Chapter 428: A battle that decides all outcomes (2 in 1)
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
“Tianjing has sent out their subst.i.tute heavy soldier, Lily, a rather stylish golden-haired lady. As expected, they’re not planning on contesting this duel, and plan to conserve all of their strength for the upcoming group battle. From the looks of it, Tianjing’s still holding on to their hopes and thirst for victory. What else can I say? Since they’re planning on winning, they should have just given up on the 4th duel, and easily take the 5th. How good would that be?” Wind G.o.d seized the opportunity to grab hold of the flow; “Although the current score is tied at 2:2, with the match being successfully brought into the group battle phase, w.a.n.g Zhong looks like he’s about to collapse. Their squadron’s healer doesn’t seem to be pulling her weight. Naturally, this is a problem small squadrons will face. In fact, having a healer in their squadron can already be considered to be a pretty good matter. Nonetheless, this is just icing on the cake for Tianjing, with an extremely uneven strength across their squadron. Now everyone, take a look at Bella Dean! With the speed of recovery granted by the werewolf bloodline, they are the absolute source of despair for whoever’s up against them. Although captain Adam Galen had been beaten close to death in the earlier duel, he appears to have already recovered 70 to 80% of his full strength at the very least! I estimate that he would have fully recovered by the time the group battle commences! What’s more, there’s the nicknamed most terrifying ranged soldier, Gaden, who is also waiting to exact his revenge. Coupled with Dooley, Paulista, Luo Yong, and the others, Tianjing… Ahem, I’m really not specifically aiming at anyone. However, if I can say a single statement to the Tianjing squadron, I’ll tell them to know when to stop!”
Wind G.o.d’s provocative words instantly set the already lively Skylink and viewing gallery complete ablaze, with everyone now discussing and debating about the upcoming group battle. Frankly speaking, not too many people cared about the 5th duel — a subst.i.tute heavy soldier for a C rank squadron, up against the 2nd strongest soldier from Bella Dean. Anyone could predict the outcome of this duel with their eyes shut; it was going to be a walk in the park for Bella Dean.
Therefore, everyone was now excitedly antic.i.p.ating the group battle. Regardless of Tianjing’s victory in the previous duel, the match had yet to come to an end. Only by obtaining a win in the group battle would they become legends. If not, they’ll just become losers, regardless of how spectacular their performances were in the duelling phase. No one would remember the losers. Even if they did, they would quickly be thrown to the back of their minds.
w.a.n.g Zhong was still receiving treatment from Hymin. Compared to him, Adam Galen, who was beaten to the brink of death earlier, had actually stood up. Two water attribute special ability healers…this f.u.c.ker really doesn’t care about his face, huh! What’s more, the two healers had different specialities. One excelled at treating external injuries, while the other excelled at treating internal injuries. Those two healers were considerably famous within the younger generation, as every squadron yearned for such good healers, as they were basically a second life for the squadron members.
Not only that, it appeared as though the members of the Bella Dean squadron were sending their congratulations to Adam Galen. The latter had never expected for himself to pull off a successful fusion, as he had partic.i.p.ated in this CHF just to test his luck. However, he, who had been deemed unlikely to pull off a complete fusion, had actually managed to accomplish it in this match! He could feel the vigorous power present in his body, as well as the tranquillity in his heart! He could feel how powerful he had become, while the wild beast in his body had finally been subdued!
Looking at his duel opponent, Adam didn’t know whether to feel anger or grat.i.tude to the former. Nonetheless, the current score of the match was an absolute insult to Bella Dean as well as him. Being the captain, his current focus was all on the group battle. That’s because honour and glory could only be obtained through combat. To them, if Bella Dean were to become the CHF champions,
It had to be said, that even the most loyal of Tianjing fans felt that their chances for victory were considerably bleak. Although everyone hated Wind G.o.d, despite his choice of words being rough and crude, the reasoning behind was sound. From the current situation of the match, w.a.n.g Zhong’s decision to partic.i.p.ate in the 4th duel didn’t seem smart at all. Although he had exposed the trump card of the other captain, his losses were more significant than the latter. What’s more, Bella Dean’s was undoubtedly strong, whether on paper or in the people’s hearts.
