Chapter 626: Dandelion (2 in 1)
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
A long banner was hung within the large hall within the villa, with the large words of “System overlord” written personally on the banner by Ma Dong. Although the words appeared crooked, they were incomparably large, with Ma Dong probably being able to fit within a single character.
Ma Dong no longer continued to bet. In fact, he had also stopped reading any magazines. At this moment, a “victory” and a “confirmed” was plastered on his left and right cheeks respectively. If anyone dared to give him a slap, he would definitely tell them to slap the other cheek of his. f.u.c.k everyone! Everything had been a dream for him! Absolutely no one had felt this deeply for this CHF! Ever since Tianjing had been on the high road, the a.s.sa.s.sin Family had followed suit. After all, being a family that had walked out of the dark era, they were not to be underestimated. Possessing a long and deep inheritance and tradition, they only lacked an opportunity to rise to the very top. Now, Tianjing’s blossoming radiance caused the a.s.sa.s.sin Family to pay special attention to them. Furthermore, with Ma Dong, a.s.sa.s.sin had managed to gain a connection with Copperfield! With the endors.e.m.e.nt of an established top aristocratic family, a.s.sa.s.sin would be able to grow in strength Compared to the other 9 great families, Copperfield was undoubtedly the best family to work with.
As of now, Ma Dong was no longer an obscure and dispensable little figure. Instead, he was the string that connected all of them together. A thing like fate was just that miraculous. When he had taken w.a.n.g Zhong in, grabbed hold of Barran, attracted Grai, and managed to obtain the genuine Laforgue’s Cross Wheels. From there, there seemed to be some kind of Heaven’s Will at play.
Ma Dong gave an emotional sigh, though he continued to move about. He was all too clear that this perfect life would come to an end, as w.a.n.g Zhong would definitely walk forwards with his life. However, Ma Dong still had matters that he would have to handle, for Tianjing and the a.s.sa.s.sin Family to reap the greatest benefits, and these required him to strike when the iron was hot. Only by doing so would he be able to stabilise his future, and not let this be just a short-lived boon.
Naturally, Ma Dong and Milami currently had their hands tied with a large pile of information present on their table. The information ranged from their opponent’s captain, Mo Wen, down to the miniscule details of the obscure Heaven’s Fate squadron subst.i.tutes. Every single piece of information had been organised properly into a few large stacks. By the side, Hymin was providing a.s.sistance by cutting out the key portions, Colby and Lily were busy sticking them onto a board, and Scarlet and Emily were circling key details with markers.
At this moment, w.a.n.g Zhong wasn’t the one doing the “teaching”. Instead, Laura and Sharmie were doing so… on the aspect of understanding towards the Heaven’s Fate squadron, these 2 clearly had a greater right than anyone present. This was especially so for Laura, as she was the one that had brought over the majority of the information that was present there.
Being rather familiar with the Tianjing squadron, they had even brought their fellow squadron members to the Tianjing Villa. They would definitely serve as the outstanding trainers for the upcoming match. Of course, Laura and Sharmie were filled with fighting spirit, as both of them were resolute that Tianjing had a fighting chance of victory. Therefore, both of them were currently going through the possible weaknesses present in the Heaven’s Fate squadron, as well as helping Tianjing to come up with tactics and strategies around them.
The 2 were obviously pretty sharp, though it was a pity that their thoughts were not aligned. When Laura said anything that could be argued against, Sharmie would immediately drag that topic into a deep pit. Whenever Sharmie spoke of any weaknesses, Laura would definitely reply with it being a hidden unknown.
The Tianjing members didn’t think too much into it, though the 2 continued to be heavily engaged with their arguments. They were so engrossed in their arguments that w.a.n.g Zhong basically had no choice but to b.u.t.t in, leaving him feeling lost between crying or laughing as he observed the excited and fiery expressions on their faces.
Truthfully speaking, w.a.n.g Zhong had been pondering since the confirmation of the finals. From what he understood, without those so-called hidden unknown factors, there basically were no weaknesses present in the Heaven’s Fate squadron. They were so powerful that it felt frightening! Wanting to counter them was basically a fool’s dream. Naturally, there was no need to halt the a.n.a.lysis and the learning process, as this experience would be rather helpful towards the majority of the future fights he would need to engage in.
In reality, this upcoming fight would be an extremely difficult one. There was most likely a 50 to 50% chance of victory in his destined duel against Mo Wen. Even with his newfound control over his fire attribute special ability, Wamg Zhong still believed that it would not change the odds. The only remaining factor would be Grai’s display, and whether he would be able to obtain a point from Heaven’s Fate. it was impossible for Barran and the others, as the Heaven’s Fate squadron was unlike the other earlier squadrons. Their strong fundamentals and stable personalities were seemingly incapable to counter. There was no use to hope for them being reckless, what more in the finals!
Therefore, Grai was the only unknown factor. That was because w.a.n.g Zhong still felt that the Grai had yet to give his all in this CHF. Despite losing a few duels due to various reasons, w.a.n.g Zhong still felt that Grai had not unleashed his fighting spirit to its maximum. Grai had not displayed the same kind of state a soldier would show when he or she unleashed all of their strength. Perhaps, this final would be sufficient to excite Grai to that state.
