fist of the Racing Tiger!
Along with its thunderous roar, the punch resembled a fierce tiger charging towards its prey. No wonder it was known as Earth Confederation's mightiest punch. The unpretentious yet forceful punch was definitely more than enough to intimidate any opponent.
However, Wang Tong wasn't planning to dodge at all. He immediately ignited his GN Force and thrust a punch.
Wham…
A huge amount of GN Force dispersed across the arena as their fists met. Both fighters took a few steps back due to the immense recoil. The spectators were startled by Wang Tong's performance. No one could believe that he was strong enough to take on Wang Ben's Fist of the Racing Tiger.
Wang Tong stretched his neck while admiring Wang Ben's ferocious aura> He was very excited to see Wang Ben's fighting spirit. At this moment, it had nothing to do with winning or losing; all he wanted was a proper duel with Wang Ben.
On the other hand, Wang Ben too had noticed Wang Tong's agitated spirit as their GN Force clashed. Although his advantage in Soul Energy was higher than Wang Tong, yet Wang Tong was able to counter with his colossal aura, like an unshakable titan.
However, unlike the conventional punches, Wang Ben's Fist of the Racing Tiger was as tough as steel!
Wang Ben took a deep breath and flexed his forearms. Then, he unleashed a gigantic force of energy as he shouted, "Roar of the Tiger!"
Clearly, he wasn't trying to drag the match as he had decided to unleash his killing move this early.
"I've been waiting!"
Wang Tong repositioned his body and unleashed his Butterfly Dash. He too was well aware that mingling with Wang Ben's Fist of the Racing Tiger was a bad idea! However, before the crowd could admire Wang Tong's brilliant Butterfly Dash, he was knocked back by another punch.
Wang Ben didn't make a continuous attack. Wang Tong's Butterfly Dash didn't bother him at all as his center of gravity would never be affected while he was completely focused. Wang Ben's strength was overwhelming, and he had been waiting for this day to take on Wang Tong.
"Go full force, Wang Tong. If you really want to defeat Capth, first you'll have to go through me!" Wang Ben pointed towards Wang Tong and said in a deep voice.
Suddenly, Wally realized everyone was admiring Wang Ben's dominating aura. Clearly, his elegant style was no match to Wang Ben's macho-ness. He might still remain the No.1 amongst first graders, yet somehow, he could tell that he was no longer the strongest. With Li Ruo-Er and Wang Ben's existence in Capth, his title had surely become worthless.
Wang Tong rubbed his chest as he got up. Wang Ben had surely improved a lot, thus, he had no reasons to hold back anymore.
Both fighters flung a punch at each other again!
Wang Ben was clearly one of the few that knew how strong Wang Tong was, and he still had no idea how he lost to him last time. However, he was determined to win this time!
Wang Ben's Soul Energy was around one hundred and eighty sols while Wang Tong's Soul Energy was around one hundred and seventy sols. At his age, Wang Tong's Soul Energy was impressive indeed. However, it was not the strongest level yet, and the reading of his GN Force would be similar to his Soul Energy based on the existing data.
Yet, Wang Tong was bold enough to use his fists and took on Earth Confederation's mightiest First of the Racing Tiger. Either he was fearless, or he was a fool.
The atmosphere of the arena froze. Students of Capth had never imagined that it would be this intense. Upon his enrollment in Capth, Wang Ben had been keeping a low profile. He didn't bother even though people were discussing about him, and many had even underestimated him at the beginning. Clearly, they were all wrong.
Wang Ben had fully demonstrated the essence of Fist of the Racing Tiger!
Roar!
Bam!
His steel-hard fists were dispersing a menacing aura. This set of tactics was specially designed to counter and subdue those elegant-looking tactics and techniques. Only real hard kicks and punches would be able to put up a good match against it!
Which was why Wang Tong chose to fight him with denser techniques. Without a doubt, Wang Ben had improved a lot!
Wang Tong had to make a breakthrough in this critical situation.
Wham…
Wang Tong thrust his fist for a straight punch, while Wang Ben countered with his roaring Fist of the Racing Tiger. Clearly, Wang Tong was going to lose since Wang Ben had the upper hand in terms of GN Force.
All of the spectators gasped as soon as they saw a figure being knocked back… It was Wang Ben!
Wasn't Fist of the Racing Tiger known as the mightiest punch of all? What happened exactly?
Wang Tong remained unharmed. The straight punch resembled the one he used to one-hit-KO Cisco.
