Chapter 214: Arm of the Blazing Kirin
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
The next match seemed much more interesting. After all, METAL Combat was still the favorite of many people since it was much easier to understand than Battlecraft Combat. Furthermore, one of the fighters was, in fact, the successor of tactics of the Blaze.
This fight was, in fact, the duel between two of the Five Great Tactics.
The match would begin in five minutes. The live broadcast was completely packed, and the viewers from all three planets had exceeded fifty million people. The level of excitement was like never before!
Hwo Quan was known as one of Lie Kent's "Ferocious Four. Of course, he was also famous for hanging around Lie Kent and disturbing the community like a bunch of hooligans. Nevertheless, setting his attitude aside, without a doubt Hwo Quan's talent was not to be underestimated.
Wang Ben and the rest of the team were fairly excited. They couldn't wait to see how Einherjar Wannabe would stand against the Tactics of the Blaze's incinerating attribute. After all, it was almost impossible for someone to subdue Tactics of the Blaze without equipping METAL Suit. Moreover, the incineration would occur even if it were a normal clash between GN Forces.
Not to mention, Hwo Quan had also been playing the role as Lie Kent's "human sandbag", aside from learning companion. In other words, Hwo Quan's strength was trained by getting his a*s kicked since a young age. Hence, the standard of his strength was definitely above average.
Although Wang Ben's Fist of the Racing Tiger was known as one of the strongest tactics, it was nothing compared to the Five Greatest Tactics of the mankind.
This match had received a lot of attention from the public, mostly because Tactics of the Blaze was involved in it. As a matter of fact, only the people of House of Lie preferred making public appearances like this. The rest from the other four Great Houses preferred to keep low profiles instead.
"Haha, this is gonna be fun, and looks like Quanny the dog is even more arrogant than usual today." Li Ruo-Er teased while hugging Ma Xiaoru by her arms.
"Shh, keep it down Ruo-Er."
"Relax, they can't hear us from here." Li Ruo-Er smiled towards Ma Xiaoru.
Two of the students from Capth who were sitting in the front row stood up and gave away their seats immediately when they saw Li Ruo-Er smile towards them. Then, the boys went off and stood happily at the back like a couple of puppies enjoying their treats.
Wang Ben gave Ma Xiaoru a cold glance, then turned around and focused back on the screen.
It seemed like Wang Tong had no intention of questioning Ma Xiaoru about her transfer to Capth, because he had his own secrets to keep as well.
"Ruo-Er, is that Wang Ben?"
"Yup, that's the boy genius among us first graders whose Soul Energy has exceeded two hundred and thirty sols within half a year after mind-opening. He was also recently added to the top ten ranking of Capth. Impressive, isn't it?" Li Ruo-Er smiled.
"Shh, quiet… Seems like he hates me. Have I done something that offended him?"
"Nah, you think too much. He's always like that with his emotionless expression. You don't have to bother with him." Li Ruo-Er was trying to divert Ma Xiaoru's attention.
However, Ma Xiaoru felt like she recognized Wang Ben even though it was her first time seeing him… or perhaps it was just her imagination.
It was easy for Li Ruo-Er to disregard Hwo Quan. In fact, she was the only one in this room who could do so. After all, people from House of Li were born with the right to be arrogant, especially his almighty brother Li Shimin, a.k.a "the Little Emperor". In fact, Li Shimin and Lie Kent were the only two within the Five Great Houses who had fought each other. That match ended with Li Shimin defeating Lie Kent, instantly raising the former's popularity throughout the Earth Confederation.
Unlike Lie Kent, Li Shimin was often praised by the people for his down-to-earth reputation, like the boy next door. He had never asked for any special treatment in the military, and he preferred to be treated like an ordinary kid.
In short, Li Shimin was not as mysterious as Patroclus the "hermit" and also the young Cardinal of Church of the Deity. But most importantly, he wasn't as troublesome as Lie Kent the philanderer.
As for Hwo Quan, without a doubt, he was the perfect candidate to test how good Einherjar Wannabe really was. After all, everyone was curious if Einherjar Wannabe was really that God-like, or he was actually just an extremely vulnerable weakling who was only able to withstand a punch or two…
Li Ruo-Er and her Tactics of the Enchantress were just like a match made in heaven, not to mention Li Ruo-Er's personality did resemble a lot to a real enchantress. As for Ma Xiaoru, her condition remained the same. Nevertheless, Li Ruo-Er still wondered how Ma Xiaoru able to achieve level five of Tactics of the Enchantress. But it would be fairly impossible to know the answer since Ma Xiaoru's memories were sealed off for the time being.
Surprisingly, Li Ruo-Er had been incredibly friendly to Ma Xiaoru upon her arrival at Capth. The reason of them not being close back then was because they barely had time to get familiar with each other. Moreover, with Li Ruo-Er being able to freely manipulate her expression and emotions through Tactics of the Enchantress, she was able to turn herself into someone Ma Xiaoru was comfortable with. All it took was a little bit of time.
Li Ruo-Er's next step was to use her influence to guide Ma Xiaoru into fancying Li Shimin, and when the right time came, the marriage between House of Ma and House of Li would be the biggest gossip of the entire universe. To be honest, Li Ruo-Er didn't really care about the outcome; all she enjoyed was the fun and excitement of being the matchmaker and manipulator in this series of events.
Apparently, the reason Li Ruo-Er stopped her brother from killing Wang Tong was just because she saw him as a good chess piece to spice up this "drama". Somehow, the game would lose its excitement if everything went just as she had planned.
An impish smile seemed to be hiding at the back of Li Ruo-Er's pure and elegant face.
The atmosphere in the auditorium was immediately altered by the presence of both Li Ruo-Er and Ma Xiaoru as they sat down. The students of Capth couldn't help staring at those two beauties while concentrating on the match.
Finally, the match between Hwo Quan and Einherjar Wannabe had begun.
Hwo Quan was almost two meters tall, quite tall for a Martian, not to mention he seemed powerful indeed. Martian fighters looked distinctive from Earthlings and Ivantians. In fact, all three races were fairly easy to be told apart. Although Martians actually originated from planet Earth, yet their temperament had changed a lot after living on Mars for many generations.
Both fighters entered the virtual arena. Wang Tong had regained his strength after initializing Tactics of the Blade for one circulation during his break. As for Hwo Quan, he didn't even bother to warm up his body.
Lately, Wang Tong noticed that his Soul Energy had improved a lot ever since his encounter with the golden light orb. With such an improvement, he would normally already become a Level Five Fighter. However, Wang Tong felt that his Cinnabar Field seemed to be holding back his Soul Energy, and automatically assumed that the failure to break through was due to the lack of Soul Energy. Hence, he had been training even harder lately and trying to accumulate more Soul Energy for the advancement.
Judging from Hwo Quan's physical appearance, he was obviously an impulsive fighter. Nevertheless, Hwo Quan was well aware that a person's appearance could be decisive. Hence, he had been spending some time looking into Einherjar Wannabe's profile before the fight in order to understand his opponent thoroughly.
To be honest, Hwo Quan really wasn't interested in Einherjar Wannabe since he wasn't a PA fan. The reason Hwo Quan took on Einherjar Wannabe was because someone else was interested in this fella. So, he decided challenge Einherjar Wannabe in order to find out who on earth was hiding behind the "mask"!
As a matter of fact, everything in this universe could be imitated except for the Five Great Tactics. Even though Einherjar Wannabe had been surprising everyone with his ability to mimic the other fighter's tactics, but definitely not his!
"Yo, ready to get you're a*s kicked?" Hwo Quan yelled across with huge confidence.
Wang Tong smiled while giving him a signal to strike at him anytime.
Hwo Quan was holding two warhammers when he arrived, but he decided to drop them on the ground when he saw Wang Tong wasn't armed, "Well then, here's a couple of punches for you!"
Roar!
Hwo Quan's body was surrounded by a reddish glow as his GN Force ignited, looking dangerous and intimidating like a ferocious ogre.
Hwo Quan's warcry was immediately followed by him thrusting a fierce and hard punch towards Wang Tong. That punch was totally different from Wang Ben's Fist of the Racing Tiger. As it turned out, Fist of the Racing Tiger's fierceness was generated from the inner strength. However, Hwo Quan's powerful punch was instead generated from the outer physical strength of his body, like he was born with such a monstrous ability.
Wham…
Wang Tong couldn't wait to witness his opponent's Tactics of the Blaze. He was curious of the secret behind these extraordinary tactics which was also known as one of the Five Great Tactics.
But as Hwo Quan's punch approached, Wang Tong's "spidey sense" kicked in and noticed the grim smile on Hwo Quan's face. Suddenly, Wang Tong sensed another ginormous pressure coming towards him, and at the same time, he noticed Hwo Quan's left arm puff up, like magma-hot flame was trying to burst through his arm. Then, a thunderous roar shocked the whole arena as Hwo Quan's fist landed on Wang Tong.
Being one of the younger generation's "Fab Five", and also the successor of House of Lie, Lie Kent had been receiving the toughest training from the best coaches since childhood. He was even sent to a special department to enhance his Soul Energy. With Hwo Quan as his sparring partner, Lie Kent had been trying out his tactics and techniques against him, and using him as a sandbag day after day. This was why Hwo Quan's capability was definitely not something to be taken lightly.
That punch immediately reminded everyone that Tactics of the Blaze was not something that could be learned by anyone else!
