Chapter 456: All paths of retreat being cut off (2 in 1)
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Precisely speaking, she was relying on her fire-attribute special ability to stimulate her potential, raising all her baseline stats. Speed was undoubtedly one of the most important weapons of an a.s.sa.s.sin.
The sudden increase in her speed had clearly caused chaos in Zhao Zhancheng’s arrow shooting rhythm. Due to their parabolic flying trajectories, two waves of arrows shot in lieu of her previous speed had completely lost their target. In a fraction of a second, the distance between the two had shrunk to around 25 metres! What’s more, the distance was continuing to shrink!
The sudden reversal had instantly caused the Tianjing supporters to feel slightly emotional. Quite a few people’s faces turning flushed as they opened their mouths wide, all of them waiting for the instant she reached Zhao Zhancheng to cheer and shout! By the side of the stage, Ma Dong and the others were already clenching their fists tightly, staring at the stage without blinking even once.
Special abilities, especially powerful special abilities were things that experts needed to be prepared against!
Close in! As long as she could close in, she could create a miracle!
However, the sudden closing in came to a screeching stop at about 30 metres.
Zhao Zhancheng’s speed had also unexpectedly increased in this instant!
At this moment, waves of white gales appeared in flashes around his legs as he moved about. This wasn’t a visual effect due to his high-speed movements, but rather, actual gales were forming around his legs.
Gale special ability!
Dust plumes visible to the naked eyes were swept up where his feet landed, while a long dust “tail” formed behind him. At the same time, his arrow shot cl.u.s.ter instantaneously became denser and more numerous!
The shorter the range, the tighter the shot trajectories! This wasn’t only a trait of hot weapons; it also applied to the bow and arrow!
The deadlock had formed once again, as Emily was unable to close the gap, while Zhao Zhancheng was unable to pull back. The two wind-like silhouettes flew rapidly across the stage. However, this time, people were unable to make out who was who.
Anxiety and worry were fermenting in the hearts of the Tianjing supporters. There were times where hope wasn’t the best feeling to have, as it would result in the despair from failure becoming more intense.
The profoundly worrying battle for distance continued on for 1 to 2 minutes, before the quiet and worried audience finally started to rouse and make a din.
“How the f.u.c.k is he considered a ranged soldier? He’s moving so quickly, yet he’s actually able to unleash arrows to obstruct Emily? Wouldn’t that mean that his full speed is even higher than his a.s.sa.s.sin opponent?”
“Ha! Do you think our brother Cheng’s nickname of a.s.sa.s.sin killer is there just for show? When our brother Chen having fun playing with a.s.sa.s.sins, that little la.s.s was still drinking her mother’s milk!”
“The outcome is fixed! That’s the la.s.s’s limit, and she’ll get kited to death!”
On the stage, Emily was extremely focused as she tried all ways and methods to close the distance. As long as she could get close to her opponent, she could use her Fiery Lotus Dance, her more familiar and powerful killing move, which she had gained an all new understanding during her special training in the holidays. However, the Fiery Lotus Dance would need her to get to within a certain distance from her target for it to work. However, her opponent, Zhao Zhancheng’s just seemed to be… teasing and toying with her, giving her just a sliver of hope, before rapidly increasing the distance between them. There hasn’t been any a.s.sa.s.sin who could get close to him!
He had already unleashed the speed amplification of his wind attribute special ability to its limits, something that he had chosen to do while he was still an a.s.sa.s.sin. However, as not every person has the same character, he felt that being a ranged soldier was more suitable for him. He loved to be the first one in combat to erect an invincible position. After changing occupations to a ranged soldier, his strength had progressed by leaps and bounds, allowing him to enter the mighty Divine Dragon squadron. Frankly speaking, he could take on three a.s.sa.s.sins of Emily’s caliber by himself.
The current scenario on the stage was basically a circus show with him using his gale steps to continuously tease Emily. At this moment, people were shocked to discover that an a.s.sa.s.sin like Emily was unexpectedly unable to keep up with the rhythm of a ranged soldier.