There was nothing much to discuss with regards the strength of the Bella Dean squadron. Now, the critical issue was that matches in the round-of-64 had designated arenas for group battles. For group battles held in a city environment, they would need more time before they could be activated. This basically dashed the last sliver of hope Tianjing had, and all of this was due to Gaden. Within that small and narrow arena, once he unleashed his ageing green poison special ability, which would fill the entire area, there was basically nothing Tianjing could do from then on!
The most terrifying group battle weapon wasn’t just a boast!
Although Tianjing had two incomparably strong powerhouses, they seemed to suffer from the disease known as “arrogance”. One of them just had to compete with the opposing team’s captain, the strongest member on their team, in the 4th duel, leaving him littered with injuries. As for the other one, he clearly had an excellent opportunity to eliminate Gaden, yet he had not done so, allowing Gaden to create even more trouble for his squadron…
Regardless of the viewing gallery or Skylink, every Tianjing supporter was sighing with regret. This was the problem with black horses. Due to their lack of sufficient experience, missing out on such details would lead to an outcome that’s far from ideal for themselves.
“Gaden’s special ability should not be able to flood the entire battlefield and leave them with nowhere to go. After all, his fellow squadron members would also be on the stage with him. There’s no antidote or cure for his ageing green poison.”
“That’s hard to say. Then again, even if Gaden doesn’t use his special ability, it would be a 5 vs 2 scenario, as the other people of the Tianjing squadron are basically useless. Barran’s clearly just a freshman. As for their vice-captain, Scarlet, I’ve heard that she had obtained only a B rank during the elimination rounds. In the face of a powerful squadron, that’s basically not worth mentioning.”
“That a.s.sa.s.sin girl from the a.s.sa.s.sin Family doesn’t seem that bad. I’ve seen her in the duel against Bierlia Academy. Her fundamentals and strength are there.”
“Are you joking? That a.s.sa.s.sin girl is so-so at the very best, and would only have some use when fighting against weak squadrons. However, what can she do against Bella Dean? Engage Dooley in a head-on fight? Engage with the soldier or heavy soldier of Bella Dean in a head-on fight? Or, could she go so far as to chop Gaden up? In your dreams…”
‘This is no longer 2 vs 5, but 2 vs 8!”
“2 vs 8? 6666666666!”
“G.o.dlike opponents, and piglike squadron members. Tianjing must be in despair.”
“Have you not learnt your lesson from the past 2 matches, huh? Is your face not hurting anymore? Do you really dare to say that Tianjing would definitely lose?”
“If Tianjing wins, those of you who have said those words, would you accompany Wind G.o.d to eat a table?”
“Encore!”
Everything under the sun was being talked about in the Skylink, creating a chaotic hotpot of words. Nonetheless, before even a minute had elapsed, the few people that were still paying attention to the broadcast had noticed that the 5th duel had come to an end.
Even though it was just part of the process, Lily had made a considerable effort for the duel. Nonetheless, the disparity in strength was simply too great.
In the slow-motion playback, her opponent used the simplest of dashes, yet Lily’s heavy sword had been sent flying out from her hands. Despite doing her all she could to resist the next two moves, her opponent’s sword had quickly reached her neck.
There wasn’t a depressed or regretful expression present on Lily’s face after the end of the duel. After all, she had just experienced the elegance and pressure of an S ranked squadron, something that was extremely suffocating. Just standing before her opponent had already caused her to predict her defeat.
Frankly speaking, regardless of speed, strength or technique, the pressure she felt was even greater than the soldier cla.s.s lecturers of Tianjing Academy. Compared to Dooley and Paulista, who had forcibly subdued Barran and Colby, the soldier sent up by Bella Dean for the final duel showed considerable restraint in his actions. Perhaps this was due to the respect they had for the performances made by w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai, or maybe it was due to Lily being a female.