Bam…
Bullseye!
The impact from the punch sent Wang Tong flying across the arena. It was a brutal and forceful punch indeed…
That was the power of Hwo Quan's "Arm of the Blazing Kirin"!
Hwo Quan stretched his neck after throwing that punch. To be honest, it wasn't very satisfying. He did warn Einherjar Wannabe that he was going to throw him "a couple of punches", yet Einherjar Wannabe didn't get his hint at all. Perhaps the fella was dumber than he expected?
To him, it seemed like both Earthlings and Ivantians had become extremely weak recently, and TPA seems to be filled with nothing but weaklings. No wonder a jackass like that was able to "succeed and dominate". Furthermore, those No.1's from various academies seemed to be even worse. Perhaps the era of Mars had finally arrived!
Hwo Quan took a quick glance at Einherjar Wannabe, who was currently lying on the floor, while waiting for the system to declare a one-hit knockout. It seemed like his young master was right about that fella.
…
All of a sudden, Hwo Quan flung his fist towards the ground and followed by another downward thrust that shattered the arena floor.
Wham… Bash…
A burst of flame then engorged the shattered arena floor. Einherjar Wannabe, who was lying on the ground earlier seemed to have vanished.
Suddenly, he reappeared and charged towards Hwo Quan with a chopping attack. Hwo Quan noticed his presence and immediately leaped and dodged without breaking a sweat. Surprisingly, he was able to perform such nimble movements despite his colossal and well-built body.
Swoosh…
Both fighters took a few steps back as they landed on the ground almost at the same time. Einherjar Wannabe's abdomen was scorched by Hwo Quan's burning fist.
Hwo Quan's thick brows frowned. He didn't expect Einherjar Wannabe would be able to withstand his Arm of the Blazing Kirin. Perhaps he wasn't that weak after all!
On the other hand, Wang Tong was still feeling the burning sensation in his abdomen. Aside from EMF, the other strongest defense in his body would be the Field of Qi, which was generated by the circulation in his abdomen. If it weren't because of the circulation from his Tactics of the Blade, Wang Tong would've been knocked out instantly a moment ago.
Chapter 215: Onslaught
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Wang Tong might be experienced in fighting Zergs, but he was definitely still quite inexperienced in fighting against other human beings. After all, human brains were way more complicated than those creepy crawlies. Nevertheless, Wang Tong really didn't expect that the first forceful punch was only a decoy. Clearly the number of talented fighters in this world was way more than he expected.
However, Wang Tong did feel happy for getting hit, as that was a chance for him to witness a totally different initialization of GN Force. Even though that punch was packed with an intense power, yet he didn't feel any sort of incinerating force at all aside from the burning sensation. Perhaps Tactics of the Blaze was kind of overly exaggerated?
Or maybe it was because his opponent still wasn't strong enough to do so?
Meanwhile, Hwo Quan was also wondering why Einherjar Wannabe wasn't knocked out by his ferocious punch. He began to suspect if Einherjar Wannabe actually possessed a rare and unique type of defensive GN Force.
Nevertheless, the tougher his opponent, the more excited he would become.
Thump…
Hwo Quan unleashed a mighty stomp, and his bulky body was seen dashing across the arena, turning him into a colossal titan on fire as he charged towards Einherjar Wannabe!
Wang Tong remained still as he began to initiate his Tactics of the Blade. It was time for him to see how strong Hwo Quan really was.
Einherjar Wannabe roared like a tiger and countered with Fist of the Racing Tiger!
Hwo Quan grinned. He was surprised that Einherjar Wannabe would counter with such a worthless technique, "Take this, loser!"
The clash between the blazing fire and the roaring tiger!
Hwo Quan wasn't bothered by the clash at all, because the flame from his Tactics of the Blaze was strong enough to scorch through any sort of obstacles easily.
Bam....
Wham...
Both fighters were evenly matched, and the battle then immediately escalated to a match of close combat. After analyzing Hwo Quan's body structure and tactics mastery, instead of going full force, Einherjar Wannabe seemed to have chosen a more relaxed sparring method to mingle with Hwo Quan while searching for an opening to finish him off.
Nevertheless, Einherjar Wannabe's imitated Fist of the Racing Tiger was much weaker than Hwo Quan's real Tactics of the Blaze. After all, loud cries had absolutely nothing to do with the power of a punch.
If this situation carried on, Einherjar Wannabe would be in deep trouble.
Wham…
Both fighters took a few steps back after throwing more than fifty punches at each other. Hwo Quan seemed to have gotten more arrogant. As for Wang Tong, he realized that Hwo Quan's punching techniques were not as good as he thought, and he seemed to be relying on the power from Tactics of the Blaze instead. In general, Hwo Quan's punching techniques was no match for the Fist of the Racing Tiger. However, Wang Tong did feel surprised by the force from his arm. Based on Wang Tong's observation, Hwo Quan would need time to prep himself before unleashing this altered form of GN Force.
"Anything else you'd like to show me?" Wang Tong asked. Without a doubt, this was a rare opportunity for him to witness the unique techniques from such ultimate tactics.
However, he seemed to have pissed Hwo Quan off.
Li Ruo-Er couldn't help laughing when she heard that. She began to notice that Einherjar Wannabe was actually quite cunning himself, and he was definitely planning something. Nevertheless, his question sounded a bit childish, like a kid asking for more candies.
Hwo Quan looked puzzled. Without a doubt, Einherjar Wannabe's GN Force seemed a bit strange. At this point, he should've been knocked out by his toxic flame already. Yet, Einherjar Wannabe was still looking fine after getting hit by his Blazing Punches and also the horrendous strike from his Arm of the Blazing Kirin.
Einherjar Wannabe would never be able to neutralize the poison from his toxic flame, especially since he had completely taken the hit from his Arm of the Blazing Kirin… unless he practiced any of the Five Great Tactics.
But right now, instead of waiting for the toxic flame to work its magic, Hwo Quan wanted to smash Einherjar Wannabe into pieces instead!
Hwo Quan focused his vision and tilted his body. The reddish aura that surrounded his body had was becoming hotter as he was accumulating strength.
Einherjar Wannabe was standing on the other end like a spectator, waiting for his opponent to prep himself.
"Charge of the Blazing Kirin." Ma Xiaoru said softly.
"Haha, that's just brute strength. However, it really does suits Tactics of the Blaze. Einherjar Wannabe seems to have totally underestimated Hwo Quan. Although the exquisiteness of Hwo Quan's techniques was not as good as the previous opponent, the most fearsome thing about Tactics of the Blaze is its ability to unwittingly finish off its opponent. Haha, I'm actually quite curious of how Einherjar Wannabe is feeling right now." Li Ruo-Er said with a fascinating smile.
"Do you mind giving a further explanation, Ms. Li Ruo-Er?" Wally, who was sitting far back, asked all of a sudden. However, some did suspect that he was just trying to strike a conversation with the beautiful lady.
"Unless he practiced the other four Great Tactics or some powerful tactics like Fist of the Racing Tiger since a young age, the poison from Tactics of the Blaze's toxic flame would have penetrated into his body upon contact. In fact, I believe that the poison has spread across fifty percent of his body already, and it would be a matter of time for the effect to kick in. Perhaps there's a delay in the live streaming." Wally was mesmerized by Li Ruo-Er's gentle smile as she explained.
After all, no one wouldn't be attracted to her beauty and charm.
According to Li Ruo-Er's explanation, a biological "time bomb" had been planted into Einherjar Wannabe's body.
All of a sudden, Hwo Quan charged towards Einherjar Wannabe in a flash. He didn't yell as he charged, but the momentum of his attack was even fiercer than before!
Einherjar Wannabe's sense of danger was tingling again!
Upon narrowing down the distance between him and Einherjar Wannabe, Hwo Quan's enormous body suddenly gained speed in a blink of an eye, dashing with the speed three times faster than before like a derailed express train!
This time however, Hwo Quan didn't strike with his fists because he knew it would be ineffective against Einherjar Wannabe, as punching was not part of his mastery. Instead of practicing basic techniques, Martians tended to focus more on those epic techniques.
Hwo Quan unleashed the Dash of the Blazing Kirin!
Hwo Quan's left arm became three times bigger than before, huge enough to cover Einherjar Wannabe's whole body. It really looked like a train that was trying to ram him down.
Wang Tong quickly defended. However, brute force like this would still be able to deal some serious damages regardless of defending or not.
In general, the charging action at the beginning was just an ignition to the real attack, which normally would be unleashed as the range was narrowed down to three meters. As for Hwo Quan, he seemed to have infused the GN Force from the toxic flame into the charging force with his Arm of the Blazing Kirin, which was packed with GN Force from Tactics of the Blaze. With its wide striking area, it seemed like more than half of Einherjar Wannabe's body was located within the strike zone.
Without the protection from a METAL Suit, Einherjar Wannabe's defense was practically useless!
As both fighters clashed, Wang Tong's body was shot across the arena like an arrow, followed by a hard landing as his body hit the barricade of the arena.
Hwo Quan stood proudly while thinking what an idiot his opponent was. Originally, Einherjar Wannabe could've just being knocked out by the poison from his toxic flame. Yet, that fella chose to piss him off by taunting him to a fight. If this were a real battle, Einherjar Wannabe's bones would've been completely shattered already, not to mention he would still have to deal with the poison from his toxic flame. Without a doubt Einherjar Wannabe would beg to be killed right away… Hwo Quan couldn't help showing off a grim smile as he imagined Einherjar Wannabe's struggling expression.