Ma Dong looked over to w.a.n.g Zhong, who shook his head slightly in response. There was no chance for Emily, as Zhao Zhancheng’s strength was above her. Although he was a ranged soldier, he was clearly one that was familiar with the high-speed movements of a.s.sa.s.sins, and thus was able to restrain Emily’s capabilities extremely well. What’s more, this person was an S ranked ranged soldier, and anyone who dared to use a bow and arrow was all excellent ranged soldiers.
Seeing that, Ma Dong opened and closed his mouth. This was the first time that he had felt the feeling of helplessness coming from w.a.n.g Zhong. Even with his exceedingly high abilities, it was impossible for w.a.n.g Zhong to break the rules. If Emily wasn’t able…
That would leave only Barran… while establis.h.i.+ng the Prodigy Society, never in his wildest dreams did Ma Dong expect that he would end up here. However, since he was already here… thinking about the downed Grai and the injury-laden Scarlet… perhaps it was time to use this move.
Truthfully speaking, Emily had already made rather great progress in her strength. The speed she was displaying on stage was more than a level higher than the standard she had displayed in Tianjing Academy, and even her performance during the elimination rounds! A display that surpa.s.sed her level, a frenzied performance! However, her opponent was still faster than her!
This was a ranged soldier who actually possessed the speed of an S ranked a.s.sa.s.sin! a.s.sa.s.sin Killer. These two simple words, a nickname. However, the meaning contained within was the terrifying might of a top cla.s.s powerhouse squadron!
Clenching his teeth, Ma Dong suddenly made a decision. Standing up, he spoke out, “Barran, help me to the toilet! My…legs are numb!”
The toilet wasn’t far from the arena stage. Even after closing the door, one could still hear the noisy din of people debating and discussing.
“President, I’ll wait for you at the entrance, okay?” although Barran was slightly fl.u.s.tered, he wasn’t able to offer any kind of help. Naturally, he wasn’t referring to helping Ma Dong to the toilet; it was about the situation they were facing in this match. It wasn’t to say that he didn’t dare to go up. However, even if he were to do so, he would be completely useless, as the disparity between his strength and his opponent’s strength was simply too great.
“Follow me in.” all of a sudden, Ma Dong’s legs were no longer soft.
Walking into the toilet and confirming that there wasn’t anyone inside, Ma Dong closed the door before turning around. At this moment, a solemn expression had covered his face.
There was now a bottle radiating with a light yellowish radiance, with a white label and words that read “Prohibited” in Sanskrit.
“This is?” asked Barran in a daze.
“Number 4 Paradise. Have you heard of it? It’s our a.s.sa.s.sin Family’s secret drug.” said Ma Dong in an indifferent tone.
“The potential raising drug?!” Barran gawked slightly, before giving a slightly excited reply. “I think I’ve heard a little about it..”The a.s.sa.s.sin Family excelled in the usage of poisons, medicines, and drugs. It could be said that no one within the Federation doesn’t know about the a.s.sa.s.sin Family’s famous and renowned Potential Raising Drug series. Previously, during the Tianjing auction, the a.s.sa.s.sin Family had auctioned off many of their manufactured drugs. Most of the body enhancing and adjustment drugs would require an extremely long time to manufacture, and also required the use of quite a few steps to minimize their side effects. However, there were a series of drugs that were only meant to be used during emergencies, with their main effect being to increase the user’s strength. These were the Paradise series, with Number 4 being the best among them.
“Don’t get too happy.” Ma Dong wasn’t anxious to hand the drug bottle over. “Any type of drug with short-term stimulating efforts will always have problems. The stronger they are, the greater the side effects. The reason why they’re called Paradise, is due to the fact that this drug can only save lives by granting its user a temporary boost of extreme power. However, it would result in an extreme burnout of potential. There’s a high likelihood of the soldier to losing his combat capability, and it might even lead to death.”
Barran gawked in response. To other people, they would not take a casual mention of such a horrid outcome seriously, and it wouldn’t instantly translate into clear thought.