It could be said that the standard of Grai’s display would determine the final result of this upcoming match.
As for now… it’s still alright to play around.
In the far future, when Colby and the others stepped into their prime, or even past it, they would have these precious memories of themselves giving their all to fight on. The memories they would make now were already the most perfect memories anyone could wish for.
“Our great captain w.a.n.g!” Sharmie was feeling unhappy. “While we’re going about helping you, what are you trying to do, sitting there grinning like an old man, huh? Can you be more serious? This is your Tianjing squadron’s combat strategic a.n.a.lysis meeting!”
“Yes yes yes. I feel that you all have done very well.” replied w.a.n.g Zhong while rubbing his hands. “I’m just focusing my attention on your opinions. Okay, I’ll be more serious. Serious.”
“Be more serious, be more serious! All of you, be more serious! Big sis, do you want all of us to number off?” Ma Dong gave a snappy reply.
“Big…?!” Sharmie almost flung all of the information sheets into the air as she rushed over and waved her fist before the great leader Ma’s nose. “Are you looking to die? Don’t think I do not dare to beat you up because you’re my cousin-in-law… you hoodlum!”
“Okay, okay. Everyone, take a look at this.” Laura clearly was the most focused person present here. In fact, she felt more confident about w.a.n.g Zhong and Tianjing in this final than the latter was towards himself. Therefore, she had pulled out all the stops when it came to creating a battle plan, while comprehensively factoring various kinds of possibilities and points of target. “Coming up with a battle plan is only equivalent to taking a single step forward. I feel that we need to first come up with a few areas to target. Barran’s earth attribute and gravitational special abilities are definitely useful to deal with the liquid-form Mo Shang…”
“That’s right. I feel that it’s reasonable. Mo Shang is able to phase through a myriad of things, and can even seep through the earth and travel underground. If he is captured by Barran’s special ability when doing so…”
“I can’t extend my control that far underground.” Barran replied in a slightly embarra.s.sed tone.
“Then you need special training. You’ve recently awakened your special ability, so there’s still a lot of fluidity and s.p.a.ce for progress to be made. Suitable special training will definitely allow you to make great progress in a short amount of time, while also being able to allow you to serve as a viable counter. Further, the key to everything is time. A special ability isn’t limitless. So there’s no need to frighten him with superficial impressions of what a special ability progression is like. We only need him to understand his limits, and from then on we can use it to search for a chance!”
Barran’s eyes lit up upon hearing that, while everyone was rapidly being entranced by Laura’s a.n.a.lysis, proceeding to join into the discussion on how to develop the former’s special abilities.
While this was happening, the old Potter and old Greene were grinning and laughing merrily on the second floor of the villa that overlooked the large hall. This was youth! Everyone seemed to be filled with endless vitality, despite the fact that the opponents they were about to face in the next few days were truly too powerful! So powerful that it had caused fear and dread to surface even in old Potter and old Greene’s hearts!
“In fact, Tianjing has already broken many records by making it this far. Although being able to take one step further would be a good thing, stopping here isn’t that bad either. They are already the eternal pride of Tianjing.” old Greene said with an emotional sigh. “Although it is worth applauding their spirit to continue struggling on, I really hope that they will not get injured in the process. Heaven’s Fate…”
“Relax. Those bunch of fellows from the Mo Family aren’t like Martial Ghost Divine Emperor. They know what restraint is.”
This was what old Greene had originally wished for. However, after hearing the old Potter’s reply, he immediately became unhappy. “From what you’ve said, it sounded like our Tianjing still needs to rely on them to show mercy, huh? We’re the finalists for this CHF, you know! The only thing that can be said is that friends.h.i.+p comes first!”
“Ha ha. It’s good that you’re happy.” the old Potter was too lazy to continue the nonsense with old Greene, who was now filled with righteous anger. Behind Greene’s back, he had been quite worried for Tianjing. At this moment, he wanted to strike the iron when it was hot, and help Tianjing obtain as many benefits as it could. Truthfully speaking, this was an extremely dangerous period of time for the Potter Family, as there were many other aristocratic families that were eyeing their position as one of the 10 great families due to their lack of “might”. Holding a position as 1 of the 10 great families would grant ma.s.sive powerful and benefits for any aristocratic family. However, with the Parliament having one vote to veto, and coupled with the rising a.s.sa.s.sin Family and the collaboration with Tianjing, these factors would definitely strengthen the power and rights of their Potter Family.
Not only that, Copperfield would become the bridge between the aristocratic families and the Parliamentary influence. This was the strategic goal of the Potter Family. They felt that reforms had to be made following the development of the Federation, and thus had become the first family to take a step forwards towards that direction. Naturally, the outcome of their decision had yet to be known.
With the situation Tianjing was in, whether it was the Gui or Zhao Families, none of them could do anything. Nevertheless, the matter with them has yet to end. On the contrary, the matter had already escalated into an extremely deep grudge. In the future, both families would definitely take action. However, the Potter Family wasn’t afraid of them. In this world, the weak would lose all rights to live, while freedom and goals were obtained through strength.