“As expected, this a rather clear and straightforward victory for Bella Dean. Both squadrons will be given a 20 minute preparation time to plan their lineup and strategies. Today’s match has gone all the way to 6 bouts! This is an outcome everyone had never most likely never expect for this to happen before the start of this match. Bella Dean, who has a Mo’s List ranged soldier as well as a werewolf bloodline inheritor, had unexpectedly being dragged into a group battle by Tianjing after obtaining a 2:0 lead against them! This is not an easy feat for Tianjing to accomplish. Nonetheless, I feel that I’ve given them enough praise for an entire year.”
During the 20 minutes of preparation and rest time, Wind G.o.d slowed the rhythm of his a.n.a.lysis down. With a grin, he spoke out, “From the selection they had made for the 5th duel, Tianjing appeared to have not given up their preparation for the group battle. They have reserved the strength of their main lineup, showing that they are still aiming for victory. What a heart-moving tenacity! Nonetheless, they still have to admit the reality of the current situation, that the group battle would basically be a 2:5 fight! That is on the condition that their captain w.a.n.g Zhong is still able to unleash his full strength despite the injuries that he had sustained. If he can’t, it would become a 1 vs 5 group battle. Oh pitiful Grai! With his level of strength, yet choosing to remain in Tianjing, coupled with him b.u.mping into such an arrogant captain, I feel slightly sad for him. He had the opportunity to achieve so much more… Ah, I’ve just obtained the statistics from backstage! This match has created a new viewers.h.i.+p record for the Skylink broadcast, exceedingly the match of Stuart Academy held 2 days ago! Now, it has already exceeded 8 million viewers!”
“Cough, cough. I’ve taken a look at the hot debate topics posted in the Skylink, and it looks like there’s a lot of people that suspect w.a.n.g Zhong to be All Mouthy King. I personally feel that Dicaprio is a more likely suspect. Naturally, w.a.n.g Zhong is strong. However, he doesn’t know how to use the cross wheels. What’s more, he’s not competent in his roles as a captain, as his Except for self-confidence has led to more difficulties for Tianjing.” Wind G.o.d unleashed his big move during the preparatory period for the group battle. This was the moment that he could showcase his existence to the entire world. Of course, there was also his job to a.n.a.lyse, coupled with warming the crowd up while promoting himself.
Who would have though that this match would reach such a stage. In such an uneven match-up, having about 5 to 6 million viewers would already be considered a miracle.
Frankly speaking, Tianjing’s victory over Bierlia Academy in the previous round was admittedly astonis.h.i.+ng in the eyes of ordinary people. Nonetheless, it was still insufficient in the face of an S ranked squadron. Other than Laura, Divian, Carolyn and those few with connections to w.a.n.g Zhong, all of the other S ranked squadrons originally did not seem to care much about this match.
However, Bella Dean had been dragged into a group battle by Tianjing. That was truly a shock to everyone’s eyes. What’s more, the “werewolf bloodline” that other S ranked squadrons cared about, and published by the officials, had appeared. An absolute heavyweight was brought into the spotlight in this match.
It had to be said that Wind G.o.d’s twisting of the debate question had instantly lit the Skylink ablaze. At this moment, no one gave a s.h.i.+t about who won or lost, as Bella Dean was going into the group battle in peak condition. What’s more, there was absolutely no use screaming about unfairness. It was just bad luck to have one of the 10 great families of the Federation as their opponent, what more one of the five upper families to boot. Just their reputation alone was more than sufficient to guarantee their victory. It was in such a situation that the question became important: Was w.a.n.g Zhong the real ident.i.ty behind All Mouthy King?
If he was, there seemed to be nothing outstanding about him. A loss would drag him down from the altar of wors.h.i.+p. Furthermore, he was just a single person. Such miracles would only exist in dreams, and would not see the light of day.
The arguments for and against were exceedingly intense. This was the same in the viewing gallery of the compet.i.tion grounds, with it merely being slightly more objective. Everyone could see that Tianjing wasn’t about to give up, with the members from both squadrons proactively preparing for their upcoming group battle.