Cisco's face went pale as he realized that Wang Tong's punch wasn't a simple GN Force infused strike. Instead, it was also surrounded by an overwhelming menace, which also explained why Wang Tong was able to stand against those opponents who possessed higher GN Force than him. Without a doubt, his instinct during crisis was not to be underestimated.
Wang Ben got up to his feet unhurt. The successor of Fist of the Racing Tiger was trained for this kind of impacts. Basically, tactics of most military families were based on one same practicing method, which was to learn taking hits before learning how to fight.
This was very crucial while facing stronger enemies. In short, the tougher the body, the higher the chances of victory. After all, whoever that was able to last longer in a brawl would win.
Wang Ben didn't stop and charged towards Wang Tong again with his Fist of the Racing Tiger. He would never back down no matter how strong was his opponent.
Wang Tong was amazed by Wang Ben's improvements. He didn't expect that Wang Ben was able to defend against his forceful attack. Wang Tong's punch attack originated from the palm strike that he learned from Einherjar Wannabe. Apparently, that palm strike of Einherjar Wannabe was not martial art but a murderous technique instead. It was extremely brutal and required two hundred and fifty-six nodes Tactics of the Blade to fully unleash its strength. Even though it was able to penetrate any sort of defenses, it would also inflict a great deal of recoil damage to its user. The user could be killed after unleashing a few hits if he or she didn't possess strong GN Force for self-protection. Based on the existing facts, Wang Tong now believed that Einherjar Wannabe was really an Einherjar in his past life, and Blade Warrior might be the only one that was capable of trapping his soul into the Space Crystal.
Chapter 196: Surpass
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Einherjar Wannabe's palm strike technique might be useful during real battles. However, it wasn't suitable to be used during tournaments. Furthermore, Wang Tong still wasn't confident in dealing with its recoil damages. Although Einherjar Wannabe didn't teach him anything else since then, Wang Tong had not been wasting any time at all. In the end, he successfully deciphered the usage of strength in the technique and redeveloped it into a punching technique. Even though the punching technique was less powerful, Wang Tong would be able to use it continuously since he had significantly reduced the recoil damage.
Moreover, it was enough to cause Wang Ben a lot of trouble.
Wham…
Wang Ben had thrown out more than ten forceful punches in a flash. Wang Ben's performance felt murderous, causing some of the spectators to wonder if both Wang Ben and Wang Tong were sworn enemies in the beginning.
On the other hand, Wang Tong was seen defending steadily. So far, he was able to demonstrate his flawless defense against all of Wang Ben's punches. In the eyes of Wang Tong's opponent, his previous performances in Battlecraft Combat would be described as disgusting!
So disgusting that it had given Flash goosebumps!
Yet, he had once again shocked everyone with his active performances in METAL Combat.
Wang Tong successfully parried Wang Ben's punches, and quickly knocked him off with a somersault and a double-kick. Wang Ben was finally wounded by Wang Tong's ferocious attacks; he was seen bleeding on the corner of his mouth.
It was an unbelievable fight indeed. People had always doubted Wang Ben's capability before this, yet, now all of them were amazed by his outstanding performance and extremely powerful Soul Energy.
Wang Tong took a deep breath and stabilized the circulation of his Tactics of the Blade. Undeniably, Wang Ben's mightiness made him a ferocious fighter in the battlefield. Sooner or later, he would be able to dominate the entire universe with his Fist of the Racing Tiger. After all, he was the "Golden Boy" of Earth Confederation. In fact, he could've dominated already if it weren't because of Wang Tong's insane performance.
Wang Ben got up and wiped off the blood from his mouth, then looked towards Wang Tong with a tenacious expression, knowing that he had no reasons to hold back anymore.
As a fighter who was skilled in punching techniques, Wang Ben didn't continue his attacks since he could tell that obviously there were something strange about Wang Tong's punches. Not only he was unable to break through with his Fist of the Racing Tiger, but the impact dispersed from Wang Tong's punch had also inflicted quite an amount of damage to his body, and even inhibited the performance of Fist of the Racing Tiger.
However, Wang Ben wasn't surprised at all. Instead, it was rather expected from Wang Tong's mysterious attainments in martial arts. Nevertheless, Wang Ben had always been admiring Wang Tong's strength! He would have to bring his A-game if he wanted to win.
Roar…!