That’s right. For the academy, for honour and glory, for his friends! The momentary rush of emotions might cause a male to immediately chug it down his throat.
However, Barran was different.
That’s because he was self-deprecating, which caused him to be careful.
That’s because he had lost his strength before. Therefore, he treasured it even more so!
The memories of the previous collapse of his Soul Sea was the most realistic portrayal of such side effects. During then, not only did he lose himself, he had even impacted his parents’ gradually improving lives, as well as too many other things that were even more important than his life!
What’s more, it was Ma Dong who handed it to him of his own accord! That was his very first friend in Tianjing Academy, the one and only person who had taken the greatest care of him, his most trusted president!
The excitement on his Barran’s face was replaced by a slightly pale shade, while his hands started to tremble. This might lead to a victory in a duel, though it could also be a poison.
“It’s extremely selfish of me to give you such a thing. I’ve disappointed you. The Ma Dong that you’ve always trusted isn’t some good person. Furthermore, even if you use it, it doesn’t guarantee a victory in this match. Perhaps your potential is already not that big, or perhaps your opponent is even stronger than you think.” Ma Dong placed the drug bottle gently at the windowsill. “In fact, this is just a compet.i.tion. Regardless of whether you drink it or not, it’s not a bad choice.”
Finis.h.i.+ng his words, Ma Dong did not turn around, and instead proceeded to walk quietly away. This was a choice that Barran had to decide by himself. Leaning against the walls outside of the toilet, Ma Dong subconsciously felt his pockets for a cigarette, only to discover that he had tossed them long ago due to Milami’s disapproval. He had not smoked for a very long time.
…
The din within the arena grew increasingly low, with the excitement of the Divine Dragon Academy fans and the Tianjing Academy fans’ apprehension forming the most significant contrast.
Emily always wanted to control the initiative in the fight. However, the suppression from her opponent was just too watertight!
Even w.a.n.g Zhong had no choice but to admit that Zhao Zhancheng was truly a top-cla.s.s expert in positioning and movement! His movement speed and techniques, arrow blockade and suppression had all reached a level where there was nothing left to nitpick about!
Of course, it was still possible to use a simple and direct method of breaking through his techniques: strength! Even w.a.n.g Zhong might not be able to do so by relying on speed, as this was Zhao Zhancheng’s specialty. It was also the reason why he was willing to change from being an already outstanding a.s.sa.s.sin to a ranged soldier that specialized in the bow and arrow!
From the start until now, other than the instantaneous reduction of distance to around the 30-meter mark, Emily did not encounter any other opportunity to close the gap.
This wasn’t a gaudy show, but a textbook performance of a ranged soldier’s movements, showing everyone what a ranged soldier should do to suppress an a.s.sa.s.sin.
Thorough kiting, complete suppression, the absolute flair of an S rank!
“When the Divine Dragon takes off its armour, all myriad of weapons will return to their home! When the overlord steps into the world, who would dare strive against him!”
“Invincible Divine Dragon Academy! Sweep away Tianjing, crush and suppress all the kings!”
Wave after waves of celebratory chants were already reverberating out from the Divine Dragon supporter region. While this was happening, the majority of the Tianjing supporters were already on their feet, their hearts gripped with anxiety as they stared firmly at the arena stage.
The signs of defeat were already showing.
Emily’s speed had already decreased. Just like w.a.n.g Zhong had predicted, her eruption of strength had already reached its limits. Be it her Soul Power or special ability usage, all of her full power advances were being obstructed. This had led to a ma.s.sive consumption of her spirit and Soul Power.
Without a doubt, her opponent was a strategical expert, and had tossed Emily’s last bit of threat into the dustbin. Perhaps he even possessed the strength to engage in close combat, but why would he do so against Emily?
Emily’s movements were gradually unable to keep up with her opponent’s rhythm, though the distance between them had started to slowly decrease. This was all due to Zhao Zhancheng’s control of the distance, to allow for the might of his arrows to grow even more terrifying.