Gui Hao, Zhao Zimo, Vladimir and the other members from the S ranked squadrons began to quietly tune into the broadcast on their Skylinks. The viewers.h.i.+p numbers continued to grow, as everyone waited for the final battle to commence, despite the possibility of it being a one-sided slaughter.
Mo Xingchen could be considered to be one of the few people that had a clearer understanding of the incoming battle.
At this moment, she had basically judged w.a.n.g Zhong to be All Mouthy King. However, this was no longer the most important issue. Instead, victory was the most important. If he lost, he would be useless. However, if he won, it would be the actual start of his path.
Naturally, this group battle should not be as one-sided as people have expected. Mo Xingchen had a rather good eye at judging people, something that was probably her innate ability. From the expression present on w.a.n.g Zhong’s face, she could feel that he most likely had a plan to deal with the upcoming group battle.
However, there was something that made her even more curious. In the situation he was in, how could he still have that much confidence? Nevertheless, how would he fight in such a condition??
Yes! How would he fight?
Mo Xingchen wasn’t the only one curious about this, as this exact question was also lingering in the hearts of the entire Tianjing squadron.
Frankly speaking, after observing the strength of the Bella Dean squadron, other than w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai, who remained in a happy mood, everyone else had already turned slightly pessimistic.
Admittedly, they were truly excited from the victories they had obtained during the duelling phase of the match. However, what they faced now was the group battle, something that was even more difficult for them to obtain victory. At this moment, even Ma Dong, who has all along been carefree and happy, was unable to put a smile on his face.
Everyone didn’t have much of an opinion towards the so-called experts, as well as the so-called S ranks. Everyone felt that they would be able to resist at least a move or two against those experts, other than those on the Mo’s List, despite those experts definitely being much stronger. In the current situation, with the teamwork they had practised for group battles, as well as w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai being their daggers, the entire Tianjing squadron felt that they would be able to put up a fight against anyone.
However, the first 3 duels had become a wake up call for everyone, just like what Lily said when she left the stage. “I wasn’t able to feel it before standing on the stage, how fast he is, and how strong he is. What’s more, he’s unexpectedly the weakest member among their main lineup… it’s hard to imagine how captain and Grai are able to exchange moves with such opponents…”
Looking at people fighting and personally going up to fight are two completely different matters. For example, those ordinary people watching the compet.i.tion. When they see some so-called experts being thrashed around by others on stage, their actions turning stiff or delayed, those people would label those experts as noobs, or that they were weaker than them! However, as for the truth? It was only due to their opponent’s being too strong that those experts utterly didn’t have any room to show off their abilities! If those haters were to go up onto the stage to cross hands with those so-called “noobs”, they would be beaten to the point of being unrecognizable by their mothers!
However, was there really any hope for w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai to defeat 5 people by themselves? They should stop struggling! Their opponent was Bella Dean, who had 2 Mo’s List experts in their ranks! Even on a 2 vs 2 scenario, it would be extremely difficult for the injured w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai to pull off a victory, what more a 2 vs 5!
In the preparation room, w.a.n.g Zhong had already told Hymin to stop her treatment. At this moment, everyone was waiting for his strategical arrangements and selections. Despite seeing fighting intent present on everyone’s faces, there a clear stiffness present in their expressions. Of the emotions that everyone was currently feeling, it was primarily feelings of tragedy and self-sacrificing for the sake of defending their honour and dignity, unlike those commonly felt during a group battle.
“There’s no need to be so tense. The reason behind the separation of duels from group battles in matches is due to the unique trait of group battles. A true group battle would never, ever be as simple as 5 vs 5. We’ve not trained so hard just for nothing.” said w.a.n.g Zhong with a smile. Truthfully speaking, he already had the group battle under wraps, merely that he did not immediately tell everyone. At such times, not only did Tianjing need a strategy, they needed self-confidence.
“Captain, it’s really not due to us lacking confidence, but with our current situation…” Hymin replied with a bitter laugh. The entire squadron had yet to fall into a self-depreciating situation. Other than Grai, despite having fighting intent present on their faces, the rest had already given up in their hearts. It was as Hymin said; they all felt that they would immediately get destroyed when the battle started.