Wang Ben was flinging his fists with all his might and his Soul Energy was increasing rapidly. Instead of wasting time like Cisco, Wang Ben mustered all of his strength and charged his GN Force count to two hundred instantly. Everyone was able to tell that the nature of Wang Ben's GN Force had changed completely, and Wally's face was even paler when he saw that.
The reason of him being ignored by Wang Ben was simple, Wally was definitely no match for him.
Wang Ben had been demonstrating his standard power as the successor of Fist of the Racing TIger since the beginning, and right now, his performance had escalated from standard to extreme!
He wasn't an ordinary student in the first place. He was the son of General Hu Ben, and he possessed a greater political influence and had a brighter future compared to most of the ordinary people. His standard represented the standard of Earth Confederation's younger elites.
Months ago, Wang Ben had fallen into a great despair due to the failure in his first attempt of Mind Opening Operation. Yet, he was able to bounce back within a short period of time and advanced as a Level Five Fighter. Since then, the whole world was left speechless by his amazing breakthrough.
Nevertheless, Wang Ben had no intention of stopping at two hundred. As the son of a military officer who had been through hell, Wang Ben feared nothing, not even death. However, his life was filled with dilemmas, one of them being Wang Tong, whom Wang Ben had been seeing as a brother after he took a hit for him during the incident on Paradise Island. Also, Wang Tong had saved them from various situations as well.
After all, they had gone through thick and thin together, just like real brothers! However, Wang Ben was unable to go against his father, which triggered Wang Ben to transmit all of his anger and dilemma into strength, or else he would definitely go crazy!
Roar…!
Wang Ben's Soul Energy had reached two hundred and thirty sols! How did he do that?
Back then, everyone was so jealous and envious when Jiang Long, the nineteen-year-old successor of Firmament Palm Strike, became a Level Five Fighter. Yet, a moment ago, the fifteen-year-old Wang Ben, who had also recently become a Level Five Fighter, startled everyone with his astonishing two hundred and thirty sols Soul Energy!
Everyone stood up from their seat, knowing that they had just witnessed the birth of another miracle! Wang Ben's splendid performance had made him a proud successor of General Hu Ben's glorious career in the military! Not to mention a successor with a promising future would have what it took to make changes in the current political and military forces, especially the middle forces.
If this weren't a match, Wang Ben would've been surrounded by people immediately. Yet, there was only one thing in Wang Ben's mind for now, which was to defeat Wang Tong!
Wally was absolutely stunned. Originally, he had been eagerly wanting to challenge Wang Ben because he was extremely confident with his rapier. After all, there was no way he could simply surrender his title as the No.1 amongst first graders. However, he would have no choice but to surrender the title now, regardless if he were willing or not.
Besides him, even the second graders were intimidated by Wang Ben's strength. Clearly, everyone in Capth had remembered Wang Ben's name even though he only enrolled recently. He had become the latest celebrity amongst the aces in this magnificent academy.
No one would ever doubt Wang Ben. The reason he remained silent was not because he was weak and timid, but he was just trying to keep a low profile.
Samantha knew that Wag Ben was really strong, but she didn't expect that he would have such improvement after his enrollment in Capth. She had no idea if she should be happy or sad about that.
The team members of the alliance kept quiet too. They were upset by the fact that Wang Ben was not one of them anymore.
It seemed like the cool Apache was the only one who could understand how Wang Ben felt. After all, troubles and dilemmas were the best stimulations for one to make a breakthrough in his or her training of Soul Energy.
Without a doubt, Wang Ben had made it.
It was hard for people to change their personality in a short period of time, especially folks like Wang Ben.
Wang Ben was way different from Cisco, even though both of them were Level Five Fighters. Not only was Wang Ben more persistent, but his GN Force too had also reached the highest level, making him impossible to be ambushed.
Wang Ben was still the first one who struck back, as more and more people began to wonder if Wang Ben really hated Wang Tong that much. Nevertheless, both of them were only students, so what sort of hatred could it be?
This time, Wang Tong dashed towards Wang Ben instead of staying put. Clearly, he sensed that it would be bad if Wang Ben managed to fully charge his energy force.
Bam…
Wang Tong was the one who got knocked back this time.
The stronger the GN Force, the denser the Fist of the Racing Tiger would become. In fact, most of the techniques and also the inner force within Fist of the Racing Tiger required GN Force, and the stronger, the better. Since Wang Ben had successfully become a Level Five Fighter, of course there would be improvements.
Wang Ben didn't pursue his opponent. Instead, he yelled out loud as he was all fired-up, "Wang Tong, defeat me if you want to win!"