Emily clenched her teeth as thoughts flowed within her mind. Standing right behind her was Barran, who was completely unable to muster any resistance against the heavy soldier from Bella Dean. If she fell, Tianjing would really be finished!
She had to persevere on! Continue to persevere on!
Emily continued to clench her teeth and persist on, yearning for the chance to have the same eruption as Scarlet had in that despair-filled situation, allowing her to break through from this crisis!
However, not every person could achieve such a feat.
Other than the desire coming from spirit and beseechment of her soul, acc.u.mulation was another fundamental factor required for one’s breakthrough.
7 to 8 chilling flashes shot over mercilessly, forcing Emily to move as Zhao Zhancheng wanted her to, as if he was “herding” her.
Emily had nowhere to evade, forcing her to jump high up into the air. However, it was at this instant when a brilliant radiance condensed before her eyes!
“Bye-bye!”
Zhao Zhancheng had already stopped moving, while a sliver of a smile curled up from the corners of his mouth. As he relaxed the finger that had pulled his bowstring taut, he gave people the feeling as though he was drawing the curtains over this cat-and-mouse chase.
Chasing Winds Piercing Sun!
Bang!
A white brilliance swept out in a flas.h.!.+
The blinding white light caused the greater half of the people present in the arena to subconsciously close their eyes. Upon reopening them, everyone discovered that the little loli a.s.sa.s.sin was already kneeling on the stage, her hands pressed on the ground.
The fiery red daggers had already lost their original l.u.s.ter, laying on the ground by the side of their owner. A few droplets of blood spurted out from her mouth, forming an astonis.h.i.+ngly ghastly sight on the ground.
Emily appeared to be still stubbornly trying to stand up. However, after her lead foot s.h.i.+vered a couple of times, it finally slid to the side, causing her entire being to collapse at the spot of her blood splatter, before she fell into unconsciousness.
The 10 seconds of countdown was saved, as the medical squad by the stage had already rushed up.
3rd duel, Divine Dragon Academy victory!
A complete victory!
A performance that fully displayed the terror an S rank would do to their opponents!
“It’s extremely hopeless. However, Tianjing has already displayed their splendour.” Ruo Zhi was unable to properly enunciate the feelings currently present in his heart. Although Tianjing Academy’s strength wasn’t strong, being able to make two girls persevere to such a degree for the sake of honour and dignity was undoubtedly a clear show of the morality and conduct in their education. Indeed, this was an academy undoubtedly worthy of their 100-year-old famed reputation. “Tianjing Academy was once a splendid and well-renowned academy in the Federation. They have nurtured countless famous scientists, philosophers, educationalists, and naturally, countless outstanding soldiers! Although their results in the CHF, the Federation’s largest dancing stage, have been steadily declining over the past couple of years, they are still undoubtedly one of the famous academies of the Federation! In the squadron they have sent for this CHF, not only are there outstanding and celebrity-like top-cla.s.s soldiers like w.a.n.g Zhong and Grai, there are also brave and unyielding soldiers like Scarlet, Emily and Barran that would disregard themselves for the sake of honour and glory for their academy!”
Although it sounded extremely pleasant, upon landing on people’s ears, it actually implied that Tianjing had already lost. This was merely just to give a bit of face to the losers.
Wind G.o.d’s mouth twitched in response to Ruo Zhi’s words. Is he trying to be a good person? “The strength of the Divine Dragon squadron is truly an astonis.h.i.+ng sight to behold. I feel that Zhao Zhancheng had most likely only used half of his real strength. I hope that Tianjing will be able to have a sufficiently good future performance. If not, it’ll be too unjust to their fans who have come all the way here to support them.”
This strike from Wind G.o.d could be said to be incisive. Other than the people from Tianjing, there were many people that were here to witness All Mouthy King and his miracles. Alright, we’ve come all the way here from afar, just for you to let us see this?
What kind of dogs.h.i.+t willpower, or perseverance? Did anyone who has walked so far to climb up onto this stage be lacking in willpower? Who doesn’t have perseverance?
Are you bulls.h.i.+tting us!