That was definitely a one-hit-KO!
Hwo Quan turned towards the monitor. However, the system was not showing the "knockout" notification. Could it be some sort of technical problem?
All of a sudden, everyone gasped as they witnessed Einherjar Wannabe get up on his feet. He was nowhere near becoming a Level Five Fighter, yet Einherjar Wannabe was miraculously able to withstand the power of tactics of the Blaze.
To be honest, Hwo Quan's techniques were not bad, judging from the connection between his GN Force and Soul Energy. However, the effectiveness was surprisingly weaker than it seemed. With Wang Tong's current defense, there was no way Hwo Quan would be able to win against him. Meanwhile, it seemed like Hwo Quan was still waiting for something to happen to his body. But Wang Tong didn't feel anything strange for the time being.
Hwo Quan was completely startled when he saw Einherjar Wannabe patiently fix his attire… That was absolutely absurd!
Meanwhile, students from various academies were seen chatting amongst themselves with discretion. No one had any idea what was going on. As for Li Ruo-Er, Ma Xiaoru and those who understood the power of Tactics of the Blaze, they were also surprised to see what happened.
"How come he wasn't affected by the poison from his toxic flame?"
"Perhaps he has successfully blocked it? The poison should never be able to penetrate into his system if his GN Force defense mechanism remains intact." Cisco said.
As Li Ruo-Er was about to say something, Wang Ben, who had been keeping quiet, suddenly said, 'The poison from Tactics of the Blaze is extremely permeable, it would gradually penetrate the body even though the opponent had successfully defended it. Only those who practice complicated tactics of the same level would be able to neutralize the poison. Another option would be suppressing it with an offensive GN Force."
Obviously, Einherjar Wannabe wasn't the one who was offensive in this match, which meant there had to be something weird with his tactics!
Could it be Tactics of the Vayu? Or maybe it was Tactics of the Deva King?
Only those two amongst the Five Great Tactics were the ones that Einherjar Wannabe could possibly practice. Could Einherjar Wannabe possibly be the secret descendant of those two Houses?
Suddenly, Hwo Quan remembered that he was here to find out who Einherjar Wannabe really was.
"Haha, I guess I'm on the right track. After all, Earthlings and Ivantians love to mystify things and at the same time increase their own influences. If I'm not wrong, either he's one of the Dowers, or he's the A-hole Li Shimin himself!" Lie Kent said while laughing out loud.
Sitting opposite to him was a young man wearing a grayish robe with an aloof expression, smiling as he heard Lie Kent's claim.
"Actually, there's no need for you to uncover his secret identity."
"But I'm sick of him!" Lie Kent revealed an impish smile. One of his greatest enjoyments was to make others miserable.
Hwo Quan became more solemn. Clearly, his toxic flame was useless against Einherjar Wannabe. Hence, he would have to speed things up and leave no chance for Einherjar Wannabe to regain himself.
Hwo Quan unleashed another Charge of the Blazing Kirin!
On the other side of the arena, Wang Tong remained still and lifted up his arms, moving his palms into an arc shape.
Was he trying to defend by catching Hwo Quan?
Wham…
A loud bang echoed through the arena as Hwo Quan's Arm of the Blazing Kirin ram into Einherjar Wannabe directly. This time however, Wang Tong's fingers clung onto Hwo Quan's arm, stopping him from charging further.
At the same time, everyone immediately turned towards Cisco when they saw that. Clearly, Einherjar Wannabe got that idea from his previous battle with Cisco. It seemed like Einherjar Wannabe had always been able to surprise everyone by "stealing" the techniques from other fighters and make it into something even scarier.
Sadly, he would only be able to use the techniques he "stole" from his previous fight this time, as Tactics of the Blaze was inimitable after all.
Wang Tong focused every inch of his strength into his muscles while Hwo Quan was still trying to break away as he ground his teeth. He was infuriated when he found out that Einherjar Wannabe was only using his fingers to defend against his ultimate Charge of the Blazing Kirin!
Later, Hwo Quan was seen yelling aloud as he mustered the strength on his legs. Apparently, he was trying to ram Einherjar Wannabe into the wall and turn him into "meat sauce".
Meanwhile, Wang Tong quickly gathered his strength as he roared aloud, and then he jammed his fingertips into Hwo Quan's shoulder! Hwo Quan couldn't believe that his Arm of the Blazing Kirin that was loaded with GN Force had been severely wounded by Einherjar Wannabe. The pain was extremely intense.
Then, Wang Tong immediately countered with a roundhouse kick and sent Hwo Quan's colossal body straight to the ground.
Cisco's eyes were filled with nothing but envy at this point. He had been training the strength of his fingers in order to improve the effectiveness of his Iron Claws. However, it seemed like Einherjar Wannabe was quicker than him!
Without a doubt, Einherjar Wannabe's fingers had become as strong as steel.
Hwo Quan's left arm had recovered from Einherjar Wannabe's attack, but the pain was extremely unbearable since he had preset the level of pain for this virtual fight to "extreme" before the match began.
Yet, the intense pain seemed to have thoroughly infuriated Hwo Quan. He got back up and "summoned" the warhammer that was still lying on the floor. As long as he still had one arm left, there was still a chance for him to pound Einherjar Wannabe to death with his hammer.
On the other hand, Wang Tong realized that his opponent had run out of techniques. It was time for him to study how to generate the force like Hwo Quan by altering GN Force, or was it a uniqueness of his tactics?
Suddenly, a strange feeling emerged from his body. Wang Tong couldn't help but stagger and take two steps back.
Chapter 216: One-Strike-KO
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Wang Tong's face suddenly turned red, and he felt that his body was boiling.
Hwo Quan burst into laughter as he saw that, "Hey A-Hole, you're good, but you've definitely underestimated me and the ultimate Tactics of the Blaze. Right now, the poison from my toxic flame has penetrated into your heart. Even if I choose not to fight you, you'll still be knocked out in less than five seconds!"
Hwo Quan was extremely overjoyed!
Obviously, nobody liked to be a loser, and surely Hwo Quan didn't either. In fact, Hwo Quan didn't really care if his opponent was actually from House of Dower or House of Li. All he wanted to do now was to swing his hammer and smash the sh*t out of this Einherjar Wannabe fella!
Wang Tong was surprised by his current condition. Clearly, there wasn't any abnormality with his EMF. However, he did sense something burning in his cinnabar field. Most probably that was the "poison" that Hwo Quan was talking about.
Yet…
As Wang Tong began to initialize his Tactics of the Blade, instead of penetrating into his heart, the poison from Hwo QUan's toxic flame immediately moved along with the flow of energy in Wang Tong's body, instantly turning the incineration into a warm and comfortable sensation.
Wang Tong couldn't believe how lame these Tactics of the Blaze that everyone had been talking about were. After all, nothing would be able to stand against his real version of Tactics of the Blade!
Five seconds had passed, yet Einherjar Wannabe was still standing!
Hwo Quan dashed forward and slammed his warhammer towards Wang Tong. However, Wan Tong calmly raised his right hand and caught it…
Wham!
Hwo Quan didn't hold back his strength at all, but he never expected that Einherjar Wannabe was still able to muster his strength even though he was poisoned.
Wang Tong sneered at his opponent, and then unleashed a palm strike…
A red aura dispersed from Einherjar Wannabe's palm, as red as an inferno!
Was that the Firmament Palm Strike?
Or perhaps Tactics of the Blaze?
No, that was the Firmament Blazing Palm Strike!
Slam…!
Einherjar Wannabe's palm directly hit Hwo Quan on his abdomen, and Hwo Quan's face immediately turned green upon impact, like a wave of energy had burst through his defense and instantly transformed into pillars of flames that began to incinerate his insides.
"That's impossible… How did you learn Tactics of the Blaze...?"
Hwo Quan was lying on the ground with his eyes wide opened. He was completely stunned by the fact that Einherjar Wannabe was able to initialize Tactics of the Blaze!
There was no injury on the side where he was hit. However, there was a distinguish burn mark on the back of his body. The camera was even able to capture and make it into a three-dimensional close-up.
People began to wonder what on earth was that palm strike that was able to deal such a bizarre looking damage…
Some suspected it was Tactics of the Blaze judging from the scorch mark. Yet, how the hell was Einherjar Wannabe able to imitate the ultimate Tactics of the Blaze?
Apparently, every spectator from the Earth, Moon, and Mars were absolutely startled by what they saw. They even wondered if there was really anything that couldn't be learned by Einherjar Wannabe.
Even Tactics of the Blaze from the Five Great Tactics was not able to stop him…
Lie Kent's face immediately went solemn. It seemed like Einherjar Wannabe wasn't someone from House of Li or House of Dower, but clearly it wasn't someone from the House of Lie either!
Bang…
Lie Kent was so pissed that a slam from his hand completely shattered the marble table, "Goddammit! Who the f*ck is this ugly-ass troublemaker?"
"Calm down, Lie Kent. Obviously, that dude didn't know Tactics of the Blaze. The palm strike was just a way for him to release the poison in his body. Yet, I've never seen such a brutal palm strike before." Michaux Odin said with a smile.