Wang Tong got up while shaking his head with a fake smile. Of course he would like to win, but not like this. However, since this was what Wang Ben asked for, he would give him the fight he had been longing for.
Wang Tong charged his Soul Energy until one hundred and ninety sols, which made some of Wang Ben's supporters giggle. They thought he was going to advance to Level Five as well. However, they were relieved they saw it didn't happen. After all, not everyone was capable of becoming a Level Five Fighter.
Wang Tong grabbed his fists and channeled his GN Force towards them, emitting the sound of thunder. On the other side, Wang Ben was observing cautiously.
"Here I come!"
Squib Dash — Thunder Punch!
Wang Ben didn't back down. Instead, he chose to counter with his two hundred and thirty sols Soul Energy, unleashing his "Descent of the Tiger!"
Swoosh!
Wham!
Both fighters were hit back by the recoil; their attacks were equally strong!
Everyone was amazed by what they were witnessing. How on earth was a Level Four Fighter able to stand against the Level Five Fist of the Racing Tiger?
Wang Ben held his fists together and began to infuse his body with GN Force, then roared and dashed across the ring, leaving mirage images of his movements as he did that. His energy was rising, and his Soul Energy was clearly on the upper hand in this situation. As the roar echoed, Wang Ben's Soul Energy even took the form of a tiger as he dashed.
Bam… Bam…
Both fighters clashed against each other again. None of them chose to defend this time because it was technically impossible. The roar of a tiger and the sound of thunder were still echoing around the arena as they exchanged punches with each other.
Wang Ben slightly had the upper hand. Furthermore, his Fist of the Racing Tiger was technically more than enough to subdue Wang Tong. But even though Wang Tong was placed in a disadvantageous situation, his attacks were still effective and that strange looking Thunder Punch of his was still able to withstand Fist of the Racing Tiger's ferocious impacts.
After parrying four of Wang Ben's heavy punches, Wang Tong saw an opening and immediately threw a punch towards Wang Ben's chest. But it was somehow ineffective, and the impact was absorbed by Wang Ben's body in the end. Later on, Wang Ben countered by throwing another powerful punch towards Wang Tong.
Wham…
Both fighters were separated by the impact from the punch. Not only forceful attacks like these were fairly exhausting, fighters could also be seriously injured. Unlike a stage performance, their fight had become a bloody and brutal brawl.
Wang Ben was not interested in giving u. He understood clearly that he would never be able to defeat Wang Tong with only the normal Fist of the Racing Tiger. He would have to unleash his killing move if he wanted to win. Then, Wang Ben lowered his body and overlaid his palms onto each other, mimicking the movement of a tiger!
Chapter 197: M...Monster!
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
"Did you notice that Wang Ben's battle rhythm focused on charging attacks?" Cisco asked suddenly.
"Indeed, it seems like he isn't confident in winning at all." Terrance nodded as he acknowledged the pressure within. Honestly, both him and Cisco were strong, but definitely not stronger than Wang Ben. It would put him in a troublesome situation if Wang Ben lost in the end, not to mention it would become an inglorious victory for Terrance if both Wang Ben and Wang Tong were severely injured after their fight, and it would never feel right.
"Terrance, how does Wang Tong's weird punching technique be able to stand against Fist of the Racing TIger?" Wally was amazed by what he saw.
"Perhaps it is due to the way he utilizes GN Force. Normally, people would focus their GN Force around their fists during battles to enhance the effectiveness of the attacks. Fist of the Racing TIger is powerful because it has a different way of distributing GN Force to maximize its damages. As for Wang Tong's mysterious Thunder Punch, judging from the unusual rumbling sound, I think it also had a different way of distributing GN Force."
Terrance closely observed every detail and changes in the ring. If Wang Ben lost, he would have to fight next, and he had to make sure that there were no mistakes on his turn.
Wang Ben charged towards Wang Tong once again. However, his pacing changed this time. Normally, Wang Ben's pacing was simple and straightforward in order to match his Fist of the Racing Tiger. But this time, Wang Ben was seen utilizing Dash of the Tiger created by General Hu Ben!
Back then, Wang Ben had no choice but to take straightforward steps because he wasn't powerful enough to master everything. Yet, as soon as he was promoted to a Level Five Fighter, he immediately began to master the essence of Dash of the Tiger.