No one out there was continuingly to shout slogans like “All hail Tianjing, or Invincible King”. There were even a small group of fans that were leaving in disappointment. As for the Divine Dragon Academy supporters, all of them were talking and joking merrily. However, the Tianjing squadron had already been obliterated; this black horse just wasn’t good enough.
3:0. Grai had lost. Emily had lost. Even Scarlet with her miracle-like breakthrough and eruption had also lost. Being the only one remaining, what could All Mouthy King do by himself? Provoke the Divine Dragon Academy, and let anger get over their heads and accept your 1 VS 5 challenge? I’m sorry but even if they accept, you’re aren’t going to win! As for Barran, he had already been beaten like a dog by the Bella Dean’s heavy soldier that w.a.n.g Zhong and finished off in a second! In the eyes of experts, his various weaknesses and various deficiencies had long made him appear like a mistake in human form. Those praises of him being the makings of an S ranked heavy soldier had long turned into a joke.
Place hopes on him? Teaching a sow to climb a tree would be even more reliable than that!
If not for a considerable portion of people waiting for All Mouthy King’s last match, there might be even more people leaving the arena!
Furthermore, there were already more than one squadron out there that have found the method to break the cross wheels. There was no need for everyone to immortalize the cross wheels, as they are just a ranged weapon. Any weapon had its weaknesses, and could be countered. However, the key question was, did w.a.n.g Zhong still have the opportunity to use them?
“3:0. Tianjing isn’t left with many choices now. w.a.n.g Zhong might be their only choice for this duel. The one to face him will definitely be Zhao Yilong. If captain w.a.n.g Zhong is able to win, Tianjing would have the selective advantage for the last duel. If he loses, at the very least, it will paint a beautiful ending to the legend of All Mouthy King, his final fight before the curtains drop!”
Everyone was waiting for Tianjing’s selection. It seemed from Ruo Zho’s words that selecting w.a.n.g Zhong was the only choice Tianjing could make
“Captain.”
“w.a.n.g Zhong.” everyone looked towards w.a.n.g Zhong.
w.a.n.g Zhong～w.a.n.g Zhong～w.a.n.g Zhong～w.a.n.g Zhong…
G.o.d knows who uttered the first words, but many people soon followed and shouted out his name. They came not only from the Tianjing supporters, but also those Divine Dragon supporters! One had to know that regardless of who they were supporting for, all of them wanted to see All Mouthy King fight, a collision between kings!
Even if Tianjing lost in the very end, being able to see w.a.n.g Zhong fighting against Zhao Yilong and taking in the explosive atmosphere would be something worth remembering and commemorating. What’s more, even if the Tianjing squadron lost, if w.a.n.g Zhong was able to obtain a win, there would at the very least be no damage to his personal fame and reputation.
However, despite what people were shouting out for, w.a.n.g Zhong seemed to be at a loss?
“Big bro, do you know what time it is now? What are you still waiting for! Go up and fight first before thinking of other things!”
“That’s right! Take a win first!”
…
In fact, even quite a few people from the Tianjing Academy had the same thoughts as the audience. They can’t possibly lose with a big fat zero by their name, right? He can’t be that stupid and cowardly to not even go up on stage, right?
What was he still waiting for?!
There was indeed some loss in w.a.n.g Zhong’s heart, as he was all too clear that this match would be over if he was to step onto the stage. Be it a win or a loss, he would be able to redeem a bit of face if he was to win a duel. However, that wasn’t what he wanted, and it would be letting down the perseverance of Scarlet, Grai, and Emily.
However, with them already at this stage, there seemed to be no other choice left for him.
Just as w.a.n.g Zhong was prepared to walk up the stage, Barran had returned to the preparation area. With a somewhat unnatural self-confidence and calmness, he said, “Captain, can you leave this duel to me?”
Upon hearing it, everyone instantly gawked in shock. Was this the Barran they knew?
What’s more, how was this fellow having so much self-confidence and exuding this manly aura at this moment???
However, could this really be a joke?