"No, you don't get it because you're not familiar with Tactics of the Blaze. There're only two ways when it comes to dealing with the poison accumulated in one's body, either directly neutralize it with your family's Tactics of the Deity or to forcefully suppress it and spit it out with Tactics of the Vayu. Yet, this A-hole was capable of infusing the poison into Firmament Palm Strike, which is a totally different case!" Lie Kent explained. He seemed to have calmed down a little.
Nevertheless, Michaux Odin seemed to have gotten used to Lie Kent's short-temperedness, "Interesting! However, I do believe that the ones that paid most attention to this were the people from House of Li."
"Hmph, Li Shimin!" Lie Kent's eyes were blazing with flames of fury…
Einherjar Wannabe had once again hit the headlines with his sneaky mimicking skills. The number of his supporters was getting bigger, and in fact, many even hoped that he would become the next Einherjar. After all, Einherjar Wannabe was literally the best candidate for stopping those from the Five Great Houses from reigning the title.
Without a doubt, Einherjar Wannabe had become the final hope of most people. After all, no one had really come this close to surpassing the elites from the Five Great Houses.
The fact that Einherjar Wannabe was able to mimic Tactics of the Blaze had immediately blown everyone's mind. Especially the people on Mars, it had even created an uproar throughout the media. Everyone was extremely curious if Einherjar Wannabe really knew how to utilize Tactics of the Blaze!
Some even suspected if he was actually someone from House of Lie, and things were getting more complicated as the rumors and suspicions developed!
It seemed like the focus had turned towards Einherjar Wannabe's final palm strike instead of his victory. The fact that Einherjar Wannabe mimicked the Tactics of the Blaze was indeed more than enough to shock the whole universe.
Tactics of the Blaze was a set of complicated tactics of above two hundred nodes. It was insanely difficult to practice due to its strong incinerating attributes. Every single attack of this tactic contained recoil damage, and the stronger the attack, the more careful one had to be during practice. In fact, all Five Great Tactics had to be taught by masters and mentors. Practicing in secret was already incredibly dangerous, let alone mimicking during a fight.
If Einherjar Wannabe really were able to mimic tactics of the Blaze in a short period of time, it would make his identity even more mysterious. And most of all, what sort of tactics were able to overpower the world renowned Five Great Tactics?
Einherjar Wannabe's fight had become the number one topic on Earth, Moon, and Mars. Even the media corporations began to focus on Einherjar Wannabe, instantly turning him into a worldwide online celebrity.
Everyone was questioning the same thing: how was he able to do that?
On the other hand, Wang Tong was somehow disappointed. If it were a real battle, he would have the opportunity to study further about Tactics of the Blaze. Nevertheless, it might sound a bit arrogant, but he did believe that his two hundred and fifty-six nodes Tactics of the Blade was the best tactics of all, and the other tactics were actually created based on Tactics of the Blade. All of those tactics had later developed their own circulating effects as time went by. However, there was not a single set of tactics that would be able to absorb and fuse with the other tactics, and no one would even imagine something like that existed.
A strange idea came to Wang Tong's mind. He suspected that the "poison" was actually some sort of derivatives of one's Soul Energy. In short, Wang Tong believed that the incinerating sensation was actually caused by a double-dosed attack on the mental and physical self. Perhaps that was the secret of Tactics of the Blaze's dominance.
Normally, Soul Energy only served as an agent of extracting GN Force and turn it into attacking power. Yet, Tactics of the Blaze had fused Soul Energy into GN Force itself in its attacks. And to top it off, its incinerating attribute had enabled the attacker's Soul Energy to "sneak into" the opponent's body and begin dealing mental damages while physical damages were dealt by GN Force itself.
Double dosage of damage indeed!
Somehow Tactics of the Blade looked similar to Tactics of the Enchantress. However, Tactics of the Enchantress's mental damage was more direct. The attack could even control her enemy without taking any action if her practice had reached a certain level. Nevertheless, this would still be depending on the level of mental resistance possessed by the opponents.
As Wang Tong looked at the extra abilities of the other tactics, Wang Tong couldn't help but wonder why Tactics of the Blade only consisted of boring attacking methods.
Wang Tong began to submerge into his thoughts. Up till now, he had fought against both Tactics of the Enchantress and Tactics of the Blaze. Both of these tactics contained their own uniqueness. Furthermore, both tactics were similar when it came to turning Soul Energy into an offensive usage. As for Tactics of the Blade, Soul Energy was only an agent in GN Force extraction, just the same as the other tactics.
Wang Tong really wanted to reexperience the burning sensation from Tactics of the Blaze. Unfortunately, his own Soul Energy was not able to do so. Honestly, Wang Tong was impressed of Tactics of the Blaze's attacking methods, and surprisingly, the way he unleashed Firmament Palm Strike by infusing the fiery Soul Energy accumulated in his body was somehow similar to the effectiveness of Einherjar Wannabe's original Palm Strike.
Sadly, Wang Tong's imagination was limited, not to mention his current position was not suitable for him to do too many experiments. The only thing he could do was to remember the burning sensation as much as possible.
Nevertheless, Wang Tong was still bothered by the question of whether it was the Soul Energy that possessed the incinerating element or the Soul Energy causing GN Force to develop a fiery attribute? He knew that this question could not be solved for now. After all, Tactics of the Blaze would never be so intimidating if it were that simple.
"Oh, leaving already? Why don't you stay for a little longer?" The shopkeeper was sad to see his "golden goose" leave, "Hmm, looks like your credit has finished."
Wang Tong, who was busy thinking, was surprised by the shopkeeper's words, "Excuse me?"
"It seems like you've used all of your credits. Would you like to reload?"
Wang Tong was stunned, then he suddenly remembered that he had been spending a lot lately, especially during the wonderful days he had with Samantha. He had totally forgotten about the importance of income.
"Ahem, maybe next time."
"You sure? We're having a promotion right now!" The shopkeeper seemed worried when he saw his golden goose wasn't going to reload.
"Haha, it's okay. Maybe next time." Wang Tong was kind of embarrassed. Lately, as he had been focusing on "S" Society, causing him to have less time to do part-time jobs, not to mention his previous training had also taken a lot of his free time. It seemed like Wang Tong had no choice but to cut down his expenses in order to survive, which included cutting down his visits to DREAM Heaven.
Wang Tong began to calculate his expenses as he walked out the door. He really had been spending too much lately. Hence, he would have no choice but to eat less expensive food in the future. As for his clothing… it seemed like he really had overspent a lot for going on dates with Samantha.
As Wang Tong was busy thinking of ways to cut down his expenses, the shopkeeper of DREAM Heaven was seen chasing him from behind.
"Hey kid, hold on for a sec… Congratulations, you've just been selected as our lucky customer, and we're giving you one hundred credits for free!"
"Lucky customer?" Wang Tong suspected there was something wrong with the shopkeeper, but so far, he couldn't think of anything fishy.
"Here, take it. Today's my birthday and also happens to be the opening anniversary of my shop. You're so lucky!" The shopkeeper lied.
The shopkeeper then hurried back to his shop after handing Wang Tong the card. The shop was still fully occupied by the rest who were busy discussing the match on the forum.
Bump!
"Ouch, my head!" Wang Tong immediately placed his hands on his head and slowly walked back to Ayrlarng after accidentally knocking his forehead onto the lamp post.
Chapter 217: The Real and The Fake Tactics of the Blaze
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
"Were those the Tactics of the Blaze?" Miao Xiu was thinking as he stroked his chin. It didn't look like tactics of the Blaze, yet it seemed similar.
"Nope." Zhang Jin replied positively.
"Oh? But..."
"Although it's not the Tactics of the Blaze, it has proven that the Tactics practiced by this man were not afraid of the poison from its toxic flame, and were even able to store it for his own usage… In fact, none of the Five Great Tactics are able to have such ability."
Einherjar Wannabe might have logged out, yet the uproar was still escalating. If Tactics of the Blaze was not able to hold him back, it seemed like nothing from the other four Great tactics would be able to subdue him either.
The Five Great Tactics had always been the mightiest existence of all tactics that were unreachable for most people, which also explained why the Five Great Houses were always staying on top of the pyramid. Deep down, everyone had been hoping to create other tactics that would be able to surpass the Five Great Tactics.
Eventually, Einherjar Wannabe had done it.
Nevertheless, how would the Five Great Houses react to this?
Hwo Quan's defeat was not the main focus of this match, but it was the fact that Einherjar Wannabe had achieved something that the other existing tactics were unable to achieve.
Every media source seemed to have instantly focused on this shocking news.
Mars' FLT Channel had even requested to interview Lie Kent himself, and Lie Kent happily accepted the interview.
The interview was broadcasted throughout the whole universe. Amongst the successors of the Five Great Houses, Lie Kent was the only one who enjoyed showing off as well as living under the spotlight.
After a series of blabber, the voluptuous and sexy reporter then asked something that everyone was concerned about, "Is that true that the final strike used by Einherjar Wannabe was in fact Tactics of the Blaze?"
Lie Kent was deeply fascinated by the beautiful reporter sitting in front of him. Sexy, steamy girls were always his cup of tea. However, he was acting serious in front of the camera.
"Yes, that's definitely the Xinfa of Tactics of the Blaze. According to what I know, Tactics of the Blaze were the only tactics that possessed an incinerating GN Force in this world."
"So, you are saying that he literally knew how to use Tactics of the Blaze?" The beautiful reporter asked again.