Everyone knew that martial arts were all about balance. Since the weakness of punch-style fighters was their lower torso, hence they would have to practice matching pacing as well in order to maintain the strength of their tactics and also protect themselves. As for Wang Ben, he had significantly increased the power of his tactics by unleashing Dash of the Tiger!
Wang Tong immediately focused. He wasn't going to charge recklessly towards Wang Ben who had combined Fist of the Racing Tiger with Dash of the Tiger, enabling him to drastically improve his aim and timing. Somehow, this was more intimidating than the power of a Level Five Fighter.
As Wang Ben was boosted by Dash of the Tiger, he had completely turned into pressuring attack mode, giving Wang Tong a hard time to defend against the true strength of Fist of the Racing Tiger. Wang Ben managed to throw out two punches in a flash, and Wang Tong instantly felt the pain, while his body was shaking after defending against it. Somehow, the impact managed to penetrate his defense even though Wang Tong had successfully blocked the punches.
Noticing he had nullified Wang Tong's defense, Wang Ben aimed at Wang Tong's shoulder and unleashed Leap of the Tiger, sending him flying across the arena.
It was an intense takedown.
Every student of Capth cheered aloud with their thunderous applause. This match had definitely proven Wang Ben's status as an elite in Capth. Everyone acknowledged that he should be the true No.1 amongst first graders.
"Halmond, send a letter to General Hu Ben after this to thank him for raising such an incredible son."
"Yes, sir," Halmond replied politely.
It seemed like the principal was very pleased with Wang Ben. No wonder he was so supportive towards the Golden Hawk Union. Obviously, this newly risen political and military force would be able to strengthen Earth Confederation. However, there was nothing much they can do for now because House of Ma and House of Li were still the main foundation of Earth Confederation. The only thing Flark could do was to recruit new and strong blood, not to mention Wang Ben's status was different from the others.
One's personality would be completely reflected in his or her battling methods. Basically, Flark could tell that Wang Ben was an obedient yet clear-minded kid based on the information when he entered Capth, his past performances in Ayrlarng, and also the incident on Paradise Island; which was why Flark liked him very much.
Obstinate kids like him had become lesser in recent years.
"Get up!" Commanded Wang Ben. He didn't want this fight to end so soon!
Wang Tong gathered himself and got up slowly. Wang Tong would be able to defeat Wang Ben for sure if he were just using regular Fist of the Racing Tiger. However, things had changed as he added in Dash of the Tiger. Clearly, these tactics were not something to be taken lightly. After all, they were known as one of Earth Confederation's greatest tactics.
Wang Tong was left with two choices, the first one was to expose his two hundred and fifty-six nodes Tactics of the Blade in public. Even though it was hard to be noticed, but things would really get messy if someone were able to notice that, which was why he dared not to use it here. He wouldn't care much if he were still his old-self, but times had changed, and he had a lot of secrets to keep. He also had to cover for Old Fart, just in case he was actually a Level-S fugitive.
As mentioned by Massa, he would eventually have to take those off someday, even though he still wished to wear them a bit longer.
As soon as Wang Tong scanned his thumbprint, those magnetic cuffs he had been wearing since the special training came off and fell hard onto the ground.
Students of Capth were very familiar with magnetic cuffs; those were, in fact, military grade insane training devices. The people of Capth were stunned and silenced as soon as Wang Tong removed his restrains.
A while ago, Principal Halmond was very confident that they were going to win in no time. Yet, his face immediately turned green after this jaw-dropping scene occurred… Was Wang Tong actually a monster?
Principal Flark was surprised as well. He hadn't seen such surprise in many years, then he turned towards Samantha and smiled from the bottom of his heart. He was very pleased that Samantha was indeed fully prepared for this day. Flark had to admit that she did very well this time.
Samantha was able to notice the envious and suspicious glares from the crowd, but it didn't bother her. All of a sudden, she had completely forgotten about those politics and ambitions of hers, as Wang Tong's manliness had melted her heart. It was an indescribably sweet sensation indeed.
Finally, everyone understood why Wang Ben chose to go mainly offensive. It was outrageous to see a fighter with two sets of magnetic cuffs was able to withstand the ferocious attacks of a Level Five Fighter.
What a monster!
"Don't tell me you were trying to defeat me while wearing them." Wang Ben gave Wang Tong a cold glare as he said that in his stone-cold voice.
Wang Tong relaxed his wrists and feet. His body felt weird after removing those restrains, and it seemed like a great idea to try out his improvements on Wang Ben. As soon as a person got used to the strength of those magnetic cuffs, their effectiveness would gradually decrease. Noticing that he had often forgotten about those restrains on his arms and legs, Wang Tong realized that it was time for him to take them off.
