Chapter 302: Forbearance
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
While everyone was going to celebrate for Karl, he himself had disappeared. His friends found it strange that he would pa.s.s up such an opportunity to bask in others’ admiration.
"Granny, I have got into the final eight. Have you seen me on TV?"
"Yes! Granny knew that you would be successful one day! You have to give face to your deceased parents."
"Thank you, granny. I will become even stronger."
No one knew that the seemingly lighthearted boy was raised by his grandmother, because his parents both died right after he was born. Without the welfare money, Karl might not have been able to even attend the academy. Although Karl was never confident in his own ability, his granny was always very supportive of him. She was convinced that Karl would be successful, since he was talented like his father. In order to please his grandmother, Karl always carried out the study with his unique methods, despite being laughed at for being foolishly stubborn.
Today, he had finally proven himself and entered the final eight.
In a grocery store of a ghetto district, the old women"s eyes glued to the TV as she mumbled, "This is my grandson, Karl!"
She had always been proud of Karl, although he had been simply a mediocre student from an average school. However, Karl had right then turned into the top fleet commander of the confederation, and he was the first one from Earth to enter the final eight.
This was the best record that the Earth Confederation had ever achieved thus far.
"Karl, the real genius!"
On the Tv screen, the two hosts gave Karl two thumbs ups, and inside the convenience store in the ghetto, people boiled over as they cheered loudly for him.
Right after a brief celebration for Karl, the second match started, which was between Bisu and KKK. Bisu had encountered the greatest threat in this tournament. In a blink of an eye, he had lost two rounds in a row to the Ivantian.
"Hehe, is this what represents the best of the Earth players? Stupid and naive, are you hoping that I would go easy on you?" KKK said with a high pitched voice.
"Player KKK, please refrain from making any personal attacks." The judge warned him.
"Sir, am I wrong about what I have just said? You can ask him yourself." KKK retorted.
Bisu"s face turned black. He swallowed down his pride and tried his best to hold back his urge to punch the Ivantian in the face.
Flash"s heart sank as he saw the expression on Bisu"s face. He registered that Bisu was about to fall into KKK"s trap.
KKK aggravated Bisu at the beginning of the match by insulting him for his slip-ups in earlier matches. Angered by KKK"s words, Bisu attacked his opponent with abandon from the beginning of the game. However, KKK was well prepared as he had lined his base up with cheap defense tactics and had easily defeated Bisu. The same pattern repeated in the second round. It was clear then that KKK had not only a sharp mouth, but also a sharp mind.
Unlike METAL combat where anger sometimes could translate to power, getting overly emotional would only lead to irrational decisions and slip-ups during fleet combat.
Although Bisu was very clear regarding what his opponent was after, anger had prevented him from taking the appropriate measures in the third round. After his defeat, he punched the dashboard in an uncontrollable fit of rage.
KKK swept back his long and carefully coiffured hair, "Is this the best micro-control of the Earthlings? How disappointing! I hope you are better than this, Flash."
If Flash were the best fleet commander the earth had seen, then his Ivantian counterpart would be KKK. Their battle styles were very similar as well, as they both possessed well-rounded skills, as well as ability to unleash unscrupulous moves whenever they were called for.
KKK never wasted his energy in provoking his opponents if he were fighting someone other than earthlings. Earthing"s emotions were volatile compared to residents of other planets; the difference was particularly drastic when compared to the ever-stoic Kaedeians.
Knowing the earthlings" weakness, KKK had repeatedly a.s.saulted his earthling opponents and made them lose their nerve.
Flash smiled away KKK"s insult. As the top fighter, he was convinced that he would win in a heartbeat in a fight against the arrogant Ivantian.
After Karl, KKK had also entered the final eight.
The third match of the day: Flash vs. Cold.
Flash"s calm demeanor after having witnessed his comrade"s defeat did not amount to being totally devoid of indignation and anger. He had woven the anger into his strategies, and Cold had, unfortunately, become the scapegoat and lost the match zero to three.
Flash repeated a simple and effective strategy as he seized three perfect timings, and overwhelmed Cold"s based on ma.s.s infantry. Cold heaved a sigh after the battles and conceded that his ability to control the overall flow of the battle paled in comparison with that of Flash.
Flash didn"t need to play mind games with his opponent as KKK did; his skills were his best weapon.
The fourth battle: w.a.n.g Tong vs. Birance
Birance was the top fleet commander among the second year students of the Kaedeians. This fight had quipped the interest of the Kaedeian team captain Rhimo, and she had given orders to Birance to spare no expense in stopping w.a.n.g Tong from entering the final eight.
w.a.n.g Tong twisted his wrist and stretched his neck, trying warm up the muscles. The simulation room was already packed with audience. Most audiences from earth were pleased to see that there were so many beautiful young Kaedeian girls around them.
According to the information she was given, Birance was supposed to treat her opponent as Einherjar Wannabe. She conceded that if the information was correct, she had a piece of work cut out for her. However, she also reckoned that if w.a.n.g Tong was unaware that his cover had already blown, she might have the element of surprise.
The Kaedeians withheld the information they had and carried out the match as if it were just another regular tournament game. As one of the princess"s guards, Birance"s power was at par with that of Paris. She was convinced that only the Art of Soaring Heaven might stand a chance against her.
There were three hosts for the game, one from the Earth, one from the Moon, and the third a Kaedeian.
Although Kaedeians were fierce protectors of their traditional way of life, they had also attempted to learn the best from the human society, and tried to blend in as much as they could. They had eventually won the hearts of the human with their humility as well as their beauty.
Kaedeians had studied humans well, and therefore, they were aware of the xenophobic nature of human mind. In order to alleviate the risk of falling victim to the ugly side of the human world, Kaedeians had brought the two races closer via arranged marriage. The girls were told to obey their human husbands, and therefore, once they got sent to the earth, the audacious and independent Kaedeian girls would quickly become the most obedient wives, even more than earthling girls. After a few hundred years of investing in themselves, the Kaedeians and already become a force to be reckoned with, and therefore, the need for arranged marriages was gone. Only on infrequent occasions could one hear the news of an earthling and Kaedeian getting married to the love of their life.
Since the human and the Kaedeians could not produce offsprings naturally, most of the couples resorted to adoptions or test-tube babies.
The two started their battle.
As everyone had expected, w.a.n.g Tong used his most confident technique.
w.a.n.g Tong"s starting strategy amused Birance, since it was the most common, run of the mill defense tactic. Letting go of her worries, Birance unleashed her aggression.
However, as soon as the battle started, Birance was surprised by the pa.s.sive-aggressiveness of w.a.n.g Tong"s defense tactic, as it allowed him to sneak his fleet in and behind the aggression forces whenever he could find the opportunity to do so. After a while, as w.a.n.g Tong"s forces were getting more diverse, different s.h.i.+ps complemented each other"s strength, and his fleet started to turn the tide of the battle.
Birance"s first attack of the first battle was therefore dissolved by w.a.n.g Tong"s pa.s.sive-aggressive expansion. Although w.a.n.g Tong had gained the upper hand, he didn"t initiate any large-scale attacks. Instead, he continued to nip away his enemy’s territories. To keep w.a.n.g Tong"s expansion in check, Birance was forced to wage another attack on w.a.n.g Tong, and losing more territories in the process.
It was clear then that w.a.n.g Tong"s defense lines were only a trap, and once his enemies were in the trap, it was almost impossible to get out.
Although the aggressive encirclement tactic was what the Kaedeians were well known for, Birance conceded that her strength had been turned into her downfall by her shrewd opponent.