Her question seemed to have pissed a lot of the viewers off. Clearly it wasn't the Tactics of the Blaze. They were surprised that the voluptuous reporter would ask such a dumb question.
However, sexy girls would never get Lie Kent angry. He happily answered, "It's NOT the Tactics of the Blaze. In fact, it was none of the Five Great Tactics, and I believe it would be the strongest tactics of all. Even the perfect tactics of the Deva King would never be able to do so, let alone the other tactics."
People were surprised that Lie Kent would praise another human being, especially due to the fact that Einherjar Wannabe was an Earthling. However, Lie Kent still managed to make room for discriminating Li Shimin.
"Are you planning on challenging Einherjar Wannabe?" The beautiful reporter asked.
"If Einherjar Wannabe is a Martian, perhaps I'm already fighting him as we speak."
Lie Kent then waved his hand, signaling that it was time to end the interview and time for some "relaxing" activities instead. In Mars, girls would never let go of any opportunity to get close with Lie Kent.
Zhang Jin turned off her TV and started to giggle. She was amused by the way Lie Kent discriminated against the Tactics of Vayu saying they were weaker than Tactics of the Deva King, and also the way he hinted that Li Shimin was a loser and trying to taunt him to challenge the unknown Tactics that had surpassed the Five Great Tactics. In the end, if Li Shimin did take the taunt and challenge Einherjar Wannabe, his reputation would still be affected regardless of winning or losing. Lie Kent had always been trying to mess with Li Shimin, and it seemed like his troublemaking ability was just as good as his lasciviousness.
Zhang Jin was really eager to see how would Li Shimin respond to Lie Kent's taunt. However, judging from Li Shimin's endurance, he would never be simply provoked by such a taunt.
As for Einherjar Wannabe, it seemed like he had overly exposed himself to the public and attracted the attention of a few parties. Whether they were the old or the new forces, they seemed to be extremely tempted in his dominating new Xinfa that was capable of mimicking Tactics of the Blaze and any kind of tactics simply by engaging in a single battle. After all, the party that got their hands on this set of tactics would have the ability to expand its forces and rise as an empire.
Possessing a set of powerful tactics had always been how the great forces in Earth Confederation secured their political status, except for House of Ma, which instead maintained its status through inventing state-of-the-art technologies from time to time.
As a matter of fact, Zhang Jin would also be attending the conference organized by House of Ma at Earth Confederation. Of course, she would never miss such an opportunity to witness the magnificent VZPE Battery. Although she wasn't sure how advanced its development was, yet since FFC had made a public announcement regarding this, Zhang Jin assumed that this technology was already suitable to be used in the military.
With this further improvement in the energy source, FFC would be able to hit the jackpot by providing an upgrade to the Energy Barriers of Space Battlecrafts. Fortunately for House of Ma, their profit didn't cause any conflict of interest amongst forces, and this recent invention was very well-received instead.
Meanwhile, an uproar had spread across Capth, Ayrlarng and Bernabeu. Every student seemed to be busy discussing the unbelievable incident. In the beginning, most of them thought that Einherjar Wannabe was nothing more than a performer and people enjoyed watching him fight because it was entertaining. However, students began to realize that things seemed to have changed after witnessing all of the aces and elite fighters get defeated one after another.
Not only that Einherjar Wannabe was able to mimic the Tactics of the Blaze, but every other tactics as well. Most of all, he was even capable of subduing a Level Five Fighter with his Level Four Soul Energy…
If all of these weren't achievable by Tactics of the Deva King, then what on earth was that?
Who the hell was Einherjar Wannabe?
All of these questions seemed to have driven people crazy, and Einherjar Wannabe had immediately become an existence from another dimension.
Not only did he possess an ultimate set of tactics, at the same time, he was also extremely talented in Battlecraft Combat. He had even created Art of the Soaring Heaven that overpowered the Kaedeians. Yet ironically, no one in Earth Confederation had ever come across such a genius in all existing academies. What a joke!
Einherjar Wannabe had to be a student in reality since he was only sixteen years old, yet both Yalden and Capth, which were the biggest S-Ranked academies on Earth Confederation, didn't have the record of having such student.
Or were they trying to hide him from the public?
There was a rumor in the forum, saying that Einherjar Wannabe was actually an ordinary kid in a military academy with average scores. Still, it would be impossible to identify which one since the majority of the students were average as well.
"Young master… sir!"
"Did you find him?" Li Shimin asked. He looked smart in his neat military uniform.
"Even DREAM was trying to find out who he was, but apparently, his ID was untraceable."
"Einherjar Wannabe had brought a tremendous amount of profits to the whole PA. Perhaps he is one of DREAM's..."
"Do you want me to send someone to look into it?"
"Never mind. Someday, I'll personally make him show himself." Li Shimin replied coldly.
To be honest, Li Shimin wasn't bothered by Lie Kent's taunt at all because he knew what that idiot was thinking. However, the last thing he wanted was Einherjar Wannabe's existence ruining the reputation of the Five Great Houses. After all, House of Li did have the biggest influence amongst the five Houses. Einherjar Wannabe might be doing good in provoking history, but soon, Li Shimin would personally make sure that his "legacy" ended immediately. In the end, there could only be one "God" in this world.
Li Shimin was confident that he was the only one who would become the almighty God.
He had gone through every file about Einherjar Wannabe. Yet, Li Shimin would still need some time to piece the puzzles together in order to figure out Einherjar Wannabe's real identity.
It would be extremely hard for most people to look for such a mysterious character. However, it wouldn't be a problem for Li Shimin. Now that Li Shimin had learned that Einherjar Wannabe was a sixteen-year-old boy from Earth Confederation, all he had to do now was to throw in a bit of stimulant and make him reveal himself.
Nevertheless, Li Shimin was also wondering how such a secretive character, or perhaps organization, was able to stay hidden in Earth Confederation without getting noticed.
Anyhow, Li Shimin decided not to spend too much attention on this shadowy figure as he had more important things to attend to. After all, Einherjar Wannabe was only a "superhero" in the virtual space, unlike Blade Warrior, who was the real deal in the real world.
The next day, someone wrote a letter to the Battle Strategy Committee and requested them to acknowledge Art of the Soaring Heaven as a legitimate battle strategy. For the first time, the committee had agreed to acknowledge a battle strategy that was created by an unknown individual.
Meanwhile, DREAM was still trying their best to pinpoint Einherjar Wannabe's whereabouts, but his ID was totally untraceable. Instead of letting the computers run an automatic trace, DREAM still preferred to let human beings handle everything. After all, mistakes caused by machines were much more disastrous than mistakes made by humans.
Although high-tech machinery had lightened the burden of mankind, yet mankind seemed to have much more confident in themselves than machines and computers.
Einherjar Wannabe still remained the number one gossip amongst students of different academies. Surprisingly, no one would say that Einherjar Wannabe was a "clown" after the match simply because he was able to mimic Tactics of the Blaze. Instead, they began to admire the flexibility and variability of his mysterious Tactics.
In fact, the Confederation had been secretly trying to persuade DREAM to let their special task force take over the investigation of Einherjar Wannabe. It seemed like Einherjar Wannabe was immediately branded as a potential threat to the Confederation government after the match in PA. Hence, they decided to take further actions on finding out who he was.
To be honest, the Confederation government wouldn't need to be so tense if Blade Warrior didn't exist. Undeniably, Blade Warrior was the liberator of mankind. However, no one could confirm if Einherjar Wannabe was a savior or a doombringer that was created by some secretive organizations that were planning to destroy the world.
If he were really a terrorist, the situation would be extremely dangerous.
The Confederation government had been trying their best in fighting crime, but there still were a great deal of terrorists living and hiding in various planets, especially the notorious space pirates who had been terrorizing people for many years. After all, no matter how good the administration was, there would still be loopholes in the system.
There would always be conflicts among democracy, freedom, and supervision, while bad guys and terrorists would always find ways to take advantages of the flaws in the system.
Although the government had been trying its best to bring peace to the universe, the conflict amongst politicians, military, and scientific research institutions had been progressively escalating in recent years. However, people seemed to have developed more faith in scientists rather than believing the words of politicians and military officers. After all, scientists played an important role in the development of mankind.
Chapter 218: All The Best
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Parliament remained as the supreme governing body, while the military was in charge of homeland security. As for the Scientific Research Institution, instead of being controlled by the military, they had formed an independent force that possessed the technologies of mankind development (For instance, the Battlecraft Combat Department).
This was why FFC's VZPE Battery technology had received a lot of attention from the Scientific Research Institution. It seemed like the whole institution was totally focused on this matter.
Confederation government did promise DREAM that they would be conducting the investigation secretly, but the request was immediately declined by DREAM. Clearly, they were afraid that the government's interference would ruin their profit in PA.
After all, having Einherjar Wannabe's identity exposed by the task force would cost them dearly. Not only that DREAM would be losing Einherjar Wannabe forever, but they would also be losing the whole PA. Hence, they would never do anything to ruin their own business. However, DREAM was aware that they were only a small company that didn't have the influence to stop the government from doing what they wanted. Nevertheless, they said no and hoped that there would be a negotiation with the government.
Obviously both sides had their own agendas in this issue. In the end, the Confederation government agreed to compensate for the unavoidable losses throughout the investigation, while DREAM had also agreed to let the special task force take over the investigation starting from Einherjar Wannabe's next appearance.