Wang Tong knew that as soon as he released those cuffs, his strength and speed would be significantly boosted; it would literally give him wings.
Wang Tong smiled and replied, "Well then, here I come!"
The figure of his body disappeared the moment he finished his sentence… What an incredible speed!
Wang Tong dashed towards Wang Ben in a blink of an eye, and Wang Ben threw out a punch with his instinct. However, it missed Wang Tong due to his incredible speed. As soon as he got behind Wang Ben, Wang Tong unleashed his dynamic Thunder Punch towards Wang Ben's back.
With no room to counter, Wang Ben was knocked away by the forceful attack.
What a monstrous speed!
Even Apache, who was proud of his speed, got startled by what he had witnessed. That was insanely fast! He would have already lost if he were to fight against an opponent with such a speed.
Wang Ben stood up, then adjusted his breathing and unleashed a thunderous roar. He charged towards Wang Tong with his Dash of the Tiger and thrust his Fist of the Racing Tiger… but it missed!
Wang Tong managed to dodge it with his amazing speed. He angled his nimble body, then threw out another punch towards Wang Ben!
Wang Ben took another hit, his speed no match against Wang Tong's! Aside from his speed, Wang Tong's strength had also increased a lot. The punch had caused Wang Ben to cough out blood.
The crowd watched in silence, and the people of Capth were never this nervous before.
Wang Tong stood still and hoped that Wang Ben would give up. He had no intentions to harm a friend. In fact, he had been holding back, knowing that Wang Ben could've been killed if he went full force.
However, Wang Ben didn't surrender. He got up and wiped off his blood, then charged towards Wang Tong once again like a beast. But obviously, he wasn't able to hit Wang Tong.
Wang Tong had no choice but to throw another Thunder Punch towards Wang Ben. This time, it got him on his underbelly and shattered his defense. Unable to control his body, Wang Ben was blasted off by the impact and hit hard on the ground.
Wang Tong knew the pain would be unbearable if a person were hit at the underbelly by a strong impact, and he wished Wang Ben would surrender this time. Even though it was a strong punch, Wang Tong didn't inflict any damage to his bones.
After coughing out a pool of blood, Wang Ben held together and got up.
"Sir, this is..." Halmond seemed worried. He had no idea why would Wang Ben insist on getting up.
Flark waved his hand and stopped Halmond from interrupting. Halmond had no choice but to stand back.
Soldiers were meant to get injured, not to mention the number of brawls like this had decreased lately throughout the academies. Back then, battles amongst academies used to be bloody and gory, and students were used to getting hurt. Yet, those fights had become entertainment somehow ever since the emergence of TPA.
Fights without injuries were not the real deal! After all, it was all about blood and gore!
Soldiers and fighters were meant to be bloodthirsty.
Wang Ben stared at Wang Tong straight in the eyes, and once again dashed across and unleashed his Descent of the Tiger!
Wham…
It was followed by another forceful punch. People began to wonder if he were in fact immortal…
Bam…
Wang Tong didn't dodge. Instead, he grabbed Wang Ben by his fists and took a few steps back, followed by a strong thrust with his knee towards Wang Ben's abdomen. With Wang Ben's fists still in his hands, Wang Tong tilted his body and finished off with a grappling toss! Wang Ben was thrown hard towards the ground.
His attacks were practically useless now.
Everyone remained silent. This was not the Capth they used to know anymore.
Candidates of Battlecraft Combat were stunned as well. They couldn't believe that he was the guy who had defeated Bisu and Flash a while ago! Most importantly, wasn't Wang Tong the main candidate of Battlecraft Combat?
The crowd wasn't expecting Wang Ben to get up, yet he managed to stand up even though the impact had caused his body to stagger. However, his vision was blurry, and didn't even have the strength to wipe off his bloodied mouth.
Unlike fights in the virtual space, injuries hurt in real battles. Normal, students could've been dead already if they were hit like this continuously.
Wang Ben had no reasons to continue fighting as he had already proven his capability in this match. There was no reason for him to fight the insane monster who had been wearing two sets of magnetic cuffs.
Students of Ayrlarng said nothing as well. Obviously, Wang Ben was not fighting for the sake of Capth, as he wasn't someone who would care much about glory. However, they couldn't help wondering why Wang Ben wanted to carry on fighting.