Although there was one different chinese character between the names of the Heaven’s Fate (天极战队) and Tianjing(天京战队) squadrons, in both individual and group strength, Heaven’s Fate had far surpa.s.sed Tianjing. Although Tianjing’s trump card, All Mouthy King, might be on another level, the rest of the members including Grai could be easily countered by the Mo Family. This also included Scarlet and Barran!
Furthermore, throughout this entire CHF, the members of the Mo Family had yet to make any serious mistakes in combat. Their might didn’t only lie in their combat strength, but also in their att.i.tude as well as self-control! Furthermore, Mo Wen appeared to be even more relaxed than anyone else, and everyone around him could feel an aura of happiness radiating from him. At this moment, he, who was always careful not to reveal his emotions, seemed to be wearing a smile on his face! This smile appeared just like the one people would have when they managed to have a good dream in their sleep!
It was extremely clear what was going through his head. However, everyone felt a heart-palpitating fear when mentioning a martial arts fanatic in such a state. Even after All Mouthy King had displayed a level of strength worthy of standing at the apex by defeating Vladimir, everyone still felt more fear towards this frightening “blind man”. On the contrary, this had caused him to feel even more excited…
More and more people started to think back towards the fight between Mo Wen and Carolyn. At that time, all of them had felt that it was an awesome and spectacular fight. However, upon rewatching it in detail, everyone started to feel really afraid.
All of them felt that Mo Wen had handled Carolyn with such ease, like he was handling a kid! He had basically not even displayed the upper limits of his strength!
This…
Various kinds of questions were raised, causing the atmosphere during this slow 5-day wait to rise and rise. Discussions about the final victory and the number one soldier of this CHF had already become something of a norm within the Federation.
Not only did the casinos around Stuart start betting matches for the CHF final, many of the black market ones within the Federation, as well as the various gambling dens across the world and empires, had all followed suit!
The odds for Tianjing during the quarterfinals had been 820:1, and had been raised to 10:1 in for the final match. Although there were some differences between the various gambling a.s.sociations, they were more or less around those odds. Clearly, this was a ma.s.sive increase from before. However, compared to the previous CHF finals, a 10:1 odds was undoubtedly near-complete domination for the other side.
Nevertheless, nothing could change this. Although Tianjing, being the black horse for this CHF, had managed to do the impossible and reach the finals, the people hosting the bets were rather calm-headed with their calculations. During their match against Vasilyevich, Tianjing had already used up all of their hidden trump cards and brought everything to the table. In fact, those miraculous runic shoes Scarlet had used were no longer a secret anymore! The only thing they could add to the table was a short instantaneous movement ability. The all-rounded perfection of the Heaven’s Fate squadron was known for could completely crush anything Tianjing sent in their way.
To be frank, w.a.n.g Zhong had a similar character to Mo Wen, and also had comparable levels of strength. In fact, even their fame and reputation were around the same level. The showdown between these 2 would definitely be epic, and there was no reason out there for any of them to evade this showdown. Of course, there was still Grai, but he was not on the level as those 2.
Overall, there wasn’t much suspense to the victor of this CHF finals, as the odds of the bets at the beginning was 13:1 for Tianjing. In the end, it was only due to the ma.s.sive amounts of money pouring in from the crazed Brother King fans across the Federation that slowly s.h.i.+fted the odds down. Without a doubt, the casinos and gambling dens needed to make money. Them giving Tianjing the 13:1 odds was a clear sign of them recognising that no one would bet on Tianjing. The high odds was just for the sake of stimulating people’s gambling hearts. In the end, through the acc.u.mulated effects of every single one of the ma.s.sive amounts of Brother King fans, the casinos and gambling dens started to change the odds. In fact, all of them were basically smiling from ear to ear by this trend.
Furthermore, who knew how many unknown matters were hidden beneath the ma.s.sive amounts of transactions and money?
Deep into the night, silence filled the Tianjing villa.
A gentle breeze blew through the wind, causing the curtains to sway, swis.h.i.+ng as they moved with the wind.
This was Grai’s room, though no one was present to close that open window. As the curtains swayed in the wind, it revealed a room completely devoid of people.
In a short and dirty alley stood 2 girls in flowery dresses and faces covered in thick make-up. Girls that were born among the poor, or even the refugee camps had one positive trait, which was that they were rather obedient. For the sake of a low fee, they would fulfil seemingly anything anyone would ask them to do. Furthermore, they were not picky about their customers, even if they were like the rather ugly and old man that was now standing before them.
“Hi, baby! Do you like me?”
“We can do lots of interesting things, old man! We love wrinkly things!” The girls continued with smiles while sending winks towards the small old man. They were even about to push their tops down to their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, before hurried footsteps started to ring out in the surroundings.
A frown appeared on the old man’s face before he did a strange step, easily evading the hand extending from one of the prost.i.tutes. Lowering his head, he quickly walked towards one of the small doors at the end of the alley. Present above the door was a small sign with the words “Seductress Bar”, outlined with red and green light bulbs.