Nevertheless, the higher authorities of both parties had agreed to keep this deal as a secret amongst themselves. After all, things would definitely get complicated if the public found out that the government was trying to take down Einherjar Wannabe even though he didn't commit any crime.
As for Wang Tong, he had been spending the whole Sunday training in the gym. To be honest, he wasn't interested in tactics of the Blaze at all. However, he did seem interested in the way it utilized Soul Energy as a support in every attack.
Tactics of the Enchantress' methods of utilizing Soul Energy was not very suitable for Wang Tong since his Soul Energy was only at Level Four. He might be able to use it defensively but definitely not for offensive purposes. However, Tactics of the Blaze seemed better because it didn't depend on one's Soul Energy. Furthermore, Hwo Quan was also only a fighter with Level Four Soul Energy. In Tactics of the Blaze, aside from being used to extract GN Force, Soul Energy was also able to alter the attribute of one's GN Force as well as being used as an enhancement in attacks.
Wang Tong was trying his best to analyze the secrets of this set of tactics, but it was extremely complicated. Perhaps, Lie Kent would laugh out loud if he found out that Wang Tong had been working his ass out to figure out what on earth was the Tactics of the Blaze.
Wang Tong had been trying very hard to recreate the blazing sensation by initializing his own Tactics of the Blade, but it failed no matter how many times he tried. Unlike Firmament Palm Strike or Fist of the Racing Tiger, which he could recreate with tactics of the Blade, Tactics of the Blaze seemed to be on a different level.
Yet, Wang Tong believed that he was able to do so. He was confident that he would be able to catch the feeling if Hwo Quan could hit him another time in reality. After all, those hits on TPA were not enough for Wang Tong to memorize the burning sensation with his body.
Wang Tong felt hungry and opened his eyes. He was surprised to see Zhou Sisi sitting at the corner while staring at him.
"Oh hi Sisi, wassup?"
"Gosh, you've been sitting here for a whole day. What's on your mind?" Zhou Sisi asked.
"Really? I thought it was only one hour or two, no wonder I'm starving like hell." Wang Tong scratched his head and was embarrassed by his growling stomach.
"C'mon let's go, I'm starving too." Zhou Sisi got up and rubbed her tights.
"You've been sitting there whole day waiting for me?"
"Nah, but I did drop by a few times to check on you."
"What's up?"
"I heard that you'll not be going for the Polar Concert next week, but everyone else in the team would be going. Since we're given this privilege by Madam Principal, don't you think it's kinda waste?" Zhou Sisi said.
Wang Tong faked a smile, "Nah, you guys go ahead. I'm not in the mood."
Suddenly Zhou Sisi pinched Wang Tong's face and said, "Hey, cheer up young man, get up and move on already. The Wang Tong I know is not a coward nor a loser!"
Wang Tong stood up in embarrassment, "How did you know? Dammit Hu Yangxuan, you jackass!"
"Hey don't blame the others. You two were completely wasted that night and had been sleeptalking for the whole night." Zhou Sisi smiled and teased Wang Tong.
"What… did I say?" Wang Tong was shocked after learning that he had the habit of sleeptalking after getting drunk. Since when did he inherit this bad habit from Old Fart?
"Everything. However, I didn't remember all of the contents. SO, don't act like a sissy anymore. Look at Principal Samantha, she wasn't troubled at all and was even able to finish her tasks orderly. Relax buddy, look forward and move on already." Zhou Sisi didn't expect that she would play the part as Wang Tong's romance counselor.
Wang Tong was embarrassed by the fuss he had made while he was drunk… Wang Tong thought that he had walked back to his room by himself that night, but it seemed like both he and Hu Yangxuan were helped by Zhou Sisi in the end.
"Thank you, Sisi." Wang Tong said it from the bottom of his heart.
"For what?" Zhou Sisi flicked her hair.
"Everything. Thank you very much."
"So, are you going or not?"
"Why not? How could I miss the chance to support your dearest twin sister? Perhaps I could even get her signature… and later post it on the online auction..." Wang Tong said cunningly.
"I'mma hit you hard if you do that!"
"Easy, don't forget I'm your mentor!"
Wang Tong then ran towards the cafeteria, somehow chatting with Zhou Sisi had cheered him up. Clearly, it was time for him to truly move on and stop being emotional. Everything would become better if he could stand up and take a step forward.
Samantha did promise the team a trip to the Polar region if they were able to defeat Capth, and it seemed like she really did keep her promise. Concert or not, this would still be a rare opportunity to visit the Aurora City. Everyone was eager to see how the city looked like.
Most importantly, Zhou Sisi's twin sister would be performing along with the team members of her idol group "HG". Of course, no one would miss such a chance to get close to the pop stars and have fun with each other.
Even though human beings didn't have to rub scent on each other like animals when it came to socializing, yet to spend time together in reality was definitely way better than communicating in the virtual world.
To be honest, Wang Tong was looking forward to getting together with the team, especially since he had now opened his heart and freed himself from the negatives. It was time for him to really consider his future.
Whether he was really trying to search for Old Fart or becoming the Space Baron, Wang Tong would have to work harder in order to achieve his goals. Wang Tong had promised himself that he would walk the talk in order to not waste his life.
Aside from learning how to love, it was also important for a guy to learn the significance of thinking on her behalf. Since Samantha had already decided to pursue on her own ambitions, why wouldn't Wang Tong do the same?
She would never be satisfied by him clinging to her in a relationship.
Wang Tong adored Samantha because she possessed the elements of hope that Wang Tong admired. Nevertheless, it might be better for both of them to part ways. After all, Samantha still had to fight for her dreams, and Wang Tong also had his own goals to achieve.
Wang Tong then calmed himself down and began to analyze her feelings for Ma Xiaoru. To be honest, Ma Xiaoru was indeed a better girlfriend for him, because she was willing to sacrifice her own dreams and career for the one she loves. Perhaps, she was willing to do so because she was the sole successor of FFC, but even if she had done that, would they be able to live happily forever after?
The answer was obvious. The house of Ma was a huge family with great influence, but he was just a nobody from nowhere. Ma Xiaoru was out of his league!
Nevertheless, Wang Tong had finally got back on his feet after spending some time in the vortex of love. Instead of waiting for the others to accommodate themselves for him, it was time for him to change his attitude towards everything.
Ma Xiaoru? Samantha?
Honestly, no one had the answer for that for the time being.
Anyhow, Wang Tong had let go and freed himself from his misery. Finally, he had gone back to his old self.
"You sure y'all are coming, sis?"
"Yup, that's the prize for our victory!"
"Congratulations to all of you, you guys are amazing indeed. I can't believe y'all really defeated Capth. Oh, by the way, I heard that the boy was the star of the whole tournament. Plus, I've even shown his dance to our producer. It blew his mind, and he'd like to meet him badly."
"Erm, let's see how it goes. After all, soldiers are not that interested in this business."
"Sis, don't jump to the conclusion that quickly. Oh, I gotta go. It's time for my rehearsal. I'll do my best too!"
"Okay, all the best!" Zhou Sisi turned off her Skynet.
She was proud of her sister Zhou Yiyi. No matter what she did, she would always put all of her efforts into it.
As for Zhou Sisi, she had also been busy making her own plans and learning hard. Honestly, she was well aware of the existing gap in terms of strength, but that didn't mean that she would fail in the end. Zhou Sisi was confident that she would be able to improve as time went by, including the relationship between Wang Tong and her.
Zhou Sisi had been practicing her Cloning Techniques every day. Instead of focusing on speed, she decided to begin with her accuracy. Aside from improving her Cloning Techniques, her daily training would also be able to improve her controlling maneuvers, Soul Energy Lock-on and many other categories.
Unlike Wang Tong, who chose to focus on METAL Combat and Battlecraft Combat, Zhou Sisi seemed to have developed an interest in all sorts of knowledge about the vast universe, especially about all sorts of dangers that people would face during space voyages and battles. She had been spending a lot of time expanding her general knowledge recently.
After all, reading had always been one of Zhou Sisi's favorite pastime. She would always do a bit of reading and initialize her tactics before going to bed.
That was a part of Zhou Sisi's daily routine.
Chapter 219: One Step Further
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
After finishing his night-time practice, Wang Tong noticed that it was time for him to have a little chat with Einherjar Wannabe. Basically, Wang Tong's life changed upon his encounter with this mystical Space Crystal, yet he realized that he had never thanked Einherjar Wannabe for that, which was kind of rude.
Moreover, he really had to put more effort into helping Einherjar Wannabe.
"Yo kiddo, wassup?" Einherjar Wannabe looked pissed. Clearly, he was still depressed over what happened previously.
Wang Tong replied politely, "Mister, perhaps it's time for us to have a good little chat. Let's take this opportunity to sort a few things out."
Einherjar Wannabe was stunned by his unexpected attitude, "What's wrong with you kiddo? Lovelorn?"
Wang Tong forced a smile. Perhaps it was really more obvious than it seemed, "Yea, but it's not about that. There's something that we need to sit down and sort out."
Einherjar Wannabe was surprised by the sad-ish politeness of that stubborn kid, and replied normally, "What's on your mind? First thing first, don't you dare ask me to teach you anything."
"It's not about that. I'm just curious of what's going on with this particular Space Crystal and the mystical power of these Tactics of the Blade. There's something I have to tell you. Apparently, Tactics of the Blade was a dual-core tactics that consisted of the upper circulation powered by EMF and the lower circulation which was in fact the Qi circulation of one's Cinnabar Field… I made up that name myself. The combination of both the circulation was able to generate a great deal of strength, which has proven that this is actually the real Tactics of the Blade. Also, there is a huge possibility that this Space Crystal originally belonged to Blade Warrior himself." Wang Tong said.
Wang Tong did not tell Einherjar Wannabe back then because the guy always acted weird and secretive. As Old Fart said, "It is wise to always be somewhat reserved to someone else before knowing him or her properly.".
Yet, Wang Tong somehow noticed that first, he would have to open himself to the others if he wanted to be treated back the same way. After all, both Einherjar Wannabe and he had no families at all, and for Einherjar Wannabe, the only person he could talk to would be nobody else but Wang Tong.
Einherjar Wannabe didn't expect Wang Tong would take the initiative to talk about this stuff. To be honest, he knew that this had been bothering Wang Tong for quite some time, but since he wasn't very sure himself, Einherjar Wannabe chose to keep quiet instead.
"I promise you, Mister…Someday, I'll definitely get you out from this Space Crystal."
"What's wrong with you lately? Too many sitcoms? It scares me when u suddenly become so sentimental!" Einherjar Wannabe had been waiting to say this since the beginning.
No one would like to stay forever in vanity where time and space doesn't exist. Somehow it felt worse than death.
"Nah, just that I think I've grown up a bit after going through a lot lately, haha." Indeed, Wang Tong had been through a lot lately.
"Good for you, now back to business. It seems like Blade Warrior is our only lead for now. Why don't you tell me something about the Blade Warrior? I'll see what can I recall." Einherjar Wannabe said.
"Easy, there're tons of documentaries about the legendary Blade Warrior, I've got one right here which is quite detailed, hope it helps." Wang Tong then played the video clip, and both of them watched together.
One was sitting down, and the other one was floating.
It was a detailed documentary indeed. Almost everything about Blade Warrior was mentioned in the video, from his first appearance to the amazing battle he fought.
The whole documentary was about two hours. Both Einherjar Wannabe and Wang Tong began to think as soon as they finished watching the video.
"Unfortunately, I'm unable to find Old Fart, or else he'll be able to tell me where this Space Crystal came from, and perhaps it'll give us some idea. There's also a place called the Hall of Valhalla that still contains clues about the Blade Warrior, but it was currently being guarded by Court of the Templar, and even the Templar's followers are not allowed to enter. Rumors have it that it holds the gateway to another dimension which even the current technology is unable to decipher. Even if it's possible, still Court of the Templar would never let outsiders access the Hall of Valhalla. To them, the Blade Warrior is their God of Creation. According to them, all existing tactics, including the Five Great Tactics, actually originated from Blade Warrior himself." Wang Tong explained.
Einherjar Wannabe said, "Hey kid, do you think I'm actually from that era?"
"Possible, perhaps you had offended Blade Warrior, or maybe you were the villain at that time."
"Perhaps, but I really can't remember."
"Or maybe Blade Warrior was trying to save you. After all, he wouldn't pass you his Tactics of the Blade if he didn't trust you." Wang Tong made another assumption.
"Yo, are you tryin' to mess with me?" Einherjar Wannabe glared at him.
"Of course not. I'm just trying to make sense of everything. To be honest, I don't care who you really are. After all, you're still the Einherjar Wannabe I know. Right now, we should be focusing on getting you out instead." Wang Tong scratched his head. As a student, there's no way he could have access to some advanced technologies, "Let's say you're really in the state of a spirit, does that means all you need is just a body? Even so, it's illegal to clone a person."
"Things aren't as simple as you think kid. Right now I'm in the state of an energy force, yet materialization occurs when I turn into a METAL Suit; which means I'm able to transform into something that's in a solid state. However, it seems like I'm unable to control my transformation. As for the Blade Warrior, he seemed to be a good person based on historical facts, but still, I'm not buying it." Einherjar Wannabe said.
"Oh, I have an idea. If we were to make Einherjar Wannabe more God-like in PA, it might be able to catch the attention of the person who once owned that Space Crystal, or maybe we'll be able to attract the attention of certain related parties. Perhaps then they'll be able to help us." Wang Tong said.
Wang Tong seemed to be unaware that Einherjar Wannabe had already caught the attention of many parties. Instead of his real identity, they seemed to care more about his Tactics.
"Sounds good. But still, it's better for us to proceed with caution. Judging from your current capabilities, there's no way you're able to protect the Crystal by yourself. To be honest, I'm not happy about you, but I do hate more about the Crystal being held by another person. Furthermore, Old Fart might have lied to you about the Crystal. Perhaps the Crystal does belong to him."
"For God sake, this is getting more complicated!" Wang Tong smacked himself on the head, "Oh, by the way, did you notice the changes in my Soul Energy? After my previous injury at Capth, a golden light orb seemed to have appeared in my EMF. Maybe it has something to do with your unexpected transformation." Wang Tong then tried to describe how the light orb looked like.
"Light orb?" Einherjar Wannabe couldn't recall anything about this strange phenomenon at all.
"What's it like to be inside the Space Crystal? Are you able to find anything else?"
"Nothing but vanity. I can either remain conscious or go into sleep-mode. Most of the time I'll be drifting around in an unconscious state, or else I'll definitely become crazy. I can definitely sense there's something else, but I can't control or decide anything at all, one of them being Tactics of the Blade." Einherjar Wannabe seemed to be frustrated by all of these troubles. Sadly no one else would be able to help the both of them.
Suddenly, Wang Tong felt bad for Einherjar Wannabe, but he kept quiet about it. Obviously, Einherjar Wannabe was a tough guy. He didn't give up his hope despite being stuck in despair. Wang Tong believed that Einherjar Wannabe had to be some big shot back then.
"Relax kid, things like these take time. As for your Tactics of the Blade and the light orb, I'm guessing that changes would occur to the Space Crystal whenever there's improvement in your performance. If that's the case, why don't we try to build up the image of Einherjar Wannabe in PA and see if it catches the attention of any party? Meanwhile, you can try to train harder and improve more, then we shall be able to monitor those strange phenomena!"
"Yea, I was thinking about the same thing!" Wang Tong grabbed his fists.
"Brace yourself kiddo. If Blade Warrior was able to do it, so can we!" Einherjar Wannabe said in excitement.
In fact, the way Einherjar Wannabe saw Wang Tong had changed a bit after their little chit-chat!
Einherjar Wannabe seldom commented on Wang Tong's practice because Old Fart had done a good job in fortifying Wang Tong's basics, and there was no problem in Wang Tong's initialization. Nevertheless, Wang Tong's dual-core tactics did surprise Einherjar Wannabe, as not even he himself was able to do so. Moreover, Wang Tong's tactics had exceeded two hundred nodes, but it totally had nothing to do with the Five Great Tactics.
Einherjar Wannabe didn't allow Wang Tong equip the METAL Suit that he transformed into, because Wang Tong's Soul Energy was too weak. His body would never be able to sustain the pressure, and he would be the first to pass out instead of his opponent.
Although super METAL Suits would usually grant much better defense and offense, yet at the same time, these armors would consume a lot of Soul Energy. For instance, the Suit of Einherjar that was only accessible to the Einherjar himself was able to grant its user enough strength to blow up the whole city. But it had to be maintained by an extensive amount of Soul Energy, or else, the user's vitality would be completely drained.
Without a doubt, Wang Tong was very strong, but his Soul Energy was only at Level Four. Einherjar Wannabe was worried that something bad would happen to Wang Tong, which was why he had been telling Wang Tong to proceed with caution.
However, Einherjar Wannabe wasn't that good in giving advice in a sentimental way.
Yet, Wang Tong didn't mind. Instead, he was quite touched when Einherjar Wannabe warned him. He knew Einherjar Wannabe hated guys acting like sissies.
Nevertheless, Wang Tong realized that he had found the right person to help him practice the Soul Energy infused attacking methods.
Wang Tong was fairly surprised when he discovered that Einherjar Wannabe's tactics consisted of thunder attributes. It was absolutely stunning and destructive at the same time!
Einherjar Wannabe seemed pleased about Wang Tong's reaction. Just as Wang Tong suspected, techniques like these were based on one's utilization of GN Force.
Chapter 220: Men Were Supposed to be Macho
Translator: Double_L Editor: Hitesh_
Human bodies consisted of the elements of wind, water, earth, fire, metal, and wood, and advanced tactics were able to infuse these basic elements into the attacks, like Einherjar Wannabe's thunder attribute that actually belonged to the element of wind. In order to achieve so, one must first identify his or her own element. Elements were represented by a few genome nuclear sources, and these genome nuclear sources first had to be identified during the developing process of GN Force.
Wang Tong immediately understood the general idea after listening to Einherjar Wannabe's explanation. He was happy that he had once again learned something new. Normally, people would only care about the increase of Soul Energy after initializing their tactics and didn't bother to analyze the element of their genome nuclear sources. To be honest, it wouldn't make any difference even if they knew about their elements. After all, the whole theory was kind of abstract. Only those who understood it would want to give it a try.
Einherjar Wannabe's explanation helped Wang Tong a lot, but still, it was quite difficult to identify his own element. It would be even better if Einherjar Wannabe were able to help him in person. After all, things would proceed smoother if a mentor was by his side. But unfortunately for Wang Tong, Einherjar Wannabe was not a "person". Hence, he was on his own this time.
Nevertheless, Wang Tong was more than happy about the current information he had. Now that he had understood the overall theory, all he had to do next was give it a shot.
Wang Tong had decided to improve his strength as much as possible, and hopefully this time, he would be able to catch the golden light orb during his training!
In fact, Wang Tong had even come across a ridiculous idea to injure himself badly and see if the light orb would appear as planned. But this insane idea was immediately rejected by Einherjar Wannabe.
In the end, all they wanted to do was to solve the mystery behind that damn Space Crystal!
Wang Tong was deeply impressed by Einherjar Wannabe's patience and dignity. If he were in Einherjar Wannabe's place, he would've used every method he could think of in order to break free.
Einherjar Wannabe once said, "A man can lose anything, but not his dignity!". His words touched Wang Tong's heart.
Wang Tong was even busier during the following week. However, he seemed to be even more energetic. Honestly, he was afraid of being bored, but now that he had found the goal that he wanted to achieve, he wouldn't mind working his ass off in order to do so.
Meanwhile, as the leader of "S" Society, Wang Tong had made up his mind to put more effort into shaping the team, not only because of victories, but also in order to catch up with those S-Ranked academies.
One of his biggest actions was recruiting more members in order to form a refined Battlecraft Combat team. As a matter of fact, Wang Tong realized that the training and competitions that they had been participating in were too simple. Instead of theoretical stuff, the team needed some refinement.
The refinement was all about teamwork. Aside from strengthening the basics, training of would also be focusing more on real battles. Other than that, there would also be specific tutorials regarding the Weaponry System, Intel System and Supply System of Battlecraft fleets. It was important for the team to know that these systems were not commanded by one person, but were commanded respectively by the Fleet Commander, Commander's assistant, and Fleet Tactician.
For instance, during final showdowns, the Fleet Commander or any person in charge would have to connect his or her Soul Energy with the entire fleet. It was easier said than done because it actually consisted of a series of procedures that had to be mastered to perfection, one of them being requesting for permission from higher authority to take control of the entire fleet.
If the crew were not able to cooperate or had bad sense of timing, the entire fleet would be wiped out by the enemies before the connection was made.
Basically, Battlecraft Combat only focused on battle strategies and perspectives, while refined Battlecraft Combat contained more exposure regarding real battles.
Another example would be Cloning Techniques. In basic Battlecraft Combat, most of the Kaedeians were able to demonstrate Cloning Techniques under any circumstances while Earthlings were able to do so against a smaller group of enemies. However, it would not be that simple in refined Battlecraft Combat. Instead of simply pushing a few buttons, one would have to look for a well-aimed angle while piloting a ginormous vessel, not to mention there might be a slight time delay while adjusting the aiming angle. In short, one's ability to establish perfect control in basic Battlecraft Combat would not guarantee that he or she would also be able to do the same in refined Battlecraft Combat.
It was, in fact, more difficult than it seemed.
Basically, those who were capable of cloning more than two hundred fleets in basic Battlecraft Combat would likely be able to clone thirty to fifty fleets in real battles, but only if they could first establish excellent teamwork amongst the crew.
There was no such thing as a refined Battlecraft Combat team in Ayrlarng. After all, they had been performing badly in the basic Battlecraft Combat, let alone this advanced category. Furthermore, it had been ages since the last time a student of Ayrlarng became a Fleet Commander. In fact, Fleet Commanders were always admired by the society. Most of them were top-notch elites from various planets, and only those who passed the real battle simulation were able to become one.
Almost everyone dreamt of becoming a Fleet Commander. After all, no one would turn down the chance of being able to take charge of the entire armada of Battlecraft fleets and becoming the conqueror of the universe. Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers would compete against each other for this exquisite position in the army.
In order to return Ayrlarng to its former glory, Wang Tong decided to take on this challenge. Hence, he knew that he had to do something in order to brace himself for the competition ahead.
In the end, Wang Tong managed to select enough candidates from the "S" Society to form the new team. Fortunately for Wang Tong, Samantha had previously purchased a whole set of equipment which allowed his plans to proceed. Furthermore, Samantha was very supportive regarding this new project of "S" Society. After all, she would be okay for Wang Tong to do as he preferred as long as it wouldn't ruin Ayrlarng's image and reputation.
Later, Wang Tong eagerly led his team to test out their refined Battlecraft Combat maneuvers, and everyone was immediately startled by their test results.
All failed.
The whole team was a mess. What was worse, the whole armada was wiped out by the Space Hives of Zergs before they could fire a single cannon.
All of them were depressed and frustrated about the huge increase in difficulty. Suddenly, the basic Battlecraft Combat began to look like child's play.
Sadly, none of Ayrlarng's teachers were able to provide them any guidance in this category.
Yet at the edge of despair, Bernabeu came to the rescue. Cao Yi had combined Bernabeu's lessons and practices on refined Battlecraft Combat into a course book and gave it to Wang Tong. All these years, while Ayrlarng was gradually getting worse, Bernabeu had been busy improving themselves. And in fact, Martyrus had never given up on refined Battlecraft Combat. However, the difficulty was too much for them even though they had Best, who was extremely talented in operating maneuvers. After all, there would be more people competing for the Fleet Commander position for sure if the entire subject was as easy as the basic version.
Fortunately, the students of Ayrlarng didn't give up despite the terrible result. Somehow, they had expected that it would be this difficult. Carl even swore to overcome every challenge with the team under Wang Tong's leadership!
Carl's frenzy was out of the world. Basically, everyone except Wang Tong felt bad for the previous failure, yet it didn't bother Carl too much. To be honest, Carl's recent improvements were amazing, which also explained why no one was offended by his big mouth.
Carl even engraved the words "World's Second Best" on his shoulder as a self-motivation.
Wang Tong was the best, so he would be the second best.
Being crazy and arrogant had always been Carl's way to push himself further.
Of course, the team didn't forget about the other subjects while focusing on the studies of refined Battlecraft Combat. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the happiness the challenges and improvements. Most importantly, everyone in the team was bringing out their A-game, and no one felt tired at all because they were working together as a team!
Time flew by, and another week had passed. As promised, Samantha had booked their flight tickets and accommodations, and also selected Mr.Simon as the teacher-in-charge of the team's trip to the Polar Region.
'All work but no play makes Jack a dull boy.' Everyone seemed to be fairly excited about this trip as they began to pack their bags and luggage.
Meanwhile at Capth…
"C'mon Xiaoru, let's go together. You have to come with me!"
"But I'm really not a fan of HG." Ma Xiaoru wasn't interested at all. She had never been a fan of pop idols, and to be honest, the songs of HG seemed too boring for her.
"It's not about the songs, all I'm saying is you've been training a lot lately, and I had also been busy training because of you. Hence you and I seriously need a break!"
"Can I stay here, please?"
"Nope, you're coming with me. C'mon, it's been ages since our last time having fun together. You have to come with me!" Li Ruo-Er kept nagging Ma Xiaoru.
In the end, Ma Xiaoru had no choice and agreed to accompany Li Ruo-Er. To be honest, she would love to travel to the Polar Region and visit the famous Aurora City too.
Meanwhile at Moon…
"Thanks again for inviting me." Luv Ma said while packing his bags.
"You're welcome. Actually, my intention of this trip is to meet Capth's very own Li Ruo-Er and Ma Xiaoru, and also to know more about this VZPE Battery. Anyway, I could use an assistant." Zhang Jin joked.
Lately, she discovered that Luv Ma was quite a talented person. He might be inexperienced, but this boy seemed to be very good in statistics and analysis.
"This would be my first time traveling to Earth, I'm looking forward to it!" Luv Ma said excitedly.
"Haha, me too!" Zhang Jin said. She didn't pack too much for the trip.
It was time for her to meet the successors of both Houses on Earth, and she could tell that this would be an extremely enjoyable trip.
In the boys' dorm, Miao Xiu was seen hugging Luv Ma's left thigh, "Don't leave me here buddy. I wanna go too!"
"Bro, it's not up for me to decide. This time Zhang Jin only planned on taking me along… And we're there for business, not pleasure."
"That's not fair dude, why don't you try asking her. I can be treated as baggage if she wants to!" Miao Xiu seemed to be quite desperate about visiting Earth.
Luv Ma then kicked Miao Xiu to the side. He knew the reason Miao Xiu wanted to visit Earth badly was none other than hitting on Earthling girls.
Two hundred years ago, the location of Aurora City was just a place roamed by animals. Yet right now, it had become one of the Earthlings' greatest wonderlands.
In fact, Polar Region had the best ecosystem throughout Earth, and it was often visited by the elites. As for the Aurora City, it was being known for its marvelous combination of human technology and the elegance of mother nature.
This place also happened to be the most expensive city to live in due to the high demand in this small region. As a matter of fact, the real estate pricing of this area was similar to the prices on Moon.
A lot of world-renowned bigshots happened to be living in this city, and at the same time, scientists had also discovered that this was the perfect place for doing scientific research. Within decades, Aurora City had developed into the hub of business, entertainment as well as research and development.
Although the surrounding temperature was below fifty degree Celsius, yet it was always filled with warmth and happiness. People were seen having afternoon tea in a plaza filled with blossoming flowers while enjoying the snowy view outside the protective barrier. Sometimes, there were even polar animals passing by or checking on the people inside the barrier. This place was indeed a perfect heaven.